Chapter 58: Bear Kids Sneak a Snack

“Did you hear that sound, Dexter?” George suddenly asked after chatting with Liu Heming for a while.

“What sound? I don’t hear anything,” Liu Heming listened for a moment and shook his head.

“No, no, there definitely is a sound. Listen carefully. Could there be mice in your house?” George frowned.

“Oh, that sound? It’s definitely the Bear Kids eating snacks. Lately, I practiced cooking and cut too many potatoes, and there were some fresh ones left. They often use them to chew on,” Liu Heming said with a laugh.

It helped reduce waste. During this time, he stewed potatoes, fried potatoes, boiled potatoes—basically, he tried every method he could think of to eat potatoes in different ways. The two Bear Kids also ate raw potatoes as snacks, mainly to chew on.

“Wait, this sound is different,” Liu Heming realized as soon as he finished speaking. This time, the crunching sound seemed a bit louder.

He followed the noise to the kitchen and found the two Bear Kids each gnawing on a pig trotter, looking utterly delighted. The crunching sound came from them accidentally biting through the bones while eating.

Liu Heming felt frustrated. He forgot to tell them not to eat the pig trotters, and now they dared to sneak a snack without any hesitation.

When Bear Da saw Liu Heming come out, he held the pig trotter in his mouth, wiggled his bottom, and crawled over to him. He used his little paws to offer the pig trotter to Liu Heming, wanting to share the tasty treat. He was being very considerate.

Looking at the little guy, Liu Heming really didn’t know how to handle the situation. If he scolded them, he hadn’t actually told them they couldn’t eat the pig trotters. But if he didn’t scold them, he had gone through a lot of trouble to get those two pig trotters.

“Dexter, how did they manage to get them? Even though they’ve grown a bit, they still can’t reach that high when standing up,” George asked curiously from the side.

“It’s simple. Don’t let their clumsy appearance fool you—they’re actually very clever,” Liu Heming said helplessly.

After saying that, he took the half-eaten pig trotters from the two Bear Kids and put them back in their original place, then waved his hand at them.

Then Bear Da crawled over and crouched down low. Bear Er shamelessly climbed onto Bear Da’s back. When Bear Er stood up, he was still a little too short, but then Bear Da lifted his little rear end. Perfect—Bear Er easily reached the pig trotters. He grabbed one with his mouth and held another between his paw and body.

“My goodness, Dexter, how are they so smart?” George exclaimed, watching the two Bear Kids start munching on the pig trotters again. He thought he must have been seeing things earlier.

“They learned to work together a long time ago and often come here to get food on their own,” Liu Heming explained with a sigh.

“Today’s mistake was mine—I forgot to tell them they couldn’t eat these, so they just assumed it was a snack for them. I’ll have to be more careful in the future.”

“Such adorable bear cubs should get to eat whatever they want,” George said, feeling sorry for the little bears.

They were so cute and smart, yet you only feed them potatoes. With how clever they are, you should be giving them tastier food.

“You have no idea how much they eat now. Their little food bowl? They finish a bowl and a half in just one meal. Plus, they need vitamins too. Once the vegetable garden is ready, I’ll give them more variety,” Liu Heming said with a laugh.

“Dexter, I really think they’re the mascots of our Xiangshui Town. I’ve never seen such intelligent bear cubs before. Even bears in circuses that have been trained aren’t this clever,” George said, staring at the two Bear Kids.

“They do seem smarter than other bears. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve raised them since they were young. Sometimes they understand many of my commands, and when they face problems, they find solutions on their own,” Liu Heming said.

“Honestly, I never expected them to be this intelligent. But I’m also worried—once they’re used to living with me, they might lose the ability to survive in the wild. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing for them.”

“Dexter, that’s an unavoidable issue. But I think you should wait until they’re a bit older to worry about it. They can’t learn many skills from their mom, so you can teach them those things yourself,” George said, shrugging.

“Personally, I think you should keep them forever. They’re so smart now when they’re little—imagine how much smarter they’ll be when they grow up.”

Liu Heming gave a bitter smile. Only those who raise them understand the struggle. The future food expenses for these two Bear Kids will be substantial. Right now, he was just waiting for the corn to ripen so he could add another staple to their diet.

“George, let me ask you something. Do you think they’ll need to hibernate in the winter? If so, will I have to dig a bear den for them?” Liu Heming asked with a frown.

“Dexter, you’ve stumped me. I don’t know,” George replied, shrugging.

“Winters here are quite cold, so I suppose they might hibernate. But if you provide enough food and they live in the house, maybe they won’t.”

Liu Heming rolled his eyes. So, George didn’t offer any useful advice at all. Hibernation didn’t worry him much—it would even save on food. He just didn’t know if the Bear Kids would prepare a den on their own. If not, he had no experience doing it himself.

By then, the two Bear Kids had finished gnawing the pig trotters clean, leaving only some larger bones behind. The smaller bones, they had absentmindedly swallowed.

“George, it looks like you’ll have to help me find more suppliers. They seem to love pork, and if it’s cheaper, I can feed them more,” Liu Heming said, then picked up a napkin and carefully wiped their mouths and paws.

The two Bear Kids sat quietly, squinting their eyes and enjoying the attention from Liu Heming.

“Dexter, I’ve come up with a new answer to your earlier question,” George said after watching for a while, smiling.

“Which one? What’s the answer?” Liu Heming turned his head, curious.

“I don’t think you’ll ever let these two live in the wild. In your heart, you already see them as your own children. When they grow up, they won’t want to leave you, and you won’t want to let them go either,” George said with a grin.

Liu Heming was taken aback. It seemed George was right.