From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 17 Mountain Hound

When Xu Xiaogou returned home, Xu Fugui and Xu Xiaoniu had just returned from the fields.

Jiazhen and Xu Xiaoxia prepared dinner.

"Everyone is here, let's eat!"

Today is the Xu family's "Food Improvement Day". Xu Fugui shouted, and the children hurriedly brought the food prepared in the kitchen to the table in the main hall.

It was still the same quaint eight-immortals table. Due to years of use, the paint on the table had been wiped clean, revealing the original wood color.

Today we have fragrant braised pork, braised pig's trotters, and a pot of fish soup made from three pounds of grass carp boiled until it turns white.

"Slow down, no need to rush."

Eleven-year-old Xu Xiaoyun and eight-year-old Xu Xiaoan ate voraciously, as if they were afraid that they would not be full if they ate a little slower.

"Pay attention to your table manners."

"There's no outsider here."

Xu Xiaoyun muttered while chewing braised pork and steamed buns.

"You have to be polite even in front of your family. If you do that again, you will be punished by standing in the corner."

Jiazhen glared at Xu Xiaoyun, and only let him go when she saw that he finally stopped eating.

"Mom, the food you cooked is so delicious."

Xu Xiaoan is obviously better at speaking.

The family of seven had a great time together and the atmosphere was lively.

Xu Xiaogou looked at his fourth and fifth brothers wearing patched old clothes and sighed in his heart: his family never skimped on food and improved the meals every now and then, but they were too frugal in other aspects.

He knew that it was because of his martial arts training that all the extra expenses in the family were provided for him.

He vowed to practice martial arts well and make a name for himself so as not to let his parents down for spending so much money on him.

----

Dinner is over.

Xu Xiaoniu took out a dirty and broken pottery bowl and scooped up the leftovers from everyone on the table.

He carried the pottery bowl out of the courtyard and came to the back of the Xu family's house, next to the farmland. There was a doghouse made of mud.

"Big black?"

Seeing that Dahei was not in the nest, he shouted "Dahei" twice towards the direction of the farmland.

"Wang Wang!"

A response came from the distance, and as the barking of dogs grew closer, Dahei appeared. In the dim sky, it was as fast as a shadow.

"Woof woof~~"

Dahei rushed to Xu Xiaoniu, wagging his tail constantly, circling around Xu Xiaoniu's legs, rubbing his head and neck against him, appearing extremely intimate.

It has a slender and agile body, covered with short, shiny black hair, a large frame, and its shoulders and back are as high as Xu Xiaoniu's waist.

"We've had a lot of food today, including gnawed pig's trotters and fish. Eat quickly."

Xu Xiaoniu put the pottery bowl on the ground.

"Woof~~"

Dahei lowered his head and finished eating quickly, then jumped around and played around Xu Xiaoniu.

"Stop, sit down, roll over, lie down... Come on, run after me."

Xu Xiaoniu and Dahei had a lot of fun.

Dahei was picked up by Xu Xiaoniu and his father when they went hunting in the mountains in the autumn three years ago.

The two were lucky that day and hunted two pheasants. When they were returning from Baihe Mountain, they found "Dahei" on the way.

At that time, Dahei was a puppy the size of a palm, with eyes that could not even open. He was dying and looked like he would not live long.

Xu Xiaoniu brought the dog home and saved it by feeding it rice soup and gravy. Jiazhen initially disagreed, as his family simply didn't have enough food to feed a dog. After his persistent pleading, his parents finally agreed to let him keep a dog.

Dahei grew very fast. In just two years, he grew from a palm-sized puppy into a ferocious big dog.

Xu Xiaoniu didn't know what breed it was. Some said it was a wild dog in the mountains, while others said it was a hunting dog specialized in hunting.

Dahei is indeed unlike any other domestic dog. Its four upper and lower canine teeth are very long and sharp, and it can run much faster than any other domestic dog. It is also much smarter than the average domestic dog and can understand simple commands.

