Curiosity killed the cat. Xu Han couldn't help but shout toward the grass. A rustling immediately came from within, and before long, a little animal emerged from the grass, swaggering out with a half-eaten chicken in its mouth.
Xu Han: "..."
Were chicken thieves this brazen nowadays?
The little creature had a long body and a long tail. Its fur was brown, while its belly was white. Its two round ears stood upright, and it was actually kind of... cute?
The little creature gave her a wary look. Seeing that she didn't seem threatening, it lowered its head and continued eating its chicken.
Xu Han studied it curiously. What was this, a fox?
It didn't look like one.
Koukou seemed delighted to see it. He babbled "ah ah" and squirmed around in Xu Han's arms, trying to reach out and grab it.
Xu Han caught his little hand. "Baby, you can't grab that."
Koukou didn't understand and kept babbling "ah ah," wanting it.
Seeing that Koukou was interested, Xu Han held him and watched for a while. Sensing their stares, the little creature stopped eating its chicken and tilted its head to look at them too.
The two humans and one animal stared at each other for a moment. Koukou finally got bored, and Xu Han's arms had grown sore from holding him so long, so she carried him home.
The creature lowered its head and continued eating the chicken, seeming unconcerned by their arrival or departure.
But when Xu Han got home and was about to close the courtyard gate, she saw that it had somehow already squatted outside her gate, startling her.
The little creature blinked its glossy black eyes at Xu Han, and somehow, she read a plea to be adopted in its gaze.
"..."
Author's note:
Cute pet acquired √
This isn't fantasy. It's not a demon or anything~
Xu Han had seen it eating raw chicken on the road and worried that it would steal chickens. Their chickens were still half-grown, but they had been raised nice and plump, so they would probably be right up the little creature's alley.
So Xu Han tried to chase it away.
But the thing was like a stubborn stray dog. It couldn't understand when she scolded it, and it wasn't afraid when she pretended she was going to hit it. After watching for a while, it actually strolled into their courtyard as if no one else were there.
Ignored Xu Han: "..."
Helpless, Xu Han could only let it stay for now. Later, she would ask well-informed Grandma Qiao what this thing was and how to deal with it.
After a busy day, Xu Han was tired too. She washed some cherry tomatoes from her garden, sat on a low stool by the door to rest for a while, and casually tossed it two tomatoes.
After settling Koukou down, Grandma Qiao came out and visibly froze when she saw the little creature. "Why is there a weasel in our house?"
A weasel?!
So this thing was a weasel. Xu Han gave it another look. The little creature was happily munching on the cherry tomatoes she had tossed over, as if they tasted even better than the chicken it had just eaten.
The vegetables and fruit grown by their family were loved by both people and animals, so Xu Han was no longer surprised.
"I ran into it on the road. I don't know why it followed me back, and I can't chase it away. Do I look like its owner or something?"
"This thing should be wild," Grandma Qiao said. "But I haven't seen one in years. There used to be lots of them in the village stealing chickens, but now you hardly see them."
The moment Xu Han heard that it really did steal chickens, she panicked. "Then what do we do now?"
"The elders used to say that having a Yellow Immortal come to your home was a good thing. As long as it doesn't steal our chickens, we'll leave it alone for now."
"..." So this was the legendary case of locking the barn after the sheep were gone?
Uh...
But since Grandma Qiao said so, Xu Han had no choice. She couldn't chase the thing away, and she couldn't bring herself to hit it, so she decided to feed it now and then and hoped it would show mercy and leave their chickens alone.
The next day, the electric scooter shop delivered her scooter. Xu Han asked a village sister-in-law who knew how to ride a bicycle to teach her, and she learned easily.
The three bundles of bamboo Xu Han had asked Aunt Li to order for her last time had also been cut and delivered. The person who brought them was a young man everyone called Alai. He looked rather simple and honest.
"It comes to 128.5. You can keep the fifty cents," the young man said, scratching his neck and not daring to look Xu Han in the eye.
"Thanks." Xu Han handed the money to Alai. "Sorry for the trouble, handsome."
Xu Han hadn't meant to tease him by calling him handsome. It was probably much the same as calling him a young man, but the moment Alai heard it, his sun-darkened face turned bright red.
"N-no need to thank me." Alai took the money, clutched it in his hand, and said dazedly, "Th-then I'll be going."
"Okay."
Then Xu Han watched him walk out with his left hand and left foot moving together...
Just as Alai reached the gate, he ran into Grandma Qiao returning with Koukou, whom she had taken out for a walk in the sun. The weasel that had been freeloading at Xu Han's house these past few days was following beside them.
Alai jumped when he saw the weasel. Then, seeing that it wasn't afraid of people, he asked in surprised delight, "Is this a Yellow Immortal?"
Grandma Qiao smiled. "Yes."
"It actually isn't afraid of people." Alai stared at it with fascination, then suddenly bowed to it three times with a devout expression. "Yellow Immortal, bless me so I can marry a wife within the year. I'll definitely repay you with a generous offering."
Xu Han, who had come over to carry Koukou inside to feed him: "..."
That worked too?
And according to the Gregorian calendar, there was only a little over a month left in the year, kid.
When Alai saw Xu Han coming over, he became awkward again. He gave them a simple, foolish grin, then ran off in a flash.
Xu Han knew that villagers tended to be somewhat superstitious, so she didn't think much of it. She reached out to pick up Koukou, only to see that his little eyes were red, as though he had been crying.