On the way back to the tribe, Li Zhu heard Ze Yu mention that there were roughly two hundred bamboo shoots in his space, and she frowned slightly.
“These shoots seem like a lot, but our tribe has over a hundred people. If we divide them, each family only gets a few—hardly enough to eat.”
Ze Yu lowered his head to look at her.
“No worries, there are still plenty we didn’t harvest. It’s not far from the tribe; we can have the others come pick some tomorrow.”
“Mm!”
Li Zhu nodded, her eyes glinting with ideas.
“Have them harvest in the morning, and in the afternoon I’ll teach everyone how to cook bamboo shoots.”
“That works. Today we didn’t catch much, so I’ll head to the Dark Forest tomorrow to hunt some tusked beasts to cook with the bamboo shoots.”
“If we could catch a Moo-Moo Beast and a Mee-Mee Beast, that would be perfect—we could have hot pot!”
Even just thinking about hot pot made Li Zhu’s mouth water.
The Moo-Moo Beast was essentially a cow, and the Mee-Mee Beast was a sheep.
For some reason, after sixteen years in this world, she had never seen a Moo-Moo or Mee-Mee Beast. The tribe mostly hunted tusked beasts and pheasant-like beasts, with the occasional odd wild animal.
On the other hand, she had discovered plenty of edible plants and seasonings.
“Hot pot? What’s that?”
Ze Yu looked curious.
“It’s delicious! Once you try it, you’ll love it. But if we don’t get Moo-Moo Beasts, tusked beasts will do too—it just won’t be quite as good.”
“Okay.”
Ze Yu replied lightly, already tucking the idea into his mind.
“Then this afternoon… we’ll rest, and I’ll teach you to play mahjong!”
Ze Yu raised an eyebrow.
“The wooden tiles you played with last time?”
“Yes! It’s so much fun!”
Li Zhu quickened her pace, pulling him along.
“When we get back, I’ll teach you. You’re smart; you’ll pick it up quickly, and soon you’ll beat those three!”
As they neared her parents’ cave, they saw Li Heng returning with the hunting team, a few fat pheasant-like beasts hanging from their spears, and two tusked beasts as well. The hunters were all smiling.
“Ah Zhu, Ah Ze!”
Li Heng called from a distance and soon reached them.
“Where have you two been? We were just looking for you.”
“Ah brother, we went to the southern forest and found a new kind of food!”
Li Zhu immediately held out her hand to Ze Yu, who pulled a few bamboo shoots from his space and handed them to Li Heng.
“Ah brother, these are bamboo shoots. They’re delicious! There are plenty more over there. Tomorrow, take the tribe to harvest them in the morning, and in the afternoon I’ll teach everyone how to cook them.”
Li Heng took the shoots, nodding in agreement.
Finding new food was exciting, but after all these years, the tribe had grown accustomed to Li Zhu’s discoveries. Still, the thought of more delicious food made everyone eager and excited.
Li Zhu then remembered she had planned to teach Ze Yu mahjong that afternoon and turned to Amu and Sui Yan.
“Amu, Sui Yan, once lunch is done, tell Ah Ning and Ah Tang to come over for mahjong!”
They both nodded and followed the hunting team back to their homes. After a long morning outside, everyone was hungry.
Li Zhu, along with the other three, entered their cave.
Li Cheng was busy at the stove and, seeing them, immediately brought out the stewed beast-bone soup.
“Just finished, drink it while it’s hot.”
Lunch was simple but lively. Li Heng recounted his hunting exploits in vivid detail, describing how he had pierced a tusked beast’s throat with a single spear, earning repeated exclamations from Li Zhu.
It seemed the earth-splitting bear crystal really helped her brother; perhaps in the future, Ze Yu could help hunt higher-level beasts to further increase Li Heng’s strength.
Ming Yuan listened with a bright smile, occasionally reminding him to “be careful.” Ze Yu said little but quietly passed pieces of meat from his bowl to Li Zhu while she drank her soup.
After the meal, Li Zhu couldn’t wait to teach Ze Yu mahjong. She pulled him under the big tree, eager to give him a crash course.
Li Heng had been dispatched to wash dishes—a task he approached with reluctant compliance. He dared not protest: his father and mother were untouchable, Li Zhu was pregnant, and Ze Yu… well, she couldn’t compete anyway. He still hoped Li Zhu could help him get some high-level beasts for hunting.
