Dad Is the Best

By the end of the game, there was no longer any distinction between the "mother hen" and the "chicks." All three bird chicks were protecting one another as they faced Tao Qiu together.

"Chirp!"

Third Cub dodged so hastily that she fell to the ground. Tao Qiu figured it was about time, so he pounced, intending to pick her up and end the round.

When Eldest Cub saw Tao Qiu turn his attention to Third Cub, he charged over like an angry little bird. But Tao Qiu easily pushed him over with a sweep of his wing, sending him tumbling onto his bottom.

Second Cub was farther away, and before she could reach them, Tao Qiu had already picked up Third Cub and flown off.

Third Cub flapped and struggled, but it did no good. She could only watch helplessly as she got farther and farther away from her brother and sister...

Second Cub stood where she was and burst into tears.

"Chirp! Chirp, chirp!"

"Bad big bird! Give my little sister back!"

Chapter 22: Dad Is the Best

She had called him a bad big bird instead of Dad. It seemed she really was immersed in the game.

To keep Second Cub from getting too upset, Tao Qiu hurriedly flew back and put Third Cub where she had been, then changed back into the human form the children knew.

"There, there. This round is over. Don't cry, sweetheart."

Second Cub, who had yet to fully realize what had happened, instinctively shielded Third Cub behind her. When Tao Qiu reached out to wipe her tears, she even pulled back a little.

Third Cub came to her senses first. She patted her sister gently to soothe her and chirped softly.

"Dad is Dad now, not the bad big bird."

Eldest Cub had also gotten back up. He walked over to Second Cub and urged her, "Chirp, chirp, chirp."

"If you keep crying, your eyes will start hurting."

Second Cub sniffled. "Chirp... chirp..."

"Boo-hoo, I don't want... them to hurt..."

Tao Qiu didn't interrupt, letting Second Cub calm down at her own pace.

Before long, Second Cub calmed down. Once she had recovered, she realized she had lost her composure a little. Embarrassed, she wriggled and brought her face up to Tao Qiu of her own accord.

"Chirp, chirp."

"Dad, wipe them for me. Dad is the best."

Tao Qiu smiled gently. "All right, I'll wipe the tears away for my brave sweetheart who protected her little sister."

After comforting Second Cub, Tao Qiu turned to Eldest Cub and Third Cub.

"Dad pushed you just now, Eldest Treasure. Did you hurt yourself when you fell?" As he spoke, Tao Qiu carefully checked Eldest Cub from head to toe. His feathers were thick, and he didn't appear to be hurt.

Eldest Cub shook his head and looked up at Tao Qiu. "Chirp, chirp, chirp."

"It didn't hurt. I know you held back, Dad."

"Good boy." Tao Qiu stroked his head.

"What about you, Third Treasure? You fell and then Dad picked you up. You must have been frightened, right?" After checking Third Cub and making sure she wasn't hurt, Tao Qiu picked her up and gave her a kiss.

Third Cub rubbed against Tao Qiu's cheek. "Chirp, chirp."

"A little. Just a little."

Third Cub wasn't lying. Tao Qiu could be quite frightening to a bird when he acted fierce.

Tao Qiu chuckled and looked at the three children. "Do you still want to play this game?"

Teaching had to be done step by step. If the three chicks had been badly frightened today and were still scared, they could always continue another day.

To his surprise, though, all three children nodded.

Second Cub flapped her wings excitedly. "Chirp, chirp!"

"It was scary, but so much fun."

The other two chicks felt the same way, though Third Cub was delighted to be able to play such a physical game with her family. It showed that her health was much better than before.

Eldest Cub, meanwhile, had realized that compared with Dad—even Dad after he had shrunk many times over—he was still weak and helpless.

If a natural predator had really been hunting them just now, he probably wouldn't have been able to save even himself, much less protect his two younger sisters.

He wanted to learn from Dad and work hard to become strong.

"All right, then. We'll continue after a little rest." Since the chicks wanted to play, Tao Qiu, their old father, would naturally keep them company to the end.

In the second round, it was Eldest Cub's turn to be the "mother hen." With the experience of the previous round, he shielded the two "chicks" more closely this time. As he considered how best to protect himself and his two sisters, he also watched Tao Qiu's attacking techniques.

Although they didn't last much longer and were defeated by Tao Qiu once again, the three chicks had fun and gained experience.

In the third round, Third Cub was smaller than her brother and sister, but she was brave and attentive to detail. She always picked the best moment to counterattack Tao Qiu, and she pecked him several times. Honestly, it hurt quite a bit.

After being "prey," the children switched roles and became hunters.

Since none of the three could fly yet and could only use their wings to jump higher, they had to use the ground-fighting techniques they had learned from Tao Qiu, along with strategies of their own, to do their best to fight and outmaneuver the "mother hen," Tao Qiu.

Snow Birds were natural hunters. The game awakened the bloodline genes within them, and the chicks quickly got into the spirit of things. They became fierce yet adorable butchers, following their instincts as they pounced on the "poor" little "chicks."

