18. Apricot Forest Country of Ah Cat and Ah Dog

  Bai Huan didn't intentionally drag his feet this time either, and hurriedly rushed to Wang Xian's side. It was about the task, not the person, after all. Only by being diligent and professional could he earn more money. To be petty with those who were blind to opportunities would really have no future prospects.

  If someone comes to interview Bai Hua, he will certainly give the above reasons.

  Of course, as for what this guy really thinks in his heart, whether he is eager to rush over and watch Wang Xian's joke, that is unknown.

  "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

  He walked with one foot high and the other low, not even noticing that his pants were wet from the dew in the mountains and covered in grass clippings and small cicada shells. After turning a corner around a thorny vine-covered bush, he caught sight of Wang Xian.

  "Damn it! Today I'm having a terrible day, what crappy luck!"

  It's unclear whether he was talking to Bai Huan or just muttering to himself in anger, but Wang Xian was scolding with a dark face. Under his feet, a mountain dog was lying in the grass heap, holding its paws and gnawing fiercely, while also whimpering.

  "Normally, it's just a matter of digging in the grass, and if you encounter a thorny bush, just add some kerosene. But today, I've run into bad luck - how did I end up with dog poop on my hands!" Seeing Bai Hua approaching, Wang Xian thought that since he was specifically here to take care of the dogs, now that there's a problem, he should quickly think of a solution.

  But he also knew that his attitude along the way was not very good, and it was hard to put on a good face to negotiate, so he turned his face to one side, heaven knows who he was talking to.

  Seeing Wang Xian like this, Bai Huan didn't rush either. With a silly expression, he scratched his head: "You're talking to me?"

  Wang Xian's expression paused for a moment, his face turned even darker, as if water could be squeezed out of it.

  Bai Huangquan pretended not to see him, and casually squeezed the former to the side of the road. While squatting down to look at the dog, he muttered: "No wonder Mr. Yu wanted to hire someone to take care of his dog specially, sigh..."

  The expression on his face was so vivid and lively that it made people want to punch him.

  Wang Xian was also furious, his nose twisted in anger. However, when he saw Bai Huan approaching him, he immediately sneered and his eyes slid over to Shuang...

  Oh no, it's a look of swift delight, as if he had already seen the scene where Bai Huan was chased by dogs and ran around in all directions.

  How dare he! This kid thinks he's someone, doesn't even say hello, and dares to approach the mountain dog? Wait till he gets bitten, don't cry then! You should know that the Sichuan Hound is famous for being loyal, except for people they meet every morning and evening, they have a strong hostility towards anyone they don't recognize.

  Although he was secretly delighted, Wang Xian still tightened the dog chain. In his mind, he thought that later on, he would just scare Bai Huan a bit and let this kid lose face, but not to the point of really letting him get bitten by the dog.

  But in the next second, Wang Xian's triumphant expression instantly turned into incredulity, with a "seeing a ghost" look staring intently at Bai Huan, as if he had seen a wild man from Shennongjia.

  Under his stupid gaze, Bai Huan walked to the dog's side with a swagger and squatted down. He picked up one of the dog's legs with a big flourish, as if he were buying meat in the market, and even seemed to be picking the fattest and thinnest parts.

  And those two beasts...

  Not only the one next to it didn't seem to have any intention of attacking, but even the dog that had a tick on its paw just hummed and snorted, without showing any alertness or agility like a mountain dog, but rather like someone's pet dog.

  This is unscientific!

  However, Bai Huan didn't have the leisure time for that and instead went out of his way to pay attention to Wang Xian's little thoughts.

  He picked up the dog's leg and patted it, then spread its paw and exclaimed with a series of "tsks": "Wow, it's huge!"

  Isn't the thing that's stuck in the dog's paw called "grass crab" or "dog turtle" in local dialect, which is actually a tick? This thing caused quite a stir last year and was said to have killed many people. However, in Xijiang, there hasn't been any news of ticks causing human deaths.

  This kind of parasite is generally more common in rural areas where humans and animals gather, but relatively less common in old forests. As for being bitten by a dog's paw, that's just bad luck.

  Seeing Bai Huan very interested in holding the dog's leg, looking back and forth without end, Wang Xian finally came to his senses from the shock of the hunting dog not showing any hostility, and said with a lack of confidence: "Ah, can you really do it or not? If not, let's go back now and get some medicine in town, it's still possible."

  If the mosquito bites other parts of the body, with the training of a Dongkou dog, it can naturally endure.

  But now it's being bitten by the paws, and there's no way to give the dog a stern order to endure the pain of the bite and hurry up the mountain.

  Moreover, Wang Xianyuan originally thought it was just a trip to the mountain and back, so he didn't prepare any medicine, only bringing water and food. The medical alcohol and insect repellent on him had little effect on the ticks that had already bitten into his flesh.

  "Where's the problem? So easy!" Bai Huan snapped his fingers and didn't care about Wang Xian's suspicion at all.

  Then he only saw him rolling up his sleeves, extremely familiar with one hand tightly grasping the dog's paw, and the other thumb tightly buckling the middle finger, popping several times on the back of the dog's paw.

  "Hey, hey! This won't do!" Wang Xian's face changed in an instant, and he didn't even bother with the small friction with Bai Huan. With a look of urgency, he rushed forward to stop him: "Grass Flattop's skull will be broken inside, let go! You let..."

