Hu Feng'er's mother and siblings knew this, and they scolded her a lot, feeling disappointed in her.
CatDodo merely glanced at the other person and dismissed it. What a joke! If a few insults could get you forgiven for destroying the mud bricks she had worked so hard to create, then anyone could do it.
"According to the rules, damaging the fruits of someone else's labor requires compensating with food," the ape-man Siri declared in the final judgment.
Based on the data from the damaged adobe bricks provided by Maoduoduo, Xili set a rather high starting point: "For 15 days, Maoduoduo's family's food supply will depend on you, Hu Feng'er. At the very least, you need five 'Chichi' chickens, ten fish, five bags of hay, and..."
Just hearing about Xili's punishment made Hu Feng'er look like she was about to faint. Even her brothers and sisters had red eyes and looked at Hu Feng'er with changed expressions.
—If Mother continues to blindly support and protect Hu Feng'er this time, they will absolutely not let it go!
So much food was given away so easily, how are they supposed to survive...?
Hu's mother, who had seemed to want to help Hu Feng'er out of things, also shut her mouth at this moment.
Upon seeing this, Maoduo narrowed his eyes slightly and quickly said, "Chieftain, I'm sorry, I don't need food as compensation."
Her words surprised the orcs present.
Hu Feng'er's family, in particular, were both relieved and thought that Mao Duoduo wouldn't be like that... silly.
"So what do you want as compensation?" Xili had indeed guessed that Maoduoduo had other demands. This was normal; Hu Feng'er, a young man, certainly didn't have that much food. Her family was destined not to be able to afford it either.
Mao Duoduo looked serious and said, word by word, "My request is very simple. Hu Feng'er has ruined so many of my adobe bricks, so I want her to carry the mud and make adobe bricks to fix them all for me."
"Are you crazy? There are so many, how is it possible to do that..." Hu Feng'er blurted out. Don't think she didn't know that those adobe bricks were numerous and heavy.
It's like the saying goes, "Destruction brings momentary pleasure, but compensation leads to a funeral."
CatDodo curled her lips into a smile. In the eyes of her cubs, their mother, despite her tiny body, exuded the aura of a tall orc—she was incredibly cool.
"That's all you need to do. All I know is that I want my adobe bricks back."
"Or are you planning to use grain as compensation—"
When she said the last sentence, which had a slightly teasing tone, Hu Feng'er immediately blushed.
Indeed, Hu Feng'er is young and rarely does hard work. Relying on being pampered by her family, her mind is always on chasing after and pleasing Bao Lie. She's not married and has no male partner, so naturally she lives off her family's resources, to the point that she can't even afford to compensate them now.
"I'll pay."
"I have two males in my household, enough to make you those adobe bricks."
It was Hu Feng'er's mother who came out and said this through gritted teeth.
Cat Duoduo was pleased to hear this, and with a smile reminded them to remember to dig soil somewhere on the mountain, and to remember to come back with a basket on their backs, so as to be more efficient.
“…Fine.” Hu Feng’er’s mother said reluctantly.
"That's fine then. Snake one, snake two, snake three, let's go." Before leaving, Cat Duoduo remembered something, and with her three cubs, she thanked the clan leader profusely.
The eyes of the family of four were also shining brightly, filled with gratitude. Even the usually serious ape-man Siri couldn't help but smile, nodding from afar and telling them to go home early.
Almost as soon as Cat Duoduo's family left, Hu Feng'er was called out and scolded by her siblings, and Hu Feng'er's mother was also sighing and preparing to leave, discussing which son to send out to do chores for Cat Duoduo, when she was stopped by Ape Man Xili.
Xili spoke simply, offering a well-intentioned reminder: "Hu Feng'er is not a child anymore. Don't forget that you are still someone else's mother."
It's not scarcity that's the problem, but inequality. Hu Feng'er has already caused this mess; what if she causes something even bigger in the future? Will Hu Feng'er's mother be able to pay the price?
Besides, Hu Feng'er's mother already has a son and a daughter, and even a daughter-in-law. Among the beastmen who generally marry young, she lives a very comfortable life, with filial children.
The only difference was that she showed some favoritism towards an orc who wasn't worth protecting or caring for...
"I...I don't know what to do either. Why don't you tell me what to do, clan leader?" Hu Feng'er's mother hesitated before speaking, mainly wanting to see if she could renege on this compensation.
The ape-man Xili simply looked at the other person without speaking, yet it seemed he could read Hu Feng'er's mother's mind. Hu Feng'er's mother instinctively looked away, sensing danger.
"You can go now." The ape-man Siri closed his eyes, looking exhausted.
"Clan leader," Hu Feng'er's mother tried to say.
However, the other orcs had already joined forces and asked the other party to leave.
Even though Hu Feng'er had previously been the one they fawned over and pursued, and had received their special attention, they still preferred to trust the clan leader and stand on his side compared to him.
After all, the clan leader is selfless and considers the overall interests, taking care of everyone and leading them to strive for survival. Hu Feng'er's actions this time are truly disheartening.
The fruits of everyone's hard work have been so carelessly destroyed. If the perpetrators don't receive their due punishment, this unhealthy trend will inevitably have a serious negative impact on the entire community's atmosphere and bring trouble...
The cat family had almost returned home.
On the way, they also discussed the matter of the ape-man Siri.
The children were also very excited. It was their first time meeting the ape-man Siri, and they hadn't expected him to be so clever, observant, and perceptive, saving them a lot of trouble.
"Alright, alright, stop fooling around. We need to go home and get ourselves ready." Mao Duoduo couldn't hide her smile.
When she got home, she looked at the mess on the floor and couldn't help but feel conflicted. It felt like such a waste to just throw away all that clay.
At this moment, Snake Three prepared to clean up the clay. He mainly used the wooden board, the same board that Cat Dodo had previously used to cut vegetables and process meat.
Upon seeing this, Maoduo's eyelids twitched, and she quickly called out, "Wait, Snake Three, let go of my cutting board."
"Mother, what's wrong?" Snake Three asked, puzzled. Cleaning up the clay would be a real hassle if they didn't use wooden planks.
"Um, I know how to handle it."
Cat Duoduo had a sudden inspiration and immediately tidied up the clay on the spot. She even asked Snake Three to fill it with water to distract the other party. Then, together with the obedient, clever, and quick-witted Snake One and Snake Three, they made a stove on the spot.
This time it's more complete, with a front and back, making it look more perfect and grand, much better than the simple earthen stove we used before.
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