“Mm,” Li Wanting took out a bag of barbecue seasoning from the space, sprinkling it over the chicken as she rotated it on the spit. The aroma grew even richer.
“Mom, is… is it done yet?” Zhou Zimeng’s mouth watered so much she could barely speak.
Zhou Zimo pressed his lips together, occasionally licking them in anticipation.
“You little gluttons, just a little longer,” Li Wanting chuckled at the children’s eager faces.
“Wait a bit, little sister. It has to be fully cooked, or it’ll upset your tummy,” Zhou Zimo said patiently, even though he was equally hungry.
“Mm-hmm, it’ll hurt my tummy,” Zhou Zimeng nodded and rubbed her belly.
Li Wanting continued roasting until the wild chicken turned golden brown, glistening with oil and infused with the barbecue aroma. Satisfied that it was fully cooked, she removed it from the fire to let it cool.
“It’s done! It’s done! We can eat now!” Zhou Zimeng exclaimed excitedly.
“Mm, it’s done, but let it cool a bit, don’t burn your mouth,” Li Wanting warned.
“Mm-hmm, I’ll wait a little,” Zhou Zimeng said, trying hard to control herself.
After a short while, Li Wanting checked—the chicken was no longer too hot. She tore off two drumsticks, giving one to each child.
“Thank you, Mom!” Zhou Zimeng happily accepted the drumstick, not forgetting to thank her.
“Mom, you take a drumstick, I’ll have a wing,” Zhou Zimo said, pointing at the chicken wing.
“You can have it. You’re still growing. Eat whatever I give you,” Li Wanting said, heart warmed by her son’s thoughtfulness.
Hearing that, Zhou Zimo panicked a bit. He wanted to grow tall and strong like his father so he could protect Mom and his sister. With that thought, he grabbed the drumstick and started eating heartily.
“That’s the way,” Li Wanting said, smiling with satisfaction.
“Mm, so delicious!”
“Mm, smells amazing,” Zhou Zimeng replied, her mouth already dripping with juice, muttering repeatedly how tasty it was.
Li Wanting tore off a wing for herself. Soon, the wild chicken was finished. She then brought out a plate of fruit and some Lingquan water from the space, and the three of them ate until they were full.
After resting a bit, the fire had already gone out, so they went out to forage again.
“Mom, there’s lots of wild vegetables here. Some are a bit wilted, but it’s okay—we can pick them,” Zhou Zimo said, squatting down to pull some up.
Li Wanting was touched by her son’s frugality. Even with plenty of food, he remembered to save the wild vegetables. She squatted down to pick some herself, and Zhou Zimeng naturally followed.
The trio filled half a basket with wild vegetables and also caught three wild chickens and two wild rabbits. Satisfied, they prepared to head back.
“Wait… shh…” Li Wanting suddenly stopped and motioned to the children.
They stopped, looking at her in confusion.
“Did you hear that growling? It sounds close,” Li Wanting whispered, straining to listen.
“Roar… growl…”
“I hear it, Mom. Sounds like wild animals fighting!” Zhou Zimo quickly stood in front of his mother protectively.
Zhou Zimeng hid behind Li Wanting, frightened.
“You two go into the space. I’ll check it out,” Li Wanting instructed, placing the children into the safety of the space before moving toward the sounds.
Closer now, she quietly climbed a tree and used binoculars from the space. Well, it was a black bear and a tiger fighting ferociously, evenly matched. Eventually, both were exhausted, covered in blood, unable to stand. The tiger even glanced in one direction.
Li Wanting aimed the binoculars that way and saw two newborn tiger cubs hiding in the grass.
Ah, the black bear had tried to prey on the tiger cubs while the mother tiger was weak from childbirth. Maternal instinct kicked in, and the mother tiger fought the bear. The rules of nature, after all.
Seeing both the bear and tiger unmoving, Li Wanting climbed down, put away the binoculars, grabbed a machete, and ran toward them.
At the scene, the black bear was dead, and the tiger was alive but too weak to move.
“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you,” Li Wanting said to the tiger, regardless of whether it understood, and carried the two cubs from the grass to their mother.
“I’ll take good care of them,” Li Wanting said sincerely.
The mother tiger looked at Li Wanting, then at her cubs, tears in her eyes, and finally collapsed, still but peaceful.
Worried about the smell attracting other predators, Li Wanting stored both the bear and tiger in the space. Seeing the sun about to set, she ran toward the mountain’s edge.
Once safely at the outskirts, she finally sat on a rock, gasping for breath.
After resting, she returned to the space.
The children were playing with the tiger cubs and ran over to grab her hands.
“Mom!”
“Mom, are you hurt?” Zhou Zimo asked worriedly.
“No, don’t worry. The bear and tiger fought to the death. I benefited from it, getting their bodies and also the cubs,” Li Wanting summarized with a smile.
“Phew, that’s good,” Zhou Zimo sighed in relief. Though he knew the space was safe, he still worried.
After chatting a bit in the space, the trio went out, cut some branches, and made two simple rafts. They placed the black bear on one, the tiger on the other, while Zhou Zimeng held the tiger cubs.
“Son, go find Grandpa. Get some villagers to help carry the bear and tiger home,” Li Wanting instructed.
“Okay, Mom,” Zhou Zimo replied and dashed off in a flash.
Wow, this kid runs fast! Hopefully he doesn’t fall.
Not long after, Zhou Zimo returned with Zhou Yunda (Grandpa) and several strong villagers.
“Wow, it really is a bear and a tiger!”
“Yeah, must be two or three hundred jin each!”
“Exactly.”
Everyone was shocked, murmuring in awe.
“Dàshān’s wife, Mòzi told me there’s a bear and a tiger. Didn’t believe it at first, but it’s true. Are you hurt?” Zhou Yunda asked, concerned.
“No, Grandpa. We’re fine. The two beasts killed each other. We just dragged them out slowly. They were too heavy, so we had Mòzi fetch you,” Li Wanting explained, a little embarrassed.
In her mind, she thought: these animals must weigh several hundred jin. There’s no way the three of us could carry them down alone. And with the money from selling them, we can finally afford what we need.