Tao Qiu shrank himself again and became the "mother hen," hiding the "chicks" behind him.

Though they weren't much different in size, Tao Qiu had, after all, eaten several decades' more meals than the children. Their inexperienced attacks were of little use against him.

More often than not, the hunters would drop onto their bottoms in exhaustion, too winded to catch their breath, while his down and that of the "chicks" behind him were barely ruffled.

After the game, Tao Qiu reviewed the three chicks' strengths and shortcomings to help them understand themselves better.

It made the children even more aware of the gap between themselves and Dad, and they also truly came to love the game.

After dinner, night fell, and the temperature dropped considerably.

After exercising and returning to human form, Tao Qiu felt sticky all over, so he took the children to bathe in the pond at the bottom of the valley.

Before that, he carried the chicks and flew a few low circles around the valley.

Under the bright moonlight, a gentle night breeze blew. The chicks enjoyed the thrill of flying and looking down at the earth, calling out excitedly.

The little chicks couldn't swim, so Tao Qiu sat by the pond and cupped them in his hands as he lowered them into the water. Standing in his palms, they wet and cleaned their own feathers.

It was instinctive for birds. Tao Qiu didn't need to teach them; they could do it well on their own, though he occasionally gave them a pointer.

Once all three chicks had finished washing, Tao Qiu placed them on a little bamboo raft he had tied together from strips of bamboo and let them drift on the ripples.

The chicks knew Dad was there, so they had nothing to fear even if the raft capsized or they fell into the water. They hopped around on it and had a wonderful time.

Tao Qiu scrubbed himself clean and even washed his long hair. Only then did he lean comfortably against a pile of rocks, soaking and resting as he waited for the night breeze to dry his hair.

By the time Tao Qiu's hair was half dry, the little chicks had had enough of their "voyage." They chirped and chattered, calling for Tao Qiu to bring them back.

Tao Qiu reached out and pulled the raft back, then picked up the bamboo tube from the rocks and fed the wild berries inside to himself and the chicks as a late-night snack.

After their snack, the chicks perched on the rock beside Tao Qiu and used their pointed beaks to comb his hair. They wanted to help Dad, and it was also a little game to pass the time.

Watching the children work diligently with their little bottoms in the air, Tao Qiu suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Shouldn't Dad give you names?"

"Chirp?" Second Cub tilted her head, sounding puzzled. "Chirp, chirp, chirp."

"I have a name. Dad calls me Second Treasure."

Tao Qiu gathered the three chicks together and explained, "I've been calling you Eldest Treasure, Second Treasure, and Third Treasure, but those only count as nicknames. Usually, only people close to you, like family and friends, can call you those. Your formal name is the name you can tell other people."

Out of habit, Tao Qiu still preferred to refer to himself as a "person." Although the children didn't yet understand the difference between a person and a bird, they knew that Dad's current form was called a "person," and that he was called a bird when he looked like them.

Seeing that the children were still bewildered, Tao Qiu used himself as an example. "I haven't told you before, but my formal name is Tao Qiu, and my nickname is Qiuqiu. Family and friends call me Qiuqiu, while other people call me by my formal name, Tao Qiu."

Afterward, Tao Qiu explained in greater detail what a surname and a given name were, and how children usually took their father's or mother's surname.

Another term unfamiliar to the children had come up: "mother." But they were focused on names and didn't ask Tao Qiu what a mother was.

Third Cub's eyes shone. "Chirp, chirp, chirp."

"Dad's surname is Tao, so we'll take Dad's surname too."

"That's right. You're so clever, sweetheart." Tao Qiu praised her and gave her a thumbs-up.

Third Cub pecked Tao Qiu's hand lightly, expressing her happiness and shyness.

Eldest Cub asked, "Chirp, chirp, chirp."

"Dad, have you decided on our formal names?"

At that, all three chicks looked up at Tao Qiu expectantly.

The names themselves weren't important. What mattered was Dad's attention and care for them.

Tao Qiu rubbed his chin. "I've thought of a few on and off since you were born, but I'm not good at naming. I'll tell you what I came up with, and you can see if you like them. If you don't, we'll change them."

The three chicks nodded eagerly.

Chapter 23: Naming and New Crops

"Let's go in order of age, then. We'll start with yours, Eldest Treasure." Tao Qiu, Second Cub, and Third Cub all turned their eyes on Eldest Cub. For some reason, he felt a little nervous, but more than that, he was happy.

Tao Qiu continued, "Eldest Treasure, your feathers are completely black, much like the color of the night sky. But I thought naming you 'Ye' would be too cold and wouldn't suit your reserved yet steady and gentle nature, so after thinking it over, I changed it to 'Mo.'"

Tao Qiu told them what ink was, what it was used for, and how people saw it. It was a character that conveyed steadiness with a scholarly air.

The chicks couldn't really understand these aspects of human civilization. Tao Qiu didn't expect them to remember them right away either; he was simply passing on a little knowledge to them by gradual influence.