Page 47

Out in the wild, jerky and candy were convenient foods that could quickly replenish energy. It was no surprise the man had brought them along on his mission.

The bag had already been opened, and more than half the candy remained.

Second Cub loved sweets most of all. The sweet scent drifting from the bag was purer than even the sweetest berry she had ever eaten.

"Chirp, chirp chirp chirp?"

"Daddy, why does this pretty stone smell sweet?"

It was the first time Second Cub had seen such a pretty stone. It was more unusual than any of the stones he had collected before.

"No, it's not a stone. It's something you can eat, called candy. It's sweeter than lots of fruits put together. Have a taste."

The pieces of rock sugar were small. Tao Qiu took out four and fed one to each cub and himself.

Tao Qiu held his in his mouth for a while, then couldn't be bothered to wait for it to melt. He crunched it straight into crumbs, and now even his breath was cloyingly sweet.

The cubs copied Tao Qiu and bit their candy into pieces.

"Chirp!"

Second Cub and Third Cub both cupped their cheeks. It was their first time tasting something so sweet, and suddenly they felt as though their brains could barely work.

Eldest Cub narrowed his eyes and quickly chewed up the candy crumbs and swallowed them. But the sweetness coated his throat and made him feel even worse, so he hurriedly flew to the stone table for a drink.

Tao Qiu watched as Eldest Cub nearly buried his head in the bamboo tube. Only after he had drunk enough water to wash away the cloying sweetness did Tao Qiu ask, "Don't you like it?"

Eldest Cub shook his head, sending a few droplets flying.

He said, "Chirp chirp, chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp."

"The candy's too sweet. I feel like I can hardly breathe. I like the light sweetness of fruit better."

Tao Qiu smiled. "Then you don't have to eat it. It's not as though going without it will harm your health."

Second Cub came back to her senses from savoring the treat. Hearing their conversation, she visibly brightened. "Chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp?"

"If big brother isn't eating it, can we have the extra candy?"

Third Cub was delighted too. She said, "Chirp chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp."

"We'll take big brother's candy, and he can have our fruit."

"Chirp," Second Cub agreed. "Chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp."

"Big brother doesn't like candy, so he can eat more fruit."

Eldest Cub nodded in agreement.

Both sides were very pleased with the arrangement.

After two delicious foods had come out of the cloth bag in a row, the cubs were even more eager to see what else was inside.

They really loved human things!

The last item in the cloth bag was a packet of salt.

The bag was half the size of Tao Qiu's palm in human form, and it contained fine, snow-white refined salt.

In all his years living in the wild, Tao Qiu had never found a salt mine or anything similar nearby. His only source of salt had been the flesh and blood of his prey.

Come to think of it, he did miss being able to eat all sorts of seasonings whenever he wanted, back when he had been human in his previous life.

The man and his companions had really come well prepared.

Second Cub leaned closer and sniffed. It smelled a little strange.

"Chirp chirp?"

"Is this food too?"

Tao Qiu said, "This is called salt. It's a seasoning. The food we usually eat contains salt too, but not much. There was also salt in the jerky you just ate. Didn't it have a much stronger flavor than the meat you usually eat?"

Third Cub nodded. "Chirp, chirp."

"Smelled good, tasted good."

Tao Qiu said, "I'm glad you like it. That way, his thoughtfulness wasn't wasted. From now on, we can sprinkle a little salt on our meat."

Second Cub was pleasantly surprised. "Chirp chirp!"

"Our meat can smell good too!"

"Salt is the only seasoning we have, so it definitely won't taste as good as the jerky, but it'll certainly taste better."

The cubs were even happier to hear Tao Qiu say that.

Eldest Cub was happy too, because he also thought the fragrant, chewy jerky was delicious.

After explaining what salt was used for, Tao Qiu was about to put it back in the cloth bag and continue looking through the backpack when Second Cub came over and asked in confusion, "Chirp chirp?"

"Can't we taste the salt?"

Tao Qiu said, "Salt is too salty. It's different from candy. It doesn't taste good on its own."

But the cubs were far too curious. Second Cub spoke in a soft, coaxing voice. "Chirp chirp chirp, chirp chirp."

"Daddy, let us taste it, please. Just a tiny bit."

Eldest Cub and Third Cub also looked at Tao Qiu with their big, sparkling eyes.

Since they insisted, how could Tao Qiu refuse?

Tao Qiu sighed with a smile. "All right. Kids all have to go through this."

Having an adventurous spirit was a good thing, even if they stumbled now and then.

Tao Qiu was just like a veteran player taking wicked pleasure in watching newbies fall into a trap. He was secretly full of mischief; parental affection and all that was nowhere to be found.

Even so, Tao Qiu relented in the end and put only a small pinch of salt into each of the cubs' wide-open mouths. And as they smacked their beaks to taste it, he had the foresight to reach for the bamboo tube of water.

3... 2...

