Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl
Chapter 360 - 358: Love It, Give It a Collar

When it was almost dark, Ruan Mengmeng returned.

Along with her, two girls from the Protection Station also came.

They carried three backpack baskets filled with quite a few items.

"These are the vegetables and fruits we bought. Tomorrow, the center will deliver fruit, and Uncle Zhao and others said they would help carry it in while patrolling the forest, so we don't have to make another trip."

There were also dishes packed by Ruan Mengmeng that had cooled down and needed reheating.

"This is from Gemu's house; they gave it to us for the stove. Uncle Zhao also got us some slices of lamb and beef to cook for ourselves."

This copper pot was a bit large, enough to feed five or six people.

(It resembles the pot used for mutton hotpot in Beijing, but much larger.)

The local people here use bones from cattle and sheep to stew broth, then heat the copper pot, pour the broth in, and put meat and vegetables in it.

Before they had this copper pot, when they wanted to eat hotpot, they had to use a water heater as a stove and a big iron pot for cooking.

This copper pot is much smaller, leaving space on the table for other stir-fried and braised dishes, a bit like a combination of hotpot and Chinese meals.

The group of girls also drank homemade rice wine, which had a bit longer fermentation time, so the alcohol by volume was higher than ordinary rice wine.

Drinking it chilled in the summer and warm in the winter—each had its own flavor.

After the meal, four girls took the initiative to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen, then went to the small building where Ruan Mengmeng and Old Gao's female junior lived to play cards.

Between the two buildings, there was a corridor where they placed tables for reading, studying, working, and entertaining without bothering others.

After eating, several men cleaned up what needed to be cleaned and fed the necessary medicines, then chatted on the first-floor platform.

Dr. Gao would soon graduate, and his professor intended for him to continue working with him after graduation, both to help oversee two graduate students and because Dr. Gao had project management skills that everyone envied.

There's a saying, "Students promote their professors to academy fellows," and that could truly happen.

Old Gao didn't mind; his professor treated him really well, gave him autonomy, didn't mistreat him financially, and even used his own influence to help him secure projects and make money.

"I've also told my family, at least wait until the two of them graduate before considering other options."

Old Gao's male junior shyly smiled, feeling more at ease.

Despite he and his female junior not speaking much, both were nearly worried to death.

They could go to the Bird Watching Station, but that place already had its cliques firmly established; going there would mean solely serving others.

Working for a fellow student vs. working for strangers—any fool would know which to choose.

"Alright, tomorrow I'm going up the mountain. Let your junior come with me; he can also get familiarized with the birds. I somehow feel there are many unfamiliar birds this spring."

Old Gao snorted through his nose, looking disdainful, "You recognize birds? Can you even tell apart the types of owls?"

Chen Ying laughed and swiftly kicked him.

When the two big shots started tussling, Little Sen and Old Gao's male junior tacitly moved the tables and chairs aside to clear the area.

Beside Little Sen, Dong Sheng clutched a large bone, gnawing on it on a special movable wooden platform.

Seeing Chen Ying and Old Gao sparring, it abruptly propped up its upper body and issued a cub-like roar.

"Roar! ┗|｀O′|┛ Oh~~"

Old Gao laughed, pinching Dong Sheng's cheeks as he approached, "You little guy, this wooden platform you're sleeping on, I made it with my own hands. You're roaring at me?"

Dong Sheng's large paw landed on Old Gao's hand, gently enclosing his wrist in its mouth, then extended its tongue, retracting its papillae, and swiftly licked it.

Even though it had lightened its force, Old Gao's wrist was slightly reddened by the lick.

"Dong Sheng is too cute; just come home with me, I'll take care of you."

Could this really be happening? Dong Sheng immediately freed his hand, thrashing his front paws and dragging his heavy lower body to cling onto Chen Ying's legs.

"Don't worry, he's not taking you. You're officially registered under my name."

Their side was noisy and lively, and the two little tigers wouldn't stand for it.

They ran out whining, scratching at the door, wanting to join Dong Sheng in play.

Chen Ying opened the iron railing gate, và the tiger cubs quickly rushed in, one of them pouncing and colliding with Dong Sheng.

Dong Sheng, being significantly larger, hugged the Big Tiger Cub and flipped it over, leaving it seeing stars.

The other cub, "picking on the soft," ran to Little Sen's trouser legs, calling woefully, and even gnawed at Little Sen's shoes.

"Are they hungry again?" Little Sen bent down to pick up the tiger cub and felt its slightly deflated stomach.

Indeed, having Dong Sheng and Big Tiger to play with, the two little fellows had more fun, got hungry quicker, ate more, and grew faster.

Although Elder Tiger was experienced, his physical strength was no match for a younger tiger, and he grew tired after playing with them for a while.

Jinya and Little Jin only played with them in the mornings and evenings; during the day, they went off to sleep, and at night, they went out hunting—truly no time to help take care of kids.

It might also be that these two tiger cubs were more troublesome than Big and Small Baby and the three Whistle Spirits; the cats couldn't handle it, not at all.

After an extra feeding, the tiger cubs hadn't forgotten the immobilized Dong Sheng; they trotted over with a piece of meat to feed him.

Dong Sheng affectionately licked the tiger cub, then swallowed the meat with a gulp.

