Chapter 90: First Update

"Captain Gu, have a cup of tea and take a break." Pouring a cup of hot tea, Qin Yao handed it over. She looked at her young and innocent little son and thought to herself: Silly boy, do you realize your dad treats you like a research project?

By the time you grow up, he'll have studied you thoroughly. His memory is so good that he'll be able to describe in detail your bed-wetting habits and how often you did it when you were little.

Thankfully, your dad isn't around much, or you'd have no secrets left!

Qin Yao smiled and pinched her little son's plump cheek. The little guy was very attached to his mother. As soon as he saw Qin Yao, he abandoned his dad, who had just changed his diaper, and his eyes lit up as he followed her every move.

Qin Yao swayed her body, watching the boy's black, ink-like pupils change as she moved. His big, watery eyes followed her every move, while he drooled adorably.

He's absolutely adorable!

Qin Yao reached out and held the child in her arms, but he wasn’t playing along. As soon as he was in her arms, he instinctively looked for milk to feed. Qin Yao patted his plump cheek. It wasn't time to feed yet.

Mingming, clearly upset, started whining and waving his arms, shouting "ya ya yi yi" at his dad, as if signaling Gu Cheng: Say something!

Gu Cheng took a sip of hot water. "You should sit and listen too. Look, our son wants to listen as well."

"No way." Qin Yao rolled her eyes at this big charmer and poked Gu Cheng's forehead, giving him a reproachful glance.

Gu Cheng pursed his lips, his eyes similar to Mingming's, staring unwaveringly at her, the father and son sharing the same expression at that moment.

Qin Yao couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Gu Cheng smiled too, but with guests at home, Qin Yao handed the baby back to him and took their older son to feed him. She fed the two children separately.

As Qin Yao left with their older son, the smile in Gu Cheng's eyes didn't fade. Lately, just seeing her or feeling her presence at home made him feel a warmth spreading through his heart.

He tried to suppress the corners of his mouth, intending to continue talking to Zhuo Liang, but his ability to manage his expressions at home had dropped to zero. He couldn't contain his smile.

Other people's laugh lines made them look older, but when Gu Cheng smiled, he instantly looked younger.

Zhuo Liang found this smile particularly irritating. "If you want to laugh, just laugh. Don't hide it."

That half-smile, with joy radiating from his eyes and brows, made Zhuo Liang feel a pang of envy, sourness rising in his throat.

"I won't laugh anymore." Gu Cheng couldn't understand what was so funny, but he blamed it all on his silly son. Maybe it was because his son was too foolish that it affected the father.

Unable to resist, he pinched his son's soft, bun-like cheek, and Mingming looked like he was about to cry.

Zhuo Liang, finding the little guy endearing, said, "Let me hold your son."

It was unexpected that such an annoying person could have such a likable son.

"My son is shy with strangers. He'll cry if someone he doesn't know holds him."

Captain Gu didn't like strangers messing with his little tiger, especially the eternal runner-up in front of him.

"If you want to hold one, have your own."

Zhuo Liang gritted his teeth and insisted, "I'm not in a hurry. I'll take my time choosing a partner."

After listening to Gu Cheng's insights, Zhuo Liang thought raising a child was not easy. When he looked for a wife in the future, he would have to consider this aspect—she must be able to take care of the child.

Shen Guixiang returned with meat. Gu Cheng went to help, holding his son. Shen Guixiang, looking at her son-in-law, felt a sense of comfort. To her, Gu Cheng was still that gentle, easygoing son-in-law she had always known, despite what others said about him.

Yaoyao, Shen Guixiang's daughter, firmly believes that her mom views her son-in-law through rose-tinted glasses.

"Little Gu, don't bother, I'm busy here. Is this gentleman your leader? You two should have a good chat." Shen Guixiang reached out to take Mingming away. Seeing his grandma, Mingming didn't hesitate to leave his dad behind.

"Leader?" Hearing this, Zhuo Liang chuckled. "Gu Cheng, I'm your leader."

Gu Cheng remained expressionless.

Shen Guixiang was stunned. "What?"

Shen Guixiang had only made a polite remark. Addressing someone you don't know as "leader" is a safe way to avoid offending anyone.

"No worries, Auntie, you're spot on!" Zhuo Liang felt particularly pleased, having gained the upper hand in their conversation.

Unexpectedly, coming to ask for a letter of recommendation also allowed him to experience what it felt like to be "Gu Cheng's leader."

Zhuo Liang was amused, and so was Shen Guixiang. Being a friendly person, she was happy when the guests were happy and didn't dwell too much on details, following up with a few nice formalities. "Leader, I ask you to take good care of our Little Gu."

Little Gu: "..."

Zhuo Liang inwardly groaned.

"Our Little Gu is gentle, young, and hardworking. Despite his busy work, he often finds time to take care of his family. Both Yaoyao's father and I feel so guilty. Heaven has been very kind to our family, giving us such a good son-in-law."

Shen Guixiang, seeing Zhuo Liang willing to talk to her, took the opportunity to praise her son-in-law. In the past, when Liu Shuqin was around, she hadn't felt comfortable praising Gu Cheng so openly, fearing she might upset Liu Shuqin, especially since Liu Shuqin has since passed away.

Now that Liu Shuqin was gone, Shen Guixiang felt free to praise her son-in-law as much as she wanted without worrying about saying the wrong thing.

With another guest present, she took every chance to heap more praise on him.

Zhuo Liang watched as Shen Guixiang went on and on, enthusiastically praising her excellent son-in-law, which left him feeling particularly uncomfortable. This felt worse than if Gu Cheng had rubbed it in his face.

