How do I return a value from a main function in MIPS?

Let's say I want to write the following C program in MIPS:

int main () {
  return 5;
}

      

        
        
        
      

    

When I try the following MIPS code in MARS :

main:   ADDI $v0, $zero, 5     # $v0 = 5
        JR $ra                 # return from main()

      

        
        
        
      

    

I get an invalid program counter error. Apparently this is because you cannot jump out of the main function in MARS . So I tried to rewrite it like this:

main:   ADDI $v0, $zero, 5     # $v0 = 5
        li $v0, 10             # load 10(exit) for syscall
        syscall                # exit

      

        
        
        
      

    

After doing this, the $ v0 register contains the value 10, not 5. This is understandable, since I had to rewrite the $ v0 register in order for syscall to work. Then my question is, where can I store the value 5 so that it is correctly returned to the caller of this application?