Chapter 20: Li Caifeng's Shock

Chapter 20: Li Caifeng's Shock

"Do you want to hold the baby?"

Lin Heng entered the kitchen and walked up to his wife.

"Yes, you hold her. I'll make breakfast for us, let's eat something first."

Xiulan nodded.

"Daddy..."

The little one, dressed in red, stretched out her arms and rushed into Lin Heng's embrace. She had already started calling him "Daddy" quite seriously.

"Here, let me hold you!"

Lin Heng quickly picked up his precious daughter and walked into the yard, continuing to train Xiong Ba while playing with his daughter.

"Come on, Xiaoxia, let's learn to walk."

Lin Heng placed his daughter on the ground, holding her hands, encouraging her to learn to walk.

Xiaoxia was just barely able to walk, but she stumbled and swayed unsteadily.

"Hee hee..."

The little girl loved to laugh, showing two cute dimples as she wobbled around, seemingly searching for something.

"Woof woof!!"

Xiong Ba barked softly, circling around his little owner.

"Hehe!!"

Suddenly, Xiaoxia ran toward Xiong Ba, reaching out her little hand to grab the dog's upright ear and tugging it hard.

Lin Heng was so startled by this that he didn't speak but rushed over to stop it. No matter how clever Xiong Ba was, it was still a wild dog just brought home. If it bit his daughter, that would be disastrous.

"Uuuuu!!"

But the next moment, Xiong Ba made a whimpering sound, pulling away from Xiaoxia and running to Lin Heng's legs, lying down to complain.

"Good dog, really a good dog!"

Lin Heng, relieved, patted Xiong Ba's head. A dog's character could be seen clearly at moments like this.

Even when attacked by a weaker human child, it didn't retaliate but ran away. That was definitely a sign of excellent character.

"Aw~(﹏)"

Xiong Ba rubbed Lin Heng's hand, seemingly very sad.

"Don't worry, I'll give you more food in a bit," Lin Heng smiled and patted its head.

"Aw!" (*╰╯`)

Instantly, Xiong Ba perked up its ears, excited. This rich emotional display was hardly like that of a dog.

"Daddy... grab..."

Xiaoxia lunged at him again, wanting to grab the dog's ear, still smiling happily.

"Don't grab, don't touch the dog."

Lin Heng gave her a stern look, and her smile immediately froze. Her little mouth drooped, and her eyes scrunched together.

This was the precursor to her crying.

"Okay, okay, you can pet it!!"

Lin Heng quickly changed his tone, holding her little hand to stroke the dog's head.

"Hee hee..."

The little girl instantly brightened up, her expression changing faster than the weather, as she happily petted the dog, laughing like silver bells.

Soon, she even learned to train the dog, picking up a stick and throwing it. Although it only went a meter, Xiong Ba still retrieved it for her.

The girl and the dog were having a great time, filled with joyful laughter.

"Second brother, be careful, the dog might bite Xiaoxia!"

Sister Caiyun, seeing Xiaoxia playing with the dog, was terrified and quickly whispered a warning.

"Don't worry, I'm watching," Lin Heng smiled and shook his head.

"You didn't sleep last night, stayed up reading?" He noticed his sister had dark circles under her eyes and was still holding the book How the Steel Was Tempered.

"Yes, this book is so good! Second brother, have you read it?"

Caiyun nodded vigorously, then looked at Lin Heng, eager to share her feelings.

"Of course I've read it, even though it was a long time ago, I still remember it clearly."

Lin Heng smiled. This book had given him a lot of motivation to keep going, but what really resonated with him was To Live, published in 1992.

He had stumbled upon that book, and it gave him the strength to keep going.

"Paul Korchagin was amazing. Compared to him, my environment is much better, and my body is still intact. I must work hard at studying. If I don't have money, I'll work hard to earn it."

Caiyun's eyes brightened, as if she had found her direction in life.

"Right, you've figured it out. In a few days, I'll get you a couple more books."

Lin Heng smiled and went over to pick up his daughter.

"Honey, breakfast is ready!"

Xiulan came out with a bowl of potato soup, with pickled cabbage as the seasoning.

"You eat too. Xiaoxia and Xiong Ba are having fun playing, don't worry."

Lin Heng took the bowl with a smile.

Xiulan glanced at Xiaoxia. She had been worried, but seeing Xiaoxia play with Xiong Ba, who didn't resist even when she hit him, she relaxed and went back inside.

Squatting under the eaves to eat, Lin Heng poured a bowl of soup for Xiong Ba, also adding the deworming medicine.

"Woof?"

Xiong Ba looked up at him, not eating.

"Damn it, I'm giving you deworming medicine, not poisoning you. If you don't eat, I'll take it away!"

Lin Heng couldn't help but slap it lightly. Don't you trust your master?

"Woof woof~"

Only then did Xiong Ba quickly squat down and start eating.

Lin Heng looked at his daughter Xiaoxia, his wife Xiulan, and his sister Caiyun, who were all walking toward the river with clothes and fish. The stone-slab river was only about six or seven hundred meters from their door, not far.

As they passed the neighbor Li Caixia's house, Li Caifeng was holding a meal, chatting with Liu Lan, the wife of the Liu family next door.

When Liu Lan saw Xiulan, she greeted her with a smile: "Xiulan, I heard from Caifeng that your husband bought you a really new-style dress. Can I take a look?"

Liu Lan had a very curvy figure but a pockmarked face, which made people hesitant to look at her too closely.

"Yes, Lin Heng mentioned it last time, and I've been really curious to see it," Li Caifeng also smiled.

"Of course it's true. I just need to wash it," Caiyun spoke up before Xiulan could, standing up for her sister-in-law.

With that, she took out the clothes from the bamboo basket: "Look, there are three pieces. All bought in the city. I have one too, planning to wash it in the river."

Caiyun showed off the clothes. The ones from the city were much higher quality than the ones from the town.

"Wow, this style is really nice, and these jeans, the fabric is so smooth," Liu Lan picked up a piece of clothing, admiring it. "What do you think, Caifeng?"

She was speechless. Li Caifeng had said they didn't have these clothes, almost embarrassing herself, but luckily, she didn't mock her face-to-face.

Li Caifeng's face twitched slightly: "Yes, it's even better than the one I have, probably more expensive. Lin Heng must be really rich."

"Yeah, such good fabric, Lin Heng actually has money to buy clothes for Xiulan?" Liu Lan was also a bit shocked. Lin Heng was famous for being a lazybones. How could he afford to buy clothes for his wife?

"Well, that's none of your business," Caiyun smiled and said, leaving them in suspense.

"I'll go back and add some dishes. You all keep talking."

At this moment, Li Caifeng suddenly found an excuse to go inside, because she saw Lin Heng walking over with two fish and didn't want to feel awkward.

"Looks like your Lin family has really struck it rich. Are you planning to build a house soon?" Liu Lan asked curiously. New clothes, fish, and she had seen them digging the foundation this morning. The Lin family must have made a fortune.

She decided to get closer to Xiulan and find out what was really going on.

"No, we picked the fish by the river," Lin Heng smiled and said.

"Stop lying. How could you have picked up such big fish?" Liu Lan didn't believe his story.

"We still have to wash clothes in the river, so we're leaving now," Xiulan said, and then led her husband away, hardly speaking a word.

Even though Li Caifeng had been badmouthing her recently, now that she had three new outfits, she didn't mock her back.

That was Xiulan's character. She only cared about her family and their small life, and didn't care much about others.

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(End of Chapter)