Chapter 13: Daughter’s Little Pet

Cao Shujie suspected he had encountered a nest of stupid rabbits today. After catching the first one, he set up a simple trap on the spot and waited for another half an hour, surprisingly catching two more.

He was speechless. Did the rabbits have water in their brains? There were already missing members in their family, didn’t they know to be more vigilant? Didn’t they know that pies don’t fall from the sky?

“Serves them right!”

The happiest was Mengmeng. She pointed at one of the little grey rabbits and insisted on a hug.

Cheng Xiaolin looked again and again, and finally said, “Husband, this one is about the same size as the one we saw this morning.”

Cao Shujie looked around. He was now sure that there was indeed a rabbit den in this area, but he still didn’t know where it was.

“Never mind, let’s stop with these three today. We can’t wipe them all out,” Cao Shujie said. “We’ll come back another day if we want to eat them.”

Mengmeng didn’t consider this at all. She bounced towards her dad, asking for the little grey rabbit, but Cao Shujie didn’t agree: “Mengmeng, it’s too dirty right now. We’ll wash it clean when we get home, then you can play with it. Otherwise, if it has bugs on it, they’ll crawl into your body, and then you’ll have a stomachache and need an injection.”

As soon as she heard about injections, Mengmeng was so scared that she quickly ran into her mother’s arms. But she kept glancing at the little grey rabbit, clearly not having given up yet.

Since they were already here, he let his wife watch their daughter, and Cao Shujie went up the mountain along the small path to check on the fruit trees.

He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but he felt the leaves seemed a bit greener and looked more vibrant. When he got closer, he seemed to hear the fruit trees whispering and cheering.

“Alright, you guys grow hard. When you bear fruit, I’ll sell the fruit to make money, and then I’ll give you even better nutrient solution!” Cao Shujie said something that was quite a buzzkill.

…

When he rode his bike back home with his wife and daughter, his mother Wang Yuelan hadn’t started preparing dinner yet.

She saw her son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter return, and wondered, “You’re back so soon?”

“Grandmother, look!” Mengmeng, ahead of her parents, pointed at the iron cage in the cart: “Little bunnies, so many!”

She gestured with her hands, her eyes wide, and two small dimples appeared on her cheeks. Wang Yuelan was very cooperative, and said with a smile, “Let me see.”

After seeing the three rabbits in the cage, two large and one small, she was indeed surprised: “How did you catch so many?”

“Mom, we probably stumbled upon a rabbit den. I’ll get a dog another day and go look for more,” Cao Shujie said.

He now urgently wanted to get a good dog to play with.

As soon as Mengmeng heard ‘dog’, her little eyes lit up even more: “Doggy, Daddy, doggy.”

“Okay, Daddy will ask around to find out where there are good dogs, and then we’ll go get one, alright?” Cao Shujie said.

“Mm-hmm!” Mengmeng nodded her cute little head, and smiled very happily.

The two rabbits were not very plump. Cao Shujie personally handled them, and stewed them in a pot with pork ribs for dinner.

The remaining little grey rabbit was given two baths with soap, and then placed in a large cardboard box for Mengmeng to play with.

You know, Mengmeng was really brave. She wasn’t scared at all. With one hand holding onto the cardboard box, she reached in with the other hand and stroked the rabbit’s back: “Hehe, little bunny, good baby, sleep tight.”

She was quite smart.

But just stroking the rabbit’s fur wasn’t enough. She also pointed at the little grey rabbit and shouted to her mother: “Mommy, hug!”

Cheng Xiaolin was really afraid her daughter would be too rough. Besides, this was a wild rabbit, not a domesticated one. If it got anxious, it would really bite, so she didn’t dare let her daughter hold it and play.

“Mengmeng, not now. You can stroke the little bunny more. Wait until you’re familiar with her, then you can hold her and play,” Cheng Xiaolin patiently reasoned with her daughter.

Mengmeng didn’t understand: “Why?”

Cheng Xiaolin saw that explaining it to her daughter wasn’t working, so she decided to demonstrate directly.

She reached her hand in, just about to pick up the little rabbit, who knew that the little grey rabbit immediately lifted its head and bit towards Cheng Xiaolin’s finger.

Fortunately, Cheng Xiaolin reacted quickly, and swiftly pulled her hand out, so she wasn’t bitten.

But this scene still startled Mengmeng, who had been watching.

