Chapter 199
Lang Ze had no idea that his free-loading with the cubs had been discovered, and he was still picking through the food the little wolves had bought.
“This one isn’t tasty, don’t buy it next time.”
“This one is good, buy more of it.”
His taste was almost identical to the cubs’. Whatever Lang Ze liked, the cubs liked too. So when he gave his opinion, the cubs behind him nodded vigorously in agreement.
Looking at the uncle and nephews acting exactly the same, Bai Tu rubbed his forehead. Where did it all go wrong?
The cubs spent more time with him and Lang Qi, yet they were becoming more and more like Lang Ze.
Lang Ze was still muttering to himself, occasionally asking someone to buy his favorite snacks.
Bai Tu couldn’t take it anymore and said slowly, “Lang. Ze.”
Lang Ze, who was in the middle of ordering food, froze in panic, “Oh no, I think I just heard Tu’s voice.” He hurriedly urged the cubs, “Hurry, hurry! Tu is coming—”
The moment he saw Bai Tu, his words were cut short.
Bai Tu walked over and lifted the three smallest cubs off their seats, checking their bellies one by one. Good, they were full.
He turned to Lang Ze, “How long have you been eating like this?”
His movements were way too practiced—this clearly wasn’t the first time.
Lang Ze, noticing Lang Qian standing behind Bai Tu, straightened his posture and said, “Not long.”
Bai Tu recalled Lang Ze’s time in the tribe. He guessed this probably started last time, since that was the only occasion Lang Ze had been out of points.
But this free-loading method… Bai Tu couldn’t ignore it. He patted his pockets and realized he hadn’t brought his points card.
Usually, Lang Qi handled food preparation and supplies, so Bai Tu wasn’t in the habit of checking his points. Plus, he had changed clothes before leaving because of the heat.
Lang Qian, noticing what he was looking for, said quietly, “Tu, I have my points card.”
Since they were all close acquaintances, Bai Tu didn’t hesitate and borrowed 500 points for Lang Ze.
“Ten days of living expenses. Come get the rest after ten days.”
“Wow—” The cubs were shocked. Uncle had so many points!
“Dad, why does Uncle get so much? We only get a little?”
Lang Chu stared at the thick stack of points with envy, drooling a little.
They only got five points a day, but Uncle got fifty!
“Because Uncle is an adult and lives on his own,” Bai Tu explained. “You live with Dad, so you don’t need to buy snacks.”
“Also, Uncle eats a lot. If he had less, he wouldn’t be full.”
Lang Chu thought about Uncle’s appetite and nodded. “Oh, that makes sense.”
They ate less, Uncle ate more, so Uncle needed more points.
But… Lang Chu glanced at the stack of points again and asked seriously, “Dad, can I be an adult for a day?”
That way, he could get fifty points too!
Before Bai Tu could answer, Lang Ze enthusiastically supported his nephew.
“Kid, don’t worry, Uncle will give you fifty!”
Lang Ze quickly snatched a little wolf, swapped some points, and handed Lang Chu a fifty-point card.
“Here! Whatever Uncle has, you have too!”
“Thank you, Uncle!” Lang Chu happily accepted it without hesitation.
Lang Ze waved it off generously. “No problem, spend it however you want! Uncle has points!”
Just as Lang Ze finished speaking, he watched in shock as Lang Chu pulled out a thick stack of point cards from his pocket—It looked even bigger than the one in Lang Ze’s own hands.
After adding the fifty points from his uncle, Lang Chu neatly rounded off his total and happily put them away again.
Lang Ze: “???”
Why did his nephew look richer than him?!
His confidence instantly deflated. Everyone around him had more points than he did.
Lang Qian, seeing Lang Ze’s reaction, felt an urge to do something. But with Bai Tu present, he held back.
Bai Tu was also surprised by Lang Chu’s actions.
He knew the cubs had accumulated some points by lending and trading, but he didn’t expect it to be this much.
