After walking for about ten minutes, Zhou Rui, who was in the off-road vehicle behind, shouted loudly. He realized that the road the Tibetan mastiff was leading was not to the winter pastures where the herders gathered for the winter, but to the entrance of a mountain valley. Obviously, neither of his vehicles could drive in.
Zhou Rui handed the steering wheel to Bai Meng'an, jumped out of the car, and walked to Zhuang Rui's side. The Tibetan mastiff also stopped, put down the food in its mouth, looked at Zhou Rui and growled a few times, seemingly telling him not to go any further.
Seeing that Zhou Rui had no intention of approaching the ravine, the Tibetan Mastiff picked up its food again and ran into the ravine, its massive body quickly disappearing around the bend.
"Come on, get in the car. This is probably its lair. It's strange, this mastiff king is clearly someone else's pet, why would it put its lair here?"
The two waited in the ravine for a while, but the Tibetan mastiff didn't come out again. Zhou Rui muttered something and called Zhuang Rui to get in the car, preparing to leave.
Just as the car was about to turn around and leave, a figure darted out from the ravine and blocked the Hummer's path. It was the golden Tibetan Mastiff, with something white in its mouth, which was probably not the skinned wolf carcass from before.
"It looks like a puppy, Zhuang Rui, get out of the car quickly."
Lei Lei, who was driving, had sharp eyes and immediately noticed that the furry thing in the Tibetan Mastiff's mouth was a puppy.
Zhuang Rui opened the car door and got out. The golden retriever immediately pounced on him, first rubbing its big head against Zhuang Rui, then putting the puppy in its mouth on the ground, biting Zhuang Rui's trouser leg, and signaling him to pick up the puppy.
After Zhuang Rui picked up the puppy, the golden retriever did not return to the ravine, but ran in another direction at a much faster speed than before, and kept looking back, as if to tell Zhuang Rui to follow.
Zhuang Rui couldn't keep up with that speed, so he could only carry the puppy back to the car. Seeing Zhuang Rui get into the car, Lei Lei immediately stepped on the gas and followed behind the golden retriever and Tibetan mastiff.
Chapter 77 The Young Mastiff (Part 2)
Seeing Zhuang Rui carrying a puppy into the car, Qin Xuanbing and Bai Mengyao immediately gathered around, and even Liu Chuan squeezed next to Zhuang Rui to examine the puppy in his arms. After all, this was a purebred Tibetan Mastiff, and it was very likely its offspring.
"Why are there so many strange things in Tibet? Damn it, a purebred Tibetan Mastiff with a golden coat of iron was delivered, but it turned out to be a Chow Chow. Judging from the looks of it, it won't live for more than a few days."
After taking one look, Liu Chuan lost interest. The pure white puppy was not the Tibetan Mastiff he had imagined, but a very common Chow Chow. Liu Chuan's pet shop still sells them. Moreover, the puppy's eyes were not yet open, and it lay motionless in Zhuang Rui's arms, looking sickly.
"Liu Chuan, you've mistaken it for something else. How could this be a Chow Chow? Look at its face, it looks just like a little lion."
Zhuang Rui looked at the puppy's wrinkled little face and felt that it looked a lot like that golden Tibetan Mastiff, except that its fur color was different.
"That's right, pry open its mouth and see if its tongue is blue or pink."
Liu Chuan said confidently that he had been raising cats and dogs for several years and had a good eye for them.
"It's pink..."
Zhuang Rui replied after reading it.
"That's just a mixed-breed Chow Chow, not worth much, and judging by its appearance, it won't live much longer."
Puppies that haven't opened their eyes are usually quite lively, but this one is clearly sick. Although Liu Chuan had given the dog injections before, he was helpless and had no way to help it here.
"Brother Liu Chuan, please save it! It's such a cute little dog."
Bai Mengyao couldn't bear to watch, so she tugged at Liu Chuan's sleeve and pleaded.
“It’s not that I don’t want to save it, but puppies that haven’t opened their eyes have a very low survival rate. We don’t know what disease it has, and we don’t have any medicine in the car. In my opinion, blockhead, let’s go up ahead and put it in the car.”
Liu Chuan shook his head; he truly had no other choice.
"Is it beyond saving? Did that golden retriever or Tibetan mastiff know that I could save it, and that's why it entrusted it to me?"
Zhuang Rui's feelings were somewhat complicated. He looked up at the purebred Tibetan Mastiff in front of the car and hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to use the spiritual energy in his eyes to save the puppy.
Since I was injured yesterday, I have already used up the spiritual energy in my eyes twice. The spiritual energy I absorbed from the sandalwood root carving is almost exhausted. If I use it on this puppy, I'm afraid I won't be able to use the spiritual energy in my eyes again if any emergency occurs.
