Chapter 76 - 76 The Only Requirement
76 The Only Requirement
Niu Tongsheng had come with a group of puppies.
Xie Jun was playing with the puppies as he begged Xie Heng to keep them.
“You can only keep one!” Xie Heng said.
“Let’s just take them all.” Zhao Chuchu approached them. “I can use them to guard the mountain when they grow up.”
“Yay!” Xie Jun clapped his hands and cheered.
“But dogs eat a lot.” Xie Heng frowned.
“You can pay for Jun’s and my food. You can afford to raise these dogs too.” Zhao Chuchu got down and patted the puppies inside the box.
The puppies all ran toward her hand, trying to lick her.
She enjoyed it and smiled. “You guys will be part of our family from now on.”
Xie Heng’s usually expressionless face now looked like he had a mental breakdown.
“Just one.” He insisted.
“But, sister-in-law said we are taking all of them…” Xie Jun pouted.
“No!” Xie Heng refused.
Zhao Chuchu then suddenly stood up and said, “I make the decision here.”
Xie Heng immediately became speechless.
“Umm… Chuchu, why don’t you guys talk about this first?” Niu Tongsheng whispered.
“No! I make the decision here!” Zhao Chuchu insisted on keeping the puppies.
After a moment of silence, Xie Heng finally nodded. “Fine. You win.”
Xie Jun hugged Zhao Chuchu’s legs happily. “You’re the best!”
Zhao Chuchu patted the boy’s head. “You like dogs too, huh?”
“Yes! But big bro never lets me touch them!” Xie Jun complained. “They are so cute!”
“Dog meat tastes good, too,” Xie Heng said without expression.
“How can you eat such a cute animal?” Zhao Chuchu scolded. “Their ghosts will come and haunt you in the night!”
Xie Heng took a deep breath and turned to walk back into the house.
The thought of having to raise five dogs ruined his day.
Zhao Chuchu felt his reaction was weird and asked Xie Jun in a low voice. “Junjun, is your brother afraid of dogs or what?”
Xie Jun shook his head. “No idea. But, he never liked dogs.”
Zhao Chuchu almost couldn’t hold her laughter when she learned that Xie Heng was afraid of dogs.
After letting the puppies out to run freely inside the house, Xie Heng kept his door shut and did not leave his room after that.
When it was breakfast time, Xie Heng ordered his younger brother to put the puppies back into the box.
“Have someone build a doghouse there. I don’t want them inside here,” Xie Heng said to Zhao Chuchu. “That’s my only requirement.”
“Okay.” Zhao Chuchu nodded. “Did you get bit by a dog when you were younger?”
Xie Heng’s expression turned stiff the moment he heard that.
The lady chuckled at his reaction.
She was not the type who liked to make fun of others. She didn’t continue to tease him after that.
After breakfast, Old Mrs. Chen’s oldest son, Chen Dalin, arrived with 15 other men.
“Chuchu, they want to work for you. Will you be hiring everyone or?”
All 15 of them stiffened up as they were worried that Zhao Chuchu might not hire them.
Zhao Chuchu scanned through them. Seeing that they were all strong and honest farmers, she said, “Yeah. I’ll take all of them. Did you tell them about the pay?”
“I did.”
“Good. Then, there’s nothing else for me to add. Oh! Just one thing. If you’re only here to loaf around, then, I suggest you leave now. I’ll cut your pay in half if I find you lazing during the job.”
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Xie. We won’t do that.”
With their assurance, Zhao Chuchu let Chen Dalin oversee the job and have him lead the men into Tripe Mountain to start working.
As for Zhao Chuchu, she put on the basket over her back and was ready to head into the mountain.
However, just as she was about to leave, she noticed a group of officials hurrying into the village.