Restless, uneasy, afraid... The black dog dodged awkwardly, helplessness filling its eyes.
Suddenly, it caught a familiar scent and saw Qin Lin returning. A hint of light seemed to return to its eyes.
It barked at Qin Lin and rushed toward him in a panic.
That gave the urban management officers their chance. They caught the black dog's head in a net, then pulled the rope tight and bound its neck.
"Whimper, whimper!" Terror filled the black dog's eyes. It barked at Qin Lin even more frantically, its gaze full of hope and longing.
One of the officers came forward with a cage, and together they managed to lock the black dog inside.
The black dog kept barking at Qin Lin. Only after the cage door closed did it let out a dejected whimper. It seemed to lose all its strength, lowering its head and lying down.
It seemed to have given up, its eyes seemingly drained of all color. Yet from the corner of its eye, it still watched Qin Lin's direction, holding on to a faint hope.
Qin Lin felt the black dog's gaze. It made him sigh helplessly, and he walked toward the officers.
He'd grown used to seeing the black dog every day lately. Besides, he could afford to keep a dog now.
The black dog seemed to notice Qin Lin's movement. It suddenly stood up again, hope returning to its eyes.
Qin Lin walked toward the officer leading the group. "Captain Liu, this black dog and I seem destined to meet. Could you let it go? I'll adopt it."
As he spoke, he discreetly slipped the Zhonghua cigarette pack Manager Chen had given him into the officers' vehicle.
"Ah, it's Boss Qin!" Captain Liu often came to Market Street on business, and he could probably name most of the shop owners there.
He glanced at the Zhonghua cigarettes, then said to Qin Lin without showing any reaction, "Boss Qin, since you've asked, we're not heartless. But if you're going to adopt it, you'd better get it vaccinated and examined, and get it a dog license while you're at it. The rules are strict these days, so don't put us in a difficult position."
Qin Lin nodded and promised, "Don't worry, Captain Liu. I'll take it to get vaccinated in a bit, and I'll get its dog license as soon as I can!"
Only then did Captain Liu nod to the other officers. He'd noticed that the dog was a little unusual too, so he might as well do Qin Lin a favor.
When Qin Lin and one of the officers reached the cage, the black dog seemed to realize what was happening. It whimpered at him, pacing anxiously inside.
The moment the cage opened, it darted out as fast as it could and reached Qin Lin's feet, rubbing its head against his leg over and over.
Feeling the black dog's emotions, Qin Lin crouched down and stroked its head to calm it.
"Whimper, whimper!" The black dog's cries grew louder and more excited.
Captain Liu soon left with his team. Seeing that he had some free time, Qin Lin decided to take the black dog to get vaccinated and treated for parasites. Those were essential steps when adopting a stray.
There was a pet shop not far from Market Street. Qin Lin called to the black dog, and it followed him with remarkable understanding.
The pet shop owner was an unkempt, scruffy-looking man with a beard. He was carefully brushing the fur of a pet dog.
The sight was a little comical.
A man who didn't care much about his own appearance was making a dog look immaculate.
"Got a customer!" The man spotted Qin Lin and greeted him.
Qin Lin smiled. "Boss, could you examine this dog and clean it up? Give it a vaccination and treat it for parasites too."
The man's interest immediately perked up when he saw the black dog. "This is a stray, right?"
Qin Lin nodded. "It's been hanging around me for a while, so I thought I'd adopt it."
The man looked surprised. "You're lucky, brother. When a stray picks its owner, it means it's got a good sense of people. It also means you've made it feel safe. It wants a warm home, and it's clear you haven't let it down..."
Once he started talking, the man seemed unable to stop. Still, he kept working, leading the black dog inside for an examination before bathing it, treating it for parasites, and vaccinating it. His movements were practiced.
The whole process took a little over an hour. By the time it was done, the black dog looked completely different. It was lively, its fur no longer dusty and matted but shiny, and it was quite handsome.
The owner said in surprise, "Brother, this is a female dog. She's already been spayed. She must've been someone's pet before, though I don't know why she was abandoned."
"She's a black wolfdog, one of the smartest and most loyal breeds. Treat her well, and she won't let you down."
