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

Chapter 53 Black Tortoise and Peacock
Bai Xi stood tall and said, "You're just jealous of my enthusiasm and initiative, so you took my place. After all, you're far inferior to me."

Chongzhen suddenly lost her appetite and turned to look at Ling Chengen, who was calmly eating: "He's like this, aren't you going to say something?"

"Does it matter what I say? You two can argue all you want. If you're still not satisfied after dinner, you can have a heart-to-heart talk all night, or you can go out and find a place to fight."

"But given that you only have level six abilities, you'll most likely be beaten to a pulp by him, so I can go and collect your body tomorrow morning."

Bai Xi instantly smiled smugly at Zhong Zhen and said, "The more you cook, the better."

Chongzhen had a long face and could barely eat.

Ling Chengen naturally wouldn't tolerate Bai Xi's behavior. He turned and gave him a cold glance: "If you still want to freeload in the future, I suggest you keep your mouth shut. It's not very nice of you to pick up your bowl to eat and then put it down to curse the cook. If he secretly spits in your bowl next time, I hope you don't lose your temper..."

Chongzhen's eyes lit up instantly, and she turned to look at Ling Chengen: "Great idea! Next time someone offends me, I'll spit in their bowl and throw my boogers in their nose..."

"???" Bai Xi's smile froze instantly as she stared in shock at Ling Chengen, who was being blamed on both sides.

Yu Shaochen, Ling Xiao, and Ling Xiaoxi, who had been engrossed in their meal, froze, their hands holding their bowls. They silently watched Chongzhen's excitement, then looked down at their own bowls, their hearts suddenly heavy.

Is it even possible to eat lunch?

Can't the three of them sit at a separate table?

Yu Shaochen sighed softly, holding his bowl. He exchanged a glance with Ling Xiao, silently added some food to his bowl, picked up the plate of roast meat in front of him, and stood up, saying, "I'm going to have dinner with Su Weihua. I'll feed him later."

Ling Xiao watched Yu Shaochen's decisive escape, then cut off a piece of hind leg meat with the bone blade and looked up at the three people opposite him: "Are you going to eat or not? If not, I'll send it to the orphaned cubs in the tribe!"

Bai Xi and Chong Zhen temporarily ceased fighting. Ling Chengen watched the two of them calm down and quietly breathed a sigh of relief when they weren't looking.

Men are indeed a lot of trouble.

These two people had no real relationship with her, yet they were already arguing fiercely over a mere argument. If she really did collect a whole football team's worth of beast husbands as Ling Xiao envisioned, her life would probably be as lively as that of a zookeeper.

Ling Chengen quickly finished her lunch and got up before Chongzhen and Baixi could speak. Before leaving, she turned back and reminded them, "This afternoon, you two need to take the people in the tribe to turn the soil. Also, you need to dig out those potatoes first, but don't plant them right away. Bring all the potatoes you dug out back with you."

“I’ve piled all the wood ash from cooking under the trees. But there’s not enough ash, so when you’re clearing the land, pile up the weeds you dug up, let them dry in the sun, and then burn them to make ash. You’ll need it when you start planting in a couple of days.”

"When setting fire to dry grass, remember to choose an open space and clear away the surrounding vegetation first, so as to prevent the fire from getting out of control and eventually spreading into a wildfire."

"Have you remembered what I said?" Ling Chengen looked at the two of them.

Bai Xi nodded: "You don't need to worry about the fire at all. There are many water-type mutant beastmen in our tribe."

Ling Chengen sighed, "But wouldn't it be better to prepare for such risks from the beginning, if we could avoid them instinctively? Is it really easier to exhaust the superpowers of a large group of people than to clear a clear space?"

Bai Xi: "You're right. I'll be careful."

Seeing Ling Chengen's gaze fixed on him, Chongzhen immediately straightened his back and solemnly replied, "I have no problem either."

"No problem, then eat quickly. Remember to wash the dishes after you finish eating, rest for a while and then get back to work. Try to plant all the potatoes before it rains this month."

Ling Chengen arranged the next steps for them.

"Will it rain recently?" Bai Xi asked, puzzled.

Ling Chengen said confidently, "I definitely will."

The system has a built-in weather forecast function, which is much more accurate than the weather forecasts before the apocalypse. This has been proven by her many years of experience.

Although Ling Chengen had many complaints about this useless love security system, its accuracy was indeed quite good in these minor functions.

After hunting with her bag in the morning, she checked the weather forecast for the following week.

There will be light rain at night four days later, followed by mostly cloudy skies and showers, which will last for a whole week.

That's the real reason why she built the shack.

Potato planting is of paramount importance and must be completed before the rains arrive.

After saying that, Ling Chengen looked at Ling Xiaoxi, who hadn't uttered a sound throughout lunch. He felt that the child's quietness throughout the meal was very unusual, and she must have done something strange again, but he just didn't know what she had done.

"Ling Xiaoxi".