Big Tiger, who had been lying on the second floor and watching for a while, suddenly came down, paused in the middle of the clearing to look at them, and trotted into the woods.

Old Gao got a bit anxious, but Chen Ying reassuringly patted him on the shoulder.

"It's fine, Big Tiger knows his limits."

What could that timid creature do? At most, he might catch a couple of rabbits to supplement their diet.

But Chen Ying was wrong this time.

An hour later, Big Tiger returned, panting heavily, dragging back a large Antelope.

Seeing this scene, Chen Ying and Little Sen were utterly stunned on the spot.

Their cries of surprise also attracted four girls, who went on a frantic photo session with Big Tiger and the Antelope carcass.

Especially Ruan Mengmeng, who even updated her social media with a caption, "My baby boy can finally hunt by himself, I'm relieved as a parent!"

Within three seconds, her phone rang.

"Your baby boy? I don't recognize him!"

The call was hung up, and Ruan Mengmeng, looking befuddled, stared at her phone, taking a while to snap back to reality.

"What is my mom doing, she doesn't need to acknowledge him anyway."

Gemu bumped her shoulder, "Maybe that's your mom indirectly pushing for marriage, hinting you to bring a real baby home."

Ruan Mengmeng looked terrified, "No, impossible!"

The girls laughed uproariously together, and Chen Ying and his group simply couldn't join in on this conversation.

After a good rest, Big Tiger roared, and only then did Elder Tiger stroll out leisurely, glanced at the scene under the light, stretched, and yawned.

"Roar, eat it yourself, I'm not hungry right now."

Big Tiger seemed a bit lost.

Elder Tiger sighed, advanced, and tore open the neck of the Antelope and took a bite.

Then, he called his cubs to come down and eat.

Big and Small Tiger Cub tumbled down the stairs and pounced on the meat, devouring it voraciously.

Chen Ying fitted Dong Sheng's wheelchair and allowed him to join in tearing at the fresh meat.

Big Tiger stepped back, watching the cubs eat joyously, and finally relaxed a bit.

Elder Tiger, after eating his fill, retreated and slowly licked his fur clean.

"You should eat quickly. It took a lot of effort, and you shouldn't eat only the leftovers. They won't eat that much."

Big Tiger grunted and moved to the spot where Elder Tiger had been eating, bowing his head to start.

Dong Sheng took a few bites and gently nudged Big Tiger's cheek with his head.

Big Tiger narrowed his one eye, a feeling of happiness filling his body.

Chen Ying and his group watched this scene from the platform, somewhat worried but also very relieved.

The worry was that these young tigers, as they grow up, might think all their kind are as friendly, which would surely lead to severe setbacks.

But the relief was that Big Tiger had finally overcome his timidity and taken a brave first step.

Even a one-eyed tiger could become a tiger king.

The remaining Antelope, not completely eaten, was dragged upstairs by Big Tiger to continue feasting. Little Sen did not intervene; cleaning could wait until tomorrow before doing it, as the weather was still cool, and it would only be one night, unlikely to produce any bad smells.

The next morning, Chen Ying got up to exercise and upon opening the door, saw Leopard Sister stretching out on the platform of the second floor.

Brother Leopard was also there, sleeping properly.

Jinya and Little Jin had probably gone back to their den.

The sound of the door awakened Leopard Sister, who rolled on the platform and lazily waved her tail.

"You look pretty happy. What, did you chase away that sister of yours?"

Chen Ying looked up, not seeing the scatterbrain, "Where's your brother?"

"He left, went back to the mountains." Leopard Sister played with Chen Ying's hand for a few minutes before standing up, "I drove him away."

Leopard Sister sat upright and washed her face with her paws.

"That guy was too greedy, he could be a threat to you."

Even if he couldn't hurt Chen Ying, he could mess up Jiamu Gully.

On the mountain side, he would often kill far more prey than he could eat, letting the surplus rot.

Though other animals might clean up the spoiled carcasses, it was too wasteful.

His children were just like him; heartless and ruthless creatures.

Chen Ying listened and frowned slightly.

If that Leopard could have cubs, that meant she had many offspring, and so far, there had been no incidents of leopards harming people in the village. However, letting it rampage unhindered would spell trouble.

A harmful leopard had to be humanely destroyed, and the best outcome would be if it were sent to a zoo for strict supervision.

As for her cubs, Leopard Sister seemed indifferent.

When children grow up, they don't listen to their mother. Going out into the world, they naturally face conflicts. If you win, you survive; if you lose, you die—it has always been so.

Before meeting Chen Ying, hadn't Leopard Sister lived just like that?

Chen Ying sighed and shared the news with the whole group.

He told everyone to be careful when going into the mountains to avoid this cruel leopard.

"I should have captured it and put a collar on it to track its movements."

Hearing Chen Ying mutter this, Leopard Sister and Brother Leopard exchanged a glance, their tacit agreement clear in their nod.

Next time they meet, they won't let that fellow go.

They must put a collar on it!

Leopard Sister knew about the collar; Black and White Bear had worn it, and so had Snow Leopard. Aside from being a bit uncomfortable, it didn't really impact their movements.

Thinking of that guy being forced to wear a collar, filled with impotent rage, made Leopard Sister giddily grin.

"Ho ho ho~~"

As Chen Ying tapped on his phone and looked down at Leopard Sister, he wondered, was this throat stuck?