Chapter 204
Soon, Lang Chu realized that not only did they have to make their own food, but there were many other things they had to do themselves.
The two cubs hadn’t eaten breakfast. They had only eaten a few sour apples discarded by the tribe—small, sour apples completely different from what they were used to. After eating them, they felt even hungrier.
Not only were they hungry, but they were also thirsty.
Today was a rare sunny day during the rainy season, which also meant one thing: high temperatures.
They had left early, before the sun had fully risen, so the temperature was about the same as yesterday, and Lang Chu and Lang Ying hadn’t noticed anything unusual.
As time passed, the sun rose higher, and the temperature outside increased significantly. The rain from the previous days had no effect in blocking the rise in temperature. The cubs hadn’t felt it while climbing trees earlier, but now they were starting to feel their throats dry.
Lang Chu glanced at his father and uncle. Both of them were clean and dry, meaning they had no water.
After a moment of hesitation, Lang Chu finally gave in to his thirst and, pointing at his father, whispered, “Dad, I’m thirsty.”
Lang Qi looked at him and asked Lang Ying, “How about you?” Lang Ying nodded, “I’m thirsty too.”
Lang Qi said nothing, just leading the two cubs toward another direction.
“Where are we going, Dad?” Lang Chu noticed that they were no longer heading toward the orchard.
“We’re going to get water,” Lang Qi replied.
Lang Chu immediately cheered up. He knew it! His father would never let them suffer! There was water, it was just a little farther away.
Lang Chu looked back at the orchard they had just left and thought that, compared to homework, this kind of life wasn’t so bad. It was just that they didn’t have food in the morning; he could eat more at night, and then he wouldn’t feel so hungry the next morning. It wouldn’t be as uncomfortable as today. Lang Chu silently praised his own cleverness.
However, when they arrived at the so-called water source, Lang Chu realized that the place to fetch water was completely different from the tribe’s well. The water flow was slow, and it took a long time to fill a basin. Oh, and even after they got the water, it still wasn’t ready to drink, because Bai Tu had said that raw water couldn’t be drunk directly—it had to be boiled first, just like how food had to be cooked before eating.
Lang Ying and Lang Chu were sent by Lang Qi to gather firewood.
“Why do we have to use these?” Lang Chu didn’t understand. At home, they didn’t use branches to start a fire.
“Because your uncles used to gather branches like these when they were young,” Lang Qi replied, pointing to the branches the two cubs had brought back. “This isn’t enough.”
The cubs, already covered in sweat, had no choice but to go out again to find more branches.
The cubs didn’t know which branches were the best to use, so they just picked up whatever they found, running back and forth. Before Lang Qi could even say it was enough, the two cubs had collapsed from exhaustion.
“I miss Dad…” Lang Chu lay on the ground, muttering softly. He wanted to go home and find his dad.
By now, lunch must have already been prepared at home, and there must be delicious meat and rice. Lang Chu didn’t usually like rice—only his dad and brother liked it—but now, he really missed the taste of rice. Even if there were no rice, he wouldn’t mind vegetables. He was so hungry and thirsty.
Lang Ying, though older, was just as tired. Unlike his younger brother, he didn’t collapse onto the ground but squatted like his father. He also missed Dad.
The two cubs sighed at each other, and Lang Qi, without showing any mercy, urged them, “Aren’t you thirsty anymore?”
“Yes!” the cubs answered in unison, of course, they were thirsty—they felt like their throats were burning.
“Boil your own water.” Lang Qi used nearby stones to build a simple stove for the cubs, placing the iron pot that Lang Ze had brought on top.
They had brought very few items with them. Apart from the pot, they only had a few cups. They hadn’t brought anything else. If it weren’t for the hot weather and the fear that the cubs would suffer from heatstroke if they stayed outside too long, they wouldn’t have bothered bringing those things either.
Lang Chu couldn’t believe it: “I have to boil the water?”
“Mm, you boil the water and drink it yourself,” Lang Qi nodded, unusually patient in answering the cub’s question. Lang Chu looked at his hands, then at his older brother Lang Ying. How do you boil water?
Lang Ying looked down at the stove, then at his younger brother.
