NOVPUB
Chapter 209: Chapter 202 Protection of the Young Calf
Shen Yunfang frowned as she listened to the second aunt’s words. She first made sure to let the ducks and geese at the gate into the house, then she shouted towards the backyard, "Taxue, come here."
The Taxue lying in the dog kennel twitched its ears, then immediately darted out from its space.
The second aunt hadn’t even had time to be surprised, much less stop it, when she saw a large, black dog emerge from inside the door, "Hey, hey, just talk, why call that beast out?" 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝘣.𝘤𝘰𝑚
Thinking of the wounds on her buttocks, the second aunt’s legs trembled slightly.
Shen Yunfang was quite displeased in her heart. To be honest, when she heard the second aunt come to complain, her first reaction was disbelief. She knew what her dog was like – even if it was still a beast, it was a proud one. It had never caused trouble before (not at home, at least), and as long as one didn’t provoke it, it couldn’t be bothered with strangers. So she thought it must have been the second aunt who had done something to anger her Taxue, leading it to chase her and bite.
And why did she find it so displeasing to hear others call her Taxue a beast?
"Second Aunt, you said Taxue bit you, so I have to summon him to be questioned, right? Even criminals are afforded the chance to defend themselves," Shen Yunfang spoke with some incivility, her discontent evident.
"You want to interrogate it? Are you out of your mind? It’s a dog, can it talk? What could you possibly get out of questioning it," the second aunt said with a look that suggested Shen Yunfang was crazy.
"Exactly," Shen Yunfang said calmly, "like you said, my Taxue is a dog, an obedient dog. If nobody provokes it, why would it bite someone?" Now, she finally understood what people meant by being overprotective – no matter whether her Taxue had bitten someone or not, the simple act of someone speaking ill to complain upset her. Like all parents, she thought, if you hadn’t been so insolent, my Taxue wouldn’t have bitten you, why didn’t it bite someone else?
"Hey, what do you mean by that, Shen Yunfang? So, it’s my fault for being bitten by your dog, is that it? I provoked it, and so I deserved to be bitten. I am your second aunt, and that’s just a dog, a beast, and you actually side with a dog?" shouted the second aunt, incredulous.
Taxue, who had been sitting on the side, had been eyeing the person outside the door all this time. Of course, it remembered who she was – it was this person who had attempted to climb over the fence into its home today. Now she was causing a commotion at the gate; a human might endure, but a dog would not. So, it assumed an aggressive stance and started barking furiously at the person at the gate.
"Look, look! Have I provoked it now? It keeps barking at me relentlessly; how do you explain that?" The second aunt had apparently found her leverage, ready to insist that she get a satisfactory explanation for this matter.
Shen Yunfang was speechless. Her dog was barking in its own home, and was that now a problem requiring an explanation? Yet she didn’t want to upset neighbourly relations over a minor issue. Don’t they say that by backing down you gain a wider view? This was, after all, her second aunt. As a younger member of the family, stepping back was not an issue for her.
"Taxue, quiet down, no more barking," Shen Yunfang chided quietly, her hands gently stroking the large head, for today it had to suffer some injustice.
Taxue whined twice, then with its big tongue it licked its owner’s hand, and settled down quietly.
"Second Aunt, you see, Taxue is very obedient," Shen Yunfang said, quite satisfied, "Don’t be angry, Second Aunt. If it truly was Taxue that bit you, I would definitely punish him. Tell me, what exactly happened, how could my Taxue have bitten you?" She was genuinely curious.
Seeing that she had been there for such a long time without Yunfang inviting her inside to sit, the second aunt’s suspicions about the rumors grew stronger. She had intentionally arrived later that evening, when the free-roaming chickens and ducks would have returned to their nests. She was certain, "It’s a long story, let’s not talk out here. Let’s go inside so I can tell you all about it properly." Right now, she was just looking for a way to get inside Shen Yunfang’s house to see for herself.
"Yunfang, what’s going on with your dog? Why is it barking so fiercely?"
Erbig Mother was trying to squeeze inside when a voice came from behind. She turned around and saw that it was Dashuan’s wife, who lived up the street.
"Sis, it’s nothing serious. My Erbig Mother came to talk to me about Taxue. It seems it bit her during the day," Shen Yunfang explained with a smile.
"What do you mean, ’it seems’? It did bite me!" Erbig Mother emphasized unhappily. She wasn’t pleased at all. She’d just asked to enter the house when someone interrupted, and now she couldn’t get in.
"Oh no, Taxue caused trouble, did it? That can’t be; Taxue is usually so well-behaved." Dashuan’s wife frowned, expressing disbelief. In her eyes, Taxue was truly a good dog. Her own wayward child had visited Yunfang’s home many times, harassing Taxue on each visit, pressing and plucking at its fur, but Taxue never did more than whimper pitifully. It had never turned on the child.
Erbig Mother’s nose was practically twisted in anger after hearing this. Was she being taken for granted by all of them? As if she had less credibility than a dog.
"What do you mean? You think I’m lying? It did bite me," Erbig Mother became a bit frantic. Even a good person could be driven mad by those two old women and a dog.
"Aiyo, look at you getting all worked up—it’s not such a big deal. Let’s not get angry," Dashuan’s wife quickly tried to appease her with a laugh. "Let’s not talk about it anymore; it’s definitely Taxue’s fault. Yunfang, you really need to discipline Taxue properly. If it keeps biting people randomly, what are we going to do? Not everyone will be as forgiving as Erbig Mother, not holding a grudge against an animal."
Shen Yunfang understood. Going along with Dashuan’s wife’s words, she bent down and picked Taxue up from the ground, raising her hand high to hit it hard, all the while scolding, "I told you not to bite people. Look closely and remember, this is Erbig Mother, she’s family, you’re not allowed to bite her anymore, got it?" Of course, every time she raised her hand high, she only put it down gently; her own dog hadn’t done anything wrong, how could she truly be harsh?
Although Taxue felt the warmth emanating from its owner, the stern words still hurt its young soul. It whimpered and slunk off to its kennel in the backyard with its tail between its legs.
As Shen Yunfang chased it away, she scolded, "Next time you bite someone, you better distinguish between good and bad people, you hear? If you bite the wrong person again, see if I don’t break your dog legs."
Erbig Mother felt uncomfortable inside after hearing this.
Seeing that the necessary procedure had been completed, Dashuan’s wife quickly grabbed Erbig Mother’s sleeve and urged, "Erbig Mother, are you okay? Where did Taxue bite you? We have soap at home. Come over, and I’ll help you wash with soapy water."
In rural areas, if someone’s dog bites another person, the common way to deal with it is to beat the dog, of course as a show for the victim, to appease them and show solidarity with the pain, as if the dog’s owner is also feeling the sting. If the bite is serious, they might also have to cover some medical expenses.
However, seeing that Erbig Mother could still walk over to report the incident, it probably wasn’t a serious injury.
Also, in rural areas, if someone actually gets bitten by a dog, there’s never any talk of rabies vaccinations. The usual remedy is the traditional method, which is to repeatedly wash the wound with soapy water.
