Choosing Names + New Crops (Continued)

Eldest Cub did his best to understand Tao Qiu's words. Though he didn't understand everything, he knew Tao Qiu had chosen the character to praise him.

In the end, Tao Qiu respected Eldest Cub's wishes and asked which of the two names, Tao Ye or Tao Mo, he wanted to choose.

"Chirp, chirp chirp, chirp chirp."

—Tao Mo. I like that name, and I trust you, Dad.

Eldest Cub answered without hesitation.

Tao Qiu nodded. "All right, then it's settled. Your name is Tao Mo."

Next was Second Cub's name.

"Second Treasure, I thought of a few names for you based on your feather color and personality too: Tao Yue, Tao Xue, and Tao Xing. Stars, the moon, and snow are all associated with white. The moon and snow mostly signify purity and cool aloofness. You have a lively personality, so Xue or Yue could make up for the steadiness you lack, while stars are tiny but bright and sparkling, which complements your outgoing, cheerful nature."

The cubs were only a few months old and had never seen winter, so they didn't know what snow looked like.

Tao Qiu said, "You can imagine snow as lots of very, very small white flowers, except it's colder than water and feels icy to the touch. It'll appear in a few months, and by then it'll cover the ground. Snow is a symbol of winter."

No matter how vivid their imaginations were, they couldn't guess even a ten-thousandth of what something they'd never seen was really like.

But that didn't stop them from liking it.

As soon as Tao Qiu finished speaking, Second Cub called out eagerly, "Chirp, chirp chirp!"

—Tao Xue! Dad, I want to choose Tao Xue!

"Can you tell Dad why you chose that name?"

Second Cub nodded and explained in a flurry of chirps.

—You can see the stars and moon often, but not snow. Snow is icy cold, and I like things that are icy cold.

Most days since the cubs were born had been sunny and hot, and they did prefer cool things.

After learning the reason, Tao Qiu said nothing more. As long as his child liked it, that was enough.

Now only Third Cub was left.

"Third Treasure, your feathers have the most distinctive coloring. You're snow-white all over, but there's a tuft of black feathers at the tip of your tail. At the time, I could only think of one name—Tao Yuan."

As Tao Qiu spoke, Eldest Cub and Second Cub leaned over to look at Third Cub's tail feathers. Third Cub was a little embarrassed, but she didn't move away.

Tao Qiu explained, "There are two meanings behind the name Tao Yuan. First, 'yuan' refers to a kind of bird, most of which are birds of prey, almost as formidable as me. Dad hopes you'll grow stronger and stronger and become the overlord of a territory like Dad someday. Second, Tao Yuan sounds like tangyuan. Tangyuan is a sweet, chewy, delicious food, and your coloring makes you look just like a tangyuan with sesame filling, Third Treasure."

When they heard about food, and delicious food at that, the three bird cubs, who had inherited their old father's gluttony, instantly widened their eyes.

Before the children could ask, Tao Qiu told them what sesame and tangyuan were and how sesame tangyuan was made.

When she learned that glutinous rice and sesame, the ingredients for tangyuan, were both plants, Second Cub asked Tao Qiu whether he could grow them like the wild fruit.

Tao Qiu sighed. "Even though Dad can accelerate plant growth, I still need seeds. I haven't found any sesame or glutinous rice seeds nearby all these years."

There might be some at a human base, but given Tao Qiu's identity, he couldn't go trade for or buy them at the moment.

Tao Qiu also saved seeds from the wild berries and tomatoes they usually ate, so the children knew what seeds were.

"Chirp..."

—Okay...

Second Cub was a little disappointed.

Tao Qiu hadn't forgotten whose name they were choosing, so he looked at Third Cub and asked gently, "Do you like the name Tao Yuan, Third Treasure? If you don't, you can tell Dad, and we'll think of another one together."

"Chirp!"

—I like it!

Third Cub had taken a liking to the name as soon as she heard that yuan was a bird of prey. The fact that it sounded like the delicious tangyuan was just the icing on the cake.

Seeing Third Cub so happy she was almost hopping, Tao Qiu believed she really wasn't forcing herself and genuinely liked it.

The children were excited to have proper names. Not only did they call one another things like "Brother Tao Mo," "Sister Tao Xue," and "Little Sister Tao Yuan," they also asked Tao Qiu to call them by their proper names.

It wasn't difficult, so Tao Qiu naturally obliged.

But after just one night, their excitement had worn off. They still preferred Tao Qiu to call them by their nicknames rather than their proper names.

For one thing, they were more familiar with their nicknames. For another, Tao Qiu had said only people or birds close to them could use their nicknames, so being called by them meant they were the closest to Dad in the whole world.

When Tao Qiu returned from his morning patrol, the cubs were still asleep. He sat in the nest, resting and watching the children. His gaze gradually went blank as he pondered something, and he didn't even notice Eldest Cub waking up.

Not until Eldest Cub called out to him.

"Chirp chirp chirp?"

