Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 536 Treatment
At Lin Ge's command, the underlings in Xiaoguanyuan scattered and hurried to gather their nearby companions.

Even with his limp, he didn't slack off. Despite walking with a limp and feeling depressed, he still trudged off quickly, separating from his wife and going their separate ways, trying his best to complete the orders given by the boss.

Seeing Lin Ge's persistent attitude, Huang Qi did not continue to persuade him.

He simply sighed and shook his head, then took out some tools, disinfectant, medicine, and other supplies from his first-aid kit. While waiting for more stray cats to arrive, he treated the kitten with the milder condition.

It's not that he's heartless and intends to abandon the other seriously ill little guy; it's just that the other one is beyond the scope of simple treatment.

The severely ill cat required a thorough examination for precise medication, necessitating hospitalization and more meticulous treatment. Besides the exorbitant medical costs, there was also the possibility of it dying halfway through treatment. Although Mimi was stubborn and willful, Huang Qi didn't intend to let it go. First, they would save the little one who could be saved, then consider the cruel but realistic issue of the dying cat.

Furthermore... feline rhinotracheitis is a respiratory viral infection that can cause significant damage to the lungs in severe cases. To put it bluntly, even if such a cat survives, it will live a life of suffering, and Mimi doesn't need to spend money caring for it for its entire life.

As an animal doctor, when it's time to be hard-hearted, Huang Qi doesn't mind giving her patient an easy death.

"..."

Lin Ge observed Huang Qi's actions and guessed what he was thinking.

I didn't know what to say for a moment, since this guy really had no ulterior motives. It would be some unscrupulous veterinarian who would coax pet owners into continuing treatments regardless of the consequences – that would be the best way to make money.

"Disinfection complete!"

After cleaning the kitten, Huang Qi took out the prepared medications from the medicine box and fed them to the cat while saying, "I brought some inexpensive human medications this time, like doxycycline hydrochloride tablets and acyclovir ointment, which can be bought at pharmacies. There's also erythromycin ointment and saline solution, which are also very cheap. If you have time, ask Li Siyu to buy some and put them at the police station. When needed, find someone to help apply them to the cat. Mix the tablets with the cat food; it should be fine for mild symptoms. But for those that are seriously ill, I still say, just do what you said before, otherwise, it will be uncomfortable for both of you."

As Huang Qi spoke, she gently applied acyclovir ointment to the inflamed areas of the kitten's eyes and nose.

The little creature seemed to understand what Huang Qi was doing, knowing that this human was saving its life, so it remained motionless and let Huang Qi do as it pleased. Even when the wound stung occasionally from the application of the ointment, it obediently didn't struggle at all. It just stared at Huang Qi with its big, watery eyes, occasionally letting out a soft gurgling sound from its throat. Its pitiful yet adorable appearance made Huang Qi feel a pang of pity.

But there was nothing he could do, even though he couldn't bear it. The stray cat had its own destiny, and Huang Qi could only do what he could.

Lin Ge quietly squatted at the stone table in the pavilion, watching Huang Qi diligently treat the kittens. The image that flashed before his eyes was of Huang Qi delivering the white cat's kittens. At that time, his face radiated joy, excitement, and the glory and sense of mission of welcoming new life. Yet even Huang Qi, at that moment, had moments of helplessness. Lin Ge couldn't criticize Huang Qi; he had already done more than selfless.

As time passed, cats gradually began to gather in this area.

Those foolish henchmen didn't understand what Ling Ge meant, and instead ran further and further away with great enthusiasm, summoning more and more cats.

When those bastards who had been using Zhangshi University as their territory finally showed up, the entire small garden was already teeming with no fewer than two hundred cats crouching and lying down. Many of these were even young stray cats that Lin Ge didn't recognize; clearly, they had been born around the time Lin Ge was away on his business trip. These little guys, some lively, some disheveled, were meeting the Cat King of Chu City for the first time, and were finally able to receive his protection.

