Chapter 29: The Peacock Clan’s Cub

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: The Peacock Clan’s Cub

The two rabbit-eared sub-females were overjoyed. ’See? We knew this sub-female wasn’t so bad.’

’We only said a few harsh words. We didn’t do anything else.’

’We shouldn’t have lost our jobs and been fined coins by the patrol!’

"Have them come over and count the coins. Make sure to count them one by one," Feng Si said, taking the large-denomination coins from her backpack. She then upended the bag, pouring the remaining coins onto the counter.

The rabbit-eared sub-females’ hearts sank. "..."

’Damn it, it’s a pile of one and two-unit coins! This sub-female is a demon!’

...

Feng Si left the shop with the Incubator, which she’d bought at half-price as part of her compensation. Seeing the brightly lit, bustling stores, she decided to do some more shopping.

She decided she might as well buy everything she needed for the cub in this building. She walked over to a light screen directory, lowered her gaze, and carefully searched for the floor that sold infant and cub supplies.

Just then, she heard two people chatting behind her:

"...Didn’t we win this time all thanks to Young Master Jie? Why is Young Master Shou in charge of the peace talks?"

"What’s so strange about that?"

"Young Master Shou is the Beast King’s first male beast son, and he was born from the same female as Third Young Master Jun."

Feng Si tilted her head slightly to the side. Two burly Beastmen walked past her from behind. The light cast their shadows, making the two males look like a pair of mutated rats with their claws outstretched.

Remembering her disguised identity, she looked away and cautiously shuffled closer to the light screen.

"Even though they’re all Special-level Male Beasts, I’d bet that Young Master Shou and Young Master Jun combined couldn’t beat Young Master Jie."

"That’s true, but Young Master Jie is on his way back from the Border City right now. The Beast King hasn’t been seen in a long time, so I’d say Young Master Shou is the one calling the shots in the main city."

"Do you think the Beast King is..."

The two walked on, and their conversation faded into the distance until she could no longer hear what they were saying.

Feng Si moved back to her original spot and looked down at the light screen, finally finding the floor with the infant and cub specialty store.

While everyone passing by was gossiping about the Beast King’s family, she was the only one who wasn’t particularly interested in who the next New Beast King would be.

Carefully avoiding the Beastmen along the way, Feng Si weaved through the crowd, took an escalator, and arrived at the cub superstore that occupied an entire floor.

It had everything a cub under three years old could possibly need, from bottles to diapers, with a wide range of prices.

She recalled the cub care guide she had read online.

Male beast cubs are born in their beast form. They have excellent physical constitutions and are very easy to raise. They can walk and transform into their human form within a month of birth.

Sub-female cubs are born with some beast-like features on their bodies. They are also very easy to raise and can walk within three months of birth.

Female cubs are born in human form. They are delicate and difficult to raise, requiring meticulous care. Their digestive systems are extremely fragile, and they can’t walk before they are one year old. The slightest neglect can lead to illness and death, similar to raising a human infant.

Compared to the first two types of cubs, who seem to grow up strong with just a bit of milk, raising a female cub is a hellishly difficult task. It’s no wonder females are so pitifully rare.

Feng Si placed a hand on her lower abdomen, which was still flat.

She had confirmed her pregnancy with a private test and hadn’t gone to the Sacrificial Hall for a follow-up. She didn’t know the gender of the baby in her belly, so she decided it was best to buy supplies for a female cub—the most difficult to raise.

Bottles, cleaning cotton, bowls and spoons, onesies, swaddling blankets, socks and hats, bibs, diapers, a washbasin, towels, skin cream... the list ran through her mind.

But then, Feng Si found herself stumped.

Seeing Feng Si standing silently before the shelves, a sub-female clerk thoughtfully approached her. "Excuse me, what clan is your cub from? I can recommend the right size supplies for you."

Feng Si looked at the products on the shelves. The cub supplies here ranged from as small as a finger to larger than a full-grown adult. Her head was spinning.

She said guiltily, "Probably... the Bird Clan."

The sub-female clerk asked, "A small bird clan, or a large raptor?"

Feng Si racked her brain. That black-haired Beastman... even with his eyes closed, he had been as dazzling as a sleeping mermaid from legend, beautiful as a dreamlike painting under the sun.

He was the most handsome male she had ever seen.

An idea flashed in her mind. "...The Peacock Clan."

This time, buying the infant and cub supplies went smoothly.

...Especially after she had determined her cub’s clan.

After finishing her shopping, Feng Si headed home in high spirits, laden with bags. As soon as she arrived, she carefully placed all her new purchases into her space.

In the afternoon, her three hired helpers, the Mao Qiu, arrived as usual, bringing the two hundred pounds of fresh meat she had asked them to buy, as well as a thousand large, fat green potatoes, all washed and peeled.

As soon as she got home, she had to start boiling green potatoes, collecting the dried Green Potato, and then laying out new green potatoes to dry upstairs.

She was busy until both suns had set in the west.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Feng Si sat on the sofa. Looking at the ten large bags piled up in the living room, she felt that all her hard work recently had been worth it.

’The Green Potato will turn into bags and bags of coins in the future!’

’I’m starving. I’m so tired today; I’ll have grilled meat for dinner!’

Feng Si stood up, satisfied.

But when she took out a piece of fresh, perfectly marbled pork belly, her stomach churned unpleasantly.

BLECH—

’I don’t want to eat at all. I really want to throw up.’

Feng Si barely had time to cover her mouth and nose before rushing to the sink. Dizzy, she braced her hands on the edge of the sink and vomited violently. The heaving was even worse once her stomach was empty, and her throat burned.

’Morning sickness is awful!’

She hung her head, breathing heavily. Her earlier hunger was gone, replaced by an exhausted, weak, and miserable feeling. All she wanted to do was lie down right there.

Feng Si was suddenly struck by how difficult it was to be a mother. ’All mothers are so great.’

Her legs gave out. She turned and slid down with her back against the sink cabinet, slumping onto the cold floor. She was weak from not having eaten in so long. ’This can’t go on.’

’But I can’t eat anything. What should I do?’

Feng Si looked down at the belly beneath her clothes and took a raw, green wild cucumber from her space. She took a single bite, but her mouth filled with an acrid taste, and she felt the urge to vomit again.

She quickly moved the wild cucumber away from her lips. Staring at the wild gourd—which was the size of a carrot, with a bright green skin and pale greenish-white flesh—an idea popped into her head.

As far as she knew, eating sour fruits could help with morning sickness. But after the long dry season, most of the wild fruits here were very sweet, and she hadn’t seen any sour foods for sale in the shops or online stores.

’Sour things...’

"I can make pickled cabbage!" Her tired eyes lit up.

Feng Si rested on the floor for a moment before getting back up. She went to the cold storage and looked over the wild vegetables and fruits she had tried recently. In the end, she took out a leafy wild vegetable with a thick root and the wild cucumber she had just tried to eat.

’Let’s give it a try,’ she thought. ’I’ll make pickled cucumbers and pickled wild greens. I wonder if it will work?’