Chapter 14, Work 2: I must do my best tomorrow! ...

Mango did very well; she could not only do simple two-digit addition and subtraction, but also do a little bit of multiplication.

For example, two threes, two fours, all the way up to two tens, can all be calculated.

I'm not so good at the three-digit column. I only know that three threes make nine, but I don't know much else for now.

Qiu Xiaoman asked curiously, "Did you learn all of this yourself, or did your mother teach you?"

Mango blinked her big, watery puppy eyes: "My mom taught me! When my mom gave birth to my litter, she had eleven puppies. She would take us out to find food, and she would count the number of puppies every time. At first, my eldest sister helped my mom count the puppies, but then my eldest sister was run over by a car and died, so it was my turn. I'm the second oldest."

"Run over by a car?" This was truly an unforeseen tragedy for stray cats and dogs. Qiu Xiaoman could only sigh and ask, "How many of you eleven are still alive?"

Speaking of her siblings, Mango became a little downcast, and after a long pause, she finally spoke: "My third brother contracted rabies and was beaten to death. My fourth sister was taken in by a kind uncle, and I haven't seen her since. My fifth brother was disobedient and insisted on eating a meat bun a bad guy threw at him; he was poisoned. My sixth brother was the most mischievous; while chasing some cats, he fell into a swamp and drowned. My seventh sister is quite timid. Last winter, when it snowed and we couldn't find any food, I wanted her to come with me to the train station to try and find something, but she was too scared. By the time I found some food and brought it to her, she..." They've already starved to death. Eighth brother, desperate with hunger, went to catch a mouse, but it turned out to be a dying mouse that had eaten rat poison. He ate it and died along with the mouse. Ninth sister had lofty ambitions; she said she wanted to find a good family to adopt her, and she spent all her time running to the buildings of big companies. Later, she was taken away by the grandson of a security guard, and I don't know how she's doing; I haven't seen her in a long time. Tenth sister, because she was too eager to prove herself during a dog fight, was the first to charge in and had her neck bitten off by the opposing wolfhound. Eleventh brother died less than three days after birth because he couldn't compete with the ten of us in the womb.

After listening, Qiu Xiaoman also fell into a long silence.

The lives of stray cats and dogs are shorter than fireworks, which is truly heartbreaking.

With a silent sigh, Qiu Xiaoman asked again, "Does your mother have any other children?"

"Yes, but they're all like our litter, not many of them survived in the end." Mango drooped its ears, looking very depressed. "Master, sometimes I wonder if we did something wrong to suffer such a calamity? We really try our best to live, but we still don't live long. Like me, if I hadn't met you, I might have frozen to death."

"You did nothing wrong." Qiu Xiaoman clenched her fists. She couldn't change or stop the others for the time being, but at least she would do her best and wouldn't abandon them once she had taken them in.

This is life too.

She squatted down and gently stroked Mango's head: "Sweetie, don't worry, from now on you are my family, I will not abandon you. You, have another piece of meat later, go to sleep quickly, tomorrow we will go to the police station to recommend ourselves and look for jobs."

"Really? Woof woof!" Mango was overjoyed. Could she finally become a dog that was useful to humans?

How wonderful! I really wish I could become a police dog so that the babies in my belly could have a stable life. Even if I can't be a police dog with her, at least I can help them find adoptive families and make sure they have enough to eat three meals a day. That would make my life worthwhile.

She was very excited and looking forward to it; she was determined to do her best tomorrow!

She quickly ate the chicken leg that her owner had heated up, then lay down in the basket and went to sleep.

She heard very light footsteps and knew her owner had gone out. It didn't matter; she could even fall asleep in the noisy square in front of the train station. Now that she had a warm home, the slightest footsteps wouldn't disturb her.

She fell asleep quickly.

Qiu Xiaoman went to Li Tuantuan's place to ask about Song Xiaomei and Song Xiaojun, since she hadn't been back for a day and didn't know how the siblings were doing.

Li Tuantuan was waiting for her, so she quickly opened the door and brought out a red plastic stool for her to sit on: "It's like this, Song Xiaojun's cornea is damaged, and the damage is quite deep. Now she needs someone to donate a cornea to restore her vision. The hospital is waiting for a donor. If they can't find one, then they can only have conservative treatment. If it goes on for too long, that eye will go blind."

"So you'll just have to wait in the hospital for the next few days?" Qiu Xiaoman was a little surprised. She didn't expect Song Xiaojun to suffer retribution so early. The price for not learning good habits was losing an eye. It was really quite a heavy one.

Regardless of whether his eyesight recovers or not, I hope he learns from this experience and won't have any more crooked thoughts in the future.

Li Tuantuan thought the same thing. He sighed silently, "We can only wait. They say these few days are the best time for treatment. If we miss this window, even if we get a donor, the recovery won't be as good as it is now. Right now, Li Erhu and the others are trying to contact their parents and the newspaper to ask for help from the public, to see if there's any hope. So Song Xiaomei won't be coming back anytime soon; she's staying in the hospital. She also asked me to ask you if we can pay them back for their food expenses these days."

"Of course, go find A-Yue and return their food expenses for this month to them." Although Qiu Xiaoman wouldn't kick someone when they're down, she didn't feel sorry for Song Xiaojun either. After all, he was reaping what he sowed, and he couldn't blame anyone else.