When it grows up, it doesn't need much food to feed it. It can catch voles and rabbits in the fields by itself.

And more importantly: Dahei can guard the farmland.

This was an important reason why Xu Fugui agreed to raise Dahei. His farmland needed to be taken care of, especially the precious medicinal herb fields.

Therefore, Dahei's doghouse is next to the Xu family's farmland, where he is usually free-range.

With Dahei, Xu Fugui no longer has to worry about emergencies such as "wild boars digging for food at night", nor does he have to worry about someone stealing or picking medicinal herbs when the orchard is ripe.

----

The next morning, Xu’s orchard.

It is still about a month away from the season when fragrant pears and apricots ripen. Fruits of all sizes hang on the fruit trees, and a faint fruity fragrance floats in the air.

Xu Fugui was practicing Zhuang Qigong. His progress in Zhuang Qigong was at the second level, with five main meridians opened and the sixth meridian about to be opened, and ninety important acupoints opened.

There were two people practicing standing meditation next to him, the eldest Xu Xiaoniu and the fourth Xu Xiaoyun.

Xu Xiaoniu was eighteen years old, at the peak of his martial arts training, and was about to complete the second level of Zhuang Gong. He had opened up all seven of his main meridians, and only needed to open the last two acupoints to complete the 108 vital acupoints.

In terms of strength, he surpassed his father last year.

The fourth child, Xu Xiaoyun, started learning standing meditation at the beginning of last spring, and it has been more than a year now.

He paused after practicing the standing meditation twice. Seeing that his father and elder brother were also immersed in the standing meditation, he yawned and continued practicing. His standing meditation movements looked weak and powerless, and the "warmth" in his body was also very weak.

After another round of standing meditation, he felt a little tired and stretched.

I was bored and dazed for a while, and when I saw that my father and elder brother had not stopped yet, I continued to practice the standing meditation.

In fact, he didn't like practicing the桩功, he was forced to do it by his father. He didn't understand the meaning of getting up before dawn every day to practice桩功, what's the point of practicing so hard, is it to fight with others?
But his father also said that he couldn't fight or cause trouble.

Xu Fugui finished his five reps of the standing meditation and paused. He glanced at Xu Xiaoyun, who was not far away, and saw that his stance was weak and unsteady. He shook his head helplessly, "Alas."

He had taught Xu Xiaoyun countless times, but Xu Xiaoyun was not serious and there was nothing he could do.

When he wanted to choose Xu Xiaoniu and Xu Xiaogou to practice martial arts, both of them were very enthusiastic. In the end, Xu Xiaoniu gave up on his own initiative in order to help with housework.

Now he took the initiative to teach Xu Xiaoyun, but Xu Xiaoyun was unwilling to learn.

In this regard, Xu Fugui could only sigh: Everyone has different ambitions and destinies.

He knew that his fourth son, Xu Xiaoyun, was not disobedient, but simply had no interest in martial arts. Compared to his older brothers and sisters, Xu Xiaoyun knew the most characters and loved reading the most.

After a while, Xu Xiaoniu finished practicing the standing meditation. Seeing that his fourth brother had not finished yet, he said hello to Xu Fugui: "Dad, I have to go and get busy first."

Afterwards, he went to take care of the 30 acres of farmland he rented.

After a while, Xu Xiaoyun finally finished his fourth round of standing meditation. Seeing that his father and elder brother had finished, he decided to be lazy and skip a round. "Dad, what should I do today?"

"Go tend to the herb patch and check for pests."

"it is good."

Xu Xiaoyun walked towards the herb field. He was not as good at farm work as his older brother. After helping his father with farm work for over a year, he still hadn't mastered anything.

----

Xu Fugui was weeding and planting branches in the orchard. The weather was good this year and he expected a good harvest.

Before I knew it, it was noon and time to go home for lunch.

Just then, a dog barking sound was heard not far away. It was Dahei's voice.

Xu Fugui walked out of the orchard and saw a figure peeking out from the side of the wheat field, and Dahei was barking at him.

(End of this chapter)