She quickly ran to her mother’s side, wanting to see her mother’s hand, and her little mouth was still shouting: “Aiyoyoyo!”

This was what Cheng Xiaolin had taught her. Mengmeng was too young to express where she felt uncomfortable. When she felt unwell somewhere, she would point and say ‘aiyoyoyo’.

…

Two days passed in a flash. March was almost over, but the fluctuating temperatures were very unfriendly to young children.

Mengmeng was just like that. Constantly changing between thick and thin clothes, she ultimately couldn’t withstand the temperature changes and caught a cold.

She had been coughing non-stop since waking up this morning. Cheng Xiaolin quickly rummaged through the medicine reserve box and gave her some cough medicine bought previously.

Wang Yuelan knew her granddaughter had a cold, and felt extremely distressed.

Seeing her granddaughter looking a bit listless, she felt even more heartbroken: “Mengmeng, where else do you feel uncomfortable?”

“Grandmother!” Mengmeng felt very dizzy, pouting her little mouth, feeling very wronged.

“Oh, Mengmeng, tell Grandmother, what do you want to eat?” Wang Yuelan asked her.

But Mengmeng didn’t want to eat anything at all right now. Cheng Xiaolin told her mother-in-law: “Mom, could you make some millet porridge, a bit thick?”

“Okay, we still have a bag of red dates at home. They’re very sweet, should I put a few in?” Wang Yuelan mentioned.

Cheng Xiaolin heard this, and quickly said: “Mom, please don’t put them in. Sweet things are more likely to trigger coughing.”

“Okay, I’ll go make the millet porridge now.” Wang Yuelan went to get busy.

Cao Shujie wasn’t home. He had woken up early and gone On the Mountain to check on the growth of the fruit trees.

Two days had passed since the last spraying of nutrient solution. He wanted to see how effective it was.

On the Mountain in the early morning, the temperature was lower, but the air was very good. Taking a breath felt cool to the lungs, and his whole body felt very comfortable.

Cao Shujie looked at each tree, one by one. He wanted to see what different changes would occur in the fruit trees that were originally growing well and those that were malnourished after absorbing the nutrient solution.

Facts proved that the principle of ‘the strong remain strong’ also applied in the plant kingdom.

The fruit trees that were originally growing well, after absorbing the nutrient solution, had visibly greener leaves, looking vibrant and pleasing.

As for those that were malnourished, they now seemed to have drunk a revitalizing tonic, and had a second spring (a resurgence of vitality).

“Good, very good!” Cao Shujie was very satisfied.

Thinking of his little darling at home who had been coughing non-stop when she woke up this morning, he didn’t linger any longer. He came down On the Mountain, and immediately headed home.

Just as he reached the foot of the mountain, Cao Shujie heard a series of ‘meow, meow’ sounds, sounding weak and listless, as if it hadn’t eaten for days.

He looked in the direction of the sound, and saw a very familiar figure.

“Hmm? Isn’t this the little wild cat that used to be in the old courtyard?” Cao Shujie wondered.

He walked closer, and seeing the wary look the little wild cat displayed as he approached, Cao Shujie rubbed his nose, feeling a bit depressed.

“Why are you here?” Cao Shujie asked it foolishly.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he was speechless with himself, and then said: “Is it because my house was torn down and rebuilt, and you have nowhere to go?”

“Meow!”

The little wild cat didn’t know if it understood, but it suddenly let out a fierce meow at Cao Shujie.

“Oh, you occupied my courtyard, and now you’re justified?” Cao Shujie complained.

But the little wild cat’s spirit was indeed low. After meowing twice, its energy seemed to vanish, and it lay listlessly on the ground again.

In the past, Cao Shujie definitely wouldn’t have bothered with it, and might even have used a stone to scare it away.

But at this moment, looking at the listless little wild cat, Cao Shujie immediately thought of his daughter’s uncomfortable coughing from her cold when he left home this morning.

Both were so pitiful!

“Little fellow, do you have a mom and dad? If not, come with me. How about being a pet for my daughter?” Cao Shujie said to it.

The little wild cat kept staring at Cao Shujie, and let out a weak ‘meow’.

Cao Shujie was overjoyed: “Did you agree?”

“Alright, I’ll take that as a yes. Come with me. I’ll find you someone to spoil you rotten,” he said, unable to contain his joy.

He thought that since his daughter loved cats and dogs so much, after seeing this little wild cat, her cold might just get better instantly.

(End of this chapter)