  Before he finished speaking, Bai Huan's two fingers snapped down again with a smile, and in the midst of Wang Xian's anxious defeat, a black-red insect about the size of a small fingernail fell down, its body shiny and swollen.

  "You, you..."

  Wang Xian was so angry that he couldn't speak, but when he took a closer look at the mite on the gravel, its head and tail were clearly visible, and even without using a magnifying glass or other tools, he could see the sharp teeth and claws of the mite's pedipalps.

  "Uh..."

  The expression on this prospector's face at this moment vividly illustrates what is meant by "utter dismay".

  Of course, what's even more infuriating is yet to come. After collecting the insect, Bai Huan was still in high spirits and used a grass root to pick up the grasshopper, asking with a straight face: "Have you guys ever eaten this? Does it taste like chicken, crispy on the outside?"

  Wang Xian felt like there was something churning in his throat.

  Forcing down the nausea, he turned his head and refused to look at the bloated tick that had sucked blood, Wang Xian also pried open the dog's paw: "How did you do it? How can this thing pop out like a flea?"

  The power of nature is something that seems beyond Wang Xiang's intelligence quotient.

  So Bai Huan looked at him with a puzzled expression: "Didn't I tell you? My family has been hunters for generations, dealing with minor illnesses on dogs is a piece of cake! What's this about giving dogs blood-activating and stasis-resolving medicine, bone-setting and sinew-connecting medicine, and deworming and swelling-reducing medicine? It's all so easy!"

  Wang Xian's ancient bronze face had a big "囧" character written on one side, and a vivid "ORZ" symbol hanging on the other.

  "By the way!" Bai Huang completely disregarded others' feelings and continued to advertise himself: "Whether it's pet grooming, foot therapy, horse killing chicken, or pushing palace blood, I can do it all. And there's also the most advanced ovarian maintenance and prostate waxing! If you have a precious pet at home, come find me, and get 50% off as a special treat. Don't forget to leave a good review after you're done!"

  As he spoke, he used two fingers to pull out the cigarette case from his breast pocket, where there were only a few left. Bai Huan simply crushed them all and gathered the shredded tobacco together to light it up.

  Then picked out those half-burned and oil-soaked tobacco threads and applied them to the gaps between the dog's paws.

  Wang Xian was speechless at this time, whether it was Bai Huan's timely and effective treatment or his words that left people speechless, they all left the man tongue-tied and unable to respond.

  Even Bai Huan stood up and wiped his hands hard on his clothes, but he didn't feel anything.

  Bai Huan wiped his hands clean on Wang Xian's clothes and continued on the road with a carefree attitude, but after just a few steps, he turned back with a bashful expression: "Hey, how do we go from here? I can't see the road."

  In Wang Xian's silence, the two set out on the road again.

  However, the Han men in the mining team's impression of Bai Hua also quietly changed from "How could the boss invite such a young and unreliable person?" to "This kid has some skills, he's not just here to slack off."

  Two of them were physically strong guys, and rushing mountain roads, which is a hellish test for ordinary people, was nothing to them.

  No one said they wanted to take a break in the morning. By 1 o'clock in the afternoon, they had already completed half of their journey.

  It's unscientific if you don't rest at this time. 2 pm is the hottest moment, even in dense forests, it's absolutely not suitable for traveling.

  Wang Xian was the first to stop, he was already somewhat unable to bear it.

  But looking back at Bai Huan, the kid still had a relaxed and happy expression. As a result, his originally not-so-good impression of Bai Huan weakened again by a lot.

  In the midst of the cicadas' chirping in the mountains, Wang Xian let out a few dry coughs and finally mustered up the courage to say in a low voice: "Let's take a break? We still have a way to go this afternoon."

  Bai Guang didn't care at all. Although he also disliked the big sun now, it was completely fine to continue walking.

  However, looking at the two mountain dogs, who were panting with their tongues hanging out, Bai Huan felt that taking a short rest was also necessary.

  And more importantly, he's getting a bit hungry now.

  "Here." Wang Xian handed over a bottle of water and a piece of bread.

  He was a big man, and from the very beginning, his unpleasant attitude was evident. Although he later felt that he had been somewhat extreme, he still couldn't bring himself to apologize.

  Now take advantage of eating and resting, just right to show it with actual actions.

  But what made him unexpectedly and somewhat embarrassed was that Bai Huan directly refused his kindness, then pulled out a small bottle of Nongfu Spring from his pocket.

  "Hmph, just drinking water is enough for you, you're still a mountain camel. It's like having good intentions but being treated as a donkey's liver and lungs, it's also embarrassing to show one's face. Wang Xian then activated his mocking skills again."

  Bai Guang still didn't think much of it, but instead looked at him with a face full of sympathy: "You guys are also mixed up in the mountains, how can you still be so dependent on industrial products? Wilderness survival skills need to be strengthened."

  "This kid is really... not ordinary!" Wang Xian stared at Bai Huan with wide eyes, unable to understand where this kid's confidence came from. Now with the development of technology, even hunters who have been hiding in the mountains for years will be equipped with one or two modern tools, but Bai Huan said that this was relying on industrial products.

  And looking at him like this, is he preparing to take materials on the spot and have a picnic?

  No fire, no pots and pans, no salt, but let's see what this kid is up to.