520 Dog Trapping (1/2)

Chapter 520: Dog Trapping

Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

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!”