Boozer starts with no name, pouncing on sparrows in the wild hills, rolling in mud, surviving meal to meal as …
Boozer starts with no name, pouncing on sparrows in the wild hills, rolling in mud, surviving meal to meal as a stray.
Then he meets a woman in red who sometimes leaves him meaty bones, half-finished fish meals by the roadside.
She always comes in a hurry, leaves in a hurry, smelling of pear blossoms and wine. Following that scent, he always finds her offerings.
But one day, she stops coming. Boozer wanders again, but something has changed. He loves the smell of wine now. Wine smells like home. He travels and plays, and when tired, he flops by any wine jar he finds, lapping at it until he gets dizzy, until one day he stumbles onto a wine cart and wakes up in Kaifeng, reeking of alcohol.
The villagers whisper: a strange dog, a drunkard, has jumped off their wine cart.
Boozer wags his tail, drunk on the familiar scent, feeling close to that woman again. He loves it here. Everywhere smells like wine. Everywhere smells like home.