Chapter 32: New Year, New Atmosphere (2)

  "Alas, it's indeed true that animals are more loyal than humans!..." Old Mountain Uncle and Cuihua Aunt exchanged a glance, thinking of the extreme relatives of Daxia's family, who were not as good as these two small dogs they had raised for less than a few months.

  "Big Brother, Second Sister, you guys quickly find something for Guai Guai and Du Du to eat! They've been running back to your house since you came to the county, lying in the yard, not eating or drinking. My dad and mom tried to coax them but it didn't work, so they had no choice but to come find you. I reckon Guai Guai and Du Du thought you guys left and didn't want them anymore!" Little Shan said with a bit of shyness and concern while hugging Bei Bei.

  "What?! We've been in the county for two days, won't Jiaojiao and Dudu have gone hungry for two days already?" Da Tou and Er Ya felt regretful and worried in their hearts.

  Xiao Shan nodded, and Da Shan Bo Bo and Cui Hua Da Niang also had a worried look on their faces. Seeing Lin Chun walking quickly towards them, they felt somewhat embarrassed that the three of them couldn't even take care of two dogs properly.

  Lin Chunyi's heart skipped a beat as soon as he heard Xiaoyue say that Jiao and Du had not eaten for two days. He walked forward, gently stroking the heads of Jiao and Du in Dabao and Er Ya's arms, his eyes filled with warmth. Seeing Shi Qi following him, "Ah Qi, would you please take Dabao and Er Ya to the kitchen to see if there is any leftover rice? Ask the kitchen auntie to cook it into porridge, let Jiao and Du eat some first to warm their stomachs, and we'll feed them something else later. I'll bring Dashan Bo and his family to pay respects to Father and Mother, okay?" After all, she wasn't a proper young lady of the Shi family, so she tried to get approval before doing anything. Although Mrs. Shi treated her better than her own children, and the third son and daughter-in-law were very fond of her three siblings, she couldn't be arrogant just because she was favored. She knew that she had to understand the rules and etiquette.

  "Sister, don't be polite with me. Mother said that since you were taken in as a foster daughter by Father and Mother, you are now Miss Shi of the Shi family. So I am your younger brother, just like Da Tou. Don't worry about this little thing. Besides, I also love those two little dogs, Gege and Dudu. Before, I only heard Uncle Yeshi talk about them when he came back from your house, and later I heard Da Tou and Er Ya talk about them too. Today, I finally get to see them, and I want to play with them properly. Why don't we let Xiao Shan and Bei Bei come along with us? You can take Da Shan Bo and Cui Hua Niang to meet Father and Mother instead?" Shi Qi's eyes shone brightly as she gazed at Da Tou, Er Ya, and the dogs in Xiao Shan's arms, eager to go forward and hug them tightly.

  "This young master is still young, I'm afraid he doesn't understand things, and disturbing the young master will not be pleasant. It's better..." Cuihua Dama was somewhat worried, after all, the village children were different from the young masters of wealthy families. Although the Shi family treated Lin Chun and her brother well, it didn't mean that Xiao Shan could also disregard etiquette and rules."

  "It's all right, don't worry, Aunt Cuihua. You and Uncle Dashan go see my parents first, we'll all have lunch at my place today. We can let Xiaoshan meet them during lunch. Now, let's go to the kitchen and tell the cooks to make some more delicious dishes..." Shi Qi said as she pulled Xiaoshan along and ran off, with Da Tou and Er Ya following after seeing Lin Chun nod in agreement.

  "Don't worry, Mrs. Cuihua, this Third Young Master of the Shi family is already a few years older than Dage and has been studying for several years, he's very polite and has his own ideas, it's not easy to get him to take time off during the New Year holiday, these past few days he's been playing with Dage and Er Ya, now that Xiaoshan has joined in, let them play on their own, Mr. Shi and Mrs. Shi won't mind, I'll take you to meet Mr. Shi and Mrs. Shi first!" Lin Chun held onto Cuihua's arm, patting her hand to comfort her, seeing the children had already run far away out of sight, and hearing Lin Chun's words, she felt a bit more at ease, quickly following Lin Chun with Dashan to the rear garden flower hall where guests were received at the Shi residence.

