It was in the early hours of the morning.

In the dark room, only the occasional sound of pine resin burning in the iron stove could be heard.

On the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed), Zhuang Mingcheng closed his eyes, holding his wife, but he couldn't fall asleep.

What his wife told him was such a pleasant surprise, it was almost an overreaction.

After a while, still unable to sleep, he put on his cotton-padded coat and quietly got off the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed).

In the outer room, on the double wooden bed on the west side, Xiaohua's ears twitched.

It raised its head and looked at Zhuang Mingcheng.

"Hehe, Xiaohua, you're going to have two younger brothers and sisters, no, maybe one younger brother and one younger sister."

Zhuang Mingcheng sat on the edge of the bed, hugged Xiaohua to his arms, and started petting her.

"Meow~"

Little Flower raised her paw and pushed his hand away in disgust.

It's so late at night, are you even letting the King of the Snow Mountains get some sleep?

"Little Flower, come here, give me a kiss."

Zhuang Mingcheng grinned foolishly and kissed it on the forehead.

"Smack."

Little Flower raised her paw and scratched her forehead, then looked at him helplessly.

Looking at Xiaohua's appearance, Zhuang Mingcheng couldn't help but laugh again.

"Awoo~"

Seeing that the little yellow dog had also woken up, Zhuang Mingcheng grabbed its paw and hugged it to his arms.

Looking down, he suddenly understood. These were twins. It seemed everything was as expected.

After my wife gave birth, there will be four people in the family. Oh wait, I forgot about the little wild donkey.

Holding Xiaohua and the little Tibetan fox, he stood up and went to the yard excitedly.

On the haystack, the little wild donkey lay down, drool dripping from the corner of its mouth, which was already quite wet.

It was having a sweet dream when it was slapped awake. Shaking its head, it looked at Zhuang Mingcheng in a daze.

"hey-hey."

Zhuang Mingcheng grinned foolishly and gave it a pat.

"oh……"

Seeing that the little wild donkey was about to bray, Zhuang Mingcheng quickly grabbed its mouth and said, "Don't bray, forget it, you can continue sleeping, it's none of your business."

It was terribly cold outside, so he picked up Xiaohua and the little Tibetan fox, turned around, and quickly went back inside.

The little wild donkey stared blankly.

It snorted, and it even wondered if it was still dreaming.

It lowered its head and took a bite of the corn stalk before it realized what was happening.

Slowly standing up, it curiously walked to the door and peered into the room through the glass.

Zhuang Mingcheng was already busy at this time.

He carefully took the jar out of the cupboard, and then used a shovel to scrape off the lime seal on top.

Slowly peel back the oil paper, and a fragrant aroma of fried rice wafts out.

Outside the door, the little wild donkey's eyes lit up, and it stared intently into the house.

"Looks like this jar of bear paws didn't spoil."

Zhuang Mingcheng carefully poured out the fried rice inside, then took out a dried bear paw.

I took a closer sniff, and there was no foul smell; instead, the bear paw was infused with the aroma of fried rice.

He nodded in satisfaction, poured some water into the basin, and then put the bear paw in to soak.

Unable to sleep at night, he thought he might as well stew the bear paw and give his wife a good nourishing meal the next morning. His wife is now feeding three people, so she can't be short of nutrition.

He picked up the kitchen knife from the house, and was about to go out when he saw a donkey's head peering out of the door and window.

Looking back at the overturned fried rice, he couldn't help but laugh again.

This gluttonous donkey really can't escape its nose.

He turned back, grabbed the fried rice, and strode into the yard.

The little wild donkey wagged its tail and nestled close to Zhuang Mingcheng, extremely excited.

"This is fried rice, soaked in bear oil. It's good stuff, but it's a bit too dry. You can't eat too much at once."

As he spoke, Zhuang Mingcheng poured some into the donkey's trough, and then put the rest aside.

He took the cleaver and went under the shed. He grabbed a rooster and cleanly slit its throat.

I still feel a little regretful. The rooster I raise at home can't compare to the snow chicken. If only I could use the snow chicken to make soup, the bear paw would definitely be even more delicious.

He shook his head, picked up the rooster, and went into the house, immediately getting busy.

Under the shed in the yard, the big gray duck and the little gray duck looked at each other and subconsciously moved further inside.

The big gray duck was terrified. It laid an egg with great effort and only then did it feel much more at ease.

...

The next day, Lu Fangfang vaguely smelled a fragrance.

She instinctively reached to the side, but found nothing.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up on the kang (a heated brick bed).

She looked outside; it was barely dawn, and she was still somewhat dazed.

It wasn't until she smelled the aroma again that she realized what delicious food her husband had prepared this time.

Wearing her clothes, she got off the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) and went to the outer room.

"Um?"

The room was filled with the aroma of meat, and a clay pot on the stove was simmering.

On the double wooden bed to the west, Zhuang Mingcheng, with Xiao Hua's tail as his pillow, had fallen asleep, a smile on his face, and was holding the little yellow dog in his arms.

It was a bit cold outside, so he held on tightly, with only the head of a small yellow dog showing.

"Awoo~"

Upon seeing Lu Fangfang emerge, the little Tibetan fox let out a whimper.

"Oh dear, what has he done now?"

Lu Fangfang quickly walked to the door and pushed it open a crack.

The room was filled with heat, and the fumes were so strong that we had to get it out quickly.

Turning around, she quickly walked to the double wooden bed. Looking at the pitiful little Tibetan fox in his arms, Lu Fangfang wanted to laugh again.

If the people in the troupe saw their leader like this, they would definitely laugh at him.

Gently lifting Zhuang Mingcheng's arm, she took the little Tibetan fox out.

After hesitating for a moment, she didn't wake her husband. Instead, she went to the inner room, took out her military overcoat, and covered him with it.

"Little Flower, does he press down on your tail? Should I pull it out for you?"

"Meow~"

Xiao Hua glanced back at Zhuang Mingcheng, but made no other move and continued licking her paws.

Seeing this, Lu Fangfang smiled and petted it. Her little flower was really well-behaved.

After finishing her work, she finally had time to look at the things on the stove.

Curious, she stepped forward, lifted the lid of the pot, and saw a large bear paw stewing inside.

Next to the bear paw, there was also a chicken. Luckily, the casserole dish was big, otherwise there wouldn't have been enough room for all of these things.

"When did he get up?"

Lu Fangfang carefully put down the pot lid, then looked back at Zhuang Mingcheng on the bed, feeling both amused and exasperated.

While she was asleep, her husband killed the chicken and stewed a bear paw.

She slept soundly last night and didn't hear a sound.

"Squeak."

"Um?"

A donkey's head poked its head in through the doorway.

The little wild donkey inhaled deeply the aroma from the room, and saliva involuntarily dripped from the corner of its mouth.

"Go away, don't make a mess of the house."

Lu Fangfang slapped it away in disgust.

Looking back at the house, she felt a headache coming on. Her husband had made a mess of the house while cooking bear paws, and she even saw chicken feathers that hadn't been thrown away yet.

She rolled up her sleeves and started tidying up again.