At three o’clock in the afternoon, Gao Chang came out of the senior activity center with an extra thirty yuan in his pocket. The price of meat at this time doesn’t seem too high, so thirty yuan should be enough to buy a few ribs.
“Hey, Gao Chang.” Someone called him from behind.
“What’s up?” Although it’s a rebirth and not a soul transfer, theoretically, the people Gao Chang met during his high school year should also know the current Gao Chang. However, since it’s been about ten years in between, many memories have become blurry, so Gao Chang tries to speak as little as possible now.
“I’m from Class Six, do you recognize me?” The boy speaking was about 1.73 meters tall, so thin he looked like a human skeleton specimen, and he wore glasses, giving off an air of unhealthiness wherever he went.
“Your name is…”
“My name is Zhou Ming. I just saw you playing mahjong just now. A few of my buddies and I are setting up a game at my place tonight. Want to join us?”
“Not going.” He thought it was something serious, but it turns out they just want him to join a gambling session.
“Why don’t you come? With your skills, you’re sure to win.”
“My grandma won’t let me go out at night.” Gao Chang casually made up an excuse and left. Tch… Playing mahjong with those kids who haven’t even hit puberty yet, he must be out of his mind.
Although there are a few people here at the senior activity center who don’t quite fit in, most of them are just here to pass the time. They carry three to five hundred yuan in their pockets, lose thirty to fifty yuan, or at most a hundred or so, and then they stop playing. The few high school students who gamble together are definitely different. Young people with just thirty to fifty yuan in their pockets dare to play for three to five hundred yuan. If they can’t come up with the money, they end up in debt, and the more they owe, the more dangerous it becomes. If they encounter someone who’s not in their right mind, it could even end up causing a life-and-death lawsuit.
Gao Chang admitted that he was quite afraid of death. There’s no way around it; once you’ve died, you learn to cherish life. Without a good life, you can’t enjoy the good things. As long as you have your life, you can eat and drink well.
By the time Gao Zhang arrived at the vegetable market, the pork stalls were already closing, the ribs had been sold out, and only half a section of bone remained, with not much meat left on it. Naturally, Gao Zhang wanted to buy a piece of meat to take home and enjoy, but considering that the drowsy Rhubarb was still sleeping in his arms, he gritted his teeth and endured it. He decided to buy half a section of bone to take home first. If he bought both meat and tube bone this time, he was worried that the old lady would start nagging.
With one hand holding a plastic bag and the other reaching into his coat to pull out the puppy, he let it lie on his forearm, at least giving it a chance to get some fresh air. When they passed by the pharmacy, Gao Chang stepped inside and asked for fever-reducing medicine. The pharmacist glanced at the dog in Gao Chang’s hand, didn’t ask any further questions, and directly handed over two pills. This was a critical time; although their town hadn’t yet reported any SARS cases yet, there was still a slightly tense atmosphere under the national context of fighting against SARS.
In the evening, Grandma Gao stewed this half-bone until it was very tender and piled up the meat and bones into Gao Chang’s bowl. Gao Chang definitely couldn’t eat it all by himself, so he gave a bowl of soup to Rhubarb, and then let Grandma eat some shredded meat and drink some soup. The old lady had lost all her teeth, so she usually picked soft food to eat. This bone soup was just right for her.
As for the origin of this half-bone, Gao Chang didn’t hide it either. After all, he still needed to continue improving the meals in the future. The money on him had to have a source, and the old lady wasn’t stupid; deception definitely wouldn’t work.
“Grandma, today I was walking down the street and ran into a classmate. He insisted on taking me to the senior activity center. We played mahjong with his parents for half the day and won a bit over ten yuan, just enough to buy some pork bone.”
“Ah Chang can still play mahjong?” The old lady grinned happily, not a single tooth was visible in the two rows of tooth sockets.
“What’s so difficult about this? You can learn it right away.”
“Oh, my grandson is so smart.” When her grandson wins at mahjong, the old lady feels quite proud. Unlike some parents who don’t allow their children to do this or that, she thinks that as long as her grandson lives well and reaches a hundred years old, and preferably has a bunch of great-grandchildren, that would be the best of all.
“Hey, later my classmate insisted on dragging me out to play again at night, saying we should go big. I just said my grandma wouldn’t let me go, hehe.” The twenty-eight-year-old Gao Chang shamelessly continued to act cute with his seventeen-year-old face.
“Ah, yes, yes, you can’t take big risks. My grandson is sensible now, but you can’t take big risks. What will you do if something happens?” As expected of grandparents and grandchildren, they even think exactly the same.
Gao Chang was so good at currying favor and being charming that he made Grandma Gao’s heart bloom with joy. The two of them chatted and laughed until it got dark, and only then did Grandma Gao remember that she hadn’t washed the dishes yet. Grandma Gao was a very traditional woman and never let Gao Chang do housework. However, after Grandma Gao passed away, Gao Chang had to learn to do laundry and cook by himself. No one spoiled him anymore, so he had no choice but to learn.
Rhubarb also finished the bowl of bone broth. Gao Chang then took out the two fever-reducing pills he had just bought from the pharmacy, tore open the aluminum foil behind the plastic compartment, and then cut them in half with a small knife. After thinking for a moment, he cut them again. Rhubarb’s body is so small; it can only take a quarter of a pill at most at a time.
