Although there was a lot of farmland here, the village wasn't very large.
The houses were close together, perhaps a dozen households.
It was five or six in the afternoon.
Smoke rose from the chimneys of every house, and the aroma of rice wafted out from within.
Women or children stood on the field ridges by their doorways, craning their necks and shouting:
"Old Han, come back for dinner!"
"Dad, we have braised pork tonight!"
After shouting, a few seconds later, faint replies could be heard from the distant farmlands or slopes.
"You guys eat first, I'll be a while."
"Okay, coming right back!"
In the fields, farmers in twos and threes began to tidy up their clothes, heading to the river to wash off the mud.
Then they carried their tools and walked home.
Old Han quickly finished weeding the last patch of grass in the soil, picked up his water cup, and took two large gulps.
He hoisted his hoe and headed home.
"Old Han, going home for dinner?"
An old man, just back from the fields with a bucket, called out.
He jogged a couple of steps, reached Old Han's side, and walked alongside him.
"Yes, just finished weeding. How about you?" Old Han raised his face, which was a little red from the sun.
The person opposite him was much the same.
His skin was red.
"I just got back from fertilizing."
The old man lifted his bucket and replied, then got to the point.
He tilted his chin towards the small bamboo grove on the left.
"Your Wangcai is still thinking about it. When I just got back, I saw it wandering around the edge of that dirt slope."
Mentioning this, Old Han's face tightened, and he let out a breath through his nose.
"I don't know which damned bastard wanted to sneak into my house to steal something. Putting so much medicine in the dog's bowl!"
The dosage of that medicine might have been survivable for a large dog.
But for a small dog, there was no way to live.
All four puppies from one litter were gone.
"If I ever find out, I'll chop him with my hoe!"
Old Han clenched his hoe, wishing he knew who had administered the poison right now, and brought it down with a swing.
He resented that a thief dared to come to their house, and he resented that the thief had harmed the puppies.
The children at home loved them dearly.
They had even clamored to take one to the city to raise during the summer vacation.
"Don't get excited, don't get excited."
The old man beside him was startled by his demeanor and took a step back, afraid the hoe might accidentally swing towards him.
"It might not necessarily be a thief."
The old man said slowly, "I heard that several cats from the neighboring village have gone missing. It might be cat and dog thieves."
"They saw how well your Wangcai looks and wanted to steal it. You should keep an eye on Wangcai, don't fall into their trap."
"Hmph! If they come again, I'll kill the bastard!"
Old Han cursed, his face looking very displeased.
The two parted ways at the village's main square and went to their respective homes.
...
Little did they know,
Behind them, a small puppy and an egg had been listening the whole way.
The viewers in the live stream had also heard the entire conversation between the two.
"Are there still people stealing cats and dogs in the countryside these days?"
"Why wouldn't there be? For those people, it's easier to steal from villages. Every household has them, and they're usually kept outside."
"They get stolen from the city too, because they're mostly kept as pets and have low vigilance and aggression."
As this was mentioned, the bullet comments became lively.
You could feel the gunpowder smell even through the screen.
"My blood pressure rises just thinking about this. My three-year-old Ragdoll cat disappeared before."
"I just can't understand why, in this day and age, people would go out of their way to harm other people's pets."
"Some are specifically taken to be sold to butcher shops. How much money can that be worth?! ○･｀Д´･○"
Among these thousands of viewers, many had similar experiences.
Sometimes, you really wanted to pry open the heads of cat and dog traffickers to see if there was a sword-forging workshop inside.
Otherwise, why would they be so despicable?
Did other people's things taste better?
Nowadays, anyone who keeps pets treats them like cat/dog children.
They've already formed emotional bonds.
"Honestly, I used to have mild depression. It was only after I got a cat that it started to improve."
"I'm indifferent to cats and dogs. I don't have a problem with eating cat or dog meat, but I can't stand people who steal others' pets to sell, or those who deliberately abuse them."
"Abusing cats and dogs is too much."
"Can't stand it +10086."
...
In the live stream footage—
After watching the two farmers separate, the colorful egg stopped following them.
It asked the small puppy below, 'Are they talking about you?'
"Woof?"
The small puppy let out a confused bark.
Colorful Egg: 'Let's go see the dirt slope they just mentioned.'
'Let's go!'
"Woof~"
The egg and the puppy quickly found the dirt slope the old man had mentioned.
How did they confirm it?
Because in the small bamboo grove on the dirt slope, they saw a large white dog.
The big dog sniffed at a patch of ground and pawed at the nearby soil.
It seemed to be trying to bury something.
After a few digs, it sniffed again.
Seemingly satisfied that it had buried it well enough, it then found a spot nearby to lie down.
The colorful egg tried to convey a thought with its mind, 'Wangcai?'
"?"
The big dog, which had just lain down, instantly straightened up, looked around, and wagged its tail.
There are dogs that look fierce.
They bare their teeth at strangers,
Growling in their throats.
As if they would bite in the next second.
But,
As soon as you call their name, they immediately retract their claws and teeth.
They wag their tails and rub against you.
In their judgment, you are now familiar.
You are a friend.
You are welcome.
But today, Wangcai looked around but saw no one.
It tilted its head, confused for a couple of seconds.
After thinking for a moment, it lay back down.
The colorful egg flew up and nudged the small puppy, 'That should be your mother.'
The small puppy, after being pushed a couple of steps away, wagged its tail and ran back.
It barked energetically at the colorful egg, thinking it was playing with it.
The colorful egg directly pushed the small puppy in front of Wangcai, 'That's your mother!'
"Woof?"
The small puppy looked at the big dog in front of it, then looked back at the colorful egg.
It tilted its head and paused, then tentatively walked two steps towards Wangcai.
Seeing that the other party didn't react, it moved two steps closer.
Once it confirmed that the other party wouldn't attack it, the small puppy immediately started to frolic around Wangcai.
First, it pawed at Wangcai's paws, then mimicked biting and scratching actions, rolling on the ground.
However, due to being a spiritual entity, it couldn't actually touch Wangcai.
After frolicking for a while, the small puppy stopped.
"Woof~"
The small puppy looked at Wangcai's paws, then at its own paws.
They seemed... somewhat similar.
It twitched its nose.
The scent also seemed somewhat familiar.
It tilted its head and looked at Wangcai. Did it recognize this big fellow?
The small puppy moved closer and sat down near Wangcai's belly.
It felt quite nice, didn't it?
The moment the small puppy sat down,
Wangcai, who had been lying down, suddenly blinked, its ears twitched, and it turned its head to lick its belly.
...