Chapter 81: Bai Bai

Chapter 81: Bai Bai

When Su Taotao was too busy to accompany Chenchen earlier, she wondered if they should get a pet for him. At least he would have some company when she was busy.

You could keep pets at the base, as long as the number didn’t exceed the limit. For example, Auntie Zhong’s family raised three chickens. She would go to the supply and marketing cooperative every day to pick up some vegetable scraps to feed them.

Su Taotao thought their yard was too small to raise any animals.

This meant that Chenchen was missing out on a lot of fun. After all, when they were in the village, Fu Yuanhang would take him to dig for earthworms to feed the chickens every day, which was quite a childhood joy.

Initially, Su Taotao considered raising two rabbits.

Like Auntie Zhong, they could be fed with leftover vegetable scraps from the supply and marketing cooperative, which wouldn't waste any food.

Moreover, rabbits reproduced quickly. Once they were grown, they could be eaten, and several batches could be raised in a year.

The worry was that the two kids might grow attached and not want to eat them later.

Now, everything worked out. Fu Yuanhang somehow brought back this tiny puppy. It was so small, Su Taotao wasn’t even sure if it had been weaned yet.

The little black puppy had round, black eyes that were so wet and big, they almost melted your heart when it stared at you. “Yuanhang, where’d you get this puppy?”

Fu Yuanhang had brought it back without asking his sister-in-law first, so he scratched his head awkwardly.

“Kangzi’s big dog had five puppies. Kangzi’s mom said they couldn’t keep all of them, so she asked if Yuanhang and Mumu wanted one. Yuanhang and Mumu went to see them and thought they were so cute, so each of them took one home.”

Su Taotao patted the puppy’s head. “Great job bringing it home. We’ve got a new family member now!”

Fu Yuanhang felt relieved seeing that both his sister-in-law and Chenchen liked the puppy.

As for his older brother, well, household matters were usually decided by his sister-in-law, so his opinion didn’t seem to matter much, right?

Chenchen squatted down, staring intently at the puppy, wanting to touch it but hesitating.

Su Taotao guided Chenchen’s hand to pet the puppy’s head, and Chenchen laughed happily.

Once Su Taotao let go, he dared to touch it on his own and even tried to pick it up.

“Chenchen, don’t hold it too high. Be careful not to drop it.”

The puppy had been licked clean by its mom and had shiny, smooth fur, showing it was well-fed and cared for.

Chenchen was very obedient and put the puppy down after holding it for a moment.

The little puppy was well-behaved and not shy around strangers. Its big, wet eyes looked at you with a little bit of caution, enough to melt your heart.

Su Taotao said, “How about you two name it first? I’ll finish making the soup.”

Fu Yuanhang squatted down and started petting the puppy’s head along with Chenchen. “Chenchen, why don’t you give it a name?”

Chenchen raised his fair little face. “Wangwang~~ It’s Wangwang~~”

In the village, Chenchen used to call all dogs “Wangwang.”

Fu Yuanhang patted Chenchen’s head. “You call every dog ‘Wangwang.’ We need a special name for this one, like ‘Little Black,’ for instance.”

Chenchen shook his head. “That doesn’t sound nice~~ ‘Chenchen’ sounds nice~~”

Fu Yuanhang: “……”

"When I call 'Chenchen,' do you think you should answer or should it?"

Chenchen tilted his head and thought for a moment. It seemed like it wasn't quite right, so he immediately came up with another name: "Bai Bai~~"

Fu Yuanhang: "..." He was speechless, unsure how to respond.

"But it's a black dog. Right now, it's not that dark, but when it grows up, it'll be as black as the bottom of a pot." Fu Yuanhang recalled the jet-black dog mother, who might be even blacker than the pot bottom.

Chenchen was very firm in his attitude: "Bai Bai~~"

Fu Yuanhang asked, "Why?"

Chenchen pointed to the sky and then to Su Taotao: "Yunyun~~ Mama~~ both are white~~ pretty~~"

Fu Yuanhang: "..."

No rebuttal.

In a two-year-old's world, white means pretty.

In the end, the little black dog was named Bai Bai.

When Fu Yuanhang told Su Taotao, she burst out laughing.

She asked the same question as Fu Yuanhang: "But it's a black dog, why is it called Bai Bai?"

Fu Yuanhang: "...Chenchen said the clouds in the sky are white and very pretty." He left out the part about Su Taotao being white, feeling it wasn't his place to mention.

Su Taotao: "It was named by Chenchen? Alright then, let's call it Bai Bai."

Fu Zhengtu came home from work and quickly found out about the new family member named Bai Bai.

When he saw that "Bai Bai" was actually a black dog puppy, even this man of few words asked, "It's a black dog, why is it called Bai Bai?"

Fu Yuanhang gave him the same answer he gave Su Taotao.

Fu Zhengtu could only ask questions; he had no say in the matter. He resigned himself to the fact that their black dog was named Bai Bai.

He could already imagine that from now on, whenever someone saw this black dog, they would have to explain why it was called Bai Bai.

They could have just called it Little Black.

But the whole family doted on Chenchen, so as long as he liked it, it was fine to go through a bit of trouble.