After all, their starting capital was limited—The first week, he gave them 100 points, later, he gave them another 200, Total: 300 points.
But now, in less than a month, how had they multiplied their points several times over?
If Bai Tu wasn’t mistaken, Lang Chu had just held 500 points in total, including the ones from Lang Ze.
Which meant before that, he had 450 points.
The cubs split everything equally, so each one had 450 points—
That was already over seven times the amount Bai Tu originally gave them.
“Go home. I have some questions for you.” Bai Tu decided it was time to properly question the cubs.
Lang Yao turned back to look at his foolish younger brother, sighing like a little adult.
Dad said not to show off wealth—why can’t my dumb brother remember that?
Bai Tu, however, did not confiscate their earnings. Since the cubs hadn’t borrowed from anyone else and had made their profits entirely on their own, he simply wanted to confirm that they hadn’t used any improper methods to earn points.
Lang Yao had known this was coming ever since Lang Chu pulled out his points.
He took a deep breath and explained their money-making method.
Some people in the tribe often forgot their points cards when going out. When they arrived at the canteen or warehouse, they would realize they had no way to pay and had to either go back home to get their card or write it down as credit to be paid later.
The cubs took advantage of this by waiting near the canteen and warehouse entrances. When a beastman needed points, they would lend them some and then follow them home to collect repayment.
Because this was immediate repayment, not like school loans where it took days to get the money back, their interest rate was also lower.
They even came up with a new name for it—instead of calling it “interest,” they called it a service fee: For loans under 100 points, they charged 1 point; For loans over 100 points, they charged 2 points.
Every meal, there were plenty of beastmen who forgot their cards, so business was steady.
At first, they earned a dozen points per meal. But as their capital increased, their earnings rose to 20-30 points per meal.
If they ran into a big group like Lang Ze’s, their profits doubled.
Since there were three meals a day, plus time waiting at the warehouse, they could earn around 100 points daily.
Adding that to the points they had already earned from school, it was no wonder their wealth had multiplied so fast.
Their roles were clearly divided: Lang Yao, Lang Chu, Lang Sui, and Lang Ying were in charge of following the beastmen home to collect payment. Bai Ye handled the record-keeping.
Before, if someone forgot their points card, they might choose to put it on credit. But whether they went back home or left it as credit, they would still have to make an extra trip—so the cubs’ method was far more convenient.
Since everyone in the tribe knew they were Bai Tu’s cubs, no one questioned them. Seeing the cubs record transactions and personally collect payments, most people even assumed this was Bai Tu’s idea.
Because of this, their business kept growing.
Some beastmen even felt bad for making the cubs run back and forth and gave them extra tips. These tips were considered personal earnings for the cubs doing the deliveries.
Lang Chu, the chattiest of them all, was especially popular among the beastmen, so he received more tips than the others.
After just half a month, they had saved up an amount equivalent to an adult’s monthly salary.
Bai Tu: “…”
No wonder the cubs rushed out of the house every time they returned to the tribe.
He had thought they just liked playing outside, so as long as they came home before mealtime, he hadn’t worried.
Since Lang Qi usually did most of the cooking, they ate later than other beastmen, waiting until Bai Tu and Lang Qi were done with their work.
The cubs had been using that extra time before meals to run their points business—and they were doing exceptionally well.
Based on their current funds, their future earnings would only increase. More capital meant they could lend to even more beastmen at once.
They had even divided responsibilities, with each cub in charge of a different canteen.
“What do you need so many points for?” Bai Tu asked, curious.
They had never been restricted in what they could eat, drink, or play with.
Whatever other cubs had, they had too. And what other cubs didn’t have, they also had.
By all logic, they shouldn’t be lacking anything—so why were they so obsessed with earning points?
“No reason,” Lang Chu replied, flipping through his points cards, counting them twice.
“We just want them.”
