Chapter 9

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Baishuo found that having the cubs help was incredibly convenient. He didn’t need to explain what he intended to do; as long as there was enough fried meat, the cubs would follow his instructions.
Besides wheat, Baishuo also introduced the cubs to scallions. However, scallions weren’t to be picked all at once; they were a long-term seasoning. Baishuo instructed the cubs to remember where they saw the scallions and wait for him to check later. He himself had only discovered a small patch, far from enough. Turning over the entire area alone would take too long, and the leather shoes he wore didn’t fit well, tiring him quickly after walking a short distance—nothing compared to the efficiency of a group of cubs.
It was the season for wheat to ripen, and soon the cubs had gathered a modest harvest.
Baishuo only had them pick the golden-yellow wheat, leaving the green ones to be harvested in a few days. The wheat they brought back was mature, totaling about ten pounds.
In his previous life, wheat was divided into winter wheat and spring wheat. Winter wheat was sown in autumn, endured the winter, and was harvested in late spring or early summer the following year. Spring wheat was sown in spring and harvested in autumn. These two methods were used in different regions, and the seeds differed slightly.
But on the Divine Blessing Continent, plant life was unique. Due to the change in seasons compared to his previous world, many plant characteristics had altered. Almost all plants could grow and reproduce within the growing season, so this wheat could now be planted.
Unlike winter wheat, which needed to pass through winter, the wheat planted now had a shorter growth period. With about five months left in the growing season, one crop of wheat was more than feasible. Baishuo, accompanied by a group of cubs, spread the wheat ears out on a clearing in front of the tribe’s mountain to dry. The harvested wheat ears needed to be dried before threshing.
The Feather Tribe had no concept of midday meals, so this large clearing was free for their use. To prevent others from accidentally stepping on the wheat, Baishuo encircled the area with stones.
The cubs enjoyed the task immensely, even ignoring the redcap berries, searching everywhere for ripe wheat. Another reason for not picking the redcap berries was that the nearby ripe ones had already been harvested, which explained why Baishuo was able to trade for so many berries that morning. The ones the cubs saved were mostly unripe and sour.
While the other cubs searched for the second round of harvest, Baishuo went into the cave to check on Baile and the gu-gu bird eggs.
Baile was eager to go outside but had been entrusted by his brother to an important task—incubating the eggs. Afraid of damaging the gu-gu bird eggs, he barely dared to move, only daring to shake his head gently.
When Baishuo entered, he saw this very scene: a plump little bird bobbing its head, occasionally chirping in tones that swung between joy and frustration. At times, it was sad about not being able to play outside; at others, it was thinking about the delicious food for the evening.
Taking advantage of Baile’s distraction, Baishuo quietly approached from behind, bent down slowly, and scooped the chubby bird into his arms.
“Chirp!” Baile cried out in surprise.
Then, recognizing the familiar scent holding him, Baile looked up, saw Baishuo, and immediately began boasting, “Chirp chirp chirp!” He had been very obedient!
“Good boy,” Baishuo praised his brother before turning to the clutch of gu-gu bird eggs. An entire morning passed, yet not a single egg had hatched, which was odd.
Typically, eggs in the same clutch hatch around the same time; the first hatchling this morning meant the others should follow soon. Yet now, there was no sign of even a crack. Baishuo worried that incubation had been interrupted for too long, causing failure, and decided to check again.
Setting the plump bird aside, Baishuo rubbed its head: “Go play for a while.” Baile liked playing outside, and this morning’s confinement must have been stifling. Incubation didn’t require constant, unchanging warmth; the eggs needed occasional airing to regulate temperature.
After a morning in the cave, Baile was eager to return outside. Granted permission by his brother, he dashed out, chirping joyfully: “Chirp chirp chirp—I’m coming!”
Outside the cave, several cubs who had recently taken human form were practicing walking. One heard the familiar sound, stumbled, and fell with a “thud.” The small child disappeared, leaving only a bulge of animal hide behind. Soon, a furry cub crawled out of the hide, looked around, picked a direction, and ran away. However, after just a few steps, it collided with a larger furry bundle and collapsed, utterly defeated.
Inside the cave, Baishuo began inspecting the eggs. Whether the first batch of gu-gu birds would hatch successfully was crucial to the success of his breeding venture, so he was very attentive.
As Baile went out, the little gu-gu bird hiding in the corner immediately approached Baishuo’s feet, chirping and rubbing against his leg.
Watching the noticeably more developed gu-gu bird, Baishuo felt confident they could raise them successfully. These were much sturdier than most chicks he had seen.
