Chapter 8

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It was indeed a bit miserable, but Wen Youning couldn’t help but smile faintly, patting the little orange cat’s head in comfort. “Poor thing, I’ll bring you a meat can when I get back.”
“Meow...”
Wen Youning was still rushing to the market to buy groceries; after the early market hours, fresh vegetables would wilt quickly. “I have something else to do, I’ll leave first. You all keep busy.”
Xiao Haoyu exclaimed, “I’m going to be late!”
As he spoke, he grabbed his backpack and swung it over his shoulder. “Bye, sister!”
The woman nodded at Wen Youning, then turned to follow Xiao Haoyu. “Xiao Yu, wait a moment, Mom will drive you.”

...

Stepping out of the stairwell, Wen Youning exhaled deeply as gift animations popped up in the livestream chat.
It was from the member who had paid the deposit earlier.
“Thank you, boss. Very generous,” Wen Youning said with a smile, folding away the phone stand. She hooked the Bluetooth camera around her neck. “To save time, I need to speed things up now.”
Originally, the time she set aside for the market trip was ample; even if she got tired and had to rest on the way, there was still enough time to rush for fresh produce. But due to a minor incident, now using the shortest time possible to get to the market was crucial.
Though the camera hung on her chest was convenient, it only recorded from a first-person perspective looking ahead, so it was useful only for running segments. For normal livestreaming, the phone stand was more reliable.
“Let’s go!”
After greeting the chat, Wen Youning ran onto the sidewalk.
Morning hours were precious; the streets were more crowded than when she had encountered the little cats earlier. The morning rush wouldn’t ease until after seven or eight o’clock.
Outside the market, many roadside vendors without fixed stalls had set up. Inside the market, elderly shoppers carried plastic bags, chatting with stall owners as they picked out their goods.
“Okay, timing’s just right,” Wen Youning said, calming her breath as she removed the camera from her chest and slowly strolled with the crowd into the market.
Besides buying ingredients and daily necessities for cat food, Wen Youning wanted some vegetables to cook for herself. Occasionally she’d eat downstairs at the food street, but mostly she preferred home-cooked meals.
Inside the market, the stalls were fixed. Plastic bags hung outside, so shoppers took a bag and filled it themselves. Stall owners busied themselves unloading goods from trucks behind the stalls, only raising their heads to shout prices when asked.
“Let me share a little tip for choosing vegetables,” Wen Youning said, holding a palm-sized eggplant and weighing it in her hand. “Look at this round eggplant. The skin looks smooth without pits, which is good, but check the stem end. If it feels dry with no moisture, that eggplant will be tough inside. If it feels moist, it will be tender.”

[“I don’t know how to pick vegetables, so I usually just shop at supermarkets where price and quality are guaranteed.”]
[“Although I don’t know how either, I follow an old lady into the market, then pick from the bags she chooses.”]
[“??? Alright, be yourself bravely and don’t fear the judgment of others or the old lady’s slaps.”]
[“Haha, you really aren’t scared of an old lady collapsing on the spot.”]

...

While chatting, Wen Youning picked a few bags. Though the leafy greens looked plentiful, they would shrink after cooking. She filled the bags to the brim.
Morning vegetables were fresh; farmers drove overnight to the wholesale market, and the market vendors purchased from them to sell early in the morning. Some vegetables still had clumps of mud attached.
“Boss, please weigh these for me.”
“Sure.” The vendor took the bags and placed them on the scale one by one. “I’ll throw in some scallions for free. Come back when you finish eating.”
When customers bought a lot, stall owners typically added extra vegetables.
After buying vegetables, Wen Youning went to the nearby meat stall.
Compared to the crowded vegetable stalls, the meat stall was relatively quiet. Under special lighting, the meat in the display looked fresh.
Wen Youning inspected the pig’s heart and lungs, which seemed fresh. “I’ll take three pounds each of all the offals except the lungs and large intestine. Also, five pounds of beef.”
“Okay, please wait a moment.” The vendor swapped to a larger bag. “The offals came in fresh this morning, all unfrozen. Do you want some pork meat as well?”
Wen Youning thought for a moment. “Two pounds each of beef and pork, please.”
She intended to make various flavors of cat food.
“All right!” This was quite a large order for a small stall. The owner specially took a foam box lined with a plastic bag to pack the meat.
These were the main ingredients for the cat food. Although cats are omnivores, they certainly prefer meat.
“Boss, do you raise these fish?” Wen Youning noticed a large fish tank beside the stall with a golden arowana and a silver arowana, both sizable with shimmering scales.
The vendor chuckled. “Yes, for good luck.”

[“The streamer said she can read animal thoughts; can you translate what these fish are thinking now?”]
Wen Youning stroked her chin. “What are you thinking?”
*Glub glub...*
“Thinking of blowing bubbles. Glub glub...” she laughed and translated, “They keep bubbling.”
Just then, the golden arowana lazily swayed its tail and floated to Wen Youning’s front, its large eyes moving up and down.
“Glub, glub, look at the market...” Wen Youning paused as she translated the fish’s thoughts. “Boss! How much for this fish?”

[“Hahaha, what?”]
[“Golden arowana: Did I let you see that?”]
[“The smile won’t leave the streamer’s face, but it’s about to transfer to mine.”]

