Chapter 4 Afraid of being discovered, she secretly hid a large box of braised pork...
Qiu Xiaoman found a yellowish-brown dog, which was huddled next to a trash can at the train station entrance, shivering because of the snow.
When I saw her, she let out a pitiful sob.
Those were the dog's cries for help—human, I'm freezing to death, can you save me?
Qiu Xiaoman understood. After squatting down, she saw that it was a female dog with puppies in her belly. What a tragedy! She quickly took the dog back.
Right now, the man and the dog are facing each other in the main room facing south.
"Woof woof, humans are so kind! Is there any food?" Big Yellow looked aggrieved, only daring to steal a glance at Qiu Xiaoman as he spoke.
He looks like someone who has been scolded and driven away by others, and may even have been beaten. He is humble and timid.
Qiu Xiaoman squatted down, trying to look the dog in the eye: "Don't be afraid, I won't chase you away. What would you like to eat?"
"Anything is fine, woof, I'm not picky." The dog still didn't dare to look Qiu Xiaoman in the eye; fear was ingrained in its very bones.
That won't do. Qiu Xiaoman could only try to communicate with her: "Don't you want to eat meat?"
"...Let's forget about it." The dog was very tempted, but dared not.
Qiu Xiaoman continued to guide her: "Ah, I know, you're afraid I can't afford to support you."
"Woof... Only well-behaved dogs are good dogs." The dog was very obedient, lying on the ground.
Qiu Xiaoman laughed and said, "What if you could get meat on your own? Would you like to give it a try? Besides, you have babies. You don't want them to be stray dogs like you, do you?"
"Oh? Really?" The dog was so excited that it stopped avoiding Qiu Xiaoman's gaze and looked at her excitedly.
Qiu Xiaoman smiled and patted her dog's head: "Of course you can, but you can't be so timid. Here, I'm going out to buy you some meat now, so you can have a good meal. Starting tonight, practice finding things with me. Then I'll take you to the police dog training base to volunteer. Once you have a job, you'll have endless meat to eat!"
"But I'm just a mongrel..." the dog lowered its head in self-consciousness. "I've seen police dogs, they're all imported high-quality breeds. Can I... can I do it?"
"How will you know if you don't try? So what if it's imported from abroad? If it can't complete the task, it will still be eliminated. Everyone has their own talents! Our Dahuang can definitely do it!" Qiu Xiaoman's eyes were full of tenderness and encouragement.
The dog let out a loud yelp and excitedly circled Qiu Xiaoman a few times: "You called me Dahuang? Is that my name from now on?"
"Don't you like it? That's a bit too casual, huh? How about I think of something else? You're a blond guy, how about I call you Mango?" Qiu Xiaoman smiled and patted her head.
The dog had never seen a mango before and looked completely bewildered: "What's that? Is it tasty?"
"It's delicious! I'll buy it for you when summer comes." Qiu Xiaoman checked the time; it was getting late. She quickly went to browse the shops before they closed.
Before leaving, she found an old piece of clothing that she no longer wore, then went to the kitchen to find a bamboo basket and placed it inside: "Okay, Mango, wait for me at home."
"Yes, Master!" The dog's eyes were filled with tears. Oh, she had a home now.
That's great!
She quickly jumped in, lay down, her tail wagging wildly, hoping her owner would return soon.
Qiu Xiaoman patted her head, then turned and left.
Xiao Qiao quickly caught up: "Sister Xiaoman, Sister Song Xiaomei said she's making dinner, so I don't need to help. Are you going to get a dog? It's so dirty, do you want me to give it a bath?"
"No need, it's too cold. Let's wait until spring." Although Qiu Xiaoman was a clean person, she didn't want to risk a pregnant dog.
Cats and dogs sometimes have more trouble catching colds than humans.
Xiao Qiao was a little depressed because she couldn't find anything to do. There were other older brothers and sisters in the yard, and apart from Song Xiaojun, they were all sharing the housework. She felt like an extra person.
