“What is it?” Chuxia asked as she was feeding the puppies.

Hearing Cen Huai’an’s words, she turned to him and inquired.

The spot where the puppies were was very close to home.

The meal was still warm, so Chuxia poured some porridge into a bowl, softened with some steamed buns, and placed it in front of the puppies.

The puppies, clearly very hungry, eagerly lapped at the bowl, eating quickly and greedily.

Cen Huai’an told her about Liu Tian’s situation.

He couldn’t discuss it with Bangzi and the others, but he could talk to his mom, who would tell him what to do.

After listening to Cen Huai’an, Chuxia, who had just finished washing her hands by the water basin, dried her hands with a towel and looked at Cen Huai’an’s puzzled face.

She reached out and patted his head.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. We feel sympathy for Liu Tian, but you’re just a child. We don’t know her parents, and we can’t help her directly. Only the teacher can assist her by talking to her parents, if the teacher is willing.”

Chuxia sighed.

In fact, not only Liu Tian, but there were also families in their residential area with similar attitudes, favoring sons over daughters and not wanting their daughters to go to school.

Outsiders could only persuade them a bit, but there was no other way to help.

As for providing financial assistance, with so many people needing help, how could they provide for everyone?

Moreover, no family was particularly wealthy at the moment; just being able to support their own families was a significant achievement, so sponsoring others wasn’t feasible.

Chuxia wouldn’t propose sponsoring Liu Tian, as they weren’t close enough.

If she suggested it, she would be criticized as meddling, and Liu Tian’s parents would likely think she was interfering unnecessarily.

Liu Tian’s parents were workers, and it wasn’t that they couldn’t afford the school fees but that they didn’t want their child to attend school.

In such cases, interfering in someone’s family matters would only bring trouble to oneself.

Chuxia wasn’t a savior and couldn’t save everyone, and she wouldn’t assume that role.

In this era, with so many children out of school nationwide, no one had the means to save everyone.

Even with government intervention, like in the future with nine years of compulsory education where fees were waived, some children still didn’t attend school.

Chuxia told Cen Huai’an, “We can help within our means, like rescuing these two puppies today. For things beyond our capability, don’t feel burdened. An’an, comforting Liu Tian and advising her to talk to the teacher is already a good thing.”

If it were the old Cen Huai’an, he wouldn’t have even looked at the crying sounds, let alone suggested seeking help from the teacher.

Now, Cen Huai’an no longer harbored only resentment; he had love in his heart, even if he hadn’t realized it.

Chuxia was pleased with his current attitude, as she had slowly nurtured him to be this way.

Cen Huai’an nodded, feeling much better.

After the meal, Cen Huai’an went to play with the puppies and wanted to pet them, but Chuxia stopped him.

“They’re very dirty now, and might have parasites and fleas. You shouldn’t touch them for now.”

Cen Huai’an had to retract his hand and asked, “When can I touch them, then?”

“Wait until I’ve treated their fur for parasites.”

“Okay.”

After Cen Huai’an left for school in the afternoon, Chuxia went to buy medicine for the puppies.

At that time, there were no pet-specific parasiticides, but there were deworming medicines for cattle, sheep, and horses.

The dosage for cattle, sheep, and horses was too high, but deworming medicine for humans could also be used for dogs, with children’s dosages being appropriate.

Additionally, flea treatments were available at stores selling seeds and pesticides, as they were not only used for livestock but also in homes.

Chuxia also bought some baby powder.

Since the puppies couldn’t be bathed with water, she planned to use the baby powder for dry cleaning.

After buying the medicine, Chuxia hurried home as the sky grew darker, and it had started snowing lightly.

The snow wasn’t heavy, so she didn’t have many flakes on her, just her hat and scarf were a bit damp.

The puppies were still too small to use the deworming medicine immediately.

Chuxia needed to observe them for a couple of days to ensure they didn’t have any illnesses.

Using the medicine on sick puppies could worsen their condition and lead to death.

So when Cen Huai’an came back in the evening and learned he still couldn’t touch the puppies, his disappointment was evident.

Chuxia found a cardboard box and set up a warm nest for the puppies inside. The box was placed by the door against the wall.

Although he couldn’t touch them, the puppies were adorable. Cen Huai’an crouched there for a while watching them before finally standing up.

He opened his backpack, took out the new books, and approached Chuxia, who was working on some exercises: “Mom, let’s cover the books.”

At this time, students who cherished their books would cover them with old newspapers. It was simple: just find some old newspapers, cut them, and wrap them around the books.

Chuxia had covered Cen Huai’an’s books last semester.

By the end of the term, some students’ books were in tatters, with several pages missing, while Cen Huai’an’s books remained clean, with no bent corners.

He took great care of his books and would fix any bent corners himself, making the wrapped books look as good as new.

Chuxia found some old newspapers and laid them out on the table: “Choose a page you like.”

Though the newspapers were all text, Cen Huai’an enjoyed picking out pages with content he liked.

He flipped through the newspapers and finally chose two pages, while Chuxia had already finished half a test paper.

