The calf's wound had recovered even more. It could already walk now, though it still limped slightly.
The mother Bubalo had probably already gone out once to forage. Her stomach was half full, and she was lying on the ground with her eyes closed while leisurely chewing her cud.
The moment they heard Hayoon's footsteps, both Bubalo stood up together and mooed expectantly at her.
"Wait a moment. I will go cut some grass for you right now," Hayoon said with a smile.
As she passed the mother Bubalo, she even reached out and patted its sturdy body.
The mother Bubalo no longer resisted her touch now.
As for the calf...
Hayoon suddenly had an idea and turned to call out to Minho, "I am going to untie the calf for a bit. Can you help watch them for me?"
Minho nodded. "Alright."
Hayoon reached out and untied the hemp rope around the calf's neck before casually rubbing its thick ear.
"Okay, I am leaving now."
She went to the grassy field ahead and used the newly made curved bone sickle to cut grass while occasionally turning around to check what the two Bubalo were doing.
After being untied, the calf happily wandered around for a bit before surprisingly heading toward her instead.
The mother Bubalo mooed twice and slowly followed behind the calf.
When the calf reached Hayoon's side, it even rubbed its round head against her.
"Moo~"
Its affection made Hayoon laugh.
"Good job. Saving you was not for nothing after all. You even know to come find me now. If you come eat grass by yourselves, that will save me a lot of trouble."
As if it could understand her words, the calf mooed once before lowering its head to eat grass.
The mother Bubalo flicked its tail and also began eating the tender grass leaves nearby.
Hayoon watched them for a while before turning to walk back.
To her surprise, the calf actually followed after her.
Naturally, the mother Bubalo followed closely behind it as well.
Seeing this scene, Minho asked, "Did they acknowledge you as their owner?"
Hayoon smiled and rested her hand on the calf's back.
"I am not sure yet, but it is a good sign."
Minho nodded. "Mm."
Then he looked toward the mother Bubalo and asked, "I do not think the mother resists you anymore. Do you want to try milking her?"
Hayoon's eyes instantly brightened.
The moment she thought about the wonderful taste of fresh milk, her heart stirred with excitement.
As the calf grew bigger day by day, it needed less and less milk.
If no one milked the mother Bubalo, she would stop producing milk after some time.
"Then let's try it?"
"I will go get a clean beast hide pouch."
"Okay!"
Haeun had just finished boiling the water, and the moment he heard they were going to milk the Bubalo, he threw in two more pieces of firewood and excitedly ran over.
"Sis, do you need my help?"
Hayoon laughed. "Not for now. Stay a little farther away. I am worried the Bubalo might kick you."
Haeun straightened proudly and snorted twice.
"Do not worry. I am very agile!"
Hayoon suddenly remembered the performing pandas she had once seen at a zoo and did not refute his claim.
She first gathered a bundle of tender grass and tossed it beside the mother Bubalo before washing her hands clean and taking her position with Minho.
"Ha..." Hayoon let out a breath and flexed her fingers. "Then I am starting?"
"Mm. Do not worry."
Honestly, having Minho beside her made her feel much more at ease.
The mother Bubalo was so tall that Hayoon did not even need to squat while milking her. She only needed to bend slightly at the waist, which made things much easier.
"I will do this slowly. Just keep eating your grass and please do not move around..."
She muttered softly while gradually applying pressure with her hands.
Squelch!
A huge stream of milk sprayed directly into the beast hide pouch Minho was holding.
Aside from a faint gamey smell, all Hayoon could smell was the rich fragrance of fresh milk.
And after merely glancing at her once, the mother Bubalo simply continued eating grass.
This was an excellent start.
Hayoon's eyes shone even brighter, and the smile on her face widened as she worked even harder.
The mother Bubalo produced an enormous amount of milk.
Hayoon felt like she had been milking for nearly half an hour before finally finishing.
The beast hide pouch they had prepared at first was nowhere near enough to hold all the milk, so they ended up bringing out wooden buckets as well.
Milking really was hard physical work.
Hayoon finally straightened her back fully and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
In her field of vision, sunlight had already begun appearing in the east.
"You worked hard," Minho said before carrying the bucket that was more than half full of milk farther away so the Bubalo would not accidentally knock it over.
Hayoon smiled brightly.
"Being able to get this much milk makes it not feel tiring at all!"
Noticing Minho's pupils suddenly contract, Hayoon finally realized something was approaching above her head, but by then it was already too late to dodge.
At that moment, the only thing beside her was the mother Bubalo.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Just before Minho transformed into his beast form, the thing descended...
It was actually the mother Bubalo's tongue.
Hayoon's fluffy hair was licked once.
She froze at the wet sensation, and her first thought was that thankfully the tongue did not have barbs on it.
"Moo~"
The mother Bubalo let out a gentle sound and tried to lick her again.
Hayoon immediately jumped away. "Wait, wait, wait! I just washed my hair this morning!"
"Moo~"
Seeing that the mother Bubalo showed no hostility, Hayoon could not help laughing as she muttered, "Why are you licking me out of nowhere? I am not your calf."
Minho said, "It seems to be expressing gratitude."
"Gratitude? Because I milked it?"
Hayoon had heard before that humans could feel pain when too much milk built up, so perhaps animals experienced something similar too.
Just then, the mother Bubalo lowered its head slightly.
As Hayoon smiling, she raised her hand and rubbed its face gently. "I hope we can cooperate happily from now on too."
"Moo~"
"Alright, I need to go wash my hair again," she said to Minho and Haeun. "Wait a little while for the milk. I will boil it after I come back."
Haeun had been waiting eagerly for those words and immediately shouted loudly, "Okay!!"
After quickly cleaning herself up, Hayoon returned to the cooking area with her black hair still dripping wet.