Little Family Treasure of the Apocalyptic Boss

Chapter 23: The Caravan

“Ye Zi, these vegetables grow much faster than we imagined! Look, this is the first harvest!” 

The little snake sub-beast eagerly brought out the vegetables picked today, showcasing each one to Ye Ze as if seeking praise.

Then, he picked out the amount needed for cooking right away.

When halfway through, the little snake sub-beast looked up at Ye Ze, somewhat embarrassed, and made a request, “Today, can Little One, Little Two, and Gray also join us for dinner? They helped too!”

“Of course.” Ye Ze pinched the little snake sub-beast’s cheek. “Didn’t I already say? Whatever you want to do with things at home, you can. No need to be so cautious.”

“And also, if you want me to see these things, just take me to the warehouse. It’ll be tiring to bring them over.”

“Not tiring at all!” The little snake sub-beast immediately shook his head vigorously. Raising one arm to show his strength.

Ye Ze didn’t seem like he cared about these things. If Nuo Nuo wanted to share these with Ye Zi, he shouldn’t let Ye Zi walk too much!

Ye Ze chuckled softly. He gently wiped away the sweat from the little snake sub-beast’s forehead with his fingertip. Taking advantage of the moment when the little snake sub-beast was distracted, he flicked his finger, “You’re sweating. Go change your clothes, and be careful not to catch a cold.”

“Oh.” The little snake sub-beast covered his forehead, looking a bit aggrieved.

Always flicking, always flicking. It’ll make me stupid!

Originally, I’m already a little silly, it doesn’t matter… “Huh?”

Ye Ze lowered his head, looking at the two bold white geese pecking at his legs, amused.

“I told you to protect Nuo Nuo. Are you both doing your duties?” Ye Ze lifted his leg, pushing the two white geese away.

“Honk!” The white geese proudly puffed up their chests. Their wings spread out, flapping proudly.

“I wasn’t praising you.” Ye Ze was speechless.

“Ye Zi, I’ve changed my clothes!” 

The obedient little snake sub-beast changed from a bunny to a kitten. Surrounded by warm fur, he began happily preparing today’s meal.

However, there was now an even taller tail behind them.

Ye Ze first helped the little snake sub-beast with his tasks. Once everything was done, he quietly stood behind him, watching the little snake sub-beast busily working at the stove.

The cat ears under the hat also twitched slightly, making Ye Ze feel itchy.

Ye Ze, who never made himself uncomfortable, reached out and grabbed the tail, playfully hanging onto the back of the little snake sub-beast.

The two white geese, circling around the little snake sub-beast’s tail, felt a bit itchy in their mouths.

Today, the little snake sub-beast didn’t use the stove, so the groundhog had some free time and really wanted to cheer on their daring siblings. But a quick glance at Ye Ze… forget it. It wouldn’t end well anyway, so why invite trouble for itself. [Suddenly disheartened]

Ye Ze half-closed his eyes, gazing at the rising smoke in front of him, his expression tinted with a warm yellow glow.

“Do you enjoy cooking, Nuo Nuo?”

Every time it came to preparing meals, the little snake sub-beast always seemed particularly eager. Once he had the means, he even independently researched many new dishes. Such proactive and enthusiastic creativity was quite rare for someone like the little snake sub-beast.

“Huh?” The little snake sub-beast took a break from his busyness to respond. But this question, for someone who had always been in a passive position, was a bit beyond his scope of thought.

Glancing back at Ye Ze, his gaze was innocent yet bewildered.

Before meeting Ye Ze, he weren’t qualified to discuss what he liked or didn’t like; after meeting Ye Ze, his life became so colorful and exciting that he didn’t have time to think, nor dared to think about what he liked.

—It’s good now. It’s wonderfully rich and prosperous like a dream. He couldn’t be greedy.

So, when Ye Ze suddenly asked him this, he didn’t know how to answer.

“I guess, I do?” The little snake sub-beast thought seriously and gave this answer.

A completely uncertain tone.

Ye Ze chuckled. It was a kind of headache he expected.

“Then let’s watch some related cooking videos for now.” It was better than the little snake sub-beast figuring it out alone. “If Nuo Nuo is really interested, we can buy more professional tutorials later. How about that?”

