Chapter 14 A Silly Little Dog (First Update)...

"Don't talk nonsense." Commissar Zhao's wife frowned upon hearing Shi Guilan's words. "Don't indulge in these feudal superstitions. Qin's wife has no relation to them; she just lives next door. They made a mistake themselves, and they haven't even blamed the neighbors a few buildings away. Are you blaming them on their behalf?"

Mrs. Zhao is quite old, and her eldest child is already a teenager. Mrs. Zhao still works at the Women's Federation, so she's aware of Shi Guilan's gossip. Before Shi Guilan married Political Commissar Zhao, she was indeed gossipy, but not as annoying as she is now.

"This..." Shi Guilan was a little scared. She would be criticized for engaging in feudal superstition, which was a serious accusation. She had spoken too quickly.

"When you went to Staff Officer Xu's house, not long after, Staff Officer Xu's wife died in childbirth. Could it be that you caused his wife's death by bringing bad luck?" The fat woman walked over. "What kind of era is this? Still doing this kind of thing? Aren't you afraid someone will report you?"

Fat Sister couldn't stand Shi Guilan's words, saying that Song Fenglan was the jinx to other people's children. Song Fenglan was beautiful and kind-hearted. Fat Sister missed her son when he went to live next door. Song Fenglan gave Zhang Xiaohu food and even asked Fat Sister to take some food to her eldest son. She was such a considerate person. It was too awful for Shi Guilan to say such things.

“She lives next door to you,” Shi Guilan said. “Do you think she respects you?”

"She didn't look down on me, but you do." The plump woman had tolerated Shi Guilan for a long time. She had been careful with her words before, afraid of offending Shi Guilan, and even when she did argue, it was only to a low level. The plump woman saw Shi Guilan as a nobody who had suddenly risen to power, and Shi Guilan didn't know her own limitations. "You're always putting on airs here, as if you want us to know you're Staff Officer Xu's wife. You're his wife, not his sister-in-law helping his eldest child!"

Shi Guilan disliked people talking about how she had helped Staff Officer Xu take care of his children; she always felt that people were implying that she had been with Staff Officer Xu early on. In reality, Shi Guilan had indeed thought about how wonderful it would be if she had married Staff Officer Xu, but only in her heart. Before Staff Officer Xu's first wife passed away, Shi Guilan and Staff Officer Xu had a completely innocent relationship and no intimate relationship.

"you……"

"Back then, Qin Tuan said he was already married, but you still wanted to introduce him to someone, insisting on shoving your cousin into his life. How shameless!" the fat woman said. "What? Your cousin didn't get Qin Tuan to divorce his wife, so you're going to make things difficult for her? Qin Tuan's wife just arrived, she hasn't even been out for a couple of days, and you're already talking about her like that? How can you be so shameless? Are you and your cousin as pretty as her? Are you as educated as her? Don't you even take a piss and look at yourselves in the mirror? What kind of person are you? You're no good yourself, all you know is to be jealous of others."

"You, I'll tear your mouth apart!" Shi Guilan was furious. She felt that Fatty Sister-in-law only dared to say these things to her because she had Qin Tuan's wife as her backer. Fatty Sister-in-law just wanted to please Qin Tuan's wife.

Shi Guilan rushed forward to hit Fatty Sister-in-law, but given Fatty Sister-in-law's size, even without others stopping her, Shi Guilan couldn't easily hit her. Instead, Shi Guilan was hit hard twice by Fatty Sister-in-law. Since Shi Guilan had made the first move, Fatty Sister-in-law thought that if she didn't fight back, she would be wasting the opportunity.

Everyone around saw it; it was Shi Guilan who spoke ill of others first, and it was Shi Guilan who struck first.

Others tried to pull Shi Guilan and the fat woman away, some pretending to help but secretly hoping the fat woman would hit Shi Guilan a few more times. Shi Guilan was such a hypocrite, always so arrogant; no one knew what she was so arrogant about. Quite a few people had suffered at Shi Guilan's hands, but out of respect for Staff Officer Xu, they didn't dare to argue with her.

"Alright, alright." Seeing that the situation was about right, Madam Zhao stood between Shi Guilan and the fat woman. "Stop fighting, or people will laugh at us."

Shi Guilan's hair was a mess, and Fatty Sister's complexion wasn't much better.

