Chapter 17: Adults Make Choices, Mengmeng Wants Them All

“Now that you have time, and it’s also close, you have a car, which is convenient. Come over often in the future,” Aunt Meng Yanmei said.

Cheng Xiaolin nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Mengmeng saw that her great-aunt and mother were ignoring her, got angry, and walked towards the house, following the sound of dog barks. She wanted to see the dogs herself.

Cheng Xiaolin saw her daughter run off again. She really had a headache and quickly chased after her.

Meng Yanmei also reacted at this moment, took two quick steps, and led them to see the dogs.

In the courtyard, against the west wall, there was a simple dog kennel built with planks. As they got closer, they could hear short ‘oh…’ sounds coming from inside, sounding a bit like wolf howls.

This sound startled Mengmeng. She quickly hid behind her mother, her small hands clutching her mother’s clothes, but unable to resist her curiosity, she peeked into the dog kennel.

Meng Yanmei smiled at Mengmeng’s cute appearance. She waved to Mengmeng: “Mengmeng, come here, it’s okay.”

Mengmeng was still half-believing, half-doubting. Seeing this, Cheng Xiaolin led her to the dog kennel and held her in her arms. They saw that the inside of the kennel had been cleaned. The ground was covered with a large bag made from fertilizer sacks sewn together, and on top of that, a thick layer of old clothes.

A black and white husky was lying inside, and next to it were two smaller huskies, drinking milk.

They looked especially cute.

“Mengmeng, come quickly and take a look, only these two small ones are left,” Aunt Meng Yanmei said, pointing to the two small huskies in the kennel.

“Which one do you want?”

Mengmeng leaned out from her mother’s arms to look and found that the three dogs, one large and two small, were no longer barking. The large husky was staring at her, and even the two small ones turned their heads to stare at her, as if curious who this little one was.

The cute appearance of the two puppies made Mengmeng like them even more.

But the big dog was different. It looked especially like a wolf, with pointed ears standing erect and slightly narrowed eyes, which always made people feel a little afraid of it.

Cheng Xiaolin also walked up to the dog kennel and observed carefully. Only then did she notice that the eyes of these two small huskies were different colors: one was blue, and the other was brown. It was truly astonishing.

In addition to that, above the huskies’ eyes, there were three branching white hairs, forming a shape similar to small flames. They looked very special and also very cute.

The more Cheng Xiaolin looked, the more she liked them. She said to Aunt Meng Yanmei: “Aunt, these dogs are really beautiful, and they look gentle…”

But before she could finish, Meng Yanmei interrupted her: “Linlin, who told you that huskies are gentle?”

Meng Yanmei’s tone was full of suspicion. Could someone have tricked her niece-in-law?

Cheng Xiaolin was puzzled: “Aunt, aren’t they? I heard it from a former colleague.”

Meng Yanmei didn’t explain anymore and directly pulled Cheng Xiaolin and Mengmeng to a room on the east side.

Opening the door, she pointed to a worn fabric sofa inside and said to them: “Linlin, look at this sofa, the big dog did this to it.”

“If you really want to raise a husky, it’s best to buy solid wood furniture in the future, or simply tie it up in the yard and don’t let it into the house. Otherwise, it can tear your house apart,” Meng Yanmei said very seriously to her niece-in-law.

She couldn’t let her niece-in-law take the dog back without knowing what she was getting into. What if her niece-in-law didn’t know what kind of temperament huskies truly had, and later the dog ruined the house beyond recognition? What would they do then?

Cheng Xiaolin looked at the ruined sofa leaning against the wall, and the torn fabric and exposed foam on the sofa. She couldn’t help but fall into deep thought: “Did a husky really ruin this?”

Mengmeng didn’t care about this at all. Furniture could be ruined, as long as there were dogs.

Seeing that her great-aunt and mother were no longer looking at the dogs, she got anxious and pulled hard on her mother’s hand, trying to drag her out, shouting that she wanted to see the dogs.

Meng Yanmei saw her niece-in-law’s expression and knew that she probably didn’t understand much about raising dogs, let alone a maverick breed like the husky.

“Linlin, if you really want to raise one, you must tie it up after you take it back. Anyway, the yard at home is big enough, just don’t let it into the house,” Meng Yanmei repeatedly reminded her.

Hearing her aunt say this, Cheng Xiaolin suddenly realized. They were now in their hometown, not in an apartment building in Beijing. They could completely build a doghouse specifically for the dog in the yard, and there was no need to worry about the husky tearing up the house.

Thinking of this, Cheng Xiaolin returned to the dog kennel with her daughter in her arms. Looking at the two puppies inside, she asked her daughter: “Mengmeng, which one do you want?”

Mengmeng saw the two small huskies in the kennel with different colored eyes. They both seemed quite cute.

She pointed to one, then pointed to the other. After a while, Mengmeng became even more conflicted. Which one should she choose? It was so hard to make a choice.

Aunt Meng Yanmei said: “Originally, there were 5 born. The other 3 were taken by neighbors, so only these 2 are left. Mengmeng, which one do you like? Just take it.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Mengmeng pointed at the two small huskies and said: “Great-aunt, want, want.”

“Uh, you want both?” Meng Yanmei wasn’t sure if the little one meant that.

Cheng Xiaolin also told her off: “Mengmeng, one is enough, you’re the one raising it!”

“Want, want!” Mengmeng got anxious and wriggled hard in her mother’s arms.

She then pointed at the two small huskies again, extended both her small hands, clearly indicating that she wanted both.

This made Cheng Xiaolin think of a saying: “Adults make choices, children want them all!”

“Mengmeng, how can you be so greedy? If you don’t listen, I won’t want you anymore…” Cheng Xiaolin tried to scare her.

But it was completely useless. Mengmeng didn’t fall for that trick. Seeing that Dad, Grandmother, and Great-Uncle had come in, she broke free from her mother again and ran towards her father: “Dad, want doggies, little doggies.”

“Pretty!”

Hearing his daughter say this, Cao Shujie hadn’t yet understood what was going on when Aunt Meng Yanmei said: “If Mengmeng wants them, just take them all. I was going to give them away anyway. They’re all for Mengmeng.”

Hearing Meng Yanmei say this, Cheng Xiaolin said: “Aunt, that won’t do. You should keep one for someone else…”

Before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by Meng Yanmei again: “What’s wrong with it? After dinner, I’ll have your uncle put the dogs in a box for you to take.”

Cao Shujie now understood what was going on. He glanced into the dog kennel, only to find that there were only two puppies left inside.

If both of these puppies were taken by them, then his uncle’s family wouldn’t have any.

He brought this up, who knew his uncle said: “If you want them, just take them all. I’m already annoyed enough raising this big one.”

His uncle added: “If you don’t mind the mess, take the big one too.”

That won’t do, a gentleman doesn’t take what others love!

After having dinner at his uncle’s house that evening, Cao Shujie and the others returned. Compared to when they left, when they came back, there were two more small huskies in the car’s trunk.

Mengmeng was very excited the whole way. She was thinking of seeing the puppies soon.

On the way back, Cheng Xiaolin also told her husband and mother-in-law: “Shujie, Mom, Aunt said that huskies have a strong destructive urge, so they can’t be let into the house in the future.”

“Shujie, tell Grandpa Zhenggang to build a doghouse for them in our yard. It’s best to make it a bit big, because the cats and rabbits will also live there!”

“Okay!” Cao Shujie agreed.

(End of this chapter)