“Do you know him?” The rich woman pointed to me as she asked Shu Sha in disbelief.
“Yeah.” The class leader nodded, “Ye Lin is my classmate. He also loves dogs and came to help us.”
After listening to Shu Sha’s explanation, the rich woman was still skeptical and said quietly: “He doesn’t look like someone who loves animals. Won’t dogs run away from him right when they see him?”
The class leader’s expression wasn’t very natural, maybe she was thinking about the dogs running away.
“Xu-jie, we can’t judge people based on their appearances, I’ve made the same mistake before… For example, the dogs raised for meat don’t look as good as pet dogs, but aren’t you still treating them equally?”
The rich woman spoke even more quietly: “He doesn’t look like a meat dog, he looks like a human-eating wolf! I think you shouldn’t get involved with the bad apples in your class…”
“Ye Lin isn’t bad.” The class leader replied emotionally, but then felt she lost herself a bit, so she corrected herself: “Ye Lin isn’t as bad as he looks. Anyway, Xu-jie, you can just treat him as a wolf-dog. He might be a bit aggressive, but he could be trained…”
Who are you calling a wolf-dog? I’m an unyielding metal-blooded lone wolf who will one day become the Arctic wolf king! Who wants to become a hunting dog for a female hunter or a police dog for a female police officer? Can you even afford to pay me wages? Do you think you can buy me as long as you give me good food? Keep dreaming.
The rich woman sized me up and down, then suddenly asked: “Ye Lin, since Shu Sha said you like dogs, then I’ll test you: chocolate, chicken bones, onions, which of those three foods can you not feed puppies?”
Damn, right after the class leader finished a math question, I have to solve a multiple choice question. Do you think we don’t have enough homework as students?
Also, the question is clearly a trick question. I’ve raised a dog before and also know vets from frequenting pet hospitals, so do you think I would fall for it?
“You can’t feed any of them to puppies.” I’ve never felt this passionate when answering questions in class before, “Chocolate contains caffeine, so it would harm a puppy’s nervous system if they eat too much and they may die from poisoning. Chicken bones are small and sharp, so it could damage their digestive systems. As for onions, it could damage the puppy’s red blood cells and give them anemia.”
Every time Xiao Ding returns a cured dog back to their owners, he would repeat a list of warnings and I was already tired of hearing it.
The rich woman was surprised I was able to respond so fluidly, so she had a new level of respect for me and patted the empty spot to her right:
“Boy, come sit over here, it looks like we’re on the same side. Anyone who treats dogs well won’t treat people poorly.”
That’s not true. As I sat to the right of the rich woman, I thought about a translated foreign novel my dad had called Rage of Angels. In it was a mafia boss whose love was the dog he raised since he was a kid. But he was ruthless and cold-blooded when he killed people, so in his mind a person’s life was less than that of a dog.
The mafia boss had a famous phrase: “A dog’s weakness is that it dies.” All owners who have had their pet dogs pass away will sympathize, so they will also sympathize with the mafia boss.
“I also like wolf-dogs.” The rich woman said to Shu Sha, “It might not be as cute as my family’s Ben Ben, but it’s impressive as is as loyal as a German Shepherd.”
Who are you calling a German Shepherd? If I get angry, I’ll tear your family’s Ben Ben to shreds.
The class leader blushed for some reason and didn’t continue to talk to the rich woman on this topic. She continued to listen to the negotiation while looking out the window to try and find the suspicious second vehicle that was transporting dogs.
The Zeng brothers didn’t say anything about me. Since the police were already here, it didn’t matter if there was another volunteer.
“No, I can’t stand it anymore, I have to sit down.”
Officer Ma, who pulled consecutive all-nighters, plopped down next to the Zeng brothers. The table only had 8 seats and the left 4 seats were occupied by me and the volunteers. He could only sit on the side with the dog dealers. He told Zeng Lao Da to squish in a bit as he beckoned the civil police officer to sit down.
“I’ll stand.” The civil police officer stood up straight, “I’m in charge of recording evidence and standing here gives me the best angle.”
Officer Ma saw Xiao Zhang had a lot of fighting spirit, so he didn’t force him to sit. He leaned back, sighed, then pointed to the volunteers (mainly me and Ma HuiYu) and said: “Do you guys have nothing better to do? Dong Shan city’s police force is already lacking members, so if I don’t get enough rest today, what if I let drug traffickers escape tomorrow?”
“You’re in narcotics?” Zeng Lao Liu was shocked, probably because narcotics police was different than normal police. They would often be targeted by drug traffickers who want revenge, so they would often carry guns around with them.
“No one asked you to come! If you’re tired, then go home and sleep. Why are you sitting on the same side as the dog dealers?”
“It shows that Officer Ma is impartial.” Zeng Lao Liu kissed up to him, “He’s drawing the line exactly because you’re his aunt.”
Then he passed Officer Ma a cigarette, “Want a smoke?”
“No.” Officer Ma waved his hand and refused, then pointed to the notice sign on the wall of the restaurant, “Smoking is forbidden here and you shouldn’t smoke in front of these ladies.”
