Chapter 174: Extra 2

Chu Moyuan was in the study at home reading the account books.

Accounts from various regions were sent over every month. Qiao Suluo had opened many shops, restaurants, and inns. With her businesses scattered everywhere, the ledgers were naturally numerous. Chu Moyuan couldn’t bear to see Qiao Suluo exhausted, so he personally reviewed the ledgers every time.

Fortunately, ever since his wife popularized Arabic numerals and required all the shop Stewards to use them for bookkeeping, checking the accounts had become much faster. Chu Moyuan possessed a photographic memory, committing everything to mind with just a single glance. He rapidly skimmed through the pages.

Right at this moment, a loud STOMP STOMP STOMP echoed. Without a doubt, he knew it was his son, Chu Ruiheng.

“Father, Father, I’m back…”

Before the boy even appeared, his voice preceded him—clear, loud, and audible from a mile away.

Chu Moyuan chuckled softly and set down the ledger in his hands. His son had a bright and sunny personality, radiating energy like a little sun. He loved to chatter—unlike himself, but very much like his wife. At the thought of his wife, a gentle warmth filled Chu Moyuan’s eyes.

Chu Ruiheng had shown great talent since childhood. With Chu Moyuan frequently taking him to the mountains for training, his superpower had been well-honed. Now, he was already at the level of a Level 3 Superpower. Moreover, he possessed a dual-core superpower, wielding both the Wood Element Ability and the Wind Ability.

Chu Moyuan glanced toward the study door. A moment later, a handsome, adorable little boy came running inside. Moving at lightning speed, he charged straight over.

Chu Moyuan stood up and caught him in his arms, saying helplessly, “How many times have I told you? Don’t rush when you walk. Slow down.”

Even though he was scolding his son, his tone was incredibly gentle and exceptionally patient. In the past, Chu Moyuan probably would never have imagined that he could become so patient. However, he was grateful to his wife for giving him a son and allowing him to experience the warmth of a family.

In the past, because he was a Snake Beastman with an ink-black body, he was despised and frequently ostracized by the rest of the aristocratic family, including his own siblings. It was all just because they didn’t share his snake body’s color.

But his son would never have to experience a childhood like his. He was growing up in a loving family environment, and his brothers and sisters all loved him dearly.

Holding his son, Chu Moyuan felt that the boy had grown a bit chubbier; he was somewhat heavy in his arms. He figured that since his wife had been cooking recently, their son had been eating well. Without enough exercise, it was easy for him to put on weight.

“Follow me to the mountains for some hunting and training tonight,” he said.

Chu Ruiheng’s attention wasn’t on that at all. He asked, “Father, today I went with Second Sister to listen to a storyteller. The storyteller said that in the past, Snake Beastmen were the most despised and were even called Cold-blooded Snake Beastmen. Moreover, among Snake Beastmen, Ink Snakes were the most shunned. People thought Ink Snakes were the lowest rank of Snake Beastmen. Is that true?”

Although Chu Ruiheng was only six years old, his eyes were filled with worry as he looked at Chu Moyuan. He felt bad for his father. Chu Ruiheng reached out and hugged Chu Moyuan’s neck, even patting it with his little hands in an effort to comfort him.

Chu Moyuan was amused by his son. He rubbed the boy’s head and explained softly, “It was indeed like that in the past.

“But nowadays, the Da Jing Dynasty no longer holds such mentalities. All Beastmen are equal, and there’s no longer any talk of Cold-blooded Snake Beastmen.

“We have your mother to thank for this, though. It’s because of her that Snake Beastmen can be accepted and treated normally by everyone.

“And now, in the eyes of others, Ink Snakes are the noblest and most talented Snake Beastmen.”

Chu Ruiheng still insisted, “But, Father, you must have had it really hard back then. You must have suffered a lot.”

Chu Moyuan replied, “Those hardships were nothing. If I hadn’t gone through them, I probably wouldn’t have met your mother.

“After I met your mother, everything became better.

