“Is Su Qin home? Is Su Qin home?”
Hearing the voice calling from outside the gate again, Old Mrs. Xu set down the kitchen knife and walked toward the courtyard entrance while wiping her hands on her apron.
This was already the seventh visitor today.
“Oh, Sister-in-law Li? What brings you here?”
Quickening her pace to the courtyard gate, she opened it to find Granny Li standing at their doorstep with a beaming smile, holding a red rope in her hand.
She knew it—another gift for their precious little grandson.
Sure enough, as soon as Old Mrs. Xu stepped out, Granny Li shoved the red rope into her hand and, fearing she might refuse it, immediately turned and hurried home.
While walking away, she called back loudly,
“It’s just a little something for your Xiao Tianbao to play with. You should go back to cooking—I need to get home and cook too!”
Old Mrs. Xu chased after her for a few steps, but to her surprise, despite Granny Li’s frail appearance, the older woman moved swiftly.
With her quick, short strides, Old Mrs. Xu simply couldn’t catch up.
Resigned, Old Mrs. Xu accepted the red rope and shouted in Granny Li’s direction,
“Well then, thank you, Sister-in-law!”
Seeing Granny Li wave back, Old Mrs. Xu turned and headed home.
As she walked, she examined the red rope in her hand.
“Sister-in-law Li’s hands are truly skillful. With just a simple rope, she can weave such a lovely pattern. It’ll look absolutely beautiful on our Xiao Tianbao’s wrist.”
Muttering to herself, she spotted her precious granddaughter, Mao Mao, toddling out unsteadily while tugging at the back of the Little Tiger.
Oh my! How remarkable! Their little darling, who would rather lie down than sit up, was actually willing to walk on her own!
Rushing forward, Old Mrs. Xu scooped Xiao Tianbao up into her arms.
Before the little one could react, she planted several kisses on her rosy, tender cheeks, then set her back on the Little Tiger’s back.
Xiao Tianbao, who had just realized she’d been ambushed, and the Little Tiger, who had sensed its owner’s displeasure and was about to straighten up, both froze in place.
By now, Old Mrs. Xu was no longer afraid of the Little Tiger. On the contrary, she had fully mastered how to handle the little creature.
As long as she placed her precious granddaughter on its back, the Little Tiger would behave obediently without fail.
Seeing both her granddaughter and the Little Tiger staying put, Old Mrs. Xu smiled even more happily.
She took one of Xiao Tianbao’s small hands and gently slipped the red rope from Granny Li onto her wrist.
The fair, plump little hand, soft as lotus root, made the red rope appear even more vibrant and lovely.
“Our little treasure is just adorable!”
She gave Xiao Tianbao’s cheek another gentle pinch. Noticing the Little Tiger baring its fangs, Old Mrs. Xu decided not to push her luck and quickly stood up to return to the kitchen.
With the pretty red rope now around her wrist, Xiao Tianbao seemed to adore it.
Her gaze fixed on her wrist, she stared intently at the red rope. Soon, her little lips pursed, and the corners of her mouth lifted into a smile.
Stretching out her small hand, she tried her best to reach it toward Xiao Hu Zai.
“Pwetty! Pwetty!”
Although the Little Tiger politely turned its head and responded with an “Awoo!” to humor her, inwardly, it felt somewhat exasperated.
Dear owner! We tigers don’t understand human aesthetics, and we certainly don’t like having ropes tied around our paws!
Watching Xiao Tianbao’s delighted expression, Old Mrs. Xu couldn’t help but smile as well.
“Be careful, play only in the yard, don’t go out, understand?”
She was answered by the little treasure’s “Okay!” and the Little Tiger’s “Growl!”
As the weather grew warmer, Xiao Tianbao was freed from being bundled up like a ball and put on lighter clothes.
Feeling more unburdened, the little one, who had always been lazy, now felt like moving around more.
These past few days, whenever she had nothing to do, she would circle around the kang by holding onto the Little Tiger’s back.
But today, the first time she stepped out of the house, she received a new gift.
Happy!
