CHAPTER 287: CHAPTER 286: THINKING OF A SOLUTION

Beisitian felt a pang in her heart upon hearing this, it’s truly a silly dog, how could it refuse to eat!

"Dad, is Zhuangzhuang okay?"

"For now, it’s okay. Wulang took a look and said it’s not a big issue. Sometimes when the female wolfdog comes back, it eats a bit; otherwise, it wouldn’t have lasted this long," Luo Anguo said, sighing.

After all, Zhuangzhuang had been raised from a young age and had guarded their home for so long. Seeing it like this hurts them!

It’s said that it’s silly because it’s become fixated on Beisitian, and nothing works without her!

"Dad, then let it follow Dahuai back to the mountains," Beisitian quickly said, surely, they couldn’t let it starve to death.

"It’s useless. We wanted it to leave a long time ago, but it won’t go. It lies at the gate every day waiting for you. If it’s not seen there, it’s certainly waiting at Dayan. It’s better now, but initially, every time a bus passed by, it would chase it for a long distance and wouldn’t come back even after being called," Luo Anguo explained.

Beisitian could no longer hold back and tears welled up.

Luo Anguo and his wife didn’t dare to speak of these things at first since both of them had just joined the army and were busy. If the army didn’t allow them to keep dogs, why worry them unnecessarily.

Now that Zhuangzhuang isn’t chasing after buses anymore and just waits by the gate for Beisitian to come back, it really makes their hearts ache.

The couple thought it would be better to tell Beisitian, so they shared the situation.

Knowing Zhuangzhuang was not in any major distress, Beisitian felt a little relieved. After hanging up, she thought she had to find someone to help bring Zhuangzhuang over.

After learning about Zhuangzhuang’s situation, Beisitian felt a constant heaviness in her heart. Seeing Li Shuzhen in the dormitory, she asked, "Sister-in-law Li, are we allowed to keep dogs here?"

Li Shuzhen was momentarily stunned and then laughed, "There’s no explicit rule against it in the dormitory regulations, but there have been young folks who raised dogs before. They pooped everywhere, bit someone, and disturbed the public, eventually leading other families to complain, which resulted in a dog ban for a long time. Later, someone raised one again but reportedly couldn’t handle it and gave it away. Why, are you thinking of keeping a dog, Xiao Bei?"

Beisitian smiled slightly, "Just asking first."

Li Shuzhen’s words were indeed concerns. The compound had many children, and with Zhuangzhuang’s size, even if it didn’t bark, baring its teeth could easily scare people. If it were to stay here, it might invite a lot of trouble.

But she couldn’t bear to let Zhuangzhuang continue like this.

"Xiao Bei, don’t forget to come practice singing after dinner," Li Shuzhen said as she went home.

At dinner, Beisitian talked to Luo Xudong about Zhuangzhuang. Luo Xudong didn’t expect a dog to miss its owner so much, but this wasn’t an easy issue to resolve.

"Don’t worry, there might be a way to handle this," Luo Xudong said.

Hearing his words, Beisitian felt slightly comforted. If he had decisively said no, it likely would have been impossible. Since there’s a possibility, she would still give it her all.

After dinner, not wanting to stay in low spirits, Beisitian went to Li Shuzhen’s house. With people around, she wouldn’t constantly think about these things.

When she got there, Zhou Chunlai was present, but Li Mingrong hadn’t arrived yet.

"Xiao Bei, the families from several groups have decided to perform ’Sing for the Motherland,’" Zhou Chunlai said.

Beisitian nodded; what they sang didn’t matter much to her.

Seeing Beisitian’s demeanor, the two knew she had probably given up. They exchanged a wry smile. Such a beautiful, vibrant young wife, with such a lovely voice that sounded as if droplets fell on a jade plate, why couldn’t she sing?

Both felt quite regretful, but it wasn’t as if they hadn’t seen Beisitian trying to learn to sing; they seemed to have lost hope for her.

"You just listen to us sing and match your lip movements later," Li Shuzhen suggested.

Beisitian immediately laughed, nodding quickly. That’s exactly what she meant, so she would still learn the songs seriously. Otherwise, it would be too much if her lip movements didn’t match.

"I heard you’re part of the medical unit’s program too? What’s the performance like? Can you give us a hint?" Li Shuzhen asked with a smile.

Such matters aren’t considered secrets; though there was a bit of competition between the medical unit and the army wives, the latter had long conceded. They had been at the bottom every year. If they didn’t come last this year, how would they live with themselves?

So, Beisitian didn’t keep it a secret.

Hearing that Beisitian could play some ancient instruments, both Li Shuzhen and Zhou Chunlai showed surprised expressions and then noticed the amusement in each other’s eyes.

Both simultaneously thought that Beisitian was trying to redeem herself. After all, singing to such a standard was rare, and her family’s man would also lose face.

Ancient instruments nowadays require special training, and there’s no easy way for someone from a rural background like Beisitian to learn. Could she really play?

Though both thought this way, considering Beisitian’s pride, neither spoke it aloud.

Li Mingrong never came either. It wasn’t clear what delayed her, but she sent word that she would come the next day.

Around eight-thirty, the three went back to their own dormitories.

The next day, a call came from Zhang Baoli, saying that renting the instruments and venue wasn’t a problem, just hoping she could be more diligent when prescribing.

Having arranged to visit that friend’s house to see their kid that Saturday, Beisitian hung up. Since nothing was confirmed yet, she didn’t rush to tell them.

Ding Sisi didn’t expect that after she reported, Beisitian would participate in the performance. Feeling quite frustrated, she had a sense of "falling on her own sword." Although she didn’t think Beisitian had any talents to show off, she herself wanted to participate, but what if no one was willing to partner with her?

Ding Sisi helplessly went to Shen Junping.

"Each department can report two performances; we only initially said one because we had fewer people. If Sisi wants to sing, she can sign up, but she needs to buy her own accompaniment tape," Shen Junping said, delighting Ding Sisi.

Tian Lei was certainly not going to accompany her, but her expectations weren’t high anymore. As long as she could participate, she believed no one in the whole base could outshine her singing, except maybe Chai Xiaohu and Li Ying.

Ding Sisi cheerfully went to prepare for her singing performance, eager to surprise everyone!

These past few days, Beisitian had been waiting for news from Luo Xudong. If it didn’t work out, she planned to ask the elder for help!

Having made up her mind, Beisitian could finally calm her thoughts. Tomorrow was Saturday, and she had arranged with Zhang Baoli to visit her friend’s house.

That evening, when Luo Xudong came back, he said that the matter of keeping a dog might not be easy, as Zhuangzhuang was too big and there were many kids in the housing area. If someone got hurt, it would be difficult to handle.