"After giving birth, mother dogs are generally protective of their puppies. The property manager mentioned that a resident got bitten. If I'm not mistaken, it should be the resident from Building 4. When they heard the dogs barking downstairs, they came to see the puppies and got bitten by the mother dog when trying to play with them. In the end, they blamed the property management and demanded compensation."
It's typical for a mad dog to bite the leg, but since this resident was bitten on the hand, it's obvious it wasn't a random bite. Based on some details, Li Xiang found it not too difficult to deduce what had happened.
"So, you're saying I killed the wrong one?"
Sun Zhidong was already beginning to regret bringing the bow and arrow. The poor little puppies had just been born and now lost their mother; it was too pitiful.
While they were talking, the mother dog, hit by the arrow, was losing a lot of blood. Her head was barely able to lift. She lay on the ground, exhaling more than inhaling, clearly on the verge of death.
The puppies were naturally unaware of what was happening and were instinctively suckling, not realizing it could be their last time feeding on mother's milk.
"Can it still be saved?"
Seeing this scene stirred compassion in Li Xiang.
"I'm afraid it's too late. My arrowhead is a special triangular design, sharp on three sides, which causes rapid bleeding, and the wound is torn, making it hard to heal."
Sun Zhidong felt a bit guilty, initially thinking it was a simple mad dog incident. He thought taking down the dog would prevent further bites, not expecting the situation to be so complicated. Now that things had come to this, he could only brace himself and say, "How about I take the puppy home and raise it?"
"You're going to raise it? Aren't you allergic to dog fur?"
Li Xiang looked at Sun Zhidong in surprise. From his understanding, Sun Zhidong was allergic to dogs, so keeping one was impossible. Saying this today was quite unusual.
Perhaps the scene he orchestrated had deeply affected him, and taking the puppy home might make him feel a bit better.
"What else can I do? I killed its mom."
"What if it grows up and realizes it's acknowledged a thief as its father, wouldn't it bite you to death?"
"Oh, shut up! Who wants to be its dad? Want to take care of it? I'll provide the dog food!"
Deep down, Sun Zhidong still didn't like dogs.
"I can barely take care of myself."
-----------------
On the way back, Li Xiang held a cardboard box with the little black puppy inside, whose eyes hadn't even opened yet.
He wasn't sure if he had a moment of madness when he agreed to take in the puppy from Sun Zhidong.
He could barely sustain himself, and now he had a dog to care for, worsening his already difficult financial situation.
He took most of his meals at the police station, and now he had to think about buying milk formula for the little pup.
"Let's go to the pet store. I'll buy some stuff, and then I'll drop it off at your place. It'll be inconvenient for you to take it after work."
Sun Zhidong drove them to a pet store. Inside, upon the store owner's recommendation, he bought goat milk powder, a feeding bottle, a dog bed, a bath basin, and a bunch of other items. It all totaled over eight hundred yuan, which made Li Xiang gasp in surprise.
The stuff for the dog was more expensive than for a human.
Sun Zhidong didn't think twice, quickly scanning his phone to pay. Over eight hundred yuan was a small fortune for Li Xiang, but just pocket change for Sun Zhidong.
Once home, Li Xiang and Sun Zhidong moved everything inside, especially setting up the dog bed on the inner side of the balcony, lined with cotton for warmth.
Seeing the little puppy was dirty with some bloodstains, they gave it a bath using the new tub, and then blow-dried its fur.
The weather was cold, and without careful warming, such a small life could freeze to death.
After bathing, the little puppy seemed much refreshed, but it lay in Li Xiang's hands, constantly wriggling. Its limbs hanging in the air tried to paw at his hand, its head swaying side to side in search of something, occasionally letting out a whimper.
"Little guy, are you hungry?"
By then, Sun Zhidong had already prepared the goat milk, tested the temperature, and then offered the bottle to the puppy.
Sure enough, the puppy immediately began to suckle energetically upon touching the bottle.
"Ah, such is life's irony. I never expected my first time feeding milk would be to a puppy."
Watching it suckle with puckered lips melted their hearts, making them smile like doting aunts.
"Eat slowly, no rush."
"By the way, we haven't named the little guy yet. What should we call it?"
"It's got a coat of black fur; how about we call it Little Black?"
"No, nine out of ten black dogs are called Little Black. It's too common."
They started debating over the name, unable to convince each other. Even after the puppy finished its milk, they still hadn't thought of a fitting name.
"Although it's black, let's not pick a name with 'black' in it."
"Then let's call it Developer, considering how tricky it is."
"..."
It wasn't until Li Xiang saw the little puppy curled up in its bed, fast asleep like a lump of coal, that he found inspiration: "Coal Ball?"
Sun Zhidong smacked his thigh: "Hey, that's a good name! Let's call it Coal Ball."
And so, the little puppy finally had a name: Coal Ball!
"Coal Ball, Coal Ball, be a good boy and sleep at home. I'm off to work."
Li Xiang glanced at the time; they had been out almost half a day. He needed to return to the station for lunch, so he locked the door and rode back with Sun Zhidong in his BMW.
As soon as he walked into the reception hall, Li Xiang was called over by Hou Min.
"Hou Min, what's up?"
"Didn't you catch a thief yesterday and recover the owner's phone? This morning, just after you guys left, she came to deliver a banner as thanks. Wait here, I'll get it for you."
"Wow, someone's proactive!"
Seeing Li Xiang receive a thank-you banner made Sun Zhidong envious.
How rare is it for an auxiliary policeman to receive such gratitude?
Look around. It's year-end, and Li Xiang's recognition is as rare as a scorpion's tail—one of a kind.
"Hang it in the honor room. It's the station's glory; I just happened to have good timing."
Li Xiang scratched his head, feeling slightly embarrassed. He'd thought about being thanked with a banner someday, but didn't expect it to happen so easily.
Throughout the year, few residents sent thank-you banners to the police station. For Li Xiang to receive one at year-end became the talk of Hongqiao Police Station. Even the instructor came out to praise him.
"You've done well this year. I've recommended you for a Level 4 commendation, keep up the good work next year."
"Thank you, Instructor Li."
The commendation brought a small bonus—though it was just a Level 4, it came with a thousand-yuan reward. Why not enjoy it?
After hanging the banner in the honor room, Hou Min suddenly remembered something and called Li Xiang back: "Oh, and the girl seemed to have two tickets to give you. They didn't seem very valuable, so I just kept them for you."