After transmigrating, he supported his family by working at a garbage dump.

“He Niang, this man is obviously trying to scam you. Why did you pay him? Fifteen coins for a lame chicken, and it's a chick at that. It's such a bad deal.”

She had been held back by Zhang He the whole time, not giving her a chance to speak, until she saw the chicken stall owner turn around and walk away before Zhang He let go of her hand.

She could no longer hold back and poured out her grievances.

Zhang He smiled slightly. It was indeed not worth it, but at least the boss let the dog go, so it wasn't a bad thing. She could consider it an act of kindness.

She also knew that Hu San Niang probably wouldn't like this lame chicken.

He patted Hu San Niang's hand and explained softly, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, I'll keep this chicken and raise it myself. I'll go buy a strong old hen to return to you later."

After all, the old hen that Hu San Niang lent her was carefully raised, and even though it didn't get to eat rice, it still ate plenty of bran.

Now, offering such a small and lame hen as compensation—even she herself would find it hard to agree to that.

Instead of offering comfort, Hu San Niang became even more displeased and immediately put on a stern face.

"Am I that kind of person? I already said you didn't have to pay me back, but you insisted. You suddenly said you wanted to compensate me, fine, but how could you be so submissive and bow down to him like that?"

She wasn't angry that Zhang He bought chickens; her main concern was that Zhang He didn't trust her enough. If she were to argue with him further, why would she have to lose fifteen coins?

Zhang He disagreed, and said with a helpless smile, "It's not that I don't trust you, sister-in-law. If that person were easy to talk to, I wouldn't have interfered. But you saw how he was determined to kill me just now, and how aggressive he was. Who knows what a person like that might do when he gets angry..."

After Zhang He's emotional and rational explanation, Hu San Niang fell silent.

She was so focused on watching the dog that she didn't really notice the man's gaze; perhaps it was because she wasn't as perceptive as Zhang He.

Just then, the lame chicken started chirping in the basket, its chaotic and frightened cries interrupting their conversation.

Zhang He quickly and carefully picked up the chick and looked at its broken leg. The joint was wobbling, as if the bone inside was broken. "It doesn't look like it was bitten by a dog, but rather like it was torn off."

Recalling the struggle between the chicken stall owner and the dog, the two of them both felt that this was the reason.

Moreover, the chicken stall owner just took it upon himself to throw the chicken into the basket with considerable force, without even asking Zhang He how she wanted to take it, as if he was afraid she would change her mind. He was really indifferent.

While Zhang He was tending to the chicks, Hu San Niang finally looked at the injured dog.

Xu Zhuzhu and Xu An's attention was also focused on the injured dog.

The onlookers, who had been generously showing their kindness with a few words, dispersed once someone stepped forward, and no one discussed what should happen to the injured dog.

"Mother, is there any way to save it?"

Xu An drew Zhang He's gaze back to the dog.

At this moment, the dog was curled up, one of its hind legs was broken, and its entire leg was lying on the ground in the opposite direction. Painful whimpers came from its throat, and its closed eyes were about to announce its bad fate.

Zhang He shook her head; she didn't know either.

Hu Sanniang sighed, looking at the wounds on her body. One wound was enough; she had endured so many blows and lasted so long, it was already quite remarkable…

The blood flowing from the wound mixed with the mud on their bodies, and the hideous wound made Xu Zhuzhu and the other girl shudder.

She reached out, trying her best to soothe it, but found herself at a loss.

At that moment, a heavy feeling welled up in her chest, and the instantaneous suffocation made her throat choke, unable to speak.

Domesticated animals, having lost their claws, seem to have become inherently weak and easily annihilated by humans. But what about humans?

she does not know.

Hu San Niang stood up, looked around, picked up half a tattered mat from somewhere, carefully wrapped the dog in it, and slowly moved to the side of the street, right in front of the needlework grandma's empty stall.

After all this commotion, the dog that had just fainted was finally awakened. Intermittent, painful groans came from the tattered mat, which were heartbreaking to hear.

Just as the group was pondering what to do...

Suddenly, the creature inside the mat kicked its other three good paws, yanking the tattered mat that was covering it open, and stretched out its two front paws, trembling as it crawled forward.

The blood seeping from the wound on its head congealed in its fur, then slowly flowed down its forehead and gathered at the corner of its eye.

Hu Sanniang quickly wrapped it up again, feeling sorry for the dog but also thinking it was courting death. What time was it? Why wasn't it lying down properly? She scolded it:

"Just wait quietly. What are you waiting for? Where do you think you're going?"

The dog's actions did not stop because of Hu San Niang's words. On the contrary, it resisted even more fiercely because of Hu San Niang's actions, and even the weak dog still had the strength to bark wildly.

This attracted the attention of the stall owner not far away, who came over and sneered, "It's just an animal, how could it understand what you're saying? If you ask me, you're just being kind for nothing. You might as well let someone beat it to death. It wouldn't have to suffer like this. After it gets through this, just find a place to throw it away and that's it. Why bother with it?"

After hearing this, Zhang He gave the shop owner a forced smile, not wanting to pay any attention, and naturally didn't say anything. Seeing Zhang He's expression, the shop owner realized that he had made a fool of himself.

He muttered to himself, "He doesn't appreciate kindness," and slunk away, showing a clear understanding of his own limitations.

Xu Zhuzhu felt that the dog was behaving so strangely, as if it was about to do something, so she gently tugged at Hu Sanniang's sleeve and told her what she was thinking.

"Godmother, is it trying to do something?"

"What does it want to do? It's already in this state, it can't still be thinking about that chicken, can it? What else could it possibly want to do?"

Hu San Niang had a bitter face. She was racking her brains but didn't know what to do. Her dog, Da Huang, was doing well. She really couldn't figure out what the dog wanted to do before it died.

Unexpectedly, these words reminded Zhang He. Her gaze locked onto Gouzi's slender chest, and she hesitated before saying:

"Sister-in-law, didn't you say earlier that it might have had puppies?"

Yup!

Hu San Niang slapped her forehead, realizing she had completely forgotten about this.

Dogs are, after all, sentient beings. If they sense something is wrong with their bodies, they will definitely think about seeing their children or making arrangements for their death.

With this in mind, the group stopped forcibly wrapping the dog in the mat and let it come out to see where it wanted to go and where it could go.

Seeing the dog, who had been on the verge of death, struggle for a moment and, to everyone's astonishment, actually stand up, though its body was swaying a little.

"Zhuzhu, look!"

Xu An exclaimed in surprise and excitedly shook Xu Zhuzhu.

Xu Zhuzhu couldn't manage a smile no matter what.

The dog's continuous whimpering hinted at its impending death, yet it managed to drag its injured leg, limping and struggling, towards the alley behind the stall.

"What is it going to do?"

Xu An asked again.

Hu San Niang's eyes followed the dog, and when she saw it heading towards the alley entrance, she followed it.

The road inside was difficult to walk on, so she told Zhang He to wait outside with the two children while she went to check on the situation.

Thinking of the two children, Zhang He did not object, but told Hu San Niang to be careful.

Hu San Niang nodded, and soon, she and Gouzi disappeared around the corner.

Xu Zhuzhu wanted to follow, but her mother would definitely not allow it, so she focused on the alley entrance.

I pray that nothing bad will happen.