dognovel Chapter 1838 - 1010: Showing Off Status
Chapter 1838 - 1010: Showing Off Status
By the Huishui River, peach blossoms burned bright.
The flower-viewing trip was especially pleasant, but by a little after ten, when it was almost time to head back, the smile on Tongtong’s face had dimmed quite a bit.
She walked sluggishly, nothing like someone in a hurry to get home and cook.
Jiang Ning looked at her like that and couldn’t help laughing. "You’re not even enthusiastic about eating anymore."
He pointed it out: "You’re not buying groceries?"
Xue Yuantong said, "I already told Chuchu to buy them. She bought razor clams. At noon we’ll make spicy razor clams, and spicy baby pumpkin... Boss Yang also said he saved a rare fish for us..."
"Nice."
He knew perfectly well Tongtong just wanted to spend more time with him, so Jiang Ning slowed his pace.
He deliberately walked very slowly, yet even so, he still didn’t fall behind Tongtong.
Tongtong noticed Jiang Ning’s exaggerated slow-motion, as if he were throwing a huge mockery in her face. She huffed, "You’re way too slow. If you’re a man, walk faster!"
Jiang Ning sped up a little, and she immediately couldn’t stand it.
She could only grit her teeth and jog to keep up.
Jiang Ning looked down at the riverside scenery and said, "Spring flowers really are pretty. We can come again tomorrow, maybe go check out the park."
"What about the day after tomorrow?"
"Day after tomorrow too."
"Hee-hee."
Xue Yuantong bounced up on her toes again, excited. She looked at the strings of purple flowers hanging down below the dam and exclaimed, "Jiang Ning, these are so pretty! Like a waterfall of flowers!"
Jiang Ning said, "Mm, they’re very pretty. They’re called wisteria."
"Huh? How come they’re growing on another tree?" Xue Yuantong asked in puzzlement.
Jiang Ning shook his head. "Wisteria is a vine. It likes to twine and climb. Precisely because of that, the ancients didn’t like wisteria much—because it implies clinging and climbing up the social ladder."
After hearing that, Xue Yuantong folded her arms. "Why were the ancients so fussy? They look down on this, look down on that!"
She was quite displeased, but unfortunately the ancients were long gone and she couldn’t argue with them.
As they were almost down at the river dam, Xue Yuantong discovered another kind of flower. "Jiang Ning, Jiang Ning, what’s this one?"
Jiang Ning listened to her chirping away and didn’t find it annoying. He looked at the petals, pure white like jade. "Magnolia. To be precise, White Magnolia."
Xue Yuantong was curious. "It looks a lot like a lily?"
She rose on her tiptoes, pinched off a magnolia petal, looked at the tender, delicious-looking whiteness, and popped it into her mouth.
Then she immediately furrowed her brows and swallowed it down.
Jiang Ning was a bit surprised. White Magnolia looks like a lily on the outside, but tastes sharp and spicy.
Jiang Ning said, "If you just eat everything, it’ll be the death of you one day."
Xue Yuantong snorted, "It’s fine. When I was little, I was always eating stuff out in the fields."
Jiang Ning said, "If you like it that much, I’ll give them all to you from now on."
Xue Yuantong was totally unfazed. "However many there are, I’ll eat however many!"
...
The two of them gradually made their way back to the bungalow. As soon as they reached the door, they saw Mr. Qian arguing with someone.
A man in a suit demanded angrily, "Didn’t you say this was your dog? Then why won’t it come with me?"
Mr. Qian shook his feather fan, unhurried. "It is my dog, so of course it won’t go with you."
The man in the suit was utterly baffled. "Didn’t you sell it to me?"
Mr. Qian said, "I’ve never owned it, so how could I have sold it?"
The man in the suit flexed his forearm muscles. "So you’re scamming me, huh?"
Mr. Qian said, "What I mean is, it is my dog, but I can’t control it."
The man in the suit didn’t want to hear any more nonsense. He grabbed Mr. Qian by the collar and yelled, "What the hell do you mean?"
Mr. Qian slowly lowered his fan and shouted, "You keep that up and I’m going to fall down and play dead!"
Xiao Ben, who had been dozing, opened his mouth and barked "woof woof" twice in warning.
The man in the suit had been warned by Brother An about how vicious this dog was. Add in the threat of being extorted, and he had no choice but to let go of Mr. Qian.
Xue Yuantong looked at the scene. "What’s going on?"
Jiang Ning said calmly, "Nothing big."
He called out, "Xiao Ben."
Xiao Ben wagged his tail and trotted over ingratiatingly, every inch the dog ready to be ordered around.
The man in the suit had a sudden brainwave and spoke up. "Hey, kid, is this your dog?"
