Chapter 177: Gu Tingxiao Is Jealous of a Dog
In her previous life, she had lived entirely for the century-old honor of the Sheng corporate empire, but in this life, she wanted to live strictly for herself. She refused to let her past chain her down. She wanted to let go of everything from her previous existence, embrace her new choices, and take life one day at a time without looking back.
With her mind firmly made up, Wanyan packed the selected provisions into her basket and exited her pocket dimension.
Returning to the compound too early would undoubtedly raise eyebrows, so she decided to kill some time by exploring the local scrap yard. She hopped onto her bicycle and pedaled toward the commercial district.
The man guarding the scrap yard was an old, weathered gatekeeper.
“Uncle, I just want to head inside and see if I can find some old waste newspapers to help start our stove fire,” Wanyan said smoothly, slipping three piece of fruit candy into his hand.
The old man glanced down at the sweets, quietly pocketed them, and waved his hand dismissively. “Go on then. Just don’t pocket anything you shouldn’t.”
“Understood, sir.”
Wanyan stepped into the cluttered yard. To her surprise, she wasn’t alone; another old man was already crouched among the piles, filtering through the discarded paper. Judging by his tailored, though worn, attire, he certainly didn’t look like someone who desperately needed kindling to light a kitchen fire. Wanyan chose to keep her mouth shut, walking over to the opposite side of the yard to squat down and begin her own search.
There was no shortage of clever minds in this era, especially among the older generation who had survived decades of political upheaval. They could read the changing tides clearly. It was now 1974, and the strict societal atmosphere was visibly loosening compared to the previous year. Those in high positions had undoubtedly sensed a shift in the wind.
As the old saying went: collect antiques in prosperous times, hoard gold in troubled times. This era was arguably the golden age for scavenging hidden relics, but in another ten years, the landscape would be completely different. However, since her personal dimension already housed the accumulated wealth of the entire Sheng family lineage, Wanyan felt no need to be overly greedy. Excess greed in these times was a quick way to get caught. She already possessed more than enough treasures to secure her future.
“Ah… what an absolute shame,” the old man on the other side of the yard sighed heavily, shaking his head in regret as he flipped through a stack of old documents. “What a tragedy…”
Wanyan raised an eyebrow silently. This elder was being entirely too blatant. Uttering such suspicious, lamenting phrases in a government-monitored scrap yard was incredibly risky; if anyone else had overheard him, he could have been reported on the spot.
Wanyan filtered through a few more bundles of waste newspapers but quickly realized there was nothing of genuine value left here. Anything of historical note had already been reduced to unreadable, tattered shreds.
She ultimately walked out of the yard empty-handed. When she checked out, the mysterious old man was still lingering inside, entirely unwilling to leave. Wanyan wasn’t particularly surprised by her lack of success; they were drawing toward the end of this turbulent decade, and the public wasn’t stupid. Truly valuable items had long since been picked clean by opportunists. Even the higher-ups understood future trends far better than the average citizen; they would have naturally claimed the finest treasures for their own private collections long before the remnants trickled down to a common scrap yard.
Checking her wristwatch, she saw it was already noon, so she headed straight to the local state-owned restaurant to grab a quiet lunch. Gu Tingxiao believed she was dining at a cafeteria in the city anyway.
Once she finished her meal, she began the slow, six-hour round-trip pedal back to the military region. The long journey allowed her to time her arrival perfectly for dinner prep. As she neared the base perimeter, she pulled her bicycle over in a secluded area and retrieved her supplies from her space, including two neatly dressed wild rabbits for a spicy stir-fry.
It was half past four in the evening by the time she finally walked through her courtyard gate. After organizing her haul, she took the opportunity to top off their kitchen rice crock. She deliberately added just a small scoop each time; by replenishing it incrementally, Tingxiao would never notice the discrepancy. After all, the kitchen was strictly her domain.
Wanyan expertly chopped the rabbit meat into bite-sized pieces and gathered dried red chilies, fresh ginger, scallions, and cooking wine from the cupboard. She blanched the meat first, tossing it with the aromatics and wine to completely neutralize any gamey odors. She paired the spicy stir-fry with a batch of fresh pan-fried flatbreads. Serving a rich meat dish alongside simple grain flatbreads struck the perfect domestic balance; if she served refined rice or pure white flour every single day, her husband would inevitably begin to question their resources.