In her delight, Xiao Tianbao tugged at the fur on the Little Tiger’s back and slid down from it. She tapped her toes, found the ground, and with a “heave-ho,” stood firmly on her feet.
A few tiger hairs were pulled out from its back, making the Little Tiger bare its teeth, but it didn’t dare move, afraid its owner might lose her balance and fall.
Once Xiao Tianbao was steady on the ground, the Little Tiger turned its head and licked the spot where its owner had tugged, easing the pain a little. Then it quickly walked over to Xiao Tianbao and acted as her walking stick.
As the two little ones circled the yard for the second time, Xu Hu entered the courtyard carrying a small Back Basket.
He had gone to the mountains with his friends to pick wild vegetables.
As soon as he saw the Little Tiger and his little sister, Xu Hu paused for a moment, then took the small Back Basket off his back and carried it over to Xiao Tianbao.
Blocked by the Back Basket and Xu Hu, Xiao Tianbao stopped.
Ignoring Xu Hu rummaging through the Back Basket, she stretched out her hand with the red rope toward her little brother.
“Look, pretty!”
Finally finding what he wanted from the Back Basket, Xu Hu looked up and saw the red rope on her fair, chubby wrist.
“Yeah, little sister is pretty!”
Pleased that her idea was acknowledged, Xiao Tianbao was especially happy and finally turned her attention to what Xu Hu was holding, her eyes full of curiosity.
Xu Hu didn’t keep her in suspense. He held up a bunch of flower buds in his hand for Xiao Tianbao to see.
Seeing the buds with hints of yellow peeking through, Xiao Tianbao thought Xu Hu had picked flowers for her.
Few girls in the world don’t love flowers, and Xiao Tianbao was delighted to see the little blooms. Just as she reached out to take them, Xu Hu unexpectedly used his other hand to pluck off all the flower buds.
Not only that, he then stuffed the stems, which were oozing white sap, into Xiao Tianbao’s slightly open mouth, which was agape in surprise.
“Hehe, little sister, I specially picked these Goat Milk Flowers for you. Tasty, right!”
Seeing Xu Hu’s silly grin, Xiao Tianbao grabbed the Little Tiger’s tail just as it was about to swat Xu Tianbao’s bottom.
The Little Tiger turned its head, not understanding why its owner was stopping it.
It clearly sensed that the little brat in front had made its owner unhappy.
Xiao Tianbao smacked her lips and indeed tasted a milky flavor—lighter than Goat Milk but a bit sweeter.
Oh well, even though he’s silly, I won’t beat him up today.
Giving a slight nod, Xiao Tianbao expressed her approval of Xu Hu.
Unaware that he had just escaped a beating, Xu Hu, seeing that his little sister liked his gift, grew even happier.
He slung his small Back Basket back over his shoulder and ran over to Old Mrs. Xu.
Hehe, little sister likes the Goat Milk Flower. I’ll pick more tomorrow. In a few days when the flowers fully bloom, they won’t taste as good anymore.
Old Mrs. Xu watched her grandson hopping with joy after receiving a nod from his little sister, a far cry from his former self who’d clamored to starve the “jinx” to death.
Her gaze shifted toward her elder daughter-in-law Liu Shi, who was diligently tending the fire in the inner kitchen, then turned to the Little Tiger still guarding her precious granddaughter. Old Mrs. Xu shook her head with a light chuckle.
The complete transformation of this mother-son pair was all thanks to this little creature.
Over the past six months, whenever the two caused trouble, the Little Tiger would either bare its fangs threateningly or whip them with its tail. Even after they admitted their mistakes, Xiao Hu Zai would still turn back and roar at them as a final warning.
Then the next day, the big tiger would bring some meat as compensation.
Under this education method of alternating between punishment and reward, the mother and son underwent a complete metamorphosis.
They transformed from looking down on Xiao Tianbao to becoming her devoted followers.
Just as Old Mrs. Xu felt immensely gratified by Xu Hu’s behavior and decided to add a steamed Ye Ji Dan to his dinner, Xu Lao Nian’er and the others, preparing to descend the mountain, encountered an unexpected “old acquaintance.”