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The Eldest Cub and Third Cub shielded the Second Cub behind them, and the Second Cub glared fiercely at the Little Snake.

Tao Qiu told the Green Python and the Little Snake to wait a short distance away, then walked over, squatted down, and said to his children, "Xuexue, the Little Snake came this time to apologize to you for what happened last time. Would you like to see her and hear what she has to say? If not, Daddy will send them back, and I won't let the Green Python bring the Little Snake here again."

The two cubs had a very unpleasant argument last time. He felt sorry for the cubs, but he couldn't make decisions for them. Otherwise, he could have simply rejected the Little Snake at the valley entrance.

"Chirp? Chirp?" The Second Cub's fighting spirit seemed to have been suddenly doused with cold water, and it was all extinguished with a hiss.

--She apologized?

Not only the Second Cub, but also the Eldest Cub and Third Cub found it unbelievable.

Although they had only officially met the Little Snake twice, they were well aware of Little Snake proud and unyielding nature.

She actually apologized?

Could it be a trick? They said they were apologizing, but then they argued with them after meeting them.

Tao Qiu sensed their worry and, confident that the Green Python and the Little Snake couldn't understand human language, boldly said, "If she's just using an apology as an excuse and the truth is she continues to disrespect you, Dad will kick her and her mother out and never have anything to do with them again."

With their father's assurance, Second Cub felt a little more at ease.

The Second Cub proudly proclaimed, "Chirp chirp, chirp chirp!"

--She's here to insult me? I'm not afraid, my brother and sister and I are pretty tough!

So that's what "agreeing" means?

Tao Qiu gently stroked her feathers and said, "Then Daddy will call her over."

Tao Qiu turned around to inform the Green Python and the Little Snake, telling the Little Snake to go over by itself.

"Chirp chirp?" Tao Qiu said, "Chirp chirp."

--Where's your gift? Take it with you.

The Little Snake looked at the Green Python Green Python, who nodded and put the lump that had been coiled on its tail onto the ground.

In fact, Tao Qiu had already noticed the unidentified object wrapped in large green leaves that the Green Python was carrying. According to the explanation the Green Python had given the Little Snake earlier, it should contain plants.

"Chirp chirp?" Tao Qiu asked.

--Can I open it?

This lump is so big, it could crush Little Snake; she definitely can't carry it over.

The Little Snake hissed in agreement.

Tao Qiu opened the package, a clump of long, thin, yellow-skinned plants with green leaves immediately scattered.

After seeing the plant's appearance clearly, Tao Qiu's eyes widened instantly.

Sweet potato!

When I was little, I lived in the countryside with my grandparents. Our neighbors grew several acres of sweet potatoes. We couldn't eat that many ourselves, so they mainly used them to feed pigs.

Sweet potatoes are edible from the fruit to the vines to the leaves, so there's absolutely nothing to waste. They're also highly productive. When they were introduced from abroad, they saved the lives of countless poor families.

Grandpa and Grandma didn't grow sweet potatoes. When the sweet potatoes were ripe, they would trade other things with the neighbors to get a basket of them, roast them until soft, and then give them to Tao Qiu to eat.

Tao Qiu still remembers that sweet and delicate taste.

I never imagined there would be such a treasure in the Green Python's territory.

However, thinking about the various mutations that plants might undergo after the great disaster, Tao Qiu still picked up a sweet potato about the length of his forearm and examined it.

The sweet potato skin felt very hard, almost as rough as tree bark. When he broke it open with force, good heavens, the fibers were so coarse that it was impossible to swallow them. Even chewing them a few times would be considered oral and dental abuse.

It's the kind of death penalty with immediate execution.

The Little Snake watched Tao Qiu's expression change several times, then asked somewhat nervously, "Hiss... hiss..."

--Isn't this plant good? But I see many mutant animals that love to eat its newly grown leaves.

Hearing her say that, Tao Qiu looked at the sweet potato leaves again.

There were about ten sweet potatoes wrapped in large green leaves. The leaves at the top of the sweet potatoes were just sprouting. The vines and leaves looked very tender and had a fresh, pleasant plant fragrance.

The Green Python stepped forward and added, "Hiss... hiss..."

--The leaves of this plant age very quickly, and the taste deteriorates significantly when they become old, so they are only edible for about two or three days.

Tao Qiu had other questions for the Green Python about the sweet potato, so she picked up a smaller one and gave it to the Little Snake, asking her to take it to Erzai and the Second Cub.

"Chirp chirp."

I really like this plant.

The Little Snake's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this. If the Snow Bird said she liked it, then her apology was already half successful.

The Little Snake, carrying the hard, sticky sweet potato, happily went to find the Xiao Xue snowbirds. Tao Qiu watched her retreating figure and suddenly remembered a story—"carrying thorns to apologize."

