Chapter 221: Wo, I Coming, My Dear!
"Wo, wo!"
Eggplant was not happy. This was its secret spot with its dear, where the ham was kept. Of course, it had to stay with its dear; how could it let its dear be alone?
"You gonna dig or what? If not, I'm taking all your ham." Shen Ci threatened.
Initially, Eggplant had peed on just one box of ham, so Shen Ci let it eat from that box freely.
Later, seeing how much Eggplant loved the ham, Shen Ci would add more to the box for Eggplant to snack on.
Otherwise, the ham would have been finished long ago.
At this, Eggplant froze in place.
The ham was for its dear; it absolutely couldn't let its master take it away, so it tilted its head, rubbed against Xiong Ying, and let out a few woofs.
Xiong Ying wanted to stay and help, but Shen Ci made him leave.
Eggplant needed to learn a lesson.
It messed up when it was supposed to help, so now it had to work instead of playing.
"Woof, woof!"
Eggplant offered to do the digging so its dear could go play.
Xiong Ying's eyes hesitated, but he still obeyed the command and left resolutely.
As Eggplant watched Xiong Ying leave, its eyes seemed to stretch out. Shen Ci felt a twinge of guilt, like he was separating a couple.
However, this feeling only lasted two seconds. After picking a good spot, Shen Ci urged Eggplant to start digging.
Shen Ci and Meng Ci also took hoes and began digging the other two holes.
In order to reunite with its dear as soon as possible, Eggplant worked hard at digging, and every now and then, it would ask Shen Ci if the hole it dug was okay.
Of course, Shen Ci wouldn't easily let it go.
He would say to dig a little deeper or make the hole bigger.
Eggplant didn't dare to resist and could only obediently continue digging.
After Shen Ci and Meng Ci had finished digging their holes, they finally let Eggplant go.
Once free, Eggplant bolted off like a rocket.
"Woof, woof!"
My dear, I'm coming.
Seeing Eggplant run in a funny way, Xiong Ying hurriedly lowered his head to continue eating ham.
He sighed in his heart, regretting that he had once thought Eggplant was tall and mighty; now, he couldn't bear to look at it.
Eggplant didn't notice Xiong Ying's disdain.
Shen Que had a high appreciation for Eggplant's doting behavior and commented, "There's nothing wrong with that. Eggplant is thinking so much about his partner, it's great."
"Come on!"
Meng Ci was even more speechless, wearing an expression that said, "Are you serious?"
"Xiao Ci, I'll think about you too..."
Shen Que took two steps closer to Meng Ci as he spoke.
Meng Ci, feeling under siege, quickly picked up a hoe and held it against Shen Que's chest, his furrowed brows deep enough to squash a fly. "Don't come any closer."
"Aren't you acting like you're possessed today?"
Meng Ci thought of the corpse he had seen in the house earlier and found it quite possible.
"What's with all the sweet talk?"
Shen Que looked innocent, explaining that he just wanted Meng Ci to feel his love and not envy Xiong Ying.
Meng Ci recalled how Shen Que had inexplicably educated him about common human durations in the military region.
"Why can't you just be normal instead of comparing yourself to Eggplant?"
"Shut up and plant the tree properly, or you'll sleep alone tonight!"
After saying that, Meng Ci lowered the hoe from Shen Que's chest and directed him to put the tree into the hole.
Shen Que sighed, resigned to his fate, and carefully placed the tree into the hole.
A while ago, outside the exchange point, Shen Que saw a resident selling books. He took a deep look and was drawn to a book that taught about relationships.
Shen Que bought the book because he felt their being together had happened too suddenly. After two years of spending every day together, he feared Meng Ci might grow tired of him, so he wanted to learn and perhaps enhance their relationship.
The book suggested saying more sweet words and praising each other, but now it seemed like nonsense.
As Shen Que shoveled soil into the hole, he thought about burning the book when cooking later.
After planting the peach tree and watering it a bit more, Meng Ci believed that with such magical soil, the peach tree would thrive.
After taking out some meat and grain from their special space, they saw Eggplant and Xiong Ying being as close as glue. They then left the space.
They found a flat ground and instead of taking out the RV, they set up a tent and a canopy, and started cooking.
Noticing their owners were busy, Eggplant and Xiong Ying ran off to find some wild game.
By the time they finished setting up the tent, Eggplant and Xiong Ying returned, each with a wild rabbit in their mouth.
Shen Que processed the rabbits, planning to cook both.
After dinner, Meng Ci and Shen Que wandered around, looking for other fruit trees.
Fortunately, since Shen Que knew a lot about trees, they dug up two persimmon trees and one plum tree.
In this place where there's no distinction between day and night, they felt that a fan was essential for sleeping and a bath was necessary.
After a good night's sleep, they packed up and rode the motorcycle down the mountain.
The two men, along with their wolf and dog, traveled for over ten days, stopping occasionally.
Whenever they rested, Eggplant and Eagle would always return with fresh game from the forest.
Their meals were even better than what they had at the base.
Despite the intense heat, they hadn't tanned much before, but after a few days of travel, their skin darkened considerably.
Meng Ci had sunscreen and protective gear in his storage space.
But he figured that showing up at the M City base with pale skin might raise suspicion, so he didn't use any of it.
That day, they climbed another mountain and decided to rest there.
Eggplant and Eagle had gotten used to their owners' routine, so they vanished in an instant.
There were no houses on the mountaintop, but at the base, there was an open area with several houses clustered together. However, landslides had buried most of the houses.
Just as they finished unpacking, Eggplant and Eagle returned—without any game.
Meng Ci frowned, confused by their empty paws.
After all, for the past ten days, they always came back with something—never empty-handed.
"Ow-oo!"
Eggplant ran over, biting Meng Ci's pant leg, pulling hard as if trying to lead him somewhere.
"Woof! Woof!"
Eagle was more straightforward, barking twice before leading the way ahead, looking back every few steps to check if the two owners were following.
Meng Ci and Shen Que exchanged glances and, without discussing it, decided to follow and see what the two had discovered.
As they neared the spot, Eagle's barks grew softer.