Chapter 201: Caught Red-Handed, Little Dog Causes Trouble Again

Early the next morning.

The wooden boat was completely oiled; now it just needed today's wind to dry it.

The weather was excellent today. The sun had risen early, and the warm autumn rays cast a lazy, comfortable feeling over anyone they touched.

It seemed several guests had arrived over at the Mushroom House, making the place quite lively.

Ning Fei walked down the bluestone steps, intending to head out and buy some fresh fruit and vegetables.

He had already started his live stream, and his viewer count was still absolutely crushing every other streamer in this time slot.

"Ning Fei! Ning Fei!"

Right then, Ning Fei suddenly heard someone calling his name. The voice carried a rather impolite edge.

The viewers heard it too, immediately growing curious.

What was going on?

Who was looking for the Temple Master? And so rudely, at that.

Ning Fei looked over. At the other end of the road, a middle-aged man and a young boy around six or seven years old were marching toward him. The man looked furious.

"That's Li Laoba from the west side of the village."

"Is something wrong?" Ning Fei asked Li Laoba, a bit puzzled.

"That little yellow dog belongs to you, right? The one with a bit of black on its head and body, the one that runs real fast," Li Laoba demanded in a low, heavy voice.

"Little Dog?"

Ning Fei remembered that Little Dog had run off to play early this morning. Could he have caused trouble again?

"Yes, he's mine," Ning Fei nodded.

"Look at what your dog did!" Li Laoba pointed angrily at his son.

"What did Little Dog do? There's absolutely no way he bit anyone." Ning Fei was certain of this, which only deepened his confusion.

Ning Fei gave the boy a quick once-over and saw no injuries on Li Laoba's son. It looked like he had just been crying.

Little Dog made him cry?

That didn't make much sense either!

Little Dog wasn't some fierce, vicious animal. If anything, he was a bit goofy and quite cute. How could he possibly make a kid cry?

The viewers watching the exchange between Ning Fei and Li Laoba were equally curious.

"Little Dog committed a crime?"

"Did he bite someone? That shouldn't be possible, he looks so goofy!"

"Probably not. Little Dog is Da Huang's son after all. He's really smart and loves people."

"Then what's going on?"

"This villager looks pretty mad."

Li Laoba scoffed and fumed, "He stole my son's car!"

Hearing this, Ning Fei's expression instantly froze.

Stole a car?

A dog stole a seven-year-old kid's car?

For the first time ever, Ning Fei was utterly speechless.

The viewers were just as dumbfounded by the explanation.

"What is this villager talking about?"

"What do you mean, stole a car?"

"He must be looking for trouble on purpose."

"Making a fuss over nothing... Holy shit! Look behind them!"

At the same time, Ning Fei was still politely trying to explain:

"That's impossible, Little Dog would never do something like..."

In that exact moment, both Ning Fei and the viewers turned to stone.

Because just a short distance down the mountain road, a blue toy car was slowly driving toward Ning Fei and Li Laoba.

And in that toy car sat a dog.

It was quite a handsome little Malinois.

Right then, Little Dog was sitting in the driver's seat, his mouth wide open and his tongue hanging out, with both of his front paws resting perfectly on the steering wheel.

Li Laoba had gone to some trouble to buy this toy car for his son. The controls were simple: step on the gas pedal to go, and turn the steering wheel to steer.

Earlier, the moment his son had stepped out of the car, a little dog had darted out from nowhere, hopped in, and driven the toy car away.

That was why Li Laoba was so angry and came to confront Ning Fei.

"Holy shit! The dog can drive?"

The moment they saw Little Dog, the live stream's chat immediately exploded.

"Hahaha, my mind is blown. As expected of Little Dog!"

"Are all the animals at Qingfeng Temple this hardcore?"

"I finally understand the whole story."

"The criminal suspect is openly driving the stolen vehicle right over."

"Look at the Temple Master's face! This is the first time I've ever seen him so speechless."

"Hahaha, Temple Master, you've been caught red-handed. Let's see you talk your way out of this."

"Little Dog: Master, look at this cool car I stole."

"This dog is absolutely invincible!"

Ning Fei stared into the distance. Seeing that it really was Little Dog behind the wheel, he instantly understood what had happened.

His dog was definitely in the wrong.

Beside him, Li Laoba wore an expression that clearly said, 'Let's see what you have to say for yourself now.'

