HCB Chapter 67 Family background
Chapter 67 Family background
Le Chu only found out the next day that Lei Xiu had successfully found lodging at Le Zhi's house. By the time he realized that Lei Xiu's plan to prevent the clan from arranging accommodations for him was this, it was too late to stop him.
Therefore, now, Le Chu could only stand in the courtyard of the Le Zhi family with twitching lips, looking at Lei Xiu who was acting like the master of the house, not knowing what to say.
"Clan Chief Lechu." As the victor of the first round, Lei Xiu was able to maintain his composure. He calmly nodded to Lechu and asked her purpose with his eyes.
A tightness gripped her chest, but there was nothing she could do. Since things had come to this, Le Chu could only wait and see. "Lei Xiu, I'm looking for Le Zhi. Is he here?"
“Zhizhi said before leaving this morning that after making breakfast for Lezhong, she would go to collect with her friends and wouldn’t be back until the afternoon. Is there anything you need from her? If you’re not in a hurry, you can come back in the afternoon, or I can pass on the message,” Lei Xiu said calmly.
"Alright, it's nothing serious." Although she was angry, Le Chu maintained the demeanor of a clan leader and smiled as she spoke, "The rainy season is almost here, so I came to see if Le Zhizai needed any help and to remind him of some precautions. Since he's not here, I'll come back later."
"Thank you for your trouble. I will pass it on to Zhizhi. Actually, there's no need to go to so much trouble. With me here, nothing will happen to Zhizhi."
Enraged by Lei Xiu's constant use of the slang "Zhi Zhi," Le Chu left in a huff, her resentment almost overflowing. Her newly acquired child hadn't even been fully raised, and yet this had already attracted a covetous eye—no one would be happy about that. Especially since this person was someone Le Chu herself had introduced to Le Zhi, which made her even angrier.
Lei Xiu, watching Le Chu leave, remained expressionless except for his sharp words, as if the infuriating words he had just uttered were not his own.
In the afternoon, having finished her work for the day, Lezhi skipped and hopped home in the afternoon sunlight.
"Lei Xiu, I'm back! Guess what I found today," Le Zhi greeted with a smile.
"What did you find? Is it some fresh ingredients again?" Lei Xiu helped Lezhi take the basket off his back, his eyebrows arching in a relaxed smile as he responded.
"Hehe, it's not that. It's just that the place we went to today had super lush lichens, and I found a lot of vegetables I've never eaten before. Leyou and the others also took me to collect salt rocks. It was the first time I'd ever seen salt rocks grow. It was so amazing."
Chattering away, Lezhi shared the day's events with Lei Xiu, clearly very satisfied with what he had learned.
"Yes, it's a lot of fun. When we have time, I'll take you to collect firestones and icestones. Those two look even more magical." Lei Xiu listened attentively to Le Zhi's sharing with a smile, completely unlike the coldness he showed when talking to Le Chu.
"Okay, then let's find a chance to go when you're feeling a bit better."
Lezhi casually accepted Lei Xiu's invitation, treating it as a normal arrangement between friends sharing a room. After all, as an immature cub, he was often reminded by his elders not to leave the tribe alone. Whenever he left the tribe and missed the main gathering team, he had to meet up with a friend, so Lezhi was already quite familiar with this procedure.
Although Lei Xiu knew this, he was still incredibly happy that Le Zhi had kept her promise. "Okay. By the way, where's Mao Qiu? Didn't it come back with you?"
"Hmm, after Furball brought me back to the tribe, it ran off on its own. I guess it's off to play again. Don't worry about it, it'll come back on its own."
At first, Lezhi would worry about Maoqiu, but now, after Maoqiu's occasional visits, Lezhi has gotten used to it. He still worries sometimes, but he's slowly learning to let go. Maoqiu is said to be his partner, but in reality, there's no contract between them, so Maoqiu is a free individual, and Lezhi doesn't want to restrict its nature too much.
Nodding, Lei Xiu pondered for a moment, feeling that Mao Qiu's outing wasn't just a simple matter of playing. "Okay, I understand. I've already packed everything I brought today, would you like to take a look?"
Upon hearing Lei Xiu's suggestion, Le Zhi instinctively wanted to refuse, but seeing the expectant look in Lei Xiu's eyes, the words of refusal turned around and she said, "Ah...ah, okay, okay."
"Come with me." With Lezhi's consent, Lei Xiu took Lezhi's wrist and led her to the storage room as if presenting a treasure. The once empty room was now crammed full.
Lei Xiu has a bit of OCD about him; all kinds of items are neatly arranged according to their purpose and size, making them very orderly at a glance and easy to find. The jars that Le Zhi had mentioned missing before are now stored in the storage room in dozens of different sizes. Given the durability of fluorite jars, they are enough for a family to use for a long time.
"This number looks like more than what you brought out before?" Lezhi counted the number of jars suspiciously, making sure she hadn't miscounted.
“Yes, the living room wasn’t big enough before, so I only took out part of it. Not just this, but this side too.” Lei Xiu showed Le Zhi the wealth he had accumulated.
Following the direction Lei Xiu pointed, Le Zhi saw the various metal and stone weapons she had glimpsed earlier. Now, they were all polished to a shine and hung in order on the wall of the storage room. In addition to the weapons, there were also various kinds of ropes on the shelves next to them, of different thicknesses and materials. Some were obviously made of plant materials, while others emitted a strange light and had a metallic feel to the touch. Le Zhi was not sure what the raw materials were.
In the corner, there were several large wooden boxes. Lei Xiu went up and opened them one by one. Inside were all kinds of furs and cloths, which Lei Xiu had sorted by thickness and material. "I'll have someone make clothes out of these fabrics for you later. They should be enough for a while."
Judging from Lei Xiu's tone, he seemed somewhat dissatisfied with what was before him. Le Zhi realized that Lei Xiu's earlier statement about having little wealth was probably genuine. He wondered if all tree spirits were like Lei Xiu, with only this young cub belonging to an impoverished clan.
Lei Xiu had tidied up the storage room neatly. Although there were many things, it did not look messy at all. In particular, the things he brought were all things that would be used in daily life, and there were no fancy or impractical items. After seeing it, Le Zhi had the illusion that he had become a rich man overnight.
After visiting the storage room, Lei Xiu led Le Zhi to the kitchen. The cabinets, which had been mostly empty before, were now filled with Lei Xiu's various practical yet beautifully designed kitchenware, leaving Le Zhi dazzled.
Putting aside the extra sets of cutlery, the various sizes of pots are at least very practical. The only downside is that the designs are a bit monotonous, mainly just deep and shallow pots, and they are mostly flat-bottomed. According to the habits of the tree spirits, this is more than enough, but it is a little insufficient for Lezhi. However, it is still much better than having only a pitiful pot before.
Having a slight collecting habit since her previous life, Yuezhi felt a surge of satisfaction upon seeing these pots. Thinking that the stone slab she had ordered from Yuezhong would soon be in her hands, a smile unconsciously appeared on Yuezhi's face.
"Do you like it? If you want anything else later, just tell me and I'll figure something out." Seeing Lezhi's satisfied expression, Lei Xiu also smiled.