Buoyed by the healthy little gu-gu birds, Baishuo began examining the eggs. The gu-gu bird was the first prey he was raising; failure was not an option.
He picked up an egg, held it to his ear, hoping to hear any sound inside.
“Crack—”
That familiar sound came from the egg.
“Crack—”
“Crack—”
It sounded like a switch being turned on or a call being answered. The little gu-gu birds inside almost simultaneously tapped the eggshells.
Baishuo was so surprised that he was momentarily speechless. The call from the gu-gu bird on the ground snapped him back to reality, and he quickly placed the egg on the dry grass.
Just like in the morning, the little gu-gu birds pecked at the shells rapidly. In the blink of an eye, cracks appeared all over the eggs. Some of the little birds excitedly chirped, but their voices were muffled by the shells, not as loud as the one at Baishuo’s feet.
Soon, one little gu-gu bird kicked off the shell covering its head and poked out its head.

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The second, the third…
In less than a meal’s time, over a dozen little gu-gu birds had hatched, with only two eggs remaining silent.
As Baishuo and the little birds stared at each other, Baile’s voice sounded from outside.
“Chirp chirp chirp chirp—Brother’s back—”
After playing outside for a while, Baile decided to return and continue the morning’s work, rushing into the cave with cheers. Upon entering, he saw the flock of little gu-gu birds and his eyes lit up.
“Chirp chirp chirp—”
The little gu-gu birds were so frightened they clustered tightly together, scrambling to hide behind Baishuo.
Baishuo glanced at Baile running in, then looked down at the little birds, who seemed desperate to disappear immediately, and a thought occurred to him.
The little gu-gu birds, including those still unhatched, feared the Feather Tribe. Whether adult tribe members or cubs, their presence terrified the little birds. Today was the day the eggs were supposed to hatch, but with Baile around this morning, the birds were too scared to come out. Only after Baile went outside did they eagerly hatch and emerge.
As for Baishuo, perhaps because his feather form was small and lacked the usual intimidating aura of the tribe, the little gu-gu birds mistook the surroundings for safe.
Turning back to the last two eggs, Baishuo held them to his ear again. There was no movement—most likely the incubation had failed.
He decided not to bother with the two eggs further and instead focused on taking the hatchlings out of the cave. He picked up two and told Baile to shift into human form: “Quick, change and put on your leather. Come help me move them all out.” Having so many little gu-gu birds inside risked dirtying the cave, which was the tribe’s food storage place.
“Chirp—” Baile agreed, transformed into human form, grabbed a nearby animal hide, put it on, and ran to help.
The little gu-gu birds were very frightened but reacted differently than before. The single little bird that had been scared of Baile and stayed motionless in a corner now found a group crowding behind Baishuo, desperately trying to escape Baile’s gaze.
Baile followed behind Baishuo, but the little birds circled back to the front.
Thus, a cub and a flock of little gu-gu birds played a game of “Eagle catches the chick” around Baishuo.
Baishuo: “…”
Unable to bear it, Baishuo handed the birds he was holding to Baile: “You catch these two.”
“Chirp—” The little gu-gu birds cried out mournfully.
The sound startled Baishuo. Seeing the birds struggling fiercely, he gave up on having Baile help: “Forget it, I’ll carry them myself. Le, watch here and don’t let them run wild.” It was too hard for Baile to move the little birds; better for Baishuo to make a few more trips.
Baile nodded, his eyes brightening as he watched the hiding little birds: “Brother, are we eating roasted little gu-gu birds today?”
Baishuo: “…” No wonder the birds were so scared. Who wouldn’t be afraid of this? They just hatched and were about to be eaten.
To prevent his brother from scaring the little birds when Baishuo wasn’t looking, he explained: “These are to be raised. We’ll eat them after they grow.”
Baile looked at the little birds now and then thought of the grown gu-gu birds, convinced his brother was the smartest person. When grown, the birds would provide much more meat—now there was only enough for one meal, but when raised, they could eat many times over!
Under his brother’s admiring gaze, Baishuo carried two little gu-gu birds outside. After a few steps, he sensed something was wrong and stopped to look down.
“Chirp chirp chirp—” The little gu-gu birds were gathered around his feet, affectionately rubbing against his leather shoes.
Baishuo tried walking a few steps forward, then stopped.
The little gu-gu birds followed and stopped too.
Baishuo continued walking.
The little gu-gu birds followed closely.
Well then, no need to herd or catch them; Baishuo put the two birds he was holding down as well.
Thus, without any driving or chasing, Baishuo successfully led a dozen little gu-gu birds out of the cave.
