Chapter 162

Not only Xiao Tangyuan but also Fantuan, Xiao Doubao, and Xiao Roubao threw away the things in their hands and surrounded the little puppy.

The little puppy was covered in fluffy white fur except for its dark, shiny eyes. 

After arriving in a strange environment, he looked at people with shy and wet black eyes; it was really cute. 

Xiao Tangyuan reached out and gently touched the puppy’s head before retracting her hand. “Big brother, where did this little puppy come from? It’s so pretty!”

“I bought it at the small market, Xiao Tangyuan; do you like it?” In fact, Xiao Zhuzi had been going to the small market every day lately, asking around if any of the wandering traders could find a recently born, gentle-tempered puppy.

Yesterday, he finally found a trader who said that a relative in town had just given birth to a litter of puppies. The mother dog was gentle, with beautiful white fur, so he estimated the puppies would be of good quality too. However, he wasn’t sure if they were for sale.

Xiao Zhuzi didn’t hesitate and gave the trader ten yuan, asking him to buy one for him without fail.

Well, these days, chickens and ducks were only two or three yuan each. In the countryside, dogs could be fed leftovers and could also guard the house. In the city, unless it was a wealthy household, most people wouldn’t want them. They couldn’t even feed themselves, so who would waste food on a dog? His relatives’ litter of dogs didn’t even seem like the kind that could guard the house; nobody wanted them, even if they were given away. He just mentioned it casually, but he didn’t expect this little comrade to be so generous, immediately offering a big amount.

However, the trader also had a conscience. In the end, he only took five yuan from Zhuzi and promised to bring him a little dog the next day.

Sure enough, Xiao Zhuzi went to the small market early this morning to wait, and the trader, true to his word, brought a puppy over.

This little puppy is really beautiful, as the trader said, with snow-white fur and not a single stray hair. It was even more beautiful than all the plush toys Xiao Zhuzi had seen in the state-owned department store in the capital. Moreover, it had a pair of wet, shiny eyes and could walk and move around. It looked a bit familiar to Xiao Zhuzi, who knew immediately that his sister would love it.

No child could resist fluffy cats and dogs, especially such a small and beautiful one. Xiao Tangyuan nodded eagerly with her eyes bent. “I love it!”

Unable to resist, Xiao Tangyuan reached out to touch the puppy’s fur. “Big brother, can I hold it?”

The puppy was very gentle, and Xiao Zhuzi interacted with it all the way. To test if it would bite, he even put his hand into its mouth, but the puppy didn’t bite him. It was very well-behaved, so Xiao Zhuzi handed the puppy over to his sister with confidence. “Yes, this is a new friend that big brother is giving to Xiao Tangyuan. It will belong to Xiao Tangyuan from now on. Why don’t you give it a name?”

Xiao Tangyuan took it, raised her little head, and looked at her brother with wide eyes. “Is this for me, big brother?”

Zhuzi finally knew why he thought the little puppy looked familiar. Its eyes were really similar to his sister’s eyes when she was young—round and wet.

Zhuzi reached out and rubbed her sister’s head. “Yes, it’s a gift for you. We can take your puppy to the capital. Grandpa’s house also has a little black one.”

Xiao Tangyuan smiled with her sweet dimples showing. “Thank you, big brother,” Xiao Tangyuan turned to ask her parents, “Daddy, Mommy, can I keep Cotton Candy? Can I take Cotton Candy to the capital?”

Xiao Tangyuan didn’t even need to think about the name. This fluffy white fur was exactly like the cotton candy she had eaten, so it was definitely cotton candy.

Fantuan and Xiao Roubao didn’t have much feeling for small animals, but they still thought this puppy was really beautiful and couldn’t help but reach out to touch it.

As for Xiao Doubao, he always liked small animals, so he reached out to touch them and said, “Wow, mom, cotton candy is so smooth and beautiful!”

