Beast World: A Fragile Beauty Blessed with Many Children-Chapter 377 - 376: What’s the Meaning of Proposing a Plan at This Critical Juncture?
"Of course not," Yuanyuan said with a smile. "My Mother said a comic book like this comes out once a month. But the newspaper comes out every two days!"
"Me, me, me," Xuyou said with a smile, clutching the newspaper as Wei Ce lifted him onto the stage. "I can read the newspaper to Great-Grandma! Look, this newspaper has so much in it! Let me read you this—it’s a recipe for a cake made with white flour, powdered sugar, milk, and eggs that’s as soft as a cloud. Great-Grandma, you can have Great-Grandpa make you a birthday cake right now!"
Wei Jiang immediately rolled up his sleeves and laughed. "Youyou, just tell me what to do. While your great-grandma is receiving her birthday gifts, I’ll be on the side making this... ’birthday cake.’"
Xuyou nodded and started reading from the side, surrounded by a crowd of males who wanted to please their mates and cubs.
"First, prepare the ingredients and tools. The ingredients are based on a ratio. This recipe is for a single serving; if you want to make more, just increase the amounts accordingly... Separate the egg whites from the yolks... Add the sugar in three parts as you whip the egg whites..."
Before long, the aroma of milk and eggs from the cake filled the entire back garden, so enticing that the Beastmen lost all interest in the other birthday gifts. The cubs, in particular, gathered around drooling, constantly asking when they could eat.
"Youyou, is this recipe in the newspaper? What do you mean it comes out every two days? Is it for sale? Can we all buy it with Crystal Stones? If we buy it, can we really make a cake that smells this good?"
Xuyou lifted his chin slightly. "Of course. We started the newspaper company to benefit all Beastmen, to achieve real-time information sharing... to let everyone clearly understand the situation across the entire Beast World Continent, to always remain vigilant against natural and man-made disasters, and, of course, to also learn how to better improve yourselves and enjoy life..."
The cubs below applauded enthusiastically, and even the adult Beastmen joined in.
"Youyou, even though I don’t really understand what you’re saying, I just think you’re incredible!" a half-grown cub exclaimed. ’His heart swelled with emotion. He never knew Beast Text had such charm—that words he couldn’t even understand could be so inspiring.’
Xuyou laughed. "That’s right. We should all read more books and newspapers. The more you learn, the more your horizons will broaden, and you won’t be bothered by trivial, everyday problems. We Beastmen have had it hard enough. While pleasing your mates, don’t forget to please yourselves..."
Mu Qiong’s family was well-off, and to host this birthday banquet, they had prepared a great deal of food. Spring had just arrived, so everyone no longer needed to be so frugal with their stored rations.
With several baskets of eggs, a vat of powdered sugar, freshly squeezed milk, and a large barrel of flour, the steamed cakes turned out to be as large as stone tables.
The cakes, steamed in five large pots using a water bath method, were fragrant, rich, soft, and melted in your mouth. The males carried the cakes out, and everyone could see them quivering and wobbling. Steaming hot, their aroma was even richer.
The cake was multi-layered, with date paste and raisins added for a richer texture.
"Great-Grandma, would you like to cut the cake?" Xuyou asked, handing her the handle of the cake knife. "You just need to cut it horizontally and vertically, making each piece about the size of a palm."
Lady Mu Qiong smiled and nodded. She stood, took the knife, and began to serve the cake to everyone. The Beastmen held the pieces on large leaves, passing them to their mates and cubs first.
"Mmm, this is delicious! How can it be so fragrant and soft..."
"So delicious! It makes the pastries I’ve had before seem practically inedible..."
Lady Mu Qiong loved it as well, eating two whole large pieces! "You young people have given us so many surprises," she said. "You don’t have anything else you’re hiding, do you?"
Wei Jin stepped forward with a smile. "Actually, there is one more thing. We would like to take the opportunity of Lady Mu Qiong’s birthday banquet to present a method for mass-printing books to our Guangshou City."
His words stunned the crowd for a moment, especially the group from the City Lord Mansion who were in charge of Beast City’s development and major decisions. Their minds raced. "Wei Jin, are you saying that gift Wei Ce gave Lady Mu Qiong just now... it can be mass-printed?" They had all just seen how exquisite that booklet was. It was obvious what kind of progress it could bring to Guangshou City.
Wei Jin nodded. "That’s right. This is a method that will benefit the Beastmen of the entire Beast World Continent. It is also an important step in advancing the spiritual and cultural development of our people. We will not monopolize the key to this development for a little short-term profit. Therefore, we are willing to contribute this method to the City Lord Mansion. We hope the City Lord Mansion will make good use of it so that all Beastmen on the Beast World Continent can benefit! Of course, when the time comes, we also hope the City Lord Mansion will let us get a taste of the soup."
"Excellent, excellent," Lady Mu Qiong was the first to praise him, smiling and nodding. "As expected of the Clan Leader of the Iron-eating Beast Clan. Such vision and courage are truly beyond many of us."
"Since Clan Leader Wei Jin has such a wonderful method, it must be guidance from the Beast God... We must take on the responsibility for the development of the entire Beast World Continent..." the High Priest chimed in, exceptionally pleased. "Something that can benefit the entire Beast World Continent is beyond the ability of any single person. It is a divine gift!"
With the endorsement of the Witch Doctor and the High Priest, the other elders quickly followed with their own praise. To bring prosperity to the entire Beast World Continent—what a supreme honor that would be!
City Lord Ni Jing did his best to hide the strain and jealousy beneath his smile. ’After the spring hunt, the selection competition for the next City Lord will be held. What is Wei Jin trying to do by making this proposal at such a critical moment?’
In front of so many people, he had to maintain his composure as City Lord. He smiled and said, "Today is Lady Mu Qiong’s birthday banquet, so it isn’t the right time to discuss this in detail. We will hold a dedicated meeting tomorrow to deliberate on the matter!"
The matter was set aside for the time being, and everyone went back to asking Youyou to read other sections of the newspaper.
The little fellow was good-natured and granted every request, turning the newspaper reading into an entertainment show that had the crowd buzzing with excitement.
Xue Zhu also went up to present her gift: a floral hairpin. Lady Mu Qiong’s smile was exceptionally genuine. She took it at once and turned to have Wei Jiang put it in her hair. It made her look younger and more vibrant, as if she were wearing summer on her head—brilliant and dazzling!
She smiled and called Si Shuo over. "Good child, all of you have been so thoughtful. This is the happiest birthday I’ve ever had. It’s been so meaningful, and also..."
"A sense of occasion!" Yuanyuan added with a grin.
"Yes, yes, yes," Lady Mu Qiong nodded repeatedly. "You are all blessed people. Just look at these cubs—so lively and cute, so smart and well-behaved... As for me, I shall give you a divination as a gift!" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
As she spoke, she took Si Shuo’s hand, closed her eyes, and began to murmur. Suddenly, her face fell, her brow furrowed, and her expression turned exceptionally grave.
Everyone’s hearts leaped into their throats. Si Shuo, in particular, felt an indescribable sense of panic.
Wei Ce squeezed her hand tightly and whispered with a faint laugh, "Shuo, it’s okay. Our family is together. What is there that we can’t get through?"