The two cubs exchanged glances and understood each other’s thoughts—they both didn’t know how, so they looked back at Lang Qi with pure, confused eyes. Lang Qi helped light the fire and demonstrated, showing them how to add wood. Lang Chu watched closely and immediately stood up.
This, he could do! It wasn’t hard at all, all he had to do was add branches. He could do it!
“I’ve learned!” Lang Chu excitedly took on the task of boiling the water, adding one branch after another to the fire. Eager to drink the water, he added wood faster and faster.
Lang Qi watched the cub’s actions, opening his mouth as if to speak, but in the end, he said nothing.
Bai Tu had once said that only by experiencing things themselves would cubs understand the consequences, and this was a necessary part of their growth. Help from family members was temporary—no one would always protect the cubs. Some things had to be learned through experience. Thinking back on these words, Lang Qi focused on the space between the two cubs and the stove.
The stove was small, and once Lang Chu had added a few of the larger logs, there was no more room. But how could he give up just because there was no space?
In the choice between waiting a little longer or forcing a miracle, Lang Chu chose the latter and gave it a strong push.
“Clang—”
The stove collapsed.
In that instant, Lang Ze, Lang Ying, and Lang Chu were all stunned.
But Lang Ze’s reaction was completely different from the cubs. Once he realized what had happened, he started to laugh mercilessly: “Hahaha, you can’t even boil water, and you’ve destroyed the stove!”
Only Lang Qi had guessed the outcome. Calmly, he started to clean up the mess. As long as the cubs weren’t injured, he didn’t care about anything else.
Once Lang Qi had cleaned up the collapsed stove, he took the cubs to fetch water again. Lang Ze was still laughing: “You won’t get water today—hic—” Halfway through his mockery, he met Lang Qi’s gaze and, scared, immediately hiccupped.
It was nothing; it just reminded him of the fear from when his brother used to hit him.
Lang Chu, who had been upset about not having water, started laughing at his uncle when he saw him so frightened. His father would never scare him like that!
Lang Qi watched as his younger brother and son bickered with each other, saying nothing. In the end, they would realize their mistake when they got thirsty. Sure enough, after Lang Chu laughed at his uncle, he quickly remembered he had wasted time and rushed to get back to boiling the water.
On the second attempt, Lang Chu was much more careful. He wasn’t as reckless as before, but since it had just rained, the branches the cubs had collected were all wet. Only the slightly thinner branches Lang Qi had used to start the fire could burn, and the rest produced more smoke than fire. The last time, there had been so many branches that they smothered the fire, but now, it wasn’t much better.
After struggling for a while, the water in the pot showed no signs of heating. Lang Chu’s hands and body were just as dirty as they had been a few days ago.
It was clear that relying on his own efforts wasn’t going to work. Lang Chu, looking pitiful, went to ask Lang Qi for water.
It was unbearable not having water to drink.
Lang Qi took a large cup from a pile and poured some for the two cubs.
Bai Tu, anticipating the inconvenience of being outside and the possibility of rain, had worried they wouldn’t be able to find clean water sources. So, before leaving, Lang Qi had brought some water that could be drunk directly, though it was not to be used casually.
After drinking the water, Lang Chu and Lang Ying realized they were even hungrier. But there was nothing around to eat—not even a bird’s egg. The sour apples they had previously rejected weren’t in sight either. All they could do was hold their stomachs and sigh.
“I’m so hungry,” Lang Chu rubbed his stomach. When they got back home, he would eat so many delicious things!
However, when they finally returned home that evening, Lang Chu and Lang Ying quickly realized something.
Their food was different from everyone else’s.
“This is what your father and uncle ate when they were young,” Bai Tu said, pointing at the roasted meat in front of the two cubs. “I finally found this. Eat it quickly.” After the transition point was gradually established, the way people cooked food had improved to varying degrees. Even some of the more remote tribes, as long as they were connected to the transition point, had learned methods that preserved taste while also extending the shelf life of food. The primitive method of roasting large chunks of meat had been abandoned by most tribes.
The method of roasting large chunks of meat, which involved drying out the surface, was highly unpredictable. If roasted too long, it would burn; if roasted too short, it would spoil. It was more trouble than it was worth. Drying the meat or other methods were more efficient. Most of the time, it was only tribes that had no connection to the transition point who still used the old methods, as the transition point didn’t cover all the tribes, although the number of cooperating tribes had been increasing year by year.