—What are you thinking about, Dad?

Tao Qiu gathered his thoughts and didn't hide anything from Eldest Cub. "I was thinking that autumn is almost here, and winter will follow it. I need to stock up in advance on more food I grow myself, but the two kinds of wild fruit we have now yield too little and don't keep well. I need to find new edible crops that yield plenty and store easily."

In fact, the low yield was the main reason.

The wild fruit went without saying: there wasn't much of it, and the fruit was small. The tomatoes were bigger and bore more fruit, but their yield was nowhere near what it had been before the great disaster.

Tao Qiu remembered that when he was a child in his previous life, each tomato plant in his grandparents' field had produced at least dozens of tomatoes.

Now, from maturity to withering, the tomato plants he grew produced fewer than ten tomatoes at the low end, and only around twenty at most.

Still, every one of them was round and pretty, and they tasted good too, giving the impression that they favored quality over quantity.

In winter, heavy snow covered the ground, and both mutant plants and mutant animals stayed hidden away for the season. Finding food then would be difficult.

In previous winters, Tao Qiu would eat his fill, then hide in his cave and sleep for a long time, going out to forage only when he got hungry. It was a kind of semi-hibernation.

But things were different this year. He was no longer a lone bird who only had to feed himself. This year he had three cubs to raise, so he had to think about storing food. He couldn't keep eating one meal without worrying about the next.

He also didn't want to stop eating the crops he accelerated to extend his lifespan during winter. But using his ability consumed energy, and food was scarce in winter, so he couldn't replenish it whenever he wanted as he could now.

So, whether plants or meat, he had to store enough of each to last at least most of the winter.

In human society, wild fruit and tomatoes could be made into dried fruit or jam and sealed for storage. Although drying fruit outdoors was possible, the failure rate was high and wasted ingredients. It was also rather cumbersome for a wild bird like Tao Qiu, who had few tools.

The best method was to use the low winter temperatures to refrigerate or freeze them. Though eating them would be troublesome, this was currently his best way to store fruit.

But all of that depended on having fruit to store in the first place.

After months of practice, Tao Qiu had shortened the time it took him to ripen a wild fruit plant, but the amount of fruit he could accelerate each day was still very limited.

So he still had to focus on actual cultivation.

He had never left the plot at the bottom of the valley empty, and the latest batch of wild fruit plants was still growing. But honestly, if Tao Qiu ate as much as he wanted, he could finish each harvest in two meals at most.

He only held back how much he ate for the children's sake.

For someone who wanted to extend his lifespan, eating as much as he could was naturally best.

Even without considering the winter food shortage, his best choice was to find crops with higher yields.

Using the same amount of effort and ability to grow crops with higher yields was the most worthwhile option.

Crops couldn't come running to him on their own. He had to look for them, leave the cave, and possibly even travel beyond his territory.

So why had Tao Qiu waited until now to think of looking for new crops?

Seeing Tao Qiu's slightly grave expression, Eldest Cub quickly figured it out.

"Chirp chirp?"

—Are you worried about us, Dad?

"Mm." Tao Qiu said, "Although those monsters generally won't enter the valley because I've intimidated them in the past, there's always a chance something could happen. You're all still little and can't deal with those guys, but taking you out with me would be even more dangerous."

Before Tao Qiu finished speaking, another voice suddenly sounded beside him.

"Chirp chirp!"

—I'm not afraid!

Second Cub jumped up from the nest, chirping away as she flapped her wings and raised her claws to scratch wildly. Her smooth little combination of moves looked quite convincing.

"Chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp!"

—I'm really strong! I'll beat all the bad guys to death!

Third Cub watched beside her, her face full of admiration. "Chirp chirp!"

—You're amazing, Sis!

"So cool. You're quite a bit like your dad." Tao Qiu didn't undermine his child's confidence either. He smiled and applauded.

Second Cub puffed out her chest proudly.

Seeing that the cubs were all awake, Tao Qiu asked, "Did Dad wake you up?"

Third Cub shook her head. "Chirp chirp chirp."

—We woke up with big brother.

"Then you probably heard too. Dad needs to go look for seeds, so I'll have to leave you at home. I'll be gone much longer this time than when I usually go hunting or patrolling."

Tao Qiu was deeply worried. This would be his first long trip since the cubs had hatched.

Eldest Cub had a clear understanding of his own strength and his sisters'. He reassured Tao Qiu, "Chirp, chirp chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp."

—Don't worry, Dad. My sisters and I can protect ourselves. If we really can't, we'll hide.

The children were Tao Qiu's weakness, so he had kept the bird cubs hidden from the other mutant monsters all this time. But he couldn't guarantee he had kept them completely secret. He worried that some ill-intentioned creatures might have noticed clues and gone into hiding, waiting for him to show an opening.

But looking for seeds couldn't be put off either.

Tao Qiu sighed and stroked the three children's heads. "I'll make sure everything is arranged before I leave."