Chapter 57: The Military Dog Xuedao
After a long silence, Shi Zijin suddenly said, “I’m sorry.”
Su Tao rubbed her eyes. “You don’t need to apologize. I’ll call Sister Pei later and apologize to her myself.”
The more Pei Dong cared about her people, the more she hated Gu Mingchi.
Su Tao was genuinely nervous about making that call.
Shi Zijin noticed her hesitation. “I’ll talk to her. I need to speak with her anyway.”
Around 10 p.m., Su Tao received a call from Pei Dong.
“Major Shi told me everything. Do what you want, but you can’t meet him. I’ll send you a military dog. It’s well-trained, with an enhanced sense of smell, and is very familiar with Gu Mingchi’s scent. If he gets within a hundred meters, it’ll bark.
Su Tao, both Major Shi and I care about you. We don’t want anything to happen to you, and we hope you stay safe in all things.”
It was the first time Su Tao had heard Pei Dong say so much. Her nose tingled, and she hugged the communicator, nodding:
“Thank you, Sister Pei. I’m sorry, Sister Pei.”
On the other end, Pei Dong’s heart softened immediately, “It’s okay. The grudge is between him and me. It has nothing to do with you.”
Su Tao sniffled and said quietly, “Sister Pei, when will you come back? I haven’t seen you in so long.”
“The Western District has started building the city walls to prevent attacks from evolved zombies. I can’t leave for now.”
“Alright, take care and stay safe.”
*
After the call, Shi Zijin explained:
“This military dog was left behind by Pei Dong’s grandfather. It’s a retired dog, sixteen years old. Pei Dong cherishes it deeply. She originally wanted to keep it with her during its last years, but since you need it, she sent it over without a second thought.”
Su Tao sniffled. “She didn’t mention how much she treasures it at all. Such a stubborn woman.”
Shi Zijin chuckled. “Get some sleep.”
Su Tao took a few steps, then suddenly turned back, “Are we still in a cold war tomorrow?”
“Do you want to be?”
“I do. You still haven’t agreed to take me with you, but you keep talking to me. It’s hard to stay cold.”
Shi Zijin couldn’t help but laugh at Su Tao’s playful tone. “Then how about I take the initiative to make peace?”
Su Tao’s eyes lit up. “Does that mean you’ve agreed?”
“You’re overthinking it. I still need to consider it. It’s just a temporary truce.”
Su Tao’s excitement faded. “Then I reject your truce offer.”
Shi Zijin didn’t mind. “I’ll unilaterally declare peace. You have the right to refuse. Now, I’ll escort you to your door. Let’s go, milady.”
Feeling awkward, Su Tao shuffled to her door and shooed him away.
“Go away. Tomorrow, you’re not allowed to message me or talk to me, got it?”
Shi Zijin responded with a simple “Goodnight.”
*
The next morning, Su Tao woke up drenched in sweat. She jumped out of bed and took a quick shower.
When she came out, she squinted at the window. The sun was blazing, even before 8 a.m., shining like a giant light bulb that made it hard to keep her eyes open. The air was dry and scorching.
“It’s only May, and it’s this hot already. When I go out with the Pioneer Army, it’s going to be even worse!”
Her cats meowed thirstily, rubbing against her legs. Su Tao quickly filled their empty water bowl.
Then, she took the last bit of frozen pork strips from the fridge, defrosted them, cut them into small pieces, and fed the cats.
After feeding them, Black Sesame was still crying, almost sounding like it was calling her “Mom.” It lay on its back, showing its belly and acting cute.
White Sesame hugged her leg, licking her furiously. Its round eyes seemed to spell out a pitiful “Hungry.”
Su Tao wanted to cry for help. She pulled out some goat milk, trying to negotiate:
“Sweeties, how about some milk? Mommy really doesn’t have any more meat.”
White Sesame sniffed it, uninterested, and continued to cling to her leg, whining like an abandoned kitten.
Negotiations failed. Su Tao gave in.
“Looks like I need to earn some contribution points to trade for meat to fill your little bellies.”
And with the old military dog arriving soon—another meat-eater—she’d have three hungry mouths to feed!
*
Su Tao carried the cats downstairs, planning to take them to the office building. As soon as she reached the second floor, she heard a heated argument.
She peeked over and saw that nearly all the residents from the second and third floors were involved.
Even some of the usually quiet and polite tenants were red-faced and shouting.
Only a pair of sisters stood aside, not participating.
Su Tao recognized them. They were the cautious sisters that Zhuang Wan had mentioned—the ones who, due to the negative news about Taoyang, had asked if they could rent a one-bedroom apartment for just a month. She couldn’t recall their names.
She asked the sisters, “What’s going on here?”
The younger sister, who looked barely in her teens, lowered her eyes and replied, “We don’t know. We just got here.”
When they saw the two cats in Su Tao’s arms, their eyes lit up simultaneously, clearly wanting to pet them but holding back.
Suddenly, Black Sesame bared its teeth at the sisters, letting out a low, warning growl from its throat.
White Sesame dove into Su Tao’s arms, wrapping its little paws around her neck, ears flattened back, too scared to move.
The two sisters were startled and immediately took a step back.
Su Tao thought the cats were just wary of strangers. She comforted them, and as long as they stood a bit farther away, the cats seemed calm.
She paused to listen to the argument in the hallway and realized it was just about an unclaimed bag of garbage.
“It’s so hot, and everyone’s tempers are flaring.”
Not wanting to get involved as long as no one was fighting, she carried the cats to the office.
When Zhuang Wan heard about it, she suddenly remembered:
“People have been on edge lately. There were a couple of arguments over at Building 1, too. One tenant even insisted I mediate. When I got there, I found out it was just about some clothes that fell from an upstairs balcony and covered another tenant’s porch. Such a small issue, but they argued over it.”
Su Tao was speechless. “Once we install the central air conditioning, it’ll hopefully cool everyone down.”
Black Sesame and White Sesame, back to their usual selves, ran over to Zhuang Wan, mouths open, begging for food.
Just then, Auntie Qi came by to report on her work. The two little furballs, as if they recognized her as the lady who brought meat last time, immediately ran over and clung to her.
Zhuang Wan chuckled and asked Su Tao, “Are you starving them? They act like they haven’t eaten in days.”
Su Tao explained that the meat had run out, feeling quite helpless.
When Zhuang Wan heard this, she said:
“I have plenty of contribution points. You could’ve just asked me. I’m living and eating in Taoyang now, so I hardly spend them. Before my husband and my son, Huzi… when they passed, the base compensated me with a lot of contribution points. I haven’t really used them. If you need them, I’ll give them all to you.”
Su Tao quickly waved her hand. “I can’t take them for free. I’d lose sleep over it. How about this—use your contribution points to offset your rent?”
Zhuang Wan thought it over and agreed. “Then I’ll convert the 60,000 federal credits to 2,000 contribution points for you.”
“…Sister, you shouldn’t be so generous. At market rate, 60,000 credits would only convert to 1,500 points at most. Just give me 1,500. I won’t take more.”
One kilogram of pork only cost about 20 contribution points, which would keep her three mouths fed for quite a while.
The two of them got back to work, confirming the list of remaining vacant houses and granting access to the temporary workers hired by the Grain Bureau couple.
When the temp workers saw the open doors, they were stunned.
But maybe the couple had paid them well, because after half a minute, they started cleaning without complaint.
After dinner, Pei Dong sent someone to drive over with the military dog.
Su Tao watched eagerly, and soon enough, she saw someone leading a big black dog out of the car.
