61.061 Peaceful Request

The topic naturally ended after they entered the town. As long as Ning Jin didn't bring it up, Su Yu didn't either. She hoped that the family planning policy would be introduced to the local area as soon as possible.

Springtime is often rainy. As Su Yu listened to the pattering rain outside, she stretched out in bed, wanting to lie a little longer, when the black dog outside started scratching at the door. It wanted to go out and poop.

"Get up, don't rush me." She resignedly got up, rummaged through the covers to find the clothes she had taken off during the night, opened the door and said to the little black dog with its fur still wet, "There's a toilet in the house, why do you have to run out to poop? You're just wasting your time. I can tell you were a big spender in your past life."

"Woof~"

"Okay." Su Yu opened the door with her umbrella. As soon as the door opened, the dog darted out. "Come back quickly after you're done pooping, or I'll have to call you." She shouted at the dog, who had disappeared from sight.

The door was open. She went inside to get her toothbrush cup and came out to brush her teeth. When she went to call Ping An and Xiao Yuan to get up, she heard footsteps at the door. She turned around and was startled. A person wearing a black raincoat walked straight in, head down, so she couldn't see his face clearly.

"I thought I'd have to knock on the door when I arrived." Su Min stood in the yard, shuffling her rubber boots. "I'll bring you some fish and put them in the yard. My feet are all muddy, so I won't come inside."

"It's you, big sister! You're all covered up so well, I thought someone had come to the wrong house." It was still dark, and a person strode in silently. Xiao Hei wasn't home, which startled her. It seemed she would have to lock the door whenever Xiao Hei went out in the future.

"When did you catch it? If you caught it, you can eat it yourself. Why did you bring it all the way here for me?" Su Yu knocked on the door to make the two children get up quickly. "Auntie is here, and she brought you fish. Get up and see."

"The fishing nets we set last night were brought in before dawn today. We caught quite a few. Here are a few for you, so you don't need to buy any more." Fish is the most common type of meat in the countryside. Su Yu has money and free time, but what she lacks is something she can't afford. The only thing she can do is to bring back fish when it rains and she catches some to repay favors.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you? You ate here this morning before going to work. Help me start the fire, and I'll cut some chives." Su Yu asked her to help directly, not giving her a chance to refuse.

"Okay, I was worried about the road being difficult, so I walked in a hurry and didn't eat." Su Min grabbed a handful of straw from the stove and scooped water to wash the mud off her rubber boots. While tending the fire, she noticed Xiao Yuan and Ping An watching the fish. She glanced at her younger sister's belly and asked, "It's been over a month now, and there's still no sign of pregnancy?" Now her mother is also worried about her youngest sister's belly. Whenever they meet, she nags her about this and that, but she doesn't say a word in front of her youngest sister. As the eldest sister, she has to run errands between her mother and younger sister.

"No movement," Su Yu replied helplessly.

"Sigh!" Su Min sighed, "Have you been to the hospital? What exactly happened? What was Ning Jin's reaction?"

"Nothing's wrong, I know what's going on. Don't rush me, it'll only make me less willing to have children."

"You're getting annoyed. Neither of my two daughters have ever given me this much trouble." Su Min glared at her, and when she saw that she didn't react, she got angry too. "Fine, fine, I'm too lazy to bother with you. It's not my concern."

"The bond between children is shallow, and there's no use in rushing things if the time isn't right. Don't be impatient." Su Yu scooped up a pancake, called the two children to wash their hands and come inside to eat. Her older sister wouldn't bring this up again when the two of them were around.

After the meal, Su Min said a few words and left first. Only then did Su Yu realize that Xiao Hei was not at home. It had gone to poop in the morning and hadn't come back.

"Ah—my dog!" Su Yu rushed out to look for it, shouting "Xiao Hei" at the top of her lungs.

"Stop shouting. Your dog, Xiao Hei, is on the south side of the alley. I saw it when I was fetching water. Go look for it there," a man said from the doorway.

Su Yu went to the south side of the alley but couldn't find it. She called out a few times but got no response. She asked the people there if they had seen a dog with all-black fur. They told her that they had seen it run east with a gray dog. Su Yu then went east with her umbrella.

Before she even got there, she heard the dogs barking urgently. She thought someone was hitting the dogs, so she ran and got mud all over her back. What she saw was two dogs doing the important task of breeding.

