When Sha Yi looked up, she saw the ugly bird twisting its plump, round body and toppling over from the riverbank, its bare, fleshy rump forming a ridiculous parabolic arc as it fell.
Sha Yi was dumbfounded.
Was it committing suicide by drowning?
Sha Yi knew that mother birds protected their young, but this kind of behavior was just too bold. If the chicks were still alive but the mother died first, wouldn’t the chicks inevitably perish too?
What was the point of chasing after them then?
Sha Yi didn’t understand and couldn’t suppress her curiosity. Unable to hold back, she climbed out of the bathtub to investigate.
Unfortunately, by the time she reached the riverbank, only ripples remained on the water’s surface. The ugly bird had vanished without a trace, not even leaving behind a glimpse of its rear.
Disappointed, Sha Yi picked up a few stones and threw them into the river, hoping to hit the bird, but all she saw were the spreading waves.
She crouched there a while longer until the orange sun sank completely below the horizon, darkness blanketing the land and dyeing the entire river inky black. A little frightened, she slowly stood up and turned to leave.
Just then, a loud splash came from the river.
Sha Yi’s heart pounded, and she reflexively turned to look. To her surprise, the ugly bird that had seemingly drowned resurfaced. Strangely, its once plump, round body now looked flattened, resembling an inverted suction cup.
Spotting her on the nearby bank, it paddled clumsily toward her with its stubby legs. Once ashore, it waddled up to her and opened its beak, awkwardly spitting out a few objects it had been holding.
The dim light made it hard to see, so Sha Yi leaned in closer. What lay before her resembled modern shrimp but with distinct differences—green-and-white striped bodies, oval-shaped blunt claws, and sizes far larger than any river shrimp she’d seen. Each one looked as long as half her forearm.
Counting them, she realized the ugly bird had brought up five of these strange shrimp. They huddled on the ground, occasionally twitching their long antennae, showing no signs of fleeing.
Perhaps because this part of the river was near the grassy meadow, and people in this ancient era hadn’t yet developed a habit of hunting them, these creatures seemed utterly clueless about their predicament, even after being dragged from the water.
Just looking at them made Sha Yi’s mouth water. Maybe it was because she hadn’t encountered any particularly flavorful food since arriving in this prehistoric world, but whenever she saw something edible, her first thought was always how to cook it.
Besides, she and Xi Yi really needed a change in diet. Eating the same roasted food every day without any variety was bound to lead to nutritional imbalances.
Sha Yi thought that occasionally improving their meals with these shrimp wouldn’t hurt. Even if her first attempt might be a bit of a disaster, it was worth a shot—at least they’d get some protein!
Without further hesitation, she carefully picked up the shrimp by their antennae and carried them to the bathtub, where she used a fruit knife to clean them. She would have preferred to rinse them again, but the pitch-black river water at night repelled her. The idea of squatting by the riverbank again was something she absolutely refused to consider.
Sha Yi worked quickly. Having loved shrimp since childhood, she’d often watched her mother prepare them. Though these prehistoric shrimp were much larger, they put up far less resistance, so she finished cleaning all five in no time.
The ugly bird, which had somehow followed her, tilted its head as it watched her work. Once she was done, it squawked at her twice.
Sha Yi sensed its attitude had improved significantly—nothing like the hostility from their first encounter. Now, it seemed cautious, likely because its chick was in her hands, forcing it to act submissively.
She reached into the bathtub, feeling around until she found one of the smooth, tiny chicks, then plucked it out and tossed it to the ugly bird.
The bird grew excited, pecking at the limp little ball of flesh. Sha Yi couldn’t see where exactly it pecked, but the chick—which had been motionless for a full day—suddenly twitched. Surprised, she watched as the chick fully woke up and burrowed under the mother’s belly for comfort and protection. Soon, she lost interest.
Her attention returned to the cleaned shrimp. She figured it’d be best to finish rinsing them before Xi Yi returned—lingering outside at night was dangerous.
Pulling out the stainless steel basin from the bathtub, Sha Yi steeled herself and went back to the river to scoop up some water. She also grabbed a handful of coarse grass stems growing sparsely along the bank before hurrying back. She submerged the shrimp in the water and scrubbed them repeatedly with the grass.
After cleaning them, she gathered some dry twigs, leaves, and a few stones, then pulled out a lighter to start a fire.
Once the flames were steady, she ran into another problem: there were no thin branches to skewer the shrimp, and she wasn’t sure if roasting them directly would work.
In the end, she placed the shrimp in the stainless steel basin, wrapped her hand in animal hide, and tilted the basin over the fire.
It was a slow and unreliable method. Without oil or a proper stand, the process was awkward, but the real issue was whether the shrimp would cook properly. Still, she couldn’t think of a better solution.
She wasn’t Xi Yi—she lacked his extensive survival skills and hadn’t fully adapted to prehistoric life. With limited tools and seasonings, this impromptu grilled shrimp dinner was beyond her control, so she resigned herself to making do.
But before the shrimp in the basin could even turn red on one side, trouble struck again.
The previously friendly ugly bird suddenly charged at her without warning, knocking the basin from her hands. Caught off guard, Sha Yi lost her grip—the basin flew through the air, and the animal hide wrapped around her hand loosened and fell into the fire.
Dazed, she only reacted after a moment, quickly pulling the hide from the flames. A small section had already burned away, and the stainless steel basin was dented from the impact. The five cleaned shrimp were now scattered across the ground.
The ugly bird, still furious, flapped its stubby, featherless wings protectively over its chick while raising its head and screeching harshly at her with its drooping beak.
Staring at the bird and its chick, Sha Yi suddenly realized why it had attacked.
—She had only given it one chick before turning her attention to the shrimp. At first, it hadn’t noticed, but when it finally did, it must have assumed only this one chick remained. That was why it had lashed out.
At this moment, Sha Yi was absolutely furious.
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