The little boy was truly famished, so he walked towards San Ya, reaching out his hand and asking, "San Ya, I want some too."
"No," San Ya recalled the little boy's malice from earlier and refused decisively, then continued, "If you want to eat, tell your father to find some."
At these words, the little boy, humiliated and enraged, moved to forcefully snatch the small tomatoes from San Ya's hand, but San Ya stepped back, preventing him from succeeding.
However, this scene greatly alarmed the little boy's father, who quickly shouted, "Goudan, you little rascal, get back here!"
The little boy named Goudan had no choice but to return, only to be met with a storm of beating from his father.
Goudan's father did this intentionally for Xia Ren to see, so that Xia Ren would not resent him.
"Father, stop hitting me, I was wrong, oh my, it hurts so much…"
Goudan cried and wailed, snot and tears streaming down his face from the beating.
Xia Ren merely glanced at him and paid no mind to other people's affairs.
He sat cross-legged, quickly skinning the wild rabbit, and midway, Da Ya shared one of her small tomatoes with Xia Ren to eat, and so did Er Ya.
This made Xia Ren feel warmth in his heart; truly, a daughter is a father's little cotton-padded jacket.
San Ya also wanted to share a small tomato with Xia Ren, but she had already eaten both of hers, so to compensate, San Ya stood behind Xia Ren, massaging his back with care.
Soon, Xia Ren had completely skinned the wild rabbit, then used a cleaver to gut the rabbit and remove its internal organs.
He did not waste these fresh, blood-stained wild rabbit organs; he skewered the edible parts with bamboo sticks and roasted them beside the bonfire.
The prepared wild rabbit was threaded onto a long branch and then roasted over the bonfire.
A moment later, the aroma of roasted rabbit spread out.
The Dahe Village people around, smelling the roasted rabbit, all salivated.
"It smells so good."
San Ya's eyes were fixed on the almost-ready roasted rabbit, and she took a deep sniff.
It was the original, pure, natural aroma of roasted rabbit.
Soon, the roasted rabbit was ready.
The roasted mushrooms and roasted organs were also ready, all placed on banana leaves.
Xia Ren began to distribute, tearing off an entire roasted rabbit's front left leg and handing it to Da Ya: "It's a bit hot, eat slowly."
"Thank you, Father."
Da Ya, who was originally quiet and reserved, gradually became much more cheerful, taking the roasted rabbit leg and smiling sweetly.
Xia Ren tore off the roasted rabbit's front right leg and handed it to Er Ya: "Er Ya."
Er Ya swallowed a mouthful of saliva, took the roasted rabbit leg, and smiled at Xia Ren: "Thank you, Father."
San Ya, who was waiting for her roasted rabbit leg, couldn't help but say, "Father, San Ya wants a roasted rabbit leg too."
"There'll be enough for you."
Xia Ren smiled slightly, tearing off an entire roasted rabbit's back left leg for San Ya.
As soon as San Ya got it, she eagerly started gnawing on it, so hot that she kept sticking out her tongue.
This comical action made Da Ya and Er Ya burst into laughter.
As for the last leg of the roasted rabbit, Xia Ren tore it off for Jiang Wan'er, saying kindly, "My wife, this is yours."
Jiang Wan'er shook her head, wanting to prioritize Xia Ren: "I'll just eat the other parts, Husband, you eat it."
"If you don't eat it, I'll give it to an outsider."
Xia Ren pretended to be displeased.
Jiang Wan'er had no choice but to take the last leg of the roasted rabbit.
As for Xia Ren, he ate the other parts of the roasted rabbit.
The taste was good, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
After tearing off a piece of roasted rabbit meat and eating it, he picked up a skewer of roasted mushrooms and ate it heartily.
The people around watched Xia's family happily eating roasted rabbit meat, their envy growing.
The little boy named Goudan couldn't resist the temptation and turned to his father, saying, "Father, why don't you catch a rabbit like San Ya's father?"
At these words, Goudan once again experienced what it meant for a father's love to be like a mountain, and Goudan's mournful wails echoed through the forest.
After Xia's family had eaten their fill, they ate the ripe, red small tomatoes as after-meal fruit.
Their lives were flavorful and enviable to others.
"Father, why can't we eat those green small tomatoes?"
Da Ya sat on the straw mat beside the bonfire and asked Xia Ren.
Xia Ren felt it was necessary to explain, lest the children accidentally eat them in the future, so he calmly explained, "Green small tomatoes are unripe; they contain solanine, which is harmful to us, and consumption can cause symptoms of poisoning such as nausea and vomiting. But it's not a big problem; you can leave them for a few days until the solanine decomposes and they turn red, then they can be eaten."
After he finished speaking, the three little girls gathered around Xia Ren, all looking at him with eyes full of admiration, and San Ya even held onto Xia Ren's arm, rubbing her little head against him constantly.
Having traveled all day, Xia's family was very tired.
Soon, Er Ya and San Ya lay down on the straw mat and fell asleep.
But what needed to be vigilant about, still needed to be vigilant about.
After all, no one knew if someone would steal things at night.
Moreover, when camping in the wild, one must also guard against wild beasts in the mountains.
"My wife, you stand guard for the first half of the night. If you see someone stealing our family's things, or see anything unusual, blow the bamboo whistle. As for the second half of the night, I will stand guard."
Xia Ren handed a newly made bamboo whistle to Jiang Wan'er and instructed her.
Jiang Wan'er nodded, taking the bamboo whistle: "Okay."
"Father, I want to stand guard too."
Da Ya volunteered.
Xia Ren rubbed Da Ya's head and said gently, "You're still young, just get some good rest."
"I'm already eight years old, I'm not small," Da Ya's delicate brows furrowed slightly, her face stubborn, and she continued to persuade, "Father, please, let me help, I want to do more for our family."
As the eldest daughter of the Xia, Da Ya had known from a very young age that she had to bear the responsibility of an eldest daughter.
In her opinion, no matter how hard or tiring it was, as long as she could help the family even a little, it was worth it.
Xia Ren stared at Da Ya for a few breaths, understanding that Da Ya's mind was made up, so he nodded in agreement: "Alright, then you two, mother and daughter, will stand guard for the first half of the night together, so you can look out for each other."
Da Ya was extremely grateful: "Thank you, Father."
Xia Ren lay on the straw mat; as a mercenary, he could keenly sense time, so he woke up after sleeping for four hours.
"Husband, why don't you rest a bit more?"
Jiang Wan'er was weaving straw sandals by the bonfire and asked with concern when she saw Xia Ren wake up.
Da Ya, who was standing guard with Jiang Wan'er, was observing her surroundings.
"No need, I've rested enough, you two sleep well, I'll stand guard for the second half of the night."
Xia Ren shook his head, moved closer to the bonfire, and warmed himself by the fire.
And just at this moment, a wolf howl broke the silence of the night.
"Awooooooo—"
The wolf howl echoed through the sky, waking all the sleeping Dahe Village people in the forest.