Chapter 149 The Great Sage

This storm of publicity did not only bring Zhu Qingyan back into the limelight; even Zhang Congwen gained a moderate measure of fame. Within the dog-owning community in particular, Zhang Congwen suddenly leaped to prominence as the best-known dog trainer in the country.

Some media outlets even remarked that while Zhang Congwen might not possess the absolute highest level of dog training skill in the nation, his popularity was second to none.

Because of this, a documentary director approached Zhang Congwen, proposing to make a documentary about dog training with Zhang at the helm.

Upon hearing this news, everyone at the Dog Language Dog Training Base fervently hoped that Zhang Congwen would accept the offer.

On one hand, filming a documentary would bring greater prestige to the base. On the other hand, who doesn't harbor a secret dream of appearing on television?

Yet, Zhang Congwen decisively turned the proposal down.

His reason was simple: while the various benefits that came with rising fame were nice, they would also consume a vast amount of his time.

Dasheng’s training needed to be a continuous, long-term process. If he were to participate in such commercial activities, Dasheng would inevitably suffer from a lack of attention.

Consequently, the documentary project ultimately fizzled out and came to nothing.

Amidst the flurry of trending topics that propelled the Dog Language Dog Training Base to sudden fame, there had actually been another piece of news that briefly surfaced in the public eye before being quickly buried, leaving no one to pay it much heed.

The content of that trending search was: A certain man surnamed Yang beat a pet dog on the street and was severely injured and hospitalized by the dog's owner.

In reality, apart from bringing immense recognition to the training base, the surge of popularity had no substantial impact on Zhang Congwen and his team.

Because of the elevated profile, the base was flooded with an enormous volume of business. While this was a boon for the establishment, it left the three partners running in circles day in and day out.

To resolve this issue, Zhu Qingyan had no choice but to expand the team, abruptly recruiting five new staff members.

Two of them were assigned to share the workloads of Zhu Qingyan and Song Jiawei respectively, one was put in charge of the daily maintenance of the base, and the remaining two were hired as trainers to help shoulder the training burden alongside Zhang Congwen.

Among these two new trainers, one possessed rich experience and could train dogs independently, while the other was a novice brought on to serve as Zhang Congwen's assistant and handle chores.

Song Jiawei was quite delighted with this arrangement. After all, the little assistant knew how to drive, meaning Song no longer had to moonlight as Zhang Congwen’s chauffeur.

The young apprentice studied diligently and possessed a natural talent, allowing him to learn very quickly. In just half a year, he was already capable of independently handling certain training tasks, which instantly lifted a heavy burden off Zhang Congwen’s shoulders.

As a result, except for particularly tricky cases or clients who specifically requested his personal attention, Zhang Congwen rarely stepped out of retirement anymore, choosing instead to pour most of his energy into training assistance dogs.

To be safe, while continuing Dasheng’s training, the base introduced a second dog—a black Labrador retriever—to be trained simultaneously as a backup assistance dog. This Labrador was eventually named Guangsha.

Another March rolled around, and the weather still carried a biting chill.

Except for Dasheng and Guangsha, all the other dogs at the base had been temporarily relocated by the team to other places.

Zhang Congwen, Zhu Qingyan, and the others were all on high alert, welcoming two special guests with a mixture of anticipation and nervous fluttering in their chests.

These guests were none other than Xiao Xiao and her grandmother, Yu Yixiang.

Noticing the tense expressions worn by Zhang Congwen and the others, Yu Yixiang inexplicably felt her own anxiety spike. She asked cautiously, "Xiao Zhang, why did you ask us to come over?"

The three men exchanged glances, and ultimately it was decided that Song Jiawei would explain the matter.

Song Jiawei patted the head of Dasheng, who was sitting obediently beside Zhang Congwen, and said, "We want to give you a dog to keep. It's this one, named Dasheng. Doesn't Xiao Xiao always like dogs? Let's see what you think of Dasheng."

Upon hearing this, Yu Yixiang was momentarily stunned before shaking her head like a rattle-drum.

Very few people knew that Zhang Congwen was training Dasheng as an assistance dog, and Yu Yixiang was not among them. Therefore, she had no inkling of what they were really aiming to achieve.

She simply assumed that since Xiao Xiao liked dogs, they had found one for them out of kindness.

However, given Yu Yixiang’s current circumstances, her days were entirely consumed by caring for Xiao Xiao and scraping together money through every available means; she simply had no spare energy to look after a dog.

Moreover, their financial condition was barely enough to cover Xiao Xiao’s medical bills and daily living expenses, let alone sustain the upkeep of a dog.

"No, no. I can't take this dog. I know you mean well, but I simply can't afford to raise it."

Yu Yixiang knew the team's intentions were good and found it hard to refuse, but her current reality left her no choice.

Realizing that Yu Yixiang had misunderstood, Zhang Congwen stepped forward to explain, "Auntie, please rest assured, this dog is specifically meant as a gift for you two."

"Even so, I... I..."

Her anxiety left her momentarily at a loss for how to clearly express her thoughts.

With a smile, Zhu Qingyan intervened, "Auntie, please listen to us first. Dasheng is different from other dogs. Congwen specifically trained it for Xiao Xiao."

"Trained specifically for Xiao Xiao?" Yu Yixiang didn't grasp Zhu Qingyan's meaning right away, but she could tell that today's visit wasn't as simple as merely gifting them a stray pet.

Song Jiawei nodded and smiled. "Dasheng isn't an ordinary dog; it's a candidate autism assistance dog. It can help you look after Xiao Xiao in your daily life, and it can also provide a certain level of therapeutic assistance for Xiao Xiao's condition."

"Ah?"

Yu Yixiang failed to react for a second.

Ever since Xiao Xiao was diagnosed with autism, Yu Yixiang had researched every single method available for treating the disorder, yet she had never once encountered anything involving dogs as a therapeutic aid.

It was entirely natural for her to be unaware of such practices.

Someone of her generation relied mostly on traditional channels to obtain information, which tended to be outdated and scarce.

Furthermore, the history of autism assistance dogs was relatively short; the first such dog only entered active service in 1997, making the field barely older than Zhang Congwen himself. In their home country, autism assistance dogs had an even later start. Even today, there were only three formally active autism assistance dogs nationwide.

Let alone someone of Yu Yixiang's advanced age, very few even among the younger generations knew about this.

Without showing any impatience, Zhang Congwen and the others began to patiently explain the role and function of autism assistance dogs.

Instead of looking relieved upon hearing the explanation, Yu Yixiang's expression grew even more troubled. She asked tentatively, "Training an assistance dog must take a very long time, right?"

Zhang Congwen smiled and replied, "Not too bad, it isn't an excessively long time."

A sorrowful look crossed Yu Yixiang's face. She glanced at Dasheng, then looked over at Xiao Xiao.

Dasheng was extremely affectionate toward people and had been lying quietly beside Xiao Xiao all this time. Even though Xiao Xiao was different from others, Dasheng showed no abnormalities whatsoever, merely lingering by her side in quiet companionship.

There was no barking, no begging for affection or attention; it stayed close to Xiao Xiao like an old friend.

Yu Yixiang clenched her hands together so tightly that her knuckles turned white. With evident reluctance, she pulled her gaze away from Dasheng and shook her head once more. "We still can't accept Dasheng."