Wen Ning Got a Dog Named Sang Biao

"E-excuse me, is Da Mao here?"

A lovely female voice drifted into Wen Ning's shop.

The Big Golden Retriever had been lying beneath the electric fan drying his fur, but his ears perked up the instant he heard that voice.

His four paws skidded across the floor as he raced to the door, wagging his tail furiously and letting out affectionate whines.

Wen Ning stood up and saw the girl in the pale blue dress from last time standing at the entrance.

She looked as quiet and gentle as ever, carrying a suitcase. Clearly, she had come straight here after getting off her flight.

"I'm here to take Da Mao home."

She smiled a little sheepishly.

"My business trip ended early. I'm really sorry for all the trouble."

The Big Golden Retriever rolled onto his back beside her legs, wriggling around with all four paws in the air. Watching his utterly shameless display, Wen Ning took the leash from behind the door and held it out.

"No problem. He's been pretty well behaved here. He helped watch the door, so he practically counts as half an employee."

With that, he handed over the leash.

As his owner led the Big Golden Retriever out of the alley, he glanced back at Wen Ning.

Sure enough, over the next few days without the Big Golden Retriever around, Wen Ning found himself feeling a little out of sorts.

Sparrow Spirit temporarily took on security duties at the bathhouse.

The results were extremely limited, since all he did when strangers showed up was chirp at them.

He could neither bare his teeth to scare people off nor wag his tail to welcome them.

Fortunately, nothing went wrong over those few days.

Wen Ning returned to his daily routine of scrubbing backs, heating water, and giving oil massages, occasionally trading a few barbs with Lu Ming in the group chat.

Then one day, while he was squatting at the entrance eating takeout, something happened.

A golden blur suddenly shot in from the mouth of the alley, moving as fast as a streak of golden lightning.

Before Wen Ning could react, two furry paws were already planted on his knees, and a wet tongue landed squarely on his face.

The Big Golden Retriever was back. Wen Ning set his takeout container aside, grabbed that furry head, and gave it several vigorous rubs, scrunching up all the skin on the dog's face.

"So you fucking remembered to come back? I thought you'd forgotten your dad."

Under his vigorous rubbing, the Big Golden Retriever's eyes narrowed to slits, while his tail thrashed wildly behind him.

It whipped up a little whirlwind that sent the dust on the ground flying.

He licked Wen Ning's wrist.

"Well, I'm back now, aren't I?"

Wen Ning released his head.

"Why haven't you come by these past few days? Has your owner been keeping you inside?"

The Big Golden Retriever sat at the entrance.

"It's not that my owner wouldn't let me out. I've been helping Sang Biao settle some trouble these past few days, so I didn't have time to come over. We finally sorted everything out today, and I came straight here."

Wen Ning's hand froze mid-pet.

He looked at the Big Golden Retriever, and several images flashed through his mind: a burly bald man in a black suit squatting at the alley entrance smoking, a gang boss with a dragon tattoo on his left and a tiger on his right throwing an arm around the golden retriever's shoulders and calling him brother.

This dumb dog squatting outside a mahjong parlor with a cigarette butt in his mouth, staring down the small-time punks who came to cause trouble.

His expression grew serious.

"Who's Sang Biao? That name doesn't sound like someone you should mess with."

The Big Golden Retriever tilted his head, wondering why Wen Ning had suddenly become so serious.

"Sang Biao is the stray dog boss in the neighboring residential complex. He's been fighting with the Wild Dog Gang from the market lately, and they'd nearly taken all his territory. I went to help negotiate for three days, and we finally reached an agreement yesterday. From now on, the alley behind the market belongs to the Wild Dog Gang, and the trash cans belong to Sang Biao and his dogs. Neither side will encroach on the other."

By the time he finished, Big Golden Retriever had raised his chin and swept his tail across the ground twice, clearly feeling he had handled the matter beautifully.

After hearing that, Wen Ning realized Sang Biao had been a dog all along.

He leaned against the doorframe and watched Big Golden Retriever hold his chin high, waiting for praise, then fell silent for a moment.

He picked up the last piece of braised pork in his takeout container and held it out to Big Golden Retriever. Big Golden Retriever opened his big mouth, and the meat vanished.

