Is This What Being a Husband Feels Like? (Continued)

The kids are quick learners; after only a few lessons, they can already play freely in the big pool.

Amidst the splashing water, the children's silvery laughter carried far.

The next day, when the Black Rabbit brought its prey over, the cubs had already transformed into bird forms. After playing for two days, it was time for them to continue practicing.

As the cubs grew, the prey they used for hunting practice became larger and more ferocious. Today was a team hunt, and the cubs suffered minor injuries from the prey's sharp horns, but they still managed to capture it successfully.

In the afternoon, the kids were playing on the grass when Black Rabbit and Tao Qiu went over to chat. Sure enough, Black Rabbit brought up Lou Yu's matter.

"Roar?"

--Do you know that the human you often interact with possesses a special ability to kill mutated monsters?

Tao Qiu understood why Lou Yu said Black Rabbit disliked him.

He countered with, "Chirp chirp?"

--How did you know?

This means that the Snow Bird already knew about it.

Black Rabbit: "Roar."

--A few of the mutated monsters that attacked the human base escaped. According to them, many of the mutated monsters now know about it.

Oh, I see.

Tao Qiu also said that it was hard to say whether this was good or bad. The mutated monster knew that Lou Yu had special abilities, so naturally it would no longer provoke him easily, but it would also easily become a target.

Some mutated monsters with impaired judgment act solely on instinct, lunging at anything that smells better, regardless of whether it possesses superpowers.

Black Rabbit glared at him. "Roar?"

--You knew beforehand? So calm! Don't you know how cunning humans can be? What if he had malicious intentions and wanted to harm you and the chicks?

Tao Qiu: "Chirp chirp."

--No, that won't happen.

Can he trust Lou Yu's character?

Black Rabbit's eyes grew even fiercer. "Roar."

--You can trust him if you want, and if something goes wrong, it's your fault for misjudging him, but don't drag the kids down with you.

"Chirp chirp." Tao Qiu said earnestly, "Chirp chirp."

--No, he's a really good person.

Black Rabbit was so angry she almost choked. "Roar!"

--Do whatever you want. Don't come crying to me if you get betrayed later.

After saying that, he angrily went to find his sons.

Tao Qiu was both amused and exasperated. He understood that Black Rabbit was concerned about him, so even though Black Rabbit gave him a cold shoulder, he didn't get angry.

Lou Yu returned to the base and sold the meat as soon as possible the next morning. His family didn't have a large cold storage to preserve the meat, and it would easily spoil if left for too long.

The husband of the aunt who helped Lou Yu when she bought clothes last time also came. Lou Yu gave him a discount as agreed with Tao Qiu and explained the reason to him.

The man said, "You're too kind," but he actually hummed a song the whole way home.

The temperature this summer wasn't as extreme as last year, but Tao Qiu still shortened the kids' practice time, making them stay in human form as much as possible to keep them cooler.

With more free time each day, the kids started thinking about dressing up.

Lou Yu gave me so many pieces of jewelry that I could wear a different one every day.

The Little Snake occasionally came over to play. Seeing the pretty and cute humanoid creatures, it found them amusing and often surrounded them, asking all sorts of questions, such as what the shiny thing on their heads was, and what they were wearing on their feet.

The children all answered one by one. The second child was still a little disappointed; the Little Snake didn't have hair, otherwise he could have given her a hair clip.

In the summer Little Snake's body was cool and refreshing. Often, after playing together for a while, the three little ones would hug the Little Snake's sturdy body and fall asleep comfortably.

A cute little kid riding a python – the scene looks a bit scary.

On Tao Qiu's side, life proceeded leisurely and peacefully, and two months had almost passed in the blink of an eye.

This time, it wasn't just Tao Qiu; the kids were also looking forward to Lou Yu coming over soon.

The atmosphere at the human base, however, was not so good.

It rained that night, and the autumn rain brought a chill. It was late at night, Lou Yu sat by the window listening to the rain, stroking a round stone that his second son had given him. He was not sleepy at all, and his brows were unconsciously furrowed.

In the first half of the year, the seeds were contaminated due to the invasion of mutated monsters, and many crops were infected with diseases during their growth process, resulting in reduced grain production.

This isn't the first time we've all experienced this. Although we might complain that fate always seems to play tricks on us, we still grit our teeth and persevere.

I thought things would be better in the second half of the year, but a few days ago Lou Yu received news that although the weather was favorable and the crop disease rate was low in the second half of the year, we were still unlucky and the grain yield was reduced this season.

Once the news is made public, the impact will definitely be much more severe than in the first half of the year.

Winter is too cold, and even crops grown in greenhouses are difficult to survive, so winter is the dormant period for the land.

This means that the grain harvested this season will have to last until the next summer when the new crop matures.

But with low grain production, everyone could only buy limited quantities. How difficult it would be to survive until then!

