My Grandma and Her Dog

This book is a long， original children’s novel. It tells the story of a little boy Nuannuan’s grandma， Jiang Yingzi， who lives in a village and has spent most of her life avoiding the outside world. She doesn’t want to go to the city with her kids. She has a well-behaved and understanding dog， Tawny， who accompanies her from dawn to dusk， experiencing all sorts of unforgettable events together.

My Grandma and Her Dog

Guo Jiangyan

Times Literature amp; Art Publishing House

January 2023

29.00 （CNY）

Autumn had long since arrived， but the coolness that belongs to autumn had not yet come.

Jiang Nuannuan jumped out of the car and called for the dog， Tawny， first.

Tawny was nowhere to be seen. His grandfather Old Jiang came out from the yard and told Nuannuan that his grandmother had gone to the field to pick red beans.

“Didn’t you yell the whole way holding your pee？ Go pee first， then go find grandma，” said Yihua， Nuannuan’s dad.

There had been a heavy rain two days before， and the raised river water was green and heavy， with several large white geese swimming and squawking in the water.

Nuannuan kept asking， “How far is it？”

“Soon， soon.” Walking on the concrete road in the village， Dad’s hurried steps became leisurely.

When Dad reached the bend in the road at the river end， he looked to the west. A clearing land where the crops had been harvested was connected to a vast expanse of rice paddies. The ears of rice became full and drooping， waving slightly in the wind， with occasional small patches of white buckwheat separating the wide rice paddies， looking like a boat with its sails hoisted in a large river.

There was no one in sight.

Dad frowned， “Is this the place your grandfather was talking about？”

“I have no idea.” Nuannuan felt that Dad was not very reliable.

“Why is no one there？”

Nuannuan suddenly called out， “Tawny！ Dad， look！ It’s Tawny！”

Dad stared closely. Yes， at the edge of the rice wave， a small yellow figure was moving， none other than Tawny！

That’s right， where Tawny was， Yingzi would be. Or should we say， where Yingzi was， Tawny was there.

Yingzi was Nuannuan’s grandmother， and she liked to be called by her name. When someone heard the whole family call her “Yingzi，” they were very puzzled as to why Yingzi did not let her family follow the rules， and Yingzi said righteously， “What is the use of a name if you don’t use it？”

Tawny was raised by Yingzi since it was a little puppy. And Tawny was now eleven years old， which was about the same age in dog years as Yingzi in human years， an old folk now.

“Yingzi！” Dad shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Yingzi -- grandma -- grandma Yingzi！” Nuannuan’s voice is even more piercing， cutting through the autumn wind with a robust penetrating power.

Yingzi’s right ear had suffered from an illness and her hearing had been drastically reduced. If you stood to her right， you’d have to raise your voice a few octaves to be heard， even if you were very close to her.

So far away， it was normal that Yingzi could not hear.

But the small yellow figure was standing still and seemed to be looking towards the main road.

“Tawny！” Nuannuan called out， folding his hands around his mouth.

“Tawny！ Tawny！” Dad seemed to be affected and also yelled regardless.

Vaguely， Tawny woofed， and its upper body floated up from the green field of red beans. When the upper half of its body gradually moved to the ridge of the field， revealing its whole torso， Nuannuan had left his dad behind and ran to it. He saw that person， clearly， and it was Grandma Yingzi for sure. The yellow dog was none other than Tawny.

Tawny wagged its tail and barked at Nuannuan suspiciously， as if it wasn’t sure if Nuannuan was the child it once knew. After all， it hadn’t seen him for several dozen days.

Yingzi straightened up， laughing and chiding Tawny， “Open your dog’s eyes and see， who is he？”

The dog’s eyes are open， it understood the intimacy in Yingzi’s tone， and immediately closed his mouth， tail wagging the waves.

Nuannuan hugged Tawny’s neck and pinched its ears. Tawny let him touch and pinch it for a while， then ran into the open field where the peanuts had just been collected， with Nuannuan running around behind him.

When Dad reached Yingzi’s side， he wondered， “Didn’t you say that the land far away is no longer farmed， why are there still crops here？”

Yingzi dodged about， “Not much， just planted， some red beans. They don’t need to be taken care of before harvest.”

Dad took over the bag full of bean pods.

Yingzi said， “Go home， I’ll cook rice with red beans for you.”

“Always lying， see what you can say in the future to make people believe.” Dad muttered.

“Tawny -- let’s go home --” Yingzi avoided the question， pretending not to hear what her son said.

Yingzi’s cry instantly changed the course of Tawny， who was running and spreading its joy， and it turned around and ran towards the main road， taking the lead and standing by the side of the road， waiting for Yingzi.

“Mom， there are so many people who have dogs， but no one’s like you， raising a dog to be better-behaved than a person.” Dad looked at Tawny and praised them from the bottom of his heart.

Yingzi had heard those words too many times.

People in the village had exclaimed over and over again.

“Yingzi， what did you teach this dog？ It could be your personal bodyguard！”

“Yingzi， your Tawny might have been a human in its previous life. You’ve been in the field for so long， and the sun is so hot， the dog is getting sunburned， and it’s still with you.”

“Yingzi， is Tawny a rural dog or not？ I heard that some noble dogs are very smart. Could it be the offspring of those noble dogs in the city？”

Yingzi did not show it on her face， but she was so pleased in her heart.

I didn’t raise it as a dog， so naturally， it doesn’t treat itself as a dog either. Yingzi intended to say.

But she held the words back after thinking about it. Yingzi felt that the words were a bit abstruse， and others might not understand.

“Grandma， your back has become a bow.”

Yingzi stroked Nuannuan’s head and said， “Look at me straightening up， hey yo！” Yingzi puffed out her stomach. Her stomach jutted forward， but her back was still bent.

Dad fumed again， “Just can’t let go of this and that piece of land. Sooner or later， you’ll tire yourself out.”

Yingzi chuckled， “One’s death may be weightier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather. If I die， it is this heavy，” She bent down to pick up a peanut on the field， “almost as heavy as this peanut.”

Not waiting for Dad and Nuannuan to think of something to say， Yingzi continued， “When the time comes， bury me in the soil. I’m not as good as a peanut. At least the peanut can still sprout a new bush of peanuts， while I can only occupy a piece of land for nothing. Waste， such waste， hahaha...”

Yingzi had always been like this， talking straight from her mind， speaking of death as casually as chitchatting.

Nuannuan and Dad fell silent as Tawny led the way， guiding them toward home.

Dad asked， “Yingzi， I’m also curious， how did you train Tawny？ It wasn’t just born to be so clever， was it？”

Yingzi said， “What training？ You hang a piece of wood in your house for three years and it will talk. Tawny follows me everywhere all the time， and it is not stupid.”

Guo Jiangyan

Guo Jiangyan is currently a special-grade Chinese teacher in Jiangsu province and a member of the China Writers Association and Jiangsu Writers Association. She has published several books and works.