"It's not easy for a stray to pick another owner. Once you take her in, you become her whole world."
"Women might leave you and break your heart, but she won't. And she's easy to please. As long as you give her your affection, she'll stay loyal and never leave you. She won't be insatiable like a woman..."
"..." Qin Lin opened his mouth. At first, he thought the owner was talking about dogs. But as the man went on, Qin Lin couldn't help feeling that he wasn't just talking about dogs at all. It was as though he were a man with a story to tell.
The owner fell silent and sighed, then said to Qin Lin, "The bath is 200, parasite treatment is 50, vaccines are 100, and the examination is 50. That comes to 400 in total."
Hearing the price, Qin Lin couldn't help thinking, Damn, that's expensive.
Maybe now he understood why the owner, who didn't even bother to tidy himself up, put so much effort into making the dog look beautiful. It was all about the money.
The owner asked, "Want a leash too? The rules are strict these days, so it's best to use one when you take her out. You'll also need to take two bags of dog food home."
Qin Lin nodded. "Then I'll take a leash and two bags of dog food."
The owner took a leash and two bags of dog food from behind the counter and handed them to Qin Lin. "The leash is 50, and the dog food is 300. That's 750 altogether."
Qin Lin now understood why there were so many strays in Youcheng. He'd just spent 750 yuan on this one.
The average salary in Youcheng was only three or four thousand yuan. Keeping a dog was definitely a financial strain, so people shouldn't adopt one on a whim. Otherwise, they'd only end up harming themselves and the dog.
After paying, Qin Lin picked up the leash and tried to put it on the black dog. To his surprise, she voluntarily brought her head forward, cooperating completely.
The owner watched and sighed. "This dog is so smart. With a little training, she could probably become a famous internet dog on Mouyin. What a pity she chose you as her owner."
The black dog was clearly more energetic as she walked out of the pet shop, strutting proudly. She knew she had a home again.
Next, Qin Lin took the black dog to the district committee. Getting a dog license required the committee's signature and a record on file. He also needed his own ID card information, and then he'd have to go to the police station to register as a dog owner.
Now that he'd decided to adopt the black dog, he had to take care of the necessary paperwork, for both his sake and hers.
But the process was tedious and complicated. By evening, the strawberries and okra in the game had ripened again, and he still hadn't finished. He could only continue with the paperwork tomorrow. He returned to the shop, harvested the strawberries and okra in the game, and got another five pounds of Quality 2 okra.
After planting new seeds, he left the black dog in the shop and went to the warehouse to bring everything out of the game.
After delivering this batch to RT-Mart and having it weighed, the day's total came to 610 pounds of strawberries and 3,110 pounds of okra.
This time, Manager Chen came down in person again.
"President Qin, have they finished weighing everything?" Manager Chen asked with a cheerful smile. He took the receipt from Qin Lin himself so he could sign it, acting especially warm.
Qin Lin naturally knew what he was after. Smiling, he went to the back of the tricycle and took out a bag, handing it to Manager Chen. "Manager Chen, there are five pounds of specially cultivated okra in here. I had to talk and talk before I could get some from someone else."
He hadn't brought out all ten pounds of his Quality 2 okra. The more anxious Manager Chen got, the longer Qin Lin would keep him waiting.
Manager Chen's face brightened as he took the five pounds of Quality 2 okra. Pulling Qin Lin aside, he whispered, "President Qin, I'm sorry for the trouble this time. Do you think you could put in a little more effort in the future? As long as you can get me some every day, I'll pay you the full amount on the invoices from now on."
In other words, he was giving up the kickback too.
It seemed Manager Chen was sparing no expense for the sake of his sex life.
So when Qin Lin left RT-Mart, his settlement was higher than before, with everything paid at the full invoiced amount.
The strawberries came to 19,520 yuan at 32 yuan per pound for 610 pounds. The okra came to 20,215 yuan at 6.5 yuan per pound for 3,110 pounds. Adding 2,000 yuan for Manager Chen's five pounds of Quality 2 okra, his total daily income was 39,735 yuan—nearly 40,000 yuan.
His bank balance officially passed 300,000 yuan, reaching 318,482 yuan.
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