The wicked female is extremely fierce, but she's pampered by her seven beast husbands.

Chapter 263 City Seizure Crisis
Before Yu Shaochen could figure out how to explain, Ling Chengen had already lowered her head, the cleaver in her hand almost dancing in a blur, and one after another, the smooth potatoes fell from her hand into the basin of water without any pause.

Ling Chengen casually asked, "While we were away from home, who was in charge of cooking, you or Yuheng?"

Yu Shaochen threw the peeled potatoes into the bowl, opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Ling Chengen instantly understood: "Never mind, I know the answer to this kind of thing even without asking me."

Yu Shaochen hesitated for a moment, then finally murmured softly, "He helps out sometimes."

"Occasionally, right?"

Ling Chengen and Yu Heng have known each other for quite some time and have a basic understanding of the man's laziness. This guy can live for several months without eating or drinking, but with water. So expecting him to cook when he's hungry is like dreaming.

Yu Shaochen was speechless for a moment, because her guess was absolutely right.

Ling Chengen also knew that Yu Shaochen could not command Yuheng in daily life, so she planned to discuss the issue of sharing household chores with Yuheng herself.

Dinner was quite plentiful, as there were unusually many people around tonight. Ling Chengen stewed chicken with taro. On the way back today, she saw ducks near the stream, so she also made a pot of pickled radish and old duck soup.

The rest is stir-fried potatoes with meat, which we often make at home. Because potatoes have a fairly universal flavor, everyone in the family enjoys eating it.

These potatoes were all grown by Yuheng casually when he had nothing else to do, and now a lot of them are piled up in the cellar he dug at home.

There are also some other durable grains and vegetables in the cellar, so they don't need to worry about the food and storage.

The pickled radishes were made by an older female orc in the tribe. They were originally thought to be inedible, so they were thrown away.

When Ling Chengen passed by the place where the tribe piled up garbage and debris, he smelled a familiar sour smell, so he opened it to take a look and was surprised to find that someone in the tribe had actually made pickled radishes.

After finding out who in the tribe made it, Ling Chengen specially carried a jar of pickled radishes to visit them.

As she expected, it turned out to be caused by a female leopard by accident.

Most of the orcs in the tribe, especially those in beast form who are ferocious, don't really like vegetables. So when there's meat, they usually leave the vegetables for last, which sometimes leads to them spoiling.

Ling Chengen was not surprised by the result. Changing the diet is not something that can be done in a few days, especially in the summer and autumn when food resources are more abundant. Although many orcs know in their hearts that they should not be picky eaters, in practice they will still subconsciously choose according to their own preferences.

Some things can only be done step by step. Fortunately, the tribe mainly produces vegetables and grains that are easy to store, so there is generally no serious waste.

The origin of this jar of pickled radishes is that after the female leopard beastman washed the radishes, she wanted to slice them and dry them into dried radish.

As a result, halfway through the day, something else came up, and I forgot to take the chopped radishes out of the jar.

The jar may have contained some sour substances before and wasn't thoroughly cleaned, which is why a jar of sauerkraut was accidentally created.

Before leaving, the orc had kept the jar pressed against the corner of the wall and never thought of it again.

It wasn't until today, while cleaning the house, that the elderly female beastman unexpectedly discovered a jar of sour radishes.

She remembered that during the summer, several well-known shamans in the tribe had repeatedly warned the villagers that food that had gone bad in the heat should not be eaten, or it could kill people...

So she moved the chipped jar to the garbage dump and threw it away.

Anyway, the jar was a defective product picked up from next to the earthen kiln where the pottery was fired. It was something the kiln didn't want, so there was nothing to regret about throwing it away.

After bringing the jar back, Ling Chengen kept the sauerkraut brine and used some vegetables from his home to pickle a batch. He would let it sit for a while and see how it went. If it was successful, he would have another way to preserve food for a long time.

When it was time for dinner that evening, Yuheng called out in the direction of the cave, carrying a bucket of rice in one hand and a bucket of rice water in the other, and walked slowly towards the stone table outside.

Shi Panxing arrived at the stone table before him. Yu Heng looked at the wheelchair under him, put down the two wooden buckets he was carrying, and said enviously, "Your ability is really convenient..."

"Envious? You earned it with your legs."

Shi Panxing held up his palm, and four pairs of chopsticks and four bowls appeared in his hands.

Yuheng simply didn't bother to move, so he sat down next to him and pointed towards the stove: "There are still several dishes over there, could you please get them?"

"I wonder which of us is the disabled one!"

Shi Panxing couldn't help but sigh. She was used to his bossy attitude. She simply changed her hand gestures slightly, and the food that was originally placed on the open-air stove was now neatly arranged on the dining table.

Ling Chengen was originally preparing to serve the dishes, but when he looked at the empty table, he was momentarily stunned.

