Pei Xia was enjoying a bowl of spicy and sour noodles to his heart's content. The pure spiciness and sourness assailed his nostrils.
It was extremely spicy, but he found it hard to stop. As he ate, fine beads of sweat appeared on the tip of his nose.
The sunlight shone in through the window. Pei Xia's lips were as red as blood from the spiciness, making his cheeks look even more like spring snow. Qi Jiao couldn't help but take out a handkerchief and wipe the sweat off his face.
"Is it too spicy? If you can't handle it, give it to me. I like the spicy soup."
Pei Xia, who had just held Qi Jiao's soft hand, said, "… I can handle spicy food."
Although the disaster had been averted, Pei Xia didn't dare to slack off. He spent the whole night reinforcing the doors, windows, and courtyard walls.
Sharp fish spears were standing upright at the corners of the walls, and a dense net of sharp bamboo slices was laid beneath.
After finishing all this, Pei Xia still felt it wasn't enough. He went into the house and said a few words to Pei Li, then prepared to catch a few hounds.
Qu Silang was a well - known idler in Baiyun Village.
He was the youngest son in the family. His elder brothers were all one or two cycles older than him, and they treated him like their own son.
So Qu Si never bothered about family affairs. Every day, he would play with cats and dogs, and occasionally go to the county to do some work for some pocket money.
He had a few slender hounds at home. A female hound had given birth to puppies not long ago.
The slender hound was one of the oldest dog breeds in China. It was not only loyal to its owner but also had a very strong memory. It could run at a speed of up to 60 kilometers per hour, making it an excellent hunting dog.
After getting Qu Si's permission, Pei Xia immediately took Qi Jiao and his younger siblings to Qu's house.
Hearing that they were going to raise dogs, Qi Jiao was extremely excited. All the way there, she chatted non - stop with Pei Li and Pei Jin, passionately discussing all kinds of dogs.
They soon arrived at Qu's house. Qu Silang knew they were coming to catch the puppies, so he didn't even go out but waited for them at home.
"Come on, Plum Blossom and the puppies are inside the house."
Qu Si led them into the house. It was very cold outside, so he had made a thick and warm nest for Plum Blossom and the puppies in his own room.
Qi Jiao immediately saw the mother dog named Plum Blossom.
Plum Blossom was weak after giving birth. When she saw the outsiders, she jumped out of the nest warily and barked fiercely at them.
Qu Si gave a loud scolding, and Plum Blossom stopped barking. Instead, she huffed and blocked in front of the puppies, not allowing them to get close to the nest.
There were four puppies in total. They were all full - bellied and huddled together sleeping. They were so cute and chubby.
Qi Jiao tentatively stroked Plum Blossom's neck. "Plum Blossom, don't be afraid. We won't hurt you or your babies."
Plum Blossom's eyes were shiny. It seemed that she understood what Qi Jiao said and gently rubbed against her hand.
Qi Jiao said happily, "Plum Blossom is so smart!"
She took out the prepared pollock and put it in Plum Blossom's food bowl. Plum Blossom sniffed it and then picked it up bit by bit and ate it.
After eating, she circled around Qi Jiao's skirt twice and wagged her tail at her, looking very satisfied.
Pei Jin laughed and said, "Sister Jiao Niang, Plum Blossom really likes you."
Qu Si's eyes also showed surprise. "Normally, Plum Blossom would either bite or bark at strangers. She's never been so docile before."
Qi Jiao smiled and stroked Plum Blossom. She took out a can of self - made calcium powder from the basket and gave it to Qu Silang. "This is calcium powder ground from eggshells and shrimps. You can add it to Plum Blossom's food to help her regain strength."
Qu Silang took the heavy can of calcium powder and said repeatedly, "This must have taken you a lot of effort. You're too polite!"
Pei Xia said, "Plum Blossom had a hard time giving birth. Since we're taking the puppies home today, shouldn't we bring something nice for Plum Blossom?"
