Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 81

Song Tan had no idea how much heartache her tea had caused among the old men. She just knew that after spending the whole day out, she returned home at six o’clock.

“This day felt so long.”

Zhang Yanping stretched hard after getting out of the car, feeling stiff all over.

Then he rubbed his stomach and called out, “Aunt, what’s for dinner? I’m so hungry!”

Wu Lan, still wearing her tea-picking sleeves, came out of the kitchen carrying a large basin:

“I found a pork leg in the freezer. I can’t even remember which year I put it in there. Your uncle chopped it up—so that’s what we’re having tonight!”

Zhang Yanping, having no extravagant desires for meat, just looked at her pitifully. “What about the purslane…”

Wu Lan laughed heartily. “You won’t miss out on that. Tan Tan is picky; she won’t eat anything that’s not fresh from the field.”

Song Tan sighed. It’s not that she won’t eat anything that’s not fresh from the field; it’s just that, right now, she can only accept that flavor.

As they were talking, Qiao Qiao suddenly cheered:

“Such big dogs!”

Wu Lan then remembered that her spendthrift daughter had gone out specifically to buy dogs today, saying that the little ones were useless and they needed dogs to guard the mountains and fields.

She understood the reasoning, but whenever she thought about the money spent, it pained her.

Fortunately, the precious tea somewhat made up for her heartache. She asked, “How much did these dogs cost?”

Just then, a giant dog walked in, looking like a yellow-furred tiger in the twilight!

“Oh my!”

It gave her quite a scare.

Song Sancheng, hearing the commotion, came over. He stood there with his mouth agape, then excitedly rubbed his hands together:

“This dog is huge! So big!”

He then looked at the other four dogs. Recognizing one, he said, “Isn’t this a German Shepherd? What’s this black one? Look at them, so strong and shiny!”

Wu Lan, however, widened her eyes in disbelief before finally responding. “You bought so many big dogs all at once? What are they going to eat? They’re so big, won’t they each need their own pot of food every meal?”

She was referring to King.

Song Tan already had a plan. “He’s the biggest, so he can guard the pigs. The others can guard the chestnut orchard first.”

“The black fungus on the mountain hasn’t sprouted yet, but the silver fungus will start growing soon. If someone comes and takes it, won’t you feel bad?”

“That stuff sells by the gram once it’s dried.”

Song Tan wasn’t exaggerating. Silver fungus grown on logs sells by the gram because it becomes very light when dried.

Having brought the dogs home, what else could Wu Lan say? She asked the key question:

“How much did they cost?”

Zhang Yanping tensed up.

Song Tan watched as Qiao Qiao excitedly petted the dogs, introducing them one by one:

“This is King, the oldest. King, this is Qiao Qiao. You need to protect him. This is Da Bao…”

While explaining, she casually replied to her mother, “Three thousand.”

Zhang Yanping’s heart skipped a beat, thinking his cousin was too bold to tell the truth!

Wu Lan immediately felt the sting of the expense:

“Three thousand for just these five dogs? You’re really burning money.”

Zhang Yanping quickly chimed in, still holding his water, “Exactly! She’s terrible at managing money. Auntie, I tried to stop her.”

Unexpectedly, Wu Lan reconsidered:

“Three thousand is not bad. I know purebred dogs can be very expensive. It’s reasonable. They look very obedient.”

Of course, from the moment they got out of the car, they lined up without barking.

Qiao Qiao was petting them, and they were all very gentle, clearly well-trained. Looking strong and fierce, but not overly aggressive, it was reassuring to have them.

“Exactly,” Song Tan said. “These dogs didn’t sell when they were puppies, so they got cheaper as they grew older. That’s how I got them for three thousand.”

“Otherwise, each one would have cost three thousand as a puppy.”

Wu Lan finally smiled. “Not bad. I’ve seen some online selling for seven or eight thousand… I heard these dogs shouldn’t always eat our food. Buy some cheap dog food online.”

Song Tan shook her head and took out several boxes of dog food from the back of the car:

“Mom, look, the seller gave us these dog foods as a bonus. We’ll mix it with their meals.”

She said it as if it were a serious matter:

“We have many expenses; we need to save where we can.”

Zhang Yanping now looked at his younger cousin with newfound respect.

Not to mention anything else, her ability to read the room and please the adults was unparalleled!

Was this innate talent?

Comparatively, he felt more like the younger sibling.

Song Tan didn’t mind him. After unloading the dog food and supplies from the car, she brought in a pile of straw.

While introducing the dogs, she said, “Mom, it’s a bit chilly at night. Let them sleep here tonight. We’ll build their kennels in the next couple of days and then move them to the mountains.”

Knowing her daughter got a bargain on the dogs, Wu Lan was satisfied and started giving pointers:

“You can’t do it this way. The dogs are already grown. They need to get familiar with us first.”

“Qiao Qiao, get the old clothes from the bottom drawer of your wardrobe. They were kept but never thrown away. They’ll make good bedding for the dogs to get used to our scent.”

She couldn’t resist petting King. This dog was so big she didn’t need to bend down, and even had to lift her arm a bit to pet its head.

“Look at this face, black muzzle and yellow fur, so sturdy! I’ve seen people online who have those little dogs that bark all the time and can’t guard anything. This big dog looks reliable.”

She petted each dog, then hurried back to the kitchen:

“The pork leg is too fatty. You probably won’t like it, so I’ll take out a few pieces for the dogs.”

Zhang Yanping looked at Song Tan, who was pretending to randomly spread the straw, feeling only admiration.

To save money on the dogs, she could win over her mother with just a few words!

She truly had an innate talent for this.

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