Chapter 8: 1.008 Crisis

"Half a jin of beef, ten buns, and a bowl of vegetable soup. That's all, make it quick." Lie Yan took two pairs of chopsticks, giving one pair to her son.

Lie Yan deliberately avoided looking directly at her, instead leaning over the edge of the table, peering at Doubao with a pair of watery, rippling blue eyes and a miserable little face.

Huo'er patted Doubao's head with heartache, "Doubao, if you're still hungry, you can have both of Huo'er's buns in a bit."

Doubao nodded like a pounding garlic press!

Lie Yan's mouth twitched slightly, and she tapped him with a chopstick, "No! From now on, Doubao can only eat four buns per meal. No more than that."

Doubao:...Waaaaah!

"Eating too much causes indigestion; Mother is doing this for your own good."

Lie Yan pulled out an exquisite little purse and counted the remaining silver, "Only two more days until we reach Pengcheng. Alright, alright, just endure it a little longer. If we spend all the money now, Mother will have to gnaw on wild vegetables later. Do you all want Mother to eat wild vegetables to stave off hunger all along the way?"

The three little ones shook their heads vigorously.

Lie Yan smiled with satisfaction, just about to praise the three little foodies, when she heard Xiao Pang mutter, "Compared to gnawing on wild vegetables, lying on the ground and gnawing on tree bark is even less effort."

Lie Yan tossed Xiao Pang right out. The fellow imitated a crow, cawing loudly, and after a while, flew back with a look of grievance, clutching a bun to continue munching while grumbling, "Mother is mean."

A village woman passing by was leading two children, and the two kids cried out in surprise, "Mom, Mom, have you ever seen a parrot eating buns?"

"A parrot eating buns that can even speak so fluently... is it a legendary magic pet?"

"Enough, enough, don't meddle." The woman glanced at Lie Yan, lowered her eyes, and with a slight lift of her lashes, immediately pulled the two children away.

Fortunately, there weren't many people in the small restaurant, otherwise, more trouble would have been stirred up. Lie Yan frowned and tucked Doubao's head into Huo'er's arms, instructing him, "Don't come out if nothing is happening, and definitely don't speak."

"You too, Xiao Pang." A parrot that could speak so fluently and was so spiritually intelligent was bound to attract envious eyes.

In this day and age, although magic pets that could speak weren't exceptionally precious, they were still considered rare luxuries for most commoners.

Lie Yan didn't want to invite unnecessary trouble, so she had instructed Doubao and Xiao Pang early on not to make a sound in crowded places.

Doubao was quite sensible.

However, Xiao Pang, this little foodie, was a natural chatterbox who couldn't hold his tongue; asking him not to speak was like asking for his life. As expected, despite being warned several times, he still couldn't help but make a sound.

After being glared at twice by Lie Yan, Xiao Pang hurriedly shut his mouth to munch on his bun, not daring to speak anymore.

After eating quickly, she wrapped the remaining beef and buns in oil paper. Lie Yan stuffed the items into the cloth pouch at her waist before taking Huo'er's hand and walking out.

The broken donkey cart traveled slowly along the suburban road.

It was the beginning of May, and the mountains were filled with blooming wildflowers in perfect colors.

After the three little foodies had eaten and drunk their fill, they grew drowsy inside the donkey cart. Lie Yan went to drive the cart; otherwise, if she had to drive this raggedy donkey herself, she wouldn't know if they'd even make it a hundred meters by nightfall.

Night gradually shrouded the earth.

After feeding the remaining beef to the three little foodies, Lie Yan instructed them to rest early, while she leaned against a tree by the cart, closing her eyes for a nap.

A hint of danger seemed to drift through the air; she wondered if she was being overly sensitive.