He couldn't help but feel dejected: "Alright then, when are you coming back? Or I can go with you."
Qiu Xiaoman knew that this child had a people-pleasing personality and felt uncomfortable when he couldn't find anything to do.
She then instructed, "Go get an iron basin, find a half-burnt coal briquette from the stove, put it in to warm the dog. I have an old towel in my bag, so use it to wipe her down with some hot water. Remember to wring it out well, and then use tissue paper to absorb the moisture. Don't wipe too much at once, do it little by little, so she doesn't catch a cold."
"Okay! I've got this covered!" Xiao Qiao immediately perked up. Sister Xiao Man still needed her, that was great!
Qiu Xiaoman was filled with emotion. Just as she reached the door, Li Tuantuan chased after her, saying, "Sister Xiaoman, where are you going? It's getting dark. Let me go with you."
Qiu Xiaoman did not refuse. In the future, when she was not around, the children in this courtyard would still need to be taken care of by Li Tuantuan, so she went with her and told her about her plans.
Li Tuantuan was a little surprised: "You can train dogs?"
"I can even repel snakes, do you believe me?" Qiu Xiaoman's rented apartment is very convenient, with a large shopping mall just ten minutes away, which is brightly lit right now.
Li Tuantuan smiled: "You are very brave, I believe you."
Qiu Xiaoman stepped on the curb: "If you believe me, then don't go looking for apprentices these next two days. Stay in the courtyard and keep an eye on those kids. Once I've successfully recommended myself, then you can become an apprentice."
"Okay, I'll do whatever you say." Li Tuantuan wasn't as decisive as Qiu Xiaoman. The two weren't actually very close, but just because Qiu Xiaoman had been injured protecting his sister, he was willing to trust her unconditionally.
The two bought some meat and vegetables. Qiu Xiaoman cut the meat in half, keeping one half for dinner and cutting the other half into small pieces, which she then boiled for Mango.
When she brought a pot of boiled meat into the room, Xiao Qiao quickly stood up with a smile: "Sister Xiao Man, is this alright?"
Qiu Xiaoman glanced at them and thought they were completely different dogs, so she couldn't help but praise, "Xiao Qiao, you're really something, awesome! I bought the meat, go check on the kitchen?"
"Okay!" Xiao Qiao was very happy. Her sister needed her. She was the best cook. If Song Xiaomei hadn't taken over cooking from her, she would still be busy in the kitchen right now.
Song Xiaomei is sixteen years old, and her younger brother Song Xiaojun is thirteen. He cried and sobbed the whole way, like a giant baby who hadn't been weaned and still needed his older sister to feed him.
Therefore, Song Xiaomei's initiative is different from Xiao Qiao's; she simply doesn't want her younger brother to go hungry.
She was very happy to see meat, but then Xiao Qiao came over, so she had to advise her, "Go help Sister Xiao Man, I can handle things here."
Xiao Qiao refused: "I can help you out."
"Really, there's no need." Song Xiaomei still didn't want Xiao Qiao to come and join in the fun; she had other plans.
But Xiao Qiao felt restless with nothing to do, so she simply grabbed a head of garlic and started peeling it.
Song Xiaomei was seething with anger, so she had to think of another way: "Xiao Qiao, go buy some ginger, we're out of ginger."
Xiao Qiao believed it and quickly put down the garlic and went out. When she came back with ginger, she found that Song Xiaomei had already started cooking the meat.
Xiao Qiao is a cooking expert; the irresistible aroma of meat reveals the presence of ginger.
She lifted the pot lid, but before she could see clearly, Song Xiaomei pressed it back down.
She was annoyed but didn't dare to get angry, muttering under her breath, "Sister, why did you make me go out to buy ginger when you already have it?"
"I couldn't find it at first, but my brother helped me find it later." Song Xiaomei pinched her nose and turned away guiltily.
Honestly, how come you're back so soon? The meat isn't even cooked yet.
