[ Ding! Congratulations, host! Madam Yun Ling has safely given birth to a child with an Ordinary Bone Root! ]
[ Congratulations, host! You have gained ten years of life. Your remaining lifespan is now eighty years. ]
[ Congratulations, host! Your strength has increased by one hundred, reaching the Five-star Azure Obsidian Warrior level. ]
[ Congratulations, host! You have obtained a Second-grade Enlightenment Pill! ]
[ Congratulations, host! You have obtained a mid-grade item—the Intermediate Inscribed Pattern Summoning Scroll! ]
"Congratulations, Master! You have a daughter!" Ziyan came running out, cradling the newborn baby and excitedly showing her to Xian He.
She had been in the Inner World for nearly six years. Including this time, she had helped deliver Madam's children three times.
Strangely enough, Madam Yun Ling had given birth to three children, yet she hadn't aged at all. She still looked like a young girl.
Meanwhile, Ziyan had become a woman in her twenties.
Ziyan gazed at the strong Xian He, a trace of longing flashing in her eyes. She thought to herself, When will I get to be a mother, too?
She wasn't as sweet-looking as Madam Yun Ling or as pretty as Chen Jingjing, but she had a great figure: curvy, with long legs. If she covered her face, she was still easy on the eyes.
Xian He was gazing lovingly at his precious daughter, Xian Menglian, and hadn't noticed that Ziyan had any feelings for him.
Even if he had known, Xian He wouldn't have pursued anything. First, it wouldn't meet the system's requirements. Second, he only saw Ziyan as a friend; he had no romantic feelings for her at all.
"Was Grandma Chen the midwife again this time?" Xian He suddenly asked. Though the spiritual energy of the Inner World had nourished her, Grandma Chen's health was still declining. She would probably live for ten more years at most.
After Grandma Chen passed away, he hoped Chen Jingjing or Ziyan would take over the responsibility.
Holding the baby, Ziyan's eyes flickered with affection. She answered gently, "No, Chen Jingjing took over this time. Madam's delivery went very smoothly. Neither the second young master's nor the third young lady's birth had any complications."
"That's good!" Xian He nodded.
Come to think of it, why was Ziyan staring at him and swallowing? Was she hungry?
Xian He looked up at the sun. It was almost noon.
She must be hungry!
He went inside to see Yun Ling. After giving birth the first two times, she'd been so tired that she'd fallen asleep. This time, though, she was awake and full of energy, as if nothing had happened.
"Where are Dabao and Erbabao?" Yun Ling asked worriedly, blinking her big blue eyes.
Dabao was already four years old, and Erbabao was almost two. They were at the age when they loved to get into mischief. With her away from them, she had no idea what kind of trouble they might cause.
Xian He sat beside the bed and held Yun Ling's soft, snow-white hand. "Don't worry. Muyang is watching them. Nothing will happen."
As the number of children grew, they were gradually running short of servants. He planned to buy some more slaves.
There were so many eggs and chicken stored in the Cold Storage that they were enough to buy ten slaves.
While Grandma Chen was still in good health, he'd have her make the most of her remaining years and choose a few more useful slaves like Muyang and Ziyan for him.
He wondered whether the supplies in the Cold Storage would be enough to buy the Sister Flowers, who looked just like Rem and Ram.
"My dear wife, what would you like for lunch? Wild Vegetable Dumplings or Eight-baked Chicken?" Xian He asked with a smile.
At the moment, the best dish he could make was High Grade Three Eight-baked Chicken. Eating it temporarily increased one's comprehension by eighteen percent.
He'd originally thought his Grandmaster Level 1 cooking skills would let him make seventh-grade dishes. But when he asked the system, he learned that making a seventh-grade dish required a seventh-grade kitchen.
His kitchen was currently an extremely ordinary, common kitchen, without even a grade. Its limit was cooking third-grade dishes.
Yun Ling tilted her head and narrowed her eyes as she thought it over. "Chicken... maybe? But not Eight-baked Chicken. Beggars Chicken. I've been eating Eight-baked Chicken so much that I'm almost sick of it."
"..." Xian He fell silent.
In theory, second-grade dishes could increase the odds of having a child with an Ordinary Bone Root, while third-grade dishes could increase the odds of having a child with a Good Bone Root.
He'd had Yun Ling eat Eight-baked Chicken because he'd hoped she would give birth to even more exceptional children.
"System, why did Yun Ling eat Eight-baked Chicken for two years and still give birth to a daughter with an Ordinary Bone Root?"
[Although the host's wife can increase the odds of having a child with a Good Bone Root by eating third-grade dishes during pregnancy, the increase is not very large.]
[Each type of dish—fruit, vegetarian food, poultry, beast meat, and fish—can increase the odds by only ten percent.]
[In addition to food, clothing and housing can each increase the odds by twenty-five percent.]
[The odds that Madam Yun Ling will have a child with a Good Bone Root are currently forty-five percent. If she didn't have one this time, she might next time.]
"So if I get all seven of these things, my wife is guaranteed to have a child with a Good Bone Root, right?"
[Yes!]
[However, Madam Yun Ling's potential is limited. No matter how high-grade the food she eats, the clothes she wears, or the house she lives in, the best she can have is a child with a Good Bone Root.]
"What does it matter if her potential is limited? No matter how many wives I marry in the future, she'll always be the one I love most. I'll never neglect her!" Xian He unconsciously clenched his fist.
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