Pet King

! I ’m swamped over here! ”　

Aunt Li was a tough woman.
She widened her eyes and said, ”I ’ll say whatever I want.
It ’s none of your business! How do you know what Master Zhang wants to hear? ”

Zhang Zian didn ’t want them to argue, and tried to make peace.
”It ’s okay, really.
I liked the story and learned something new. ”

”You old decrepit man, you hear that? ” Aunt Li ’s eyes were even wider after getting support.

The couple was always arguing.
They were both used to it, and couldn ’t hurt the other ’s feelings.
　　

Uncle Li put the wontons on Zhang Zian ’s table and smiled.
”Help yourself, Master Zhang, and don ’t listen to this old woman.
Our old dog was probably not trapped.
It might have gotten lost.
One morning, the gate was open in our yard, and the dog was resting in the sun near it.
I was making pickles close by.
Then this woman called me from inside the house.
I went in the house for a few minutes and then the dog was missing when I came back out. ”　

”So it ’s my fault then? ” Aunt Li was furious.
”I called you for something.
You knew there were dog trappers around.
Why didn ’t you close the gate before coming inside the house? ”　　

Uncle Li yelled, ”How could I think that far ahead? You were rushing me to get inside, and kept calling me even after I answered you.
I thought you fell and hit your head, so I hurried inside to see what was wrong, without even washing my hands.
It turned out to be nothing important, and we lost the dog because of it. ”　

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Before they started arguing again, Zhang Zian interrupted their conversation.
”You ’re right, Uncle Li.
The dog wasn ’t on a leash, right? It might have gotten lost.
Maybe a car drove by, and it followed out of curiosity. ”　

He knew he wasn ’t being that convincing, but it was better than saying nothing.

Uncle Li nodded and continued.
”I ’ve heard that old dogs are spiritual beings.
Our dog was very old.
Maybe it knew that it didn ’t have that much time left, so it left us to die in a quiet place.
It ’s possible that it wasn ’t trapped! ”

He emphasized over and over that it might not have been kidnapped.
He didn ’t want to give up on what little hope he had.
It surely wouldn ’t have lived after being trapped.
But if it got lost, it at least had the chance to die a natural death.　

This showed how much Uncle Li loved their dog, so much that he couldn ’t bear to imagine it suffering a terrible death.　

Aunt Li mumbled.
Just as she was about to respond, she heard the water boiling in the kitchen, and told Zhang Zian in a hurry, ”Master Zhang, since your dog is so well trained, you must be even more cautious of dog trappers. ”

Then she ran into the kitchen to pour the hot water in a thermos.

”This old woman makes a fuss everyday, don ’t take her seriously, Master Zhang. ” Uncle Li stared at her from behind and turned to smile at Zhang Zian.

”It ’s fine.
I really don ’t mind. ” Zhang Zian laughed.
”Uncle Li, I ’m all good here.
Go on ahead if you ’re busy.
I can take care of myself. ”

”Okay, enjoy your food. ” There were a lot of things to take care of in the morning.
Uncle Li left politely and went back to the kitchen.

Zhang Zian scooped up a wonton and some soup with his spoon, and then put it into his mouth.
It was the perfect temperature.
He added some chili powder and pepper, and looked around.
It was too early, and no other customers had arrived yet.
He put the disposable bowl with the meat wontons on the floor, and called Zhan Tian over for breakfast.
If another customer was eating next to him, he wouldn ’t have done this because he wouldn ’t have wanted to upset them.

After a bowl of hot wonton soup, his nose was shiny with sweat, and his whole body was warm.　

Zhan Tian also finished its food.
It liked it a lot, and even drank most of the soup.

Zhang Zian left money on the table, shouted towards the kitchen, and then left the restaurant with Zhan Tian.

It took them about 20 minutes to finish breakfast.
The day was brighter, and more pedestrians were in the streets.　

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He walked around for a while with Zhan Tian.
A street lamp turned off as he passed by a utility pole, and then he noticed a piece of paper.

Normally, he wouldn ’t have paid attention to this.
They were usually scam advertisements about magical alternative therapies for skin diseases, or rich women looking for surrogates.
But he had a lot of free time this morning, so he stopped to take a look.
It was taped to the pole, moving gently in the morning winds.

Lost Dog:

Around 16:40 on December 30th, I was walking my dog near the the Family Housing Facility of Binhai University.
My white Samoyed saw a stray cat and chased after it, then suddenly disappeared after turning a corner around a residential building, and is nowhere to be found.　

Its name is Tuan Tuan, female, only 3 years old, around half a meter tall and 1.1 meters long.
It chews on the left side of its mouth, so its left teeth are slightly worn down.　　

Tuan Tuan is our family ’s joy.
My parents are so sad and haven ’t been able to sleep for days.
If someone is kind enough to get Tuan Tuan back, I ’ll pay 10,000 Yuan as a token of my appreciation.
You have my word.　

If someone stole it because of its beauty, please kindly return it.
We won ’t fight you, and we ’re willing to pay the same price.
If you ’re also a dog lover, I ’ll buy you a purebred Samoyed.

Tuan Tuan is not a purebred Samoyed.
It ’s not worth that much money.

Tuan Tuan ’s picture was listed below the writing.
Zhang Zian recognized right away, that just as the owner said, the Samoyed was beautiful, but not purebred.

There was telephone number at the end, along with a side note: Dear sanitation workers, please keep this flyer here for a few days.
I ’ll take it down myself.
Thanks!

Zhang Zian stopped to carefully read it again.
He could feel the love and anxiety in the owner ’s words.
A purebred Samoyed may cost a few thousand yuan, but the owner was willing to pay 10,000 yuan to get a non-purebred one back.
If he meant what he said, this family really loved the dog and didn ’t want to lose it like this.　

In general, ads for lost cats and dogs were common in the city.
Zhang Zian had seen several different ones before.
The silly sledding dog breeds especially, because they weren ’t cautious around strangers and would follow anyone who called it.
It was easy to lose them.
Also, many people walking their dogs didn ’t use a leash.
If a dog got distracted, it could run away so fast that it would be impossible to follow, just like what had happened in this ad.

Maybe Uncle and Aunt Li were right.
Zhang Zian suddenly became paranoid.
Could this Samoyed have been trapped?

He read the ad again, and noticed the words ”suddenly disappeared ”.
The owner must have thought it was suspicious to describe it this way.

Or maybe he was just thinking too much.
Perhaps this dog was simply lost.

Zhan Tian sniffed around the pole.
Zhang Zian pulled on its leash.
”Come on, Zhan Tian.
Let ’s go home. ”