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墨書 Inktalez
In the early morning, just as Yezhi had fallen asleep, she was pulled up by Aunt Zhou. "Yezhi, get up!" Wrapped in her blanket, Yezhi stubbornly refused to rise. "Didn't you say we were going to shape the Peach Tree today?"
With no choice but to get up, Yezhi painfully crawled out of bed and buried her head in a basin of cold well water until the shock of the icy water woke her up. At that moment, Elder Brother Yu walked over with a pot of steaming cornmeal porridge with eggs, making her stomach growl. She followed him into the house, where the table was already set with a plate of crispy peanuts, a bowl of salted cucumber cubes, and a basket of scallion buns. Although these dishes weren't made by Yezhi, they contained the essence of her cooking style. Of course, her cooking style had changed repeatedly; currently, the household favored a mix of northern and southern cuisines. Elder Brother Yu, this cook, seemed deeply influenced by her, but what frustrated her most was that he made the same dishes better than she did. No wonder most chefs were men—they could handle it all. Besides, cooking was inherently a physical task. (Yezhi stubbornly refused to admit her skills were lacking and insisted it was just a matter of strength.)
After drinking a bowl of cornmeal porridge with eggs that she used to have five days a week at school, she found it particularly sweet. Indeed, memories are the best seasoning, adding depth to one's experiences.
"Master, why so many sentiments over porridge?" Xiao Fang, who had successfully tapped into its master's thoughts, said proudly. It felt increasingly in sync with Yezhi. Once they truly became one, it could break free from system constraints and possess a "human soul" like its master.
Having only reached page 368 of the manual, Yezhi was completely unaware that Good Robot contained such content. She only felt that Xiao Fang was becoming more and more "annoying" and "gossipy."
After breakfast, everyone busied themselves: Aunt Zhou and Sister Luo went to the Field, while Elder Brother Yu stayed home to manage chores—feeding chickens and pigs and watering the newly planted vegetable garden. Black Treasure took the now-parent gander and four goslings down to the river. Wolf Child, along with Xiao Fan and Niu Niu, led them to the back mountain's Peach Orchard.
Having been away from home for so long, managing the Peach Orchard had become somewhat challenging. Summarizing feedback from the "Crop Health Monitor", she performed secondary pinching on the new shoots of the main branches of the Peach Tree. She also needed to use branch bending and pulling techniques to adjust angles and positions, ensuring even distribution of tender branches to maximize fruit-bearing branches.
Learning while doing, Yezhi once again lamented how hard it was to toil away from home. Perhaps it was through hard work and sweat that one could truly appreciate the joy of harvest. She imagined mountains filled with peach blossoms followed by mountains laden with peaches, feeling so happy that she would wake up smiling in her dreams.
"Sister Yezi, do you want some water?" Xiao Fan asked while holding up a tin water jug.
Yezhi looked at him with an amused expression; this little rascal wanted water for himself but insisted on dragging her into it. She pretended to sip a couple of times before handing it back to him. He then ran over to ask Wolf Child for some.
After a day of laboring hard, everyone turned into gluttons, not even leaving any crispy rice behind.
After dinner, the family moved outside to sit on the Big Wooden Platform, listening to rhythmic insect chirps while inhaling the scent of mugwort smoke above them. Underneath the moonlight, they nibbled on their homegrown small peaches—crisp and sweet—enjoying such tranquility and beauty.
However, this peace and beauty were shattered the next day when Wolf Child disappeared again without notice; this time she left no trace behind—worse than last time.
Furious, Yezhi smashed a cup; fortunately, it was made of tin and only dented slightly; otherwise, Aunt Zhou would have scolded her for being wasteful again.
Today Xiao Fan didn't cry either; not only did he not cry but also comforted Yezhi, saying, "Wolf Sister will be back in a few days!" Damn it! Did they think their home was an inn where one could come and go as they pleased?
Wolf Child, however, didn't think as much about it as Yezhi. She regarded everyone in the Zhou family as friends; friends could stay temporarily but not forever. So she had to leave—and there was no other option. Yet back in the mountains, she often thought about Yezhi, Xiao Fan, and Zhou Mama... along with all those sweet memories. So she returned for a visit and to see those she missed.
On one evening four days later, Wolf Child returned once again covered in dirt. The look on Yezhi's face could be imagined as Aunt Zhou hugged Wolf Child, calling her "darling" and "precious" in excitement. Meanwhile, Elder Brother Yu and Sister Luo hurriedly reheated leftover food, fearing that Wolf Child might be hungry.
