Chapter 36: Even the Dogs Have Gained Spirit Powers

“Squash it and throw it in the trash…”

The little stray cat glared angrily down at Daha from the rooftop, while Daha bared its teeth back from the ground. At the same time, they both averted their hostile gazes, turned away nonchalantly, and swayed their butts as they walked off.

They weren’t stupid—staying any longer would be a matter of life and death.

Mengmeng didn’t notice her mom’s anger. Seeing that both Daha and the little wild cat Huahua had walked away, she angrily pulled her right hand back and grabbed Daha’s leash tightly, not letting it leave.

But Daha, intimidated by its mistress Cheng Xiaolin’s lethal aura, didn’t dare linger. It just wanted to run somewhere safe.

Yet the leash was gripped tightly in Mengmeng’s hand. When it tried to run, the collar choked its neck, making it hard to breathe.

Daha was still too small and no match for Mengmeng’s strength. It couldn’t move forward, and terrified that Cheng Xiaolin really might “squash it,” it simply flopped to its side, lay down, stuck out its tongue, rolled its eyes, and played dead!

“Daha!” Mengmeng ran over. Standing in front of the pup, she called out once. Daha blinked but gave no other response.

“Daha…”

Still no reaction. Mengmeng pursed her lips and turned to Cheng Xiaolin with a wronged expression: “Mom, Daha’s dead.”

“Is that so? Let me take a look.” Cheng Xiaolin looked rather excited.

She muttered, “Lamb is tender and juicy… This little mutt should be just as good, right? If not, we’ll add a dish for Grandpa and Dad tonight.”

“Awooo!”

Daha didn’t understand human language, but it could feel an overwhelming malice. In its dog brain, it cursed both women—neither of them was any good.

As Cheng Xiaolin approached, her scent—thick with cosmetics—was just inches away. Daha was terrified and no longer dared to play dead. It rolled over and howled loudly at her.

Nearby, Erha, who had been observing a little wild rabbit in its cage, finally remembered its older brother. It turned its head to see Daha glaring at Cheng Xiaolin.

Erha immediately lay flat on the ground and pretended not to see!

It was probably thinking: “Big bro’s got no brain. I can’t be that dumb. If I upset Mengmeng, I might just get tormented for a while. But if I upset Cheng Xiaolin, I’m done for!”

“Big bro’s probably a goner!”

“Heehee, Daha!” Mengmeng cheered up seeing that Daha was alive again.

She didn’t care about the standoff between Daha and her mom. She squatted down and scooped up the pup: “Daha, let’s go play.”

Swaying unsteadily, she carried Daha toward the door while exclaiming, “Daha, you’re so heavy.”

“Owwuuu…” came a low howl from behind. Erha, still lying on the ground, turned its head and saw its brother being carried off by Mengmeng. Jealousy surged.

It couldn’t help barking once, trying to remind Mengmeng not to be so biased—she should carry it too!

When Mengmeng didn’t turn back, Erha stopped sulking and got up to chase after them.

Cheng Xiaolin watched all this and commented, “These two mutts are way too clever.”

She didn’t dare let her daughter play outside alone, so she followed them out.

To the east of the main gate was a patch of flattened ground where Mengmeng and the two little huskies were playing.

Not far away, a slightly older boy stumbled out of an alley. When he saw them, he waddled over, pointed at the huskies, and shouted, “Puppy!”

Cute little dogs were universally adored by kids.

His mom followed shortly behind. When Cheng Xiaolin saw her, she smiled and called out, “Sister Qian, watching the kid?”

The woman was Ma Wenqian. Upon seeing Cheng Xiaolin, she smiled and greeted, “Kaikai couldn’t stay home. He insisted on coming out to play.”

They were neighbors of Cao Shujie’s family—not too far away. If anything came up, they often helped each other out.

“Is Brother Chao home?” Cheng Xiaolin asked.

Ma Wenqian shook her head. “Your brother went into the county. We’ve finished tending to all the fruit trees, so he went to the county to find work and earn a bit more.”

“Just sitting around at home isn’t really an option,” she added, then chuckled. “If Kaikai’s dad were even half as capable as Shujie, I wouldn’t care if he stayed home all day.”

At this moment, her eyes were full of envy.

“Oh come on, you’re being too modest.”

But before Cheng Xiaolin could finish, Ma Wenqian said, “Modest my foot! The whole village is saying it—your Shujie makes three to four hundred thousand yuan a year! Oh my goodness, I can’t even imagine that.”

Cheng Xiaolin laughed it off and didn’t continue the topic.

…

That evening, when her husband came home, Cheng Xiaolin told him about it: “Honey, you’re kind of famous in the village now.”

“Eh, ignore them. It’ll quiet down in a few days.” Cao Shujie didn’t care much.

Cheng Xiaolin knew that too—public attention has a shelf life. Eventually, people get used to it and stop paying attention.

She asked, “The house should be done in the next couple of days, right? Did the well-driller come today?”

“No, he said he’ll come tomorrow.” Yesterday, Cao Shujie had been busy dealing with Ma Changrong and Song Zhichao and forgot all about the well-drilling.

It wasn’t until this morning that he remembered. When he noticed Han Dingping still hadn’t shown up, he called him and found out he’d had a family issue that delayed him. He’d come tomorrow.

Cao Jianguo came home on his motorcycle, his weathered face lit with joy.

His son had become a village celebrity. When people saw him, they’d shower him with praise—say he taught his son well and raised him right.

They’d say that what Shujie achieved at home was better than making 300,000 yuan working away.

Cao Jianguo felt so sweet inside, like he’d eaten honey. It felt great!

But when he got home and saw his son, he tamped down his joy: “Shujie, keep a low profile. No more talking about money out loud.”

Cao Shujie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he made a note of it. From now on, he wouldn’t mention money around others.

…

What Cao Shujie didn’t expect was that Han Dingping showed up before dawn the next day.

When he got the call, he thought he’d overslept, but a glance at the clock showed it was just after five.

“Calling this early?” he muttered, then hung up, dressed quickly, and stepped outside to return the call.

“Boss Han, what time did you arrive?” he asked.

Han Dingping replied, “Mr. Cao, I’m already in your village. Are you free now? Let’s go check out the mountain.”

Cao Shujie didn’t even know what to say.

That mountain well was definitely reserved for you—why are you working so hard for it?

“Alright, where exactly are you? I’ll come find you,” he asked.

When Han Dingping said he was at the north entrance of Cao Family Village, Cao Shujie rode his electric scooter over.

Seeing Han Dingping, Cao Shujie suddenly understood why he’d come so early.

Tanned skin, lean build, but with sharp, bright eyes—he was clearly a doer.

(End of Chapter)