“Hey, Rhubarb, come here and take your medicine.” After preparing the pills and water, Gao Chang dug Rhubarb out of its nest, ready to administer the medicine.
“Not eating.” Rhubarb placed its two front paws on Gao Chang’s wrist and tilted its head sideways.
“What?” Gao Chang’s voice suddenly rose in surprise. Outside, while washing dishes, Grandma Gao’s hand slipped, and she almost broke a plate.
“Not eating.” Rhubarb took a quick glance at Gao Chang, then turned his head away again.
“Damn, how come even dogs can talk now?” Gao Chang was startled and threw Rhubarb to the ground. Fortunately, although the puppy was a bit weak, its reaction wasn’t too slow. It managed to flip over before hitting the ground, so it didn’t end up on its back with its legs in the air.
“I am a descendant of the Inugami[mfn](犬神, Inukami) dog god[/mfn], not an ordinary dog.” The tiny Rhubarb stood on the ground, raised its head to look at Gao Chang, and its expression seemed quite serious.
“Descendant of the Inugami?” Gao Chang tried hard to calm himself down, thinking that having a second chance at life was already a stroke of luck, so encountering a talking dog didn’t seem too strange.
“Right.” Rhubarb tilted his head a little higher.
“Is it really impressive?” This whole ‘Descendant of the Inugami’ thing sounds a bit arrogant.
“Of course, the bloodline of the Celestial Inugami clan has become increasingly diluted, and there aren’t many dogs left that can inherit it.”
“Then what can you do?” Turning stone into gold is just too far-fetched, but if it had some other money-making skills, that would be great. That way, he can benefit from it too, and they can have ribs to eat every day.
“Able to speak, have a higher IQ than my peers, and my body is more agile. I will be even more deadly when I grow up.” Rhubarb frowned, probably trying to organize the infinite information within its limited brain capacity.
“Is there anything… that’s more economical?” It’s still peacetime now, Lethality or something, It won’t be needed yet.
“Economic?” The descendants of the Inugami didn’t quite understand the meaning of this word.
“It’s simply a way to make money, like how we bought bones to eat today.”
“I haven’t found anything yet, but I just received the inheritance, and there are many things I haven’t digested yet…” Rhubarb’s voice grew quieter and quieter. It finally began to understand its own situation; even the descendant of the Inugami needed to eat, but it clearly wasn’t very good at making money.
“Tch…” Gao Chang has been in the society for many years. How could he be deceived by this little brat so easily? It seems that this so-called descendant of the Inugami is nothing special. Besides being able to talk, there’s nothing remarkable about it. He would still have to rely on himself to make a living in the future.
“Hmph, the inheritance is not just memories. Once I reach a certain level of cultivation, I can get anything I want. If you like money, I’ll grab it for you.” The descendant of the Inugami, who was looked down upon, was quite displeased.
“Robbery will land you in jail.” It seems this talking dog not only lacks skills but also has a low IQ.
“Then they have to be able to keep me locked up first.” The inherited memories told Rhubarb that the prison cell was not scary.
“Well, Rhubarb, how old are you this year?” Gao Chang felt that if he continued to argue with it, his IQ would drop as well.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“Yeah, I can’t remember anything from before Enlightenment.”
“Enlightenment?”
“It’s about inheritance. Once I accept the inherited memories, it’s like gaining wisdom. Because I had to absorb a large amount of memories, the physical strain was quite heavy, so I ended up getting sick.”
“Oh, I guess you must be very young.” It is so tiny, it must be less than one year old.
“You may not know this, but the process of enlightenment and overcoming tribulations will revert our canine bodies to their original forms. It’s essentially like starting cultivation all over again. However, with the foundation we had before, we can quickly regain our previous level.” Rhubarb kept its head tilted upward, probably feeling a bit sore in its neck. Its strength wasn’t keeping up, so it stretched lazily and crawled back into his nest to continue squatting.
“Isn’t that really dangerous?” Gao Chang felt like he had grasped the key point of the issue.
“Yes, it was a narrow escape from death.” Thinking back on the dangers it had faced in the past few days, Rhubarb still felt lingering fear. “Transcending tribulation is the most dangerous part, while transformation is safe.”
“Oh, come to think of it, I guess that makes me your savior, right?” Gao Chang said, feeling that he had to fight for his own interests. Who knows how many years it would take for this puppy to develop a sense of gratitude for repaying his kindness.
“Hmph, didn’t you want to abandon me before?” Speaking of this, Rhubarb became unhappy.
“Wasn’t that because I had no choice? You know things have been tense lately. People in the village thought you had SARS. Besides, in the end, I didn’t abandon you!”
“I never had SARS!” Rhubarb protested, but then immediately sneezed again.
“But others don’t know that. Just think about it, I took you in without knowing anything. How much risk did I take? Failing to repay kindness isn’t something befitting the descendant of the Inugami.” Gao Chang cast a sideways glance at it, clearly implying that if this guy didn’t offer some benefits, he’d be thrown out of the house.
“Well… I will repay you in the future…” Having received kindness, Rhubarb knew it was best not to argue. That bowl of copper bone soup had tasted quite good, and he wasn’t keen on being kicked out so soon.
