Chapter 87

As the piglets and the little black dog were afraid of the cold, Dudu went to the woods and picked up a lot of firewood. He threw the bundle of firewood in front of his father, asking him to help light a fire for the piglets. Li Han picked up a few pieces of firewood and saw that they were all dry pine branches. He nodded and then took out an axe from the side, cutting a few thicker pine branches into several pieces. Dudu was really strong, picking up quite large branches. After splitting and setting up the frame, he started the fire with gasoline, and the flames quickly grew.

Seeing that the fire was big enough, Li Han hung a pot full of water over it to boil. He planned to use the hot water to give Dudu a bath. When the water boiled, Li Han filled the water bottles for everyone and then took out a large wooden basin, adding some cold water to it. He called Dudu to come and take a bath, but Dudu was shy. "No, no, Uncle Wei Li and Uncle Kedi will laugh at me." "It's okay, Dudu. Uncle Wei Li and Uncle Kedi are very nice; they won't laugh at you."

"No way." Li Han couldn't help but laugh at Dudu's shyness and turned to Wei Li and Kedi. "Alright, alright, little one is shy. You two go into the tent and wait." The two guys, eager to see the fun, pushed Kedi and Wei Li into the tent. Dudu peeked out from behind Dabai and Xiaobai, holding her clothes with her bare bottom. "Come and take a bath. Uncle Kedi and Uncle Wei Li are sleeping." "Okay." Dudu ran over, climbed into the large wooden basin, and Li Han carefully washed her. Her hair was full of grass, having gotten tangled in many bushes and tree holes along the way.

After the bath, Li Han dried Dudu's hair, changed her into a small nightgown, and tucked her into a sleeping bag. "Go to sleep, good girl." He tapped her little nose, and Dudu obediently nodded. The night was not peaceful, with dog barks and wolf howls echoing in the mountains, making Li Han anxious and unable to sleep. He finally dozed off in the early hours of the morning. He woke up chilled in the early morning, realizing how cold it was in the mountains at night. He got up and saw that the fire had gone out, so he added more firewood. The mountains were cool, so he lit the fire again, hung a pot of water on the iron rack, and made some coffee to warm up. Not far away, Dudu was saying goodbye to the little wild pigs. It was too troublesome to bring these little guys along, so Li Han decided to let them go.

Dudu pouted and refused to let her father help her brush her teeth or wash her face. The little girl was still thinking about roasting the piglets. The eleven little wild pigs had grunted all night, making it hard to sleep. Wei Li and Kedi fully agreed with Li Han's decision, as they were too noisy. Li Han removed the sticks from the pigpen, and the eleven little wild pigs surrounded Dudu, grunting. Dudu pouted, unhappy. She stroked the piglets and said, "Piggy, run fast. All the little piglets ran away."

Dudu pouted and sat by the fire. Li Han pinched her little nose and called her a good girl. Dudu ignored her father, while Kedi and Wei Li stared at the fire, occasionally adding more branches, pretending not to notice. Li Han was annoyed with the two of them. "Good girl, Dudu, come and have some warm milk." "Okay." Dudu took her bottle out of the bag and gave it to her father, as she was hungry and hadn't had the chance to eat the roasted piglets.

"Hmm." Dudu cheered and saw a little wild pig by her bag, rubbing against her little boots. It stayed, and Dudu was happy, refusing to let it go. She hugged the little pig and shook her head, saying, "No, I don't want to let it go."

Li Han had no choice but to let it stay. "Dudu will take care of the little pig." "Yes, the little pig is very good." Dudu nodded vigorously. The little wild pig looked familiar, with a small bag on its bottom. Dudu played happily with the little pig, which she named "Humm."

Li Han took down the coffee and gave a cup to Wei Li and Kedi. They went to the stream to wash up, cut the potatoes and beef, added water, and seasoned the stew.

"A warm cup of coffee in the morning is really nice." Kedi held a large mug, blowing on the coffee and sipping it slowly, while poking the fire. "Damn weather, it's too cold. Han, add more branches." Wei Li shivered and sneezed, holding his coffee mug with both hands.

Li Han laughed. "Wei Li, drinking too much beer isn't good. Did you get cold peeing at night? Drink more hot water." He added more branches and sipped his warm coffee, checking Dudu's bottle to make sure it was warm.

Wei Li mumbled, mostly about the cold weather and the damn hunting dogs. Li Han and Kedi laughed, while Dudu drank her milk, blinking her big eyes. Uncle Wei Li was saying something strange. After finishing the coffee, Li Han and Kedi tidied up the tent and dried it out. Wei Li played with Dudu, resting and recovering. Dudu carried a wooden basin to give the little pig and the little black dog a bath. Her father said the piglets were very dirty, and Wei Li almost got bitten by the little black dog. "Damn it, Han, Kedi, come and look at what Pandora picked up."

Li Han and Kedi put down the tent and walked over. Dudu held up the little black dog, which was a dog. After the bath, the little black dog's fur clung to its body, revealing a completely different appearance. Li Han and Kedi stared in shock. "This isn't a little black dog. Is it a black bear cub? Wei Li, how can there be a black bear cub in the hunting ground?"

The hunting ground was a private place, where dangerous wild animals were driven away. Apart from wild boars, there were only white-tailed deer, foxes, rabbits, wild chickens, and antelopes. "Chris, that damn liar, Han, maybe we should leave here."