However, after careful observation, Lin Ge's expression darkened slightly.

Spring is naturally a peak season for influenza, and this doesn't discriminate based on whether someone is human or animal. In Lin Ge's view, there were at least thirty cats exhibiting sneezing symptoms, and more than ten had thick snot or piles of eye discharge hanging from their noses. There were also seven or eight kittens, mostly only two or three months old, in more serious condition, like the two kittens. Lin Ge even saw an old cat with a broken tail being brought back, its legs limping. Both its eyes were completely swollen and purulent, clearly indicating it had lost its sight. It was so weak that it could barely walk, stopping after a few steps to catch its breath.

"..."

The grim situation distressed Lingo, but he suppressed his emotions and took the initiative to step forward and guide the cats.

Those deemed healthy were selected by Lin Ge and sent to stroll around the artificial hill. Those that were thin but showed no signs of illness were sent to the lawn to sunbathe, where Huang Qi would later conduct a brief examination. The thirty-odd cats exhibiting clear cold symptoms, but whose specific symptoms (feline rhinotracheitis or a common cold) were divided into two groups by Lin Ge according to the severity of their symptoms, each group occupying a corner of the pavilion.

"Tsk!"

Seeing Lin Ge busy at work, Huang Qi pursed his lips. After treating the kitten, he put it back in the box, took off his gloves and threw them into the trash bag at his feet, then took out his phone and started calling for help.

With so many cats, it's obvious he can't manage them all by himself.

About half an hour later, two electric bicycles arrived together. One of them was a bald, middle-aged man wearing a white coat, and the other was an old man in sloppy clothes with a cigarette in his mouth.

The old man rode his bicycle with a cigarette dangling from his lips, looking quite dashing. However, when he arrived at Xiaoguanyuan and saw the densely packed group of cats, he was startled and slammed on the brakes, almost falling to the ground.

"Huang Qi, what the hell is going on here?"

The old man parked his car and walked over, grumbling. When he saw Huang Qi cleaning the eye discharge from a dirty stray cat, his lips twitched.

The doctor in the white coat who followed also looked on with curiosity; even as a veterinarian, he had never seen so many stray cats at once.

"Look! It's Mimi, the police cat from Zhanghe Police Station. I've mentioned her to you before. This time, she's taking a good deed and offering health checkups for all her officers. I can't handle this big job by myself, so isn't this a good opportunity for you two?"

Huang Qi chuckled as he spoke, then introduced the two men to Lin Ge, who was squatting on the stone table: "These two are my colleagues! The bald one is called Sun Zhouyi, and the older one is called Li Mazi! One is a retired veterinarian from the city's agricultural trade station, and the other used to treat and castrate livestock in the countryside, but now he's at home taking care of his grandson. Of course, the most important thing is that these two guys charge cheaply; they're the kind of guys who aren't short of money but haven't forgotten their skills and are just bored out of their minds. I usually consult them when I have cases I can't handle. When they're not busy, they spend all their time in the countryside looking for places to fish, and then sneaking into people's chicken coops and pigsties to join in the fun..."

"Don't fucking make me sound like a lunatic!"

The bald middle-aged man glared fiercely at Huang Qi.

This guy is clearly not even sixty years old yet, but he's not short of money. He retired after having his grandson, only occasionally going out to join the fun when he gets the urge, and he's quite content with making five or eight yuan for drinks.

The old veterinarian was the same; he found retirement life boring, so he went around looking for pigs, chickens, and other animals to practice on, and he was quite satisfied with getting a meal at someone's house.

Compared to the professional-looking, professional-speaking, and professionally dressed veterinarians at high-end pet hospitals, these two seemed unreliable to Lin Ge, yet he could inexplicably sense their immense confidence.

"Hey! This is Mimi the police cat! When Old Wu mentioned it to me the other day, I didn't really believe it. But now that I see it, it does seem quite interesting!"