Therefore, there is only so much she can help with.

Li Tuantuan understood: "Then I'll talk to A Yue tomorrow morning."

"Okay." Qiu Xiaoman went to check on A Yue again to inquire about her living conditions.

Ah Yue was in a good mood and was reading a book when he saw Qiu Xiaoman come in. He subconsciously pushed up his glasses and said, "Sister Xiaoman, I went out for a walk today and found some nannies nearby. I'm going to try it out, the kind that takes care of babies."

"That's definitely not going to work. You're only sixteen. Who would dare to take you in? Do you still want to go to school?" Qiu Xiaoman herself didn't want to go to school anymore, but she didn't want to extinguish A Yue's hope. As long as she could do her part, she was willing to give it a try.

A-Yue's eyes lit up instantly: "Can I continue going to school?"

"I don't know. But if you want to go, I'll keep an eye out for you, and I'll let you know if there's an opportunity." Qiu Xiaoman herself is a top student, so she naturally understands that kind of thirst for knowledge in someone's eyes.

She couldn't go to university in her past life, and in this life she has lost all desire for it.

Perhaps it's because I've lived three lifetimes, and I'm now willing to make choices about some things.

So, more than going to school, she now longs for work, to stand on her own two feet, and to see her parents make a fool of themselves up close.

That would be incredibly joyful, and if, along the way, you could help other children continue their journey of knowledge, that would be even better.

Of course, she will continue to study, just in a different way.

There are countless paths to success in this world, and going to university is the most economical and practical one, but it is not the only one.

She smiled and got up: "Go to sleep early. Don't overthink things before work. If you really can't, I'll find you some handicrafts to do."

"Okay." A-Yue listened to the advice, closed the book, took off his glasses, closed the door, and went to sleep.

Qiu Xiaoman went to Xiao Qiao's place one last time and suddenly felt like a dorm auntie checking rooms, and subconsciously smiled.

I knocked on the door, and a soft voice came from inside saying, "Come in."

When Qiu Xiaoman opened the door, she saw that Xiao Qiao had caught a cold. There was an empty bowl on the table with some uneaten ginger shreds and a little bit of brown sugar residue in it.

Qiu Xiaoman stepped closer and touched Xiao Qiao's forehead: "Why didn't you tell us you had a cold? What if you had to tough it out and developed a high fever?"

"I'm fine, Sister Xiaoman. I always catch a cold like this; I just stay warm overnight and it's all better." Xiao Qiao was quite confident in her health. She believed that her cold this time must be because she sweated while cooking and didn't change her wet sweater in time.

Just be more careful next time.

Qiu Xiaoman was worried, so she found a thermometer to measure her temperature. It was alright, only 37.8 degrees Celsius.

But she still grabbed a flashlight, went out to find a pharmacy, bought some cold medicine, and personally watched Xiao Qiao take the medicine before preparing to go to sleep.

Xiao Qiao was deeply moved. She grabbed her arm, pressed her flushed face against her, and cried, "Waaah... Sister Xiaoman, you're so kind! Don't worry, I'll get better soon and won't let you worry. Also, how much is the medicine? I'll give it to you."

"No need, silly girl. You help me sweep the floor and cook, why would I hold this against you? Go to sleep, be a good girl." Qiu Xiaoman tucked her in, turned off the light, and left.

Xiao Qiao hid under the covers, crying and laughing at the same time. She thought Xiao Man was the best, and she wished Xiao Man was her real sister.

*

At the Four Seasons Karaoke Bar, Shen Qinghuai looked at the young girls singing and dancing, and for some reason, he thought of his unruly daughter again.

He was glad at the time that she didn't call him "Dad," but now the more he thinks about it, the more uneasy he feels.

They want a watch and money, but they didn't even call me "Dad." What a rip-off.

However, he didn't want to go to her, lest some tabloid reporter see it and report it indiscriminately, which would cause Liang Yuting to make a scene, which would be extremely annoying.

After drinking and singing a few off-key songs, his vision began to blur.

Looking at these young women in the prime of their youth, he still felt uneasy and couldn't help but pick up his cell phone and call Chen Baihui: "Where are you? Did you go see her today? You're her mother, you have to teach her to walk the right path, you absolutely can't let her go astray, understand?"

Chan Pak-wai is having a great time in Hainan and has no time to deal with her drunken ex-husband who is slurring his words. He's so annoying!

He gave a perfunctory reply and hung up the phone.

In the hotel, a young man, dripping wet, had just come out of the bathroom. Seeing her put down her cell phone, he couldn't help but feel jealous: "Oh, so you contacted Boss Shen again. You really do look down on me because I'm not as rich as him. You don't love me anymore, sob sob."

Chen Baihui fell for his act immediately. She tossed her cell phone into the corner, drew the curtains, and hugged the man with the superior looks of a supermodel: "Who said that? My Mao Mao is the best. Here, give your sister a meow."

"If I ask you to have my baby, will you give me a child?" Zheng Linmao had made this request more than once. He knew that only by having a child could he completely bind this woman to him.

He hoped for a positive answer, blinking his puppy-dog-like, watery eyes with anticipation.