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墨書 Inktalez
Yezhi felt a sense of urgency as she packed her belongings. After leaving a note for Xiaobinzi, she set off on the road back to Zhoujiatun with Niu Niu.
"Master, are you still cold?" Xiao Fang asked from the basket of the folding bike, turning its head 360 degrees.
Yezhi chuckled. In the quiet snowy night, Xiao Fang's sudden full rotation was a bit eerie. "What are you laughing at, Master?"
"Xiao Fang, we seem like the protagonists of a horror movie!"
Xiao Fang's eyes lit up. "Master, this is even more fitting!" With that, Xiao Fang's square head shot up into the sky, leaving its twisting body behind in the basket. Yezhi laughed wildly, and Niu Niu joined in with excited barks. Unbeknownst to Yezhi, her laughter triggered a series of car accidents ten meters away, leading to legends of ghosts haunting the snowy night.
Upon returning home, Yezhi found the yard quiet. She carefully pushed open the door, and a warm breeze greeted her. Black Treasure sensed the familiar scent and jumped up. Aunt Zhou heard the noise and lit a candle. In the dim candlelight, Yezhi was embraced by Black Treasure. "Daughter, you're back!"
"Aunt, I'm back for the New Year!" Aunt Zhou happily got out of bed to prepare a meal for Yezhi.
Yezhi kissed Black Treasure on the forehead and set down her bag to introduce Niu Niu to it. Seeing another black creature like itself made Black Treasure feel particularly friendly. Niu Niu also enjoyed playing with Black Treasure as they rolled around together. "Master, doesn't the book say that black bears hibernate? Why isn't Black Treasure hibernating?" Recently, Yezhi had borrowed several books from the county library using Zhang Ling's library card to pass the time, one of which was about animals. Since they had a black bear at home, Yezhi read it carefully and even called Xiao Fang over to look at it together. Xiao Fang was very interested in new knowledge and had an excellent memory.
Yezhi had seen reports in newspapers about bears that did not hibernate. "Maybe Black Treasure doesn't hibernate because it has lived with people since it was young; it never lacks food and stays indoors where it's warm."
Xiao Fang responded with an "Oh." Yezhi winked at Xiao Fang. "Xiao Fang, do you have a way to make Black Treasure hibernate?" Hahaha, think of how much food could be saved if Black Treasure hibernated.
Xiao Fang replied seriously, "Master, this is my first time encountering a black bear; I have no examples to follow. However, if you want to make Ciliu hibernate, I do have some methods." The idea of making Black Treasure hibernate was partly about saving food; Yezhi was also worried that if Black Treasure didn't hibernate, it would go against natural laws and could affect its health—especially since Niu Niu didn't need to hibernate.
"Come on, daughter, eat while it's hot!" Aunt Zhou entered with a bowl of hot rice cooked with cabbage and eggs. Yezhi smiled gently; this was something she had taught Aunt Zhou how to cook. She had mentioned that it was her favorite dish as a child—though it would be even better with a side of pickled vegetables.
Aunt Zhou placed some salty and crunchy pickles drizzled with sesame oil and MSG in front of Yezhi. It was simple food but irreplaceable delicacies in Yezhi's mouth.
"Daughter, is this... a dog?" Aunt Zhou picked up Niu Niu for a closer look. At Yezhi's signal, Niu Niu obediently stuck out its pink tongue to lick Aunt Zhou. Aunt Zhou was charmed by Niu Niu's adorable and dependent expression and couldn't help but hold it close without wanting to let go. Meanwhile, Black Treasure stood nearby grinning widely without any sense of competition!
As the saying goes, a golden nest or a silver nest is not as good as one's own doghouse. Yezhi had a long sleep and woke up at ten in the morning.
After breakfast, she took Black Treasure to Village Uncle's house. It was lively at Village Uncle's place, with Xiao Cheng, Brother Zhang, and the Cart Master couple all celebrating the festival there. Meizi and Aunt Li were busy in the kitchen.