"Leader, how old is your son? Is he in elementary school?"

Zhuo Liang paused for three seconds. "I'm not married yet."

"Oh, oh..." Shen Guixiang quickly added, "It's normal to marry late these days. In the alley next to my place, there's an old man who got married for the first time in his forties."

"Cousin, how old do you think I am?"

Shen Guixiang hesitated for a moment. "You're twenty-five, right?"

"No, but thanks for the compliment!" Zhuo Liang beamed with joy, pleased with being complimented on his youthfulness.

Gu Cheng: "Actually, he's older than me."

Shen Guixiang caught on. "You're forty, right? Comrade, you look very young, well-preserved, like someone in their thirties."

Zhuo Liang's face went blank.

Shen Guixiang had just delivered the most severe blow to him.

How did Gu Cheng get so lucky? A perfect wife, a doting mother-in-law, and two adorable kids—it was enough to drive anyone jealous.

He regretted coming in the first place!

Later that evening, over dinner, Zhuo Liang couldn't resist asking, "Your yard is so big, why don't you raise some chickens?"

Zhuo Liang noticed on his way that several brothers' wives kept hens for eggs, but he couldn't find any chickens in the Gu family's beautiful yard.

"Planning to raise some," Qin Yao had long wanted to raise chickens, but most of the chickens her family bought didn't survive more than a few days. They were used to nourish her body instead.

"Raise two hens for convenience in egg-laying," said Shen Guixiang. Back in the large courtyard, she also raised chickens. There were always peddlers in the alleyways selling fluffy chicks at cheap prices, which were popular among children who would beg their parents to buy them.

Generally, the chicks didn't grow very big, and many people hoped to find a few hens among them, which would be a great gain.

You couldn't tell if the chicks were male or female until they grew up. However, why would the peddlers sell the hens? Most of the chicks sold were males, with females being rare.

Many people would raise the chicks and, once able to identify the males, would slaughter them. After eating the roosters, only the hens would remain for egg-laying.

Shen Guixiang said, "I'll pick some chicks for you tomorrow, Yaoyao. Take good care of them."

Qin Yao nodded. She only wanted to raise hens, not roosters, as roosters were too noisy with their crowing.

Most families kept hens for their eggs.

The affection gift from her eldest son might help her chicken-raising endeavor. By the way, Vitality? Chicken? If she used the skill on a hen, would it make it lay more eggs?

Could this be the true use of the skill?

The next day, Qin Yao wasted no time starting her experiment. First, she needed a chicken at home. Her mother, Shen Guixiang, suggested buying chicks and raising them, which could also provide her with nourishment by eating the roosters.

This plan was good, but Qin Yao decided to get a hen for the experiment first. Coincidentally, before leaving the family apartment, she ran into a worried brother's wife who was about to slaughter a chicken but felt reluctant. "This hen in my house was frightened and laid eggs with blood streaks a few days ago. It hasn't laid any eggs recently."

Not laying eggs but eating food felt like a waste. It would be better to slaughter and eat it.

"I want to raise a hen at home. Why don't you sell it to me?" Qin Yao asked.

"But it's not laying eggs!"

Qin Yao said, "I'll buy it and try raising it. Maybe it will want to lay eggs in a new environment."

"Sister-in-law, I don't know how to raise chickens. I'm afraid I can't keep chicks alive. I'll practice with a full-grown hen."

"Alright."

In a private transaction, Qin Yao bought the "non-laying" hen at a reasonable price. Knowing Qin Yao was buying the chicken to raise it, the brother's wife felt guilty, thinking she had taken advantage of her, and gave Qin Yao some dried sweet potatoes as a gesture.

Qin Yao brought the hen home, simply fenced a corner of the yard, made a nest for the hen, and lined it with dry straw. She fed the hen some grain and used the "vitality" skill on it.

"If you don't lay eggs, I'll eat you," Qin Yao joked, though she found her idea far-fetched. If this worked, wouldn't she be the "Goddess of Childbirth"?

To ensure effectiveness, Qin Yao used the skill several times. Even if it didn't lay eggs, it might restore some vitality, right?

The next day, Qin Yao got up early, neglecting to wash her face or brush her teeth, and went straight to the nest to check for eggs.

When she glanced at the straw nest, she was astonished!

Three fresh oval-shaped free-range eggs were nestled inside. These eggs were small, typical of free-range eggs, not much larger than pigeon eggs, about half the size of future feed eggs, like small olive-shaped brown eggs, dainty and adorable.

Qin Yao could eat three of these eggs without getting tired of them, but these were three eggs!

What surprised Qin Yao even more was yet to come. She found two more eggs in the corner, five eggs at once?

Qin Yao laughed and said, "It really works!"

Qin Yao took the five eggs back to the kitchen. She didn't dare to use the skill on the hen again. Laying five eggs a day would be too much for the hen and could drain its nutrients. It was unnatural.

Qin Yao sat at the door of her house, pondering her special ability. Other protagonists in time-travel novels, like Bai Qiuling, had past-life experiences. With that knowledge, they set up street stalls, made money, opened factories to sell clothes, established their own brands... and became rich by doing business.

As for her special ability, Qin Yao's first thought was actually to open a pig farm to make money.

With this kind of superpower, not opening a breeding farm would be a missed opportunity. With her animal charm and the 'Good Luck with Babies' ability, she could rake in serious cash with a pig farm.

But no way—she didn’t want to run a pig farm.

Pigs already have large litters, so they didn’t really need her help. What really needed her assistance were animals struggling to reproduce, like endangered species, such as giant pandas... There had to be a better use for her powers.