Chapter 71: Walking the Dogs with My Daughter

After resting at the hospital for a bit, they got home before nine.

By then, the rain had mostly let up, looking like it might stop at any moment.

After parking the car, Cao Shujie and his mother helped his father into the bedroom and laid him down, even propping up his right leg with a small quilt. “Dad, try not to move your right leg around too much.”

“Alright, I know. Go get some rest,” Cao Jianguo urged his son.

From the time he went up the mountain around two in the morning until now, his son had been running around nonstop—taking care of him, handling everything. He hadn’t had a break.

“Okay, I really do need to get some sleep.”

Now that everything had finally settled down, exhaustion and sleepiness hit him all at once. Cao Shujie couldn’t hold on any longer—his eyelids kept drooping.

Mengmeng wanted to play with her dad when she saw him, but when Cheng Xiaolin heard what her husband said, she immediately pulled Mengmeng aside.

“Mengmeng, your daddy hasn’t slept all night. He needs to take a nap now, okay? Let’s not bother him,” Cheng Xiaolin said.

Hearing that, Mengmeng instantly became obedient. She nodded gently. “Okay, Daddy sleep-sleep.”

“You’re such a good girl!” Cheng Xiaolin praised her sincerely.

Mengmeng beamed and giggled, “I sleep-sleep too.”

“You already slept all night, and you still want more?” Cheng Xiaolin tapped her daughter’s forehead playfully. “Are you a little piggy?”

Mengmeng didn’t like being teased. She started running in circles around Cheng Xiaolin, spinning her mom until she was dizzy, while Mengmeng herself was having a blast.

Cao Shujie fell into a deep sleep, dreamless, and didn’t wake up until after two in the afternoon.

He hadn’t eaten anything all day, and carrying his father had drained a lot of his energy. Now, hunger surged through him like a wave, stomach acid gnawing at his insides—it was unbearable.

As soon as he opened his eyes and turned his head, he saw a familiar little figure sitting beside his pillow. Then came a crisp, bell-like laugh: “Mommy, look! Daddy’s awake!”

Cheng Xiaolin, who had been sitting in a chair nearby, quickly got up and walked to the bed, only to see her husband staring at her with wide eyes.

“Wife, is there anything to eat? I’m starving,” Cao Shujie said, frowning.

Looking closely, she could see his lips were dry and cracked, even peeling. Cheng Xiaolin’s fingers itched with the urge to peel the skin off for him.

“There is—Mengmeng’s cookies. Want some?” she said, already heading off to get them.

Mengmeng, still sitting on her mom’s pillow, turned to look at her dad. Her tiny hands reached out toward his face. “Daddy, eat.”

“Alright!” Cao Shujie nodded.

After munching on a few of his daughter’s cream cookies and drinking a glass of warm water, his stomach finally started to settle.

“Wife, how’s Mengmeng’s grandfather doing now?” Cao Shujie still couldn’t help but worry.

Cheng Xiaolin reassured him, “Dad’s still asleep. Mom said he’s resting really well. Don’t worry.”

“Oh, then I’ll go grab a bite to eat first. Later I’ll swing by the orchard. With all that rain, I wonder if the water’s draining properly. If the roots get soaked too long, it’ll be a disaster,” Cao Shujie said, concern creeping back in.

Before he could finish, Cheng Xiaolin shook her head. “Don’t bother. Mom already checked it out this morning. There’s no water pooling on the mountain—it’s all good.”

“Daddy, play!” Mengmeng shouted.

Cao Shujie picked her up and carried her out into the courtyard.

After the heavy rain, the old locust tree in the yard looked freshly washed, its leaves gleaming bright and clean.

Even the air felt fresher than usual. He took a deep breath, and a cool, refreshing sensation spread through his whole body.

Daha and Erha were lively again. The two husky brothers had been terrified by the storm last night, trembling in their kennel the whole time. But now that the wind and rain had passed, they were back to their usual goofy selves.

When they saw Cao Shujie and Mengmeng, Daha let out a cheerful “Awoo!” from inside the kennel.

Mengmeng whipped her head around toward the kennel, pointed, and shouted, “Daddy, let the dogs out!”

“Your wish is my command!” Cao Shujie replied dramatically.

He figured he hadn’t walked the dogs yet today anyway—might as well take them out for a stroll to burn off some energy before they wreck the house.

“Mengmeng, let’s go walk the dogs,” he said to his daughter.

Her eyes lit up instantly. “Yay!”

When she saw her dad open the kennel and leash up Daha and Erha, Mengmeng rushed over, trying to grab the leashes herself.

But the two huskies, after being cooped up and scared all night, were now full of pent-up energy. They were wild—twisting their wolf-like heads this way and that, trying to bite anything in sight.

Cao Shujie wasn’t paying close attention and didn’t grip the leash tightly enough. Daha broke free and dashed over to a chair, scratching and biting at it like it had murdered his entire family.

In no time, the chair was covered in fresh claw marks. Cao Shujie stared, dumbfounded. This dog was seriously something else.

Of all the things it could do, why destroy furniture?

He glared and shouted, “Daha! You looking for a beating?!”

Normally, that would’ve worked. But not this time. Daha was still lost in his own little world. When Cao Shujie walked over and raised a foot to kick him, Daha barked at him like crazy.

“Well, well, Daha. You’ve got some nerve, huh? Barking at me? Looks like your dog guts are getting fat,” Cao Shujie muttered.

He kicked, and the blow landed. Daha finally realized the difference in strength between them and snapped out of it, quickly dodging away.

After telling his wife, Cao Shujie headed out with Mengmeng, leading Daha and Erha.

Little Wild Cat Huahua watched them from the rooftop as father and daughter walked off with their two huskies. It even let out a soft “meow.”

Right now, it was sunbathing on the roof, too lazy to move.

After the heavy rain, the sun was back in the sky, and the little wild cat was thoroughly enjoying the comfort.

…

Cao Shujie and his daughter were strolling down the main street of Cao Family Village, holding the leashes of Daha and Erha, when they ran into Cao Jianfang. Before they even got close, he called out, “Shujie, come here for a second.”

“Uncle Jianfang, do you need something?” Cao Shujie walked over with his daughter, and even had Mengmeng call out, “Grandfather.”

“Aww, what a sweet kid,” Cao Jianfang praised Mengmeng, making the little girl beam with joy, her eyes darting around in delight.

Then he asked, “Shujie, I heard your dad broke his leg and can’t even get out of bed. Is it really that bad?”

“Uncle Jianfang, who told you that? My dad just twisted his ankle, no fracture. But yeah, it’s a bad sprain, so he’ll need to stay in bed for a while,” Cao Shujie replied, feeling a bit annoyed. Who was spreading nonsense about his dad?

Cao Jianfang shook his head when he heard that. “I knew it couldn’t be true. Your dad’s built like an ox—how could he possibly break a bone from a fall?”

After saying that, he muttered to himself, “I’ll bring over some eggs later and check in on him.”

(The End of This Chapter)