Li Mazi walked into the pavilion with his hands behind his back, smiling as he sized up Lin Ge, seemingly lost in thought. But soon, when he saw the cat in Huang Qi's arms, he frowned and said, "This is... bronchitis? Why didn't you give it some tetracycline?"

"Now that tetracycline is used, why would we still need oxytetracycline with such severe side effects?"

Huang Qi didn't even look up, but kept busy saying, "Old man, don't always use those old methods! To be honest, your three tricks are outdated. Who gives injections all the time? Even hospitals don't support injections anymore. Why do you still give oxytetracycline all the time?"

"But back then, all those beasts in our country relied on oxytetracycline to survive! If it worked, they could live! If it didn't, they would die! That's how it's been going on for decades. How come the beasts are more noble now?"

Li Mazi sneered but didn't really refute him. He just walked over and grabbed a trembling cat on the ground, pressed it onto the stone table, and started cleaning its eyes.

The old man possessed an aura that instilled fear in animals; even when suddenly pinned to the table, the cat dared not move an inch.

"Put on your gloves, old man!"

Huang Qi helplessly tossed a pair of disposable gloves over, unable to do anything about the old man's unruly behavior.

But he had to admit that back when the country's medical technology was underdeveloped, it was this old man's boldness and unconventionality that allowed him to treat various sick livestock, saving countless farmers who relied on cattle and sheep for survival, and enabling the nation to have meat and oil to eat. Now that medical technology has advanced, the old man's skills have declined, but he has retired with honor, having accomplished his mission. Those potentially outdated methods can still save these helpless stray cats.

Of course, Huang Qi called him over for another reason: to save Mimi money.

These thirty-odd sick cats, according to the pet shop's fees and treatment methods, would easily cost tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan! But if we ask these two people to help, we'll only have to treat them to a meal at a small restaurant for two hundred yuan! Soon, the Mediterranean-looking old man Sun also joined the ranks of helpers, teasing Huang Qi while working, and occasionally teasing the cat, Ling Ge.

Although these two were not as knowledgeable about new medicines or treatment techniques as Huang Qi, their skills in cleaning cats were undeniable. Coupled with the intimidating aura they exuded, not a single cat dared to act recklessly in their presence. Even the cats that had come to join the fun from the artificial hill in the distance timidly scurried away to the back of the hill to greet passersby.

Three people are faster than one person. Before Lingo could even yawn a few more times, the cats with mild symptoms were basically treated.

Huang Qi rested for a while and was ashamed to find that his physical strength was not as good as that of the two old men. He was about to deal with the last few cats with more severe symptoms when Lin Ge suddenly stopped him, came to his medical kit, and pointed to the cat triple vaccine brochure inside.

Huang Qi always carries this thing with her. Too lazy to explain it in detail to those who are raising cats for the first time, she just takes out this kind of leaflet and tells them to look it up online themselves.

Generally, cat owners who carefully read the promotional materials will agree to get vaccinated; however, some may be reluctant to spend the money or afraid of side effects. In such cases, Huang Qi will not try to persuade them further, since following such owners is the fate of a pet.

Who are you going to call?

Huang Qi was taken aback.

The main problem is that vaccines aren't cheap. Even the most commonly used Fever Plus costs at least 100 yuan to produce! Domestic vaccines are half the price, but with over 200 cats scattered across the mountain, vaccinating them all wouldn't be a small number.

"Of course we should vaccinate them all! At least we can boost their immunity a little!"

Lin Ge tossed his head and looked around, indicating that he hadn't missed a single one.

He didn't know how much the trivalent vaccine cost, but he was prepared to go broke. The main thing was that if he wasn't going to do it, he had to do it properly; they obeyed his orders and came without delay, so he couldn't let them leave empty-handed.

Lin Ge didn't consider himself a saint; he was simply doing what he could. If the price was too high and he couldn't do it, so be it; but if he could, why not do it?
"This kitten has guts!"

Li Mazi nodded in agreement from the side; a cat with a soul is just different.

"Tsk! This cat is rich, richer than me!"