Yu Shaochen, however, was used to this and reminded him, "Let's go over there; the merman has already taken the food."

Ling Chengen exclaimed in shock, "They can do that? They really know how to play games."

After Ling Chengen and Yu Shaochen sat down, Yu Heng had already served rice for two people and placed it in front of them, casually saying, "You two serve yourselves."

After serving himself and Shi Panxing their meals, Yu Shaochen sat down on the other side of Ling Chengen and began to eat quietly with his head down.

Ling Chengen eats very quickly. This is probably because when she was young, she was in school and her mealtimes were always very short. Later, she entered the apocalypse, and in that environment, there wasn't much time to eat in peace. So she always tries to eat her fill in the shortest amount of time possible.

However, the three people in front of him were all slow and deliberate, so Ling Chengen felt somewhat out of place sitting among them.

But she didn't care about any of that. She didn't talk while eating, and she ate her food very quickly.

Yu Shaochen hesitated for a few seconds, then used a spoon to feed her some vegetables and ladled out a bowl of old duck soup, placing it beside her so she wouldn't have to search for water if she choked.

Yuheng held his chopsticks, eating while observing her eating habits, and said with one hand supporting his chin, "Our family isn't exactly poor, so why are you eating like this?"

Ling Chengen had already eaten about 70-80% full, and finally slowed down. He glanced at him indifferently and said, "What's wrong with my eating manners? If you don't like it, don't sit at the same table with me."

"I didn't say I didn't like it, don't wrong me. I just think you eat too fast, which isn't good for your health..."

Yuheng picked up a piece of taro and put it in his mouth, but it was so hot that he couldn't help but open his mouth and breathe on it.

Seeing that he didn't seem to mind, Ling Chengen said casually, "I'm used to it; it saves time this way."

Shi Panxing skillfully held the chopsticks, poked a piece of potato into the bowl, took a small bite, and his eyes suddenly lit up. He couldn't help but scoop another spoonful from the bowl, add some broth, and pour it over the fragrant rice.

"Is this a different variety of potato? It tastes a bit different," Shi Panxing asked.

Ling Chengen was slowly sipping his old duck soup and was in a good mood. He replied leisurely, "I saw it by chance in the valley and dug up a few baskets of it. This thing is called taro."

"It's only available in the fall and can be stored for about a month."

"The stewed chicken is delicious."

Shi Panxing nodded and said softly, "You really have a lot of delicious food on land, and the ingredients are also very diverse."

"It's so-so. If you can go back and successfully seize the throne, we can establish diplomatic relations. You can sell your seafood to our shore, and we can sell our seafood to your sea. That way, we'll have a much richer variety of food."

"Whether our tribe can enjoy seafood freely in the future depends on you, Your Highness, Third Prince."

Shi Panxing felt like he was being put on a pedestal after she teased him a couple of times.

He had a strong feeling that if he recovered his health but didn't go back and successfully reclaim the throne to fulfill her wish, he would be a complete useless prince.

"You won't be a tribe anymore soon, will you?" Although Shi Panxing had been recuperating in the Stone Forest tribe, this was the chieftain's home, and people often came to visit, so he was able to hear a lot of news.

He knew about the news that Shilin was building a city on the Mulan Plain from the beginning, since his initial settlement was on the Mulan Plain. Later, he moved there because the environment in Shilin was more suitable for recuperating, and Yuheng also needed to return to guard Shilin's territory.

Ling Chengen nodded and said, "I was planning to move in before the snow falls this year."

"But whether it can be completed depends on Zhen's side."

Shi Panxing took a small sip of the old duck soup with a spoon, and was amazed by the crunchy texture of the pickled radish. He couldn't help but have a little more before looking up and asking, "Your city should be the first beast city in the Northern Plains. Have you thought of a name for it?"

Ling Chengen rolled his eyes, raised an eyebrow, and said, "How about calling it Beast City?"

Shi Panxing remained silent, tightened his grip on the spoon, and turned to look at Yu Heng.

Yu Heng was also quite surprised. He had thought she had already decided on a name for the city from the beginning, but...

"Think about it again, come up with a name that shows you have some culture."

Ling Chengen immediately frowned and pinched his leg: "How am I uncultured? No one in this family is more cultured than me."

Yuheng's brow twitched with pain, and his hand gripping the chopsticks stiffened: "..."

“You can make your statement, but can you please stop pinching my thigh? My legs are made of flesh too,” Yuheng said.

These days, finding a partner is really not easy.

I get pinched and scolded every few days.

Yu Shaochen added another bowl of rice to his bowl, and while listening to the discussion, he suddenly asked, "What kind of city does my wife want to transform this city into?"

Upon hearing this, Ling Chengen turned his head to look at Yu Shaochen's profile, thought for a moment, and said, "An all-encompassing type, I suppose..."

"After all, it is the first beast city in the Northern Plains."

