Chapter 168: Who is Its Father?

Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Who is Its Father?

The matter of the homeless man was still up in the air, and now there was a problem with Dahuang.

Although Dahuang was now a regular at the house, he would disappear for the better part of each day. You didn’t have to be a genius to figure out he was out running wild.

Having grown up eating scraps from many families and being used to running free in the mountains, it was understandable that he didn’t like being cooped up in the yard all day.

Thankfully, he still knew where home was and always remembered to come back, no matter how late it was.

The first few times he came back, Ji Huan and Dabao were already asleep. With the front and back gates shut tight, he couldn’t get in, so he would scratch at the door with his front paws. That, combined with his peculiar, hair-raising howls, made it impossible for Ji Huan to pretend she couldn’t hear. She had no choice but to get out of her warm bed in the middle of the night, get dressed, and open the door for him.

Not to mention she’d be shivering from the cold, but what was more infuriating was that the recently installed wooden door was covered in his scratches.

Ji Huan gave him a good scolding, the main point being that he needed to come home earlier. She and Dabao couldn’t wait for him to return from his gallivanting before going to bed, and leaving the door open was out of the question—he wouldn’t know how to close it, after all.

She scolded him until his proud, defiant posture turned meek and chastened. She thought he would have learned his lesson this time, but he forgot everything in a flash and went right back to his old ways.

It was clear that if he kept scratching, the wooden door would need to be replaced. But most importantly, she didn’t want to keep waking up in the middle of the night to open the door for a dog!

Ji Huan was so angry she wanted to smack him. She grabbed a broom and chased him around the yard, but the sly creature had learned to find a shield.

Dabao watched her with his dark, soulful eyes. He didn’t say, "Don’t hit him, Sis," but that was clearly the message.

Dahuang hid behind Dabao, peeking out at her with his two beady eyes.

Defeated, Ji Huan threw down the broom and went to find Uncle Wang Min for help.

She learned that right after the third month, Uncle Wang Min had put together a construction team and gone to a neighboring town to build a house. So, Ji Huan turned around and went to find Uncle Shi Yong, asking if he could make a dog door in the wall.

If she had known Dahuang would become part of the family, it would have been so much more convenient to build a dog door when the house was first constructed.

Now that the courtyard walls were all finished, starting work on them again wouldn’t be easy.

Shi Yong said it would indeed be a bit of trouble, but it wasn’t impossible.

He found two other helpers. While they weren’t professional builders, they were no strangers to masonry work.

The three of them worked for the better part of the day and finally managed to create a dog door.

Per Ji Huan’s instructions, the door was made in a relatively hidden spot and wasn’t too large; Dahuang would have to crawl to get in.

From then on, she and Dabao were finally spared the ordeal of being woken up in the middle of the night.

But for some reason, once the dog door was there, Dahuang’s personality changed. He didn’t seem to want to go out anymore.

He would find a corner, lie down, and stay there all day, always looking listless.

At first, Ji Huan suspected he might have depression, but then she thought that was unlikely.

This was the dog that had nearly scared *her* into depression. With that kind of mental fortitude, there was no way he would get depressed himself.

If it wasn’t depression, then he must be sick.

This was a problem. There were no veterinarians in the village, and Ji Huan didn’t know how to treat animals herself.

In the end, she went to get Widow Xie to take a look.

"Has he been eating these past few days?" Widow Xie asked.

"He eats and sleeps all day, hasn’t missed a single meal..." Ji Huan thought for a moment. "Actually, I think he’s eating even more than before."

Widow Xie had a pretty good idea of what was going on. She reached out to feel Dahuang’s belly.

Dahuang immediately became defensive. The fur on his neck bristled, and he let out a low growl.

It was a clear warning for others to stay away.

Ji Huan knelt beside him, patting his head and stroking his fur. After a while of her soothing, he finally lay back down.

Ji Huan didn’t move her hand. She used it to cover his eyes while she stroked his fur, signaling to Widow Xie that it was okay to proceed.

Widow Xie parted the fur on Dahuang’s abdomen, feeling around his lower belly for a while.

She pulled her hand back and said, "Nothing’s wrong with him. He’s about to have puppies."

"Have puppies?" Ji Huan was stunned.

Widow Xie pointed to the two rows of little spots for her to see.

"These are starting to swell up. Add that to the laziness and greediness—what could it be if not pregnancy? You’re a careless girl, you are. I’d guess she’s been pregnant for over a month. She’ll probably give birth in another month or so."

Ji Huan leaned in to get a closer look at where she was pointing. It was true. They had gotten bigger and turned pink, and her belly was indeed swollen.

She had just thought Dahuang was getting fat; she never would have imagined it was pregnancy.

In her mind, Dahuang had always been a lone wolf. When other dogs from the village ran over, wanting to play, she would completely ignore them.

To think that she’d gone and gotten pregnant so quietly!

’Then the question is... who’s the father?’

But she couldn’t be bothered with that right now.

"Aunt Xie, if what you’re saying is right, it’s the end of the third month now. Does that mean she’ll give birth around the end of the fourth or the beginning of the fifth month?"

Widow Xie nodded. "Thereabouts. The dog we used to have had many litters, so I have experience with this. I’d guess Dahuang’s litter will have about four pups. When they’re born, remember to mix some soybean cakes into her food so she has enough milk."

’She can tell how many just by feeling? That’s more effective than an ultrasound!’

"Are you sure, Aunt Xie?"

"Absolutely! I can’t be wrong!"

Widow Xie sounded so certain that Ji Huan had no choice but to believe her.

Seeing Ji Huan staring at Dahuang with a worried frown, Widow Xie found it strange. "What’s with that look on your face?"

"Dahuang doesn’t even look that old, and she’s already about to be a mother. Our little family of three is about to have new additions. I’m... I’m happy."

Ji Huan’s feelings were quite complicated. Her status was about to change from "big sister" to "grandma"...

Widow Xie shot her a look. "What nonsense are you talking? Who counts a dog as a member of the family? People will laugh at you if they hear that."

Ji Huan just smiled and changed the subject, asking about what precautions to take during a dog’s pregnancy.

"You don’t need to do anything special. They’re not that delicate. Just feed her as usual."

’That makes sense.’ The thought crossed her mind. Village dogs weren’t like pampered pets; there weren’t so many rules to follow.

Ji Huan had no more questions, but now it was Widow Xie’s turn.

"Let me ask you, what have you been up to, cooped up in your house lately? Why haven’t you been going to the stall? One of the regulars was just asking me about you today."

"I’ve been busy copying books. The scholars are all preparing for their exams, so the bookshop owner has given me a lot of work."

Since it was a good way to earn money, Widow Xie couldn’t really say anything against it.

She just added a few reminders for Ji Huan to take care of her eyes and not burn the midnight oil before heading home.

Ji Huan hadn’t lied, but copying books wasn’t the main reason.

The reason she’d been avoiding the stall was that she had sensed Cao Yunyun’s hostility and unwelcoming attitude toward her.

But she couldn’t explain this to Widow Xie.

No matter what, Cao Yunyun was about to become a part of the Hu Family. That was an unchangeable fact.

Since the woman didn’t like her, it was best to avoid situations where they might run into each other.

Once Cao Yunyun married into the family, Ji Huan could simply visit the Hu Family less often, or not at all. If anyone from the Hu Family needed her, they could always come find her.

As for whether she was afraid the Hu Family would be influenced and grow distant from her...

You couldn’t force connections between people. That was true even for parents and children, let alone neighbors and friends.