The Little Life of a Big Landlord

Chapter 31 Soul Collection

(Regarding the issue of cats and dogs, some readers said that cats and dogs are like brothers. I have never heard of this before. However, I have experienced this tragedy twice: I was holding a cat when I encountered a dog on the street and was then scratched by the cat. Fortunately, the first time was in winter and I was wearing thick clothes, so the cat's claws did not penetrate. The second time was a kitten that only scratched two white marks on my chest. Both times, I escaped because the cat covered its eyes.)

As for the situation where a cat arches its back, bristles its fur, and confronts a dog, I've seen this before. However, I believe it's a self-defense mechanism when a dog approaches to an unsafe distance. Generally, only experienced cats adopt this posture. When encountering a dog at an unsafe distance, a cat won't dare run away and expose its back; otherwise, the dog will definitely chase and bite. Dogs generally have a desire to chase anything that runs.

Despite the pain, Yang Ming removed the large black cat from his body. Seeing the cat's terrified expression, he threw it under the car so that neither of them could see it and thus avoid any conflict.

Before long, Zheng Dabao and Wang Quangen returned. When Zheng Dabao saw Yang Ming covered in blood, he was shocked: "Little Yang, what happened to you?"

"It's nothing, just a cat scratch, nothing serious..." Yang Ming smiled nonchalantly.

"It was scratched by a cat, so you'll need to give it antivenom. Cats always eat mice and such, so their claws aren't very clean..." Wang Quangen said with great concern, but Yang Ming clearly saw a hint of a smile in his eyes.

"Thank you for your concern, Village Chief Wang. I will definitely remember to get the serum when I get back..." Yang Ming smiled and nodded to Wang Quangen.

"Cats and dogs are natural enemies, we can't let them be together, especially when they're not familiar with each other yet..." Zheng Dabao glanced at the two big dogs in the back of the truck, then looked at the big black cat curled up in the driver's seat, and said.

"Thank you, Party Secretary," Yang Ming said.

"Your big dogs are nice, are they a male and a female? When they have puppies, give me one of them..." Wang Quangen looked at the two big spotted dogs with some envy.

"A Dalmatian, also known as a Spotted Dog, a purebred Dalmatian can cost several thousand or even hundreds of thousands of dollars," Zheng Dabao said before Yang Ming could say anything.

"Hehe, it's quite valuable, never mind..." Wang Quangen smiled awkwardly.

"Secretary, Village Chief Wang, it's getting late, let's head back quickly..." Yang Ming said with a smile, inviting the two to get into the car.

The two village officials got into the car, and Yang Ming drove towards Zhengjia Village.

Around noon, the truck stopped in front of the Zhengjia Village Committee. Two village officials got out of the truck, and Yang Ming followed them in with his briefcase. They signed the contract directly in the village committee.

Holding the contract, Yang Ming left the village committee and drove home.

"Qingqing, look what I bought for you!" Yang Ming carried the parrot and hugged the big black cat, excitedly entering the house. However, the scene inside made his heart clench. The kang table had been moved down, and a thick quilt was laid on the kang. Wei Qingqing lay on the quilt, her face pale and her whole body trembling. She was covered with a thick quilt, her beautiful eyebrows tightly furrowed, as if she was enduring great pain, or as if she had a terrifying nightmare that she could not wake up from. Her rosy lips had lost their color, and due to fever and dehydration, a thin layer of dry skin had appeared. Aunt Liu sat on the edge of the kang, occasionally touching her forehead.

"What...what happened?" Seeing his wife's miserable state, Yang Minghai turned pale, heartbroken, and asked in a trembling voice.

"You're finally back!" Aunt Liu breathed a long sigh of relief when she saw Yang Ming return. "I signed a contract with the brigade and came to your house to get the peach pits. But when I found Qingqing huddled on the kang (a heated brick bed), shivering all over, I was shocked. I touched her forehead and it was burning hot. I knew she had a fever, so I covered her with a blanket and gave her some medicine. Her fever should be going down soon. If it doesn't, we'll go to the hospital."

