On the morning of July 19th, the weather was very clear.
Early in the morning, Ayue and Ashi got up.
They tidied up some household items and selected a portion to sell.
Then, they planned to go to the small market nearby to exchange for some necessary goods.
The cubs were placed in their carrying baskets, excitedly looking around. Rongrong saw them put on the water pouch filled with freshly drawn Spirit Spring water and happily asked, “Mother, are we leaving now?”
Ayue nodded and said, “Yes, we’ll set out early so it won’t be so hot. We’ll rest during the day and take you all out to play.”
They wanted the cubs to get some exposure to the outside world.
“Okay!”
The cubs huddled together, whispering eagerly, full of anticipation for the day.
Compared to other beastmen who walked, Ayue and Ashi flew, moving much faster. Even though they left later, they arrived at the small market quicker.
This market belonged to another nearby tribe.
The market area had become much livelier. Upon arrival, Granny Ashan was already resting there. Seeing Ayue and Ashi bringing the cubs to play, she smiled kindly.
“Ayue, Ashi, you’ve come to play!” Granny Ashan held a large bag of fruit she had picked at noon. Such a big bag only sold for 2 Bei, just a little hard-earned money.
Ashi nodded, “Yes.”
“The cubs need to be brought out more often from a young age. When they grow up, they’ll interact with others more smoothly,” Granny Ashan said cheerfully as she reached out to gently pat one of the cubs’ heads.
Ashi smiled and nodded. “Granny Ashan, we’ll go look around the market first.”
On the way, Ashi greeted some other beastmen from their tribe.
The small market held today wasn’t very large, but quite a few beastmen had come.
Ayue and Ashi each carried a cub in one arm, the other hand protecting them closely. They avoided the crowded, noisy areas and headed toward quieter spots.
The cubs looked around curiously. Rongrong pointed at a stall and said, “Mother, I want to go look over there.”
Damao pointed to a stall displaying huge game with the same serious expression, “Father, I want to play there.”
Ermao’s eyes sparkled as he pointed to a fish stall, “That looks really interesting! I want to go there.”
The three cubs each wanted to go to a different place. Ayue and Ashi found it difficult to choose; no matter where they went, some of the cubs wouldn’t be fully satisfied.
Ayue glanced at them and sighed, “Let’s go to each stall one by one in the order you spoke. We can stay at each stall for at most a quarter of an hour.”
The cubs happily nodded. Their chosen stalls were all interesting, so they followed along, excitedly exploring.
Ayue and Ashi deliberately stood in a corner near the stalls so as not to disrupt the sellers or other beastmen’s transactions. The cubs, once outside, turned into little question machines.
At the herbal stall, the owner was an elderly herbalist carefully inspecting every herb brought in. Only after confirming no flaws would she proceed with the next steps of trading.
More often, sick or injured beastmen came here. The herbalist examined their wounds carefully and, if nothing serious was found, gave out herbal powder with instructions on its use.
Ashi’s gaze involuntarily lingered on the many herbs, some of which he had secretly stored before. After herbs were picked and dried, they could be sold for money, but he had never dared to do so.
He used to secretly locate the herbs but never dared to take them home. He would only gather them when needed and use them personally.
Ayue and Ashi’s family stood here for a quarter of an hour. They noticed some common herbs were cheap, but rare herbs could cost anywhere from 1 Bei to 100 Bei each.
Rongrong excitedly pointed at the herbs on the stall, “Father, you have lots of this kind too!”
Ayue patted Rongrong’s head and corrected, “These are medicinal herbs.”
“Father sells these herbs to make lots and lots of money!” Rongrong said, stretching out her tiny little wings, gesturing to show “a huge amount.”
Ermao was accidentally hit by Rongrong’s little wing and reminded her, “Rongrong, you hit me by mistake.”
Rongrong pulled back her wings and apologized in a small voice, “Sorry, Second Brother, I didn’t mean to. Does it hurt?”
Ermao shook his head, “It doesn’t hurt. I just wanted to remind you.”
Damao pointed to another side, “I also spotted some herbs that Father has.”
After the cubs stayed there for a full quarter of an hour, Ayue and Ashi took them to the meat stall.
Many people surrounded the stall, mostly older beastmen buying some meat to take home.
The game was clearly hunted not long ago, very fresh. Elderly customers bought a few pounds, and the seller showed no reluctance, quickly cutting the requested parts. Different parts of the animal had different prices, all quite reasonable.
