Cheng Chaole's eyebrows practically flew up.

"See, I told you, it's my sister, hahaha, Uncle, you can't say I'm useless anymore. This time, I'm so grateful for my discerning eye, I've done a great service."

I'll call my second uncle later and tell him too, so he won't keep using me as a negative example.

In a good mood, Cheng Jin also had a big smile on his face.

"Alright, you've done a good job this time, and your second uncle should reward you."

Jian Dan never expected the Cheng family to get along like this. To be honest, the atmosphere was actually quite nice.

Jian Xin had been silent until now, when she finally dared to speak softly.

"Sister, if you're Cheng Chao's sister, then are you still Xin Xin's sister?"

Cheng Chao laughed like a big boy, grabbed the child, lifted him above his head, and spun him around.

"Your sister is still your sister, but you've gained an older brother and a younger uncle. Aren't you happy?"

The child screamed and clung tightly to Cheng Chao's hair. Seeing this, Cheng Jin's face darkened again.

"Cheng Chao, don't scare the child!"

There was a knock at the door, and Jian Dan quickly got up.

"I'll go open the door,"

These past few days, the educated youth have been tidying up the garden, and she doesn't know who will come over.

When the door opened, Jian Dan was stunned for a moment, then quickly moved aside.

"Come in, come in quickly, Third Master, how come you still have time to come over?"

"I just went to Liujiatun,"

Simply close the door behind you.

"Liujiatun?"

Was it because I specifically told her this that it was related to her?

However, when she racked her brains, the only people connected to her were Old Master Liu Zhen and, oh, Old Mrs. Liu, who had borrowed the dog.

He asked tentatively,

"Could it be that Grandma Liu...?"

Sure enough, Master Liu nodded.

"Yes, the person is gone. It happened the other day, and they were taken up the mountain this morning."

He was a little embarrassed. They had agreed that he would give her both the big and small dogs in order to find a way to survive. They had promised not to care about her life or death. Who knew that in such a short time, he had just managed to feed the big dog and put in so much effort, but after not even using it for a day, he had to borrow it back. Now the person was gone and he wasn't going to give it back.

It truly was a one-way trip.

"Ah," Jian Du said blankly, wondering what this had to do with her.

"So what? I don't know her either."

The old man stopped, looked at the four little ones making a ruckus in the yard, and sighed.

"When I sold the dog to you, everything was agreed upon. I also mentioned it was a loan, and it was for that old lady's sake, and you didn't say anything. Logically, the dog should be returned to you now,"

Ah, I understand.

"So now, the dog isn't coming back?"

"They're not coming back."

A thought suddenly popped into Jian Dan's mind.

"Did they eat Big Black?"

"No, no,"

Master Liu was helpless.

“They shouldn’t have done this. The dog was indeed dead, and it was buried with the old lady.”

"ah?"

This is quite unexpected.

To be honest, Big Black didn't stay at home for very long, so there wasn't much of a bond between them, unlike these little guys who are always around, guarding the house and taking care of the children. They're now an indispensable part of the family.

If someone were to borrow her child now, she probably wouldn't.

"Hey, that old lady hasn't been able to eat or drink for the past few days, and nobody noticed the dog, but it also stopped eating and drinking and just stayed by the old lady's side."

Sure enough, the old lady breathed her last and then discovered that the dog was lying there, also dead.

Having spent half their lives with the old lady, and now that they're going to die together, they decided to dig separate graves and bury them together, so they can be companions in the afterlife.

Jian Dan is quite familiar with dogs, and this kind of 'martyrdom' is rare, but it does happen, though it's the first time he's seen it in person.

"Third Master, this was Dahei's own choice. Besides, these little ones are all grown up now, so I won't argue about it."

Big Black is a loyal and devoted dog; it never abandoned its former owner. Although I only owned it for a short time, I'm still very proud of it.

The old man secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, that's good, that's good."

Liu Jiaxiang also asked me to inquire about what kind of compensation they wanted. Putting everything else aside, you truly saved Dahei's life, and you gave him so much food; some compensation is only fair.

In retrospect, Dahei hadn't stayed here for very long and had eaten some food, but it had genuinely made a contribution. At this point, Jian Dan really didn't want any compensation.

The people inside listened for a while and then came out. Liu Sanye turned his head when he heard the sound.

He recognized the young man carrying the child; he came by often. But he didn't seem to recognize the slightly older man in front of him. Judging from his posture and gait, he was probably a soldier.

"This is?"

He turned around briefly, opened his mouth, and, feeling a little awkward introducing himself in this new role for the first time, his voice was hoarse.

"Yes, from the family, from an elder,"

At home?

Cheng Jin came over and waved to greet him.

"Hello, I'm Shan Shan, Uncle. We're only going to make our relationship public now because of some reasons."

I heard her say that you and the villagers have taken good care of her, and that the atmosphere in our Liujiatun is very nice; she likes it here very much.

"Putting everything else aside, the folk customs in our village are indeed quite good. However, judging from your posture, you must be a soldier, right? I've seen that kid before; he came to see Xiao Jian and Xiao Xin Xin."

Cheng Jin smiled.

"That one is also a junior in the family, he's Shan Shan's older brother."

We're all soldiers stationed nearby, so we didn't come often before. Now that we know she's here, we'll come to see her more often.

Seeing that Jian Dan didn't deny it, Cheng Jin's smile deepened, and he chatted even more enthusiastically with Liu Sanye.

“A few days ago, she said that she saw how hard you were working, that you couldn’t even eat the grain you harvested all year round in the summer, and that you had to put in a lot of extra effort just to get those tools.”

"Let me tell you, don't tell anyone else yet. She still wants us to figure out a way to get you some tools."

"Huh? Really?"

When it comes to anything related to farm work, the old man immediately becomes excited.

Cheng Jin nodded seriously, then covered his face. That was what she meant, but he made it sound so grand and dignified.

However, it's clear that what's difficult to obtain is much more effective than what she gives casually.

"That's right, you could say it's something like a sickle or something."

But as you know, in previous years all the iron was handed over. It wasn't just you; our troops did too. Getting a tool or something wasn't easy.

So, this kid is about to go out to see if he can find a way to get in touch with someone at a steel factory in another city.

Our village isn't that big, so I reckon we won't need many tools or anything. Let him try to find connections and a way. But if we don't manage to get much back, don't blame the kid; he's done his best.”