Ye Ling didn’t know what he should say, so he held her hand tighter, giving her strength, in the hope that she would be reminded of the love and adoration from him and his brothers.
They went to the market to get some meat before heading back to the town entrance, where Wong Tuozi’s ox-cart was parked as he waited for his passengers.
“Here, Duo Er, let me carry them for you. You rest up. Don’t hurt your hands,” Ye Ling wanted to take over the meat and cat cage she was holding.
She smiled, knowing that Ye Ling cared for her. “That’s alright. I’m not so weak, am I? I’m not a rich lady who can’t carry her weight.”
He gave a serious reply, “Duo Er, though you are not a rich lady, you are a princess to us.”
Liu Duo was quite surprised to hear that. Ye Ling, this cute little critter, could actually be romantic?
The longer she stayed with the brothers, the more she managed to discover their many sides.
Ye Ling insisted on carrying her stuff. Liu Duo noticed that the ox-cart wasn’t far away so she let him. She felt proud as well as blissful, knowing that her husband cared for her that much.
“Uncle Wang, please accept our fares,” She gave him the money and sat down in the cart with Ye Ling.
Liu Duo looked at her puppy through the bamboo cage. The more she looked, the cuter she found him. It was so plump she just wanted to pinch it. “Ling, what do you suppose we should name him?”
The puppy was plain black, so he said, “Why not just Xiaohei?”
“Xiaohei? No, that’s too general. Our dog has to have a special name!” She looked at it, cogs turning in her head.
Ye Ling turned to look at him too, searching for a name, but to no avail. “Duo Er, what do you suggest? I can’t think of anything.”
Villagers with dogs just called them Dog, or other simple names like Xiaohei, Xiaobai, Xiaohua. They wouldn’t consider different names.
“Let’s call it Hei Xiaomeng,” then she turned to the kitten, “And let’s call this Bai Xiaojiao.”
Ye Ling chuckled at those names. They sounded quite special and as unique as the cute artwork she designed!
Ye Ling pointed at the puppy and then at the kitten, “Alright, this is Hei Xiaomeng, and that is Bai Xiaojiao.”
Wang Tuozi listened to them talk and peeked at the pets in the cages. Hei Xiaomeng, Bai Xaiojiao? He thought to himself, What an interesting wife the Ye brothers got themselves! Giving human names to animals.
When they got home, Ye Yang and Ye Liu had already been back for quite some time.
“Little Duo, Ling, you two went to town? And you really got a cat?” Ye Liu rushed to help carry their shopping.
“Yes, because there are mice at night, so I went to buy a cat!” Liu Duo giggled at him and said meaningfully.
Ye Liu patted her on the head for her mischief, knowing very well that she was referring to him!
Ye Ling put Hei Xiaomeng’s cage on the ground before carrying the meat to the kitchen to make lunch.
After their gate was shut, Liu Duo opened Hei Xiaomeng’s cage so it could go out and explore its surroundings. Bai Xiaojiao remained in its cage. She’d let it out after they had raised it for some time. Otherwise, if she did it then, it would probably find somewhere to hide, and searching for it would be difficult.
“Hei Xiaomeng, come drink,” she took an empty bowl and filled it with water.
A smile flickered in his eyes when Ye Yang heard that name. He assumed that was the name Liu Duo had given it.