Chapter 860: Persistent Elders

Chapter 860: Chapter 860: Persistent Elders

Su Qinglan hummed a cheerful little tune as she strolled back toward her house, her steps light and bouncy.

Her vegetable stand at the east gate had been an absolute, roaring success! Everything she brought out had sold out completely.

Surprisingly, even though she hadn’t made the same vegetable-and-meat soup as yesterday and had cooked entirely different dishes instead, the beastmen had still devoured it all.

Many of them had even demanded more, begging her to teach them her recipes, promising to return tomorrow with even more goods to trade.

She was in a fantastic mood.

Between the massive salt trade and now the booming vegetable sales, the sheer amount of high-quality animal hides they had earned was staggering.

In the Beast World, prime beast hides were basically currency...you needed good hides to trade for practically anything.

The pile they had accumulated was so absurdly large that even if Su Qinglan distributed ten pieces to every single household in Dragon Beast City, they would still have plenty left over!

They could easily store the extra hides and use them to trade for rare goods in other beast cities later on.

Just as she was happily imagining her growing fortune, a loud, distressed cry broke her train of thought.

"Mama! Mama!"

Su Qinglan spun around just in time to see a tiny, fluffy blur sprinting toward her. It was her little cub, Ciao Ciao! His nine fluffy fox tails flapped frantically behind him as he ran with tears streaming down his small face.

Without stopping, the little cub leaped straight into the air. Su Qinglan instinctively caught him, gently cupping his small body and stroking his soft, tender white fur.

"What happened to my little Ciao Ciao?" she asked softly, kissing the top of his head.

The little fox cub snuggled his wet nose against her neck, weeping dramatically as he whispered, "Mama... they’re here!"

Su Qinglan paused, her brow furrowing. "Who is here?"

"The bad elders!" Ciao Ciao sniffled.

Su Qinglan’s eyebrow twitched violently. Those senile old men again?!

She felt an instant headache coming on. She had already run away from those elders countless times and given them every excuse in the book, but they were like stubborn leeches that refused to leave her son alone.

Right now, she deeply regretted helping Rong Ye in the past!

Those elders from the Fox Beast City were truly persistent. They obviously wouldn’t stop until they dragged her precious little Ciao Ciao back to rule or train in the Fox Beast City.

But how could Su Qinglan ever allow anyone to take him away? Ciao Ciao was a tender piece of her very heart! Besides, Ciao Ciao didn’t want to go anywhere either and definitely not to his stinky father’s original home.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps approached. Rong Ye walked into the courtyard carrying a massive beast he had just successfully hunted.

The moment he reached the gate, he felt two pairs of icy, piercing eyes locked onto him. Looking up, he waved at Su Qinglan with a bright grin.

"Lanlan! I’m back! Look what I caught today!"

Neither the mother nor the son replied. They simply stood there in dead silence, shooting burning daggers at him with their glares.

Rong Ye stopped in his tracks, scratching his back in total confusion. What on earth did I do now?

He had hunted such a great piece of meat! Looking at his pouting little cub, Rong Ye tried to entice him. "Why are you making such sour faces? Look, I even snatched some wild eggs for you!"

If Ciao Ciao weren’t currently furious with his father, he would have definitely drooled at the sight of the wild eggs. He loved poached eggs so much!

However, remembering his extreme anger, the little fox cub immediately lifted his tiny paws and pointed at Rong Ye.

"Mama! It’s all because of this madman! He couldn’t control his own elders, and now he’s dumping all his stupid responsibilities onto me! I’m just a cute, tender little baby; how could I work so hard?!"

Ciao Ciao sobbed pitifully, wrapping his tiny paws tightly around Su Qinglan’s neck.

Su Qinglan stroked his soft back, comforting him gently. "Don’t worry, my sweet boy. Mama is here, and no one will bully you. If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to go. We’ll just throw your useless father back over there instead."

Rong Ye’s smile froze. Sensing that something was terribly wrong, he immediately dropped his heavy prey onto the dirt and stepped closer. "Wait, what actually happened?"

Su Qinglan shot him a lethal glare. "The elders from Fox Beast City are here."

The moment those words left her mouth, Rong Ye cursed out loud without a single filter.

"Those old bastards are really persistent! Can’t they just let me live in peace here?! When Ciao Ciao grows up, he’ll naturally go visit. Even if he went right now, what could a tiny cub even do anyway? What a bunch of persistent, annoying old fools!"

Su Qinglan rolled her eyes at his sudden outburst. Turning around, she swayed her waist and walked straight into the house, tossing a warning look over her shoulder at him.

Perched on her shoulder, little Ciao Ciao mimicked his mother perfectly, giving his father the exact same haughty, disdainful look.

Left standing alone at the gate, Rong Ye looked helplessly at his wife and son, letting out a long, defeated sigh.

Inside the house, Ciao Ciao finally relaxed a little, though his tiny paws remained firmly wrapped around his mother’s neck.

"Mama, you won’t really send me away, right?" he asked cautiously, peeking up at her with his watery eyes.

Su Qinglan’s heart instantly melted. She pinched his fluffy cheek and smiled. "Of course not. Who would dare take my precious little baby?"

Ciao’s ears perked up. "Really?"

"Really."

The little cub immediately beamed, his nine tails wagging happily behind him. Then, as if remembering something important, he whispered, "Then... Can I have those eggs Father brought?"

Su Qinglan laughed. "You little foodie. I knew that would be your next question."