Chapter 32

After the competition began, various pets vied for attention. To be honest, some of the pets performed exceptionally well. For example, there was a parrot that could clearly say, "Hello, thank you, and see you next time." This immediately drew a round of applause from the audience.

Xiaohai also found it very intriguing. They say parrots can mimic speech, but teaching a parrot to really speak is no easy task.

A papillon's impressive performance also drew cheers from the audience.

It was clear that the dog's owner had put a lot of effort into training this papillon named "Mann." Not only was it beautiful and graceful, but it could also dance to music under its owner's direction.

Although the dance steps were a bit comical, it was already quite an achievement for a dog to do this.

The other dogs, mainly canines, also showcased their unique skills.

The morning passed quickly, and the host announced a one-hour break before the afternoon session.

Yin Yunuo ordered two bowls of hand-rolled rice noodles for Xiaohai. Her uncle had already accompanied Mr. Feng to the restaurant for lunch.

The two chatted casually, and the hour passed quickly. The contestants who had not yet competed returned to the venue.

After several dogs had finished their performances, the chief judge, Dou Deliang, stood up, took the microphone from the host, and said, "Next, let's welcome Mr. Feng Guoren, the president of 'Yuanwei Group,' and his famous dog, Peter, who has won second place twice and first place once in national dog competitions."

The audience and the contestants with their beloved pets held their breath. Peter was a well-known dog nationwide, and being able to see him in person was already a worthwhile experience even if they didn't win a prize.

Feng Guoren walked up confidently, first saying some polite words, then boasting about his dog Peter. He then had the trainer, Charlie, bring Peter out to perform.

To be honest, Charlie was very skilled at training dogs, and Peter, being a champion dog, lived up to its reputation. It performed several amazing tricks, each one drawing applause. In particular, there was one segment where Charlie asked Alice to take out a ring, let Peter smell it, and then had someone temporarily take Charlie away. The ring was then given to a member of the audience, who was asked to hide it anywhere.

The audience member was mischievous and, after some thought, hid the ring inside the papillon "Mann's" dog clothes.

To some extent, the smell of the dog could mask the scent Peter had memorized.

The audience became tense, but Charlie smiled and brought Peter back, saying, "Peter, find!"

The simpler the command given to a dog, the better, often just one word, as longer commands are hard for dogs to remember.

Peter's nose sniffed around, and each audience member was very tense, eager to see just how amazing this champion dog was.

In just a few seconds, Peter suddenly pounced on Mann. Mann was startled and had no time to dodge, being knocked to the ground by Peter.

"Let go, let go!" Mann's owner cried out urgently.

At this moment, Charlie smiled and ordered Peter to stop, retrieving the ring from Mann's clothes.

Applause broke out, and Peter's skills amazed everyone.

"This is nothing," Yin Yunuo whispered. "Dogs have a well-developed sense of smell. Many of the drug-sniffing dogs in our police force have noses that are much more sensitive than Peter's."

Xiaohai nodded in agreement, about to say something when a change occurred on the field.

Mann, who had been startled earlier, now regained its senses and started barking at Peter.

This was a sign of a dog's insecurity, but the kind of owner who raises a dog reflects the dog's character. Feng and Alice were used to being arrogant, and as a result, Peter had the same personality. Hearing the small dog bark at him, Peter suddenly became aggressive, pouncing on Mann and biting it wildly.

Mann's owner and the audience were terrified. It took a while for Charlie to drag Peter away, by which time Mann was covered in injuries.

"How could this happen, how could this happen!" Mann's owner was on the verge of tears.

"Who let your dog provoke our Peter?" Alice said disdainfully. "It's just a broken dog. Old Feng, pay him! Two dogs' worth!"

"Is money everything?" Mann's owner shouted angrily.

Seeing a potential conflict, Dou Deliang hurried over and said, "Why don't you take your dog to the vet first? We have a pet hospital nearby. We can discuss compensation later, later."

Mann's owner, worried about his beloved dog, glared at Alice and Peter and hurriedly left with the injured Mann.

The scene fell silent.

Peter's performance was indeed superior, but he and his owner were too arrogant. However, the German Shepherd was large and fierce, and its owner seemed powerful, so the audience and contestants dared not speak out.

"Boss, I'll help Mann get revenge later."

Xiaoqi's consciousness suddenly transmitted.

Xiaohai sneered, already unable to hold back. "Disable that dog!"

