Harvest + The Husbands Meet (continued)

Tao Qiu pulled up a radish and patted off the dirt. Comparing it to himself, he found that its upper half was thicker than both his hands put together, and it was nearly as long as his long legs.

He broke it open and saw that it wasn't hollow inside, either. It was juicy and crisp.

Tao Qiu had tried the radish greens. They tasted fine, but they had no life-extending effect.

After some thought, he decided not to twist them off. He could always use them for a change of flavor later.

The radishes were so big that a basket could only hold a few, so Tao Qiu had to spend more time carrying them back.

While he took one basket of radishes back to the cave, the bird cubs loaded the next. It took all three of them, using every method they could think of, to barely manage to get the radishes into the basket. They were far less efficient than Tao Qiu.

But they wanted to help, and Tao Qiu didn't refuse their kindness. He let them get on with it, as long as they were happy.

There were so many radishes that they took up a lot of space. Each time Tao Qiu carried a load back, he stacked them neatly to save room and make them easy to take.

They worked back and forth all afternoon. Apart from a few radishes left to produce seeds, Tao Qiu brought the entire harvest into the cave.

The bird cubs, covered in dirt, returned to the cave and stood on the ground, looking up at the mountain of radishes. Their eyes showed an old farmer's joy and satisfaction at a bountiful harvest.

Second Cub cried out, "Chirp, chirp chirp!"

—There are so many! Our bellies are going to be round!

At the thought of eating as much as they wanted from now on, the cubs felt so happy they could fly.

Tao Qiu patted the dirt off his hands, planted one hand on his hip, and pointed at the piled-up crops with the other. In a ringing voice, he declared, "Children, this is the mountain of goodies your dad grew for you. Now hurry up and shout, 'Dad is mighty!' Wahahaha..."

The bird cubs were used to Tao Qiu's occasional theatrics, and they found them fun too. Every time, they eagerly played along.

This time was no different.

"Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp!"

—Dad is mighty! Dad is mighty!

The cubs hopped up and down. Even the steady Eldest Cub waved his wings, earnestly playing his part in the cheering squad and providing all the emotional support Tao Qiu could want.

Tao Qiu lifted his chin proudly and struck the pose of an emperor receiving the homage of his court officials. All he needed was a dragon robe to complete the picture.

His turn as emperor lasted until they went to bathe in the pond. The emperor had to wash his "subjects" nice and clean, and his imperial aura was mercilessly stripped away.

The nights were cold in late autumn, and even the wind was chilly. Afraid the cubs would get sick, Tao Qiu had to take them to bathe before sunset.

By the time their down had dried, the sky had already darkened.

The cubs nestled in Tao Qiu's arms, looking up at the sky and chattering away in their childish voices.

Third Cub: "Chirp, chirp chirp, chirp chirp."

—It's dark. The sun went home for dinner, and my tummy is singing too.

Third Cub: "Chirp chirp? Chirp chirp?"

—Did the moon come out after eating? What did the moon have for dinner?

Eldest Cub: "Chirp chirp."

—The sun and moon don't eat.

Third Cub tilted her head, her sparkling purple eyes full of curiosity. "Chirp chirp? Chirp chirp?"

—Why don't they eat? Aren't they hungry?

Eldest Cub nodded. "Chirp chirp."

—They don't get hungry.

Third Cub looked as though she had just understood. "Chirp, chirp chirp."

—Oh, I see. Big brother, you know so much.

Before Eldest Cub could speak, Second Cub leaned over and said eagerly, "Chirp chirp, chirp chirp, chirp chirp."

—I know things too. You can't eat the sun or the moon, and you can't eat rocks either.

"Chirp chirp, chirp chirp."

—Big sister knows a lot too. You're amazing too.

Third Cub never favored one over the other.

Second Cub chirped twice in delight. She loved being praised most of all.

Eldest Cub wasn't unhappy either. He knew that was just how his little sister was, and he didn't mind.

Tao Qiu didn't deliberately step in. Sometimes children had their own way of getting along, and if adults barged in, they could upset the balance and cause conflicts that hadn't existed before.

After a tiring day, the cubs ate a lot that evening. Afraid they would get indigestion, Tao Qiu deliberately played with them a while longer. Once they had more or less digested their food, he told them a bedtime story to coax them to sleep.

The family of four got up very late the next day. It was nearly noon when Tao Qiu blearily opened his eyes, while the cubs were still sprawled out, fast asleep.

The nights were chilly, so Tao Qiu had covered the cubs with his wings like a blanket, keeping them warm and sheltered from the wind. They had slept soundly all night.

Tao Qiu gently placed all three cubs in one nest so they could keep each other warm. He also took out the feather blanket from when he had been incubating their eggs and covered them with it.

