Chapter 121: Paw Pad Is Stuck With Glass
Nightfall deepened.
The car sped through the night.
“Oh no!” Jiang Yuan exclaimed suddenly, sitting in the passenger seat.
Hearing her, Si Heng glanced at her and asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”
“Mili!” Jiang Yuan said, “I promised Mili that if it helped me find Annie, I’d take photos of it and treat it to food. I was in such a hurry just now that I forgot to say goodbye.”
A smile appeared in Si Heng’s deep dark eyes, “It’s okay. I’ll call Director Cai later and ask him to relay the message to Mili.”
“That’s all we can do then.” Jiang Yuan nodded.
“Are you hungry?” Si Heng asked.
Jiang Yuan was about to say she wasn’t, but her stomach answered before she could, “Rumble~”
The man’s thin lips curved slightly, “Let’s go eat first. I’m hungry too.”
“Okay.” Jiang Yuan readily agreed.
Si Heng held the steering wheel, his voice gentle, “What do you want to eat?”
Jiang Yuan: “Anything is fine with me, how about you?”
Si Heng thought for a moment, “Do you like beef? I know a place that makes really good beef noodles.”
“Sure.”
“Then let’s try that place.”
The beef noodle restaurant Si Heng mentioned was a thirty-year-old street-side shop called Tang’s Beef Noodles.
The owners were a couple in their forties, and the shop had been passed down from their parents. The neighbors all loved their chewy and springy beef noodles.
Si Heng led Jiang Yuan to a table by the window and they sat down.
“Ah Heng, you’re here.” Xiao Tang saw him and walked out from inside the shop with a smile, “Bringing a friend today?”
“This is my colleague, Jiang Yuan.” After introducing her, Si Heng said to Jiang Yuan, “I’ve been eating these beef noodles for twenty years.”
Xiao Tang smiled broadly, “I hadn’t even taken over the shop yet when you started eating beef noodles here!”
Jiang Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly, “If you can eat it for twenty years without getting tired of it, this bowl of beef noodles must be worth trying.”
Xiao Tang: “If it’s not good, it’s free.”
Si Heng ordered two bowls of their signature beef noodles and two small appetizers.
Jiang Yuan took a tissue to wipe the table and found it was already very clean.
While waiting for the beef noodles, a couple at the barbecue stall next to them started arguing.
The young woman threw her barbecue skewers on the ground, annoyed, “I’ve tolerated you for a long time!”
“What are you doing?” The young man frowned, “Why did you throw away the barbecue? That’s such a waste!”
The young woman retorted angrily, “I put on such beautiful makeup and wore such elegant clothes, and you bring me to eat at a roadside stall?”
“How is this a roadside stall?” The young man was also unhappy, “Doesn’t it have a storefront? And I brought you here because it’s delicious; you could have said something before ordering if you didn’t want to come. Why wait until now to throw a tantrum?”
“Are you blaming me?” The young woman got even angrier and flipped over the folding table, “People who bring girls to places with such a bad environment deserve to be single, you poor slob!”
With that, she grabbed her handbag, stepped on her high heels, and left without looking back.
The young man watched her back, shouting in anger, “Didn’t you say you wanted to come try this barbecue with me? I brought you here and now you’re calling me poor? I’m really speechless!”
Si Heng retracted his gaze and looked at the two appetizers on the table, his dark brows slowly furrowing.
After a while, he looked up at Jiang Yuan, “Is this kind of dinner too shabby?”
Jiang Yuan was chewing on a hand-torn scallion pancake.
She shook her head and, after swallowing her food, said, “No, in fact, many people nowadays specifically come to check out these old shops.”
Si Heng was relieved.
The steaming bowls of signature beef noodles were placed on the table.
Si Heng opened a pair of disposable chopsticks and handed them to her, “Try it and see if it suits your taste. If you don’t like it, there are other places nearby.”
“It’s okay.” Jiang Yuan picked up a chopstickful of noodles, blew on them to cool them slightly, and then ate.
She gave a thumbs up, “These noodles are so chewy.”
Si Heng’s eyes held a smile, and his lips curved, “The beef slices are also delicious.”
“Let me try.” Jiang Yuan picked up a slice of beef and chewed it, a hint of astonishment appearing in her eyes, “The beef is so fresh.”
Xiao Tang placed another bowl of noodles in front of Si Heng, “Enjoy, you can get free refills of noodles.”
“These delicious noodles can be refilled for free?” Jiang Yuan said in surprise.
Xiao Tang explained with a smile, “Most of our customers are regulars. Since everyone supports us so much, we try to offer more discounts. The 8th of every month is our member day, with a 20% discount.”
Jiang Yuan gave him a thumbs up, “A boss with foresight. There’s a reason why you’ve been open for so long.”
“Thank you for the praise. Enjoy your meal.” Xiao Tang finished speaking and turned to look at the little black dog lying nearby.
“Xiao Hei, what’s wrong today?” Xiao Tang looked at Xiao Hei’s dejected appearance, his brows furrowed with worry.
Mrs. Tang came out after wiping down the kitchen, “It seems to have been like this since last night. Should we take it to the doctor?”
Xiao Tang sighed, “If it’s still like this tomorrow, we’ll take it for a check-up.”
“Okay.” Mrs. Tang nodded.
Customers arrived at the shop, and Xiao Tang and Mrs. Tang began to get busy again.
Xiao Hei lay at the shop entrance, whimpering in pain, “My paw hurts so much, wuwuwu, my paw hurts…”
Jiang Yuan’s attention was drawn to it, and while eating her beef noodles, she turned her head to stare at it.
“I can’t move, I can’t move at all!” Xiao Hei was extremely sad, lying on the ground shedding tears helplessly, “Am I going to die? Wuwu, no, I can’t bear to leave Dad and Mom!”
Si Heng followed Jiang Yuan’s gaze, “What’s wrong?”
“The little black dog seems unwell.” Jiang Yuan put down her chopsticks and walked over. She squatted down in front of the little black dog, “What’s wrong with your paw?”
“My paw hurts so much.” Xiao Hei whimpered pitifully.
Jiang Yuan looked at its four paws, “Which paw?”
Xiao Hei’s right front paw twitched slightly, “This paw hurts.”
“Let me see.” Jiang Yuan reached out and took its right front paw, carefully examining it. She then discovered that its paw was stuck with glass, “So that’s what it is.”
Xiao Hei asked fearfully, “Am I going to die?”
“No,” Jiang Yuan said, finding it funny, “Don’t think that way. It’s just a piece of glass, it’ll be fine once it’s out.”
She got up and walked into the shop.
Mrs. Tang saw her come in and smiled, “Miss, what’s wrong?”
Jiang Yuan explained, “Ma’am, the dog at the entrance has glass stuck in its paw. Do you have any tools that could help remove it?”
“Let me look.” Mrs. Tang quickly put down the rag she was holding.
She found a pair of scissors, “Will this work?”
“Let me try.” Jiang Yuan took the scissors.
Mrs. Tang also followed her out and only then realized that the dog she was referring to was their own Xiao Hei, “Miss, are you saying Xiao Hei has glass in its paw?”
“Yes.” Jiang Yuan nodded.
Si Heng also walked over and took the scissors from her, “I’ll do it.”
“The glass is here.” Jiang Yuan turned on her phone’s flashlight and pointed a finger at the tiny bit of glass sticking out.
As Si Heng was pulling out the glass, Xiao Hei convulsed in pain and tried to resist. Jiang Yuan raised her hand and gently stroked its head to comfort it.
“Good doggy, your paw won’t hurt once the glass is out.”
