Chapter 1422: The Child Who Smiled

Pulling the empty sled, Ram Boss ignored the tiny human standing not far away, galloped along the frozen-packed dirt road, and stopped in front of his little brother in a spray of snow.

Xia Qing immediately praised it with great enthusiasm, "Boss! You're amazing! This run was even faster than the last one. How can you run so fast? Did you pedal a bicycle? Let me see those mighty thighs of yours!"

Ram Boss raised its big head with the spiral horns high, shook its four strongest legs on the entire Blue Star, satisfied to hear another burst of amazed cries from its little brother. Once the sled was full, it ran even faster from home to the village entrance to dump the snow, then ran back and stood in front of its little brother.

"Boss! You're amazing. You're truly the ram who pioneered the history of evolved rams on Blue Star, a worthy companion of the Queen, a worthy boss of our territory!" Xia Qing pulled a few pieces of green lantern bamboo shoot jerky from her pocket. "Does such an amazing boss want the most delicious green lantern food?"

"Baa~~"

"Alright, Boss stays home eating bamboo shoot jerky. This run, watch me!"

Xia Qing filled a sled with snow, easily pulled it out of the yard, and before going far, saw Zhang Shi and little Ye Yiyi standing by the road. After seeing half of little Ye Yiyi's face, Xia Qing also wanted to find an idol to get herself a different eye shape.

After changing from almond eyes with double eyelids to sharp large eyes with single eyelids, the little girl's entire aura changed.

Of course, this change wasn't caused only by the change in eye shape. Ye Yiyi's gaze had lost some of its dull terror and gained a bit of clear brightness, giving Xia Qing the impression for the first time that "this child might actually survive the Calamity years."

The moment this thought arose, Xia Qing watched the brightness in little Ye Yiyi's eyes fade. She pulled the sled over to the little girl who was holding a fluffy little lamb with one hand, stopped, crouched down, and asked with a smile, "Yiyi likes watching Ram Boss pull the cart?"

Because Zhang Shi was sensing Xia Qing's emotional state and knew Xia Qing was in a good mood and patient enough to wait, she didn't speak, waiting for Ye Yiyi to communicate with Xia Qing on her own.

The two adults waited half a minute, and the big-eyed little girl still stared dully at the sled. Until Ram Boss, who had finished the bamboo shoot jerky and still didn't see its little brother bring its cart back, charged furiously out of the yard, did her gaze shift from the sled to Ram Boss, and the light returned to her eyes.

Discovering its little brother had actually abandoned the cart and crouched by the road, Ram Boss let out a bellow, pawed the ground, and charged.

Crouching, Xia Qing said in a gentle voice, "Yiyi, don't be afraid. Watch me and Ram Boss demonstrate combat for you. This is a skill you must have to survive the Calamity years."

After saying that, Xia Qing stood up and went to meet it, honestly letting Ram Boss ram her flying. She had slacked off during work and angered Ram Boss, so she deserved the beating.

Seeing Xia Qing fly up, little Ye Yiyi fearfully tightened her grip on Zhang Shi's finger. Zhang Shi, who was seriously assessing how many fractures she'd get from being rammed by Ram Boss, said softly, "Yiyi, don't be afraid. Watch your Aunt Qing's movements carefully. When you get stronger, you can play with Ram Boss."

The flying Xia Qing used her waist to flip nimbly, kicking both feet toward Ram Boss. Ram Boss leaped up and met her with its spiral horns.

The sound of ram horns colliding with human protective boots made Zhang Shi's feet ache in sympathy. When Xia Qing flew up and fell again, she grabbed Ram Boss's horns with both hands and threw it straight into the snowbank beside them, making little Ye Yiyi's big eyes grow even bigger.

Wolf Lao Er, who was catching bugs, heard the commotion and ran over quickly with a basket in its mouth. Yang Jin, who was driving a micro-tiller to shovel snow at the edge of the farmland, looked toward the abandoned village without stopping his movements.

"Baa!"

After drilling out of the snowbank, Ram Boss charged forward fiercely and rammed Xia Qing flying again. Borrowing this force, Xia Qing shot up to a branch of a nearby tree over five meters high and stomped hard.

The tree over twenty meters tall trembled violently, and the rime ice hanging on the branches broke free, fluttering down with the wind. Bathed in sunlight, every dancing ice crystal sparkled, so beautiful it defied description.

Not to mention little Ye Yiyi, even Zhang Shi was awestruck by the scene where the fierce and the gentle coexisted. This scene was deeply imprinted in her mind, replayed again and again through the remaining nearly hundred years of her life.

From then on, the cold winter gained a touch of gentleness.

"Bang!"

Seeing Xia Qing standing in the tree and not jumping down, Ram Boss charged fiercely at the trunk with its spiral horns, shaking all the rime ice off the tree. Xia Qing pretended to lose her balance and fall, dodged Ram Boss's flying headbutt, grabbed its spiral horn, and slammed it into the nearby snowbank together. She quickly stuffed a small piece of compressed ration into its mouth. "Boss, I know I was wrong. I'll go pull the cart right now."

Ram Boss chewed the ration, shook off Xia Qing's hoof, stood up majestiously, walked out of the snowbank, and shook the snow off its fur. Xia Qing jumped up after it, brushing the accumulated snow off herself.

"Snicker-snicker..."

Seeing this scene, the big-eyed little girl holding the little lamb smiled. Her laughter was air leaking from her nose and the corner of her mouth, very quiet, and blocked by her protective mask, so even Xia Qing with her sharp hearing didn't catch it. It wasn't until Ram Boss, holding the ration in its mouth, stared unhappily at little Ye Yiyi that Xia Qing saw the stiff smile on the little girl's face.

This kind of stiff, clumsy smile, unique to the Calamity years, was especially precious in the eyes of Xia Qing and Zhang Shi. This was the little girl's first smile since her father's death.

Xia Qing noticed that after Ram Boss left pulling the sled, Ye Yiyi's eyes were staring at her hand, so she handed over the half piece of compressed ration she hadn't had time to put away.

Little Ye Yiyi released her small hand gripping Zhang Shi's index finger and took the biscuit from Xia Qing's hand.

"Great job. Yiyi is the cutest human cub in our Territory Three." Xia Qing stood up, wiped the rime ice off the little girl's protective mask, and instructed Zhang Shi, "This ration has already been opened. Sister Shi, keep an eye on it. Don't let Yiyi eat it."

Little Ye Yiyi's resistance couldn't compare to Ram Boss's strong body. Xia Qing had broken the ration without disinfecting her gloves, and Ram Boss eating it was fine, but if Yiyi ate the remaining half, there would definitely be a problem.

After saying that, Xia Qing ran quickly back to the yard, took the snow shovel, and waited for Ram Boss to bring the empty cart back.

Wolf Lao Er standing at the village entrance saw Xia Qing and Ram Boss start working again, so it continued catching bugs with the basket in its mouth. When passing Shed Three, it ducked in and put the basket next to the figs. Does Ergua immediately put the grass Does Daigua had hoed down into the small basket. Wolf Lao Er nuzzled Does Ergua's head, picked up the small basket again, and headed toward the breeding greenhouse. Passing the micro-tiller, it let out a fierce roar at Yang Jin, who was on the phone.

Yang Jin, holding the micro-tiller steering wheel with one hand, nodded at the fierce wolf hound and spoke coolly, "De-Weaponization Agent is a scarce resource. The use of every single dose was decided months ago. But since Brother Wu has spoken up, no matter how hard it is, I have to get you one."

Wu Cangsong on the other end of the phone cursed inwardly while speaking a thousand words of gratitude.