On the way back, while being carried by Mo Yan, Lu Lu successfully retrieved the Origin Core Fragment, and it began to slowly merge with the Origin Core inside Yu An's body.
She had earned over eighteen thousand copper coins from selling buns, including some silver coins, which Yu An was now absorbing to enhance her superpower.
When the Origin Core Fragment left his body, Mo Yan only felt as if something had been stripped away from within him. However, the feeling lasted just an instant, so he didn't think anything of it.
While Yu An breathed a sigh of relief, she also worried about the whereabouts of the remaining fragments.
If they ended up inside someone's body, as had happened with Mo Yan, they would become harder to retrieve the longer they remained.
"Da Hu, Xiao Yu, Doggy, let's go home!"
Just before reaching the Giant Stone Tribe, Yu An climbed down from Mo Yan's back. Seeing the Zaizai rushing toward her, she gathered them all into a big hug.
After saying goodbye to Bai Rong, the family went home to prepare the ingredients for tomorrow.
"Female Mother, Xiao Yu and I picked lots of fruit! Doggy helped us, too. They're all for you to eat, Female Mother."
The mother and her two cubs chattered away, while Mo Yan walked behind, holding San Dan. Han Li seemed downcast. Normally at a time like this, he would have been pushing his way to the front, and even if he couldn't speak, he would at least let out a few WOOFs.
Yu An noticed something was wrong with him and asked, "Da Hu, what's wrong with Doggy? He looks a bit down."
Da Hu shook his head. "I don't know. He was fine a moment ago, then all of a sudden he got like this."
Xiao Yu guessed, "Is he hungry? Doggy gave his food to the cubs from the Giant Stone Tribe."
Han Li wasn't hungry. It was just that a wave of sadness had suddenly washed over him, as if he had lost a close relative.
He felt sad for a little while, but then he remembered that his Beast Father was in Han Ling City, and he forced himself to push the sorrow away.
Han Ling City was heavily guarded; his Beast Father would surely be fine.
At this thought, he started frolicking again and ran to catch up with Yu An.
After they left, in a cave within the Giant Stone Tribe, the elderly witch doctor looked on in terror. "You... Aren't you dead? How...?"
"It's all thanks to the Female Mother that I survived. Witch Doctor, you wouldn't want everyone to find out about your secrets, now would you?"
The Beastman's voice, coming from the shadows, was hoarse and filled with menace.
The witch doctor asked warily, "What do you want me to do?"
"Help me. I will avenge my Female Mother and Beast Father!"
The task of processing the chickens was left to Mo Yan. After he plucked them, Yu An would take over for the butchering.
With her knife, she perfectly separated the drumsticks, wings, and breast meat. She sorted them into three large stainless steel basins and soaked them in water to draw out the blood.
Xiao Yu, who was soaking in his own stainless steel water basin, had the distinct impression that he, too, was about to be marinated, battered, and deep-fried by his Female Mother.
Next came the marinade. Yu An mixed the necessary salt, chili powder, cumin, and other spices, then rubbed the mixture evenly over the chicken. For the best flavor, it should be marinated overnight.
However, catching a glimpse of four pairs of eager eyes, she set aside a few drumsticks, marinated them for just over an hour, and started to fry.
She heated oil in a pot—using regular, non-space-issued cookware. Once the oil was hot enough, she coated the drumsticks in the prepared batter and gently but quickly slid them into the wok.
She fried them over medium heat until they set, then turned the flame down to low to cook them through slowly. The pale batter gradually turned a beautiful golden-brown, and the air filled with the fragrance of hot oil, spices, and sizzling meat.
Yu An and Mo Yan had done most of the prep work, with the others helping with small chores. When the first batch of drumsticks was ready, Da Hu resisted the temptation and said thoughtfully, "Female Mother, you and Beast Father worked so hard. You two should eat first."
Yu An bent down to pat his fluffy little head and smiled. "There's plenty for everyone. Quick, eat while it's hot."
Da Hu nodded. As Yu An straightened up, he felt a pang of frustration. 'Why haven't I transformed into my human form yet?'
