Chapter 117 A Litter of Puppies Mango gave birth to nine puppies in total, including yellow ones…

Shen Qinghuai never imagined that repairing a broken family relationship would be so difficult.

Every time his relationship with his eldest daughter improved slightly, an unexpected twist would happen.

He can't blame anyone but himself. If only he had been more proactive and enthusiastic from the beginning, if only he had acted like a father from the start.

If only he had told his eldest daughter before making the call today that the Shen family was all there, that it was a family gathering, instead of the dinner she had promised to treat him to...

It's all his fault. He had planned to formally introduce his eldest daughter to the entire Shen family, but he ended up shooting himself in the foot.

Since things have come to this, we can only try to make amends.

Actually, during this period, hasn't he been repeating the same actions? Making mistakes, apologizing, making amends, making mistakes again, apologizing again, making amends again...

Success may still be a long way off, but at least he has seen signs of the ice and snow melting, and he plans to persevere and see.

But how can we make up for it this time?

After standing in the cold wind at the door for a while, Shen Qinghuai finally remembered something. He quickly picked up his mobile phone and called his friend in Hong Kong to ask about the vaccine.

Fortunately, fate was kind to him; the vaccine is almost here, in the next couple of days.

He finally had a topic to coax his daughter to talk about, and called out through the door, "Honey, the vaccine will arrive in Tianjin Port the day after tomorrow. It will take about one to two days to transport it from Tianjin Port. I'll call you when it arrives."

Having said that, he didn't say anything more, but just stood quietly at the door waiting. Based on his understanding of his eldest daughter, as long as he truly put himself in her shoes and made efforts for the things she cared about, she would give him a good look.

Sure enough, after a few minutes, the courtyard gate creaked open from the inside by Liu Kun.

Shen Qinghuai's smile immediately froze. It was that bastard again, always hanging around his daughter. What was he doing?

But since they had just helped find Shen Yuehu, Shen Qinghuai couldn't show any displeasure, so he could only smile awkwardly and say, "Xiao Liu is here too. Where's Xiao Man?"

"I'm helping Mango give birth." Liu Kun turned around and went straight inside. "President Chen, please come in. I have to go help. Please make yourself at home."

Shen Qinghuai breathed a heavy sigh of relief, finally managing to mend the broken father-daughter relationship.

As night deepened, he looked up at the night sky and chuckled self-deprecatingly. The sky in Beidu was rarely as pure as it had been in Yunnan. It had become tainted by too many interests and losses, learned to be stingy and calculating, and grown accustomed to the indifference and selfishness disguised beneath the skyscrapers.

Such is the nature of humanity; no matter how brilliant the starry sky may be, it cannot wash away those filthy and sordid thoughts. The stars will naturally dim, and family ties will naturally thin.

It's time to start anew for the sake of my straightforward and sincere eldest daughter.

He took a deep breath, closed the door, walked to the door of the east side of the main house, and just stood there watching without making a sound to disturb them.

Qiu Xiaoman, who had her back to him, had already heard his footsteps, but she ignored them and continued to focus on applying a hot compress and massaging Mango to relieve his stress.

It's strange, Shen Qinghuai had only been there for less than three minutes when the first baby came out!

Round and chubby, but unfortunately still covered in the amniotic sac, it looked a bit like a small mouse. Qiu Xiaoman didn't intend to interfere, letting Mango bite off the umbilical cord and open the amniotic sac herself, allowing her first baby to truly come into this world.

Amidst the soft whimpers of the puppy, Mango let out a soft whimper at Qiu Xiaoman. Qiu Xiaoman smiled and said, "You're welcome. There are still several more to come. Lick the baby clean first."

Mango bowed her head earnestly, fulfilling the duties of a new mother. Liu Kun quickly went out and chilled the cooked chicken breast in cold water for a while. Once the chicken breast was neither too hot nor too cold, he shredded it into strips for easy eating.

After all, Mango just gave birth and is still weak, so let's save it some energy.