Teased by a little brat repeatedly, Yezhi became more cautious. She instructed Niu Niu to keep an eye on Wolf Child at all times. Even if Wolf Child wanted to leave, she had to find her den first. Sure enough, after filling her belly, Wolf Child sneaked out at night again, and Niu Niu successfully followed her to find her and Big Wolf's resting place.
Yezhi, Niu Niu, and Xiao Fang arrived at a stone wall deep in the mountains, which was full of holes. Yezhi entered the largest one, but neither Wolf Child nor Big Wolf was there. Inside the wolf den lay half a bloody sika deer. Yezhi felt it was a pity to see the antlers and took out her small knife to chop them off.
Big Wolf returned to the den with a few berries in his mouth, baring his white teeth and growling angrily, "Human, the consequence of stealing from a wolf is only death."
Pressing the Pet Communicator, Yezhi looked down on Big Wolf's unrecognizable behavior. "Oh~ It's only been a few days since we last met, and I've become a stranger! No wonder they say wolves have hearts of dogs. I've raised you for half a year; how much meat and food have you eaten from my home?"
Big Wolf was surprisingly furious upon hearing this. "I've only eaten meat a few times! I'm a dignified wolf king; I eat less than a dog!"
"That's because you didn't cooperate with my retirement plan. For your fur, I've put in so much effort. If you want to leave, fine, but why do you have to be ungrateful and take Wolf Child with you?"
Big Wolf howled, "That's my blood brother! If I go, he must go too." Yezhi knew in her heart that their bond could not compare to Big Wolf's feelings.
"Big Wolf, how many more years can you accompany her?" Big Wolf found Yezhi's suddenly serious tone puzzling. He focused all his attention, fearing he might fall into Yezhi's trap. Besides, there were new little brothers in the forest watching him; he couldn't show weakness.
"Big Wolf, the average lifespan of a wolf is 12 years; 18 years is considered long-lived. You're almost 8 years old now, right? Look! You're no longer young. Meanwhile, Wolf Child still has many years ahead of her. Let her return to human society; at least for the next few decades, we can accompany her."
A struggle flashed in Big Wolf's green eyes as he shook his head, refusing to be deceived by the cunning human.
"Actually, it's just that the living conditions are different. If she misses you or you miss her, it's not far apart; you can come whenever you want. My home will always welcome you, and my retirement plan is always valid! Just think about it—one day when you're tired and can't move anymore, my home would be a good place for you. Besides, I will be there with Wolf Child; how wonderful is that?"
If a wild wolf sought comfort and ease, it would have long since perished. However, after living among humans for half a year, aside from still being crazy about blood, Wolf Child began learning to cook meat before eating it and often played with jars and bottles she brought back from human homes. In those disappearing days, he knew that Wolf Child was returning to human life.
"Yay!" The excited Wolf Child bounced back with a small basket in hand. Would that little girl ever read people's expressions? She clearly wore an angry face but still rushed into Yezhi's arms.
"Yay! So happy!"
"You little brat! Who told you to sneak away again?" With her ears pulled red, Wolf Child smiled ingratiatingly despite her black face. Big Wolf felt a tinge of sadness; living with humans must be more fun for Wolf Child.
"Master!" Xiao Fang caught sight of Big Wolf's wavering resolve. Yezhi looked deeply at Big Wolf with pleading eyes.
Big Wolf howled fiercely into the sky as four lurking wolf pups revealed themselves. Big Wolf had never been so cowardly; he ran into the forest and kept running and running. Niu Niu barked twice at her master before chasing after Big Wolf.
It’s cruel, but they all did it for the sake of Wolf Child.
I wonder what Big Wolf and Wolf Child talked about. The day after Yezhi returned home, Wolf Child came back with a bundle.
Yezhi joked, “Oh~ looks like you’re planning to stay for a long time!”
“Wolf Sister, if you don’t leave, I’ll give you some candy!” Xiao Fan said, pulling out a piece of fruit candy wrapped in cellophane as a temptation.
Black Treasure was also very interested, sniffing around Xiao Fan. Wolf Child acted first and bit into the candy, making a popping sound. Black Treasure drooled at the sight.
Aunt Zhou finally relaxed her tense heart and shouted, “To celebrate our family reunion, I’m going to kill a chicken.”