Zeng Lao Liu put the box of smokes away in embarrassment.
Zeng Lao Da drank too much and was staggering a bit. He accidentally bumped into Zeng Lao Liu when reaching for another bottle and caused him to knock the box of smokes to the ground.
Zeng Lao Liu bent down to pick it up. Since it was dark under the table, I immediately thought I could show off my Swiss Army knife, so I asked: “I have a flashlight, do you need a light?”
Ma HuiYu, the rich woman, and the class leader were all puzzled by my sudden goodwill towards the dog dealers. Zeng Lao Liu also thought I was suspicious, so he didn’t use my flashlight and picked up his smokes by feeling around.
“Just give them ¥50,000 and let’s get it over with.” Officer Ma slightly closed his eyes and tapped the table with two fingers.
“Didn’t we say ¥100,000?” Zeng Lao Liu interrupted.
“You guys shouldn’t be too greedy.” Officer Ma glanced at Zeng Lao Liu, “I only came to mediate on the chief’s orders. If you can get ¥50,000 for a truckload of dogs that only sells for ¥40,000, and you can save gas, shouldn’t you be satisfied?”
“Who said…” Zeng Lao Da drunkenly raised his head, “Although there’s only ¥40,000 of dogs in the truck right now…”
Zeng Lao Liu quickly elbowed Zeng Lao Da to make him shut up.
It was very suspicious. The class leader guessed that the reason the Zeng brothers didn’t fill up the truck was because they were going to add more dogs halfway, so she was probably correct. Also, those dogs would not be bred legally or transported legally. I’m afraid they were all stolen pet dogs from various places in Dong Shan city. Maybe the owners are all panicking right now because their pets were stolen!
Ma HuiYu and Shu Sha exchanged glances. Shu Sha was now even more attentively trying to observe the situation outside. Apparently, the other volunteers, including Xiao Ding, was also informed of the possibility of the existence of another dog truck, so they also paid extra attention.
However, the volunteers who were easily agitated, like the rich Mrs. Xu, didn’t know about it. They weren’t told because they didn’t want to alert the dog traffickers.
“¥80,000.” Zeng Lao Liu haggled on the price, “We’re going to ask for a bit less because of Officer Ma. If you agree, we’ll even give you the cages for free.”
He said as reached for the contract that was under Ma HuiYu’s arm. The contract was printed out beforehand since the volunteers were already experienced and knew they could only buy the dogs if they were legal meat dogs. Otherwise, if they try to take it, it would be considered theft and they would be punished.
I didn’t really care whether it’s sold for ¥40,000 or ¥80,000 since someone I didn’t know was paying for it. I reached for my Swiss army knife and enthusiastically asked, “Do you need a pen, I have one here.”
I caused the people at the table to look at me strangely again. Ma HuiYu pressed the contract down with her arm so Zeng Lao Liu couldn’t take it, while she said coldly:
“Shu Sha’s classmate, I still haven’t agreed to their price, and I have my own pen.”
I put away the Swiss Army knife I had half pulled out of my pocket. After calming down, I realized I shouldn’t want the negotiation to end earlier, but I should prolong it otherwise we wouldn’t be able to save the stolen dogs.
“Hmph, you want ¥80,000, outrageous.” The rich woman commented, “I think you should donate all your dogs.”
“Fuck, donate it… you think I could live on air?” Zeng Lao Da was going to act impulsively again, but Zeng Lao Liu held him down and told him to stop talking.
“I’m doing this for your own good.” The rich woman said in an irritating tone, “Since you guys are in a business which harms life, then it’s likely in your next life you would be reborn as pigs, cattle, or sheep, and end with the same fate as the meat on these plates of food. I asked you to donate the dog to let you atone for your sins and to accumulate good karma.”
“Who cares about karma, we want money.” Zeng Lao Da still spoke in the end and raised his fists above the table.
“Don’t argue with them, there are police here, so we won’t suffer any losses.” Zeng Lao Liu reminded his brother that it was unwise to resort to violence in front of Officer Ma, who was likely carrying a gun, while also hinting to Officer Ma so that he would not favor his own relatives.
Zeng Lao Da grunted and pulled out a toothpick from the toothpick holder on the table, then started picking his teeth.
I suddenly had a bright idea and remembered my Swiss Army knife also had a stainless steel toothpick. Thus I couldn’t wait anymore and I pulled out my Swiss Army knife, found the toothpick, and also began picking my teeth in front of everyone. I already rinsed my mouth after breakfast, so I didn’t have shreds of meat stuck inside like Zeng Lao Da.
Huh, how come you guys aren’t admiring my amazing tool? It’s a bit inconvenient to use a 111mm Swiss Army knife to pick my teeth, but how come no one’s asking me what I’m holding? Ask me so I can show it off!
Class leader, turn around. You already saw what I was doing, so why are you now even more focused looking out the window? Do you think it’s embarrassing so you’re pretending that you don’t know me?
The drunk Zeng Lao Da, who saw me pick my teeth when there was nothing there, thought it was a provocation.
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