If a food shortage occurs, causing social unrest, then all sorts of problems will emerge one after another.

Putting aside whether ordinary people will cause a fuss, those informants who love a good show will probably add fuel to the fire, putting the base's top brass to the fire.

After his teammates learned the news, they all asked if he should stock up on food in advance, Lou Yu refused.

Unlike in the wild, there are too many eyes in the base. Even those of them who are considered high-ranking insiders are being watched every move they make.

If they're caught hoarding grain, and everyone knows the second half of the year's harvest won't be as good as expected, it will definitely cause panic.

Lou Quan also warned them that anyone who dared to hoard large quantities of grain and was discovered by him would be dismissed from their post and expelled from the base.

Even without this reason, Lou Yu shouldn't have taken it. As the base's unsung idol and role model, if he doesn't set a good example, how can he expect others to trust them in the future?

Lou Quan said he had already requested assistance from the Central Base, but Lou Yu felt it was unlikely; they wouldn't give in so easily this time.

As Lou Yu had predicted, two days later, Lou Quan told Lou Yu that the other side was making exorbitant demands, saying that unless Lou Yu himself was exchanged for grain, he shouldn't even think about borrowing any from them.

The blood and heart essence Lou Yu gave him last time probably didn't have much effect. Lou Quan was gritting his teeth when he heard what Lou Yu was saying to him, as if he had been taken advantage of.

Lou Quan was speechless. He hadn't even paid for the weapons, had he? Why did he have to do this?

As for the other entities at the Central Base, needless to say, they will definitely take advantage of the situation.

Lou Yu worried. "Is there anyone else I can borrow from?"

"Yes," Lou Quan said. "I have some connections with the boss of the Yongkang Base. He said he could lend me some, but their base's grain production isn't very high, so I'm afraid I can't lend them too much."

Satellite bases are also wary of each other; the fact that they agreed is already an act of great kindness and consideration.

Lou Yu sighed, "Let's borrow as much as we can."

Lou Quan: "This is the only way."

Whether it's a natural disaster or a man-made one, they all seem so powerless.

Lou Yu was frowning all day. On the day he went to see Tao Qiu, he tried his best to hide it, but Tao Qiu, who knew him well, still saw through his disguise.

"Have you been very busy lately?" Tao Qiu gently stroked the corner of his eye, feeling a pang of heartache. "Your eyes are so tired. You haven't been working overtime every day, have you?"

Lou Yu didn't intend to tell Tao Qiu those upsetting things, lest she worry about him. He took Tao Qiu 'Tao Qiu hand, kissed it, and smiled, "I haven't been working overtime every day, just been a little busy lately and haven't had much rest."

"Do you want to take a nap?" Tao Qiu patted her shoulder. "My shoulder? You can't just lean on it."

Lou Yu chuckled softly and leaned against him, saying, "Then I'm going to sleep."

Tao Qiu patted his head, "Close your eyes and go to sleep. Don't worry, I'm here watching over you."

Hearing Tao Qiu's gentle voice, Lou Yu had just closed his eyes when exhaustion washed over him like a tidal wave, instantly engulfing him.

He was fast asleep, but Tao Qiu looked out the window with a restless expression.

He sensed that something must have happened to Lou Yu, or rather, something had occurred at the human base. For Lou Yu to be so anxious and upset, it must be something serious.

At this moment, all he could do was temporarily act as Lou Yu's haven, allowing him to rest for a while, regain his energy, and better face the problems.

To ensure Tao Qiu and her children could get through the winter safely, Lou Yu delivered a truckload of supplies, filling every corner of the cave.

The kids also received two sets of winter clothes and shoes.

After the two returned from retrieving the materials, Tao Qiu made Lou Yu eat until he was stuffed, and, just like before, personally escorted his prey to the vicinity of the safe zone.

Tao Qiu also considered the winter. The prey this time were all very large. He told Lou Yu not to always think about selling the prey to get money to buy things for him and the children, but to keep more meat for himself. Only when he was full would he have the strength to exercise and protect himself.

Before parting, Tao Qiu told Lou Yu that after the mutated monster tide passed next spring, he must come out to see him as soon as possible. Even if Lou Yu couldn't get away, he had to ask someone to inform him.

"Don't you dare die, or I'll go find another bird the moment you die." Tao Qiu said, her eyes reddening as she spoke a lie she herself didn't believe.

He leaned close to Lou Yu's ear and whispered, "If anything unexpected happens, as long as it protects you, you can use the crops as leverage. My secret is nowhere near as important as you, understand?"

Tao Qiu was serious, Lou Yu also seriously agreed, "Okay, no matter what, we must meet alive next year. You and the children must also protect yourselves in the wild."

The Snow Bird's figure receded further and further from view, replaced by the calls of its teammates behind it.

Lou Yu listened to Tao Qiu's advice. He kept twice the amount of meat for himself before selling the rest to the army's logistics and the people at the base.