Chapter 124: Household Trifles

Old Four was brought back home by Yun Li unchanged, and to tend to the four cubs' emotions, she has only seen Leng Xiu, who is still at Ji Xuan, once.

Seeing Old Four return home still listless, Yun Li grew worried, not knowing how to make Old Four better.

"A Li, what did Silver Grandma say?"

Mu Qing walked to her side, his gaze falling on Old Four curled up on the beast‑skin blanket; unlike Yun Li, who only sees this smallest wolf cub staying indoors all day, he noticed that this cub's daily food intake is not much less than the other cubs'.

It was only because the cub eats small meals frequently that Yun Li hadn't noticed.

Yun Li relayed Silver Grandma's words to him, Mu Qing lightly patted her shoulder and comforted her, "It's fine, we'll take good care of him; he'll be fine."

"That's the only way."

But Yun Li's heart rose with the thought of learning a skill from Qu Bo; if she could master it, she wouldn't have to watch Old Four suffer helplessly.

Mu Qing did not oppose her decision; he just watched as she, for Old Four, expended great effort hunting, learning medicine, and caring for the cubs while the recuperating Leng Xiu finally returned home, and he couldn't help but hide with her in the shadows, letting her see that the "sickly" Old Four actually ate well every day.

The three‑month‑old cubs can already run around the Silver Eagle Tribe, and the three wolf cubs now, besides home, are most familiar with Xin and A Yu's place and Gong Mei's house; each day they wander around a few female households, then return biting a small bamboo basket filled with jerky, wild fruit, dried fruit, and other food.

Yun Li does not heavily curb the cubs' habit of snacking after meals; she just sees them go out with empty small bamboo baskets and return fully loaded, so she lets Mu Qing and Leng Xiao also give Xin and the others occasional homemade treats.

The first to return today was Old Three; when Yun Li saw him back, she didn't go inside, but bit the small bamboo basket and ran toward the firewood pile leaning against the side house.

She and Mu Qing followed Old Three, and saw that in a corner of the firewood pile a stone basin had appeared at some unknown time, its top covered with a tattered beast‑skin.

Old Three, upon seeing the stone basin, first sniffed around, then looked left and right in confusion, and finally bit open the beast‑skin.

The empty stone basin made the black wolf cub seem momentarily stunned, then they anxiously sniffed around, not knowing what they were looking for.

"What's she doing?"

Yun Li couldn't understand what her own Old Three was doing.

"The little female likes to hide food, and when she remembers it she comes over to check."

Mu Qing whispered to Yun Li, "But the other cubs know she hid it; they also come here from time to time looking for food."

Yun Li listened, her mind a tangled mess, "Doesn't the household already prepare food for them?"

To prevent the cubs from going hungry as they grow, since the adults at home can't notice in time, she even had Mu Qing and Leng Xiao make many bamboo baskets, placing them all over the house so that whenever they go inside they can always find tasty food in a basket.

So why this sudden habit of hiding food?

Mu Qing shook his head, "The cubs just like doing that; we ignore it when we notice."

As long as they don't get an upset stomach, Mu Qing and the others think the cubs can be free.

Yun Li wanted to say that even if they like that, there must be some count of what they eat.

But when she saw Old Three couldn't find the issue, she started dropping the unfinished jerky pieces into the stone basin, and also put the wild fruit in; yet when the fruit was placed, Yun Li saw her crush the fruit.

Being a bit fastidious, she couldn't tolerate it; would Old Three and the other cubs have to eat spoiled jerky and fruit after a while?

It seemed he saw Yun Li's thoughts, and Mu Qing explained, "We check the stone basin's contents daily; if anything is rotten or bad, we throw it away immediately."

Of course, they don't touch anything that's not rotten, because the cubs have that habit; if something is placed to eat today and disappears after they play in the afternoon, they'll choose another spot to hide food.

To prevent the cubs from hiding food in places the adults don't even know, Mu Qing and the others, when cleaning, don't discard everything; sometimes when the food is no longer edible, they have to replenish it.

Hearing that, Yun Li felt a bit relieved, but seeing the wild‑fruit juice on Old Three's mouth, she couldn't help telling Mu Qing, "Let's give Old Three a bath tonight."

Mu Qing understood that she couldn't stand the cubs coming back dirty every day; although he sympathized that the household cubs, even without bathing, need to be wiped clean with water, the females at home had spoken up, so he naturally had no objection.

"Alright, I'll boil more hot water this afternoon."

Since this one needs washing, the other few certainly can't escape.

While they were talking, Old Three had already put the beast‑skin back, crookedly and not really covering it, but Old Three seemed unaware; after feeling the food was hidden, she grabbed the small bamboo basket and walked out again.

Yun Li and Mu Qing continued standing there watching; soon, Old One and Old Two returned one after another. Old One went elsewhere, clearly his hiding spot was inside the house.

Old Two rushed straight to Old Three's hiding spot, tore off the beast‑skin, and repeatedly carried the contents back into the house.

Yun Li watched with a puzzled expression, but since she had peeked, she decided to watch the whole thing; so she followed Old Two, and saw that after he brought the jerky in, it wasn't to hide it, but rather…

She stared numbly as the three male cubs shared the jerky Old Two brought, including Old Four, whom she had previously thought "sickly"; the three cubs snatched a piece of jerky and ate it very quickly.

No wonder Old Two had to run back and forth; when they had their fill, Yun Li deliberately glanced at Old Three's stone basin.

Ugh, only one piece was left.

So ruthless! Leaving just that one piece for Old Three!

Yun Li, both laughing and crying, went to fetch jerky to replenish the stone basin, but Mu Qing had already come over with the food.

Seeing his practiced movements, she wondered how many times he had done this while she wasn't watching.

Yun Li hugged Mu Qing, nudging her head against his chest, "Thanks for the effort; the household cubs cause all these troubles, and it's all on you."

Leng Xiu, still convalescing and unable to move much, stayed inside most of the time because the heat outside hindered wound healing.

With idle time, he is now learning how to cut and make clothes.

He already knows basic sewing, as it's a necessary life skill, but the more intricate tailoring and garment making leaves him a bit clueless.

After all, when single, males often wear just a beast‑skin skirt, or drape a large piece of beast‑skin over themselves, so there's no need for such refinement.

After forming a Mate Bond, naturally one must pay a bit more attention, but that sewing skill suffices for male attire; however, Yun Li's clothing had many requirements from the start, so she often consulted Uncle Ge Li.

But Leng Xiu and the others don't want other males constantly making clothes for their females, so when they have free time, they learn to make them themselves.