Chapter 73.1

Although the little wolf cub was small, it was still a wolf. Since it had entered the Qin family, not only had the two geese, who were usually quite fierce, become timid and shaken with their tails between their legs, but even the two sheep, both large and small, were terrified.

When Qin Qingman saw the two sheep trembling in a corner of the pen, she quickly told Chuchu, “Take Dudu back inside.”

She was worried that the wolf cub might scare the ewes and make them stop producing milk, which would be a huge loss.

“Alright, we’ll go back now.” Chuchu, noticing the ewes’ fear of the wolf cub, quickly hugged the wolf cub and turned to leave.

The wolf cub didn’t want to go back. Although it was still drinking milk, the instinct to hunt was deeply rooted in its blood. It looked at the two sheep, struggling non-stop in Chuchu’s arms, even making babyish howling noises toward the sheep.

It looked fierce like a wolf, but sounded like a puppy.

“You say, you don’t even have teeth yet, what’s the use of being fierce? You can’t even eat anything,” Chuchu said with a hint of sarcasm while struggling to hold the squirming wolf cub tightly. “Alright, stop howling, let’s go back inside, I’ll give you some goat milk.”

The wolf cub couldn’t understand human language, and seeing that Chuchu was about to take it back inside, it became excited and resisted.

The plump little body struggled with surprising strength. When Chuchu wasn’t holding it firmly enough, the wolf cub managed to wriggle free and drop to the ground.

Once it hit the ground, the wolf cub dashed toward the sheep pen.

It smelled its prey.

Even though the wolf cub didn’t have its parents around to teach it, the lessons and instincts were imprinted deeply in its bones. By instinct, it knew that the two sheep in the pen were its prey.

They were food.

Having just drunk a bowl of milk sugar water, the wolf cub was already hungry. Seeing its prey, it naturally charged toward it.

Though the little creature was small, when it faced prey, it was surprisingly fast.

Not only did Chuchu fail to grab the little creature in time, but even Qin Qingman, who was standing at the door of the pen, couldn’t catch it.

Relying on its small size and speed, the wolf cub quickly darted under Qin Qingman’s feet and into the sheep pen.

The two sheep immediately began bleating in panic.

As soon as the wolf cub entered the pen, chaos broke out. The ewe, in her panic, led her lambs in circles around the pen, while the wolf cub relentlessly chased after them.

Luckily, the pen floor was covered in straw; otherwise, with the wolf cub’s short legs, it wouldn’t have been able to catch up with the two sheep. It probably would have stumbled and fallen, unable to escape, since it was still just a small milk wolf.

“Awwoooo—”

The little milk wolf chased after the sheep with great excitement, while the two sheep continued bleating in panic.

As they ran, both sheep began to realize something was wrong. Was it the wolf chasing them, or were they chasing the wolf? After just a few steps, they not only passed the little milk wolf but quickly surged ahead, again and again.

It was as if they had run two laps while the wolf cub hadn’t even finished one.

By the end, the two sheep had grown much bolder. Not only did they slow their pace, but their demeanor also showed less fear.

The little milk wolf, whose tongue was almost hanging out from the effort, continued to howl in frustration.

“Hahaha, Dudu, go, go!”

Chuchu, who had been watching for a while by the sheep pen door, was laughing so hard she was clutching her stomach. She laughed so much her belly ached.

The wolf cub was simply too small. Both the ewe and the lamb were much larger than it, with their long, slender legs. Every step they took was equivalent to four or five steps of the wolf cub.

Sure enough, after a short sprint, the wolf cub was already exhausted, while the two sheep could leisurely nibble on some hay as they ran.

“Aw—”

The little wolf cub was so angry that it launched into a burst of speed.

And sure enough, this time it ran extremely fast. To Qin Qingman and Chuchu, all they saw was a black blur, and the wolf cub pounced onto the lamb’s rear, opened its mouth, and with a howl, bit into the lamb’s backside.

“Meh meh meh—”

The lamb, startled, ran in panic, even shaking its short tail frantically, probably trying to shake the wolf cub off its backside.

But surprisingly, with all the jumping and wriggling, the wolf cub, whose claws weren’t yet sharp, couldn’t hold onto its prey.