“Mr. Xu, you have a problem with your thinking, you’re superstitious,” Madam Zhao said. “People who don’t even live together, people who aren’t related, where does this talk of incompatibility come from? Aren’t you afraid to say something like that? Sister-in-law, you too, don’t be so impulsive. Mr. Xu’s mouth is just a little gossipy, but…”

Madam Zhao wanted to say that she didn't mean much harm, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. Shi Guilan's words were full of malice.

"The Qin family just arrived, so all of you should keep your mouth shut," Madam Zhao said. "Don't give the impression that we're ganging up on them because they're newcomers. When you first arrived, all the neighbors helped you out. Now that the Qin family's wife, the Xu staff officer's wife, has just arrived, are you going to lead the bullying against her?"

"Me? No, I..."

"As you can see, Commander Qin is not only really married, but his wife is also outstanding, and they have a son." Madam Zhao deliberately emphasized the word 'son.' When Staff Officer Xu's first wife died, he only had daughters and no sons. Men always want sons, and with children at home to take care of, it was only because Shi Guilan married Staff Officer Xu so easily. Wasn't Shi Guilan only able to speak so loudly because she gave birth to a son?

Madam Zhao knew what kind of person Shi Guilan was, and so did many others around her.

After the fight between Fatty Sister and Shi Guilan, the others decided it was best not to stay any longer and dispersed.

Shi Guilan was furious when she got home. She was even angrier when she saw her two stepdaughters, the younger one of whom was crying.

“Don’t you know how to take care of your sister? She’s your own sister, born of the same mother as you,” Shi Guilan said. “Can you trust me to take care of your sister? Aren’t you worried that I, as her stepmother, will mistreat her?”

When Shi Guilan heard others say that she wasn't a good stepmother, she became even angrier, and her attitude towards her two stepdaughters worsened when she returned home. If people thought she wasn't a good stepmother, then she wouldn't be one. She had already given birth to a son for her husband, and her son was the most important thing.

"You never know what you're doing all day long." Shi Guilan snorted. "Your sister isn't a three-year-old child, she's six or seven years old. And you, you're ten years old. Why don't you take better care of your sister? With the two of you being so annoying, aren't you afraid you won't be able to marry into a good family in the future?"

Shi Guilan's eldest stepdaughter dared not say much, having suffered much ridicule from Shi Guilan. The eldest stepdaughter remembered how kind Shi Guilan had been to her when she was little, but that was a long time ago, not now.

When Fatty Sister returned home, she wasn't so angry anymore. She figured she'd at least hit Shi Guilan a few times, so she hadn't suffered any loss. Fatty Sister thought that Shi Guilan would inevitably make things difficult for Song Fenglan in the future, so she tidied her hair and clothes a bit, then went to check the door next door and called Song Fenglan.

Song Fenglan let the fat woman into the room, and the fat woman saw the timber in the yard.

"What are you all busy with?" the plump woman asked.

“He’s making a safety railing for the bed,” Song Fenglan said. “Zihang sleeps alone, and we’re worried he might fall off the bed, so a safety railing is a good idea.”

"You guys are really good to him," said the plump woman. "Where's Zihang?"

“He’s going to take a nap,” Song Fenglan said. “These past few days, he’s been traveling by train, cleaning the house, and going shopping. He’s tired. We adults can manage, but the kids, who seem so energetic, are finding it a bit too much for them.”

Song Fenglan and her husband had just learned that a neighbor's child had fallen headfirst into a bucket of water, and they warned their son not to play like that. Qin Yizhou was making railings and didn't have time to take the child out to play, and Song Fenglan hadn't planned to take the child out today either. Since the child was sleepy, it would be better for him to rest.

"Do you know?" The plump woman looked around and whispered.

"What's wrong?" Song Fenglan asked, puzzled.

“Shi Guilan, Xu’s wife, is Xu’s second wife. She was originally going to introduce her cousin to your man, but she said you’d brought bad luck to someone else’s child,” said the plump woman. Sitting here with Song Fenglan, she still felt very sad thinking about this. “She’s always talking about other people. As for you, she thinks you’ve hindered her cousin’s bright future, so she has to talk about you.”

