Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 49

The car drove smoothly down the road. It would take about an hour to get from the city to their home.

Qiao Qiao had already finished all the food they had ordered for lunch, especially enjoying the egg tarts, red bean pies, and chicken wings. Now, he was engrossed in playing with his little toy duck, flapping its wings and having a great time.

As he got older, the family often unconsciously treated him like an adult.

But his mind was still that of a five- or six-year-old.

Even though the family spoke to him in a gentle, child-like tone, he hadn’t had toys for years, as the children in the village grew up and moved away.

His only joy was watching cartoons.

If Song Tan hadn’t gone through this change, Qiao Qiao might have spent his entire life in the village, watching cartoons in a daze until their parents grew old.

He might have learned to cook simple meals eventually, but Song Tan always wanted to bring him more happiness.

“Qiao Qiao, once we finish selling the vegetables, I’ll take you to the amusement park in Ningcheng.”

Their city was too small, and the most children could do was play on some simple equipment in the park. But those were old and unsafe. Ningcheng, being a provincial capital, had better infrastructure and a large amusement park with water and aerial attractions, enough to make him happy for a whole day.

Qiao Qiao turned his head curiously, “What’s an amusement park?”

Song Tan thought for a moment, “It’s a place with lots of fun things to do, and you can play there all day!”

Qiao Qiao was excited, “Really? When are we going?”

Song Tan considered, “We can sell the milk vetch for about ten more days. After that, I’ll take you!”

It only took four hours to drive to Ningcheng, and she wasn’t worried about the effort now. They just needed a day off.

Farm work was always busy, with something to do every day. But Qiao Qiao’s happiness was precious, and Song Tan didn’t want to miss it.

Qiao Qiao, now more knowledgeable from frequent outings, asked, “Can we eat this when we go?”

He shook the little duck toy, “The box shows four different ones, and I only have one.”

Clearly, it wasn’t just the food that captivated children but also the marketing tricks.

Song Tan sighed, “You sure enjoyed the food.”

With his big appetite and increased physical activity from farm work, he had eaten everything with nothing left.

As for Song Tan…

She was driving and had only eaten the top and bottom buns of Qiao Qiao’s burger. She found it hard to enjoy outside food.

The more spiritual energy she absorbed, the pickier her taste buds became. Should she bring packed meals next time?

Just as she was thinking this, Qiao Qiao pointed to the roadside:

“It’s moving.”

What?

Song Tan looked over and saw a large black cloth bag in the grass by the roadside, tied tightly at the top, with something inside moving constantly.

She strained her ears and faintly heard whimpering. So she stopped the car, “Let’s check it out.”

Qiao Qiao quickly got out and, after struggling with the bag for a while, ended up bringing the whole thing back:

“Sister, I can’t open it.”

The plastic rope was wound several times and tied in a dead knot, making it difficult to open.

Song Tan took out a small knife and cut the rope. Despite being mentally prepared, she couldn’t help but curse, “What the heck!”

Inside were three little puppies.

Two yellow and one black, each only slightly larger than a palm, covered in fluffy fur. Their black eyes were bright, and they crawled toward them, whimpering.

They could barely stand.

Qiao Qiao was stunned for a moment, then joyfully exclaimed, “Puppies!”

But he looked at the tightly tied bag and wondered, “Why tie it so tightly? How can the puppies get out?”

Exactly, using a sturdy cloth bag tied so tightly was clearly meant to prevent the puppies from surviving. This was a remote road with only occasional passing cars and no pedestrians.

Song Tan knew that in the village, it was common to not spay or neuter pets. When cats or dogs had offspring, people would sometimes abandon them far away to prevent them from finding their way back.

But typically, they wouldn’t discard them this way.

The three puppies were still crawling, constantly nudging Qiao Qiao’s hand with their noses and making soft whimpering sounds, likely because they were hungry.

She took a deep breath and then, with a flick of her finger, released a wave of spiritual energy to cleanse the puppies’ fur, killing any fleas or eggs they might carry.

Qiao Qiao seemed unwilling to let go, and there were no deworming products at the moment.

She placed the bag on Qiao Qiao’s lap, “Qiao Qiao, you can take these three puppies home, but you must hold them securely. Can you do that?”

Qiao Qiao eagerly hugged the bag, promising:

“Qiao Qiao can do it!”

Then he hesitated, “But Mom won’t let us keep them.”

Song Tan understood.

Wu Lan, like most people in the village, believed that pets needed to be useful, like guarding the house. If they couldn’t, it didn’t make sense to keep them.

But once you kept pets, you’d develop feelings for them over time. It wasn’t about spending money, but about the emotional attachment.

And if they got injured, sick, or pregnant…

Spending money was out of the question, given how hard it was to earn it.

But not spending money would also be painful for them.

However, as they grew older, they tried to handle things lightly, even if it didn’t mean they lacked feelings.

Wu Lan’s method was: to avoid future pain, don’t keep pets from the start.

But now…

“It’s okay!” Song Tan reassured him, “We’re raising pigs and planning to keep chickens and ducks. We need puppies to guard them. You can talk to Mom nicely; you’re so good and hardworking, she’ll agree.”

Qiao Qiao blinked, unsure how to persuade her, but looking at the warm, soft puppies on his lap, he was determined—

It had to work!

Song Tan smiled, “These three puppies were found by Qiao Qiao, so their lives will be taken care of by Qiao Qiao!”

Qiao Qiao hesitated, “I can feed them every day!”

Song Tan shook her head, her face serious:

“No, the food they eat is all from the family’s grain and money. You can’t use it freely.”

Qiao Qiao was stunned.

After a while, he came up with an idea: “Then I’ll share my meals with them.”

Song Tan thought about it, “That’s possible, but they don’t eat much now. As they grow, they’ll eat as much as piglets. How many bowls of rice do you eat a day?”

Qiao Qiao counted and then looked dejected.

“Can’t I raise the puppies?”

Song Tan shook her head: “How about this? Every time you help the family with work, I’ll pay you. If you help sell vegetables and carry baskets, you get 50 yuan each time.”

“Working in the field, 50 yuan for half a day.”

“I’ll keep this money for you, and you can use it to buy things for yourself and the puppies. But once the money runs out and there’s no more work, the puppies will have to go hungry.”