The little snake sub-beast blinked. For some reason, he felt a bit satisfied and joyful in their heart. “Okay.”

Ye Ze ruffled their head, giving encouragement.

He enjoyed seeing the little snake sub-beast look like he had the whole world to themselves.

But he didn’t want the little snake sub-beast’s life to always have only one color.

If the little snake sub-beast could find a hobby he genuinely enjoyed, that would be the best.

Seeing him smile, the little snake sub-beast also smiled broadly.

With a flick of the spatula, the braised pork belly was plated.

The groundhog immediately approached the little snake sub-beast’s hand, raising both paws high, ready to receive the dish.

But before today’s dish could land, Ye Ze intercepted halfway.

With a long reach, the tall man effortlessly caught the plate from the little snake sub-beast’s hand. With a gentle push backward, a vine extended from the vine table, taking the plate.

Perfectly served!

The groundhog jumped in frustration.

This outsider! Definitely, absolutely, intentionally opposing it!

Even this bit of interaction had to be snatched away. Hmph! So petty!

“Honk honk,” the white geese agreed.

Ye Ze himself paid no attention to this. He affectionately took the little snake sub-beast’s hand. “Come on, let’s eat. We’ll leave the cleaning to the Crimson Thorn Vine.”

With his free hand, he raised a finger to stop the little snake sub-beast from refusing, “I have a surprise to tell Nuo Nuo. Would you like to know what it is?”

The little snake sub-beast immediately closed their mouth, intrigued by Ye Ze’s “surprise”.

“Squeak!” The groundhog was frustrated beyond words.

Weren’t these communicators so good at manipulating situations like this?!

Noble and dignified… okay, the cutie pie didn’t have those qualities.

It was all because of those stupid dragons that lost their eggs!

The groundhog stomped angrily, then begrudgingly followed along.

“Surprise.” Sitting at the table, the little snake sub-beast eagerly looked at Ye Ze with big eyes, brimming with anticipation. His hands clenched into fists, as if he was about to pound on the table in impatience.

Ye Ze added a few extra pieces of meat to his bowl. Finally, he stopped teasing them and revealed, “Nuo Nuo, remember how you’ve been wanting to find the merchant caravan? Well, I ran into them today.”

“Really?!” The little snake sub-beast’s eyes lit up.

“Really,” Ye Ze confirmed.

“After dinner, we’ll organize the goods for trade. We’ll set off tomorrow morning to meet them and exchange goods. It’ll probably be a three or four-day trip.” Ye Ze negotiated with the little snake sub-beast step by step.

Finally, he added, “This caravan has many people, probably larger than the ones we encountered before.”

So, there was no need to be unhappy about this anymore. They had encountered something even better.

“Okay!” The little snake sub-beast nodded excitedly. His tail wagged under the table, thrilled beyond words.

Although this time it was Ye Ze who found the caravan, it also made up for his mistake a little bit.

After all, it was because of him that Ye Ze missed the caravan.

The little snake sub-beast lost his him appetite, instead counting their chips for the exchange. Then, with a sigh of contentment, they said, “Luckily, I’ve been working hard on weaving lately. There’s still a stock of handmade goods in the warehouse!”

…When are you not working hard?

If this were in modern times, he’d definitely be the evil boss exploiting child labor.

Ye Ze massaged his temples, feeling helpless about the little snake sub-beast’s skewed self-awareness.

The next day, the little snake sub-beast crawled out of bed early, rushing to the kitchen to prepare a hearty breakfast.

The three little creatures, who were still in bed, smelled the delicious aroma and followed one after another. They blindly found their way to the food, then plopped under the kitchen table, dozing off.

Ye Ze stepped over the three food guardians and approached the little snake sub-beast. Watching the always busy little snake sub-beast, he couldn’t help but feel that most of the burdens fell on them.

The little snake sub-beast had been so excited yesterday that he had to coax him to sleep late, and now he was already busy with travel arrangements early in the morning. He understood the little snake sub-beast’s excitement, but it wasn’t good for his health to not rest properly.

“Morning, Ye Zi!” The little snake sub-beast was completely oblivious to Ye Ze’s concerns. Seeing Ye Ze approaching, he greeted him enthusiastically.

Not a hint of having stayed up all night.