Lang Yao nodded in agreement—one of the few times he supported his brother.
Watching Lang Chu count his points so intently, Bai Tu suddenly had a self-realization—this was exactly what he looked like when calculating the tribe’s resources.
…Okay, this one’s on me.
Even though the tribe already had enough supplies, he always wanted a little more.
The cubs must have inherited that from him.
Just like every year, the cubs hated the rainy season.
Before, they hated it because Dad wouldn’t let them go out after heavy rain.
This year, they had another reason—rainy season meant no earning points.
They couldn’t go outside, which meant they couldn’t do business.
With nothing to do, they sat under the corridor watching the rain, just like when they were younger.
When they were little, they weren’t afraid of anything—if they wanted to play, they would run barefoot into the rain.
But now that they were older, they didn’t dare.
If Dad saw them, they’d get in trouble.
Getting smacked wasn’t a big deal—it didn’t really hurt.
But if Dad got mad, he would ignore them for three whole days.
The cubs weren’t afraid of punishment—They were only afraid of Dad ignoring them.
Bai Tu didn’t want to punish the cubs this way either, because ignoring them wasn’t so much a punishment for them as it was a punishment for himself.
But over time, this had proven to be the most effective method—the cubs would quickly forget other forms of punishment, but when he ignored them, they actually remembered their lesson.
Playing in the rain was absolutely out of the question.
During the rainy season on the Beast God Continent, it almost always rained heavily, with downpours so intense that just a few steps outside would leave someone soaked from head to toe.
Adult beastmen didn’t care about getting wet—some were even too lazy to change clothes and would simply dry off using their body heat.
But cubs were different.
Forget about waiting for their clothes to dry naturally—even if they ran straight inside for a bath, they still had a high chance of catching a cold.
The younger the cub, the more vulnerable they were to illness, especially Bai Ye, who was weaker than his older brothers—for him, getting caught in the rain was especially dangerous.
Bai Tu would never allow the cubs to get soaked.
But he also couldn’t make exceptions for just one of them, so ever since they were little, none of them had been allowed outside in the rain.
If they really wanted to go out, they could do so when the rain stopped, but only with Lang Qi accompanying them.
After all, the weather during the rainy season was even more unpredictable than a child’s mood—one moment, the sun was shining bright, and the next, a downpour could start instantly.
Sometimes, all it took was lowering your head for a second, and the rain would already be falling.
To keep the cubs safe, Bai Tu forbade them from going outside.
But seeing them stare longingly at the rain, he felt bad—so instead, he started designing toys for them.
By now, the toy storage room was nearly full—inside were all the toys they had played with since they were little.
Although the cubs had different personalities, they shared one thing in common—they never destroyed their belongings.
Even Lang Ying, the most hot-tempered, had never broken a toy before.
Since all the toys in the tribe were made of solid wood, even with five cubs playing constantly, they remained intact—in fact, the older toys had become even smoother over time.
To organize everything, Bai Tu had several cabinets made, each of different sizes, for storing the cubs’ toys.
These were the ones they had grown tired of, but as Bai Tu walked around the room, he pondered what new toys he could create.
Bai Ye had been waiting in the corridor, but when he saw Bai Tu return to the toy room, he tugged at his brother’s clothes, wanting to go in too.
Lang Yao wasn’t interested in staying outside either, so he went back inside with his younger brother.
There were so many toys in the room that even the ones they had gotten bored of felt a little nostalgic after not playing with them for a while.
Bai Ye saw that Bai Tu was busy and quietly found a corner to play on the slide.
The slide had been made for them years ago. When they were in beast form, they could climb up and slide down.
However, in recent years, Lang Sui, Lang Ying, Lang Yao, and Lang Chu had grown bigger, so now, only Bai Ye could still fit on it.
Bai Tu’s beast form could also fit, but he had never played on it in front of the cubs.
Now that only Bai Ye could use it, sliding alone felt a bit dull.
