Goldfield
Chapter 35: Adorable Pets
Yu Xiaocao happily rushed forward. His father leaned over and lifted him into his arms. She timidly stuffed candlenut into her mouth and grinned, “Dad, I learned how to set a trap! I even caught a giant wild rabbit in one of my traps! And it's still alive! ”
Yu Hai did not stop praising. “Cao’er we are totally capable. Later, I'll just wait to eat the rabbit you caught. ”
“Dad, Dad! We also caught a little roe deer! Look, he even follows us without having to be led. Really obedient! ” Shitou said sweetly. The boy pulled his father's pants with one hand while pointing at the stupid little egg deer that was running around him.
Yu Hai lowered his head to take a closer look at the small animals on the ground. Before, it was too dark for him to see clearly, so he thought the creature was a dog from another family coming along. He never expected that this was actually a roe deer baby.
Yu Hai lowered his daughter and bowed to look at the roe deer. The big black eyes of the little boy were wide open and confused. He glanced at his daughter and even started rubbing his head against her feet!
He had never seen a roe deer that was not afraid of humans before. Was it really because it had lost its mother and thought that its young were the same species as her? Stupid roe deer, stupid roe deer. Due to his name ‘boh’, he really can't be very smart.
“Cao’er, did you catch it or did Zhao Han catch it? We must not try to take advantage of others! ” Yu Hai is very grateful to Zhao Bufan, who is also known as Big Brother Zhao, for bringing him under his teachings. Most of her hunting skills were learned from her best friend, so she was worried that her youngest daughter was being unreasonable and was simply asking for something to someone else.
Yu Xiaocao laughed as he shook his head. “I just learned how to set a trap today, so it's only my beginner luck managed to catch a wild rabbit today. This little egg deer actually belonged to Brother Han. We helped him improve it for a few days! After a while, we'll send it back to her. ”
Yu Hai nodded in agreement. “True, after playing it for a few days, you have to send it back. I'm not sure if this creature is easy to care for or not, but you have to be careful. Don't let it die in your hands! If the two of you really like it, Father will exchange some of the hunted tomorrow for the Zhao family to get it for you. You should never ask for someone else's item without offering something in return. Do you two understand? ”
“Do not worry, Father!” Yu Xiaocao took some hazelnuts from his bag and handed them to his father. “Try some! We found some earlier in the forest and Aunt Zhao sauteed it for us. Very tasty! ”
Seeing his youngest son have a pair of hazelnuts falling from his pocket, Yu Hai hurriedly bowed to pick it up and asked, “Did you two spend the entire day at Uncle Zhao's house? You don't make trouble for them, do you? ”
“We went to town. Lookie! Second Brother bought me some cookies !! ” Little Shitou has long forgotten her promise to her second sister and sold it to their father.
Yu Hai slowly frowned as he first looked at the cakes wrapped in oil paper and then his daughter. Where did they get the money to buy these cookies? Is it true that the rest of the money from the sale of abalone?
“Dad, Brother Han framed a lot of game today so he went to town to sell it. Since there was nothing better to do, we followed him. I also caught a rabbit today so I sold it. I got about a hundred copper coins for it, so I also bought sweets and snacks. Here's what's left! ” Yu Xiaocao naturally did not reveal his larger coin stash. Instead, he took out a small piece of copper coin, worth about fifty to sixty coins, to show to his father.
As Yu Hai led his two children back to the family residence, he continued his lecture, “The three of you are all brave! The oldest among you are only twelve to thirteen years old and you all dare to go to the city. What if some kidnapper attacks you? Later if you want to go to the city wait until Dad goes to sell too. If one of you is tired, I can hold you for a while. ” “We are not tired! Grandfather Zhang from Xishan Village came with a ox cart and we sat on it. Second Brother even gave him a bag of snacks! ” Little Shitou could not help but become a little obsessed with that cake pouch.
“Second brother did the right thing. When others help us, we need to give something in return. If we just want to take advantage of others, who will help us in the future when we are really in trouble? ” Yu Hai started teaching his children.
Shortly after, the three of them entered their family courtyard. At this point, the sky had become pitch-black. Autumn nights in the north tend to be colder. The other members of the Yu Family, other than the second branch, had long since retired to their own rooms to rest. The east side room was the only room that had a faint glimmer of light still shining.
“Cao’er and Shitou, you two must be hungry. Your father kept the steamed bun in the back. I can heat it up for you on a little mud stove and you two can share! ” Advantages of having a mild-mannered mother in this life suddenly become apparent. Her previous mother, in her old life, would also heat up the leftovers for her if she came home late from playing outside. However, his food was also accompanied by scolding as well.
Little Shitou carefully peeked outside the room before closing the door quickly. He opened a bag of cookies and began to split the snacks for everyone. Although the boy liked to eat sweet and soft pastries, he did not have the habit of enjoying them alone.
The greasy paper-wrapped meal consisted of six pieces, so he gave everyone in the house one piece each. He stared at the remaining pieces for some time, hesitating, before he finally said, These “Pieces will be saved for Brother.”
The expressions of Yu Hai and his wife dimmed after hearing Shitou. The room was drowning in an awkward silence. After quite some time, Yu Hai finally sighed and said, “Don't save. We don't know when your older brother can return, and these snacks can't be kept for too long. The three of you should split and eat it. Next time Dad goes to town, I'll buy more for your brother to eat. ”
Yu Xiaocao thought of how tired and weak his older brother looked when he saw him before. His heart ached and he said calmly, “Dad, let's return Old Brother, okay? She doesn't feel as comfortable at home, does she? ”
“I also want to bring your brother home, but...” After they bring him home, then how? There would be a fight waiting for them if they did that.
