Chapter 162: I Don’t Like Dogs

Amidst a chorus of complaints from Old Sir Mu, Yun Jiao was picked up by the collar like a little chick and set down in front of Shen Yunlian.

"Look at this kid of yours, lying on that Big Black dog picking off its fleas. Hurry up and give her a bath."

’This kid is a lost cause.’

Hearing this, Shen Yunlian stared at Yun Jiao.

Yun Jiao looked back at her, her eyes full of innocence.

So Yun Jiao was taken home. Shen Yunlian heated a basin of warm water, stripped her bare, and put her in.

Her hands needed an especially good scrubbing.

She even washed her hair.

"Mom, the foam got in my eyes."

Yun Jiao protested, one eye squeezed shut and the other open.

Shen Yunlian wiped her face. "This is what you get for touching everything."

Yun Jiao tilted up her pretty, innocent little face.

"But Big Black has bugs on him."

"Mommy, is there more hot water? Jiaojiao wants to give the big dog a bath."

Shen Yunlian said, "Just a bath won’t do. For their situation, we’ll need to buy some medicine to kill the parasites."

"Then can we go buy the medicine after we eat?"

There was a clinic in their town; they should sell that kind of medicine.

Shen Yunlian nodded. "After we eat, I’ll take you to town to ask around."

Once Yun Jiao was all clean and fragrant and had changed into fresh clothes, Shen Yunlian began to dry her hair.

The whole process successfully turned Yun Jiao into a little lion with a poofy mane.

However, her hair was soft, black, and shiny, so a few strokes with a comb was all it took to smooth it out.

It wasn’t dry yet, but she went back to Old Man Mu’s house with her hair still down.

Old Man Mu had already shooed Big Black outside in disgust.

"I’ll give you a bath tomorrow. For now, stay out."

Mr. Mu didn’t leave. He just brought a stool to the doorway, smoking his long-stemmed pipe and muttering at Big Black.

"Good dogs like to be clean. You’re such a big fella, don’t all those fleas make you itch? After we kill them all, remember to keep yourself clean. Go for a soak in the water when you’ve got nothing to do. It’s not like you’re afraid of water..."

He had also placed the two little puppies next to Big Black. They yapped along with the sound of Mr. Mu’s voice, creating a surprisingly lively call-and-response.

Big Black wasn’t actually Old Man Mu’s dog. Old Man Mu had just fed him a few times, so he would occasionally stop by.

Big Black’s home was the world; he could live anywhere.

Who knows how long it had been since his last bath, which was why he had fleas.

In those days, even people got lice, let alone cats and dogs.

The two chubby puppies toddled along behind Big Black, wagging their tails.

Puppies at this age were the most annoying things, and on top of that, a person was chattering endlessly. Big Black was getting so pestered he was on the verge of snapping.

When he saw Yun Jiao arrive, Big Black’s eyes lit up. He snatched up the white puppy in his mouth, ran over to Yun Jiao, and dropped the chubby little thing at her feet. Then, he used a paw to nudge the other one over before turning tail and bolting.

Yun Jiao was speechless. "...Does Big Black not want to raise his pups?"

Shen Yunlian thought, ’Isn’t it obvious?’

Mr. Mu shook his head. "What a terrible father."

In the end, the two chubby puppies were dumped on Yun Jiao by their own father.

The two little ones didn’t seem to mind one bit that their father had abandoned them. They circled Yun Jiao, yapping and spinning around, their little tails wagging joyfully.

When it was time for dinner, Old Man Mu moved a table out into the courtyard.

A huge spread of dishes was laid out on it.

Old Man Mu had brought out quite a few things from his personal stash, including a whole chicken.

There was an old hen stewed with shiitake mushrooms and wild boar leg stewed with pickled greens. The rest were common seaside dishes like stir-fried clams, and the Yun family had also brought some razor clams.

Old Man Mu chuckled happily as he smelled the fragrant aromas. This was so much more delicious than his own cooking.

He took out the bottle of Maotai and opened it.