Come on, the German Shepherd, though fierce, couldn't compare to Xiaoqi, who had already reached the strength of a wolf and was about to surpass that of a leopard.

At this moment, the audience's mood was dampened by the sudden incident. After a few more rounds, the host announced, "Next, please welcome Xiaohai and his dog, Xiaoqi, to perform!"

When Xiaohai and Xiaoqi entered the field, the previously cold atmosphere erupted into laughter.

What kind of dogs had competed before? Pomeranians, poodles, Labradors... but what was on the field now?

A Chinese rural dog—just a mutt!

Feng Guoren laughed heartily, pointing at the mutt and saying, "Old Dou, are you too stingy? You actually let a mutt compete?"

Dou Deliang had already cursed Xiaohai's ancestors in his heart. How could he have agreed to his niece's request in a moment of madness?

Xiaohai ignored the laughter, and when it died down, he said lazily, "Could someone please bring me a basin of water?"

A basin of water was brought up, and the field fell silent, all eyes on Xiaohai to see what he would do.

Xiaohai, still looking lazy, said, "Could someone please give a math problem with numbers up to ten?"

"Three plus five," someone called out.

Without Xiaohai's command, Xiaoqi dipped its paw in the water and wrote a large "8" on the ground.

Everyone's mouths dropped open... Good heavens, what had they just seen? A miracle, they had witnessed a miracle today!

Solving math problems with numbers up to ten isn't difficult for a dog if trained long enough. However, there's a prerequisite: the problems must be fixed and familiar to the dog, so it can respond with conditioned reflexes.

For example, 1 + 2, the dog would bark three times, but if you changed the order to 2 + 1, the dog wouldn't recognize it.

But... but this mutt could actually write? No one was seeing things; the dog really wrote!

"Five minus three," someone called out.

A "2" quickly appeared on the ground.

The scene erupted into chaos, with everyone crowding to see the miraculous dog. The security guards had to work hard to keep the crowd back.

The host tried to calm the audience, exchanging glances with Dou Deliang. "Three plus fifteen."

This was beyond the scope of single-digit numbers. Previously, during his free time, Xiaohai had taught Xiaoqi some basic numbers and addition and subtraction within ten. Beyond this, it was beyond Xiaoqi's current capabilities.

But Xiaoqi had Xiaohai by its side!

Xiaohai sent a thought, and Xiaoqi dipped its paw in the water and wrote a large "1" and "8" on the ground.

"Miracle dog! Miracle dog!"

"Heaven, this dog is a miracle!"

The audience went wild, their phones and cameras flashing as they tried to capture the miracle dog.

Peter's glory was completely overshadowed. Compared to Xiaoqi's performance, Peter's tricks were nothing.

Feng Guoren and Dou Deliang were also stunned, seeing such a miraculous dog for the first time. Heaven, how was this trained?

"Cheating, cheating!" Alice, seeing her Peter being ignored and overshadowed, shouted like a shrew. "Those who gave the problems were plants! What miracle dog, nonsense! If you're so good, let me give a problem!"

The word "nonsense" coming from a woman's mouth was quite unseemly, and some people couldn't help but laugh sarcastically.

Alice ignored them. "Eight times nine, let's see if your trash dog can solve it!"

The scene erupted into chaos again, with accusations flying. The dog's owner had already said that the dog could only do addition and subtraction within ten. The host had already broken the rules with "three plus fifteen," and now she wanted the dog to do multiplication?

Xiaohai gave her a cold look, feeling that Xiaoqi's performance had been too impressive. However, he had to put this woman in her place. "Miss, I have a unique method to train dogs to do math, which I can't reveal. I've worked hard to teach it addition and subtraction, and I've just started teaching it multiplication and division."

The audience gasped. This person was actually teaching a dog multiplication and division?

Xiaohai smiled. "I'll let Xiaoqi try its best. If it gets it wrong, don't laugh at it."

He sent a thought to Xiaoqi, who calmly wrote two numbers on the ground with water:

"72"!

"Wrong, wrong, 8 times 9 is 72!" Alice gloated.

"Ha—" Laughter erupted, and Alice was oblivious to what had happened. Feng Guoren, embarrassed by his mistress, wished he could find a hole to crawl into.

Suddenly, the laughter stopped, and everyone started chanting in unison:

"Miracle dog! Miracle dog! Miracle dog!"