Ning Fei shook his head, gave a helpless smile, and said:

"I'm sorry, this was our fault. How about this: tell me how much you bought the car for. I'll pay double and buy it off you."

Hearing this, Li Laoba's expression immediately softened.

"There's no need for all that. I just wanted to bring it up. I bought the car at the mall for over nine hundred yuan."

"I'll give you two thousand. I'm buying the car, and consider it an apology to Little Loach," Ning Fei said. He pulled out his mobile phone and transferred two thousand yuan to Li Laoba right then and there.

"Oh my, you really shouldn't have, you're too polite." Li Laoba beamed with delight the moment he received the transfer.

Then Li Laoba added, "Alright then, we'll consider it settled. That little dog is quite cute, and smart too. I've got things to do, so I'll be off. Let's chat later."

With that said, Li Laoba grabbed his son, Little Loach, and hurried away, seemingly afraid Ning Fei might regret the generous offer.

Little Dog drove the car right up to Ning Fei.

Ning Fei looked down and saw Little Dog sitting comfortably in the driver's seat. One paw pressed on the gas pedal, and both front paws rested on the steering wheel. He looked like a seasoned pro.

Ning Fei had seen dogs ride skateboards before, but this was the first time he'd ever seen one drive a toy car.

"Woof, woof!" Little Dog barked happily at Ning Fei, as if showing off.

"You little rascal!"

Ning Fei crouched down, shaking his head in helpless amusement.

"No more stealing other people's things from now on, got it?"

He pointed a finger at Little Dog's nose and scolded him.

"Why can't you be more like Da Huang?"

"Though I have to admit, your driving skills are pretty impressive."

Ning Fei laughed again and rubbed Little Dog's head, no longer having the heart to blame him.

Ning Fei continued down the mountain. As he passed by the Mushroom House, he noticed a large crowd gathered outside.

It turned out they were fans of the Mushroom House who had come to visit. A fair number of his own fans were mixed in among them as well, but the Production Crew had barred everyone from entering so they could film the show.

"Look, it's the Temple Master!"

"Ah! It really is him!"

"He's so handsome!"

"Oh my god, we actually ran into the Temple Master!"

Qinshan Village was far from the city, and the lower Qinshan County was also quite remote. Making a trip up the mountain was a major hassle.

Moreover, fans in this parallel world were relatively rational. They didn't fanatically stalk celebrities, but instead viewed the entertainment industry as a normal profession, which meant there wasn't nearly as much trouble.

In reality, rational people made up the majority; only the fanbases of massive pop idols tended to be a bit unhinged.

For instance, at Hengdian World Studios—a major location for period dramas—numerous A-list celebrities filmed there every day, yet one rarely saw crazed fans blocking the streets.

Another example was the foodie Li Ziqi in this parallel world. Despite having a massive following, there were no incidents of fans causing disturbances.

Ning Fei walked outward, keeping his gaze straight ahead. A few people wanted to step forward and speak with him, but upon seeing his cool, aloof expression, they felt too shy to approach.

When Ning Fei reached the village, his first stop was the nongjiale.

The autumn fruits over there should be just about ripe. Ning Fei bought pears, apples, dates, hawthorns, and bananas. They were great for feeding Little Fox on normal days, or for him to eat while relaxing; they were good for his health, too.

Afterward, he went to the supermarket next to the village committee building and picked up some vegetables and meat.

He didn't have any other plans for today. The wooden boat was still drying, and he intended to launch it into the water tomorrow.

Therefore, he also bought some red paper, candles, and 'Fu' blessing character posters from the supermarket.

Because when a new boat launched, it was important to observe a bit of ceremony.

It was tradition.

It brought good luck and served as a prayer for a safe voyage.

Every region followed similar customs when launching a new vessel. For a simple example, when the Liaoning aircraft carrier launched, many ships cleared the way, the vessel was draped in red ribbons, and a bottle of champagne was smashed over its bow.

That was the sea-entry ceremony for a massive warship.

For a traditional wooden boat, the launch ceremony was much simpler.

Early the next morning, Ning Fei secured the wooden boat to the roof of his Wrangler Jungle Hero, then drove straight toward the distant lake.

Today was the day the Chengfeng Wooden Boat took to the water.

Meanwhile, over at the Mushroom House, a group of people were also packing their gear. Their itinerary for the day happened to be a boat trip on the water.