Wang Meilan’s sudden one-eighty almost made Zhao Jun and his father’s jaws drop.

"It’s okay, Mom," Zhao Jun said. "I have a way to get a gun."

"Oh, listen to you, Mr. Capable." Zhao Youcai shot him a sideways glance, then turned to Wang Meilan with a smile. "Meilan, how about giving me two yuan? Just to have something in my pocket..."

Wang Meilan acted as if she hadn’t heard him. She turned around and stuffed the money back under the mattress, making no effort to hide it.

She was confident that even if the two of them saw, they wouldn’t dare touch a single cent of her money.

Zhao Youcai sullenly averted his gaze. He didn’t dare cross his wife, but he could take it out on his son. He shot Zhao Jun a glare and said, "Aren’t you going to sleep? What are you just standing there for?"

Zhao Jun was speechless.

Zhao Jun got up to leave but paused at the door. He turned back and asked Zhao Youcai, "Dad, can you get your hands on a Deer Antler Key?"

"Can’t," Zhao Youcai said. "That’s a rare item."

"Then do you know anyone who can make one?"

"Who makes them..." Zhao Youcai began to ponder, but then he immediately caught on. "What do you want that thing for?"

"Never mind, never mind." Zhao Jun grabbed the money and bolted. He went back to his room, poured some water to wash his feet, and got onto the kang to sleep.

The next day, Zhao Jun woke up unusually early. By the time he finished breakfast, it wasn’t even seven o’clock.

He put on his padded cotton jacket, took the fifty yuan Wang Meilan had given him the day before, and left the house.

Zhao Jun made his way to Wang Dalong’s house. Just as he reached the wicker fence, he heard a dog barking from the yard.

In the yard, a woman was sifting corn kernels, while chickens wandered about, pecking at the bits that fell through the sieve.

Hearing the dog bark, the woman glanced outside. The wicker fence, only about a meter high, didn’t block her view at all.

"Working hard, I see," Zhao Jun called out in greeting. The woman was Wang Dalong’s wife, Wei Xiaojuan.

"Oh, Xiaojun," Wei Xiaojuan responded. She knew he had come to pay them for the dog.

When Wang Dalong came home the day before, Wei Xiaojuan saw he’d only brought one dog back with him and asked for the reason.

Wang Dalong told her the black dog had died and he’d sold the white one.

Wei Xiaojuan pressed him, asking who he’d sold the white dog to and for how much. Wang Dalong said he’d sold it to Zhao Jun for fifty yuan.

At the time, Wei Xiaojuan had been pretty unhappy about it. Her family had spent forty yuan on the white dog, so selling it for fifty yuan after feeding it for a whole year just didn’t seem like a good deal, no matter how she looked at it.

But on second thought, selling it was better than it dying. Unlike the three dogs that had died up on the mountain, they wouldn’t get a single cent back for those.

She set the sieve filled with corn aside, came over to open the wicker gate, and invited Zhao Jun in to talk.

Zhao Jun only stepped into the yard but didn’t go into the house. He asked, "Is Brother Dalong around?"

"Not up yet," Wei Xiaojuan said. "You know how our black dog was killed by that Black Bear yesterday? Your Brother Long came home pretty down about it, had a couple of extra drinks, and still isn’t up."

’It’s good he’s not up,’ Zhao Jun thought to himself. He was afraid Wang Dalong might change his mind after sleeping on it, so he certainly wasn’t about to go inside. He just pulled the fifty yuan from his pocket and offered it to Wei Xiaojuan.

"Sister-in-law, I don’t know if Brother Dalong told you, but he sold your white dog to me. I’m here to give you the money."

Wei Xiaojuan didn’t say whether her family would take the money, only remarking, "Xiaojun, what’s the rush? You didn’t have to make a special trip so early in the morning."

"I was up early," Zhao Jun said with a smile, pressing the money into Wei Xiaojuan’s hand before turning to walk out the gate.

"Xiaojun, come in and have some water!" Wei Xiaojuan called after him.

"Next time!"