“Wife, I’m home!”
Gu Tingxiao’s deep voice called out the moment he crossed the threshold. He immediately scanned the room for her, but Wanyan’s eyes were instantly drawn to the tiny, fluffy white creature cradled securely against his uniform chest.
“What on earth is that?” Wanyan asked, wiping her hands on her apron as she hurried over to inspect the puppy.
“One of the military dogs just had a litter,” Tingxiao explained, a rare smile softening his features.
“Why did you bring it back? Is that even allowed?” she asked, her fingers gently prodding the puppy’s soft fur. The little creature let out a tiny, high-pitched whine and shrank deeper into the crook of Tingxiao’s arm.
“It’s fully approved,” he assured her. “The canine unit had an unusually large litter this season. I worried you’d get lonely or bored while I’m away at drills all day, so I cleared it with the logistics commander to let us adopt one.”
“Really? It’s officially ours?”
Tingxiao nodded, his chest tightening slightly with relief. He had been secretly anxious that she wouldn’t care for an animal, but seeing her face light up with such pure, unadulterated joy proved he had made the right call. Given his frequent military deployments, the thought of leaving his beautiful wife isolated in the house always weighed on him. While the family compound was generally safe, there was never a shortage of shameless characters who might try to stir up trouble; having a loyal guardian at home offered an extra layer of security.
“Oh, let me hold him!”
Tingxiao carefully transferred the bundle into her arms. The puppy was so small and fragile that Wanyan cradled him with extreme care, terrified of squeezing too tightly.
“Whine…”
Wanyan peered down at the little round face, recognizing the breed traits. “He looks like a Labrador.” Labradors were arguably the finest companion animals—intelligent, fiercely loyal, and universally chosen for military, rescue, and guide work.
“What should we name him?” she asked softly. At that moment, a wave of pure maternal warmth washed over her, her entire demeanor softening as she gently stroked the puppy’s pristine fur.
Gu Tingxiao stood frozen, staring at her blankly. He had truly never seen his sharp, independent wife look this breathtakingly tender.
“Tingxiao? I’m asking you a question,” she laughed, snapping him out of his trance.
He blinked, casting a brief, slightly critical glance at the ball of fur in her arms. “He was only born a few weeks ago, wife. The choice is entirely yours.”
Wanyan’s eyes danced with excitement. “Then let’s call him Maodou!” She had initially thought of naming him Maomao because of his thick coat, but since he was a male pup, “Maodou” felt much more fitting and charming.
“Alright. As long as you like it, wife,” Tingxiao murmured.
Wanyan gently set Maodou down on the brick floor, and the puppy immediately began wobbling around the perimeter of the room, sniffing the furniture curiously. “We’ll need to build a small fence around our backyard garden plot once he gets a bit bigger,” she noted, tracking his movements. “Otherwise, he’ll tear right through the cabbage patch.”
“Understood.”
“And we need to set up a cozy dog bed for him in the corner of the living room.” Wanyan had absolutely no intention of forcing the animal to sleep outside in the elements; if a sudden northern blizzard or a torrential rainstorm hit in the middle of the night, it would be cruel. Besides, the brutal winter temperatures of this region were far too harsh for a dog to endure outdoors.
“Mmh.”
Tingxiao watched her with a soft smile, but it quickly faded as he realized Wanyan’s undivided attention had been completely hijacked by the puppy. She squatted flat on the floor, cooing softly to soothe Maodou’s anxiety over being separated from his mother.
“Wife…” he called out, stepping closer.
Wanyan completely ignored him, gently tapping a toy against the floor to encourage the pup.
“Wife…”
“Huh?” she mumbled, not looking up. “Oh, dinner is already laid out in the kitchen. Go ahead and eat first.”
She didn’t even grant him a single glance, treating him as though his presence as her husband was entirely redundant now that she had a dog.
Gu Tingxiao: “…”
His jaw tightened. Stepping forward, he bent down, securely locked his powerful arms around her waist, and effortlessly hoisted her straight up off the floor.
“Ah! What are you doing?” Wanyan gasped, her legs dangling as she instinctively gripped his shoulders. “Put me down this instant! Gu Tingxiao!”