Su Xiaoxiao didn’t expect Zhuzi to give Xiao Tangyuan a dog after not allowing him to buy Xiao Tangyuan a rabbit. Well, a dog’s lifespan is much longer than a rabbit’s, and if taken care of properly, it can accompany the children as they grow up.

She walked over, picked up the little snow-white puppy, and examined it carefully. She couldn’t help but be extremely surprised. It turned out to be a very beautiful purebred Samoyed puppy, born not long ago. Its fur was not very dense yet, but you could vaguely see the look of a smiling angel.

Su Xiaoxiao herself loved dogs very much, and who could resist such a beautiful Samoyed? Su Xiaoxiao could already imagine how beautiful its snowy white fur would be when it grew up.

Su Xiaoxiao said, “Sure, Xiao Tangyuan really knows how to choose a name. From now on, cotton candy will be Xiao Tangyuan’s good friend. Let’s take it to the capital.” 

Xiao Roubao chuckled, “Cotton candy really sounds like it belongs to our family. The names of our family friends (pets) all sound good to eat, and cotton candy is also good. Mommy, I haven’t eaten cotton candy in a long time.”

Su Xiaoxiao pinched his chubby cheeks and said, “Don’t mention eating cotton candy in front of cotton candy. Dogs are very smart; they can understand human words.”

Fantuan said, “But Cotton Candy doesn’t look very smart.”

Su Xiaoxiao said, “It’s just been born not long ago. Cotton Candy will become smarter as it grows up. We’ll teach it slowly in the future. It can learn a lot of things. Alright, Fantuan, go get some rice soup for Cotton Candy to eat.”

Actually, such a small puppy is best fed with milk powder. However, there were many children in the family, and milk powder was often in short supply. Fantuan now only drinks a cup every other day. Su Xiaoxiao was worried that Xiao Tangyuan would save her own food for Cotton Candy to drink. For now, they didn’t have the conditions for this at home. They could only compromise and see if they could buy more milk powder when they arrived in the capital.

Children have short memories, and their attention can be easily diverted. With new friends, Zhou, Fen, Mian, and Fan quickly forgot about them.

The family was busy packing their luggage. Xiao Zhuzi simply took Xiao Roubao, Xiao Tangyuan, and Cotton Candy home because they couldn’t help much here.

Su Xiaoxiao and Han Cheng decided to get rid of unnecessary things since they were going to the capital to study. They packed up everything that they didn’t need and sent it back to Sujia Village. Only a small amount of daily necessities and books were sent to the capital, but they still had to carry their clothes and quilts with them.

If it weren’t for the underdeveloped express delivery service these days, the most would’ve been sent back to Sujia Village. However, now it was winter, and they had to keep their quilts with them all the time.

After a few days of packing, what could be sent back to Sujia Village was sent back. The things that couldn’t be sent back were given to their neighbors. Nowadays, with material scarcity, everyone is happy to receive a chicken coop or a small wooden stool.

Old Hu had taken care of Su Xiaoxiao’s family very well over the years. The things that Zhou Yuhua couldn’t use were given priority to Old Hu, including beds and cabinets.

Old Hu was reluctant to part with Su Xiaoxiao’s family. Xiao Houzi could be said to have been taught by Su Xiaoxiao and Fantuan. Now that Fantuan was gone, he was worried that there would be no one to supervise his son’s studies, so he kept urging Fantuan to write letters to Xiao Houzi and remind him not to neglect his studies.

Fantuan was righteous and would naturally not forget his little friends here. He patted his chest and reassured Old Hu.

The same goes for Yali’s side. If Zhou Yuhua can use it, she leaves it to Zhou Yuhua, and what she couldn’t use was given to the neighbors who could use it.

There wasn’t much food left until the last day, and all the dry food was left for Zhou Yuhua. The vegetables in the garden were also divided among everyone.

By the end of January, Su Xiaoxiao and her family had finally finished everything here and were ready to set off for the capital.