Then, Xu Xingguang finally started working on the pile of logs.

She sawed the logs, marked them with a chalk line, and cut them into uniformly sized strips, preparing to build a relaxing pavilion by the wall in the yard.

In the evening, Huo Wen’an returned from the mountain, chatted with her briefly, and then sat down on the recliner under the eaves, sinking into a drowsy sleep.

Lately, he had been dozing off more and more.

Sister Linlin noticed this issue and quietly asked Xu Xingguang, "Miss Xu, hasn’t Mr. Huo recovered from his illness yet?"

As a rule, patients with stomach ailments become healthier after surgery.

But looking at Mr. Huo, he appeared like a withered log, struggling bitterly in a cold cave, unable to endure until next spring.

Xu Xingguang looked up under the eaves, staring at Huo Wen’an’s much thinner face, and spoke directly, "He’s not feeling very well."

Sister Linlin wanted to ask more but felt it wasn’t her place, so she held back.

That night, it suddenly rained in Yujiang City.

The rain was torrential, and it was said there was a house collapse accident in a village.

After the rain cleared, Xu Xingguang carried a hoe to dig in the corner of the wall, preparing to lay the foundation, when she suddenly saw Huo Wen’an walking in with something in his arms.

"Look, guess what I found," Huo Wen’an said mysteriously, bundling up his coat tightly with something hidden at his chest.

Xu Xingguang tentatively asked, "A cat, or a dog?"

Huo Wen’an shook his head, "Neither." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Xu Xingguang raised an eyebrow and curiously asked, "Then what is it?"

Only then did Huo Wen’an unzip his coat to reveal the little creature he had hidden - it turned out to be a piglet with black stripes!

"Where did you get a pig?" Before Huo Wen’an could answer, Xu Xingguang frowned and said, "Are you thinking of roast suckling pig? Not today, there’s not enough space. Maybe tomorrow night, do it in your yard."

Huo Wen’an quickly covered the piglet’s ears and told Xu Xingguang, "What roast suckling pig? This is a little pet I bought for you."

Xu Xingguang: "..."

Why do other people’s boyfriends give girls cats or dogs, or little cute things like rabbits or hamsters?

But her boyfriend’s gift was a pig?

Huo Wen’an said, "Didn’t it rain heavily the other day? There was a landslide in Wang Family Village in front of the little town. A family’s house collapsed, burying the whole family in mud, and only one child was saved."

Xu Xingguang had heard about it.

In that home, only the grandparents and a granddaughter lived there, while the son and daughter-in-law worked in the city, returning only on weekends.

By the time the villagers discovered it, the house had already collapsed.

The rescue team arrived promptly, digging deep and salvaging the family of three, but only the three-year-old granddaughter survived.

The little girl survived because her grandfather had tossed her under the high bed, sparing her from catastrophe.

Xu Xingguang asked perplexedly, "What does the pig have to do with that family?"

Huo Wen’an told Xu Xingguang, "Their pigsty collapsed too, and this pig is the only one that survived. The elderly couple was buried today, and the little girl was taken to the city by her parents to live, so no one wants this little pig."

He patted the piglet’s head, gratefully sighing, "There aren’t many people raising pigs nowadays, so the villagers from Wang Family Village brought it to sell in Cangshan Town. If I hadn’t found it, it would have surely become roast suckling pig."

Huo Wen’an placed the piglet on the cobblestones, where it stood there foolishly, looking up at Xu Xingguang and Huo Wen’an with a bewildered expression.

Xu Xingguang stared at the piglet, silently.

Observing Xu Xingguang’s reaction, Huo Wen’an added, "It’s the only one from its litter that survived, maybe even because its mother gave her life for it. It narrowly escaped a disaster, let’s keep it."

Before Xu Xingguang could make a decision, she heard Huo Wen’an say, "Pigs can live twenty years, longer than most cats and dogs. Let’s keep it."

This comment seemed disjointed, but Xu Xingguang understood what Huo Wen’an meant.

He was a dying man who wanted to raise a little pet with Xu Xingguang, so after his death, the pet could keep her company.

But this pet was truly quite unique.

Xu Xingguang hadn’t intended to refuse anyway, and hearing what Huo Wen’an said, she couldn’t bear to disappoint him.

"Let’s keep it."

She was already taking care of a young invalid, an elderly invalid, and now added a little piglet.