Chapter 1 Finding a Dog
July, 1995.
The heat was rolling in early in the morning and the cicadas were chirping.
The plane trees on both sides of Anning Road provide a green shade that covers the sky.
Walking through the middle section of Anning Road and turning into a small alley, the noisy sounds of cars and horses and the shouts from shops suddenly disappeared. On the cement walls on both sides of the alley, there are two huge propaganda posters. One reads "Be civilized and polite, set a new social trend", and the other reads "Family planning, basic national policy".
The hot wind of the times blows through every corner of the city.
Xia Muchan sat in the office of Anning Road Police Station, staring at the tall pear tree in the yard in a daze.
The criminal investigation major at China Police University is very famous. It combines theory with practice and has trained a number of outstanding criminal police officers who have been fighting on the front line against crime for the public security system. Xia Mufan thought that he would become one of them, but he didn't expect that one month after being assigned to Anning Road Police Station after graduation, he had started living a "retirement" life in advance, and his bones were rusted with idleness.
An old ceiling fan above my head was creaking, bringing a little cool breeze.
The sunlight shines through the window lattice, casting slanted squares on the ground, and the dust dances in the sunlight.
Peaceful and tranquil.
Anning Road Police Station is truly worthy of the name Anning.
It's 8:35 in the morning, and you can tell what everyone in each office is doing without having to go out and look.
Director Wei Yong was drinking tea leisurely, the household registration policeman Lao Qian was patiently receiving residents in the area, two clerical policemen were busy copying materials, and three community policemen were making preparations for the community.
Only she and two other police officers in charge of the case, Sun Xianbing and Yu Jing, were sitting in the east office doing nothing.
Sun Xianbing and Xia Mufan are alumni, two years older than her. He was thin and had a strong local accent. He spoke quickly, "Dayu, when do you think we can achieve merit?"
Yu Jing is tall and strong. He served as a car mechanic in the army for five years and speaks standard Mandarin: "You can't rush it."
Sun Xianbing picked up the blank transcript on the table and shook it: "See? Nothing! It's been more than a month, and there hasn't been a single case. Dayu, you're not anxious, but I am. During the Spring Festival, I boasted to my grandparents that I would soon be rewarded with a medal, and then they would be proud of me in front of the villagers. But what's the truth? What's the result? All the larger criminal cases are transferred to the Municipal Bureau, and we can only handle small cases forever, and there is no chance to be rewarded."
Just as he finished speaking, the phone in the police hall rang.
"Ding-ling-ling..."
The voice was like a battle horn. Yu Jing stood up suddenly and said, "Call the police!"
Sun Xianbing looked at Xia Mufan who was staring out the window in a daze: "Hey, Xiao Xia, it's time to work!"
Xia Mufan slowly turned his head.
She has a pair of long and curved eyes with black pupils. The slightly dark oval face looks full of vitality because of these eyes.
Sun Xianbing finally found an opportunity to take care of his new apprentice sister. He enthusiastically explained the process and details of handling the case: "You must remember this later..."
Yu Jing interrupted him: "Don't talk too much, Xiao Xia knows all this. Hurry up and go take a look, otherwise those people from the community will take over the job again."
Sun Xianbing immediately became alert and started to jog: "Yes! Hurry up!"
Following his colleagues out of the office, Xia Mufan looked up at the old locust tree on the west side of the police station yard, and saw two little birds chirping.
[It’s just a trivial matter.] 】
[Blindly call the police.] 】
【funny! 】
Xia Mufan, who had been able to hear the voices of animals since childhood, slowed down his pace.
In the police hall, the police officer on duty has already answered the phone.
"Hello."
"Yes."
"Okay, please describe it in detail."
Sun Xianbing was the first to rush into the duty hall.
Yu Jing was the second to arrive.
Director Wei Yong walked in holding a large enamel pot.
Three community police officers followed closely behind.
The police officer on duty hung up the phone and looked at his colleagues running over from different offices with a strange expression on his face.
Chief Wei Yong is fifty years old, with gray hair and a kind face. He asked patiently, "What's the situation?" Having served as the chief of Anning Road Police Station for ten years, Wei Yong is experienced and mature. He estimated that it would not be a big deal, so he leisurely took a sip of tea and waited for the police officer on duty to reply.
The police officer on duty said, "A resident of Xueyuan Jiayuan called the police..." Without waiting for anyone to guess, he quickly gave the answer, "The dog from Wang Lixia's home is missing again."
"Tsk!" Upon hearing this, Sun Xianbing immediately lost interest, "That Teddy."
Yu Jing frowned: "Last month, her dog also disappeared, right?"
Xia Mufan walked slowly into the hall and stood quietly behind Yu Jing. Is your pet dog lost? The little bird was right, it was not a big deal.