“Then I can only say she has something wrong with her head,” Song Fenglan said. “If my man can abandon me for another woman, sooner or later he will abandon that woman for another woman. He is fickle from the very beginning and he will be fickle in the end. He is also fickle in the end, but men love eighteen-year-old girls until they die.”

"No..." Qin Yizhou was doing something in the living room. It was too hot outside, and Song Fenglan told him not to go out in the sun to avoid heatstroke. Qin Yizhou didn't think he would be unable to stand it, but since his wife had said so, he naturally stayed in the corner of the living room to do his things so as not to worry his wife.

"You do your thing." Song Fenglan glanced at Qin Yizhou when he spoke.

"No, I just like you the way you are." Before he could shut up, Qin Yizhou had to say it.

Qin Yizhou agreed with his son's statement: one shouldn't be hypocritical; one should say what's on one's mind. Song Fenglan was his wife, to be with him for life, not some outsider. If she were an outsider, Qin Yizhou wouldn't need to say so much.

"Commander Qin is right." The plump woman smiled. "Sister-in-law, you are so beautiful and educated. Not to mention men, even I, a woman, like you."

The plump woman still felt somewhat guilty towards Song Fenglan. She recalled their first meeting; seeing how beautiful Song Fenglan was, she instinctively disliked her, as if she had long, sharp thorns that would hurt both Song Fenglan and herself. However, Song Fenglan clearly didn't care about any of that. The plump woman wished Song Fenglan could stay that way forever.

Nobody wants a mean-spirited neighbor; everyone wants a kind and gentle one.

"Yes, are you making clothes for your child?" the plump woman asked. "Yesterday, I saw your family carrying a sewing machine."

"Yes, it's mostly done, just a few other steps are missing," Song Fenglan said, as she went to get the child's clothes. The fierce little dog on them wasn't finished yet. But to say fierce was an understatement; it was more like an adorable little dog.

It's not appropriate for a boy to wear such a fierce-looking puppy costume; it might make people uncomfortable. At most, that kind of puppy costume might make other children dislike him, but it won't deter adults.

Song Fenglan didn't want her son to be ostracized by other children because of a pattern on his clothes, so she wanted to make his clothes look nicer.

"You can embroider?" the plump woman asked in surprise.

"I know a little," Song Fenglan said. "My mother knows."

When Song Fenglan was young, her mother provided her with education. Song's mother was a wealthy heiress who, despite living through turbulent times, still received proper guidance from her family. Song Fenglan had heard her parents recount how, when her mother married, the bridal procession stretched for miles in red—no exaggeration. The wedding candies were specially made, and there were countless varieties. Even poor people from the city who visited the vicinity of Song's mother's house were given candies.

A few days before Song's mother's wedding, sweets were already being distributed at home. Song's mother's household also had many servants and a large garden; it took a long time to walk from one end to the other. Song's mother and Aunt Yu were sisters. Song's mother married earlier than Aunt Yu. When Aunt Yu got married, war broke out, and the whole family was preparing to flee. Aunt Yu's fiancé disappeared at that time. Later, Aunt Yu married her current husband.

Many things don't go as planned; they can't always get what they want.

"Your mother taught you that?" The plump woman looked down at her own hands, which were much rougher and could easily snag the threads. Then she looked at Song Fenglan's fair skin and her slender, long hands, which were clearly not those of an ordinary woman.

The chubby woman instinctively tried to hide her hands; she thought they were so ugly.

“Yes, my mother taught me a lot of things. She even wanted to teach me how to cook, but… something happened, and she didn’t have time to teach me anything more,” Song Fenglan said. Her mother taught her to make some pastries, but hadn’t had time to teach her how to cook.

In the eyes of someone like Song's mother, women who do embroidery and bake pastries are considered elegant and can even please men. Women don't need to cook all the time; the kitchen is full of oily fumes, which can easily damage a woman's skin.

Song's mother's family had fallen on hard times, so when Song's mother got married, she still had a lot of things to give, which meant that her aunt didn't have as many things to give when she got married. However, the things given by Yu's aunt's family were more than the dowry given by her husband's family, and her husband's family was still not satisfied, but they didn't dare to say it. During the special period, when the Song family fell into hardship, Yu's aunt's husband's family said even more, and they made things difficult for Yu's aunt a lot.

