Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
As they approached the scrap purchase station, a relevant sign on the side of the road indicated that it was up ahead. There was no need for a sign; the smell in the air said everything.
When Little White saw it, he asked Zhang Zian to stop the car. He planned to split up from Zhang Zian, just in case the negotiation was unsuccessful.
Zhang Zian didn’t know what to do if the negotiations were unsuccessful, but Vladimir said that Little White wasn’t easy to deal with.
He continued to drive for a while until he reached a stretch of bungalows.
The neighborhood was deserted, with no other regular houses. It made sense since living next to the scrap station meant living with many mosquitoes, rats, fleas, and cockroaches. There was also a variety of germs and the smell of the station.
Living near the scrap station required more courage than living next to an airport. Compared to the annoying loud noises, living here was far worse!
The first few bungalows had large spotlights that shone onto the roads, making them white. A few trucks were parked in the shadows, but no one was in sight.
Zhang Zian parked the car by the side of the road and approached a closed door. He knocked and asked, “Is anyone home?” No one responded.
He walked over to the window and peered into the house.
The house was lit, but the windows were dirty so he could barely see anyone walking about.
How strange, was no one here? Was everyone out in the city to enjoy the nightlife?
Since it was a remote place, he was unsure if broadband was available in the area. However, people in the area should be able to get internet access now that mobile data fees are cheaper. Even so, the otaku’s only night entertainment was surfing the web. The internet could never replace paid sexual entertainment.
The smell in the air was very unpleasant and made people nauseous. Swarms of mosquitoes flew onto the bodies, while fat grey rats that weren’t afraid of humans occasionally ran past their feet. The soil was filled with shiny shelled bugs moving about. The environment made it difficult to stay a moment longer.
Zhang Zian searched through the darkness to find the insect repellent he bought from Pinduoduo and smeared it on all his exposed parts not covered in clothes, trying to repel the mosquitoes and rats. He started to think about how the mice might’ve carried fleas, and fleas might’ve infected the mice. The very idea gave him goosebumps.
He went to another house and knocked on the door. This time, someone responded.
“Who is it?” a blurred and impatient voice responded.
“Well… I am… you guys came over the other day to buy some of my empty bottles,” Zhang Zian replied.
“Wait.”
After two or three minutes, a drunk skinny man with dirty hair opened the door. He was shirtless but wore low-rise ripped jeans and a pair of flip-flops.
Zhang Zian never saw this person in the day, or maybe he didn’t take notice of him.
“What’s the matter?” He leaned onto the doorframe, drew a cigarette out of his pockets, and squinted at Zhang Zian. He seemed to either have just woken up or hadn’t fully awakened yet and was interrupted by Zhang Zian.
Zhang Zian hesitated before he said, “During the day, you guys came to buy my empty bottles. However, there were some mistakes in your calculation of the price; the number of bottles was wrong and you paid me less money.”
“That doesn’t concern me. Look for the person who calculated the money. No one is in today, talk tomorrow!” The man didn’t wait for him to finish, waved his hands to drive him away, then hurriedly closed the door.
Zhang Zian’s intention just wanted to explain the situation so that they wouldn’t repeat it in the future. However, the man seems to have misunderstood the situation and thought that he wanted the rest of the money in the morning.
However, this was to be expected. It was difficult to retrieve pocketed money. After all, these people didn’t have the best personalities. Expecting them to be grateful would’ve been pointless.
He returned to the car, but he did not dare to stand still out of fear that fleas would crawl into his shoes and trousers.
Unsure where Little White went, he could only wait for him to return.
Within a few minutes, a sudden buzzing sound came from the grass near the car, as if something was approaching. However, it was very dark and he couldn’t tell if it was a human or an animal.
Zhang Zian’s heart skipped a beat as he asked softly, “Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
Little White responded in a low voice and appeared out of the darkness.
“How was it?” He asked.
Little White didn’t answer, turned around and gestured. “Come with me.”
Zhang Zian locked the car and tightly closed the windows. Then he followed behind Little White.
Little White led him around several bungalows and slipped behind the waste station.
No one was guarding the way, but nobody had to anyway. No one would’ve come to the scrap station to steal things.
Voices were coming from the front along with sounds commonly heard in a carnival.
Little White turned his head and motioned for Zhang Zian to be careful, for someone was in front.
Zhang Zian acknowledged his gesture and moved forward with caution.
From behind the corner of a house, he peeked halfway out and quietly looked in the direction of the noise.
In the open space between the rubbish dumps, several people were sitting around the fire and camping in the rubbish. There were several familiar faces, some that he had seen during the day.
There were crates of beer cans beside them, which they kept pouring it in their mouths.
What interested Zhang Zian the most was that on the land next to them, there was a dog with its four limbs tied together.
Little White stared at the dog, turned back to Zhang Zian and gave him a look.
Was this… the rural dog that was almost hit by the MPV just now?
Why is it tied up?
In such a situation, gut instincts were often correct.
The dog was thin with no fat on its body. Not only were its limbs tied, but its mouth was also tied closed with a rope.
It couldn’t bark, only twisting and struggling on the ground.
Under the light of the fire, someone stood up holding a beer can and smiled at the others, saying, “We were lucky today. We cheated a fool and earned a few cases of beer. I was going to buy some food, but this stupid dog immediately appeared at our door. Let’s enjoy ourselves today, my brothers! The rest of the money goes to buying more beer tomorrow! ”
“Haha! I’m salivating all over just by looking at it! The dog meat was so fragrant the last time! I’m drooling just thinking about it!”
“Yeah! The fragrance of dog meat is something you can never forget once you eat it, it’s so delicious!!”
Someone turned to look back at the bungalow behind. Zhang Zian thought he had been found and was ready to run away.
“Is my son still asleep? Should we call him?”
“Forget it, this dog doesn’t have enough meat on it for us to share, so let him continue to sleep!”
“Haha! Tomorrow he’ll be so jealous that we didn’t call him up for dog meat!”
“Don’t talk about that, we’ll finish the beer soon! Let’s do it!”
“Yes!”
The man who stood up swiftly took out a spring knife from his pocket and looked at the dog with a twisted expression.
