House Dad's Literary Life

Chapter 382: We’re Going To Have A Dog

The one who told Xixi that there was a dog about to have puppies in their house was Dapo. Their dog, Dahuang, had been pregnant for two months, and recently it had been a bit restless, wandering around or circling its nest. It looked like it would give birth very soon, probably within the next couple of days.

However, to Xixi’s disappointment, when she went with her grandfather to Dapo’s house to visit Dahuang the next day, Dahuang hadn’t given birth yet. Li Shupo¹ lied about the situation!

Dahuang gave birth on the first day of the Spring Festival. However, since it was the first day of the Lunar New Year, Yang Yi and Yang Chonggui didn’t tell Xixi. It was not appropriate to run to someone else’s house who was not a relative and disturb them on such a day.

Although Xixi talked about the puppies for a while as soon as she woke up, the festive atmosphere of the Chinese New Year eased her longing.

The crackling sound of firecrackers resounded throughout the village. In Wudaoku Village, setting off firecrackers when opening the door was known as “welcoming the door gods”. The Yang family also set off firecrackers, and this year (Lunar Year), Yang Yi was responsible for lighting the first one.

Xixi was actually a bit scared of firecrackers. A few days ago, when she saw the crackling firecrackers exploding, she would tremble for a moment. But the more scared she was, the more she wanted to watch. Early in the morning, she nestled in her mother’s arms, feeling nervous but staring intently. She even pulled Mo Fei’s hand up to cover her ears.

Seeing her father walking towards the long string of firecrackers with incense in his hand, the little girl became anxious and couldn’t help but shout, “Papa, be careful!”

Before Yang Yi had even lit the firecrackers, she shouted anxiously again, “Papa, run quickly, it’s going to explode!”

Her little face was tense with nervousness.

However, her father remained calm. Yang Yi steadily lit the fuse, then turned and slowly walked back towards Xixi. The firecrackers behind him sizzled for a moment before they started to crackle and explode one by one.

A real man never looks back at explosions.

The firecrackers behind him, one by one, jumped up, exploded in the air, rolling up billowing smoke. The red firecracker paper fluttered like a butterfly, swirling and falling to the ground.

But his calmness made Xixi anxious. She nestled in her mother’s arms, stomping her little feet, wishing she could help her father run.

“Hehe, isn’t Papa cool?” Yang Yi finally came back “alive” and struck a finger-gun pose at his daughter, thinking he looked really cool.

However, Xixi pouted her little mouth and said unhappily, “I don’t want to talk to you anymore. Papa, you’re bad and disobedient!”

“Hey, how am I being disobedient?” Yang Yi chuckled as he reached out to gently tap his daughter’s little nose. The fragrant red mark from the firecrackers still lingered on his fingers, leaving a tiny bit of red on Xixi’s nose bridge.

“I told you to run faster, you were going to get blown up!” Xixi complained.

“It won’t happen. Papa knows when it will explode, so he can keep a safe distance,” Yang Yi said with a gentle smile.

“But, but it’s very scary, I don’t like it, I don’t like it!” The little girl shook her head.

That day, Xixi was actually in a pretty good mood. The thing that made her happiest was receiving red envelopes. Early in the morning, the little girl couldn’t wait to go to each person and say “Gong Xi Fa Cai” and then looking at them expectantly, waiting for the red envelope.

From her father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, and Uncle Qingzi, Xixi received big red envelopes. She happily tucked them in her pocket. Her mother said that she could hold them first and hand them over to her for safekeeping in the evening.

However, Xixi encountered a setback with her little aunt.

“What, you still want a red envelope from me? I, your little aunt, hasn’t grown up yet, I’m still at the age to receive red envelopes too!” Yang Huan pouted her mouth and complained to Xixi.

Xixi didn’t quite understand. She blinked her big innocent eyes at Yang Huan. In her view, she could ask any adult for a red envelope!

Yang Huan was defeated by her innocent, expectant eyes. Reluctantly, she took out the red envelope she had gotten from Yang Yi earlier, which hadn’t even warmed up in her pocket yet. She handed it over helplessly and said, ‘Alright, alright, here you go!’”

“Hehe, Little Aunt, you’re so nice!” Xixi beamed with a bright smile, her words as sweet as if they were coated with honey.

After receiving the red envelope, she carefully opened the pocket of her down jacket, placed it inside, and then carefully buttoned the pocket, as if afraid of losing it.