Without any powerful backing, and with a rather weak personality, Aunt Yu was easily manipulated by her in-laws. Aunt Yu also felt that since she was already engaged and her fiancé had disappeared, remarrying was not a good idea.

Aunt Yu and Song's mother didn't have the same mother. Song's mother was born to the first wife, while Aunt Yu was born to a concubine. There were various reasons for this, which led to Aunt Yu's personality becoming the way it was.

Song Fenglan thought of her biological mother. She had sent some things to her parents, but had never visited them in person. In those special times, it wasn't appropriate for a frail woman like Song Fenglan to simply take the train there; her parents were also worried about her safety on the journey to their remote area. Relatives don't necessarily have to meet in person; even without meeting, they are still family.

"What are you embroidering?" The plump woman didn't dare ask about Song Fenglan's family.

"Embroider a dog," Song Fenglan said. "The child will like it."

"No wonder your son says you're so good," said the plump woman. "What mother makes such beautiful clothes for her child? As long as they can be worn, that's enough. Why embroider them? You little rascal, as long as the clothes are durable, that's fine. My little Tiger often wears his older brother's hand-me-downs, and his older brother wears other people's hand-me-downs."

“My husband and I only have this one child,” Song Fenglan said. “We’ll make him nice clothes whenever we can. We have time for it, but if we don’t, I won’t make any more clothes for him.”

"You're so skillful," said the plump woman. "My son's clothes are torn, but I don't even want to mend them. They'll just tear again anyway."

Song Fenglan smiled. She didn't offer to mend the clothes for the fat woman's child. Song Fenglan wasn't anyone's servant, nor did she intend to curry favor with anyone. She was someone who didn't like to trouble others, and she didn't like others troubling her either. She was content to mind her own business.

There's no need to form cliques.

Regardless of any conflict between Fatty Sister-in-law and Shi Guilan, Song Fenglan was determined to teach Shi Guilan a lesson she wouldn't forget, since Shi Guilan had spoken ill of her.

“That’s how it is in our village,” said the plump woman. “If all else fails, we’ll find a piece of rag, sew it on, and wear it as usual.”

“Frugality is a traditional virtue,” Song Fenglan said.

“Yes, yes.” The plump woman was very satisfied with Song Fenglan’s statement. “Actually, people in the neighborhood rarely wear patched clothes; they wear very little.”

Sister-in-law Pang is a bit reserved, and people say bad things about her, that she's too frugal and stingy. It's not that Sister-in-law Pang is stingy; it's just that the family only has so much money. Her husband's family takes a little, and they also need to keep some money for emergencies.

After saying a few words, the plump woman left. Qin Yizhou had heard everything she said.

Fat Sister didn't deliberately avoid Qin Yizhou. She figured if he heard, he heard; a grown man wouldn't go looking for trouble with a woman. She had spoken to her husband, Zhang Chenghai, about it, and he always told her to be patient, saying they were all neighbors and shouldn't make things too ugly. Many men consider those things trivial, but Fat Sister, as a woman, didn't.

“You have romantic entanglements.” Song Fenglan looked at Qin Yizhou.

“I already said from the beginning that I’m married,” Qin Yizhou said. “It’s not my peach blossom that’s growing; it’s someone else’s peach blossom that’s grown longer.”

Qin Yizhou never had any feelings for Shi Guilan's cousin, and the two rarely met. He would pretend not to see her even if she walked right up to him; she wasn't his wife, so why bother with her?

“This peach blossom is complaining that I’m taking up too much space,” Song Fenglan said. “If it’s encroaching on someone else’s territory, it should be cut down.”

"That's right." Qin Yizhou dared not disagree. "Territory cannot be violated by others."

Qin Yizhou wondered if Song Fenglan was jealous, but then he thought it wasn't. His wife wasn't the type to be jealous; she didn't like him that much, Qin Yizhou understood.

Qin Yizhou was worried that he had already displeased his wife before she even liked him. He couldn't help but glance at Song Fenglan several times, afraid that she might show him any disgust.

"Zihang is really tired. You can keep banging away over there and he can still fall asleep," Song Fenglan said with emotion.

"He..." Qin Yizhou thought that his wife always mentioned their son from time to time, and his wife couldn't think about her husband much.