Sun Xianbing asked: "Dayu, what should we do?"
Yu Jing smiled bitterly: "The police and the people are like one family. When the people are in trouble, no matter how small the matter is, we must take it seriously."
Wei Yong patted Yu Jing on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Xiao Yu is right. The people's business is our business. Since Wang Lixia has called the police, you should fill out the police form and help her find the dog."
When the director spoke, Yu Jing stood still, straightened his chest, and saluted without hesitation: "Yes!"
"Comrade police, you must help me find my Doudou!" Following a high-pitched and sharp female shout, Wang Lixia, who was wearing a modified cheongsam with dark floral patterns and had big wavy hair and lived in Xueyuan Jiayuan, made a brilliant appearance.
Xueyuan Garden is one of the most upscale residential communities in Hui City. It is backed by Jingui Mountain to the north, faces Anning Road to the south and is adjacent to the Normal College. It has a beautiful environment and complete supporting facilities. It is full of single-family villas and the residents are either rich or noble. Wang Lixia's husband is a famous entrepreneur in the city. His family is wealthy. Since his son went abroad last year, he was bored and raised a dog, which he treats like his own baby.
Wang Lixia was not afraid of bothering the police. She called the police when her dog was lost. This was her second time going to the police station and she became familiar with all the police officers there.
In this way, the three police officers in charge of the case, Yu Jing, Sun Xianbing and Xia Mufan, received the call and prepared to go out to find the dog.
The other three community police officers and two clerical police officers who were sitting in the office copying documents in the police station saw the three of them running out. They ignored the heat and followed them out with smiles: Hey, hey, hey, police and the public are one family, don't leave us behind.
Chief Wei knew that everyone was just making up an excuse to stretch their legs, and he was too lazy to expose them, so he simply waved his hand and said: I'm here at the station, anyone who wants to help find the dog, go and practice your legs!
So, nine people walked out of the police station together.
Wang Lixia walked side by side with Yu Jing, not forgetting to flatter him: "The police comrades of our Anning Road Police Station are really enthusiastic. Don't worry, this time when the city selects the police station that the people are most satisfied with, I will definitely choose you."
Yu Jing curled his lips: "Thank you for your support."
Walking out of the alley and looking at the busy Anning Road in front of her, Wang Lixia nervously instructed the police who were planning to split up: "Comrade police, my dog Doudou is only one year old this year. She is still small, with brown curly hair and eyes like black beans. She is very smart. You call her Doudou and she will come running. She is very well behaved and won't bite people. Oh, by the way, she has a small bun on her head with a pink bow. She is a very cute girl..."
Xia Mufan could understand Wang Lixia's feelings.
Dogs understand human nature. If you treat them with sincerity, they will repay you with loyalty.
In Wang Lixia's eyes, Doudou is like a daughter and her spiritual support when she is lonely. It's just that she didn't know much about raising dogs. She didn't know that Doudou was young and wild, loved chasing and running, and didn't like to stay in the house with braids and bows, so she ran outside.
Xia Mufan closed her eyes, raised her head slightly, and listened to the various sounds coming from her ears that were different from human voices. The sounds of the animals communicating automatically turned into a language that she could understand and gathered in her mind.
In the paulownia tree, birds are chirping.
In the shadows of the buildings, cats and dogs were whispering.
[Doudou with a bow is here again.] 】
[Doudou loves to rummage through trash cans and plays very well with stray dogs. 】
[The stray dogs have all gone to Huajiao Lane.] 】
The animals are very gossipy. Some of them fly over the city, while others fly through every corner of the city. They are more accurate than the most advanced surveillance.
What happened there? 】
[I don't know who threw a few bags of minced meat into the trash can, and the wild dogs were fighting over the meat. 】
Where does the meat come from? It can’t be…】
The more he listened, the more frightened he became, and Xia Mufan's face turned grim.
Sun Xianbing stood beside Xia Mufan and saw that she had closed her eyes again. He was worried that she might get dizzy due to heat stroke. "Xiao Xia, what are you doing? If you feel hot, go back and rest. Leave the task of finding the dog to us."
Xia Mufan opened his eyes, his eyes were extremely sharp.
Meeting her gaze, Sun Xianbing was startled: "What's wrong?"
Xia Mufan didn't explain and looked at the wide road in front of him.
There is an alley at the three o'clock direction. At the entrance of the alley stands a tall pepper tree, swaying gracefully, which is why the alley is named Pepper Alley.
It is the fruit-bearing season in midsummer, and the top of the tree is full of green peppercorns. People in Hui City have the habit of throwing a few green peppercorns into boiling water in summer, so this tree is very popular. If it weren't for the thorns on the branches, they would have been picked clean long ago.
Xia Mushige said: "I'll go look for it across the street."