“Morning, Nuo Nuo.” Ye Ze affectionately patted the little snake sub-beast’s head. “We have plenty of time. You don’t need to rush next time.”

“It’s not early anymore. Mr. Sun is already shining his butt.” The little snake sub-beast stared at the vegetables in the pot, responding without even lifting his eyelids.

He had successfully gotten used to Ye Zi’s antics and tantrums while he cooked.

He absolutely wouldn’t let Ye Zi ruin another batch of vegetables!

The little snake sub-beast subconsciously straightened his posture, feeling a bit proud.

Breakfast was quickly prepared with the teamwork of the two.

The three little creatures, who had been asleep, finally woke up groggily. They each sat in their designated seats and began to enjoy today’s meal.

If this were in the post-apocalyptic world, if someone had told Ye Ze that he would be eating with three animals, he would probably have expected a disastrous outcome. But now, when he actually encountered such a scene, Ye Ze only felt relaxed and pleased.

Especially when he saw the little snake sub-beast taking care of the three animals. There was a sense of satisfaction in having a harmonious family.

After finishing his own breakfast, Ye Ze put down his chopsticks, feeling satisfied. Leaning back in his chair, he quietly watched the little snake sub-beast eating with a spoon. His obedient appearance softened his heart, and even his appetite seemed to be rejuvenated.

But he couldn’t eat anymore.

Ye Ze regained his composure from the little snake sub-beast and assigned tasks to the three little creatures. “Nuo Nuo and I will be away for a few days. You guys stay here and look after the house.”

Thinking of how precious the field was to the little snake sub-beast, Ye Ze emphasized, “Remember, you must take good care of the vegetables in the field.”

He didn’t want to come back and see the little snake sub-beast crying his eyes out over a bitten leaf.

“If I find a single leaf bitten by bugs, you’ll be punished with three days’ worth of rations,” Ye Ze warned sternly, showing no mercy.

“Honk!” The big goose flapped its wings in protest.

They were livestock geese, not farming geese.

Just being able to watch over the land was already impressive enough. Your demands are too unreasonable!

The groundhog was even more direct.

Jumping onto the table, it waved its paws menacingly in front of Ye Ze, “Squeak!”

No way! It had finally found a way to communicate, it couldn’t just let Ye Ze take it away like this. It had to go with them!

“Denied.”

A branch extended from the table and pulled the groundhog away. Ye Ze firmly refused.

Since the three little creatures had arrived, he hadn’t spent much time alone with the little snake sub-beast.

“Squeak!” What a stingy guy!

The groundhog, now tied up on the ground, grumbled discontentedly.

But in the end, the groundhog still followed along.

The world earth spirit, born with the ability to conceal its presence, was hidden in the little snake sub-beast’s backpack. It wasn’t until they reached their destination that the little snake sub-beast enthusiastically opened the heavily loaded basket and saw the groundhog lying inside, having finished three apples, a box of strawberries, five apricots, and several bags of bread.

The goods were significantly reduced! qaq

The little snake sub-beast stared blankly at the depleted basket, feeling extremely aggrieved.

These were all the fruits and vegetables they had grown themselves, along with the snacks he had rushed to make in the morning.

He had originally planned to give them as gifts to Ye Zi. But now, they were all gone!

The little snake sub-beast pouted, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. We have plenty more in our warehouse. Look, it’s already filled up again.” Ye Ze quickly patted the little snake sub-beast’s head. With a wave of his hand, the small backpack was filled to the brim once more. Seeing the little snake sub-beast take a deep breath, Ye Ze felt relieved, knowing that the tears were at least held back for now.

Then he pulled out a certain groundhog, who had eaten until its belly was swollen, and he had a headache.

This groundhog, of an unknown species, was able to hide itself intentionally to the point where even he couldn’t detect its presence.

He had been careless!

“Anyway, you know you caused trouble, right?” Ye Ze pulled the groundhog aside and pointed back at the little snake sub-beast. “So, you better behave in the latter half of the journey. Your responsibility is to keep Nuo Nuo happy and not cause trouble for him.”

Ye Ze threatened, “Otherwise, I’ll stew you and serve it as compensation to Nuo Nuo.”

The carefully prepared goods had just encountered a “major disaster.”

