A month later, the weather grew even hotter.
Every family had long since put away their leather mats. Su Yi had been busy these days, working with the females in the valley to weave bamboo mats.
Over the past month, the valley’s square had been cleared out. A patch of land was prepared for growing vegetables and fruits, while a large field near the river was designated for corn and wheat. To keep wild beasts from trampling the crops, they built a simple fence around it.
The bored Tang Yu had recently gone out with Jells and the others to a nearby salt flat, bringing back a good amount of salt. On the way, they also picked up an abandoned young orc, another unknown orc.
This young orc had just taken human form. From his forehead down to the corner of his left eye, he had a platinum lightning-like beast mark.
To the people here, it probably looked hideous. But in Tang Yu’s eyes, it was freaking cool. Especially since the kid had white hair, dark skin, and a pair of silver-gray eyes. He was definitely going to grow up into a handsome man. So Tang Yu brought him back. After all, there were plenty of childless couples in the valley, so raising him wouldn’t be a problem.
As soon as the young orc arrived, Ian took him in.
Ian and Hunter couldn’t have children of their own. Now that one had been handed to them for free, they were overjoyed. Ian, in particular, carried the child around with him almost every day.
The young orc had many injuries when he first arrived. Mino and Su Yi went to check on him. The kid was a pure-black winged panther, and his beast form was strikingly beautiful. It reminded Su Yi of Ed, who was also a black-winged panther.
With more children in the valley, Su Yi started thinking of ways to make toys for them. The young orcs were easy, they could follow the adult orcs into the forest for training, which counted as play. But the young females were different. They were delicate, and aside from helping gather fruit, they often had nothing to do. Perhaps because he had a female child himself, Su Yi found himself paying extra attention to other families’ young females lately.
So he dug out his tools and spent five or six days hammering away, making toys like building blocks, seesaws, shuttlecocks, jump ropes, rocking horses, and balance beams.
When Su Yi brought these to the small square, a crowd of children immediately gathered. They chattered excitedly, asking what each toy was, and Su Yi patiently taught them how to use them.
With toys to play with, even the young orcs stopped running wild, giving their parents some peace of mind.
Many females, finding the toys fun, also stepped out of their homes. They were smarter than the kids and picked things up quickly after one demonstration. Su Yi was happy to let them teach the others.
While Su Yi was busy with this, Tang Yu wasn’t idle either. But unlike Su Yi, who was a natural with kids and made things to entertain them, Tang Yu’s creations were mostly for his own comfort.
One day, he dragged out a rocking chair and lounged comfortably under a tree. The next day, he made a woven rattan stool because he found wooden benches too uncomfortable. He was always finding ways to make life easier for himself.
On this particular day, he brought out the dragon cub, carrying snacks, planning to relax in the rocking chair while keeping an eye on the kid. But then he saw Jells already sprawled in it, rocking leisurely.
Tang Yu walked over and kicked the chair, signaling for him to get up, this was his throne. But Jells ignored him, continuing to rock contentedly.
Tang Yu put down the dragon cub and tried pulling and tugging, attempting to brute-force the man off. But after sweating profusely and failing to budge the mountain of a man, he gave up in frustration and plopped right into Jells’ lap.
Jells wrapped an arm around his waist, ruffling Tang Yu’s gradually lengthening hair. "Stop fussing. Let’s nap."
Tang Yu smirked, tilted his head, and nestled comfortably against Jells’ chest, closing his eyes.
But the cost of this cozy nap was dire, when they woke up, xiaolongbao (dragon cub) was long gone.
When Su Yi walked out holding a kite, he saw Tang Yu frantically searching for his son. Su Yi raised an eyebrow, already used to the regular disappearances of Tang Yu’s kid.
Little Eli waved his hands excitedly. "Hurry, hurry, Mother! Let’s fly the kite!"
The kite was something Su Yi had just finished that morning. The night before, Dino had brought back some strange plants that could be used as dye. That gave Su Yi the idea, so he got up early to make it.
Sinoer carried Suno, following behind the two. Lately, he had fully embraced his role as the perfect stay-at-home dad.
Su Yi had become very popular among the kids recently, thanks to all the toys he made and the time he spent playing with them.
"Uncle Su Yi, what fun thing did you bring us today?" a young orc called out loudly.
The others immediately chimed in, bombarding him with questions until his head spun. Su Yi shook the string in his hand and walked toward the square, teaching them how to make their own.
When the kite soared higher and higher, gasps of amazement followed.
"Wow! It’s flying! So cool!"
"Yeah, that’s amazing!"
"Of course! My mother is the best!"
If little Eli still had a tail, it would’ve been wagging furiously.
Su Yi let them play on their own. The kites, decorated with beautiful patterns, were especially popular among the females.
Over the next few days, many families came to learn how to make kites, mostly those with female children.
A few days later, Su Yi looked up at the sky, where crooked, oddly shaped kites wobbled in the air, and felt secondhand embarrassment. Their aesthetic sense was… unique.
To protect his own baby, Suno, from this questionable artistic influence, Su Yi kept him indoors for a while.
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