NOVPUBChapter 339 -337: I’m blind, it’s not like I’ve mistaken it.
Jinya was truly a little cotton-padded jacket when she was being considerate.
She even helped Elder Tiger tear the rabbit skin so he could slowly shred and chew on the rabbit while holding it.
When Jinya first met Elder Tiger, Little Jin had already gone to catch the third rabbit and bring it back.
Elder Tiger licked the blood and meat fragments leisurely, while the sounds of Jinya and Little Jin playing and the chatter of a few two-legged beasts talking nearby filled his ears.
There were no iron cages, no glass walls, and no metal walls, and no hard stones to painfully wear down his claws.
He stretched out his tiger paw and scratched at the grass, which was fresh and carried the scent of the earth below.
“Eh, Elder Tiger, are you going to eat grass?”
A boisterous voice rang out, “Elder Tiger, I know where the tastiest grass is. When Little Jin and I were catching rabbits, there were lots of rabbit holes over there, and a whole flock of delicious wings.”
Jinya wasn’t particularly fond of eating pheasants; their down always made him sneeze uncontrollably.
And the meat was tough, not as tender and juicy as rabbit and mouse meat.
The meat on the smaller wings might be tenderer, but there were more feathers and less meat.
After all the effort, it was hardly enough to fill his stomach.
While eating, Jinya boasted to Elder Tiger and occasionally would even sneak a bite of Little Jin’s food.
On the platform above, the two little tiger cubs watched the big cats eat with relish and hummed anxiously.
(Is this said to be a picture from 21 years ago?)
They wanted to eat too!
But Little Sen didn’t allow them to succeed.
Being new to the place, their stomachs hadn’t adapted to the local water and soil yet—it would be at least another week before that was possible.
Jinya, the mischievous auntie, grabbed the remaining half rabbit and hopped onto the railing at the edge of the first floor.
This spot was originally intended for flower pots, and a 30-centimeter-wide platform indentation was made.
But since no flower pots were placed, it had become Jinya’s favorite spot to bask in the sun and sleep.
Now, it was even better; she ate there, smacking her lips, which teased the two little tigers below to the point of nearly crying.
“Jinya, don’t tease them like that. Otherwise, when they grow up, they will bully you in return.”
No matter how tough a lynx was, could it really stand up to a tiger?
Among the big cats, the tiger was the true king of the forest.
Chen Ying came over, picked two bones with a little bit of meat off the rabbit Jinya hadn’t finished, and tossed them to the two little tigers to lick and gnaw on—to let them experience the taste of fresh blood food and also as a way to stimulate the secretion of hormones in their bodies.
Little Sen earnestly recorded their behavior.
He even installed cameras on the first floor and in the nursery room to record every move of the two little tiger cubs.
All these video records would eventually be archived and used as material for cub-rearing experiments, to be analyzed and interpreted by experts.
After gnawing on the rather small bones several times, the little tiger cubs huddled together, occasionally letting out a call as if to exclaim that the meat was delicious!
Little Jin, having finished his share, hopped onto a big tree to nap.
The spring sunshine was most comfortable, warming his body deliciously.
The rabbit that Elder Tiger hadn’t finished was thrown by Chen Ying to a spot farther away. There were other carnivorous animals that would come to clean up.
If there were any leftovers by the afternoon, he would take care of them by burying them deep in the ground.
On the fourth day of the arrival of the two little tigers, three Whistle Spirits also heard the news and came to see the excitement.
The little tigers sensed the arrival of the three panda cubs and adopted a defensive posture.
Elder Tiger, who was originally sleeping in the animal shed, also lifted his head alertly and listened with a tilted ear.
Mendun’er, leading his children closer to the protection station, smelled the tiger musk from afar, bared his teeth, and was reluctant to approach.
But the three little cubs seemed to have the fearless attitude of newborn pandas toward tigers and rushed forward even more eagerly.
Mendun’er hesitated for a moment but still followed.
He had made up his mind—if that tiger dared to harm his children, Mendun’er’s bear paws weren’t for show.
Besides, his brother Great Bai and his sister Jiaojiao were nearby; if worst came to worst, they, as a group of pandas, could take on that old tiger—just see if they were afraid!
With this support, Mendun’er casually walked into the protection station, then climbed onto a wooden rack and lay down.
Elder Tiger came out slowly, hearing the messy footsteps of the cubs, with a serious tiger face.
Chen Ying stopped Little Sen; he wanted to see how Elder Tiger would deal with the three cubs if they didn’t intervene.
On the third floor, three heads stretched out onto the balcony, watching the grass below with trepidation.
Third cub was the most cunning; it didn’t come too close, keeping about three or four meters away, barking a few times like a small dog.
Elder Tiger couldn’t see, but he had heard dogs bark in his former home, and it sounded similar yet not quite the same.
More importantly, the scent was so unfamiliar, an aroma he had never encountered before.
Big Zai squeezed over, tilted his head for a look, and bleated excitedly. n𝚘𝚟𝚙𝚞𝚋.𝚌o𝚖
“Bleat bleat, it can’t see us!”
Elder Tiger was stunned; this was something new, and the sounds were beyond his understanding.
Second cub didn’t join in the clamor with his siblings; he gave a long call, filled with perfunctory tone, then quickly climbed a tree, settled himself comfortably, and fell asleep instantly.
Did this guy sneak off to steal chickens last night?
The two little tigers strained to reach up on their hind paws, clinging to the platform railing, desperately trying to push their heads through.
