Chapter 121: Bright Yellow Soybeans

Ba Ke Er saw Zhang Fan staring fixedly at the yellow-colored little beans beside the wild boar's mouth, and he vaguely guessed something, but seeing how intently Zhang Fan looked, he didn't want to interrupt. Zhang Fan kept looking, then his hands started to itch, so he told Ba Ke Er to hold down the wild boar.

He then reached out, took that cute little yellow bean from beside the wild boar's mouth. After examining it carefully for a while, he finally confirmed it was a soybean! Moreover, each was a plump, large soybean!

Zhang Fan was so happy he almost jumped up! Great! Now he could finally have soy milk! He just didn't know if Wei Er had gypsum; if they did, that would be perfect! But even if not, they could use brine from the salt lake to set tofu.

Although brine is toxic, as long as the dosage is controlled, it's hardly dangerous! For ordinary people this is indeed risky, but! For Zhang Fan, who grew up in an orphanage, this is nothing at all!

Because the orphanage was basically self-sufficient, even everyday tofu was set by the aunts themselves. Remember when the orphanage had no sponsors, the aunts grew all the vegetables themselves, and the water came from wells they had dug in the yard.

Since there was no running water at first, everyone's water was carried back in buckets by the aunts, laboriously fetched from elsewhere. That well wasn't dug until several years later.

Later, as the aunts grew older, cooking and similar chores were gradually taken over by the older children, Zhang Fan being one of them. Since he had been by the aunts' side since childhood, he picked up many dishes just by watching and listening.

When he grew up, lacking money for tuition, he relied on his skills to work part-time at restaurants to earn his fees. Even when he first moved out of school, it was to make it easier to work. He earned some living expenses and pocket money.

But now it's great! Because of a small mistake by the Beast God, he suddenly arrived from Earth on the Beastmen Planet. Thinking of this, Zhang Fan actually began to thank the Beast God. Without the Beast God, he would never have met Ba Ke Er, nor would he ever know the sweet taste of loving and being loved.

Ba Ke Er looked at Zhang Fan's excited expression, then suddenly felt down, feeling inexplicably odd—just a moment ago everything was fine, why did it suddenly become like this? Just as Ba Ke Er was about to step forward to comfort Zhang Fan.

Zhang Fan suddenly lunged forward and knocked Ba Ke Er over! Ba Ke Er was even more baffled, but before he could ask, Zhang Fan rose onto his tiptoes, leaned into Ba Ke Er's ear, and softly said, "Ba Ke Er, it's great to have you!"

Hearing those words, Ba Ke Er finally put his mind at ease, returned the embrace, and whispered into Zhang Fan's ear, "Fan Fan, it's great to have you!"

After letting go, Zhang Fan, as if injected with adrenaline, held up the soybean in his hand and excitedly told Ba Ke Er, "Ba Ke Er, quickly look around to see if there are any more of these soybeans nearby!"

Every word Zhang Fan spoke was like an imperial decree to Ba Ke Er! As soon as he heard Zhang Fan wanted to find soybeans, Ba Ke Er immediately agreed, took the soybean from Zhang Fan's hand, examined it thoroughly, then brought it to his nose and sniffed hard.

Seeing Ba Ke Er's solemn, serious expression, Zhang Fan couldn't help laughing out loud. Ba Ke Er saw that Zhang Fan had finally been made to laugh by him, so he dropped the pretense of seriousness. He knocked out the wild boar with a strike, took out a rope, tied its legs, and hoisted it onto his shoulder.

He then took Zhang Fan's hand, and while sniffing the faint scent in the air, they walked step by step northward. Not long after, they left the small grove, but upon exiting, Ba Ke Er discovered that the scent in the air had strangely vanished.

Zhang Fan saw Ba Ke Er leading him out of the grove and assumed he had already found the soybean's location. But after leaving the grove, aside from seeing a small stream, there was no sign of any soybeans. He also found it strange. And seeing Ba Ke Er's bewildered expression made it even stranger.

"Ba Ke Er, why did you bring me to the riverbank? I asked you to look for soybeans, but there's no sign of any soybeans here!"

Ba Ke Er realized he couldn't hide it any longer, so he frankly told Zhang Fan the truth.

"Fan Fan, it's like this: I originally smelled soybeans in the air, which is why I brought you over. But as soon as we left the grove, that scent disappeared again, so today we probably won't find those soybeans."

Zhang Fan listened to Ba Ke Er's words, every one dripping with dejection, lightly patted his hand, then gripped it tightly, and spoke to Ba Ke Er affectionately:

"Ba Ke Er, it's fine if we don't find any today—after all, we have a whole lifetime ahead of us, and later we can travel the world seeking more unknown things!"

Hearing Zhang Fan's words, half comfort, half aspiration, Ba Ke Er's spirits instantly lifted!

