Back home, the foxes all gathered around the fire, sighing and groaning.
Bai Xiangwan's parents (Bai Niu and Bai Niu) were in their prime and hadn't originally intended to have so many children. However, raising four in one litter, and then four in another, was truly exhausting. Unlike other beastmen who could reproduce at will and hope for the best, these middle-aged foxes couldn't bear to see any of their children suffer. They abandoned any thought of having more children, took a herb that rendered them infertile, and from then on focused solely on raising their offspring.
And so, she did get pregnant eventually, but luckily, she only conceived one child, Bai Xiangwan. From then on, they ate the sterilization herbs even more diligently, more so than they ever ate regular meals. Xiangwan was puzzled; if she didn't want to have children, why not just try less often instead of putting herself through all that trouble?
Every winter, when there's no food, the white ox has to go hunting with the other beastmen in his tribe. Today is the family's pre-hunt meeting, but it's actually just a planning meeting for the white ox before he goes out alone.
"Honey, the snow is so thick this year, it takes several claws to dig up even a tree root. How can we possibly find anything to eat?"
The white girl wiggled her buttocks and sat down next to the white ox, her plump buttocks pushing the white ox, which was surrounded by fur, out of the circle.
Bai Da looks quite old, probably around the age to separate from the family. Beside him are his offspring, Bai Er, Bai San, and Bai Si. Bai Si is female, inheriting Bai Niu's looks completely, but her build is like Bai Niu's—sturdy and robust. It's said she has quite a few suitors and is Bai Niu's favorite daughter.
A little further away are White Five, White Six, White Seven, and White Eight, a row of females.
When they were born, the white cow had no idea which came first and which came last. So he simply dabbed some jam on the back of each little female, randomly picked one, and named her. After all, they were all his offspring; what was the point of distinguishing them? As long as they knew they were from the same litter, that was enough. As these females grew up, they became very dissatisfied with their parents' perfunctory attitude and protested, demanding to change their names, only to be stopped by their brothers and sisters from the previous litter.
Bai Da and the others were thinking: They'd been calling each other that for so many years; what if they changed their names and couldn't tell the order of the ages? How embarrassing would it be if they called each other wrong? Compared to Da, Er, San, Si, Wu, Liu, Qi, Ba were definitely inferior. With their younger sisters as a foil, they suddenly felt their names were quite imposing, always standing out. Therefore, they couldn't change them, absolutely couldn't change them!
Bai Wu and her friends were thinking: "Our parents are so biased! They were born in the same litter, so why is there such a big difference between this litter and the previous one? They won't change our names? Fine, let's have a fight! If we can't win, we'll cry our hearts out and see if they dare not give us a taste of their own medicine!"
So, before the original owner was born, it was basically the next litter causing trouble for the previous litter. In the end, the previous litter had to coax the next litter to play, and also take out the food and toys that they had almost hidden away to shut up the crying mouths.
They always bickered and played around like this until the original owner was born, at which point the fighting stopped. Both fox dens unanimously decided that they absolutely couldn't let their youngest child repeat their mistakes. After heated discussion and ruthless suppression, Bai Niu finally came up with a more normal name. Everyone applauded, except for the original owner, who was unhappy: how could a male be given a female name?
Being treated like a doll and loved by everyone, the original owner did not protest and silently accepted her name.
In the Bai family, Bai Niu has the most say, but if Bai Niu disagrees, nothing is negotiable. So, in reality, Bai Niu is the one in charge, and everyone understands this, except for Bai Niu himself.
The white bull certainly has a great physique, with both muscles and good looks. However, as a fox-type beastman, it seems there aren't any who aren't good-looking.
Bai Niu was raised to be fair and plump, the envy of many females. Besides Bai Niu, she had many suitors. However, Bai Niu looked down on everyone else, only having eyes for Bai Niu, who was recognized by the fox clan as an ice queen.
As soon as she spoke, Bai Niu immediately dropped his patriarchal authority and hugged his spouse with a doting expression. His restless hands moved down, which drew unanimous contempt from the onlookers: Can't you speak properly?
Bai Niu patted Bai Niu's hand with satisfaction and said softly, "Our family is small."
All the children, including Xiang Wan, were inwardly complaining: There were eleven people in total, compared to the neighbor's family of six, and the other members of the fox clan had at most ten people. They really didn't know where she got the idea that their family was small.
"So, Da Bao, Er Bao, and San Bao shouldn't go out. It's freezing cold, and if anything happens to them, my little heart can't take it."
The white cow wholeheartedly agreed, its face showing complete agreement.
Bai Da and the others were collectively stunned: They always use this excuse to prevent them from going out. The youngest child can already find a spouse. How are they young?
Xiang Wan has truly broadened her horizons to see children spoiled to this extent. No wonder the original owner of this body sneaked out; if it were her, she would have done the same.
"Listen to your mother, stay home and do more housework, don't tire your mother out."
They all scoffed again: "Washing clothes, cooking, sweeping, snow removal, sharpening knives—which of these tasks didn't they do? Mom gets tired because she's been exhausted from being up all night and can't get out of bed."
The three Bai brothers, Bai Da, Bai Er, and Bai San, exchanged glances, none of them willing to be the first to step forward. The females, meanwhile, silently tugged at their skirts, wondering where they would go to visit friends and relatives after they left. As for Xiang Wan, the male, she was completely ignored by the group.
"Now that your father has spoken, my children, we must be his strong support, protect this family, and wait for his triumphant return!"
When Bai Niu raised her chubby arm to announce the end of the meeting, Bai Da and the others looked constipated and remained seated. The females all got up and left, their backsides burning with impatience.
Xiang Wan was pondering how to bring up the idea of going along, because she didn't want to end up like the original owner, relying on that one in ten thousand chance of survival to be picked up.
“You little brats, why aren’t you getting out of here? Can’t you see that your mother and I still have something to say? You have no sense at all. It’s hard for your mother to worry about you every day. Aren’t you ashamed?”
Bai Niu kicked Bai Da and the others out of the house, one after another. Xiang Wan was left staring at Bai Niu with wide eyes, completely bewildered.
The youngest, male, can't even understand this simple thing? Shouldn't we find him a female?
Thinking this to himself, Bai Niu saw that Xiang Wan was so thin and frail that he couldn't bear to kick her and quietly reduced the force of his kick.
Xiang Wan crawled down to the ground following his feet, which terrified Bai Niu, who shoved Bai Niu against the wall. With a loud bang, countless pebbles fell, and Xiang Wan felt a sharp pain for him.
"Little one, how are you? Did you get hurt?" Bai Niu asked with concern, her grip on Xiang Wan's arm quite strong. Xiang Wan hadn't been kicked, but her arm was almost broken from the grip, and her face instantly turned ashen.
"You idiot, if anything happens to my youngest son, you'll be sorry! Get out, and don't you dare get into my bed today!"
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