Chapter – 107
Catching the Piglets
Jiang Xi laughed triumphantly.
She couldn’t help but remark again how amusing these little beast-people were!
Yifu nodded seriously, not giving the two little green snakes any say in the matter.
“I understand. I’ll make sure they eat their vegetables… I mean, greens, regularly!”
After this little episode, the two little green snakes became noticeably more lethargic on the journey, lazily lying on Jiang Xi’s shoulders.
Whenever Jiang Xi glanced at them, the two snakes would blink their watery eyes at her, trying to evoke her pity.
Jiang Xi held back her laughter—it was just too funny.
But proper vegetable intake was indeed beneficial for balanced nutrition.
And when it came to health, she never wavered!
That afternoon, they even found a patch of winter melon!
Jiang Xi was overjoyed—so big and plentiful, enough for several meals.
She hurriedly said,
“Remember this spot. Tomorrow, we’ll call everyone to come harvest it together!”
Given her and the two beast-people, plus the two little green snakes who could only bite through the vines, there was no way they could move all that winter melon by themselves!
Yifu nodded.
“I’ll call the beast-people early tomorrow to help.”
After saying this, he quickly glanced at Duan Si, wary of any lingering cold glares.
But this time, Duan Si didn’t give him a single look—just nodded at his mistress.
Jiang Xi felt that the Hot River Valley was truly a treasure trove!
She was full of energy for the journey ahead.
However, the more one desires something, the less luck comes their way!
After finding the winter melon, they found nothing else on the way, except for a nest of bird eggs.
Meanwhile, the snake-beast-people they encountered along the way were all cheerful and returned fully laden.
By the time dusk approached, she had no choice but to return to Hot River Valley with the two beast-people and the little beasts.
However, on the way back, she made a special detour to collect ginger, garlic, chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and other seasonings.
This time, luck returned!!
Behind a patch of chili peppers, she discovered tomatoes!!
Dana and Daler shook their heads excitedly.
“Sour, sour!”
Yifu spoke up, “A few days ago, some beast-people thought these were chili peppers and used them on grilled meat. It was unbearably sour.”
He shook his head, clearly unimpressed by the taste.
Jiang Xi laughed.
“These are tomatoes, also called ‘xī hóng shì’ (literally ‘red persimmon’). They taste sour, but they can be eaten raw or cooked and are very versatile. We can make scrambled eggs with tomatoes later.”
Duan Si quietly stepped forward to pick the tomatoes.
Jiang Xi quickly said,
“Don’t pick too many. They’re hard to carry—just enough for a couple of meals.”
Duan Si acknowledged with a quiet “hm” and restrained his picking.
After returning from the seasoning patch fully loaded, they arrived at the Ice River, where many beast-people were gathered by the riverside, seemingly engaged in some activity.
At that moment, the squeals of little pigs came from across the river, and the snake-beast-people scattered in chaotic excitement, avoiding something while laughing loudly.
“Little one’s chasing me!”
“Come catch me!”
Jiang Xi immediately realized—Lu Liufeng had caught some piglets!
She hurried over.
Before she got close, Lu Liufeng squeezed out from the lively group of beast-people.
He smelled his mistress approaching.
Seeing her coming in small steps, he smiled.
“Mistress, I’ve caught three piglets.”
However, because he focused on catching the piglets, the big pig had escaped.
He felt a bit regretful but didn’t mention it, not wanting to appear incompetent.
Jiang Xi’s dark eyes sparkled.
“I want to see!”
Lu Liufeng nodded and led her forward.
The young snake-beast-people sitting in a circle sensed their mistress approaching and quickly cleared the space.
“Mistress.”
“Mistress has arrived.”
Jiang Xi noticed their enthusiastic behavior, feeling slightly puzzled.
She remembered that last time, due to a large-scale harvest by the Lion Roar Tribe, there had been some conflict with the Hot River Valley snake-beast-people.
They had been cold toward her then.
Lu Liufeng noticed her confusion and explained.
“Recently, many snake-beast-people have come to see the mistress.”
Jiang Xi paused.
“Come to see me?”
She raised her gaze at Lu Liufeng, blinking slightly.
He nodded, amber eyes full of gentle warmth.
“It’s thanks to the mistress that so many females have started coming to Hot River Valley to gather food.”
“And according to the valley’s rules, only females and snake-beast-people can harvest.”
Jiang Xi didn’t need him to elaborate further—she understood.
The females didn’t want to labor, so the snake-beast-people dutifully helped.
One favor led to another, and the snake-beast-people, usually unpopular with females, suddenly became highly sought-after.
Almost every female in the Lion Roar Tribe now had a snake-beast partner.
The snake-beast-people’s spring had come, even in winter!!
Jiang Xi smiled, finding it rather amusing.
At that moment, she saw the piglets tied to the riverside with vines.
Actually, they were wild piglets!
Among the three, two were brown with stripes, and one was black and white.
She was a little surprised.
“Could there be more than one litter?”
Lu Liufeng nodded.
“There are probably two or three litters, but I’ve been patrolling above, so they’ve been hiding.”
Jiang Xi’s eyes sparkled.
“Check the genders!”
Even though she wasn’t sure if pigs could breed with close relatives, if there were both male and female, they could multiply quickly!
Endless pork in the future!!
After she said this, there was a brief pause along the riverside.
Many of the snake-beast-people quickly swam away, leaving only some young ones without females behind.
Jiang Xi was puzzled.
They were usually so bold—could they really be shy about this?
Or perhaps they were bold in private but conservative in public?
Still, her peripheral vision was filled with snake-beast-people, muscles bare and exposed…
That didn’t make sense…
Lu Liufeng pursed his lips and stepped forward.
“I’ll handle it.”
He used the wind to lift the three piglets, flipping them over quickly to check.
Jiang Xi barely had time to process before it was done.
Lu Liufeng said, “The black-and-white one is male; the other two are female.”
Jiang Xi didn’t overthink it; she was simply delighted by the results.
“Great!”
“From now on, the black-and-white one will be called Diandian. The other two…”
The two were too similar to tell apart.
After some thought, she said,
“One will be Yiyi, the other Er’er.”
Duan Si swam over, staring at the two brown-striped piglets.
“Which is Yiyi, which is Er’er?”
Jiang Xi: “…Who do you think I should ask?”
“Hmm… the bigger one is Yiyi, the smaller one is Er’er.”
Yiyi, first.
Er’er, second.
Perfect!
Whoever grows bigger will always be Yiyi.
Whoever stays smaller will be Er’er.
Perfect names!