Kedi nodded in agreement. It was too dangerous, with a black bear cub, and there might be an angry adult female black bear nearby. Black bears have a very keen sense of smell, even more sensitive than police dogs, and can easily distinguish scents within three kilometers.

Li Han took the little black bear from Dudu. It was so small that if they left it, it might become food for foxes or coyotes. But keeping it was too dangerous. "Han, why don't we give the little black bear to Chris to handle? Damn Chris, he lied about there being no wild animals in the hunting ground."

"Don't, the little dog is very good." Dudu refused. She had already let the piglets go and didn't want to let the little black dog go. "Let's pack up the tent. Maybe it's just an abandoned bear. Besides, we have guns." Li Han saw Dudu hugging the little bear tightly and had no choice.

Wei Li and Kedi reluctantly nodded. After breakfast, Wei Li's cold worsened, and he was shivering, sneezing, and coughing. Li Han decided that Kedi should take Wei Li out first and then talk to Chris about the black bear cub. After all, this was a recreational hunting ground, and the appearance of a black bear was too dangerous. Most participants were here for fun, and there were few real hunters.

"Han, Dudu, be careful." Kedi and Wei Li left, and Li Han packed up the tent and backpack. He extinguished the fire with water, and the pot of beef and potatoes was bubbling. The potatoes were soft and the beef was tender. Li Han and Dudu each ate a large bowl, and their bellies were full. "So full." Dudu patted her full belly and rubbed the little wild pig's belly. Li Han poured some milk into a small basin, and the little black bear sniffed the scent and crawled over to lap it up. It was good that it could eat.

After breakfast, Li Han planned to take Dudu to return the little black bear home. There was no good solution, and Dudu was a bit reluctant. The little black bear was found by Dudu, and there was no adult bear. The little black bear, with a full belly, fell asleep in Dudu's arms. Li Han packed up the tent and put it on Xiaobai's back, along with the pot and wooden basin, which he stored in his space. With Kedi and Wei Li gone, it was much more convenient. After cleaning up, he led the little chestnut horse and the white ox over. Father and daughter rode the little chestnut horse and Dabai, following the stream up the mountain. The forest trail had been cleared and was about a meter wide, but it was muddy due to melting snow. They didn't move quickly.

Dudu led the way, but the little girl was quite confused, stopping and starting, scratching her head. After a while, Li Han felt something was wrong and suspected that Dudu might be lost. When he asked, it turned out to be true. "Oh, Dudu is lost again." "Speak properly, don't imitate Alale." Li Han was helpless. Dudu liked to watch the Alale cartoon and imitate the little robot girl. Dudu laughed, but she was really lost and didn't know where the bear's home was. It was getting dark yesterday, and Dudu had ridden the little ox aimlessly.

"Let's follow the footprints." Li Han was helpless. The forest was vast, and there were many tree holes. It was hard to find the bear's home. He couldn't shout, "Is Black Bear Mama at home? We found your cub last night and are here to return it." They followed the hoof prints of the horses and oxen and eventually arrived at the campsite where Lauren and others had stayed the previous night. However, Li Han was stunned to see the campsite in a mess, with scattered clothes, torn tents, flattened mugs, scattered food, and injured hunting dogs. The cowboys were covered in dirt. What had happened?

The campsite was in chaos, and there were occasional gunshots, dog barks, and angry shouts in the distance. Li Han was startled, wondering if they had encountered a black bear, but it didn't seem like a black bear could cause such destruction. Li Han didn't dare to get too close, and Dudu blinked and tugged at her father. "Daddy, big pigs."

Li Han followed Dudu's finger and saw indeed five or six large wild boars leading more than ten piglets into the forest. Behind the wild boars were a group of hunting dogs and cowboys. Unfortunately, the dense forest and thickets made it unlikely they would catch them. Li Han was amused, recognizing the piglets Dudu had released, each with a bow tied around its neck.

Dudu secretly put the piglet with a bow into her bag and hid it. She muttered about the bad people who caught the piglets. Could the wild boars have been attracted by the piglets Dudu released? Li Han felt a bit guilty and planned to leave with Dudu, but they ran into the old cowboy, Lauren, face-to-face. Li Han asked how things were, and Lauren smiled bitterly, explaining that they had found a little wild pig the previous night and were excited about hunting a big wild boar in the morning. However, the wild boars had caused a big commotion, and they were caught off guard. Fortunately, no one was injured, but most of their tents and luggage were destroyed. Lauren asked Li Han how they were doing.

Li Han smiled. "We camped outside the valley and didn't encounter any wild boars. We're fine." Dudu shrank her head, remembering that one of the piglets she had caught the previous day was missing. It was too coincidental, and Li Han laughed nervously. "Lauren, there might be black bears in the forest. Be careful. We're leaving now." Li Han led the little chestnut horse and Dabai, and they hurried away. However, the piglet in Dudu's bag grunted.

Li Han laughed nervously, relieved that they hadn't encountered the wild boars the previous night. He glanced back at the campsite, feeling sorry for Lauren and the others. He hoped God would protect them. The wild boars had run into the deep mountains and wouldn't come out for a while. Li Han decided to turn back to avoid the wild boars, as he couldn't handle the chaos alone.