Covering the books took less than ten minutes, even with one book being covered by Cen Huai’an himself, which took a bit longer.

“An’an, did Liu Tian come to school this afternoon?” Chuxia asked after finishing the book covers.

“She was at school.” Cen Huai’an hadn’t asked her, but he saw her going to talk to the teacher.

“Mom, she still seemed unhappy.”

Chuxia replied, “That means her mother probably hasn’t agreed to let her continue school.”

Cen Huai’an sighed like an adult.

He thought about how he might not be in school now if it had been the case with his mother back then.

An impulse surged within him, and he ran over to hug Chuxia.

Chuxia was momentarily stunned when he hugged her, but soon her expression softened.

She patted his head, thinking that his hair was getting a bit long and needed a trim.

“What’s wrong?” Chuxia asked him.

Cen Huai’an shook his head and said nothing.

After hugging her for a while, he released her and ran into the room with his head lowered.

Chuxia noticed that his ears were red.

She smiled and continued writing her papers.

After observing for two days and confirming that the two puppies were healthy, Chuxia realized that their previous “whimpering” was due to hunger.

She administered deworming medicine to them.

The weather had improved slightly on Sunday, though it was still a bit cold, at least the sun was out.

Chuxia and Cen Huai’an brought the puppies’ cardboard box outside to the corridor, preparing to apply deworming powder to them.

However, before using it, Chuxia hesitated.

The powder was for killing fleas and had significant toxicity.

Since the puppies were so small, she was afraid it might harm them.

But it was the most effective solution. Without the deworming powder, what would happen to the fleas on the puppies? She wouldn’t be able to touch them at all.

Some herbal remedies could help, but either they were hung up in pouches for prevention and repelling (which might not kill fleas and could make the house messy), or required bathing in herbal water, which was not feasible in the current cold weather since the puppies were too small for a bath.

Chuxia stopped and began to think of a complete solution, realizing that she couldn’t use the deworming powder.

Sister Li, who was hanging out the laundry, saw Chuxia and Cen Huai’an setting up a bunch of things at the corridor door.

Curious about their big setup, she walked over after finishing her laundry.

“Chuxia, what are you two doing?”

“We’re preparing to deworm the puppies,” Chuxia said, wearing white protective gloves and frowning, looking unsure of what to do.

“Where did these puppies come from? They look quite lively.”

Sister Li bent down to look at the puppies in the box and noticed the deworming powder on the ground.

She immediately exclaimed, “Oh no!”

Chuxia hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong?”

Sister Li pointed at the deworming powder and asked, “Are you really going to use this on the puppies? If they lick their fur, they’ll poison themselves.”

Chuxia replied, “I know, so I’m trying to figure out how to kill the fleas.”

Cen Huai’an was squatting nearby, reaching for the deworming powder, but Chuxia grabbed his hand and said, “Don’t touch it. It’s toxic.”

Sister Li stood up and said with confidence, “It’s simple. Just shave the puppies’ fur.”

Chuxia and Cen Huai’an both widened their eyes in surprise.

Shave the puppies?

Chuxia frowned and said, “It’s so cold, won’t they freeze?”

Cen Huai’an also frowned, thinking about how a shaved puppy would look and shaking his head. It would definitely look ugly.

“They won’t freeze. Just wrap them in some old clothes,” Sister Li said confidently. “Trust me, shaving is the only way to completely get rid of fleas without harming them. Besides, it’ll get warmer soon after this cold spell, and the puppies’ fur will grow back quickly.”

Chuxia’s eyes lit up. “Sister Li, you’re right. We can make some clothes for the puppies.”

Sister Li looked incredulous. “Clothes for dogs? How will they look? Besides, Chuxia, aren’t you bad at sewing?”

“I’ll find a tailor to help me adjust the clothes. But how do I shave the fur? I’m worried I’ll hurt them if my hands shake.”

Sister Li waved her hand dismissively. “Why go to a tailor? It’s a waste of money. Just bring some old clothes here, and I’ll help you. Shaving is easy. Just find Old Zhang at the entrance, and it’ll only cost a few cents.”

Old Zhang was a barber who set up a stand under the big banyan tree at the entrance of the compound.

All the men and boys in the compound, old and young, got their haircuts and beard trims from him, and some women also got their hair cut there for cheap.

Chuxia went home to find some of Cen Huai’an’s old clothes.

They were old and worn out, with some stiff and yellowed cotton inside, almost unusable.

“Should I measure the size?”

Sister Li compared the clothes to the puppies and said, “That’s fine. I’ve made many clothes for my own child, so I won’t make a mistake. I’ll use your sewing machine.”

Chuxia let her in and lifted the cloth covering the sewing machine, saying, “Feel free to use it. I’ll take the puppies to get their fur shaved.”

Sister Li didn’t have a sewing machine of her own and often borrowed Chuxia’s for making clothes. Neighbors often helped each other out.

At the door, she saw Cen Huai’an and said, “It’s just right. Your hair needs a trim too. Let’s get it done together.”