Pet King
chapter-520

Boom! Bang!

Zhang Zian was woken up earlier than usual.

Although fireworks were banned in Binhai City, they were allowed in remote neighborhoods and counties. The noise travelled a large distance in the quiet morning. It must have been a huge firework...

Fireworks with a 10 inch shell were as powerful as a bomb. One all on its own could be heard from over half the city.

Today was January 1st, the beginning of a new year.　

Zhang Zian was exhausted from his lack of sleep. He looked at his phone, and silently added up how many red packets he'd missed from countless Wechat groups since midnight. He felt like he'd lost a fortune, and soon became wide awake.

When his parents ran the pet shop, they would close the store for a few days during major holidays like New Year's. This way, they could take young Zian to the park or on a short trip in the area. But now, he was all alone and had nowhere to go even if he did close the shop. He might as well keep the business open and running. He still gave the day off to Wang Qian, Li Kun, and Lu Yiyun, and asked them not to come in that day.

Wang Qian and Li Kun had finished their finals. They should be spending time with their families during the holidays, and then getting ready to go back to school to prepare for more exams.

Lu Yiyun had some rough patches with her family in the past. But blood was thicker than water. The holidays were all about spending time with family, so she might as well message them and try to fix things.

Since he couldn't fall back sleep, he figured that he might as well get up.

He sat up quietly, got dressed, and looked around the room.

The fireworks had even briefly woken up the elfins. But it was early, and it was still completely dark outside. Even the energetic Galaxy went back to sleep, not to mention the sleepy Fina, who wouldn't wake up even if the sky fell down. Old Time Tea's was asleep, taking long and steady breaths. Its breathing was as steady as a radio clock's.

"Meow...nom...raw beef brisket..." Besides from talking in its sleep, Snowy Lionet developed another bad habit of having dreams about eating. Zian almost wanted to shove a cockroach into its mouth.

Farther away, Famous was asleep in a corner. The dim light from the night lamp was the only lighting in the room. Famous had been sleeping better these days and woke up less often in the night. Weirdly enough, it also developed a bad habit of kicking its leg while it was sleeping. Who knows what it was trying to kick at.

Zhang Zian went to the bathroom and then sneaked out of his bedroom.

By the glass door, Zhan Tian alertly lifted its head. When it saw that it was only Zhang Zian, it laid back down in peace.

Zhan Tian was without a doubt a previous top police dog candidate. It was much more alert than Famous, and responded to the slightest sound before anyone else.

Zhang Zian rolled up the metal door shutter, and waved it over. "Zhan Tian, come and play with me outside."

Zhan Tian walked over obediently. He put on its leash and they left the shop.　

It was very early in the morning and still dark outside. The street lamps were on, with only a few people walking around. Wind was blowing through the area and there was the slight smell of gunpowder. Zhang Zian walked with Zhan Tian down the street, and reached Uncle Li's restaurant before he even realized it.

The lights were turned on early in the restaurant. Through the window, he could see the old couple working. There were no customers yet, but the restaurant owners had to get up early and prepare the food before the customers arrived.

He pushed the door open and said, "Uncle and Aunt, happy new year!"　

Uncle Li and Aunt Li were mixing dough. They were surprised to hear his voice, and lifted their heads. "Oh! Master Zhang, happy new year! Happy new year!"　

They knew that Zhang Zian had been busy lately. He hadn't visited their restaurant in a long time.

"I got up early today and had nothing to do. So I decided to pay you guys a visit." Zhang Zian smiled. "One bowl of wonton soup for me, please. And one for him as well, a large one with all meat filling."

He sat down on a chair and tapped Zhan Tian's head. "Sit."　

Zhan Tian sat next to him dutifully.

"Wow! This dog is so well-trained, it actually sits down when it's told to. It's much more obedient than the dogs in the countryside." Aunt Li enviously looked at Zhan Tian. "We had a big dog back home, but then it was trapped by somebody."

