Wang Xiaoqiang took Xia Guifang to the Provincial Capital for a night, and before they returned home, the news had already spread. There was all sorts of talk, but the gist of it boiled down to the assumption that they had become an item. The rumors said that their trip to the Provincial Capital was for the sake of booking a hotel room.

Neither Wang Xiaoqiang nor Xia Guifang could have imagined that the spreader of this gossip was none other than Xia Sanwa.

Xia Sanwa's actions might seem incomprehensible but actually had their own reasoning, and it wasn't unusual. It was akin to a publicity stunt, like when a female celebrity wants to marry into a wealthy family and creates speculative news with a wealthy second-generation heir through the media, fabricating something out of nothing.

Xia Sanwa's actions were a similar publicity stunt for his daughter, almost wishing the whole world knew she was involved with Wang Xiaoqiang.

If such an incident had occurred in the rural villages of the seventies or eighties, the people involved might have been verbally condemned to death. However, in today's open society, it really didn't amount to much.

More newsworthy than this rumor, however, was the fact that Wang Xiaoqiang's forty acres of yam fields, despite several days of heavy rain, did not drown but persevered and even seemed to be growing well.

All this was within Wang Xiaoqiang's expectations. With the nourishment of the Five Elements Spirit Spring, it would be hard for the yam field not to thrive.

Moreover, if the yams continued to grow at this rate, a bountiful harvest would not need two years as predicted; it would probably take less than a year. Thinking of this, Wang Xiaoqiang felt elated.

Farmers, unlike office workers who work nine to five like machines, actually have quite a leisurely life. Once the crops are sown, there's a long idle period, equivalent to an extended holiday. During this break, you're free to do whatever you like.

It was the idle season now, and for Wang Xiaoqiang, it meant an extended break. However, he wasn't idle all day; besides taking great care of the Golden Sand Tree Chrysanthemum sapling, he was also feeding two puppies that he had brought back from the Xu Family—two Tibetan Mastiffs.

The larger one was named Big Black and the smaller one Little Hei; simple and somewhat crude names, but Wang Xiaoqiang found them endearing and chose them without further implication.

Big Black and Little Hei made no protest to their names, but since leaving the Xu Family, they began to fast, disliking the food Wang Xiaoqiang offered. At the Xu Family, they would eat either meat or fine dog food. Although Wang Xiaoqiang wasn't short of money now, he didn't plan on feeding the pups dog food. He wanted them to adapt to life in the countryside, whether through diet or environment.

Wang Xiaoqiang assumed the delicate little fellows would quickly acclimate, but after refusing to eat for two days—only drinking water—they stubbornly ignored the steamed buns Wang Xiaoqiang tossed to them, looking rather weak.

Wang Xiaoqiang, feeling compassionate, was just considering whether to slaughter one of the two wild pheasants to feed them when he suddenly noticed the Old Yellow Dog walking in from outside the Old Village Committee Courtyard gates.

Ever since Wang Xiaoqiang infused it with Wood Element Spiritual Qi, the Old Yellow Dog seemed to have regained its youth, shedding its aged appearance and looking vibrant and robust, buzzing about near the yam field every day, chasing away pheasants and sparrows that ventured into the fields. It was like a dutiful old warrior.

What astonished Wang Xiaoqiang was that the Old Yellow Dog became increasingly obedient. It was as if it understood his words; whenever Wang Xiaoqiang spoke, regardless of the command, the Old Yellow Dog seemed to comprehend and would immediately act on it.

However, sometimes the Old Yellow Dog would still run into the village to bother the local Big Spotted Female Dog. It was perplexing where it found the energy. Once, after climbing onto the back of the Big Spotted Female Dog, it ended up stuck, causing a "dog tied by the tail" commotion.

Seeing the rejuvenated Old Yellow Dog, Wang Xiaoqiang suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He stretched out his hands and pressed them onto Big Black and Little Hei's bodies, channeling a stream of green Spiritual Qi into each of the puppies...

Wang Xiaoqiang controlled the amount of Spiritual Qi he infused, and when he saw the dogs' shiny black fur stand on end, he timely withdrew his hands.

After the nourishment of Spiritual Qi, the two little black dogs no longer looked weak. They appeared even more robust than before and, at that moment, they actually started to eat the steamed buns Wang Xiaoqiang had fed them.

Seeing the two little fellows finally eating, Wang Xiaoqiang could not be clearer about the effect of the Spiritual Qi. He wasn't sure how much the Spiritual Qi had changed the two little dogs, and that wasn't important to him. What mattered was that they were willing to eat. Watching the two little ones wolf down the steamed buns, Wang Xiaoqiang was very happy.

Right then, the Big Spotted female dog from the village arrived. She stopped at the entrance of the Old Village Committee Courtyard, hesitant to come in, her pretty dog eyes looking at Big Yellow with a timid and adorable expression.

Old Yellow Dog gave a low bark to the Big Spotted Dog, who wagged her tail in response to Old Yellow, as if they were exchanging secret signs.

Wang Xiaoqiang couldn't help but smile when he saw this. It seemed that Old Yellow Dog's charm had returned, and the Big Spotted Dog was becoming increasingly attached to him.

The Big Spotted Dog was obviously wary of Wang Xiaoqiang, but after lingering at the entrance for a while and seeing that Wang Xiaoqiang had no intention of driving her away, she entered the Village Committee courtyard and mingled with Old Yellow Dog.

In the evening, Sister-in-law Liu Juyi brought food over.

Today, Liu Juyi wasn't wearing the dress that Wang Xiaoqiang had bought for her but instead, she wore a pink sweatshirt she had made herself, paired with a pair of jeans. The tight jeans accentuated her solid and full buttocks.

Carrying the food basket, Liu Juyi walked into the Old Village Committee Courtyard. Wang Xiaoqiang was in the yard playing with Big Black and Little Hei. Seeing Liu Juyi come in, he looked up at her, somewhat taken aback, puzzled by the fact that she was bringing him food.

"What are you looking at? Do I have a flower on my face?" Liu Juyi saw Wang Xiaoqiang staring intently at her and blushed, feigning annoyance.

"Isn't your face a flower?" Wang Xiaoqiang noticed a blush rising on Liu Juyi's fair and handsome face, which was as radiant as a snow lotus bathed in a glow of light, incomparably beautiful. He was momentarily stupefied, forgetting his words and actions, and blurted out a flirty remark.

"Hey, your mouth has become so glib!" Liu Juyi stomped her foot in embarrassment and gave Wang Xiaoqiang a fierce stare, her blush deepening.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.