Chapter 191 - 85: Do You Want to Become Light? (Happy New Year!)
After returning home, the scene inside the cave was far from as bad as Chen Zhou had imagined.
There were no cat feces or urine on the floor, only some chewed-up dried fish and fragments of small animal bodies.
Tizi was not at home, possibly out hunting.
Only Xiao Huihui was left sleeping soundly alone in the storage room — even without the "big sister" around, it cautiously restricted its activity range, not daring to step even a half-step beyond its boundaries.
The surface of the bedding on the bed was covered with another layer of sand, besides which there was an oval-shaped indentation left by a cat curled up therein.
The hay in the Little Dragon Cat box hadn't been eaten completely, while fresh grass was mostly gone, accumulating quite a bit of feces.
After putting down the collected plants, Chen Zhou started a fire and cleaned the house briefly, then took an oil lamp to check the fields outside.
It didn't matter if he hadn't looked, but once he did, the little good mood from the pets being considerate vanished instantly.
Several stalks at the field's edge, which had just flowered not long ago and were nurturing rice grains, were bitten off from the roots by rabbits.
Moreover, these hateful creatures not only ate the rice ears but also left several piles of pitch-black droppings at the field's edge, stepping with footprints as if deliberately provoking.
After nearly four months of hard work caring for it, just when it seemed about to yield, such losses were suffered.
Thinking further that during the initial stage of agriculture, the seeds formed from these mature stalks could produce more grain in the next round of planting, having more significant importance in the snowball process, Chen Zhou's hatred towards the rabbits immediately reached its peak.
"Damn it, these bucktoothed bastards don't respect me at all.
Apparently, I haven't set enough traps these days; I should never show them a friendly face.
Just wait, once this earthquake is over, and time is on my side, I'll play with you properly."
Adjusting the scarecrows at the field's edge containing sheep skulls and bare rabbit fur poles, Chen Zhou's gaze traveled around the field edges.
He was determined to plant "rabbit flags" along the field's front edges to pay tribute to these tragically deceased stalks.
He tenderly collected the withered drooping stalks, holding the lamp, and counted through the crops in the field.
The rabbits wreaked havoc on a total of 23 stalks of rice, excluding two inexplicably dead plants, leaving 103 full-bloomed rice stalks still in the field.
Barley and wheat, growing slower, hadn't yet attracted enough attention from the wild rabbits and luckily escaped unscathed, with over eighty plants all surviving.
Placed the rice stalks at the kitchen door.
After eating, Chen Zhou tied Lai Fu at the field edge to guard overnight, while he, filled with thoughts of "rabbit eradication plans," went back indoors to sleep.
...
On the 26th, the temperature was exceptionally high.
The cave, typically lacking sunlight, was uncharacteristically hot inside.
Covered with a seal fur blanket, Chen Zhou slept in until late morning; he wanted to lie a bit longer but couldn't stand the steadily rising heat, climbing out of bed lazily.
Washing his face with cold water cleared his mind, he walked out of the kitchen and stretched, enjoying a brief moment of the outdoor breeze.
Just about to go back inside to start a fire and cook, he heard Lai Fu barking by the field.
Ever since the rainy season began, it hadn't been tethered out all night for quite some time.
That morning, with Chen Zhou sleeping in, Lai Fu had an empty belly and was eager for breakfast but couldn't escape the rope; finally hearing the owner wake up, it impatiently barked loudly, reminding him of its presence.
Scratching his head, he unhurriedly went down the platform to untie Lai Fu.
At the field edge, Chen Zhou saw Tizi returning from the hunt.
In the few days unseen, Tizi's fur had become even more vibrant, and a thin layer of fur grew at spots once pressed by the rope.
Rather than ugly, it added a touch of ferocity to its appearance.
It hung its head low, holding a small rabbit in its mouth.
The rabbit's neck had already been bitten off, its body limp, the lower half dragging on the ground alongside Tizi, stirring loose dirt.
Upon seeing Chen Zhou, instead of approaching immediately, Tizi cautiously backed up two steps, bypassing him and Lai Fu, continuing towards the cave.
Knowing that wild animals, even if tamed, do not quickly trust humans completely, Chen Zhou didn't disturb Tizi.
As long as it treats the cave as its home, staying nearby to catch mice and rabbits, and deter birds, it's already of the greatest help to the household, with no more demands needed.
...
Waking late, everything is delayed.
By the time Chen Zhou finished attending to house chores and reached the beach, it was already past noon, the sun hanging slantingly in the sky, its heat at its peak.
From afar, he could see the heat distorting the view above the beach, making scattered planks and stones appear warped.
In the center of the circled rewards point, a huge black package lay on the sand, larger than the packages from the Divine Artifact last time.
Stepping over the collapsed outer wall, touching the package, Chen Zhou let out a gasp, quickly retracting his hand.
Black naturally absorbs heat, and having baked all morning on the open, unobstructed beach, it felt considerably hot to the touch, seemingly around seventy degrees.
Taking a piece of canvas from his bosom to cushion, he grabbed a corner of the package and carried it to the seaside forest, under the shade, he cut open the package.
While walking with the package, he didn't hear any metal clashing sounds from within, suggesting there were no hard objects inside.
Initially, he suspected the reward was something commonly found on Pinduoduo like bed sets or clothing.
But he felt the whole package was too heavy, much heavier than fabrics of the same volume.
This sparked some curiosity, making him eagerly wish to know what exactly was inside the package.