Chapter 16: A Kind Person with a Hard Life is Bullied by a Dog
Qi Qing turned around and saw a girl in her teens running towards him from a distance.
She was dressed simply and neatly, with narrow sleeves and a brown apron tied around her waist. She ran towards the two of them happily, "Senior Brother Qi!"
When he got closer, Qi Qing saw that one of her ears was incomplete and there was a strange smell on her body.
Not knowing whether she was an old acquaintance of the original owner, Qi Qing nodded cautiously: "Hello?"
"It's me, Xie Tang from Xieliu Street!" The little girl smiled and looked at the child next to her: "Is this your junior fellow apprentice? He's so handsome."
Qi Qing secretly grabbed the child's hand, brought him to his side without leaving any trace, and said with a smile, "My brother."
Xie Tang understood and asked curiously, "So it's your brother. Are you taking him to the Cat and Dog Hall?"
Qi Qing lowered his head and flipped open the ornament on the kitten's collar: "Cat and Dog Hall? This one?"
"That's right." The little girl picked up the kitten with a smile, "I was wondering why it didn't eat the fish and meat anymore and suddenly ran out. It must have noticed that Senior Brother Qi was here! To be honest, my brother missed you a lot too."
She turned lightly and gestured to lead the way.
Qi Qing naturally had no reason to refuse, so he pulled Yue Ji and followed.
The group walked through the narrow streets, stopping and starting, and finally arrived at a yard next to a willow tree.
There was a row of green vines at the entrance of the yard, providing shade. Spring had not yet arrived, so there were sparse flower buds hanging on them. Cats and dogs barked in the yard, and there was a sign next to it, with the three characters "Cat and Dog Hall" written in crooked letters.
"We're here, Senior Brother Qi, please come in."
Xie Tang opened the gate, and Qi Qing took a step inside when his feet were immediately covered in fur.
“Woof woof!”
"Woof!"
Seven or eight dogs surrounded him and kept rubbing against Qi Qing, causing the defenseless young man to lean back subconsciously. There were also one or two faint cat meows.
Yue Ji opened his eyes wide and quickly supported Qi Qing's lower back: "Master, be careful."
Qi Qing took two steps back, held down the big dog that pounced on him, and waved his hand: "Ahem, I'm fine."
These dogs were too enthusiastic and almost pounced on him, causing him to lose his balance.
Xie Tang put the cat down, closed the gate, and raised his voice to the room: "Brother, guess who's here?"
A frail young man soon walked out of the room. He looked very similar to Xie Tangsheng, but his movements were very slow. He turned his eyes dully towards the source of the voice and asked, "Are you here to take away those two puppies?"
Qi Qing did not expect that one of the siblings had a missing ear and the other was blind, and a hint of surprise flashed across his face.
Xie Tang found the cane by the window, put it in his hand, and said happily: "It's Senior Brother Qi, he came down the mountain to see us!"
Hearing this, the young man became visibly excited: "Brother Qi, why didn't you tell me in advance that you were coming? The yard wasn't cleaned today, and the food wasn't prepared. I made a fool of myself by showing you. Are you here to check on the operation of the Cat and Dog Hall? Don't worry, after you left last time, three more dogs and a cat were picked up in the yard. Except for the ones that were taken away by kind people, the rest are being well taken care of."
He called out and the dogs sat down as they were trained to do.
Seeing this, Qi Qing suddenly realized.
This is actually a small base for raising stray cats and dogs.
Judging from the two people's tone, the original owner should have helped run the Cat and Dog Hall. It is really unexpected that the original owner, in addition to thinking about Yue Ji every day, would also do this kind of thing in private.
“By the way, the expenses of the Cat and Dog Hall are not big now, and there are good people to help. Brother Qi, you don’t have to send spirit stones anymore.” Xie Tang counted on his fingers and said, “I spent half a spirit stone last month, and I got a new dog last month, so the expenses were higher. I didn’t spend much this month… You still have eight spirit stones left!”
Qi Qing pointed at himself: "Huh?"