"Chirp chirp!!"

"It tastes awful!!"

Before the three-second countdown was even over, the cubs all started shouting.

The three little birds kept spitting, but the throat-searing saltiness lingered in their mouths, making them shake their heads in discomfort.

"Hahahahaha!" Tao Qiu laughed at them loudly and mercilessly.

The unlucky cubs were adorable too.

"Chirp! Chirp!"

"Daddy! Help!"

Second Cub lunged at Tao Qiu and plunged her head into the bamboo tube he was holding, not lifting it for a long time.

Eldest Cub and Third Cub arrived right behind her and copied her, burying their heads in the water to drink. Their little wings trembled, and they looked utterly pitiful.

Tao Qiu gloated. "If you don't listen to Daddy, you'll suffer for it."

By the time the little birds had quenched their thirst, the bamboo tube, which had been half full, was empty. Sponges shaped like birds could hardly have done better.

The three little birds plopped down on Tao Qiu's legs, their bellies round and swollen with water, and even let out a burp.

Second Cub still looked shaken. "Chirp chirp..."

"Salt is so scary..."

Tao Qiu rubbed Second Cub's little belly and said with a smile, "I have to speak up for salt here. It's a seasoning to begin with, not something you eat on its own. You insisted on eating it by itself, so how can you blame it for being scary?"

"Chirp..." Second Cub whined tearfully, hugging Tao Qiu's finger as she wheedled, "Chirp chirp chirp..."

"Waaah... Daddy loves salt and doesn't love me anymore..."

Tao Qiu laughed again. "Where did that come from? If Daddy loved salt and not you, should he stop eating salt and eat you instead?"

Second Cub was still aggrieved. "Chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp chirp."

"Then eat me, Daddy. Without Daddy's love, I don't want to live anymore."

Tao Qiu was both helpless and amused. "You just got a taste of salt. Why are you making it sound so dramatic? Do you just want Daddy to comfort you?"

"Chirp." Second Cub lowered her head in embarrassment. "Chirp chirp."

"Hehe, Daddy figured it out."

"You little thing." Tao Qiu pretended to be angry and pinched Second Cub's cheek.

But the cubs had all learned their lesson, so there was no harm in their old father comforting them.

"Oh, dear, the salt got my babies. How pitiful! Come on, let Daddy give you a kiss. A kiss will make it better." As Tao Qiu spoke, he kissed each cub on the cheek.

It worked. The cubs all smiled again and said sweetly that Daddy was the best.

Tao Qiu cut up a pear for the cubs to eat, both to dilute the saltiness in their mouths and to comfort them.

The cubs held the pear pieces in their mouths. Too full of water to want to move, they nestled in Tao Qiu's arms and watched him continue taking things out.

It was a book half a finger joint thick. Its cover was a pale green that symbolized hope, with several lines printed on the front.

New Leaf Anthology (January–June collected edition)

Published by the Yong'an Base Literary Society

Editor-in-chief: Yao Luo Qiuye

The text was in simplified Chinese, which Tao Qiu knew well. Even if the present wasteland wasn't the future of the Earth he had lived on in his previous life, it was most likely something like a parallel world.

Tao Qiu was lost in thought for a few seconds, while the three cubs examined the square object.

Eldest Cub spoke first. "Chirp chirp?"

"Is this a book?"

Tao Qiu came back to himself, pleasantly surprised. "Momo, you recognized it?"

Eldest Cub nodded. "Chirp chirp, chirp chirp."

"The black blocks on it were printed with the ink in my name."

When Tao Qiu had named them, he had told them what ink was used for. Sometimes he also unconsciously wrote and drew on the ground, including what looked to the cubs like square blocks made of lines.

The cubs had asked about them out of curiosity, and Tao Qiu had said they were called characters.

Tao Qiu rarely wrote, but Eldest Cub had a good memory and remembered after seeing them once.

Tao Qiu stroked the pages, as though he and an old friend

had reunited after a long separation.

It felt unreal, as if a lifetime had passed.

"Yes, this is a book, the kind that goes in a book bag."

Hearing their father and brother's conversation, Second Cub and Third Cub eagerly shared their thoughts too.

Second Cub said, "Chirp chirp chirp."

"The book is almost the same color as Daddy's eyes."

Third Cub said, "Chirp chirp, chirp chirp."

"Ink is black, just like big brother's feathers."

Tao Qiu smiled. "You're all clever babies. You noticed such fine details."

Eldest Cub pressed on. "Chirp chirp?"

"What's written in this book?"

Second Cub and Third Cub were curious too.

Second Cub said, "Chirp chirp?"

"Is it the stories Daddy told us?"

"Probably not." As Tao Qiu spoke, he leafed roughly through the whole book. The cubs couldn't read, but they watched just as intently.

When he finished, Tao Qiu said, "It's mostly prose and poetry, but there are a few short stories too. If you're interested, Daddy can read them to you sometime."