The little creature slowly slid off the lamb’s rear.

When it fell off, there were no scratches on the lamb’s backside at all.

The ewe, who had turned to help, froze in place, and the lamb stopped running, also frozen.

It seemed like it hadn’t hurt at all.

At this moment, the gaze of Qin Qingman, Chuchu, the ewe, and the lamb all shifted to the lamb’s rear.

Nothing had happened.

“Hahaha, Dudu, I told you, you don’t have teeth yet, and you can’t do anything! You didn’t believe me, did you? Come back, let’s go inside and warm up by the fire. I’ll give you some goat milk.” Chuchu burst out laughing again.

As Chuchu was laughing at the wolf cub, it slid off the lamb’s rear and fell to the ground.

The black ball of fluff hit the straw and collapsed it a bit.

Taking advantage of the two sheep being stunned, Qin Qingman hurried into the sheep pen and scooped up the wolf cub, who was looking pitiful and teary-eyed. If she didn’t take it out now, not only would the wolf cub cry in front of its prey, but the ewe would probably give it a harsh lesson for being so harmless.

“Awwoooo—awwoooo—”

The wolf cub stared up with its big, watery eyes at Qin Qingman, as if complaining, constantly making whimpering noises, and its four paws scratched the air, as if it still wanted to take on the two sheep.

“Alright, alright, I know you’re hungry. I’ll get you something to eat right away. Don’t worry, you’re still small. When you grow up, you’ll be able to hunt on your own.”

Qin Qingman was not like Chuchu, and she didn’t tease the wolf cub. Instead, she patiently comforted it.

At the same time, she gently patted Dudu’s head.

The wolf cub, sensing her calm and reassuring presence, finally calmed down a bit. Its whining became softer.

“Sis, do you think Dudu can understand what we’re saying?”

Chuchu, who had squeezed over with curiosity, asked.

“Of course not, but it should be able to feel our attitude. Don’t underestimate Dudu—it’s very smart,” Qin Qingman said confidently, believing that Xiao Hei and Xiao HeiWife’s strong genes had passed on to the wolf cub. Xiao Hei was the most human-like animal she had ever seen.

Chuchu seemed to understand after hearing Qin Qingman’s explanation.

“Sis, I’ll carry Dudu back to the house. You can milk the goats. I’m sure it’s hungry. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have charged straight into the sheep pen just now.” As he spoke, he took the now calmer Dudu from Qin Qingman’s hands.

“Okay, you two go back to the fire and don’t get cold. Once you’re inside, wipe Dudu’s feet. We need to teach it good habits,” Qin Qingman instructed, then turned to reassure the two frightened sheep. Even though the wolf cub had been chasing them, the sheep were still a little shaken.

Seeing Qin Qingman comforting the sheep, Chuchu quickly took the wolf cub back to the house.

Once inside, he used a wet towel to carefully wipe the wolf cub’s feet.

He even wiped its body.

The wolf cub had been running around in the sheep pen for a while, and although the pen had just been renovated and was quite clean, Chuchu still wiped down the wolf cub from head to tail.

If Big Sister hadn’t said the wolf cub was still too young for a bath, he would have given it a proper wash.

After finishing, Chuchu set the wolf cub down.

Exhausted from its earlier chase, the wolf cub didn’t ask Chuchu for food but instead drooped its ears and waddled to the west room, where it curled up in the wolf nest Qin Qingman had made for it.

The wolf cub was both upset and hungry today. It was angry.

At first, Chuchu didn’t realize the wolf cub was upset. He thought it was just tired. After washing the towel and cleaning his hands, he went to look for the wolf cub, only to find that the wolf cub had its round, fluffy backside turned toward him.

No matter how much he teased, Dudu still refused to turn around.

At that moment, Chuchu finally realized that the wolf cub was angry.

Previously, Qin Qingman had made a fence for the wolf cub, and it had been so temperamental that it tore it down. Today, Chuchu had teased the wolf cub twice, and it was possible that Dudu had gotten upset with him too. Thinking this, Chuchu quickly started to apologize.

He said a lot of nice things, but Dudu still didn’t turn around.

