Snow Bird Pities Me

"Huh?" Tao Qiu thought to herself, "Your other father doesn't even know you exist, so why would he prepare clothes for you?"

He looked down and saw three little ones staring at him with bright eyes. Several bags were scattered around his feet, and the bags contained underwear.

Tao Qiu: "..."

He was momentarily unsure whether to feel embarrassed or laugh first, so both emotions welled up in his heart, making his expression somewhat distorted.

"These are Dad's pants too." Tao Qiu's cheeks flushed slightly as she picked up the bags and stuffed them under her clothes, trying to remain calm. "The humans probably don't have any suitable clothes for you."

The Second Cub cried out in disappointment, "Chirp, chirp chirp."

--That's true, we don't look like people.

The Third Cub's eyes looked so innocent, Qiuqiu pressed.

--Did that human take the wrong one? Dad, you're so tall, those pants are too small, you probably won't be able to fit into them.

"Don't worry, don't worry, it'll fit." Tao Qiu, afraid of losing face if they continued talking, quickly changed the subject. "Let's look at the others. This box contains two bars of soap, toothpaste, a toothbrush, a toothbrush cup, two towels, a comb, hair ties, hair clips, a headband, and a small mirror—all good stuff."

Tao Qiu's voice grew more and more excited as she counted.

Lou Yu remembered him? He had long hair, and the haircut was bought specifically for him according to the standards for styling long hair.

Tao Qiu felt a warm and comforting feeling in her heart.

What surprised Tao Qiu even more was that, despite the hardships of human survival these days, there were still small items like hair clips and headbands for sale. They were probably all handmade, but she wondered how expensive they were.

Tao Qiu explained the uses of these odds and ends to the baby birds and even gave each of them a small hair clip, making them look exceptionally cute.

Tao Qiu handed them a mirror so they could see how they looked without their hair clips.

"Chirp, chirp." The Second Cub really liked the little Huahua hair clip, admiring himself in the mirror and commenting on it.

--This thing called a mirror reflects things more clearly than the water in a pond.

Third Cub's was a cloud cut from cardboard and fabric, with a cute smiley face drawn on the white fabric. She liked it very much.

The Eldest Cub was a small blade of grass, a vibrant green, very similar to his eye color.

Although the Eldest Cub wasn't used to having extra things on his head, he was very happy to be able to wear hair clips like his sisters.

While the kids were admiring themselves, Tao Qiu glanced at the stack of books next to him. They were all works by famous authors he was familiar with, many of which he had read before. He wouldn't say he remembered every detail, but he could still recount the general plot.

As for him after the great disaster, he had never heard of any of them; he was considered illiterate during that period.

While admiring his own beauty, the Third Cub noticed his father reading a book and asked him if there was a sequel to that ghost story.

Upon hearing this, Tao Qiu slapped his forehead. "Did that human bring the collection of writings this time? I forgot to tell him about it. It was my oversight."

The Third Cub comforted Tao Qiu, "Chirp, chirp chirp."

--It's alright, we can ask that human to help us carry it next time they come.

Tao Qiu sighed, "That's all we can do. But these are good books too. I'll read them to you when I have time."

The babies nodded happily. "Chirp chirp."

Putting down the book, Tao Qiu looked at another item and chuckled.

"The highlight of this exchange is here: this thing called a cell phone is a really good thing!"

Tao Qiu pulled out his large-screen phone, which he hadn't touched in decades, from the box; the familiar sense of human technology washed over him.

Chapter 42 The Snow Bird Pities Me

Tao Qiu placed the black-cased phone on the stone table. Hearing his exaggerated words, three little heads wearing hair clips crowded around to look.

Eldest Cub: "Chirp chirp."

--No? It's food?

The Second Cub touched it with its paw. "Chirp, chirp."

--Hard? Like a stone.

The Third Cub chirped curiously, "Chirp, chirp."

--A black stone, the first time I've seen one like this.

"This isn't a stone, look." Tao Qiu found the power button, and after pressing and holding it for a few seconds, the screen, which appeared to the kids as having a "stone surface," suddenly emitted a light.

The children stared in surprise, but because their father was there, they knew the thing wouldn't harm them, so they weren't frightened.

"Chirp chirp!" The Second Cub's voice was almost split.

--Stones can glow!

"Didn't I tell you? It's a rock. Come here." Tao Qiu chuckled, gathered the kids in front of her, and started fiddling with her phone.

The phone isn't password protected; it displays the default wallpaper and uses the pre-installed apps, but since it can't connect to the internet, it's basically useless.

While Tao Qiu was operating the device, the three kittens even held their breath, their wide-open eyes shining brightly in the light from the phone.

