Reborn at 80: From Village Scoundrel to Billionaire

"Secretary Ai! What are you doing? Get up!"

Liu Bei immediately rushed forward and helped Ai Changhe up from the ground.

Ai Changhe was visibly moved, his eyes red-rimmed: "Brother Liu Bei! We old buddies lost Xiao Hei when we went into the mountains, and we've felt so guilty ever since. We never expected you to actually rescue Xiao Hei... Xiao Hei! This kindness..."

"Alright, alright." Liu Bei patted his shoulder. "We just happened to run into it. Since we did, we couldn't just stand by and watch it die. Anyone would have done the same. Don't keep kneeling down, I can't take it."

"Anyway, I still want to thank you for saving Xiao Hei!" Ai Changhe said.

"It's good that you have the thought. Oh, by the way, how's Xiao Hei? How's its injury?" Liu Bei asked.

"The cut on my stomach has been stitched up, and I've had the injections. The barefoot doctor said I only need to rest for three months to recover."

"It will take three months..." Liu Bei's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down. "If that's the case, then Xiao Hei is probably alright."

"Woof!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a dog barked outside the crowd.

The voice was very weak, sounding as if it had been squeezed out of the throat with all the strength.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound with curiosity.

"Make way, everyone make way!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd automatically parted to make way.

A moment later, the village's barefoot doctor walked over quickly, carrying the black Chinese rural dog in his arms.

Little Black was wrapped in white gauze, and its belly was bulging with several layers of bandages.

Its four legs hung limply, but its black bean-like eyes shone brightly, staring intently at the carcass of the black mother bear not far away.

"Woof!"

Looking at the black bear, it cried out a few more times, its body still struggling incessantly in the barefoot doctor's arms as it cried.

"Doctor, why did you bring Xiao Hei here?" Ai Changhe asked, puzzled.

The barefoot doctor, with a pained expression, explained, "Actually, I didn't want to either. But this dog has been barking incessantly ever since it heard that Liu Bei and your team killed the black bear. I told it to stay still, but it wouldn't listen and kept barking even louder. I had no choice but to bring it over."

"Is that so..."

Liu Bei stepped forward and took Xiao Hei from the barefoot doctor, then carried it to the body of the black mother bear and squatted down.

"See? This beast is the one who ruined you brothers. Now, it's dead."

"Waaah~"

Staring at the black bear's carcass, Little Black let out a low growl.

As it called out, it suddenly struggled to get down.

"Are you going to get down?" Liu Bei asked tentatively.

"Woof~"

Little Black nodded its head.

Seeing this, Liu Bei carefully placed it in front of the black bear carcass.

"Click-clack~"

The next second, Little Black dragged its injured body and bit the black fur on the black bear's chest.

It bit down very hard, and its whole head was trembling.

"Sizzle~"

A moment later, a tuft of black bear fur was ripped off by it.

Then, Xiao Hei spat the tuft of fur onto the ground.

Then, it raised its right front paw and stomped hard on the tuft of bear fur, once, twice, three times.

"Woof woof~ woof woof~"

After it finished stepping on it, it raised its head and cried out a few times towards the sky.

The voice sounded very hoarse and weak.

Upon hearing this, the entire village entrance fell silent instantly.

Liu Bei looked at Xiao Hei's actions, somewhat puzzled, and turned to Ai Changhe, "Secretary Ai, what is Xiao Hei doing?"

Ai Changhe's voice suddenly choked up: "It...it's telling its five dead brothers. The black bear is dead. The blood feud has been avenged. May they rest in peace."

"What?"

Upon hearing this, the villagers all fell silent.

Several old men lowered their heads, and a woman quietly wiped the corner of her eye with her sleeve.

It's just a dog, yet it understands the meaning of loyalty better than many people do.

"Dog!"

Suddenly, Liu Nian peeked out from Su Yuehe's arms, stretching her little hand towards Xiao Hei: "Daddy! I want a puppy!"

Liu Bei stepped forward, picked up Liu Nian, and walked over.

He placed his youngest daughter, Liu Nian, next to Xiao Hei, and then squatted down beside her to protect her.

Liu Nian reached out her little hand and gently patted Xiao Hei's head.

"Daddy, the puppy is so soft! Daddy, can I take it home to sleep with me?"

"Niannian, don't talk nonsense!"

Su Yuehe quickly stepped forward: "Xiao Hei is Uncle Ai's dog. It has its own owner. We can't take other people's dogs away, okay?"

"But...but I want to...the dog is so pitiful...I want to take care of it..."

"Nian Nian, be good—"

"Let Xiao Hei go with you."

Just as Su Yuehe was about to continue persuading Liu Nian, Ai Changhe suddenly made a decision.

"Um?"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at him.

Ai Changhe explained, "Xiao Hei's life was saved by Brother Xiao Bei. Brother Xiao Bei and his family are all good people. I believe that if Xiao Hei stays with them, his future will be better than if he stays with me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Hei seemed to understand, and it slowly raised its head to look at Ai Changhe.

Ai Changhe squatted down and gently stroked Xiao Hei's head a few times:

"Xiao Hei, from now on you'll stay with Liu Bei and his family, okay?"

"Woof woof..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hei rubbed its head against Ai Changhe's leg again and again.

After rubbing it nine times,

Large tears rolled down its cheeks.

"This is……"

For a moment, everyone present was stunned.

The dog even shed tears?

Isn't that incredibly spiritual?

"Oh My God……"

"Is the dog crying?"

"Did it understand? Did it really understand?"

The villagers were in an uproar.

But what happened next shocked everyone even more.

Suddenly, Xiao Hei propped itself up on its front legs and, enduring the pain, lowered its entire body.

Then, it slammed its head down onto the ground.

a bit.

Two times.

Three times.

Its body trembled with each bump.

There was a faint trace of blood seeping from the stitched wound.

But it didn't stop.

After bowing his head three times, Xiao Hei lay on the ground, unable to move.

"..."

Suddenly, the entire village entrance fell silent.

Zhao Chunyan's eyes reddened at some point, but she stubbornly refused to let the tears fall.

Lin Wanqiu turned her face away and quickly wiped it with the back of her hand.

Zhao Da'e's wrinkles twitched, and she sighed deeply.

"What...what is it doing?" Su Yuehe asked softly, her face full of confusion.

Ai Changhe stood up.

"When Xiao Hei was born, it was very weak. Of all the puppies in the litter, it was the thinnest and smallest, and it couldn't even stand up properly after it was born. Its original owner didn't want it to survive, so he abandoned it in the roadside bushes to die."

"I came across it while passing by, and seeing how pitiful it was, I took it home. From then on, I fed it every day and trained it. Gradually, it grew stronger and smarter than anyone else, and became my best hunting dog."

After a pause, Ai Changhe raised his sleeve and forcefully wiped away two lines of tears from his face.

"Its three heads... are thanking me. Thanking me for not abandoning it back then."

"It's saying goodbye to me."

After saying this, Ai Changhe could no longer hold back and squatted down, covering his face with his hands.

Liu Bei squatted down and gently hugged Xiao Hei into his arms.

Xiao Hei rested its head against Liu Bei's chest and let out a weak cry.

"Woof."

The sound was very soft.

It's like saying

Goodbye, Master.

Thank you for raising me. In the next life, let's fight side by side again!