“Aunt~! We only have two chickens left at home; we can’t kill them.”
Yezhi grabbed Aunt Zhou, who was about to catch a chicken. “I’m still waiting for the chicken to lay eggs; how can we kill it!”
Aunt Zhou looked troubled. “But there’s no meat at home! It’s all my fault for treating everyone with the cured meat and sausages. I wanted to celebrate with Wolf Child but didn’t have anything good to serve.” That was one downside of Zhoujiatun; usually, no one killed pigs, and if you wanted pork, you had to wait half a year. It was tough for someone who loved pork like her.
“How about we kill a goose instead?”
As soon as Xiao Fan heard this, she exclaimed, “Big White, Two Whites, run! Sister Yezi wants to kill you!”
After rolling her little black eyes, Black Treasure gave Yezhi a big bear hug. Yezhi laughed while being unable to move. “Why are you hugging me? It’s Aunt Zhou who wants to kill the goose!”
Black Treasure released Yezhi and then tightly hugged Aunt Zhou’s waist. “Babe, why are you hugging me? Yezi is leaving to kill the goose!” Black Treasure turned around and pounced on Yezhi again. Niu Niu watched her owner and Aunt Zhou playfully spinning Black Treasure around and barked happily.
In the end, neither chicken nor goose made it to the table. The only meat dish was scrambled eggs; everything else was seasonal vegetables. There were wild amaranth greens picked from the field, washed and stir-fried quickly—refreshing and delicious; Fish Mint, which we called Houttuynia Cordata, mixed with vinegar and chili oil—both appetizing and great with rice; eggplant sauce sent by One Egg’s family was stir-fried until fragrant; besides the sauce aroma and sweetness of the eggplant, it also had a hint of spiciness that left people wanting more. Yezhi ate two bowls and still felt it wasn’t enough, urging Xiao Fan to add more rice. Xiao Fan loved doing this and kept asking sweetly, “Sister Yezi, is one scoop enough? Is two scoops enough?” She was just so adorable!
After dinner, Yezhi stopped Wolf Child from going out to play. Wolf Child shrank her neck feeling something was off. Sure enough, after studying with Uncle Yu for an hour, Yezhi came out holding a bucket of hot water calling her for a bath. With a pained expression on her face, Wolf Child was reluctant to step forward as Yezhi simply and roughly started taking off her clothes. Once she was stripped bare, a scoop of scalding hot water poured down from above.
“Ah~! Ah~!”
“What are you screaming about!”
"Pain!" It hurt intensely.
"Just get used to it, besides the water will cool down soon!" As if! She wasn't dead, nor did she need to pluck any feathers. Why did they have to scald her with hot water? Plus, she and Big Wolf often cleaned each other; they were quite clean.
"Hehe...!" Zhou Xiaomu and Xiao Fan rushed into the yard like a whirlwind, followed by Black Treasure and Niu Niu.
Zhou Xiaomu stared at the naked Wolf Child and curiously asked, "Hey, why doesn't Wolf Sister have...?"
Xiao Fan looked at her as if she were clueless and generously explained, "That's because Wolf Sister is a girl, unlike us. When she grows as tall as Sister Yezi, she'll have a big chest like Zhou Taotao's mom and can breastfeed." Elder Brother Yu coughed at his son's words, while Yezhi laughed heartily without any restraint.
Black Treasure plopped down into the waterhole, demanding Mama Bear to give it a bath. After enough laughter, Yezhi pointed at Black Treasure and said to Wolf Child, "Look how well-behaved Black Treasure is; it loves when I give it a bath!" Wolf Child huffed; that was because it had thick fur and wasn't afraid of hot water.
"Zhou Xiaomu, I’m assigning you a glorious mission!"
"Give Black Treasure a bath!" The two little ones' eyes sparkled with excitement.
With Black Treasure's cooperation and good behavior as a contrast, Wolf Child finally settled down. Xiao Fan and Zhou Xiaomu took cloths to wipe Black Treasure's armpits, while Yezhi used a brush to scrub Wolf Child from head to toe, with dirty water flowing into the wooden basin like a stream.
Zhou Xiaomu innocently remarked, "Wolf Sister isn't as clean-loving as Black Treasure; how embarrassing!"
Wolf Child pouted and ignored Zhou Xiaomu but became increasingly cooperative with Yezhi. Indeed, the impact from the little kids was far more effective than her saying a thousand words.
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