Scallions (continued)

The little ones secretly glanced up, and seeing that Jian Mo didn't seem angry, they obediently nodded.

Seeing how frightened they were, Jian Mo softened her tone even more. "You can play with Jiujiu, but don't share food with Jiujiu, and don't let Jiujiu carry you around."

The little ones had never thought of having Jiujiu carry them flying before, but now that Jian Mo mentioned it, it seemed to have inspired them. Their eyes lit up, and they secretly looked at Jiujiu.

Jian Mo's forehead vein throbbed. "If you dare let Jiujiu carry you while you fly, I'll tell on you!"

Seeing that Jian Mo was really angry, the little ones quickly tucked their paws in and obediently squatted down, all indicating that they wouldn't.

Jian Mo didn't believe them and decided to educate Jiujiu later, making sure to explain the seriousness of the matter clearly to prevent these little ones from causing trouble.

Jian Mo gave the little ones a lecture and sent them home.

After letting the cubs leave, Jian Mo turned to lecture Jiujiu.

There's no need to be so polite when disciplining your own beast; Jian Mo unleashed a torrent of training, leaving Jiujiu completely deflated.

After the training was over, Jian Mo said that two days' worth of food rations would be withheld. For the next two days, Jiujiu would have to eat grass and tubers, and she could forget about any gourmet food.

After finishing her lecture, Jian Mo took Jiujiu's food and led the dejected Jiujiu back home.

Wu Jiong was waiting outside the woods. When he saw Jian Mo come out, he looked at Jiujiu and a smile appeared in his eyes.

Jiujiu was fed after all, but it didn't receive the same treatment for the next two days.

This guy knew Jian Mo was angry, so he didn't dare to breathe loudly, and didn't even chirp. He decided to keep a low profile as a beast.

Besides educating the little ones, Jian Mo also spoke with the parents, reminding them to pay attention to the children's food.

As the weather gets hotter, you can't just eat anything, or you'll easily get gastroenteritis.

The parents all said they received the message and went back to discipline their children quite a bit.

Jian Mo thought the little cubs would be afraid of him for a while, but to his surprise, that afternoon, when he returned from collecting materials and was chatting with everyone in the open space, the little cubs slowly scurried over and rubbed against his feet.

The Banjiu even used its long tail to hook his leg, its fluffy little face full of hesitation.

Jian Mo could tell they had something to say at a glance. She held back for a moment, but finally couldn't resist. She picked up Banjiu and placed him on her lap, rubbing his belly. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

Banjiu asked softly, "Jian Mo, can we still go hunting in your vegetable garden? I asked Dad, and he said he'd have to ask you."

So that's what it was about. Jian Mo looked at Qing Kuo to the side and saw that Qing Kuo had a smile on his face and seemed to have no objection.

Jian Mo patted the little Banjiu's head. "Just be careful, don't eat the prey raw."

The Banjiu perked up immediately. "We know, we don't eat them. Jian Mo, we saw lots of birds in your vegetable garden this afternoon!"

Upon hearing that there were birds in the field again, Jian Mo's head started spinning. "Then I'll have to trouble you to catch them. If you catch them, I'll make you some hand-shredded meat jerky."

The little ones listening nearby couldn't help but cheer. "Thank you, Jian Mo!"

Jian Mo smiled and said, "Then it's up to you."

To make it easier for the kids to get to the vegetable garden, Jian Mo specially dragged Wu Jiong to bring over a bunch of large stones, piled them in the river, and built a simple stone bridge.

The cubs can cross the river directly on the rocks without getting their fur wet.

Fearing the cubs might be unreliable, Jian Mo specifically asked Wu Jiong to tell the beastmen on patrol to keep a close eye on the cubs on the other side of the river.

Wu Jiong reassured Jian Mo that there was no need to worry; they had cleared the area around the tribe again, and no large animals would dare to come near.

Jian Mo had more to worry about, and instructed Jiujiu to also help keep an eye on the little ones and give timely warnings if anything happened.

It's unclear whether Jiujiu, whose food rations had just been withheld, understood, but it seemed quite happy to be able to play with the other cubs again.

Jian Mo didn't think much of it. Although Jiujiu wasn't a fierce beast, it was large and should be quite intimidating to most animals, so she decided to leave it alone.

With the help of the little ones, Jian Mo's vegetable garden, along with the tribe's vegetable garden and the nearby family's vegetable garden, became much safer, and no animals dared to come and cause trouble anymore.

Although the cubs' claws haven't fully hardened yet, they are still ferocious beasts, and catching small prey or pouncing on birds is no problem for them.

Jian Mo had once witnessed a bird that didn't know its place try to come down and wreak havoc on their vegetable garden, only to be chased by its chicks until it lost all its feathers.

Jian Mo kept her promise and made a big pot of hand-shredded meat jerky to share with the little ones.

The hand-shredded meat jerky contains garlic powder and chili flakes, making it fragrant, spicy, and very chewy, which the kids love.

The little ones are sweet-talking too, constantly chattering around Jian Mo:

"Jian Mo, your cooking is so delicious! This smells amazing!"

"Jian Mo, if we go to the vegetable garden again tomorrow, can you make us some more shredded meat jerky?"

"I love this hand-shredded meat jerky so much, and I love you so much too!"

Jian Mo was surrounded by a bunch of little brats praising her, and she couldn't stop smiling. She said that if the little brats caught prey in the field again next time, she would make them into hand-shredded jerky.

Tomorrow won't work, the hand-shredded meat jerky is too hard. I'll have to wait a while before I can eat it again.

The little ones puffed out their chests, all expressing their determination to guard the vegetable patch well.

Having solved the vegetable garden problem, Jian Mo continued to go out gathering with the tribe.

There is indeed plenty of food in spring. If they can't finish eating it all, they will dry it into various kinds of dried vegetables to save for when food is scarce.

Several of the dried vegetables that Jian Mo sun-dries taste quite good. Occasionally, I take them out to make braised pork belly, which tastes quite like braised pork belly with preserved mustard greens.

That day, Jian Mo went out with the people of the tribe and didn't return until evening.

As soon as he returned to the tribe, he heard someone calling him. When he looked up, he saw several giant red beasts, resembling foxes and weasels with three large tails, running towards him.

He was startled, and it took him a moment to realize that it was the Red Zheng Tribe that had come.