By the time Ah Tang and Ah Ning arrived, Li Zhu had already taught Ze Yu all the mahjong knowledge she had, ready to see him dominate the table.
“Come on, sit down! We’re starting!”
“Ah Ze, grab some bamboo shoots from your space—they’re our stakes!”
Ze Yu nodded, waving his hand to produce a small pile of bamboo shoots on the ground.
“Ah Tang, Ah Ning, and Ah brother, each take twenty. These are bamboo shoots—so delicious!”
Ah Tang and Ah Ning approached, skeptical but still took twenty each.
Li Zhu sat beside Ze Yu, ready for battle.
“Tomorrow I’ll teach everyone to cook bamboo shoots. For now, these are our wagers. Also, consider this borrowed—we’ll need them back after tomorrow’s harvest!”
“My Sui Yan is amazing; tomorrow we’ll definitely bring back lots of bamboo shoots!” Ah Tang bragged.
Sui Yan, standing beside him, smiled faintly.
“Good. Just don’t lose too many, my defeated underlings. Today I have Ah Ze with me—I’ll crush you all.”
“You’ve only got one beast partner; I have two. Who’s afraid?” Ah Tang retorted.
Ah Ning shyly glanced at Ah Mu beside her.
“I have Ah Mu. I believe in him.”
Li Heng…
“I hate you all.”
He was the only one without a partner.
“Father, Mother, come on! The three of us together can beat them!”
Li Heng shouted into the cave.
All he got was a cold, “Go away,” from Li Cheng.
“Oh.”
Ming Yuan, seeing her eldest son’s pitiful face as she emerged from the cave, felt a pang of sympathy and walked toward him.
Li Heng’s eyes lit up.
“Mother~ I knew you loved me~”
“You’re imagining things. I just felt sorry for you.”
…
Li Heng: Can I even enjoy playing now!?
Ming Yuan sat on a wooden stump beside him, then called into the cave.
“Bring the kids some wild fruits.”
Under the big tree, the wooden stumps were filled with players.
The game of mahjong officially began.
At first, Ze Yu was still unfamiliar with the rules and lost two rounds in a row.
Li Zhu watched helplessly as half of their bamboo shoots slipped into Ah Tang and Ah brother’s pockets. The two were grinning triumphantly, and though Li Zhu tried to keep a straight face, she was starting to feel frustrated.
It shouldn’t be happening… Where did things go wrong? Ze Yu is so smart—how could he possibly lose to Li Heng… um…
By the third round, Li Zhu watched anxiously as the other three players’ tiles dwindled. She was about to say something when she saw Ze Yu push over his tiles.
“Self-draw, pure suit.”
Li Heng’s hand froze mid-reach, glaring at Ze Yu.
“You’re already this good after just learning?”
Ze Yu smiled without a word, while Li Zhu puffed her chest out proudly.
“Of course! My Ah Ze is the smartest! Hurry, hurry, give the money—ah no, give the bamboo shoots.”
The game was in full swing, and Li Zhu watched the pile of bamboo shoots in front of her grow larger and larger, her smile widening.
Ah Tang thumped the table in frustration.
“Again! I refuse to lose!”
But the more she played, the more she lost. By the time the sun began to sink in the west, Li Heng had no bamboo shoots left in front of him.
Ming Yuan shook her head beside him.
“You fool. Forget it—don’t call yourself my son when you go out in the future.”
Li Heng: …
Boohoo~
Ah Tang’s pile of bamboo shoots was almost gone too.
At this, Sui Yan looked at his partner’s sad face and quickly comforted him, promising to pick a lot of bamboo shoots tomorrow.
Ah Tang finally brightened up again, lifting her head with a touch of pride.
“Ah Zhu, tomorrow when my beast partner brings back more bamboo shoots, we’ll have another three hundred rounds! Hmph! I refuse to lose every day!”
Li Zhu, looking at the massive pile of bamboo shoots in front of her, squinted her eyes into a delighted grin.
“All right, all right. Anyway, I have Ah Ze. Remember to return the bamboo shoots tomorrow—every single one!”
“Got it, got it.”
Li Heng rubbed his aching wrists.
“Was your beast partner a gambler in his past life or something? He’s amazing!”
