During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

"Finished? I'm going inside now. It's freezing cold, everyone can leave."

"Second Girl!"

The auntie got anxious and stepped forward, saying, "Why won't you listen to advice, child! This is no small matter!"

However, before she could even get close, she was blocked by the Zhao brothers.

"Speak up if you have something to say. What do you want by coming here?"

Ye Qingqing raised an eyebrow and said nonchalantly,

"Those two are barely bigger than a palm, they can barely walk steadily, what are you afraid of?"

Are you afraid they'll get up in the middle of the night and eat you?

The woman craned her neck, "You..."

Ye Qingqing said in a calm tone,

"I'm raising these two wolf cubs like dogs. What you say doesn't matter. I'm determined to keep them."

She was too lazy to explain, and she couldn't explain it to the villagers anyway. She couldn't very well tell everyone that the fortune slips she carried with her represented two good dogs, could she?

The villagers immediately became anxious and voiced their objections all at once.

"How can they be the same! A wolf is a wolf, and a dog is a dog!"

"Second Girl, you can't just act on a whim and bring disaster to the whole village!"

"Wasn't the wolf fight last time scary enough?"

……

Ye Qingqing glanced at everyone and said calmly,

"A wolf cub raised by humans is just a dog. Just because you haven't seen one doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

If they really cry wolf, I'll just provide the money and food to fight them off.

After saying that, she turned and walked into the house, completely ignoring the group of people.

What an impressive display of wealth and power! It immediately stunned everyone in the village!

Come to think of it, last time when we hunted wolves, Er Yatou's family provided us with grain and meat, and even gave us silver!

How many of these people have taken advantage of others?

Everyone looked at each other, unsure of what to say for a moment.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhao Laoda and Zhao Laoer shouted out.

"Didn't you hear what our master said? Everyone, disperse, disperse..."

In fact, the brothers secretly felt that the villagers were right to be worried, as attracting wolves would be a serious matter.

But the master's words are their orders. If the master says to raise wolves, they will stand firmly on the master's side!

Although the villagers were still on tenterhooks, they gradually dispersed.

Ye Qingqing went back into the house and put the two wolf cubs in her arms, one in each hand.

The little wolf cubs were covered in fluffy fur, like two heaters, and smelled of milk and goat. They howled and burrowed into her sleeves.

Ye Qingqing lowered her head and poked one of their foreheads, saying with a grin,

"You two are quite the howlers. Try barking like dogs, or the whole village will skin you alive."

She really wanted to raise those two little ones, and hurriedly asked,

"By the way, Dad, what can we feed the wolf cubs?"

Ye Youliang sighed softly, "At this age, they should naturally be fed wolf's milk... Let's try feeding them some minced meat porridge, that should work."

Without saying a word, Ye Qingqing went to find pork.

She cut off a bit of fat from the frozen, rock-hard wild boar meat, chopped it up, added some lard and leftover rice, boiled it over the fire, let it cool a little, and then served it to the wolf cubs.

"Big Brother, Second Brother, dinner's ready!"

She had never owned a dog before, but there used to be two big yellow dogs in the Taoist temple, which were fed by her fellow disciples.

A little guy wobbled over, sniffed it, and then opened his mouth and started eating with big smacking noises.

The other one wasn't going to be outdone and tried to snatch it too, but its brother shoved it away.

The little guy waddled up to her hand with his short legs and licked her palm with his little tongue, looking pitiful.

I must say, it's quite fun.

Unexpectedly, Ye Dazhuang also came over, reached out and patted the little wolf's head, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"It looks pretty good."

"Qingqing..."

Ye Youliang looked rather unwell. He took a couple of puffs of his pipe, his brows furrowed in worry.

"What those people outside are saying... isn't entirely without merit. If you keep these two at home, what if... our family can't afford it!"

Ye Qingqing didn't even look up, continuing to tease the wolf cubs, "Dad, nothing I say will change anything, I'm determined to raise them both."

Ye Youliang sighed and said,

"The whole village is complaining about our family now, and there's bound to be a lot of unpleasant talk. Just you wait and see, this is definitely not over."

"Who cares about them!"

Ye Qingqing casually remarked, "So what if I raise them? What can they do about it?"

Ye Youliang was so blocked that he couldn't even utter a single word.

When this second daughter gets angry, even he, as her father, can't do anything about it.

"Father, you can rest assured."

Ye Qingqing finally raised her head, smiled at her father, and said, "I know what I'm doing. Just you wait and see, they'll grow up and be more useful than people."

Ye Youliang opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but then swallowed it back, and could only let out a long sigh.

"You, you..."

……

As evening approached, the village headman came to visit.

He was wearing a worn-out cotton robe, his hands behind his back, a stern face, with his two sons and a few others, including Ye Laolan, following behind him.

They stood with their hands on their hips, looking menacing.

Li Chunyan had just opened the courtyard gate to go out and fetch water when she saw this scene, and she was so startled that she almost dropped her bucket. "Village head... what's going on?"

"Call Er Yatou out!"

The village headman frowned, his face dark, and said, "I'm speaking on behalf of everyone in the village. If this matter isn't resolved clearly today, I'll resign as village headman!"

Li Chunyan rushed into the house in a panic.

"Second daughter, you've gotten yourself into big trouble! Quick, the village head is here, and he's brought a lot of people with him!"

Ye Qingqing was sitting cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), petting one wolf cub in each hand.

"Let him come, he can't possibly eat me up, can he?"

She slowly and deliberately put the little one back in the basket, put on her shoes, got out of bed, pushed open the door, walked into the yard, put her hands in her sleeves, and looked at the group of people.

"Uncle Village Head, what brings you here?"

The village head snorted coldly.

"Ye Qingqing, where's your father? Call him out too."

"My dad isn't feeling well and is lying in bed inside."

Ye Qingqing didn't even lift her eyelids. "Just tell me if there's anything, I'm in charge."

"You're in charge?" The village head's face darkened, and he pointed at her, saying...

"What do you know, you little brat? Call your father out right now!"

"My dad said I'm the one who calls the shots in family matters."

Ye Qingqing yawned lazily. "Village head, if you're just dropping by, you're welcome. But if you're here to cause trouble, you've probably come to the wrong place."

"Awooo, awooo..."

The two wolf cubs inside the house seemed to sense danger and stretched their necks, howling in their childish voices.

The village head's expression immediately changed, and his voice suddenly rose eight octaves.

"Look at what you've done! Raising wolf cubs at home, you're going to ruin the whole village!"

I'm telling you, Ye Qingqing, you must kill these two things today and throw them into the mountains! Otherwise…"

"What else can I do?"

Ye Qingqing interrupted him, her eyes suddenly turning cold.

The village head was momentarily speechless under her gaze, his imposing manner involuntarily weakening by three points, but he still forced himself to speak.

"Otherwise, I, the village head, will bring people to your door and handle it for you! Don't be ungrateful!"