Chapter 67

The news of Wang Xiaoqiang taking Xia Gui Fang to stay overnight in the provincial city spread before they even returned home. People said all sorts of things, but in the end, it all boiled down to the idea that the two had become a couple, and that they had gone to the provincial city to stay in a hotel. Neither Wang Xiaoqiang nor Xia Gui Fang could have imagined that the one spreading these rumors was none other than Xia Sanwa.

Xia Sanwa's actions seemed incomprehensible, but in reality, he had his own reasons, and this was not an uncommon practice. It was akin to a publicity stunt. For example, if a female celebrity wanted to marry into a wealthy family, she would create some gossip with the media about her relationship with a rich heir, making something out of nothing.

Xia Sanwa's approach was to create publicity for his daughter, hoping that the whole world would know about her relationship with Wang Xiaoqiang.

If such an incident had happened in the rural areas of the 1970s and 1980s, the parties involved would have been severely criticized. However, in today's open society, it really wasn't a big deal.

Compared to this news, another event garnered more attention from the villagers. Wang Xiaoqiang's forty acres of yam fields, after several days of heavy rain, not only did not drown, but also showed signs of robust growth. This was all within Wang Xiaoqiang's expectations. With the nourishment of the Five Elements Spirit Spring, it would be difficult for the yam fields not to grow well.

Moreover, if the yams continued to grow at this rate, they wouldn't need two years to reach harvest; it might even take less than a year. Thinking about this, Wang Xiaoqiang felt elated.

Farmers are not like office workers who work from nine to five, busy like machines. Farmers actually have a lot of leisure time. After planting crops in the fields, there is a long period of downtime, almost like a long vacation. During this time, you can do whatever you want.

It was currently the farming off-season, and for Wang Xiaoqiang, this was a long period. However, he was not idle. Besides carefully tending to the young golden chrysanthemum tree, he also took care of the two puppies he had brought back from the Xu family. These two Tibetan Mastiffs were now named Dahuhei (Big Black) and Xiaohuai (Little Black), very simple and down-to-earth names, but Wang Xiaoqiang found them cute, so he named them without any deeper meaning.

Dahuhei and Xiaohuai did not protest their names, but they started a hunger strike after leaving the Xu family, disliking the food Wang Xiaoqiang gave them. At the Xu family, they either ate meat or high-quality dog food. Although Wang Xiaoqiang was not short of money, he did not intend to feed them dog food. He wanted them to adapt to the rural life, both in terms of food and environment.

Wang Xiaoqiang thought the two pampered puppies would quickly adapt, but they refused to eat for two days, only drinking a little water. They looked quite weak.

Seeing this, Wang Xiaoqiang felt a pang of sympathy. He was considering whether to kill one of the wild mountain chickens to feed them when he suddenly saw the old yellow dog walk in from outside the old village committee courtyard. Since Wang Xiaoqiang infused the old yellow dog with Wood Spirit Qi, it seemed to have rejuvenated, losing all its old age and looking vigorous and strong. It often patrolled around the yam fields, driving away wild chickens and sparrows, like a diligent old warrior.

What surprised Wang Xiaoqiang was that the old yellow dog was becoming increasingly obedient. It seemed to understand his words, and whenever Wang Xiaoqiang spoke, the old yellow dog would understand and act immediately.

However, sometimes the old yellow dog would run to the village to harass the big spotted female dog. It was amazing how much energy it had. Once, it even got stuck on top of the big spotted female dog, causing a "dog entanglement" incident.

Seeing the rejuvenated old yellow dog, Wang Xiaoqiang had a sudden idea. He extended his hands and placed them on Dahuhei and Xiaohuai, infusing them with two streams of green Spirit Qi...

Wang Xiaoqiang controlled the amount of Spirit Qi he infused. When he saw the black fur of the two puppies stand up, he stopped.

After being nourished by the Spirit Qi, the two puppies no longer looked weak. They looked even more robust and started eating the steamed buns Wang Xiaoqiang gave them.

Seeing the two little guys finally eating, Wang Xiaoqiang understood that the Spirit Qi was working. He didn't care how much the Spirit Qi had changed the puppies; what mattered was that they were eating. Watching them gobble down the steamed buns, Wang Xiaoqiang felt very happy.

Just then, the big spotted female dog from the village came to the entrance of the village committee courtyard, hesitating to come in. She looked at the old yellow dog with her beautiful eyes, looking timid and cute.

The old yellow dog barked softly at the big spotted female dog, and she wagged her tail, as if giving a secret signal.

Wang Xiaoqiang couldn't help but smile. It seemed the old yellow dog was back in its prime, and the big spotted female dog was becoming increasingly dependent on it.

The big spotted female dog was clearly wary of Wang Xiaoqiang, but after a while, seeing that he had no intention of driving her away, she entered the village committee courtyard and mingled with the old yellow dog.

In the evening, his sister-in-law Liu Juyi came to bring him food. Since Wang Xiaoqiang and Xia Gui Fang returned from the provincial city, Liu Juyi had stopped bringing him food and had been avoiding him, working silently and becoming more reserved.

Wang Xiaoqiang noticed this but didn't know what to say. After all, she was his sister-in-law, and he couldn't really ask her if she was happy or not.

Today, Liu Juyi was not wearing the dress Wang Xiaoqiang had bought for her. Instead, she wore a pink tank top she had made herself and a pair of tight jeans that accentuated her firm and full hips.

Liu Juyi entered the village committee courtyard with a food basket. Wang Xiaoqiang was playing with Dahuhei and Xiaohuai in the yard. Seeing Liu Juyi come in, he looked up in surprise, puzzled by her bringing food.

"What are you looking at? Do I have a flower on my face?" Liu Juyi blushed when she saw Wang Xiaoqiang staring at her, and she scolded him lightly.

"Your face is a flower!" Wang Xiaoqiang saw the blush on her fair and beautiful face, like a snow lotus illuminated by a rosy glow, and he was momentarily entranced. He forgot himself and blurted out a flirtatious remark.

"Oh, you... why are you so talkative now!" Liu Juyi stomped her foot in embarrassment, glaring at Wang Xiaoqiang with her beautiful eyes, her blush deepening. However, her heart felt as sweet as honey, and much of her recent sadness and gloom dissipated.

Since learning that Wang Xiaoqiang and Xia Gui Fang had gone to the provincial city and stayed overnight, Liu Juyi had felt very down, inevitably thinking about her own marital troubles and feeling self-pity.