Carrying a Jurassic on me

Taking action as soon as he thought of something was one of Yan Fei's strong points.

By the evening, he had started to implement his hunting plan systematically.

Inside the blacksmith shop and under the dim glow of a small bulb, Yan Fei looked seriously at the range of tools around him...

His seriousness wasn't surprising – having spent his entire life with his grandfather, he'd never even killed a chicken. His victims were limited to snakes, frogs, cicadas and sparrows near the river.

In his mind, Yan Fei foresaw: a Compsognathus asleep, he raised his pig-killing knife, chopped down, and the head of the dinosaur would fall to the ground, its blood spurting high into the air...

Well, that was a bit brutal, killing it and then separating its body, that wasn't right!

Actually, he just found that scenario a bit creepy.

In the end, he was still indecisive when the power went out!

There's no respect! The power goes out just like that. Yan Fei cursed in his mind, then lighting up a candle with a match – even though lighters were readily available in the streets, this foodie thought matches had a certain "style". He wouldn't use the lighter, insisting on using matches instead!

The candles had almost run out. As he was going back and forth in the smithy, he accidentally tripped over something.

Damn it.

A pair of sandals, less than a month old, he had worn it down until only the soles remained. They barely clung to his feet. The pain now was unbearable!

Seeing what had tripped him, his eyes brightened: this is it.

It was the large hammer his grandfather used for forging, the same hammer he'd picked up that morning to smash a dinosaur egg then casually tossed it on the floor. Usually, his grandfather kept the diminutive smithy tidy so this wouldn't happen at all.

Holding the giant hammer and shouting "We workers have power!", Yan Fei rushed into the room behind him, causing a racket in the chicken coop as he passed.

What a troublemaker.

Now he's causing trouble to dinosaurs.

Could there be anything more inappropriate?

Yan Fei muttered to himself as he watched the resting Compsognathus in the forest. These dinosaurs coil their heads and tails while they sleep, don't they ever feel uncomfortable? How do I strike them with a hammer?

It took him a while to find a few that were in a sleeping position that suited him, with their heads positioned a fair distance from their bodies.

He positioned himself, went in, and smashed! Then he retreated!

This first time was a bit nerve-racking, but thankfully his little arm, made strong from operating the windbox every day, had enough strength. He probably also inherited some hammer-swinging genes. Anyway, with one swing of the hammer, the head of the unfortunate Compsognathus flattened.

Back outside, Yan Fei hurriedly looked back in; the Compsognathus whose head had been flattened had struggled briefly before dying.

Fortunately, he'd chosen his target well. This dinosaur was far from the others. Likely used to the peaceful life on the island, the other Compsognathus did not react much to the noise, except to look alert. In a flash, Yan Fei had already lifted the dead Compsognathus and entered back into the cave.

The dinosaur's skin felt similar to gecko skin, but much thicker. It didn't feel like it would be edible.

Yan Fei stared at it for a while, carefully recalling what to do next, then finally started working.

First, he found a stick and placed it across the entrance of the cave. Despite the small size of the cave, the levels on both sides were uneven, and with some force, the stick could be lodged in place.

He tied up the Compsognathus with a small rope and hung it up. He then rummaged through his tools, which he used every day, and found a skinning knife.

Under the bright moon hanging in the sky, the waves gently lapped at the shore, and there were still Pterosaurs circling in the night sky; the distant sea occasionally erupted with great splashes of water before quickly returning to calm. Faint roars and calls could be heard, sometimes near, sometimes far...

Among this vibrant scenery, Yan Fei sat in the fissure halfway up the cliff and, under the rhythmic sound of the waves, started—skinning...

The blood streamed and splashed.

Doing something oneself was completely different from watching others do it. He had frequently witnessed people skinning rabbits, sheep, and cows, and their skins were always in one piece.

After skinning for a while, he was left with small pieces, unlike others who managed to keep it whole. And the neck and tail were now almost bare bones.

Eventually, he found it was better to tear off the skin with brute force than trying to skin it artificially.

But at least the skinning was finally done.

Carrying a basin of blood and internal organs, he returned to the hut and then to the beach. It was as if he had teleported there, so efficient was he. He dumped the waste on the beach, then took the skinned Compsognathus and washed it off in the stream under the small pool in the center of the island.

Then he went back home.

There was a faint smell of blood in the house. Despite his quick trips back and forth, the smell was still noticeable. Actually, the smell was quite faint, but having just come from the island with its fresh smell of trees and earth, he could detect it quite easily.

Rushing to the kitchen, regardless of the time, he prepared to stew some meat.

He was about to put the entire Compsognathus into the pot when he stopped. The creature looked too strange. What if someone saw it? Having grown up under his grandfather's influence, the concept of secrecy was ingrained in him.

Yan Fei, who always fancied himself a sworn revolutionary under the pseudonym "Underground Party," started chopping with his cleaver, creating a rhythmic bang.