They had no choice but to resort to the same old trick. When the meat was almost ready, they lied to Xiao Qiao again: "Xiao Qiao, we're out of soy sauce. Go and buy a bucket of soy sauce."
Xiao Qiao learned her lesson and, not believing it, searched the kitchen and quickly found the soy sauce container: "Sister, I found it!"
"Then go find some scallions and garlic leaves. Sprinkle some on top when it's done cooking to make it more fragrant." Song Xiaomei racked her brains and found another excuse.
Xiao Qiao couldn't find scallions and garlic leaves in the kitchen, so she had to go out.
Song Xiaomei quickly took out a thermal container, scooped most of the braised pork into it, closed the lid, and hid it behind the coal pile in the kitchen.
Xiao Qiao washed the scallions and garlic leaves and came in, but was sent away again: "Go check if the food is ready, it's on the stove."
Xiao Qiao enjoyed working and didn't think much of it.
Song Xiaomei was afraid that if she just put the meat away, people would notice that a lot of it was missing, so she took out the bowls and put a little in each person's bowl. That way, it would be harder to tell that she had tampered with the meat. Then she covered it with the vegetables. Perfect.
After checking the rice, Xiao Qiao came in and saw that the meat and vegetables had already been divided. She chose the largest bowl, filled it with rice, and handed it to Qiu Xiaoman: "Sister Xiaoman, let's eat. You must be hungry too."
"Thank you, Xiao Qiao. You should eat too." Qiu Xiaoman was feeding the dog; this was a way to quickly build a bond.
Mango was so happy it was practically bubbling with joy. While eating, it wiggled its tail, making a "plop plop plop" sound, very excited.
After feeding the dog, Qiu Xiaoman went out to eat and couldn't help but sigh, "Xiao Qiao, your cooking skills aren't very good."
"I...I only helped out." Xiao Qiao glanced at Song Xiaomei furtively, afraid that this older sister would be angry, but she felt so wronged and didn't want her older sister Xiaoman to dislike her.
You can only choose to please the person you care about more.
Qiu Xiaoman looked up at Song Xiaomei. Since everyone's bowl was covered with rice, it was impossible to tell whether the meat was missing or not.
However, in front of everyone, she still assigned the cooking to Xiao Qiao: "Xiao Song, don't compete with Xiao Qiao anymore. Didn't you learn tailoring? I'll get you a sewing machine tomorrow, and you can do some odd jobs for the clothing factory later."
"Okay." Song Xiaomei lowered her head guiltily, afraid that someone would discover that she had hidden a large box of braised pork.
Her younger brother is still small and needs to eat more to grow, so she has no choice.
She'll buy it herself when she earns money in the future.
After dinner, Li Tuantuan stopped Xiao Qiao, who was clearing the dishes: "Wait, come on, let's have a meeting and see how to split the living expenses and rent. Sister Xiaoman is kind enough to take us in, but we can't just eat and drink for free. I suggest that starting tomorrow, we should assign someone to manage the money and buy groceries. We'll pay for food and rent per person each month, and we'll buy our own daily necessities. Now, let's vote on who should manage the money and what the appropriate standard for the food expenses should be."
Everyone looked at Qiu Xiaoman, some of whom clearly didn't want to make such a clear distinction, such as the Song siblings.
Some lack their own opinions and follow the crowd, like A Yue and Xiao Qiao.
Only Li Tuantuan's eyes remained firm; she was determined to settle the money clearly.
Qiu Xiaoman had no objections, but it was a pity that it was difficult to choose a suitable candidate.
Li Tuantuan is going to go out and work as an apprentice soon, Song Xiaomei is going to work as a tailor to earn money, and Song Xiaojun is a giant baby, so don't even think about it.
You can only choose between A Yue and Xiao Qiao.
Before she could speak, Song Xiaomei suggested, "Let A-Yue handle it. She has a good memory, and besides, she's sixteen. We'd all feel more at ease if she were in charge. As for Xiao Qiao, forget it; she's too young and not suitable. What do you think, Sister Xiaoman?"
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