Half an hour later.
On the other end of the communicator, the chief assistant of the Academy of Sciences stuttered as he explained:
"Mr. Gu, this is what happened."
The truth was half-truth, half-false, evading the important points while explaining the little fox's origins and current situation, while also concealing some things. Gu Yumian heard it, but did not expose it. He just listened attentively and patiently.
"Temporary custody? ...Yes, of course."
Gu Yumian sat cross-legged on the living room's wooden floor, mostly silent, occasionally humming a few questions. The Arctic fox cub carefully curled itself into a ball, resting its front paws on Gu Yumian's shoulders and nestling in his arms.
The baby panda seemed very happy. After greeting the little fox, it lay down on Gu Yumian's lap and chatted with the little fox in a casual manner. They chirped and whined, and it seemed that they were talking at cross purposes.
Little Snow Leopard: “…”
The little snow leopard was trying hard to suppress his jealousy and maintain his composure. He sat on Gu Yumian's shoulder without looking around, maintaining an expression of looking down on everyone.
Another five or six minutes passed before the lengthy call finally ended. Gu Yumian had appeared calm, mature, and at ease throughout the entire call. Only after hanging up did a smile gradually creep onto his face.
Gu Yumian was very happy.
It’s like winning a one-of-a-kind prize in a lottery that you really want.
He couldn't help but stand up and walked around twice with the little fox in his arms. Then he sat down again, held the little fox's face in his hands, and kissed its forehead:
"From now on, you'll be Gu Baiqiu. Qiuqiu, do you like this name?"
The little fox initially thought that the name was not very clever, but because it was Gu Yumian who came up with it, he only thought about it for a moment before letting go of his suspicion and made a very obedient and sincere "chirp" sound to express his love for the name.
Gu Yumian's heart almost melted by the cuteness, he thought, she is so cute.
It was almost six o'clock and almost time for dinner. Gu Yumian finally remembered the glutinous and fragrant spare ribs that had been neglected for a long time.
As he put on his apron at the kitchen counter, the baby panda was happily playing the "paw-matching" game with the still shy little fox.
The little snow leopard watched them for a while with a sour, lazy and picky look, and when it was sure that both of them were idiots with a slightly mocking look on its face, it walked to Gu Yumian's feet. Gu Yumian squatted down to make it easier for it to jump onto his shoulder and sit down safely.
"Tuantuan doesn't want to play with Yuanyuanqiuqiu?" Gu Yumian brushed a layer of sesame oil on the lotus leaf and wrapped the small ribs coated with glutinous rice in the lotus leaf while whispering to it:
"Tuantuan is the big brother now. Don't always think that Yuanyuanqiuqiu are stupid, okay? They are just younger."
Little Snow Leopard: “…”
How did it discover it? Was it obvious? The little snow leopard twitched its tail unnaturally, looked away with a stern face.
Gu Yumian couldn't help but squint his eyes.
He looked at his home and felt that in the blink of an eye, there were so many little treasures in the house, and it was becoming more and more like a home.
Home should be so lively.
The fox cub is so well-behaved, the panda cub is so adorable, and the snow leopard cub… While the snow leopard cub can be a bit surly at times, like a lemon, it's not malicious. And its awkward yet irresistible desire to be close to people is also endearing.
Gu Yumian arbitrarily believed that he should be the happiest human being in the world at this moment.
After wrapping the glutinous rice spareribs in lotus leaves, they were placed in the steamer. Gu Yumian then casually took the crystal dough prepared yesterday and wrapped a basket of crystal shrimp dumplings, which were also steamed together. Soon, wisps of white steam began to rise.
"Okay, it's almost time for dinner." Gu Yumian picked up both cubs, with the little snow leopard sitting on his shoulder. Perhaps because he was so happy at the moment, he didn't feel the weight anymore. "Let's go for a walk around the neighborhood tonight."
The room is filled with the aroma of steamed glutinous rice spareribs, mixed with the fragrance of lotus leaves. A little sweet wine is added when marinating the spareribs. The refreshing and tender taste is mouth-watering.
It's a simple dish that looks as tempting as it tastes.
The tender ribs are wrapped with round and crystal glutinous rice and chopped green peppers and carrots. They are rich in color and have a shiny surface. They are neatly arranged on a green lotus leaf bamboo steamer.
The children were always very supportive of Gu Yumian's cooking, not to mention that it was indeed delicious. Gu Yumian was reluctant to let the children go hungry, so he quickly picked up a piece of food for each of the three children.
——The unique sticky and delicious taste of glutinous rice that I have never tried before is combined with the tender, slightly tender and chewy texture of steamed spareribs. It is surprisingly refreshing and crispy. The spareribs are thoroughly steamed and are rich and juicy.
Very delicious!
