ABPUBALC - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Puppies

At the end of August, the autumn wind was bleak, and the leaves outside had already begun to yellow. A gust of wind blew, causing the sparse leaves on the trees to fall in a scattered fashion.

Gu Qiming arrived at the home of the elderly hunter, Master Liu, carrying pork, river delicacies, and bamboo shoots personally pickled by Lin Xing, with a goal of cradling the newborn puppies.

The hunter was none other than Lin Zheng’s master. Knowing that Gu Qiming wanted to train two hunting dogs, Lin Zheng had introduced him to this place.

Master Liu had been hunting for many years, and he has always had the habit of keeping dogs. Up to now, for him, dogs have become like old comrades.

Even when he wasn’t going hunting, several large dogs were constantly raised at home. It had been just over a month since the mother dog had whelped a litter.

Lin Zheng had brought Gu Qiming over specially a few days ago, and there had already been an agreement to take two.

“You’ve already come; why did you also bring something with you?”

“If my Little Husband’s pickled vegetables aren’t to your liking, please don’t hesitate to let me know.” He intentionally only brought up the pickled vegetables and said nothing of the rest.

“Alright, come on in and sit first. Take a look and see which one you want.”

Hunter Liu received the large and small bundles in his hands and beckoned him into the yard to pick out the puppies.

His old partner had passed away long ago, and his children all lived in the county town. They had mentioned bringing him there to live with them, but he was not willing to live in the county. He always felt that it was not as comfortable as in the village.

“Look how well-fed they are!” Gu Qiming looked at the puppies crawling all over the floor, each one sprawled out like a pancake, showing how well they had been fed.

“That’s for sure.”

Hunter Liu smiled in high spirits.

This litter was made up of four pups. They were fed the family’s supply of good meat and full-fat milk, so they naturally ate until they were sturdy.

Gu Qiming pinched a puppy’s soft flesh, which was plump and tender.

“Let’s take these two yellow ones; they look festive.”

“These yellow pups resemble their mother the most; you’ve picked the best out in one breath.”

“Originally, I had no intention of giving them away. Raising a few pups is not beyond my means. However, I did have a decent relationship with Lin Xing’s father. Helping you out this time is in consideration of Lin Xing. Should any issues arise, feel free to seek me out at any time.”

“Sure, then thank you Uncle.”

Liu, the Hunter, was not a chatty man. Since the matter was concluded, he had no intention of keeping him any longer. After taking him to the door, he went straight back to his room.

Gu Qiming hugged the puppies in his arms. Perhaps he was holding them uncomfortably, because the two pups barked all the way home. He did not dare to use too much force, so he could only quicken his pace.

“XingXing! I brought the puppies back.”

Before even entering the courtyard, Gu Qiming couldn’t wait to let Lin Xing see these two little things.

When he returned, Lin Xing was in the house folding clothes, and upon hearing movement, he immediately came out to greet the person.

“Ah! So fluffy!”

Gu Qiming placed the two fur bundles on the ground. As usual, he embraced his husband and gave him a big kiss.

The puppies weren’t afraid of the new environment. One kept sniffing the ground and snuggled up to Lin Xing’s ankles, whimpering.

Lin Xing’s heart melted at the sight, and he couldn’t help but scoop up one of the puppies into his arms, gently rubbing the dog’s chin with a curved hand. The puppy, well-fed, had glossy and sleek fur, which felt incredibly smooth to the touch as he stroked it.

The puppy was quite comfortable being petted, and it softly whined in his arms.

“Let’s name them.” Gu Qiming took the dogs from his arms and put them on the ground.

Lin Xing shook his head, “That won’t do. If I have to name them, they can only be called Big Yellow and Second Yellow[黄 / huang = yellow, Big=大Da and Second=二Er].”

“Let’s just call them DaHuang and ErHuang then, since they’re both yellow anyway.”

Lin Xing: …

Suddenly, Lin Xing began to feel that Xiao Hua wasn’t as rash of a name as he had previously thought.

Before Gu Qiming left, Lin Xing stewed some pork bones in the pot and scooped out some soup to soak steamed buns for the puppies, but didn’t feed them any meat, fearing that eating luxuriously now might lead then to become picky with food in the future.

However, even if it was just a meat soup, the two puppies ate with great enthusiasm. The broth alone was fragrant enough, and the steamed buns, soaked until they were soft and mushy, left their mouths all sticky.

Once the pups were full and had licked the bowl clean, Lin Xing placed the bowl under the eaves, refilled a basin of water nearby, and set it down. From then on, the dogs could eat under the eaves and wouldn’t have to worry about getting wet in the rain.

