Tiger, I rejected the iron rice bowl.

After finishing the last piece of meat, Wang Yuyu licked the corner of his mouth with his tongue before awkwardly turning his face away and shuffling towards Tang Li and the water basin, his ears still drooping, looking like he hadn't calmed down.

"Look at you, so awkward," Tang Li teased with a laugh. "Watch where you're going, or you'll trip and fall!"

"Fall my ass!" Wang Yuyu retorted defiantly. "I'm a four-wheel drive, way more stable than your two-wheel drive. It doesn't wobble at all when I walk!"

Walking to the basin, Wang Yu lowered her head and drank the water in large gulps. The icy water slid down her throat, finally washing away the last bit of strange taste in her mouth.

Tang Li squatted down and gently stroked his tiger head, her tone as gentle as if she were coaxing a child: "Alright, you've had your fill of water, now it's time for you to go back to the mountains. We'll meet again next time."

"Don't go stealing pigs from the village this time. All the pigs for the New Year have been slaughtered now, so there's nothing left to steal."

"If you get hungry, just tell the little ball, and the research base will feed you."

As she spoke, Tang Li took advantage of Wang Yuyu's inattention and secretly took out a topical insect repellent and precisely dripped it onto the back of his neck.

The skin here is thin and delicate, allowing the medication to be absorbed more quickly through the sebum and then spread throughout the body to take effect.

More importantly, this area is inaccessible to tigers, preventing them from accidentally ingesting poisonous medication.

As soon as the medicine was dripped, Wang Yuyu sensed it.

He shook his head, then looked up at Tang Li with a puzzled expression.

Tang Li stroked the tiger's head without showing any emotion, feigning confusion as she asked, "What's wrong? Is there not enough water, or are you worried about not having enough to eat? Should I get you some more water?"

Wang Yu shook her head, looked around, and seeing no sign of snow, assumed it was just her imagination. She lowered her head again and continued to drink her water in peace.

Tang Li was unaware that Wang Yuyu had already made her own plans: "What's the big deal if there are no pigs? There are still cows and sheep in the village! Those are much tastier than pork. I'll find a chance to go check them out later!"

She went on and on, telling him to be careful and not to provoke other wild animals, and reminding him to walk carefully and not to step into traps left by poachers. Her tone was full of worry.

After finishing his water, Wang Yuyu looked up, silently took a step forward, and gently nuzzled his big head against Tang Li's chest, the fluffy tiger fur tickling her cheek.

The little temper I was feeling earlier seemed to have vanished completely with these gentle words of advice.

"Alright, it's time to go."

Tang Li raised her hand to wipe away the tears that had accidentally spilled from the corners of her eyes, and kissed his tiger head several times. "Go back to the mountains, that's your home."

"Awooo!" Wang Yuyu let out a few low, reluctant whimpers, turned around and walked towards the forest. Every few steps, she would turn back to look at Tang Li, her amber eyes filled with longing.

Tang Li stood there, smiling and waving at him: "Go on, go back now! I'll come see you often!"

"roar!"

Wang Yu let out a low roar, turned around abruptly, and with steady steps, ran quickly into the depths of the forest, soon disappearing into the dense woods.

Only after watching Wang Yuyu's figure completely disappear did Tang Li withdraw her gaze, feeling slightly downcast.

She turned around and waved to three fans not far away, signaling them to come over.

The three of them immediately ran over excitedly, their faces beaming with barely concealed excitement, and they were still repeatedly looking at the photos and videos they had just taken on their phones.

Seeing their excited faces, Tang Li felt a little more relaxed and asked with a smile, "Did you enjoy it?"

"That was awesome! So awesome!" the three answered in unison, nodding their heads like rattles.

"Are you satisfied?" Tang Li asked again.

"Satisfied! Extremely satisfied!" The three of them beamed with excitement. "Being able to see the 'iron rice bowl' (a government-backed government job) up close and see how cute it is, this trip was totally worth it!"

Tang Li smiled and nodded, pointing to the four large backpacks on the ground: "Good, let's pack up and go back!"

"Okay!" The three of them were full of energy and immediately stepped forward, each picking up a backpack and carrying it on their backs, following Tang Li as they headed towards the zoo.

Along the way, they chattered excitedly about what they had just seen, sometimes saying that Wang Yuyu's proud and aloof appearance was cute, and sometimes marveling at its majesty, their mouths full of praise for Wang Yuyu.

Hearing the three people's praise, Tang Li couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth, secretly feeling proud: This is the tiger she raised. Even if it is free-range in the mountains and forests, it is still her "big cat"!

She was very happy to be liked by so many people.

Tang Li had barely returned to the zoo and hadn't even had a chance to catch her breath when Ji Yongjun rushed over with several researchers from the research base. Before she could even stop, he anxiously asked, "Little Tang, where are the things? Where are the inspection data and samples for the 'iron rice bowl'?"

"Uncle Ji, look how anxious you are! I'm right here!"

Tang Li smiled helplessly, took off the large backpack from her back and put it on the ground. She unzipped it and rummaged through the contents. "The data and samples are all stored properly. They're not going to grow legs and run away."

She quickly found the checklist filled with data and handed it over.

Ji Yongjun and the researchers immediately crowded around, their heads huddled together, staring at the table, their eyes scanning the data, occasionally letting out a gasp of surprise.

"My goodness, the 'iron rice bowl' (guaranteed job) is growing so fast! It's gotten so much bigger!"

"Judging from these physical data, his weight is probably going to break the 400-pound mark, right?"

Ji Yongjun checked the data line by line and quickly discovered the problem.

He looked up, frowned at Tang Li, and asked in confusion, "Little Tang, why is the tail length field empty? Was it not measured?"

Tang Li replied calmly, without batting an eye, "Well, the iron rice bowl wouldn't let me touch its tail. It struggled fiercely, so I couldn't get it tested."

Ji Yongjun looked her up and down suspiciously, wondering to himself, "There's a place Xiao Tang can't touch? That's strange."

"Normally, she's most attached to her job, wanting to be with it every day. Why won't she even let me touch her tail now?"

Feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, Tang Li felt guilty and immediately put on a stern face, feigning displeasure as she said, "What's wrong, Uncle Ji? Don't you trust me? Do you think I was lazy and didn't do the test? Why don't you go and check the job yourselves next time?"

She was internally screaming, "Can I say that I accidentally touched his bells, and he mistook me for a pervert, which is why he holds a grudge and won't let me touch his tail? If I said that, you'd all laugh your heads off!"

Seeing this, Ji Yongjun quickly waved his hand and said with a forced smile, "No, no, no, Xiao Tang, don't take it to heart, I just didn't realize it for a moment!"

"There's no point in us going; we'd just get our jobs eaten up like snacks. This kind of thing needs to be done by you; only you can handle him!"