When he carried a plate of chicken breast into the room, he saw Shen Qinghuai already squatting next to the doghouse, stroking the smooth-furred Mango, and exclaiming, "You've taken such good care of this dog, it's so shiny and healthy."

Qiu Xiaoman didn't respond to that. What was she going to say? "Am I more responsible than you? Unlike you, who gave birth but didn't raise your children?"

Forget it, no matter what, Shen Qinghuai can help her with some things, so let's just continue like this in a muddled way.

Anyway, it's impossible to expect her to call him "Dad".

Shen Qinghuai didn't dare to have such high hopes. He took the chicken breast and fed it to Mango, and then accompanied her as she gave birth to two puppies before giving her the order to leave: "Xiao Liu, you should go back now. I'll take care of things here. Your injuries haven't healed yet, so get some rest."

Liu Kun raised an eyebrow, went out to wash his hands, and left.

Are you going to stay and get scolded? Shen Qinghuai isn't exactly known for his good temper. His good temper is only a performance in front of Qiu Xiaoman, nothing more.

Liu Kun was still able to assess the situation. When Shen Qinghuai angered Qiu Xiaoman, he could help Qiu Xiaoman retort to this heartless nouveau riche. But when Qiu Xiaoman gave Shen Qinghuai a chance, he should also be sensible and know when to stop.

When he returned this time, Xiao Hua and Xiao Bai were his left and right protectors again. He was a little emotional. Officer Qiu was actually a very sentimental person. As long as Shen Qinghuai persisted, perhaps there would really be a day when things would work out.

It's both a good thing and a bad thing.

In short, let's take it one step at a time.

He still hoped that Officer Qiu could be happier.

*

In the courtyard, Qiu Xiaoman finally finished her long period of accompanying Mango during childbirth. Mango gave birth to a total of nine babies, some yellow, some black, some spotted, and some white—a real mixed bag.

It's both a blessing and a test—nine little puppies, how should we name them?

She didn't name any of the animals at the factory, except for the few she had direct contact with during the search of the mountains.

After all, one day they will leave her to go to new families, and if she names them now, she will be reluctant to part with them then.

Now, facing Mango's nine babies, she has the same concerns.

But if we don't give it a name, how will we communicate with Mango every time we come back?

After much thought, I decided to take the puppy, but it's too early now. The puppy's personality hasn't been determined yet. Maybe I should wait until they can crawl and wreak havoc everywhere before taking it.

She stood up and took the basin of water outside.

Shen Qinghuai followed him out: "Are you hungry? Shall I take you to get some late-night snacks?"

"If you're hungry, just say you're hungry. Don't use me as an excuse." Qiu Xiaoman poured out the water, filled a new basin, and went to wash her hands.

Shen Qinghuai stood in the courtyard with a smile, scratching the back of his head. This kid really didn't give him any face at all.

Oh well, what can I do? She's his child. No one else has the ability to know him so well.

He said with a smile, "Let's go, it's a good opportunity for you to practice driving my car. I'll sit in the passenger seat and give you some pointers."

"Mr. Shen, you're really bold. I don't even have a driver's license yet, how dare you ride in my car?" Qiu Xiaoman washed her hands with soap and then washed her face with clean water.

Shen Qinghuai smiled and said, "Your instructor reports on your progress to me every night. He says you're learning very quickly and will be able to drive in just a few days. You can take your driving test next week."

"Forget it, you drive. If we run into the traffic police, I'll be making things difficult for my colleague." Qiu Xiaoman put it very tactfully. She was already a member of the public security system. If she knew it was illegal but still wanted to show off her skills, wouldn't that be asking for trouble?

Anyway, a few more days wouldn't make a difference, so she was happy to sit in the back and rest with her eyes closed. She simply took her keys and went out.

Shen Qinghuai quickly came out to help lock the door, and when he turned around, the child was already sitting in the back seat of the car.

Okay, then let him be the driver.