The puppy in Zhuang Rui's arms seemed to sense his thoughts, making a soft "whimpering" sound and sticking out its pink little tongue to lick Zhuang Rui's fingers, which was very endearing.
"Never mind, let's save them first."
Zhuang Rui made up his mind, focused the spiritual energy in his eyes, and looked at the little thing in his arms.
Unsure of the little guy's illness, Zhuang Rui could only increase the amount of spiritual energy he used. The amount of spiritual energy released onto the little guy was twice as much as when he was healing himself. After the spiritual energy seeped into the puppy's body, the spiritual energy in Zhuang Rui's eyes became very thin, just a thin layer barely clinging to his eyes.
The moment the spiritual energy entered the puppy's body, Zhuang Rui felt the puppy in his arms tremble for a moment, then stop moving. He immediately became nervous. Was it because there was too much spiritual energy and the little guy couldn't handle it? If that happened, he would have lost both his wife and his army.
Fortunately, after about four or five minutes, the little guy started moving again and struggled to stand up. Zhuang Rui used both hands to lift it up to his eyes, but unexpectedly found that the little thing's eyes were open and it was looking at Zhuang Rui with its dark and bright eyes.
When Zhuang Rui met those eyes, he saw a look of gratitude and longing in the puppy's eyes, like a child looking at its mother. Zhuang Rui was moved. He knew he would never abandon this puppy, especially since it was so adorable, all fluffy white, like a plush toy.
"Wow, the puppy opened its eyes! Brother Zhuang Rui, can I hold it?"
When Bai Mengyao saw the puppy open its eyes, she excitedly barked and reached out to pick it up. Qin Xuanbing, sitting next to her, also looked at the little guy in Zhuang Rui's arms with a look of affection.
However, the little thing didn't give Bai Mengyao any face. After Bai Mengyao's hand touched its body, it desperately burrowed into Zhuang Rui's arms, and twisted its head, biting Bai Mengyao's hand with its teeth that should have just grown in. Its originally pure eyes actually revealed a fierce light.
"Bad dog, fine, don't let me hold you then."
Feeling rebuffed, Bai Mengyao sullenly sat back down opposite Zhuang Rui, but her eyes remained fixed on the puppy.
"It opened its eyes? Then it can probably survive. Zhuang Rui, when we get back to Pengcheng, I'll dump this little guy in my shop to sell. After all, it was brought back from Tibet, so it'll be a good publicity stunt."
When Liu Chuan saw that the Chow Chow had opened its eyes, he knew that it was out of danger. He climbed into the trunk of the Hummer and started rummaging through it. When he came back, he had a bottle of calcium tablets in his hand. Even more surprisingly, there was a bag of baby formula, along with a bottle and a nipple.
Zhuang Rui was stunned and asked, "You rascal! When did you buy this? How come I didn't know?"
"Hehe, I was prepared. I came here to buy puppies, they're definitely still nursing. If I didn't prepare these things, the dogs would probably starve to death before I could get back to Pengcheng."
Liu Chuan proudly showed off as he filled the water dispenser with hot water to make milk powder, his movements quite skillful.
"Not bad, not bad at all, you rascal. When you have a child in the future, you can breastfeed him yourself and won't have to bother Lei Lei anymore."
Zhuang Rui said with a wicked smile, which almost made Lei Lei, who was driving in front, drop the steering wheel and come over to confront Zhuang Rui. Only Liu Chuan was still shamelessly saying, "That's right, buddy, I can do everything except give birth."
The two clowns made everyone in the car burst into laughter. The little guy in Zhuang Rui's arms seemed to sense it too. With his little paws that had already grown nails, he struggled to climb onto Zhuang Rui's shoulder. His eyes were tender, and he wagged his tail and stuck out his little tongue to lick Zhuang Rui's face, looking utterly adorable.
Women are always interested in furry little animals. Qin Xuanbing, who was sitting next to her, finally couldn't help but ask, "Zhuang Rui, can...can I hold it?"
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Rui took the little guy off his shoulder, rubbed his head, and handed him to Qin Xuanbing. The little guy seemed to understand his master's intentions, and this time he didn't bar his teeth. He just lay in Qin Xuanbing's arms, looking a little listless, his little eyes still fixed on Zhuang Rui. Even so, Bai Mengyao was incredibly envious, constantly saying that Zhuang Rui was biased.
"The breastfeeding expert has arrived."
Liu Chuan had just finished preparing the formula and felt that the temperature was about right. He took the bottle and came to Qin Xuanbing to feed the little one.
However, the little thing clearly didn't give him any face, keeping its mouth tightly shut and refusing to bite the pacifier offered to its mouth no matter what.
