Chapter 4 [The Past] Mad Dog Hotel
"Nine thousand!"
My aunt couldn't believe it. "You spent nine thousand to treat a dog that someone else didn't want?"
Lu Qi sat across the table without saying a word.
“Xiaoqi, the money we gave you wasn’t for you to squander like this!” The woman, who was nearly fifty, was disappointed and shocked. “Nine thousand—when your mother was pregnant with you, she was tidying up the shelves with her big belly. At that time, she wouldn’t even buy clothes that cost ninety yuan; even before she passed away, she wouldn’t buy clothes that cost nine hundred yuan.”
"Your parents worked so hard to build their business from scratch, and this is the only asset they left you. Are you just going to throw this money away to the dogs?!"
“You can’t say that,” Lu Qi’s aunt interrupted her agitated aunt, speaking gently. “But Xiao Qi, you’re still a student. Shouldn’t you discuss such a large expense with an adult first?”
"Yes." Lu Qi apologized crisply, "I'm sorry."
She apologized and got straight to the point, "The doctor said there's a special medicine available overseas. Uncle, could you please bring one back for me?"
The adults realized that she wasn't sincerely apologizing.
"Xiaoqi, it's not that your uncle doesn't want to help, but our business has absolutely no connection to medicine, nor do we have any contact with overseas countries. If even specialized hospitals can't get the medicine, where are we supposed to get it?"
"Yes, schools have their rules, and countries have their laws. If the country stipulates that it's not allowed, there must be a reason. Xiaoqi, you're a good child, you can't be so willful."
"I've checked." The girl turned around, took a document out of her bag, and placed it on the table.
"This is a drug that will not cause human diseases. Customs controls it at level C. It can be brought in after prior notification and approval."
Those clear black and white eyes looked at the four adults. "The hospital doesn't have the medicine because there are restrictions on the number of items that can be brought into the country. The latest list of controlled drugs states that each person can carry 200 milligrams, but Lulu only needs 100 milligrams."
"This is the drug import declaration and review process I found. It's very simple and can be done online, but I'm not an adult yet, so I can't declare it myself..."
"Uncle, Aunt, Uncle, Aunt," she pleaded, "I've already contacted a hospital abroad. If all goes well, the approval process will only take two days. All you need to do is find an adult abroad to bring the medicine back from the hospital I've arranged."
The four were astonished.
They thought Lu Qi was just acting on a whim, but when she produced this reporting procedure, they all clearly felt Lu Qi's determination.
She was serious.
“You child…” Aunt looked at the girl opposite her in surprise, “Why are you so stubborn?”
This fifteen-year-old girl, without saying a word, actually made contact with hospitals abroad.
Lu Qi was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke, "I know I've troubled you a lot, and I know you were caught off guard by Mom and Dad's sudden departure."
"Uncle, aunt, and uncle, I promise this is the last time. If the company has difficulties, you don't need to send me any more money. I don't need that much money."
“This isn’t about money, how can you think like that?” the aunt said, but the other three didn’t respond.
The aunt paused for a moment, then saw Uncle Lu Qi, who was seated at the head of the table, slowly speak, "You don't need to worry about the company. As for the medicine, I'll help you figure it out."
After he finished speaking, he picked up his chopsticks and said, "Let's eat first."
The adults all agreed, while Lu Qi remained seated and took out his phone.
Half a minute later, both my aunt's and uncle's phones vibrated with messages.
Lu Qi held her phone. "Uncle, Uncle, I've transferred the red envelopes for asking someone to do a favor. If it's not enough, just let me know."
"Time is running out, please, I beg you."
My aunt wanted to return the money, but after looking at the amount, she stopped.
"Xiaoqi, how could your uncle accept this..." The aunt had barely opened her mouth when her husband kicked her under the table.
She turned her head and glared at her husband.
He ignored his wife's gaze and put a piece of meat on Lu Qi's plate. "Okay, Uncle knows. I'll get it for you right after dinner. If there's really no other way, Uncle will buy you a golden retriever, I guarantee it will be better and more beautiful than your current one."
"What are you buying!" Auntie slammed down her chopsticks and shouted angrily, "She lives at school, where would she keep a dog? We don't even know where we'd send this one if we rescued it!"
Lu Qi took the meat that was handed to him and said softly, "Thank you, Uncle."
The following evening, a new bag of blood was transfused into the dying puppy.
The next day, a vial of cold medicine crossed the ocean and was delivered to Lu Qi.
She signed a no-liability agreement with the hospital, and the doctor took the medicine she brought and slowly administered it into Lulu's body.
Lu Qi stood in front of the cage.
In just half a month, the pets in this ward changed four or five times.
The Border Collie that lived above Lulu passed away, while the Labrador that lived next to Lulu recovered and was discharged from the hospital.
The doctor said he had never seen a dog undergo parvovirus treatment for so long.
“Lulu…Lulu…” Lu Qi called softly.
Parting the puppy's fur reveals loose skin and a sunken skeleton.
It heard Lu Qi's voice, opened its eyes, and looked at her with weary but wholehearted eyes, its round, wet eyes filled with longing.
With its thin front paws supporting its body, it trudged toward her as always, leaving a trail of blood behind it. The fur on its tail had been shaved off, leaving it bald and hanging in the blood.
Lu Qi stroked the head of the small dog with its dull fur, pressed her face against its head, and wept tremblingly.
"I have no other choice, Lulu. I really... have no other choice. I've used up everything I could and everything I couldn't use."
"Please get better..." Her tears mingled with her dull hair. "Please, eat something... I have no other choice."
Lulu pressed her chin against hers.
It wouldn't bark, couldn't wag its tail, and no longer had the strength to even lift its head to lick her.
A note from the author:
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