Chapter 592 - 2: Passing Away_2
It was already very old, yet its love for its owner remained as strong as ever, never fading.
As the oldest veteran guard on the island, Chen Zhou gave Lai Fu a very high level of treatment—
This dog, once regarded as a Divine Beast by the islanders, had its own ten-person caregiver team, solely responsible for preparing its three daily meals and cleaning up after it.
After losing its teeth, Lai Fu found it difficult to tear raw meat; even when cooked, it swallowed with great difficulty, requiring the meat to be torn into small strips to be easily consumed.
Although the caregivers never dared to neglect Lai Fu, always eagerly chasing after it to feed it, Lai Fu never bothered with them.
It seemed to realize that its owner now had enough time to accompany it, and like a willful child, it insisted that only if Chen Zhou personally shredded the meat to feed it, would it deign to eat a few more bites.
Sometimes, when it felt like it, Lai Fu would stand at the end of the wooden corridor, trying hard to straighten its hind legs, and howl loudly at the sky.
But it was no longer the young and strong dog it once was; its voice was no longer as rich and powerful as before but rather hoarse, as if something was caught in its throat.
Whenever this happened, Chen Zhou always walked up to Lai Fu, rubbed its head, knelt down to hug it, and praised.
"Good buddy, good boy..."
Lai Fu would wag its tail excitedly, nudging Chen Zhou with its head, whimpering proudly.
In the past, when Lai Fu pushed hard into Chen Zhou’s embrace, it was very powerful; one inattentive moment and Chen Zhou would be nudged to the ground, prompting a light scolding from him.
Now it lacked strength, yet Chen Zhou especially missed the strong Lai Fu of the past.
...
Saturday’s paintings were getting better and better, and Chen Zhou said he had long surpassed the master.
As a "half-baked painting enthusiast," being able to teach such an outstanding student made Chen Zhou feel very proud.
A few years ago, when Chen Zhou first saw Saturday’s works, it was as if he saw another version of himself persisting with his passion; he had intended to put down his brush and focus on more meaningful things.
However, recently, he picked up his brush again, sketching the most accurate figures on paper with purest pencil, leaving the images of Lai Fu, Xiao Huihui, Tiger Head, Maoqiu, and Houdang on the paper one by one.
Occasionally when Saturday came to the manor to report on work, he also painted these little animals with his teacher, his "father."
But no matter how excellently Saturday painted other things, when it came to these cats and dogs, his paintings were never as vivid and lifelike as Chen Zhou’s.
Saturday often said it was because his painting skills were not as good as Chen Zhou’s.
Only Chen Zhou knew it was because Saturday’s paintings lacked love.
...
After the first batch of female dogs brought to the island by Kilian became pregnant, Chen Zhou no longer let Lai Fu mate; for an old dog entering twilight years, it was no easy task, and Chen Zhou wanted Lai Fu to accompany him for a few more years.
Among the female dogs, there was one with golden fur, looking like the golden retrievers of future generations.
It gave birth to eleven puppies, each one looking a lot like Lai Fu.
These eleven puppies were all raised in Chen Zhou’s manor.
Before Lai Fu started losing teeth, he often played with the little puppies.
The puppies opened their eyes on the 17th day after birth, slowly learning to walk shakily, and as they grew stronger, they began to waddle behind Lai Fu, crowding under his belly in a flurry, looking for milk when Lai Fu stopped.
As a first-time father, Lai Fu had no solution for the little ones, he could only lay on the ground, letting the puppies romp around.
The small ones grew larger, their energy more exuberant, every day on the lawn they ran madly, sometimes chasing after their dad, other times running after their mom, and they would also tease Xiao Huihui and Tiger Head whenever they encountered them.
Even though Xiao Huihui had long since grown plump like a ball, when chased by the puppies, it could still display the agility of a feline, leaping onto the table in a swift motion, looking down smugly at the golden fluffballs below.