Having finished feeding the pups, Lin Xing again crouched in the yard with the two puppies to play for a while before proceeding indoors to fold clothes.

As each autumn rain falls, a chill follows.

August had a series of light showers, making it impossible to wear those thin summer shirts any longer.

A large bone broth was bubbling away on the stove. Gu Qiming fished out a marrow bone and sat under the eaves of the roof, chewing casually on it while watching two little dogs frolicking in the courtyard.

Indeed, it lived up to the effort he put into it before he left; the bone had been stewed for such a long time that it became incredibly tender, to the point where the meat would fall off the bone with just a slight nudge from the chopsticks.

The soup was seasoned only with salt, and each mouthful was brimming with the savory aroma of meat.

The weather is not too cold now, but when the snow falls in winter, it will be truly delightful: sitting indoors admiring the snow, a stew of meat simmering in a clay pot, occasionally fishing out a piece to eat and sipping the soup—unparalleled bliss.

“For the next few days, the pups can sleep in the main hall. Once I’ve set up a proper nest, they can sleep in the courtyard.”

Lin Xing folded his clothes into the trunk and started talking with Gu Qiming while stuffing some dried chili peppers into a cloth bag to put in with his clothes, so that they would not collect moisture.

Gu Qiming was still eating meat and spoke indistinctly, “Alright, when that time comes, make a bigger nest or we’ll run out of space later when we sleep.”

Lin Xing showed an interest as soon as he heard this. “How big can two yellow dogs become?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but they’re hunting dogs capable of maneuvering through the mountains, so they definitely won’t be small in size.”

Lin Xing caressed one pup’s head and said, “How pitiful, you’ve only been here for a month and you’re already a hired farmhand for someone.”

Gu Qiming smiled, “Are there any hired hands who eat, sleep, and play? Right now, we’re the ones rushing to serve them.”

After finishing the meat, Gu Qiming threw the big bone onto the ground for the puppy to gnaw on. There was no meat left on it, but it was a good plaything. The bone was almost longer than the puppy’s body.

Recently, there have been a lot of dried bamboo shoots at home, all of which were dug up by Lin Xing from the mountains.

Autumn bamboo shoots are inferior to spring bamboo shoots and winter bamboo shoots for they are not as crisp and tender; they are rather tough and are more suited for stewing.

Lin Xing set aside some to add to the bone broth, then collected firewood from the hearth to put out the flames, leaving only embers to simmer.

“Let’s go, it’s time to head to the fields to harvest sweet potatoes today.”

Gu Qiming pulled the cart into the courtyard and waited for Lin Xing to get ready. After they locked the door, they went to the field together.

Lin Xing had planted sweet potatoes in the spring, and now it was time to harvest them.

In the dry fields, the harvest basically only consisted of sweet potatoes, which would be sold in town after being collected. The barren fields would then be seeded, so as not to leave them empty.

“Use the hoe to clear away the leaves first when you’re about to dig. Check which side has the soil domed up, and dig from the side inward.”

After descending to the land, the first task was to learn from my little husband how to dig sweet potatoes.

“Okay, I know what to do.” Gu Qiming rubbed his hands together.

Lin Xing pointed to the other side and said, “Let’s split up and dig. I’ll go over there.”

“You can take as much time as you need, don’t rush.”

Gu Qiming imitated Lin Xing, slowly digging with a hoe. He had never dug sweet potatoes before, afraid that he would damage them if he used too much force. If their appearance was poor, they wouldn’t sell well later.

Luckily, it wasn’t a difficult task, and being a willing student, he slowly got the hang of it after a short while.

Ancient crop yields were low. They couldn’t afford much fertilizer[e/n: they should read ‘I Love Farming’ and see how a real leader gets his fertilizer, hehehe], and the half-acre of sweet potatoes wasn’t much to begin with. The potatoes weren’t especially large either, so they managed to fit it all onto about a single cart.

“Woof! Woof!”

As they pulled the cart, they still hadn’t reached home when they heard the puppies howling in the courtyard.

The puppies began frolicking by their feet. Lin Xing, fearing the handcart might accidentally run over them, picked them up to make way for Gu Qiming to enter.

The first thing Lin Xing did upon returning home was to pour a cup of tea and set it aside to cool. Their kettle was empty after their day in the fields.

“Tomorrow, let’s head to the town and sell some sweet potatoes. We’ll keep some to dry, which can last a long time. It will be perfect for making soup to drink during the winter days.”

“Alright.”

