"What is this? Since when do rats grow this big?" Back in Yunzhong City, Xia Shixuan was the one waiting to greet them at the airport. She asked curiously the moment she saw the beavers.
"They’re beavers. You’ve traveled all over the world, haven’t you seen them before?" ’Xia Shixuan is rich and has been almost everywhere,’ he thought. ’She should have seen an animal like this before, right?’
"Oh, now that you mention it, I remember. Beavers do look like this, but... are these two a bit chubby?" ’Ugh, don’t even get me started,’ Shen Yibin thought. ’All the pets in my store, from the panda to the Raccoon Cat, from the Mongoose to the hamster, are a little overweight. Is it because life is too good for them?’ "Also, what are their names?"
"Uh." Shen Yibin froze for a second. He actually hadn’t thought about names. Prompted by Xia Shixuan, he began to mull it over. ’Since you love gnawing on wood so much, how about I call you Bald Qiang? As for your wife... well, Gao Lujie toothpaste once used a beaver as its spokesperson, and your front teeth are so white, so you can be Gao Lujie.’ "The male is Bald Qiang, and the female is Gao Lujie." And so it was happily decided.
"Squeak?" Bald Qiang seemed to somewhat understand Shen Yibin. His intelligence had increased a little after he took that medicine. Gao Lujie, however, wasn’t as bright; she just continued to sit there looking dopey.
’Tsk. If this keeps up, will it cause trouble in their relationship? Can they even have a good romance with such a wide intelligence gap?’ Shen Yibin started to worry about them. ’Then again, plenty of air-headed female leads in romance movies get a happy ending. I guess the two of them will be fine, right?’ Shen Yibin could only console himself with that thought.
A short while later, the car stopped in front of the store. Shen Yibin took numerous bags, big and small, out of the trunk. "These are gifts for you all. You can split them among yourselves in a bit. Oh, right, don’t touch that pile on the side. Those are for Xu Ye and Officer Bai." After dealing with the gifts, Shen Yibin had a new headache: where were the two beavers going to live?
’They definitely can’t live in my bedroom with me like Hah’Er does. Let’s not even talk about whether they’d get used to a bed—the male brought his wife along. They’ll inevitably want to... you know, do it sometimes. Are they going to do that right in front of me? Even if they didn’t mind, I’d probably find it pretty awkward, right?’
Fortunately, the store now had a new pool that was dozens of square meters in size. They could live there for now. The pool was surrounded by thick soil, perfect for them to dig and build a den. Thinking this, Shen Yibin led Bald Qiang and Gao Lujie to the water’s edge. Stroking their smooth fur, he said, "You two can stay here for now. If you don’t find it comfortable, I’ll figure something else out!" ’If worst comes to worst, I’ll just go rent a patch of wetland in the suburbs. Hah’Er’s second paycheck has already been deposited, so I’m not short on cash at all. I’m even starting to think about buying the neighboring shop to expand.’
"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!" Bald Qiang seemed to understand Shen Yibin. The corners of his mouth curved up into a smile, and the glint off his big buck teeth nearly blinded Shen Yibin. He then led Gao Lujie into the pool, and they jumped in to splash and play, scaring the fish, shrimp, and turtles into scattering. They had never seen a creature like this before.
Luckily, beavers don’t eat fish, so the other creatures were safe for now. After swimming for a bit, the two started to dig furiously, their claws moving at lightning speed as they excavated the bank of the pool, preparing to build their home. A beaver’s dwelling is usually a combination of a burrow and a lodge—a den underground with a structure made of earth and wood built on top. They were now starting on the most basic part of the construction.
The water in the pool immediately turned murky, but it cleared up again very quickly. This wasn’t a pool of stagnant water. When Li Zhen designed it, he had piped in water from a nearby fresh water source. He had also taken into account that Hah’Er and the others would often swim and stir up the water, so he had added numerous design features to ensure it would clear up fast.
Shen Yibin wasn’t worried that the beavers’ digging would cause the pool to leak, either. The pool was surrounded by a thick layer of earth, but outside of that was solid concrete. Bald Qiang and Gao Lujie’s claws were absolutely no match for concrete.
Seeing the two of them busy at work, Shen Yibin could finally relax and turn to his own tasks. "Hah’Er, come on! We’re going grocery shopping! Xiaoliu, you keep an eye on these two!" It was Bald Qiang and Gao Lujie’s first day, after all; he had to prepare a proper welcoming meal for them. He began to wonder if he should go buy some tender shoots and young leaves—things like Chinese toon shoots, daylily buds, asparagus, Aralia shoots, elm pods, and willow buds—to cook a feast for Bald Qiang and Gao Lujie and see what they liked.
It wasn’t easy to find these ingredients at this time of year. Shen Yibin and Hah’Er scoured the entire vegetable market and only managed to find a small amount of Sichuan pepper shoots, tender mulberry leaves, and Chinese toon shoots—just barely enough for a few dishes. He also bought some other wild greens, like mustard greens and lamb’s quarters, and was finally somewhat satisfied.
"When we get back, I’ll make you scrambled eggs with Chinese toon, a cold salad with Sichuan pepper shoots, and congee with tender mulberry leaves. Then we’ll have some mustard greens in oyster sauce and some lamb’s quarters dumplings. Doesn’t that sound delicious?" Shen Yibin listed the menu for Hah’Er as he drove. Hah’Er’s mouth began to water, and he nodded his big head again and again.
’Looks like Hah’Er is on board, but I wonder if those two will like it,’ he thought. ’If they don’t, I’ll have to come up with another plan. I just hope they aren’t too picky.’
Anxious about his two new guests, Shen Yibin sped up and quickly returned to the store. He parked the car, and he and Hah’Er headed inside carrying all their bags of ingredients, only to find that in the short time they’d been gone, the shop had descended into chaos.
Bald Qiang and Gao Lujie were in a standoff with Xiaoliu and Maphario amidst the shrubbery. Xia Shixuan and Li Shiqing stood on the sidelines, wringing their hands, completely at a loss for what to do.
The moment they saw Shen Yibin return, it was as if they’d found their pillar of support. They immediately pulled him over. "Bin, you’re finally back! Hurry and separate them!"
"What’s going on here?" Shen Yibin quickly handed the groceries to Xia Shixuan and squeezed his way in. His arrival momentarily distracted Xiaoliu and Maphario. Seizing the opportunity, Bald Qiang rushed past them, wrapped his paws around the large tree, opened his mouth wide to reveal his massive buck teeth, and was about to chomp down!
"Bald Qiang, stop!" ’Damn it, you’re obsessed with logging no matter where you are!’