If the little ones were anxious, barking non-stop and pawing at the table legs but unable to reach it, it would become even more arrogant, sometimes deliberately extending its fluffy big tail down the table, like fishing, tempting the little dogs to chase after it, causing the puppies to run back and forth anxiously under the table.
Once, all eleven little puppies squeezed together, pushing and shoving under the table waiting for Xiao Huihui to come down. One little one was pushed by its companions to the edge of the table leg, hitting its head accidentally, crying out in pain, causing both dog mom and dad to come over.
Lai Fu, being old, naturally couldn’t discipline the mischievous Xiao Huihui.
However, the dog mom was in her prime, and directly started a reckoning with the culprit, chasing Xiao Huihui in circles around the yard, leaving several marks on the lawn that Chen Zhou had meticulously maintained.
Since then, Xiao Huihui never bothered with the little ones anymore.
Moreover, as the puppies gradually grew bigger, it no longer had a speed advantage; if they were to race on flat ground, it couldn’t outrun the puppies, and only when near the wall could it rely on climbing or jumping to higher places to avoid pursuit.
...
The puppies that most resembled Lai Fu were left at the manor to keep Chen Zhou company.
The puppies from other female dogs were given by Chen Zhou to the veteran islanders.
All the veterans who received the puppies cherished them like treasures, more than they would a son—
This was a gift from the Leader, the offspring of the Divine Beast raised by him, even if these little things looked like toads, they would still be revered at home.
Due to Chen Zhou’s influence, after various trends such as the soy sauce fad and the bicycle craze, a dog-keeping trend emerged on the island.
The puppies from the female dogs totalled just over thirty, far from enough to be shared among the people on the island.
Many of those who considered themselves "well-connected" began to inquire fervently, some even thinking of spending large sums to buy dogs from those who had them.
However, the "dog owners" were all wealthy people handpicked by Chen Zhou; they had no lack of money to sell for a mere sum.
Moreover, the puppies were gifts personally designated by the Leader, who would dare sell them? It was akin to slapping the Leader in the face.
Those who managed to climb to mid-to-high levels on the island were not brainless; even if others offered nothing but money or even included other terms, they wouldn’t give the dogs away unless they planned on leaving the island.
Unable to acquire dogs from the island, some sharp-minded individuals turned their thoughts elsewhere—
For example, asking the prominent merchant Kilian, who often came to the island, to bring back a few dogs from overseas for them.
Since the first time he set foot on the island, Kilian visited the island at least four times a year.
To get closer to Chen Zhou, this "man of stature," he even spent a fortune building a manor on the island; many of the pieces of furniture inside Chen Zhou’s manor were "extras" that Kilian had when constructing his own manor.
Such frequent visits to the island, coupled with the Spanish captives who were forced to settle due to lack of ransom and the subsequent European craftsmen introduced, led islanders to gradually become acquainted with these varied-looking outsiders.
Ordinary islanders naturally couldn’t reach Kilian, but the mid-to-upper echelons of the island always found ways to contact him.
Faced with their urgent request for "dogs," Kilian was not polite at all, directly demanding exorbitant prices.
In their trade agreement, the value of different dogs varied.
Small dogs were the cheapest, black and spotted dogs weren’t very expensive either.
The price of large golden dogs similar to Lai Fu was the highest, clearly marked, each priced at 2000, even 5000 Silver Coins; even though the veteran islanders had accumulated considerable wealth over the years from trades and other industries, it was a price that pained them.
But money was meant to be spent.
Seeing others flaunt the dogs bestowed by the Leader, their eyes turned red with envy; driven by competitiveness, they could grit their teeth and pay, even if it was twice as much as 5000.
Once the veterans became resolute, Kilian’s purse became full of Silver Coins.
Soon, through Kilian’s hands, this money flowed into Chen Zhou’s hands and quietly returned to the ordinary people on the island, repairing houses for free, adding new furniture, and improving living standards for them.