Seeing this, Bai Tu took out some felt figurines made from the cubs’ shed fur and had Lang Qi carve a few small wooden wolves and two little wooden rabbits, attaching wheels to their feet so the cubs could play.
Since the bottoms had wheels, the wooden cubs could slide down the slide by themselves—this way, the younger ones wouldn’t feel left out from using the small slide.
Bai Ye played quietly, while Bai Tu focused on his design sketches, paying little attention to Lang Yao and Bai Ye playing together.
This time, he was planning to make building blocks.
Building blocks were toys that cubs of all ages could play with.
He had made some before, but those were simple—just basic shapes like rectangles, squares, and spheres that could only be stacked.
Now, he wanted to create something more complex—blocks with small interlocking notches, allowing them to be connected in different ways to form unique structures.
To ensure the blocks could fit together properly, the notches had to be the same size across all pieces, so he had to carefully sketch out each shape before handing it over to the woodworking team.
While sketching, his ink ran out.
Bai Tu got up, went to his study, and grabbed a new bottle of ink.
The pens and ink used in the tribe were no longer the crude versions from before.
After several upgrades, the new ones released ink smoothly and lasted a long time.
The only downside was that once something was written, it had to dry for a while, and if ink got on clothes, it was hard to wash off.
By the time he finished the blueprint and turned to check on the cubs, the others had also returned.
They had all gathered around Bai Ye, each holding a small wooden wolf and eagerly comparing to see whose slid down the fastest.
The two wooden rabbits had been completely ignored.
Since the cubs were using the wooden wolves as stand-ins for themselves, the rabbits naturally got left behind.
Seeing the cubs being well-behaved, Bai Tu said to them: “Don’t run around. I’ll be out for a moment and will come back soon.” The rain had just stopped outside, and he planned to take advantage of this break to send the blueprint to the woodworking team. If things went quickly, they could have the finished product in a couple of days; who knew how long they’d have to wait for the next break in the rain.
“Okay!” Lang Chu was the first to agree.
Seeing Lang Chu’s excited expression, Bai Tu immediately suspected that he wanted to do something. However, the room was clean, and aside from the toys, the only other thing in the room was his desk, which he had strictly forbidden the cubs from touching.
There were no dangerous items, so after checking around, Bai Tu gave Lang Yao a final instruction: “Yao, keep an eye on your younger brother.” Perhaps because they were siblings, Lang Sui and Lang Ying didn’t understand Lang Chu as well as Lang Yao did. Whenever Lang Chu wanted to do something, Lang Yao could always tell right away and would stop him immediately. With Lang Qi not around, only Lang Yao could manage Lang Chu.
“Okay,” Lang Yao replied.
Satisfied, Bai Tu left the room and went to the warehouse to grab an umbrella.
The umbrellas had been one of the tribe’s products for years, both used internally and sold externally. During the rainy season, when the rain was lighter, such as at the beginning or end of the season, umbrellas were practical. While it wasn’t ideal for going out as usual, it was much better than the torrential rains in the middle of the season. Even during the heaviest rains, the weather would sometimes show mercy and turn into lighter showers, or like now, the rain would stop for a while.
In such cases, the umbrella was useful. Unlike raincoats or ponchos, which wrapped around tightly, the umbrella was more suited for lighter rain. It was easy to carry and use—just grab it and go, and when it was opened, there was no need to put it on like the other two options.
Bai Tu placed the blueprint under the umbrella to prevent it from getting wet in case the rain started again. Carrying the items, he reached the woodworking team, where only one beastman was on duty.
Work slowed down during the rainy season, so when there was nothing to do, only one or two beastmen stayed behind to monitor the workshop. The rest went to rest, coming back only when needed. Otherwise, it made more sense to just go home and relax than to sit idly in the workshop.
The beastmen in the woodworking team could all understand the blueprints. Bai Tu unfolded the paper and briefly explained it, and they quickly got to work using the wood blocks and tools available in the room.
