Chapter 379: Chapter 379

According to Li Qiwen’s intelligence, this year’s milk quota for the Cow Clan had doubled, but they didn’t have that much milk. Failing to meet the quota meant a dreadful fate for them.

In a corner of the pasture, a group of Cow Clan members, young and old, gathered, discussing quietly.

Hearing the cacophony around her, Niu Shaofang retorted in frustration, "If any of you have a way to fulfill the milk quota for the second half of the year, then I’ll reject them."

"Actually, I think agreeing isn’t so bad. We’re producing milk either way, aren’t we?" an Elder with a long white beard said, changing his tune.

"Exactly, exactly." Dıscover more novels at novel_fіre.net

"It’s not like they’ll send us to the battlefield."

"Ha ha ha, impossible, absolutely impossible."

Inside the tent, Niu Shaofang’s cheerful agreement somewhat surprised Li Qiwen, who had expected the Cow Clan to try and negotiate for more benefits.

"Don’t you want to think it over?" Li Qiwen asked.

Niu Shaofang shook her head. "Either way, it’s just producing milk. What’s there to think about? It’s not like they’ll send us to the battlefield."

Luo Zhenhai burst into laughter. "Send you to the battlefield? Ha ha ha ha."

Niu Shaofang wasn’t offended. After all, the Cow Clan was meant to produce milk. Let them laugh. As long as she could eat delicious Spirit Plants and live a good life, Niu Shaofang was content.

The Cow Clan’s population was not large; young and old, they numbered no more than three thousand. This was mainly because the pasture could only sustain so many, and the dominant Beastmen at the top cared little for the survival of a powerless clan like the Cow Clan.

Li Qiwen hadn’t expected the process to go so smoothly, nor had she anticipated that the Cow Clan was on the verge of extinction.

The Flying Boat returned fully laden.

A stout Lion Beastman with a rugged countenance arrived arrogantly at the Cow Clan’s territory. Gazing at the empty pasture, a trace of anger crossed his face. "Damn cows, slacking off again! This time, the quota must be doubled."

"You lazy and lowly cows, come out this instant! The great lion envoy has arrived!" RAAARGH!

A breeze blew past, but the clan’s land remained eerily quiet. Not a single Cow Clan member was in sight.

A quarter of an hour later, the Lion Beastman, looking somewhat disheveled, stared at the empty Cow Clan territory. Apart from the pasture itself, there wasn’t a single drop of milk to be found.

What the hell? Were these little cows wiped out? Who would be so bored as to come and bully the Cow Clan?!

Confused, the Lion Beastman headed to the next clan, planning to collect taxes before reporting this matter to his Clan Leader.

After recruiting the Cow Clan, Li Qiwen didn’t head straight back but instead made a detour to the Rabbit Clan.

Faced with the stammering Rabbit Clan Leader who wanted to refuse, Li Qiwen had Niu Shaofang, now acting as a persuasive voice from their side, go and convince him. Unexpectedly, this small and cute Cow Clan member, seemingly timid, turned out to be quite eloquent. In just a short hour, she had managed to sway the Rabbit Clan Leader.

Before long, a group of flamboyantly dressed Rabbit Clan members boarded the Flying Boat in an orderly fashion, showing not the slightest sorrow for leaving their territory behind.

But that was to be expected. After all, this worthless territory served no purpose other than for sleeping.

On board the Flying Boat, Li Qiwen’s mission was considered accomplished.

"Sister Li, have some milk. This is from me; it’s the best in the entire Cow Clan," Niu Shaofang said proudly.

Looking at the petite Cow Clan girl, Li Qiwen smiled and patted her large head. "Alright, I’ll try some."

"It’s delicious," Li Qiwen praised.

Seeing Niu Shaofang hesitating to speak, Li Qiwen asked, "Something on your mind?"

Niu Shaofang closed her eyes and said, "Sister Li, I have a friend who’s also struggling here. Can we bring him along too?"

In the past few days, Niu Shaofang had tasted many Spirit Fruits she had never seen before. She had come to regard Li Qiwen and her companions as incredibly good people, which prompted her to voice her thoughts.

"Oh, your friend? Tell me more."

Niu Shaofang exclaimed with joy, "Sister Li, you agreed?"

"That depends on whether your friend is useful." Li Qiwen was not one to be swayed by sentiment.

"He is useful, very useful!" Niu Shaofang’s mood turned somewhat downcast as she continued, "He’s a huge crab, the Clan Leader of the Crab Clan. Because they can’t stay away from water for long, they face a lot of discrimination from the other races in the Beastman Territory. Their lives are much worse than ours. If they weren’t skilled at raising Aquatic Spiritual Beasts, they would have been wiped out by now."

