Chapter 307
Chapter 307
There were only two bears, and they were soon shot dead.
But the villagers could not bring themselves to rejoice.
Three people had died, and five were injured.
Shen Qingzhu had come along as well and quickly treated the wounded.
Some had broken bones that needed to be set.
Milk Tea and the other eagles continued their patrol.
“Thank you. Thank you, my lords.”
The village chief led the villagers in kowtowing to Ji Yan’an and his men.
Ji Yan’an said, “There is no need.”
“Apart from the gallbladders, you may dispose of the two bears as you see fit.”
Bear gall was valuable medicine, and Shen Qingzhu would never complain of having too much.
They treated the injured without charging anything. As for the dead, the villagers would have to see to them themselves.
After taking the gallbladders from the two bears, Ji Yan’an left with Jiang Yunsui and the others to continue their work.
Several days later, they encountered another large sounder of wild boars and swiftly shot them dead as well.
After that, there were essentially no more wild-animal attacks.
They returned to the estate, stayed for only one day, and then left.
The people Ji Yan’an had sent to inspect other areas also returned one after another.
Some places had seen no trouble, but wild beasts had entered other villages in search of food.
Fortunately, Mobei might lack many things, but soldiers were not among them.
The wild beasts were all killed.
Most of the carcasses were brought back to provide the military camp with an extra meal.
One day, Ji Yan’an returned from outside carrying a basket.
He dismounted, and Jiang Yunsui came bouncing over.
“Ji Yan’an, want some mushrooms?”
She held up the mushrooms in her hand.
Then she suddenly frowned and stepped back a little.
“Wait, why am I getting shorter? I used to come up to here on your arm.”
She pointed to a spot above Ji Yan’an’s elbow.
Now, she only reached the bend of his elbow.
What was going on? How could she grow shorter as she got older?
Ji Yan’an said, “Idiot.”
Jiang Yunsui puffed up angrily. “Nonsense! I’m so smart!”
Little Mushroom refused to accept that insult.
Ji Yan’an did not bother explaining and simply shoved the basket into her arms.
Nanshu chuckled. “Did you not notice that the Young Master has grown taller? Who grows shorter with age? If that is not silly, what is?”
Jiang Yunsui: …
Oh. Right.
“No, wait. What have you been eating to grow so fast?”
“I eat the same things you do, so why am I not growing?”
The little girl followed behind Ji Yan’an, chattering away, her every word full of indignation.
“Chirp, chirp…”
Suddenly, the basket in her hands moved.
Jiang Yunsui blinked and looked down.
She lifted the cloth covering the basket, and her eyes widened when she saw what was inside.
“Wow!”
It was a white kitten with black, cloud-shaped rings across its body!
Tiny, fluffy, and baby-soft.
“It’s a snow leopard cub!”
Jiang Yunsui’s eyes lit up brilliantly.
Apart from dogs, all the animals at home had feathers.
There was a Black Cat, but it was rather wild and proud. It was difficult to pet and refused to be held.
Besides, that cat was already fully grown. It was graceful and beautiful, but not nearly as fun as a cub.
And this was a snow leopard cub. Once grown, it would become one enormous fluffy bundle, both magnificent and adorable.
Jiang Yunsui immediately forgot all about her height and chased after Ji Yan’an, asking where the cub had come from.
Ji Yan’an said, “Chiliarch Lin brought it. The cub had been abandoned. He thought you would like it, so he brought it back.”
Jiang Yunsui instantly beamed.
“I do! I love it!”
“Is it hungry?”
The little creature was terribly thin.
“I’m going to find Fat Chef.”
With that, she abandoned Ji Yan’an and scampered away.
Sheep’s milk was best for feeding young animals. The military camp kept sheep, including plenty of ewes nursing lambs.
Getting milk for the little snow leopard was therefore no trouble.
The cub was probably famished. It put its whole body into drinking, making all its fur tremble.
“It’s so tiny.”
Ji Yang gazed tenderly at the little snow leopard.
“Will something this small really grow so big?”
No child could resist such a tiny ball of fluff.
Jiang Yunsui patted her chest and promised, “Of course! I’ve seen an adult snow leopard before.”
Though that had been in her previous life.
The two children gathered around to watch the cub eat. Whenever its entire head sank into the bowl of milk, they hurriedly lifted it a little by the scruff of its neck.
Once it was full, they used a clean towel to wipe the spilled sheep’s milk from its body.
“Its little belly is so round.”
“Come on. Let’s find Zuozuo and Youyou.”
Ji Yang did not understand. “Why?”
Jiang Yunsui wore the look of a seasoned expert.
“Animals this small can’t poop on their own yet. Zuozuo and Youyou need to lick its tummy and bottom to help it go.”
Ji Yang exclaimed, “You have to do that too?”
Zuozuo and Youyou were very caring dogs. Youyou in particular had experience helping his own pups relieve themselves and handled the task with ease.
The little snow leopard’s cries sounded a little like a bird’s.
Huohuo, Milk Tea, and the others all crowded around curiously to look.
For now, the little snow leopard was the youngest animal in the household.
Jiang Yunsui’s animals all liked it very much.
Once it had eaten and relieved itself, it fell asleep.
It loved Jiang Yunsui’s scent. Even though its soft little legs could barely hold it up, it still stumbled toward her.
It let out soft, high-pitched cries as it ran.
The sight made both Jiang Yunsui’s and Ji Yang’s hearts melt.
At dinnertime, Jiang Yunsui and Ji Yang took the cub to show the Ji women, so everyone in the family would know about it.
An adult snow leopard would have frightened everyone, but the women rather liked this tiny, soft little scrap of a creature.
The only exception was, predictably, the ever-disagreeable Second Aunt.
When everyone else was delighted, she had to remark, “One who becomes obsessed with playthings loses all ambition.”
“And it is still a wild beast. Even if it is small, it is dangerous. How can you raise it personally and keep it by your side?”
Jiang Yunsui rolled her eyes.
The smile on Ji Yang’s face froze as well.
Old Madam Ji glanced at Second Aunt. “Everyone, sit down and eat. If Yunsui and Yangyang want to raise it, they may. There is no need to consider anyone else’s opinion.”
With that, everyone sat down to eat and ignored whatever Second Aunt had to say.
Once the spring planting ended, the weather grew warmer.
Ji Yan’an became even busier.
Almost the entire north was now under his control.
That left him with an extraordinary number of matters to handle.
He had to keep abreast of Yelü Can and the Barbarians. The drought in Henan had not eased; instead, it had worsened.
The neighboring province had not seen a single drop of rain since the beginning of spring and appeared to be heading toward drought as well.
Of course, the south had no shortage of disasters either.
Flooding had struck the southern reaches near the Yellow River basin. Because of official inaction, the previously constructed embankments were shoddy work through and through, making the damage even worse.
Worse still, epidemics generally followed floods.
Ji Yan’an was so busy he spun like a top.
His body, which had gradually grown healthy after the poison was cured, had become thin again from overwork.
“Ji Yan’an, you’ve lost so much hair!”
One morning, Jiang Yunsui went to find Ji Yan’an just as Nanshu was arranging his hair.
Her startled cry jolted Ji Yan’an out of his contemplation over a document. He turned and saw the fallen hair in Nanshu’s hand.
Ji Yan’an’s eyes nearly popped out of his head!