Patting Its Head, Chewing on Its Mother's Flesh (Original)
From Xiamen to Quanzhou, passing through Quanzian Expressway, it takes about six hours to reach Wuyishan. I hadn't felt particularly unwell after staying at home for two months and a half, but as the car drove onto the highway and stepped onto the smooth road, my mood instantly brightened. Driving with the slightly open sunroof, I endured the noise of air circulation just to feel the spring's atmosphere.
It is the crucial time for spring plowing – one grain of wheat sown, ten thousand grains of rice harvested. With bowed backs and bent waists, the most natural occupation, contributing the most important works to society. This is the farmer. Their diligent and honest contributions are their own strength, dedicating the most basic energy to the country.
As we entered the territory of Xinming, the car began to drive through the mountains, one after another of tunnels and winding roads. In the distance, I saw rubber tree forests resembling the lines of sticky lanes cut out by collectors. I admired the ingenious engineering and praised the achievements of the Chinese people. Soon, this pleasant feeling was diminished. Along the roadside, I encountered the body of a small animal. As the car sped past, the half-second image lingered in my mind for a long time. It struggled to crawl to the roadside before finally expiring. The family in the car stopped talking, the air was silent, and our pet 'Dog' seemed to understand something and began to whimper. My pet's name is Dog, a stray dog from the community, born and raised, and this year he is eleven years old. Perhaps he knew his origins since birth, living a life of kindness and responsibility, mature and humble.
We soon entered the territory of Wuyishan. There were few cars on the road, and the navigation's voice became the dominant sound. The number of animal corpses along the roadside continued to increase, and I even saw the silhouette of a stone tiger (phelin). This is a national level protected animal, with a body size similar to a domestic cat, feeding on snakes, mice, and birds. Now their living environment is becoming increasingly bleak, and I don't know when they started to have a new enemy. Many irresponsible dog owners, irresponsible abandonment, and even banned dogs returned to the forest, regaining their wild nature and combining the intelligence they gained in human society, becoming the dominant figures in the forest, and also the enemy of the stone tiger. Data shows that the number of stone tigers is declining sharply. This road has few vehicles, and drivers unconsciously sped up. Small animals are killed on the road as vehicles rush through the high-speed road day and night. Is there any way to do this? We could not put up a notice board on the road with pictures of animals, reminding drivers to slow down. Only if we want to do it, we can do it.
When we arrived in Wuyishan, it was dinner time, and we ate a substantial meal as planned. A friend had prepared a feast for us.
Drinking, eating meat, and chatting happily. After three rounds of wine, we had five conversations, and it was very lively. Friends used chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat for me: 'Eat more, I specially prepared it for you.' I took a mouthful, the aroma filled my mouth. At this time, a little lamb slowly approached. It didn't recognize strangers, gently rubbed against my head. I stroked its head, and it let out a soft, watery sound, so cute! Then a friend casually tried to create a lively atmosphere at the table: 'The meat in your mouth is its mother.'
I don't know how to maintain my face, or how to resolve the awkwardness at the table and maintain my composure. I vomited out the contents of my stomach, tears and lamb meat, and came out of the bathroom very gracefully and happily, and ended the dinner with a smile,
Back in the room, various montage-like scenes flashed before my eyes – the animal corpses on the road, the stone tiger, the lamb, and the meat in my mouth.
Dog lay down, as if in error, came to my side, and I hugged it tightly, leaning my face against it, murmuring to it: 'It's good to be alive, it's good to be happy.'
