Chapter 89: Troubled by Mischievous Spirits

"Aunt Yu, when did you arrive? You should have let us know," Song Jiawei hurried forward to greet her.

"It's nothing, really. We just got here not long ago," Yu Yixiang replied, holding a fruit basket in one hand and Little Xiao's hand in the other, looking a bit uneasy. After hesitating for a moment, she handed the fruit basket over.

In truth, Yu Yixiang had already been here for some time. But seeing all those who came to congratulate Zhang Congwen dressed in such elegant attire—clearly influential figures—she felt embarrassed to approach them, fearing she might cause trouble.

Zhang Congwen took the basket with both hands and handed it to the person in charge of keeping accounts.

That person took the fruit basket and rummaged through it, finding only ordinary fruits inside and momentarily unsure how to record it.

The previous guests had all brought fruit baskets or similar gifts as well, but theirs contained cash envelopes—some as little as a thousand, others as much as ten thousand. He hadn't expected this elderly woman to bring nothing but a fruit basket.

What puzzled him even more was that despite her shabby clothes and modest gift, she was greeted by all three bosses together—a treatment that was hard to comprehend.

"Er..." The accountant was at a loss, glancing at the manager nearby.

"Just record it as it is," the manager whispered. "No matter who they are, be polite. Don't upset our client. Who knows what kind of relationship they have?"

"Aunt Yu, please come inside and sit," Zhang Congwen said.

Yu Yixiang glanced at Little Xiao and quickly waved her hand. "No, no, you should go greet your guests. I just came to see you, I won't stay. Besides, Little Xiao doesn’t like crowds—she gets frightened."

Zhang Congwen tried to persuade her, but Yu Yixiang insisted on leaving. Seeing Little Xiao’s fearful expression, Zhang Congwen didn’t press further and promised to visit her after things settled down.

"No need. You’ve helped us a lot recently, just focus on your own business," Yu Yixiang said, turning to leave.

"Well, well! The dog trainer speaks with such confidence," came a discordant voice just as Yu Yixiang walked away, drawing everyone’s attention.

They turned to see that the speaker was Yang Baoqian.

Ever since Yang Baoqian had asked Zhang Congwen to train his dog, and then subsequently resigned from Zhu Chang’s company, he had harbored resentment. Somehow, he'd learned of the opening of Zhang Congwen's dog training base and had come specifically to stir up trouble.

"Yang Baoqian, what are you doing here? I don’t think we invited you," Zhu Qingyan said, barely containing her anger.

Yang Baoqian feigned innocence. "True, you didn’t invite me, and I’m not here to congratulate your opening. But I’m here on business. Since you’re in the dog training business, I happen to have a dog that needs training. Is this how you treat customers?"

"We accept other people's business, but not yours," Zhu Qingyan replied.

Song Jiawei quickly intervened, shaking his head at Zhu Qingyan. He didn’t know Yang Baoqian personally, but could tell he wasn’t here with good intentions. Still, refusing a customer on opening day might damage their reputation, so he tried to deflect. "What kind of dog? Did you bring it? If not, we can look at it another day."

Yang Baoqian had come prepared, waiting for this very question. He sneered, "It's here. Take a look."

He drove over in an electric tricycle, and in the cage was a Jeju dog.

Song Jiawei hadn’t expected Yang Baoqian to be so thorough, so he turned to Zhang Congwen for guidance.

Yang Baoqian, seeing his scheme succeed, felt a surge of satisfaction and taunted, "Now you can take my business, right? If you refuse, I’ll make sure to spread the word about your training base."

"Congwen, ignore him—he's just here to make trouble. I’ll have my father throw him out," Zhu Qingyan whispered anxiously to Zhang Congwen.

Zhang Congwen shook his head.

Driving Yang Baoqian away would be easy, but doing so would surely leave their training base with a bad reputation. On their very first day, Zhang Congwen couldn't let things go that way. He said to Song Jiawei and Zhu Qingyan, "Let’s meet trouble head-on. We can’t let him win today."

He glanced at the dog in the cage behind Yang Baoqian and said, "Fine, I’ll take your business. But we need to discuss the price first."

"Price is no issue. As long as you can train my dog well, name your price," Yang Baoqian replied quickly. "I’m not afraid you’ll overcharge me after. With all these witnesses, you wouldn’t dare."

Song Jiawei had considered quoting a high price to scare Yang Baoqian off, but hearing this, he abandoned the idea. Clearly, Yang Baoqian wasn’t an easy client, but a troublesome one.

"Don’t assume we think like you," Zhu Qingyan said. "Our Canine Language Training Base offers fair prices."

Her words were meant for both Yang Baoqian and the onlookers.

"That’s reassuring," Yang Baoqian replied with a sickening smile, then shouted, "Everyone come and watch! Live dog training, right here!"

His call attracted even more curious passersby, drawn by the crowd.

"You..." Zhu Qingyan’s chest heaved with anger.

She knew, even without being a trainer herself, that dog training required a relatively quiet environment. This crowd would only make things harder.

Yang Baoqian sneered, "So, your Canine Language Training Base doesn’t let people watch? Maybe your methods involve beating the dogs?"

His words immediately stirred discussion among those present. Beating dogs had long been a common, though controversial, method—many pet owners could not accept it.

Especially for those who loved their dogs, none wished to see their pets beaten.

"If you want to watch, you may," Zhang Congwen said.

"Congwen, don’t fall for his tricks."

"Don’t be rash, Congwen," Zhu Qingyan and Song Jiawei said anxiously.

Zhang Congwen signaled them to relax, then turned to Yang Baoqian. "What’s the problem with your dog? What do you need me to train?"

"My dog bites people," Yang Baoqian replied.

"When did it start biting?" Zhang Congwen asked.

"I don’t know. It was a stray when I found it, and it was already biting people," Yang Baoqian said.

"Does it have a name?" Zhang Congwen asked.

"No name. I told you, it was a stray," Yang Baoqian replied.

"When did you start keeping it?" Zhang Congwen asked again.

"Today!"