Wen Ning crouched down and patted his head.

Although Big Golden Retriever came by often, he was still someone else's dog.

Once his owner came back, he had to go home with her, and the time he could spend at the shop would only grow shorter.

The bathhouse was getting more and more customers, and Sparrow Spirit was purely decorative as a security guard. The shop really did need a reliable dog stationed there permanently.

"Is Sang Biao reliable?"

Big Golden Retriever immediately caught the implication behind Wen Ning's question.

"Sang Biao is the most reliable dog I've ever met. He's never lost a fight or let anything slip past him on guard duty. He guarded a parking lot for three years, and not a single car ever went missing. Even the cured pork in the trunks never lost so much as a piece. Then the parking lot hired a new security guard who specifically chased away stray dogs, so Sang Biao had to leave."

Big Golden Retriever grew more enthusiastic as he spoke, his tail sweeping behind him like a broom.

Wen Ning raised a hand to interrupt him.

"All right. Bring Sang Biao over so I can have a look."

If he let Big Golden Retriever keep going, Sang Biao would probably end up rivaling Erlang Shen's Howling Celestial Dog.

At Wen Ning's words, Big Golden Retriever sprang up from the ground and barked toward the mouth of the alley.

A moment later, a dog's head emerged from behind a trash can.

His fur was yellow all over, and he was about the same size as Big Golden Retriever, with the typical appearance of a Chinese Rural Dog.

He neither wagged his tail nor came forward. He simply stood at the mouth of the alley, staring straight at Wen Ning.

Wen Ning picked the last scraps of meat from his container, placed them on the ground, and took half a step back.

Sang Biao looked at the meat, then at Wen Ning. After waiting a moment, he approached with small steps, picked up the meat, retreated to his original spot, and swallowed it in a few bites.

The whole process was crisp and efficient, without a single ingratiating whine or a trace of timidity.

Seeing Sang Biao acting so aloof, Big Golden Retriever barked at him several times.

"Woof, woof, woof, woof!" (What the hell are you putting on airs for? I finally found you a home with a permanent position, and you're still acting all aloof.)

At the Big Golden Retriever's barking, Sang Biao barked back several times.

"Woof, woof, woof!" (Is this human reliable? He won't abandon me again, will he?)

Hearing how little Sang Biao trusted him, the Big Golden Retriever responded.

"Woof, woof, woof!" (Relax. This human's reliable. He's not some ordinary human, either. He's an immortal. If I didn't already have an owner, you wouldn't even get a chance.)

Hearing that, Sang Biao finally relaxed and trotted over to Wen Ning, his tail spinning like a propeller.

Seeing Sang Biao's behavior, Wen Ning knew the Big Golden Retriever had won him over.

So he said to Sang Biao,

"Give it a few days. Do a good job, and you can stay. If you don't, you leave on your own."

Then he filled a bowl from the half-empty bag of dog food in the corner and placed it beside the entrance.

Sang Biao lowered his head to sniff the bowl of dog food, then looked up at Wen Ning.

He walked over beside the shop entrance and lay down.

Weasel Old Man poked his head out of the large basin and glanced at Sang Biao, who was getting used to his new post by the entrance.

"Boss Wen, you've got more cats and dogs in this shop than spirits now."

Wen Ning ignored Weasel Old Man's teasing and said to the Big Golden Retriever,

"Official work starts tomorrow. Big Golden Retriever, you're responsible for showing the new employee the ropes. From now on, Sang Biao handles security, and Sparrow Spirit is demoted to backup."

Sparrow Spirit flew down from the electric fan, chirping in protest. He thought he had been doing a pretty good job as security, so how had he ended up as backup? Sang Biao looked at neither Sparrow Spirit nor the Big Golden Retriever. He lay at his new post, swept his tail gently across the threshold twice, and watched the mouth of the alley.

He looked less like a stray who had just been taken in and more like he had always been there, and Wen Ning had only noticed him today.

Watching Sang Biao's dutiful manner, Wen Ning added one more thing.

"Oh, and you won't be called Sang Biao anymore. You're Big Yellow now. Sang Biao sounds too gangster."