Beauty and the Beasts

Chapter 253: Wheat

“By the way, why haven’t we seen your mother?” Bai Qingqing assumed that Parker’s mother wouldn’t be as wilful, but when she looked around at the females who hadn’t been carried, she didn’t spot her.

“The females in the royal family naturally don’t have to queue. It’s better that way since I won’t have to see any annoying people.” Parker stroked Bai Qingqing’s back and said arrogantly, “I must defeat my father and become the new leopard king so that you can wait at home comfortably too.”

Bai Qingqing smiled encouragingly. Not wanting Parker to have too much pressure, she said, “It’s already very good that they’re giving out seeds. Our life the way it is now isn’t too bad.”

As they chatted, they finally got their turn. The ape beastman giving out the seeds scooped out a stone bowl full of rice without lifting his head.

Parker put Bai Qingqing down, then untied a bag made of animal tail from his waist, and caught every single grain of rice.

“Thank you,” Bai Qingqing said as she stood at the side.

The ape beastman looked up. Seeing that it was Bai Qingqing, he said, “Wait.”

“Hm?” Parker supported the bottom of the bag as he happily tied it around his waist.

The ape beastman said, “Females who gave birth to children in the previous year can collect one more bowl of grains.”

“Really?” Bai Qingqing exclaimed. She then silently grumbled,?Did the whole City of Beastmen know that I’ve given birth to children?

But there are only a few hundred females in the City of Beastmen. If you exclude the young and old, that makes the number even smaller. Females only go into heat once a year, and the chances of them becoming pregnant are low, so it’s probably small news if a female gives birth to a litter of children.

Parker was also ecstatic. He quickly pulled the bag from his waist and opened it.

The ape beastman turned and scooped out another spoonful of brown grains. It was clear that the husks of the grains had been removed as they had a smooth surface.

“Wild grains,” Parker said with disdain as he kept the bag and prepared to hold the seeds in his hands.

Bai Qingqing’s eyes lit up.?Oh my god, it’s wheat! Why isn’t anyone planting wheat? Wheat can be planted on dry land and should be much easier to plant than rice.

After Parker collected the wheat grains, Bai Qingqing asked, “Why is nobody planting wheat?”

“Haven’t you eaten it before?” Parker asked back as he held the grains in his hands. “Wild grains look similar to rice, but they don’t taste good.”

“I’ve eaten them before.” Bai Qingqing rolled a few grains between her fingers and observed them. They were indeed wheat grains. Was this barley?

Bai Qingqing had never seen barley grains before. She only knew that they looked similar to wheat grains. However, she felt like these grains looked exactly like wheat.

“You still like it even though you’ve tried it?”?Qingqing’s so easy to take care of, Parker thought.?She’s even less picky about food than my mum.?“My mum always scatters these grains on the ground and lets them be as they grow. When they’re ripe, birds will come and peck on them. I loved to catch birds in the yard the most when I was young.”

The two of them walked side by side towards a spacious area. Bai Qingqing listened to Parker with great interest and couldn’t help but giggle upon imagining a small leopard catching sparrows all over the yard.

“Then how did your mum prepare the wild grains? Oh, and how do the females here eat their rice?” Bai Qingqing asked.

Parker replied, “They boil it with water in a stone pot and drink it. Rice water has a certain flavor, whereas wild grains boiled in water taste like medicine.”

“Um… no wonder you guys think it tastes terrible. Do you guys eat it in different ways?”?Wheat has to be ground into flour. Noodles taste so good!

Bai Qingqing only realized then how luxurious her previous lifestyle was. Even she began to look down on herself after comparing herself with everyone else. She’d really made things difficult for Parker and Winston. Despite her having rice for every single meal, they never reacted abnormally.

Parker replied, “How else do you eat it? Herbivorous beastmen seem to like eating it raw. Do you like to do that too?”

“No.” The grin on Bai Qingqing’s face grew wider. She excitedly shook Parker’s arm and asked, “Are wild grains very easy to plant?”