"Trapped?" Zhang Zian had just woken up, and hadn't washed his face so he wouldn't wake up the sleeping elfins. His brain was working slowly, and couldn't understand the words she was saying.　　

Aunt Li drew a circle in the air. "It's a wooden rod, with an iron circle on one end, used to trap dogs. There used to be dog trappers in the city too, since city dogs are so expensive and well fed. But there are too many security cameras in the city, so the trappers moved to the countryside. They usually come in groups of two or three. One drives a motorcycle, with another person on the backseat. If they see a dog roaming on the road, they trap it and run away! They put the dog's neck into the iron circle, and quickly speed up the motorcycle. Most dogs choke and faint. Some stronger dogs won't pass out, but they're too weak to struggle after being choked..."

Aunt Li thought about the dog that got stolen in her hometown, and took a deep sigh. It was an ordinary type of dog from the countryside, not an expensive breed. But, they had raised since it was a puppy. Any owner would have been attached to it and heartbroken over it being trapped and taken.

Zhang Zian suddenly understood. He'd heard about dog trapping, but he'd never seen it happen himself. Maybe it happened less often in the city, but not in the countryside. Especially now, as most young people moved to the city to work, leaving the old and sick in the countryside, easy to be taken advantage of.

"What do they do with the trapped dogs?" He asked.

Aunt Li shook her head. "I'm not sure. But I heard that the trappers bring the dogs back to their homes and sell the expensive dogs. The cheap breeds are sold to dog meat restaurants, so my dog..." She sighed sorrowfully.

Nobody would want to buy her ordinary dog. It probably ended up at a dog meat restaurant.

Zhang Zian also sighed. If it had been sold again, there was at least chance to get it back. But if it had been sold to a dog meat restaurant...

At that moment, Uncle Li served the hot wonton soup and scolded her. "This is the first day of the new year, with our special guest Master Zhang. Why are you upsetting him? Go back to the kitchen to help! I'm swamped over here!"　

Aunt Li was a tough woman. She widened her eyes and said, "I'll say whatever I want. It's none of your business! How do you know what Master Zhang wants to hear?"

Zhang Zian didn't want them to argue, and tried to make peace. "It's okay, really. I liked the story and learned something new."

"You old decrepit man, you hear that?" Aunt Li's eyes were even wider after getting support.

The couple was always arguing. They were both used to it, and couldn't hurt the other's feelings. 　　

Uncle Li put the wontons on Zhang Zian's table and smiled. "Help yourself, Master Zhang, and don't listen to this old woman. Our old dog was probably not trapped. It might have gotten lost. One morning, the gate was open in our yard, and the dog was resting in the sun near it. I was making pickles close by. Then this woman called me from inside the house. I went in the house for a few minutes and then the dog was missing when I came back out."　

"So it's my fault then?" Aunt Li was furious. "I called you for something. You knew there were dog trappers around. Why didn't you close the gate before coming inside the house?"　　

Uncle Li yelled, "How could I think that far ahead? You were rushing me to get inside, and kept calling me even after I answered you. I thought you fell and hit your head, so I hurried inside to see what was wrong, without even washing my hands. It turned out to be nothing important, and we lost the dog because of it."　

Before they started arguing again, Zhang Zian interrupted their conversation. "You're right, Uncle Li. The dog wasn't on a leash, right? It might have gotten lost. Maybe a car drove by, and it followed out of curiosity."　

He knew he wasn't being that convincing, but it was better than saying nothing.

Uncle Li nodded and continued. "I've heard that old dogs are spiritual beings. Our dog was very old. Maybe it knew that it didn't have that much time left, so it left us to die in a quiet place. It's possible that it wasn't trapped!"

He emphasized over and over that it might not have been kidnapped. He didn't want to give up on what little hope he had. It surely wouldn't have lived after being trapped. But if it got lost, it at least had the chance to die a natural death.　

This showed how much Uncle Li loved their dog, so much that he couldn't bear to imagine it suffering a terrible death.　

