Pet King - Chapter 808

Chapter 808




As Liu Ying had said, her hometown was a coastal fishing village located south of Binhai City .

When she was young, her parents were busy all day long, either fishing in the sea or selling fish . Her family was doing well economically, but at the cost that she barely saw her parents . She was brought up by her grandmother, which made her shy and introverted . After attending college and joining the workforce, she made a continuous effort to make herself more extroverted, as her work demanded . 　　

Her grandmother had weak legs and didn't feel safe letting her play outside with other kids . Back then, human trafficking in the neighboring village was a big deal . Rumors said that human traffickers from other places had already arrived and kidnapped a few kids in the neighboring village . As the stories circulated, nobody could find out whether or not they were true . But her grandmother believed them . She kept her at home and didn't allow her to go outside . 　　

Little Liu Ying felt that her grandmother favored boys over girls in some way . Maybe if she were a boy her grandmother would have brought her outside to play, even if she had weak legs . 　　

There was nothing to play with at home . There was no cable for the television, and they could only receive a limited few channels with a deciphered satellite receiver . There were foreign channels, but the signal was bad . They often received nothing but static noise . 　　

Liu Ying was bored at home . She was always clinging to her grandmother, asking her to tell her stories and play with her . 　　

Her grandmother might have been annoyed by that . It interrupted her house work . Moreover, her grandmother was heavily addicted to Mahjong and had to play with other older women in the village each afternoon, rain or shine . One day, her grandmother brought back a few small fish for her and asked her to keep them as pets . Then she locked the yard door and headed to the Mahjong table, worrying that she might lose her spot if she arrived late . 　　

The so-called small fish were, in fact, Crucian carps and loaches . Her grandmother might have caught them in the river by the village . 　

Back then, it was easy to catch fish from the river . All one had to do was roll some netting into a pocket shape, put some rice or bread crumbs inside, and sink it into the river . After a few minutes, some dumb Crucian carps would get into the net . 　

Later on, the method was no longer feasible . As the industrial pollution worsened near the village, fish were barely caught in the river . 　

Catching fish in the river had always been the monopoly of boys in the village . After getting the small fish, Liu Ying was very happy . She had new buddies, which made the afternoons less lonely when her grandmother was not home . 　

There was a small empty vat in the yard . Little Liu Ying filled it with water and kept the Crucian carps and loaches inside .

Crucian Carps and loaches were very tough . As long as you didn't try too hard, it was hard to kill them . A few rice grains and bread crumbs every few days were enough to keep them alive . 　　

"Now when I look back, I was not treating them as pets at all . They were just tools to make me less lonely . I've done horrible things to them out of boredom…" Liu Ying said with regret . 　　

There were fish hooks sold for 20 cents each in the small convenience store of the village . She made an excuse that she was craving popsicles and asked for some money from her grandmother to buy a fish hook . She then tied the hook to an end of a cotton thread from the sewing machine and hooked a rice grain at the tip . She started fishing, mimicking the others . 　　

It was easy to hook Crucian carps and loaches . They fought over the rice grains as if they were starving . Soon, a Crucian carp took a bite . 　

Little Liu Ying lifted the cotton thread excitedly, but the Crucian carp struggled fiercely––much harder than she had thought . It broke the cotton thread and fell on the yellow dirt .



As it flopped, it was covered with dirt, like a fish coated with flour before going to the frying pan . 　　

She panicked and tried to pick up the Crucian carp and put it back into the vat, but the scales were slippery, and the dying fish was fighting hard . She couldn't grab the fish firmly . Instead, the hook pierced into her finger . It was quite deep . Crimson blood gushed out immediately . 　　

She cried hard in pain . As she loosened her hands, the Crucian carp fell back to the ground, and stopped moving after a few more flops . 　

There was nobody else home . After she cried for ten minutes, nobody came to comfort her . 　　

The Crucian carp was already very dead on the floor . Her finger also stopped bleeding . 　

She stopped sobbing slowly . 　

She lied about buying popsicles and bought the fish hook with the money . Therefore, she dared not tell her parents and grandmother what happened . They might punish her for being naughty . She hid everything in secret, claiming that a fish had died . 　

Yet, the truth was not that simple . 　　



After a few days, she suddenly had headaches, dizziness, and a fever . Her parents thought she had caught a cold, but the medicine didn't work . She got worse and worse, and even started convulsing . 　　

Her parents rushed her to the hospital in town overnight . The doctor said she had tetanus . If she was sent in half a day later, her life would have been in danger . The doctor also asked if she had been injured lately . 　　

After being questioned by her parents, she finally told them in tears that her finger was pierced by a fish hook . 　　

If she had not been very sick then, her parents would have surely beat the crap out of her . 　　

Later, she recovered . After returning home from the hospital, she found out that the vat was empty . Both the fish and the water were gone . 　

She didn't dare to ask her parents, as they were already mad at her and had spent a lot of money on her illness . 　　

To her surprise, after the event, her grandmother seemed remorseful towards her, thinking that her carelessness had caused her to be very sick . A few days after she was released from the hospital, her grandmother bought her a fish tank from the temple fair . It was a real fish tank, about 40cm long, and crystal clear . There was even an aquascaping mini house inside . 　　

Ever since then, her grandmother had stopped playing Mahjong and had gotten rid of years of Mahjong addiction just like that . Although the old Mahjong buddies often tempted her, she turned them all down, even when they were only short one player . 　

"Ying Ying, shall we keep pet fish together?" her grandmother had asked her with a smile, rubbing her head . Countless deep wrinkles bloomed on her face . 　

Little Liu Ying was overwhelmed at her grandmother's sudden attitude change . She nodded, at a loss . 　　

For some after she was released from the hospital, she was afraid of any sharp objects . Her grandmother prepared everything for the fish . 　

Her grandmother carried the bucket to the beach to get saltwater, then pushed a wheelbarrow to get the sand . She picked up some rocks and put them in the tank . A simple aquarium tank slowly took shape . 　

Her grandmother didn't just buy a tank; she also bought an oxygen pump and a pair of clownfish . 　　

Compared to the grey Crucian carps and loaches, clownfish were much prettier; they were almost like swans against ugly little ducklings . Little Liu Ying was thrilled . 　

She started raising fish with her grandmother, pondering each day what the clownfish were eating . Each day, she supported her chin with her arms next to the fish tank, admiring the graceful swimming dance of the clownfish . 　　

Those were the happiest days of Liu Ying . For the first time, she felt so close to her grandmother . She was no longer the rude grandmother that forbade her from playing, like she was in the past . 　　

However, trouble came, anyway . The clownfish eventually got sick and were covered in a white film all over their bodies . 　　

Her grandmother and her could not do anything about it .