"Yezhi, you didn't skip class, did you?" Xiao Cheng joked.
"It's New Year's holiday; I just came home to take a look!"
"Great! Leaf Sister, you're back just in time. We made that container; go check if it's okay!"
Yezhi exclaimed happily, "The container is ready!"
"It has been done for two days. I thought you would be back soon after finishing your studies, so I didn’t go to the city to send you a message; it wouldn’t matter much anyway," Village Uncle added.
Yezhi was impatient; she couldn’t wait to see it. With Village Uncle leading the way, everyone headed towards Team's warehouse. Inside the warehouse was a large wooden box. "Village Uncle, where's that square grid I mentioned?" This was essential for installing the solar equipment. Village Uncle pointed to the bottom and said, "It's right there!" After measuring the dimensions, Yezhi nodded in satisfaction.
After checking the container, Yezhi politely declined Village Uncle's invitation and took Black Treasure home. From a distance, she saw a stagecoach parked in front of her house.
Black Treasure's small round eyes suddenly dimmed. It wiggled its round bottom and walked up to the carriage, extending its paw and slapping the carriage board with a loud sound while making a whimpering noise: Don't take Mama Bear away!
Yezhi was confused about why Black Treasure was acting up all of a sudden. She walked over and hugged Black Treasure. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Black Treasure shook its head repeatedly but also nodded. Yezhi felt something was off with Black Treasure’s mood; could it be that it was like a bear that hadn’t hibernated and had become irritable?
Pulling Black Treasure into the house, its mood suddenly improved again, leaving Yezhi puzzled as she called out to Xiao Fang with her mind.
"Master~"
"Xiao Fang, something's wrong with Black Treasure; hurry to Cosmic Mall and buy a new language decoder." Hearing that something was off with Black Treasure made Xiao Fang more anxious than Yezhi; she immediately opened the Cosmic Mall website for purchasing.
"Daughter, you're back!" Aunt Zhou and Sun Dajiang both stood up. Yezhi didn’t expect Sun Dajiang to come to her house. "Comrade Sun, why are you at my place?"
Sun Dajiang replied casually, "It's New Year’s after all; I came on behalf of my aunt to see Aunt Zhou and also to check on you!" Yezhi felt a headache coming on; Sun Dajiang seemed like an adhesive bandage that stuck around—she needed to think of a way!
"Yezhi, you keep Dajiang company while I go cook. Dajiang can leave after having a meal," Aunt Zhou said before getting up and heading to the kitchen.
Yezhi really didn't know what to talk about with Sun Dajiang, so she picked up Niu Niu and playfully barked along with it. Black Treasure, seeing a stranger in the house, rushed over to give Sun Dajiang a hug. Yezhi lightly kicked Black Treasure's round bottom, thinking to herself that Black Treasure was too casual; how could it just hug anyone it saw?
"Yezhi, you bark like a little dog so well!" Yezhi felt frustrated upon hearing this; it required no skill at all—anyone could do it. Besides, she was chatting with Niu Niu, and they were genuinely discussing the weather.
"Dajiang, you come to find me often; what does it mean?" Yezhi preferred to be straightforward. Sun Dajiang looked at her intently and said, "I like you, Yezhi!"
Yezhi felt a surge of happiness; it was better that he said it outright so she could refuse him properly. "Dajiang, thank you for your feelings, but I already have someone." This time, Sun Dajiang had put everything on the line; if he couldn't have her, he didn't want to waste his efforts.
Worried that Sun Dajiang might not understand, Yezhi added, "Dajiang, I really do have someone. You've met him—Xiao Cheng, Teacher Xiao. We share similar interests and careers."
Sun Dajiang frowned slightly. "Is that so? You two really are a couple!" After saying this, he shot Yezhi a disdainful glance. Yezhi was deep in thought about whether to ask Xiao Cheng for help in dealing with Sun Dajiang and completely missed the contempt in his eyes.
