Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 396 - Chapter 396 Chapter 383 Tiger Stripes

Chapter 396: Chapter 383 Tiger Stripes Chapter 396: Chapter 383 Tiger Stripes The dog in the basket, although not as active as the other two, did not have the listless look in its eyes that one might think. When Zheng Tan approached, he could see a hint of wariness in the little pup’s eyes.

The remaining pup had a gray undercoat with deep brown and nearly black stripes throughout its fur. At first glance, it might remind one of a tortoiseshell cat, but the fur of a tortoiseshell cat is more mixed and irregular, not having the relatively uniform pattern of patches that this one did.

Having spent a long time at the Pet Center, Zheng Tan had seen many dogs and heard many stories about them. Once, after completing a task at Xiao Guo’s place, Zheng Tan wandered around the Pet Center and saw someone talking to Xiao Guo, surrounded by several dogs with seemingly patchy coats, like they had skin diseases. Charlie and others said they were tiger-spotted dogs.

On closer inspection, indeed, some of the patterns on those dogs were stripe-like, different from the fur pattern on Li Yuanba, and they looked quite fierce. However, many people were passionate about this patterned fur, with the famous Shangrao Tiger Stripes being particularly well-known, rumored to have been used by royalty for hunting. Tiger-spotted dogs might not be as extraordinary as some people claim, but, true or not, it showed that many people liked this pattern.

The man talking to Xiao Guo was very fond of tiger-spotted dogs, with most of the dogs he held having that kind of coat. In the countryside, this coat pattern was not uncommon among local dogs, it was just that many used for guarding homes didn’t pay attention to the coat and didn’t differentiate so strictly. What really mattered was how people raised them.

Now, of the three pups, this was the only one left, mainly because of its coat color.

Aside from the issue with its coat, Zheng Tan thought the pup looked quite pleasing and wasn’t rowdy.

In the past, Charlie had said that tiger-spotted dogs, under normal circumstances, tended to be more stubborn and aggressive than other local dogs, with decent hunting instincts and capable of guarding and fighting, more agile than the average local dog, and showed good performance when hunting in the small mountains. However, due to their impulsive and less stable temperament, most tiger-spotted dogs rarely became lead dogs in big hunts. These were not absolutes but often the case for the majority.

Tiger stripes looked cool, unlike many yellow dogs that seemed tame, but Zheng Tan thought that this little tiger-striped pup seemed more honest and stable than the little yellow dog that was bought previously. Of course, that was only the appearance, and what kind of dog it would grow into after becoming familiar and growing up was uncertain for Zheng Tan right now.

People around were disdainful of the dog’s coat color, but the more Zheng Tan looked, the more he liked it.

The pup, initially crouching, stood up as Zheng Tan got closer. It didn’t bark at first, but after staring at Zheng Tan for a while, it began to whimper with its little tail wagging.

The dog seller was puzzled to see a black cat running by the dog basket earlier and wondered when such a cat appeared in the market, walking around so boldly. Usually, cats and dogs wouldn’t be so calm in a market full of heavy scents, like the dogs about to be sold in the cages, restlessly anxious. In contrast, this black cat was quite the anomaly, neither anxious nor afraid of strangers.

The stall owner was about to say something when Old Man Lan spoke.

“What’s the matter, Heitan, you like this one?” Old Man Lan walked over, crouched down, and took a closer look at the pup.

He didn’t plan to buy it at first, but after seeing Zheng Tan’s behavior, he changed his mind.

“Whoa, Mr. Lan, is this your cat? It’s really bold,” the stall owner laughed.

Old Man Lan grunted a response and didn’t say much, continuing to look at the pup and even picking it up to have a closer look.

Seeing that the pup seemed healthy aside from its unattractive fur, Old Man Lan felt slightly better about it, and looking at the black cat beside him, the scales in his heart tilted further.

Seeing Old Man Lan’s hesitation, the stall owner wanted to close the sale quickly and said, “Old man, this is the last pup. You won’t find another if you miss this. It’s a good dog; otherwise, those two bosses wouldn’t have bought it just now. But I see you don’t like the fur color. How about this, I’ll give you a discount. Those two sold for eighty, but I’ll sell this one for sixty to you, how about it?”

Old Man Lan remained silent, seemingly still considering. Actually, he was observing Zheng Tan’s reaction. Unsure about the dog, he left the decision to Zheng Tan, noticing that Zheng Tan’s gaze was indeed fixed on the pup. Old Man Lan then considered buying the pup.

Forget it, it’s just an unattractive coat color. Choosing a dog is mainly about checking its inner character; one shouldn’t be overly concerned with its appearance, or priorities may be reversed! Old Man Lan reassured himself.

However, Old Man Lan’s silence seemed to the stall owner as dissatisfaction with the price. Judging by the old man’s plain attire, he didn’t look rich, and the owner knew that people of this age tended to be tight with money and reluctant to spend more, so the stall owner considered lowering the price even further.

Hearing a pup’s bark, the stall owner glanced toward the electric tricycle and saw a pup in a cage on it, and asked Old Man Lan, “Did you just buy that dog on your vehicle?”

Old Man Lan, who had made up his mind, slowly stood up after setting down the pup. “Mm, just bought it, sixty and came with a cage,” said Old Man Lan truthfully.