The little snake sub-beast was holding onto them tightly now, his arms wrapped around the backpack, holding it close to his chest, fearing that the entire backpack might disappear without a sound at any moment.

The groundhog felt guilty. Its ears drooped against its head, and it awkwardly scratched its belly with its paws. It didn’t retort to Ye Ze’s extremely discriminatory and oppressive remarks.

After all, there were plenty of snacks in the cave.

It hadn’t realized how special the contents of the bag were to the little snake sub-beast.

“Squeak.”

Sorry.

It really didn’t mean to.

The groundhog already felt very guilty, and now it had been firmly educated by Ye Ze. With its head hanging low, it apologized to the little snake sub-beast.

The little snake sub-beast’s eyes were red, and their voice was slightly choked up, almost on the verge of tears. He shook his head gently and responded seriously, “It’s okay. Gray doesn’t need to apologize. I was just a little excited, and I’ll be fine in a while.”

It was his own fault for not noticing Gray. Gray ate the goods because it was hungry. Nuo Nuo wasn’t angry, Nuo Nuo wasn’t sad. QAQ “…”

The earth spirit, the groundhog, would never get hungry. It was simply greedy.

Groundhog: What should I do? It feels even more guilty now!

“Squeak squeak squeak!” The groundhog stretched out its paws and gently patted the little snake sub-beast’s tail, motioning for them to look over.

As the little snake sub-beast lowered their head, the ground that had been covered with dry leaves suddenly bulged up, reaching in front of the little snake sub-beast, and a sunflower made of mud emerged.

It was Nuo Nuo’s favorite flower!

The little snake sub-beast’s eyes lit up. His attention was completely captivated by the exquisite mud sculpture of the sunflower. He excitedly circled around the sunflower bush. His fingers traced the clear patterns on the leaves and petals, giving off an impulse to pack it up and take it home.

Ye Ze raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised as he looked at the groundhog.

He hadn’t expected the little mouse to be so quick to learn and adapt.

Its intelligence was much higher than he had imagined.

The relieved groundhog didn’t have time to pay attention to him for now. Otherwise, it would definitely be indignant: It had been said that it was the unique spirit of the world! How could you think it was so foolish!

Thanks to the little snake sub-beast’s easygoing nature, the small incidents along the way passed by “peacefully.”

Guided by the spirit stone monitor, Ye Ze and the little snake sub-beast successfully appeared on the road where the caravan was passing through.

This caravan was indeed massive. There were dozens of cargo crates alone, and the beasts pulling the carts were all fourth-level wind-speed flying horses. Walking through the dense jungle, they formed a majestic caravan.

Each checkpoint was guarded by a captain whose cultivation reached the level of a beast general. Under the identification of the inter-dimensional trader, it could be seen that these individuals were all marked with a prompt indicating the presence of a spatial device.

They must be carrying rare and precious goods.

The leader of the caravan was even a beast marshal, with as many as three spatial rings on his hand. Riding on a fifth-level flying horse king, he walked solemnly at the forefront.

It was also him who first noticed the two roadblockers, Ye Ze and the little snake sub-beast.

“Who are you?” The leader narrowed his eyes, tightened his grip on the spear in his hand, and looked at them vigilantly. After realizing that he couldn’t gauge Ye Ze’s strength, his muscles became even more tense.

Influenced by the leader’s aura, the accompanying guards also became vigilant, raising their alertness to two hundred percent, guarding against the two intruders.

Caravans traveling outside with a large amount of cargo were the best targets for robbery.

Especially in recent years, with frequent disasters in various places, the proportion of wandering beastmen had continued to rise. Even for a team like theirs, a slight carelessness could lead to disaster.

And once they failed, they would either lose everything or die on the spot. They couldn’t afford not to be vigilant.

However, this time, the leader obviously guessed wrong.

Ye Ze was not a ferocious bandit, but on the contrary, a god of wealth who came to deliver money.

Ye Ze held the little snake sub-beast’s hand, gently rubbing the palm of the little snake sub-beast’s hand to comfort them, who was frightened. Slowly stepping out of the nearby bushes, he raised his other hand, revealing the jar of honey he was carrying in front of the members of the caravan.

Standing at a safe distance, he announced loudly, “We mean no harm. We noticed the whereabouts of the caravan and specifically came here to exchange goods.”

