“Huh? Where did this little puppy come from?”
Chu Fuyu was a little surprised. The puppy looked only about three or four months old. It was yellowish-brown, like a common village dog—not a rare breed—but its eyes were bright and lively.
At that moment, it was trembling from the cold, its fur completely soaked. It must have failed to find shelter during last night’s rain, or perhaps it was too weak from hunger to move. All it could do was let out faint whimpering sounds, which made it seem especially pitiful.
The youngest, Huaiyi, had the softest heart. He looked up at Chu Fuyu pleadingly and tugged at her sleeve.
“Mother, it’s so pitiful. It must have been hungry for a long time. Can we give it something to eat? It looks so cold!”
Huai Jin and Huai Yu also spoke up in its defense.
“Yes, Mother. We heard it crying early this morning, and now it doesn’t even have the strength to move.”
“It’s so small. If it doesn’t eat, it will die.”
“Let’s keep it, Mother, please. We already have a donkey, chickens, and ducks—we can definitely raise a puppy too!”
Chu Fuyu felt her heart soften. Not only did she herself hate seeing such things, but more importantly, the children’s kindness made it impossible for her to refuse.
So she turned and went back into the house to get a towel—taken from her spatial storage. It was soft, comfortable, and absorbent. She intended to clean the puppy first.
When the children saw their mother bringing out a cloth, gently wrapping the puppy, and carrying it into the house, they exchanged glances and immediately understood that she had agreed to keep it. They grinned widely and followed her excitedly.
They trailed behind her, offering suggestions one after another.
“Mom, what should we feed it? Steamed buns?”
“Should we give it water first?”
“No, no, it’s so cold—we should make it a nest first!”
Chu Fuyu brought the puppy into her bedroom and carefully wiped its fur dry with the soft towel.
To her surprise, the puppy was extremely obedient. It did not resist at all, quietly allowing itself to be handled, as if it already knew it had finally found a home.
Chu Fuyu felt something stir in her heart. She gently stroked its fur. The puppy whimpered softly and leaned into her palm.
That single gesture completely won her over.
What puppy?
This is my fourth son!
“From now on, its name will be Simao!” she declared.
The three children looked at each other.
Huai Yu asked in surprise, “Mother, is this our little brother?”
Chu Fuyu nodded firmly.
The next second, Huaiyi jumped up in excitement.
“Yay! I’m not the youngest anymore! I have a younger brother now!”
Huai Jin smiled faintly and carefully touched the puppy’s soft body.
Chu Fuyu quickly took out a soft blanket from the wardrobe, placed it inside a wooden box, and set the puppy inside.
“This will be its bed from now on. It will stay here.”
Huai Jin looked at the nest and nodded in approval—it was soft and comfortable.
Chu Fuyu thought for a moment. The puppy was still weak and hungry and couldn’t eat anything too hard yet. It should have some milk.
So she went to the kitchen, took out a small bowl, poured in some milk, and secretly added a bit of spiritual spring water from her space. This should help the puppy recover quickly.
When she brought it over, the puppy was already quite clever. It sniffed around, quickly found the bowl, and began lapping up the milk eagerly.
The three children squatted nearby, watching their newly adopted “dog brother” drink.
Suddenly, Huaiyi swallowed and said, “I want some too… I haven’t had milk yet today.”
Huai Yu rolled his eyes. “Third brother, why do you always want to eat?”
Huaiyi scratched his head sheepishly, then looked up at Chu Fuyu pitifully.
Seeing that the puppy had already finished half the milk and looked much better, Chu Fuyu felt relieved.
“Alright, I’ll go make breakfast. You all take care of it.”
In the kitchen, Chu Fuyu considered what to eat. Her eyes scanned the supplies in her space.
She spotted shrimp dumplings and rice rolls.
“Let’s have this then,” she decided.
She took out two portions of shrimp dumplings and rice rolls and prepared to steam them.
Meanwhile, Simao finished its milk, sniffed around its new nest, marking its scent, and gradually relaxed. Once it was full and warm, it finally let go of its guard and fell into a deep sleep.
Huai Jin, the most worried of them all, quickly checked its belly and felt it rising and falling gently and warmly. Only then did he relax and carefully cover it with the blanket.
The three children were fascinated by the puppy, unable to look away even though it was asleep, whispering excitedly around it.
When Chu Fuyu finished breakfast and came out, she saw this scene.
They were gathered around on the floor, carefully tucking the puppy in and adjusting its nest.
She unconsciously lowered her voice.
“Time to eat, children!”
Huaiyi was the first to rush over, still swallowing greedily. Huai Jin lagged behind, constantly looking back at the puppy, reluctant to leave, determined to eat quickly so he could return.
Breakfast today was something new.
Huai Yu took a bite of a shrimp dumpling and immediately burst with juice. Inside was a whole fresh shrimp.
“There’s a whole shrimp inside! Mother, where did you get these shrimp?”
Shrimp were available in the capital, but out of season they were expensive and small—far beyond what ordinary villagers could afford.
The children happily focused on eating the shrimp dumplings. Huai Jin even picked one up and placed it into Chu Fuyu’s bowl.
Huaiyi ate until his eyes narrowed in bliss, as if tiny wings were fluttering behind him.