Mr. Qian seized the chance to shoot Jiang Ning a look and wave frantically behind his back.
Xue Yuantong could tell there was definitely something fishy going on and was about to refuse.
Mr. Qian panicked and flashed a stack of hundred-dollar bills.
Xue Yuantong said, "It’s not our dog."
Mr. Qian burst out laughing. "Ha! Didn’t I say so? The dog is indeed mine, but it doesn’t listen to me!"
With that, Mr. Qian glared coldly. "Rebellious mutt!"
The man in the suit took a moment to sort out his thoughts and finally understood: so the dog belonged to the uncle’s family, but it didn’t listen to the uncle; instead it followed the young guy’s orders.
All lined up. Everything finally made sense!
The man in the suit straightened his jacket and said solemnly, "Kid, I really like your dog. Will you sell it?"
Xue Yuantong said, "You’re rich. How much can you put on the table?"
The man in the suit held up his Mercedes key. "Twenty thousand."
Jiang Ning said, "Deal."
Mr. Qian was stunned too. That wasn’t a small amount! And it was illegal!
He thought for a moment, then tried to hint, "Jiang Ning, this family’s rich. You absolutely mustn’t let Xiao Ben live the Good Days, okay?"
Xue Yuantong waved her hand. "My mind is made up. Xiao Ben, go with him."
The man in the suit was overjoyed, and he’d clearly come prepared. He took out a muzzle and a chain. "I’ll give you the money, you help me put these on the dog."
Jiang Ning said, "No problem."
Jiang Ning sent Xiao Ben a divine thought of "Do this and you’ll be handsomely rewarded afterward," then restrained Xiao Ben and handed him over to the man in the suit.
Mr. Qian stood to the side, completely dumbfounded.
No way—did Jiang Ning really just sell Butcher Zhang’s dog? So it’s true: the timid starve, the bold eat their fill!
Mr. Qian couldn’t even imagine what kind of expression Butcher Zhang would have when he came back.
The man in the suit really did hand over a plastic bag full of big bills.
Xue Yuantong counted the money. "We’re rich!"
Way faster than working our asses off at a street stall.
The man in the suit was just as pleased. With a cruel look in his eyes, he glanced at Xiao Ben. Such a big dog—no idea how Brother An planned to eat it. Probably dog meat hotpot!
Thinking of that, he actually started to drool a little. He hadn’t had breakfast this morning!
The man in the suit led the dog off toward the river dam, swaggering as he walked.
At the same time, two black sedans drove past. The one in the back suddenly slowed down and rolled down its window.
When the man in the suit saw who was in the car, he hurriedly said with respect, "Boss An!"
Inside was a slightly scholarly-looking middle‑aged man, his expression kindly. "You’re Xiao Xi, right? Walking the dog?"
Xiao Xi said respectfully, "Boss, this is a dog I just bought!"
Boss An glanced over twice. The dog was massive and sturdy, its coat glossy, its presence impressive. "Mm. Go on, then."
Then Boss An turned to the young woman in the back seat. "Chanchan, make sure you perform well later."
An Chan’s face was a bit stiff. In the car in front were Director Zhang and his son, Mr. Zhang. Today looked like just a meal, but in reality it was to set the two of them up.
But An Chan really couldn’t stand Mr. Zhang. She just didn’t like the look of him.
As the sedan passed the bungalow door, Mr. Qian clicked his tongue in amazement. "Jiang Ning, you really sold the dog? This kind of money shouldn’t be made!"
An Chan happened to hear this scene. She thought it over for a moment and immediately realized that the dog her dad’s employee bought just now was probably from Jiang Ning.
"For money he actually sold his own dog." An Chan couldn’t quite wrap her head around it. In her eyes, pets were basically family members.
"Even though Jiang Ning’s family situation is pretty bad, Ni Ni says their fried fish business is supposed to be making decent money..."
"Still, he’s a high schooler. He doesn’t actually have that much time to run a stall..." These little side thoughts circled around in An Chan’s mind.
Soon, they arrived at the rural tourism place.
These years, the idea of rural tourism spots was really popular. An Chan had been to a couple, but it was just roast whole lamb, clay‑pot chicken and such. The taste wasn’t anything special.
Boss Yang, with his full head of hair, stood at the entrance greeting them. "Director Zhang, Boss An!"
Boss An smiled kindly. "How’s Mr. Tang’s health these days?"
Boss Yang said, "Very good. He was just on a plane a few days ago."
After Mr. Zhang got out of the car, his chubby body waddled over to stand next to Teacher An Chan.
An Chan was pretty and well‑educated, with a good job. For someone from a deputy‑bureau family like him, she was already considered quite a catch.