After saying that, she took big strides, crossed the road, and walked straight towards Huajiao Lane.
Sun Xianbing originally wanted to take his junior sister to familiarize herself with the area, but Xia Mufan walked forward on her own. He had no choice but to follow behind and shouted, "Hey, wait for me, I'll go with you!"
Xia Mufan took a step with his long legs and turned into Huajiao Lane.
The sun's rays were blocked by the three-story old houses on both sides. When the wind blew, the alley was quiet and cool.
There are three blue trash cans on the street, with a few stray dogs wandering around. Seeing Xia Muchan, the wild dog barked a few times and ran away in a hurry.
Xia Mufan raised his right hand, put his index and middle fingers together to his lips, and whistled.
"disease--"
The whistle was not very loud, but it was very penetrating and echoed in the alley.
Hearing the whistle, a small head with brown curly hair popped out from behind the trash can. This is a brown teddy dog with a small braid in the middle of its head and a dirty, crooked bow on the braid.
When the puppy met Xia Mufan's gaze, it immediately wagged its tail and ran over happily.
Xia Mufan raised her hand and pointed, Doudou stopped obediently and looked at her with her head tilted.
Sun Xianbing, who was following closely behind Xia Mufan, had his eyes light up: "Doudou?"
Unexpectedly, Doudou found it so quickly!
He immediately picked up the walkie-talkie and reported to Yu Jing.
In less than five minutes, the colleagues who had just split up gathered in Huajiao Lane.
"Dou Dou——" Wang Lixia shouted, rushed over excitedly and picked it up. She kissed and nibbled him as if she had seen a relative, and kept calling out, "Doudou, where have you been? Do you know how worried your mother is? Look at you, your curly hair is dirty, and your bow has fallen off. You must have suffered a lot outside, right?"
【Help! 】
[Don't smear your saliva on my face.] 】
Doudou struggled desperately and made helpless cries in his throat, which was obviously inconsistent with Wang Lixia's joy.
Xia Mufan reminded Wang Lixia: "It just flipped over the trash can."
Wang Lixia then noticed that Doudou's curly hair was dirty and tangled, and the bow on its head no longer looked its original pink color. She awkwardly moved Doudou away and stopped kissing it.
Seeing that the master finally stopped forcing her to get close to him, Doudou let out a few whimpers of pleasure from her throat.
Xia Mufan warned, "Don't always lock Doudou in the house in the future. Take him outside for a walk when you have nothing to do. Remember to tie him up with a leash."
Doudou understood what Xia Mufan said and wagged its tail desperately. It is less than one year old and is in its childhood when its curiosity is the strongest. How can it stay in the house all day? Although there are dangers outside, it’s so fun to find companions.
Wang Lixia thanked them and promised: "Thank you, thank you. I am usually lazy and don't like to go out. But Doudou is still young and runs outside whenever he gets a chance. It really scared me! I will definitely take him out for a walk every day in the future. Oh, yes, put him on a leash."
Sun Xianbing sighed, "Great! We found it so quickly. Our case today is done." He sighed again, "What a pity! It's just a small case..."
The task was completed too easily. Sun Xianbing was still not satisfied. He raised his hand and punched Yu Jing, his behavior a little exaggerated: "Da Yu, Da Yu, when will we be able to take on a big case and make a big contribution!"
Before Yu Jing could reply, the other community police officers and logistics police officers who had come out to look for the dog all started laughing.
"What's the name of our police station? An Ning Road, you know? Peaceful, peaceful, naturally peaceful, nothing happens."
"If you want to make a contribution, why not follow us to the community? We might even come across a few fights and mediate and resolve them."
"Xiao Sun, forget about making any meritorious contributions. Although you have a lot of free time, it's a good thing that no serious cases have happened. At the end of the year, we will award you the most satisfactory police station by the people and give you a big red flower!"
Everyone was laughing, but Xia Mufan didn't laugh.
She slowly raised her hand and pointed at the three blue trash cans on the street. She was no longer as lazy as before, with a light flashing in her eyes, and her voice was clear and slow: "There's something there."
Bits and pieces of blood.
Everyone's eyes were focused on Xia Mufan.
There is something, what is it?
Why is there such a chill in her tone that makes people feel a chill down their spine?
The police officers, who originally felt that their lives were too idle and wanted to find something to do, suddenly became nervous.
Sun Xianbing asked: "What, what is that?"
Xia Mufan glanced at everyone and walked towards the trash can.
It was hot in the summer, and the things in the trash can were dirty and mixed together, giving off a bad smell. The stench of garbage was mixed with a faint smell of blood.
Xia Mufan held his breath and reached out to pick up a heavy black garbage bag from the trash can.
Blood oozed down the broken bottom.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick-tock…
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