Old Sun also sighed from the side.

Seeing this, Huang Qi didn't say anything more. After all, they had already gone this far, right? In any case, Mimi's kindness is commendable, and the rest are minor issues.

So he took out his phone.

"Let's use the domestic brand. It's just stray cats, no need for such high-quality ones. I roughly estimate there are about two hundred cats here. My wholesale price is forty-one needles, so I'll take two hundred and fifty needles first, which is almost ten thousand yuan! Then we won't waste money on the needles. We'll just sterilize the needle tips like these two old men did and continue using them! Come on! Mimi! Big spender! Transfer the money! I don't have that much money on hand! Once you transfer the money, I'll have someone send it over right away, and we'll finish all the vaccinations today."

"You're so stingy. Do you think I'm broke?"

Lin Ge glanced at Huang Qi with disdain, squatted down, and pulled the collar out from the downy hair on his neck, revealing the QR code on the metal tag.

"Tsk!"

"Cow!"

Upon seeing this thing, the two old men clicked their tongues in amazement.

However, when Huang Qi scanned Lin Ge's payment QR code with his phone... the insufficient balance prompt made his lips twitch, and then he showed the phone screen to Lin Ge.

"..."

Lin Ge stared wide-eyed in disbelief. He was broke?
What a joke! How could he be broke? He barely used his salary! Even after donating 30,000 to Wei Li, he still had to feed the cats in the cat shelter, replenish the cat food for the younger staff, buy gifts for the staff every time he came back from a trip, and occasionally spend some of his own money on miscellaneous things…

Lin Ge became increasingly speechless and embarrassed as he thought about it.

Faced with Huang Qi's teasing gaze, Lin Ge simply lowered his head and ignored him.

Lin Ge truly realized he had been spending money recklessly; it seemed that no matter how much money he had, it wouldn't be enough. But! But after working for more than half a year, how could he not have even ten thousand yuan in his account?

No! Ten thousand isn't enough! Just treating these thirty-odd cats today will cost a lot more! Even if Huang Qi hasn't come to settle accounts with me yet, how could I possibly owe him less?

Lin Ge was now extremely grateful that he was a cat, because blushing was either invisible or nonexistent. Otherwise, being exposed for pretending to be rich in front of these three people would have felt incredibly embarrassing.

"Hehe...Are you still buying?"

Huang Qi finally got cocky. Serves you right for thinking you're the boss and acting like a saint taking care of so many cats! Do you have the ability and the skill to do that?

Even if you're so influential that you made me work for half a day before I even saw the money, you can't just freeload, can you?
"Buy it!"

Lin Ge glared at Huang Qi. How could he possibly go back on his word?

As for the money...

Lin Ge lowered his head and began to turn the roller on the collar. At worst, he could borrow some money from Zhang Ke or Li Yiduo. With their connections, borrowing ten or twenty thousand yuan wouldn't be a big deal.
"Beep..."

Before Lin Ge could dial, a phone call suddenly came through the collar.

Lin Ge hesitated for a moment before answering the call, and then heard Nie Guoqiang's voice coming from the collar: "Mimi, where are you? Is something wrong? You paid ten thousand yuan in one go, what are you planning to buy?"

"Are you spying on me?"

Lin Ge's eyes widened reflexively, and he immediately realized that he really needed to tell Nie Guoqiang about this.

Without saying a word, he went straight up to Huang Qi and climbed up his legs.

"Hey!"

Huang Qi was pulled so hard by Lin Ge that she could barely stand, and her clothes were being pulled painfully. She quickly squatted down to indicate that she could come closer to talk, rather than have this cat dad bring the phone to her mouth.

"Is it astragalus?"

Nie Guoqiang was indeed sharp-eared and sharp-eyed, able to distinguish Huang Qi's voice from his cries of pain.

Upon realizing it was astragalus, his wariness and even tension eased. After a slight pause, his tone softened.

"So, what exactly happened?"

(End of this chapter)