Chapter 177: Ji Xiu’e Pays a Visit

Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Ji Xiu’e Pays a Visit

Teasing was one thing, but once she was done, she still had to dutifully attend to Dahuang’s "postpartum confinement."

For the first few days after giving birth, Dahuang’s mood was still a bit unstable, and she would occasionally scratch at the ground. Whenever one of the puppies accidentally crawled out of the nest, Dahuang would immediately carry it back, not allowing the little ones to stray even half a step from her side.

Ji Huan guessed this was probably a mother dog’s caution—a fear that something might happen to her pups and a desire to keep them from being disturbed.

During those days, Dahuang also had no interest in food. Aside from relieving herself, she stayed in her nest, mostly just drinking warm water.

Ji Huan worried she wasn’t producing enough milk, so she wracked her brain to make nutritious meals for her. She practically turned dog food into a gourmet art form, from minced meat congee to egg drop and dough-flake soup. If Widow Xie saw it, she’d surely have a heart attack over the expense.

What choice did Ji Huan have? She was afraid the puppies wouldn’t have milk to drink. They needed to nurse four or five times a day, and if Dahuang’s milk dried up, she had no way to get formula as a substitute.

Otherwise, no matter how much Dahuang dreamed, she wouldn’t be getting this royal treatment.

Speaking of nursing, there was another headache.

Dahuang managed the timing and frequency of nursing herself, so that wasn’t usually a concern. But the fourth pup, that little guy, just couldn’t get the hang of it, no matter how many times he tried.

Its brothers and sisters would all be eagerly suckling away, with no one crowding it out, yet it would still be lost in its own world, craning its neck and yelping.

Every single time, Ji Huan had to provide some manual assistance.

After the first few days, Dahuang and the puppies were mostly stable, but Ji Huan felt that keeping them in the kitchen all the time wasn’t a long-term solution.

The kitchen was kept very clean, and the nest was behind the firewood pile, so it was dry and hidden. She had even specially hung a door curtain to block the wind.

But with three meals a day, people were constantly coming and going, opening and closing the door. The big dog would be fine, but what if the little ones caught a cold and got sick?

Ji Huan came up with a plan.

While Dahuang was up and taking care of her business, she secretly moved the puppies to the east wing and placed them in the whelping box she had prepared for Dahuang earlier.

When Dahuang returned and saw the empty straw nest, she spun in circles a few times, a look of utter confusion written all over her doggy face.

After a few more circles, she started pawing at it.

She tore the nest apart in just a few swipes and continued to dig downward, barking as she went.

’Does she think the puppies are hiding under the nest? And if not under the nest, then under the ground?’

Ji Huan felt exasperated.

’Aren’t dogs supposed to have a keen sense of smell? I didn’t even close the door. Can’t she just follow the scent? Looks like the "three years of foolishness after pregnancy" applies to dogs too.’

Resigned, Ji Huan could only clap her hands and try to lead Dahuang toward the east wing.

But Dahuang just glanced at her, let out a fierce bark, and went right back to digging.

Ji Huan was so angry her chest hurt. She called out for Dabao.

Dabao was in the east wing watching the puppies. Hearing her call, he picked one up and brought it over.

Dahuang noticed the little one in his arms and finally stopped her foolish behavior, prancing toward Dabao.

Ji Huan motioned for Dabao to carry the puppy back to the other room.

Sure enough, Dahuang followed close behind.

Once in the east wing, Dahuang saw that all four of her pups were there. Without a second thought, she climbed into the nest, lay down, and gave her babies a thorough licking.

’Children really are a mother’s weak spot. See? Didn’t she obediently switch nests now?’

However, the next morning, the moment Ji Huan stepped into the kitchen, her expression darkened.

Dahuang had moved back to the old spot with her four pups.

She had even known to build herself a new nest out of dry straw!

Ji Huan was furious and tried the same trick again that afternoon.