Chen Ying saw Elder Tiger yawn and lay down, allowing the two panda cubs to perform their drama, and she simply opened the safety gate, letting the little tiger cub come down to join in the fun.
With the little tiger cub’s strength, it wasn’t yet skilled enough to hurt the panda cubs.
Seeing this, Mendun’er came down from the wooden rack and stood guard below the raised floor.
It also casually pulled a few carrots out of the basket on its back and stuffed them into its mouth.
Crunchy and sweet.
The two panda cubs battling the two Little Brain Tigers, this classic scene, was captured by five phones and three surveillance cameras.
Half an hour later, the rescue station’s phone rang—it was Panda Man calling, requesting to share the surveillance data.
This was a small request that Chen Ying wouldn’t deny; she even hinted to Little Sen to send the video to Little Brain Tiger’s previous keeper, while she sent the original unedited file to the Director of the Center.
The Director, who had been discussing sponsorship strategies with the marketing department staff, laughed until his face creased like a chrysanthemum upon receiving Chen Ying’s video.
“Just use this one, edit it a bit to look nice, and post it on the official account. Those people keep saying we don’t do enough, so let them take a good look at what we actually do.”
Once the direction was set, the rest was easy to sort out.
The post-2000s marketing staff had a knack for creating buzz, and the video they produced of the panda cubs and Little Brain Tigers fighting was captivating.
It made people watch it over and over, unable to decide on a comment, and yet not wanting to stop watching.
Chen Ying didn’t care for these details; he controlled the timing, and once the commotion had subsided, he set out five bowls of milk in a line. Second cub also came down from the tree, lured by the smell, and they began to feast, three on the left, two on the right!
In the middle of their meal, they suddenly heard a series of whining sounds.
The three panda cubs glanced at each other and sped up their eating.
The two Little Brain Tigers, curious, turned their heads toward the source of the sound.
From a distance, they could see a large pink blob rolling over like a meatball.
Then it crashed into a column of the raised floor, took a sharp turn, and headed straight for Little Brain Tiger’s milk bowls.
Little Sen was terrified and rushed out to intercept, throwing himself onto the pink mass and holding it tightly in his arms.
“Fu Fu’s cub, no, you can’t. The milk for Little Brain Tiger isn’t the same as yours!”
Special animals need special care; this was no laughing matter.
Old Gao was quick to act. While Little Sen was holding Fu Fu’s cub, he quickly moved the milk bowls for Little Brain Tiger to the first-floor platform and closed the two puzzled tiger cubs upstairs.
Seeing the milk bowls taken away, Fu Fu’s cub turned to look at Big Zai, Second cub, and Third cub; their bowls were so clean they’d hardly need washing.
Shining like a mirror!
Fu Fu’s cub was heartbroken and started to cry, curling up into a ball.
Elder Tiger had never encountered such a scene and felt the noise was almost frightening.
It walked into the animal shed following its nose, making sure to close the door with its tail.
In the end, Little Sen couldn’t bear to see Fu Fu’s cub upset, but the little guy was seriously overweight. Panda Man had warned several times—they really couldn’t give him extra meals.
Chen Ying had saved Fu Fu’s cub last time and had also discussed the matter with Little Sen.
While looking good was nice, health was far more important.
Fu Fu’s cub ate much but moved little, raising concerns for his heart health.
When the milk bowls were empty, Chen Ying let the two Little Brain Tigers come down.
After all, having little friends around meant Fu Fu’s cub could get more exercise.
That’s why elderly people like having children around the house. Not for any particular reason, but mainly for the liveliness.
Elder Tiger lay on the platform, appearing to sleep, but in reality, its ears were perked up, listening to the little ones’ fracas.
This was a vitality it had never felt before.
At the breeding center, life had been good. The two-legged beasts took great care of it, and there was no shortage of toys and facilities, but it lacked soul.
Now it was different. Though seemingly with nothing and with simple food, the taste of freedom was addicting.
Even though it could no longer live in the forest, this new life had its own flavors.
It had heard the two-legged beast say that once its body recovered a bit more, it would undergo surgery to regain its sight and survey the world again.
Before, it only felt irritable. But now, it wanted to take good care of its body, to eventually die in the mountains.
At noon, a phone call came in—the ordered medicinal herbs had arrived.
Chen Ying asked Old Gao to help Little Sen look after the little cubs, while he took Elder Tiger out for a walk and picked up the medicinal herbs from the Protection Station.
He called the Protection Station to tell them to get ready, as he planned to take the tiger for a stroll.
The entire Protection Station staff were excited upon receiving Chen Ying’s call; both working and off-duty members stood by, eagerly awaiting.
Elder Tiger followed Chen Ying, slowly and tentatively walking through the forest.
This feeling made the tiger want to roar out loud, to express the excitement in its heart.
Halfway through the walk, Chen Ying pressed his hand on its head.
“Elder Tiger, wait a moment, there’s an antelope ahead.”
Elder Tiger had never seen one, nor heard of one, and regretfully couldn’t see. But it slightly lifted its head to sniff the scent in the wind deeply.
Remembered now, this was the scent of an antelope. Next time it encountered one, it dreamed of a feast.
The antelope was petrified, frozen on the spot.
Even though it had never seen a tiger, the aura of a ferocious predator, at the top of the food chain, made its knees weak, almost making it kneel.
But beyond that terrifying scent was another smell that reassured it.
The antelope bolted, fleeing into the woods in the blink of an eye.
Two-legged beast, thanks, for your sacrificial act for the sheep!