Ling Xiaoxi was suddenly called upon, and immediately sat up straight, holding her rice bowl and looking back at her with innocent big eyes: "What?"

"You haven't done anything bad these past few days, have you?"

Ling Xiaoxi blinked and shook her head, saying, "No, I'm very well-behaved."

Ling Chengen just stared at her quietly: "..." Your guilty conscience is written all over your face, you know that?
Unable to withstand Ling Chengen's oppressive aura, Ling Xiaoxi looked away after a while and whispered, "I took the pot out this morning and got some eggs with Kong Mingming to cook..."

Ling Chengen crossed his arms in front of him: "And then?"

“I wasn’t paying attention when I started the fire, and I accidentally burned his tail.” Ling Xiaoxi put down the bowl in her hand and raised her right hand. “I really didn’t mean to. He wanted to show off his newly grown tail feathers all day, so he didn’t put them back when he was cooking… and somehow they caught fire.”

Bai Xi and Chong Zhen stared at Ling Xiaoxi, who was standing there admitting her mistake. This child is really bold! She burned someone else's tail and held it in until now, only finally admitting it when pressed.

Ling Chengen felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, and he rubbed his forehead, asking, "Did you apologize to them?"

"Before I could even react, he ran away crying."

Ling Xiao suddenly realized something was wrong: "You didn't help put out the fire?"

“I helped him,” Ling Xiaoxi said, pouting. “I carried him to the stream and pushed him into the water, which put out the fire on his tail. But when he got out of the water, he started pecking at me, so I beat him up.”

Looking at Ling Xiaoxi, who was both unreasonable and arrogant, Ling Chengen remained silent for a long time before saying to Ling Xiao, who was sitting to the side, "You should reason with her, Father."

"Remember to bring a small gift when you go to apologize."

Bai Xi watched Ling Chengen's retreating figure, then reached out and patted the back of the tiger cub's head: "I remember that in your tribe, the one surnamed Kong only has one Black Tortoise Peacock cub, right? And it's a stray cub."

Ling Xiaoxi nodded and said, "That's him. His name is Kong Mingming."

Bai Xi kindly reminded her, "Do you know what tail feathers mean to the peacock clan, who are extremely vain?"

Ling Xiaoxi didn't quite understand and immediately shook her head. "Their clan values ​​beauty more than life itself, and the peacock clan only has one molting season each year, roughly from September to March of the following year, during which they shed their feathers and regenerate."

“March has just passed. That means his tail feathers have just grown back. If you burn his tail, he will be bald for at least eight or nine months before he gets through this awkward period.”

"I think the boy's manners are just too good; he didn't set fire to your tail on the spot."

Ling Xiao sighed deeply, his head throbbing with pain, and said, "It's more than that! That's the Xuanwu Peacock, the most beautiful of all the peacock beastmen, especially the males, whose obsession with beauty is almost insane."

The Peacock Clan is not native to the Northern Wilderness. This clan is extremely afraid of the cold, so they basically only live in the Southern Beast Plains. You can't see a single Peacock Clan beastman in the Northern Wilderness all year round.

Ling Xiao was quite surprised when he found Kong Mingming, a stray black peacock chick, on the grassland last year.

He initially thought that another group of peacock orcs had been exiled from the Southern Beast King City. However, after inquiring around, he discovered that no peacock orcs had been exiled there in the past ten years.

The Snow Crystal Peacock Clan, who were exiled to the Northern Wilderness fifteen years ago, were recalled to the Southern Wilderness in the third year after their exile.

It is said that the exiled Snow Crystal Peacock clan were descendants of the city lord of Wind Dock, the third largest city in the Southern Beast Plains. However, because they failed in the struggle for the title of Wind Dock Lord and offended the royal family of the Beast King City at the time, they were banished to the Northern Beast Plains.

However, the new lord of Wind Dock died unexpectedly in the third year, and even his descendants either died or were crippled. Therefore, Wind Dock needs a capable new lord.

The Snow Crystal Peacock clan, who narrowly lost back then, was taken back and given a noble status by the royal family. On the surface, the two sides made peace with each other.

The origin of Kong Mingming, the Black Tortoise Peacock, is a mystery. In addition, he is too young and does not know how he came to the Northern Beast Plains. So when Ling Xiao wanted to take him back to the Stone Forest Tribe, he agreed without much hesitation.

Ling Xiao was deeply impressed by this stray cub who had been in the tribe for less than a year, because he was a Black Tortoise Peacock, which was even rarer than the Snow Crystal Peacock.

The Black Tortoise Peacock is entirely black, and only after it reaches adulthood and enters its breeding season will a few white feathers appear at the very tip of its tail.

In its beast form, the Xuanwu Peacock appears extremely noble and mysterious, and its combat power is also exceptionally strong.

In addition, the Peacock Clan resembles the legendary extinct Phoenix in appearance, so the Peacock Clan are basically all nobles in the Southern Beast Plains.

Needless to say, the Black Tortoise Peacock is a prized possession among the nobility.