Aunt Li mumbled. Just as she was about to respond, she heard the water boiling in the kitchen, and told Zhang Zian in a hurry, "Master Zhang, since your dog is so well trained, you must be even more cautious of dog trappers."

Then she ran into the kitchen to pour the hot water in a thermos.

"This old woman makes a fuss everyday, don't take her seriously, Master Zhang." Uncle Li stared at her from behind and turned to smile at Zhang Zian.

"It's fine. I really don't mind." Zhang Zian laughed. "Uncle Li, I'm all good here. Go on ahead if you're busy. I can take care of myself."

"Okay, enjoy your food." There were a lot of things to take care of in the morning. Uncle Li left politely and went back to the kitchen.

Zhang Zian scooped up a wonton and some soup with his spoon, and then put it into his mouth. It was the perfect temperature. He added some chili powder and pepper, and looked around. It was too early, and no other customers had arrived yet. He put the disposable bowl with the meat wontons on the floor, and called Zhan Tian over for breakfast. If another customer was eating next to him, he wouldn't have done this because he wouldn't have wanted to upset them.

After a bowl of hot wonton soup, his nose was shiny with sweat, and his whole body was warm.　

Zhan Tian also finished its food. It liked it a lot, and even drank most of the soup.

Zhang Zian left money on the table, shouted towards the kitchen, and then left the restaurant with Zhan Tian.

It took them about 20 minutes to finish breakfast. The day was brighter, and more pedestrians were in the streets.　

He walked around for a while with Zhan Tian. A street lamp turned off as he passed by a utility pole, and then he noticed a piece of paper.

Normally, he wouldn't have paid attention to this. They were usually scam advertisements about magical alternative therapies for skin diseases, or rich women looking for surrogates. But he had a lot of free time this morning, so he stopped to take a look. It was taped to the pole, moving gently in the morning winds.

Lost Dog:

Around 16:40 on December 30th, I was walking my dog near the the Family Housing Facility of Binhai University. My white Samoyed saw a stray cat and chased after it, then suddenly disappeared after turning a corner around a residential building, and is nowhere to be found.　

Its name is Tuan Tuan, female, only 3 years old, around half a meter tall and 1.1 meters long. It chews on the left side of its mouth, so its left teeth are slightly worn down.　　

Tuan Tuan is our family's joy. My parents are so sad and haven't been able to sleep for days. If someone is kind enough to get Tuan Tuan back, I'll pay 10,000 Yuan as a token of my appreciation. You have my word.　

If someone stole it because of its beauty, please kindly return it. We won't fight you, and we're willing to pay the same price. If you're also a dog lover, I'll buy you a purebred Samoyed.

Tuan Tuan is not a purebred Samoyed. It's not worth that much money.

Tuan Tuan's picture was listed below the writing. Zhang Zian recognized right away, that just as the owner said, the Samoyed was beautiful, but not purebred.

There was telephone number at the end, along with a side note: Dear sanitation workers, please keep this flyer here for a few days. I'll take it down myself. Thanks!

Zhang Zian stopped to carefully read it again. He could feel the love and anxiety in the owner's words. A purebred Samoyed may cost a few thousand yuan, but the owner was willing to pay 10,000 yuan to get a non-purebred one back. If he meant what he said, this family really loved the dog and didn't want to lose it like this.　

In general, ads for lost cats and dogs were common in the city. Zhang Zian had seen several different ones before. The silly sledding dog breeds especially, because they weren't cautious around strangers and would follow anyone who called it. It was easy to lose them. Also, many people walking their dogs didn't use a leash. If a dog got distracted, it could run away so fast that it would be impossible to follow, just like what had happened in this ad.

Maybe Uncle and Aunt Li were right. Zhang Zian suddenly became paranoid. Could this Samoyed have been trapped?

He read the ad again, and noticed the words "suddenly disappeared". The owner must have thought it was suspicious to describe it this way.

Or maybe he was just thinking too much. Perhaps this dog was simply lost.

Zhan Tian sniffed around the pole. Zhang Zian pulled on its leash. "Come on, Zhan Tian. Let's go home."