Chapter 102: Large Ribs, Small Ribs, and Steak, Kill Them!

After emerging from the cave, Zhou Siyuan searched the room thoroughly and found several cans of meat along with several rice bags that had been completely gnawed empty. It appeared the cows had devoured them, and bite marks were even visible on the shells of the cans.

Zhou Siyuan frowned, displeased. Ming Dai comforted him, gathered the cans, and invited him to show her the other rooms in the cave. Zhou Siyuan led her through every chamber.

In total, there were more than thirty rooms, none particularly large in appearance. Yet excavating such a vast space deep within the mountains had clearly required enormous human effort.

Ming Dai noticed gnawing marks on tables and chairs as well. The cows had clearly gone mad with hunger.

Water stains marked the ground. Following the trail, they reached another exit, which was likewise blocked. Much like the rear entrance, some unknown force had caused a collapse. Trees that had grown back blocked the way tightly.

A twisted-neck tree leaned inward at a slant, its roots clinging to rocks where traces of moss once grew—now entirely devoured. The tree had not only shed its branches but had its bark stripped bare. Even the stones bore clear bite marks.

It must have been the tree, the dry moss, and the damp cracks in the rocks that had sustained the cows until their arrival.

Ming Dai led Zhou Siyuan back. Halfway there, she remembered something.

During this period, people from Sakura Country had stolen many treasures and cultural relics from China. Anything not removed in time was hidden away in the mountains.

Ming Dai decided to use her spatial ability to scout the area. They walked the length of the cave without finding anything.

This was impossible!

Ming Dai thought for a moment, then asked Zhou Siyuan to carry her outside. They circled the perimeter of the cave.

Indeed, beneath a slope some distance from the entrance, they detected movement. Large boxes buried five or six meters deep in the earth filled Ming Dai with sudden fury.

These thieves!

Zhou Siyuan noticed her dark expression and asked anxiously, “Ming Dai, what’s wrong?”

Ming Dai steadied herself, shook her head, and collected every box into her space. “Zhou Siyuan, let’s go home.”

Zhou Siyuan glanced at the collapsed area with quiet confusion but said nothing more. He lifted her again and carried her back to the cave mouth. Together they rebuilt the stones and descended the mountain.

As they walked, Ming Dai placed the snow-crushed branches into her space.

They traveled in rare silence, neither speaking.

At the foot of the mountain, Zhou Siyuan changed back into his rubber slippers and handed the rain boots to Ming Dai.

“Ming Dai, are you unhappy?”

Ming Dai nodded. “Zhou Siyuan, do you know what we just found?”

Zhou Siyuan shook his head blankly. “I don’t know.”

Ming Dai looked at him gravely. “It’s our country’s national treasures—stolen by thieves and hidden away!”

Zhou Siyuan’s eyes sharpened instantly. “Thieves? If they dare steal, I’ll beat them to death!”

Ming Dai laughed brightly. “You’re right! Steal our things, and we’ll beat them to death!”

She rose on her toes and patted his shoulder. “Come on, let’s go home!”

Zhou Siyuan swung her up onto his back and raced down the slope. The snow was treacherous; he slid far ahead in a single burst. Ming Dai squealed with delight, drawing startled glances from villagers below who were gathering firewood.

The madman’s taking it out on little Ming again? Poor little Ming—her voice had even cracked from screaming!

The price of playing in the snow was that Zhou Siyuan’s rubber slippers were completely soaked through. Ming Dai made him change them and placed them in her space to dry.

They visited the pasture to check on the ribbed cows. Life, after all, remained a marvel.

In such a short time, the two cows had revived. Though still unable to stand, the grass around their mouths was gone and their jaws worked in slow, intermittent chews. Despite their sluggishness, they were trying.

As long as they could eat, there was still hope.

Ming Dai gave them additional nutrient liquid and a pinch of salt to restore their strength.

Zhou Siyuan watched them with distaste. “Ming Dai, when are we bathing them? They reek.”

Ming Dai replied, “Wait until they recover. Bathing them now would be too easy for them to die.”

Zhou Siyuan sighed. “Fine. How long until they’re better? I want beef.”