“Is this the right shape?” One of them asked, presenting a square block with serrated edges.
“Yes, exactly like that,” Bai Tu nodded. “Remember to sand it down and smooth out all the edges. These toys are for the cubs, and their skin is sensitive. What might seem like harmless splinters to adults could hurt the cubs.”
“Don’t worry, I’m used to making toys for cubs,” the beastman assured him.
Bai Tu nodded in relief. The toys for the cubs, along with items like umbrellas and canned goods, were products the tribe sold externally. In the first couple of years, they received a lot of orders, but in recent years, the market had become saturated, and with more cubs attending school, Bai Tu hadn’t prepared new designs. That’s why the woodworking team had some downtime, but they would still be busy outside the rainy season.
With more experience, the beastmen knew to sand down the toys several times to ensure the surfaces were smooth and safe for the cubs, and after sanding, they would apply a layer of oil to make the toys even smoother to the touch.
The woodworking team was more familiar with these processes than Bai Tu, so he just gave a brief reminder and didn’t need to say much more.
Noticing that it was getting late, Bai Tu decided not to linger too long, as the weather could turn again at any moment. Though he had tried to be quick, he still lost some time. By the time he returned home, Lang Qi was already there, preparing dinner.
“Where did you go?” Lang Qi asked, coming out as soon as he heard footsteps.
“To the woodworking team, making some toys,” Bai Tu answered honestly.
At the mention of toys, Lang Qi glanced down but quickly looked away. He then asked Bai Tu what he wanted for dinner.
Bai Tu set the umbrella down and went into the kitchen. He found that everything was to his liking, and it was difficult to even pick something he didn’t want.
Bai Tu said: “…”
Just as he was about to speak, a voice called from outside.
“Tu, Brother!”
Bai Tu stopped mid-sentence and walked out of the kitchen with Lang Qi. Lang Ze was standing at the door, holding two food boxes. “I brought you some snacks.”
Both Bai Tu and Lang Qi were a little surprised.
Given Lang Ze’s personality, it was normal for him to hang out with the cubs, eating and drinking, but for him to actually bring food was quite rare.
“Come in. Your brother is cooking. Is there anything you want to eat?” Bai Tu asked.
Hearing that it was almost mealtime, Lang Ze firmly shook his head: “I’m not eating, I’m not hungry.”
Usually, when someone says this, they’re actually hungry, and Bai Tu waved his hand: “Go wait in the room for a bit, the food will be ready soon.” Lang Qi cooked quickly, usually using two or three pots at once, so the meal would be ready shortly.
As for having an extra person, they could simply add more dishes. With the snacks that Lang Ze brought, it would be more than enough.
Lang Ze couldn’t stay in the room alone, so when he heard noise coming from the toy room, he walked over to find the cubs.
Lang Chu was holding a wooden little wolf cub and crashing it into the others. He was the most active cub among them, handling four at once while also keeping his mouth busy. The sounds Lang Ze heard came from him.
“Take that! I’m going to hit your claws!”
“Bite your tail!!”
“Your tail’s gone! Brother, your tail’s gone!”
Lang Yao: “……”
Lang Chu had finished one round and was now attacking Bai Ye.
“Stupid little brother, take this punch!”
“Bite your ear!”
“Grab your eyes—”
Lang Ze watched for a while before starting to give random instructions: “Little baby, bite his claws!” “Big Baby, hurry up!” “Gray Baby, stop him!” “Black Baby, bite Big Baby!”
What started as a one-on-four situation quickly turned into chaos due to Lang Ze’s instructions, with everyone now facing a one-on-four. The slide, which was supposed to be a reward for the winner, had already been pushed to the side. Winning no longer mattered; it was all about hitting others. In the middle of the chaos, the wooden little wolf cub Bai Ye was holding slipped out of his hands and fell to the ground.