In the early stages of the transition point’s development, many tribes joined every year. However, as time passed, fewer tribes joined, and in the past two years, the number of new tribes had naturally decreased. Many of the recently joined tribes, due to their remote location, had not yet received information about the new methods and continued to bring roasted meat made using the old techniques when exchanging goods.
Most of this roasted meat couldn’t be consumed by the transition point and was sent directly to the Beast Tribe. Bai Tu’s plan was to have the kitchen sort through it, throw away the spoiled pieces, and peel off the outer layer of the good ones to make lower-priced food or feed them to beastmen who had made mistakes and hadn’t earned enough points.
To recreate the childhood life of Lang Ze and the others for the two cubs, Bai Tu specifically went to the warehouse to retrieve two pieces of this roasted meat. The beastman guarding the warehouse was so shocked that he thought Bai Tu had fainted from hunger and even tried to help him buy some food. They were terrified that if Lang Qi found out they were giving Bai Tu the unappetizing roasted meat no one else wanted, they would be in big trouble.
Bai Tu stopped the beastman from buying food for him, using the excuse of researching ways to improve the taste of roasted meat. He had brought the meat over without a container, just tying it with a rope. On the way, several beastmen had asked him if he was feeling unwell and wanted something special to eat. They even told him that if he didn’t want to eat the cafeteria food, Tu Mu could make something else for him, advising him not to eat anything random.
It was ironic, as those were the same words Bai Tu had used to advise the beastmen not to eat spoiled food. Now, the tables had turned.
Bai Tu was stopped multiple times on his way home from the warehouse. Finally, when he got home, Bai Chen rushed over, anxiously asking if there were any financial problems.
So, these two pieces of roasted meat were truly hard to come by.
But for the cubs, it was completely different.
By the time Lang Sui and Lang Ying had memories of life in the tribe, things had improved a lot. Even when there was roasted meat, it was for the adult beastmen. Lang Ying barely remembered ever eating such tough food. He had always been given the carefully prepared meals by Bai Tu, with only a little compromise during the time when Lang Qi was sick.
Although Lang Qi hadn’t initially learned to prepare food for the cubs, the cafeteria had special meals for them. Later, when Lang Qi recovered, Bai Tu could cook for the cubs, and Lang Qi also learned to prepare food for them. Since then, the cubs had never had to suffer.
After Lang Yao, Lang Chu, and Bai Ye were born, things were even better. The tribe’s conditions had improved considerably. The cafeteria, Bai Tu, and Lang Qi all provided for the cubs, and they never went without a meal, no matter how much they wanted to eat. Bai Tu always made sure there was enough food.
Roasted meat was something Lang Sui and Lang Ying had seen before, but the younger cubs had never seen it. Suddenly, seeing only this kind of food in front of them, while their older brothers were eating fragrant dishes, Lang Chu was completely stunned.
After a moment, Lang Chu cried out loud.
There had been no food since the morning, and at noon, they were both thirsty and hungry, drinking only a little water. When they returned home, the only food available was tough, hard meat that was nearly impossible to chew. The older Lang Ying could tolerate it, but Lang Chu couldn’t hold back. The fruit they had eaten in the morning had long been digested, and the water at noon didn’t provide any sense of fullness. With his stomach growling, Lang Chu cried even more bitterly.
“Daddy, woo woo woo—” Lang Chu cried, lying on Bai Tu’s lap.
Bai Tu, heartbroken as he held the crying cub, gently wiped away his tears. “Are you going to stop doing your homework now?”
“Uuuu… I’ll do it, hic—” Lang Chu sobbed and agreed, but halfway through, his stomach growled again. He was too hungry and wanted food.
“Do you still say you don’t want to go to school? Do you want to live like Uncle and them when they were young?”
Lang Chu shook his head. “I don’t want to, woo…” He no longer envied his uncles for not going to school. The food they ate without school was just too difficult to eat.
With a positive response, Bai Tu gently patted Lang Chu’s back. “Don’t cry, let’s eat, okay?”
“Okay, hic—” The cub, who had cried too much, hiccupped.
