Chapter 144: Dad, Give Me Money

When Cao Shujie returned home with the four dogs, it wasn’t even noon yet. He tied them up as usual. The little dog that had followed them back ran over to Daha and Erha again. Since it wasn’t barking or causing trouble, he decided to leave it alone and deal with it tomorrow.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, Cao Shujie was still half-asleep when he heard a burst of barking. Then came voices from outside.

“Old Cao, look at this. Whose little Pekingese is this? How did it end up at our place?”

“Where?” came Cao Jianguo’s voice.

He put down the broom in his hands and walked over to his wife. That’s when he noticed a new little dog beside Daha. It had white fur, though it was caked with dirt and looked filthy.

Maybe it had been woken up by Wang Yuelan, because it was now barking furiously at her.

Cao Jianguo wasn’t one to tolerate misbehaving dogs. He grabbed a nearby stick and raised it threateningly, shouting, “What are you barking at? Keep it up and I’ll beat you to death!”

Old Cao couldn’t stand disobedient dogs.

The little dog was actually intimidated by Cao Jianguo’s presence. For a few seconds, it didn’t dare make a sound. It stared at him with wide, innocent eyes, a hint of fear in its gaze.

But once that moment passed, it started barking even more frantically, as if to say, “I’m not afraid of you!”

The noise woke up Daha, Erha, and the others. Erha let out a grumpy “woof woof,” and the little dog immediately shut up, hiding behind Erha with a pitiful look.

In just that short moment, Cao Jianguo realized that the dirty little thing did resemble a Pekingese, but it was much skinnier, looking severely malnourished.

“Is this really a Pekingese? Why is it so scrawny?” he asked.

Wang Yuelan didn’t even bother replying properly. “It’s a stray. No one’s feeding it, of course it’s starving.”

Just as Cao Jianguo was about to retort, their son came out of the house.

“Dad, Mom, what kind of dog is this? I was half-asleep last night and didn’t really notice.”

“You brought it back?” Wang Yuelan finally realized where the little dog had come from.

Cao Shujie nodded. “Last night I took Daha and the others for a walk in the orchard. This little guy dug under the fence and got in. Daha and the others caught it.”

Cao Jianguo immediately picked up on the key issue. “Shujie, you’re saying it got in through a gap under the fence?”

“Yeah.” Cao Shujie nodded. “I checked the spot where it dug through. It’s not very big. The dog’s small enough to squeeze through.”

“Shujie, I think you need to reinforce that area too,” Cao Jianguo advised.

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that.” Cao Shujie hadn’t considered that part before.

In his previous life, he worked in research and had never personally managed farmland, so he hadn’t thought through all the practical details.

Wang Yuelan didn’t care what the father and son were discussing. She muttered, “Whose dog is this? It’s filthy.”

“No idea,” Cao Shujie said. “I’ll go shout over the loudspeaker later, see if anyone’s missing a dog. If no one claims it, we can just keep it as a pet.”

“Better than letting it wander around starving.”

“I’ll go wash it up then. When Mengmeng wakes up and sees it, she’s definitely going to want to play with it,” Wang Yuelan said.

She reached out to grab the dog, but Cao Shujie stopped her. “Mom, do we have any rubber gloves at home? I’ll wash it.”

He was worried the little dog might bite. Who knew what it had been exposed to while wandering outside?

Cao Shujie also decided that Mengmeng couldn’t touch the dog yet. They’d wait a while and see. If no one came to claim it, they’d keep it, but not until it had been vaccinated in a week or two.

Just as Wang Yuelan had predicted, when Mengmeng woke up and saw the white dog, she froze. It was small, and after a bath, its fluffy white fur made it look even cuter. The moment she laid eyes on it, she forgot all about Daha and Erha. She just wanted to cuddle the little white dog.

But Cao Shujie wouldn’t allow it. He knew his daughter didn’t know how to be gentle, so he put the little Pekingese in a dog crate to prevent direct contact.

Even so, Mengmeng was completely smitten. She squatted beside the crate, staring in.

Seeing the little dog looking listless, she thought it must be hungry.

“Little doggy, are you hungry? I’ll get you some food, okay?”

“And some meat too!”

With that, Mengmeng ran into the house. A short while later, she came back holding half a steamed bun in one hand and a meaty-looking pig’s trotter in the other. She squatted beside the crate and tossed the pig’s trotter through the bars.

