The third time, the bread oven was finally a success.
Heidan happily gnawed on the freshly baked bread and biscuits.
“Sister Song, Brother, you two are amazing!”
“Now we can make our own biscuits, and Heidan can eat as many as he wants from now on!”
He was overjoyed. That very day, he slung a bag of biscuits over his shoulder and strutted off with an air of pride to show off to his little friends.
At this moment, he was undoubtedly the coolest kid in the entire brigade!
Song Wei and Lin Zhen hadn’t told him about the birthday cake they planned to make for him—it was meant to be a surprise.
Once the bread oven was ready, Song Wei went deep into the mountains to pick a lot of mulberries, intending to make jam to add sweetness to the cake.
On this trip to the mountains, she not only brought back mulberries for jam but also came across a large honeycomb filled with honey.
Since she was already there, she couldn’t possibly return empty-handed.
Besides the honey, she also brought back an injured fox.
Mindful of local taboos, she didn’t kill the fox but brought it back alive.
To be precise, she hadn’t intended to intervene at all, but the fox, dragging its injured leg, had followed her halfway. In the end, she couldn’t resist its pitiful cries and decided to take it with her.
In the courtyard, Heidan was playing with the sika deer and the silly roe deer. Meanwhile, the two wolves were lazily basking in the sun on the doorstep.
When Song Wei returned, they all rushed toward her like a swarm.
The sika deer and the silly roe deer also crowded around.
“Sister Song, what’s that in your hands?”
Song Wei was about to place the fox on the ground, but the fox, frightened by the two wolves, kept burrowing into her arms.
“Ying ying ying~”
Its cries sounded pitiful and helpless.
“So beautiful!”
The two wolves had light gray fur—majestic but not particularly eye-catching.
In contrast, the fox’s fur was a fiery red, bright and striking.
“Ugh~ but it smells.”
Beautiful as it was, it carried a strong odor.
It wasn’t just the natural fox scent; the main issue was that wild animals didn’t have the habit of bathing or cleaning themselves. It would be surprising if it didn’t smell.
Lin Zhen came out of the house, and Song Wei immediately handed him the honey and mulberries from her basket.
“I’ll take care of this fox—it’s injured.”
For specialized tasks, you had to rely on experts. Song Wei took the fox to find Doctor Ji.
Heidan immediately followed. He was now brimming with curiosity about the fox.
Along the way, they ran into some villagers who greeted her and were startled to see the fox.
“Comrade Song, did you catch that fox in the mountains? You can’t eat it—it’s a sacred animal!”
After speaking, the person quickly covered their mouth, realizing they shouldn’t promote superstitions.
“I know,” Song Wei said with a smile. “It’s injured. I think it followed me because it knew humans could help. Since it seems to be fate, I brought it back to let Doctor Ji take a look. Once it’s better, I’ll release it back into the mountains.”
Hearing this, the villager remarked, “Well, that’s one clever fox!”
All the more reason not to eat it!
However, they couldn’t help thinking Song Wei was a bit foolish. After all, foxes were carnivores. Keeping one would surely waste a lot of food.
Shaking their heads, the onlookers dispersed, muttering among themselves. Song Wei heard their whispers but didn’t respond.
In truth, even she found it a bit incredible. She was willingly giving up food for a fox.
When she arrived at Doctor Ji’s place, she was surprised to see Xie Tian there.
He didn’t seem to be there for treatment. Instead, he was busily helping Elder Ji prepare medicine.
When he saw Song Wei, he merely nodded in greeting.
Doctor Ji glanced at the fox in her arms, and his lips twitched.
“You’re asking me to treat this fox?”
“It’s just an external injury. Please bandage and treat it for me.”
Doctor Ji didn’t refuse, but since it was a wild fox, he was cautious about its wariness and the risk of being bitten during treatment.
Song Wei suddenly remembered something and told Heidan to fetch the dog muzzle from home.
Lin Zhen had made two muzzles, but the wolves had never used them.
Now, the fox was the first to benefit from it.
The fox wasn’t happy about wearing the muzzle, whining and dodging its head until Song Wei firmly held it down and strapped it on.
Its long, narrow eyes, naturally lined with dark markings, now looked at Song Wei with a pitiful and aggrieved expression. Its drooping ears and soft whimpers made it seem even more pathetic.
This fox was too good at acting pitiful.
If it didn’t smell so bad, Song Wei could understand why King Zhou of Shang might have been bewitched by a fox spirit.
With the muzzle on, Doctor Ji felt at ease handling the fox.
He trusted Song Wei to hold the fox securely.
After trimming the fur around its wound, Doctor Ji took a look and said, “It’s a bite from another wild animal. The bone is fractured. I’ll need to clean the wound, set the bone, apply medicine, and bandage it. It also needs a splint.”
“It’ll be painful. Let’s boil some anesthetic for it.”
The anesthetic was prepared by Xie Tian.
Song Wei glanced at him and asked, “What’s going on here?”
Doctor Ji looked at Xie Tian with a kindly expression.
“He has a talent for this. Xie Tian himself wanted to learn more, so I spoke with the brigade leader, and he agreed to let him study under me. It’ll be good to have an extra pair of hands in the future.”
Others had expressed interest in learning, but they lacked the aptitude for traditional medicine.
Studying traditional medicine required both talent and dedication. Without genuine interest, it was a grueling process that most couldn’t endure.
Many had started learning but gave up after just a few days. Only Xie Tian had persisted, finding traditional medicine fascinating.
Song Wei nodded at this explanation and didn’t press further.
Once the fox was force-fed the anesthetic, Elder Ji got to work.
He cleaned the wound, set the bone, applied medicine, splinted it, and bandaged it thoroughly.
As he worked, Xie Tian observed closely, and Doctor Ji explained everything in detail.
Song Wei rested her chin on her hand as she watched from the side. She couldn’t help but feel that there was a resemblance in their facial features.
Although Doctor Ji looked much older now due to past hardships, his bone structure hinted that he had been very handsome in his youth.
Once the fox’s treatment was complete, Song Wei brought it back home.
In the courtyard, she set up a nest for it using a box and old clothes, then hurried to take a bath and wash her hair. She even used insect-repellent medicine prepared by Elder Ji.
After boiling the medicine, Lin Zhen sprinkled it all over the house and yard. Heidan was scrubbed clean from head to toe before they felt reassured.
If the fox hadn’t been injured and unable to touch water, Song Wei would have scrubbed it thoroughly as well.
Two hours later, the fox woke up, just as a fresh batch of bread came out of the oven.
This time, the bread was spread with mulberry jam, and Heidan ate it with a beaming smile.
“Ying ying~”
Hearing the fox’s cry, Song Wei handed it a small piece of meat.
“Don’t move too much. If you hurt your leg again, it won’t heal properly.”
The fox buried its head and devoured the meat ravenously.
Song Wei sighed, “If it weren’t for the two hunters in this house, who could afford to keep you?”
There were already four or five meat eaters in the household. Song Wei herself was a die-hard carnivore.
Fortunately, the wolves had learned to hunt. With their growing skill, they never returned empty-handed from the mountains.
At least they were now providing for themselves.
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