Little Chuchu became a bit anxious. He extended his not-so-chubby finger and gently poked the wolf cub’s round, fluffy backside, apologizing, “Dudu, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have teased you. It was my fault, I apologize.”

The little tail on the wolf cub’s backside twitched slightly, but it didn’t respond to Chuchu.

The little one had quite a temper and a good memory. Although it couldn’t understand Chuchu’s words, it could definitely sense the teasing from before.

Hmph, how dare it tease the great Dudu! It wasn’t going to respond, absolutely not.

Qin Qingman, after spending nearly forty minutes in the sheep pen, had finally managed to milk the ewe completely. She carried a small half-bucket of fresh goat milk and, glancing at the darkening sky, quickly headed back inside.

She had spent forty minutes in the cold sheep pen, but fortunately, the pen had heating. Otherwise, not only the sheep but also she would have been freezing.

“Dudu, come drink some goat milk.”

Once Qin Qingman entered the living room, she found the bowl Dudu had used for the milk sugar water earlier and filled it with half a bowl of fresh goat milk.

Since Dudu was a wild animal, she hadn’t bothered to process the goat milk before giving it to him.

In the west room, Chuchu had apologized to the wolf cub countless times but only received a slight twitch of its tail in response. Not only did the wolf cub not turn around, but it didn’t even offer a paw. Just as Chuchu thought Dudu might hold a grudge forever, the moment Qin Qingman’s voice sounded, the wolf cub vanished in a flash.

Looking at the empty wolf’s nest, Chuchu couldn’t help but laugh helplessly.

It seemed that he could no longer tease the wolf cub casually.

This wolf cub really had a fiery temper when it was angry, and it was hard to soothe—just like a human child.

When Chuchu came out of the west room, he saw the wolf cub devouring the goat milk in the bowl.

Having been hungry all day, the wolf cub finally got to drink real milk. It was fully satisfied and, while drinking, it kept whining and complaining to Qin Qingman, as though it were reporting the mockery it had received from Chuchu earlier.

Qin Qingman looked at Chuchu.

Chuchu helplessly smiled.

Although neither of them understood the wolf cub’s whining, they could certainly sense its intention to complain.

Qin Qingman blinked and smiled.

It seemed that with the addition of the little creature in the house, not only did everything feel more lively, but it also brought a more vibrant atmosphere. Even Chuchu had become more energetic, influenced by the wolf cub.

Qin Qingman squeezed out a small half-bucket of goat milk, which wasn’t much, but it wasn’t little either.

The bucket she used to squeeze the milk was small, and the amount of milk she could extract at one time was enough for three big bowls, which would definitely be enough for the wolf cub.

But she didn’t know the wolf cub’s appetite yet, so the first batch of milk wouldn’t even be enough for Chuchu.

Goat milk had a stronger gamey smell than cow milk, with a pungent odor. To remove this, almonds were needed. Qin Qingman planned to test the wolf cub’s appetite over the next few days and ensure it was fully satisfied before using almonds to process the remaining milk for Chuchu.

Fortunately, they were in a mountain area with a wide variety of fruits.

The original owner had even stored some almonds in the storage room.

“Sis, can we drink this goat milk?” Chuchu had been so eager for goat milk earlier, but as soon as he smelled the real thing, he immediately turned up his nose. He hadn’t even drunk it yet, but he could already detect the strong gamey smell.

The gamey smell was something many people couldn’t tolerate.

He didn’t like it either.

Qin Qingman could tell that Chuchu disliked the goat milk, so she smiled and explained, “The unprocessed goat milk doesn’t smell good. Once it’s processed, it will not only lose the gamey odor, but it will also taste very good.”

“Doesn’t Dudu’s goat milk need to be processed?”

Chuchu looked over at Dudu, who was still holding the bowl and drinking greedily, puzzled.

“Animals are different from us. Their taste preferences lean more towards primitive flavors. In fact, the gamey smell we find unpleasant may be a fragrant scent to them. So, there’s no need to alter their diet.” Qin Qingman didn’t plan on treating the wolf cub like a dog.

She had witnessed Xiao Hei’s bravery and had seen how wolf packs hunted wild bears. Qin Qingman didn’t want to limit the wolf cub to just the Qin family’s yard.