"Time to eat, time to eat! My old friend, let’s have a drink."

Since it was already open, of course they had to drink it.

The women didn’t really drink, and Yun Chenbei, being so young, had never tried alcohol before.

Old Man Mu poured a little for him.

"Want to try a sip?"

Yun Chenbei hesitated for less than two seconds before taking the small cup and, under the watchful gaze of Yun Jiao’s big eyes, taking a tiny sip.

"Brother, what’s it taste like? Let me try a sip."

’The liquor smells really nice.’

Yun Chenbei frowned. "It doesn’t taste very good."

"You’re too little. You can’t drink."

Yun Jiao held up her pinky. "Just a teensy bit."

Yun Chenbei couldn’t resist her big, pleading eyes, so he dipped his chopstick in the liquor and let her have a taste.

Everyone at the table watched and laughed. "How’s it taste?"

Yun Jiao shook her head and stopped pestering Yun Chenbei, sitting up straight in her seat.

"Soda tastes better."

"Hahaha..."

The table erupted in laughter.

Everyone ate and drank, but that didn’t stop them from chatting.

As it happened, they were talking about what happened at Yun Dafu’s home.

Yun Jiao had already heard about it that morning.

But she still listened with great relish.

"So, is Yun Dafu back? Is he alright?"

Granny Yun hadn’t heard about this yet.

Yun Linhai replied, "He’s back. Just some scrapes and bruises, no broken bones or anything."

"They still haven’t found the thief?"

"Nope. I heard they even reported it to the local police station. Two officers came over to investigate."

"Losing three thousand yuan just like that... what a terrible thing."

As they talked, the conversation drifted to other topics.

Yun Jiao tossed the smaller chicken bones she was done with to the two chubby puppies under the table.

Then she noticed the two little ones were already happily gnawing on a piece of chicken meat.

’Who gave them that?’

After a moment of secret observation, she spotted a sneaky-looking Grandpa Mu.

Yun Jiao stared.

Old Man Mu tossed a piece of pork under the table, and when he looked up, he found Yun Jiao staring right at him.

Old Man Mu was speechless.

’What are you looking at? I just gave them a piece of pork I don’t like, so what!’

Yun Jiao mumbled, "And you said you wanted to chase the puppies away earlier."

When the meal was over, there were still some leftovers, and the table was covered in a pile of chicken and large pork bones.

These bones weren’t wasted. Granny Yun gathered them into a plastic bag.

"Jiaojiao, take these bones back for our tabby cat, or for Dabai to eat."

Yun Jiao nodded. "Cat Boss won’t eat this. I’ll take it for Dabai."

Cat Boss was skilled enough to catch his own wild pheasants and rabbits; he’d turn his nose up at these bones.

Old Sir Mu came out with two earthenware bowls filled with leftover rice soaked in chicken broth.

"Here, pups..."

He put the bowls on the ground and called out to the two fat little dogs.

The puppies couldn’t resist the sound and immediately toddled over.

The puppies were surprisingly fierce when they ate, gobbling down the food with little growls.

Once they finished eating, Yun Jiao prepared to take the two little ones to Granny Liu’s house.

"Ahem... taking them back already?"

Yun Jiao nodded. "Yes. Is there something else, Grandpa Mu?"

"Well, there are still some leftovers. You take these, and take this broth back for that big dog too. She needs to eat well to produce good milk for her pups."

In the blink of an eye, Dabai’s food supply had grown considerably.

"Okay, I’ll thank Grandpa Mu on Dabai’s behalf."

"Grandpa Mu, you really like dogs, don’t you?"

"Nonsense!"

Mr. Mu retorted, "I do not! Dogs eat too much, they’re a pain to raise, and most importantly, they have fleas."

Yun Jiao didn’t believe him for a second. ’The old man clearly loves them. He was even sneaking them extra food.’

When Yun Xiaowu and the others got home from school that afternoon, there were no leftovers from dinner.

Grandma made them some noodles and even opened a can of meat to go with it.

With the canned meat, Yun Xiaowu and the others had no complaints whatsoever.