The baby panda rolled around in Gu Yumian's arms, the little fox looked at the steamer obediently, and the little snow leopard lowered its head and rubbed Gu Yumian's palm, quietly urging him to feed it.
Gu Yumian knew from the children's reactions that this dish must be delicious. He had a good idea about introducing this dish into the restaurant's new menu.
"But you can't eat too much of this. It's hard to digest."
After all, it was glutinous rice, and children's stomachs were not good. Gu Yumian only took the three children to eat some glutinous pork ribs and shrimp dumplings, and then cooked a bowl of porridge. The meal was just like this, eating, drinking and chatting, and an hour passed in the blink of an eye.
In the evening, Gu Yumian took the children for a stroll. The snow had stopped at night, and the upper city had activated the city-wide temperature control system, so it wasn't very cold—much better than in the morning. Gu Yumian only needed a sweater and coat.
I originally wanted to livestream the video and show it to the audience, but on second thought, just like this morning, there are too many uncontrollable factors when doing an outdoor livestream. So, I'm going to postpone it for now and we'll do it tomorrow.
But Gu Yumian didn't meet many people on the street, and none of the things he wanted to inquire about were answered.
"The permanent population in Upper Town is too small," Gu Yumian thought. "No one likes to go out. Wouldn't it be boring to live here?"
Gu Yumian was holding the little fox in his arms, the little snow leopard on his shoulders, and pushing the little Tangyuan's stroller. He walked to the door and was about to scan his fingerprint to enter when he suddenly heard a noise from the next door. Someone called out to him in surprise:
"Hey, Xiao Gu? What a coincidence, is this the house our hospital allocated to you?"
Gu Yumian looked in the direction of the voice and saw the enthusiastic, slightly chubby uncle who looked like Garfield.
"That's right, Uncle Li."
Old Li glanced at the snow-white little fox in Gu Yumian's arms, his eyes seemed to sigh. This brief glance was caught by Gu Yumian, he just hugged the little fox a little closer to his arms and said nothing.
The two chatted for a few minutes.
People who engage in scientific research may be naturally more straightforward. Gu Yumian saw that Uncle Li had a hidden agenda, and sure enough, his true intentions were revealed within a few words. Old Li scratched his head:
"Would you like to come over to my house and sit down? I'll introduce my daughter to you. You young people should have common topics. She's also a fan of yours, haha."
Lao Li's dream of becoming a son-in-law has not yet been shattered, and the young anchor is temporarily living next to his home. It is simply fate.
Gu Yumian: "..." Introduce someone?!
The little fox and the baby panda didn't feel anything yet, but the little snow leopard reacted first.
It had always been slow to react to such things, but upon meeting Gu Yumian, it became unusually perceptive. The little snow leopard stood up and sat upright on Gu Yumian's shoulder, its fur a little ruffled. Its gray-blue eyes stared coldly at Lao Li, and a low growl emanated from its throat.
Gu Yumian had no intention of finding a stepmother for the children. He thought that the little snow leopard was angry because he didn't want a stepmother, so he quickly picked up the little ancestor and rubbed his fur. He said to Lao Li:
"Don't bother, uh—we won't be staying in Uptown for long. We'll be heading back in a few days."
"Okay." Old Li felt sorry, but he didn't insist.
The two of them had nothing more to talk about. Just as Gu Yumian was about to say goodbye and go through the door, he heard Lao Li say:
"Xiao Gu, you're lucky to have arrived during this time. Do you want to go to Chaike Mountain to soak in the hot springs? It's so hard to come here, it would be a shame not to go."
Hot springs? The little fox and the baby panda twitched their ears simultaneously. The baby panda's round eyes held a hint of confusion and curiosity. Only the little snow leopard showed no particular interest.
It might still be immersed in the shock that someone wanted to introduce a girlfriend to Gu Yumian.
Girlfriend? Who's worthy?
The little snow leopard pressed its paw pad against Gu Yumian's neck and swept its long tail. It anxiously wanted him to look at itself and admit in person that Gu Yumian would not just pick a partner casually.
Gu Yumian held the little snow leopard's paw and kissed it soothingly, and whispered a promise: "I won't find a stepmother for you."
For some reason, when talking about "stepmother", Gu Yumian's mind first flashed through Shuo Han's lazy and elegant handsome face.
He also thought of Shuo Han wearing an apron and cooking for him at home, and feeding the three babies with a cold face... This associative image was a bit too shocking, and Gu Yumian quickly stopped thinking.
Speaking of which, Gu Yumian had no idea about the hot springs, but he was wondering if the kids would like it, so he habitually asked, "Chai Keshan?"
"Yes," Old Li smiled. "The hot spring estate in Chaike Mountain is only open ten days a year. It just opened the day before yesterday. My family has already been there. It's a very famous quantum hot spring, great for adults and children alike. Even many nobles travel thousands of miles to soak there."