"What's wrong?" Seeing Qin Yizhou's hesitant expression, Song Fenglan couldn't help but ask, "Are you worried that I'll make things difficult for your cousin who has romantic entanglements with you?"

"No," Qin Yizhou said seriously, "I will have a serious talk with Staff Officer Xu."

“It’s time to have a serious talk.” Song Fenglan raised an eyebrow. “There’s no reason for us women to manage these things while you men just stay out of it and pretend nothing happened, leaving all the bad things to the women.”

"I will definitely tell them," Qin Yizhou said. "Before, when I lived in the military dormitory, I didn't have much contact with these people, so it was fine. Now, they are making things difficult for you, which is also making things difficult for me. They have seriously affected our quality of life."

“Don’t let those people affect Zihang,” Song Fenglan said. “Children don’t understand those things, but they can sense them.”

"Of course," Qin Yizhou said. "You...you...don't be angry."

"Why would I be angry? Getting angry is bad for your skin and makes you look older," Song Fenglan said. "Worrying less will make you look younger."

The neighbor's child, living several buildings away, was rescued and survived. Only then could the child's grandmother finally relax a little. If something had happened to the child, if she had died, she would never have been able to have a good relationship with her son and daughter-in-law. That was a living, breathing child, even if that child was just a girl.

The child's grandmother didn't like girls; she preferred boys. Because of this, the grandmother didn't pay much attention to her granddaughter and went to do other things. By the time she realized the child was in trouble, the child had already fallen headfirst into the bucket of water.

In the evening, Song Fenglan went to collect the laundry, and the plump woman over the fence told her that the child was safe and sound.

"Thank goodness everything's alright now," the plump woman sighed. "Really, how could she be so careless? If the child had really been lost, it would have been too late to regret it."

"It's good that you're alright," Song Fenglan said.

“That’s exactly right,” said the plump woman. “It’s good that they don’t overthink things. You still have to be careful, though. They might really say you’re bringing them bad luck, or that you… sigh, you have to be careful.”

"Doggy, ah, doggy!" Just as Song Fenglan and Fatty Sister were talking, Qin Zihang shouted loudly from the other side.

It turned out that Qin Yizhou had brought a puppy from somewhere else. He had overheard part of what his wife and son were saying yesterday, and he thought his son wanted a puppy. So, Qin Yizhou took advantage of the holiday to quickly get a puppy to make his son happy.

Qin Zihang was genuinely happy. "Dad, is this our dog?"

"Yes, it's from our family, and it's a gift for you." Qin Yizhou smiled and patted his son's head.

Song Fenglan turned her head and saw her son reaching out to hug the puppy. She quickly stopped him, saying, "Wait."

"Mom." Qin Zihang had already reached out his hand, but upon hearing his mother's words, he quickly withdrew it.

“The dog hasn’t been disinfected yet, so you can’t hold it.” Song Fenglan originally wanted to say that the dog had been vaccinated, but in this day and age, even people don’t necessarily get many vaccinations, let alone pets. She looked at Qin Yizhou and said, “Cats and dogs carry a lot of bacteria. Children are easily infected if they have a lot of contact with cats and dogs. We need to be very hygienic and keep it clean.”

"Mom." Qin Zihang looked at his mother expectantly and carefully tugged at her clothes. "Don't send the dog away."

"We didn't send it away; we just wanted to disinfect, sterilize, and kill any insects," Song Fenglan said. "After doing all this, the dog will be healthier, and it can stay with you for a long, long time. Isn't that good?"

"Okay, okay." Qin Zihang clapped his hands happily. He had thought his mother wouldn't let him keep a dog.

“If you like dogs and want to keep one, then keep one,” Song Fenglan said. “When you go to the cafeteria, get a little extra food.”

Anyway, it's paid for with tickets and money, it's not like they're letting the dog eat for free.

It's just that when many people are struggling to get enough to eat, keeping a dog is... well, a dog can guard the house, which is not bad.

“If you leave any leftovers, give them to the dog,” Song Fenglan said.

"I'll eat less," Qin Zihang said.

“I’m not telling you to eat less, eat as much as you should,” Song Fenglan said. “Keep the dog.”

"Mom is the best!" Qin Zihang was overjoyed; he was so happy he couldn't be happier.