Ah!! She tried to prevent it for two years, but Xiao Hei still couldn't escape the fate of carrying puppies.

Su Yu had no choice but to turn back and quietly wait for the two dogs to quiet down.

As soon as the sound stopped, she immediately darted out and called to the dog, who still wanted to go off and play, "Little Black! Let's go home."

Upon seeing that it was Su Yu, the little black dog slunk over with its ears drooping. Su Yu turned and walked away, and the dog obediently followed behind.

"Hey, found it? Where did it go? It took you so long to find it!" A neighbor who was on his way to work saw the half-leg-high dog looking listless and asked with a laugh, "Did it get beaten up?"

If you've gone to find a partner, how long can it not take?

"I haven't beaten it yet. I'm going to take it back and then beat it." Su Yu turned around and glared at it. She went into the house, closed the door, grabbed its face, and slapped its butt. "From now on, I'll tie you to a leash when you poop. Don't even think about having time to run around. You stupid dog, you're so dumb."

She dealt carelessly with the people pressuring her to have a baby, and as a result, her dog was mistreated. She didn't want to raise any more dogs, and Xiao Hei's puppies would definitely be given away. Whether the dogs survived or not depended on the kindness of the new owners.

It's so annoying. She has taken on an extra responsibility. In this day and age, there are few people who can raise a dog to old age. In the countryside, many dogs are raised to adulthood and end up in their owners' stomachs. In the town, most dogs are stolen and eaten or sold by dog ​​thieves in winter. Where can she find someone who can raise a dog to old age?

Su Yu sat under the eaves and thought for a while. If she had wavered before at Ning Jin's urging, she was now determined not to have a child. Raising a child is difficult, and having one would be an indefinite responsibility. Moreover, if she got pregnant and had a baby, Ning Jin would come back two or three times a month, which would be equivalent to being a single parent. She might even have to take the child to work when the child was three to seven years old. She couldn't guarantee that when she felt tired, she wouldn't resent the child she had given birth to and feel that the child was a burden.

Moreover, people are prone to favoritism. Even when raising dogs, she favors those she spends more time with and those who are obedient. It's hard to guarantee that she won't favor her two grown-up, obedient, and sensible children after having kids, or favor the ones she conceived and gave birth to herself.

"No more babies. Silly dog, you'll have to shoulder the burden of bringing joy to the family this year." Su Yu went into the kitchen to serve the dog food. When she opened the pot lid, she found that the chive and egg pancake she had left was gone. She searched the pot and bowl but couldn't find it. It could only be that the two children had taken it and eaten it.

Xiao Hei only drank half a bowl of noodle soup to make do with the meal. At noon, when the two children got out of school, Su Yu had already fried the crucian carp. When they were eating, she asked them, "Didn't you eat enough this morning? Why did you take the pancakes that were left for Xiao Hei and eat them?"

Ping An glanced at Xiao Yuan; with him around, he couldn't lie even if he wanted to. "I brought some food for Xiao Dan." He glanced at Su Yu, and seeing that she wasn't angry, he seized the opportunity, "Mom, Xiao Dan isn't getting enough to eat right now. Could I bring him some leftovers from home in the future?"

"How come he's not getting enough to eat? Didn't you say before that when his mother was in postpartum confinement, he ate so many eggs that he vomited?" It hasn't been that long, and he's already not getting enough to eat?

“She’s his stepmother, not his mother.” Ping An corrected his mother’s address of Xiao Dan’s stepmother. “His stepmother doesn’t like him anymore because she has her own son. She said he stole her pen, which made him get two beatings and go hungry for a day. His grandparents have also gone back to the countryside. His father listens to his stepmother and scolds him every day.”

This feels so familiar. Su Yu asked again, "Are you sure Xiao Dan didn't take his stepmother's pen?"

"No, Xiao Dan is not a thief. You can ask Xiao Yuan if you don't believe me."

"Why would I ask Xiaoyuan? If you're sure, I'll believe you. It's not like I'll believe Xiaodan just because Xiaoyuan said so."

Ping An smiled and said, "Then I'm sure I can bring food for Xiao Dan?"

“No, he’s not my son, I have no obligation to help him,” Su Yu refused.