Shen Qinghuai turned the steering wheel, exited the alley, and took Qiu Xiaoman to the Donghuamen Night Market for a late-night snack.

Just as I found a place to park, I heard Qiu Xiaoman exclaim "Huh?"

Shen Qinghuai turned around and looked at him in surprise: "What's wrong?"

"Second Brother," Qiu Xiaoman pointed to a wonton shop on the left, "why is he out alone? Where's Eldest Brother?"

"I don't know, I'll call and ask." Shen Qinghuai also noticed that Shen Yuehu was standing at the entrance of the wonton shop, neither going in nor moving aside, just blocking the pedestrians coming and going.

That's very strange behavior.

The call connected, and Shen Tenglong's anxious voice came from the other end: "Uncle, is something wrong? Yuehu is missing, I'm looking for him."

"I saw him at Donghuamen Night Market. Come over right away." Shen Qinghuai hung up the phone and turned to look at Qiu Xiaoman. "Your uncle and aunt might come too. Want to grab something to eat together?"

"No, I'll buy something to eat back home." Qiu Xiaoman didn't want to see the boring scene of the Shen family all showing up again. She might as well leave and have some peace and quiet. After all, the person had already been found, right?

Shen Qinghuai refused and wanted to say something more, but he saw Qiu Xiaoman walk quickly to a stall selling roasted chestnuts, buy two bags of chestnuts, and then go to the stall next to her to buy two boiled corn cobs and two tea eggs.

It's obvious that she's made up her mind.

Shen Qinghuai said nothing more, silently walked behind Shen Yuehu, and stared at his strange nephew.

Soon, Qiu Xiaoman came over and handed him a bag of roasted chestnuts: "I'm leaving. Go home and rest early, and don't drink alcohol."

After saying that, Qiu Xiaoman quickly ran to the roadside, hailed a taxi, and went home.

It's more comfortable to be on your own turf, so you don't have to deal with all those messy interpersonal relationships.

Pushing open the door, Qiu Xiaoman smiled. Xiao Hua and the others had surrounded Mango's nest, like guardian deities, encircling this new mother and her nine little ones.

This scene is far more amicable than the verbal sparring among the Shen family.

She petted a few dogs, ate something, washed her feet, and ended this melodramatic day.

The next morning, Qiu Xiaoman got ready for work and opened the door to find Jiang Mingyuan's car parked in front of her.

She was a little surprised: "You were looking for me?"

"Shen Tenglong is going to accompany Shen Yuehu to the hospital to see if he has a mental illness. Uncle Shen asked me to give you a ride. You can transfer at the bus stop yourself." Jiang Mingyuan also had to go to work and didn't have time to take Qiu Xiaoman to the base.

Qiu Xiaoman refused: "No need, I'll take a taxi myself."

"Do you hate me?" Jiang Mingyuan wasn't stupid. Ever since he said the wrong thing last time, Qiu Xiaoman had been polite but distant whenever she saw him.

Of course, he had distanced himself from her, but he was still a little annoyed when he saw her sitting next to Liu Kun last night.

If she doesn't even consider someone like Liu Kun, then...

However, just as this thought crossed his mind, he saw Qiu Xiaoman, light as a feather, run to the alley entrance, hail a taxi, and leave.

He was left standing there awkwardly.

The early spring breeze was filled with birdsong and the fragrance of flowers, but he only felt embarrassed and annoyed. In the end, he made up his mind never to help her take her to work again!

Qiu Xiaoman had no idea about his messy thoughts, and even if she did, she wouldn't bother with him.

She now has something more important to do; Captain Meng has told her to choose a dog for a police call.

She quickly blew her dog whistle to gather the trained dogs and asked, "What happened, Captain Meng?"

"We received a tip that someone is selling ecstasy in a karaoke bar. Two underage girls are also missing; we need to go and search for them immediately." Captain Meng glanced at Fang Jiadong, who was eager to go, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Fang Jiadong, you go too. I'm giving you a chance, so don't come complaining about it being unfair again!"