NOVPUB
Chapter 400: Chapter 403 Homecoming Success_1
Jiang’s Clan talked to herself, feeling bored and quite awkward.
Never mind, the meat had nothing to do with her anyway, and they didn’t intend to share any with her. It was pointless for her to look on; she might as well go and look for some mountain goods.
But before she left, she still swallowed hard.
That chicken smelled really delicious! 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝑏.𝘤𝘰𝑚
After Jiang’s Clan left, Qiao Duo’er finally breathed a sigh of relief.
If Jiang’s Clan had seen the Mountain Muntjac, by tomorrow the entire village would know about it, and the story would be blown out of proportion.
As for the roasted chicken, she and Tan Zhenghong really couldn’t finish it, but it could be fed to the Mountain Muntjac.
That was certainly better than giving it to Jiang’s Clan. If she ate it, wouldn’t she have the energy to bully Chao Lian?
The effects of the knockout drug would last six hours. After having their fill, Qiao Duo’er and Tan Zhenghong picked young leaves in the forest cave.
Suddenly, having seven more mouths to feed at home, they felt the pressure.
During their rest, Tan Zhenghong also made a wreath, and Qiao Duo’er, wearing it, looked even more like a fairy.
Time flew quickly, and soon the sky darkened.
Qiao Duo’er and Tan Zhenghong returned to the cave, ate some dried flatbread to fill their stomachs, and prepared to go home.
Under the cover of darkness, they successfully made it back to their house.
Mountain Muntjacs have a strong sense of territory, so Tan Zhenghong could only place the unconscious family members temporarily in the firewood shed to avoid unnecessary casualties.
In the middle of the night, Tan Zhenghong and Qiao Duo’er were awakened by noise; the seven Muntjacs, now awake, were restless, wailing and constantly ramming the walls.
Qiao Duo’er clenched her teeth and had no choice but to knock them out again.
The next morning, the two got up early. They had to hurry to build the lean-to properly.
With the Mountain Muntjacs being so active, their enclosure was made of fences circled around an area with a small grass hut in the middle, which served as their shelter for sleeping at night or from the rain.
Luckily, there were plenty of leftover fences from the house building, and to prevent the Mountain Muntjacs from escaping, the fences had to be nailed down deeply.
After the sun rose, Qiao Duo’er brought water to Tan Zhenghong.
Tan Zhenghong climbed down from the ladder and drank from the water cupped in his wife’s hands.
"I’m going out, I’ll be back to cook at noon. The water’s boiled and left on the table for you, drink some if you’re thirsty," she instructed before leaving to cut young leaves.
By evening, the seven Muntjacs had settled into their new home.
Clearly despising this freedom-less place, they tried escaping several times, failing each attempt and injuring themselves in the process.
After two hours of commotion, they finally calmed down.
With a day and night without food, they also ate a large portion of the leaves Qiao Duo’er had fed them.
Eating was the precursor to their coming to terms with the situation.
Seeing one of the Muntjacs in the adjacent lean-to, Qiao Duo’er couldn’t help but say, "It looks so pitiful."
They were Musk Deer too—one enjoying a group of spouses and children, the other solitary and alone. Why was there such a disparity?
Qiao Duo’er admitted she favored the first Musk Deer, so she wanted to steal two wives for it from the other one.
But having already captured and confined them, and then to snatch their wives—that would be incredibly immoral, right?
"Just wait until next year, and we can introduce the younger one in," said Tan Zhenghong while rubbing his wife’s head. Among the two young ones, there was a female, already over five months old; she could breed by the end of next year at the latest.
Qiao Duo nodded, that was all they could do for now.
They hoped they’d be lucky enough to capture more Musk Deer in the future.
That way, the original one could have its own wives, preventing the need for inbreeding later on.
Inbreeding, with its similar genetic material, made it easy for offspring to be born with genetic defects, Musk Deer were no exception.
