On the pasture in front of the breeding farm, Lu Fangfang was concentrating on drawing a sketch.

She was busy when she heard a donkey bray.

Looking up, I saw the little wild donkey grinning and running quickly towards me.

This time, having learned from experience, she quickly put the drawing board she was holding aside.

Seeing it charging straight at her without regard for anything else, Lu Fangfang was a little worried, so she quickly shouted:

"Stop! Stop!"

"Oh...ah..."

The little wild donkey brayed excitedly and came to a sudden stop.

The donkey's head came close to Lu Fangfang, and it grinned as if it were laughing.

"You big idiot, you scared me to death! Don't do that again next time."

"And you, if you're going to run off with someone, fine, but why are you acting like this? Aren't you afraid they'll beat you up?"

Lu Fangfang stroked the donkey's head and stood up.

Looking at the donkey's back, she was eager to try it herself. She had seen the little wild donkey's speed just now; it was really fast.

The little wild donkey turned to look at her, as if it too was expecting something.

"Let's do it next year, next summer, when we can gallop across the green grasslands. The scenery will be much better then."

Lu Fangfang touched the donkey's back and forcibly endured it.

She now travels by donkey cart; riding one is out of the question. The wild donkey is taller than a regular horse, and she doesn't want any accidents to happen.

"Meow~"

"Awoo~"

In the distance, Little Flower and Little Tibetan Fox also ran over.

The two little ones had their mouths slightly open, and they were tired from running. As soon as they got close, they lay down on the grass.

Lu Fangfang played with the little ones for a while, then sat down and started drawing in her comic book.

At her current pace, it would take her at least twenty days to finish all sixty-one drawings, assuming she is not disturbed.

There's no way around it, drawing a sketch is too time-consuming, especially for animals like Pallas's rabbits. Sometimes she has to spend an entire morning to finish just one drawing.

However, in order to get it printed as soon as possible, she still plans to finish drawing it by early October.

If it's sent to the provincial capital, it might be ready for printing at the end of the year.

Lu Fangfang was holding a pen, lost in thought, when she saw the little wild donkey lying down beside her.

She reached out and ruffled the donkey's head, then continued drawing.

...

That evening, during dinner, Zhuang Mingcheng told his wife about the little wild donkey's performance that morning.

As he spoke, he added with a hint of envy, for having a horse that truly recognizes its master is every cavalryman's dream.

Just like Guan Yu's Red Hare.

"You won't even let the little wild donkey ride you? Really?"

Lu Fangfang was quite surprised as she listened to him.

To be honest, she was a little touched. It seems she should treat the little wild donkey better in the future.

"It's true, Dazhuang put the saddle on, but this stubborn donkey just wouldn't let me get on, and finally tore off the saddle and ran away."

Zhuang Mingcheng smiled and shook his head. "I think this stubborn donkey is only for you to ride; the rest of you are useless."

Lu Fangfang felt very happy.

After the meal, she specially chopped some cabbage leaves for the little wild donkey, mixed them with crushed corn, and gave it a late-night snack.

"Oh...ah..."

The little wild donkey ate while looking up at her suspiciously, as if it couldn't quite believe it.

"What are you looking at? Hurry up and eat your food. This is your only meal, it won't be available tomorrow."

Lu Fangfang reached out and patted it. This silly donkey looked really rude and deserved a beating. She had never mistreated the little wild donkey.

She glanced at it again and saw that the little wild donkey was still staring at her. She rolled her eyes, turned around, and went into the house.

In the yard, the little wild donkey wagged its tail and then ate in peace.

...

The next day, the two got up very early.

Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, August 15th. The regiment has a day off. Zhuang Mingcheng called Hao Dazhuang and several other soldiers to get busy at home.

He planned to build a small kang (heated brick bed) against the west wall in the outer room.

It doesn't need to be too big, just big enough for one person to sleep in.

While the others were busy inside, Lu Fangfang didn't get involved. She was chopping lamb ribs on the chopping board in the yard.

It's cold now, and the mutton hasn't had much flavor after a few days.

She planned to cook several meat dishes so that Hao Dazhuang and the others could have a good meal at noon, since it was the Mid-Autumn Festival and a time for family reunion.

She lifted the lid of the large pot to look at the lamb bones, then scooped them into a bowl and separated some meat from the bones.

"Sister-in-law, this meat smells so good!"

Hao Dazhuang was stirring yellow mud in the yard with an iron shovel.

The aroma of mutton was so enticing that he couldn't stop drooling and wanted to take a bite right away.

"That's right, this is rock sheep meat, it must be delicious. They run on the rock walls every day, their meat is really good."

"By the way, comrades, do you want to stew the mutton with radishes or with potatoes? The decision is yours today."

Lu Fangfang smiled and asked the crowd.

"radish."

"radish."

"radish."

Everyone shouted in unison, "Radish!"

"Sister-in-law, in our troupe, we eat potato shreds, potato slices, mashed potatoes, or potato chunks all day long. We can't live without potatoes at any meal."

Hao Dazhuang patted his chest, feeling like he was about to turn into a potato.

"Sister-in-law, please don't make potatoes anymore, make radishes instead."

Hearing what everyone was saying, Lu Fangfang couldn't help but laugh again.

Potatoes are such a great thing; they can be used as a vegetable or a staple food. It's just a pity that there's not much oil in the dough, so the stir-fried potato shreds taste just like boiled potatoes.

"Alright, let's have radish stewed with mutton today. It's autumn, so it's good to eat some radish."

Zhuang Mingcheng was carrying a mud basin when he came out of the house.

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