Chapter 38: Old Acquaintances Part 1

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

They had left the private restaurant during the evening rush hour of Jin City’s traffic.

The driver didn’t know where the animal homeless stop was, so he drove aimlessly along the road.

When Youguang came back to her senses, she remembered the time when she went to do volunteer work at the animal shelter outside the city. Sister Yang, the person-in-charge at that time, had mentioned that the animal shelter was originally located in the village of Chicken Nest Mountain. Later on, it was demolished and relocated to the suburbs because there were complaints from the nearby residents. Hence, she told the driver that he could go to the village to take a look.

Once they had specific directions, it was easier to navigate. The driver drove for about forty minutes before he reached the village of Chicken Nest.

When they arrived at the village, Youguang and the driver alighted and asked a few residents at the roadside before getting the exact location of the animal shelter.

They returned to the car. The driver drove along the winding road for a while longer before pulling up into a remote area and came to a stop.

There was a basic and dilapidated concrete hut not far away. It was the place they were looking for.

The concrete walls were a little cracked. The windows and doors were bolted shut with broken boards nailed to them.

This place was really too dilapidated. Not only were the houses run-down, the ground was also tattered and bumpy.

The snow had stopped falling. The muddy road was covered in footsteps made by animals and humans.

As soon as Youguang stepped out of the car, her shoes became stained with mud.

The driver went to the trunk to pick up the food containers. He then followed his young master to the concrete hut.

Before approaching the hut, they heard dogs barking.

The door to the concrete hut was open. There was also a gate nailed to the main door. It was unlocked and hinged shut.

Youguang gave a gentle push and the gate swung open. There was a light on inside but it was a little dim. There was just enough illumination to get a clear view of the interior.

As soon as she entered, she was greeted by the stench of animals, but it wasn’t as bad as she’d expected.

There was no one inside. The space was crowded with animals—they were mostly dogs and some cats.

Some of the dogs were chained, and the rest were caged.

The cats were free to roam.

Youguang looked around and realized that there were many cats laying on the roof beams and cages. Some were big, small, white, black, yellow… . They came in all kinds of colors and breeds.

To her surprise—although the various facilities were shabby and old—the animals weren’t very dirty.

Some of the animals were injured and had been treated. It was obvious that someone was taking care of them.

“Who are you?” Just as Youguang was surveying the surroundings, a clear female voice sounded.

The driver and Youguang turned to look towards the door and saw a little girl walking in with a big sack on her back.

When she got closer, Youguang got a good look at her face.

The little girl was extremely thin, like a bean sprout. She had long limbs and her short hair was as messy as a dog’s. Her face was dark and the skin on it was a little cracked. Her eyes were extremely bright.

When she sized her up with her dark gleaming eyes, one could tell that she was a smart child.

“We packed some food for the animals,” Youguang explained, smiling at the little girl.

“Oh, you guys are here to deliver food.”

The tensed expression on the little girl’s face softened.

She stepped into the house with a smile and walked towards Youguang. Her smile revealed her beaming white teeth and the whole hut seemed a little brighter.

“She’s a lively child,”

Youguang whispered.

The driver was tempted to stop this dirty, unrecognizable little girl from moving forward.

Youguang gave him a look and he stood still.

The little girl walked over to Youguang and stopped at a distance from her. She did not get very close.

“Did you come over to see the animals, too?” asked Youguang

“No, I was outside picking up bottles and bumped into Sister Yang. Sister Yang said that the water pipe had cracked. She and Brother Kun were going to fetch water. There was no one here at the shelter, so she asked me to come over and take a look.” The little girl spoke quickly.

“Sister Yang?” It had been a long time since she heard this name. The image of a kind middle-aged auntie quickly flashed across Youguang’s mind.

“She runs the place.”

The little girl lowered the sack on her back. Suddenly, the mouth of the sack loosened and several colorful plastic bottles rolled out.

Youguang could see that there were wet paper boxes and other scraps in her sack.

The little girl quickly picked up the bottles on the floor. One of the bottles that had rolled farther away, landed beside the leg of a large black dog.

Youguang wanted to pick it up but the driver was afraid that she would get bitten by the dog, so he stepped ahead of her and picked up the bottle. He then put it back into the little girl’s sack.

The little girl gave the driver a big smile.

Previously, the driver felt that this child was dirty and didn’t like her. Now that he was face-to-face with this dark and smiling child, he felt his heart soften.

Youguang continued chatting with the little girl.

“Is Sister Yang the person-in-charge here?”

“Yes.”

“They were going to fetch water for the animals?”

“Uh-uh.”

“Isn’t there running water here?”

“There was, but the plumbing broke a few days ago and so there’s no more water.” The little girl shrugged her shoulders and gave an exaggerated and deep sigh.

“So the pipe broke. Do you know which one it is?”

“Of course I know.”

“Can you show me?”

“Sure.”

The little girl tightened the opening of the waste bag and left the house with Youguang.

Xia Youqing sat in the car for a long time, wondering if she should get out.

She was wearing sheepskin high-heeled boots today. It would be really difficult to walk if she were to alight. Ruining the shoes was not her concern. The problem was that this area was too dirty.

As she was hesitating, she saw her daughter and a child heading elsewhere. The child had just arrived at this place earlier. She immediately got out of the car.

“Old Zhang, where are they going?” Xia Youqing asked the driver as she stood at the door of the hut, covering her nose.

“Little Miss went with that child to check out the broken water pipe.”

“Broken plumbing?”

“Yes. We heard that the plumbing broke at this animal shelter. The lady in-charge and another volunteer went outside to get water.”

Xia Youqing stopped talking, and stood at the doorway.

She turned around and saw that her daughter and the child had already reached the foot of a nearby hill and were about to climb up.

The hillside was wet and slippery on this snowy day.

Panic gripped her. She was about to summon her daughter back when she saw her fall to the ground. The strange child was trying to pull her up.

This time, Xia Youqing didn’t care about the dirt and quickly ran towards her daughter.

By the time she reached the two children, her daughter was back on her feet with the help of the little girl.

“Why did you all come up the hill to look at the pipes?” asked Xia Youqing, holding her daughter in her arms. “Did you hurt yourself?”

“Because the broken pipe is up on the hills.” The little girl she didn’t know replied to her question boldly.