Wang An used the tree branch in his hand to pick up another piece of fried dough, but just as he was about to throw it, he paused. After a moment's thought, he walked toward the two foxes.
To be honest, while foxes can release a pungent, musky odor, that smell is very faint—almost nonexistent—when they aren't actively releasing it.
Wang An's approach clearly made the two foxes nervous. The red fox had already moved far away, but the short-tailed fox took two steps back and then stood its ground.
Wang An walked up to the short-tailed fox and squatted down. Holding the fried dough in his right hand, he used his left hand to pet the short-tailed fox's head, immediately feeling the animal tremble.
It was clear that the short-tailed fox was feeling very apprehensive.
However, for a wild animal to manage this much was truly no easy feat!
After a couple of pets, Wang An said to the short-tailed fox with a smile
"You've got quite some nerve, daring to lead your wife over here. If it were anyone else, wouldn't they have eaten you? Are you stupid? Hmm?"
Wang An's words didn't elicit any reaction from the short-tailed fox, meaning the fox couldn't understand human speech.
After a while, the fried dough had mostly cooled down. Wang An tossed it in front of the short-tailed fox and stood up.
The short-tailed fox lifted its head, glanced at Wang An, and let out a "ying ying ying" sound.
The fox's cry was somewhat similar to a dog's whimper, a bit like a cat's meow, and also a bit like a child's voice.
Immediately following this, the short-tailed fox picked up the fried dough in its mouth and walked toward the red fox. It placed the food by the red fox's mouth and nudged her with its snout.
Seeing this scene, the four of them were stunned.
This was blatant public displays of affection!
The key was that such a scene was truly rare to witness, because normally, sightings of foxes in the wild are very infrequent.
Even when they are seen, it is usually from a considerable distance.
The reason for this is that foxes not only have incredible hearing and smell, but their vision is also among the best of all animals!
In other words, a fox's alertness is even stronger than that of wolves, tigers, or leopards.
It couldn't help that their alertness was so high; a fox's combat power is terrifyingly low, meaning they basically can't beat anyone in a fight.
If they weren't alert and clever, they would die one by one as soon as they stepped out, and eventually, the entire population might vanish.
Because of this, the moment they detect a human or a natural predator from afar, they immediately hide.
Therefore, it was already very unexpected that the short-tailed fox appeared today.
That the short-tailed fox could lead a vixen here was a miraculous event.
But this current scene—two foxes showing affection in public—could be described as absolutely legendary!
Mu Xueli stared with wide eyes and said in disbelief
"Holy crap, are foxes this awesome? As expected of a 'spirit' animal!"
Wang Li also stared straight at the two foxes and murmured
"Indeed awesome. This fox even knows how to take care of his woman!"
Only Feng Chengmin paused for a moment before saying
"Look at that vixen's swollen teats. There must be little fox cubs in their den."
It had to be said that as an experienced hunter, Feng Chengmin's observations of animals were quite detailed.
Hearing this, Wang An and the other two all looked at the vixen and subconsciously nodded.
The short-tailed fox's behavior was truly commendable.
The scene before them clearly showed the male fox giving his obtained food to the vixen so that she could properly nurse the cubs.
Watching this, Wang An said with great emotion to Feng Chengmin and the others
"Do you think that piece of fried dough the short-tailed fox snatched away earlier was also fed to this vixen?"
Upon hearing this, Feng Chengmin and the others immediately realized the point and replied, "Yeah, most likely."
Wang An thought for a moment, then turned back to the stove, picked up several pieces of fried dough in a row, and threw them all toward the two foxes.
To put it plainly, Wang An was deeply moved by these two foxes—or more accurately, by this scar-covered male short-tailed fox.
One must realize that the short-tailed fox's actions were essentially a gamble with its life. Had Wang An and the others felt a murderous intent, the short-tailed fox would have been doomed.
With a fox's cunning nature, did it not understand this? The answer was definitely yes.
Although Wang An's child had not yet been born, he could already feel the sense of responsibility and mission that comes with being a father.
After feeding the two foxes and watching them leave, Wang An greeted Feng Chengmin and the others and walked toward the stone-bamboo grove where the "golden rice" was abundant.
Mainly, the camp had been moved, but Wu Dong, Zhang Shuya, and the other four didn't know yet.
The moment she saw Wang An, Zhang Shuya shouted excitedly
"Little brother, come over here quickly! Look at what great stuff we dug up!"
Looking at where the six of them were positioned, Wang An knew that the gold beneath the stone-bamboo had definitely changed.
Previously, when Wang An dug for golden rice, he was at the outermost edge of the grove.
Now, although Wu Dong, Zhang Shuya, and the others were still some distance from the center of the grove, they had indeed penetrated several meters deeper than where Wang An had dug.
Hearing Zhang Shuya's words, Wang An walked quickly toward them and said with a smile
"What is it, Big Sister? What did you dig up to make you so happy?"
When Wang An reached Zhang Shuya, she excitedly held up a small cloth bag for him to see.
Just as Wang An expected, the previous golden millet had now turned into golden sorghum; the largest grains were even as big as sorghum seeds.
In other words, the individual gold particles had grown significantly larger, though the quantity seemed to have decreased.
Wang Shuai laughed excitedly
"Now that the gold particles are this big, when we reach the center, won't they become as big as corn kernels!"
Wang An didn't follow Wang Shuai's train of thought but instead asked
"Brother Wang, now that the particles are this big, how much gold is in one hole?"
Wang Shuai replied casually
"I did a rough estimate; it's about two and a half taels. That's about half a tael more per hole than before."
As Wang An was calculating in his head, Wang Shuai continued
"No need to do the math. The further in we go, the harder it is to dig. The roots down here are thick and dense. I've figured it out—between digging a hole and picking out the gold particles, it takes about an hour. One person can get about two and a half jin of gold a day; if we push ourselves, we can get 3 jin."
(End of Chapter)