Chapter 164: The Tortoise

Fang Ya gave her husband an exasperated look and turned to speak politely to Bai Xi, "Great-aunt, Weiguo was too embarrassed to bring this up to you, but some people at his workplace want to buy some meat—any kind of meat—and were hoping to see if Blackie could hunt something so we can bring it back with us."

The money they had brought back this time came from Fang Ya's workplace, while Chen Weiguo's side hadn't managed to catch a single wild pheasant. The moment Chen Weiguo heard that Blackie hadn't gone into the mountains, he felt too sheepish to pursue the topic further.

With that, Fang Ya glared at Chen Weiguo again. "Why were you hiding it? Great-aunt isn't an outsider."

Although they had only been back in the village for a short time, after interacting with Bai Xi a few times, Fang Ya quickly realized that while Bai Xi held a remarkably high seniority in the village clan, she was, after all, still a young girl. When talking to a young girl, it was best to be straightforward; beating around the bush was completely useless.

To be honest, putting aside the title of Great-aunt Bai Xi, Fang Ya adored her. The little girl was fair and clean, spoke in a soft and adorable manner, and she had never once been seen throwing a tantrum or having a runny nose. No matter when it was, after eating something, she would always use her little handkerchief to wipe her hands clean...

If Bai Xi didn't dislike being touched and weren't of such a high seniority in Niuluo Village, Fang Ya would have scooped her up for a couple of hugs every time she came back.

"I just... I felt too embarrassed to bring it up!" Chen Weiguo laughed sheepishly.

Who in the workplace didn't have immediate neighbors, friends, and relatives? No one could bear the thought of their own family eating meat while letting others starve. It was one thing if people didn't have money, but having money and being unable to buy anything was simply too heartbreaking.

So, Chen Weiguo had been asked by his colleagues to find a way. After all, living in the countryside meant having private plots of land where one could raise chickens and ducks, and it would be even better if a hunter could catch some game.

Any meat would do, regardless of what kind.

When grain was scarce, eating a little meat made the stomach feel much better and kept people from falling ill.

Bai Xi blinked her large eyes. "Is that so? But you didn't mention it beforehand. It's too late for Blackie to head into the mountains now."

When she led the team into the mountains a few days ago, ever since Blackie came back, even if it occasionally wandered into the hills, it only went to forage for food and perhaps bring back a hare or a pheasant in its jaws.

Pausing for a moment, Bai Xi asked, "Did you say earlier that there's a newly opened department store in the city?"

Fang Ya nodded. "Yes, it opened a week ago, and plenty of people are going. Would Great-aunt like to go too?"

"I'm not sure yet. Let's see what Blackie does."

Though Bai Xi's words seemed to trail off without beginning or end, the couple understood completely. It meant that if Blackie managed to hunt something, Bai Xi would go to the city to visit the department store and take the game along for them to sell; if it caught nothing, then the trip was off.

***

Meanwhile.

Little Shun and the others led Chen Yi to the irrigation ditch by the field, pointed at a small puddle, and declared, "Right here!"

"Here?" Chen Yi stared at the tiny puddle, his face full of disbelief. "Isn't this way too small?"

"What do you mean, small? Where is it small?" Little Shun pulled up his somewhat loose trousers. In his hurry to leave, he hadn't fastened his belt properly, and all the way here, his pants kept sliding down.

Little Stone chimed in, "Don't you doubt it. Great-aunt brought us right here to catch loaches." This was the truth, though the boys did all the catching while Great-aunt simply watched from the bank.

Chen Yi argued, "There's no way there are turtles in a place like this."

"You won't know unless you go down and feel around. If there are loaches, how can there not be turtles?" A flash of guilt crossed Little Six's face, but he quickly firmed up his expression.

Anyway, they had felt around for river snails, loaches, and shrimps—so maybe, just maybe, there could be a turtle?

"Loaches and turtles are two completely different things." Chen Yi scratched his head, still deeply skeptical.

Seeing this, Little Mountain's eyes rolled, and he quickly chimed in, "Ah, I told you it wasn't worth bringing him along. There's no way he'd believe it. He's a city boy; he doesn't understand any of this."

"I don't disbelieve it!" Chen Yi hurried to explain. "It's just that this puddle is too tiny. How could there possibly be a turtle in it?" A puddle less than two meters wide, with water at most reaching thigh-high—how could any large turtle live in there?

"There might not be a big turtle, but there are small ones," Little Shun said with a completely straight face. "When Great-aunt first picked up Blackie, Blackie wasn't much bigger than a kitten, but look at how big Blackie is now."

Chen Yi froze for a second, puzzled, and asked, "But I heard that Great-aunt's Blackie was picked up from the mountains."

"That's right, we never said it wasn't," Pillar looked at Chen Yi strangely. "You want a turtle, and turtles live in the water. Didn't you start going to school already? Didn't your teacher teach you that?"

Seeing everyone looking at him with suspicious eyes, Chen Yi hastily said, "Taught, taught! I didn't say I didn't know." He had almost forgotten that turtles indeed lived in water.

"By the way, you guys said Great-aunt just went out for a stroll and happened to find Blackie—haven't you guys gone back to look?" If only he could go up the mountains too; maybe he could pick up a tiger, or even a little wolf cub would be nice.

Because of this, every weekend when he had no classes, he would pester his parents to return to the village. The place was vast, allowing him to run around freely, and he could join Little Shun and the others in raiding bird nests. Besides, if he got lucky, who knew what he might stumble upon and pick up?

Little Shun and the others were clever little rascals. Seeing Chen Yi repeatedly casting longing glances toward the mountains, how could they not know what he was thinking? They immediately shook their heads. "Never went. The mountains are dangerous with ferocious beasts; you can't go."

"Then how come Great-aunt went?" Ever since returning to the village, every time Chen Yi saw Blackie, his hands and heart would itch with the desire to touch it. But Blackie was a giant tiger that wouldn't let anyone get close—though, of course, Chen Yi lacked the sheer courage to try anyway.

"Great-aunt is Great-aunt, that's different." Little Shun finished speaking, and seeing that Chen Yi still wanted to talk, he quickly changed the subject. "Didn't you say you wanted a large turtle? If you want a big turtle, you have to raise it from a baby. Otherwise, an adult turtle won't feel any affection for you."

What a joke. Who could possibly compare to Great-aunt?

Such delusional thinking. Great-aunt could snap a large tree in half with a single punch, and Great-aunt could speak the language of beasts, which made it completely normal for Blackie to trot over obediently and follow her everywhere, right?!

This reasoning made sense. The moment Chen Yi imagined how Blackie refused to be close to anyone else yet constantly pestered Bai Xi and even let her ride on its back, his doubts melted away considerably.

Little Stone added, "If we weren't such good friends with you, we wouldn't even bother telling you about this."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yi smiled gratefully at the boys. "I know you guys are loyal. Whether I manage to catch a turtle in a moment or not, I want to thank you all first."

These were words Chen Yi had overheard adults saying to his parents and had simply memorized. The tone he used carried a rather comical air of adult maturity.

While Little Shun and the others exchanged polite remarks, they waited for Chen Yi to step down into the puddle.

Chen Yi untied his padded winter coat and rolled up his sleeves, only to notice that Little Shun and the others were just standing off to the side, completely motionless. He couldn't help but look at them in confusion.

"Aren't you guys coming into the water?"

"We're not going in. We don't want a turtle." The water was much colder now than it had been a short while ago; they weren't that foolish.