The little Pekingese hadn’t had a proper meal in who knows how long. Even though there wasn’t much meat on the bone, the smell alone made it excited. It ran over and started gnawing enthusiastically.

Mengmeng beamed. “Don’t rush, little doggy. Take your time.”

She broke off a piece of the bun and tossed it through the bars too. The little dog immediately pounced on it and started eating.

Cheng Xiaolin watched with curiosity. “Shujie, where did this dog come from?”

“I took Daha and the others for a walk in the orchard last night. It crawled in through a gap under the fence. Daha and the others found it,” Cao Shujie explained briefly, and Cheng Xiaolin understood right away.

Her first reaction was, “Shujie, that means our orchard isn’t secure. We need to seal off the bottom.”

“How do you think we should do it?” he asked.

Cheng Xiaolin replied without hesitation, “Either dig a trench and pour concrete, or bury concrete slabs. I think slabs are better. Easier to install, and if we ever stop leasing the land, they’re easier to remove.”

“My wife is so smart. That’s exactly what I was thinking. I’ll ask Grandpa Zhenggang and the others if they’re up for it,” Cao Shujie said.

Cheng Xiaolin reminded him, “Shujie, this kind of simple job doesn’t need them. Just buy some concrete slabs—the kind used in drainage ditches. Fifty centimeters long, forty wide, thinner is fine. Get some villagers to dig a trench along the bottom of the wire mesh fence and bury the slabs. It’s not complicated.”

“Wife, you’re amazing!” Cao Shujie gave her a big thumbs-up.

Cheng Xiaolin smiled proudly, her eyebrows arching, though she modestly said, “It’s nothing.”

Cao Shujie was quick to act. Knowing there was a vulnerability in the orchard made him uneasy.

Since it wasn’t a busy farming season and there wasn’t much work in the fields, plenty of villagers were idle. He went to the village committee and shouted once, and over thirty people showed up with shovels, heading up the mountain to start digging the trench.

When Cao Shujie explained the task, the workers got right to it. With over thirty people working together, they finished digging everything in less than two days.

The large batch of concrete slabs Cao Shujie had ordered also arrived. They were laid into the dug trenches, sticking out slightly above ground level. The next step was simply to backfill the soil.

These concrete slabs were cheap. Including labor costs, the whole job only cost a little over thirty thousand yuan.

Before they knew it, November had arrived. A cold snap swept through, dropping temperatures into the single digits. Most people had already switched to wearing padded jackets and down coats.

“Daddy, it’s so cold.” Mengmeng was bundled up in a light purple down jacket, a pink fleece-lined hat on her head. Her little hands were stylishly tucked into her pockets as she strolled behind her father.

But her eyes never left the bag in Cao Shujie’s hand. She knew it was full of snacks he’d bought for her, and the thought made her giddy. Even as she complained about the cold, she broke into a trot to chase after him.

“Mengmeng, slow down. Take your hands out of your pockets or you’ll fall.” Cao Shujie was worried. If she tripped with her hands still in her pockets, her face would hit the ground directly.

That sweet little face of hers could get seriously hurt.

“Daddy, can I have a sausage?” Mengmeng asked in a coaxing tone, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on the bag.

When her dad didn’t respond, she piped up again, “A piece of bread is fine too. I’ll hold it myself and eat it.”

“Mengmeng, if you eat now, you’ll just be filling your tummy with cold air. Then your stomach will hurt. Let’s wait until we get home, okay?” Cao Shujie wasn’t falling for it.

But Mengmeng was too hungry to wait. Her little mouth kept chattering non-stop.

Seeing that her dad still wouldn’t give in, she asked, “Daddy, are sausages and bread yummy?”

“Are the cookies sweet?”

“Daddy, why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Daddy, let me tell you something. I really, really like you. You buy me toys, and you buy me snacks…”

Cao Shujie surrendered. He squatted down, scooped her up, and ran all the way home.

Once they were inside, he set her down and pulled a small bun from the bag, handing it to her. “Daddy doesn’t even know what flavor this is. You try it first.”

“Hehe!” Mengmeng grinned triumphantly.

Cao Shujie tapped her little nose. “Mengmeng, you did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

But Mengmeng was too busy munching on her bun to pay him any attention.

