Beauty and the Beasts

Digging for Bamboo Shoots

After piling up a small mountain of ice blocks, Parker cleared out a clean spot for Bai Qingqing to sit behind and be shielded from the wind.

“Done,” Parker said.

Bai Qingqing let out a yawn, tears welling up in her eyes. She rubbed her eyes and looked towards the ground where the roots of the bamboos were.

The ground was nice and even, a patch of dark brown, and not even a hint of green could be seen. As the roots of several bamboos were closely gathered, it was highly possible that there were new offshoots here.

“Try digging next to the roots,” Bai Qingqing said with uncertainty. She recalled that winter bamboo shoots remained hidden underground, and those that grew above ground were called spring winter shoots.

Parker dug next to the old bamboo roots, thinking that perhaps the bamboo roots were like the yellow roots of the sweet potatoes.

With Parker’s sharp and tough nails, he easily clawed away the mud and dug a big hole in no time. Bai Qingqing invigorated herself with some effort as she squatted beside him and watched him. “Be careful not to damage the roots.”

“Mm.” Parker acted with more caution now. He dug out a yellow root as thick as a finger and used his fingernails to poke at it. His golden brows slightly furrowed. “The roots are as tough as the bamboo. Are you sure you can chew them?”

“This isn’t what I’m going to eat. I think what I’m looking for can’t be found here. You’ve already dug so deep…” Bai Qingqing said. Suddenly, an idea struck her. She pointed at the root and said, “Try digging along the roots.”

“Alright.” Parker efficiently dug along the roots, and shortly after, suddenly felt something hard. Touching it with his muddy hands, Parker said, “Eh, what’s this? It’s large and soft!”

“Let me take a look!” Bai Qingqing edged closer and looked. Parker dug a bit more with his claws and took out some mud-colored leaves.

Bai Qingqing let out a cry of surprise. “Found it! It’s this one!”

Parker excitedly dug continuously into the ground. Shortly after, a shoot the size of a person’s head was dug out. After removing several layers of the shoot’s skin, the shoots became a tender light-yellow color.

Parker heaved a sigh of relief. “Great, you have food now.”

Bai Qingqing had a broad smile on her face. Looking at how tender the skin was, it seemed like even the leaves could be eaten. She licked the corners of her lips and stuck out her hand. Only then did she realize that there were bear paws over her hands, so she directly stuck out her neck and used her mouth to bite them instead.

Parker sent the shoots into Bai Qingqing’s mouth.

The leaves of the bamboo shoots were indeed very tender, but it was pretty much tasteless—it tasted something like the leaves of Chinese cabbage. Bai Qingqing swallowed it into her stomach and simply thought of it as replenishing her vitamins.

Seeing Bai Qingqing enjoying the shoots, Parker felt an inexplicable satisfaction. He stared at her for a good while before finally bearing to speak. “I’ll go and dig in other spots, you stay here and eat slowly.”

“Mm.” Bai Qingqing instructed. “Don’t dig too much, winter shoots aren’t easy to store.”

“Got it.” Parker reached out and attempted to stroke her head, but seeing the crop of bear’s fur atop her head, his hand halted mid-air, before going to poke Bai Qingqing’s flushed face instead. “Thankfully, you’re still warm.”

“With so many layers on I feel hot, actually.” Bai Qingqing tugged at her clothes. She saw that Parker’s hands were full of mud, and he was wiping his face with the backs of his hands. With the winter bamboo shoots in her arms, she walked to the small mountain of ice shielding her from the wind, sat down, and started nibbling at the leaves.

Parker dug in Bai Qingqing’s vicinity. There were few animals in the cold season, and carnivorous animals were more ferocious than they were at any other time of the year. He had to stay alert and keep Bai Qingqing safe.

Digging for bamboo shoots depended on luck—Parker had to dig three spots before finally finding the second shoot. When he turned around and looked, Bai Qingqing had already fallen asleep hugging the shoots to her chest.

Parker smiled. He walked to her with the newly dug bamboo shoots and carefully withdrew the shoots in her arms, before laying her down flat on the ground.