But this time, Dahuang didn’t even wait for nightfall. The moment Ji Huan moved the puppies, Dahuang grabbed one by the scruff of its neck and trotted right back with it.

After this happened a few more times, Ji Huan surrendered.

’Sleep wherever you want! I’m done!’

Half a month passed in a flash. Most households had finished their work in the fields, and Widow Xie’s family had resumed their street stall business for a while now.

With the spring planting over and the summer harvest still some time away, there was a lull. And when people have too much idle time, they tend to stir up trouble.

And just like that, trouble arrived. Ji Huan stared at the person standing outside her door, never imagining that someone from the Ji Family would come knocking.

"Wuan, is that you? Don’t you recognize your aunt? Or did you disown your own aunt now that you’ve split from the family?"

It was Ji Xiu’e, the firstborn daughter of Ji Qingshan and Aunt Kang, and the original owner’s paternal aunt.

Her husband, Huang Youquan, was from Yellow Board Slope, not far from Dafeng Village. They had two sons.

Her eldest son, Huang Xingjie, had hanged himself seventeen years ago for unknown reasons.

Ji Xiu’e had doted on that son, treasured him like the apple of her eye, and had nearly followed him in death.

Fortunately, she was discovered in time. When the doctor diagnosed that she was already pregnant, Ji Xiu’e finally gave up her thoughts of suicide.

All told, her younger son, Huang Juncai, was born around the same time as Ji Huan.

Ji Huan’s impression of this aunt was neither good nor bad.

As long as the original owner could remember, Ji Xiu’e rarely returned to her maternal home, and even when she did, she always wore a cold expression.

Moreover, she seemed to particularly despise the second branch of the family, never giving Ji Lianbai or Mrs. Wei a second glance, let alone the young original owner.

Compared to Aunt Kang’s belligerence and Mrs. Zhu’s incessant troublemaking, Ji Huan actually preferred her this way.

’If you don’t like someone, just ignore each other. It saves you the nausea and is so much less trouble.’

But what brought her here today? Why would Ji Xiu’e come looking for her for no reason?

And her first words were already laced with barbs.

Ji Huan glanced at the other village women trailing behind her aunt and knew she had to weigh her words carefully.

"Of course not, Aunt... Is something the matter?"

Ji Xiu’e strongly resembled Aunt Kang, with sparse eyebrows, upturned eyes, and high, prominent cheekbones. She had the look of a formidable person.

But her personality wasn’t like Aunt Kang’s at all; instead, she was the spitting image of Ji Qingshan.

Whatever she was thinking, she kept it hidden away, never letting a trace of it show on her face.

The only difference was that Ji Qingshan had a kind and gentle face, while Ji Xiu’e’s was perpetually covered in frost.

In truth, before her eldest son died, Ji Xiu’e had always greeted people with a smile. It was the pain of losing him that had drastically changed her personality, making her cold and unfeeling.

Ji Xiu’e’s lips twitched, but there wasn’t the slightest hint of a smile on her face.

"What kind of talk is that? Can’t I come see my own niece even if there’s nothing wrong? What, your aunt comes all this way, and you’re just going to leave me standing at the gate? Not even going to invite me in to sit down?"

’No wonder she brought these people with her,’ Ji Huan thought. ’She must have known that with outsiders present, I wouldn’t be able to refuse her.’

In a rural village where blood ties were paramount, even if you had split from the family, a junior had no grounds to turn away an elder who came to visit. To do so was to invite yourself to be drowned in a sea of gossip.

Ji Huan had always been at the center of public opinion and was long used to it, consistently doing as she pleased.

But that was because she had yet to violate the villagers’ so-called public order and good morals. That was why the gossip had never been particularly damaging.

She had no intention of challenging the local customs, at least not openly. After all, she and Dabao still had to live in Dafeng Village, didn’t they?

"What are you saying, Aunt? Please, come in. The rest of you aunties, please come in as well."

Ji Xiu’e gave her a strange, unreadable look and was the first to step into the courtyard.