Seeing that Jiayin hadn’t returned for quite a while, Fang Youwei came out to look for her.
He called softly, “Jiayin, Jiayin, are you here?”
Jiayin quickly replied, “I’m here, I’m done.” She got up and ran out from behind the cart.
Fang Youwei walked over, took her little hand, and said, “Come on, let’s go back.”
He helped her take off her shoes, placed her between Li and Fang Zhiyuan, added two branches to the fire, and lay back down on the outermost side.
Gradually, he drifted off to sleep, and Jiayin fell asleep as well.
The night was exceptionally quiet. Not even the howls of wild animals came from the distant forest.
If Fang Youwei hadn’t been so exhausted from the day’s work and had the energy to notice, he would have found this very unusual.
There were plenty of wild animals in the distant forest—otherwise, the vegetation wouldn’t still be so lush, since people didn’t dare go in to find food.
But with the little dragon cub Jiayin there, the suppression from her bloodline was intense, especially for beasts that were already highly sensitive to danger.
The tigers, black bears, wolves, and other fierce beasts on the mountain had all retreated to their dens and dared not make a sound. Even the birds in the trees didn’t dare chirp…
The next morning, after everyone got up and washed up, Fang Youwei wanted to go up the mountain to check if any rabbits had been caught in the snares he had set.
Jiayin and Fang Zhiyuan heard this and clamored to go along. Fang Youwei couldn’t talk them out of it. Considering that he wasn’t going deep into the mountains, just the outer edge, he took them both with him.
One adult and two children made their way through the forest. Fang Youwei carried his bow, arrows, and a backpack, which contained rope and a machete.
Jiayin refused to be carried and trotted along behind him on her short little legs. Fang Zhiyuan, on the other hand, was soon out of breath from jogging.
Fang Zhiyuan couldn’t help asking, “Dad, are we there yet?”
“Not far. It’s right at the foot of the mountain ahead.” Fang Youwei deliberately slowed his pace so the two little ones could keep up.
Fang Zhiyuan looked in the direction his father was pointing. The mountain seemed close, so he mustered his energy and continued jogging.
The three of them walked for another half hour before reaching the spot where the snares were set.
Fang Zhiyuan panted heavily. “Dad, why is it so far? It looked really close before.”
Fang Youwei smiled and said, “There’s a saying: ‘A mountain may seem near, but it can tire a horse to death.’ That means even if a mountain looks close, it’s actually far away. The mountain we came to is small. If it were a towering peak, even if it looked right in front of you, you could walk for days and never reach it.”
Fang Zhiyuan nodded, enlightened, and looked at his father with admiration. “So that’s how it is. Dad, you know so much.”
Beside him, Jiayin also blinked her big eyes and nodded vigorously. A mountain may seem near, but it can tire a horse to death. She made a mental note of that phrase to tell her father later.
When they reached the spot where the snares were set, they found a rabbit caught in one. It looked like it had been trapped for quite a while—it wasn’t moving or even struggling anymore.
Fang Youwei then went to check the trap he had dug yesterday while cutting out the tree stump.
To his surprise, there was a black goat inside!
They were in the northwest, less than a hundred miles west of the border passes. Goats, wild donkeys, wolves, and other herd animals were common, and occasionally fierce beasts like tigers and black bears could be seen.
Seeing the goat, Fang Youwei laughed. “This goat is pretty fat. I’ll roast it for you later!”
Fang Zhiyuan jumped for joy and cheered, “Yay! We’re having roasted goat! We’re having roasted goat! Sister Jiayin, we’re having goat! Goat tastes way better than pheasant!”
At the word “tasty,” Jiayin’s eyes immediately lit up. She swallowed her saliva, tilted her head up at Fang Youwei, and said, “Then let’s hurry back! I’m hungry.”
“Alright, alright. Uncle will tie it up, and we’ll go right back.” Fang Youwei jumped into the trap, quickly tied up the goat, tossed it out, and climbed out himself.
He put the goat on a pole to carry over his shoulder, held the rabbit in his hand, and the three of them headed back.
But after just a few steps, they heard a rustling sound nearby.
Fang Youwei put down the goat and rabbit and told the two children to stand still. He took the machete out of his backpack, crept over quietly, and parted the bushes. There, trembling, stood a wild donkey.
Fang Youwei breathed a sigh of relief and muttered to himself, “How did a wild donkey end up here?”
The man and the donkey locked eyes across the space, staring at each other for a long moment.
Seeing that the donkey didn’t move at all, Fang Youwei’s eyes lit up. This is a beast of burden! If trained well, it could pull a cart!
He stepped forward and grabbed the wild donkey. With one hand, he took a rope from his backpack, tied it around the donkey’s neck, then looped it through its mouth to make a makeshift halter. He tugged, trying to lead it back, but the donkey didn’t budge—it just stood there trembling.
“Uncle, what’s this? Is it tasty?” Hearing a voice, Fang Youwei looked down and saw that Jiayin had somehow come over.
“Jiayin, why did you come over? What if there were wild animals? That would be so dangerous!” Fang Youwei said, his face full of concern.
Jiayin smiled and replied, “I saw it from over there. What is it? Can we eat it?” As she spoke, she reached out her little chubby hand and touched the donkey’s leg.
Fang Youwei noticed the donkey start shaking even more violently.