Chapter 156: Jiaojiao

Chapter 156: Chapter 156: Jiaojiao

After her fight with Jiang Qing, Lu Tingting washed her face, tidied herself up, and headed out gleefully.

She was still eating her meals at Feng Meihua’s house every day.

Shen Yanzhi was also eating at Feng Meihua’s.

’By that logic, she and Shen Yanzhi were practically "family" now, eating at the same table.’

Jiang Qing used a mirror to examine the scratches on her face and neck, so furious her chest ached.

’Lu Tingting wasn’t just crazy; she was vicious.’

She bitterly regretted messing with that psycho, Lu Tingting, but at the same time, she tried to console herself.

’I just have to put up with it for a few more days. Once the Lu Family gets the telegram, they’ll surely make Lu Tingting go home immediately.’

...

That evening, when Lu Cheng returned, he brought Jiang Moli a little black and tan puppy.

"Is this a German Shepherd? Where did you get it?"

Lu Cheng was a little surprised that Jiang Moli could recognize the dog’s breed.

German Shepherds were used as K-9s in training for their unit, making them a relatively rare breed that most civilians wouldn’t recognize.

’But this just went to show his wife was quite knowledgeable.’

"A while ago, the higher-ups sent a batch of pups to the battalion for K-9 training. This one washed out. Do you want to keep it?"

As he handed it to Jiang Moli, the puppy’s plump little body struggled gently.

Its dark, wet eyes darted around, looking small, helpless, and anxious.

Jiang Moli gently stroked the puppy’s back with her fingers.

At her touch, the puppy gradually stopped squirming and lifted its fluffy, round head to gaze up at her.

"Why did it wash out?"

"Its reflexes are a bit slow, and it doesn’t eat much."

The military’s standards for K-9s are extremely high. In addition to a superior pedigree and a healthy physique, they have strict requirements for a dog’s reflexes, temperament, and adaptability.

A puppy like this one, which lost its appetite just from being in a new place, was considered too finicky.

Jiang Moli gently prodded the puppy’s behind and said with a playful smile, "Well, she’s a little girl. It’s perfectly normal for her to be a bit delicate, isn’t it?"

Whether it understood her or was just shy from having its rear examined, the puppy nuzzled its soft little head against her palm.

Lu Cheng watched her, a smile in his eyes. "So, you want to keep her?"

Jiang Moli stroked the puppy’s head. "If I don’t keep her, what will you do with her?"

"I’ll see if anyone in the family compound wants her. If not, I’ll have to give her to the villagers down the mountain."

In those days, keeping a dog wasn’t easy.

After all, people barely had enough to eat themselves, so who had extra food for a dog?

Feeding it wasn’t an issue for Jiang Moli, but she was leaving in a while, and she couldn’t take a dog on the train.

Seeing her hesitation, Lu Cheng said, "If you like her, just keep her for now. We’ll figure the rest out later."

As he said this, he couldn’t help but indulge in a little daydream.

’Maybe in a few days, his wife would have a change of heart and agree to stay here with him. Then he’d build a big, beautiful house with a yard, and the dog could be the watchdog.’

Tonight’s dinner was potato and mixed-grain rice with a side of cucumber and braised tofu.

There were no spare bowls in the room, so Jiang Moli could only place a little food on the floor near the puppy’s paws.

The puppy took two small bites and refused to eat any more.

Thinking it might be thirsty, Jiang Moli filled the washbasin with a little water for it.

The puppy took two licks and stopped drinking, tilting its round little head to look up at her.

The puppy’s wet eyes made Jiang Moli’s heart melt. She couldn’t resist tapping its head with her finger. "You really are a delicate little thing. From now on, I’ll call you Jiaojiao."

The puppy wagged its tail, turned around, and began exploring the room with its nose.

"Let’s eat. Don’t worry about her."

Though Lu Cheng was speaking to Jiang Moli, he shot a sideways glance at the puppy.

’This little thing is quite the charmer. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have brought her back.’

’Hmph.’

...

「The Military Family Compound.」

Li Hongying stood in the corridor stir-frying vegetables, idly chatting with her neighbors.

