The Sweet Litte Fulang (SLF)

Chapter 40 - Living with the puppy

Since they had bought the chickens and ducks, Lu Gu enjoyed hearing their clucking and quacking each day—it was a far livelier sound than silence.

The puppy's voice wasn't small either. While playing, he'd give a few barks. Chubby and round, his little body shook as he ran. Whenever Lu Gu went to the backyard, the puppy trotted after him.

The previous night, the puppy had slept with Da Hui in the main room. Lu Gu was worried he'd get cold sleeping on the ground, so he prepared a sack stuffed with hay and straw. Though the puppy missed his mother, he found comfort sleeping beside the big dogs, and barely made a sound through the night.

Now that the weather had turned colder, Lu Gu also set up sacks for the other dogs so they could snuggle up at night without sleeping on the bare ground.

After Shen Xuanqing took Da Hui out, Lu Gu decided it was time to let the chickens and ducks out to graze and swim in the sunlight. He went to the backyard and found the chickens and ducks had left their nests and were wandering around the pen.

The puppy followed him eagerly, and seeing the fluffy chickens, he dashed over, hoping to play. The chickens scattered, flapping and squawking, turning the pen into chaos. Lu Gu quickly grabbed the puppy by the scruff to keep him from chasing them.

Needing to let the chickens and ducks out, Lu Gu shut the puppy in the main room. As soon as he left, the puppy started barking, his little cries echoing through the quiet mountain morning. His voice was loud and increasingly desperate—enough to sound eerie in the stillness.

Not wanting to leave him alone, Lu Gu put him in a small bamboo basket, carrying it in front of him. With Lu Gu in sight, the puppy calmed down, quieting until he stopped barking altogether. He scratched at the basket a few times and tried to nibble on it, but settled quickly.

After driving the chickens out, Lu Gu returned to gather a stone mortar, a basket of dried peppercorns, a long bamboo pole, and led seven small ducks. The ducks lined up behind him, following him out like a mother duck leading her young.

Once he got them to the water, the ducks instinctively began to swim. Lu Gu set his stone mortar and basket down near the pond and unloaded the bamboo basket from his back.

He moved two rocks close by, sitting on one and using the other to hold the mortar, and began pounding the peppers. Every so often, he glanced at the pond to check on the ducks. If they wandered too far, he'd pick up the long bamboo pole and slap the water, the splash scaring them back to him.

Though mischievous, the puppy stayed near Lu Gu. He approached the stone mortar at first, sniffing curiously, but Lu Gu gently nudged him away with his foot. The scent of pepper was strong enough that Lu Gu wore a cloth over his nose and mouth. The puppy wrinkled his wet nose at the pungent smell and decided to keep his distance.

Once the smell faded, the puppy busied himself with chewing on Lu Gu's clothes. He tried imitating the low growl he'd heard from the big dog, but his voice was too tiny to intimidate anyone.

Lu Gu continued his work, reassured by the sounds behind him that the puppy hadn't wandered off. The sharp smell of the peppers left his hands tingling as he pounded them.

Close to noon, he looked up at the sky, his stomach beginning to growl. He went down to the river to wash his hands, the puppy tagging along, rubbing his little head against Lu Gu's leg as he crouched by the water. Lu Gu smiled down at him.

Life was busy and fulfilling, and seeing the stores of wild goods and game in the yard made Lu Gu feel content no matter how tired he was.

The mountains were vast and the valleys deep, with occasional barks echoing. Lu Gu crouched by a mountain stream, searching for purple-bellied crabs and green snails. It had rained the day before, so the stream was stronger than usual.