Chapter 39: A New Member (Part 2)

A man joining his wife’s household was quite a novelty in the brigade.

The village women gathered together, each adding their own speculation about the bride.

Since Mu Mian was close to Shi Xiaolian, she managed to hear some gossip too.

It was said that the bride was the only child in her family, and her father, worried about continuing the family line, had specifically looked for a son-in-law to marry in.

However, according to what Shi Xiaolian said before, it would take more than three years before Educated Youth Qian went to the commune.

Mu Mian speculated that he probably couldn’t endure the hardship of farm work after losing his job as an elementary school teacher and decided to find an alternative path.

Thinking about it, she might have had a small part in this.

But it wasn’t her fault—she had merely mentioned it to the brigade leader.

If Educated Youth Qian had been competent enough, he wouldn’t have been replaced in the first place.

At the end of the day, it was his own improper mindset that led to this outcome.

With him gone, the only male educated youth left in the brigade was Tan Hongbo. He seemed to have some chemistry with Tang Rongrong, and there were signs that the two might end up together.

Just the other day, someone had seen Educated Youth Tan helping Educated Youth Tang with her work.

It wasn’t uncommon for educated youths to marry each other. If they had the means, they could apply for a plot of land in the brigade to build a house after getting married.

However, since they weren’t locals, they only had the right to live in the house. The land itself didn’t belong to them.

If they ever returned to the city, the house would revert to the brigade.

As for whether Educated Youth Tan and Educated Youth Tang would actually get together, Mu Mian didn’t know. Shi Xiaolian hadn’t remembered, which likely meant they wouldn’t be getting married anytime soon.

That was understandable—after all, marriage was a major decision and had to be taken seriously.

The commotion surrounding Educated Youth Qian’s marriage faded quickly. Since he hadn’t been around for long, many villagers hadn’t even spoken to him.

Only Accountant Sun’s wife seemed particularly upset. Mu Mian overheard her cursing several times.

But that had nothing to do with her.

What did surprise her, however, was that even though no one in her own family was getting married, she somehow ended up busier than ever—rushing around as if she were on a tight schedule.

It all started when she and Xu Lele were chosen to be “joy children” at Xu Gaoyi’s wedding and helped roll on the wedding bed.

In their province, there was an old tradition: before the bride entered the bridal chamber, children had to roll on the bed for good fortune.

The custom was still followed since times weren’t too strict yet, but in a couple of years, weddings would likely become much simpler.

The standard practice was to have a boy and a girl around five or six years old roll on the bed, symbolizing the character ‘好’, which means ‘good’ or ‘harmony’.

Some families that preferred boys over girls would have two little boys roll on the bed, hoping the bride would give birth to a son.

The brigade leader and Liu Guizhi were rather unconventional. Instead of choosing young children, they picked Mu Mian—believing she was blessed with good fortune, especially since she had once saved their daughter’s life.

She was simply the perfect choice.

When other villagers who were about to hold weddings saw this, they agreed.

A girl who had managed to escape from kidnappers—wasn’t that a sign of great fortune?

She was good-looking, capable, and full of energy.

She was good in every way!

And so, Mu Mian suddenly became very busy.

Some aunts even asked if she could roll on the bridal beds of brides in other brigades.

Mu Mian immediately refused.

She wasn’t going to “travel for work”—no way!

Even just rolling on beds within her own brigade earned her more than two yuan.

It was much faster than selling wild herbs.

Back then, she had worked hard collecting and selling herbs for a long time and had only made about two yuan in total.

It seemed like she had unintentionally discovered a new way to make money.

Unfortunately, it was a short-term gig.

Next year, she would be ten years old.

According to local customs, a ten-year-old was no longer considered a child but half an adult.

—

By the time all the weddings in the brigade were finished, it was already early November. The weather was turning colder, and people had to wear thicker coats when going outside.

That day, a light snowfall drifted down from the sky.

Or rather, it was sleet—melting before it even reached the ground, leaving everything damp.

It wasn’t cold enough for heavy snow just yet.

When Mu Fugui returned home, his bicycle tires were caked with mud.

Mu Mian was about to grab a stick to help him scrape it off when she suddenly noticed that the bag he was carrying was moving.

Curious, she asked, “Dad, what’s in the bag? A rabbit? Where did you get a rabbit?”

After all, it had only been twenty days since they last ate rabbit meat.

Mu Fugui grinned. “It’s not a rabbit, guess what it is?”

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, a soft, high-pitched “woof” came from the bag.

Mu Mian’s eyes widened. “A puppy?!”

Zhao Meihua and Liu Shuangcui also turned their heads upon hearing the noise.

Liu Shuangcui asked, “Why’d you bring back a dog? Where did it come from?”