Tao Qiu's return to talk to the Little Snake and then check on the sweet potatoes only took two or three minutes.

The three baby birds were also curious about what their father was looking at. When they saw the Little Snake coiled up and coming over, they initially planned to give her a very cold shoulder, but now, because they wanted to see what it was, they lowered their rating to eight.

The Little Snake, ignoring their stares, stepped forward, placed the sweet potato on the ground, and pushed it forward a little.

"Hiss... hiss..."

The Little Snake bowed low to Second Cub, looked up at her, and said sincerely, "Second Cub, I'm sorry, I was wrong. I shouldn't have said those things to upset you that day."

Because the Little Snake's mother is Green Python, and she is in poor health, and the Green Python spoils her, the Little Snake is a little tyrant in the Green Python's territory. No mutated monster dares to provoke her, and she doesn't even know what an apology is.

She was initially quite happy after winning the argument with the Snow Bird, but the fact that Second Cub cried so bitterly afterwards was completely unexpected.

She thought they would end up like last time, exchanging insults and engaging in a verbal battle for several rounds, in which they both won but ultimately didn't.

While she was in the valley, she was still angry about what the Eldest Cub had said, and then she was forced to apologize, so she didn't have time to think too much.

But after returning home, she recalled how Second Cub had cried so bitterly, and the more she thought about it, the more distressed she became.

That's not what she wanted.

At first, she was too embarrassed to tell her mother her thoughts because she was the one who had caused the trouble, and she even had her mother apologize on her behalf.

Feeling down? The Little Snake crawls outside and hides in the grass or on the treetops, peeking at other mutated monster cubs playing.

The cubs were terrified of her. They wouldn't play with her, and they would even tremble and wet themselves if she got close. She found it boring and stopped letting her mother hold the cubs to play with her.

Those little Xiao Xue were the only chicks she had ever seen in a long time that weren't afraid of her; they even argued and competed with her.

Although the sheer number of birds often infuriated her, this kind of equal interaction was exactly what she longed for, just like the chicks she saw playing happily together.

The Little Snake longed to continue searching for the Xiao Xue, but she knew Xiao Xue definitely didn't want to see her.

She didn't know what to do.

In the end, she found the answer among the group of playing cubs.

With so many cubs, if one touches another, and the other bumps into the other, it's inevitable that someone might accidentally get hurt.

But they're very adept at handling this situation. They'll lick and nuzzle each other, say sorry, and if the injured one says it's okay, they'll be fine again.

The Little Snake seemed to understand, yet also a little confused. Unable to figure it out, and unable to ask the other young snakes, she could only shyly go to her mother.

The Green Python has apologized very few times in her life, but she still understands right and wrong, so she explained it to the Little Snake in detail.

The Little Snake's first thought after hearing this was—if I want to play with the Xiao Xue snowbirds again, I need to apologize to them like the baby Xiao Xue did.

At first, the Little Snake was inevitably a bit awkward; she had never bowed her head to anyone before.

But by the time she finally made up her mind after struggling with it, the first snow had already fallen.

She suppressed the urge to go find them immediately, and went into hibernation with her mother. Upon waking in the spring, the first thing she did was to go to the territory to find the gifts, taking it extremely seriously.

The baby birds were initially wary, but when they saw the Little Snake genuinely apologize, they were momentarily at a loss for what to do.

"Chirp... chirp..."

--You... me...

They've even made the Second Cub stutter.

The Little Snake looked into the Second Cub's eyes and then voiced its thoughts.

--I know you care about your dad, so when I heard he needed something edible, I went to find this as an apology. Your dad said he really liked it. What about you? Will you accept it?

Second Cub looked down at the plant in front of her, which had green leaves and looked like a stick. Although she couldn't see what was edible about it besides the leaves, she remembered how her father had looked at it earlier, and with the Little Snake's explanation, she believed that her father could definitely make this plant very delicious, just like he could grow radishes.

Seeing that the Little Snake not only spoke sincerely, but also gave a gift that suited his taste, Second Cub's anger had subsided by half.

"Chirp chirp," the Second Cub replied.

I accept your apology.

Before the Little Snake could even be happy, the Second Cub immediately asked, "Chirp chirp?"

--Do you know where you went wrong?

After returning home, the Little Snake had actually thought about the reason for Second Cub's emotional breakdown. Recalling what she had said about her father dyeing her green hair, the Little Snake roughly understood.

"Hiss..."

--Know.

Her tone was honest, unlike anything she'd ever used before.

--You really like the green hair your dad dyed for you because it's similar to your and your dad's eye color. I said you dyed your hair green because you envy me for being green, so you're unhappy.

Children sometimes think like that; once they've made up their minds, they're stubborn and won't change them. For example, if they think a certain character in a cartoon is the strongest, and someone disagrees with them, saying another character is stronger, it's like tearing apart their thinking and overturning their values.