Chapter Thirty: In the Ruined Factory

“Damn! Don’t tell me you’ve hooked up with the boss’s daughter?” Zhang Congwen asked in disbelief.

“Get out of here. Grown-up business is none of your concern, kid,” Song Jiawei mumbled as he shoveled fried rice noodles into his mouth, eyes glued to his phone as he chatted, barely glancing at Zhang Congwen.

On any other day, Zhang Congwen would have bantered back, but seeing Song Jiawei’s utter lack of interest in sparring with him, he let the matter drop.

After dinner, Zhang Congwen returned to his room and began planning the next day’s dog training session.

The following morning, his door was once again knocked on by Song Jiawei. This time, Song Jiawei’s appearance was identical to the way he dressed for their first meeting with Zhu Qingyan—except now, he didn’t reek of that old domestic brand, Liushen floral water.

“What did you douse yourself in this time?” Zhang Congwen still caught a whiff of something, even if it wasn’t the familiar scent of floral water.

“Good old domestic brand—essential balm!” Song Jiawei declared.

Sometimes, Zhang Congwen couldn’t help but admire Song Jiawei. After all, not every tough guy could use these things as cologne.

Urged on by Song Jiawei, Zhang Congwen quickly gathered his things. After Song Jiawei hailed a rideshare online, they set off once more for Boss Xie’s villa.

On the way, Zhang Congwen asked why Song Jiawei wasn’t at work, since it was Saturday—a busy time for him. Song Jiawei retorted, “Boss Xie is a client too. Maintaining good client relations is part of my job.”

Zhang Congwen didn’t buy it, but didn’t press further. Knowing Song Jiawei, if he didn’t want to talk, no amount of questions would get answers out of him.

When they got out of the car, the Xie siblings were already waiting at the door.

Seeing Song Jiawei, Xie Julie said apologetically, “I’m really sorry, my father won’t be home from the company until nearly eleven.”

Song Jiawei smiled and assured her it was no trouble at all.

Julie was about to invite them inside, but Zhang Congwen was stopped by Xie Caizhe, who said urgently, “Brother Zhang, come with me. My buddy’s dog bit his dad last night—you have to come see what’s going on.”

Seeing how anxious Caizhe was, and noting it was only nine in the morning, Zhang Congwen agreed. Before leaving, he deliberately asked Song Jiawei if he wanted to come along, but was met with an exasperated glare.

That confirmed it for Zhang Congwen—Song Jiawei really was cozying up to Julie.

Caizhe’s friend lived not far from the Xie family, just a ten-minute walk away in a resettlement complex on the edge of the villa district.

From Caizhe’s urgency, Zhang Congwen had imagined the injury was serious, but when he arrived, he learned the dog had only left a bruise on the man’s leg—not even breaking the skin.

The father, Li Hui, was a warm, affable man. After only a few words, he started calling Zhang Congwen “little brother Zhang,” and Zhang Congwen found himself calling him “Brother Li” in return.

“Brother Li, what exactly happened?” Zhang Congwen asked.

Li Hui pulled him aside to the stairwell, offering him a cigarette. When Zhang Congwen declined, Li Hui lit one himself.

“Who knows? You’ve seen our corgi—we brought it home when it was three months old. It was always well-behaved, but in the past two months, it’s gotten possessive about food. Nearly bit a few family members already. I said I’d discipline it, but my wife won’t let me,” Li Hui said, taking a drag.

Zhang Congwen had already seen the corgi in question—a young adolescent. At first glance, nothing seemed amiss; it acted just like any other normal dog.

“No other problems besides food guarding?” Zhang Congwen asked.

“None that I’ve noticed,” Li Hui replied.

“Let me see just how it guards its food, then.” With only a first impression and Li Hui’s account to go on, Zhang Congwen couldn’t detect anything wrong. He would have to observe the corgi himself.

“Let me finish this smoke,” Li Hui said.

With a few quick puffs, he led Zhang Congwen back to the living room.

At Zhang Congwen’s suggestion, Li Hui fetched the corgi’s usual food bowl and some kibble. The moment food appeared, the corgi ran over from his wife’s side, tail wagging, eager for attention.

Zhang Congwen frowned slightly. So far, the corgi’s behavior was perfectly normal.

Li Hui set down the bowl and added some kibble. The corgi began to eat with no issue—until Li Hui reached toward the bowl.

The corgi immediately noticed, growling low and deep, eyes fixed on Li Hui’s hand while gulping down a couple more bites.

“Woof!”

When the warning growl didn’t work, the corgi lunged at Li Hui’s hand. Fortunately, Li Hui had anticipated this and quickly withdrew. Seeing that no one was trying to take its food anymore, the corgi went back to eating as if nothing had happened.

Li Hui looked aggrieved. “See? That’s how it is. I’m the one who feeds it, and it still guards its food from me. Last night, I wasn’t paying attention and accidentally kicked its bowl, and it bit me.”

He pointed to a battered broom in the corner. “Ever since I realized it guarded its food, I’ve stopped using my hands and use that broom to move its bowl. Look at what it’s done to it.”

Zhang Congwen glanced at the broom, chewed nearly to bits, and couldn’t help but feel sorry for it. If that broom had thoughts, it might have preferred to rot away in the factory.

Jokes aside, this gave Zhang Congwen some insight into the corgi’s temperament.

Judging by Li Hui’s injury and the corgi’s behavior, the dog wasn’t truly intent on biting people. Its food-guarding was mostly bluster; if the person trying to take its food backed off, nothing happened. Only if the warning was ignored did it bite.

So, the food-guarding wasn’t too severe—it hadn’t escalated to biting as a solution to everything. If the root cause was found, correcting the behavior shouldn’t be difficult. But if left unchecked, one day the corgi could end up biting as its first and only answer.

At least, that was the risk with food-guarding.

“But what’s the root of the problem?” Zhang Congwen wondered, puzzled. For now, he couldn’t figure it out.