Bai Tu helped the cubs calm down and wiped their tears. “Come on, dry your tears, and drink some porridge first.”
They hadn’t eaten all day, so it was best to start with something easy to digest. He had already prepared the cubs’ food before Lang Qi and the others returned, knowing that the cubs could only last until tonight. Lang Chu, hiccupping through his tears, started drinking the porridge after Bai Tu wiped his tears away. After asking Lang Ying for his thoughts, Lang Qi also served him a bowl of porridge.
After the meal, Lang Ying and Lang Chu no longer mentioned not wanting to go to school. The next day, they diligently began catching up on their unfinished homework. They had been excited the day before leaving, but now they were exhausted and had to catch up on three days’ worth of assignments. Normally, the cubs would complain or try to find a way to avoid doing the work if it piled up like that. If Bai Tu were around, they would write just enough to get by, hoping to find an opportunity to play.
Today, however, the cubs were different. They carefully wrote their answers, working from morning until noon without nearly stopping. The lessons they had learned from the previous day had left a deep impression on them—being too hungry was something they couldn’t endure.
Lang Chu sighed while writing.
He had made a mistake; he should have asked more questions before telling Dad he didn’t want to go to school. Who knew that the life of his uncles when they were young was so hard? Not only did they only have one meal a day, but the food was also so hard to eat.
After being punished for a day, Lang Ying and Lang Chu remained quiet for several days.
But Lang Chu was still Lang Chu. After a whole day of catching up on homework, he was back to his old self two days later, only this time he didn’t mention not wanting to do homework. Everything else remained the same as before.
Bai Tu was reassured.
A little hunger didn’t affect Lang Chu much.
As long as the cubs had given up on the idea of not going to school, Bai Tu was happy. The cubs had been doing well with their homework in the past few days. Even Lang Ying and Lang Chu’s accuracy rate was getting higher. Pleased, Bai Tu handed out some pocket-sized reward cards. “What should you do when you get a reward card?” Bai Tu asked after handing out the cards.
The cubs answered in unison, “Store it carefully, don’t throw it away. Don’t spend it recklessly, don’t lend it out with high interest.”
Bai Tu nodded. “Good, now go play.”
This year, the rainy season was more popular than previous ones because the rain didn’t last from the beginning of the season to the end. Instead, it rained for a few days, then stopped for a day or half a day.
Although it still rained a lot, the occasional clear day gave everyone a break. They could do things they couldn’t do when it was raining, like harvesting crops from the fields without having to go out in the rain.
Bai Tu also took the opportunity of the rare sunny day to leave the room and get some fresh air. Staying indoors felt stuffy, and even when he could go outside, it was only in sheltered areas like the corridor. The last time it was sunny, the cubs had been resisting going to school, and Lang Qi had taken Lang Ying and Lang Chu out while Bai Tu stayed home with the other three cubs. Today, things were more relaxed—there was no cub complaining about homework. After waiting for the cubs to finish their work, Bai Tu took them outside for a walk.
Sunny days during the rainy season were rare. In the past, it would often be sunny, only to suddenly rain. But today, after the last rain had stopped, everyone was cautious. They waited until the afternoon to confirm it wouldn’t rain again. Thanks to their previous experience, they knew the sunny weather might last half a day or even a full day. Seizing the opportunity to enjoy the sun, people hung up clothes or worked outside.
Bai Tu took the cubs out, while Lang Qi stayed home to do the laundry.
During the rainy season, it took several days for clothes to dry, and if the weather was bad, clothes could start to smell before they were even fully dried.
With the high temperature and humidity, even mild odors were a problem. If clothes weren’t hung properly, they could even mold. The two adults in the house were okay, but the cubs changed clothes quickly. The more well-behaved ones could wear the same clothes all day, while some of the mischievous ones changed clothes halfway through the day.
Sometimes clothes had to be washed and dried multiple times before they could finally be hung properly. Seeing the sun, Lang Qi decided to wash and rehang the clothes he had washed a few days ago.
The high temperature had its benefits; clothes dried quickly, and they could be hung out without worry.
While other families only needed one drying rack, they had six racks, taking up most of their yard.
Before going out, Bai Tu encouraged Lang Qi but didn’t offer to help, as the cubs were his responsibility. Bai Tu decided to leave the work to Lang Qi and reassured himself that the cubs would be fine.