But to the stall owner, this meant that the old man really did have an issue with the price. The pup on the old man’s vehicle seemed a bit larger and more lively, and even came with a cage. If he continued to insist on “sixty,” the deal would probably fall through. Seeing that no one else seemed interested in the pup, the stall owner thought for a moment and said, “How about this, I also want to sell this pup quickly. My daughter-in-law left with the big dog, and she will be back soon. I want to sell the dog before she returns with the dog, so let’s just make it forty, that’s half off. Actually, aside from the fur color, the dog is really good. Once it’s grown, it will be very diligent when guarding the house. Look at its eyes; it’s the kind that’s willing to bark at strangers, and it will bark fiercer than other dogs, not giving up due to being frightened.”

The vendor looked honest and seemed sincere when he spoke, but the truth was, in his mind, he was happy to get even 40 yuan, which was more than he had initially hoped for, a pure profit without any loss. As for the flattery about the dog, that was all nonsense–he knew nothing about evaluating dogs; he was just making stuff up like Boss Liu used to do.

Old Man Lan, who had intended to pay the money and leave, hesitated upon hearing another price drop. He looked at the vendor, shook his head silently, and then took out the money and handed it over.

The people around all thought that Old Man Lan was still dissatisfied with the dog and the price, and was reluctantly accepting them, but Zheng Tan knew that Old Man Lan was actually speechless; the old man didn’t really care about the tens of yuan, yet to his surprise, by saying less, the vendor had dropped the price straightforwardly.

The vendor had no intention of giving away the dog basket, and Old Man Lan didn’t want it either. The cage in the car could fit another puppy–squeezing two puppies together was fine, they would be back home soon anyway.

The two puppies crammed into one cage, both being small, didn’t fight much; the little yellow dog was more lively and initiated some playful interactions.

Zheng Tan watched from the side. Two puppies, less than 100 yuan in total, such a bargain. Dogs of the same species, yet compared to those expensive breeds, the difference in price could be hundreds, even thousands of times more, or even greater.

The dogs were picked, and as for what these two would grow up to be, Zheng Tan dared not guarantee anything. Didn’t Old Man Lan say it himself? If they grew up skewed, it would be his own responsibility, nothing to do with Zheng Tan.

After returning to the school, Old Man Lan settled the two puppies in the small flower bed without taking them back to the residential building. Old Mrs. Zhai cooked some rice paste with minced meat mixed in for the two puppies, and they ate it up with gusto.

Old Man Lan named the two puppies, calling the little yellow one Qianli and the tiger-spotted one Shunfeng; he hoped they would possess the abilities of Clairvoyance and Ears of Shunfeng, to protect the small flower bed well and keep those with ill-intentions at bay.

The orchid was still blooming, lasting longer than other varieties of orchids, which surprised many people. Since the orchid’s return, Mr. Lan’s small flower bed had been closed to the public and he no longer allowed visitors, except for a few close friends. The media also lost interest. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to report, but they were pressured from above not to continue with extensive coverage. Mr. Lan felt the same; he didn’t want to attract any more malicious characters.

The puppies were still small, and Mr. Lan hadn’t provided separate nests for them; he made a temporary dog bed from cardboard boxes for the time being and planned to build two larger wooden dog beds for each of them when they grew up.

It wasn’t until Old Man Lan took the two puppies to the Pet Center for a check-up that he learned from those there that the Shunfeng’s coat color was known as Shangrao Tiger Stripes.

The staff at the Pet Center were trying to comfort Old Man Lan, so they exaggerated a bit, which left Old Man Lan feeling quite elated.

But, in the end, regardless of what they said, it was just a mixed-breed dog, wasn’t it? Many people still looked down on it. However, Old Man Lan no longer harbored any of the stubborn thoughts he used to have and actually felt a smug sense of having landed a bargain. When he saw Zheng Tan after returning to school, he smiled with such warmth and friendliness.

“Heitan, nice judgment, huh.”

Zheng Tan watched the old man humming a tune as he walked away and thought, these are still just pups; let’s see if the judgment was good when they’ve grown up.

However, every time Old Man Lan called “Shunfeng,” Zheng Tan couldn’t help but feel uneasy and would mentally add “Express Delivery” after the name. Later, Old Man Lan probably felt calling the dog sounded like naming a delivery service, so he changed it to “Shunzi.”

Mixed-breed dogs are easy to raise and grow quickly. The two puppies adapted well and were running all over the small flower bed within a few days. Aside from Zheng Tan, the first cat they got to know was the sheriff.

Originally, the Sheriff would visit the small flower bed to nibble on flowers, but now he was visiting more frequently because of the two puppies. Zheng Tan had known for a while that the sheriff’s interest in dogs was stronger than in cats.

At first, the sheriff was just curious and didn’t go over to bond with the two puppies; instead, he perched on top of the flower shed and watched the playing pups below, stretching his neck as long as he possibly could, wishing it were as long as a giraffe’s, never taking his eyes off them.

When the two puppies noticed the cat perched on top of the flower shed, they approached the shed. The little yellow one, “Qianli,” barked up at the sheriff with a distinctly juvenile bark. The top of the flower shed was slanted with the highest point about three meters above ground and the lowest less than half a meter. The sheriff was perched about a meter off the ground; otherwise, the puppies might not have noticed him.

“Shunzi” didn’t bark, but it also tilted its head up watching the cat on the shed.

Zheng Tan could tell by the way the sheriff wagged its tail that it really wanted to go down and play with those two, but it seemed to want to observe a bit longer.

Seeing the sheriff showing no signs of moving, Zheng Tan walked behind it and kicked it down. (To be continued. If you like this work, please go to Qidian (NovelFire.net) to vote for it. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.NovelFire.net to read.)

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