Chapter 49: The Moving Bag

Chapter 49: The Moving Bag

The car drove along a smooth road; the entire journey from the city to the hometown took about an hour.

Qiaoqiao had long since finished everything he had ordered for lunch, especially fond of the egg tarts, red bean pies, and fried chicken wings. At this moment, he was buried in play, happily occupied with his little duck toy that went *click-clack* as it flapped its wings.

As he grew older, his family would unconsciously treat him like an adult most of the time.

But his heart was still stuck at the age of five or six.

Although his family still spoke to him in a tone used to coax children, toys were something Qiaoqiao hadn't possessed for many years, as the village children had also gradually grown up and drifted away.

His only joy was watching cartoons.

If Song Tan had not experienced this transformation, he would likely have spent his whole life rooted in this mountain village, blankly watching his cartoons until his parents grew old.

Perhaps he would slowly learn to cook simple meals in the future, but looking at him, Song Tan couldn't help but want to bring him more happiness.

"Qiaoqiao, once the vegetables are all sold, I'll take you to the amusement park in Ningcheng."

Their city was too small; children could at most go to a park to play on a few simple pieces of equipment. But those facilities were truly aged, and Song Tan still felt uneasy about them.

Ningcheng was, after all, a provincial capital with complete infrastructure and large amusement parks, including water and aerial attractions, enough to keep him happy for an entire day.

Qiaoqiao turned his head and asked curiously, "What is an amusement park?"

Song Tan thought for a moment. "It's a place with lots of people and lots of fun things, where you can play all day long!"

Qiaoqiao became joyful. "Really? When are we going?"

Song Tan thought it over. "The Chinese knotweed can still be sold for about ten more days. Once it's sold out, I'll take you!"

Driving to Ningcheng only took four hours. She no longer had to worry about her energy levels; she just needed to set aside one day.

The farming season was too busy, with something to do every single day. But Qiaoqiao's happiness was precious, and Song Tan was unwilling to give it up.

Qiaoqiao went out frequently now and knew more things; he asked, "Then can we eat this when we go?"

He shook his little duck. "There are four different ones printed on the box, but I only have one."

It was evident that what conquered children was not just delicious food, but also these damn marketing gimmicks.

Song Tan muttered helplessly, "You certainly eat heartily."

Boys have large appetites, and as he was gradually starting to do farm work, his energy consumption was even greater. He hadn't left a single scrap of his lunch.

As for Song Tan...

Since she was driving, she only ate the top and bottom buns of the burgers Qiaoqiao had picked out for her. It had to be said, eating outside food was quite a struggle.

As her spiritual energy deepened, her palate would become increasingly picky. Would she have to bring a lunch box next time she went out?

As they were talking, Qiaoqiao suddenly pointed to the roadside

"It's moving."

What?

Song Tan looked over and saw a large black cloth bag in the roadside grass. The rope at the top was tied tightly, and something inside was constantly wriggling.

She pricked up her ears and faintly heard whimpering sounds. Thus, she stopped the car. "Let's go take a look."

Qiaoqiao hurried out of the car, but after tugging at the bag for a long time, he ultimately only managed to bring the entire cloth bag back.

"Sister, I can't open it."

The plastic rope had been wound several times and tied into a dead knot; it was normal that it couldn't be undone.

Song Tan took out a small knife and made a cut. Even though she was mentally prepared, she couldn't help but curse at the sight. "What on earth is this!"

It was three little puppies.

Two were yellow and one was black. Each was only slightly larger than a palm, and their bodies were furry. Their eyes were bright and black as they whimpered and crawled toward them.

From the look of it, they could barely even stand.

Qiaoqiao was also stunned, letting out a spontaneous cheer, "Puppies!"

But then he looked at the bag beside him and asked in confusion, "If it's tied so tight, how will the puppies get out?"

Indeed, using a sturdy cloth bag and tying it so tightly was clearly leaving these dogs no way to survive.

This was a remote road; aside from a few passing vehicles, no pedestrians would stop here.

Song Tan knew that in the village, there was no habit of spaying or neutering animals. Sometimes, when cats or dogs had litters, people would choose to throw them away. To prevent the animals from remembering the way back, they would be put in bags and thrown far away.

But ordinary people wouldn't throw away dogs in this manner.

The three puppies in the cloth bag were still crawling, constantly nudging Qiaoqiao's hand with their noses, making whimpering sounds—they were likely hungry.

She took a deep breath. With a flick of her fingertip, an invisible stream of spiritual energy washed over the skin of the three dogs, killing any potential lice or insect eggs.

After all, Qiaoqiao looked like he truly didn't want to let go, and they didn't have any deworming medicine on hand.

Then, she placed the cloth bag on Qiaoqiao's lap. "Qiaoqiao can take these three little puppies home to raise, but you have to hold them properly first. Can you do that?"

Qiaoqiao quickly hugged the bag and made a heavy promise

"Qiaoqiao definitely can!"

Then he became depressed again. "But Mama won't let me raise them."

Song Tan knew.

Wulan shared the same mindset as most people in the village: if you raise cats or dogs, you need them to guard the house; if they can't do that, there's no point.

But once you raise cats or dogs, you develop feelings for them over time. Setting aside dog thieves, what if they get injured, sick, or pregnant...

Making them spend money was absolutely out of the question; they knew all too well how hard it was to earn money.

But not spending money didn't mean they didn't feel bad either.

It was just that at their age, everything seemed to be treated lightly.

But treating things lightly didn't mean there were no emotions.

Wulan's method was: to prevent future heartache, simply don't raise them in the first place.

But as for now...

"It's okay!" Song Tan promised firmly. "Aren't we going to raise pigs and then chickens and ducks too? We need little puppies to watch over them. Go back and coax her well. Our Qiaoqiao is such a good boy and works so hard; Mama will agree."

Qiaoqiao blinked, not quite understanding how to coax her, but looking down at the whimpering, soft, warm, and furry bundle of puppies on his lap, he made up his mind—

He could definitely do it!

Song Tan smiled. "These three puppies were found by Qiaoqiao, so from now on, Qiaoqiao will be responsible for taking care of their lives!"

Qiaoqiao was stunned. "I can feed them every day!"

Song Tan shook her head, her expression serious

"That won't work. The things you feed them are the family's grain and money; you can't just use them recklessly."

Qiaoqiao was dazed.

After a moment, he thought of another way. "Then Qiaoqiao will share his own food with them."

Song Tan thought about it. "That's not impossible, but they won't eat much when they are small. Once they get a bit bigger, their combined appetite will be like little pigs. How many bowls of rice does Qiaoqiao eat every day?"

Qiaoqiao counted, and then became depressed again.

"Then can I not afford to raise the puppies?"

Song Tan shook her head. "How about this: every time Qiaoqiao helps with work at home, Sister will pay you a salary—helping sell vegetables or carrying baskets, 50 yuan per time."

"Working in the fields, 50 yuan for half a day."

"I will keep this money for you and keep a ledger. Whenever you want to buy something for yourself or for the puppies, you can come to me for the money."

"But once the money is spent and there is no more work to do at home, you won't have an income, and the puppies will have to go hungry."

Time to collect names for the puppies!

(End of Chapter)