Chapter 150: Faltering Steps

"Why is that, Aunt Yu?" Zhu Qingyan couldn't help asking.

Song Jiawei also chimed in, "This is not the time to be shy or stand on ceremony. We genuinely want to help Xiaoxiao. Moreover, using assistance dogs to help autistic patients has long-standing precedents, so there won't be any problems. Dasheng is also a dog we carefully selected and rigorously trained."

Zhang Congwen and the others wore looks of disbelief. Zhang Congwen had already made the benefits of autism assistance dogs crystal clear, and they couldn't understand why Yu Yixiang was still unwilling to accept Dasheng.

However, Yu Yixiang said, "I know you have good intentions and truly want to help us. But you don't understand. With Xiaoxiao in her current state, I am willing to try any method to help her."

Before Yu Yixiang could finish, Zhang Congwen immediately said, "Then you should try Dasheng all the more."

Yu Yixiang sighed. "What you are saying is right, but... but I don't have that much money to feed and care for a dog. We can't have a dog that you worked so hard to train coming to our place only to suffer grievances and go hungry."

Hearing this, the three of them exchanged glances, simultaneously letting out a quiet sigh of relief.

So that was the reason.

It was partly their fault for being a bit too anxious and forgetting to mention some key points.

Song Jiawei quickly added, "You don't need to worry about that. Once Dasheng comes to your home, all subsequent expenses will be covered by us. You won't have to spend a single penny."

"This... how could that be appropriate..."

"It's fine, Aunt Yu. However, before you adopt Dasheng, you must sign an agreement with us. Starting from the day Dasheng enters service, it will live in your home for a total of eight years to help look after Xiaoxiao. During these eight years, all expenses for Dasheng will be borne by us. After eight years, Dasheng will retire. At that time, Dasheng can no longer be used as an assistance dog and must be returned to us. Of course, you can also choose to continue adopting it, but all subsequent expenses must be paid by yourself. If you don't wish to continue adopting it, we will find another adopter for Dasheng and let it return to the life of a normal pet dog. You can think of this agreement as us lending Dasheng to your family for eight years, to be returned to us after eight years," Zhu Qingyan explained.

After a brief moment of consideration, Yu Yixiang nodded heavily and agreed.

Just as she had said, with Xiaoxiao in her current condition, she was willing to try any method.

For a long time, she had harbored a deep worry in her heart. She wasn't old yet, and she could still work. But when she truly grew old and could no longer work, what would happen to Xiaoxiao?

Now that such an opportunity presented itself, naturally she didn't want to let it slip away.

Yu Yixiang felt immensely grateful to Zhang Congwen and the others. She wanted to repay them, but she didn't know how.

Yet, just as Song Jiawei had said, this was not the time to be overly modest or proud, so she could only bury her deep gratitude within her heart.

Regardless of anything else, having an extra path meant having an extra shred of hope, and deep down, she was still very happy.

However, just as she was feeling happy, Zhang Congwen poured a small bucket of cold water on her enthusiasm.

Zhang Congwen said, "Aunt Yu, there is still one thing I need to make clear to you beforehand. Dasheng is the first assistance dog I have ever trained. Theoretically speaking, there are no problems right now, but I cannot guarantee it with absolute certainty. Furthermore, there is also the issue of compatibility. If Xiaoxiao and Dasheng are not compatible, Dasheng cannot be used as Xiaoxiao's assistance dog."

Hearing Zhang Congwen say this, the tiny spark of hope that had just ignited in Yu Yixiang's heart instantly dimmed a little, and she grew nervous at the same time.

After hearing about the benefits of an autism assistance dog, Yu Yixiang wanted from the bottom of her heart to bring one home. But Zhang Congwen's words once again filled her hopes with uncertainty.

Even so, Yu Yixiang expressed her understanding. She forced a smile and said, "It doesn't matter. Although I don't fully understand the technicalities, I can understand that this is a very complex matter. If the situation you mentioned happens, we can only blame it on fate not blessing Xiaoxiao with this fortune."

Despite saying that, anyone could see the worry lingering in Yu Yixiang's eyes.

"Anyway, since this method might work, we have to try it. What else can we do otherwise?"

Zhu Qingyan immediately comforted her, "Aunt Yu, don't worry or be too nervous. Besides Dasheng, we have also trained another reserve dog named Guangsha. If Dasheng doesn't work out, we can try Guangsha then."

"Mm. Okay," Yu Yixiang didn't say much more this time, simply acknowledging the words.

After explaining everything thoroughly to Yu Yixiang, Zhang Congwen and the team began making preparations at the Dog Language Training Base.

The very first step was for Yu Yixiang and Xiaoxiao to temporarily move into the base to live.

Whether Xiaoxiao and Dasheng were fully compatible could not be determined all at once; it required a period of time to observe how they got along.

In addition, Zhang Congwen needed to train Yu Yixiang. Although Dasheng could help take care of Xiaoxiao to a certain extent, Dasheng was ultimately a dog and still required Yu Yixiang's care.

Furthermore, Zhang Congwen needed to teach Yu Yixiang certain commands and take responsibility for resolving any issues that arose during her interactions with Dasheng.

Actually, training Dasheng as an assistance dog was not the entirety of Zhang Congwen's main workload; a large part of his job involved teaching these families how to handle and utilize these dogs.

Yet, to Zhang Congwen's surprise, even though he had used Mandarin as the command language during training to make it easier for Yu Yixiang to give orders to Dasheng, problems still arose along the way.

Yu Yixiang's Mandarin was not standard, and her speech often carried a distinct accent. Consequently, when giving commands to Dasheng, she would unintentionally slip into her accent, causing Dasheng to fail to understand her orders.

Helpless against this, Zhang Congwen could only repeatedly correct Yu Yixiang's pronunciation issue over and over again.

On the other hand, Dasheng and Xiaoxiao got along exceptionally well, with no signs of incompatibility whatsoever. In fact, Zhang Congwen and the others noticed several times that during their interactions, Xiaoxiao would inadvertently wear a smile on her face.

Although Xiaoxiao's hair remained in a messy state, Zhang Congwen and the others felt that her smile was utterly adorable.

After training Yu Yixiang for two consecutive weeks, she was finally able to overcome most of her pronunciation issues. However, perhaps due to her advanced age and a slight lack of familiarity with dogs, she still struggled to fully memorize many of the commands.

Despite this, Zhang Congwen and the team remained full of anticipation. Everyone could see how hard Yu Yixiang worked during the training process and how earnest she was. They could also clearly see how deeply Yu Yixiang loved Xiaoxiao.

Therefore, even though Yu Yixiang's learning pace was much slower than they had imagined, no one had the heart to criticize her.

After all, these issues could not be considered major problems. Given enough time, they could still be overcome.

Though the training process was bumpy, steady progress was being made step by step. A week later, Yu Yixiang finally reached the point where she could take Dasheng and Xiaoxiao out onto the streets for testing.