“With so many red envelopes, why don’t you share some with me?” Yang Huan glanced at the envelopes and said, a bit enviously.

“No!” The little girl giggled and ran away with her little long legs.

The little girl was very busy, she still had to go with her father, grandfather, and grandmother to visit relatives and continue collecting red envelopes!

……

The next day, Yang Chonggui took Xixi to Dapo’s house to see the puppies. Yang Yi was also a bit interested, so he went along too.

Dahuang was a Chinese rural dog, commonly known as a native dog. However, Dapo’s Dahuang was of a pure breed. Her back was covered with brownish-yellow fur, and her belly was covered with white fur. Her fur was medium-length, close-fitting, and dense, somewhat resembling a Shiba Inu, but with a sharper snout and more slender, robust limbs.

Seeing strangers approaching, Dahuang, who was still lying in her nest taking care of her puppies, raised her head warily and bared her sharp canine teeth. A dog that bites doesn’t bark, and Dahuang didn’t make a sound, showing a dignified demeanor.

This scared Xixi and she quickly hid behind her father.

“Dahuang, these are friends, don’t scare them!” Dapo squatted down and gently petted Dahuang’s back to calm her.

Dahuang gradually calmed down, lowering her head and wagging her tail slightly.

“She has accepted you.” Dapo said with a smile to Yang Yi and Xixi.

“It’s better to watch from here; mother dogs are protective of their puppies,” Yang Chonggui said, holding back the curious Xixi, who wanted to get closer.

Because she had given birth, Dahuang’s nest had been moved indoors to a warm spot. Although it was a simple nest made of straw, the six grayish little pups snuggled under Dahuang’s belly quickly caught Xixi’s attention.

The little girl was a bit scared of the big mother dog, so she held her father’s hand tightly. However, she couldn’t resist her curiosity and excitement, keeping her big eyes fixed on the little puppies, watching them intently.

“Papa, why aren’t they moving?” Xixi watched for a while and finally couldn’t help asking.

“Because they were just born not long ago, they are still very sleepy!” Yang Yi explained, “And, they can’t see or hear yet. They need to grow a bit more before they become lively.”

At this moment, one of the little puppies moved.

“Papa, look,” Xixi exclaimed in surprise, her face full of joy.

The little puppy wiggled and snuggled up to Dahuang ’s belly, probed around, found a place, and started to drink milk. Throughout the whole process, Xixi kept her eyes wide open, feeling both nervous and excited.

The little puppy was too cute! It looked completely defenseless, which made Xixi feel both protective and loving towards it.

“Teacher Yang, Brother Tiezi, if this child likes it, why not take one home?” Dapo scratched his head and said with a hearty smile.

“Really?” Xixi looked at him in surprise, then she looked at her father nervously and asked expectantly, “Papa, can we take a puppy home?”

“Of course, our Dahuang had two litters of puppies, and they’ve all been taken by others. If you like, you can take one home too, no problem!” Dapo said generously.

However, Yang Yi shook his head and said, “Not right now.”

Xixi felt like she had fallen from the clouds to the ground. She asked a bit aggrievedly, “Papa, why not? I really like puppies.”

“Papa is not saying you can’t have a puppy, just that it’s not possible right now,” Yang Yi explained with a smile, “The puppies are still very young, and we can’t take care of them properly. It’s best to let them stay with their mother for a while, preferably for two or three months before we take one home. You wouldn’t want the puppy to be separated from its mom too soon, right?”

“Um… but I still like the puppies. I like this one.” Xixi pouted her little mouth, pointed at the little puppy that had just moved earlier, and said unhappily. She might feel a special connection with this one.

“Then this one is ours!” Yang Yi said with a smile, “But for now, it will stay with its mother. When we come back in May, we’ll take it home.”

At this point, Yang Yi turned to Li Shupo and said, “Dapo, please keep this one for Xixi and help take care of it for a few months. We’ll come back in May for Qingzi’s wedding and take it home then.”

“No problem!”

The conversation between her father and that uncle finally made Xixi show a happy smile again.

“Little puppy, you have to wait for me to come back and pick you up!” As they were leaving, Xixi finally got to hold the little puppy. She was so happy that she didn’t want to let go, and she reluctantly said to the little puppy.

Even though she has to wait a few months, Xixi was already excited about having a puppy! She began to look forward to it.