Chapter 62: This Scent Is Back Again

Chapter 62: Chapter 62: This Scent Is Back Again

Mindful of the Incubator on her chest, Feng Si was anxious but walked slowly. As she started up the stairs, she reached out to grip the handrail firmly, making her way from the first floor to the second, one step at a time.

Just then, a gust of wind carrying a coppery scent blew down from above.

Feng Si, her hand on the rail, looked up. A tall and powerful Beastman was leading a group of people down toward her, his piercing eyes fixed on her.

Feng Si froze, her feet rooted to the spot. Just as her breathing grew difficult, the Beastman’s gaze shifted away. Without breaking stride, he turned slightly as he passed her, the movement stirring the black hair beneath his cloak.

They brushed past each other.

The formless pressure dissipated as the group of Beastmen receded into the distance.

The sounds of the main hall returned to her ears. People were leaving in twos and threes toward the main entrance, and the group’s figures were quickly swallowed by the crowd, finally disappearing around a corner.

Feng Si touched the Incubator to calm herself, preparing to continue upstairs.

Then, she suddenly realized something. She whipped her head around to look back into the hall, her eyes widening.

’Wait—’

’That Beastman just now... Don’t tell me he’s the VIP I was looking for—the one who got the Jade Pendant!’

Clinging to a desperate hope, Feng Si went up to the third floor. The guards the gray-clothed sub-female had mentioned were no longer standing outside the private room.

The thick, green, grass-like carpet felt soft and comfortable underfoot, and the green vines were full of life. It was the green of hope and vitality.

But Feng Si felt utterly exhausted.

’No, don’t let me have missed him just like that! Aaaah!’

...

After rushing back from Cang City overnight, she had returned empty-handed. She had gone with a billion coins, certain she would be able to buy back the Jade Pendant of her good little cub’s father, so Feng Si couldn’t help but feel crushed.

So, after coming back, on what was estimated to be the last possible day for the egg to hatch, she had spent nearly the entire time in bed, holding the Incubator and waiting for the little peacock cub to emerge from its shell.

Feng Si rested her head on her arm, her other hand lying on the glass top of the Incubator.

She had waited all night for the black, gold-patterned egg in the center to show some sign of movement, for her little one to be born.

Dawn was already breaking.

A sliver of pale gray light seeped through a gap in the thick, green curtains. The PITTER-PATTER of raindrops tapped against the windowsill and the large windowpane.

Feng Si let out a weary yawn. Her fingers moved, lightly stroking the Incubator before she pulled her hand back, closed her eyes, and prepared to drift off to sleep.

Just then, a slow knock came from the door.

"KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK."

Feng Si’s eyes fluttered open again.

It was a deliberately light and slow knock, the kind only made by a familiar visitor who came to her home often.

She climbed out of bed and padded barefoot to her bedroom door. After pulling it shut behind her, she went to the front door, undid the chain lock, and turned the handle to open it.

As soon as she opened the door, Mao Qiu, who stood there with an empty basket on her back, said softly, "Si Si, I’m here to pick up the roast meat and stew for the stall today."

Feng Si paused, slightly taken aback.

Before she left, she had budgeted for a six-day absence and cooked six hundred portions of roast meat and six hundred portions of stew all at once. She’d arranged for Mao Qiu to have six days’ worth of food, telling her to keep it in the frozen storage room.

’Six days have already passed!’

’The order from City Lord Niu Ding that made the food’s reputation skyrocket... there are only 21 days left!’

Feng Si’s sleepy eyes instantly cleared. She let go of the doorknob and stepped back. "Come in and wait for a bit," she said. "I’ll make it now."

Mao Qiu followed her inside. After setting down the straw basket from her back, she took out a small package and hugged it to her chest, smiling happily. "These are the coins we earned over the last six days. I was so nervous holding onto them, but now I can finally give them to you. Do you want to open it and count them?"

From the kitchen, Feng Si looked back and smiled. "No need to count. I trust you. Just put it on the table in front of the sofa for me."

’Mao Qiu and I have a long-term partnership. She wouldn’t be greedy over such a small amount of coins.’

Mao Qiu obediently placed the package on the coffee table. Feng Si took out two fine cuts of pork belly from the storage room. Seeing this, Mao Qiu quickly got up and said her goodbyes. "I’ll go home and have breakfast first. I’ll come back in an hour to pick it up."

"Okay, and please get the door on your way out." Feng Si gripped a sharp meat cleaver. "I’ll make another six-day supply this time."

Mao Qiu smiled and nodded. "Alright, I got it."

She hadn’t told Mao Qiu about her trip to Cang City. She had just used the excuse that the weather was getting colder, making it difficult to wake up early every morning to cook.

The roast meat and stew could be flash-frozen in the freezer for a few days, and after thawing and being pan-fried again, they would taste just the same. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Even though the price of raw ingredients had soared, Feng Si didn’t raise the prices for the food at Mao Qiu’s stall. As always, Mao Qiu accepted this arrangement happily without asking any questions.

An hour later, right on schedule, Mao Qiu returned to pick up the stew and roast meat for the next six days of her stall and then left.

After seeing Mao Qiu off, Feng Si intended to clean the kitchen. But first, she went to the bedroom to check on the egg on her bed, confirming it was still perfectly motionless, with no signs of hatching.

She returned to the kitchen, stood at the sink, and washed the pots and bowls she had just used, setting them by the sink to drain.

Feng Si moved quickly. After washing the pot, she scooped a small bowl of yellow millet from under the kitchen cabinet, rinsed it clean, and poured it into a small brown ceramic pot. Next, she laid her fingers flat on top of the millet and added water until it covered her knuckles, then placed it on the stove and lit the fire to cook.

Then, she fetched some vegetables from the storage room. She washed a small handful of wild greens, sliced some lean meat, and pre-chopped the ginger and garlic. Heating oil in a wok, she stir-fried the garlic until fragrant before adding the wild greens and flash-frying them over high heat.

In no time, a glistening plate of green vegetables was stir-fried and served.

After cleaning the wok, she stir-fried a plate of ginger and pork.

The oil rendered from the pork fat carried a rich aroma. White bits of garlic clung to the green vegetable leaves. The spicy fragrance from the pan-fried ginger threads eliminated any gaminess from the pork, leaving only a full-bodied, meaty scent.

This aroma drifted out through the ventilation opening, wafting into the rain, where it lingered for a long time. Living downstairs was a family of five Raccoon Cats.

They opened their window on this rainy day, five heads of varying sizes sniffing eagerly at the air. Ignoring the cold rain splattering on their faces, they were so overcome with craving that they cried out in their hearts.

’There’s that smell again!’

’Who in the world lives upstairs! The smell of that meat is killing this kitty!’

"I wanna eat, meow~" said a little gray-brown kitten, the fur on its head soaked into little tufts. Its eyes still shone with longing as it looked up at the floor above, along with its three brothers.

The lady of the house, a gray-tailed sub-female, also swallowed hard. "Honey, I really want to have a taste, too~"

As a full-grown male beast, the Raccoon Cat’s eyes showed a brief struggle before he made up his mind to go upstairs and knock on the door.