Chapter 28: Chapter 28: I Thought Zaizai’s Beast Father Was Dead

Before he could finish concocting a whole revenge fantasy about an ugly duckling’s comeback, another batch of fried chicken was ready. The tempting aroma shot straight to his head!

Feng Xuan’s mind went completely blank, leaving only the sight of the golden, crispy fried chicken being lifted from the hot oil.

This serving of fried chicken belonged to Ma Shu. To get a taste of this delicacy, he had lined up in the wee hours of the morning, so early that the Qingyan Tribe’s night watch had mistaken him for an invading enemy.

"Boss Yu, this is..."

Ma Shu took the fried chicken and glanced curiously at Feng Xuan.

"He’s Da Hu’s Beast Father, Feng Xuan. He was away taking care of some things and just got back a few days ago."

"Oh, so that’s how it is," Ma Shu said casually. "At first, we all thought that aside from young Mo Yan, all your Beast Husbands had... you know. So we figured you were supporting the family and raising your Zaizai all by yourself."

"But since he’s back, why are you still the one working? Boss Yu, you can’t have a lazy, good-for-nothing male!"

As he spoke, it completely slipped Ma Shu’s mind that he himself used to be one of those lazy good-for-nothings. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Yu An laughed. "Not at all. Feng Xuan and the others do all the prep work, and that’s the really hard part. Besides, I wouldn’t dare let them do the actual cooking."

"The most important thing for fried chicken is controlling the heat. A little too much or a little too little, and it’s not perfect. It has to be fried just right; anything less is no different from wasting food."

As she spoke, another family combo came out of the fryer, the timing perfect.

Ma Shu, biting into a crispy, juicy chicken cutlet, couldn’t agree more.

He turned to leave, planning to find a spot to properly enjoy his meal, and so he didn’t hear Feng Xuan’s quiet mumbling.

"I am not your Beast Husband. From now on, don’t just tell everyone about our relationship. It’ll cause misunderstandings..."

"You’re overthinking things," Yu An said, rolling her eyes. "I just said you were Da Hu’s Beast Father. And another thing, you’re not a Gold Coin or a silver coin, so don’t think everyone’s dying to have you."

"You... You..."

Feng Xuan was so angry he was speechless. He wanted to argue it out with Yu An, but she had no time for his idle chatter.

"Don’t rush, don’t rush! I’ll get to your order, then the next, and the next! I’ve got it under control!"

"What are you standing there for?" She even found a moment in her haste to kick Feng Xuan. "Hurry up and get them their change."

Feng Xuan sighed and resignedly got to work.

Bai Rong’s Female Mother was chronically ill and bedridden. After catching a chill the previous night, Bai Rong had stayed up late caring for her, only dozing off in a stupor and startling awake at dawn.

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH. Sleep a little longer," Bai Ruo said weakly when she saw her get up. "You were up all night taking care of me. You must be tired."

"Female Mother, I’m not tired."

Bai Rong got dressed and poured her Female Mother a cup of water. "Female Mother, Sister An’an said she’d have some medicinal food suitable for patients for me today. I’m going to get it now so I don’t keep her waiting."

Bai Ruo smiled. "Is that so? Then thank Boss Yu for me."

Bai Rong nodded and added casually, "Sister An’an also said she might hire a few female helpers in the future. Female Mother, when you’re feeling better, I’ll go help Sister An’an. I won’t ask for pay, just for her to teach me some simple cooking methods."

’Though she was young, she could tell Yu An was destined for greater things. She had been a Princess of the Imperial City, after all, one of the heirs to the Beast Emperor. How could she possibly be content to spend her whole life relegated to the exiled land?’

’If I can learn a few things, then when Yu An leaves the exiled land, I’ll be able to cook for my Female Mother.’

When Bai Rong hurried over, half of the pre-prepped fried chicken piled on the cart was already gone. After glancing at the line, she felt it was hopeless to wait.

"Boss Yu," she said, going straight to Yu An, "I’m here. I-I didn’t keep you waiting, did I?"

