Future Pet Shop

After taking the medicine, the woodpecker closed its eyes and fell asleep, just as Bald Qiang and Shi Gaofei had. Shen Yibin gently placed it on a soft cushion, then took out some dry rations and mineral water. He, Hah’Er, and Xiaoliu ate and drank while quietly waiting for it to wake up.

Before long, the woodpecker opened its eyes again. It stood up from the soft cushion and looked around, its gaze finally landing on Shen Yibin. Then, it flapped its wings and flew onto Shen Yibin’s shoulder. Only then did Shen Yibin finally let out a sigh of relief. ’Looks like this mission was a success.’

"There are still some rations and water left in my pack. How about we play in the mountains for another couple of days? We came all this way; it seems like a bit of a waste to go back so soon, don’t you think?" Shen Yibin asked, looking at Hah’Er and Xiaoliu. Before entering the mountains, he had prepared to spend several days here. He never expected the mission to go so smoothly—he’d found the animal on just the second day.

"Mhm! Mhm!" Hah’Er nodded eagerly, then pointed to the stream down the mountain, as if it wanted to go catch fish. Xiaoliu scratched its head and grinned, then leaped into a tree to play without another word. Maphario, meanwhile, shrank back in Hah’Er’s pocket, watching the woodpecker warily, as if afraid it still held a grudge.

"KIK! KIK!" the woodpecker chirped twice. It didn’t seem to be bothered by what happened with Maphario earlier. It remained perched steadily on Shen Yibin’s shoulder, showing no signs of wanting to cause trouble.

"Are you hungry? Want something to eat?" Shen Yibin wondered, ’Woodpeckers specialize in eating all sorts of insects, so does that make them carnivores? I wonder if it would like ham sausage?’ At this thought, he pulled a ham sausage from his backpack, tore open the wrapper, broke off a few small pieces, and held them out to the woodpecker’s beak.

The woodpecker poked at the sausage bits with its beak, then stuck out its tongue for a taste. With a FLUTTER, it flew off Shen Yibin’s shoulder and back to the old tree to look for insects. It seemed to completely dislike the taste of the ham sausage.

’Tsk, this is going to be a problem. What am I going to do for this little guy’s food in the future?’ Shen Yibin’s head started to ache. Woodpeckers ate all sorts of insects—beetles, moths, stink bugs, locusts, ants, grubs, termites... ’When we get back to the store, where am I supposed to find all that stuff? And even if I did, if I were to cook with those ingredients, I’m pretty sure everyone would lose their appetite.’

’Oh, well. Worst case, I can just bring it to the manor and let it find its own food in the forest. There are more than enough trees there; how could it not find some bugs?’ Shen Yibin shook his head and put the matter aside for the time being. He ran to the edge of the stream to watch Hah’Er play in the water. ’We can’t have a barbecue here, but this water is so clear... a dip would feel amazing right about now.’

After two more delightful days playing in the mountains and taking lots of photos of the beautiful scenery, Shen Yibin, along with Hah’Er, Xiaoliu, Maphario, and the newly-captured woodpecker, began their journey back. Following the same path out was much easier than the trip in. By noon, they had emerged from the deep mountains and found Shen Yibin’s car.

"Here, you go play with Maphario in the back. We’re heading home!" Shen Yibin settled the woodpecker in the back seat. He wasn’t sure if it was a case of conflict breeding friendship, but from their interactions over the past two days, it seemed Maphario and the woodpecker had actually become the best of friends. The woodpecker would even carry Maphario on its back while wandering through the forest. He had no idea how it had convinced the ever-timid Maphario to climb up there.

Hah’Er sat in the passenger seat as usual, while Xiaoliu stretched out comfortably across the second row. The woodpecker and Maphario were playing happily in the last row. Shen Yibin glanced back at them and smiled joyfully, then started the car, planning to head south before turning west to return to Yunzhong City.

They passed through quite a few police and forestry department checkpoints along the way. Fortunately, Hah’Er and Xiaoliu had all their paperwork in order, and since Shen Yibin was now something of an internet celebrity, he wasn’t given any trouble. The woodpecker didn’t have any documents, but with a panda in tow, who was going to notice it? And so, after a two-day journey, Shen Yibin finally made it back to Yunzhong City without a hitch and parked in front of his shop.

"Boss, you’re finally back!" As soon as he stepped inside, Xia Shixuan rushed over, linking her arm with his and launching into a complaint. "You just ran off to enjoy the mountains, leaving us all behind! We couldn’t even eat properly while you were gone. See? I’ve lost weight again. Feel my stomach if you don’t believe me!" she said, trying to press Shen Yibin’s hand against her belly.

"I believe you, I believe you! I’ll go cook for everyone right now!" ’You win, okay?’ After finally escaping her clutches, Shen Yibin had a thought. ’Wait a minute, am I their boss or their chef? Is this any way to treat your boss?’

However, considering Hah’Er hadn’t eaten his cooking in several days either, Shen Yibin decided to let her off the hook for now. He put down his backpack, got Hah’Er and the others settled, and prepared to get busy in the kitchen. As for the woodpecker, the moment it entered the shop, it flew up to the large tree where Xiaoliu often spent its time.

"This is the one I brought back from the Qinling Mountain Range," he told Xia Shixuan. "Go check if we have any of those mealworms we feed the hamsters. If so, bring some out and see if it’ll eat them. If not, just go out and buy a few." After giving these instructions, Shen Yibin headed to the kitchen.

He had just finished stir-frying a plate of twice-cooked pork and a serving of Giant Panda Magic Mapo Tofu when he heard a commotion outside. Shen Yibin frowned and came out of the kitchen. ’What on earth is going on now?!’

The moment he stepped out, he saw Xiaoliu perched on a branch, baring its teeth at the woodpecker and waving a bamboo twig in its paw. It looked furious.

’What’s going on?’ he wondered. ’They were getting along fine in the mountains. Why are they causing a ruckus the second we get home?’ Shen Yibin hurried to the terrace railing to get a better look.

The sight made his heart sink. ’Holy crap! Why is the tree hollow with the Monkey Wine leaking?’ He could see the precious liquid trickling out of a small hole. The rich aroma drew the attention of countless customers, who stared with their heads tilted back, gulping from time to time. Xiaoliu was defensively guarding the tree from the woodpecker while simultaneously turning back to lick at the dripping Monkey Wine. It looked absolutely livid!

’Uh... did it just habitually peck a hole and go right through the hollow?’ Shen Yibin was exasperated. ’Seriously, were you sent here just to wreck things?’