Chapter 55 Insult

“Dog?” Bai An frowned upon seeing that there was a living creature inside the bag and reached out to pick up the gray puppy.

But Lu Jin’an stopped her hand from moving forward, shaking his head, and picked up the puppy himself.

The little dog in Lu Jin’an’s hands only weakly whined a few times before falling silent.

Lu Jin’an carefully checked the dog’s condition and saw that it was just a bit dirty, with no serious issues, before handing the dog to Bai An.

“Be careful, don’t get bitten.”

Bai An nodded and cautiously placed her hand in front of the dog’s nose. Seeing the puppy sniffing forward without any intention to attack, she finally felt relieved and held it in her arms.

“Brother, what should we do now?”

Lu Jin’an glanced at the puppy in Bai An’s arms and then at the village entrance not far away. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “Let’s go back first.”

Bai An nodded.

“Mom.” Bai An called out as she reached the yard gate. Wan Qing heard her and poked her head out from the kitchen, asking, “Is Dad back?”

Bai An shook her head. “No, my brother and I found a dog by the roadside, so we came back first.”

Wan Qing frowned, walked over to Bai An, and looked at the gray-white puppy disapprovingly, saying, “This might belong to someone else who lost it. They must be worried sick.”

Hearing this, Bai An looked up and exchanged glances with Lu Jin’an.

Lu Jin’an shook his head and took the dog from Bai An’s arms, softly saying, “Mom, when we found it, it was in a bag, and that bag was tied in a tight knot.”

Wan Qing was taken aback and after a while said, “First, give it something to eat. It must be too weak to whine like this because it’s hungry.”

Saying this, she went inside to prepare some soft food for the puppy, letting it cool down before allowing Bai An to feed it little by little.

Watching the puppy devour the food, Bai An affectionately held it in her arms. Once she patted its little belly and felt it was full enough, she returned the bowl.

Holding the puppy, Bai An hesitated, constantly glancing toward the door. Lu Jin’an noticed and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Bai An looked down at the puppy and softly said, “I’m waiting for Dad to come back.”

“Are you worried about that?” Lu Jin’an squatted in front of Bai An, gently patting her head and saying, “Are you afraid Dad won’t want to keep the puppy when he sees it?”

Bai An nodded hesitantly.

“Don’t be afraid,” Lu Jin’an smiled. “Dad will agree.”

Hearing Lu Jin’an’s assurance, Bai An felt relieved and cheerfully said, “Then tomorrow we can wash it with sun water.”

“Sun water is comfortable and soft.”

Just as Wan Qing entered the house, she heard Bai An say this and smiled indulgently. “You’re already thinking about giving it a bath. Then later, let’s have Dad make it a little house.”

“Is that okay?” Bai An looked happily at the puppy and said, “You are part of our family now. On the first day after your bath, you can sleep with me.”

At that moment, Lu Demin walked in from outside and paused when he saw the puppy in Bai An’s arms.

“Where did this puppy come from?”

“Found it by the roadside, Dad. You will agree to keep it, right?” Bai An leaned closer to Lu Demin and asked, “You will agree, right?”

Lu Demin looked at Bai An’s hopeful eyes and smiled, “Sure, but you have to take good care of it.”

“Of course I will.” Bai An twirled around holding the puppy and then turned to her dad, pleading, “Then, Dad, can you make it a little nest?”

Seeing Bai An not coming to him for such matters, Lu Jin’an found it amusing and pulled her to his side, saying, “You can also come and ask me.”

“Then can Brother make it a little nest for it?”

Lu Jin’an nodded, smiling as he agreed, “We can do that after dinner.”

“Thank you, Brother.” After saying this, Bai An gently lifted the puppy’s little paw and waved it at Lu Jin’an, softly saying again, “Thank you, Brother.”

“Awoo.”

Hearing the puppy’s timely bark, the whole family burst into laughter.

“By the way, today Bai An and I finished harvesting the wheat. Should we go thresh it now?” Lu Jin’an asked, glancing at the sky outside.

Lu Demin hesitated for a moment and said, “There isn’t much wheat, so it might not take long. Jin’an, you can go with me later.”

“Okay.”

Seeing that they were about to leave again after just returning, Wan Qing quickly said, “There’s watermelon left in the kitchen, remember to eat it.”

Lu Demin nodded.

Bai An set the puppy down, allowing it to run around the yard by itself.

The yard no longer looked like it did when Bai An first arrived; the walls were covered in climbing plants, full of vitality. A large tree had been planted in the yard, with a stone table made from a big rock underneath it, surrounded by four wooden chairs that could be used for sitting or lying down. Additionally, various soft flowers bloomed throughout the yard.

It had a very idyllic feel to it. Bai An had spent year after year here, and now with a little puppy, it made the place even more perfect.

“Mom, do you like it here?”

Bai An sat on a chair, looking at the scenery in the yard, and curiously asked, “Do you miss the good life we had in the city?”

Wan Qing chuckled lightly. “It’s not about liking or disliking; I already consider this home, so of course, I like it.”

“Whether I miss it or not is another matter. I think each has its own merits.”

“However, Bai An, I want you to be able to go out, to leave the village. The outside world is nothing like this place.”

Bai An knew very well that life in the future would be completely different from here.

“Bang, bang, bang.” The yard door was violently knocked on, startling the puppy, which ran off to hide in the shadows.

Wan Qing frowned and opened the yard door. “What are you doing?”

Before she could finish, Bai An saw her being forcefully pulled out by someone grabbing her arm.

“Mom!”

A large group of people stood at their doorstep, each holding something. Wan Qing was grabbed by two people, standing in the middle. Hearing Bai An’s voice, the others looked up at her with hostile gazes.

“Your mom made a mistake and needs to come with us.”

Bai An rushed over to pull the dirty hands off Wan Qing, but as soon as she moved, someone came to block her.

“What did my mom do wrong? On what grounds are you taking her away?”

Wan Qing looked at Bai An, panicking as she said, “Bai An, don’t come over. Wait for Dad to come back.”

Bai An’s eyes turned red as she struggled hard, feeling distressed at the sight of Wan Qing being roughly held. “Why are you taking my mom!”

Tears fell one by one from her eyes, filling her heart with helplessness.

“Mom!”