"Mm! Fan Fan, you're absolutely right! We still have plenty of time! Later we can travel the world just like our fathers and Am did, roaming everywhere. When we grow old, we'll even be able to tell our grandchildren the story of us two."

Zhang Fan used to feel guilty whenever Ba Ke Er talked about having children or little beastmen cubs, because he knew he couldn't bear children like a true female, which would leave Ba Ke Er without offspring in the future.

After that encounter with the Beast God, hearing the Beast God say that if Zhang Fan hadn't come to the Beastmen Planet, Ba Ke Er would never have found a partner and would spend his life alone, Zhang Fan felt heartbroken. And whenever Ba Ke Er mentioned wanting children, Zhang Fan found himself, like Ba Ke Er, starting to wish for a child too.

But since he is a man—one who, even as the receptive partner, cannot bear children like a woman or a female—Zhang Fan has continually wondered whether he should suggest to Ba Ke Er adopting a child or something similar.

Unfortunately, he never got the chance, but today Ba Ke Er brought up the topic of children again, and Zhang Fan thought, this is an opportunity! Although he can't say outright that he isn't female, he can instead talk about adopting a child.

After hesitating a moment, Zhang Fan finally spoke to Ba Ke Er.

"Ba Ke Er, you said the birth rate on the planet is extremely low, and our tribe hasn't had a newborn in years; plus Fei Er and the others have been partnered for years without children. Besides, many families in the tribe are childless. So, Ba Ke Er, do you think we could adopt a child in the future?"

Ba Ke Er was stunned by Zhang Fan's sudden suggestion, hesitated a moment, then burst out laughing, took Zhang Fan's hand, and said affectionately:

"Fan Fan, you are my everything; even if we end up childless in the future, I would never want to adopt a child and take away your love for me—my possessiveness is quite strong!"

As he went on, Ba Ke Er's tone shifted, taking on a somewhat spoiled, whiny quality. For a moment Zhang Fan felt goosebumps all over, and unable to bear it, he shivered.

Just then a light breeze blew by; Ba Ke Er saw Zhang Fan suddenly shiver and thought it was because the wind was too strong and Zhang Fan was cold, so he hurriedly pulled Zhang Fan into his embrace, tightened his hold, lowered his head, and softly asked in Zhang Fan's ear, "Fan Fan, are you still cold?"

Full of warmth, Zhang Fan momentarily forgot to struggle, simply lying still in Ba Ke Er's arms for a while.

At that very moment, Ba Ke Er suddenly smelled soybeans in the air again. The source was right straight ahead; only then did he realize that the spot where they had been standing was upwind, while the soybeans were downwind—if the wind hadn't just shifted, staying put would have made it impossible for him to smell the soybeans.

Zhang Fan sensed Ba Ke Er was distracted, slipped out of his embrace, looked up, and asked, "What's wrong, Ba Ke Er? Did you smell something?"

Ba Ke Er certainly wouldn't dare hide anything, so he reported it truthfully. When Zhang Fan heard Ba Ke Er say he'd located the soybeans again, he was overjoyed, jumped up, and planted a fierce kiss on Ba Ke Er's lips.

His mouth overflowed with praise, one compliment after another! In response, Ba Ke Er was even happier, tightly embracing Zhang Fan and giving him a deep, uniquely Ba Ke Er-style kiss. The kiss left Zhang Fan dazed and, without realizing it, he became utterly absorbed.

After they finally managed to end the deep kiss and were about to head toward the soybeans, the wild boar woke up and started causing trouble. Infuriated, Ba Ke Er slammed a palm down and struck it dead.

Blood immediately pooled on the ground. Seeing the scene, Zhang Fan actually felt relieved he didn't faint at the sight of blood—otherwise he would have passed out long ago, and Ba Ke Er would have had to endure extra trouble for nothing.

After cleaning up the wild boar, Ba Ke Er immediately shifted into beast form, carrying Zhang Fan and a large pile of game as they flew toward the opposite bank of the stream.

Upon reaching the far side, Ba Ke Er casually found a flat spot to land, waited for Zhang Fan to dismount from his back, then resumed human form, took Zhang Fan's hand, and, sniffing the air for the scent, walked toward the soybeans.

Not long after—about ten or so minutes—Ba Ke Er and Zhang Fan found a large patch of bright yellow soybeans! Overjoyed, they quickly set down the assorted game they had been carrying.

Then they took out a large sack; Ba Ke Er took the lead pulling up the soybean stalks, while Zhang Fan followed behind to fill the sack. Because time was pressing, Zhang Fan didn't bother shelling the beans in the field; instead, he planned to first pack them away and process them later.

Their pace was neither fast nor slow, but because their teamwork and coordination were so high, even though they weren't speedy, they managed to bundle up all the soybeans with their stalks and carry them off within just an hour.