Chapter 59 Buying a Dog

Lu's father gave a bitter laugh.
"We haven't been in touch for over twenty years. As for our old brothers, some went to prison, some just gave up and resigned themselves to fate. Only Brother Long and I felt that our old paths led nowhere, so we started our own businesses!"
"Wait... Brother Long!"
Lu's father instantly perked up, without any hesitation, he dialed directly. "Hello, Brother Long!"
"Oh, little Lu, is there something you need?"
"Brother Long, my daughter has been wanting to keep a dog recently. Do you happen to have any connections?"
Brother Long fell silent at once.
"I haven't kept dogs in a long time. Dogs these days are quite fierce; sometimes they can really bite people!"
"I want to buy some, price is no object!"
Brother Long said earnestly, "Little Lu, this is a society ruled by law. If you have any conflicts, we can talk things out. If talking fails, we can take it to court. Just letting dogs loose to bite people casually will only lead to disaster!"
"Ah, Brother Long, rest assured. It's just that my daughter went abroad for a while and got hooked on raising dogs!"
Brother Long didn't believe a single word of this exchange, but it didn't matter. It was none of his business anyway. He just wondered what kind of trouble little Lu had gotten into that he was even planning to unleash "dogs"!
"How about this? I'll give you a number. If they have them, great; if not, there's nothing I can do. I haven't touched this stuff in twenty or thirty years!"
"Alright, thank you so much, Brother Long!"
"Drop by for some tea when you have time!"
"You bet!"
After hanging up, he indeed received a text message. He dialed the number from the message and put the phone on speaker.
"Who is this?"
"Recommended by Brother Long."
"What are you looking to buy?"
"What breeds do you have on your side right now?"
"Air dogs sell the most and are moderately priced. Native dogs sell a bit less and are quite cost-effective. Foreign dogs are more expensive, and dog food is not included! Which ones do you want?"
The couple began to discuss back and forth, while Lu Mengfan stood there completely bewildered, not understanding a single word of the conversation she had just heard.
"How much?"
"Air dogs are 5,000 with 200 portions of dog food included; native dogs are 3,500 with 20 portions of dog food; imported dogs are 20,000, and dog food is 20 each. Oh right, we have a new product recently: pen dogs. Do you want any? 1,500 each, comes with 20 portions of dog food."
"Hmm, let me discuss it and call you back."

"Alright!"
After hanging up the phone, Lu Mengfan couldn't help asking, "Dad, what did you two mean by that conversation just now?"
The couple looked at each other and chuckled. Lu's mother explained, "Air dogs are airguns, native dogs are domestic firearms, foreign dogs are guns imported from abroad, and dog food means bullets."
Lu Mengfan was instantly dumbfounded, her face full of disbelief.
"What on earth used to be your line of work?"
Lu's father smiled. "Never you mind. Tell me, how many do we need?"
Lu Mengfan immediately opened Douyin and began scrolling rapidly. Nowadays, no matter what kind of information or data you need, you can find a ton of it on short-video platforms.
"No native guns; the risk is too high and they're unstable. Get some airguns, get some pistols, and as many bullets as possible. The videos also say we should buy some desiccant so the primers on the bullets don't get damp."
Lu's mother asked curiously, "What's the use of airguns?"
Lu Mengfan explained, "According to the introduction in that short video, the firepower of many modern airguns is actually greater than that of pistols. The disadvantage might be a shorter range, but the advantage is that they're silent."
Lu's mother frowned, deep in thought.
After the discussion, Lu's father immediately called back and ordered a large quantity of "dogs," almost scaring the arms dealer to death.
It's one thing if you buy one or two just to play around, but you're buying so many—are you planning to go to war?!
Helplessly, Lu's father offered far too much money, especially buying bullets by the tens of thousands. Who wouldn't be tempted by that?
It would still take a few days for the shipment to arrive, so Lu Mengfan told her parents not to rush into hoarding goods yet, and instead focus their efforts on liquidating their assets.
Then, she made them watch movies, TV shows, and CGI animations about zombies every day. Later on, it wasn't just zombie movies—even natural disaster films were added to the watchlist.
On the fourth day after the group announcement was posted, group members, along with the family members and even relatives standing closely behind them, stared intently at the screens.
[According to today's news, multiple earthquakes have occurred in regions such as Chuanshi County of the Island Nation, with the strongest reaching magnitude 7.6. Currently.........]
After watching dozens of films, Lu's father and mother finally understood why their daughter wanted to buy airguns—because airguns are quiet.
"Mengmeng, let's stop watching movies; we need to start hoarding supplies immediately!"
Lu Mengfan pointed at the computer and said, "There are still a dozen American TV series left, we haven't watched The Walking Dead yet!"
Lu's father took out a glasses-cleaning cloth to wipe his spectacles, put them back on, and looked at his daughter with a gentle expression.
"Mengmeng, how many people do you think will see this news?"
Lu Mengfan thought for a moment and replied, "The group screening is quite strict; right now there are probably only twenty or thirty people."

Lu's father shook his head.
"I checked, there are thirty-five. Now, these thirty-five people have parents, relatives, even friends. Word spreads from one to ten, ten to a hundred, and soon more and more people will know this information."
"Based on my years of experience in reading people, the group owner clearly wants more people to know, but doesn't want to expose their identity. So I'm not sure if they have already reported this to the authorities."
Lu Mengfan said, "Isn't that a good thing?"
Lu's father shook his head.
"As the predictions prove accurate day after day, the more days they hold true, the more people will believe and become convinced. Once it reaches a critical point, if the authorities find out, all supplies will definitely be strictly controlled or rationed!"
At this moment, Lu Mengfan finally snapped to her senses. Most doomsday scenarios happen abroad, but she had forgotten her own country's unique national conditions.
Only then did Lu Mengfan realize that old ginger truly is spicier.
Lu's father handed his daughter five million.
"Mengmeng, buy according to your plan. Leave the rest to your mother and me."
"Dad, don't forget grandpa and grandma! And maternal grandparents too!"
"Rest assured!"
Meanwhile, in an office inside the Shanghai Center Tower, a middle-aged man wearing an administrative jacket rubbed his tired eyes and waved his hand.
"Report it up. Getting one right is luck, getting two right is a coincidence, but getting three right is definitely not just a coincidence. Let the higher-ups make the decision!"
"Yes!"
"Starting from now, all ports in Shanghai must detain cargo ships and forbid them from leaving port."
"Issuance of temporary residence permits is suspended."
"Immediately notify the top one hundred foreign trade and shipping companies in Shanghai to hold a meeting this afternoon."
"Also notify the heads of the top 500 food processing plants in Shanghai to hold a meeting tonight!"
"Immediately notify all steel mills, cement plants, and others to ramp up production right away!"
.........
A massive wave of commands was put into execution. Those in the know began frantically hoarding supplies, though many were unsure of what specifically to hoard and resorted to frantically searching for information on video platforms and search engines.
Driven by this frantic spread, the doomsday news was pushed directly to the trending searches, becoming a topic of discussion for people across the country and even the entire world during their leisure time.