Chapter 324 Buying Puppies
With the Lunar New Year approaching, the Hanlin Academy was relatively quiet. Xu Jinnian and Song Zhihang, among other newcomers, were seconded to the Six Ministries and worked until the eve of the Lunar New Year before finally getting their holiday.
Without having to get up early every day, Xu Jinnian had more time to spend with Sheng An and her daughter.
The weather had been nice these past few days, so the family of three went for a stroll on the street.
The streets were bustling with people, shoulder to shoulder, creating a lively and festive atmosphere, even stronger than that of Qingzhou.
The little dumpling was surrounded by a crowd for the first time. Instead of being scared and crying, she was unusually excited and found everything fascinating.
A peddler was selling colorful and exquisite little trinkets along the street. These trinkets were all tied to a simple frame. The peddler carried the frame back and forth, and the trinkets on it swayed back and forth.
The little dumpling's eyes were immediately drawn to the swaying ornaments. In the instant the vendor passed by, no one saw her move, but her soft white paws grabbed the ornament closest to her.
The peddler felt a slight tug, turned his head and met the big, round eyes of the little dumpling, and was immediately charmed by her adorable appearance.
"Sorry, the child was being naughty, but we'll buy this pendant."
When Sheng An noticed her daughter's actions, she first apologized to the peddler, then, with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, tried to pry the little dumpling's hand away: "You're holding on so tightly, aren't you afraid of hurting your hand?"
The little dumpling couldn't understand, so it gripped even tighter with its little paws, and kept babbling at Sheng An as if to say that this baby was its own.
Sheng An couldn't pry open her little hands for a while, so he said to the peddler, "How much is this? Please take it off."
When a customer came to his door, the peddler said with a smile, "This little pendant is cheap, only fifty coins. It was carefully carved by a master craftsman, and the splinters on it have been polished off so it won't prick a child's hand."
"Two for fifty coins."
This little wooden pendant wasn't worth fifty coins. Even though Sheng An wasn't short of money, he wasn't willing to be ripped off and directly bargained with the peddler.
The peddler readily agreed: "Sure!"
Sheng An: "..."
It's still too short, I've lost out.
Seeing the fleeting annoyance on her face, Xu Jinnian couldn't help but chuckle and gently pinched the little dumpling's cheek: "You can't just grab other people's things."
The little dumpling remained silent, only staring intently at the other pendants, its little face clearly displaying two words—"I want it."
Sheng An paid fifty coins, took down the little pendant that the little dumpling was looking at most intently, and tied it to her arm through her clothes along with the one she was holding.
The little dumpling was overjoyed, waving its little arms and giggling nonstop.
Seeing their daughter having so much fun entertaining herself, the couple's faces were also filled with smiles.
The family of three shopped and bought things along the way, mostly small trinkets that their little one had her eye on.
Finally, they passed a stall selling puppies, and the little dumpling couldn't bear to leave, her eyes practically glued to the furry puppies.
The seller could tell the couple loved their child, so he put on a smile and tried his best to sell the product.
"Master and Madam, these are the puppies of our big dog. They're already a month old and can eat on their own. They're tough, hardy, and easy to raise. They'd be perfect to bring home to entertain your daughter."
Sheng An didn't mind having a dog at home, and seeing that Naituan really liked it, she thought it would be nice to bring it home to keep her company.
She crouched down, observing the puppies' condition, and asked the seller, "How much?"
The seller had been trying to sell for almost the entire morning without success. When Sheng An asked about the price, he hurriedly said, "These are my own puppies, I don't need much, sixty coins each."
He can't afford to keep multiple dogs at home, otherwise he would be happy to keep them himself.
He felt bad about giving it away for free, fearing that the recipient wouldn't appreciate it and might raise it up only to kill it and eat it.
Sixty coins each is not expensive. Sheng An pointed to the black-muzzled, gray-haired puppy in the cage, and then pointed to another black dog with white paws: "These two, one hundred coins."
The seller was overjoyed: "Sell!"
After saying that, he eagerly opened the bamboo cage, put the other two puppies on the ground, and then handed the cage and puppies to Sheng An: "The cage is for you."
Thank you.
Sheng An handed the money to the seller before taking the bamboo cage, and then purred twice at the two bewildered puppies, saying, "So cute."
The little dumpling was extremely excited, wriggling its tiny body and reaching towards the puppy, its chubby paws stretched out very long.
Sheng An was worried that the puppy wasn't clean, so she didn't let the little guy touch her. She smiled and said to Xu Jinnian, "It's almost noon, let's go home."
Xu Jinnian smiled and nodded, carrying his fussy daughter and walking with his wife toward the carriage at the end of the street.
A family of three went shopping and brought back two puppies. The three elders were quite happy, touching them from head to toe, and even prying open their mouths to look at them again and again to make sure they were healthy puppies.
Needless to say, the little dumpling got to touch the two puppies after Sheng An washed them five times with a hot towel and dried their fur.
Feeling the soft and novel touch, the little dumpling was extremely excited and adored the two puppies, staring at them intently even while eating.
Seeing how much his granddaughter loved the puppies, Xu Chenglin also took good care of them. He specially commissioned a carpenter to make a doghouse, lined it with thick straw mats, and even took out his old cotton-padded coat to use as blankets for them.
The two puppies were very happy with their doghouse, curled up head to head inside and sleeping soundly.
The little puppy got even more excited when it saw this, babbling and trying to get into the doghouse, wanting to sleep there with the two puppies, which was both funny and exasperating.
With the addition of two adorable little ones, the house is filled with laughter and joy.
Sheng An named the two puppies: the one with the black muzzle was called Doubao, and the one with the white paws was called Tangyuan.
The puppies are very smart; after calling them for a few days, they learned their names.
When called, they waddle over, which is very endearing.
On New Year's Eve, the family spent their first reunion in the capital.
Grandpa Sheng was happy, so he drank a few more cups.
Looking at his granddaughter, grandson-in-law, and great-granddaughter sitting opposite him, the old man's eyes reddened slightly: "It's so good, so good. Life is getting more and more hopeful..."
Before this, he had never imagined that he would live to see his great-granddaughter born.
Aside from the regret of his daughter's early death, the old man felt that his life had been fulfilling and he had no regrets.
"Sir, life is only meaningful when there is hope for the future, and all the days ahead will be good!"
Sheng An smiled and served the old man a bowl of chicken soup, then removed the wine glass in front of him to prevent him from drinking too much.
Looking at his considerate granddaughter, Grandpa Sheng felt extremely content and happily picked up the chicken soup to drink.
By the end of the New Year's Eve dinner, both Grandpa Sheng and Xu Chenglin were a little drunk. After drinking some hangover soup, they were helped back to their rooms to rest.
Sheng An and Xu Jinnian also brought the sleepy little dumpling back to the main room, took out the hot water bottle from the quilt, and put the little dumpling, who couldn't open his eyes, into it.
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