Yu An looked up and saw her forehead beaded with sweat, panting for breath. "No, you didn’t. No need to rush like that."

Her hands were full, so she simply ordered Feng Xuan, "There’s an insulated container down below. Take out what’s inside."

"Always ordering me around," Feng Xuan grumbled, but his hands did as Yu An said. "Here."

Yu An said irritably, "Why are you giving it to me? Give it to Bai Rong. You, his Beast Father, are even less helpful than Da Hu."

Feng Xuan’s face darkened. "Got it!"

Bai Rong took the food container and sized up Feng Xuan curiously. "Boss Yu, is this Da Hu’s actual Beast Father? I thought..."

She was too embarrassed to say the rest. It would have sounded like she was cursing him.

"That you thought he was dead?"

Yu An laughed. "Ma Shu said a lot of people thought that."

Bai Rong said sheepishly, "It’s mainly because you started the stall not long after giving birth. If something hadn’t happened to the Beast Husband, a female would usually rest at home for a month after childbirth."

"And usually, the Beast Husband would be by her side, watching over her. Since no Beast Husband was around, everyone just assumed something bad had happened."

"I recover quickly," Yu An said casually. "I was in a hurry to make money, and with Mo Yan helping me, it wasn’t too tiring."

Hearing Yu An mention his name, Mo Yan instinctively looked up at her.

He had also heard what Yu An and Bai Rong were saying. ’But unlike Feng Xuan,’ he thought, ’I personally saw Yu An run 800 meters without breaking a sweat. It never even occurred to me that a female needed postpartum recovery.’

’Thinking about it more carefully, Yu An must have used her superpower to heal herself.’

But Feng Xuan didn’t know the situation. He had been listening from the side, observing carefully, and a hint of guilt seemed to appear on his face.

When only a little of the pre-prepped fried chicken was left, Yu An announced loudly, "Only ten servings left! Those of you further back, don’t wait."

"Nooo! I haven’t even had it once!"

"Boss, why are you only selling this much? It’s still early! How about you fry some more? We’ll go catch chickens right now!"

"Yeah, yeah! Just wait for us for a bit, we’ll be right back."

"Brothers and sisters at the front of the line, whoever can spare me a drumstick, I’ll be your slave for life!"

Wails of despair filled the air. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought some terrible tragedy had occurred.

Yu An rubbed her wrists. "No can do, no can do. The chicken needs to marinate overnight to be flavorful. Thanks for your support, everyone. See you all tomorrow!"

After taking out the last batch of fried chicken, Yu An packed up her things and called for Da Hu and Xiao Yu to go home.

Da Hu shared his remaining snacks with his little friends. "Xiao Yu and I are going home now. See you tomorrow."

The Beastmen watched longingly as the cart departed. They only dispersed after its figure had vanished from sight.

"Sigh, I need to come even earlier to line up tomorrow. That lazy male from the Giant Stone Tribe actually came in the middle of the night. Tomorrow, I’ll be earlier than him!"

"You mean that male from the Horse Clan? He’s famously lazy, but now he’s become so diligent."

"Just think about it, Boss Yu’s food is so fragrant, I’d believe it could bring the dead back to life, let alone make a lazy man diligent!"

The Beastmen joked and laughed as they returned to their respective homes. Those who needed to catch up on sleep went to sleep, and those who needed to hunt went hunting.

There was no choice. The food was delicious but truly expensive; they had to hurry up and earn more money.

Since he couldn’t drive the cart, Feng Xuan once again walked home. Halfway there, he told Yu An he was going somewhere and turned off to a different place.

"Feng Xuan, where are you going? When will you be back? Han Li told me this morning that he’s taking us somewhere this afternoon."

He was so mysterious when he said it, it really piqued Yu An’s curiosity.

Feng Xuan pointed to a nearby mountain. "I’m just making a quick trip over there. I’ll be back soon. You guys go ahead, don’t wait for me."