"Yes, ma'am."
Fuling bowed in response.
She walked over to the dog, bent down and helped him up.
"Who named you Gou'er?" Li Xia asked.
He has such a handsome face, but he has such an unrefined name.
Whoever named him was so random.
It was okay when I was a kid.
When he grows up, if people around him still call him "dog", he will definitely be ridiculed by them.
"My grandmother said that my mother gave me the name. I was in poor health when I was a child and was always sick. You think cats and dogs are easy to raise, so you named me Gou'er. You want me to be like a puppy and easy to raise."
The dog replied.
He has no memory of his parents, and these were all told to him by his grandmother herself.
Gou'er's parents passed away one after another due to natural disasters and man-made tragedies before he could remember anything.
His family's conditions were pretty good before. Although his father was a second-rate businessman, his business grew bigger and bigger with his intelligence and hard work.
As soon as the dog was born, he lived in a wealthy family.
The family lives together warmly.
Unfortunately, things did not go as planned and unexpected events occurred.
After Gouzi's parents met with an accident, relatives who had not been in contact with them for hundreds of years came to divide up their property when they saw that they were left with only an orphan and a widow.
All the residential land was occupied by them.
Relying on their large numbers, those people drove Gou'er and his grandmother out.
And they have nowhere to seek justice.
"Since it is the name given by your mother, it is not easy to change it casually, but..."
Li Xia pursed her lips and paused.
"Madam, please feel free to say whatever you want to say." The dog blinked his bright eyes.
When he went to get water for his grandmother just now, he wiped his dirty face and combed his messy hair with his hands again.
A childish face with regular features appeared.
"Madam, are you wondering why I deliberately made myself dirty when I could have made myself clean?"
Gou'er noticed that after Li Xia washed the charcoal ash off his face, she would look at his face from time to time.
When he caught Li Xia's puzzled look again, the dog opened his lips.
Li Xia nodded slightly, "Yeah, it does feel a little strange."
It would be fine if he was just naturally sloppy.
But it's clear that dogs are not really unclean.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have found an opportunity to get himself ready as soon as he returned to the City God Temple.
"This is all the experience I gained after being bullied." The dog shrugged, grinned, and said nonchalantly: "If I clean myself up, I won't be able to get any coins or food. People passing by will think I'm a liar when they see me like this.
Because in their minds, people who beg from them can only be dirty little beggars. I just don't fit their image, so they will give the things they want to give to others.
The dirty little beggars around me would drag me to a deserted corner and beat me up when they saw me. There was no reason, they just didn’t like it. We were both begging, but he was the only one who was clean. They felt unbalanced and wanted to bully me for fun.”
The dog recounted word for word what had happened to him.
There was no particular expression on his face, as if he was telling someone else's story.
A child who is not even ten years old, I wonder how many times he has been bullied before he can tell others about these experiences with a blank expression.
Li Xia listened to what Gou'er had experienced, and her brows furrowed. "So you deliberately made yourself as dirty as them."
"Well, only in this way can grandma not go hungry."
It doesn't matter if he gets beaten.
But my grandmother is old. She can go hungry for one meal, but her body can’t stand it for a whole day.
His grandmother is his only relative now, and the two of them depend on each other for survival.
He couldn't lose his grandmother.
"Gou'er, your filial piety has moved heaven. You don't have to beg anymore. Just stay with your grandmother. I'll have someone find a small courtyard in the city. You can move in and take care of it for me. I'll pay you for your work."
Li Xia looked at him, seeing that he was so young but had to bear such a heavy responsibility.
She decided to help the dog.
The dog's eyes widened and he waved his hands repeatedly, "How can this be possible? Madam has helped us enough..."
"It's decided. You're not taking my wages for nothing. You have to help me guard the yard and clean it."
Li Xia interrupted Gou'er.
She wanted to help him, but at the same time she didn't want the dog to feel like she was giving him charity.
Children of this age, especially boys, have particularly strong self-esteem.
Li Xia wanted Gou'er to believe that he had solved the problem of food and clothing for him and his grandmother through his own labor.
"Don't worry, Madam. I will do my best to complete what you have asked."
The dog, who was only as tall as Li Xia's waist, raised his head and promised her solemnly.
Of course he knew the lady's good intentions.
At that time, they really had nowhere to go.
The weather is getting colder day by day, and the City God Temple is too dilapidated. Even if I can bear it, my grandmother is already sick. If she catches a cold again, there is a high possibility that there will be no cure.
"Yuzhu, go outside and tell one of the guards, they are fast, choose one of them and have him go to the city and find a small courtyard for them to live in."
Li Xia waved towards Yuzhu, and when she came closer, she lowered her voice and whispered something in Yuzhu's ear.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
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