She and Jiang Dahai had been living there for over a month. They were both easygoing and always willing to compromise, so they got along harmoniously with their neighbors.

"Jiang’s back! What goodies are you carrying?"

"My daughter sent some local specialties back from the base."

"Oh, my. Your daughter is so dutiful."

Hearing Jiang Dahai talking with someone, Li Hongying quickly turned her head to look.

She saw Jiang Dahai with a burlap sack slung over his shoulder, carefully maneuvering around the other residents cooking in the corridor as he headed toward her.

She quickly put down her spatula and moved to take the sack from him.

Jiang Dahai waved her off. "It’s fine. Watch your wok, or the food will burn."

"Oh, all right. Be careful, then."

Li Hongying returned to her stove. Though her hands were busy stir-frying, her eyes were fixed on the sack on Jiang Dahai’s shoulder.

’Such a big sack. I wonder if Xiao Qing sent anything for me.’

With that thought, she hurriedly plated the vegetables and carried them inside.

Jiang Dahai used a pair of scissors to cut open the sack, placing the contents on the table one by one.

"This is tea. Ten-year-aged Pu’er. Mmm, it smells nice."

Li Hongying glanced at him. "You can smell it through the paper?"

"It’s a fermented tea. When it’s aged this long, the aroma seeps right through the paper. Here, smell it!"

Li Hongying took it, sniffed, and nodded repeatedly. "It really is fragrant!"

"See?"

Jiang Dahai beamed, his eyes crinkling at the corners, and continued pulling items from the sack.

"This is tea, too. It’s white tea! And this is Menghai Tea!"

Li Hongying was getting dizzy. "That’s so much tea. We’ll be drinking this until the cows come home."

"It’s all aged tea. The longer you keep it, the more fragrant it gets. It won’t go bad."

Hearing Jiang Dahai say that, Li Hongying nodded quickly.

She didn’t know what "aged tea" was, so she just kept quiet and watched.

Besides the tea, there were also various dried fruits, Dai brocade, and Dai medicine.

There was no more room on the dining table, so they had to start putting things on the sofa.

Jiang Dahai was grinning from ear to ear, but Li Hongying felt a pang of bitterness.

’So many things, yet not a single one was from her own daughter.’

’It wasn’t that she was greedy. It was just that her daughter had been at the base for almost two months and hadn’t sent back a single letter.’

’In contrast, her stepdaughter was so much more dutiful.’

’After getting married, she frequently brought things over to her parents’ house. Even when she was just visiting her husband at the base, she still remembered to send food and drinks back home.’

’No wonder other people said her daughter was no good. Even she, her own mother, thought her daughter was terribly thoughtless.’

"With so many nice things, surely they’re not all for us? Shouldn’t we send a share over to the in-laws?"

At Li Hongying’s reminder, Jiang Dahai’s heart gave a sudden lurch.

’Knowing his daughter’s tendency to sneak eggs from her in-laws for him, he realized she had probably used his son-in-law’s money for all of this.’

’Putting himself in their shoes, if his own daughter-in-law was lazy and did nothing but eat all day, while constantly sending her in-laws’ money and belongings to her own parents, he wouldn’t be happy about it either!’

He immediately began packing the items back into the sack, leaving only a small portion for themselves.

Without even stopping for dinner, he shouldered the sack and headed for the Lu Family’s home.

The Lu Family was just about to eat dinner when he arrived.

Lu Deyao welcomed him with a warm laugh and ushered him inside. He turned and called to Ma Hongmei in the kitchen, "Hongmei, our in-law is here! Please make an extra dish."

Jiang Dahai quickly said, "Oh no, please don’t trouble yourself. Dinner’s already on the table at home. I’m just dropping this off and then I’ll head back."

Lu Deyao looked at the sack in his hands; it seemed remarkably familiar.

He said politely, "What’s all this? You didn’t have to rush to bring it over."

Jiang Dahai set the sack down in the living room and explained with a pleasant smile to Lu Deyao and An Hui, "Xiao Lu and Moli sent some things back from the base. It was delivered to my place, so I kept a little for myself, and the rest is all here."

Lu Deyao and An Hui looked at each other, speechless.