They continued to eat meat at noon, but by the evening, feeling they had eaten too much meat, they decided to change up the flavors and ate dinosaur eggs instead.
They lived happily and luxuriously like pigs for a few days before Yan Fei fell ill.
Early in the morning, while he was frying dinosaur eggs, his nose wouldn't stop bleeding, no matter what he tried.
He quickly set aside the fried eggs and, clutching his nose, ran into a Chinese Medicine Store across the street. This store was the most well-known in the countryside, as it was run by traditional Chinese medicine doctors who inherited the profession through generations. Seated behind the counter was Mr. Old He, who was recognizable by his snowy hair and beard and was well-known for his medical skills.
Yan Fei hurriedly rushed in, shoved his way to the front, covering his nose and mumbled, "Old Master He, have a look at me quick. If you don't, I'll be in real trouble. Look at the blood I'm losing!"
Many people were waiting for their turn, but nobody dared to complain when they saw the blood keep flowing from Yan Fei's nose. Even Mr. Old He urged him to sit down and immediately examined his pulse.
Yan Fei anxiously watched Mr. Old He, fearing he would get some terrifying results.
After a while, Mr. Old He let go of his hand. But as Yan Fei's heart started pounding, He said, "Let me see your other hand."
Yan Fei quickly extended his other arm.
After another moment, Mr. Old He let go again and studied Yan Fei's complexion.
Yan Fei was so nervous that his hand, which was holding his nose, started to cramp.
After the examination, Mr. Old He pondered a moment, then asked, "What have you been eating these past few days?"
Without hesitation, Yan Fei replied, "Chicken meat and eggs, and chicken soup!"
On any other day, he would've cheekily added: I would say I've been eating dragon meat and eggs, but I don't want to scare you.
But right now, he had no room for jokes – all he could do was wait anxiously for the results!
Mr. Old He confidently concluded, "There's nothing wrong, you've just overdone your nourishment! Did you add any supplements to that chicken soup you've been gorging on all summer long? You have a little blood loss, but it's nothing serious. I'll give you some herbs, go home and make some tea with them. Just make sure to eat lightly for the new few days."
Seeing Mr. Old He turn back to a young apprentice waiting to fill prescriptions, and hearing the laughter that followed, Yan Fei let out a sigh of relief: I thought I was a goner!
While waiting for his prescription, an older man who had also come for treatment reminded him, "Xiao Fei, even though your grandpa is gone, you should still take it easy in life..."
Yan Fei kept nodding and uttering replies, but whether he was really listening was only something he himself would know.
After receiving his medicine, a relieved Yan Fei asked cheerfully, "How much is it?"
Before the young apprentice could answer, Mr. Old He, who was once again diagnosing pulses, intervened: "Just give me a dime and hurry home! And remember not to eat any oily food these next few days!"
Yan Fei handed over a dime and quickly rushed out of the store.
In Sancha River Town, people only ever borrow money for medical bills when absolutely necessary. It is said that only bought medicine can cure illnesses. Yan Fei wasn't sure about who started this strange custom, but he knew that dime was nothing more than a nominal payment.
When he arrived home, he put water on to boil the tea and revisited the cave to check on the half-bowl of sautéed dinosaur eggs, along with the uneaten dinosaur meat. He didn't want to throw them away, so he brought the eggs back into the kitchen instead.
To avoid wasting, he decided to feed the chickens with them later!
He muttered under his breath, "Chickens, chickens, if you all don't lay a few more eggs after eating these dinosaur eggs, I'll slaughter you all for meat before the New Year!"
Holding a bowl of lightly brown tea, Yan Fei tasted it with a grim expression. It wasn't so bad, it didn't have a weird taste!
Before he could take another sip, the girl next door came over with her bowl. She called out before even arriving, "Yan Xiaofei, I heard you've been eating fancy food until your nose is bleeding, is that true?"
Unusually, Yan Fei's face reddened, "Go away, you little girl, what do you know?"
He couldn't help feeling annoyed. In such a small town, news travels fast. He went to the pharmacy before lunch and, by the time he finished eating, his trip had already become common knowledge, spreading even faster than the town's loudspeaker broadcasts.
The loudspeaker broadcasts were dismantled long ago, but he remembers a man's voice repeatedly broadcasting during his childhood: There's a small tree on the mountain, and a big tree at the foot of the mountain... I don't know, I don't know...
All nonsense. If the mountain hadn't been covered in trees but gold bars instead, then he wouldn't have been constantly broadcasting about it.
Back in the day, he would sometimes join in: It's snowing, it's sunny, don't forget to wear padded jackets when it snows, and straw hats when it's sunny...
But he felt particularly annoyed now, so everything irritated him.
The "little fat girl" actually wasn't fat at all. She was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl who had grown tall and slender. Hearing his irritation merely amused her, "My, my, what fancy drink are you having now? Just make sure you don't overdo it again and start having nosebleeds..."
Yan Fei felt helpless.
He had always been close to this girl. Ever since they were young, she loved spending her time with him. This continued until she left for high school in the county town.
It was only later that he learned that she was the youngest among three daughters in her family. Traditionally, this had been a doomed fate for a family in their village. The term used was "ending family line", which meant that the household lacked a male heir, implying its eventual downfall.
This young girl, as the youngest daughter, often found herself ignored by her relatives and faced discrimination at school. Hence, nobody used to play with her. So, she would mostly spend her time with Yan Fei, who was considered a fool by others. This had changed in recent years, as she had grown into a young lady and felt too shy to visit him – particularly because Yan Fei would usually just wear large, open trousers and strut bare-chested, occasionally throwing on a vest when going out. This was a habit he had developed from sitting by the stove and operating the bellows.