Gu Qiming washed his face in the yard with a basin of water, returning with a body drenched in sweat and mud from working the fields all day.

“Rest for a while. We’ll get busy later.”

Gu Qiming saw that Lin Xing had just rested for a moment and wanted to get up to fetch water to wash the sweet potatoes. He hurriedly pulled the person back and sat down.

His household’s little star never had a moment’s peace—he would either be busy himself with carpentry or embroidering clothes.

When the weather turned cold, Gu Qiming had wanted to buy some ready-made clothes at the shop. However, he had been busy hunting with Lin Zheng and had forgotten about it.

Who would have thought that his family’s A’Xing, along with Lin Yun, would head straight to the town and come back with a basket full of tightly packed cotton? They immediately set to work making winter clothes.

During those days, Lin Xing’s hands were rubbed raw with blisters, a sight that made Gu Qiming both angry and heartbroken.

In the evening, with determination, he fiercely spanked the person until their buttocks were red and swollen[e/n: oh ho ho...]. Only then did Lin Xing agree to arrange for rest times even when Gu Qiming was not at home.

The child was so embarrassed that he ignored him the rest of that day.

At this moment, Gu Qiming was holding someone in his lap, carefully examining the person’s palm by grasping their hand.

After holding the hoe for so long, luckily the skin was not broken, just a little red and swollen.

Lin Xing thought that Gu Qiming was unhappy and just sat there and let the other manipulate his hands gently.

“Alright, let’s go have a meal first. I won’t be heading to the mountains these next couple of days, so there’s no need for us to rush.”

“Understood,” Lin Xing obediently nodded.

The two of them had a late breakfast and then went to work in the fields. By the time midday had long passed, they decided to only have two meals for the day.

In the afternoon, they had sliced noodle soup.

After consuming the large pork bone for a late morning meal, the broth, having been simmered for an extended period, had turned thick and milky-white. Naturally, it was too precious to discard. Thus, Lin Xing added a ladleful of water to it and used it to cook noodles.

The dough didn’t need to rise. It could be rolled out flat and cut into strips with a knife. Cornstarch could be sprinkled on top to prevent them from sticking together while cooking.

The autumn bamboo shoots had absorbed the soup so thoroughly that their flavor almost mirrored that of the meat, while the slices of dough were as thin as cicada wings, turning nearly transparent after being blanched in water, melting in the mouth without the need to chew.

Lin Xing specially served it in a large bowl, which even included a big bone. As he ate the meat and slurped the noodles, the enticing aroma made the little pups at his feet whine incessantly.

The two did not go to the main hall; instead, they held their bowls of noodles and quickly finished their meal in the kitchen.

After they had finished eating, Lin Xing scooped up another spoonful of noodle slices to feed the dogs. Da Huang and Er Huang hurriedly wobbled over with their short legs, eagerly competing for the meal.

　***

“Is it really necessary to scrub it so clean?”

Gu Qiming looked at the sweet potato in his hand, which was completely free of any speck of dirt, and couldn’t help but feel astonished.

Lin Xing tilted his head and wiped the water droplets that had splashed onto his face with his sleeve, saying, “If everyone is selling the same sweet potatoes, only those washed clean will attract customers. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be the same wherever they buy them?”

“That’s true,” he agreed.

Gu Qiming didn’t dally either; he rolled up his sleeves and began to help with the washing. A large basin of water quickly turned murky, and soon it was impossible to discern the sweet potatoes lying at the bottom.

The freshly washed sweet potatoes were spread out on the ground to dry, and once dried, they were loaded back onto the cart. With this, the cart would be ready to set off again tomorrow.

Lin Xing kept quite a bit for himself, slicing the sweet potatoes into pieces to dry in the courtyard. Dried sweet potatoes made an excellent addition to porridge.

Gu Qiming took down the game he had caught over the past few days, which consisted of only two rabbits and a roe deer, all intended to be sold together.

Roe deer meat isn’t tasty[e/n: maybe it’s like rutting male deer, I’ve read that the hormones make it less tasty, same with un-castrated pork kek], so there aren’t many willing to buy it. Tomorrow, it’s likely that only rabbit meat will sell.

He sighed and said, “I don’t know if it’s because the creatures of the mountains have all become cunning, but for several days now, not a single prey has been caught in the traps.”

“Logically speaking, the creatures should be out and about, putting on some autumn fat by now. How come it seems there are less and less instead?”

Lin Xing, not well-versed in hunting, could only console him by attributing it to bad luck, suggesting that perhaps his fortunes would turn in a few days.

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