Chapter 23

Wang Xing was investigating at the Dog Meat Restaurant on Iron Slag Street. He found a leather collar in the garbage pile, with the name "Koko" engraved on it. He immediately asked the restaurant staff and slipped them twenty yuan. The staff member told him that the dog with the collar was brought by a dog dealer, but it had run away when the cage was opened the day before yesterday.

"Ran away..." Wang Xing sighed, feeling frustrated that the clue he had found was broken again. However, at least it proved that Koko was still alive, which was good news.

The staff member cleared his throat, "Actually, it didn't run far. I know where the dog is."

Wang Xing was quick to react and immediately took out a hundred-yuan note.

"The dog was picked up by a guy on a tricycle. He even had a fight with our boss this morning," the staff member reached out to take the money.

Wang Xing pulled back, "There are many people on tricycles. How can I find him?"

"I noted down the license plate number," the staff member said.

"How much?" Wang Xing was delighted.

The staff member gave him a license plate number, which turned out to be from a county in a neighboring province. This kind of license plate was almost useless, and even if the registered owner was found, it didn't mean they were the user. The lead became vague again, but Wang Xing still gave the staff member a hundred yuan.

At this moment, Song Shuang's call came in, her voice excited, "Uncle Wang, Koko has been found, at the foot of Building 13 in Lishui雅Ju."

"I'll be there right away," Wang Xing replied.

After the call, Song Shuang called her classmate, "Pengpeng, call the police quickly, don't let the bad guys hurt you."

Pengpeng replied, "Don't worry, I've already called 110."

Wan Xudong said, "Shuangshuang, Koko has been found? Why make such a fuss, your Uncle Wan is enough."

Song Shuang smiled sweetly, "Thank you, Uncle Wan."

Wan Xudong took out a siren and placed it on the car roof, the piercing sound made other vehicles pull over to let him pass.

...

In the Lishui雅Ju residential area, in Room 1803, Liu Hando was holding a box of tiles, and without blinking, he threw it out of the window. A few seconds later, a loud noise was heard, followed by the alarm of an electric scooter.

A woman rushed to the window and saw the box of tiles shattered into thousands of pieces, right on top of her electric scooter.

"What are you doing! Stop it!" the woman shouted angrily.

Liu Hando picked up another box of tiles and threw it out of the window.

Another loud noise.

The woman, furious, tried to grab Liu Hando, but she was too short to reach him. Liu Hando picked up more tiles and threw them out of the window.

The two tile-laying workers stopped working and lit cigarettes to watch the commotion.

The woman started making phone calls, first to her husband, then to 110.

"Go on, keep throwing, I'll make you pay for it all!" the woman suddenly became calm.

Liu Hando didn't back down, he threw all the tiles he had brought up and clapped his hands, ready to leave.

"No way you're leaving! Wait for the police!" the woman blocked the door.

Liu Hando pushed her aside and walked down the stairs.

"Help! Call the police!" the woman screamed, looking at the two workers, "You two saw it, help me testify."

The two workers ignored her, packed up their tools, and prepared to leave.

Liu Hando quickly went down the stairs, and in no time, he reached the ground floor. He saw two girls standing by his tricycle, looking stunned, probably scared by the continuous falling tiles.

Just as he was about to get on the tricycle, the two girls blocked his way, "No, you can't leave!"

Liu Hando was puzzled. Could these two girls be property management? They didn't seem like it. Or perhaps they were relatives of the aggressive woman, which was possible.

"Dog thief, we've already called the police and noted down your license plate. You can't escape!" the girl said fiercely.

Liu Hando understood. The dog's owner had come, but he didn't trust them easily. He asked Wangcai, "Do you know these two sisters?"

Wangcai didn't move or bark.

"The dog doesn't even recognize you, how can you trick me? People these days are so evil," Liu Hando thought of the landlord's daughter who had tried to buy Wangcai for 300 yuan that morning. These two girls probably saw Wangcai's good looks and wanted to extort him.

"No, you can't leave. This isn't my dog, it's my classmate's dog. Wait for her to come," the two girls blocked the tricycle, determined not to let him go. Liu Hando was at a loss. These delicate girls weren't like the landlord's daughter, he couldn't hit or scold them. What could he do?

At this moment, the aggressive woman from 1803 came down and started cursing, "You smashed my tiles and want to run! I'll make you go to jail and eat prison food."

She lunged at Liu Hando, and the middle-aged woman's aggression was hard to resist. Wangcai came to protect his owner but was kicked away by the woman, yelping and hiding to the side.

"How could you kick our Koko!" the two girls confronted the woman.

The woman cursed, "You two sluts, why don't you find a better man, not a tricycle driver, do you have any shame..."

The two girls turned red with anger, their lips trembling, unable to speak.

A Santana police car arrived, and a police officer with two auxiliary police came to mediate. The woman cursed, the girls cried, and the dog barked, creating a chaotic scene. The police were also at a loss.

Just as the chaos was at its peak, a Passat with a police license plate arrived. Wan Xudong got out and showed his detective badge to the 110 police officer.

The other side of the car door opened, and Song Shuang rushed out, seeing Koko and rushing over, tears streaming down her face, "Koko, I finally found you."