Bai Tu, feeling satisfied, took the cubs straight to the cafeteria. Even though the food at home was delicious, sometimes they craved a different taste. Plus, with so many clothes still waiting to be washed, Lang Qi probably didn’t have time to cook, so it would be just right to bring some food back.
Upon seeing familiar places, the cubs were eager to try.
Bai Tu had initially thought they were looking for something to eat. But when a downcast beastman came out of the cafeteria and the cubs started to move, Bai Tu realized what was happening.
They wanted to continue their “business.”
Bai Tu had no intention of getting involved in the cubs’ business, but it was a good opportunity to observe how they conducted it.
The cafeteria had honey water, and Bai Tu ordered a few cups, along with some less sweet snacks, allowing the cubs to roam freely.
“I’ll stay here, feel free to play,” Bai Tu said as he took a few sips of water and slowly ate the snacks. The food had just been prepared, and the cafeteria wasn’t crowded yet, but the main group would arrive soon.
Upon hearing this, Lang Yao immediately took out the reward card from his pocket, while Bai Ye pulled out a points book from somewhere.
Bai Tu looked at Bai Ye curiously. “How did you bring that out?”
Hearing his father’s curiosity, Bai Ye demonstrated. He folded the points book and tucked it into the pocket on his belly. Then, he slipped his hands inside, flattening the book, so from the outside, it appeared there was nothing inside. Seeing how skilled the cub was, Bai Tu knew this wasn’t the first time. In other words, every time they went out, the cubs were always fully prepared, never missing an opportunity to earn points.
The cubs’ clothes were specially designed by Bai Tu, with many featuring a small pocket in the front, just big enough to hold a lot of things. Since the opening was small, whatever was placed inside wouldn’t fall out.
Normally, when the cubs went out, their bellies were of a normal size, and Bai Tu thought any slight bulge was just from eating. He never realized how much they could hide in these pockets. Bai Ye was in charge of the account book and pen, while the other cubs carried the reward cards. The cards had values ranging from one to fifty, with smaller amounts taking up more space. Despite this, the cubs didn’t mind the hassle at all.
Since Bai Tu had told the cubs to enjoy themselves, he didn’t limit their activities, and they were free to move around the cafeteria. The cubs had clear roles. Some went to the window to look for beastmen who didn’t have their reward cards, while Bai Ye found a table that could be seen as soon as someone entered.
This wasn’t their first time offering a points loan. The cubs had already accumulated a group of loyal regulars, and those who had never borrowed points from them had at least heard about it. One beastman, patting his pocket, realized it was empty and sighed in frustration.
When he looked down and saw the cubs, his eyes immediately lit up. “Yao! I need to borrow twenty points.” It was a rare sunny day, and he wanted to buy more food to take back. It was too troublesome to go back home, but with the cubs around, it would be easy.
Lang Yao nodded, took a twenty-point card from his own stash, and handed it to the beastman. Without needing to ask the beastman’s name, Lang Yao ran to Bai Ye, recited the beastman’s name and ID number, and then went off to find the next beastman in need of points.
The others had similar experiences. The cubs first observed which beastmen didn’t have points but wanted to buy something, then walked up to ask. Sometimes, they didn’t even need to speak—the beastmen would notice them.
Spending a few extra points to avoid another trip was something many beastmen were willing to do. Bai Tu watched the cubs running around, a smile in his eyes.
In fact, the cubs didn’t have to work so hard. The points he and Lang Qi earned were more than enough for the cubs to use for their entire lives.
There were several ways for beastmen in the tribe to earn points.
One way was by working in the tribe’s assigned teams, such as the weaving or blacksmithing teams. The benefit of this was that the work was clearly defined. Whatever the tribe needed, they would do it, and their points for the day were based on the type of work and the amount of finished products.
The points earned were usually not a lot, but it was stable work. As long as they worked enough hours each year, the tribe would provide food for the entire year.
The second way was working at home, such as sewing clothes, weaving tools, and so on. They could also do tasks assigned by the tribe or complete their own work and exchange it for points at the tribe’s warehouse.
