Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1543 Making a Dragon
"She breathes with gills. If you look closely, you'll see that sometimes her neck is covered by her clothes. Because of her trachea, she chokes. She doesn't have lungs or a trachea, so it's okay if toothpaste foam comes out of her throat. Remember to clean it carefully and slowly. If her throat teeth aren't cleaned properly, she'll easily get cavities."

"What if we were in the wild? Are there cannibals?"

"Replacing teeth. Carp can replace their teeth throughout their lives, so if a tooth is damaged, they can just replace it—but wild fish are not as sensitive to pain, so a damaged tooth is not a big problem. Little Red is a dragon, and her nerves are very sensitive. If her tooth is really damaged, she will probably be rolling on the ground in pain."

"She's always rolling around on the floor, so it doesn't really matter. Do you want to come to my house to see her?"

"No need, I feel quite at ease staying at your place. How long are you going to keep her here?"

"She's not a carp."

"She is a carp. Just treat her as a fish."

"Even if she is, she's not someone I raised. I'm waiting for her to pull herself together and get back to work—the Dragon Palace needs her. But I think if I don't urge her, she probably won't move for a long time."

"That's not surprising at all."

Zhu Ling and Xiao Hong interacted the most, and they were quite familiar with each other in their daily lives.

"So Zhu Ling, is it because you always treat her like a carp that she's become so lazy?"

"Thank God! My feeding methods are very professional. The enrichment I provide is all to allow her to express her natural instincts. For example, the food I prepare for her is as close as possible to the eating habits that pet koi should have."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about! You're the one who raised her to be like this, aren't you?!"

"Oh, shouldn't it be raised like this? Look how well she's raised it; it's already a lively big carp."

Shangluo covered his forehead: "I know you're very successful at raising animals, so we have high expectations for her now. What are we going to do?"

"Then there's nothing I can do. Our Imperial Garden doesn't do animal performances unless the animals themselves want to perform. But..."

"but what?"

"However, behavioral training is also necessary. It's not for show, but for the animals' own well-being. Although the purpose of enrichment is to allow animals to express their natural instincts, sometimes some behavioral training that is not present in the natural environment is also needed. This can help keepers better care for and assess the animals' condition."

"Yes, yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about. How do we train?"

"What I just said, making her brush her teeth, is a kind of behavior training. After all, wild carp don't brush their teeth. You can use pandas as an analogy. Our pandas also need behavior training. It mainly trains them to sit obediently next to the blood collection device and then accept the examination. From the perspective of animal welfare, it is reasonable to carry out some training."

"So, I hope our family's carp can become the lord of the Dragon Palace. Would that count as animal welfare?"

"I guess so?" Zhu Ling pondered for a moment. "From the dragon's perspective, it should indeed count. After all, from the panda's perspective, we also consider reproduction as part of animal welfare. Allowing animals to achieve something is also an important part of animal welfare."

"Then, Your Highness, please teach me how to make her move?"

"Alright. Then I'll tell you how to train a dragon's behavior. This actually existed in ancient times and is called 'earth dragon training'."

The earth dragon making, or earth dragon, or earth dragon raising, is formally called "Yu sacrifice".

It is said that it created a dragon in the fields and then brought rain—this event is also recorded in oracle bone inscriptions.

It was said in the Classic of Mountains and Seas that "it took the form of a dragon, and then there was heavy rain."

Dragons can be large or small, can rise or hide. As a professional breeder of spirit beasts, Zhu Ling knew how to get a dormant dragon to move.

All you need is thunder and rain.

In the evening, Shangluo and Fae returned together.

"So she's still staying at our house today?"

Which "she" are you referring to?

"You've got several without us even noticing, haven't you? I'm talking about the most eye-catching one, the lazy dragon on the sofa." "I think so. Don't worry, I already have a plan. I asked Zhu Ling about the method to make her a dragon. As long as I use clouds and rain to motivate her, she'll perk up, rise up, and then go to work."

"I didn't expect there to be such a saying. But thinking about it, it makes sense. Dragons do indeed have two states: dormant and soaring. Her current laziness is probably just instinct. With some proper training, she should be fine."

However, when they returned to the house, Xiaohong was no longer in the same place.

"Huh?" Shang Luo was taken aback. "Where is he?"

"Gone? Good thing she's gone, finally gone." Fahrenheit breathed a sigh of relief. "She should have left a long time ago. She still has very important work to do. It's certainly a good thing that she woke up from her dormant state at this time."

Something's not right.

"how?"

"Would she really be that diligent? Although she did promise me this morning."

"Since you agreed, you've probably already left. Anyway, let's eat first."

"It's a bit of a pity, I've already bought all the props."

"What prop... Hmm? Latex finger cots? What are they for?"

"It was useful. But now that she's gone, it's useless."

In the evening, as usual, we had a pleasant dinner. Lately, dinners have been quite lively because Yanqiu and Victoria are both here. They're both in a happy holiday mood, so they have good appetites.

However, Yanqiu's teeth are still growing, so she didn't eat anything particularly hard today; she ate sticky rice again. And it's not just Xiaohong who likes sticky rice; everyone here loves it.

After the meal, Shangluo went to bed early, just like before.

"Good night."

Goodnight. Whew~~~

Wearing his pajamas, he lifted the covers and lay down.

A cool, water-bag-like sensation came from behind.

"As expected." Shang Luo sat up and lifted the bed sheet.

Behind the sheets, between the sheets and the mattress, Xiaohong lay there.

"You're the one who invited me to sleep in your bed."

"So you evolved directly from a cushion into a mattress, right?"

"Fine, I guess so. Oh, I'm so hungry, I haven't eaten all day. Could you give me something to eat?"

Shangluo got up and picked up the paper bag next to him. Inside, besides latex gloves, were some zongzi (sticky rice dumplings).

"Wow! How did you know I love zongzi (sticky rice dumplings)? You're so...you're the best person ever!"

"Of course fish love to eat zongzi. Zongzi is the ultimate version of fish food. It's a bit cold. I was planning to give it to you while it was still hot."

"It tastes better when it's cold. Could you please peel it for me? I'm afraid it'll stick to my hands. Hey, what's that? A toothbrush??? Have you gone to see Zhu Ling?"

"Let's eat first, brush our teeth after eating, and then we'll get down to business."

(End of this chapter)