Qin Yizhou didn't dare let his son touch Qin Zihang; he still needed to find some medicine to disinfect and kill any parasites on the dog. His wife had worked so hard to raise their son so well; Qin Yizhou couldn't let his son get hurt.

"I was inconsiderate," Qin Yizhou said.

"We were just saying what you were doing after dinner," Song Fenglan said. "Turns out it was because of this dog."

"Didn't you say yesterday that you wanted to get a dog?" Qin Yizhou looked intently at Song Fenglan. He would do his best to get anything his wife and children wanted, as long as she said it.

“No, who said they wanted to keep a dog?” Song Fenglan asked in confusion. She then remembered that her son wanted a fierce dog embroidered on his clothes. “Your son wanted a patterned shirt with a fierce dog on it, but he didn’t say he wanted to keep a dog.”

"..." Qin Yizhou was stunned; he really thought it was a living dog.

"Only listen to half of what I say?" Song Fenglan asked.

"Then this dog..."

"I want to raise it! I want to raise it!" Qin Zihang shouted. "Mom has already agreed."

Qin Zihang really wanted to hug the dog and let his dad know that his mom had agreed.

“Okay, we’ll keep him,” Qin Yizhou said. “Mom agreed.”

After saying this, Qin Yizhou looked at Song Fenglan, as if to say: I will listen to you.

"Do you have any medicine?" Song Fenglan asked. "Do you know of any medicine that kills bacteria and insects?"

"I'll go buy it," Qin Yizhou said. That's easy. There are pharmacies and clinics nearby. Even if there's nowhere to buy it, he can ask his friends. The people he knows are doctors. Treating people and dogs should be about the same, right?

"Dad, hurry up, hurry up!" Qin Zihang said anxiously, eager to hug the dog.

"We can buy another bottle of liquor with a higher alcohol content." Song Fenglan figured that high-proof liquor could also kill bacteria, and it wasn't like she was letting the dog drink it, so there shouldn't be a big problem.

"Okay." Qin Yizhou had no objections. He put down the cage containing the dog before going out again.

Qin Zihang squatted beside the cage, staring at the dog. He wanted to reach out and poke it, but then he looked at his mother. He looked around and picked up a blade of grass from the ground. The grass had been cleared earlier; it was a bit coarse. Qin Zihang used the grass to poke the puppy.

The puppy was a little shy and was hiding in the corner of the cage.

"Mom, is the dog scared?" Qin Zihang asked his mother anxiously when he saw this. "The dog wants to stay in our house and live with us."

“You’ve just met, it’s your first time meeting, you’re not familiar with each other yet,” Song Fenglan explained. “Once you meet more often, the dog won’t be afraid of you anymore.”

"We need to see each other more often," Qin Zihang said. "Mom, will the dog be afraid of you?"

"..." Song Fenglan looked at the puppy. She didn't know if the puppy would be afraid of her; she knew that raising a puppy would cause a lot of trouble. But her husband had brought home a puppy, and her son liked it so much. How could she just throw the puppy away? Looking at the puppy's wet eyes and pitiful appearance, Song Fenglan thought she had to keep the dog.

A mother dog can give birth to several puppies in one litter, but the number that survives is uncertain. It's impractical to return a puppy that has already separated from its mother; it's better to keep it as a pet.

Song Fenglan thought to herself that she wasn't being overly compassionate; she just didn't want her son to be sad.

"Mom, is the dog afraid of Dad?" Qin Zihang asked again.

“When your father comes back, ask him,” Song Fenglan said. Her son always liked to ask these little questions.

"Mom, I want the dog on my clothes too," Qin Zihang said, pointing to the dog in the cage. "Just like this little puppy."

“Okay.” Song Fenglan nodded.

"Mom, should we give the dog a name?" Qin Zihang asked. "Just like me, I'll have a name too."

"What name do you want to give the dog?" Song Fenglan asked.

"Hmm..." Qin Zihang pretended to be deep in thought, and after a while, he said, "Let's call him Woof Woof."

"Woof woof?" Song Fenglan was speechless.

"Dogs all bark. When they bark, you know it's a dog." Qin Zihang didn't think he was bad at naming things at all; in fact, he thought his chosen name was great, "Woof, woof."

“Name him Wangwang, which means ‘good fortune.’” Song Fenglan felt she could still save her son. “Fu Wangwang means ‘good fortune is abundant.’”