Generally, the rarer the item, the more points they could earn. The benefit was that the upper limit of points earned this way was higher than the assigned work, but it wasn’t as stable. To receive food from the tribe, they needed to earn a certain number of points. If they didn’t have enough points, they would need to find other ways to acquire them.
In addition to these two types of work, there is another way to earn points: reporting useful resources to the tribe. In the future, both the beastman who discovers the item and the one who proposes its use will receive a share of the profits. The same applies to important decisions that resolve tribal issues.
Bai Tu had provided countless proposals to the tribe, which meant he earned a lot of points. And these points weren’t a one-time deal; just like when he and the cubs discovered certain items, as long as the decisions he made were useful, the points kept coming.
Though his proposals made up a small percentage of the income, the accumulation of many strategies added up, resulting in a surprising number each month.
As one of the leaders, Lang Qi’s monthly points were similar to Bai Chen’s, and the amount was quite substantial.
Adult beastmen who met the work standards received food provided by the tribe, while the cubs could receive food free of charge until they were eighteen. If they didn’t directly eat the food prepared by the cafeteria, they could exchange it for an equivalent amount of ingredients to cook at home. Therefore, the cubs didn’t spend many points on food. The major expenditure for the cubs at home was clothes. In fact, not only their cubs but the cubs of the entire tribe were hard on clothes. However, the cost of clothes was negligible compared to the savings of Bai Tu and Lang Qi.
Bai Tu and Lang Qi didn’t have any particularly expensive hobbies, so even if they had fifty cubs, they could easily support them without needing the cubs to earn points.
But while they didn’t need to, it was a different matter for the cubs, who were very considerate.
What made Bai Tu so happy wasn’t the points themselves but the fact that, from this situation, he could see that the cubs were thoughtful and responsible, unlike the beastmen’s children he had encountered before. When the cubs were very young, Bai Tu had worried a lot, fearing they might turn out like the children of the leaders from the Hu Qu or Flower Snake tribes.
He had interacted with many tribes and met many tribe leaders. The sons of the leaders of the Red Eagle Tribe, the West River Tribe, and the Flower Snake Tribe had caused him to worry about the future of his cubs.
If they were just mediocre, it would have been fine. After all, as long as they didn’t have any chaotic ideas and worked seriously, they could definitely support themselves. But if they were clever but not smart enough, it could be dangerous. As long as it only affected them, it would be bearable, but he feared it might affect the entire tribe. Fortunately, based on the current situation, he could see that the cubs wouldn’t turn out like the ones he had encountered before.
As long as the cubs didn’t go astray, Bai Tu was relieved.
To help the cubs earn more points, Bai Tu stayed in the cafeteria a bit longer, waiting until most of the beastmen had taken their food and left. Then, he walked up to a window where there weren’t many people. Lang Qi and the cubs were also going to eat. Bai Tu picked a few foods that the cubs liked, selected a few dishes Lang Qi enjoyed, and finally chose one he wanted for himself.
The total cost for all the food, including the honey water and snacks, was 25 points. This was because he had ordered a bit too many snacks. If the snacks were fewer, the cost would have been reduced by half.
After calculating the cost, Bai Tu reached into his pocket and paused for a moment.
He had changed clothes before going out, and his points card was in a different outfit, which he hadn’t brought with him.
Just as Bai Tu was about to remember the reason, Lang Chu walked up to him: “Dad, did you forget to bring your points?”
Bai Tu looked down at the cub, hesitated for a moment, then nodded and admitted, “Yes, I forgot.”
“Do you want to borrow some points?” Lang Chu asked seriously, pulling out his own points card. “I have plenty.”
Although it felt a bit awkward to borrow points from a cub while out, Bai Tu couldn’t resist the serious inquiry. “I’ll borrow some!”
At that moment, Bai Tu realized that perhaps some beastmen weren’t hesitant to go back and get points and then return them, but rather couldn’t refuse when their cubs asked them directly.
The cubs’ serious way of asking was simply hard to turn down.
Hearing the satisfactory answer, Lang Chu immediately brightened up. He waved the points card in his hand and continued, “How many points do you need?”
“Thirty,” Bai Tu replied with a number.
“But you don’t need that many,” Lang Chu said, looking at Bai Tu. He had overheard the earlier conversation and knew that the food Bai Tu had ordered only cost 25 points.
