Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 394 - Chapter 394 Chapter 382 The Leftovers

Chapter 394: Chapter 382: The Leftovers Chapter 394: Chapter 382: The Leftovers Old Man Lan was referring to a different market than the one near Chuhua University, and it required a bit of travel on a bike.

In the cage on the bike, the puppy seemed to be ill at ease in the unfamiliar environment, lacking the presence of any familiar scents. It wasn’t as lively as before, “whining” a few times. After seeing Zheng Tan, it poked its nose and mouth through the gaps in the wire mesh, biting the wires and scratching it a few times with its paws.

Zheng Tan watched the puppy gnaw on the wire and play, and he playfully tapped its protruding nose, not expecting the little guy to bite back. With nothing better to do, Zheng Tan occupied himself by tapping the puppy’s nose for fun. The puppy was slow to react; no matter how hard it tried, it couldn’t catch Zheng Tan’s hand.

When the puppy bit, it wasn’t because it wanted to actually bite something; it was simply playing.

The reason Zheng Tan chose this dog wasn’t that, as Old Man Lan thought, the dog was particularly outstanding or possessed any Spiritual Energy. As for puppies, Zheng Tan couldn’t really tell if it was exceptional in any way. The main reason was that this dog seemed to have the biggest mouth. Zheng Tan had looked closely and compared; of its three siblings, this puppy did indeed have a slightly bigger mouth. Finally spotting a difference, Zheng Tan pointed at this one.

Twenty minutes later, Old Man Lan arrived at a market and wheeled the bike inside. By that time, the market was past its morning rush and not very crowded.

Young people generally don’t go to the market to buy dogs because, first, it gives the impression that they don’t love dogs, and second, markets mostly sell native dog pups, which the younger generation typically doesn’t fancy. Hence, the buyers there are predominantly middle-aged and older people. Old Man Lan had only learned that one could buy native dog pups here from someone else; he had never had this experience before.

After asking around, Old Man Lan followed the direction pointed out by others to find the dog sellers.

In the market, they either sold dogs specifically for meat or vendors who usually sold vegetables would bring out their puppies for sale if they happened to have a litter at home.

Old Man Lan checked out two vendors; their dogs were slightly older, around three to four months. He believed that it was better to raise dogs from a young age as it fostered a deeper bond. While the puppy’s personality was not yet fully set, he could still shape it the way he wanted. Thus, he planned to buy two one- or two-month-old puppies to raise from the start, keeping them in the small flower bed where they would be more effective. It was for this reason that he had declined several offers from friends to give him adult dogs. Older dogs delivered to him would lack a personal connection, making it difficult to build a bond; he preferred to forgo the idea.

Perhaps because of the sounds of various dogs in the market, the pup inside the cage on the bike stopped playing with Zheng Tan and sat down, listening intently to something and looking around curiously.

Zheng Tan leaned against the bike, observing the surroundings. The sight of the dogs locked up in cages filled him with sadness, bringing back unpleasant memories. These weren’t dogs raised for meat; they were native guard dogs bought at low prices from farmers, which was evident in their eyes.

Not to mention these dogs, even now, countless cats are being transported to the Southern region.

Change?

Society is what it is; it cannot be changed.

As he mused, Zheng Tan heard a commotion not far ahead. Craning his neck, he saw a patched native dog carrying a basket in its mouth, following someone to a vegetable stall, where it stopped. Inside the basket, there were puppies that seemed slightly smaller than the one on Old Man Lan’s bike. Due to his angle, Zheng Tan couldn’t see how many there were, catching only half of one puppy’s head, the rest hidden from view.

This scene attracted quite a crowd of onlookers.

Old Man Lan, too, wheeled his bike over. Fortunately, the market wasn’t too crowded at the time, or he wouldn’t have been able to get through.

“Is this dog for sale?” someone asked.

“Yes, it’s from our own home, very obedient. We asked it to carry the basket, and it did,” said the stall owner.

“That mother dog probably doesn’t know it’s selling its pups, huh? Ah, it looks pitiful.”

Although some people felt sorry for the dog, the crowd was mostly just talking. However, there really were people interested in buying a pup.

One of them was a local restaurant owner who had not yet reached his peak business hours. He was chatting with someone in the market when he saw the dog and decided he wanted to keep one. Having a dog in the restaurant was good for warding off thieves and deterring those who sought trouble.

“This is a fine dog, look at that shrimp-like waist,” commented the restaurant owner, eyes shining as he looked at the dog that had carried the basket. Over the years of running his restaurant, he had raised several dogs and had developed a keen eye.

“What’s the matter, Boss Liu? Do native dogs have these nuances? Tell us about it. I’m interested in buying one myself. Indeed, we need to guard our warehouse,” another middle-aged man came over and commented.

“Oh, Boss Wang, what brings you here?” the restaurant owner, Boss Liu, didn’t inquire further. Seeing the surrounding people attentive, he began to speak.

“Native dogs aren’t as despicable as some say, they’re good for hunting, good for guarding the house…” Boss Liu spoke animatedly about the several dogs he had raised, and the people around, having nothing better to do, gathered to listen to his stories. Old Man Lan listened with interest, but because he was pushing the bike, he couldn’t get too close and had to peer through the gaps between the people in front to see the mother dog sitting beside the stall.

In fact, listening to what Boss Wang had said, Zheng Tan didn’t think the man truly understood dogs that well. His knowledge seemed to be based on the dogs he had once raised plus a bit of experience he had picked up from others; however, it was enough to bluff those present.

“…That guy said his dog was great, oh boy, I just laughed. It was clearly a hunting dog, but he raised it to be obese like a pig with a barrel waist and still bragged about it. I didn’t have the heart to correct him – it was nothing like the shrimp-waisted dog we used to have. Our dog could jump three or four meters in a leap; in some places, that dog would sell for a lot of money!”