“Is… is it really for me?” Hou Xiang asked in disbelief.

She had always heard that Hu Jiao Jiao was arrogant and unreasonable, but upon meeting her today, she found that the rumors were completely unfounded. Not only was Hu Jiao Jiao gentle and well-mannered, but she was also generous!

Hou Xiang immediately thought that the rumors must have been spread by jealous beastmen. If anyone dared say anything bad about Hu Jiao Jiao again, she would definitely defend her!

“Yes, it’s for you,” Hu Jiao Jiao replied with a smile, nodding.

Hou Xiang’s personality didn’t quite match her appearance. With her round face and cautious demeanor, she looked quite adorable despite her stocky build.

Hou Xiang held the bowl with both hands like it was a treasure. “Hu Jiao Jiao, you’re so kind,” she said, unable to resist grabbing a piece of beef and stuffing it into her mouth.

In an instant, Hou Xiang closed her eyes in enjoyment, her voice trembling with delight. “Oh… this is so delicious! This is the best meat I’ve ever tasted. Hu Jiao Jiao, you’re amazing!”

Hou Xiang immediately transformed into Hu Jiao Jiao’s little fangirl, her eyes filled with admiration.

Hu Jiao Jiao smiled. “I’m glad you like it.”

Hou Xiang nodded enthusiastically. “Like it? I love it! This is the first time I’ve eaten something so delicious in my life. Will you really teach me how to make it?”

In their tribe, people usually kept good things to themselves, so she had never seen anyone so generous.

Teaching Hou Xiang to cook wasn’t a big deal. Hu Jiao Jiao didn’t hesitate and nodded with a smile. “Sure, as long as you’re willing to learn.”

Hou Xiang was so excited that she jumped up. However, with her large frame, she barely got off the ground before coming back down with a thud, making her look like a ball of fat.

Hu Jiao Jiao: “…”

She suddenly regretted agreeing so quickly.

Hou Xiang was already so fat. If she kept eating like this, it would definitely affect her health.

After eating two more pieces of deer meat, Hou Xiang stopped herself. She wanted to save the rest for her cubs.

Seeing Hu Jiao Jiao staring at her, Hou Xiang smiled awkwardly and explained, “You think I’m fat, right? I gained all this weight when I was pregnant with my cubs. I thought I’d lose it after giving birth, but I just kept gaining more. I don’t know what to do.”

She laughed awkwardly, giving a playful slap to her belly, but there was a hint of sadness in her eyes.

No female likes feeling unattractive.

Hu Jiao Jiao remembered that Hou Xiang was described as overweight in the book, but she hadn’t expected her to be this heavy. Seeing Hou Xiang looking a bit down, she smiled warmly and reassured her, “It’s okay, you look cute with a little more meat on you. But if you want to slim down, I can make you some lighter meals that won’t cause weight gain.”

She had experience making diet meals and was happy to help, especially since she rarely met a female friend she got along with in this world.

Hou Xiang thought Hu Jiao Jiao was just being kind, so she didn’t take it seriously. “Thank you, Hu Jiao Jiao.”

Ever since she had gained weight, the others in the tribe didn’t like her as much. Her only companion was her mate, Hou Xiao Tiao, and she often worried that even he might abandon her if it weren’t for the tribe’s rules against males abandoning their partners.

Hearing such gentle words from Hu Jiao Jiao for the first time, Hou Xiang felt deeply touched.

After saying goodbye, Hou Xiang left, but Hu Jiao Jiao kept the promise of the diet meals in mind.

Next time she cooked, she would make sure to prepare a portion for Hou Xiang.

After the little cubs finished their dinner, Hu Jiao Jiao took out some sweet potatoes and gave one to each of them.

Ling’er looked at the sweet potato curiously, her big eyes wide with wonder. “Mother, is this roasted earth fruit? It smells so good! But it smells a bit different from what we usually eat.”

Even before peeling it, the aroma of the roasted sweet potato filled the air.

Hu Jiao Jiao smiled gently and explained, “No, this isn’t an earth fruit. It’s called a sweet potato, and it’s similar to earth fruit.”

In this world, beastmen referred to all plant produce as “fruits.” The earth fruit Ling’er mentioned was actually a potato, which the tribe would dig up in autumn and store for the winter when food became scarce.

Ling’er nodded, quickly concluding, “Sweet potatoes smell better than earth fruit!”

Hu Jiao Jiao tapped her gently on the forehead with her finger. “Eat up, then. I’ll go wash the dishes and fetch some water to wash your feet before bed.”

Ling’er beamed, her eyes turning into happy crescents as she nodded.

Long Yu, Long Xiu, and Long Zhong were curious about where the sweet potatoes came from but didn’t dare ask. The cubs were clever enough to know that questioning Hu Jiao Jiao might anger her, and they didn’t want to lose their privilege of eating her delicious food.

The cubs went back inside to rest.

Hu Jiao Jiao carried the dishes to the river, With the help of the moonlight, she saw that there was no one in the yard. She thought about it and went inside the space.

The newly unlocked shelves confirmed her suspicions.

As she thought, gaining favor with the beastmen would unlock more shelves. It wasn’t just about the cubs; other beastmen’s goodwill could unlock more items too.

With this realization, Hu Jiao Jiao felt a surge of excitement.

She walked over to the new shelves and saw that they were stocked with crop seeds. Unlike before, each seed packet had detailed information, including planting times and precautions.

This was perfect!

She had been worrying about how to find seeds when she went to the forest, and now the seeds had come to her. This space is really a miracle!

Hu Jiao Jiao remembered that in the book, the tribe had been attacked by other beastmen during the winter because they had gone out hunting for food. The invaders burned, looted, and killed.

While she couldn’t give the tribe food directly, she could teach them how to plant potatoes!

In this world each year had twenty-four months, and they were currently in autumn, with winter still three or four months away—just enough time for planting potatoes.

As long as the tribe had enough to eat, they wouldn’t have to go out searching for food in the winter, and that would prevent other tribes from discovering them and causing trouble.

Satisfied, Hu Jiao Jiao left the space, quickly washed the dishes, and returned to the house.

She heated some water, washed the cubs’ feet, and then soaked her own, soothing her sore feet, before heading to bed.

The straw bed was hard, and Hu Jiao Jiao didn’t sleep well.

Hu Jiao Jiao woke up at dawn the next day,

She planned to expand the yard and build a small wooden house before Long Mo returned. Otherwise, if she squeezed another person into this wooden house, it would be too cramped.

She also planned to clear some land to plant crops so the cubs wouldn’t get suspicious.