Then he took out a red envelope and gave it to Qu Silang.
Qu Silang waved his hands hurriedly. "What's it worth? They're just a few puppies. Do you think I'll take your money?"
He refused to take it no matter what, so Pei Xia had to let Qi Jiao and the others go and pick the puppies first.
Pei Xia thought that each of them could pick one puppy. Besides the house, there was also a duck farm. By next year, the ducklings would all grow up. Just in case, it would be better to raise a dog there.
Qi Jiao had the same idea. She pulled Pei Jin and Pei Li and squatted in front of the dog nest, staring intently at the sleeping puppies. They all had beaming smiles on their faces.
Finally, Qi Jiao picked a yellowish - brown puppy, Pei Jin picked a gray one, and Pei Li picked a blood - red one.
Qu Silang laughed and said, "My Plum Blossom gave birth to four puppies in total, and you've picked all the good ones."
Qi Jiao didn't know much about the culture of slender hounds. She simply thought the puppies were cute.
Pei Jin and Pei Li knew even less. They just picked the ones they liked.
Qu Si explained to them, "Slender hounds are better with a single color. Among them, gray and blood - red are the best. Jin and Li have good taste."
He continued, "The one Jiao Niang picked is also good. It will be a good watchdog and hunting dog when it grows up."
Actually, the remaining gray puppy was also very good, but Qu Silang just said so on purpose.
In his eyes and heart, no matter what kind of slender hound it was, it was perfect. It all depended on how people raised them.
Pei Jin and Pei Li were as happy as if they had found treasures when they heard this. In fact, they just thought the puppies were good - looking (special).
After picking the puppies, Qi Jiao and the others were going to take them home.
The puppies had just been weaned. It was the best time to take them home to raise, as it was easy to develop a bond with them.
When they were leaving, Qi Jiao hugged Plum Blossom's neck and comforted her, "Plum Blossom, you rest well. We'll bring the puppies back to see you when we have time."
She spoke softly, and Plum Blossom immediately became less fidgety.
Plum Blossom had given birth to four puppies, and they couldn't take all of them.
First, Qu Silang loved dogs, so they had to leave some for him. Second, if Plum Blossom suddenly lost all her children, she would be so sad. So they only took three.
Seeing Qi Jiao and his younger siblings happy, Pei Xia stuffed the red envelope into Qu Silang's hand before leaving.
There were exactly 500 cash in it. Taking care of Plum Blossom and the puppies not only cost money but also a lot of time and energy.
Moreover, last time when Guo Sanlang came to cause trouble, Qu Si had gathered the young and strong men in the village to help. This favor should be remembered.
He always returned hatred with hatred and kindness with kindness.
The group took the puppies back home.
Qi Jiao and the other two couldn't wait to find some old clothes and cotton wadding at home and made warm dog nests in their respective rooms.
The puppies were obviously not used to the new home and environment. They kept whining.
Qi Jiao's heart melted at the sight of them. She immediately went to the kitchen to make food for the puppies.
The puppies had been weaned and were almost two months old. They could eat some complementary food to supplement nutrition.
Qi Jiao minced the fresh fish into mud, boiled three eggs and took out the egg yolks to crush them, then boiled the cabbage leaves and pumpkins until they were soft. She mixed them all together, added an appropriate amount of warm water, and made a nutritionally balanced dog meal.
The dog meal was like a milkshake. Qi Jiao scooped it up with a small spoon and put it in a newly prepared food bowl to feed the puppies.
The three puppies smelled the food and started to eat. Soon the bowl was clean.
Qi Jiao played with the puppies for a while and gently massaged their round bellies.
The puppies stared at Qi Jiao with their wet eyes, and her outline was reflected in their eyes. Soon they got familiar with her and started to act coquettishly with her.
Qi Jiao loved the puppies so much that she wanted to spend more time with them, but she had a lot of things to do.
As the New Year was approaching, it was the busiest time of the year.