Super Zoo-Chapter 403 - 399: The Earth Dog of That Year

At the end of the day, the true focus of the audience inside the room was on the ’Me and It’ segment itself. After the promotion on Weibo, there had been several heated discussions about what the segment would actually entail.

The audience and Weibo followers were all speculating about what kind of big-name celebrities or animals Mr. Su would invite this time.

But after such anticipation, they saw just an ordinary old man.

An old man would have been fine, but what was the deal with that lazy mutt? Was this some kind of joke?!

In all honesty, many people felt a huge letdown after their initial confusion.

The room’s traffic data was the most direct proof—it had stopped growing, remaining in the tenth position, very close to the eleventh.

Although new viewers were continuously joining the live stream, the total count wasn’t increasing, which meant some viewers must have left, keeping the number of entrances and exits balanced.

It’s like rowing upstream; if you don’t advance, you retreat. According to the norms of the live stream room, without any surprises, the number of viewers would soon start ’negative growth’, getting overtaken by those behind and losing the lead within the top ten.

The main reason most viewers were still in the live stream was partly because the show hadn’t really started yet—after all, there were still expectations—and partly, it could be said, out of respect for Suming, who was now a grassroots celebrity himself.

"Let me introduce to you our guest today," Suming said with a smile, gesturing towards Mr. He to nod at the camera. "He’s a retired teacher from Yangchuan City Second Affiliated Primary School, Mr. He. Oh, and his pet dog, Wangwang. Mr. He, please say hello to everyone."

The audience and the hosts in the room were stunned again. Why invite a teacher, were they going to have a math lesson, or maybe a PE class?

"Hi, everyone. My name is He Weiguo, and I’m a regular math teacher who retired last year. Oh, this is Wangwang. Wangwang, say hello to everyone..." Mr. He said with a somewhat stiff smile to the camera, his speech not very smooth. Although he had been a teacher for many years, this was his first time doing a live stream, so it was natural to feel a bit nervous.

However, his dog Wangwang, nestled in his arms, was not shy at all. Standing up from Mr. He’s embrace, Wangwang barked ’woof woof woof’ at the camera a few times.

When Wangwang had been lying quietly in Mr. He’s arms earlier, no one noticed, but now that he stood up, everyone was shocked to discover that this calm mutt was actually disabled; one of his hind legs was lame, curled under his body after standing.

"That’s so sad..."

"Mr. He, what happened to Wangwang’s leg?"

Suming timely spoke up, his magnetic voice resonating in the live room: "Wangwang is already twelve years old, which for a Chinese native dog is already considered old age, similar to a human in their sixties or seventies. When Wangwang was very young, he was a stray and got injured in an accident, and has been taken care of by Mr. He ever since."

Mr. He nodded slightly beside him, affectionately stroking Wangwang’s head, and the dog obediently lay back down.

"Mr. He is so admirable!"

"I also saw an injured mutt lying in the rain last time, all drenched and pitiful, and really wanted to take it home, but my mom wouldn’t let me keep a dog. When I went to check the next day, it was gone... maybe it died... wuwuwu..."

"I support Mr. He’s compassionate deed. There are a few stray cats below our building, and I bring them food from the canteen every day after work. Now they’re very friendly towards me."

In the livestream room, the comments from viewers started picking up, accompanied by some small gifts of modest amounts.

Just as Shen Yan’s audience analysis suggested, the majority of viewers on the zoo livestreaming platform have kind hearts full of goodwill.

Among them, there are a few extremely ’compassionate’ individuals. Of course, from a personal values standpoint, Suming did not particularly support extreme animal protectionist behavior.

"Mr. He, as far as I know, your retirement pension isn’t low, and your children are all settled down without any financial burdens on you. If it’s just about keeping a pet, you could totally keep some more upscale animals. Why would you choose to keep a mongrel, and one with a lame leg at that?" Suming subtly steered the conversation.

"Hehe, what difference does it make what I keep? I’m old, I didn’t really think that much about it. Wangwang just keeps me company usually. But... um..." Mr. He seemed to have something to say, pondering over his words, but for a moment did not know how to express himself.

"Mr. He, take a drink of water, no rush," Suming said, offering a glass of water.

"Alright, thank you." Mr. He took the glass, took a sip, composed himself, and continued, "It’s like this: my keeping Wangwang probably has a lot to do with my childhood experiences. It’s a long story..."

Behind the livestream, a large projection gradually appeared, showing a yellowed old photograph. The backdrop of the photograph was a rural village, several adults and children squatting in a courtyard, all looking emaciated and listless with hunger.

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Mr. He, as usual, naturally stroked Wangwang’s head as he began to recount those past times.

The livestream room fell quiet again, with no comments or gifts, as everyone listened to Mr. He’s storytelling in silence.

At first, Mr. He was a bit nervous, but soon he relaxed and seemed to be transported back to those years.

It was the 1960s when the whole country suffered from famine and there was no food to eat. Mr. He was just eight years old then, living in the city with his parents who worked in a factory.

At that time, adult workers in the city only got two liang of grain rations per day, which was not enough to feed a family of children, so Mr. He’s parents sent him to his uncle’s home in the countryside to get through the winter. It was a strange era where life in the countryside was better than in the city. Although there was also a shortage of food, there were plenty of wild greens and coarse grains in the fields and hills that could barely sustain them.

"What I remember most vividly is that my uncle had a big dog, grey in my recollection, which always sat loyally in front of the house, guarding the door..."

He, or back then ’Little He,’ was both scared and curious the first time he saw the big dog. The family dog was very attuned to humans and never barked at its owners. It didn’t take long for Little He to become familiar with it and become friends. He often squatted face to face with it, gently stroking its face and head, and the big grey dog would understandingly lick his hand with its big tongue.

Little He vividly remembers the first time he saw the big grey dog yawn, its upper jaw resembling a washboard. He was so excited that he shared this ’secret’ with his little friends. A crowd of them gathered around, squatting in front of the big grey dog, waiting a long time just to see it yawn again. But that day, the dog was too alert and didn’t yawn all morning, leaving Little He embarrassed.

It could be said that the big grey dog added a touch of liveliness to Old He’s nearly dismal childhood experiences.

Although life in the countryside was somewhat better than in the city, it was still very austere. Moreover, his uncle’s home was already hosting seven or eight children of relatives seeking refuge, and no matter how resourceful his uncle was, he could only just keep these kids from starving.

The children were growing and it was the middle of winter, subsisting every day on watery gruel and wild greens. It wasn’t long before several of the kids had grown thin, each looking like an underdeveloped little turnip.

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"One day at noon, while my friends and I were cutting grass in the backyard, we suddenly smelled a delicious scent of meat."