Savi had a sharp hearing, and he clearly heard that remark.
“My father is the chieftain,” he explained. “When I grow up, I will be the chieftain too.”
The future little chieftain Savi finished explaining his identity and then continued playing with the kids.
“Savi, why is there a tiger here?” Wagner pointed at a tiger curled up in the corner, his eyes filled with wonder. “It’s so big! Will such a big tiger eat us?!”
The animal encyclopedia says that big tigers eat people.
Attracted by Wagner’s words, the little child also panicked. “Savi, it really is a big tiger!”
Lele also recognized the big tiger.
The three children were panicking, and Lele’s eyes were red with tears. “Brother Savi, let’s run! Tigers eat children!”
Savi: “...”
Savi’s ears turned a little red. “Don’t be scared, tigers don’t eat people. The tigers here—”
“Look! There’s a lion over there!”
First, they saw a big tiger, and then not far away, they spotted a big lion. The three children were on the verge of tears from fright.
Whether it was the tiger or the lion, both were several times bigger than them.
The children had learned from animal shows that tigers and lions eat people.
Savi tried to calm them down. “Lions don’t eat people either. There’s no need to be afraid. If you don’t believe me, I can take you to—”
Before Savi could finish, the three children had already taken off running.
They were sprinting as fast as they could, terrified that the big tiger and lion might chase after them.
Savi watched his friends’ retreating figures, then glanced at the tiger in the corner.
He was a bit upset and pouted as he walked toward the tiger.
“Don’t stay here.”
Savi nudged the tiger. “I’ve told you before, don’t sunbathe here for the next few days.”
Lele was very timid, and Ningning and the others would be scared too.
The big tiger lazily glanced at him after being pushed.
Savi was nearly in tears with frustration. “You scared all my friends away!”
The big tiger: “...”
The tiger let out a low growl. “Not all of them ran. The chubbiest one came back.”
The little child, who had run a bit ahead, only then realized Savi hadn’t followed. He came to a screeching halt and turned around, just in time to see Savi walking toward the tiger.
Then, he heard the tiger’s growl.
The tiger’s low roar, when heard by the little child, sounded even more terrifying.
The little child was terrified, but seeing that Savi hadn’t run away yet, he hesitated and then ran back, intending to drag Savi away.
“Savi! Keep up!”
The loyal little child, mustering up the courage, approached the tiger, grabbed Savi, who was in front of the tiger, and then bolted.
Savi was stunned for a moment, completely swept along by him.
The tiger watched as the little child ran so fast he almost left afterimages, its yellow-brown eyes narrowing slightly.
This little child may be chubby, but he’s quite loyal to his friends.
Apart from the tiger and the lion, there were some other small beasts on the street. These other small beasts were relatively tiny and seemed more docile, so the children finally didn’t panic as much.
After they stopped, their little faces still showed traces of lingering fear.
“Savi, isn’t the zoo here poorly managed?”
The little child asked a soul-searching question, “How could even the tigers and lions escape?”
Although tigers and lions were scary, they’re actually quite rare, and the zoo tickets were really expensive.
Savi’s ears, which were already flushed, turned even redder.
He wiped the face of Lele, who had been frightened to tears, and said somewhat unnaturally, “The tigers and lions here don’t eat people, nor do they eat children, so you really don’t have to be afraid of them.”
Even though Savi said not to be afraid, the children couldn’t help but fear such big tigers and lions.
“Savi, I’m still a little scared.”
After hearing Savi’s reassurance, the little child honestly said, “They look like they could swallow me whole in one bite.”
Savi: “...”
Savi turned back to look at the big tiger.
Sigh, so frustrating.
He was so upset that he almost wanted to return the red envelope.
“If you’re scared, I can take you somewhere else to play.”
Savi thought for a moment and suggested other places they could go: “Come on, the place where I live is huge; we’ll definitely find somewhere you’ll like.”
Savi wasn’t wrong; his territory was indeed vast.
The children followed Savi around all day, ending up both exhausted and happy.
The food here was exactly to the little child’s liking. The various grilled meats they prepared were the best the little child had ever tasted.
And most importantly, even though he ate so much meat, the adults didn’t scold him for eating too much. Instead, they praised him and said he did great!
It was the first time the little child had been praised for being good at eating meat, so he happily devoured a few more big pieces.
After eating and drinking his fill, he sat in a small, airy pavilion, swinging his chubby legs, feeling like life couldn’t get any better.
“Savi, it’s really fun here,” he said.
The little child cradled the honey tea the adults had poured for him, his eyes squinting in contentment. “Next time we’re on vacation, we’ll come visit you again.”
“Alright,” Savi replied.
Before, Savi had been here all alone, and he didn’t find this place very fun.
He only knew that his family was very strict. They didn’t smile much, nor did they speak to him kindly. Every day, they just made him exercise, hunt, and practice his mental strength.
His life was dull and monotonous.
If it weren’t for these children, he felt he wouldn’t even have any friends here.
“Savi, have you ever seen fireflies? The book says that fireflies light up at night, like little lanterns. They’re so pretty.”
“I’ve seen them, in the mountains,” Savi replied.
“Can we go see them?” The little child was very interested in the fireflies mentioned in the book.
Savi shook his head. “We can’t go into the mountains at night.”
“Why not?”
“Because the mountains are dangerous at night,” Savi said, then added, “If you go in at night, you might run into a big tiger.”
Because the big tiger patrols the mountains at night.
The children weren’t afraid of the tigers locked up in the zoo, but they were scared of the tigers that weren’t locked up and could roam freely.
The tigers were big and strong, and they might not even spit out the bones after eating a child.
“We’re not going.”
The little child took a few big gulps of honey water to calm his nerves.
They only enjoyed their comfortable life on the first day. On the second day, Savi’s First Uncle came looking for them: “Now that you’ve come to my place, I can’t just give you red envelopes.”
The little child’s eyes lit up when he heard this; he could definitely pick up on the hidden meaning in those words.
Uncle was clearly hinting that there were more gifts for them!
Sure enough, the little child’s prediction was spot on. Uncle continued, “Besides the red envelopes, I have another gift for you.”
The little child’s chubby face was full of anticipation. “Uncle, what other gift do you have for us?”
Could it be like Uncle Lulu, who opened up a treasure trove and let them pick whatever they wanted?
If he got to pick this time, the little child decided he would choose the most valuable gift, then sell it for money afterward.
The little child’s excitement was the most obvious, but although Wagner and Lele didn’t show it as clearly, their eyes were also sparkling.
Only Savi looked a bit serious.
“Uncle, we’re fine with just the red envelopes.”
Savi kept a serious expression and decided to resist, hoping he could save himself. “We don’t need any other gifts.”
As soon as he said this, the little child secretly stepped on his foot.
Wagner also frowned, looking like he wanted to give Savi a second kick.
“Uncle, we’ve been really good. Daddy said good kids can accept gifts!”
The little child hugged Uncle’s leg, afraid that the gift he was about to receive would slip away.
Wagner nodded in agreement with the little child.
