Qin Chuxin forced a smile, her eyes filled with heartache for her brother.
Earning 1.8 yuan a day is indeed a lot, but Qin Chuan gets up at 5 a.m. to go to the countryside to collect vegetables, and then has to transport them back to the county town to sell. Running back and forth is particularly hard work.
Qin Chuan poked her sister's cheek: "Alright, if you don't want to laugh, then don't. You look awful."
Qin Chuxin's carefully cultivated sadness instantly crumbled: "You're ugly, your whole family is ugly."
"Yes, yes, my whole family includes you," Qin Chuan said with a smile.
Qin Chuxin: So I'm cursing myself?
Qin Chuan patted his sister's head: "Xin Xin, I really don't feel tired at all. There are many people in this world who are more tired than me. With you by my side, life is already very happy."
“But if it weren’t for me holding you back, you would definitely be living a better life,” Qin Chuxin pouted, as if she was about to cry at any moment.
Qin Chu'an glared at her and retorted, "How can you be a burden to me? I can eat hot meals every day and wear clean clothes, all thanks to you. You keep the house spotless every day, which is also very hard work."
He never felt that his sister was a burden. Without his sister, he felt that living in the world would be meaningless, and he wouldn't care what kind of life he could live. He might not have continued his studies.
Over the years, he has been his sister's support, and his sister has been his pillar of strength.
Qin Chuxin hugged him, her voice thick with emotion, "Brother, you're so good to me."
“Fool, true family members don’t nitpick over everything. You don’t need to listen to what others say. Only we know how we’re doing,” Qin Chu’an said, word by word.
Qin Chuxin stuck out her tongue: "I understand, I won't think about these things anymore."
They've made it through so many years; once she and her brother finish university and get jobs, life will get better.
——
"Dog Egg, how did you hurt your hands and knees?" Da Niu asked, somewhat puzzled. He was fine yesterday, how did he get injured overnight?
Dog Egg shook his injured hand nonchalantly: "I hurt myself yesterday when my sister was teaching me to ride a bicycle."
Da Niu stared wide-eyed in surprise: "Wow, Sister Qingqing taught you how to ride a bicycle? Have you learned it yet?"
"Well, I've already learned half of it, and I'll be able to learn it soon," Gou Dan said confidently.
"Dog Egg, you're amazing."
"It's alright. How about I teach you to ride it once I've learned?" Gou Dan winked at Da Niu.
Da Niu immediately nodded: "Okay, okay, then learn it quickly, I'll wait for you to teach me."
"Dog Egg, I'm planning to go to my grandma's house to get a puppy. Do you want to come with me?" This was also the reason why Da Niu came to find Dog Egg today.
A little over a month ago, Da Niu's maternal grandmother's dog gave birth to a litter of puppies. Da Niu had been wanting to raise a puppy for a long time, and he immediately thought of bringing one home.
Grandma said that puppies that haven't been weaned shouldn't be separated from their mothers, otherwise they'll easily die.
Da Niu could only wait patiently for more than a month. Today was the day Grandma said the puppy would be weaned, and Da Niu couldn't wait to go to Grandma's house to hug the puppy.
Upon hearing that they could see the puppies, Gou Dan immediately became interested: "Yes, shall we go now?"
He knew where Da Niu's maternal grandmother's house was. He had gone there with Da Niu before. It was about a half-hour walk, and even faster by bicycle, but unfortunately he hadn't learned how to ride one yet.
“Yes, let’s set off now,” Da Niu said with a smile.
The two mischievous boys walked and stopped along the way, picking wildflowers by the roadside or catching insects from trees. It took them more than half an hour to reach Da Niu's maternal grandmother's house.
"Grandma, Grandma, I'm here."
Da Niu's maternal grandmother looked to be in her sixties. She was very neat and tidy, and her hair was styled meticulously.
"Oh, Da Niu's here! Look at you two, all sweaty. Come inside with Grandma and have some water," Da Niu's grandma pulled the two of them into the house and poured each of them a large bowl of cool boiled water.
The two were sweltering on the road, and finished a bowl of cold boiled water in just a few gulps. Da Niu wiped his mouth and said, "Grandma, where is the puppy?"
Grandma Da Niu immediately smiled and led the two to see the puppies: "Three of them were taken away a couple of days ago, so there are only three left here. Grandma has saved the one you chose earlier for you."
When the three black and yellow wolfhounds saw their owner arrive, they immediately came over enthusiastically and happily licked their owner's trouser leg.
"Hehe, thank you, Grandma," Da Niu spotted his little yellow dog at a glance. This puppy looked most like the big dog at his grandma's house. Da Niu especially liked that big dog, so he even chose a puppy based on its appearance.
Dog Egg watched Da Niu and the puppy interact and looked on with great envy: "Da Niu, can I pet the puppy?"
"Of course you can, you can gently touch its head," Da Niu said, holding the puppy close to Gou Dan.
Grandma Da Niu had met Gou Dan a few times and knew he was her grandson's good friend. Seeing how eagerly he was staring at the puppy, she smiled and asked, "Do you want to take one home with you? I only plan to keep it at home for a while, but you can pick one if you want."
"Really?" Gou Dan looked at his grandmother with surprise.
"Of course you can, but are you willing to have a dog in your family? If not, then there's nothing I can do," Grandma said helplessly, shrugging at Gou Dan.
Although life is better now than it was a few years ago, not every household has enough food to feed a dog.
Not to mention that some people are simply not fond of dogs.
My grandmother believed that everyone who adopted a puppy genuinely loved dogs and didn't intend to raise them to eat.
Therefore, she prefers a family she knows well to adopt her dog rather than a stranger.
Gou Dan looked troubled. He didn't know if his family would agree, but he really wanted to have a puppy. What should he do?
"If you want to take one home and raise it, you'd better make a decision in the next couple of days, because this puppy might be taken away by someone else in a few days," Grandma gave Gou Dan a deadline.
Dog Egg said earnestly, "Grandma, I'll tell you the answer tomorrow. Please, please keep this dog for me."
Grandma nodded with a smile: "Okay, Grandma will keep it for you."
Gou Dan had something on his mind, so he walked very fast on the way back, with Da Niu silently following behind him, carrying his little yellow dog.
As soon as he got home, Gou Dan went straight to Xia Qingqing's room.
"Sister, I want to ask you for a favor, please help me?" Gou Dan looked at her pitifully.
Xia Qingqing raised an eyebrow: "What is it? Tell me first, and then I'll consider whether I should help you."
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