Chapter 44: Everyone Shakes Their Head at Her

In the courtyard, Father Jiang sat off to the side, washing vegetables with a dejected air. He had spent much of the morning making tofu, but barely sold any; most of it was left unsold, his first attempt at business proving unexpectedly difficult. He sighed several times in succession, and was about to sigh again when he saw Mrs. Zhao rush in, panic written all over her face.

“Husband, come quick! Why is the little puppy foaming at the mouth?” Mrs. Zhao hurried in, cradling the listless little gray dog.

“San-niang, are we going to lose money again on today’s tofu sales?” Father Jiang was still caught up in his own sorrow.

“What does losing money matter now? Come and look—the puppy is getting weaker!” Mrs. Zhao shouted at him.

Seeing the urgency on her face, Father Jiang hurried over. One glance told him the gray puppy she held was barely clinging to life, its mouth frothing, clearly on the verge of death.

“San-niang, this dog... its time has come,” Father Jiang said, trying to take the puppy from her.

But as he reached out, Mrs. Zhao lost her temper, kicking at him. “Get out of my way! Its time hasn’t come at all.”

She clutched the puppy and rushed inside, hastily grabbing what little silver remained in the drawer before running out again.

Father Jiang followed, calling after her, “San-niang, where are you going? There’s no veterinarian here.”

Bai Yan watched the two figures run off, bowing her head sadly. “If only I had some magic. That little puppy must have eaten rat poison, so... it won’t make it.”

“Life and death are fate, not something we can change.” Unlike Bai Yan’s sadness, Jiang Chengyan’s face remained impassive, standing calmly as if he were a bystander.

“But Mother is such a good person—she should be able to save it, right?” Bai Yan buried her head in Jiang Chengyan’s chest, her voice muffled.

Jiang Chengyan didn’t answer, but he noticed that the rabbit trusted Mrs. Zhao more than anyone, even more than himself. He lowered his gaze, hiding his doubts.

Father Jiang had not lied to Mrs. Zhao. She carried the nearly frozen puppy all over the village, searching for help, but found none; not even the barefoot doctor could do anything. Everyone she met shook their heads.

After nearly half an hour, Bai Yan, who stayed home, saw Mrs. Zhao return, her eyes red-rimmed as she carried the puppy back.

“Girl, fetch me some of your goat milk powder.”

“Jiang Chengyan, bring me the little blanket from the house.”

At this moment, Mrs. Zhao forgot all her dislike for her son, commanding everyone she could. Bai Yan hurried to prepare the goat milk powder and rushed to Mrs. Zhao’s side.

The little gray dog had lost all sensation; even its ears drooped.

Mrs. Zhao forced it to drink the milk powder, then fed it a handful of herbs—trying every remedy she could. After a long stretch of effort, Father Jiang saw Mrs. Zhao wrap the puppy in her favorite soft blanket and say to them, “You all go about your work. I’ll stay with it.”

And so, Mrs. Zhao kept vigil for the puppy through the night.