"Give it to me."
Qin Xuanbing took the bottle, but the little guy still refused to drink. Although his two little eyes were fixed on the bottle and his nose was twitching, he just wouldn't open his mouth. Qin Xuanbing had no choice but to hand the little guy back to Zhuang Rui.
"You heartless bastard, it was me who made this for you."
Watching the little guy gulping down milk powder in Zhuang Rui's arms, Liu Chuan scolded him in annoyance. However, he still liked the little guy very much. Having played with cats and dogs for so long, Liu Chuan had never seen one as intelligent and understanding as this dog.
"Da Chuan, there are herdsmen ahead, wow, so many tents!"
Lei Lei, who was driving, suddenly shouted, drawing everyone's attention to the little creature. The SUV in front had stopped, and the golden Tibetan mastiff suddenly raised its head and let out a wild and domineering roar. The sound was not very loud, but it was extremely penetrating. As the roar came, the barking of dogs gradually increased, rising from all directions and gathering towards the golden Tibetan mastiff.
Within minutes, dozens of large Tibetan dogs gathered around the golden Tibetan mastiff. Some even ran over and barked wildly at the two vehicles, but the golden Tibetan mastiff grabbed their necks and pulled them back. The dozens of dogs surrounded the golden Tibetan mastiff and walked into the tent area.
This is a settlement of more than 30 herding families who still maintain their nomadic traditions. There are as many as 50 or 60 tents, making it look like a small village. Two cars stopped at the edge of the tent area, and everyone got out of the cars. Zhou Rui was holding a few wolf skins rolled up in his hand, while Liu Chuan was holding seven or eight bottles of Luzhou Laojiao liquor that had been left unfinished. These were gifts for the host, which Zhou Rui had specifically instructed him to give them.
Just now, Liu Chuan wanted to take some dog meat or something from the car, but Zhou Rui stopped him. For Tibetans, dogs are their best friends, even like family. Eating dog meat is not allowed in Tibet. Some Tibetans abandon their puppies far away if they can't afford to raise them, and they would never kill a dog to eat. If Liu Chuan brought dog meat over, these Tibetans would definitely turn against him on the spot.
"Mama, our Duoqi is back, Mama..."
A little girl of about eight or nine years old ran out of a tent near the outer perimeter. When she saw the golden Tibetan mastiff, she hugged it affectionately and kept calling out something as she turned around. But when she suddenly saw Zhuang Rui and the others, she immediately stopped talking and looked at these visitors with curiosity.
Chapter 78 Herdsmen
"Brother Zhou, what does 'multiple' mean?"
Liu Chuan followed behind Zhou Rui and asked him, "Ama La must be mother. Mother is a universal term for mothers, but with these two words, no one understands."
"In Tibetan, 'Duoqi' is the Tibetan Mastiff's name, meaning a large dog that is tied up at home. However, this Mastiff King cannot be tied up."
Zhou Rui explained casually. At this moment, the little girl's voice also called out to the adults inside the tent. A strong Tibetan man wearing a lambskin hat came to greet them.
Upon seeing the Tibetan man, the golden Tibetan mastiff immediately pounced on him and affectionately licked his face. Seeing the bandages wrapped around the mastiff's front paws, the man immediately understood that these guests had treated his injuries. His smile grew even brighter. For Tibetans, a purebred Tibetan mastiff holds a position in their home no less important than a family member. These guests helping the mastiff was the greatest respect they could show them.
The Tibetan man stopped five or six meters away from the group, took off his hat with his right hand, bent forward so that the hat almost touched the ground, and said after bowing, "Welcome, guests from afar. Rinchen Tsomu of the grasslands extends her sincerest welcome to you."
Everyone was surprised to hear that the Tibetan man was speaking Mandarin, even though he spoke somewhat haltingly. They all understood his meaning, but Zhuang Rui, Liu Chuan, and the others were unsure how to reciprocate the man's courteous manners.
Zhou Rui knew that the man's gesture was a greeting that Tibetans would only give to their most honored guests or elders. He dared not be negligent, so he stepped forward, bowed in return, and said, "I apologize for disturbing the warriors of the grasslands."
At this moment, people from several tents nearby came out. From the tent where Rinchen Tsomu came out, a woman in her thirties, holding several snow-white hadas (ceremonial scarves), came out. She seemed to be Rinchen Tsomu's wife.
In some Tibetan areas where Sinicization is quite prevalent, it's customary to present a hada (a ceremonial scarf) to almost every guest. However, for these nomadic herders on the grasslands, presenting a hada signifies that the guest is the most respected person. After the couple presented hadas to each person, they finally led the group into their tent.
