Daily Life in the Pet Shop Ch. 199

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Once inside the room, Fang Yue didn't say anything. She immediately started to remove the little beggar's clothes. The little beggar was frightened, retreating into a corner and trembling, repeatedly telling her he hadn't done anything wrong, begging her not to hit him.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hit you," Fang Yue assured him, pulling him into the bathroom and asking him to wash up. The little beggar, embarrassed, hesitated for a long time and still wouldn't take his clothes off.

"Do you want to see Xiao Xing? If you clean yourself up, you can go see Xiao Xing." Fang Yue coaxed him gently.

"I... I want to wash by myself. Can you not watch, sister?" the little beggar said, clearly shy.

"You're shy, huh? Alright." Fang Yue ruffled his hair, gave him a quick rundown of how to use the bathroom supplies, and then turned to leave. She found it amusing that this child, probably only five or six years old, already knew about being shy.

A little over ten minutes later, the little beggar came out, but it seemed like he'd barely washed. His hair was still messy, and his face was just as dirty.

Fang Yue went into the bathroom and saw that the little beggar hadn't used any of the supplies she had brought. He had just rinsed with water.

"Why didn't you use the things I gave you?" Fang Yue asked, pulling the little beggar to her. Even if he had cleaned up, he was still wearing his old, dirty clothes, so he didn't look any cleaner.

"I'm dirty," the little beggar repeated.

Fang Yue, hearing this, slapped him lightly on the backside, sternly scolding him, "Don't say that again, do you hear me? You're not dirty at all."

The little beggar pouted, trying to hold back his tears. Fang Yue, ignoring his protests, pulled him back into the bathroom and started running more water for him, insisting on giving him another bath.

The little beggar was almost in tears, embarrassed and crying as Fang Yue helped him out of his dirty clothes. However, Fang Yue was firm, and he didn't dare to resist, only silently shedding tears.

"Alright, alright. You're just a kid. What's wrong with me helping you wash up? Some people would even beg for this kind of help. Stop crying, okay?" Fang Yue finished washing him up and softened her voice to console him.

"My mom said no one should take off my clothes. People who do that are bad." The little beggar's words only made him cry harder, wailing uncontrollably.

"Great, now you've got him crying," Fang Yi walked in, seeing the little beggar wrapped in a large coat, crying pitifully.

"Help him put on his clothes quickly. I've seen him naked, and now he's upset," Fang Yue said, unable to help but laugh as she spoke. She leaned in and whispered something to Fang Yi, making his face darken immediately.

"Go outside. I'll dress him," Fang Yi said. Though he found the situation somewhat amusing, he could tell the little beggar was genuinely distressed and decided to indulge him.

"Stop crying. Uncle will help you put on your clothes so no one else can see you. Later, I'll help you teach that bad sister a lesson," Fang Yi said while helping the little beggar get dressed.

"No... Don't hit the sister," the little beggar sniffled. "She... she's a good person."

"Okay, I won't hit her. Just stop crying," Fang Yi wiped away the little beggar's tears. He couldn't help but notice that the child was quite cute, though very thin, his face mostly just large eyes.

After helping the little beggar get dressed, Fang Yi took him to see Xiao Xing. The vet had already comforted the dog and assured them it was just a common cold, something that could be easily treated. When Xiao Xing saw the little beggar, it was very affectionate, jumping up to lick his nose.

"Xiao Xing is really better! Thank you, Uncle! Tomorrow, I'll go beg for money, and I'll give it all to you!" The little beggar tugged at Fang Yi's shirt. "You really have to help me treat Xiao Xing."

"Alright," Fang Yi nodded. He pulled the little beggar aside and asked, "Why do you beg for money? Where are your parents?"

"I don't know where my parents are. I live with my grandma, but they said Grandma didn't want me anymore and left for a faraway place. Now, it's just me and Xiao Xing." The little beggar's eyes turned red again when he mentioned his grandmother.

"Then how did you end up here?" Fang Yi asked. It was troubling to think that such a small child was out begging. If there were still family members, that would be even more worrying.

"A man from the village brought me here. He taught me how to beg for money, bought me food, and took me to stay in the park. He's a good uncle. He doesn't like me keeping Xiao Xing, but he still buys food for Xiao Xing," the little beggar said with gratitude.

Fang Yi shook his head. It was clear that children were easy to deceive. Fang Yi often tossed some spare change when he passed the little beggar's usual spot. While he hadn't counted the money in the beggar's bowl, he could roughly estimate that the child likely earned about a hundred yuan a day—enough to support himself and the dog. Yet, the little beggar was still so thin, which didn't make sense.

Fang Yi had the little beggar take him to find the "uncle" he kept talking about. On the way, he asked a few questions and found out the boy's name was Xiao Yuan, he was eight years old, and his home was in a nearby village. He'd been begging here for about half a year now.

Maybe it was because Fang Yi was willing to help Xiao Xing get treatment, but Xiao Yuan had a really good impression of him. Basically, as long as Fang Yi asked something, he'd answer. From what Xiao Yuan said, Fang Yi didn't think this "uncle" had deliberately lured the boy out to beg, but it was also clear that he was definitely using Xiao Yuan to make money.

"Uncle!" Xiao Yuan ran up to a beggar on the side of the road, grabbed his arm, and greeted him.

Fang Yi had seen this beggar before too. He looked to be in his forties or fifties, kept himself relatively clean, and didn't chase people around for money. He was considered one of the more decent beggars in the area.

"Hi, I'm from the pet shop nearby." Fang Yi squatted down beside the older beggar and spoke to him.

"Xiao Yuan took Xiao Xing to your place for treatment, right? He didn't have enough money. How much was he short? I'll make up the rest," the old beggar glanced at Xiao Yuan, then turned to Fang Yi.

"I didn't come here to ask for money," Fang Yi explained. "I think Xiao Yuan's a cute kid, and I just wanted to ask you a few things."

All credit goes to the original author
Feel free to pinpoint us if there are any grammar error or typos
Please don't use Guazi's translation to re-translate in other languages

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