"Dajiang, really!" Sun Dajiang stood up. "Then I need to apologize to Teacher Xiao; I didn't know you two were together!"
Yezhi waved her hands. "No need! No need!" But Sun Dajiang insisted, "Yes, I must!" With no other choice, Yezhi reluctantly led Sun Dajiang to Village Uncle's house.
"Xiao Cheng!" Yezhi called out dramatically.
Xiao Cheng shivered at the sound of her voice. Yezhi hurried over and linked her arm through his while giving him rapid blinks. Xiao Cheng was caught off guard by her sudden action and turned red. "Comrade Yezhi, what are you doing?"
Yezhi leaned closer to Xiao Cheng's ear and whispered, "Help me out!" Village Uncle and the others watched with smiles on their faces, growing more amused by the moment. Da Zhu admired Leaf Sister's boldness immensely, while Er Zhu recalled One Egg's words about the contrasting personalities of Sister Ye and gentle Teacher Xiao.
Sun Dajiang felt relieved to see through Yezhi's flirtatious nature. At the same time, he looked at Xiao Cheng with pity because he knew that sooner or later Yezhi would dump him. He chuckled at the thought that perhaps Yezhi was already damaged goods.
Seeing Sun Dajiang laugh strangely made Yezhi worried he might be overly stimulated. She released Xiao Cheng and stepped in front of him. "Dajiang, you will definitely find a better woman than me."
Sun Dajiang had confidence in finding someone better than Yezhi as a wife; however, gazing at her serious face and sparkling eyes made his heart skip a beat.
After sending off Sun Dajiang, Yezhi thanked Xiao Cheng and waved goodbye to Village Uncle and the others before joyfully running back home like a happy little bird.
"Master, the new decoding code has been purchased!" Xiao Fang reported. Yezhi instructed Xiao Fang to input it immediately. The "Pet Communicator" was surrounded by a flurry of blue light symbols before disappearing.
Yezhi pressed the "Pet Communicator," and blue light waves enveloped Black Treasure. Black Treasure let out a howl and jumped into Yezhi's arms. Yezhi twitched his eyebrows, the words "Mama Bear, Mama Bear" echoing in his mind.
"Baby, can you call me sister?"
Black Treasure nodded vigorously, but kept calling out "Mama Bear, Mama Bear" happily. Yezhi felt tears welling up; how did he decode the bear's language yet still struggle with communication? Black Treasure pounced again, and Yezhi playfully wrestled with it, tumbling over. Niu Niu also joined in the fun, creating a ruckus.
"Alright, alright, stop messing around and eat!" Aunt Zhou placed Sour Cabbage, Radish Chicken Soup, and Yezhi's favorite Fried Rice on the table.
Yezhi took a sip of the fragrant and sweet chicken soup, paired with the distinct grains of Fried Rice and Sour Cabbage, making her appetite soar. Aunt Zhou noticed her face had become rounder recently and happily piled more food into Yezhi's bowl, eager to make her into a plump girl.
"Daughter, have you talked things over with Dajiang?" After they finished eating, Aunt Zhou asked with concern. Yezhi nodded; actually, as long as Sun Dajiang didn't dislike her, she would be happy to be friends with him. Next time, she would treat him better and invite him to dinner to make up for her previous rudeness.
"Daughter, do you like Teacher Xiao?"
Yezhi almost blurted out "like," but seeing Aunt Zhou pretending to be indifferent while her ears perked up made her realize that what Aunt Zhou meant by liking was certainly not the same as what she thought. "Aunt Zhou, do you like Xiao Cheng?"
Aunt Zhou laughed and said, "Teacher Xiao is nice, refined, knowledgeable, and handsome!" Seeing Yezhi pout, Aunt Zhou sighed and said, "Daughter, you're not that young anymore!"
Indeed, she wasn't that young; in fact, in a month she would turn 28. Sigh~! Time is like a butcher's knife, relentlessly aging people.
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