Tiger, I rejected the iron rice bowl.

After staring at it for a while, Wang Yuyu reluctantly withdrew her gaze, her eyes filled with disappointment, and she sighed softly.

He carefully climbed off the snowman and slowly walked towards the woods, thinking to himself, "Since no one is here to keep me company, I'll go for a stroll in the woods, sharpen my claws, and stretch my muscles."

"I'll come back and continue sleeping when I'm tired of shopping. It's better than just sitting here alone and spacing out."

As he walked into the woods, he kept looking at the big trees around him, carefully searching for a suitable target to sharpen his claws.

He has been eating and sleeping well these days, doing nothing but eating and sleeping, hardly moving around and having no chance to hunt. His nails have grown fast and long, sharp and uncomfortable.

If this continues, and my nails grow any longer, I'll get paronychia sooner or later!

When it gets red and swollen, it will be difficult to even walk. If Tang Li finds out, he will definitely be laughed at to death and will tease him about it for the rest of his life!

The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, and he couldn't help but shudder: "No, no, this absolutely cannot happen!"

"I need to find a tree to sharpen my claws right away, or Tang Li will laugh at me!"

"I'm a tiger, and I've got paronychia! How can I possibly save face like this?"

After walking for a while, his eyes lit up when he saw a pine tree that he was quite satisfied with.

This pine tree is thick and straight, with rough bark covered with deep grooves and clear textures, making it perfect for sharpening claws.

He immediately walked over quickly, lay down beside the tree roots, adjusted to a comfortable position, then raised his two front paws, flicked his fingertips lightly, and his long, sharp nails were instantly revealed.

He slashed hard down the bark from top to bottom.

A sharp, grating sound rang out instantly as his sharp fingernails slashed deep claw marks into the rough bark, causing wood chips and pieces of bark to fall off continuously.

He moved with practiced ease, his claws rubbing against the bark repeatedly, his eyes serious and focused.

In no time, he had scratched off a large patch of the pine tree trunk, the rough outer bark was worn away, revealing the tender bark underneath, and deep claw marks were crisscrossed, making it look particularly "tragic".

Wang Yuyu stopped what she was doing, slowly walked a few steps on the snow, raised her front paw to look at it. Her nails were a little shorter, but she was still not satisfied, feeling that they were not worn down enough.

He found another pine tree nearby and continued sharpening his claws, the harsh "crunching" sound echoing through the woods once again.

After fussing around for a long time, grinding down two pine trees until his nails were the right length, sharp and smooth, and no longer felt uncomfortable, he finally flicked his tail contentedly and slowly left the "victimized" pine forest, leaving only two pine trees, battered and with peeling bark, standing alone in the snow.

Just then, a gentle breeze blew by, and the branches in the woods swayed softly, making a soft "rustling" sound, as if they were lamenting the fate of the two pine trees.

"Waaaah! That's so brutal! That tiger cub is too ruthless! It just came up and started tearing off people's clothes. How are they supposed to live like this?!"

"Exactly! That's shameless! He's such a lecher! He tore my perfectly good clothes to shreds, it hurts so much!"

"Brother, don't cry, don't cry, just bear with it! He's a mountain king, and we trees can only let him do whatever he wants. We can't afford to mess with him!"

"Sigh, yes, yes, what can we do? We can't move, we can only let them slaughter us. We can only hope that next time they sharpen their claws and stop targeting us..."

If Wang Yuyu could hear these "complaints," he would definitely scoff disdainfully, "Hmph, what's wrong with me sharpening my claws? It's your bad luck that your tree bark is so suitable for sharpening claws! You dare complain about me? You really don't know what's good for you!"

Before long, Wang Yuyu had finished inspecting the entire grove of trees. After confirming that there was nothing unusual, he leisurely returned to the back gate.

He lingered by the iron gate for a moment, listening carefully to the sounds behind it, but it was completely quiet, with no sound at all; clearly, no one was coming to see him.

The expectation in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a hint of disappointment, and he turned and left.

Dragging the large cardboard box Tang Li had given him, he found a sunny spot, jumped inside, curled up, closed his eyes, and continued to snore. The sunlight shone on the box, warm and comforting.

…………

Time flies, and before we know it, it's New Year's Eve.

As dawn broke, the garden was already filled with the subtle atmosphere of the Lunar New Year. The bright red couplets hanging on both sides of the gate were eye-catching, and colorful strings of lights were wrapped around the treetops. The snow had been swept clean, and a chill was in the air, but it also carried a sense of warmth and reunion.

Tang Li rushed over early in the morning with the "New Year's Eve dinner" she had prepared for Wang Yuyu, followed by Wang Weiguo, Ji Yongjun, Wang Jianjun and Cheng Yongnian.

She looked at the goat on the ground, its limbs bound, struggling and bleating every now and then.

She crouched down and muttered to the goat, "Little goat, little goat, don't be angry. You're just a dish on the dinner table. May you leave early this year and come back early next year. May you be reborn into a better life and never have to worry about a secure job again!"

Her serious yet slightly "neurotic" demeanor left Wang Weiguo, Ji Yongjun, Wang Jianjun, and Cheng Yongnian, who were standing beside her, stunned, their faces filled with shock.

Wang Jianjun's hand, which was holding the sheep's head, froze in mid-air. After a long pause, he couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Tang, what are you doing? What are you saying to a goat?"

Tang Li blushed under the gazes of the four people and quickly waved her hand, somewhat embarrassed, to change the subject: "It's nothing, it's nothing. I just can't stand seeing killing, so I was just telling it what was on my mind."

"Uncle Wang, don't waste time! Hurry up and put the lamb in. Everyone's probably waiting impatiently!"

"Okay!" Wang Jianjun nodded with a smile, not asking any further questions. He turned to Cheng Yongnian beside him, raised his chin, and said, "Dr. Cheng, lend a hand!"

"No problem!" Cheng Yongnian nodded readily, stepped forward quickly, and firmly grabbed the goat's two hind legs.

The two of them, one holding the front leg and the other holding the back leg, walked towards the back door.

Tang Li watched the two figures walk away, then turned to Wang Weiguo and Ji Yongjun beside her, her voice filled with urgency: "Director, Uncle Ji, let's go up to the platform and take a look!"

"It'll be a good opportunity to see how the hind leg of the 'iron rice bowl' is recovering. Maybe we'll even get to see him hunting; that would be amazing!"

Wang Weiguo and Ji Yongjun exchanged a glance, nodded slightly, and followed behind Tang Li with smiles.

As the two got older, their legs and feet were not as nimble as when they were young. When climbing the stairs of the high platform, their steps were slow, and they had to hold onto the railings. Before long, they were left behind by the nimble Tang Li.