"Mom, you're so smart," Qin Zihang said. "Wangwang is good, Fuwangwang is good, Fuwangwang is good, little Fuwang."

The neighbors next door can easily find out about the slightest thing that happens.

When Qin Yizhou bought medicine to disinfect the puppy, Zhang Xiaohu ran over. Zhang Xiaohu squatted down beside him, watching Qin Yizhou apply the medicine to the puppy, his eyes fixed on it.

"This is the dog my dad gave me, and my mom agreed to let me keep it." Qin Zihang also squatted down next to him.

Song Fenglan went to get stools for the two of them to sit on, but they wouldn't sit down; they just squatted there and watched.

"I want my dad to bring a dog home too." Zhang Xiaohu looked at Qin Zihang with envy. Qin Zihang's mother was beautiful and gentle, and Qin Zihang's father was so nice that he would bring a dog to his son.

“Say it,” Qin Zihang said. “We kids should say what we want, instead of making our parents guess.”

"I'll tell you in a bit." Zhang Xiaohu clenched his little fist; he was determined to tell his father.

"My mom is going to embroider little puppies on my clothes, they're so pretty!" Qin Zihang said. "I can wear them in a few days, they're super, super pretty."

Although Song Fenglan hadn't finished embroidering yet, that didn't stop Qin Zihang from praising his mother. In Qin Zihang's eyes, his mother was the most amazing and omnipotent.

"The little dog on the clothes?" Zhang Xiaohu repeated.

“Yes,” Qin Zihang said, “our children’s clothes all have to be like this.”

"..." Zhang Xiaohu looked at Qin Zihang in disbelief. Why weren't his clothes like that?

"All the clothes that mom makes are like this," Qin Zihang emphasized. "The clothes that mom makes for the baby are warm and cozy."

Listening to Zhang Xiaohu and Qin Zihang's conversation, Qin Yizhou thought about how his own clothes didn't have those patterns, while the clothes his wife made for their son were full of designs. Qin Yizhou glanced at his son again; this son was a spitting image of himself. Don't be angry, if he hadn't been with his wife in the first place, she wouldn't have married him so quickly. If only they had had this child later; Qin Yizhou wanted more time alone with Song Fenglan.

"We'll have to wait a bit," Qin Yizhou said. "The disinfectant and medicine have been applied, so it will take a while for them to take effect."

"I'll just take a look," Qin Zihang said. "The dog is in its cage; I won't touch it."

"I won't touch it either," Zhang Xiaohu quickly replied.

When Aunt Pang learned that Zhang Xiaohu had gone to Song Fenglan's house, she didn't stop her youngest son. Her youngest son rarely got along well with other children. Qin Zihang and Zhang Xiaohu were about two years apart, but since they were both quite young, they could still play together.

Zhang Chenghai looked at his eldest son at home, then thought of his youngest son who had run off to play next door.

"Little Tiger ran off again?" Zhang Chenghai asked.

“Yes, it’s over,” said the plump woman. “It’s really strange. Qin Tuan’s wife from next door just brought her child over, and Xiao Hu likes them so much. He went over yesterday and went over again today. They say children are most sensitive to emotions, and Qin Tuan’s wife must be nice, since Xiao Hu seems to like her quite a bit.”

“If you have time, try to get closer to Qin’s wife. You also said that Xiao Hu likes her and that she’s a good person,” Zhang Chenghai said. “Qin’s wife is much better than Staff Officer Xu’s wife.”

Although Qin Tuan's wife wasn't a good cook, her youngest son liked her. Zhang Chenghai knew his youngest son didn't like Staff Officer Xu's wife; Shi Guilan was opportunistic, and since his status wasn't high enough, he naturally wasn't taken seriously by Shi Guilan.

“It’s not just a little bit better,” said the plump woman. “I used to give bamboo poles to other people to hang their clothes out to dry, and they would complain about them. They said bamboo poles were not as good as clotheslines or iron railings. They said bamboo poles would easily crack after being used for drying clothes, and that they would pinch your hands because of the thorns.”