Su Taotao made some milk for Chenchen and let the kids feed Bai Bai.

Bai Bai was likely hungry and smart enough to lap up the milk bit by bit.

There was only a small amount of milk, and Bai Bai was still lapping it up when the family sat down for dinner.

Chenchen couldn't take his eyes off Bai Bai, not even his favorite tomato scrambled eggs could distract him.

During dinner, Chenchen wanted to feed Bai Bai his tomato scrambled eggs.

Su Taotao said, "Chenchen, Bai Bai is still young and can't eat these things yet. For a few more days, it can only drink milk and eat some plain porridge. You can't feed it other things yet, or it will get a stomachache and cause big problems.

If you want Bai Bai to stay healthy, you need to remember what Mama said, okay?"

Chenchen quickly pulled back the tomato scrambled eggs and nodded earnestly, "Yes, Mama, I got it. No feeding!"

Actually, native dogs are very easy to raise. They eat anything and aren't that delicate. However, since Bai Bai has just been weaned, it needs some time to adapt, so it's better to be careful.

Chenchen likes it so much that if something goes wrong, he would be very upset.

When it was time for a bath, Chenchen asked his mom if Bai Bai could bathe with him.

Su Taotao said, "It's not a good idea at night because Bai Bai is too young and might catch a cold easily after a bath if it's windy. We'll wait until tomorrow afternoon when the sun is bright, and then I'll help you bathe Bai Bai together."

Chenchen understood and stopped insisting on bathing Bai Bai with him.

At this point, in Chenchen's eyes, Bai Bai was a very fragile being. It could get diarrhea from eating the wrong thing and might fall ill from just a bath.

Su Taotao made a simple dog bed for Bai Bai using old clothes. When it was time to sleep, Chenchen insisted that Bai Bai sleep in his room.

Su Taotao had no choice but to move Bai Bai's bed to Chenchen's room and could only train Bai Bai to use the toilet during the day.

It was past 10 p.m. when Su Taotao finally lay down on the bed, completely exhausted.

She couldn't believe how having just one puppy could make her this tired.

If they were to have a second child... Stop, Su Taotao dared not think about it. Family Planning Supplies must not be interrupted.

Fu Zhengtu let her lie on her stomach and helped massage her shoulders and back.

Even though Fu Zhengtu had been working all day and his back was sore and aching, Su Taotao, half-asleep, said, "Later, it'll be my turn to massage you."

Fu Zhengtu didn't say anything. In a while, she wouldn't even have the strength to speak, let alone massage him.

"By the way," Su Taotao added, "I've already written the proposal. It's on the desk. Take a look and see if there's anything that needs revision."

Fu Zhengtu stopped what he was doing and reached for the papers on the desk. "You finished it this quickly?"

Su Taotao said, "It's just a preliminary plan, but I think it's highly feasible. It depends on what the leadership team thinks."

Su Taotao's handwriting was elegant, graceful, and smooth, flowing effortlessly across several pages. The language was concise, the expression clear, and there wasn't a single typo or correction.

Su Taotao once again changed Fu Zhengtu's perception of her.

He sighed, "If there were still college entrance exams, you'd definitely be a college student."

Su Taotao, with her eyes closed, casually said, "I think so too. If the college entrance exams are restored, I'll sign up to take them immediately."

Fu Zhengtu didn't even think twice. "Okay."

Su Taotao opened her eyes and turned to look at him. "You don't object? Do you really think the exams will be restored?"

Fu Zhengtu's tone was calm and matter-of-fact. "It's only a matter of time."

Su Taotao had thought this man might find her idea far-fetched, but he actually agreed.

Su Taotao didn't dwell on the issue and instead asked, "What do you think of my proposal? Do you think the leadership will approve it?"

Fu Zhengtu set the proposal aside and, with his distinctively slender fingers, gently pinched Su Taotao's chin, leaning down to give her a deep kiss.

"If you weren't born in the wrong era, you could have accomplished great things."

That was Fu Zhengtu's thought after reading her plan. There were many men who didn't have her grand ambitions, let alone her meticulousness.

Such a person would undoubtedly be a standout in any industry, regardless of what they do.

If anyone else were doing this, there might be hesitation, but with Su Taotao, there’s almost zero chance of failing, and he would endorse her as well.

That being said, if not for this era, and her being forced to go to the countryside, as Zhou Linglan often put it, "this golden phoenix wouldn’t have settled in our poor, remote village."

He was grateful that she had come to the countryside and for her unwavering resolve to marry only him.

Su Taotao, dazed from his kiss, asked, "What do you mean? Is there still something that needs revising?"

Fu Zhengtu brushed her hair behind her ear, gently kneading her earlobe with his fingertips.

"Nothing. If it’s not approved, then the leaders need to be replaced."

With that, Fu Zhengtu leaned in, replacing his fingers with his lips and tongue, kissing her deeply...

Su Taotao quickly lost her composure, her eyes glazed over with warmth and confusion, unable to stop herself from calling out, "Fu Zhengtu..."

Fu Zhengtu released her and kissed her lips instead, keeping the promise he made to her at noon. "Here you go," he murmured.