Once one animal’s meat was sold out, the seller replaced it with another.
Various kinds of game were available, and many older beastmen came to buy meat.
The seller worked quickly, exchanging meat and money swiftly as customers came and went.
The cubs’ eyes rested on the piles of game stacked together, a truly spectacular sight. The blood smell was strong here, but it was no problem.
Beastmen were used to the scent.
After looking around for a quarter of an hour, they moved on to the fish stall.
The seller had caught some live fish from somewhere, different species swimming around. Some fish-eating beastmen were buying fish.
Some beastmen bought fish and ate them immediately.
Others left a deposit, taking both the bucket and fish away.
Next time they came to the market, they would return the bucket and get their deposit back.
Since most beastmen knew each other, the transactions were quick and without disputes.
Damao, Ermao, and Rongrong watched the fish swimming.
Some species didn’t grow large and had a unique color that looked especially beautiful underwater. The cubs stared wide-eyed.
Rongrong turned her fluffy little head and rubbed it against Ayue’s thumb, sweetly asking, “Mother~ can you buy me a pretty little fish to raise?”
Damao and Ermao quickly followed suit, sweetly asking their parents to buy a fish for them too. The fish were truly beautiful!
Ashi held Damao back to prevent him from jumping out in excitement, reminding, “Are you sure you want to buy a little fish to raise? You can only buy one item at the market. If you buy fish, you won’t be able to buy other toys.”
The cubs nodded repeatedly, confirming they really wanted the little fish.
Ayue hesitated, “We don’t have a suitable place at home to raise them.”
The seller explained, “These little fish are very hardy. If you put them in a large wooden bowl, change the water daily, and throw in some leaves, they can live for a long time.”
The seller mainly sold these little fish as pets for cubs.
They grew to about one or two fingers in size, didn’t eat much, and were tough.
Selling them was more profitable this way.
Seeing their hesitation, the seller pointed at a large wooden bowl nearby, “Buy one fish and get a big wooden bowl for free.”
Rongrong stretched her neck to look at the wooden bowl on the stall. It was a large bowl, perfect for keeping the fish inside.
She widened her eyes, tilted her head, and looked adorably at her parents.
Damao and Ermao copied Rongrong’s expression. Ayue and Ashi agreed.
Ayue said, “Fine, we’ll buy the fish. You each pick one little fish you like.”
Damao immediately chose the biggest fish, “Father, I want this biggest one!”
Ermao pointed at a medium-sized fish, “Mother, I want this prettiest one.”
Rongrong chose differently, pointing at a fish with a slightly swollen belly, “I want this little fish.”
The three cubs each picked different fish, easy to tell apart.
The seller tied the bowl with leaves to prevent the water and fish from spilling, took 3 Bei, and smiled brightly, “Come back anytime you want more fish. I guarantee fresh fish.”
Ayue and Ashi carefully placed the bowls into the baskets, separating them with wooden boards, and slowly strolled through the market.
There were still many fresh goods. The cubs were happy with their little fish and only looked around without asking to buy other things.
Ayue and Ashi noticed a piece of pure white fox fur, without a single spot. Unfortunately, it was a bit pricey, so they hesitated to buy it.
Ayue feigned nonchalance, “Let’s go. This piece of fox fur is a bit small. Let’s check out other stalls.”
Ashi watched Ayue’s pretending disinterest, glanced back at the stall, then looked toward the herbal stall farther away, silently making a decision.
Ayue drank half the water from the pouch, paused, then handed it to Ashi, surprised, “The water tastes a little sweet.”
Rongrong instantly perked up her ears and nodded slowly. She was about to fall asleep but still uneasy.
Ashi took a sip, immediately drawn by the water’s taste. He nodded in agreement, “The spring water today really is a bit sweet.”
“We’ve drunk this spring water a few times before; maybe it just tastes better today.”
Ayue and Ashi whispered quietly about something. Rongrong, knowing her parents didn’t suspect anything more, closed her eyes in peace.
The sounds around faded away. She breathed steadily and slept soundly.
Rongrong dreamed a beautiful dream.
When she grew up, she became very strong.
The three brothers fought off bad guys, making them kneel and beg for mercy, crying and confessing in front of Father and Mother.
They vented their anger completely.
She laughed aloud in her dream.
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