Yu Shaochen raised his eyelashes, his beautiful eyes sparkling as he stared at her: "So that means you'll accept a lot of beastmen, regardless of type?"

“We in Beiyuan don’t have racial discrimination.” Ling Chengen rested his chin on his hand, put down the soup bowl in his hand, and said seriously, “However, this is just my idea. The actual situation is definitely more complicated than I think.”

Yu Shaochen put down his chopsticks and suddenly said, "How about we call it the City of Ten Thousand Beasts?"

"Won't they accept a lot of orcs? This name seems quite suitable."

Ling Chengen thought about it carefully for a while and felt that the name was actually quite good.

Yu Heng and Shi Panxing exchanged glances, watching as the two were about to decide on a name in just a few words. Yu Heng hurriedly said, "There's no need to rush into choosing a name. Let's think about it some more."

"We could also consider giving the city a more imposing and powerful name, like 'Royal City' or 'Beast King City'..."

Ling Chengen glanced at him and scoffed, "You're the one who's uncultured. The name 'Ten Thousand Beasts City' may be simple, but it's easy to understand, sounds good, and is easy to remember. Why call it 'Royal City'? Are we kings now?"

"Aren't you ashamed to choose such a name? What if those big tribes in the south hold a grudge and come to seize our cities..."

As Ling Chengen finished speaking, he suddenly sat up straight, and his expression became much more serious.

"Don't say it, really don't say it."

“I almost forgot about that group of troublemakers over there!” Her expression suddenly changed. “We’ve been building this city for several months now. Even if some tribes in the central region haven’t seen it with their own eyes, they must have heard a lot about it.”

"News from the north and west is a bit slow, but news from the east and south is definitely timely. Do you think they'll just stand by and watch us build our cities and live better and better lives while they live in misery?"

That is definitely not possible.

Ling Chengen stood up abruptly, his expression cold, and said, "I'm going to the tribe to send some people out to gather information."

With the Beast City nearing completion, and the Stone Forest's hunting teams continuing their southward hunts, unable to return for the time being, this is the optimal time for the large tribes in the east or south to seize the Beast City from them.

Ling Chengen left after speaking, leaving the three of them sitting at the table looking at each other.

Yuheng had only eaten half of his meal when, by the time he came to his senses, the dishes on the table were no longer hot.

Ling Chengen left again, and his appetite vanished instantly. He finished the food in his bowl with little interest and didn't touch it again.

Looking at the remaining food, Yu Shaochen sighed helplessly, then said worriedly, "My wife's concerns are justified. Can everything really be safe on the Mulan Plain?"

Yuheng tilted his head and said, "Why worry so much? Isn't she preparing in advance? The worst-case scenario is that a fight breaks out. If she loses, she can just start over. She's still so young, and she has so many people helping her."

Yu Shaochen said, "That's true, but if the city is really taken away, given my wife's temper, she'll most likely be furious..."

“It’s not just a high probability, it’s a certainty.” Yu Heng said lazily, resting his chin on his hand. “But that’s the rule of survival on this land. If you’re not strong, you’ll be oppressed and plundered. If you don’t want to be bullied, you have to be strong enough.”

"Moreover, although the hunting team from Shilin went south and has not returned, they are not as vulnerable as you think."

Yu Heng had a plan in mind. Ling Chengen had made great strides in the past six months. Although some of the recruits were intentional and some were unintentional, the population of the Stone Forest Tribe was now almost comparable to that of large tribes.

Moreover, large tribes are not as terrifying as Yu Shaochen imagined.

The reason why the two behemoths, Daxing and Cruma, had such a large population was largely because many weak tribes had no choice but to rely on them in order to gain a little breathing space.

The actual number of people who could participate in the war was far lower than the number they claimed to have.

If the Daxing and Cruma tribes wanted them to risk their entire tribe's lives to fight for the city...

Those small tribes of orcs aren't brainless; they certainly wouldn't do as they're told.

Moreover, they also included many captured slaves in their count.

Even if the slaves obeyed them, these tribes did not provide them with much food in order to better control them, so they were all malnourished and in poor health, and would be cannon fodder on the battlefield.

Furthermore, with a large number of warriors from Shilin currently out hunting in the autumn, do other tribes not need to hunt either?

Larger tribes, in particular, have more hunters, which increases efficiency, but also requires more people to support.

The time and effort required are no less than those required by other tribes.

The hunting teams from Shilin are currently located in the central to southern region, so it would be easy for them to return to reinforce them.

There are also two medium-sized tribes, Snake Mountain and Cold Mountain, nearby, watching out for and helping each other.

Want to seize the city?

Yuheng couldn't help but let out a soft hum.

You have to be alive to come and alive to leave.

I had a slight fever last night, so after dinner I took some medicine and lay down. I set an alarm to write, but I was half asleep and turned it off. When I woke up it was already past midnight... I apologize for not sending out the notification last night.