Snake hibernation is an adaptation mechanism to nature. It can reduce metabolism, protect itself in cold environments, and store energy to the maximum extent for the next season in preparation for subsequent life activities.
The black snake found a corner and quietly began its hibernation.
The white tiger and the kitten have long been accustomed to it. She is like this every winter. According to the kitten, it is like being dead.
The two moved her deeper into the corner.
The white tiger's wounds had healed, and he and the kitten went out fishing or hunting every day, occasionally catching some small prey. Since the chimpanzees were gone, they no longer had any worries.
One day, Jiang Yue walked out of the cave and looked at the snowflakes falling from the sky. They were as big as catkins, but not as severe as last year's snowstorm.
She wrapped herself tightly in her cotton coat and exhaled a breath of cold air, which instantly condensed into small water droplets. The temperature on the mountain was more than ten degrees lower than at the foot of the mountain, which was not something that ordinary people could survive.
She looked to the side and saw the kitten curled up in the white tiger's furry arms, with only a pair of lazy eyes showing.
"You two, clean the cave entrance every day and don't let the snow block it. And then, bring us some firewood every day, and I'll give you some rice or steamed buns. How about that?"
Since they have lived with humans for a period of time, no matter how much they dislike it, they should be able to accept human food.
Now that the weather is getting colder, the water and the ground will be frozen, and it will not be easy for them to go out and find food.
Sure enough, after hearing this, the lazy eyes opened instantly, and nodded with anticipation in their eyes.
"Meow~"
Jiang Yue then entered the cave. No matter whether they turned back into human form and used branches to sweep the floor, she was now a "capitalist" who only looked at the results and not the process. She could only eat if she did her job well.
If someone came to this cave at this time, they would see two naked men/boys, one big and one small, diligently sweeping the snow...
She built a fire in the cave and cooked a large pot of dry rice, with pork, vegetables, and fish soup. On a snowy day, this meal warmed her whole body.
"Son, put more food in there. There's not even enough food to cover the bottom of the bowl. They won't have enough to eat..."
Jiang Yue saw him scooping food into the jar with a spoon, half a spoonful at a time. His hands were shaking like the canteen aunt's hands. It was full of vegetables, and the slices of meat could be counted. There were only a few pieces.
Jiang Nian lowered his eyes and snorted softly. His men kept picking and choosing, still being stingy. "I'm not full either. Just give them a couple of bites. Do you still want to eat enough?"
Jiang Yue had no choice but to let him go.
When the white tiger and the kitten saw the wolf king coming out with two jars, they shrank back instantly, their tails drooping, not daring to look directly at him.
Jiang Nian put the jar in front of them with a cold face and said in a dry tone, "After you finish eating, wash it and return it."
Without waiting for their response, he turned and went into the cave.
The kitten pounced on the jar and hugged it. Since it was cold, the food inside quickly became warm. He used his kitten paw to rummage around inside, and was immediately slapped by the white tiger.
He touched the back of his head nonchalantly, feeling extremely excited! He hadn't expected that the people inside would actually give them so much food!
It was the expensive white rice from down the mountain, dry, not watery porridge! There were also vegetables smeared with oil, and his favorite fish soup!
Although they were all cooked and there were not many pieces of meat in them, he had no right to complain about them now. It was good enough to have something to eat!
The people inside didn't give them chopsticks, and he wasn't used to using them, so he just ate with his claws.
"Look~"
It tastes better than the food cooked by the hunter’s wife!
The two of them ate half full and were very satisfied!
The kitten turned over its pink belly, leaned on the white tiger and licked its paws, looking very comfortable.
The same is true for the White Tiger.
All they had to do every day was sweep snow and gather firewood to get half their fill. Sometimes it was fish soup, sometimes pork bone soup or chicken soup, but at worst they would just eat vegetable buns or mixed flour buns. What a blissful life!
Now the mountains are covered in snow, blocking all the roads. The prey won't leave their dens, and they can't find food. So being kept as a pet is not bad. Just like when they were kept by hunters, they're even better fed!
Unfortunately, there is no way to worship the leader of the mountain. The little cat is obsessed with this matter. Only if there is a powerful leader can he not starve to death!
The kittens have forgotten that they once had a grand ambition to command humans for their well-being. They have fallen into the trap of enjoying the pie and cannot extricate themselves...
As for Jiang Yue, they actually didn't waste too much food. The two of them couldn't finish all the food in the space.
Now that she had enough firewood, she could keep the cave warm all day long. Jiang Nian no longer had to go up to the roof to sweep the snow every day like before.
It's no exaggeration to say that she even felt more comfortable here than she did back in Shuntian City. She could do whatever she wanted, taking things out of the space and enjoying them at will, without worrying about what others thought or being coveted.
If nothing unexpected happened, she even felt that she and her eldest son could live in the mountains until the world was at peace.
They spent the first snow and the New Year, which came at an unknown time, in this cave. Only when the snow melted did she bring her fat mule out to breathe the air of spring.
The white tiger was still drooling at the mule's big fat butt, but it still didn't dare to have any bad thoughts.
The little kitten had already submitted to Jiang Yue and the others, and would do whatever they were told to do without any hesitation.
Jiang Yue looked at his kitten-like face which was obviously rounder, and then looked at her eldest cub's jawline which had not changed much.
Jiang Nian knew what she meant and rubbed her head hard with his big hands.
Jiang Yue smiled and said nothing. Half a month before hibernation, she touched Jiang Nian's abdominal muscles and joked that she wouldn't like him if he gained weight. Just this one sentence led to him dragging her to run back and forth in the cave all day long to exercise...
Not only that, she wondered if it was because he'd been cooped up in the cave for too long, but his temper had recently become quite short-tempered. One day, he even got White Tiger into a fight. Although he didn't resort to any brutal force, he still managed to scare White Tiger quite a bit.
The two of them didn't dare to stay in the cave all the time. After the snow melted, they ran out every day to look for food.
And she couldn't wait to go out and get some fresh air.
Those who had entered the city and registered their new household registration, no longer refugees, were eager to go up the mountain, because they were eager to dig wild vegetables, dig grass, and look for mountain rats, anything to fill their stomachs.
As they said, once inside the city, there was no need to worry about wild animals attacking, but even finding grass to eat was difficult. No shops in the city were open anymore, and except for a few wealthy families who still had food stored, almost everyone was grazing on grass.
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