The leader looked at the jar of clear golden honey, his gaze changing slightly. But he gradually relaxed his guard.

Ye Ze’s guess was indeed correct. This was not an ordinary large caravan.

The leader was a member of a large commercial association from a medium-sized city, possessing considerable wealth and strength.

But even so, he had never seen such high-quality honey before.

Being able to casually take out such honey as proof of identity, compared to the precarious wanderers, the leader was more willing to believe Ye Ze’s explanation – although being able to track them with a sub-beastman in the wilderness seemed very abnormal.

“Sorry, dear friend, I was rude. It’s just that the recent wild areas have not been peaceful. Please forgive me.” The leader put away his weapons, dismounted, and showed a friendly smile to Ye Ze. “May I ask what you would like to exchange? If my caravan has these materials, I am willing to trade with you.”

Ye Ze was very satisfied with the leader’s smoothness.

Regardless of what the other party was scheming, being able to communicate peacefully was the most convenient.

“I want to exchange for anything that interests me,” Ye Ze said bluntly. Then he looked down at the nervous little snake sub-beast and smiled, “Let’s see what my sub-beastman likes.”

“My… my sub-beastman!”

The little snake sub-beast blushed from head to toe in an instant, his cheeks redder than ever before. Shyly curling his tail under their belly, he shrunk it down.

Um, Nuo Nuo, you need to wake up!

A beastman as capable as Ye Zi wouldn’t be interested in you. He only said that to introduce your identity conveniently, to make things easier. You shouldn’t think too much!

The snake steamed buns seemed as if they were bouncing around in the steam, extending their invisible little hands to pat themselves a few times. His thoughts were boiled until they were unclear.

Subconsciously, he lifted the hem of his clothes and greeted the leader.

It was the kind of response to an introduction from a partner.

“Hello.”

Ah! What is he doing! Isn’t this admitting it indirectly?!

The little snake sub-beast was almost exposed by the steamed buns.

But Ye Ze was delighted by his trembling and adorable tone. He gently patted his head with a soothing gesture.

The leader was momentarily speechless as he listened to Ye Ze’s arrogant shopping statement.

Looking at the little snake sub-beast, whose soft and shy personality was completely unlike the type that Ye Ze, a ruthless character, would choose to match. At least in his experience, beastmen like Ye Ze, who were supremely capable, mostly married sub-beastmen who were equally shrewd and capable of handling internal affairs. At worst, they would be the cheerful and outgoing type who wouldn’t be shy in public.

Suddenly, he felt even more puzzled by this strange combination.

Ye Ze didn’t care how the leader evaluated them. After teasing the thin-faced little snake sub-beast, he took out the first batch of goods.

Apples, bananas, peaches…

Pastries, egg tarts, osmanthus cakes…

Various fragrances wafted out, causing the sharp senses of the beastmen to salivate in unison.

What is this?

Fruits and food that they had never seen before. Just smelling them would attract all the cravings in one’s stomach.

The leader secretly glanced at Ye Ze’s expression, but only saw infinite calmness there. Even on the face of the usually restless snake sub-beast, there was a usual calmness.

It was obvious that these precious and extraordinary foods in their eyes were not rare items for these two individuals.

The leader was a person of great courage.

Although the two baskets of food Ye Ze brought out were of high value, considering the quantity, they couldn’t take too much. However, the leader didn’t ask about the subsequent supply at all, and directly ordered his subordinates to open the crates one by one.

It’s worth noting that even when passing through some medium-sized tribes, not all of these crates would be opened. But now, solely for these two individuals, the entire caravan’s goods were laid out, creating a trading market.

“There are still some rare items stored in storage rings, which can’t be openly displayed here. If you’re interested, we can discuss them separately after you’ve finished selecting the regular goods.”

“Okay.” Ye Ze agreed. He casually tossed the two baskets of food to the leader and walked into the trading market with the little snake sub-beast. “These are gifts as a token of gratitude for stopping halfway. Please accept them.”

The leader’s sturdy arms caught the two large bamboo baskets, and he smiled with satisfaction.

He knew he had made the right bet.

As long as they could successfully return to the town this time, his assets would undergo a tremendous transformation.

“Brothers, come over here. Today, we’ll set up camp early and have a barbecue!”