He felt it was harder than dicing chicken a few days ago. After prepping the meat, he seasoned it with things like star anise, Sichuan pepper, and Cinnamon bark, then set it to simmer over a fire.

Adding wood, adding wood, adding wood...

Yan Fei woke up from a daze to find the stove had cooled down. Dawn had broken outside, and he could already hear the local tofu peddler hawkering his goods.

There are three most laborious tasks under heaven, boating, blacksmithing, and grinding tofu.

Navigating turbulent waves while boating accompanied by constant threats of capsizing; standing by the fire all day while blacksmithing in an infernal year-round heat; and grinding tofu that entailed waking up at dawn and working through storms with only just enough to scrap by.

From dawn until sunrise, tofu peddlers carrying their loads on shoulder poles walk from one end of the street to the other, hawkering their wares over and over.

Normally, by the time Yan Fei got up, the tofu sellers would have sold out and headed home. Today was an odd day; he woke up early. But why had he fallen asleep leaning against the woodpile?

A faint, tempting aroma aroused his senses. Startled, he leapt up to lift the pot lid. Amidst the massive yet silent cloud of steam and irresistible scent wafting from the pot...

A crisp girlish voice came over from next door, "Yan Xiaofei, what delicious food are you making this time? Have you given up on living any kind of decent life?"

Still lost in the mouth-watering aroma, Yan Fei turned his head towards the back wall and hollered back without a second thought, "Xu Xiaoyan, aren't you a cultured high school student? Don't you have better things to say? Who says I've given up on life? I'm going to spend my life with you..."

A few giggles from the girls next door, but the girl didn't respond again. After a while, there was a series of knocks on the door accompanied by the girl's voice, "Fool, open the door! Don't say I'm being unreasonable. Just wait and see how I deal with you!"

Yan Fei had no idea of the effect his words had on the girl. At the moment, he was holding the pot lid in one hand while blowing on the spoonful of soup in the other. As she yelled from outside, he took a satisfying slurp and muttered to himself, "Perfectly seasoned, not bad."

Meanwhile, the girl outside was still shouting, "Fool, I dare you not to open the door today."

A couple of girls' voices came to her defense. After a while, it was quiet outside.

The family next door had three daughters. The oldest two were in university in the provincial capital. The girl who had been shouting was the youngest one, still studying in the county's top high school and currently home for the holidays. People in town often gossiped about this family for not having any sons. However, their three daughters were all doing exceptionally well academically.

In those years, few people could afford to go to university, so having one college student in the family was as rare as hatching a duckling in a hen's nest. But this family had two university students, with the third one seeming a certain bet for university as well. That effectively silenced the naysayers in town.

Yan Fei didn't care about what others might think. All he knew was that he was jealous, though it didn't stop him from talking big and maligning others in his thoughts.

Only after spending the entire morning gorging on the meat did Yan Fei, his belly round and full, start tidying up.

He stored the remaining food in a pot and placed it in a cave to keep cool. After cleaning up and disposing of the rubbish at the seaside, he decided to go and open his stall.

Having eaten and drunk his fill, with a dozen dollars remaining in his pocket, Yan Fei was less concerned about running his stall. It wasn't like he was selling anything anyway.

Soon after he set up his stall, a slightly chubby girl in a floral dress wearing a student haircut came over, "Fool, what did you say about me just now? Go on, tell me how I should handle you?"

Yan Fei was lounging in his rattan chair, eyeing the girl. It didn't take him long to notice the pink henna on her toenails, "Vain little Ni'er, even dyeing your toenails..."

The girl stamped her foot in anger, ready to come over and twist his ears. He quickly shouted, "No hitting, no hitting! If you hit me, I'm going to call for help! And you know what I'll yell..."

The girl, her face flushed with anger, stopped in her tracks. She took a few hurried breaths, then turned around and, on her way back home, carelessly messed up the items on the stall.

Yan Fei was immensely satisfied.

She used to complain about him to their grandfather all the time; now she's out of moves, huh?

Thinking about their grandfather, his mood deflated again, and he soon started to doze off.

In his dream, there was again an abundance of food and drink. Droves of delicious braised Compsognathuses were hopping frantically towards him, chanting, "Eat me, eat me... "

"Eat me, I taste better..."

"..."

Yan Fei was so overwhelmed by the choices that he didn't know which one to eat first.

Just as he was wrestling with his decision, all of the alluring braised Compsognathuses raced off, looking back at him as they scampered away yelling, "Chase me, chase me, you can only eat me if you catch me..."

Without having any second thoughts, Yan Fei started chasing after them.

While running, he suddenly transformed into a Compsognathus, bounding along the sandy beach with the others.

Suddenly, a huge wave from the sea splashed over him, drenching him with water, accompanied by mocking laughter...

He woke up to find a giggling girl holding a small teacup in front of him.

Seeing him awake, the girl quickly said, "Yan Xiaofei, you started it. It's payback time..."

With that, she turned around to run home...

Yan Fei wiped his wet face and didn't bother to argue with her. His mind was still on the dream that he just had...