"Right!" Fortunately, Hah’Er was the sensible one. It took the snake from Egg and patted its head encouragingly before handing the snake over to Shen Yibin. The meat was too tender; it really was better in a soup than on a grill.

Egg still wanted to snatch the snake back, but Hah’Er held it back. After a long series of grunts and squeaks, Egg seemed to finally get the message. It then sat on the ground with its cheeks puffed out, watching without blinking as Shen Yibin skinned the snake and chopped it into inch-long pieces.

From the look of it, if the snake soup Shen Yibin was making didn’t turn out delicious, Egg would surely give him hell.

’Damn it! You’ve eaten every last scrap of food I’ve made for the past few days, and now you’re turning your nose up at my cooking? Fine, let’s see if you have the guts to refuse it later!’

Shen Yibin grumbled internally as he brought a pot of water to a boil. He blanched the snake pieces, then scooped them out, rinsed them, and placed them in a pot of fresh water to simmer slowly.

He chopped the green onions into sections and the ginger into chunks, then added them to the pot. Snake meat itself is very flavorful, so it didn’t need many seasonings. He turned up the heat, and in no time, the water in the pot started to BUBBLE BUBBLE.

He used a spoon to skim the foam from the surface, then pulled out some of the charcoal from under the stove. He covered the pot and let it simmer on low heat. All that was left was to wait for the snake meat to become tender.

While waiting, Shen Yibin kept himself busy. He prepared the wild vegetables they had dug up earlier into a cold salad to go with their drinks. The group munched on the vegetables, patiently waiting for the snake soup to be ready.

The other three had some patience, drinking their drinks and eating the cold salad, but Egg did not. Its eyes were glued to the soup pot. If Shen Yibin and Hah’Er hadn’t been watching, the little guy probably would have lifted the lid several times already.

After being stopped a few times, Egg grew sulky. It kept passing its cup to Sylvie to have it refilled. Shen Yibin had wanted to stop it, but seeing that Egg showed no signs of being drunk, he just let it be. ’If I don’t find something to keep it occupied,’ he thought, ’this pot of snake soup might not survive long enough for us to eat it.’

Hah’Er watched Egg chugging its drink with great envy and looked expectantly at Shen Yibin. But Shen Yibin knew its alcohol tolerance all too well. It had already finished one bowl and was more than halfway through its second. If he poured it any more, they probably wouldn’t be going home today.

Seeing that Shen Yibin was unmoved, Hah’Er had no choice but to turn back, stick out its tongue for a tiny dip of beer, then pull it back, closing its eyes to savor the taste for a long while. Once the flavor was completely gone, it would dip its tongue in again for another little taste.

The pitiful sight made both Shen Yibin and Sylvie’s hearts ache. Anyone who didn’t know Hah’Er’s low alcohol tolerance would think Shen Yibin was being terribly strict with it.

"Hn? Hn! Hn!" Just as Shen Yibin was staring blankly at Hah’Er, Hah’Er’s eyes suddenly flew open. Its paw pointed straight at the soup pot simmering on the stove. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

’Is the clear snake soup ready?’ Shen Yibin immediately realized. He had been so focused on watching Hah’Er that he’d almost forgotten about it. He quickly lifted the lid and poked the meat with his chopsticks. Sure enough, the snake meat had been stewed until it was perfectly tender.

"Hold on, hold on! It’s almost ready." Egg immediately shot over, but Shen Yibin quickly stopped it. There was still one last step.

He used his chopsticks to pick the green onion sections and ginger chunks out of the pot. Then, he added fine salt to taste and gave it a light stir. The clear snake soup was now done. Shen Yibin took out four soup bowls and ladled the meat and broth into them. He gave Egg the bowl with the most meat as a reward for catching the snake.

"Try it. See if it’s to your liking," Shen Yibin said with complete confidence. Judging by the aroma alone, this soup was definitely top-notch. He was sure Egg would love it.

This time, Egg had learned its lesson. It didn’t rush to take a bite. Instead, it blew on the meat for a good while before tentatively taking a bite. With that first taste, Egg’s eyes lit up. After that, it lost all self-control. Its two paws continuously fished pieces of snake from the bowl and stuffed them into its mouth, completely forgetting about its drink.

The snake meat he’d made before had a heavier flavor. This time, he had only used a little green onion, ginger, and salt, which brought out the snake’s natural savory flavor to its fullest. This suited Egg’s palate much better. It couldn’t stop after the first bite. It polished off the first bowl with loud pants, slurped down the soup in two gulps, and immediately handed the bowl back to Shen Yibin.

"Hey, slow down a bit. No one’s going to steal it from you," Shen Yibin couldn’t help but say. He and Sylvie were already full. As for Hah’Er, it seemed indifferent to the snake meat. The remaining half a pot was all for Egg.

However, his words were completely useless. Before they were even halfway through their own bowls, Egg had already finished its second. This time, Shen Yibin just put the whole pot directly in front of it. ’You might as well use this. Otherwise, I won’t have time to eat myself. I’ll just be here ladling out meat for you.’

"*BURP!*" Sylvie let out an unladylike burp. She stood up, put away her bowl and chopsticks, stretched, and got ready to leave. "I’m getting sleepy. I’m going to take a nap in the car. Remember to wake me up later."

’Hey, you’re still in your swimsuit. You’re really going to sleep just like that? Do you really think I don’t have the guts to do anything?’ Shen Yibin watched with longing eyes as Sylvie climbed into the car and lay down, but he didn’t dare make a move. He could only force himself not to look toward the car and silently drank his snake soup.

Hah’Er was full, too. It swayed unsteadily onto the lawn, fell down with a THUD, and started snoring. The little fella was sleepy after eating and drinking its fill.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Egg ran to where Sylvie had been sitting, picked up the wine bottle, and started chugging it down. GLUG, GLUG, GLUG. By the time Shen Yibin noticed, it had already finished the entire bottle of red wine.

’Hey, you’re not going to get drunk and cause a ruckus like Hah’Er, are you?’ Shen Yibin watched with concern as the now-unsteady Egg wobbled. But Egg didn’t make a scene like Hah’Er. Instead, it staggered crookedly over to Hah’Er’s side, also face-planted onto the lawn, and lay there spread-eagled, letting out huge snores.

Hah’Er had been sleeping soundly, but it was getting extremely annoyed by the snoring. With its eyes still closed, it stuck out its right leg and kicked in the direction of the snores.

Egg was kicked right off, rolling down the grassy slope until it finally stopped at the bottom. But even with all that commotion, Egg didn’t react at all. It just lay there contentedly, still snoring away.

’What the hell, what am I supposed to do if you’re all asleep?’ Shen Yibin was getting sleepy too, but he didn’t dare fall asleep. What if someone passed by and took Hah’Er or Egg?

He forced himself to just sit there and stay awake for two hours until it was finally time to go back. He stood up, planning to wake the three of them up.