"Qingqing has been feeling unwell since this morning, but I didn't pay much attention. Who would have thought..." Yang Ming touched Wei Qingqing's forehead, which was burning hot. He was so anxious that he paced back and forth. He regretted it. If he had known this would happen, he would have preferred to stay in the city. At least the medical conditions there are better, and if he got sick, he could just go to the hospital.

"Qingqing doesn't look like she has a fever. She looks like she's been scared out of her wits. Was she frightened last night?" Aunt Liu said, carefully examining Wei Qingqing's symptoms and frowning.

"..." Yang Ming was stunned. Why did this Aunt Liu look a bit like a fortune teller? "You can tell? Last night, a rat crawled on her and scared her..."

"If she's frightened, medicine alone won't do any good. Let me try to calm her down before the medicine takes effect. If the fever doesn't go down, we'll go to the hospital immediately..." As she spoke, Aunt Liu stood up from the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and went to the outer room to find a broom.

"When I'm collecting the soul, there can't be any noise. Take that parrot out and don't let it squawk. And that cat... pure black? Or maybe a black cat? Let it stay in the house; it can ward off evil spirits..." Aunt Liu shooed Yang Ming out of the house and then began the ritual of collecting the soul.

He first swept the floor of the main room three times with a broom, sweeping directly from the middle door of the main room to the doorway of the east room, muttering to himself.

Aunt Liu swept the dust to the doorway of the east room, then put down the broom. With both hands, she held the dust in a respectful gesture on the left side of the doorway, as if holding a precious treasure. She slowly walked into the east room, gently placed her hands on Wei Qingqing's forehead and hairline, then blew a breath of air from her palms, lightly blowing the dust she was holding onto Wei Qingqing's head. Afterward, she slowly returned to the main room, held the dust in a respectful gesture on the right side of the doorway, and then slowly walked into the east room, gently blowing the dust onto Wei Qingqing's head.

Aunt Liu went out of the house again, picked up a broom, and swept three more times. This time, she held the broom with both hands on the left side inside the east room door, then slowly went into the house and gently blew the dust onto Wei Qingqing's forehead and hairline. Then, she held the broom with both hands on the right side inside the east room door, went into the house, and gently blew the dust onto Wei Qingqing's forehead and hairline.

After doing these things, Aunt Liu took the broom and went into the house. This time, she swept the floor of the inner room three times, sweeping the dust under Wei Qingqing's head. Then, Aunt Liu cupped her hands on the left side of Wei Qingqing's head and gently blew the dust onto her forehead and hairline. She then cupped her hands on the right side of her head and gently blew the dust onto her forehead and hairline. After doing all this, Aunt Liu gently patted Wei Qingqing's head and whispered, "You're back, you're back..."

Yang Ming was dumbfounded as he watched Liu Sao perform the soul-gathering ritual in a mystical manner. He didn't believe in such things, but seeing Liu Sao's devout and solemn appearance, he unconsciously developed a sense of awe.

He had been frightened as a child, then developed a fever and became lethargic. After medication and injections failed to help, Zhang Shufang asked her third grandmother to perform a ritual for him. Surprisingly, after the ritual, he recovered. However, it is unknown whether the recovery was due to medication or the ritual. Yang Ming tends to believe that the medication helped, since it is a real cure, while the ritual is somewhat ineffective.

Aunt Liu came out of the house and waved to Yang Ming, indicating that the two of them should go to the courtyard to talk.

"Let Qingqing sleep for half an hour, and she'll be better. Don't disturb her during that time..." Aunt Liu said, standing under the persimmon tree in the yard.

"Does it really work?" Yang Ming was somewhat skeptical.

"Of course it works, it's a method passed down from generation to generation..." Aunt Liu said very seriously.

"Sister Liu, I noticed your mouth was moving a lot just now. What were you muttering?" Yang Ming asked.

"Spell!"

"Can you tell me about it?" Yang Ming asked curiously.

"The secrets of the law should not be passed on to six ears," said Aunt Liu with a smile.

"Who did you send it to? I'll ask her later."

"I haven't even taught you yet, what are you doing learning this, a grown man?" Aunt Liu rolled her eyes at Yang Ming.