Ming Dai shot him a look. “You don’t say such things in front of the cows, do you?”

“They need months—perhaps three months, at least half a year—to recover. Or shall we spare them? They’ve already worked too hard to survive. I saw they’re a bull and a cow; they can have calves. Once the calf is grown, we’ll eat the calf instead!”

The cows seemed to sigh in unison. *Thank you. You truly are kind.*

Zhou Siyuan hesitated but yielded, as he rarely contradicted Ming Dai. “Alright.”

Ming Dai gazed at the prominent ribs on their frames. “Let’s name them. The bull will be Great Ribs, the cow Little Ribs, and their calf Beefsteak. Later, I’ll fry you some steaks!”

Zhou Siyuan’s eyes lit up. “Agreed!”

The cows groaned inwardly. *You two decided so cheerfully? Bullying us without even a shred of cow justice?*

These cows had clearly come from a nearby farm; serial tags still dangled from their ears.

The transport truck carrying them must have overturned. The animals had wandered up the mountain, and the handlers had never found them. Zhou Siyuan had struck lucky.

He was truly talented—not only had he preserved the cows but he had brought them from another ridge to Wild Boar Ridge and raised them to this point.

Though he had nearly worked them to death.

He raised the temperature of the grass beneath the cows. Seeing them able to lift their heads once more, he cut fresh blades of grass and placed two small piles of mixed cornmeal in front of them. Then the couple returned to examine the boxes they had just brought inside.

The crates were enormous—seventeen in all—wrapped in iron plating that had mostly rusted away.

Ming Dai located a crowbar, and Zhou Siyuan pried each one open in turn.

The first revealed a gleaming golden Buddha head, its eyes half-closed in benevolent compassion toward all living beings. Ming Dai was stunned by the exquisite craftsmanship.

They pried open the rest. Mostly they contained Buddhist statues and fine porcelain, all of breathtaking beauty.

Ming Dai estimated their later value and drew a sharp breath. Once smuggled overseas, retrieving them would be nearly impossible for China, and even if possible, it would require a vast sum.

Ming Dai decided to keep the items in her space for now and return them to the country once stability returned.

Zhou Siyuan followed the process briefly before his stomach began to growl. Ming Dai resealed the crates and stored them in a shadowed corner of her space.

It was nearly one o’clock. Ming Dai led Zhou Siyuan outside, boiled water to reheat the steamed buns, and added the leftover roasted meat from the night before to make a simple lunch.

After eating, they went mushroom hunting.

The mushrooms had entered their peak fruiting stage. The pair returned with two large baskets—fully forty jin—and another thirty-five from the previous day, bringing the total close to seventy-five. Tomorrow’s harvest would push them to a hundred jin for delivery to the county town.

The next morning, early, Liu Dachu and Liu Sanye rapped on the courtyard gate. Zhou Siyuan opened the door and welcomed them inside.

Ming Dai had already sorted the mushrooms neatly into two large bamboo baskets, padding them with newspapers to prevent crushing.

“Uncle, the mushrooms are exactly one hundred jin, plus the baskets one hundred and five jin. The newspapers inside will keep them from being damaged, provided they don’t freeze.”

Liu Dachu nodded cheerfully. “Got it, little Mingzhiqing!”

Ming Dai and Zhou Siyuan helped load the car. Before they left, she added a final reminder: “Uncle, ask them for some old newspapers. Next time, pad the baskets with them again. Leave the bamboo baskets with them this time and swap them back later.”

Liu Dachu regarded her thoroughness with fresh admiration. “Still you think of everything. I’ll remember.”

Ming Dai smiled and turned to Liu Sanye. “Third Uncle, please stop by the post office and see if there’s any mail for me.”

Liu Sanye nodded. “I know. Don’t worry, little Ming.”

Ming Dai stepped aside. Seeing the swaying rear of the man in trousers, she felt a twinge of discomfort. “Be careful on the way!”

They acknowledged her, Liu Sanye cracked his whip, and the horse trotted off, its tail swishing and the flapping trousers moving in rhythm.

It was painful to the eyes. Painful to the eyes.