“There’s still snacks I haven’t ordered.” Bai Tu replied.
“Wow—” Lang Chu exclaimed, surprised that there were more snacks than usual today. He hadn’t expected more!
Lang Chu immediately handed Bai Tu a 20-point and a 10-point card.
Bai Tu took the cards from the cub and handed them to the beastman distributing food at the counter. “Add five chicken legs,” he said. That would be just enough for each cub to have one.
Because of the large quantity of food, a delivery service was included. Bai Tu didn’t need to carry the food; they could just go home directly.
Bai Tu walked over to Bai Ye, who was already recording, and asked the cubs who had gathered there, “Are you coming home with me to eat, or do you want to wait until you finish here?”
Bai Tu chuckled after asking, as this question was usually directed at Lang Qi, but today it was for the cubs.
“We’ll go home with Dad!” Lang Chu said immediately, then turned to his brothers, “There are so many snacks today!”
Even the more reserved Lang Yao couldn’t resist the temptation when it came to snacks, so the cubs quickly agreed to go home with their dad to eat.
The first thing Bai Tu did when they got home was to return the points he had borrowed from the cubs, including the handling fee, delivery fee, and tips, for a total of 35 points.
Bai Ye seriously handed him back four points: “No delivery, so no delivery fee.”
He borrowed 30 points and returned 31, since it was Dad borrowing, so no tips were needed. Since they were going home to eat instead of returning the points, there was no need for a delivery fee either.
The cubs kept track of every detail. Bai Ye carefully wrote the returned points next to Bai Tu’s name and number on the points card.
Seeing the cub so serious, Bai Tu couldn’t help himself and reached out to rub the cub’s face.
The other cubs hesitated a bit. If it was a head pat, they would have come over already, but rubbing the face seemed different.
Lang Chu didn’t care and rushed forward first: “Dad, hmm—” He was halfway through his sentence when he was rubbed a couple of times.
Bai Tu didn’t care whether the cubs liked it or not. He rubbed every cub’s face before retracting his hand, feeling a small regret that he hadn’t seen them all transform into their beast forms in a while.
Although they were all the same person, touching them in human form felt completely different from when they were in their beast forms. Especially Bai Ye, the smallest one, whose body felt entirely soft, making one want to keep him in the palm of their hand.
Before raising cubs, Bai Tu had always thought the phrase “holding them in your palm for fear they might fall, or keeping them in your mouth for fear they might melt” was an exaggeration. But after raising Lang Sui and Lang Ying, he realized this was a true sentiment for all beastmen with cubs.
“Dad, what are you thinking about?” Bai Ye noticed Bai Tu seemed to be lost in thought, possibly related to himself since he had been looked at a lot. He asked out of curiosity.
“Thinking—” Bai Tu didn’t finish his sentence, and when he saw Lang Qi entering, he quickly stopped, “Nothing, sweethearts, eat your food.” He started to distribute the food.
For foods like chicken legs and meat rolls, each cub got one without needing Bai Tu’s help. However, the dishes that came in large portions needed to be divided. Bai Tu usually handled the food distribution himself.
After distributing the food and placing a plate in front of each cub, the cubs, who had been discussing their food earlier, immediately started eating. Bai Tu then scooped out his own portion, and the rest was for Lang Qi. When Bai Tu came back, he saw that the yard was full of clothes, so he pushed Lang Qi’s food in front of him: “You’ve worked hard!”
Lang Qi, looking at Bai Tu with a smile in his eyes, took the opportunity while the cubs were focused on eating to lean down and kiss the corner of Bai Tu’s mouth.
Bai Tu: “…” The breed really didn’t disappoint.
Bai Ye, who had been eating, quietly glanced up when he heard a sound beside him, only for his head to be gently pressed down. “Eat.”
“Oh.” Bai Ye obediently lowered his head and continued eating.
Lang Yao withdrew his hand.
With the afternoon’s activities being quite a bit, it wasn’t long after eating before the cubs started to doze off. After Bai Tu helped the cubs brush their teeth, he let them return to their rooms to rest.
