Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 77

The little pickup truck rumbled down the road once again.

In the truck bed, half of the space was taken up by trimmed Golden Rose seedlings, while the other half was filled with several boxes. These boxes contained each dog’s favorite items and their usual dog food.

Especially King the Kangal; his favorite items filled one whole box, and his usual dog food took up two more. The truck bed was packed to the brim, showing how much his former owner cared for him.

However…

Driving, Song Tan glanced at the rearview mirror. “This truck is still too small.”

Zhang Yanping, exhausted from the day out, lounged lazily in the passenger seat. “Normal. Not many people buy so many dogs at once.” Just King alone could fill up the back.

Indeed.

King lay in the back seat, curled up pitifully, while the other four dogs were even more squished on their mats.

With the windows slightly cracked, the spring breeze blew in gently, but the dogs’ expressions were woeful. Whether it was because of the cramped space or the separation from their previous owner, they looked quite dejected.

Each dog wore a brass tag on its neck, courtesy of Sun Shouping, who had kindly engraved them on the spot—nine in total. The front of the tag bore the dog’s name, and the back had Song Tan’s contact number.

Now, looking at the remaining four tags in his pocket, Zhang Yanping’s expression was complicated. “You’re really going with these names?”

“Of course,” Song Tan replied. “The tags are already engraved; nine is just perfect!”

She spoke with a hint of nostalgia. “The way of the Dao counts by nine; nine is the extreme of numbers. It’s a great number! It signifies they were all meant to be my dogs.”

Zhang Yanping’s temple vein twitched.

He took out the tags and waved them. “I’m just glad King didn’t get a name change! But these other names… do they do the dogs justice? They have such good breeds, but these names…”

The brass tags read: Wu Bao, Liu Bao, Qi Bao. These were for the three little dogs. The last tag read: Ba Bao Qiao Qiao.

“Song Tan!” Zhang Yanping was exasperated. “If you make Qiao Qiao wear this tag, Auntie is going to beat you up!”

“What’s wrong with it?” Song Tan pulled out her own tag from her pocket. “Look, mine says Jiu Bao Tan Tan.”

“But this one doesn’t count as it’s beyond the Dao,” she added with a smirk.

Zhang Yanping was speechless. He couldn’t find the words to argue.

Song Tan laughed. “Brother Yanping, my mom says a humble name brings safety. As long as it keeps Qiao Qiao safe, it’s fine.”

To Wu Lan, the tag was like naming a kid “Dog Egg” for easy upbringing. She worried about Qiao Qiao’s future all the time. When Qiao Qiao mentioned wanting a tag, Wu Lan, being superstitious at times, insisted on this requirement.

Zhang Yanping had nothing to say. If it’s officially approved by Auntie, what could he argue? He glanced at the dogs in the back, their bright eyes watching. “Didn’t you only say the names once when you put the tags on? How come they understand already?”

“They’re smart dogs. Just look at them,” Song Tan said confidently. “I wouldn’t have chosen them otherwise. But this truck is really too small.”

Zhang Yanping sighed. “I suggested getting a few iron cages to stack them up in the back, but you didn’t want to.”

Song Tan was saving money. “If I spend too much on these dogs, my mom will nag. She’ll see how much they eat and go crazy. I have to save where I can.”

Zhang Yanping sighed. “For someone who spends money so freely, it’s surprising you can be frugal.”

He suddenly remembered something. “Are you still going to buy fish fry today? There’s a big reservoir nearby.”

Song Tan checked the time. “It’s three-thirty. We’re about half an hour from Yuncheng. Let’s get the dog licenses while the center is still open. We can skip the reservoir; I’ll ask my dad to buy fish fry locally.”

Zhang Yanping turned his head, seeing King in the back seat, staring menacingly. “You’re going to get licenses for them?”

Such big dogs, how could that be possible?

“Why not? I’m from the countryside,” Song Tan said matter-of-factly. “From what I know, no one in our village gets licenses for their dogs. I’m just supporting the process.”

“Plus, cities ban large dogs; villages don’t have such rules. Our mountainous area barely sees people. I’m just preparing for future visits.”

She hadn’t started large-scale planting yet, but the buzz was already building. Getting dog licenses was just being prepared.

“But these big dogs… big dogs…” Zhang Yanping, inexperienced with dog licenses, stammered looking at the dogs.

“It’ll be fine!” Song Tan said confidently. “I asked Sun. He said our small city, with its mountains and rural development projects, doesn’t have strict requirements for dog licenses.”

“Besides, they’re all legit with pedigrees, vaccination records, deworming history, and photos.”

“We won’t be bringing them to the city much after this, so we might as well get it done now.”

What could Zhang Yanping say? They were positively supporting the city’s policies, being proactive.

The little pickup truck smoothly arrived in Yuncheng.

The licensing office was actually called the Animal Disease Monitoring Center, but everyone called it the vet clinic out of habit.

The clinic had a simple façade in an old neighborhood. Inside the dark entrance, the office was even simpler.

Song Tan opened the car door, and instantly, a black dog head poked out!

A passerby glanced over, gasped, and stepped back, startled by the sleek black Doberman.

The Doberman, Da Bao, obediently held his leash in his mouth, the brass tag on his neck showing he belonged to someone.

When Song Tan took the leash, he stood obediently by her side.

Passersby couldn’t help but admire: Real men should have big dogs!

One bystander wanted to approach and chat, maybe even pet the dog… but as he took a step forward, another black dog head emerged from the back seat!

This one had short ears, a fierce expression, and a massive muscular body!

The bystander quickly retracted his foot.

Getting dog licenses varies by city. In our small city, it’s simple: just fill out a form, provide an ID, a photo, and vaccination records, and it’s done in ten minutes at no cost.

Other cities might charge a fee, require a household register, or have other processes.