Seeing Garter, Hans said in a mocking tone, "Hey man, why are you here? Out for a stroll?"
Li Du had bought the silver moonshine distilling boiler from Garter. It had attracted the Mormons, who wanted to purchase it from them. Li Du and Hans made a great deal of money by using Garter as an intermediary.
Since then, Garter had been sour for quite a while. He had even protested that day that he would never do business with them ever again, but now he was back.
Clearly, he had heard that Li Du's site tended to have good things around and wanted to take advantage of it.
He was on the right track, as he spotted the alcohol burner soon after he arrived. "Big Fox, we're good friends. Isn't it normal for good friends to visit each other?"
"I'm flattered," Hans laughed. "To be friends with Mr. Garter? Alright, but we don't have discounts for friends when doing business."
The treasure hunter who had been mocked said in a dissatisfied tone, "Alright, Goatee Garter, let me see what kind of tricks you have up your sleeve."
"Don't be a sore loser, Simon," Garter said. "You're offering a truck tire to Boss Li, but he doesn't need it. You need to offer something he needs."
"Like?" Li Du asked, amused.
Garter didn't answer, but pointed to the site and said, "Your business is growing larger, buddy. That's a good thing. But with all these things here, don't you need better security?"
Li Du looked to Godzilla and Big Quinn behind him. "It's fine, I have these two brothers here. No one would dare to do anything to us."
Big Quinn smiled at them. A few treasure hunters felt shivers down their spines and turned their heads away.
"But they need to rest," Garter said. "They can't just keep a lookout 24 hours a day. So, you need to have a watcher that can do that all day."
"Oh, you have a security camera?" Li Du said.
"No, no. An intelligent being, not a security camera. A dog!" Garter exclaimed.
The others started laughing. Hans said, "You've brought a dog? A dog for an alcohol burner? Don't be like this, buddy. We don't make deals like this."
"Don't be hasty, Big Fox," Garter said. "You haven't seen my dog yet. It's not an ordinary dog. It's a Czech Wolfdog!"
He was baited by Garter's words. If it really was a Czech Wolfdog, he would be willing to trade his alcohol burner for it.
Li Du had always been a fan of furry animals. From the way he kept Ah Meow and Crispy Noodles as pets, anyone could tell. And he loved dogs the most.
The Czech Wolfdog was a good breed, originating from Czechoslovakia in 1955. An experiment had been performed to cross-breed a German Shepherd with a Carpathian wolf.
It was common knowledge that the German Shepherd was very intelligent and obedient. The Carpathian wolf was a ferocious beast, with high vitality and a powerful body.
The combination of the two had created the Czech Wolfdog. It blended the advantages from both parents to become a gentle, smart, tough, elite breed of dog.
Initially, the Czech Wolfdog was designed to be a military dog. The research was developed for the Czechoslovakian special ops team.
However, after the Cold War, Czechoslovakia returned to a more stable and peaceful state.
In that situation, the main purpose of the Czech Wolfdog was gone. However, soon people realized that they were talented in activities such as searching, guarding, chasing, herding, and hunting.
With more purposes for the Czech Wolfdog, its popularity grew, and it was now a well-desired short-fur breed.
Seeing Li Du's interest, Garter fervently nodded. "Right, right. We have a Czech Wolfdog, and it's still a pup."
Li Du was even more interested now. The Czech Wolfdog was very smart. It was very loyal as well. The first master it had would be like an intense first love that it would never forget.
If there were a Czech Wolfdog at the cabin, then between the dog, Godzilla, and Big Quinn, they would never need to worry about anyone stealing their stuff ever again.
Hans could tell that Li Du liked the breed, so he said lazily, "Go—get the dog out. Let me see if it's a Czech Wolfdog and not just some sick stray."
Garter walked to his truck. Hans said to Li Du, "Don't hold too much hope. The Czech Wolfdog is a wonderful dog. If he really has such a pup, then he wouldn't just want to trade it for an alcohol burner."
The older George walked over and agreed with a nod. "Right. Goatee Garter is a greedy scumbag. If he had a pig, he would want to trade for a cow."
"We'll see," Li Du said. "We won't lose anything anyway."
Garter soon returned. He was hugging a cardboard box in his arms. In it was some tattered cotton, and amongst the cotton was a newborn puppy with extremely short and fine fur.
Yes, the pup was still a newborn. It was just slightly larger than Li Du's palm. It was squealing and seemed very frail.
Li Du gently stroked the newborn with his finger. It was frightened and curled up, crying even louder and harder. Its eyes remained shut the whole time.
Li Du was taken aback and exclaimed, "Sh*t, Garter, what the hell, it hasn't even opened its eyes yet!"
"I said it was a baby pup," Garter said with a sly smile.
"Where did you get such a newborn like this? Did you steal it?" the older George said. "Buddy, this thing hasn't been weaned yet. It hasn't even opened its eyes!"
"Don't spout nonsense," Garter exclaimed. "It's a buddy of mine whose Czech Wolfdog gave birth. However, there were some problems during the delivery and the mother died. I helped by adopting one from him—if they're not adopted they'll all die."
Hans shook his head and said, "You're right, they'll all die. Puppies this young can't survive like this. See? The state it's in, it's dying."
Seeing the tiny, frail being, Li Du felt pity for it. The puppy was really going to die. Even its cries seemed weak and its movements sluggish.
Hearing that, Garter felt anxious and said, "Who says so? I've been feeding this one properly the whole time."
As he spoke, he took out a small milk bottle and stuffed the nozzle to the puppy's mouth. The puppy sucked on it. Now it did seem to be energetic.
Hans said coldly, "Alright, but this is a Czech Wolfdog? Sorry, we can't tell yet. How about you keep it for a little longer, till it's bigger, and then trade with us."
The newborn had not even opened its eyes, and no distinct features had grown on it yet, so they couldn't tell what type of breed it was.