Chapter 350: Ah Ow
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du always had a soft heart for small furry animals. Seeing the baby pup in such a terrible state, he instinctively felt pity for it.
Garter had been observing them all the while. He noticed Li Du’s change in emotion, and his lips curled into a smile.
Carrying the newborn pup, he said, "A Czech Wolfdog pup for an alcohol burner. A fair trade. Deal or no deal?"
Hans shook his head and said, "Are you crazy? An alcohol burner for some unknown breed. A dog that we don’t know will live much longer or not?"
Garter shrugged. "Alright, since you guys aren’t willing to trade, then I won’t take care of this thing anymore. I’ll just let it go."
Hearing that, Li Du pointed at him and said, "Hey, *sshole, don’t do that."
"Then what?" Garter shrugged again.
"D*mn it, are you serious? You really want it?" Hans said as he put his arm around Li Du.
"If this is really a Czech Wolfdog’s puppy, then it’s our gain," Li Du said.
Hans pushed him away and walked to the back of Garter’s truck. "Okay, take the alcohol burner. Leave the dog, and this TV too. Leave it behind."
Garter said, "Dream on, you’re too greedy."
Hans marched up to him and poked at his chest with his finger, saying, "Who’s the greedy one? If you don’t want to trade, quickly screw off. Don’t take advantage of Li’s kindness!"
There was a 30-inch LCD TV in his pickup. It wasn’t worth much.
Garter pondered for some time. Finally, he reluctantly handed the dog to Li Du. "Alright, alright. You guys win. You guys made another profit off of me."
The other treasure hunters were unhappy with his hypocritical att.i.tude. They started hounding him:
"Cut the c.r.a.p, Goatee. You’re the one who"s profiting from this."
"You’re really making people want to beat you up right now. If I were you, I would shut my mouth."
"Bullsh*t. When I go back, I’m going to find some puppy or kitten too."
"We won’t be accepting any more trades with live animals!" Hans warned the crowd. "Even if it’s a Bengal Tiger or an African Lion, we won’t take it!"
Taking the newborn puppy, Li Du brought it to the shade under the trees.
He did not have any experience with newborn puppies. This dog was too young and had not even opened its eyes. He didn’t know what to do.
Ah Meow was lying in the tree to rest. He saw that Li Du had brought a small pup. His eyes narrowed to a slit and then opened wide again. D*mn it, why is there another new one?
Li Du spotted the ocelot and gestured for him to come down. "Come down, Ah Meow. Do you know how to take care of babies?"
Ah Meow went up to smell the pup while meowing in a low growl. He then stretched out his claws to attack.
Li Du hastily pushed him away. The ocelot had revealed his claws; if they touched the pup, that would really be the end of it.
Li Du pushed Ah Meow away, and then glanced to Crispy Noodles. He waved and said, "Crispy Noodles, come over. Take care of your little sibling for a while."
Crispy Noodles opened up his legs to show the little bulge in between. The message it was trying to convey was clear: Dad, I’m a male, how the h.e.l.l would I know how to take care of a baby?
Li Du weighed his options for some time. He felt that Sophie was the only one left that could possibly help.
This was mainly due to him knowing a very small number of females: only Sophie and Rose. But Rose was a tigress. If she saw the puppy, she probably would eat it.
Eaten alive whole: Li Du believed that would be the plight of the puppy in her hands.
He started up the h.e.l.lcat and drove to the hospital.
Sophie was free at this time. He called her up, and then entered her consultation room.
Along the way, he had bought a bouquet of pink roses. Sophie immediately smiled after seeing him entering with roses in his hands. She said with flushed cheeks, "What are you doing?"
"I have something to ask of you," Li Du said with a dry laugh.
"What thing?"
He placed the flowers on her desk and revealed the newborn puppy. "I managed to get this little fellow, but I don’t know how to take care of it. So, I was thinking of asking you for help."
Sophie was shocked by this newborn pup that had not even opened its eyes yet. "Are you working as an animal welfare activist?"
"No, I’m thinking of opening a zoo," Li Du laughed.
Sophie rolled her eyes at him., "You’re still in the mood to joke around. Where’s the puppy’s mother? It needs care from its mother."
"Dead," Li Du shrugged.
Sophie’s eyes immediately became gentle as she said to the puppy, "Oh G.o.d, you poor thing. Let me see… My G.o.d, did you prepare this bottle?"
"No, it’s my friend’s," Li Du said quickly.
"Is your friend trying to kill this puppy?" Sophie’s tone suddenly turned harsh. "A newborn puppy’s gut cannot absorb cow milk. It needs to be fed with goat milk!"
"Milk can kill puppies? That’s a thing?" Li Du exclaimed.
"Yes, especially one of this size. They are lactose intolerant," Sophie said. "We need to force it to excrete the milk it drank."
"This puppy is still young. I don’t think it knows how to excrete by itself yet."
When he was little, he had taken care of a female dog at home. From the remnants of those memories, he remembered that puppies did not know how to excrete and needed the mother to lick their a.n.u.s.
Sophie didn’t answer. She took out a box of cotton b.a.l.l.s and poured a cup of warm water. She tested the temperature of it and increased it by adding hot water. After that, she dabbed the cotton ball with water and gently wiped the puppy’s a.n.u.s.
The puppy cried. "Owwuu! Owuuu!" It was different from before—it sounded more gratified. Sophie used another warm cotton ball to rub it a few more times, and the a.n.u.s started flowing some green excretion.
Seeing such, Sophie heaved a sigh of relief. "It’s ok, this little guy’s gut is strong. There’s no major issue."
As she continued rubbing, the puppy continued excreting.
Li Du was surprised and said, "A newborn puppy can excrete that well?"
Angry, Sophie said, "No, it"s that since this puppy left its mother, no one has helped it excrete. G.o.d, it almost died from constipation!"
The little thing was crying even more powerfully. "Owuuu! Owuuu!" Li Du felt that it was amusing and chuckled.
Sophie glared at him. "You still can laugh! What are you sitting around here for? Go get some goat milk, a small milk bottle and some calcium tablets for dogs! Go!"
Li Du quickly ran out. He recalled what had just happened for a moment, and it gave him a fuzzy feeling remembering how Sophie had ordered him to prepare the supplements for the dog. Especially the female doctor’s gaze: it was like one from a mother taking care of a baby toward an incompetent father.
After returning, Li Du found Sophie waiting for him by the entrance. He asked, "You’re not going back to work?"
"I’m leaving early," Sophie said. "This little guy needs some extra care. I can’t take care of it while working at the same time."
"Sorry, I’ve caused you trouble—" Li Du said.
"No, it’s that you’ve found me an interesting task," Sophie interrupted him. "Ah, right, you haven’t named this little guy yet?"
"Do you have any suggestions?"
Sophie gave him an embarra.s.sed smile. "I’m not that good at such things. You do it."
Li Du gladly accepted it, and said, "Actually, I’ve already thought of a name for it. It’s ‘Ah Ow!’"
"What?" The female doctor asked with a face full of confusion.
Li Du poked the pup with his finger, and the pup cried out, "Owwwuu! Owuuuu!"
"That’s why. Ah Ow."
"Owwwuu! Oww! Oww!"