The plump woman glanced next door, where they were still using bamboo poles to dry clothes. She had originally thought that Song Fenglan would soon replace the bamboo poles with clotheslines. This made her feel quite pleased. Look, Qin Tuan's wife didn't mind the bamboo poles she had given them; in fact, the neighbors had even gotten bamboo forks, so they could put the bamboo poles on the forks to hang their clothes to dry.

“Some people just like to pretend; the more they don’t have something, the more they want to pretend,” said the plump woman.

When Staff Officer Xu returned home, he overheard Shi Guilan speaking ill of Song Fenglan.

"It's probably because of her. Nothing happened when she wasn't here," Shi Guilan said. "I said a few words, and Fatty Sister even stood up for her. Fatty Sister just wants to suck up to Qin Tuan's wife!"

"You didn't say that in front of Qin Tuan's wife, did you?" Staff Officer Xu frowned.

"No," Shi Guilan said. "How could I say such a thing in front of people? I only said a few words, nothing more. I won't say anymore, I won't say anymore."

Shi Guilan sensed that her husband was not happy, so she didn't continue. With her husband beside her, Shi Guilan even served food to her two stepdaughters, saying, "Eat, eat your food."

The two stepdaughters only ate a little more food when their father was home. The elder stepdaughter placed a piece of meat in her younger sister's bowl. Shi Guilan glanced at the elder stepdaughter; there was so little meat, how dare these two little girls eat meat?

"Eat more, eat some meat." Shi Guilan put another piece of meat on her eldest stepdaughter's plate. "Look how thin you are. I give you food, but you don't gain weight. People who don't know the situation might think that I don't give you any food, but give it to your brother."

Neither of the stepdaughters spoke; they ate more and spoke less, taking advantage of their father sitting next to them to eat a little more of the good food.

Shi Guilan really wanted to say: Aren't you all going to say a word?

But with her husband sitting beside her, Shi Guilan didn't say anything, lest he scold her. Shi Guilan felt that her two stepdaughters were both girls, and girls were useless; what mattered was a boy, a son was necessary.

Girls cannot carry on the family line or continue the ancestral rites; they will all eventually marry out of the family. Instead of feeling sorry for the girls, we should feel sorry for the boys, since they will have to rely on the boys to support them in their old age, not the girls.

"Eat up." Shi Guilan looked at her son. "With your little mouth, you eat so slowly. By the time you finish one piece, everyone else has already finished two or three."

The two stepdaughters remained silent after hearing Shi Guilan's sarcastic remarks.

Staff Officer Xu did not say that Shi Guilan was wrong. He believed that the younger son was smaller and ate more slowly.

"Eat more, grow taller and stronger," Staff Officer Xu said. "Boys shouldn't be too thin."

Hearing her husband's words, Shi Guilan smiled. She knew that her son cared most about the son they had together. The two daughters from his first marriage would eventually marry out, and the two stepdaughters weren't that important to her husband, especially the younger one. If it weren't for her, Xu's first wife wouldn't have died in childbirth.

For a time, Staff Officer Xu didn't spend much time with his youngest daughter, as Shi Guilan was the primary caregiver. Later, people said that since Staff Officer Xu had two daughters, he needed to find someone to take care of them. Staff Officer Xu had considered other women, but none of them wanted to take care of his children from his first marriage. Shi Guilan, however, was willing to do so, and she was quite capable. Staff Officer Xu decided to marry Shi Guilan.

Staff Officer Xu believed that Shi Guilan was from the same hometown as his first wife and had some kind of distant family relationship with her, so he was sure Shi Guilan would take good care of the child.

In the yard, Qin Yizhou was giving the dog a bath after applying medicine, and Qin Zihang was itching to reach out and touch the puppy. Qin Yizhou noticed his son's actions, but as long as his son didn't actually touch the puppy, Qin Yizhou didn't say anything. His son was quite quick to reach out and pull his hand back, quite clever indeed.

"Not done yet?" Zhang Chenghai came over to take a look. Zhang Xiaohu had been standing there for a while. "It's just a dog, and you have to do all this?"

In Zhang Chenghai's opinion, Qin Yizhou could have simply brought the dog back and kept it; there was no need for all this fuss. He thought that while many of them might not be able to keep the dog so clean, they had taken great care of it.

"Dad, can you bring me a puppy too?" Zhang Xiaohu said to his father as he saw him coming. "These dogs are so cute and adorable, Dad, don't you want a puppy?"