Chapter 50: Incubating Eggs
Shu Hanyu tucked the female in the blankets and said softly, “Tiantian must be hungry. I cooked soup; I’ll carry it over for you.”
“You cooked again? Didn’t I tell you to not do it anymore?” Shu Jintian looked over Shu Hanyu in concern and sighed in relief when he saw that he wasn’t burnt. However, he still wasn’t at ease and exhorted, “Don’t cook for me again in the future. What’s to be done if you were burnt?”
Hearing the female’s words of concern, Shu Hanyu’s initially low mood had subsequently lifted and he reached over to brush aside the female’s fringe that had grown a lot longer and concealed a bit of his eyes before gently saying, “Tiantian just gave birth, so it’s better to rest well. I’ll cook for you.”
Shu Jintian was speechless for a time, thinking to himself: That’s right, I’ve just laid such a large pile of eggs ah. According to human logic, shouldn’t he still be needing postpartum confinement? But aside from some dull pain in his rear, there was only a sensation similar to when he bottomed for the first time, and even the uncomfortable feeling was no longer there.
Shu Jintian was genuinely thinking about whether he needed the postpartum confinement…
Fuck! What was he thinking? Shu Jintian suddenly came back to his senses and shook his head; he couldn’t shock himself more if he tried.
“Mn, fine. But you have to be careful when making a fire. I’ll do it after resting for a few days. Hanyu, help me bring in my clothes from outside ba!”
The inside of the bed was much warmer than the cave. Each time Shu Jintian came out of the bed, he couldn’t help but shiver from the cold. Shu Hanyu later became aware of this, and from then on, always brought the clothes in for him.
But this time, Shu Hanyu did not obediently bring clothes for Shu Jintian, instead tucking Shu Jintian in a little tighter before saying in distress, “It’s cold outside today, so let’s eat in bed.”
“How’s that possible?” Before Shu Jintian finished speaking, Shu Hanyu interrupted him.
“Be good Tiantian, I’ll get the food.” Shu Hanyu leaned closer to Shu Jintian and kissed him softly on the lips. Then, he ignored the female’s protests and turned to leave.
Shu Jintian could only poke his head out from the seam of the bed. Sure enough, it was threateningly cold; he didn’t need to think hard to know that the cave was definitely even colder.
Shu Jintian was tangled up for an instant before very cowardly shrinking back into the bed. It’s too cold, so just let me be a degenerate this once ba! (╯﹏╰)
Shu Hanyu carried the whole pot of soup and placed it by the bed. Then, he also took a small jar of salt that was being covered by dried leaves in the cave and brought it to the bedside.
“Tiantian, I didn’t add any salt. You add it to your liking ba!” Shu Hanyu held the little shell Shu Jintian and chopsticks Shu Jintian usually ate with and coaxed.
“Wow~ Hanyu, your skills are amazing! Let me try.” Shu Jintian said while looking at the pot of soup, not even looking at Shu Hanyu when he extended his hands for the bowl and chopsticks.
Originally he didn’t feel hungry, but looking at such an alluring soup, his gastric fluids suddenly rolled and gurgled, and his saliva was also overflowing like a river.
Shu Jintian scooped up a bit of salt with a wooden chip he whittled with his dagger then mixed it in. This shell was considered a very large one among the ones in their home, and was over one meter in diameter, and this pot of soup was also about seven parts full. Shu Jintian mixed it up, and, feeling that the salt wasn’t enough, added a bit more.
“Why did you make so much ah? How long would I have to eat it for? But it’s so delicious, so throwing it away is too much of a pity!” Shu Jintian said while drooling. He shifted aside the overly greasy oil on the surface and ladled out a small bowl of broth.
Shu Jintian gave it a casual blow, then impatiently sipped a bit. The slightly scalded Shu Jintian’s eyes still squinted in incomparable satisfaction. Tsk~ The big snake really is gifted at cooking, unexpectedly making even better soup than him! Damn!
“Mnn~ Sure enough, it’s so delicious. What bird is this? It’s so nice after being boiled!” Shu Jintian drank the soup before staring at the bird in the pot. To be able to boil out such delicious soup, this meat’s flavour must be good too.
Hearing this, Shu Hanyu quietly let out a sigh of relief before smiling in satisfaction. He happily said, “It’s good that Tiantian likes it. You’ve eaten this bird before; it’s that species that attacked you when you were climbing that tree. If you like it a lot, I’ll catch more for you next time.”
“Oh? It’s that sort of big bird ah; it’s really delicious. That time, the flavour was already pretty good when it was carelessly roasted, and now it’s even more delicious after adding spices. It should also be delicious after being roasted next time!”
Shu Jintian nodded forcefully, then took another small sip of the soup. Ah~! It’s so comfy, his stomach feels all warm. As Shu Jintian’s stomach eased, his heart subconsciously became incredibly soft, and his eyes that occasionally glanced at Shu Hanyu held a smile.
After drinking a bowl of soup, he stabbed the meat in the pot with his chopsticks and took a bite. The meat had become very soft from boiling, and it was easily poked through. However, though the meat was tasty, it was boiled for so long and the texture had become a little like wood dregs, but it was still able to be swallowed. The meat had no flavour though, so Shu Jintian simply sprinkled some salt and the flavour became much better.
Shu Jintian ate this meal especially sweetly and with satisfaction, so much that his stomach was bulging. Even with such a large pot, the water level of the soup had clearly been reduced by a section.
Shu Jintian was naturally unwilling to toss out the remaining soup, so he asked Shu Hanyu to leave it in the cave so he could reheat it for the next meal. Fortunately, the current weather was cold, and food wasn’t spoiled that easily. Shu Jintian estimated that it could be eaten for two days.