Once the wolf cub grew up, she would release it back into the mountains.

A wolf should have the world of a wolf.

Chuchu also understood Qin Qingman’s meaning and nodded, saying, “Mm, Sis, I’ll listen to you from now on.” After speaking, he went to practice his horse stance.

Even though there was a wolf cub in the house now, he didn’t neglect his own training.

The wolf cub licked the half bowl of goat milk clean. After finishing, it continued to whine at Qin Qingman, as though it hadn’t had enough.

Qin Qingman looked at the wolf cub in surprise, unconvinced. She picked up the little creature and felt its belly.

Its small stomach was already swollen, with no space left.

Qin Qingman laughed, poking the wolf cub’s forehead gently with her finger and said, “From now on, you won’t go hungry, but you can’t eat too much. Just eat enough.” After saying that, she patted the cub’s belly before putting it down and cleaning the bowl the wolf cub had used.

The temperature inside the house was high, so not only did the fresh milk need to be taken outside to be refrigerated, but the bowl the cub had drunk from had to be washed quickly as well.

If left unwashed, bacteria would grow and a smell would develop later.

After cleaning up, Qin Qingman went to tidy the east room.

That night, Chuchu and the wolf cub were going to sleep in the east room, so the things in the east room needed to be organized again.

She folded the fabric neatly and moved it back to the wardrobe in the west room. She wiped the radio clean with a cloth and placed it on the wooden box at the foot of the bed. Although Kaoshan Village was snowbound in the winter and there was no electricity, this radio didn’t run on electricity—it worked on batteries.

The radio hadn’t been used since it was bought.

Qin Qingman installed the batteries and began to gently pull out the antenna. She extended the antenna segment by segment until the last one. Then, she turned on the radio.

A series of crackling sounds came from the radio as it powered on.

Chuchu, who had been practicing his horse stance by the stove, curiously turned his gaze toward her. “Sis, what’s that?” He knew that the object Qin Qingman was fiddling with was a radio, but he didn’t know what the crackling sound meant.

The radio they bought was a Peony brand, made in Beijing.

It was modeled after foreign prototypes (Sharp from Japan), and its appearance wasn’t bulky. It could receive medium and shortwave radio programs, making it a luxury item in this era.

“This is the static sound. When I change the channel, the static will disappear if I receive a radio signal,” Qin Qingman answered Chuchu while turning the channel knob.

Due to limited technology, the knob could only adjust to fixed channels, with each notch corresponding to a different station.

Normally, each turn of the knob would bring in a station’s broadcast, but Kaoshan Village was very remote, surrounded by mountains, and the signal was greatly affected. Not every station’s signal was stable, so sometimes there was just static when the knob was turned to a channel.

The static meant no signal was received.

She had to continue turning the knob to the next channel.

Qin Qingman turned the knob through three channels, all of which were static, until the fourth one finally produced sound.

“Hello, listeners. You’re now listening to the Central Broadcasting Station…” This was a weather forecast broadcast from Capital City, and the announcer’s voice was very standard, clear, and precise.

Chuchu froze upon hearing it.

The voice sounded so pleasant that he immediately wanted to imitate it.

Seeing that the station had come through clearly, Qin Qingman didn’t change the channel but continued to tidy the east room. The wolf cub, which had been following her around earlier, was now sitting by the stove in the west room, its gaze fixed intently on the radio on the wooden box.

It was very curious about the sounds coming from the radio.

Its serious expression made it seem like it could understand.

“Can you understand?” Chuchu asked after listening for a while and noticing the wolf cub squatting beside him. Having finished his training, he slowly retracted his limbs.

After several days of training, he had gradually become accustomed to the discomfort and the soreness of holding the horse stance. Every time he reached his limit, he would stand up to stretch his arms and legs before resuming the squat.

Back and forth, repeating the process, aiming to hold the stance for half an hour in total.

“Aw woo—” The wolf cub didn’t care whether it understood Chuchu’s words. Its enthusiasm was fully on display, and it responded with a matching howl, not missing a beat.

Chuchu suddenly felt that having a wolf cub in the house made life more interesting….