Chapter 554 - 456: At Least You Are Willing to Pay

Chapter 554: Chapter 456: At Least You Are Willing to Pay

A few seconds later, favorability icons appeared above the heads of three of the dogs.

Shen Xin beckoned to them. Only one of them, a white dog, mustered its courage and tried to get a little closer.

Shen Xin also had to consider their health. After a moment’s thought, he pointed to two of them and said, "Brother, I’ll take these two as well."

One of the dogs had a favorability icon, but its mental state didn’t seem right.

Minor physical ailments were fine; they could be treated.

But a problematic mental state was a definite no.

The dealer didn’t mind. He curiously asked Shen Xin what he was doing.

Every year around this time, some people would come specifically to protest, and others would spend money to buy the dogs.

But he had never seen someone like Shen Xin, who was so particular about his choices.

"Brother, let’s weigh them," Shen Xin said, offering no explanation.

The dealer pressed his lips together and didn’t ask any more questions, proceeding to weigh the dogs.

Four dogs, 108 jin.

The dealer ended up making a profit of 324 yuan directly from Shen Xin.

Sister Lin didn’t waste any words, briskly scanning the code to pay.

It was unrealistic to expect a receipt. They had made a special exception and set up a separate account for bookkeeping.

Brother Han didn’t hesitate, stepping forward with Wang Donghai to help attach the leashes.

The dogs were truly terrified and didn’t resist, their eyes all fixed on Shen Xin.

Seeing them attach the leashes so carefully, the dealer found it strange and asked again what Shen Xin was planning to do.

Shen Xin still didn’t explain.

Brother Han led them directly to the truck parked nearby.

"Are you dog collectors too?" the dealer asked doubtfully.

But Shen Xin’s group, with both men and women, didn’t look the part.

Shen Xin still offered no explanation and turned to the next stall.

There was a German shepherd being sold by a middle-aged man on an electric scooter.

Seeing Shen Xin approach, the man immediately said, "Hey, handsome, want him? I’ll sell him to you for 18 a jin."

Shen Xin looked the dog up and down, then shook his head after a long moment.

It was probably raised poorly and beaten often; its mental state wasn’t right.

Not surprising.

Dogs raised by individuals and put up for sale usually have some sort of problem.

Wang Donghai had been holding it in all day and curiously asked Shen Xin how exactly he was making his selections.

"Wasn’t that German shepherd pretty good? It had such a big build."

It seemed suitable to be a police dog.

In contrast, the three he had just picked were very ordinary, all of them mutts.

As they walked, Shen Xin said, "Director Wang, I can’t really explain the specifics. I just have to be selective."

Wang Donghai nodded and didn’t press the matter.

They continued on, with Shen Xin stopping to look at every stall.

Since he was offering a high price, no one refused to sell.

Among these dogs, Shen Xin also saw some purebreds.

He didn’t ask too many questions.

He had previously helped Yanling with a related case that spanned the entire country, so Shen Xin had some understanding of the situation.

It was mainly acquisitions, but there were definitely some from unknown sources.

And just as Shen Xin said, all he could do was his best. It was useless to dwell on those things.

The entire market wasn’t that large. After one circuit, Shen Xin had selected a total of 21 dogs.

’Not bad,’ he thought. ’The goal of 400 dogs doesn’t seem so far away now.’

They immediately moved on to the second market.

In total, there were three such markets.

They shopped until after two in the morning, visiting all of them. The bottom level of the truck following them was already full of dogs—47 in all.

「The next stop was the slaughterhouse.」

Wang Haidong explained that these slaughterhouses varied in size, and their legality was in a gray area.

The first one was located near the third market.

On the outskirts of an urban village, it was surrounded by high, red-brick walls. Inside was a tin-roofed shed with a blue top.

The thick stench of blood and filth could be smelled from far away.

To get there, they had to walk down a narrow concrete path.

When the group arrived, a 4.2-meter truck was parked at the entrance, unloading.

The truck bed was piled high with rusted, blackened cages, each one crammed with several dogs.

The sound of their barking pierced the sky.

The worker unloading the truck wore gloves, moving the cages down as if they were cargo—callously—and stacking them haphazardly in the open space by the entrance.

As Shen Xin’s group approached, a middle-aged woman standing nearby taking inventory snapped at them, asking what they wanted.

She was wearing rubber boots and a black apron stained with dog fur and fresh blood, her gaze wary.

Shen Xin stepped forward, pointed at the cages, and said bluntly, "Ma’am, we’re here to buy dogs. We’ll pay 25 a jin."

Pan Wenhai had explained that the slaughterhouses butcher the dogs in the early morning and then deliver them to market stalls at dawn.

They buy in bulk, so their purchase price is even lower. After butchering, they mark it up by over 30 percent.

It was now the peak season, so the price from the slaughterhouses was generally around 25.

At the market, a few more yuan would be added before selling to restaurants.

By the time it reached the restaurants, the peak season price could hit 30 a jin.

The restaurants would then mark it up again, typically selling to diners for forty or fifty a jin.

Shen Xin was essentially offering to buy at the market stall price.

Without having to deal with the viscera, they would only earn more.

Hearing the price, the middle-aged woman immediately perked up, her expression strange as she looked them up and down.

She must have already done the math in her head. "It’s not impossible," she said. "It’s all the same to us who we sell to."

Shen Xin nodded. "But Ma’am, I need to be selective."

Hearing this, the woman’s expression grew even stranger. She hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Then what’s the point of all this?"

"If you’re trying to save dogs, why be picky about which ones you save?"

Her tone carried a hint of sarcasm; she clearly thought Shen Xin and his group were those "dog lovers."

Shen Xin didn’t explain. He just said he wouldn’t open the cages and would pick from the outside, then asked her how many dogs she had there.

"A lot. There are a few hundred, at least."

She beckoned to Shen Xin, motioning for him to enter the yard.

The moment he stepped inside, the overwhelming stench of blood nearly made Shen Xin gag and stumble.

Beside him, Sister Lin couldn’t help but gasp.

Shen Xin stepped into a puddle of bloody water. He looked up and saw the place was bustling with activity.

One corner of the yard was already piled high with cages.

Inside the cages, dogs of all sizes were huddled together, whining endlessly and trembling in fear.

The mix of feces and urine was nauseating.

Shen Xin let out a soft sigh and stepped forward to begin his selection.

This feeling was rather similar to when he had intimidated Ten Thousand.

A single glance revealed that some had already given up, as if they had lost the will to live.

Of course, there were also those with a strong will to survive, who stared pleadingly at Shen Xin.

Shen Xin suppressed the turmoil in his heart and patiently selected them according to his criteria.

Twenty-five a jin, for a 40-jin dog, came out to one thousand yuan.

Picking a hundred dogs would be a hundred thousand yuan. This was no small business.

So, the middle-aged woman was also very patient, letting Shen Xin take his time while she got busy unloading the truck.

She wasn’t afraid of Shen Xin causing trouble; the yard was full of her people.

"This one, and this one."

Shen Xin pointed them out, and Ding Yuwei took notes.

After more than an hour of this, they tallied the final count: 86 dogs had been selected.

About a fifth of the dogs present.

The middle-aged woman called people over to weigh them.

After the weighing was done, Sister Lin paid promptly.

Once the money was in her account, a smile appeared on the woman’s face. "You’re better than those other people," she said. "At least you’re willing to pay for them."