"Just curious! Actually, my mom knows this trick too, but it's a little different from yours. I've asked her how to use the spell, but she just won't tell me. I'm still wondering about it."

"Hehehe...then you can keep it to yourself!" Aunt Liu giggled.

No matter how Yang Ming asked, Aunt Liu wouldn't say anything. In the end, Yang Ming had no choice but to give up his plan to get to the bottom of things.

"Is that blood on your clothes? I thought it was red flowers..." At this moment, Aunt Liu finally noticed the bloodstain on Yang Ming's T-shirt.

Reminded by Aunt Liu, Yang Ming suddenly remembered that there were two big dogs on the truck outside. He said, "The cat scratched me. I bought two more dogs at the market today. The black cat panicked as soon as it saw the dogs and scratched me several times. You sit down for a while, I'll go and bring the two dogs in..." As he spoke, he brought Aunt Liu a small stool and walked towards the yard.

"Didn't you already buy nine puppies? Why are you buying more?" Aunt Liu asked, puzzled. This person really loves dogs!

"These are two big dogs, but they're both disabled. I bought them so they could have puppies," Yang Ming said, leading the two limping spotted dogs into the room.

"A Dalmatian? I've seen them on TV, they're actually quite cute, it's a pity they're lame." Aunt Liu looked at the two large dogs, shook her head and sighed, then seemed to remember something, looking around the yard: "Where are the nine puppies you bought yesterday? I can't see them. Did they run away?"

"No, I've put them in the east wing," Yang Ming said, tying the two dogs to a stake and going into the east wing. He soon came out carrying a small, clumsy black dog and placed it in front of Aunt Liu. "These puppies are newly bought and don't know how to go into their kennels yet. Putting them in the wing will make that their kennel."

"Hmm..." Aunt Liu looked at the puppy, pondering for a moment, her brows furrowed. "This puppy of yours seems a little different. It's gotten quite a bit bigger..."

Hearing what Aunt Liu said, Yang Ming's heart skipped a beat. "It's gotten bigger? No way! It's only been a day..."

"Who knows? It always seems to have gotten bigger..." Aunt Liu glanced at it twice and then stopped paying attention to the puppy. She had come to Yang Ming's place today to get peach pits and was really not interested in the puppy.

Yang Ming breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Aunt Liu glanced at it twice and then stopped paying attention. That's true, people aren't idle. Who plays with dogs all the time? Unless the growth rate is too fast, it's hard to attract other people's attention.

"Mom, so you're at Uncle Yang's house?" At that moment, Zheng Bao'er ran in excitedly from outside, carrying a small schoolbag.

"School's out, go home first, Mom will cook for you when she gets back..." Aunt Liu said.

"School's out? Aunt Liu, Bao'er and the others have started school? Isn't it still summer vacation?" Yang Ming asked curiously.

"Their school started on August 2nd. Their teachers are from the city. It's cool in the mountains, so they teach while also escaping the heat. Their school will have a three-week autumn break from September to October 1st," Aunt Liu explained.

"I see." In the past, rural areas mostly used primitive farming tools such as sickles and hoes to harvest grain, which was relatively inefficient. Therefore, in addition to summer and winter vacations, schools also had wheat harvest breaks when wheat ripened and autumn harvest breaks when corn ripened, so that students could help their families with some chores. However, later, with the widespread use of modern farming tools in rural areas, harvesting efficiency improved and farm work became easier. As a result, wheat and autumn harvest breaks were canceled in many rural areas, although some places still retain them.

"It's almost time. I'll go inside and check if Qingqing's fever has gone down," said Aunt Liu, getting up and walking into the house. Her daughter had already come home from school, and it was time to cook.

"Aunt Qingqing is sick? I want to go visit Aunt Qingqing too." Zheng Bao'er followed closely behind her mother and ran into the house.

Yang Ming also went in. In the inner room, Aunt Liu sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), gently touching Wei Qingqing's forehead. She even put her hand under the quilt to check her body temperature. Zheng Bao'er stood behind her mother, looking at Wei Qingqing with a worried expression.

"I should buy a thermometer..." Yang Ming thought to himself as he watched Liu Sao test his temperature with her hand.