Mu Fugui replied, “Old Pan gave it to me. He got it from another brigade, but when he brought it home, his wife wouldn’t let him keep it. So, he asked if I wanted it, and I brought it back.”

Liu Shuangcui snorted, “Do you think I’d let you raise it?”

Mu Fugui put on a flattering smile. “If you won’t let me raise it, surely you won’t stop our daughter from doing so, right?”

As he spoke, Mu Fugui pulled the puppy out of the bag with one hand and handed it to his daughter. “What do you think? Do you like it? Its mother is quite something. I heard she’s great at hunting. Once it grows up, you can take it to the mountains with you.”

Mu Mian’s eyes lit up. “Is it like Grandpa Tang’s dog?”

Lele had mentioned wanting a dog before.

Mu Fugui grinned. “Exactly, and it’s even younger than Uncle Tang’s dog.”

The little puppy seemed either shaken from the bicycle ride or just scared of the unfamiliar environment. It curled up in Mu Fugui’s palm, whimpering softly.

When Mu Mian reached out to take it, the puppy let out two tiny but fierce barks.

She stroked its fur and chuckled. “It sure is feisty.”

Mu Fugui laughed. “That’s exactly why Old Pan picked this one. He liked its spirit. But when he brought it home, he found out his wife had an even bigger temper.”

Mu Mian burst into laughter.

Zhao Meihua squatted down and rubbed the puppy twice. “Why is it so dark? If it likes following people around, someone might step on it by accident.”

Mu Fugui shrugged. “Its mother is all black too. Just like people say, sons take after their mothers. It’s normal.”

Mu Mian observed the puppy carefully. “It looks round, but it’s actually not chubby at all—just hollow inside.”

Liu Shuangcui commented, “Puppies grow fast. A little food and it’ll be solid, just like you.”

Mu Mian: “………………”

Her own mother, indeed.

She pinched her cheeks and puffed up her lips like a goldfish. “I’m hollow too, Mom. See? Soft and squishy.”

Liu Shuangcui poked her daughter’s cheek. “You’ve lost some weight.”

The hard work during the autumn harvest had taken a toll, and she still hadn’t recovered.

While the family chatted, the little puppy had already begun stumbling around, sniffing here and there.

Mu Mian watched for a moment before asking, “Is it hungry? Dad, did you feed it before bringing it back?”

Mu Fugui shook his head. “Probably. It only ate a little at noon. Honestly, I’m hungry too.”

Dinner was already prepared, so they ate right away.

Mu Mian fixed the puppy a small bowl of corn porridge. The tiny creature was so hungry it nearly buried its whole head in the bowl while eating.

Watching from the table, Mu Mian found it unbelievably cute. She had no idea what it would look like when it grew up, but right now, it was absolutely adorable.

Seeing how much their daughter liked it, Liu Shuangcui didn’t object to keeping the dog. She simply said, “If you’re going to keep it, take care of it properly. When it grows up, it can help guard the house.”

Mu Mian immediately promised, “Of course! If I have meat to eat, it’ll at least have broth to drink!”

Maybe the puppy sensed that its future meals were secured, because as soon as it finished eating, it nestled at Mu Mian’s feet and rubbed its head against her pant leg.

Mu Fugui laughed heartily. “See? This dog was meant to be ours. Look how much it likes our daughter!”

Regardless of whether it liked them or not, the puppy had officially settled in.

After dinner, Mu Mian made a simple bed for it and placed it in the main hall.

The nights were getting chilly, and leaving the puppy outside would probably make it cold.

—

The next day arrived in a blink.

When news spread that Mu Mian’s family had a new puppy, a group of children came over in the afternoon to see it.

Among them, Xu Lele was the most excited. She crouched in front of the puppy, staring intently while talking nonstop.

“Why is it so tiny? How long will it take for it to grow as big as Grandpa Tang’s dog?”

“Does it eat a lot? I heard dogs eat poop. Will it eat its own poop?”

“It’s so black! When it gets dark, won’t you lose sight of it, Mianmian?”

…

…

A few other boys, including Xiao Chengzi and Dazhuang, were also there, chiming in one after another.

The courtyard was filled with the chattering of children, making it incredibly lively.

After rattling off a series of questions, Xu Lele suddenly asked, “Sister Mianmian, can I help feed it too? You feed it, I feed it, just like how my parents take care of me and my brothers. Let’s raise it together!”

The little girl was so caught up in her excitement that she started playing make-believe. She turned to the puppy and declared, “You’ll be our son! Sister Mianmian is so pretty, she’ll be the mom, and I’ll be the dad!”

Xiao Chengzi burst out laughing. “Hahaha! If Sister Mianmian is the mom, then doesn’t that make her a dog mom?”

Mu Mian: “………………”

It was just a pretend game, but for some reason, she felt like she was being insulted.