Zhang Guodong had no idea that the fat man had betrayed him. He also didn't know that the fat man was actually quite shrewd in business; if the 'Jiahao Hotel' really provided excellent and delicious food, the business would be guaranteed to boom.

For the past two weeks, Zhang Guodong has been quietly running his business. Although his daily income isn't much, he's content and carefree. Occasionally, the fat man comes over to freeload, eating and drinking for free. Every now and then, the two go to the 'Jiahao' Hotel for a sauna, and Zhang Guodong has gotten to know quite a few people from the district government.

Among them was a deputy director of the district public security bureau surnamed Xie, in his forties, who was actually acting like a brother to the fat man—of course, the fat man was paying for the meal. Privately, however, the fat man had Zhang Guodong bring the fish and shrimp from the restaurant's menu and have the hotel's chef cook them. This was supposedly 'food PR'.

Everyone was delighted with the meal, praising it highly. It was even a little addictive!

The fat man finally became certain of one thing: the seafood his brother sold was indeed of high quality. Unfortunately, his older sister's business was so large and she was always busy with other things that she hadn't mentioned it at all in the past two weeks, leaving him quite helpless.

He won't interfere in his older sister's business.

In the past two weeks, Zhang Guodong disposed of most of the water tanks, earning 20,000 yuan, but also freed up a space. The shop was no longer damp, but clean and warm, with heating provided.

More than ten glass water tanks are located on the front right side, mounted on a low wooden frame, making them easy to see and retrieve without having to bend over.

On the left were vegetables. With the high-priced vegetables, the sales of the ordinary vegetables were surprisingly low. Zhang Guodong even considered removing them, as the total income wasn't much. However, having only two types of vegetables was too monotonous.

The aisle in the middle is spacious and clean, quite different from typical seafood shops. The previous owner couldn't maintain this, resulting in a fishy smell throughout the shop, but now it's very fresh.

The view behind was unobstructed. Zhang Guodong then added a sofa and a coffee table with a complete set of teaware and tea leaves. A refrigerator was placed next to it, and next to the refrigerator was a computer desk with a new desktop computer that could access the internet.

In the provincial capital, this was already a comfortable life. Zhang Guodong didn't have much ambition. After tidying up the shop, he would go back to his new home every two or three days, have a meal with his parents, stay overnight, and then pay his mother Ye Cuihua's "deposit" to keep her happy. In half a month, he had "paid" several thousand yuan.

With free time and no worries about making a living, Zhang Zhengrong and Ye Cuihua had new pursuits. They heard that their third brother ran a private processing factory in Hebei, specializing in making leather bags and the like.

Ye Cuihua then had an idea, concerned about her third son. So she discussed it with Zhang Guodong, and they decided to support her third brother in opening a factory. In reality, the so-called processing factory was just a small private workshop. There were many bag workshops in the area, and the government tacitly approved of this situation. Most of the products produced by these workshops were intended for export.

Basically, 30,000 yuan is enough to start a small workshop and take on production. Zhang Zhengrong and Ye Cuihua immediately provided 40,000 yuan, which immediately depleted Zhang Guodong's savings.

However, this was a good thing, and Zhang Guodong didn't mind. Although 40,000 yuan was a lot for him, he would get it back in a week at most.

After receiving the money, Ye Cuihua said happily, "Guodong, when the weather gets better, your dad and I will go to Hebei to take a look. We've never been there before!"

As a result, Mom went on a romantic getaway with just the two of them, but didn't take him along at all, saying she couldn't let it interfere with the vegetable business.

Well, let her be. Sure enough, after staying in the provincial capital for more than a week, the weather cleared up and a lot of the snow on the ground melted. Zhang Zhengrong and Ye Cuihua packed their bags and boarded the train to Hebei. Their third brother picked them up there, and the journey was smooth.

Zhang Guodong eats alone so the whole family isn't hungry, and he lives a carefree life.

The supply of two types of vegetables at 'Green Treasure Pavilion' is extremely insufficient, and the variety has become even more lacking after the removal of the regular produce. Many regular customers often place their orders in advance, but they run out before they can even be distributed properly. Zhang Guodong is also trying to find a solution. In contrast, the seafood business is quite profitable. The regular seafood has been discontinued, and some of the seafood, along with the tanks, has been stocked in Taoyuan. The liquid inside the tanks is that dark green pond water. These fish don't need to be fed, yet they grow ten times faster. Therefore, the high-priced seafood is displayed in the tanks outside.

Today's 'Green Treasure House' is the real Treasure House, and it doesn't sell ordinary goods.

The shop owner had already sold half of the seafood worth 20,000 yuan, but the revenue was over 140,000 yuan. It's a classic case of selling a small quantity but earning a large profit. The reason is that the fish, shrimp, and crabs have grown rapidly, increasing in both size and quality.

Zhang Guodong still has more than 50,000 yuan in his account, excluding the 80,000 yuan he "handed over" to Ye Cuihua.

However, this plan to buy a car has to be put on hold again.

December 28th, the end of the year is drawing ever closer. The weather is getting colder, as if echoing people's desire for family reunions, for being together with loved ones brings warmth.

