521 Gang (1/2)
Chapter 521: Gang
Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhang Zian opened the shutter door and went back to his pet shop with Zhan Tian.
The elves had woken up. Lying on the cat tree, Fina unpleasantly asked the empty-handed Zhang Zian, ”Where is my breakfast? Did you just go out and feed yourself?”
”Wait a minute. I went out too early and the breakfast at the restaurant hadn't been prepared yet.” To avoid listening to its nagging, Zhang Zian did not take off his coat, but picked up his big broomstick and shovel and went out again to clear the snow and ice in front of the store.
Today, Wang Qian and Li Kun would not come over, so all the cleaning work would be done alone by Zhang Zian. It was customary for a pet shop, even if it was closed for holidays, to replace the cat litter, clean the dog feces, and disinfect the indoor environment as usual. When all these heavy chores were finished, why not simply open the door to make money?
The traffic on the sidewalk at the entrance to his shop was quite heavy. During the day, the snow was stepped on so much that it had slightly melted, but then the melted snow would be frozen by night. In many cases, it wasn't enough to simply sweep the snow with the broomstick. Zhang Zian also had to use the shovel to smash and crush the ice.
Zhang Zian had worked hard to clean the ice and snow, not because he wanted to be a model citizen, but because he would not be able to afford the compensation in case an elderly person slipped and fell in front of his shop.
Just then, a slender figure passed by him and went into his pet shop where there currently were no customers.
A customer has arrived so early on the first day of the New Year? Is it a good start? Zhang Zian wondered.
However, before he had time to be happy about it, that silhouette had pushed the door and left the shop. In total, that person had only spent less than ten seconds in his shop. Zhang Zian saw that a girl wearing a white short down jacket and a pair of blue jeans was quickly headed to the north.
Probably she had taken the wrong way?
He did not mind, because it was normal for people to find the wrong place occasionally. He continued shoveling the snow and removing the ice.
After a while, he carried his big broomstick and shovel and returned to his shop. Then he cleared away the cat litter and dog feces as usual. He was about to take the excrements outside so that the sanitation workers could help throw them away. When he passed through the cashier desk, he seemed to notice something out of the corner of his eye, so he returned to the desk.
Behind the computer screen at the cashier desk, a piece of paper was attached there. He peeled it off and saw that it was a notice about a lost dog, which was exactly the same as the notice he saw on the pole.
In that case, the girl who just entered the shop was the owner of the dog? But why did she post the notice in my pet shop? Is she so desperate that she thinks that I have stolen her dog and will resell it to my customers?
Zhang Zian carried the garbage bags out of his shop and piled them at the designated garbage-collection place. Just then, a car horn blared, and Sun Xiaomeng parked her car at the roadside.
”Hey! Happy New Year!” Zhang Zian raised his hand to say hello.
Sun Xiaomeng rolled down her car window. She was not looking at his face, but was staring at the paper in his hand. ”Happy New Year! What is that about?”
”This? It's a notice about a lost dog posted by someone. It's posted in my pet shop! How ridiculous is that?” Zhang Zian held the paper for her to see.
Sun Xiaomeng took over the paper and frowned. ”It hasn't been found yet.”
From her tone, it seemed that Sun Xiaomeng had known about this matter. Out of curiosity, Zhang Zian asked, ”The notice has also been posted in your pet clinic?”
Sun Xiaomeng pointed to the phone number on the notice and said, ”She is a regular client in my clinic. She often takes her dog to my clinic for vaccination and physical examination etc. ... The sterilization operation of Tuan Tuan is also performed in my clinic. I feel bad to see her looking around desperately for her dog.”
”Oh, no wonder you know this matter.”
It turned out that the owner of the lost dog was an acquaintance of Sun Xiaomeng. Zhang Zian understood why the girl would post the notice in Sun Xiaomeng's pet clinic.
”Recently, it seems like a lot of dogs are lost. Among those dogs that come to my clinic for regular medical examinations, two or three dogs are lost.” She handed the notice back to Zhang Zian.
”That many?” Zhang Zian was deeply surprised. Her clinic was quite small, but there were two or three dogs that had been lost in such a short time. The number of lost dogs might be big if the trend had been expanded to the nearby urban areas.
He thought for a moment, and reiterated Aunt Li's words to her about dog trapping, and asked, ”Do you think it's possible? But I've heard that few dogs have been trapped and stolen in the city.”
Sun Xiaomeng seriously contemplated for a moment, and answered, ”There are very few dog-trappers in the city. But you see, it is not long before the Spring Festival, and many people need money at this time of the year, so perhaps they have generated the crooked idea of profiting from dog trapping. Under the cold weather, a lot of people wear masks when they go out, and these dog-trappers will be fine even if the surveillance cameras capture their images, so it's natural for someone to take the risk. These stolen dogs were worth a fortune, whether they were sold to dog meat restaurants or for resale in the market.”
Zhang Zian gazed toward the pedestrians. Just as Sun Xiaomeng said, at least five out of ten pedestrians wore masks. It would be very strange to wear masks in the summer, but not in the winter, especially nowadays that many people wore masks to prevent fog and haze.
”I think it is more profitable to return the dogs to their owners.” He pointed to the 10,000 Yuan reward written on the notice and laughed.
”The dog-trappers will not be so stupid to take the risk to return the dogs. Who knows if they will receive the reward or get brutally beaten up?”
Joking aside, Zhang Zian also knew that no one would do such silly things.
”It's New Year's Day today. Your clinic is still open for business?” he asked.
She said with regret, ”I have been intending to rest for today ... You should be free today, right? The girl who posted this notice should be waiting for me in the clinic, and she would like to ask me for advice. Why not come together with me? You have plenty of clever ideas related to pets. Consider it doing a good deed by helping her out.”
Zhang Zian said, ”Do I look like I have much free time?”
”You do!” She answered concisely.
It's true that Zhang Zian had nothing much to do today. Besides, he was quite curious about the lost dogs. So, he pulled down the shutter door, locked it and sat in the passenger seat. Then he went to the pet clinic with Sun Xiaomeng.
The girl in the white down jacket and blue jeans was indeed waiting in front of the clinic. Hands in her pocket, she kept looking around, perhaps was waiting for the arrival of Sun Xiaomeng, or was hoping to see her own dog.
”Sister Xiaomeng!”
The girl quickly approached Sun Xiaomeng as she got out of the car. Then the girl noticed Zhang Zian who also got out. She felt this man seemed a bit familiar to her.