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Wu Jiong: "Let's collect more spices next spring."
Jian Mo: "Then I'll wait. Eat more. I've already sent Jiujiu's portion over; this portion is all ours."
Wu Jiong quickened his eating pace. "Okay."
When Jian Mo and the others were having dinner, the little ones from the tribe came over again.
The little ones rarely come out this late, mainly because the adults don't allow it.
Jian Mo welcomed the little ones into the house, a little surprised. "What brings you all here? Have you had dinner yet? Would you like to eat something here?"
The little ones all shook their heads.
Jiang Xing saw Wu Jiong inside and felt a little nervous, but she still mustered up her courage and invited, "Jian Mo, are you coming with us to dig for bugs tomorrow?"
Jian Mo was very surprised. "What kind of bugs are you digging for?"
Jiang Xing gestured. "They're the worms inside the trees, they're delicious, but we usually don't tell anyone. If you want to dig them up, we'll take you."
He Feng chimed in from the side, "We've been searching for a long time, and we've found everything. Jian Mo, you just need to come with us."
Jian Mo was completely confused and glanced at Wu Jiong out of the corner of her eye, trying to get some hints.
Wu Jiong sat to the side, making no attempt to interrupt, only a slight smile playing on his lips.
Seeing his expression, Jian Mo understood that it was fine for him to go out with the kids.
So Jian Mo accepted the little ones' invitation. "Okay, what time tomorrow?"
The little ones were very excited. "Tomorrow after breakfast, we'll go to the tribe's woods."
Seeing that Jian Mo still had doubts, Jiang Xing patted his chest and said, "Jian Mo, just stay home and wait for us tomorrow. We'll come pick you up."
Jian Mo almost burst out laughing at their precocious remarks, and said with a smile, "Then I'll be waiting."
The children breathed a sigh of relief and told him to wait at home, and they would come on time tomorrow.
After saying their goodbyes, the little ones politely departed and went home.
Jian Mo glanced sideways at Wu Jiong: "Now it's time to give me a hint, isn't it?"
Wu Jiong: "You'll find out tomorrow when you go out with them."
Jian Mo: "You're really letting me go with the kids? Won't there be any problems?"
Wu Jiong shook his head with a slight smile, "No problem, we played this game when we were kids. Just go ahead. We're all in the tribe, nothing bad will happen. If anything does happen, just shout for me and I'll come find you."
Since he had already gone this far, Jian Mo simply stopped asking questions and waited for the little ones to come and pick him up before heading out.
The next morning, the little ones indeed came to wait for Wu Jiong in front of his house.
Jian Mo took a look and saw that there were more than thirty little ones. Apart from the babies who were still nursing, all the other little ones in the tribe were waiting outside, whether they could transform or not, not one was missing.
The little ones were beaming with excitement, looking like they were going on an autumn outing... no, a winter outing.
Jian Mo never expected that a time-travel experience would turn him into a leader of children. He felt a little amused and touched. Gaining the friendship of children was no easy feat, and it was rare for children to be willing to come to him.
Jian Mo went outside. "I'm ready. Where are we going?"
Jiang Xing led the way. "Jian Mo, just come with us."
Seeing their confident expressions, Jian Mo smiled and said, "Then I'll follow."
Although they were called the little ones, Jiang Xing and He Feng were the leaders, while the other little ones were just joining in the fun.
Jian Mo observed for a moment, then followed behind with a smile.
They walked towards the back of the tribe's mountain, and other people along the way saw Jian Mo and laughed.
Jian Mo also found it somewhat amusing, and a smile remained on her face.
The little ones, however, walked with serious expressions, heads held high and chests puffed out, as if they were about to do something important.
They walked for a while, following the path to the back of the mountain.
The snow hadn't melted yet, the trees had lost all their leaves, and even the shrubs were bare, making the mountain scenery extremely desolate.
Jian Mo observed for a moment and, apart from the faint bird footprints, there were no other traces, so there shouldn't be any small animals around.
He found it hard to imagine how one could dig out the insects from inside a tree.
Just as Jian Mo was speculating, Jiang Xing pulled out a seashell knife from his pocket. "Jian Mo, here, take this knife. We'll use it to dig later."
Jian Mo took the shell knife and examined it. It seemed to be a discarded shell knife; the edges were dulled, and the back was worn smooth. It seemed the adults weren't entirely unreliable.
He nodded. "Okay."
Jiang Xing continued seriously, "The insects we need to dig up are inside the tree trunk, Jian Mo, look at this tree—"
The little ones led Jian Mo to a tree.
Jiang Xing stood on tiptoe and pointed to a bulge on the tree trunk. "Look here, there are insects under these bulges. Use a shell knife to dig them out."
Jian Mo, Flour Fruit was a white worm about the size of a finger, which looked a bit like a bee pupa. It was soft to the touch.
He placed the insect in his palm. "Is this the kind of insect?"
The little ones gave it high praise, "Yes! That's the kind of bug, it's delicious!"
Seeing that Jian Mo had already learned how to do it, Jiang Xing ordered, "Everyone, don't stay together, dig separately. If anything happens, just call out to each other."
As she spoke, Jiang Xing tilted her head up, showing extra care for Jian Mo: "Jian Mo, have you gotten it?"
Jian Mo nodded.
Jiang Xing then waved his hand and said, "Then let's begin."
The little ones let out another round of "howling, meowing, and barking" and ran to different trees.
The children who could transform into human form all carried seashell knives, while the little ones who were still in beast form used their claws and teeth as their best tools.