After Shu Jintian finished eating, he rinsed his mouth and washed up with Shu Hanyu’s help. His body was dry and clean as he wrapped himself back up in the blankets, his heart also incomparably full.
Shu Hanyu then tidied up the aftermath outside before entering the bed.
Shu Jintian was looking at the nest of snake eggs, at a loss on whether he should continue incubating the eggs. But the big snake was home, and being watched as he incubated seemed really strange ah! Moreover, he also did not know whether the eggs needed to be incubated; he didn’t want to make a fool of himself!
Shu Jintian was being all twisted up when he saw Shu Hanyu enter. After hesitating for a few seconds, he asked awkwardly, “Cough! Um… Hanyu, do the eggs need to be incubated? Or should they be left alone and just let them hatch by themselves.”
In the past, Shu Jintian heard that most snakes would leave immediately after laying their eggs, leaving the eggs to emerge or perish in the great nature. He didn’t know whether Shu Hanyu’s eggs incubated on their own ne? Or were they incubated like chicks?
“Both are fine. But eggs personally incubated by adults will live a lot longer, while the ones neglected might not even succeed in hatching.” Shu Hanyu was indifferent; it was fine as long as his Tiantian liked it. It was best if these eggs could live, but he wouldn’t be disappointed if they couldn’t. In any case, he wouldn’t be able to raise them forever, and he’d have to let them go after they grew a little. He just needed Tiantian.
“Oh, so it’s like that? Then let’s personally incubate ba. My body temperature is high, so they’ll hatch faster, right?” Shu Jintian asked with uncertainty. He wasn’t sure whether his body temperature would, due to being too high compared to snakes, conversely hurt the eggs.
Shu Hanyu smiled softly and kissed Shu Jintian’s soft and warm lips, saying with a muffled tone, “Tiantian personally incubating naturally makes it much faster! But I’m very happy that Tiantian can personally incubate the eggs!”
In his memory, the females who laid the snake eggs would never personally incubate the eggs; Spiritual Snakes would either find a good spot to hide them and let them survive on their own, or incubate with their low-temperature body. This took a very long time, and only patient Spiritual Snakes would do so.
“Oh! Then I’ll incubate ba!” Shu Jintian spoke easily, and only felt incredibly strange after saying that. He hated that he couldn’t bite off his own tongue. But spoken words were like spilt milk, and Shu Jintian could only forcefully find a topic to shift the focus of him and Shu Hanyu.
These eggs weren’t small; in order not to crush the eggs, he only delicately leaned over them, and such a posture was hard to maintain for a long time. After contemplation, Shu Jintian lifted up one edge of the bedsheets, pushed away the dried grass below, and dug a pit among the broken rocks. If he dug out a hole that was big enough to put the eggs in, he could probably lay right on top to incubate them.
“Hanyu, find something that I can load; I want to dig a hole to put the eggs in.” Shu Jintian did not raise his head at all, choosing to dig at the area where he slept and piling the extra stones at the side for the moment.
“Okay!” Shu Hanyu had always indulged in Shu Jintian; as long as Shu Jintian wanted to do something, he would do his best to satisfy him. Though he didn’t understand what the female was doing, he unhesitatingly got out of bed and found a seashell used to carry things, then passed it over to the female who was currently working hard in digging a hole under the bed.
Shu Jintian dug a hole big enough to put the eggs in with some extra space left, then spread a small piece of animal hide before carefully putting in the eggies one by one. Shu Jintian had controlled the hole’s size very well, and all the eggs fit perfectly. Shu Jintian finally spread the animal hide bedsheet over them and carefully laid on top, not pressing down on the snake eggs.
Mn, sure enough, it was still this comfy. Moreover, with the animal hide’s separated heat and preservation, the eggs wouldn’t get cold so quickly even if he had to leave for a while, and he wouldn’t make the eggs rapidly heat up when he laid down. It should probably be very beneficial to the eggs’ health.
Shu Jintian was like a good father figure, earnestly laying in bed to incubate the eggs.
Not long after, Shu Hanyu was just about to wind around him when Shu Jintian felt that the animal hide was too thick. Worried that the heat would not transmit to the eggies below, and afraid that the eggs were too constricted and would feel oppressed, he moved all the eggs onto the bedsheet. This way, though the bed became not that tidy, Shu Jintian promptly became much more reassured. His bare skin having direct contact with the smooth shells also gave Shu Jintian a strange sense of intimacy.
After all, they were his children. Though he didn’t birth them willingly, Shu Jintian still cared about them. It truly was great that he could have eggs with the big snake ne!
Seeing that the female was finally lying down properly, he helped cover him securely in the quilt and laid down while sticking to Shu Jintian.
Shu Jintian casually tossed Shu Hanyu a glance, worriedly ordering, “Don’t press the eggs when you hold me; be careful of breaking them!”
“Mn, I know.”
Shu Hanyu felt a little jealous, not expecting Tiantian to care about the eggs this much. But fortunately the eggs were his flesh and blood, so Shu Hanyu could only swallow down his dissatisfaction. He thought that the eggies should hatch as soon as possible, so he could send them away.
The female that had just given birth had a very soft body, and the feeling was completely different from when he first tangled around the female. This made Shu Hanyu feel both enchanted and curious, his twining around the female’s limbs tightening somewhat.
Baobao Notes
Surprisingly, the emotional states after the birth were reversed. I expected Jintian to not care while Hanyu fretted, but this was a nice change.
Also I’m not particularly close to my parents, so while I do understand people might take offense with Hanyu’s lack of parental feelings, I just find it amusing. Don’t argue about it in comments pls it makes me sed.
Also, on another note, welcome to our new probational editor, turquoisesquid!