Hei Dan thought the squirrel would be too frightened to return after his earlier confrontation.
But to everyone’s surprise, the little creature was bolder than expected.
While Song Wei was digging up the wild ginseng, her eyes almost crossing from staring at the tangled mass of roots, the squirrel returned.
Hei Dan stood under the tree glaring up at it, while the squirrel perched on a branch, staring right back.
Man and squirrel locked eyes, locked in a silent standoff.
Hei Dan planted his hands on his hips, furrowing his brow. Just as he was about to interrogate the squirrel on what it wanted, the creature suddenly sprang into action.
Leaping gracefully from branch to branch, it paused periodically to look back at Hei Dan and chirp insistently.
Hei Dan blinked. “Sister Song, I think the squirrel wants us to follow it.”
Song Wei, sitting cross-legged on the ground with a dazed expression, glanced up. She looked far from her usual confident self.
She’d been digging for two hours straight. Her body felt numb, and the initial thrill of finding the ginseng had long since evaporated.
Her voice was heavy with fatigue as she muttered, “I’d rather wrestle a tiger or a wild boar than deal with this.”
Drinking a sip of water, she watched as Hei Dan cheerfully approached with some nuts to feed her.
“Sister Song, why don’t we just leave the rest of the roots? Does it really matter if we break a few?”
Song Wei gritted her teeth. “Absolutely not. I’ve already put in this much effort. Giving up now would make all the time I’ve spent completely pointless.”
“Chirp! Chirp!”
The squirrel, now hopping energetically from branch to branch, chirped louder to get their attention.
Song Wei glanced at it, sighing, and placed a pile of roasted nuts under the tree. She even added a few cracked walnuts, making it easy for the squirrel to enjoy the soft, fragrant nut meat inside.
With her offering made, she rolled up her sleeves and returned to digging.
The squirrel hesitated for a long while. Though its movements were cautious, the temptation of the nuts was too great, and it eventually descended from the tree.
Snatching up a few nuts and a walnut, it bolted back up the tree without lingering.
Hei Dan huffed, unimpressed. “Who’s even trying to catch you? My coat is too precious for that.”
The squirrel, now perched safely in the branches, turned its back to them. Its fluffy tail swayed, it was holding a walnut with its two paws and prying it open with its teeth.
Because there was a crack, it was easy to pry open.
As it took a bite, its tiny eyes lit up with delight. Clearly, the flavor had won it over.
“Finally! It’s done!”
Song Wei held up the perfectly intact wild ginseng, nearly brought to tears.
It had been a grueling ordeal, far harder than hunting pheasants or boars. For someone like her, who excelled in physical labor, this precise, delicate work had been pure torture.
Hei Dan didn’t understand the significance of the ginseng but could tell it was important.
The ginseng’s root system was extraordinary. Even Song Wei, who wasn’t an expert, could tell it was valuable based on the dense “rings” marking its age.
The root itself resembled a tiny, faceless human figure, no larger than Hei Dan’s palm. Two small “arms” branched out from the sides, while its thin “legs” were crossed. The many fine tendrils below the legs made the ginseng look almost alive.
Carefully, Song Wei placed the ginseng into a small bag, which she tucked securely inside her clothes.
“Chirp! Chirp!”
Before she could savor the moment, the squirrel began chirping again, hopping animatedly to catch their attention.
“What does it want now?”
Hei Dan tilted his head. “I think it’s trying to lead us somewhere.”
He recounted the squirrel’s earlier behavior, his big black eyes shining with curiosity.
“Sister Song, this squirrel is so smart!”
Song Wei stroked her chin thoughtfully. “It’s definitely clever, too clever.”
She stretched her arms, joints popping audibly. “Alright, let’s see where it takes us. I’ve been crouched here so long, I need to stretch my legs.”
The squirrel darted ahead, periodically stopping to ensure Song Wei and Hei Dan were following. Finally, it stopped at a specific spot, jumping to the ground and chirping as if signaling them to dig.
Song Wei raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. Let’s see what it’s up to.”
With Hei Dan using a branch and Song Wei wielding a small knife, they began digging. Before long, they uncovered a hollow filled with nuts.
Song Wei: …
Hei Dan: “Wow!”
The little boy’s eyes widened in awe. “Sister Song, look at all these nuts!”
Song Wei squinted at the squirrel, trying to decipher its intentions.
Hei Dan, meanwhile, exclaimed, “Is it giving us its food stash?”
Song Wei narrowed her eyes. “I doubt it’s that generous. This squirrel is too crafty.”
Regardless of its motives, the nuts were now theirs. They began collecting the stash, marveling at how clean and organized the hollow was. A layer of pine needles at the bottom had kept the nuts dry and fresh.
“Chirp! Chirp!”
The squirrel ran over, frantically chirping and pointing to its cheeks, then at the hollow. Its bright eyes sparkled with expectation.
Song Wei suddenly understood. “Are you offering to trade your stash for my roasted nuts?”
“Chirp! Chirp!”
Song Wei smiled faintly and pulled out two handfuls of roasted nuts from her pocket.
The squirrel chirped happily and immediately began transporting its “payment.”
As Song Wei and Hei Dan continued to gather nuts, a sharp chirp pierced the air.
They turned to see another squirrel charging toward them, its fluffy tail waving aggressively.
This new squirrel was larger and brown, making it easy to distinguish from the red-tinted squirrel that had led them here.
The brown squirrel’s tiny face contorted in rage when it saw its stash being raided. Spotting the red squirrel happily munching on roasted nuts, it became even angrier and launched itself at its rival.
The two squirrels tumbled into a chaotic fight, chasing each other from tree to ground in a flurry of claws and fur.
Song Wei, the true culprit behind the stash raid, showed no guilt. Instead, she watched the fight with keen interest, thoroughly entertained.
Hei Dan, slowly piecing things together, murmured, “So… the red squirrel brought us here to rob the brown squirrel’s stash?”
His mouth fell open in disbelief.
“What a scheming little squirrel!”
What kind of hatred and grudge is this?
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