As Hei Dan turned around, he was greeted by a scene that made his eyebrows shoot up in anger.
The nuts he had painstakingly shelled for Song Wei were now being stuffed into the mouth of a squirrel with remarkable speed.
The little creature’s paws moved swiftly, and it occasionally glanced up at Hei Dan, as if checking if it had been caught.
When their eyes finally met, the squirrel didn’t panic. Instead, it doubled its efforts, cramming the last bits of the nuts into its already bulging cheeks before pausing smugly.
Hei Dan was furious. “You little thief! Stop right there!” he shouted, lunging toward it.
The squirrel effortlessly dodged and scampered up a tree, chittering as it climbed.
Hearing Hei Dan’s yell, Song Wei stopped her work and turned to look. She immediately spotted the squirrel.
Song Wei: …It looks awfully familiar.
“Sister Song! This is too much! That squirrel stole all the nuts I shelled for you. It’s a thief!” Hei Dan pointed an accusing finger at the furry culprit.
“Chirp!” The squirrel stared down at them from its perch, its eyes particularly focused on Song Wei, with an expression that almost seemed accusatory.
Song Wei sighed. Yep, it’s the same squirrel I raided before.
“Ahem…” Song Wei awkwardly patted Hei Dan on the head. “It’s fine. I don’t really need to eat them.”
“But it can’t just steal our nuts like that!” Hei Dan pouted, still fuming.
“Actually,” Song Wei admitted, “those nuts were originally from its stash. I took them first.”
Hei Dan: …
He froze for two seconds. “What do you mean by that?”
Song Wei chuckled and explained how she had previously raided the squirrel’s food stash.
“It’s probably the same squirrel. Looks like it still remembers me. So, let it have the nuts. Consider it a peace offering.”
Hei Dan’s expression turned conflicted. “Will it starve because we took its food?”
He wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea, though he wouldn’t say Song Wei was wrong. After all, Big Sister Song hadn’t killed the squirrel, unlike the pheasants they had just caught, which were destined for the pot.
Song Wei reassured him that squirrels have multiple stashes of food. Losing one or even three wouldn’t hurt it.
Hei Dan nodded thoughtfully. “Squirrels are amazing! If I could hide food like that, I’d never go hungry.”
Then, with a mischievous glint in his eye, Hei Dan suggested, “Sister Song, can you find its other food stash? We could raid a few more.”
Song Wei glanced at the squirrel, smirking. “I doubt we’ll find any more, and besides, I have more important things to do. Let’s leave it alone for now.”
Hei Dan let the matter drop. He returned to shelling more nuts, determined to make up for what had been taken.
Meanwhile, Song Wei resumed digging for the wild ginseng. The plant’s root system was extensive, with numerous fine tendrils. She couldn’t help but grumble a little before setting her annoyance aside and patiently continuing her careful work.
Her past experiences had taught her never to waste anything valuable—especially food and medicinal herbs. In a world where resources were scarce, these items were more precious than gold.
This wild ginseng was no exception. Every piece, every tendril had its value.
As Song Wei worked, the squirrel returned.
It perched on a nearby tree, watching Hei Dan with its shiny, beady eyes.
Once again, it began tossing small snowballs at Hei Dan.
Hei Dan looked up, his small face turned red with frustration as he scanned the branches. His sharp eyes caught sight of a bushy tail that wasn’t entirely hidden.
Hands on his hips, he shouted, “Don’t push your luck!”
Song Wei glanced over at the commotion. The sight of the squirrel throwing snowballs at Hei Dan made her raise an eyebrow.
Was this little critter addicted to the roasted nuts?
“If you keep this up, I’ll use my slingshot!” Hei Dan warned, though he didn’t follow through.
Undeterred, the squirrel continued its snowball assault.
Hei Dan: …
Finally losing his temper, Hei Dan grabbed his slingshot and some snowballs, attempting to retaliate. However, his aim was poor, and the squirrel easily dodged, chittering mockingly from above.
Seeing the two of them “playing,” Song Wei decided not to intervene.
Hei Dan eventually came up with a plan. He placed a small pile of roasted nuts off to the side and deliberately ignored the squirrel’s antics.
The squirrel hesitated, its attention drawn to the pile of nuts.
After a moment of cautious observation, it scurried down the tree, moving a few steps at a time while keeping a wary eye on Hei Dan.
When it reached the nuts, it began stuffing its cheeks at lightning speed.
Just as the squirrel was fully engrossed, Hei Dan leapt into action, pulling his coat wide as he pounced.
“I got you!”
“Chirp! Chirp!”
The squirrel screeched in panic, wriggling and clawing to escape. It nearly managed to slip through the collar of Hei Dan’s coat.
Realizing its claws and teeth were sharp, Hei Dan panicked and shoved a handful of nuts at it. “Stop struggling! These are for you!”
But the squirrel, too frightened to care, finally wriggled free and darted up a tree, disappearing from sight.
Hei Dan looked down at his coat, which now sported a few tears with tufts of cotton poking out. He was devastated.
“This was my new coat…” he mumbled, his voice trembling.
Tearing up, Hei Dan trudged over to Song Wei. “Sister Song, I ruined my coat.”
Song Wei inspected the damage. The tears were small, but the inner cotton was exposed. More importantly, she checked Hei Dan’s hands and arms for injuries.
“Did it scratch you?”
Hei Dan shook his head, sniffling. “No, but my coat is ruined.”
“If you’re not hurt, that’s all that matters,” Song Wei comforted him. “We’ll patch the coat when we get back.”
“But it’s my new coat…” Hei Dan’s voice wavered. To him, a patched coat was no longer “new.”
After a moment of thought, Song Wei suggested, “You know Bai Zhiqing, right? She’s good at embroidery. How about we ask her to sew a fierce little tiger over the patch? Would you like that?”
Hei Dan’s eyes brightened, a flicker of excitement replacing his gloom. “Can I have a wolf cub instead? Like the ones at home!”
“Of course. I’ll ask her once we get back.”
She knew that Bai Yunjiao could embroider because of the bellyband incident. The bellyband was made by Bai Yunjiao herself, as was the embroidery on it. It should be no problem for her to ask Bai Yunjiao for help, though she’d prepare a thank-you gift in return.
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