Chapter 4: Daddy, Meat Meat
Xie Chong knew that crows could mimic speech, and this bird should be similar to a crow, just cuter and prettier, much like the canaries kept by those nobles.
However, Xie Chong had no interest in bandit suppression.
“Don’t be difficult, there’s no time for bandit suppression.”
After speaking, he turned and left. He was busy and didn’t have time to keep accompanying a child.
When Xie Chong wasn’t paying attention to them, Keke quietly offered Qin Wanwan advice again.
“Cub, you just tell him that those bandits robbed a merchant caravan not long ago, and the village has a lot of money. Your Daddy is a greedy penny-pincher.
Don’t look at him having the title of Great General, his underpants are practically a fishing net, and he still won’t throw them away even though they’ve been patched up into patterned underpants.”
Qin Wanwan blinked her eyes. The little one’s head didn’t quite understand what Keke meant.
So, the little one with short legs chased after her Daddy, held his long legs, and asked naively with her tender, milky voice.
“Daddy, what do you mean my underpants are like a fishing net and patched into patterned underpants?”
In that instant, Xie Chong stopped in his tracks, suspecting his secret had been discovered!
Keke felt a little guilty, lowered its head on Qin Wanwan’s shoulder, and preened its wings, pretending to be very busy, as if it hadn’t said those words.
However, Xie Chong’s expression was very calm; in reality, his fierce face was just slack.
“I don’t know, don’t ask me.”
Meeting the child’s clear and innocent gaze, Xie Chong felt a little guilty.
He had kept it so well hidden, there was no way anyone could know, let alone this little cub!
Qin Wanwan said “oh.”
“Bandits, have lots and lots of money.”
Upon hearing “money,” although Xie Chong’s expression didn’t change, his eyes lit up.
“What did you say?”
Qin Wanwan tried hard to recall Keke’s words: “Merchant caravan, was robbed, very rich.”
“How did you know?”
He sized up the little one: “I haven’t asked you yet, where are your family members?”
The little one pointed at Xie Chong: “Daddy.”
Xie Chong: …He was really stuck with her.
Or was this little cub a fool? This child didn’t seem very smart.
He’d worry about that later; he needed to find someone to investigate if a merchant caravan had really been robbed here. Silver was important.
So, he called for his subordinate and handed Qin Wanwan over to a fair-skinned, refined-looking subordinate.
“Watch her.”
After speaking, he took his men and rode away on horseback, leaving Qin Wanwan and the subordinate staring at each other.
This time, Qin Wanwan didn’t cry.
“Little one, what’s your name? My name is Shen Shu.”
Qin Wanwan’s voice was tender: “My name is Qin Wanwan.”
Shen Shu was a bit of a neat freak, and looking at Qin Wanwan’s messy hair and dirty little face made his hands itch.
Then, he took out a comb and began to comb Qin Wanwan’s hair.
Qin Wanwan was also very well-behaved, not crying or fussing, and easy to take care of.
After the dirt and grime on her face were wiped clean, a fair, tender, and delicate little face was revealed.
Her eyes were big and bright, and she was incredibly tender and cute.
Shen Shu felt his heart being struck heavily by something.
This was exactly the future child he had imagined; how could she be so beautiful and cute?
When Xie Chong returned with his men, he saw a little girl with a pretty grass-green flower wreath, her hair tied into two small pigtails, her little face clean and her lips rosy.
The delicately carved little girl was as cute and beautiful as a little elf in the mountains.
Xie Chong: How could she look so good after just a little bit of grooming?
“Ouch, whose little child is this? She looks so much like a lucky charm.”
The others were deeply moved. If their own daughters looked like this, they would give her all the best things!
Unfortunately, they didn’t have any snacks on them to give to the little one.
A group of rough men doted on the fair-skinned, soft milk ball for a while before sitting down to discuss the bandit suppression matters.
After their investigation, it was confirmed that the bandits here had indeed robbed a passing merchant caravan and had killed the people, dumping them haphazardly in that mountain hollow.
When they arrived, the stench of corpses filled the air; besides those from the merchant caravan, there were also corpses of civilians wearing coarse cloth clothes.
This group of bandits had killed quite a few people.
The General had already dispatched scouts to survey the terrain, and also sent people to surrounding villages to gather any news about the bandits.
While they were talking, Qin Wanwan was wandering around. It was almost mealtime, and because they had decided to suppress the bandits, the kitchen staff began to prepare food.
Qin Wanwan rummaged through the grass and pulled out a pair of dusty grey rabbit ears.
Keke praised enthusiastically: “My cub is the best!”
The cub proudly held its head high amidst Keke’s flattery.
The rabbit didn’t even run away from her; it let the little one’s small chubby hands grab its ears and drag it towards Xie Chong with a grunt.
“Daddy, meat meat.”
The little girl, holding the plump rabbit, came over breathlessly.
Everyone’s gaze fell on her, and they were stunned by what they saw.
Where did the little one get a rabbit from? She had only been playing around here.
“Daddy, meat meat.”
Qin Wanwan threw the rabbit to Xie Chong and looked at him eagerly.
Xie Chong weighed the rabbit in his hand. Goodness, it was at least three jin.
It was a wonder she brought it back; the rabbit had actually been quite cooperative along the way.
Qin Wanwan pointed her small hand towards the grass not far away.
“Over there.”
If you say that, everyone can’t sit still anymore. Who would eat bland, throat-scratching dry rations when there’s meat?
In their marching team, as long as they didn’t stray too far during rest, whoever found food nearby could keep it, and no one could forcibly take it. This was a rule set by the General.
During this time of marching, they had been eating dry rations until their throats were parched. On good days, they could catch some meat, but not much; mixed with wild vegetables, it was barely a hint of meatiness.
Following the direction Qin Wanwan pointed, the big men crouched low and, surprisingly, found a rabbit hole.
They were so close, yet they hadn’t discovered it. If not for the little one, how much would they have missed!
“Quick, go look for any other rabbit holes.”
“Hahaha… Grandpa is going to eat meat today!”
To be honest, the sight of these burly men with their butts sticking up, digging into rabbit holes, their expressions and actions had a slightly lewd quality.
Qin Wanwan also trotted over to join the fun.
After digging for a while, rabbits started to run out, and everyone immediately scrambled to catch them.
“Quick, quick, it’s running that way!”
“Chase it, are you guys useless, just watching it run away.”
Qin Wanwan stood under a tree, stretching her little neck to watch the commotion. Seeing them sometimes bump into each other while trying to catch rabbits, getting dizzy and cursing, she couldn’t help but chuckle.
Her laughter, tender and crisp, added to the liveliness of the scene.
Suddenly, a rabbit, in its panic, ran towards Qin Wanwan and, being quite clumsy, directly hit the tree next to her.
Qin Wanwan squatted down in surprise, her chubby little hand grabbing the rabbit’s ear, and she happily shared with her Daddy.
“Daddy, meat meat, Wanwan caught another one~”
The others who were catching rabbits pointed at each other and blamed: “Look, you guys aren’t as good at catching them as a little girl!”
