Lillipup Sniffed the Old Cloth Bag Three Times

The next afternoon, A-Li came to take Xia Che to see the place she lived.

She had switched to an empty bread basket, while the old cloth was tucked into the bag slung over her shoulder. The moment Lillipup entered, it caught the scent. It circled the bag three times, its nose constantly following the worn corner.

"I clearly washed it," A-Li said, a little embarrassed.

"You can't wash away the smell of carrying it with you every day," Hu Liena said.

Eevee also went over for a sniff, then quickly backed away. The old cloth bag carried the mingled scents of bread, rainwater, wooden doors, loose change, and countless streets. It appealed to Lillipup, but it was far too cluttered for Eevee.

Xia Che threw on his coat. "Let's go."

Indeedee had already prepared a measuring tape, a soft mat, a water bowl, and a small packet of wind-blocking cotton. She packed them into a light carry bag, then pressed a round loaf into Xia Che's hand.

"For the road?"

She nodded.

A-Li glanced at the sky outside. "It's only four streets from here."

"Then I'll eat it when we get back."

Indeedee took the bread back.

Xia Che immediately changed his mind. "I'll eat it on the way."

The group passed through Old Street and headed toward the outer city. Lillipup stayed close to A-Li as before. When they passed yesterday's flour cart, it deliberately avoided the right side panel. The bent nail had been pulled out, leaving only a shallow hole in the wood.

The cart driver's assistant waved at it.

Lillipup caught the familiar scent of flour and wagged its tail twice, but did not go over.

A-Li lived in a narrow alley behind the bakery. Her room was on the second floor, and the wooden stairs were steep. Lillipup's legs were short, and it stopped at the fourth step.

"Should I carry it up every day?" A-Li asked.

Lillipup looked up at her, its front paws still resting on the step.

Xia Che leaned against the railing. "Let it try on its own first."

A-Li went up another two steps, turned around, and held out her hand without touching it.

Lillipup lifted its leg again. It climbed only one step at a time and rested twice along the way, but it eventually made it to the second floor by itself. The moment it reached the landing, it flopped down, its tongue sticking out slightly.

Indeedee handed it the water bowl.

"It has to climb these stairs every day," A-Li said, crouching beside it. "Once in the morning and once at night. If I come back from deliveries at noon, then one more time."

"Riding in a basket counts too," Xia Che said.

At the mention of a basket, Lillipup looked up at her.

A-Li smiled. "You can ride when you're tired."

The door opened, and the room was indeed tiny.

A narrow bed stood against the wall. An old wooden table sat beneath the window, while a clothes chest and two empty flour baskets occupied the other side. There was a low stove in the corner, only used during the coldest days. A water jar stood behind the door. The floor was cleanly swept, but there was not a single spot completely free of clutter.

A-Li stood in the doorway. "I can move the clothes chest to the foot of the bed and stack the two baskets."

Xia Che did not look at the chest first. "Let it go inside."

After Lillipup had recovered its strength, it stepped over the threshold.

It sniffed the water jar first, then the table legs. There was sunlight by the window, but also cold wind slipping through the gaps. The moment it approached, it shrank its neck and quickly moved away.

The low stove still carried the smell of charcoal. Lillipup sneezed and did not linger.

Finally, it walked over to A-Li's old cloth bag and tapped it with a paw.

A-Li placed the bag on the floor.

Lillipup first stuck its head inside, then backed out after discovering the bag was too narrow. It bit one shoulder strap and dragged the bag toward the door.

"That'll block the door," A-Li said.

Lillipup released the strap and turned to look at her.

Indeedee laid the measuring tape down along the path of the opening door. It could not stay behind the door, but there was a narrow empty space against the wall beside it. As long as the small box of odds and ends was moved away, there would be just enough room for a mat.

"The box has winter clothes in it," A-Li said, opening it for them to see. "It can go under the bed."

Xia Che bent down to look beneath the bed. "Take the old shoes out first."

A-Li's face reddened. She hurriedly pulled out two pairs of old shoes and a basket with a broken handle.

The moment Lillipup smelled the shoes, it perked up. It sniffed from left to right without missing a single one.

"You don't need to inspect those." A-Li tried to put the shoes away.

Lillipup hugged one of them.

"That's what I wear to work."

It buried its nose inside and refused to let go even more stubbornly.

Xia Che sat down nearby. "It's found half of its home already."

"You can't let it sleep in a shoe."

Indeedee took out the new soft mat and spread it over the empty space beside the door, then covered it with the old cloth left over from yesterday. A-Li placed her work shoes beside the mat. Only then did Lillipup let go and step onto the old cloth instead.

It turned around twice on the spot. When it lay down, its nose could just reach the edge of the shoe.

"Will this do?" A-Li asked.

Lillipup closed its eyes.

Xia Che nodded. "It'll do."

The other issues in the room were not serious either.