After Zhao Jun left, Wei Xiaojuan took the money inside, intending to put it away.

Just then, a hungover Wang Dalong groggily woke up. He glanced at Wei Xiaojuan and asked, "I heard the dog bark. Who came by?"

Wei Xiaojuan waved the money in her hand. "Zhao Jun. He came to drop off the money."

"What?" Wang Dalong shot straight up on the kang, glaring at Wei Xiaojuan. "Why didn’t you tell me?"

"You were dead to the world. What was I supposed to tell you?" Wei Xiaojuan snapped. "Didn’t you say yesterday that you sold it for fifty yuan? He just brought the money to us."

"I..." Wang Dalong choked on his words. The truth was, he’d regretted the deal last night. He had planned to get up early today and rush over to Zhao Jun’s house before Zhao Jun could come to his. He was going to get that white dog back, even if he had to beg and plead.

But he had drunk too much the night before, and before he could get to Zhao Jun’s house, Zhao Jun had already shown up at his.

In truth, that in itself wasn’t a huge problem. Wang Dalong was confident that, being as thick-skinned as he was, even if Zhao Jun showed up with cash in hand, as long as he was the one to talk to him, there would still be room to maneuver.

But he’d never imagined Wei Xiaojuan would just accept the money. Now that was a problem.

Watching Wei Xiaojuan stuffing the money into the cabinet, Wang Dalong’s temper flared. He roared at her, "You damn money-grubber! All you fucking see is cash!"

Wei Xiaojuan froze, stunned by his outburst. She had no idea what she’d done wrong to deserve a scolding like that. There was no way she was going to tolerate it.

She immediately pointed a finger at Wang Dalong and raged, "I fucking wait on you hand and foot all day, is this how you treat me? I’ve spoiled you rotten, haven’t I..."

Her words only made Wang Dalong angrier. He glanced around, spotted the small broom used for sweeping the kang, snatched it up, and hurled it at Wei Xiaojuan.

The little broom was only about an elbow long, so while it didn’t hurt when it hit Wei Xiaojuan, it was utterly infuriating.

In response, Wei Xiaojuan grabbed the full-sized sweeping broom from the corner, swung her leg up onto the kang, and, standing over him, started swinging it at Wang Dalong’s head.

And so the couple began their day with a heated brawl. Meanwhile, Zhao Jun, the instigator of the whole affair, was already home.

Just as he stepped through his own gate, he saw Li Baoyu hopping over the courtyard wall from next door.

"Brother, did you scrape the money together?" Li Baoyu asked as his feet hit the ground. Seeing Zhao Jun coming in from outside, he assumed he’d gone out to borrow it.

"I didn’t have to borrow it. My mom gave it to me."

"You’re the one who knows how to get things done," Li Baoyu said admiringly. "No matter what I say to my mom, she refuses to give me money."

As he said this, Li Baoyu’s gaze fell upon the big white dog. He walked up to it and patted its head.

The big white dog wasn’t shy around strangers; it was friendly with everyone.

Petting the dog, Li Baoyu asked Zhao Jun, "Brother, what are you going to name him? How about Big White?"

Zhao Jun shook his head. "No. His name is White Dragon."

"White Dragon? You mean Little White Dragon? A White Dragon dog."

"What are you rambling about? You’ve been reading too many comic books."

The two of them went into Zhao Jun’s room, where Li Baoyu said, "How about we take White Dragon up the mountain tomorrow to try him out?"

"Try him out for what?" Zhao Jun said. "He just got here, he’s not familiar with us yet. If we take him up the mountain out of the blue, it’s one thing whether he’ll even work for us, but the key is that I’m afraid he’ll run away."

"Oh." Li Baoyu seemed a little disappointed. "I was hoping to see him in action."

"No need," Zhao Jun said. "This dog won’t be a disappointment."

Just then, Zhao Jun paused before adding, "Brother, be up early tomorrow. We’re leaving the house at five."

"What for?"

Zhao Jun replied, "Didn’t you say you wanted to eat some squirrel the other day? We’ll go early tomorrow morning and be back a little after nine."