Gu Yumian's attention was drawn to the last sentence: "Nobles? Don't they have private hot springs?"
The hot springs at Mount Chaike are quite special. They are the only quantum hot springs in the entire Capital Star. They were opened to the public at the initiative of the royal family decades ago, but of course there are different levels of access. Nobles and commoners can all go.
"A private hot spring isn't an energy quantum hot spring. What can I do?"
"Oh right... and that big star? His name is Twenty-Four or something. His family lives in the upper city, so not many people know where they are. But they go to the hot springs every year. Every year, fans travel thousands of miles to apply to soak in the hot springs just to see their idol."
These are little gossips that only the locals in Shangcheng District know, and they cannot be found online without special channels.
“…”
"Thank you, I'll think about it."
When Gu Yumian opened the door, he thought, what good day is today?
It was really an unexpected success.
Two days later, at Chaikeshan Hot Spring Resort.
It seems that the hot spring manor is really popular, and it is impossible to make a reservation directly. Fortunately, Gu Yumian is not short of money now. He recharged a large sum of money for faith and finally made an appointment two days later.
The two days he booked happened to be a weekend, so he could take the children to enjoy a comfortable hot spring bath over the weekend, and the little snow leopard would not have to rush back and forth for school.
When they arrived, Gu Yumian suspected that all the residents of the upper city were gathered here.
There were really a lot of people. This also made Gu Yumian feel relieved. Having a lot of people was a good thing, as it was easier to get information.
This villa is a resort, and the hot springs are divided into a large public pool and a small pool. The room Gu Yumian booked came with a small pool. The environment is very good, and the whole place feels like a Japanese hot spring hotel. The reception robots are all small dolls wearing kimonos.
"Mr. Gu Yumian, Gu Xuetuan, Gu Tangyuan, and Gu Baiqiu, four in total, have been successfully authenticated. We have reserved Family Room No. 3 in the Moon Area. Please follow me."
This place actually felt more like a residential area than a residential area. Each room was a separate building with its own small hot spring pool, but the houses were right next to each other. Gu Yumian and his friends had already booked the rooms on the left and right. It seemed like the one on the right was also a family vacationing. As for the one on the left...
Gu Yumian was holding the little fox and the little snow leopard, pushing Tangyuan's stroller. Just as they swiped their card and entered the house, they heard a loud noise to their left. It was loud, like someone was renovating or building a wall.
A little while later, a renovation team actually arrived, carrying ladders and tools. The team leader called Gu Yumian and the others to apologize, but was vague about the reason, saying that a guest had bitten a hole in the wall of the left house.
Gu Yumian: “???”
Did they bite a hole? What kind of family lives on the left? A demolition team?
However, the decoration was not very noisy and had nothing to do with him, so Gu Yumian didn't think much about it.
The house is neither too big nor too small, and the interior decoration of the parent-child room is very warm. There is a kotatsu and the bed is directly on the floor.
The baby panda is the least shy. After arriving in the new environment, he immediately walked around and looked around before slowly crawling to Gu Yumian to ask him to touch his belly. This was in stark contrast to the little fox who was too reserved to take a step and just huddled in Gu Yumian's arms.
The little snow leopard didn't care where it went. It lazily dozed off on Gu Yumian's shoulder.
"Okay, let's get settled, pack our bags, and have a meal... We can make a little more and then go say hello to the neighbors."
Speaking of which, Gu Yumian remembered that he hadn’t started the live broadcast today.
After the last live broadcast from the Academy of Sciences, because there were many procedures to go through for adopting the little Arctic fox and booking the hot spring manor, Gu Yumian’s live broadcast time was relatively short for two consecutive days. It really felt a bit unfair to the viewers who had been waiting there.
The response to the Academy of Sciences’ live broadcast had been extremely enthusiastic, and the effect was lasting. Gu Yumian only found out recently that screenshots of the live broadcast had been on the hot search list for most of the day. No wonder his Weibo followers had increased by nearly 10 million.
Fortunately, Gu Yumian still remembered that he was participating in a rookie competition. If he entered the top ten of this week's popularity list, he could directly advance to the top twenty.
The previous live broadcast of the Academy of Sciences was actually about to enter the top ten, but because I slacked off for two consecutive days and couldn’t continue well, now I have been surpassed by several people one after another. I still need to work harder.
Seven o'clock in the evening.
Gu Yumian made all the preparations and started the live broadcast on time.
"Hello everyone, I'm the host Gu Yumian. These are Tuantuan, Yuanyuan, and Qiuqiu from our family," Gu Yumian said, briefly introducing herself while holding the little ones' paws. A smile crossed her eyes as she watched the ever-growing number of viewers and comments.