Wei Qingqing's complexion improved, her cheeks became rosy, and when I touched her forehead, it wasn't very hot anymore. I really didn't know if it was the effect of the medicine or the effect of the "method".

"Alright, let her sleep. Give her some fever reducer tonight to help her recover. She should be fine by then. I'm going back to cook dinner; Bao'er has class this afternoon." Aunt Liu tucked Wei Qingqing in and said to Yang Ming.

"Alright, thank you, Aunt Liu. Didn't you want peach pits? Why don't you come back tomorrow? I'll freeze them for you tonight," Yang Ming said.

"Okay, I'll come back to pick it up tomorrow..." Aunt Liu nodded, took her daughter's hand, and said goodbye.

After seeing off Aunt Liu and Zheng Bao'er and her daughter, Yang Ming returned to the inner room, sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and quietly watched Wei Qingqing. Her breathing was steady, her expression was peaceful, and the corners of her mouth were upturned with a smile, as if she were dreaming of something wonderful.

Yang Ming went to the outer room and boiled a large pot of water on the stove in the east room to heat up the kang (a heated brick bed), which would help Wei Qingqing recover. After filling the thermos with boiling water, he cooked some food and kept it warm in the pot so that Wei Qingqing could eat it when she woke up.

Then, I went outside and brought the two spotted dogs back into the farm space. I also let out the chicks, ducklings, and goslings. And you know what? After being nurtured in the farm space, these three kinds of poultry have grown a size larger. They've even grown little spikes on their wings. When they run, they flap their wings and run very fast. They're already able to live outside and find food. If they don't grow out of the farm space soon, they'll all be adults in ten days or half a month, and it will be too conspicuous to let them out. I just don't know if the big black cat will eat them. But judging from their speed and their cleverness, it probably won't be easy for the big black cat to eat them.

Yang Ming released the pair of somersaulting pigeons again. Nourished by the farm's space, these pigeons had become even more energetic, their blood-red feathers almost dripping with blood. However, their wings hadn't grown back; they had been clipped. They would have to wait for their feathers to molt and regrow. If they wanted their wings to grow back faster, the clipped feathers would need to be plucked. Nevertheless, even with their wings clipped, their light bodies allowed them to fly two meters high, and they would simply run away at the first sign of danger.

All eight puppies were brought out. Four of them were clumsy little dogs. As soon as they came out, they reunited with the clumsy little dog that Yang Ming had shown to Aunt Liu. The five dark-skinned clumsy little dogs huddled together, squeaking and buzzing, looking quite like they depended on each other for survival.

The little dog that was a cross between a greyhound and a dumb dog had grown up and was quite handsome. Its body was as black as satin, streamlined, and looked quite agile. It had a broad chest and a pair of large, drooping ears. No matter how Yang Ming looked at it, it didn't seem like a greyhound. It looked more like a Shandong Hound. Yang Ming had a feeling that he might have been deceived by that dog dealer. However, a Shandong Hound was in no way inferior to a greyhound.

The puppy, a cross between a black-backed dog and a blue wolf, was sturdy and round, with two small ears that stood upright like two sharp spears. Its little tail, with a white tip, was held high. It had a blue back, yellow limbs, and shiny fur. With its thick paws, it looked like a strong guy who would grow up to be a fierce beast. As soon as it came out, it started running around happily, teasing the five pitiful little dogs that were "dependent on each other for survival." It jumped around them, constantly poking at them with its paws, as if they were easy to bully.

The Soviet Red and Black crossbred puppy was extremely beautiful, with a black back, dark red limbs, and blood-red eyes. Because it was young, its ears were drooping, making it look rather stern and fierce, but its temperament was quite calm. After it came out, it immediately found a shady spot to lie down.

The dog that was a cross between a Tibetan Mastiff and a bear puzzled Yang Ming quite a bit. As soon as it came out, it curled up into a ball and fell asleep on the spot, making it seem more like a lazy bear.

The four piglets and the pair of pigeons are left in the farm space to fatten up.

After doing all this, Yang Ming returned to the east room, changed out of his blood-stained T-shirt, and sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) to watch over Wei Qingqing.

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