Why couldn’t he have a brain that smart?
Ze Yu held Li Zhu’s hand, gently scratching her palm with his fingertip.
“That’s because Ah Zhu taught me well.”
Li Zhu blushed and lightly swatted his hand away.
“Let’s all have dinner together tonight. We’ll use these bamboo shoots—stewed bamboo shoots with meat and beast-bone soup!”
The cave entrance was packed with ten people. Li Cheng and Ah Tang’s two beast partners handled the meat; Ah Tang and Ah Ning peeled the bamboo shoots; Amu prepared the bowls and utensils.
Ze Yu took charge of stewing the bamboo shoot meat, while Li Heng and Ming Yuan prepared the simpler bamboo shoot and beast-bone soup. Li Zhu supervised from the side, making sure the timing and heat were perfect.
Everyone had a task and got to work energetically.
Ming Yuan watched the scene and felt particularly gratified.
Previously, female rabbits in the tribe barely did any work; the male beast partners handled everything. But after Ah Zhu arrived, the females, inspired by her, started helping their partners with small tasks.
Eventually, they realized that spending every day just eating and sleeping was boring. Occasionally helping the males brought a different kind of joy.
The afternoon heat hadn’t fully faded, and the sunset quietly spread across the sky—soft pinks blending into orange, like an unfinished watercolor. Even the passing breeze slowed down.
The aroma of meat frying in oil mixed with the fresh scent of bamboo shoots, filling the entire rabbit tribe.
“Smells amazing!”
Ah Tang leaned over the stove, watching the bubbling beast-bone soup.
“Aunt Yuan, your cooking just keeps getting better.”
“Eat a lot later,” Ming Yuan said, patting her head with a smile.
By dinner, the stone table was piled high with dishes.
A large pot of stewed tusked-beast meat with bamboo shoots—the shoots soaked up all the meat juice, tender and flavorful; creamy bamboo shoot and beast-bone soup with floating green wild vegetables; roasted pheasant legs, glistening with oil, sprinkled with freshly ground salt and chili flakes, so savory it made your tongue ache.
Ten people sat around, chatting and laughing as they ate.
Li Cheng drank sweet berry juice from a wooden jar and sighed,
“Life keeps getting better and better.”
Ming Yuan served Li Zhu a bowl of soup.
“Drink more, to nourish your body.”
After the meal, the four females carried wooden stools to the cave entrance, watching the sunset while chatting casually.
Ah Tang poked Li Zhu’s arm.
“Your beast partner isn’t just good at hunting, he’s amazing at mahjong too. Next, have him play against other tribes’ beast people and win their food for our tribe.”
Li Zhu couldn’t help but laugh at that.
It was a novel idea—why not?
Who knows? Maybe one day, mahjong would really spread across the entire Beast Continent.
On the other side of the cave, six males were busy with their own tasks: washing dishes, wiping tables, sweeping the floor…
“小 Ze, heading to the Dark Forest tomorrow?”
Li Cheng asked as he wiped a wooden bowl.
“Mm, the southern forest has fewer prey, the Dark Forest has more. I’ll stock up.”
Ze Yu replied.
“Be careful.”
Li Cheng didn’t say much more; he knew Ze Yu was strong and had little to worry about.
Night deepened, and everyone gradually said their goodbyes.
Li Zhu and Ze Yu walked side by side to their cave. The evening breeze carried the scent of grass and trees, and the stars above began to twinkle.
“Did you have fun today?”
Ze Yu asked softly.
“Fun!”
Li Zhu looked up at him, her eyes brighter than the stars.
“My Ah Ze is really amazing—he won so many bamboo shoots! Even when I ate later, they tasted so incredibly delicious.”
Ze Yu stopped, bent down, and picked her up.
“Ah Zhu, you’re amazing too. Come on, let’s go back and get some rest.”
He truly loved hearing her say “my Ah Ze.” It made his heart feel like a sun-warmed cotton ball—soft, cozy, every breath sweet.
Li Zhu wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his chin.
“Come back early tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Back in the cave, Ze Yu gently laid Li Zhu on the soft grass, leaning down to kiss away the smile at the corner of her lips.
Moonlight quietly spilled in through the window, falling on their entwined figures, as gentle as a dream no one wanted to wake from.
“Ah Zhu, I think I’m starting to like you more and more…”