'If I had a human form, I could help share the Female Mother's workload. Even my little brother Xiao Yu could help wipe the sweat from her brow.'
'But in this little tiger body, I can't even hold chopsticks. I have to eat just like Doggy does.'
Someone patted his little head from behind. Da Hu turned to see it was Mo Yan.
"The earliest a cub has ever been recorded transforming is one month after birth. You're still just a little guy."
This was the kind of knowledge usually passed down by a cub's Beast Father, but who knew where Da Hu's biological father was.
Mo Yan had assumed Yu An would tell Da Hu, and Yu An had assumed he would say something. In a rare instance of being on the same page, neither of them had... mentioned it to the Zaizai.
Realization dawned on Da Hu. His worries vanished, and he threw himself wholeheartedly into enjoying the food.
The drumstick's skin was golden and crisp, with a subtle charred fragrance. One bite sent a jolt through his tongue from the piping-hot juices within.
The meat was tender and succulent; juices oozed out with the slightest pressure.
Every inch of the drumstick was infused with the fragrant marinade, making you want to chew up the very bones and swallow them whole.
After they finished the drumsticks, Yu An peeled and cut potatoes into finger-thick strips. She coated them in a thin layer of starch, fried them once over medium heat, and then fried them a second time over high heat.
The french fries—crispy on the outside, with a soft and fluffy texture on the inside—instantly captured the Zaizai's hearts.
Xiao Yu's tail slapped the water, sending up a splash, as if to announce that his favorite food was no longer buns but fried chicken and fries!
The other three said nothing, but their expressions were ones of wholehearted agreement.
Yu An propped her chin on her hand. 'See? No one can resist fried food. If a child is a picky eater, a trip to KFC or McDonald's will cure them right up.'
「Early the next morning」
An infinite-stock shelf appeared in her space. Along with it came a fried chicken food cart.
She was granted permanent use of the bun cart, which was now left to gather dust in her space for the time being.
The Giant Stone Tribe was the closest to their cave, so Yu An didn't plan on changing her stall's location, at least not until San Dan hatched.
Before she even reached her destination, Yu An could see a massive crowd in the distance. The moment they saw her coming, they immediately formed an orderly queue.
As she got out of the cart, Yu An was a little stunned. "Does the Giant Stone Tribe really have this many people?"
"Half of them are newcomers from other tribes," Bai Rong said, squeezing his way out of the crowd with tears in his eyes. "Boss Yu, I was late today! Don't tell me I won't be able to buy any of the new food?"
Yu An didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Of course not. But there's a purchase limit this time."
She took a deep breath, pulled out a megaphone she had found that morning, and announced, "Quiet down, everyone! Due to the large crowd, today's Golden Fried Chicken Family Buckets are limited to two per person."
Luckily, the tribes weren't that large; the two of them combined only had about a hundred members.
"A Family Bucket contains two drumsticks, two wings, and four large pieces of fried chicken, plus a complimentary serving of fries! It's 66 copper coins per bucket!"
The wild chickens here were huge, so the drumsticks and other parts were twice the size of those Yu An remembered from her past life. The packaging boxes provided by her space were also extra large.
The cart had two woks, allowing her to fry two orders at once.
With that said, she heated the oil in her woks and got ready to cook.
Her regular customers paid without hesitation and waited for their food, not even needing a sample. The newcomers, however, burst into an uproar. 'This ugly female must be insane to charge so much,' they thought.
Yu An paid no mind to their attacks on her appearance. 'Once my Superpower Level is high enough,' she thought, 'the poison will naturally be purged, and I'll get my looks back.'
With her reining them in, Mo Yan and the others merely shot the offending Beastmen a glare before returning to their tasks—collecting money and chopping potatoes, too busy to speak.
Those people mistook Yu An's silence for a guilty conscience. As the tempting aroma wafted over, their comments grew even more outrageous as they tried to bully her into lowering the price.
"A common creature like a chicken is only worth five copper coins. Since you've made it smell so fragrant, how about we call it ten copper coins instead?"
"That's right! If you price it so high and none of us buy it, won't you just lose money?"
"I say we should all stick together and refuse to buy her fried chicken! Then let's see who she sells it to!"