"Raising Aquatic Spiritual Beasts?" Li Qiwen’s eyes lit up.

The Spiritual Fish in the lake at Eden Garden were already too numerous to count. However, due to Eden Garden’s repeated expansions, the lake had also grown larger. The Spiritual Fish had dug so many hidden channels that each fishing attempt only yielded a small fraction of them.

If this Crab Clan truly possesses this skill, they could indeed be very useful! Li Qiwen mused to herself.

"Shaofang, lead the way. Let’s go see this Crab Clan you’re talking about."

"That’s great! Thank you, Sister Li."

When Niu Shaofang mentioned that the Crab Clan was adept at raising Aquatic Spiritual Beasts, Li Qiwen had imagined they would live near a large river. She hadn’t expected to find them by such a small stream.

At Niu Shaofang’s call, a greyish-blue crab, roughly a meter in size, crawled out of the stream that was less than ten meters wide.

"Shaofang, you’ve come to see me." The large crab was very happy, not even noticing the others.

Luo Zhenhai crossed his arms. "This little crab can raise Aquatic Spiritual Beasts?"

Luo Zhenye sounded skeptical. "He doesn’t look like it."

Li Qiwen shook her head. "We’ve come all this way. If it doesn’t work out, we can just keep them in the Moat outside the Inner City. Consider it a way to enrich the lives of the city’s residents. It won’t take up any space anyway."

"As expected of the Chief Governor, she’s incredibly quick-witted!"

A quarter of an hour later, Niu Shaofang had persuaded the large crab. A pitifully small number of crabs, only about a hundred or so, crawled out of the stream. Each crab was dragging a large cluster of what looked like... tadpoles?

Xie Lang, the Crab Clan Leader, hurriedly explained, "These are the tadpoles we raise. They’ll grow into frogs, and they taste delicious. But since we have to relocate now, the adult frogs are too large for us to bring along."

Li Qiwen nodded, not raising any objections.

The Crab Clan couldn’t stay away from water for extended periods, but they were Cultivators, after all. Surviving for ten to fifteen days without it wouldn’t be an issue.

The Flying Boat returned to Angelshade City without incident.

Li Qiwen had already formulated a settlement plan for the three clans and didn’t bother Chen Jiuge, intending to simply present the plan to him when appropriate.

The expansion of Angelshade City had led to the division into an Inner City and an Outer City, with a vast Moat surrounding the Inner City. This moat area became the new territory for the Crab Clan. After providing them with basic daily necessities, Li Qiwen left them to their own devices. Their future development was now up to them.

Settling the Rabbit Clan was a bit more complicated. The buildings for the brothel had been prepared in advance, but not all Rabbit Clan members were suited for that line of work.

Fortunately, the bars Chen Jiuge had established had expanded to include several branches over time. These, complementing the brothels, were able to accommodate the Rabbit Clan.

Settling the Cow Clan was much simpler. Each Cow Clan member was allocated a sum of Spirit Stones. After purchasing ordinary residences in the Outer City, they still had a small amount remaining, enough to buy Spiritual Objects to consume and convert into milk.

Incidentally, all members of the Cow Clan, regardless of gender, could produce milk. This was their Innate Divine Ability.

In Eden Garden, Chen Jiuge carefully reviewed Li Qiwen’s settlement plan and exclaimed, "Having you around truly makes things much easier. Let’s proceed with this plan."

"It’s my duty," Li Qiwen replied with a faint smile.

"By the way, your Loose Immortal tribulation should be approaching, shouldn’t it? Go to the city treasury and see if there’s anything you need. If Su Mei asks, just tell her I sent you," Chen Jiuge said, suddenly recalling that Li Qiwen was a Loose Immortal.

Su Mei was primarily responsible for managing the Inner City, where the treasury was also located, so her approval would be necessary.

Meanwhile, in the Beastman Territory, the Lion Beastman responsible for collecting taxes from the smaller surrounding clans was holding a large frog, an expression of utter disbelief on his face. This was an Aquatic Spiritual Beast raised by the Crab Clan, serving not only as their food but also as their tax payment.

Where are the crabs? Damn it! What in the world happened? The Cow Clan, the Rabbit Clan, and the Crab Clan are all gone! Could the Human Clan have attacked?

No, that’s impossible. Even if they did attack, they wouldn’t just target these insignificant little clans.

Although this possibility seemed highly unlikely, the Lion Beastman decided to postpone tax collection and report back to his Clan Leader first.