Han Qiwu, who was patting off the dust, suddenly paused.
"????"
The harvest is several tis less than yesterday, and you’re still particularly happy?
Fullness 80!
If it all ended up in your belly, of course you’d be happy!
Next ti, I’ll make sure you’re full before letting you out.
"Little Prince, didn’t get much today, huh? You’ve really worked hard." Han Qiwu, knowing the Little Prince could understand him, said with a smile.
"Roar, roar!" The Little Prince pouted and nodded, clutching his tummy while his bear face showed a pitifully weak and hungry expression.
"So... do you want so honey? Like this." Han Qiwu continued smiling, casually heading to the kitchen and grabbing a jar of honey.
Look at this guy. Trying to put on an act? With your bear face? Giving up your honest bear deanor to aim for an Oscar?
"Roar! Roar!"
The Little Prince’s eyes lit up when he saw the honey. He quickly stuck out his tongue, eager to taste it.
"You want so, huh?" Han Qiwu teased knowingly.
"Roar!"
"No way!" Han Qiwu grabbed the Little Prince’s arm and led him toward a small tree. "No playing today. You’re learning to chop wood with !"
"Awooo!"
The Little Prince’s cry was filled with grievance.
I’m just a kid, why are you doing this to ?
"Had a great ti eating outside today, huh? But as a bear, after you’ve eaten your fill, you gotta digest it. Otherwise, you’ll turn into a chubby lump of fat, like a big fat pig, only to be slaughtered and eaten." Han Qiwu patiently explained. He didn’t mind the Little Prince foraging while outside—after all, it was natural and abundant. Eating a bit more was perfectly normal.
But when you’re full and back ho, you’ve got to pitch in, you know?
You can’t spoil kids; they need discipline and exercise.
Otherwise, how would you get strong?
Besides...
There’s still no progress on the wood for the cattle barn.
If he doesn’t contribute, how can the Little Prince shalessly drink milk later?
Little Prince: "Of course I could! Super shalessly! I’d love nothing more than to just lie around drinking milk!"
"Awoo, awooo."
The Little Prince kept flapping his mouth in protest, shaking his head, staring longingly at the honey in Han Qiwu’s hand.
Han Qiwu figured it was ti to unleash his ultimate weapon!
He took out his phone, logged onto a video site, searched for pig slaughtering videos, sorted them by popularity, played the top one, and cranked up the volu.
Mission accomplished.
"Snort snort snort..."
"Splat."
"Awoo..."
Half a minute later, the Little Prince stood frozen on the spot, even forgetting to close his gaping mouth.
Humans...
Are they... really this brutal...?
So if you get fat... you’ll get your neck stabbed...?
Seeing that the effect was solid, Han Qiwu turned off the phone and spoke earnestly, "Got it now, Little Prince? This is for your own good. Train more, and I promise no one will dare stab you! How about this—stay here and learn properly, and I’ll give you two plates of honey!"
The Little Prince thought for a mont and held up five fingers.
"Ha! You’re bargaining with as soon as you snap out of it?" Han Qiwu laughed out of exasperation.
"Three plates. Take it or leave it. Otherwise, I’ll chop the trees by myself!" Han Qiwu turned his back, ax in hand, and started chopping.
"Roar, roar, roar!" The Little Prince nodded hurriedly and obediently sat down next to Han Qiwu, watching him chop wood with full concentration.
A little while later, a system notification popped up.
[Your pet Little Prince is earnestly learning lumberjacking.]
Han Qiwu: "... Earnestly learning? So without food, that’s a no-go, huh?"
The wood-chopping lesson lasted a full hour. By the end, the Little Prince was slumped on the ground, his eyes spinning in circles, clearly half-asleep.
Over here, Han Qiwu was drenched in sweat from chopping, while over there, the bear was getting sleepy.
Han Qiwu really felt like shoving the ax into the Little Prince’s paws to let him try, but on second thought, until the system confird the Little Prince had successfully learned, it wasn’t quite safe to hand over the ax.
What if he hurt himself?
"Alright, from now on, you’ll practice chopping wood with every day until you learn!" As Han Qiwu spoke, he lifted a foot to nudge the Little Prince. Before he could make contact, the bear jumped up and pointed straight at his mouth.
"Awooo!"
You’re actually giving a *hungry bear roar*?
Han Qiwu walked into the kitchen and poured out one plate of honey.
Then he carefully divided its contents into three separate plates.
No tricks here—three plates of honey!
Holding the three plates, Han Qiwu walked back out.
"Here you go, eat."
The Little Prince lit up with joy when he saw the three plates. He ran over and began feasting with his head buried in the plates.
As he ate, though, he started feeling that sothing was off. He lifted his head to stare at Han Qiwu.
Sothing’s not right. Why does this "three plates" feel less satisfying than just one plate?
"Next ti you doze off during training, you won’t even get one plate of honey! Tomorrow, it depends on how you perform—behave well, and you get five plates! Now, go to bed." Han Qiwu said with a cheerful smile.
"Roar!"
Though the Little Prince didn’t quite figure out what had just happened, he did hear sothing about five plates of honey tomorrow.
That was more than enough to make him happy.
Full and content, the Little Prince shuffled off into his den. Before long, the sound of snoring filled the small courtyard.
This silly bear sure knows how to live the good life.
The bear’s stomach was full, but the man was still hungry.
Of course, that was part of Han Qiwu’s plan—if he didn’t trick the Little Prince into sleeping, there’d be no peace while enjoying a hotpot feast of fish tonight.
Bears not only love honey; they also have a thing for fish!
In the kitchen, Han Qiwu began preparing a tangy and spicy broth with lemon, dried chili, fresh chili peppers, and beef tallow, tossing in bean curd skin, rice noodles, enoki mushrooms, and fried tofu to simr.
Then he sliced stone fish and Chinese Perch into thin fillets, removing the bones and leaving only the tender at.
When the broth began to bubble, he dropped the fish fillets in, simred them for several seconds, turned off the heat, and served.
The fish, slightly curled from the boiling broth, had absorbed all the flavors. With one bite, the crispy and refreshing texture of the Chinese perch was truly irresistible, so different from the stewed fish. It was crunchy and tender at the sa ti.
Then ca the stone fish. One bite, and Han Qiwu’s eyebrows shot up in delight.
Silky, tender, tangy, and spicy, with an aftertaste of a smoky aroma. It was reminiscent of cured at but subtler, leaving a lingering mouthwatering hint.
The stone fish’s description hadn’t lied!
Truly a rare delicacy.
When he finished most of the fish, Han Qiwu polished off the rest of the ingredients. After soaking in the fishy essence, these additions had developed an even richer flavor.
Full and satisfied, Han Qiwu felt his strength returning.
After a short rest, he went back to chopping wood.
The batch of random saplings he planted a few days ago had started to sprout, and the barren land was gradually filling with trees.
"Once I have the funds, I’ll just buy lumber from the traveling rchant. Chopping wood every day is way too exhausting." Han Qiwu sighed.
Would Master Shuzi be able to craft a chainsaw?
The kind that spins and spits sparks with a "zzzzz" sound.
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