From the outside, the tent doesn't seem very big, but once everyone goes inside, they find that the space inside is quite large. It's even divided into two small rooms, and there's a stove in the middle of the tent, making it warm and cozy. The area for entertaining guests is spacious, and a dozen people can sit around it without feeling crowded at all.
Since Rinchen Tsomu speaks Chinese, communication is not difficult. His wife is named Pema, which means lotus, while the eight or nine-year-old girl is named Dawa, which means moon. It is a family of three.
Little Dawa had several small braids in his hair, and his rosy cheeks showed obvious signs of high altitude. He tilted his head and looked at the puppy in Zhuang Rui's arms with a look of exasperation in his eyes.
Renqing Cuomu also learned about Zhuang Rui and others' experience of rescuing the golden Tibetan mastiff. After hearing Liu Chuan recount how Zhou Rui single-handedly subdued the mastiff and treated its injuries, she immediately stood up and said to a young man beside her, "Danba, tell the people in the den that I am going to hold a grand banquet today to entertain my most honored guests. Have Maqin Cidan prepare cattle and sheep so that our guests can feel the warmth of the grasslands."
The man who followed them in from another tent responded. He nodded and smiled at Zhuang Rui and the others, then turned and walked out of the tent. Soon after, his shouts could be heard, and the entire tent area immediately became lively. Inside the tent, the hostess, Baima, had prepared butter tea. She took out several small wooden bowls with silver rims and placed them in front of everyone. After the water on the stove boiled, she immediately poured tea for everyone.
Along the way, everyone heard Zhou Rui talk about the customs of the Tibetan people and knew that this tea was a must-drink, and that they had to drink more than three bowls. Apart from Zhou Rui, no one was used to this butter tea and they only managed to drink three small bowls. Liu Chuan, on the other hand, drank five bowls by himself, praising the tea as he drank. Rinchen Tsomu looked at him with the most admiration.
Only Zhuang Rui knew that Liu Chuan had definitely set his sights on finding Tibetan mastiffs in this Tibetan area.
After Qin Xuanbing and the other girls finished their tea, they chatted with Baima. They were very interested in the decorations inside the tent, frequently praising the beautiful silver ornaments on Baima's head, which made Baima giggle, filling the tent with a cheerful atmosphere.
Zhuang Rui then put the puppy in his arms on the ground. However, the little guy seemed to be too attached to Zhuang Rui, just circling around him and ignoring the jerky in Xiao Dawa's hand, which amazed everyone.
"These are probably offspring from multiple births of our family members, or from crossbreeding with other families."
After looking at the little guy, Renqing Cuomu said uncertainly that Tibetan mastiffs only have one estrus cycle in winter. His family's mastiffs were the kings of the area, with many mates, and they would produce many puppies every year. In this litter, only the best puppies were kept, and the rest were abandoned.
Zhuang Rui wasn't disappointed when he heard this. He was growing to like this intelligent little guy more and more. Besides, large dogs weren't allowed in the city, so he wouldn't be lonely with this little guy around after returning to Zhonghai.
“Brother Renqing Cuomu, everything is ready. Please come over, guests.”
The thick curtain of the tent was lifted, and the Tibetan man from before walked in.
After everyone went outside, they arrived at the center of the den and found a large tent, more than a hundred square meters in size, set up in the open space. Many people were busy going in and out, and the shouts of slaughtering cattle and sheep could be heard nearby. A group of Tibetan dogs surrounded the area, picking up the livers of cattle and sheep that had been thrown out.
Inside the tent, a long row of tables and chairs had been set up. Zhuang Rui and the others were seated and accompanied by Baima, while Renqing Cuomu stood at the tent entrance to greet the guests. Soon, everyone in the tent gathered around.
Some of the herders who understood Mandarin gathered around Zhuang Rui and his group, listening to Liu Chuan's boastful talk that left these simple men bewildered. At one point, he even changed the story of Wu Song fighting the tiger to Zhuang Rui killing a wolf, which led to some young Tibetans running up to Zhuang Rui, giving him a thumbs up, and patting him on the shoulder.
After a while, all the guests invited by Renqing Cuomu arrived. He stood up, gave a toast, and then toasted Zhuang Rui and the others. Even the ladies, including Qin Xuanbing, were not spared, although their glasses were smaller. Following Zhou Rui's actions, they took the glasses with both hands, then dipped the middle finger of one hand into the glass with the other, and flicked it upwards with their thumb and middle finger, signifying an offering to the gods. They then did a second and third flick, respectively, to the earth and to Buddha.
There are also specific rules for drinking alcohol. You should first take a small sip, and then Rinchen Tsomu will immediately pour more wine to fill the cup. Then you should take a second sip, and then the cup will be filled again. After that, you have to drink the entire cup of wine in one gulp.