Chapter 69

Ye Chuan was momentarily stunned by his sister’s words. “Form a team?”

It was the first time he’d heard such an idea. But he also knew how capable his sister was. If she said something, it had to be right.

He might not fully understand it yet—but he trusted her completely.

“Sister, how would we form this team, exactly?”

“Our tribe only really gathers people together when it’s time to pick soybeans or dig up radishes and sweet potatoes.”

Ye Baizhi patiently explained, “You gather the strongest people in the tribe and create a proper team that trains daily.”

“By improving everyone’s abilities, even if someone threatens the Rabbit Tribe, working together gives us a much better chance than fighting alone…”

“Even those who haven’t awakened any abilities can join the training—it will still help them grow stronger.”

“On ordinary days, people can take shifts patrolling around the tribe. If anything suspicious or dangerous appears, they can raise the alarm with gongs or drums.”

“They could go hunting during the day, and set aside time in the evening for training…”

“Right now, others may not know the Rabbit Tribe’s tofu-making or paper pottery techniques—but what if another tribe finds out and invades?”

Ye Baizhi realized she’d been too complacent before. She had thought that after resolving things with the Cat Tribe, the Rabbit Tribe would be safe for the time being, especially since back then, she still had the protective talisman given by Xue Youchen. However, she hadn’t expected the celestial phenomenon during Da Bao’s birth.

That made her understand—that one must always be prepared and plan ahead, even for the unexpected.

Ye Chuan’s expression shifted. “Sister, that’s a good idea.”

“I’ll talk it over with Uncle as soon as I get back.”

Anything that benefits the tribe—Uncle would surely support it.

Ye Baizhi then explained in detail how to organize training and the best methods to improve the tribe’s combat capabilities quickly. She shared a military-style training regimen with her brother.

Ye Chuan’s eyes lit up as he listened, clearly amazed. He looked like he couldn’t wait to get back and put it all into action.

But Ye Baizhi reminded him, “You’ll need to conduct everything in secret. Don’t let those people who are watching from outside catch on.”

“Still, once they’re convinced I’m dead, they’ll likely withdraw.”

With winter setting in and the mountains sealed in snow, those enemies probably wouldn’t linger. But if the Rabbit Tribe wanted real strength, they couldn’t rely solely on individual power. They needed to build a trained force.

Ye Chuan’s expression turned resolute. “I understand, Sister.”

After Ye Chuan left, Ye Baizhi turned to Ye Wulan and said, “Thank you.”

She knew he had just infused power into her brother’s weapon to protect him.

Ye Wulan’s dazzling eyes softened with tenderness. “Your brother is my brother, too.”

“As your mate, it’s my duty to ease your worries.” As he spoke, he gently stroked her hair and added, “Don’t worry—your brother will be fine.”

He knew how deeply Ye Baizhi valued her family and how loyal and affectionate she was. He wished he could do even more for her. It was just… his Baizhi was too easily satisfied.

What he felt was simply his responsibility—she still received it with such gratitude.

Ye Wulan let out a quiet sigh, gazing at her with affectionate eyes. “Don’t overthink it, hmm?”

He wished she’d rest more, but Ye Baizhi was never the type to sit still. She nodded. “Let’s check how many blue spirit stones we earned this morning!”

Though she had a general idea, she still wanted to count them.

Ye Wulan smiled at her with a doting gaze. “Alright.”

Da Bao piped up excitedly, “Mother, let’s count together!”

“Okay.”

Ye Baizhi knew Da Bao was clever—but she also wanted to nurture his counting skills. Even though most beastmen in the Beast Continent lived self-sufficiently now, if the world ever grew more prosperous, knowledge and arithmetic would become all the more valuable.

The whole family sat at the table, beginning to count their blue spirit stones.

Ye Baizhi placed a handful in front of Da Bao. Da Bao began to count them one by one, using his little fingers. “One blue spirit stone, two blue spirit stones, three, four, five…” He counted carefully, his voice soft and sweet.

Ye Baizhi felt genuinely happy watching him. She hoped they could earn even more blue spirit stones.

A thousand blue spirit stones could be exchanged for one purple spirit stone. If they made enough, they could trade for a purple one and buy a stone house. It always felt more secure to own than rent.

Da Bao was clever—he counted out one hundred stones, set them aside, then counted another hundred and did the same. Then he counted the remaining few. That way, it was easy to remember.

Watching him work it out made Ye Baizhi feel proud of how smart he was.

She and Da Bao both double-checked the total.

“Mother, there are two hundred and sixteen altogether.”

“Our Da Bao is amazing—counted them perfectly.”

They had sold over a hundred skewers that morning, though some customers had bartered with items instead of using spirit stones. There were herbs, gourds, meat, bird eggs, and all sorts of odds and ends.

Ye Baizhi was delighted. “If it keeps going like this, we’ll be able to save up for a purple spirit stone in no time.”

“Once more people know about our stall and trust what we sell, we can start offering other goods.”

“Eventually, we could even sell cooked food.”

As she thought about it, her face lit up with anticipation, her eyes full of hope for life on the Beast Continent.

Watching her, Ye Wulan felt a warmth settle in his heart—this kind of life was quietly comforting.

After a busy morning, she wanted to reward the family with a good meal. “So, what do you want for lunch?”

“Let’s have it with steamed buns.”

She had prepared the dough that morning, and it should be ready by now. Once the buns were steamed, she just needed to make a couple of dishes and lunch would be ready.

It had been a long time since she’d had fluffy, sweet, steamed buns, and she was really craving them. She had made a sourdough starter herself and stored it in her space—it just needed to be pulled out when fermenting the dough.

Ye Wulan didn’t know what steamed buns were but believed that anything she made was delicious. Food had once been merely a way to fill his belly. Now, thanks to her cooking, he found himself looking forward to meals.

Da Bao clapped his little hands excitedly. “Buns! Buns!”

Ye Baizhi grinned. “Someone bartered meat for a gourd earlier—a nice piece of pork belly. Perfect for braised pork.”

Braised pork with steamed buns—it would be irresistibly tasty.

“And we’ll stew some mushroom and egg soup.”

A perfect balance of meat and vegetables.

Then she suddenly thought aloud, “If only we had some shredded pork and chili sauce right now…”

“It’s chili pork sauce that goes best with steamed buns.”

“Sometimes you don’t even need to cook a dish—just pair the buns with the sauce.”

“Mother, what’s chili?”

Dabao knew what “sauce” was because his mother had made tomato sauce before. But he didn’t know what chili was.

Ye Baizhi explained, “It’s good stuff.”

Chili sauce could even be used to mix with noodles.

“Oh right, isn’t there a general goods shop and some stalls that sell miscellaneous items in the market?”

“There is.”

Ye Baizhi stood up at once. “Let’s go take a look—see if we can find something good.”

“No rush on the buns. We’ll make them when we get back.”