His spirit stone?
He came here penniless, so where would he get the spirit stones?
No...wait, could it be that...
Xie Tang smiled embarrassedly: "Brother, I have already spent more than ten spirit stones to build the Cat and Dog Hall. If you help me again, my brother and I will not dare to see you again."
Spirit, stone!
Qi Qing suddenly felt dizzy and everything went black before his eyes.
——It turns out that he spent his spirit stones here!
The original owner was good, he spent money so lavishly, he was happy, but what about me?
I became a pauper!
The yard was in ruins, there were no spirit stones, and the ring was a mess where I often couldn't find things.
Qi Qing suddenly thought of something, opened the ring, rummaged around for a while, and pulled out a bunch of tied dog hair.
He held the dog hair and came close to Xie Tang, his voice trembling: "This, is it also from the Cat and Dog Hall?"
Xie Tang took a look and said in surprise, "Oh, isn't this the souvenir I gave you on the day Cat and Dog Hall was completed?"
Qi Qing took back the dog hair and wanted to pinch his philtrum.
He worked diligently at three jobs a month just to earn enough living expenses for himself and Yue Ji, while the original owner could earn more than twenty spirit stones by doing good deeds every day. What a difference in fate!
"Master," Yue Ji stood on tiptoe and asked quietly, "What's wrong with you? Do you need me to help you pluck some dog hair?"
Qi Qing waved his hand and smiled tiredly: "No, I don't like dog hair."
Unless dog hair can be converted into spiritual stones.
He sighed sadly, put away the dog hair, and said, "Have you had lunch yet? Do you want to join us?"
Even though he couldn't let it go, the money he had already spent obviously wouldn't come back to him.
The pain will only come after you have eaten your fill. Filling your stomach is the most important thing.
There were some ingredients in the kitchen, so Qi Qing cooked some. The four of them sat in the yard to eat together, with cats and dogs crowded around under their feet.
"By the way, do you know where there is a carpenter?"
Qi Qing never forgot his original intention and described it as: "Those who can make large furniture should be able to start work in the near future and have more experience."
The blind boy thought for a moment and asked, "Do you want to make a bed? There are three carpenters in the town. If you want to make a bed, go to the east gate to find the carpenter named Yang. He has the best craftsmanship."
After lunch, Qi Qing went to the East Gate as promised.
He originally wanted to take Yue Ji with him, but the little guy was very stubborn. When he heard the word "bed", he refused to go. In the end, he was left in the Cat and Dog Hall by Qi Qing.
"Don't run around. I'll come back to pick you up when I'm done."
As soon as the young man finished giving his instructions, the child disappeared from the yard.
"Oh no, where's Senior Brother Qi's brother?" Xie Tang said in panic, "Could he have run away? What if he runs into a kidnapper? Xiao Di, bring the dog!"
…
By the river, behind the willow trees.
A long black shadow stood under the tree, as faint as the shadow of a willow tree.
He lifted his eyelids and glanced at the child in front of him, then said in a hoarse voice, "Won't they suspect you if you run out like this?"
The child frowned, with a hint of impatience in his tone: "If you have something to say, please say it quickly. My master hasn't left yet."
The shadow said indifferently: "Nothing, it's just that the master sent a message last night, asking why you suddenly had the blood parasite."
"Are you questioning me?" Yue Ji's eyes shone, he looked directly at him and said, "It's my own stuff, why should I use it? It's not someone else's turn to take care of it."
The shadow narrowed his eyes slightly, and scanned his face with an inquiring gaze, saying meaningfully: "That is not yours, but a gift from the master..."
"Shut up."
The child's face was full of indifference: "If you have nothing else to say, get out of here as soon as possible."
A few dogs barked in the distance, accompanied by voices calling for someone: "Brother Qi! Brother Qi, where are you?"
Yue Ji gave the black shadow a warning look, then turned and walked out of the willow shade.
A cool breeze blew, the shadows under the willow trees dissipated, and the surroundings returned to peace.
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