Chapter 24 Part 2:
Tormented by an Evil Spirit (Part 7):
Youfu, Youfu, Are You Still There?
The dog barked and wagged its tail.
“I don’t have a name, but I can give you one.” He thought for a moment. “How about Youfu? It means ‘good fortune’.”
“It’s an auspicious name!”
The dog looked at him. The man called out, “Youfu!”
“Woof!” The dog barked, licking his hand.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” the man chuckled, petting the dog’s head as it nuzzled his hand.
Who said humans could only be companions with other humans?
Youfu was smart, retrieving things for him, helping him drag his cart of scrap. They lived a simple, content life. But then the authorities cleared out the area where they lived, forbidding trash, makeshift shelters, and stray dogs.
The man had to move, taking Youfu with him.
He wondered if dogs needed friends, just like humans.
He encouraged Youfu to play with other dogs, but the neighborhood dogs weren’t allowed near him. They said he was a stray.
The man would always yell, “My Youfu has a home! Wherever I am, that’s his home!”
His ragged appearance made people laugh.
Youfu’s first friend was a girl.
Her name was Li Xiaoxiao. She was a well-dressed, wealthy child. She had seen Youfu scavenging for food, always alone, and, feeling sorry for him, had bought him a sausage with her allowance.
But the dog never finished it, always saving half.
Xiaoxiao, thinking it was reluctant to eat it all at once, bought him sausages regularly.
She said sadly, “Don’t you have a home? Doesn’t anyone love you?”
“Who said that?”
The man, startled, looked up at her. “He’s my dog. I don’t have a house, but he has a home.”
“I’m sorry, Uncle,” Xiaoxiao apologized.
“You’re the one buying Youfu food?” the man said. “Thank you. Rich people are so kind. But Youfu is my dog, don’t get any ideas!”
“His name is Youfu?” Xiaoxiao smiled, petting the dog’s head, happy for him. “You have a nice name.”
“It’s good to be loved.”
The man called Youfu, and the dog jumped up, nuzzling his hand.
He laughed.
…
Li Xiaoqiang often saw his sister playing with the black dog. He didn’t understand what she saw in it, a dirty, ugly mutt. But he always saw the dog licking her hand, barking happily.
He wanted a dog too. One day, he took a small fish from the kitchen and offered it to the black dog.
But the dog ignored him, refusing to eat the fish.
He cursed at it, and it barked back.
Damn dog!
Li Xiaoqiang, used to getting his way, was annoyed. He went home and pestered his mother, demanding a dog.
Chen Shu refused. “Why would you want a dirty, smelly animal? It’ll poop in the yard, will you clean it up?”
Li Xiaoqiang smiled. That’s right, a dirty, smelly animal, that’s why it played with his sister.
“Mother, I want to eat dog meat.”
“Why do you want to eat dog meat?”
“I just do! I want to eat it—!”
Chen Shu gave in. “Fine, fine, I’ll make it for dinner.”
She bought half a dog carcass from the market and cooked it.
Li Xiaoqiang waited eagerly for dinner. “Give some to Xiaoxiao.” He picked up a piece and placed it in his sister’s bowl.
Xiaoxiao, surprised, took a bite, then paused. “What kind of meat is this?”
“Dog meat! Is it good?” Li Xiaoqiang grinned, watching her face pale.
“Eat more!” He piled more meat onto her plate. “I made it especially for you!”
“I don’t want it,” Xiaoxiao was on the verge of tears.
“Eat it!” Chen Shu snapped. “Don’t be so picky! If you don’t want it, don’t eat meat ever again! Eat!”
Xiaoxiao bit her lip, tears falling.
“Li Xiaoxiao! Are you disobeying me now?”
“Stop crying! Don’t make me hit you at the dinner table!”
Xiaoxiao choked down the meat, tears streaming down her face. After dinner, she ran to the bathroom, vomiting and crying uncontrollably. She had eaten Youfu’s friend. She covered her mouth, her sobs shaking her body.
“Hurry up and wash the dishes!” Chen Shu yelled from outside. She wiped her tears and went back to work, ashamed, unable to smile. Like her teacher had said, she felt like she couldn’t face Youfu anymore.
Li Xiaoqiang later told his mother about Xiaoxiao playing with the black dog. She was punished, losing her friend. She never saw Youfu again, but she missed him.
Youfu missed her too, waiting for her after school. On Children’s Day, she secretly visited him, bringing three sausages, one for herself, one for Youfu, and one for the man. Only then did Youfu eat the entire sausage.
But she couldn’t smile. She cried, apologizing to Youfu.
Youfu nuzzled her face, whimpering softly, comforting her, showing no resentment.
Xiaoxiao’s tears eventually subsided, but she continued to visit Youfu secretly.
Li Xiaoqiang, however, couldn’t stand seeing her happy. She was smarter than him, more popular at school, and now even a dog liked her better. He heard that the city was cracking down on stray dogs, capturing and killing them, sending them to dog meat restaurants.
No one cared about a dog’s life.
An idea formed in his mind. He waited until the weekend, when Xiaoxiao was visiting their grandmother and his parents were out.
He took one of Xiaoxiao’s unwashed shirts and went to the alley where he had seen the dog. The dog was about to leave, and he quickly held out the shirt.
“Come with me,” he said urgently. “She needs you! Do you want to help her?”
The dog sniffed the shirt, barking excitedly, and followed him.
The stupid animal, even more eager than him.
He led it to the storage shed in their vegetable garden.
Youfu, barking, rushed into the shed, his instincts as a rescue dog kicking in.
He thought Xiaoxiao was in danger. He hadn’t returned to the man on time. But when he entered the shed, the door slammed shut behind him. He saw no one, smelled no familiar scent.
Before he could react, Li Xiaoqiang hit him on the head with a stick. Youfu stumbled, his legs shaking, his eyes fixed on the boy.
He didn’t understand. Why was he being hit?
He whimpered, and Li Xiaoqiang struck him again, his head bleeding.
The pain was intense. Li Xiaoqiang forced fish into his mouth.
“Eat! You wouldn’t eat when I offered it to you! Damn animal! You deserve this!”
The dog’s cries echoed through the shed, its agony unbearable. It collapsed, its head caved in, its vision fading, its last breath a faint whimper. It couldn’t wait any longer.
When Youfu didn’t return, the man went looking for him, searching the neighborhood, worried that something had happened. Dog traders were unscrupulous. But Youfu was cautious. Perhaps he had gone to the girl’s house?
Xiaoxiao had pointed in a direction once. He followed it, and he heard Youfu’s cries, filled with pain. But the gate was locked. He paced outside, his frantic calls unanswered.
He had to get his dog back. But the family refused to let him in. Youfu was inside, his dog was inside!
Xiaoxiao, returning home, helped him search, but they couldn’t find him.
“My dog is inside, my dog is here!” he told the people trying to chase him away. “I want my dog! My puppy!”
He refused to leave, sleeping by the gate.
They broke his leg.
He had no money for treatment. The wound became infected, leaving him crippled.
He was sick, unable to eat without Youfu, his throat raw from yelling. One day, he lost his voice, his cries unintelligible, like Youfu’s, unheard.
People treated him like a madman, ignoring him.
He would still visit the house, hoping Youfu had returned, dragging his broken leg, his search relentless.
Youfu, Youfu, are you still there?
I’m here to take you home.
