Chapter 28: The Reward for Eating Rabbit Meat

Chapter 28: The Reward of Rabbit Meat

"How is it? Is it tasty?"

Su Keke nodded vigorously while chewing.

"Delicious, it's very fragrant."

Xu Yi smiled slightly, picked up a water vine, drank some water, and then washed his hands. The snake skin still had a pungent odor, and he felt he couldn't eat anything without rinsing his hands. After washing, he tore off the other hind leg and handed it to Su Keke.

[I thought Number 1 would eat it himself. I didn't expect him to give it to our Keke.]
[Number 1 is quite a competent father, though it doesn't quite match his age.]
[Even though she isn't his biological daughter, Number 1 is very doting on Keke; he really has the makings of a father. I just wonder if he'll distance himself from her once he has his own children.]
[You guys are being way too nosy. Does this have anything to do with you?]

"The flavor is great. There's a faint smoky taste, but it's still delicious," Xu Yi said while chewing.

As he swallowed the first bite of rabbit meat, he heard the system notification.

"Ding! Consuming gray rabbit meat has improved your speed and jumping ability."

Xu Yi was a bit surprised; he hadn't expected two attributes to improve at once. However, he knew these improvements were subtle and wouldn't be immediately obvious. It was a pity his system didn't like to use data for feedback, otherwise, he could have known exactly how much he had improved. Alas, the system had a cold, aloof personality.

The meat on the two front legs was quite substantial. By the time he finished them, he was already eighty percent full.

"Dad, I can't eat any more. Can you finish the rest for me?"

Su Keke handed the remainder to Xu Yi. Since there was more meat on the hind legs, she really couldn't finish it. Xu Yi happily accepted it; he had originally intended to pull the rabbit head off to eat as well. After finishing the meat Su Keke gave him, he was completely full.

"Today has truly been a bountiful day."

"Once we finish processing the snake skins, we can sew two snake-skin satchels," Xu Yi said, glancing at the distant campfire with a smile. "Also, we can build a very simple triangular tent to keep out the rain. For that, we need to make a bone needle."

However, he didn't find any bones suitable for making needles in the rabbit legs, so he threw them into the fire to burn. Needles were essential, as was rope.

As long as he found suitable materials, Xu Yi felt they should be collected. A hundred days was over three months. It was already August; three months later would be November. They would definitely need to sew winter clothing and fur bedding. Furthermore, the more rope they had, the better, as it would be needed for many things. Weaving rope was also time-consuming, so he could use the hours before sleep to work on it. Whether thick or thin, everything could be stockpiled. Any suitable fibers encountered should be gathered.

After resting for a while, Xu Yi began tanning the rabbit hide with wood ash, as he had been too busy with the snake skins to attend to it earlier.

"Keke, shall I teach you how to read?" Xu Yi asked, sensing that Su Keke was a bit bored.

"Yes, please! There are still so many characters I don't know."

Xu Yi broke off a tree branch and cleared a patch of ground. "What characters do you already know? Can you write them?"

Xu Yi hadn't really kept track of Su Keke's academic progress, as he had been busy starting his own business and making money for the past few years.

"I can write a few. Let me show you, Dad."

Su Keke took the branch from him and wrote her own name on the ground.

[I just praised Number 1 for being a good dad, but he doesn't even know how many characters Keke can read. Haha.]
[You idiot, Keke lived in the village before. Number 1 just brought her to the big city and was preparing to send her to school; how could he know exactly what she has mastered?]
[Exactly. Stop mocking him without knowing the situation. Number 1 paid a volunteer teacher in the village to tutor Keke. They haven't spent much time together, so how could he know everything?]

Seeing the argument in the live stream, Xu Yi didn't bother to explain. He simply did what he felt needed to be done.

"I know all the numbers and can write them." Su Keke erased her name and wrote two characters on the ground. "Night, right, Dad?" she asked, turning to look at him.

"Yes, that's correct. You wrote it very well."

"Then, can you write 'evening'?"

Faced with Xu Yi's question, Su Keke shook her head. Xu Yi took the branch, wrote the character for 'evening' (bang), and added the pinyin 'bang' above it.

"b~ang~bang."

"Bang," Su Keke repeated after him.

"Evening. It means the time when the sun is about to set; you can also call it dusk." He then wrote the characters for 'dusk'.

[2333, Number 1's little classroom has started, teaching you Chinese characters.]
[So it wasn't a lie that Number 1 was a volunteer teacher; he really does have the vibe of an elementary school teacher.]
[I think I should let my son take this class; he might learn a few more characters.]

After teaching five characters, Xu Yi let Su Keke practice on her own. Teaching too much at once might be hard for her to absorb. He had only chosen five because he knew from her teacher that Su Keke had an excellent memory; otherwise, he would have stuck to two or three per night.

After rubbing the rabbit hide for nearly an hour, he took it over to the snake skin area to smoke them together. After adding some brushwood, he returned.

"Time flies, it's already past eight. Keke, keep an eye on the surroundings; I'm going to sleep for a while."

He had done a lot today and was exhausted. He needed to sleep for a bit before waking up to take over the night watch. This place was different from where they were yesterday, and he couldn't afford to sleep through the second half of the night.

"Mm-hmm, don't worry, Dad. Sleep well. I'll wake you up when it's time."

Xu Yi's watch was still with Su Keke, so she took it out and indicated she would wake him up at 12 o'clock.

Today was the fourth day. Su Keke was beginning to get used to wilderness life; she skillfully picked up her spear and became a little sentry. Xu Yi looked at her with a pang of heartache, thinking he must find a suitable place to build a permanent camp as soon as possible so they could both get decent sleep. Su Keke was still a child; sufficient sleep was vital for her to secrete enough growth hormones. Sleep was incredibly important for her.