No matter how shocked everyone was, the yak was eventually brought back.
The uncle who helped look after the herd was also stunned when he saw the yak.
Such a large animal—just processing its various internal organs alone could yield plenty of food.
So, Song Wei told Uncle Yu Wei to invite the other herders over to share the meat.
In the Nankang Brigade, game hunted on the grasslands could be handled independently.
After all, herders sometimes spent half a month or even a month away on expeditions, so it wasn’t feasible to bring back every hunted animal to the brigade.
Hasanmu was utterly astonished when he saw the yak.
“How did you manage this? Where did you find such a huge yak?”
Song Wei replied, “Near the snow leopard territory.”
That area was quite remote and considered dangerous, so herders generally avoided going there.
Although the snow leopard family was no longer around, other large carnivores still roamed the area.
The men began processing the beef, while Song Wei took some meat to find the mother snow leopard.
Since the hunt had taken place in her territory, and the ibex they had eaten last time was technically the snow leopard’s prey, it was only right to leave some for her this time.
No one objected—the prey had been hunted by Song Wei, so how she distributed it was her decision.
By now, the snow leopard was not as wary of her as before.
They had grown familiar, albeit forcedly, through Song Wei’s persistence.
The mother snow leopard lay on the ground licking her wounds. Animals living in the wild have strong natural healing abilities, and her injuries were already scabbed over.
However, she still couldn’t move too vigorously, as her wounds could easily reopen.
The mother snow leopard quickly caught the scent of the fresh beef Song Wei brought and stretched her neck eagerly in anticipation.
“Eat up. You’re in for a treat today—this is beef that even snow leopards wouldn’t dare hunt easily.”
The mother snow leopard lowered her head to sniff the meat before burying her face in it and starting to feast.
The taste of fresh beef clearly delighted her. Her ears twitched, and her entire body radiated relaxation and contentment.
The three cubs also rushed over, yelping excitedly, and plunged into the basin, grabbing pieces of meat with their small milk teeth.
Unfortunately, the yak meat was too tough and large for them. After much effort, they had only managed to leave faint tooth marks on the meat.
Their enthusiastic attempts to snatch food and their fierce yelps were full of energy, but the damage they dealt was negligible—a mere 0.5 on the scale.
In the end, Song Wei mashed the meat into a paste and placed it in a small bowl. She then picked up the three fluffy cubs and set them down beside it. The little ones huddled together, eagerly digging in.
After finishing the meat paste, they toddled over to their mother to nurse, their bellies round and full.
It was clear they were eating exceptionally well.
Although the five wolf pups had no mother’s milk to drink, they had plenty of goat’s milk to keep them full.
Little boss ate and drank alongside the five wolf pups, and they had already formed a close bond.
He blended in harmoniously with the wolf pups, who treated him as one of their own.
At this age, the little ones were bursting with energy. When they saw little boss following the humans to herd the sheep, they imitated him, charging into the flock while yelping fiercely.
However, it turned out that not all canines have herding instincts.
These five little fearless pups, with their fierce yet adorable demeanor, charged into the sheep flock. Instead of helping, they nearly got trampled by the much larger sheep.
After eating potato stew with beef brisket, Song Wei stepped out to aid her digestion and swiftly caught the little troublemakers who had charged into the sheep flock and caused chaos.
“You’re more of a hindrance than help, aren’t you?”
The five little pups were lined up and made to stand in a row, their eyes drooping pitifully as they looked at her.
Song Wei tapped one of the wolf pups on the head.
“Playing pitiful won’t work. Stand properly and reflect on your actions.”
But it was impossible for such young wolf pups to stand still for long.
After just a short while, they lay down or tried to run away.
Whenever Song Wei brought them back, they yelped loudly.
In truth, Song Wei was playing with them.
When she saw the wolf pups baring their teeth and opening their mouths, she immediately pinched their snouts shut.
The little wolf pups struggled desperately, their butts sticking up in the air.
She also flipped one of the pups onto its back, pressing its belly so it couldn’t roll over.
Yu Wei and the others watched, shaking their heads in amusement. “This isn’t training wolves—it’s just playing.”
But the wolf pups were still too young to be properly trained.
After the meal, there was still plenty of beef left.
In fact, even if they ate nothing but beef all day, they wouldn’t be able to finish it.
Without a refrigerator, the meat couldn’t be stored for long.
So, Song Wei decided to turn the remaining beef into beef jerky.
Yu Wei and the others, having enjoyed the meal, naturally came to help.
Besides, making beef jerky was something they were experts at.
After patrolling the area, everyone gathered to cut the beef into evenly sized strips. They marinated the strips in a specially prepared spicy sauce for some time before hanging them on drying racks to sun-dry.
The process would take several days, after which the meat would be steamed and sun-dried again.
The procedure was somewhat tedious, but the resulting beef jerky was truly delicious.
Given the size of the yak, the amount of jerky they would produce was quite impressive.
Of course, the hooves, head, and internal organs were preserved with salt and air-dried. For the next few days, their meals would primarily feature beef.
Song Wei was generous, ensuring that all the herders who came along at least got to enjoy some soup.
Naturally, these herders didn’t come empty-handed—they brought their own provisions.
Before leaving, Feng Tingxuan asked Yu Wei to deliver some food to his friends.
These were friends he had made during his time in the cow shed—people who had demonstrated good character under those difficult circumstances. They had been wrongly accused, reported, or sent down for special reasons rather than actual crimes.
Now that he had enough to eat, and after seeking Song Wei’s permission, he shared the extra food with them, hoping to help in whatever small way he could.
As evening approached, everyone gathered the beef jerky and placed it in clean baskets, ready to be sun-dried again the next day.
With better nutrition over the past few days, the mother snow leopard was now able to stand and move around.
That night, while no one was paying attention, the mother snow leopard left her usual resting spot, leaving her three cubs behind.
Coincidentally, Song Wei was still awake at the time. Hearing the faint cries of the snow leopard cubs, she went over and discovered that the mother was gone.
She picked up the three cubs and searched the surrounding area but found no trace of the mother snow leopard.
She stayed with the cubs for a while, playing with them until they fell asleep again. Just as Song Wei began to think the mother had abandoned her cubs and run away, the snow leopard returned in the middle of the night.
She brought back prey—though it was only a marmot.
But this meant she was capable of hunting on her own again.
Under the moonlight, the snow leopard’s eyes seemed to glow, giving her a rather eerie appearance.
“I thought you had abandoned your cubs and run away,” Song Wei remarked.
The snow leopard, still holding the dead marmot in her mouth, glanced at her three carefree cubs and settled down not too far from Song Wei to eat her prey.
The crunching sounds in the dead of night were enough to send shivers down one’s spine.
A single marmot wasn’t enough to fill the snow leopard’s stomach, but she had already eaten the meat Song Wei provided earlier, so she wasn’t particularly hungry.
The mother snow leopard patiently licked the blood off her mouth before carrying her three cubs back to their den.
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