Outside the backyard of Song's shop is an alley. Opposite there are shops open for business and small courtyards where only people can live.
Song Xixi couldn't tell where the three dogs were going, so she came to the alley to ask people here.
Someone happened to see the two hundred and fifty running away, and pointed to the east alley and said: "I have seen these three dogs before, and they ran in this direction about an hour ago."
"Thank you!" Song Xixi hurriedly thanked him and ran eastward. He happened to meet Song Cai who had come to find him, and the father and daughter went to look for him together.
When they encountered a fork in the road and were unsure where the three dogs were going, they could only continue to ask people living nearby. It didn't take long to determine that they had gone around the alley and ran to the west.
The west was in the direction of Songjia'ao, and Song Xixi couldn't help but suspect that they had left her and gone home first.
When they arrived outside the town, Song Cai suggested: "Baby, I'll go home and see if they've arrived home. You can look for them in the places where they usually go."
Song Xixi had no objection: "Okay, if they go back, let them stay at home, there is no need to bring them here again."
Just as the father and daughter were about to separate, they heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance.
Song Cai glanced at it subconsciously, and the more he looked, the more familiar the figure became: "Good boy, is that the boy from the Zhao family?"
Song Xixi, who was worried about finding the dog, heard it and looked in the direction he pointed, and found that it was indeed Zhao Mingliang.
Zhao Mingliang also saw them and immediately sped up and ran over, followed by several mounted guards.
"Xixi, Uncle Song, are you going home?" Zhao Minglang got off his horse and walked quickly to the father and daughter: "If I had known you were going back, I would have stayed at your house a little longer."
Song Xixi said unexpectedly: "Are you coming from my house?"
Zhao Minglang smiled and said: "It's not the New Year, my grandparents and Lao Zhao sent me over to give you New Year gifts!"
Song Cai didn't expect the Zhao family to be so polite and come here specifically to give New Year's gifts. Just as he was about to say a few polite words, he suddenly remembered the three dogs that he didn't know if they were home, so he quickly asked: "Are they two hundred and five at home? Did you look at them along the way?"
to them?"
Zhao Minglang was surprised and said: "Two hundred and five are missing? I didn't see them. Maybe they were not on the same road, and they happened to be in the wrong direction."
Song Cai slapped his thigh fiercely: "It's broken. It's probably gone somewhere else!"
Song Xixi didn't bother to exchange greetings with Zhao Mingliang, and said urgently: "We have to find the dog. If anything happens, I will come back and find you!"
Zhao Mingliang said hurriedly: "I have nothing to do, so I'll look for it with you."
Without waiting for the father and daughter to refuse, he ordered a few guards: "You, ride back to the village and see if the two hundred and fifty have returned; you, go to the town and hire a group of people to search together. Whoever finds it, I will reward him with one hundred taels."
; And you, hurry to the restaurant..."
Zhao Minglang made the arrangements for the guards clear in a few words. Song Xixi and Song Cai thanked him and went with him to the place where the three dogs often visited these days to look for them.
It was just dark, but no trace of the three dogs was found. No one knew where they had gone.
Song Wufu and others, who learned from the guards of the Zhao family that the two hundred and five were missing, could not sit still. They led a group of people from the village straight to Hongfeng Town, and dozens or hundreds of people searched for them in the town and nearby villages.
.
After not finding the dog for a long time, Song Xixi calmed down: "They just want to play. There is no way they haven't come back after playing outside for so long. The only explanation is that they were captured."
Others may have guessed this: "Maybe those greedy guys want to eat dog meat, or maybe they see how good they look and want to sell them to rich people who like dogs!"
The only thing that is not certain is whether the person who captured the three dogs acted on impulse or had planned it for a long time.
Song Xixi said in a deep voice: "There are only a few restaurants in the town. If we know that the lost dog is a dog that has done meritorious service, we should not dare to accept a dog of unknown origin. The person who captured 250 of them may know that we are looking for them. If
The dogs haven’t been released before dawn, and they won’t be released again.”
After hearing this, the other members of the Song family all looked extremely ugly.
Song Xixi's mind was spinning very fast and she said decisively: "The three dogs have a big goal. It's not easy to transport them out. I'll issue a reward in the town directly through the mayor. Anyone who provides clues will be rewarded fifty taels of silver for helping."
Anyone who finds it will be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver."
Under the heavy reward, few people can restrain themselves. Those who capture the dog will also weigh whether it is more cost-effective to return the dog and receive the reward, or to sell the dog at the risk of being caught.
The new mayor was appointed by the government. He knew that Song Xixi and the three dogs were highly valued by the government. When he learned of Song Xixi's request, he announced the reward notice without saying a word and sent people to the village overnight to inform the village chiefs.
The effect of this was obvious. Before dawn, someone ran to the mayor's house and provided the whereabouts of the three dogs.
Song Xixi did not hesitate and immediately sent people to Majia Village, not far from Hongfeng Town.
The cold wind was howling, but in a broken thatched hut far away from Majia Village, it was bustling with people exchanging cups and glasses. Five or six young people, no more than thirty years old, gathered together to drink and brag, imagining a bright future:
"One hundred taels for a dog, a total of three hundred taels of silver, we will soon have three hundred taels of silver, hahahaha..."
"When the money comes in, each person can get fifty taels. Fifty taels is enough to build a spacious house with tiles and marry a beautiful wife!"
"Enough, enough, enough! I never thought that one day three dogs would allow us to live as good a life as our dreams!"
"..."
Several people were talking noisily, and suddenly someone slammed his bowl and started going crazy: "Tsk, tsk, I only earn ten yuan a day by working hard, and a dog is worth a hundred taels. Damn people are not as good as dogs, bah!"
After he finished cursing, he caught a glimpse of three shiny dogs crowded into a narrow cage. He felt increasingly depressed. He walked over and kicked the cage: "They are just three beasts, but they are more precious than humans. Why!"
"
The three dogs were frightened and stared at the man fiercely, baring their teeth at him and wanting to bite his neck off.
When the man saw it, he picked up the stick on the side and stabbed the outermost two hundred and five with all his strength: "You dare to show your teeth to me, I'll beat you to death, you piece of shit!"
"Ouch--" Erbaiwu was in pain, and his expression became more ferocious. He opened his mouth and bit the cage hard, and did not flinch even if his mouth was filled with blood from the bamboo thorns.
When the pole bench looked at it, he started biting it desperately: "Woo woo, woo woo..."
In an instant, the whole room was filled with the sound of dogs tearing at the cage.
When several other drunk men saw it, they were so frightened that they hurriedly stopped their companions who were still trying to be aggressive: "Don't fight, don't fight. If you break it, it won't be worth anything!"