His wife, Cheng Xiaolin, saw the whole thing and scolded him, “Shujie, Mengmeng’s being silly, and you’re just as bad.”

“You don’t know anything,” Cao Shujie muttered, not even bothering to argue.

That earned him a glare from Cheng Xiaolin, who immediately chased after him, ready to give him a couple of slaps.

Luckily, Cao Shujie was quick on his feet. Otherwise, he’d have gotten smacked.

Seeing her dad run, Mengmeng took off after him too. When she saw him head into the bedroom and turn on the computer, she ran over and asked, “Daddy, what are you doing?”

“Daddy’s working for a bit, trying to earn some money for Mengmeng to spend. Sound good?” Cao Shujie grinned at her.

Mengmeng wasn’t fooled. “How much money are you gonna make, Daddy?”

“A whole lot. So much that Mengmeng will have endless snacks to eat.” Cao Shujie spread his arms wide in an exaggerated gesture.

This time, Mengmeng got it. She clapped her hands and jumped up and down. “Yay, yay!”

Once she calmed down, she held out her little hand in front of him. “Daddy, where’s the money? Give it to me, I’ll go buy snacks myself.”

Cao Shujie stared at her in surprise. “Do you even know what money is?” he thought.

Then he tore a piece of paper from a notebook nearby and handed it to her. “Here’s your money.”

But Mengmeng immediately pulled her hand back. “Hmph, Daddy’s lying. You think I’m dumb? This isn’t money.”

She turned and ran off. “I’m telling Mommy you lied to me!”

Cao Shujie was stunned. He hadn’t expected his little girl to be so sharp at such a young age.

He wanted to say a few more words to her, but before he could even open his mouth, she had already dashed off to the main hall to tattle to her mom.

A moment later, he heard his wife shouting, “Mengmeng, your daddy actually dared to lie to you? Let’s go give him a beating!”

“Let’s go, Mommy!” Mengmeng was all fired up.

The mother and daughter marched into the bedroom together. When they saw Cao Shujie staring at the computer screen, they couldn’t tell what he was doing. But Cheng Xiaolin noticed a gleam of excitement on her husband’s face.

“Shujie, what are you looking at?” she asked.

Cao Shujie pointed at the screen. “Look, honey. Bitcoin dropped again.”

Cheng Xiaolin’s face instantly darkened.

She couldn’t understand why her husband looked so thrilled about Bitcoin falling.

“Didn’t you buy some too? What’s the price now?” she asked.

Cao Shujie chuckled. “It dropped to under 14 yuan per coin. Dirt cheap.”

“You’re thinking of buying more, aren’t you?” Cheng Xiaolin could already guess what was on his mind.

Cao Shujie nodded. “I’m thinking of putting in another 100,000. Sell it off in a couple of years.”

“How much do we have left in our account?” she asked.

Without hesitation, Cao Shujie replied, “Our personal account still has over 700,000. This year we made 480,000, so we’ve got about 1.2 million in available funds.”

Then he started breaking down the expenses for her, one by one.

He and Cheng Xiaolin had kept their personal and loan accounts separate, so it was easy to track.

The biggest expense was the initial 500,000 spent on Bitcoin. The second largest was 300,000 on building and renovating the house.

The third major expense was about 70,000 on furniture, appliances, and other household items. The rest went toward daily living costs.

This year, they’d earned 480,000 from selling kiwi fruit and apples. That income was kept on a separate card, used to pay the monthly loan interest of over 3 million yuan. The monthly interest was nearly 7,000 yuan, enough to cover three years of payments.

Cheng Xiaolin looked at her husband and smiled. “You really do keep track of everything.”

“Of course. Every cent I spend, I report to you.” Cao Shujie’s old habit of sweet-talking kicked in. He leaned closer and whispered, “Even the money I spend on buying condoms, I keep track of.”

Obviously, he was joking. Cheng Xiaolin raised her foot and kicked him in the calf. “Shujie, stop talking nonsense.”

“Alright, alright, just messing around.” Cao Shujie waved it off and asked, “So, what do you think of my idea?”

“Do whatever you want. But are you sure this thing will work?” Cheng Xiaolin held up two fingers. “You said yourself, in two years, whether it works or not, you’re selling some. I still think it’s safer to have the cash in hand.”

“Got it!” Cao Shujie grinned mischievously.

(End of this chapter)