“I haven’t thought about the past for a long time, and you shouldn’t think about it either. That’s all in the past.”

Thinking about it now, Chu Moyuan was actually grateful for his past experiences. Because of those very hardships, he was arranged to marry Qiao Suluo when he was abandoned. Only then did he get such a wonderful wife. Otherwise, he might have completely missed out on her.

Just the mere thought of that caused Chu Moyuan unbearable heartache. He couldn’t live without her. In this world, he loved her more than his very own life.

However, his son was probably too young to understand.

“You don’t understand it now, but you will probably understand when you grow up and get married,” Chu Moyuan said.

Now, the mindset of the Beastmen in the Da Jing Dynasty had undergone some changes, and incidents of females abusing males had decreased. In the future, his son would also meet a good wife and come to understand love.

Chu Ruiheng thought for a moment and said, “I get it. Mother is great. As long as Mother is around, you are very happy.”

This much, he understood. Because his father only smiled more and was truly happy when his mother was by his side. Normally, his father was rather strict and serious.

Chu Moyuan looked at his son with amusement and said, “Yes, exactly.”

While Chu Moyuan was chatting with his son, he heard his wife’s footsteps. He carried his son and walked out of the study. Sure enough, he saw Qiao Suluo walking over with a basket in hand.

“Mo Yuan, Wu Bao.”

Chu Ruiheng slid down from his father’s arms and stepped aside, showing great self-awareness. He knew his father would definitely be happy spending time alone with his mother, and he wanted his father to be happy.

Qiao Suluo reached out to hug her son, then turned to Chu Moyuan. “It must have been tiring checking the accounts today, hasn’t it?”

“Not at all. I finished them very quickly.”

Qiao Suluo explained, “I took the kids up the mountain to dig up some shepherd’s purse. I’ll make shepherd’s purse dumplings for you tonight.”

“Alright.”

No matter how much time passed, Chu Moyuan always loved eating dumplings. Springtime shepherd’s purse was the freshest.

Chu Ruiheng chimed in, “Mother, I’ll go help too.”

Qiao Suluo nodded. “Okay. Learn more about cooking now so you can cook for your own wife when you grow up.”

In this world, females held a noble status; that was the rule of this Beast World. Therefore, Qiao Suluo wanted to teach her sons more skills so they would know how to treat their future wives well.

After Da Bao and the others washed their hands and changed their clothes, they also came to the kitchen to help. To them, cooking in the kitchen with their mother was a very joyful thing. Soon, cheerful laughter echoed from the kitchen.

By now, Da Bao—Que Rui Chuan—was already seven years old. As the eldest brother, his personality was exceptionally steady and mature. As everyone made dumplings together, he led his younger brothers and sisters in rolling out the dough wrappers and stuffing them. He rolled the wrappers perfectly round and folded the dumplings flawlessly.

“Big Brother makes such great dumplings.”

“Big Brother’s wrappers look so nice too.”

“Big Brother is the most amazing.”

“Of course Big Brother is amazing! When we went out shopping, many older girls took a liking to him and wanted to arrange a marriage with him.”

Hearing this, Qiao Suluo was stunned. She wondered, “Is it really this early?”

However, it was true that the Beast World emphasized early betrothals, followed by actual marriage after coming of age. Looking at her son’s noble and reserved demeanor at such a young age, Qiao Suluo felt that he strongly resembled his father, Que Hongjin.

Que Hongjin had grown up in the Peacock Family, receiving the education of a Noble Family. He was disciplined, courteous, elegant, and aloof. Their son’s temperament was exactly like his. Just looking at him made her think of Que Hongjin.

She thought that at this moment, Que Hongjin should be at the bookstore. Some newly released texts needed to be mass-printed into numerous books. Since the printing press was a newly invented technology and the subordinates didn’t understand how to use it, Que Hongjin had to go and keep an eye on things. But he would definitely be back for dinner.

As long as there was nothing extraordinary going on, the family always gathered together for dinner. She loved the feeling of the whole family eating together; it made her feel reunited and warmed her heart.