Once they left, Bai Tu took the opportunity to mention what had happened at the cafeteria to Lang Qi. It wasn’t anything major, just something he enjoyed sharing. Lang Qi listened attentively, his attitude just as focused as when they discussed matters regarding the tribe. Bai Tu had woken up a bit earlier today, and with the cubs’ sleepiness rubbing off on him, he started yawning after talking for a while.
Bai Tu looked at the sky outside and sensed that it was about to rain. The clear weather today seemed to have only lasted until the morning. He asked, “Shall we take a nap too?”
“You go sleep, I’ll gather the clothes,” Lang Qi replied.
“Oh, I forgot,” Bai Tu realized there were still clothes in the yard. He patted his head, realizing he’d forgotten a lot of things today.
Lang Qi escorted Bai Tu back to their room, then hurried to the yard to gather all the clothes. He threw the cubs’ clothes into their rooms and took his and Bai Tu’s into the bedroom.
By the time they finished their meal, the washed clothes were dry. He only needed to fold them and put them in the wardrobe. But seeing Bai Tu, who had fallen asleep and turned into a little bunny again on the bed, Lang Qi had no intention of folding the clothes.
The weather during the rainy season changed quickly. Just a moment ago, it was sunny, but now, as he was gathering clothes, it had started drizzling.
The rain brought a drop in temperature, and two gusts of wind blew through. Bai Tu, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly shivered.
In their beast form, the small sub-beastmen cubs had softer, shorter fur, which made them comfortable to touch, but their ability to resist the cold wasn’t as good as the adult beastmen.
Lang Qi took off his outer coat, placed the little bunny in his arms, and lay down on the bed. In the blink of an eye, only the large black wolf remained on the bed.
The black wolf carefully raised its paw, watching the little bunny sleeping soundly on its chest. It seemed the soft, new spot was much more comfortable. In his sleep, the little bunny stretched lazily.
The giant black wolf didn’t dare to move. It placed its paws carefully on either side, watching the little bunny with a fixed gaze, as if it could never look enough.
*
Bai Tu hadn’t noticed, but for the past while, his sleep had been getting longer. He still went to bed at the usual time, but when he woke up in the morning, he felt more tired than usual, and his lunchtime naps had also become longer.
Lang Qi had noticed this change and began paying more attention. As Bai Tu had become more cautious while caring for the cubs, Lang Qi had a hunch. A few days ago, when he overheard Bai Tu’s words, Lang Qi couldn’t describe how happy he felt. Since meeting Bai Tu, he had been happier than in the past 20 years combined.
Not long after confirming his suspicion, Bai Tu, just like last time, started turning into his beast form in his sleep. No matter how many things Lang Qi had to do, he never missed the time when Bai Tu slept.
The large black wolf lowered its head to look at the little bunny. Its mouth opened as if to do something but then closed again.
It would be safer to hold the bunny in its mouth, but the little bunny might not like it.
After a while, the large black wolf moved closer to the little bunny again.
It wouldn’t hurt to kiss it lightly, right? As long as he was gentle and didn’t let the little bunny notice.
While sleeping, Bai Tu felt like he was lying on a large, endless bed covered with fluffy blankets. However, he occasionally felt that his head was a bit wet for some reason.
Bai Tu nudged his head on the bed, vaguely feeling the bed move a little.
Was there an earthquake? Bai Tu wondered sleepily, but the tremor soon disappeared, and the bed became a gently rocking cradle, even more comfortable than before.
He had intended to open his eyes and see what was going on, but slowly forgot what he was going to do, falling deeper into sleep. He didn’t think about what was happening outside anymore; his intuition told him there was no danger.
The little bunny stirred a bit too excitedly, nearly waking up, causing the black wolf to freeze. It didn’t dare move. The room was soon filled only with the faint sounds of breathing.
Once the little bunny settled back into a steady sleep, the black wolf slowly relaxed, its paws still protecting the bunny. It closed its eyes.
Only those familiar with it knew that the seemingly resting black wolf was actually not sleeping at all, vigilantly guarding against any potential dangers.
Beastmen whose mates are pregnant are far more on edge than usual. Sometimes, they even go for days without sleeping.
The little bunny, resting peacefully in the black wolf’s arms, knew nothing of this. It only knew that it felt safe now and could sleep peacefully, no matter how long it took.