"It's the weekend today, and I brought the kids to the hot springs at Chaike Mountain in the upper city. Now let's have dinner first—it's going to be simple, and we can have a midnight snack after soaking in the hot springs in the small pool."
Almost at the same second when the live broadcast started, thousands of viewers flocked in, and in the blink of an eye the number exceeded six digits, and barrages of comments also poured in one by one.
Home in the Mine: Mianmian is now airing!!! I told you, if you live long enough, you can wait for anything! Is it that hot spring in Mount Chaike? Looking forward to it!
Vivian: Wow, the livestreams from the past two days were too short. Will today's be just as short?! The Academy's livestreams are so incredibly popular, but instead of taking advantage of the buzz and extending them to build up popularity, they've shortened them. Please, please, stop being so indifferent to fame and fortune, okay? QAQ]
[Brown Sea 53: The last two days were short +1. So what should we eat today? And what about the hot springs? ? 5555 I happily collapsed on the sofa, hugging my laptop.]
【Green Tea Milk Flower: Newbies, check in. 】
Within five minutes, a large number of viewers poured in, reaching as many as eight million.
"I'll try to live stream a little longer today," Gu Yumian said, not expecting everyone to be so resentful of the live streams from the past two days. "Let's make something delicious tonight and have a lucky draw, okay?"
"Fuck, a lottery?!" "Okay, okay, I'll do as you say." "I didn't expect the anchor to be so doting on his fans! 555, I'm fine again!"
Of course, the parent-child room has a kitchen, but Gu Yumian doesn’t plan to make dinner complicated.
Just make takoyaki and tonkotsu ramen - you can make more ramen, and it will be a pleasure to eat a bowl of hot ramen after taking a hot spring bath.
"Okay, let's get started without further ado."
The key to tonkotsu ramen is, of course, to cook the pork bone broth until it's rich and flavorful. This synthetic pork bone was one of Gu Yumian's new discoveries from his trip to the Academy of Sciences. Gu Yumian cleaned the pork bones, added plenty of water, and brought it to a boil over high heat. Soon, a layer of scum rose to the surface.
Just as he was about to take the long spoon to skim off the residue, the baby fox held the long spoon with its two little front paws and handed it to Gu Yumian, then shyly lowered its eyes and let Gu Yumian touch its head.
"Thank you, Qiuqiu."
Ever since the very sensible little fox came to the house, everything Gu Yumian did became much easier.
Because the baby panda is too honest and does everything slowly, Gu Yumian is reluctant to let it help with things. When the little snow leopard first came, Gu Yumian had to serve him in everything. Later, he would help with some small things, but he was not as considerate as the little fox.
The little snow leopard had no expression on his face: "..."
Gu Yumian took the little snow leopard, who was obviously starting to feel sour again, into his arms and held it. Sometimes he felt like he was raising a little fox, a panda cub, and a little lemon.
Unexpectedly, the audience started to make fun of the memes, and kept posting "I'm as sour as Xuetuan".
Among so many viewers, in addition to those who came for the food and Gu Yumian himself, there are also many who simply like the atmosphere of Gu Yumian's home and the various heartwarming interactions between Gu Yumian and the children.
Gu Yumian also smiled and continued with the next step. He added two teaspoons of vinegar to the pot to enhance the flavor, then as usual, sliced or segmented the onion, ginger, and garlic, seasoned them, added two pieces of ham, and simmered over low heat, explaining:
"Ham has a naturally salty flavor, so there's no need to add salt."
After a while, the bone soup had a light but slightly thick texture, and Gu Yumian did something that the audience did not expect.
Instead of continuing to boil the soup, he used a slotted spoon to remove the ribs and ham, then unexpectedly placed the remaining bone broth in the refrigerator on a low setting. On the ancient Earth, it would have taken a day to refrigerate, but now, after setting the parameters and refrigerating for half a minute, it was enough. When he took it out again, the bone broth had transformed into a translucent jelly-like consistency.
Gu Yumian used a spoon to carefully skim off the solidified grease on the surface of the 'jelly', and then explained:
"This will separate the soup and the oil, and the final soup will be more refreshing. The less fat you consume, the better for your health..." He rubbed the belly of the little Tangyuan with some sadness. Yuanyuan couldn't get fatter.
The panda baby held Gu Yumian's hand and said bewilderedly, "Boo, boo, boo?"
The audience more or less guessed it, and immediately there was another good-natured "hahahaha" on the screen.
It didn't take long for Gu Yumian's live broadcast room to appear on the real-time popularity list on the homepage again. As the traffic began to surge on Friday, the popularity continued to rise with the help of the east wind.
He put the jelly-like soup into the pot, heated it to melt it, and when it boiled and made bubbling sounds, he actually poured in half a box of fresh milk.
The bone broth and fresh milk are evenly mixed, and the milky white and thick soup begins to steam, and soon a rich and mellow aroma fills your nose...
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