The window gaps needed cotton, the water jar had to be moved away from behind the door, and an open space had to be left around the low stove. Indeedee checked each spot, and A-Li adjusted each one. She pushed the chest of winter clothes beneath the bed and stacked the empty baskets beside the wooden table. Before long, an entire corner beside the door had been cleared.

At first, the water bowl was placed beside the soft mat.

Lillipup lowered its head and took two drinks. When it stood up, its hind paw bumped the rim, spilling water over one corner of the old cloth. It hurriedly turned around and tried to pin the cloth down with its paws, only to get its paw fur wet too.

A-Li did not scold it. She used a dry cloth to soak up the water, then moved the bowl against the wall.

"Will this work here?"

Lillipup tried walking through the space once. The wall did not block the door, and it was far enough from the low stove. Its tail would not sweep into anything else while it drank.

Indeedee placed a square waterproof mat on the floor. Lillipup sniffed it first, then stepped on it, and finally used its nose to push the water bowl to the exact center.

"It even arranges things itself," A-Li said with a smile.

Xia Che looked at the carry bag in his hand. "Who arranged the bowls at the shop?"

Indeedee looked at him calmly.

"Forget I asked."

Its food also needed a place. A-Li usually kept bread and coarse grains beneath the wooden table, their scents all mixed together. Every time Lillipup passed by, it stopped to sniff.

"I can buy a small jar with a lid," she said. "I'll portion out its daily meals and keep them on top of the clothes chest."

Indeedee measured the height. Lillipup could not reach it, and the damp air from the window could not get to it either, so she drew a round jar on the card.

"How much does it eat in a day?" A-Li asked.

Indeedee held up three portions with her hands, then pointed at the small Berry for training days.

A-Li took out her loose change and calculated. "The bakery pays once every ten days. Ordinary food won't be a problem, but if it gets sick, I need to save some money first."

Xia Che asked, "How much have you saved?"

She gave him a small number.

"Keep it there for now. Routine checkups at the care room cost little, but if it really needs a clinic, you can't wait until payday."

A-Li nodded and put the money she had planned to spend on a new mattress back into her purse. Lillipup had already chosen the old cloth, so the money saved could stay there.

Aunt Chen downstairs heard the commotion and came up while holding the railing.

"You really plan to keep a puppy in your room?" she asked.

Lillipup immediately opened its eyes and stood in front of A-Li.

"Its name is Lillipup," A-Li said. "It won't take up the stairs, and it won't go into your kitchen."

Aunt Chen looked down at it. "Does it bark at night?"

Lillipup barked at her once.

Aunt Chen looked at A-Li.

"This is its first time meeting you today." A-Li called Lillipup back to the mat. "It warns me when it hears unfamiliar footsteps. I'll teach it to bark only once."

"One bark is enough to wake me up."

Aunt Chen sounded displeased, but her gaze fell on the new soft mat. She reached out to feel the wind by the window, then went back downstairs. Not long after, she returned with a strip of old cotton cloth.

"Block the window first. If it barks all night, you're both moving out tomorrow morning."

Lillipup sniffed the cotton cloth she handed over.

Aunt Chen stepped back. "Don't bite."

It only touched it with the tip of its nose, then sat back down by A-Li's feet.

A-Li accepted it with a smile. "Thank you, Aunt Chen."

Indeedee stuffed the cotton cloth into the window gaps, and the cold wind from outside immediately weakened. Lillipup went over to the window again. This time, it did not shrink its neck, only watched the people passing through the alley.

The windowsill was too high, so it could see only half the sky.

A-Li moved over a sturdy wooden box, leaving a palm's width between it and the window. Lillipup stepped onto it, and its line of sight rose just above the sill without touching the window paper.

"This is your spot for watching the street," she said.

Lillipup lay on the wooden box and swished its tail.

Xia Che finally took out the bread from the road. The moment he broke it open, Lillipup jumped down from the window and sat squarely in front of him.

"This is mine."

It looked toward A-Li.

A-Li took out its own small portion from the cloth bag. "Yours is here."

Lillipup immediately changed directions.

Xia Che finished his bread with great satisfaction.

Before evening, they walked through the nearby daily route once more. The bakery's back door, the well, the mouth of the alley, and the delivery cart's usual stopping place were all within a small loop. Lillipup only sniffed nearby and did not run off on its own. Whenever cart wheels passed, it stood beside A-Li's leg and waited for the cart to go by before continuing.

Back on the second floor, A-Li untied the number one tag from the delivery basket and placed it beside the new soft mat.

"Do you want to stay tonight?" she asked.

Lillipup looked outside the door, then at the corner covered with old cloth.

It picked up the number one tag in its mouth, walked to the soft mat, and lay down, pinning the tag between its front paws.

Xia Che walked to the door. "I'll come get it tomorrow morning."

"What if it barks at night?"

"First see what it's barking about."

Aunt Chen heard from downstairs and loudly added, "One bark at most."

Lillipup's ears twitched, and it buried its nose in the old cloth.

After the door closed, the only sound left in the room was cloth being gently pressed flat beneath its paws.

For its first night, it chose to stay.