Xiaocao sat heavily on the bed and muttered, “If we can separate from the big family, it will solve the problem!”
Xiaolian's eyes twinkled before rapidly dimming again. She shook her head and said, “Our grandmother will never agree! He relied on the money-making ability of our father to pay the school fees of Young Uncle. ”.
“What did you two say? The family will not be divided as long as the parents are still alive! Your grandparents are still here! Talking about separation from family is asking others to gossip behind our back. Never talk about things like this outside! ” After baking the steamed rolls until the edges are crispy, Lady Liu sliced the bread and added some salted vegetables to it. She then handed the food over to Xiaocao and her brother.
Ms. Liu put the pastry back into an oiled paper bag because she wanted to leave it for her children to eat tomorrow. However, when his attention was fixed elsewhere, Xiaocao stuffed the piece into his mouth.
Creeeeek——
The sound of a wooden door opening abruptly stopped the party atmosphere inside the room. Madam Liu hastily swallowed the cake in her mouth and her hands flew to her face to remove the crumbs without looking conspicuous.
The five pairs of eyes immediately looked towards the door. Although there was a gap, they could not see anyone there. As they gazed down, they found a pair of large ears poking out of a small head interested in examining the room.
When the clear and dark eyes found Yu Xiaocao, the slender and delicate animal actually stepped into the room. He swayed towards Xiaocao and used his head to touch his ankles, as if it was a puppy asking for bones to eat.
“Wow! Very funny!!” Yu Xiaolian thought her heart would explode as she leaned over to pick up the little creature in her arms. One hand stroked the animal's head as he hugged its face with a soft fur coat.
“That young man, Zhao Han, caught him! Little Shitou liked her very much, so she let him bring her back to play and raise her for a few days. The little creature must have been hungry, otherwise he would not have gone into the room. ” Yu Hai explains on behalf of his daughter and youngest son.
Yu Xiaolian hugged the roe deer tightly, which was no bigger than a month-old puppy, and seemed reluctant to let go. “Page still has the fish moss I collected today. Let me get some to feed him! This little creature was very obedient and did not seem to be afraid of humans at all! ” Unfortunately, he misjudged. When Xiaolian returned after picking the freshest and gentlest fishwort of the group, the little roe deer only sniffed it for a while before turning its head arrogantly. His eyes stared pitifully at Xiaocao and began to struggle to return to the ground.
Xiaolian was afraid of dropping the animal, so she put it back down. He waved the weeds in front of him but the roe deer ignored him altogether. It was only focused on achieving its goal, which was closer to Xiaocao.
Xiaolian let out a disappointed sigh, “He only likes little sisters! It must be because it was the younger sister who brought him back! ”
Yu Xiaocao took a handful of grass from his hand and teased, “The little egg deer probably liked the cleanliness and rejected Xiaolian because he thought this fish moss was too dirty to eat right now!”
He took out a jug that held the mystical stone water and washed the grass inside. He then offers fishwort to the roe deer again and the little creature acts very differently. This time, he rushed over and ate the grass in a big mouthful.
“Truly deer roe who likes to clean!” Little Shitou giggled until she started hiccupping. He also took a bunch of fish moss and rinsed it in the water. After finishing eating the food in Xiaocao's hands, the roe deer smelled more delicious food that was more tempting than mother's milk and jumped onto Shitou. He also started eating the fish moss in Shitou's hands.
Xiaolian learned from the example of his brothers and used the remaining water from the mystic stone to wash away the rest of the fish moss. Yu Xiaocao felt a little sad when he saw: ‘This extravagant girl used two bowls full of mystical stone water. It really is something very valuable! ‘
Ever since he had access to the mystical stone water, Xiaocao would always give everyone in his family a bowl to drink. The effect is naturally astounding. First, do not discuss the effect on his own body. His mother, Lady Liu, also had a weak constitution. After drinking the mystical stone water for two whole months, his body had improved greatly despite still looking extremely thin. Madam Liu was recently drenched in rain. Had this happened before the mystical stone water, he would have suffered from a severe illness. But this time, he only needed a bowl of ginger soup to strengthen his body and not even cough.
Yu Hai also mentioned that he had recently become stronger. In the past, when he used to bring a game animal that weighed about a hundred catties down from the mountain to the city, he would be very tired from having to rest in bed for hours. Now then? It was as if he had not done anything heavy. In fact, he could add another thirty to fifty catty to his load without any problem.
Thinking of all the benefits, Yu Xiaocao quietly held an empty jar and went to the kitchen to fill it completely with water that had been boiled before. He carefully took out five color stones from his wrist and allowed the stone to sink into the jar. The holy stone spirit came out from the colorful stone and swam leisurely in the water.
If the other occupants of the room could see this now, they would all be dumbfounded. Why are there golden kittens in their water jug? Moreover, he was constantly hitting the water, as if he was about to drown.
The little holy stone muttered in annoyance. [Resertions, protest! There is not enough spiritual energy here! Not having ginseng is one thing, but who wants ugly well water? This spirit wanted a spring from the bamboo forest in the mountains!] “Can you be satisfied with your situation? The mystical stone water is really useful to us, and in the end, don't you also benefit? If you keep making a fuss, I'll throw you into that little river and never take you again! ” As Yu Xiaocao fed the little roe deer, he also mentally threatened the arrogant sacred stone.