Koko kindly licked the tears off Song Shuang's face.

The two girls glared at Liu Hando, as if challenging him to see how he would resolve the situation.

Song Shuang saw her beloved dog, covered in wounds, with iodine and bald spots, and a rope tied around it. She was furious and stood up, staring at Liu Hando, "You stole my dog!"

Liu Hando was angry. He had saved Wangcai's life, and now he was accused of being a dog thief. He shouted, "Wangcai, come to Dad!"

Wangcai ran over and tried to lick Liu Hando's hand.

Song Shuang, furious, put her hands on her hips and shouted, "Koko, come to Mom!"

The dog was in a dilemma, looking at Liu Hando and then at Song Shuang with innocent eyes.

Wan Xudong walked over, "Oh, it's you?"

Liu Hando said, "Hello, Director Wan, we meet again."

Wan Xudong said, "Let's not talk about that now. They've reported you, let's go to the police station to sort it out."

The woman glared at Liu Hando, as if she wanted to eat him alive.

Liu Hando and the woman were taken to the police car. Song Shuang and her classmates, along with Koko, got into Wan Xudong's Passat. An auxiliary police officer helped push Liu Hando's tricycle, which was out of fuel, to the police station.

The police station was nearby. The chief heard that the daughter of the provincial police chief had arrived and quickly took charge of the case, asking everyone to state their situations in turn.

"I'll go first!" the woman said, recounting how Liu Hando had unreasonably thrown dozens of boxes of tiles from the 18th floor, "He threw things when the price wasn't agreed upon, he's a bandit!"

The three girls looked at Liu Hando, their eyes filled with indignation.

Liu Hando ignored them.

"Is what she said true?" the chief asked.

Liu Hando nodded, "Yes."

The case was clear. The chief then asked Song Shuang about the dog.

"It's like this, my dog was stolen the day before yesterday. I posted many messages online to find Koko..." Song Shuang spoke at length, her eyes welling up with tears. If it were anyone else, they would have been impatient, but this was the daughter of Director Song, so the chief and the police officers listened patiently. A female household registration officer even shed tears of sympathy.

"It's him, he stole our Koko and won't admit it!" Pengpeng pointed at Liu Hando angrily, "He even had the nerve to say Koko is his dog!"

"Exactly, he even gave Koko a terrible name, Wangcai!" the other girl added angrily.

"Tell me, how did you steal the dog? What else have you stolen? Is this car yours?" the chief, being an experienced police officer, suspected that Liu Hando might be involved in other crimes.

"The dog I found, the car belongs to my neighbor, Brother Wang," Liu Hando said.

"Xiao Li, take him down and question him. Lock him up for the night," the chief waved his hand, and the police officer took Liu Hando away.

The woman said, "Chief, he must compensate for our losses. He delayed my son's wedding, and the cost is huge. Just one table at the wedding banquet costs 3,800 yuan, and we have to cancel it all, the loss is too great."

The chief said, "Sister, go home and wait for our notification. We will handle it."

Wan Xudong shook hands with the chief, "Thank you, we'll go now."

"Take care," the chief said, but still escorted them to the gate.

Koko whimpered, looking back. Song Shuang, holding Koko's neck, tears streaming down her face, said, "Poor Koko, you've suffered so much these days. Mom will make sure the bad guy pays."

"Uncle Wan, can he be sentenced?" Song Shuang asked, gritting her teeth.

"Stealing a dog isn't like trafficking in women and children, it's considered theft. We need to see the value of the dog. How much is Koko worth?" Wan Xudong said.

"Koko is priceless."

"I mean, how much would a similar breed of shepherd dog cost on the market?"

"Ordinary ones cost 2,000 to 3,000 yuan, but Koko, with a pedigree certificate, costs over 10,000 yuan."

"Oh, then we can charge him," Wan Xudong looked at the shepherd dog in the rearview mirror, feeling doubtful. As a detective, he suspected that the dog might not have been stolen by Liu Hando, but he didn't say it yet.

Back home, Song Shuang treated Koko's wounds again and took him to the pet hospital for a full check-up. She prepared a lot of food for Koko, but the shepherd dog seemed to be thinking of someone, looking at the door from time to time and whimpering.

"Poor Koko, Mom will never leave you again," Song Shuang thought Koko was scared and quickly ordered a GPS collar online, then opened Weibo.

There was a tweet @ her, a video tweet. She opened the video and saw a man and a dog pulling a tricycle up a slope, struggling hard. After they finally made it, the man and the dog shared a bottle of water, a touching scene.

There were many comments below:

"Without realizing it, my eyes were wet."

"A touching story of a man and a dog."

"The man is so handsome, and the dog is so cute."

"In this society of deceit and moral decay, seeing such a touching scene, even the coldest heart would be moved. Sometimes, people are not as good as dogs."

"What a touching story between the man pulling the tricycle and the dog."

Song Shuang, tears streaming down her face, watched the video over and over again. She recognized the man with tight muscles, determined to move forward, as the dog thief, and the dog with the tight rope on its shoulder, pulling the tricycle, as her Koko.

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