Lang Ze: “There’s been a casualty, pause!”
However, after stopping, the two cubs couldn’t figure out which one was theirs.
When Bai Tu made the toys, he designed them based on the cubs’ size from years ago, when they were still newborns. At that time, the three cubs were nearly the same size, making it difficult to tell them apart based on size alone.
The wooden little wolf cubs were divided into two large and three small ones. When the cubs played before, they just picked one at random, as there weren’t many, so they didn’t have to be choosy.
But now, things were different. The wooden little wolf cub was a companion for battle.
How could they mix up their teammates?
Lang Chu lay on the ground, pushing aside the two wooden wolf cubs. He was sure he was older than his younger brother, so the bigger one must be his.
However, each time he picked one, another angle made it seem like the other was bigger. Lang Chu kept switching between the two for a long time before finally choosing one: “This one’s mine!”
Bai Ye, already bored, had started playing with the little rabbit. Hearing Lang Chu, he nodded and brought the remaining one in front of himself.
But Lang Chu hesitated again: “No, it’s that one.”
Bai Ye, good-natured as always, swapped the toys with him.
Before Lang Chu could bring the other one in front of himself, he started to second-guess again. He felt like both of them could be his, but neither seemed to be. Lang Chu kept dithering about which one to pick, and by the time mealtime arrived, the other cubs had already moved on to play with other toys.
The battle had ended, and it was time to build the home. Only Lang Chu was still fretting over the two nearly identical wooden toys. Because he couldn’t decide which one was his, Lang Chu was distracted during dinner.
Bai Tu found it strange. The cubs’ love for food was nearly the same as Lang Ze’s, though their appetites weren’t as large, so what was going on today? Lang Sui explained what had happened earlier.
Bai Tu thought it was something serious, but upon hearing the issue, he said: “I’ll take you all tomorrow to dye the little wolf cubs. Then you’ll be able to tell which one is yours, and there will be no more mix-ups.”
When the cubs were very small, Bai Tu used to dye their toys into five different colors. This led to the cubs always thinking the toys of the others were better, and each time they played, they’d end up fighting over them. The winner would get to pick first. This habit hadn’t changed after all this time. If something looked different, they would always fight first before deciding who gets which one.
Sometimes, the differences were really small, and as the cubs grew up, they understood that the colors didn’t actually mean anything, but they were used to it. The one who won the fight would always get to choose first.
When Bai Tu made the wooden little wolf cubs, he only distinguished them by size. The two large ones were nearly identical, and the three smaller ones were also nearly identical. This way, the cubs wouldn’t fight over them, as the bigger ones were for Lang Sui and Lang Ying, and the smaller ones for the other three cubs. There was no reason to fight over them.
But now, they weren’t fighting, but they were still struggling to figure out how to tell which one was theirs. Bai Tu thought about it and decided that the next time, he would help the cubs dye their toys according to their own colors. This way, even if the sizes were the same, they could still tell them apart based on color, and there would be no need to worry anymore.
Hearing that his father had found a solution, Lang Chu finally relaxed and started eating.
The cubs were getting bigger and no longer lived in their original room. Bai Tu had added a few more rooms behind the yard, one for each cub. However, the cubs still didn’t want to be separated, so all five of them were living together.
The rooms at the back were designed in the same way as their original rooms. When Bai Tu planned the living area, he anticipated that as the family grew and there were more cubs, the current house wouldn’t be enough. So, he built a row of houses on one street, while the houses on either side couldn’t be extended. However, a row of rooms could be added at the back for the cubs to live in. Now, most of the beastmen with cubs had added rooms, except for Lang Ze, who lived alone and didn’t need any extra space.
Today was the day to distribute points to Lang Ze. It was the first time Bai Tu had encountered a situation where there were leftover points on the same day they were given out, and Lang Ze even brought snacks. When distributing the points, Bai Tu gave him an extra two hundred.