Now that old-fashioned attitudes were slowly fading away, their relationship remained unchanged. Despite her jibes and teasing, Yan Fei remained unfazed.
Looking at the bowl she was holding, which contained nothing but thick noodle soup garnished with a few strands of salted vegetables, he decided to fetch the dinosaur eggs he had prepared to feed the chickens: "Eat or not, but if you do, shut up and stop talking as you eat..."
This girl was really familiar with him. Without being overly polite, she picked up her chopsticks and began eating, all the while talking: "Even as I'm eating, I'm talking. Why is this guy bleeding from his nose? Look at this half basin of eggs. These must have taken a few days to lay..."
Seeing her enjoying the food, Yan Fei looked at his own bowl of medicine water. Putting on a thick face, he opened his mouth: "Can you feed me a bite..."
The girl got excited again: "You want to eat more? Aren't you afraid of bleeding more?"
Yan Fei was utterly calm: "See, the medicine is ready. I'll take a bite and then drink the medicine!"
He had no shame whatsoever.
The girl picked up a large piece and shoved it into his mouth: "Eat up, at least you won't have any issues if you lose more blood."
Although this girl's family ran a small shop, they had three students to feed, so their life was not all sunshine and rainbows. She couldn't even tell if these were real eggs or not, showing that she probably hadn't eaten eggs often in her life.
After she finished eating blissfully, she asked him before she left: "Do you have any dirty clothes? Let me wash them for you since I ate your eggs."
Yan Fei waved his hand: "Go, go, come back for lunch. Anyways, I won't be eating. I wash my clothes every day, I don't need your help."
Just a large pair of pants and a small vest, both worn by a teenager. It was simple to wash them — just squat in the small stream on the island and scrub them vigorously. If he didn't go out one day, he could even skip the vest.
When he was in a bad mood, he wouldn't open his store. He simply closed the door, went inside the small island, and lay at the mouth of the cave, looking at the sea.
Watching the Compsognathus herd running on the distant beach, he started to doze off and dreamt of the first day he had eaten Compsognathus.
Transforming into a Compsognathus, huh!
After a while, he felt uncomfortable lying down. Just as he was about to get up, he felt as if he was wrapped in cloth. After struggling a few times, he suddenly froze.
The sea breeze blew in, whistling through the cave. Inside the cave, a Compsognathus tangled in a large pair of pants stupidly twisted its head, looking at its own body.
After a long while, the Compsognathus suddenly panicked, chirping wildly. It jumped up and down, desperately struggling out from the clothes, narrowly avoiding falling off the cliff.
After causing a commotion in the cave for a while, it shouted again. Then, its tiny body grew rapidly, transforming back into Yan Fei, now with arms and legs.
Yan Fei didn't care about his nakedness. He raised his arms and legs, feeling his body all over, fearing that some part of him was missing.
After checking himself, he sat on a mat, stretched out, gasping for air. His heartbeat pounded in his chest, as if his heart was about to jump out.
In the quiet cave, which felt as if it was isolated from the rest of the world, the young man lay there. His mind was filled with thoughts he couldn't comprehend.
Time quietly slipped by. Suddenly the lounging youth sat up, ran to the mouth of the cave, and roared at the blue sea and sky outside: "What should I fear? If I die, my balls will ascend to heaven. If I live, I'll live forever. I have seventy-two magical transformations. I'm Monkey King! Tathagata, you old man, come and get me..."
The slightly hoarse voice echoed in the cave behind him, reverberating between heaven and earth...
Huffing and puffing, Yan Fei returned to the cave and shouted: Transform.
And then he transformed into a Compsognathus. After chirping once, he transformed back.
Touching his chin in thought, he concluded that when he transformed into a dinosaur, he couldn't speak human language!
After putting on his big pants, he turned around and went home.
At noon, the chubby girl couldn't resist the temptation of the eggs and came back with her bowl.
A bowl of white soup noodles with a few vegetable leaves and half a bun.
As soon as she entered the house, she asked, "Yan Fei, have you cooked yet? If not, I will go home and bring you a bowl of noodles."
Yan Fei had his medicine bowl in his hand: "Eat noodles? I'm already filled with medicine water."
Seeing the bun she brought, he continued: "You came to my house to eat buns? There are so many eggs left. If you don't eat them, they'll go bad."
The girl who had been named Xu Xiaoyan by Yan Fei showed no sign of being polite: "Then I'll take the bun back later and eat your eggs for lunch."
Watching the girl eating deliciously, Yan Fei was lost in thought with his bowl of tea.
After a long while, he solemnly started speaking: "Xu Xiaoyan, you know, the four major events in life are studying, making money, getting married, and having kids..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Xu Xiaoyan spit out a mouthful of rice, luckily her quick reflexes prevented the food from landing in the scrambled egg pot. With bits of noodles hanging from the corner of her mouth, her nose running, and tears streaming down her face, her image was completely ruined.
She cried and laughed for quite a while before she settled down. As soon as she opened her mouth, she couldn't help but burst into laughter again: "Yan Xiaofei, where did you get this idea of the four major events in life? Haha, you're going to make me laugh to death. Studying, making money, getting married, having kids, what on earth are you thinking about all day long?"
Yan Xiaofei was very serious and sincere: "Stop laughing. I've already thought it through. As for the four major events in life, I don't have much hope for studying. I plan to make money as soon as possible, build a house, and after you finish school, you should hurry back and be my wife. I want to have a child sooner rather than later, so there won't be no one to carry on the legacy of my old Yan's blacksmith shop..."
This kid, he has been completely muddled by the transformation into a dinosaur today.