The new day was Saturday. Zhang Guodong woke up at six o'clock in the morning, washed up, made himself a tomato and egg soup, heated up the half a seaweed fish that he hadn't finished eating yesterday, heated up some rice, and ate it with great relish. Fortunately, it was the middle of winter, so he didn't even need a refrigerator and it wouldn't spoil.

Zhang Guodong developed a liking for these vegetables, fish, and shrimp, and now he finds ordinary vegetables and fish to be quite bland. He's basically become a picky eater!

After eating half a fish and finishing off the rest, Zhang Guodong put on his down jacket, hat, and even covered his ears before going downstairs.

It's very foggy outside, and even though it's early in the morning, the buses are moving slowly with their lights on. However, the weather forecast says it will be sunny today and for the next three days, although the temperature will be a bit low, around zero degrees Celsius.

"Huh!" Zhang Guodong pulled open the roller shutter door and was about to go out, but he couldn't put his foot down.

There was a tattered piece of clothing in front of the door, with a large black dog lying motionless on it, its head facing the shop. Zhang Guodong came out but didn't react at all. The dog's legs were even sticking up in the air, stiff and dead!

Whose dog died in front of their own door? What bad luck!

Zhang Guodong was feeling down when, just as he was about to leave, he encountered a dead dog. He crouched down to take a closer look and was suddenly startled. This big-headed, long-haired dog looked like a Tibetan Mastiff! It was indeed very large, all black, especially its head, which was huge and fluffy, like a lion's. However, its body was very thin.

My luck isn't that good, is it?

Upon closer inspection, it looks more and more like it!

How could a Tibetan Mastiff, so legendary for its unwavering loyalty to its master, have died? Zhang Guodong suddenly felt a pang of sadness. Although he had never seen a Tibetan Mastiff in person, he had seen images and photos of them on television and online, and had even read articles about them. A Tibetan Mastiff recognizes only one master throughout its life, and it can only be adopted as a puppy. Once it reaches adulthood, it will never recognize a second master, even if beaten to death or starved to death. The Tibetan Mastiff before him showed no signs of injury; it appeared so peaceful.

Zhang Guodong carefully touched the body and found it was indeed cold; the person was dead!

With a whimper, Zhang Guodong thought he had misheard. He quickly moved the dead Tibetan Mastiff aside and found a trace of blood between its legs.

Zhang Guodong was genuinely surprised.

Among the long hair on its belly, there was a tiny head covered in sparse black down, its eyes still closed, gently shaking its head inside the clothes.

They actually had babies!

Zhang Guodong quickly and carefully parted the clothes. There were two pups in total, still alive, but they didn't have much fur, obviously they hadn't been born long ago. In such cold weather, if it weren't for the clothes the mother dog had brought and their own long fur covering them to keep warm, they would probably have frozen to death long ago!

What a tragedy! Zhang Guodong didn't dare delay. He carefully picked up the two little ones whose eyes hadn't opened yet and quickly went upstairs. If they stayed outside any longer, the little ones might freeze to death.

Without thinking too much, Zhang Guodong warmed the two little ones under the covers, created some space, and carefully placed them down. The two little ones were close together, keeping them warm was the priority.

Then he went downstairs again and checked around the female mastiffs to make sure there were only two before going back upstairs.

But seeing the little ones with their mouths open, whimpering softly, they were clearly hungry. Zhang Guodong started to worry. It was only six o'clock, and there was a thick fog outside. Where could he buy a bottle and formula? Newborns were so fragile; Zhang Guodong feared they wouldn't survive.

We need to think of a solution quickly!

Zhang Guodong's eyes suddenly lit up, but then he hesitated.

Could you feed them some pond water? The fish and shrimp jump around as soon as they enter the pond water, which means the water is good and can enhance the animals' vitality.

These days, the fish and shrimp that have been out for a while are very clever. When Zhang Guodong goes to catch them, they don't even show themselves; they just stay submerged and don't move. Clearly, they're afraid of being caught by Zhang Guodong.

But I'm not sure what to do when giving the little ones water; I don't want them to drink it all and die.

The temperature inside Taoyuan was quite comfortable. Zhang Guodong gritted his teeth; if he didn't feed her, she might die soon. As for breastfeeding, he would have to go out and buy some supplies later.

I found a cotton blanket, carefully placed the two little ones on it, and then entered Peach Blossom Spring.

Upon entering Peach Blossom Spring, the two little ones actually started moving. Unfortunately, they were too fragile to even stand up, and their eyes remained closed. This indicated that Peach Blossom Spring was suitable for the little ones and could strengthen their immunity. Seeing this, Zhang Guodong's confidence increased considerably.

Zhang Guodong placed the cotton blanket on the water tank lid, rolled it up, thought for a moment, took a small spoon, scooped up some water from the tank, and carefully dripped a few drops onto one of the little creatures. The little guy's pink tongue actually darted out. Seeing this, Zhang Guodong mustered his courage and fed each of the two little guys three spoonfuls of 'water,' and surprisingly, he succeeded.

Seemingly having had enough to drink, the two little ones actually crawled up and fell asleep.

Zhang Guodong was thinking that whether he could make it through this afternoon depended on the outcome.