The little wolf cubs were growing up and becoming more sensible, so they didn’t need to be so picky about everything anymore.
Lang Ze, who had been lying on a stool after eating, revived instantly upon receiving the extra points. He eagerly took on a task: “Tu, I’ll dye the toys! I’m familiar with this.”
Bai Tu glanced at him and felt a bit unsure. However, Lang Qi had other tasks for the next day, and Bai Tu needed to inspect the blocks since it was related to the tribe’s transactions for the next quarter. The more variety there was in the toys, the more the cubs liked them, and the more beastmen would buy them. Even if they didn’t sell them, it was good to have more prepared for the cubs to play with. Dyeing the toys wasn’t a complicated task, and even though Lang Ze wasn’t the most reliable, he could handle this.
“Okay, I’ll leave it to you,” Bai Tu nodded.
If tomorrow’s weather was the same as today, with a break in the rain, he would likely need to go to the carpentry team. Doing the work while modifying it would be more efficient than having the team finish it first and then deliver it to him.
It would save the time of going back and forth and avoid rework. But thinking about Lang Ze’s character, Bai Tu decided to give him a heads-up before leaving tomorrow, or he might call Lang Qian to help look after the cubs. It would be impossible to get all the blocks sorted out quickly tomorrow. He would probably have to stay at the carpentry team for half a day.
The next morning, before Bai Tu woke up, he heard noise outside.
Lang Qi had already gotten up without Bai Tu noticing. The room was empty except for him. Bai Tu yawned, got dressed, and walked outside.
As he reached the living room, Bai Tu stopped and slowly took two steps back, closing the door. Whose cub was that dark one outside? It definitely wasn’t his. Although Bai Tu didn’t want to admit it, the cub was indeed his—biologically.
Among the five cubs, only Bai Ye had a white face, while the other four were black, gray, or dark, making it easy to distinguish them, even if their fur color was ignored.
“What’s going on?” Bai Tu asked Lang Qi, already suspecting the answer.
Aside from Lang Ze, there was probably no one else who could be responsible.
“Lang Ze woke up the cubs in the middle of the night and took them to dye the toys.”
Bai Tu: “……” As expected, he wasn’t wrong. “Why did he think of dyeing the toys in the middle of the night?” Bai Tu asked Lang Ze.
Lang Ze, seeing the indelible ink on the cubs’ faces, realized his mistake. Upon hearing Bai Tu’s question, he became conflicted: “I couldn’t sleep.”
Bai Tu: “?” So, because he couldn’t sleep, he decided to wake up all the cubs and get them involved in something?
Lang Ze slapped his head, but since his hands still had undried ink, a few more streaks appeared on his forehead. Lang Ze, unaware that he had added more color to his face, nervously asked Bai Tu: “Tu, do you think I’m sick? I couldn’t sleep. Is it a sign of illness?”
Bai Tu looked at Lang Ze, thinking about what could cause his insomnia. Beastmen usually didn’t have many things to worry about, and their troubles were fewer. They ate well, worked, played when needed, and slept when it was time. It was common for them to be lazy and not want to get up, but Lang Ze being unable to sleep was a first for Bai Tu.
“Is it because you didn’t get enough exercise?” Bai Tu guessed.
The cubs were all full of energy, and they would only sleep after playing until they were exhausted. Could it be that because they didn’t go out to play yesterday, their extra energy wasn’t released, which made it hard for Lang Ze to fall asleep? As he thought about this, Bai Tu suddenly remembered another reason. He looked at Lang Qi, whose expression was somewhat complicated.
Lang Qi said, “If you go out and run around more, you’ll sleep better.”
Lang Ze was skeptical of this answer. He didn’t trust his older brother and continued asking Bai Tu, “Tu, I’m not sick, am I?”
“You should go to the clinic tomorrow,” Bai Tu said. “I’ll ask them to prepare some medicine for you.” He sighed helplessly. When would the cubs finally become sensible? Hearing that he should go to the clinic, Lang Ze hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded.
