Chapter 88

Ye Baizhi’s face lit up with anticipation upon hearing that Ye Wulan had secured a spot with the merchant caravan.

“We can really follow the caravan to Huai City?”

She had been thinking about this for a while, mostly because she wanted to explore the city and buy some glutinous rice and regular rice. She was craving tangyuan and wanted to make some for Ye Wulan and Da Bao as well. Besides, she had heard that Huai City was bustling and prosperous.

Ye Wulan smiled at her and said, “Yes, we can.” As long as it was a place she wanted to go, he would accompany her—Huai City was nothing special.

Ye Baizhi remarked, “I’ve been asking around these past few days and heard that some noble families train powerful beasts as mounts, but for transporting goods, they mostly use horses to pull carts.”

Ye Wulan nodded. “That’s true. Using horses for hauling cargo is more practical.”

“There are different tiers of horses—some beast horses are stronger, pulling carts faster and more steadily.”

Ye Baizhi understood that wild beasts varied in strength. The more powerful the beastman, the stronger the mount they could tame.

“But this time, we’ll be traveling with an ordinary merchant caravan.”

“With the weather growing colder, large merchant groups won’t come to the village. Only smaller caravans will continue transporting goods during winter.”

She was aware that once the cold truly set in, most merchants from outside wouldn’t bother coming to the village anymore. Since Ye Wulan had paid the fee, the caravan was willing to take them along.

The next morning, after closing up their stall, Ye Wulan and Ye Baizhi, along with Da Bao, boarded a carriage and set off with the caravan toward Huai City.

About an hour later, they arrived outside Huai City.

Ye Baizhi gazed at the massive stone gate, thinking to herself that it was even taller than the gates of ancient cities.

Sensing her curiosity, Ye Wulan explained, “These towering city walls and gates are built to fend off wild beast attacks.”

“That’s why powerful beastmen prefer to live within the city—it’s much safer.”

Ye Baizhi nodded in understanding.

Each of them had to pay five blue spirit stones to enter the city. Once inside, Ye Baizhi noticed rows of shops lining both sides of the road, which was paved with stone—smooth and spacious. There were many beastmen on the streets.

The city was lively and bustling. It resembled the prosperous county capitals of ancient times. The only difference was that all the buildings here were constructed from stone, making them sturdier. The village they lived in felt more like a small town, whereas this was truly a city. It was said that over ten thousand beastmen lived within Huai City. Even during snowfall, shops remained open, and beastmen continued their daily shopping, unlike their village and the surrounding tribes, where heavy snow often forced people to stay indoors.

“Come in, dear customers! We have newly stocked fabrics!”

“Jewelry and accessories, take a look!”

“Freshly baked pastries!”

“Roasted meat!”

“Bamboo rice!”

Many shopkeepers stood outside, calling out to passing customers.

Hearing all the voices, Ye Baizhi realized that the city offered a much greater variety of food than their marketplace. Many of these items weren’t available in their village.

Ye Wulan looked at Da Bao and Ye Baizhi, asking, “Is there anything you’d like to eat?”

Ye Baizhi replied, “Let’s check out the pastry shop.”

A long line stretched out in front of the pastry shop.

Curious about what kind of pastries could be so popular, Ye Baizhi observed the crowd. The sight of such a long queue was proof that people loved the shop’s pastries.

As customers left the shop carrying their purchases, Ye Baizhi noticed that they were all holding different varieties of rice cakes. These cakes were made from regular rice and glutinous rice.

Seeing a beastman who had bought a large amount, Ye Baizhi approached and asked, “Brother, how much is each rice cake?”

The beastman glanced at Ye Baizhi and Ye Wulan before saying, “You must be outsiders, right?”

“That’s right. We came to the city before winter to stock up on supplies.”

The man chuckled and said, “You should buy more of these pastries—they’re delicious and keep for a long time.”

“A plain pastry costs ten blue spirit stones.” “But if you add a filling, the price goes up—some cost over thirty blue spirit stones.”

After asking around, Ye Baizhi learned that the fillings were made of red bean paste and mung bean paste. She was surprised. “I didn’t expect them to have red beans and mung beans here.”

Such prices would be considered expensive in the marketplace. But within the city, people found them reasonable, which showed that the beastmen here lived comfortably. They didn’t hesitate when buying these pastries. Judging by the long lines, they were quite popular.

“Do you want some? I’ll line up and buy them.”

Ye Baizhi thought that with glutinous rice and regular rice, she could make these pastries herself. The pastries here were small. In her opinion, the price was quite steep. She wanted to observe more and uncover potential business opportunities.

Da Bao, clinging to Ye Wulan’s neck, said, “Father Ye, I want some.”

The aroma of the pastries smelled incredibly delicious to Da Bao. They seemed different from the food his mother made. Even the scent promised a delightful taste.

Ye Wulan, always willing to spoil Da Bao, was happy to indulge him. He always tried to fulfill Da Bao’s wishes. “Alright, Father Ye will stand in line and buy it for you.”

Throughout the journey, Ye Wulan carried Da Bao in his arms. Even though Da Bao was growing heavier, he didn’t feel the weight at all.

Ye Baizhi said, “You two go ahead and wait in line. I’ll take a stroll down this street and come back soon.”

Ye Wulan hesitated, wanting to persuade her otherwise. But Ye Baizhi pointed toward the patrol guards nearby. “Look, there are guards patrolling. There won’t be any danger.”

“If anything happens, I’ll hurry back.”

“I’m only walking along this street—I won’t go anywhere else.”

“Besides, you already gave me a defensive artifact, so I’ll be fine.”

Seeing her enthusiasm, Ye Wulan had no choice but to nod. “Alright.”

With that, Ye Baizhi began browsing the street. As she walked, she observed the many different types of food available in Huai City. She had assumed certain foods wouldn’t exist in the Beast Continent, but to her surprise, they did. There was also a wide variety of vegetables and fruits.

Ye Baizhi noticed that pastries were incredibly popular; even though they were small and quite expensive, people bought them in large quantities. However, all the pastries available were rice-based—there were no wheat-based pastries. Her expression shifted as she thought: since people here know about crops like rice, glutinous rice, soybeans, and red beans, they must also be aware of wheat and sorghum. But if wheat and sorghum aren’t sold here, does that mean no one has discovered these crops yet?

Ye Baizhi recalled that when she had hunted and foraged outside the Rabbit Tribe, she never encountered wheat or sorghum. Wheat had been a special reward she received after childbirth. If she was the only one with wheat seeds, then wheat-based pastries would be incredibly rare and valuable. If she used wheat to make pastries, her business would likely flourish. However, the market back home lacked the purchasing power of the city. If she were to sell pastries, Huai City would be the ideal place.

Pondering these thoughts, she arrived at the grain shop. Just as she was about to step inside, she suddenly spotted a familiar figure—A cascade of moonlit silver hair, white robes as pristine as snow, an aura of cold elegance.

Ye Baizhi’s eyes trembled fiercely. “Xue… Xue Youchen!”

Her heartstrings quivered intensely.

It had been a long time since she last saw Xue Youchen—pretending not to care, not to miss him, would be a lie.

“Xue Youchen!”

Seeing his figure about to disappear into the crowd, Ye Baizhi didn’t hesitate. She rushed forward, chasing after him.