It is said that the Xuanwu Peacock Clan is 100% likely to awaken supernatural abilities, and will also awaken some kind of innate talent.

Ling Xiao had only ever seen one Black Tortoise Peacock, Kong Mingming, and this cub was still far from adulthood, so he didn't know if the rumor was true.

After Ling Xiao and Bai Xi explained things to her, Ling Xiaoxi finally realized that she seemed to have really offended her friend. She awkwardly touched the tip of her nose and said, "Then I'll go apologize to him this afternoon. Even if he hits me, I won't fight back."

Ling Xiao: "I'll go with you."

Ling Xiaoxi shook her head and said, "No need. A beast should take responsibility for its actions. I can do it."

Ling Xiaoxi stopped eating, washed a clean bowl, and divided out some of the stir-fried meat slices and roasted meat from the pot: "This is my usual portion. I didn't take any of yours. I'm taking this to him as an apology gift."

Ling Chengen placed the clean bowl on the table beside him, took a few eggs soaking in cold water from the stone pot, and put them in Ling Xiaoxi's bowl: "Take them together. Be more polite when you admit your mistake, otherwise the cubs in the tribe won't dare to play with you anymore."

Ling Xiaoxi nodded: "I understand."

Seeing that she was about to run away, Ling Chengen took two more eggs and stuffed them into the small bag around her waist: "Eat these two yourself, or you'll be hungry before dinner."

Ling Xiaoxi's eyes instantly welled up with tears. She reached out and hugged her waist, rubbing her fluffy head against her belly: "Big sister, you really are the best to me."

"If you rub your greasy hands on me again, just you wait!" Ling Chengen removed her greasy hands and pushed her away with a look of disgust. "Get lost. Remember to gather more firewood this afternoon, it will be hard to collect it after it rains in a few days."

……

Kong Mingming is a stray cub adopted by the tribe, so she lives in the central area of ​​the Shilin tribe, which is the stray cub shelter that Ling Xiao originally planned.

Currently, the Shilin tribe has taken in twenty-seven stray cubs.

The tribe assigned three females and a small male orc to take turns caring for the cubs.

The main tasks of these orcs included distributing food rations to the cubs, teaching them how to take care of themselves, and gradually training their survival skills...

When Ling Xiaoxi ran to the vicinity of the cub shelter with food, she suddenly stopped. Looking at the fragrant food in her arms, she worried that Kong Mingming would not be able to eat it if she took it inside.

This was an apology gift she prepared; it wasn't suitable to give to the other cubs in the shelter.

She stood there thinking for a while, picked a few leaves to cover the bowl, then took out a piece of dried meat from the bag at her waist, called to the little kid playing in the open space outside, and asked her to call Kong Mingming out.

The fluffy forest cat kitten tilted its head back and snatched the reddish-brown jerky in its mouth, chewing hard with its little milk teeth. Its round, watery cat eyes looked exceptionally cute as it strained its whole body.

Ling Xiaoxi patted the cub's head and took the jerky from her mouth: "Go and call someone first. I'll tear the jerky into small strips for you, and you can come and get it in a bit."

"Meow~" The round-headed forest kitten meowed obediently, rubbed its head against her knee, licked its pink nose, and then turned and ran towards the grass hut not far away.

The living conditions in the Shilin tribe are poor. Most of the houses are just simple shacks made of wood, with wooden planks and waterproof purplish-gray broad leaves on top, and then some dry grass is laid on top. At most, a layer of lichen and moss dug from the forest is placed on top. Where the houses are not against the mountain rocks or tree trunks, a few heavy straw curtains are hung. Everyone just makes do with living like this.

In winter, these sheds are no longer useful, so most of the orcs will gather in several large caves dug nearby to spend the winter.

These stray cubs will also be moved into the cave.

Ling Xiaoxi had visited the communal caves that the tribe had specially carved out for living.

In winter, the cave is crowded with people, so the conditions are particularly poor and the smell is very unpleasant. But in order to get through the long and terrifying cold season, everyone has no choice but to make do with it year after year.

She crouched in the shade, slowly tearing the slightly hard jerky into thin strips with her fingers, placing the jerky strips on clean leaves, and waiting for the kitten and Kong Mingming.

Meanwhile, on the straw mat in the shelter, Kong Mingming was hiding under an animal skin blanket, crying loudly.

Knowing the truth, Mona, the head of the cub shelter, squatted helplessly beside his small bed, pinching her brow in exasperation, wishing she could find someone to save her.

Kong Mingming is a really good crybaby. She's been crying for almost two hours now since she came back, and she still doesn't seem to be stopping.

A light golden-haired cat cautiously peeked into the shed, its round eyes examining the lump of fur in the animal skin blanket and Aunt Monet squatting nearby with a worried expression. It then meowed sweetly.

"Meow~"

Upon hearing the voice, Monet immediately looked up at the kitten, who was not yet two years old. The worry on his face vanished instantly, and he quickly raised his hand and beckoned, "Little kitten, what do you need?"

(End of this chapter)