  In the flower hall, Mrs. Shi received news that Mr. Da Shan and his family had arrived at the mansion, and she had already ordered hot tea and snacks to be prepared. She also asked someone to call Shi Wen. When Lin Chun brought Mr. Da Shan and Cui Hua into the hall, Shi Wen and Mrs. Shi were already standing at the door to greet them. "Quickly, quickly, I think this must be Cui Hua, whom Chun'er often talks about. One look and you can tell she's a kind and virtuous person. Quickly come in and sit down, have a cup of hot tea to warm up. Although it hasn't snowed this winter, it's still very cold!" Mrs. Shi took Cui Hua's arm on one side, while Lin Chun took the other, leading her into the flower hall as she was still somewhat stunned. Da Shan and Shi Wen exchanged greetings and also walked in.

  Cuihua Danni originally wanted to pay respects to Shi Furen and Shi Wen, but was stopped by Shi Furen's unhappy face. Seeing Shi Furen treating her with enthusiasm, she slowly relaxed and no longer felt tense. As they sipped tea and chatted about family matters, Cuihua Danni and Shi Furen shared their own painful experiences when it came to children. The two women gradually drew closer as they spoke, with Shi Furen admiring Cuihua Danni's simplicity and kindness, and Cuihua Danni praising Shi Furen's approachability.

  Lin Chun saw several adults chatting happily, worried about Guai Guai and Du Du, taking advantage of the excitement of the conversation, he made a courtesy exit from the flower hall and hurried towards the kitchen.

  Outside the kitchen, Gei and Du were drinking porridge under the gaze of several children. The big sisters in the kitchen loved these two dogs very much, especially their loyalty and dedication. So they cooked a large pot of rice with leftover rice from the mansion that morning. They specially found two unused iron basins, waited for the porridge to cook, then filled the iron basins with it and put them in cold water to cool down. When it wasn't hot anymore, they let the children feed Gei and Du. At first, Gei and Du were still snuggled up in Da Tou and Er Ya's arms, unwilling to get down. But Da Tou and Er Ya worried about their health, so they carefully carried them to the iron basins, squatted down, and watched them eat. This way, Gei and Du slowly ate a few mouthfuls, turned their heads to look at Da Tou and Er Ya with one eye, as if afraid that the two would leave again. Da Tou and Er Ya felt very sad seeing this.

  Xiaoyan and Shi Qi were not familiar with each other. Looking at Shi Qi looking at Beibei in her arms, Xiaoyan asked timidly: "Do you want to touch Beibei?"

  "What... Of course I want to, can I touch it?" Shi Qi looked at Xiaoyue with a face full of expectation.

  "Ah... of course you can, just touch it gently, otherwise Beibei won't recognize you and I'm afraid it will bite you!" Xiaoshan reminded Shi Qi.

  Shiqi was already delighted that Xiaoyu was willing to let her touch Beibei, so she naturally agreed to Beibei's request, "Okay okay, I'll just lightly touch a few times, if it doesn't like it then I won't touch."

  Xiaoyu got Xi Qi's guarantee, holding Beibei and walking to Xi Qi's front. Xi Qi gently stroked Beibei's fur on her back with his hand, while Xiaoyu instructed him on how to touch Beibei to make her comfortable. Before long, Xi Qi learned it, and seeing Beibei enjoying herself under his strokes, he felt a great sense of accomplishment. Later, Xiaoyu asked Xi Qi to hold Beibei again. At first, Beibei was not very willing, but after Xi Qi kept stroking her to make her comfortable, she finally stayed quietly in Xi Qi's arms for a while. Seeing Xi Qi being careful, Xiaoyu found it hilarious, but Xi Qi didn't care about Xiaoyu's laughter at all, as he was already overjoyed that Xiaoyu let him touch and hold Beibei.

  Lin Chun saw the scene as soon as he arrived, Da Tou and Er Ya were squatting on the ground watching Jiao Jiao and Du Du eating, Xiao Shan and Shi Qi were playing with Bei Bei in high spirits. Lin Chun raised the corner of his mouth, walked up to take a look at Jiao Jiao and Du Du, and touched them for a while, seeing that they had already eaten a lot of porridge, then took several people to the garden, and also let Da Tou and Er Ya bring two iron basins.

  At noon, three little dogs were eating the delicious porridge carefully cooked by the kitchen aunt outside the dining hall. Inside, a screen was used to separate the tables, with Shi Wen, Da Shan, and Shi Yu sitting on one side, while Madame Shi, Cui Hua, Lin Chun, and children sat on the other. This year, Shi Yuan, the second son of the Shi family, is already thirteen years old and also sat at Shi Wen's table. Shi Qi and Da Tou are both eight years old, and Madame Shi still treats them as children, so she didn't mind letting them sit at their own table.