Remembering the gu-gu bird eggs belonged to the tribe—even though he had reserved them and arranged to exchange for meat tonight, coming earlier now—Baishuo decided to inform Cai Lin first.

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“Aunt Cai Lin, the little gu-gu birds have hatched. I’m taking them out now and will bring meat later.” Baishuo knew Cai Lin had doubted the eggs would hatch before and hadn’t agreed to the immediate exchange. Now that the birds had hatched, there was no need for worry.
Cai Lin was working with several elders. Hearing Baishuo’s words, she turned around and saw the flock of little gu-gu birds following his feet, so surprised she was speechless but instinctively nodded twice in agreement.
With her response, Baishuo left with the little gu-gu birds.
Baishuo had never raised little gu-gu birds before, and probably neither had anyone in the tribe, so he had to improvise using chicken-raising methods. Newly hatched birds didn’t require feeding, and even water was to be given later.
But this step-by-step following feeling was unsettling, always fearing he’d step on one. After reaching their cooking area, Baishuo asked Baile to help move a pile of stones nearby and encircled them around himself. Once finished, he stepped outside the stone ring, leaving the little birds safely inside.
Without a trail of little tails following him, Baishuo could finally do other work. First, he took five pieces of meat to Cai Lin, then returned to turn over the wheat ears and prepared fried meat for the cubs.
The cubs’ only task was gathering branches, leaving half their day free. Usually, they spent this time playing and picking ripe fruit, but today they had been searching for the plants Baishuo requested, which was more exhausting. By evening, they lacked the energy to go out again. Even though they were Feather Tribe cubs, they were still children and lacked the stamina of adults who could tirelessly forage.
It wasn’t yet mealtime, and this clearing was the only place with a fire lit. The cubs, seeing Baishuo’s movements, knew what he was preparing and hurried to surround him.
“Baishuo, are you making fried meat?”
“When will it be ready to eat?”
Baishuo brushed a layer of solidified fat onto the stone slab with chopsticks, replying it would be ready soon, then asked, “Did you pick any leafy greens?” Leafy greens were the tribe’s most abundant food, growing where the cubs often played. Like the redcap berries, the plant-picking teams usually ignored them. When the cubs were hungry and lacked other food, they would gather some greens.
Fried meat rolled in leafy greens tasted better, but their greens had been mostly eaten last night, and the remaining few were finished this morning, leaving only meat. So Baishuo instructed the cubs to gather some leafy greens.
“Picked some!” The cubs proudly presented the greens they had collected. Having tasted the fried meat earlier, they eagerly anticipated the meal upon hearing Baishuo mention greens.
Baishuo nodded and looked around, wanting to pick a reliable cub to wash the vegetables.
Although most cubs often went to the river, Baishuo was uneasy about letting them go freely; he felt it was dangerous.
After scanning around, he decided the most trustworthy was his brother, but since he wasn’t around, Baishuo asked the nearest cub, “Cai Hong, did you see where my brother went?”
“Went to find redcap berries,” Cai Hong replied.
Baishuo enjoyed various fruits, and only the redcap berries were ripe now. Baishu searched for some every day. Nearby redcap berries had been picked clean recently, so he and several cubs who weren’t here went farther to find more.
Baishu wouldn’t return soon. Baishuo looked around, ready to send two cubs to help Cai Hong, when he suddenly saw Wu Yan approaching with a leather pouch, his face lighting up. “Wu Yan, can you come help?” Because Wu Yan had saved him once, Baishuo trusted him almost as much as his brother.
Hearing Baishuo call him, Wu Yan quickened his pace. Seeing the little gu-gu birds behind Baishuo, he guessed he was to deal with them. “Kill them all?” he asked as he set down the pouch, ready to start work. This cub was very weak; surely he wouldn’t dare.
“Ah?” Baishuo was taken aback.
The little gu-gu birds clustered together, chirping desperately for help.
Hearing their cries and seeing Wu Yan eyeing the birds, Baishuo hurried to explain, “No, not these. These are to be raised.” So everyone thought he hatched them just to eat right away? Well, the ultimate goal was to eat, but definitely not now. A one-pound little gu-gu bird wasn’t much to eat; it was the grown ones that had meat.
After Baishuo’s explanation, Wu Yan remained silent, while a group of cubs sadly began to chatter.
“Baishuo, aren’t you eating little gu-gu birds today?”
“Roasted little gu-gu birds are very tasty, very fragrant.”
“Yeah, better than big gu-gu birds.”
Baishuo: “???”
Everyone shut up! Give the little gu-gu birds a chance to grow up!