An Chan could smell the smoke on him, and a trace of disgust flashed in her eyes. But she had no idea how to fight against her family over this.
Boss Yang took out cigarettes to hand around. Mr. Zhang, wanting to look good, deliberately lifted his hand in a lofty gesture. "I don’t smoke."
Boss Yang didn’t take it to heart. His rural tourism place had that mushroom soup as its signature, so the per‑customer tab was sky‑high. He usually dealt with big shots and had seen plenty of people with their noses in the air.
Those ones were actually easier. There were more people who were clearly high‑status, but still pretended to be all modest and cordial while secretly looking down on everyone.
"Everyone, this way please." Boss Yang led the way in.
Mr. Zhang walked into the main hall of the rural tourism place and saw a few people crowding around an arcade cabinet playing King of Fighters, the atmosphere lively.
He was into games too, so he deliberately fell a few steps behind.
Lin Zida finished off Ba Shen with a single hammer of a hit and shouted, "Who’s next?!"
Mr. Zhang said, "I’ll play!"
Lin Zida glanced at him and chuckled. "Bro, how many rounds are you planning to donate?"
Zhuang Jianhui was sitting at the bar, drinking Coke and watching an NBA game. He said, "Take it easy on him."
Mr. Zhang was actually being looked down on by some nobody like this. He was annoyed and thought to himself, "You’re still young now, so you dare call me ’bro’. Once you step into society, you’ll know what you’re supposed to call me!"
Mr. Zhang picked a few powerful characters right away and started a PK with Lin Zida.
Meanwhile, in the private room.
The gentle, easygoing Boss An took the initiative to lift the teapot and pour a cup of tea for Director Zhang.
Director Zhang was pushing sixty, wearing an old pair of cloth shoes, looking simple and plain—except his aura was impossible to ignore.
He sat in a very relaxed posture, sipping his tea casually. Once Boss An finished pouring, he looked markedly more formal.
An Chan took it all in and felt helpless. After all, all of her father’s environmental‑protection business depended on Director Zhang.
After Director Zhang drank his tea for a bit, he suddenly glanced around and realized his son was missing. His face inevitably darkened.
Boss An was very good at reading people. He deliberately nudged things along. "Chanchan, Xiao Zhang should be outside looking at the menu. Go out and pick the dishes with him."
An Chan immediately got up.
Director Zhang was quite satisfied, feeling that Boss An really knew how to handle things—not unworthy of all these years of his patronage.
...
Main hall of the rural tourism place.
Lin Zida realized this young guy was actually pretty good. He’d only lost one character to take three of his.
After losing, Mr. Zhang couldn’t accept it for a moment. As a kid, he’d basically been the undefeated king of the arcade, and he’d put in the time to polish his skills. Today he’d actually gotten slapped in the face.
Mr. Zhang wasn’t satisfied yet. "One more round!"
Lin Zida shook his head. "That’s it for today. Next time for sure."
Seeing he wasn’t getting his rematch, Mr. Zhang decided to pull rank. "You guys also here to eat at this rural tourism place? What does your family do?"
Lin Zida said, "We’re here to scrounge a meal. Big bro, and you are?"
Relying on his status, Mr. Zhang spat out a few words. "Environmental Protection Bureau."
Lin Zida gave him a big thumbs‑up and exaggeratedly praised, "I know, that’s at the provincial level, right? Awesome!"
Seeing that he "understood things," Mr. Zhang smiled faintly. "Little bro, you’ve got pretty good gaming skills. How about this—play with me in the future?"
Lin Zida burst out laughing. He was actually being recruited—and looking at this guy’s expression, he was clearly very proud of himself. Lin Zida found it quite funny.
After all, he was young too, with all the fire that comes with it.
He pointed at Zhuang Jianhui at the bar and said, "His dad is Secretary Zhuang. Big bro, I think you’re pretty good at games too. How about you be my sparring partner from now on?"
Mr. Zhang’s mind buzzed. He carefully looked over at Zhuang Jianhui, his face full of doubt and shock.
He’d seen Secretary Zhuang at big meetings before. Now that he looked closely, the two really did share some similarities in their brows and features, and that aura of his was definitely not ordinary.
An Chan walked into the main hall just in time to hear what Lin Zida said.
The next second she saw nearly‑thirty‑year‑old Mr. Zhang walk up to Zhuang Jianhui with a hint of stiffness.
That same Mr. Zhang who usually looked down his nose at people, the son‑in‑law her dad valued most, actually said respectfully, "Young Master Zhuang, do you smoke?"
...
"Jiang Ning, Jiang Ning, Boss Yang said he saved an East Star Spot for us."
"East Star Spot, huh. Not bad."