“Alright, your issue is settled. Now, let’s talk about the cubs,” Bai Tu pointed to the five cubs, who were black, gray, or white. “Each cub gets one hundred points, minus four hundred points.” Since Lang Ze didn’t have many points left, Bai Tu decided not to deduct points from the cub that had no significant change in color.
Lang Ze groaned. Yesterday Bai Tu had given him two hundred extra points, but now, after deducting four hundred, he only had three hundred left!
He had been happy to get more points, but after just one day, he felt down. Lang Ze hung his head. The points he owed were piling up—when would he be able to pay them back?
Bai Tu asked Lang Qi to prepare hot water to give the cubs a bath.
Lang Ze had used up a whole bottle of ink to dye the toys. Apart from Bai Ye, whose beast form was white, all the other cubs had ink stains on their faces and hands. The stains were black or gray, depending on their beast forms.
Bai Ye’s face was clean, but his hands had turned black from holding his brothers.
The ink needed to be washed off immediately; the longer it stayed, the harder it was to clean. Since there were five cubs, Lang Qi directly brought out the largest wooden tub in the house and put the cubs in it, then filled it with warm water. Bai Tu took out soap and began scrubbing the cubs.
After the first round of washing, he took the cubs out, changed the water, and started the second round.
Lang Ze, who was washing his hands nearby, looked at how much trouble it was to bathe the cubs and began suggesting ideas: “Tu, just put the cubs in and heat the water under the tub, it would be more convenient. Now we’ve got the water ready, but we still have to carry it over.”
Bai Tu: “……”
Bai Ye, hearing his uncle’s words, panicked for the first time and grabbed his dad’s arm, saying, “Dad, I’ll be good, please don’t cook me.”
Bai Tu: “……”
Bai Tu noticed that Lang Ze’s hands were no longer covered in ink, so he waved him out: “Go to the cafeteria and buy food!” They should have cooked themselves, but since the cubs’ ink stains wouldn’t come off right away, it was easier to just have lunch.
“Okay!” Upon hearing lunch, Lang Ze immediately forgot about what he had just said. Even the sadness of losing points was forgotten as he dried his hands and happily ran out.
The road to the cafeteria was one of Lang Ze’s most familiar routes, but when he reached the door, he hesitated for a moment.
Lang Qian, hearing the footsteps behind him, turned and saw it was Lang Ze. He spoke first, “How many today?” and extended his hand.
Lang Ze, feeling guilty as he touched the few points he had left, became even more uneasy. He remembered the foolish things that led to his lack of points and felt more guilty.
“No points?” Lang Qian put down his hand and pulled out a stack of brand-new points from his pocket. “Do you want to borrow some more?”
Lang Ze shook his head firmly: “No borrowing! I won’t borrow anymore!” Every time he borrowed points, he planned to repay them the next time points were issued. But when he did, he found himself short of points, which led to more borrowing. Lang Ze didn’t understand how it happened. His points were still the same amount as before, but his debt was growing, and he had no points left.
With this thought, Lang Ze became even more determined: “I won’t borrow a single point! Don’t talk to me about points in the cafeteria!” As long as Lang Qian didn’t ask him about points, he was sure he could resist the temptation of points.
“Okay,” Lang Qian nodded, though it was unclear whether he believed him. “I’ll go back then.” He turned and left the cafeteria. On days without rain, he would go to the pharmacy and prepare some common medicine to earn more points. After all, raising cubs took a lot of points, and raising two was even more costly.
Lang Ze watched his retreating figure, feeling uncertain and thinking that perhaps he had made another mistake.
He hadn’t done anything, yet he felt as guilty as he did when he had dyed all the cubs last night.
It must be because he hadn’t slept well last night, Lang Ze thought. Or maybe it was because he hadn’t eaten breakfast. It couldn’t be because of a dream.