"But, but you've already helped Er Ya, and Xiao Dan's stepmother is also treating him badly, so you should help him too." Ping An was anxious. He wasn't too worried that his mother wouldn't help Xiao Dan, after all, she had helped Er Ya many times, even calling the police, jumping into the water to save her, and bringing her food and thick socks in winter. Now that Xiao Dan is being bullied, why wouldn't she help him?

Su Yu didn't explain to him that she couldn't help all the bullied people, but instead asked, "How long do you want to help Xiao Dan? A month? A year? Five years? Until he can earn money? How much food do I have to feed him? I originally only had to support two sons, and now you suddenly want me to support another person. I might as well have one of my own. Anyway, our standard of living is going to drop, and I can raise one who will be filial to me."

"You want to have a baby?" Ping An's face fell. His stepmother wanted to have a baby too? He began to regret mentioning Xiao Dan's stepmother having a baby in front of her.

"If you give birth to me, will you be unable to eat like Xiaodan?" he asked anxiously.

"No, but I can't eat meat every two days anymore, but I can eat it once every seven days." Su Yu said cheerfully, "Eating meat once every seven days is pretty good. Many people can't even eat meat once a month."

"I'm not bringing food for Xiaodan anymore." He lowered his head and gave up, meaning you shouldn't have a baby either. Su Yu understood what he meant, but didn't give any guarantees. Instead, she brought up Xiaodan's situation, "You can bring Xiaodan the leftover pancakes we didn't finish, or even meat when we're stewing meat, but you have to pay. You have at least one cent a day now, so you pay me one cent for each meal you bring. It all depends on whether you're willing to spend money on your friend."

"So, are you still going to have children?" This was still Ping An's biggest concern.

"This is between your dad and me, don't interfere." She scooped up the leftover rice from the pot, soaked it in fish oil, and fed it to Xiao Hei. She asked, "Are you bringing lunch to your friend Xiao Dan tomorrow? If not, I'll cook less rice, just enough for Xiao Hei." She thought the two boys' appetites had increased, so she added an extra handful of rice at noon today.

"Feed it all to your dog, Xiao Dan can't afford it," Ping An said angrily. He regretted getting involved in Xiao Dan's family's affairs.

"Don't take it out on my mom." Xiao Yuan, who hadn't spoken until now, finally spoke up. He moved a stool away from Ping An with a sullen face and accused him, "It's your own fault for being stingy with money. Why are you taking it out on my mom? It would be better to raise Xiao Hei than you. Xiao Hei always wags its tail at my mom."

Wow, Su Yu felt so warm inside. She wanted to pick up her precious son and kiss him. So this is what it feels like to have someone backing you up.

"That's right, I've spoiled you so much you can't tell right from wrong anymore. Little Black, time to eat." She happily went to feed the dog.

Ping An remained silent for several days and stopped interacting with Xiao Yuan. Every time they went to and from school, Xiao Yuan and Er Ya would walk in front while Ping An walked behind with his neck stiff. Su Yu did not intervene to ease their relationship; she couldn't let Xiao Yuan's heart be broken.

When Ning Jin returned in his sports car, Xiao Dan, who had been bullied by his stepmother, reappeared in Ping An's mouth. "Dad, let me tell you, Xiao Dan's stepmother doesn't like him anymore now that she has her own son. She said he stole her pen, so she had her dad beat him. She also doesn't feed Xiao Dan anymore, and now she doesn't wash his clothes either. She even makes Xiao Dan wash his younger brother's diapers every day."

"Oh?" Ning Jin asked in surprise.

“Yes, my stepmother changed after she had her own son. Dad, please don’t let my mom have a little brother.” Ping An couldn’t hold back any longer and blurted out his purpose for bringing up Xiao Dan again.

Ning Jin glanced at Su Yu and scolded Ping An for talking nonsense, "Your mother is so good to you, and you still doubt her? If you meet another stepmother who favors her own son, are you going to kick Xiao Yuan out again?"

"No, I just want you to stop having any more babies. Xiaoyuan and I are enough," Ping An pleaded.

"Then let's not have children," Su Yu said, seizing the opportunity.

"Don't listen to his nonsense. How can we let him do whatever he wants?" Ning Jin was unhappy and pointed at Ping An, telling him to eat quickly, finish his meal, and go to bed.