This black stone, no, this black phone, is absolutely amazing!

They didn't know how to describe it. There were some Huahua little blocks inside, and when Dad slid his finger across them, they would move. It was so much fun!

Tao Qiu confirmed that, apart from storing a large number of movies, TV series, and cartoons, the phone showed virtually no signs of use and was practically brand new.

He exited the storage space and opened the camera.

The baby birds, who were watching intently, suddenly noticed themselves on the screen. After a few seconds of surprise, their interest was reignited.

Second Cub: "Chirp chirp?"

Is this also a mirror?

Tao Qiu said, "This is called a mobile phone camera, or you could say it's a kind of mirror, but it doesn't have some of the functions of a mirror, like this."

He looked down, held his phone away, and included himself and the baby birds in the screen before gently pressing the shutter button.

A photo appeared in the album: Tao Qiu was all smiles, and three baby birds were staring at the screen with curiosity or surprise. Because they looked so cute, the photo was taken suddenly and unprepared, which gave it a natural and clean feel.

Tao Qiu showed the photos to the kids.

After reading it, the Third Cub said something that had a strangely philosophical tone.

"Chirp, chirp."

--Is this the same me from before? The same me from before is no longer moving.

The Eldest Cub said, "Chirp chirp."

--The phone camera captured what we just saw.

Do these kids even know what drawing is? Tao Qiu occasionally scribbles and draws on the ground, and there are also simple black and white illustrations in this collection.

Tao Qiu said, "That's a plausible explanation."

After saying that, Tao Qiu clicked to record the video.

"My darlings, call me? Daddy."

The children obediently did as they were told, and all three of them shouted "Daddy" at the same time.

Tao Qiu smiled and said, "Alright, alright, they're all my good children."

After recording, Tao Qiu opened her photo album, found the video, and selected to play it.

Then the baby birds heard Tao Qiu's voice coming from the phone, and they even saw the birds moving inside.

"My darlings, call me? Daddy."

Next up were theirs?

"Chirp!"

"Okay, okay, they're all my good children."

The children's feelings at this moment could no longer be described as merely shock.

"Chirp chirp." The Second Cub, still dizzy, chirped.

--Dad is inside, and so are we.

Tao Qiu gently stroked her feathers, soothing her trembling little heart.

"The kind of thing that could only freeze a moment and couldn't capture sound was called a photograph, and the result was called a photo. This thing that can record our appearance and sound, and can be for varying lengths, is called a video recording, and the result can be called a video or a video."

"These photos and videos, if preserved properly, can last for many, many years. When you grow up and I grow old, we can still reminisce about these days together."

The kids didn't really grasp the concept of getting old, so when Tao Qiu said those things, their attention was still focused on the fact that they could watch it together in the future.

"Chirp, chirp." The Second Cub was very excited.

--Then let's take lots of photos and videos.

"Sure, but let's take photos and videos first, then we can explore the phone's other functions."

Tao Qiu said, "Back to the storage interface, click on the [Animations] column, select the first item in the list, and start playing."

This is a children's animated film. The characters and scenery in the animation are designed in a flat, non-perspective style. The main content of the story is to teach children a lot of common sense about life.

While the opening theme was playing, Tao Qiu gave the children a brief explanation. "This is called animation. As the name suggests, it's a series of pictures linked together and presented to the viewer at a very fast pace, making it look like the pictures are moving."

The Eldest Cub said, "Chirp chirp."

--Compose a video from many photos.

"Yes, almost the same principle."

The Second Cub and Third Cub also had expressions of sudden realization.

Each episode of this cartoon is only ten minutes long, and they finished watching it in no time.

This episode is about whether children should swim without adult supervision, as accidents can easily happen. The main character and his friends secretly went to play in the river and almost drowned.

With visuals, music, and voice-over, it's practically a high-end version of a bedtime story! The kids are so engrossed in one episode that they keep asking Tao Qiu to put on the next one.

"Sure, sure, but Dad hasn't had dinner yet, and I'm hungry."

The three kids are so smart, and they've spent so much time with their dad, so naturally they understand what he means.

Then Tao Qiu saw the three cubs fly off in different directions with perfect understanding.

The Eldest Cub carried the meat, the Second Cub carried the fruit, and the Third Cub carried the water.

The three little ones placed food and drink in front of Tao Qiu, then simultaneously fawned, "Chirp chirp!"

--Dad, please eat!

"Really your father's? What a filial child." Tao Qiu laughed like a cruel and tyrannical ruler who persecuted loyal officials, smug and arrogant.

Under the eager, expectant gazes of her children, Tao Qiu slowly finished the last piece of meat, then drank water to cleanse her palate.