With Tao Qiu's scent around them, the cubs slept deeply and showed no sign of waking even after being moved to the nest.

Tao Qiu went to cut up meat and fruit. He washed some radishes, pears, tomatoes, and berries, then made a large fruit and vegetable platter to reward himself and the cubs for their hard work over the past few months.

Before he could go wake them, the cubs smelled the meat, fruit, and vegetables. Their stomachs began rumbling in protest, pulling them out of sleep.

Second Cub hadn't even opened her eyes yet, but her drool had already flowed for miles.

"Chirp chirp... chirp..."

—Yummy food... hungry...

Third Cub opened her eyes halfway and realized she wasn't lying in her dad's arms. She jolted awake in fright, and only let out a long breath when she sat up and saw him preparing ingredients by the table.

"Chirp chirp..."

—Dad.

Third Cub suddenly wanted her dad to hold her, and she naturally raised her little wings.

Tao Qiu heard her and quickly stopped what he was doing. He went over, crouched down, scooped Third Cub up, and leaned in to kiss her.

"You're awake. Did you sleep well last night?"

Third Cub nestled against Tao Qiu, her racing heart gradually settling down. Happily, she shared with him:

"Chirp chirp, chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp."

—I slept lots, and I dreamed about you, Dad. We were flying in the sky together.

"Whoa, that's amazing! You even dreamed about flying in the sky. That means our Yuanyuan will learn to fly very soon."

"Chirp chirp?"

—Really?

Third Cub looked at Tao Qiu expectantly.

"Of course it's true. Our Yuanyuan is a clever little bird. Flying is no big deal; you'll learn it in no time."

"Chirp chirp." Third Cub happily and shyly buried her head in Tao Qiu's arms.

By then, Eldest Cub and Second Cub were fully awake too, and they happily said good morning to Tao Qiu.

Tao Qiu noticed a suspicious wet mark by Second Cub's mouth and raised a hand to wipe it away. He joked, "Looks like Xuexue dreamed about something tasty last night. Can you tell Dad what delicious food you dreamed about?"

Second Cub rubbed against Tao Qiu's palm, more than happy to share her dream with her dad.

"Chirp chirp, chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp."

—So much, so much. I can't remember it all, but it was all super, super delicious.

Afterward, she swallowed.

Tao Qiu laughed at her antics.

Without waiting for Tao Qiu to ask, Eldest Cub spoke up. "Chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp."

—I didn't dream last night, but I have a question for Dad.

"What question?"

Eldest Cub asked, "Chirp chirp?"

—Did we snore last night?

His question reminded Second Cub of the last time Dad had made snoring noises in his sleep, and she chirped the same question.

—Dad said that when you're really, really tired, you're likely to snore in your sleep. We were all really, really tired yesterday, so did we snore?

Third Cub also looked at Tao Qiu eagerly, waiting for his answer.

In the bird cubs' eyes, doing the same things as their dad easily gave them a sense of accomplishment, as though it could bring them closer to him.

Tao Qiu could more or less understand what the bird cubs were thinking, but he didn't intend to lie.

"No." Tao Qiu spoke earnestly. "You slept very quietly last night. You didn't snore."

"Chirp..."

Sure enough, the bird cubs looked disappointed.

"But..." Tao Qiu deliberately drew out the word, waiting until all the bird cubs were looking at him before continuing, "But you did do the same thing as me. Just like me, you all slept until after the sun came out."

The cubs' eyes gradually brightened again.

Tao Qiu added, "And next, we're going to do another thing together. See the meat, fruit, and vegetables on the stone table? We're going to eat every last bit of them!"

Hearing Tao Qiu say that, the bird cubs finally realized they had been hungry for a while.

At the thought of how delicious the food was, their brief unhappiness was quickly thrown to the winds.

"Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp chirp!"

—Food! Eating with Dad!

Second Cub was the most excited of all.

"All right, all right. Come on, let's go have a feast!" Tao Qiu picked up the cubs and strode toward the stone table.

They were already starving, and the food was plentiful and delicious. The cubs ate with their heads down, while Tao Qiu stuffed his mouth until his cheeks bulged, his table manners not much better than the children's.

Once they had eaten and drunk their fill, Tao Qiu finally wrapped up the earlier conversation about snoring.

"We'll do many more things together in the future. It's okay if one or two things are different once in a while. Dad doesn't snore every time he goes to sleep tired, either. I didn't this time. So you don't have to worry about it too much. It doesn't stop us from being the very, very best in the world together."

The cubs had only gotten hung up on it for a little while. With Tao Qiu's guidance, they had completely let it go.

"Chirp chirp~"

—We love Dad the most~

The bird cubs loved being called the very, very best in the world. They sweetly cuddled up to their dad, prompting Tao Qiu to give each of them another round of affectionate snuggles.