Chapter 92: deer lost in joy
After eating a dense meal, the Deer Lord felt a bit thirsty. Without waiting for its signal, the clever attendant brought a small tub. The tub contained warm water with sprinkled salt, and the Deer Lord lowered its head to drink, lapping up the water eagerly. After finishing, it licked the saltwater from its mouth, glanced satisfied at the attendant scratching an itch on its side, and let out a content snort.
Since the onset of winter, the Deer Lord had never felt so comfortable. Today, not only did it eat a lot of delicious dried grass and some small rapeseed, but it also drank warm water with salt. It felt completely at ease.
The attendant had never let it eat so well in the past, but today, it finally had a satisfying meal.
After being well-fed and hydrated, drowsiness set in. This phenomenon wasn't exclusive to humans; even deer experienced it. Moreover, there was a perceptive little companion scratching its itches.
The Deer Lord closed its eyes and enjoyed the top-notch massage. Then, swaying on its long legs, it walked to a thick and soft patch of grass, lay down, and soon drifted into a nap.
The other deer had also eaten their fill. Seeing the leader showing no intention to leave and the ground being so dry and soft, they, too, started lying down one after another.
Some followed the leader's lead and took a nap. Some with high spirits lay on the ground looking around, observing this strange but comfortable place.
Some lowered their heads playfully, using their mouths to bite the dry grass lying in front of them.
Most of them began ruminating, regurgitating the previously ingested food through muscle contractions in the esophagus, then chewing it thoroughly before swallowing it again. This resulted in some white foam appearing around their mouths, a process called "regurgitating foam" in Han Cheng's hometown.
As the deer rested, the little fawn pranced around the spacious enclosure, swaying back and forth and occasionally tapping its hooves, expressing its joyful mood. When it got tired of playing, it walked to its mother's side, lay down with its backside facing her head, stretched its neck, and pulled out a red teat with its mouth. It then happily enjoyed its meal.
After a while, if the milk flow seemed slow, it used its mouth to push against the teat, causing a more vigorous flow.
The younger members of the tribe, like Shi Tou, watched attentively from the side. Seeing the little fawn enjoying its meal so much, they couldn't help but reveal some envy in their eyes.
When they saw the deer satisfied, Han Cheng gestured to the people from the tribe to leave the enclosure quietly and then closed the woven door with rattan.
The snow was very cold for humans, but it was like a comfortable quilt for the rapeseed. With this snow covering, they could better survive the harsh winter. Unfortunately, the rapeseed inside the baskets didn't fare as well. In their sleep, they lost their lives.
Looking at the not-yet-filled baskets of rapeseed, Han Cheng felt somewhat distressed. Damn it, he and the others barely ate any, and now all these are going to the deer!
Seeing the Deer Lord, well-fed and well-rested, appearing a bit restless, it wanted to wander elsewhere but was stopped by something unknown in this enclosure, preventing it from leaving.
It extended its head through a gap, but due to its antlers, it almost couldn't pull it back. This made it even more eager to leave this place.
Seeing the Deer Lord's restlessness, Han Cheng instructed someone to open the enclosure gate. Tie Tou, Hei Wa, and others who often accompanied him to the salt mountain walked in.
After they walked in, the gate was closed.
Seeing this two-legged creature, the Deer Lord's restless heart immediately calmed down.
Moreover, seeing the green and oily rapeseed in the hands of this two-legged creature, the Deer Lord immediately forgot about wanting to leave.
It approached, starting to eat happily.
For the Deer Lord, there was nothing that a rapeseed meal couldn't solve. If there was, then have another meal.
After eating some rapeseed and receiving a massage from this two-legged creature, the Deer Lord's mood became extremely cheerful again.
Fu Jiang, seeing Han Cheng only serving this grass-eating fellow, felt reluctant and jealous. Lowering its head, it bit onto Han Cheng's fur boots, raising its buttocks, and forcefully pulled Han Cheng outside.
It was only when Han Cheng, both crying and laughing, had to use his other hand to rub Fu's head and scratch it that Fu gradually stopped being angry. Later, it lay on the ground, showing its belly to let Han Cheng scratch it happily.
