Forest Ranger: Starting with a Giant Panda Mom Clinging to Me

Chapter 12: Making Me Hungry

“Lin Tian, I’m heading back. If you have any questions about work, call me anytime.” Back at the jurisdiction, Wang Jian prepared to leave. Since it was Lin Tian’s first day patrolLin, Wang Jian had accompanied him. From now on, Lin Tian would need to patrol alone.

Before leaving, Wang Jian glanced at the panda traiLin behind, chuckLin as he patted Lin Tian’s shoulder.

“Lin Tian, looks like this panda’s taken a liking to you. Congrats, man. So many people would be jealous of you getting to raise pandas!” Wang Jian teased with a grin before heading off.

Lin Tian looked at the panda mother still following him, sighing helplessly, “Don’t just stand there, come in.”

Lin Tian pushed open the courtyard gate and stepped inside. The panda mother followed, waddLin in behind him. Since the gate was narrow, she had to twist her body to squeeze through.

In the courtyard, Lin Tian set down his basket, carefully taking out the two panda cubs wrapped in his jacket.

“Ying ying…”

The cubs were hungry again, tilting their heads and whimpering for food.

Hearing her babies’ calls, the panda mother hurriedly trotted over. She took the cubs from Lin Tian’s hands, gently holding them against her belly, guiding them to her milk.

The cubs, following the scent, quickly latched on, suckLin eagerly. Utterly adorable.

Lin Tian watched the scene, feeLin warmed.

At the same time, he thought the panda mother following him home wasn’t such a bad thing. The cubs could drink nutrient-rich milk, and learn survival skills from their mother.

> “Ahh, watching the cubs nurse is so heartwarming!”

> “So soft, I wanna take one home to raise.”

> “Jealous! Brother Tian’s got three pandas at home!”

> “But, doesn’t the government ban private panda breeding?”

> “Hiss… how does this work for Brother Tian?”

…

Seeing the panda mother actually follow Lin Tian home, the livestream audience was both envious and puzzled. Pandas, as a national first-class protected animal and a national treasure, were strictly prohibited from private breeding.

Lin Tian, of course, knew this.

So, he’d already reported his encounter with the wild panda in the mountains to the bureau, with Wang Jian and the livestream footage as proof. This wasn’t him luring the panda.

As for whether the bureau would let him care for the panda mother and her cubs, that wasn’t up to him. Maybe tomorrow morning, the bureau would send someone to pick up the panda mom and her cubs. But that was tomorrow’s business.

For tonight, the pandas were definitely staying at his place.

So, he needed to prepare a nest for the panda mother and her cubs.

With that in mind, Lin Tian glanced at the panda mother. While she was busy caring for her cubs, he went to the room next to his bedroom. It was originally a storage room for tools, with not much stuff inside. A quick cleanup would free up the space.

Lin Tian tidied the room, then went outside to gather some dry grass and branches, laying them down with large leaves on top. And just like that, a simple panda nest was ready.

Nearby, he placed some wild bamboo he’d just cut. These bamboos had been specially watered with spiritual water, making them fresher and tastier than regular bamboo.

“Done!” Looking at the panda nest he’d made, Lin Tian clapped his hands, a smile on his face. He was quite satisfied with the panda nest that took him over an hour to prepare.

Soft, comfortable, and with fresh spiritual water bamboo to munch on. The panda mother would surely love it!

“Ying ying!”

(Yummy!)

After feeding her cubs, the panda mother, carrying them in her mouth, found Lin Tian. Entering the room, her eyes lit up at the sight of the spiritual water bamboo he’d prepared. Too excited to bother with her cubs, she shuffled over quickly, diving headfirst into the bamboo pile.

She sniffed the pile, trying to pick the tastiest one, but found them all irresistibly fragrant. So, she grabbed the nearest one, using her tongue to strip the leaves into her mouth, gobbLin them up.

Then, with sharp teeth, she peeled the bamboo’s outer layer, breaking it into small pieces. She tossed the pieces into her mouth, chewing them up.

Crunch, crunch.

The crisp sound of bamboo being eaten filled the air. Sweet bamboo juice dribbled from the panda mother’s mouth. The scene was mouthwatering.

> “Why does watching a panda eat bamboo make me hungry?!”

> “I really wanna try what that bamboo tastes like.”

> Gulp.

> “Nope, I’m ordering takeout—bamboo shoot stir-fry!”

…

The livestream audience, watching the panda eat, got hungry too, craving the taste of bamboo.

Lin Tian, seeing the panda enjoy the bamboo he prepared, felt pleased.

At that moment, the two panda cubs, with their mom busy eating, lay on the ground, whimpering helplessly, ignored.

Seeing this, Lin Tian crouched down, picking them up and placing them in the small nest he’d made for them. It was a little house made from a cardboard box, with plenty of small air holes. It was breathable and kept mosquitoes from biting the cubs.

After placing them in the box, Lin Tian set it next to the panda mother.

With that done, Lin Tian went to prepare his own dinner.  Since it was getting late, he made do with a simple bowl of egg noodles for the night before resting.

Back in his room, Lin Tian had just lain down when suddenly, there was a thump thump at the door, along with the panda mother’s urgent ying ying cries.

“What’s wrong?”

Worried something was wrong with the panda, Lin Tian quickly got up and opened the door.

To his surprise, the moment the door opened, a chubby, round body squeezed through the gap. It was the panda mother. Carrying her two cubs in her mouth, she scurried into the room, found a corner by the bed, and promptly lay down.

It looked like she planned to stay in Lin Tian’s room for good.