Jane Ning, now a mother herself, felt a surge of sympathy. If it weren't for her cubs, this intelligent silver fox wouldn't risk its life trying to catch the doves and rabbits in the traps. She pulled the silver fox up, quietly fed it some spiritual spring water, and let it lead the way to find its cubs.
The silver fox climbed up the mountainside, stopped to rest for a while, and then looked back at Jane Ning, as if worried that she would run away.
But Jian Ning had no intention of running away; she was still obsessed with the silver fox's hide. It was Ding Youtian who wanted to escape. Gazing at the misty mountainside, he tried several times to persuade Jian Ning to give up. However, he was concerned about the silver fox's intelligence and feared retaliation, so he finally picked up a branch as a crutch and slowly climbed up behind.
Finally, the silver fox couldn't hold on and fell down.
It looked at Jane Ning and opened its mouth to breathe heavily.
They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. Meeting its gaze, Jian Ning instantly understood its expression. "The cave is nearby, right? Then let's make a deal. I'll find your cubs, no matter how many, and I'll raise them for you. But your body must belong to me, because I have cubs to raise, too. If you don't mind, just close your eyes and go in peace."
After saying that, she touched the silver fox's head, and it slowly closed its eyes.
Having lived two lives as a human, Jian Ning knew that, whether human or animal, the soul and body separate upon death. This silver fox had long, soft fur, tipped with black. Such a fine pelt couldn't be wasted. She retrieved a scalpel from the herb garden and peeled the fox skin completely.
As for the meat, just keep it as bait.
She threw the peeled skin and flesh into the grass. Ding Youtian followed her at this time. The two of them searched nearby and soon found the silver fox cub in a tree hole in the left front.
There were exactly four of them, not more, not less. They looked like they were only a month old and had only a little light hair. One was black, one was red, and two were white. They could barely stand, like four adorable puppies.
The four little cubs were probably starving and had no fear of people. After Jane Ning carried them out, the black cub rolled to Ding Youtian's feet and licked his ankles with its tongue, while the other three surrounded her ankles and licked them all over.
Ding Youtian picked up the fox at his feet and took a look. It was a male. He knew that foxes, like people, raise their cubs together, male and female. The fox that fell into the trap was a female. The father of these four cubs must have died long ago. He touched the cub's head and said with a smile, "You little beast, you know how to please me. Well, since you have no father or mother, my wife and I will raise you from now on. My name is Youtian, and you can just call yourself Youdi!"
What kind of train of thought is this? Where are the two brothers who have fields and land?
Jane Ning rolled her eyes and tossed the four cubs into the backpack. Whether they could survive after taking them home depended on their luck. She hadn't broken her promise; she'd only promised to find them and take them home to raise, not to raise them. She even felt a little regretful for her momentary overweening sympathy. These four cubs were carnivores, and raising them would be like taking food from her own daughters.
But it's too late to regret.
She returned to the trap, took out the turtledove and the hare, threw a piece of silver fox meat dripped with spiritual spring water into the trap, repaired the damaged cortex, and then took out the hay and bamboo that she had hidden earlier, and then went home.
"It's truly miraculous!" Ding Youtian said as he walked. "The wild animals in the mountains behind here are very clever. In the past, I haven't seen any of them fall into traps for ten days or half a month. My lady is so lucky. Could it be that when you were struck unconscious by lightning yesterday, the male fox happened to be killed, and the male fox's soul possessed you, so your wisdom has improved since you woke up."
Jian Ning was secretly shocked when he heard it, and turned back to look at him suddenly, which frightened him so much that he stopped in his tracks. It was obvious that he had just said it casually.
"You're the one possessed by a vixen! What nonsense are you talking about!"
A knife flew towards him, and Jian Ning quickened his pace. The two of them walked down the mountain one after the other and ran into Blind Liu.
Blind Liu was dressed neatly, holding a folding fan in his hand and a cloth bag on his right shoulder. Ding Youtian knew at once that the old man was going to the town to tell stories, so he gave him the storybook when he came back from Ma's house that morning.
Seeing them, Blind Liu was quite calm. He stepped forward to greet them, winked at Ding Youtian, and said with a smile, "Don't worry, no matter how much I earn today, I'll give you half."
"What do I have to worry about? You don't have to pay a penny. I have something serious to talk to you about later. I'll talk to you when you come back in the evening." Ding Youtian said with a smile.
At this time, a villager passed by and saw Jian Ning and Ding Youtian, so he told them that Meng had taken Liu and Gao to the old house and asked them to go back and check.
Upon hearing this, Jian Ning strode home. As soon as she entered the yard, the four little ones rushed over, calling for their mother. Ma Xiaomai also came forward to help her take down a large bundle of bamboo that was pressing on her backpack.
"Mom! The things Auntie Tian sent to our family were snatched away by grandma and her men..." After the big girl told Jian Ning what happened, Ma Xiaomai scratched her head and said with a guilty look on her face, "Auntie Jian, I'm sorry, I didn't protect them well. My father has woken up, and I have to go back."
After saying this, he prepared to go home. He was afraid that the Meng family would come back and attack, and the four children would be beaten. Now that Jian Ning was back, he was worried about his father, so he should go back.
"It's none of your business. Wait a moment. Don't leave in a hurry." Jian Ning stopped him. "Wait until your Uncle Ding comes. I set a trap yesterday and caught a few turtledoves and hares. Take a turtledove back and have your mother stew it for your father to nourish his body."
"Really? Aunt Jane, how did you set so many traps at once? Can you take me with you next time?"
When the four little ones heard that their mother had caught several turtledoves and hares, they stopped crying. But Erniu was still angry after thinking about it. So many eggs were broken by her mother, and she hadn't tasted any of the cakes. She was worried that her mother would come and snatch the turtledoves and hares.
"Mom!" She swayed her small body while hanging on Jane Ning's legs. "What should we do if Second Grandma comes to steal our things again when Mom and Dad are not at home?"
Just as Jian Ning picked her up, Ding Youtian came in with Ma Xiaomai, carrying a backpack. Ma Xiaomai went to greet him and told him what had happened. Jian Ning glanced at him and said, "Everything that happens once will have a second chance."
"I understand." He put down the backpack, turned around and walked out with a gloomy face.
Jian Ning also put Erniu down, took the grass covering his backpack, picked up the largest turtledove and gave it to Ma Xiaomai. He took it, thanked him, and ran away happily with it.
"Mom, go check on your grandparents. You guys stay home and don't run around." Jian Ning put down the backpack and suddenly remembered that there were four little meat balls in it. They were quiet and didn't make any sound all the way. Maybe they were dead.
She removed the grass from the top, and the four little creatures all looked up at her. Jane Ning, who had never liked small animals, was a little melted by them at this moment. She took the four little creatures out, and except for Erniu who stepped back a few steps in fear with her hands behind her back, the other three little ones surrounded her in surprise.
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