Miao Tianxiong was speechless. Although she had gained a lot from that experience, the helplessness and fear she felt during that month were still fresh in her memory. Sometimes, she would even feel scared when she woke up in the middle of the night.

"What would you do if I were eaten by wolves?" Miao Tianxiong couldn't help but ask.

Miao Tianxiang's expression froze, her eyes darting around, unable to face Miao Tianxiong.

Miao Tianxiong only came to her side after he turned eighteen, and their relationship only deepened after that. Before that, she only regarded Miao Tianxiong as a subordinate, so naturally she didn't have a deep relationship with him. So what if he ate her food? She would go to the orphanage and adopt a few more children.

But she couldn't tell him her true thoughts, for fear of hurting Miao Tianxiong's feelings. She didn't want to lie either, so Miao Tianxiang chose to remain silent.

Miao Tianxiong smiled, knowing the answer. In fact, she had always known that of the fifteen orphans she had adopted with her, only six survived. The other nine either died while on missions, failed to survive special training, or betrayed Miao Tianxiang and were executed by her own hand.

If she hadn't survived back then, she would have ended up like those nine people, and there would be no Niu Niu as we know her today.

Miao Tianxiang felt a little guilty and said softly, "Times have changed. Our relationship wasn't as good back then, so of course our thoughts are different."

Miao Tianxiong said solemnly, "Madam, please treat Miao Zixuan (Niu Niu's real name) the same way you did back then."

Although Miao Tianxiang's training methods were too cruel back then, it was precisely because of this cruelty that the six who survived became top elites and have now become Miao Tianxiang's capable assistants.

A doting mother often spoils her child, and the consequence of spoiling a child is that eight or nine out of ten will be raising a spendthrift. Miao Tianxiong absolutely cannot accept Niu Niu becoming a spendthrift. She has high expectations for Niu Niu and wants her to become an elite.

Because Niu Niu carries the burden of two family businesses, the Miao family and the Quan Yang family, both of which are huge business empires, if Niu Niu does not have enough ability, she will ruin both businesses completely.

Miao Tianxiong would never allow her daughter to grow up to be a useless piece of trash. If she really became useless, she would personally dispose of her daughter to save her from wasting air and food.

Miao Tianxiang jumped up and shrieked, "How can that be? Back then, the situation was special, with both external and internal troubles, so I had to be stricter with you. Now that things are peaceful, why should Niu Niu suffer? Have you lost your mind? Niu Niu is your own flesh and blood. You're even crueler than a stepmother."

"We're facing the same internal and external troubles as before, Madam. You're being too optimistic," Miao Tianxiong stated the facts with a blank face.

Things are better now than before, but the bigger the business, the bigger the burden. The outside world is changing rapidly, and things are constantly evolving. If you're not careful, you'll be left behind. She has to learn new things every night because she's afraid of falling behind in the current market. When Niu Niu grows up, the market she faces will be even more challenging. How can she possibly have time to relax?

"There's no need for Niu Niu to suffer. We can just hire more people. That's settled then. I know what I'm doing. It's not easy to have a little darling like this, and I can't bear to let her suffer."

Miao Tianxiang firmly opposed it. Even if the business empire she had built from scratch really couldn't be sustained, she would no longer train Niu Niu like before. She couldn't bring herself to do it. At worst, she could just reduce her assets. Anyway, she had more money than she could spend in several lifetimes. Even if Niu Niu was a freeloader for the rest of her life, she could afford to support her. What was there to worry about?

Miao Tianxiong looked helplessly at the stubborn Miao Tianxiang. He knew he could only pay more attention to his daughter from now on and he couldn't let his wife's empire be ruined in her daughter's hands.

Niu Niu's eyes darted around, and once her grandmother and mother stopped arguing, she said loudly, "Grandma, I want to go to the primeval forest. Will you take me there?"

She longed to stay in the wilderness; home was just too stifling.