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The vendor glanced up amidst his busy work. “Huh? This fish isn’t for sale. If you want one, go to the seafood market; they have better specimens. These two here are just average.”
*Glub glub, idiot.*
Wen Youning: “...”
Damn golden arowana, tonight I’m definitely having grilled fish.
Her battle with the golden arowana had just begun when the silver arowana flicked its tail hard, knocking the golden one aside.
*Glub glub, ugly thing, stay away from me.*
*I don’t want to share the same tank. I’m jumping out tonight.*
*Glub glub... annoying.*
The silver arowana’s drooping whiskers oozed contempt for the golden arowana.
“Oh? Your crush seems to dislike you a lot,” Wen Youning smiled. “Tsk, tsk, love isn’t smooth for you.”
The golden arowana chasing after the silver one suddenly stopped in front of her.
*Idiot.*
Wen Youning turned and advised the vendor, “Your silver arowana refuses to be with the golden one and is planning to jump tanks tonight. You’d better separate them.”
“Huh? Jump tanks? Really?” The vendor was puzzled. “You raise fish too? Is that some kind of sign?”
“I didn’t see any signs, but I heard the silver arowana’s thoughts.”
Vendor: “???”
Maybe you should listen to yourself.
Wen Youning didn’t explain more, just said, “You bought the silver arowana later, right? To keep the golden one company?”
The vendor nodded. “Yes...”
Wen Youning said, “The silver arowana’s not interested in your golden one. If you want to keep the silver one, you’d better separate them.”
“Huh?”
The vendor was still stunned. Wen Youning scanned and paid via her phone. “The money’s transferred. Remember to separate their tanks soon.”
She still had daily necessities to buy, so she didn’t linger, picked up the meat box, and left the stall.
The vendor scratched his head in front of the fish tank. “How did she know the silver arowana was bought later?”
The two fish looked about the same size.

---

Pet supplies were in the market’s farthest corner.
Wen Youning carried the box across half the market.

*“Dad, where are you...”*
*“When will you come find me.”*
*“Woof...”*
The little dog’s thoughts sounded depressed and low.
Someone had abandoned a dog?
This area was far from the city center; if a dog was dumped here by car, it would be very difficult for the dog to return on its own.
Wen Youning sighed deeply. How irresponsible! Even if they couldn’t keep it, they should have found it a new home or arranged care, not just dump it like trash.
She intended to take the dog home and find an adopter, but following the thoughts, she found it wasn’t a stray but a German Shepherd confined in a cage, seemingly paralyzed from the waist down.
Unable to stand and poorly cared for, the dog lay half its body in its own waste. Its fur was matted and dull, with many dark clumps that looked like dried blood.
The vendor came out after hearing the noise, glanced at Wen Youning’s box, and asked perfunctorily, “What do you want?”
Wen Youning didn’t look at the dried meat on the stall but asked, “Is this dog for sale too?”
Vendor: “Yes, five hundred yuan. Guaranteed dead or treated.”
[“What? You raise a dog and sell it like that?”]
[“That dog even has a tag on its collar — who knows where that vendor got it? Definitely not his dog!”]
[“It looks badly injured. This guy must be a dog thief!”]
[“Selling a stolen dog so blatantly — no shame at all!”]
[“Looks like the streamer’s about to get trapped. The vendor sees she wants to rescue the dog and will definitely jack up the price. People like that have the darkest hearts.”]

...

The German Shepherd caused a frenzy in Wen Youning’s livestream chat.
Anyone could see the dog wasn’t the vendor’s. Its owner might still be posting missing dog flyers everywhere.
Wen Youning noticed the vendor’s sly gaze and realized he was trying to raise the price. She could afford it but pretending not to care would make the vendor hesitate to sell. Like dangling a carrot in front of a donkey, he was using this dog to make money.

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The German Shepherd was in terrible condition. If she delayed, even she might not be able to make it stand again.
Today, she had to take this dog away.
After a moment, Wen Youning fanned her nose and pretended to be disgusted. “So expensive? It looks filthy and skinny. Lower the price. I don’t need you to kill it; I’ll handle that myself and save the labor fee. If there were other sellers, I wouldn’t even look at this. Charging this much is crazy.”
The vendor hesitated. The dog had been there for days, half dead and stinking. Nearby vendors had already complained.
Few people asked about it, and the elderly customers wouldn’t want such a dog.
If it died, it would be even harder to sell.
Finally, a buyer appeared, hesitated, and asked, “What price do you want?”
Wen Youning said, “Two hundred.”
“Two hundred? No one bargains that much!” The vendor was displeased.
“Then forget it.” Wen Youning curled her lips. “I bought so much meat already; I’m not short on this. Keep it yourself.”
Saying that, she turned to leave.
“Hey, don’t go! Don’t you want to negotiate more?” The vendor shouted, “Five hundred is already no profit!”
“Two hundred is the max!” Wen Youning didn’t look back.
“That’s too low. I have costs raising it.”
“Hey!”
“Really can’t go cheaper.”

...

The vendor kept yelling as Wen Youning’s steps slowed, barely passing the next stall after a long time.
This wasn’t about price alone. If she agreed, the vendor would raise the price anytime.
She pretended not to care, but in her mind, she thought: if the next stall also refused to lower the price, she’d go back and take the German Shepherd—no matter the cost.
Five steps more...
She had to save the dog, or it would die here.
Three steps more...
Better take a loss and save the dog first, then settle accounts with the vendor later.
Two steps...
One step...
“Alright! Come back.” The vendor’s resigned voice came from behind. “Two hundred, I’m really not making much.”
Wen Youning almost turned around but stopped, suppressing her excitement and returning expressionlessly. “You should’ve agreed earlier.I'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.