"What’s wrong?" Jian Zhiqing placed his hand on her hair. "You suddenly stopped talking, is everything alright?"
"It’s nothing," Qin Xiangnuan pushed back the tears that were about to fall, splitting a smile on her face. Yet, the light in her eyes flickered dim and bright, resembling ripples under a subtle breeze, spreading in circles before dissipating.
Jian Zhiqing knew she had something on her mind but didn’t ask further. He understood that the young girl was heavy-hearted and let her calm herself down.
"Right," he patted the small puppy on the head.
Name? Qin Xiangnuan felt she really wasn’t good at naming. The Wang Family’s dog was named Dahuang, and there were countless Dahuangs in the village. She remembered an old man in the village calling out for Dahuang in the fields, and a whole bunch of Dahuangs came running.
She later found out that these Dahuangs were all raised by the old man. Dahuang had Little Huang, and eventually, all became Dahuang.
This dog is black; it surely can’t be named Big Black or Little Black.
"Let’s call it Conghua," Qin Xiangnuan casually suggested a name.
"Conghua?" Jian Zhiqing felt somewhat helpless regarding Qin Xiangnuan’s naming skills.
"Yes, Conghua," Qin Xiangnuan felt it was a good name. "I sell scallion pancakes, so Conghua is easy to remember," she picked up the puppy, now named Conghua, by its small paws. Conghua opened its moist eyes and let out a bark.
"See, I knew you’d name."
And all Jian Zhiqing could do was sigh with a wry smile.
This was a police dog, a purebred military dog from the army. If people knew that a military dog was named Conghua, they wouldn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Qin Xiangming placed Conghua in a small corner near the door, made a little nest for it, and placed an old shirt she had worn inside. Conghua was indeed very well-behaved, not causing much noise except for some initial unfamiliar yelps on the first day.
Moreover, it wasn’t picky with food. Whatever Qin Xiangnuan fed, it ate. Knowing Conghua was still a puppy, she shared some of her own milk with it, soaking steamed bread in milk powder. Conghua ate heartily, able to finish whatever was given and would lick the bowl clean.
After feeding it for a few days, Qin Xiangming discovered that Conghua was very smart; it even learned to use the toilet by itself and didn’t mess anywhere else. The toilets in the Siheyuan were not like modern homes with bathrooms inside the rooms; they were a bit farther from the main courtyard and were separated by gender, so it was fine.
The presence of Conghua in the house really made a difference.
Conghua was good at recognizing people but was also quite fierce. It would bark loudly whenever it heard unfamiliar footsteps.
Every evening, Jian Zhiqing was in charge of taking Conghua outside to prevent it from becoming a foolish dog. Qin Xiangnuan didn’t realize that this wasn’t merely walking the dog; it was actually training. Trained Conghua was very intelligent, and calling it just a watchdog was an understatement, though Qin Xiangnuan didn’t know this.
Her mind was completely focused on her small shop now.
The money had been paid, and the shop could be used.
It was the weekend now, and although there were no two-day weekends yet, there was a half-day off on Saturday and a full day on Sunday. With Jian Zhiqing’s help, the shop was cleaned up very quickly; within half a day, it was all done. The walls inside and out were freshly painted white, making the inside look even brighter.