Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Zhang Zian couldn’t believe his ears, maybe he came to the wrong place. Last time he visited, Fu Tao was all by himself. Why was there a young lady here? Was his daughter visiting him? However, this girl’s voice seemed a little bit familiar.

  “I’m looking for someone. Is Fu Tao here?” He raised his voice.

  The iron door was pulled open as a young lady stuck her face out, and saw Zhang Zian standing outside the gate.

  “It’s Store Manager Zhang!”


  “Oh. It’s you.”


  They spoke at the same time.

  Zhang Zian knew who answered the door. It was Ning Lan, a woman whom he had met a few times before.

  Before New Year’s Day, Ning Lan’s dog was trapped by a group of dog trappers. She offered a reward of 10,000 RMB to anyone who could retrieve the dog. Zhang Zian and Zhan Tian tracked down the dog trappers, but he didn’t take her money. Instead, he suggested that she volunteer at the retired police dog residence with her classmates. She could take the 10,000 RMB as the stipend that he offered.

  Ning Lan agreed happily back then, but as Zhang Zian got busy, he forgot all about the agreement, until now.

  As Ning Lan saw Zhang Zian, she pulled the iron door open, and tilted her body to one side. “I’m here helping with my classmates, but we’ll talk about that later. Manager Zhang, pull your car into the yard. It may get stolen if you leave it outside.”


  Zhang Zian didn’t expect Ning Lan and her friends to be helping at the retired police dog residence on New Year’s Eve. He smiled. “Okay. Thank you for your hard work.”


  “It’s not hard. We have a lot of people helping.” Ning Lan smiled back.

  Zhang Zian returned to the car, drove it into the yard, and turned off the engine.

  After hearing the iron door open, Fu Tao lifted the cotton curtain, and walked out the room to check on things. When he moved the curtain, Zhang Zian saw a few young men and women in the room, making dumplings around a table, laughing and playing. They were probably Ning Lan’s classmates.

  Fu Tao was also surprised to see Zhang Zian. “It’s you.”


  He may have had a few drinks because his cheeks were red and he seemed a bit younger than last time.

  Zhang Zian took the fruits and pastries out of the car. “Master Fu, Happy New Year! I’m here to send you greetings.”


  He couldn’t make it obvious that he was here to check on the police dogs, he used the excuse that he was here to send Chinese New Year’s greetings, which was why he specifically chose today to visit.

  The fruits and pastries were actually gifts from Wang Qian and Li Kun, but he was too embarrassed to show up empty-handed, so he re-gifted them to Fu Tao.

  “You didn’t have to bring gifts.” Fu Tao acted polite, but he took the gifts anyway. “Come, have a seat. The young people are here as well.”


  As they were talking, Ning Lan had come into the room.

  “This is the person that tracked down the dog trappers and helped me find my Tuan Tuan. He’s the one who paid for your cab fare and the dumplings today.” Ning Lan introduced Zhang Zian. “He also owns a famous pet shop, right on Zhonghua Road, not far from our school.”


  Some of them had flour on their faces. Clearly, they were playing around with the flour while making the dumplings.

  Zhang Zian waved to them, then opened the doors and trunk of the car to let the elfins out.

  “Meow!”


  “Eek!”


  “Woof!”


  “Quack!”


  Ning Lan and her friends were so surprised to see all the animals come out the car, that they couldn’t move.

  “Wow! What a cute cat!”


  “Why is there a monkey? Does he owner own a circus?”


  “Why does the parrot look upset with me?”


  Old Time Tea didn’t get out of the car for three reasons: it didn’t want too much attention, it was warmer in the car, and they weren’t going to stay here long.

  The girls forgot they had flour on their hands, and went to pet Fina, Snowy Lionet and Galaxy. Galaxy ran far away, while Fina widened its eyes and stretched out its claws to stop them from coming closer. Snowy Lionet was the only welcoming one, and let itself be held in their arms.

  Zhang Zian stared at Snowy Lionet with jealousy, especially because its restless paws were feeling their bodies and boobs. Instead of feeling sexually harassed, they seemed to be enjoying it, which made him want to yell, “Release that horny cat. Let me do it!”


  Snowy Lionet squinted, and spat towards him. “I’m just a cuddler. Are you jealous?”


  Ning Lan squatted next to Famous, and asked, “Is this the police dog from last time?”


  All German Shepherds looked alike, so it was hard to tell them apart unless one of them was yours. She had mistaken Famous as Zhan Tian.

  “No. I couldn’t bring that police dog, there wasn’t enough space in the car,” Zhang Zian replied, and then changed the subject. “When did you arrive? Shouldn’t you guys be spending Chinese New Year’s Eve with your families?”


  Ning Lan smiled. “We arrived this morning, and we’re leaving once we finish eating the dumplings. I live in Binhai City, along with a few others. Some are from other cities, but aren’t going back home. Manager Zhang, you arrived at the right time, let’s have some dumplings. They’re already made, so we’ll cook them in a minute.”


  Zhang Zian smelled the dumplings, the filling seemed to be beef and onion. He already had lunch, so he waved his hand to decline. “No, thanks. I just had lunch.”


  “That’s okay. Just have some, we made a lot and can’t finish them all by ourselves. The filling is beef. It’s delicious.” Ning Lan thought that he was being polite. “Even after you eat some, Master Fu will still have enough for tonight and tomorrow. Besides, we bought the flour and the beef with the 10,000 RMB you gave us!”


  “Meow! Take some for me. Raw beef sounds so good” Snowy Lionet asked despite being very occupied.

  Zhang Zian ignored it, thought for a while, and asked, “Did you come today just to make dumplings for Master Fu?”


  Ning Lan nodded. “Master Fu is very lonely living here all by himself, so we decided to spend the day with him.”


  Zhang Zian knew about Fu Tao’s situation. He had been taking care of the retired police dogs by himself all these years. Festivals always made people more homesick, which also made them more lonely. Ning Lan and her friends were very thoughtful.

  There were a lot of police dogs here last time, so now with the dogs from the production team, the burden was even heavier. That was why he asked Ning Lan and her friends to help out when they had time.

  Unable to decline the warm invitation, he decided to stay for some dumplings, but before he could do that, he had some business to deal with.