"Ansheng, don't sleep! It's time for a midnight snack! I went through a lot of trouble to get some fresh goods; all we need now is for you to get up and cook them with scallions, ginger, and pepper!"
Around five in the morning, the little fox's snout started poking at Ansheng's cheek.
"Ugh... the rebellious phase has arrived."
Ansheng, half-awake, opened his eyes to see the little fox looking thrilled, paws clinging to the bed while its snout nudged his cheek. Still groggy, Ansheng muttered something indistinctly.
The probability of being killed by a little fox in your sleep is not zero.
A young fox in its rebellious phase is quite lively, liking to play on the bed while humans sleep, performing what could be called a 'fox carrot,' leveraging its ten or so pounds, invoking a mountain-toppling effect.
But the fox has no bad intentions; it just hasn't had enough fun at night and wants someone to play with.
So... the bedsheets shouldn't be white, to prevent the fox from mistaking them for snow and going into a fox carrot frenzy.
In a foggy mindset, the fox-rearing knowledge Wang Ya had explained flashed through Ansheng's mind. But just as he was about to cuddle the soft, aromatic fox and change positions to continue sleeping,
Ansheng, as if catching onto some key word, suddenly opened his eyes wide, turned over, and stared at the excited little fox at the bed's edge, exclaiming:
"Oh no!"
"Did you just say... you brought back a midnight snack?"
"What exactly did you cut up, or did you just freshly bring it back home without cutting it up!?"
With Ansheng's combat power and the creatures in the Qinling ecosystem, images of several poisonous snakes, some toads, shrews, mountain rats, squirrels, and even giant salamanders flashed through Ansheng's mind.
"Squeak!"
Seeing Ansheng's spirited face, Ansheng jumped back onto the floor and started walking out of the dormitory. As he reached the door, he glanced back and gestured with his snout for Ansheng to follow.
The little fox, in a swift jump, landed on the wooden railing of the staircase and slid down to the first floor along the railing.
"Squeak!"
Ansheng squatted beside a fishing box, looking up at Ansheng as he walked out of the room on the second floor, then he gave a tap on the side of the fishing box, pink with a hint of purple.
"Hmm!?"
Stepping out of the room, Ansheng froze, looking incredulously at Ansheng, "These... all these bags, are they really snacks for the night?"
The midnight snack Ansheng brought home was beyond Ansheng's expectations.
An expensive-looking fishing box, two large red plastic bags from a supermarket, and a case of cola.
To ensure she wasn't hallucinating, Ansheng rubbed his eyes, but the midnight snacks beside the little fox didn't disappear; in fact, they seemed to bounce with life.
The hissing sound of the oxygen pump and the splashing from the clashing water inside the fishing box left Ansheng dumbfounded.
The little fox went out for a snack.
And he caught an oxygen pump too?
"......"
After a moment of silence, Ansheng laboriously asked Ansheng, "Ansheng... tell me honestly, did you find the fishermen failing to catch fish, and in anger, kicked someone into the stream and took their fishing box as snacks for the night?"
Ansheng has fished before; she's seen fishermen guarded by cats.
Every time the fisherman casts the line and retrieves it, if no fish bites, the cat gets very disappointed, and if an hour goes by without a catch, the cat huffs in annoyance.
"What foolish words! How could I kick someone into a ditch?"
"I usually use 502 glue on their zippers!" Ansheng rolled his eyes and continued to tap on the fishing box.
"Biting someone's bum is also not allowed! If you bite them, we'll have to pay for the rabies vaccine." Ansheng wore a peculiar expression as she descended the stairs, first glancing at what seemed like camping gear used by a fisherman for an overnight stay, but the red plastic bag contained pristine white sheets without any signs of use, soft and cotton-like to the touch.
Once in hand, you don't need a high temperature; just from the feel, you can tell it's good stuff.
Looking more puzzled, Ansheng turned her attention back to the fishing box next to the little fox.
When she opened it, there were three fish inside the half-filled box, two entirely red and shiny, looking very festive at first glance.
The other fish was grayish and speckled with black spots, with a pointed, rat-like mouth, sagging as if it were about to die.
But when Ansheng saw that fish, she sucked in a breath and exclaimed:
"Ra... Rat Grouper!? More than two pounds of Rat Grouper!"
Speaking of groupers, the most famous among them is the East Star Grouper, known for its festive colors suitable for banquets. But in terms of true delicacy, the East Star Grouper doesn't hold a candle to the Rat Grouper, known as the king of groupers for its taste.
However, due to its ugliness and hefty four-figure per pound price, it isn't as well known as the East Star Grouper.
"Ansheng... is this what you meant by big rat?" Ansheng looked at the little fox, awestruck. "A big water rat?"
"Squeak!"
Ansheng didn't answer, merely tapping a red swimming crab tied with rope in the fishing box.
At first glance, Ansheng didn't notice anything unusual about the red swimming crab until she noticed the orange hairs on its claws and legs. Then, turning over one of the four green crabs in the box, her eyes widened.
What Xia Dong referred to as the red swimming crab is actually a full-roe blue crab in the pseudo-hole blue crab family. From the top, it looks like an ordinary blue crab, but viewing from underneath, you can see the crab roe's orange-red color inside the shell.
If it's from a specific region and packaged as a gift box, the price around Mid-Autumn Festival can skyrocket to three thousand per pound.
"Ansheng, come clean, did you rob a five-star hotel?"
With eyes wide and mouth agape, Ansheng looked at the little fox.
In a landlocked city without seas, Rat Grouper...
And you didn't mention that the big rats you caught at night were Rat Grouper! I thought you'd just hunt some mountain rats.
"Where? Where's the Rat Grouper?" Ansheng turned to the little fox, but suddenly, from behind him came Mo Yiqing's inquiry.
Mo Yiqing, who should have been soundly asleep, somehow caught wind of the conversation and got up, showing a face hungry with craving as he walked out of the dorm room.
"A hero does not ask where they're from, nor does a recipe inquire about its ingredients' origins!" Ansheng said. "If you must know, then I can only benevolently deceive you!" Ansheng tapped the upper layer of the fishing box, signaling Ansheng to check it out.
After passing by Housekeeper Lin, the food was complemented with side ingredients, ready to be cooked upon return, thanks to the thoughtful Lin Bingyun.
The fox brought these things home and might face inquiries from Ansheng, so she placed a letter in the box to explain the origin of the ingredients.
With suspicious eyes, Ansheng took the waterproof bag, fished out the letter inside.
Her expression went from skeptical to stunned, with her mouth instinctively puffing up like a squirrel.
The letter contained nothing much.
Just a few simple lines.
[Mid-Autumn Festival is near. Happy holidays, Ansheng. I had the housekeeper send you some seasonal ingredients. Enjoy them as you wish! They are all carefully selected by your Auntie Lin Ying.]
"Oh wow!" Upon seeing the letter, Mo Yiqing's face showed a peculiar expression, "Seems like, your next-door neighbor is also someone surnamed Lin!"