Chapter 318 (1/2)
Out of everyone in Second Maternal Uncle's family, only Liu Zhiwei was somewhat familiar with Xiaocao. His other siblings included a brother and a sister. The sister was named Liu Feixu and was already fourteen years old. She had a gentle and quiet personality, and wasn't a bit like her mother, who had a more abrasive character. The youngest brother was Liu Zhiqiang and he was about the same age as Xiaocao's oldest brother. He still had a bit of a childish air, so he was currently in the outer room trying to get closer to Big Gray.
Liu Zhimin was Third Maternal Uncle's only child. He had a temperament similar to his father's: straightforward and open-minded. He had already studied at a school in town for two years and it was said that his grades weren't bad. No one at home was hoping that he could pa.s.s the prefectural or county exams; they only wanted him to be literate enough to not be cheated. In the future, he could become an accountant in one of the stores in town, which wasn't a bad career to have.
The female cousins were all on the kang bed chatting harmoniously with Xiaocao, while all of her male cousins were further away, surrounding Big Gray. They wanted to get closer but they were also somewhat afraid. Liu Zhiqiang was the most foolishly brazen out of all of them. Despite his older cousins trying to dissuade him, he stepped closer and closer to Big Gray. Big Gray gave him a warning look yet the boy wasn't afraid at all and extended a hand to touch Big Gray's fur.
Big Gray had no desire to indulge him. He first exposed his long teeth in a vicious expression to scare the boy. However, Liu Zhiqiang remembered his younger cousin's words that this wolf, Big Gray, didn't bite people, so he heralded his courage again…
The people chatting inside the room suddenly heard a loud scream and Liu Zhiqiang's subsequent plaintive wails. All of them rushed out to see what had happened. The sight that greeted their eyes made everyone drip cold sweat down their bodies. Liu Zhiqiang had been pressed into the ground until he couldn't move by that giant gray wolf. The gray wolf's sharp teeth were all revealed and they were only a centimeter away from Liu Zhiqiang's neck. Liu Zhiqiang had been so frightened that he had forgotten to struggle as he could only close his eyes and lay there. Big Gray's emerald green eyes fixedly stared at the boy as he thought, 'Repulsive human, who gave you the guts to try to touch this wolf's head?'
A helpless expression showed up on Yu Xiaocao's face. Big Gray only knew how to scare people. When he first arrived at the Yu Residence, he had used the exact same method to frighten Liu Fangping, who was always hanging around him. The little fellow had been so frightened that he wet his pants and had a high fever for a few days. Big Gray must have felt impatient after being chased around by her older cousins and wanted to make an example out of one of them!
”Xiaocao, quickly restrain that wolf of yours and don't let it bite your Older Brother Zhiqiang.” Madam Yao was about to explode from anxiety. If the wolf bit down, how could that youngster Zhiqiang still live?
Madam Hu had been inside doing needlework. When she heard her son's sobs, she came over to look and almost fainted from the sight. Her legs faltered and she sat down on the ground as she let out an ear-piercing wail. The shrill sound made Big Gray even more irritable and his expression became more fierce.
Yu Xiaocao knew that Big Gray's vicious nature was being goaded up and hurriedly advanced to hold onto his neck. She quietly placated him. Madam Hu's piercing screams continued, so she couldn't help but scold the older woman, ”Second Maternal Aunt, don't you know that wild animals hate noise the most? If you want Older Brother Zhiqiang to die faster, then continue to cry and scream ah!”
Madam Hu acted as if someone had pinched her neck and immediately stopped weeping. She looked at her son, who had been squished onto the ground and had lost all of his color. She repressed her worry and fright and softly said, ”Quickly take away this dumb beast! If it hurts my Zhiqiang, then I don't care whether you're family or not!!”
Madam Yao was also worried about her grandson but when she heard her second daughter-in-law's impolite words, she became a bit unhappy, ”As his mother, you should know what your son's personality is like ah! If you're unable to keep an eye on him, who can you blame?”
”Mother, Zhiqiang is your full-blooded grandson ah. If he gets bit by the wolf Xiaocao brought over, as his mother, how could I not say some harsh words? Xiaocao's surname is Yu not Liu, so how could you treat an outsider better ah?” Madam Hu was displeased and she wasn't someone who would easily let something go.
In the past, her in-laws always gave money to her younger sister-in-law, who had already married out of the family. She always felt resentful about this. Although she never overtly made a big deal about this, she would always say a few words in front of her husband. Afterwards, when she was able to get a job at the Zhou Family's factory due to her relations.h.i.+p with the Yu Family, she found out the job wasn't too difficult yet she made as much as the dockworkers in town. Her own husband had also joined hands with his older brother and sold watermelons from the Yu Family, which made them a small fortune. Only then did she finally become closer to her younger sister-in-law's family that she used to look down on.
However, when she saw her youngest son being pinned down by the giant wolf Yu Xiaocao brought along, she thought he had already been bitten. Thus, all of her previous grievances exploded. The fact that she didn't make Xiaocao pay more for this was already considered quite good.
Yu Xiaocao patted Big Gray's neck a couple of times and said, ”Big Gray, didn't I warn you before that you're not allowed to scare people anymore? How come you didn't remember? I'll have to punish you; you're not allowed to drink any more water for today and all of tomorrow!!”
Everyone in the Liu Family didn't know whether they should laugh or cry. There was a thick layer of snow outside. If the animal got thirsty, it could just eat some snow, so how was punis.h.i.+ng it to not drink water considered a punishment? A true punishment would be to forbid it from eating any meat! However, how could they all know that the water Yu Xiaocao was referring to was the mystic-stone water that Big Gray loved the most? Big Gray would rather abstain from meat for three days than to forego mystic-stone water for a single day ah!
Big Gray moved his paws and allowed Liu Zhiqiang to leave. He hung his head down in sorrow and dispiritedly circled around the corner of the wall. From the backside, he looked quite pitiful. Liu Zhiqiang crawled up from the ground and was panting heavily. He brushed the dust off himself and pointed at Big Gray, who looked very sad, and asked Xiaocao, ”What's wrong with it? It looks a bit unhappy!”
”He got punished because of you! In the future, stay far away from him to avoid him from taking his revenge!” Yu Xiaocao deliberately tried to scare him. Liu Zhiqiang was a simple-minded guy. He had just escaped the jaws of the wolf and was thinking to get closer to the wolf again.
Madam Hu pulled her son towards herself and inspected him carefully from head to toe. He didn't have any injuries and even his clothing didn't have any rips or holes. She thought about the impolite words she said earlier and her aggressive manner. It made her want to flush. She slapped the back of her youngest son's head and glared at him fiercely, ”How could you be such a troublemaker? That's a wolf, not a dog. If it bit you, it'd serve you right!”
Liu Zhiqiang covered the back of his head and retreated a few steps as he argued with his mother, ”Younger Cousin already said that Big Gray won't bite people. It was only trying to scare me earlier...Mother, I almost peed my pants out of fright, yet you don't even try to comfort me and hit me instead. Am I really your biological son?”
Madam Hu hit him a couple more times and then placed her hands on her hips as she scolded, ”You little brat. If you weren't my biological son, I wouldn't care if you died!! You're coming back with me to the room and just watch how I punish you!”