Carrying a Jurassic on me

One day, two days, three days...

Yan Fei was persistent and relentless, striving hard to kill the Pterosaur.

As a result, the Pterosaur became more and more aggressive - anyone would be agitated if they were poked with a needle several times in their sleep every day. However, the Pterosaur's ability to recover was remarkable, and any injury would mostly disappear after a day or two.

Moreover, these minor wounds were barely noticeable compared to the major scars on the Pterosaur's body. In fact, due to its growing aggressiveness, Yan Fei almost got swept by the Pterosaur's wing during one of his sneak attacks.

When the wind came, he quickly teleported off the island, and afterwards he was drenched in cold sweat. He had never tried to suddenly teleport from the island back into the house while in mid-air. But he hadn't planned on trying it anytime soon.

As the new school term was fast approaching, aside from the two rabbits he had eaten, he had only managed to stock up seven. Even though catching nine rabbits in four days wasn't too bad, Yan Fei knew that they were becoming increasingly difficult to catch.

The soybeans, corn, and sweet potatoes in the farmland were now at their most lush stage. Once the wild rabbits ran into them, they would become quite tricky to chase.

After some consideration, Yan Fei decided to sell these rabbits before the school term started.

He arrived at the beef shop a bit late that day. Fifth Brother, the owner, was smoking a cigarette and using a spade to cover the blood that had flowed from the slaughtered cows. When he turned and saw Yan Fei, he choked on his smoke.

Though the rabbit cage Yan Fei had made was sturdy, the shape was somewhat appalling. It was all twisted, and some of the sticks he'd used were rudely chopped from the island, their branches still green! Moreover, despite Yan Fei's young age and short height, the image of him carrying a large cage was particularly amusing.

After laughing, Yan Fei entered the backyard of the beef shop for the first time and discovered it was quite spacious. There were several cages against the wall, most of them empty except for a few containing some wild chickens and rabbits. There was also a small fish pond with several large carps, and yellow eels at the bottom; by the side of the rear door, a fierce-looking large watchdog was chained.

The large watchdog did not bark upon seeing people, just lying down lazily. It looked quite intimidating, but Yan Fei, who dealt with the Pterosaur daily, was not scared at all.

Yan Fei brought eight wild rabbits and one wild chicken, one rabbit and the chicken were caught the previous night. After moving them into the cages in the yard, Fifth Brother called out. Soon, a woman came out.

Yan Fei's face flushed red all of a sudden.

The woman was out in her nightgown early in the morning.

Yan Fei didn't dare to look at her face, as her long white legs caught his attention.

The woman had a pleasant voice when she spoke, "Such a young kid selling wild game? Which village are you from? I haven't seen you before."

"Cut the crap and bring out the money, **** for each rabbit. And get a bottle of drink for the kid from inside the house." The woman was interrupted by Fifth Brother before she could finish. Then he turned to Yan Fei, "Oh right, I don't know your name yet, kid. This is Sister Hong. You can find her if I'm not in the shop."

Yan Fei said to Fifth Brother first, "My name is Yan Fei."

Then he turned to the woman with the long white legs, "Hello, Sister Hong. I'm from Sancha River Town."

Sister Hong, the one with the long white legs, took out a roll of money. She then exclaimed, "Not many people are surnamed Yan. And you're from Sancha River Town, that's not close. How did you manage to carry such a big cage here?"

Then she muttered to herself, "Nine in total, twenty-five each, that's two hundred and fifty for ten, nine would be...."

Fifth Brother quickly said, "Two hundred and twenty-five, make it quick. You still have to buy groceries later!"

Yan Fei wasn't one to be easily embarrassed. He was already getting used to those long white legs and quickly said, "I took the shortcut. It wasn't too far."

Sister Hong was surprised: "Oh my, you've walked all this way with things to carry? You must be tired, and this is 203 yuan, you've really put in the effort, running around so much while you're still so young. Here's an extra five yuan for your hard work!"

Yan Fei didn't stand on ceremony, taking the money and saying, "Thank you, Fifth Sister-in-law. I need to get back now, so I'm leaving first, Fifth Brother..."

Sister Hong was still polite: "No, wait, let me get you a drink..."

Yan Fei lifted the cage and left, "No need, Sister-in-law, I should hurry back..."

Once he was outside, he felt vexed. The streets were full of people, and it was hard to find a secluded spot. He couldn't possibly go into the restroom with the cage and then come out without it, could he?

So, he carried the cage leisurely out of the city and walked all the way to the rural fields. It was only here that he found a deserted place to set the cage down.

Striding along the small path cutting through the fields, Yan Fei let his mind wander. Along the way, he took a piece of braised meat out from the cage and gnawed on it as he walked. The whole way, he was pleased: there were more than 200 yuan. Even if he paid his school fees, he would have nearly 400 yuan left in savings.

When he got home, he realized he'd screwed up: he'd forgotten it was Sunday, and his parents had brought his younger brother back home.

He was still holding half-eaten sweet potato in his hand! The meat he ate on the road was somewhat greasy, so he'd stolen a sweet potato from someone's field and was eating it raw.

The next stretch of time, for Yan Fei, amounted to this in his own words: It was a tough day, a strenuous day, a difficult day, a day worth commemorating in his struggle for freedom.

Yan Fei spent the whole morning persuading his parents to let him stay home alone to attend school. By citing numerous facts, he proved that he was doing very well in school. And by showcasing his "exceptional" academic achievements, he asked his parents, would you send me to the county to start primary school from the first grade?

At lunchtime, Yan Fei showed off his full array of culinary skills. He asked to cook himself, his knife skills were fast and astonshing, and his cooking perfumed the whole yard.

Regrettably, when Yan Fei, full of pride, set the last dish on the small table, and his younger brother Yan Chao couldn't wait to start the meal, Yanfei's mom glanced at all the dishes on the table and gave a response that Yan Fei would never have anticipated: she suddenly started crying.

Yanfei's mom sobbed while saying, "This child has to suffer so much when he's home alone. Look at these dishes he's cooked; how many times did he have to struggle before he could cook dishes like this? He must have cut his hands many times while chopping the vegetables. I said before that we shouldn't let him stay home alone..."

Yanfei's father looked embarrassed, "I thought to let him stay home for a few days, let himself have some hard days, and then he'd be willing to go, right? Isn't this also considered a form of training for the child?"

Yanfei's mom retorted, "Why don't you train yourself? Don't think I don't know when you were in junior middle school and it rained after school, it was his grandpa who carried you back."

Yanfei's father was suddenly lost for words.

In the past, there was a small alley leading out from the middle school in the town. Every time it rained heavily in summer, the drain couldn't handle it, and the road was full of water. Students had to wade home, and it was only in the last couple of years that the problem was fixed.

Speaking of it, Yanfei's father didn't inherit the genes of the Yan family blacksmith. Let's not even mention Yan Fei who is almost like a demon, his grandfather Blacksmith Yan was still hammering iron in his fifties, and he never seemed tired. Yan Fei's father, however, is a typical weak scholar with a sturdy pair of glasses.

Yanfei's mom is stronger than his dad. She's from Shanglin Village, a place known for its martial spirit. She may not look it, but she doesn't need Yanfei's dad's help to carry rice bags upstairs.

Yan Fei never expected his clever scheme would backfire. His long-anticipated "freedom" suddenly became a distant dream. He didn't yet fully understand that others might only see a person's external halo; parents, however, while proud, always observe the hardship and suffering behind it.

Even though Yan Fei was oblivious to this.

Therefore, after eating on that day, no matter how hard Yan Fei tried, he ended up compromising with his parents: there were still a few days left before the school started, he would spend a few days in the county first.