Xia Chuyi whispered to the three children, "Sister is going to play a game with you. The friend who wins will get to eat a steamed bun."
"This game is called ’We Are Puppets.’"
"When I say ’We are all puppets,’ you must close your eyes and pretend to be puppets, and then see who can act most like one. That person will be the best-behaved child, and only they will get to eat."
The three children nodded, indicating that they understood.
Xia Chuyi said, "We are all puppets, we must not speak or move. Get ready, start!"
As she gave the command, the three little friends immediately began to act like well-behaved puppets.
Seeing that the children had closed their eyes, she quickly moved into the space and woke the collapsed Uncle Quan.
"Woof woof!" With no treats in sight, Uncle Quan bared his teeth in dissatisfaction.
Xia Chuyi gently stroked Uncle Quan and said, "I’ve fed you quite a lot usually. Help me with this task, and I’ll make you something even tastier afterward."
Uncle Quan’s dog eyes suddenly lit up. "Woof woof woof!"
She took out Huo Shiqian’s military coat, showed the badge on it to Uncle Quan, and said, "Do you see this? Find the place that has this symbol, give them this letter, and then bring them here."
Is that all? Piece of cake!
For safety’s sake, Xia Chuyi wrote a letter, rolled it into a little scroll, and hid it along with the button she had taken from Xiao Yi’s clothes, in Uncle Quan’s fur.
Once the two of them came out of the space,
Uncle Quan barked twice.
"Where did that dog come from?"
The people outside said.
"Did the dog’s bark come from inside?" someone came over.
The door was quickly opened.
"Woof woof!" Uncle Quan dashed out immediately.
"Holy shit, there really is a dog!" The person who opened the door was taken aback.
"You useless bunch, let a milk dog into the pigpen and none of you noticed!" It was the bearded man’s voice, "A little milk dog? Look at how scared you are!"
"Quick, check if the piglets and the fruit are alright!"
That person poked his head inside, saw one large and three small, lying askew and asleep in the corner, and shouted, "All’s good, they’re sleeping like logs after eating their feed."
"It’s fine then!" This time, a woman spoke.
The woman continued, "I think this dog is quite smart; let’s catch it, it might fetch a good price later on."
"Hahaha, Sister Jiang, you sure know how to pluck a passing goose, even taking the dog?" someone teased.
"You know nothing. Sometimes a dog can be worth more than a person. Besides, even if it’s not worth much, we can still cook it. Milk dogs might be small, but they’re still meat."
"Hahaha, Sister Jiang is awesome!"
A comical chase ensued, with the dog running and the people chasing.
"Damn it, didn’t catch it, we nearly got bitten. That dog is too fierce!"
Once the sound of the dog had completely vanished, Xia Chuyi finally relaxed.
"Doggie... where did it come from?" one of the children pretending to be a puppet couldn’t help but speak and ask.
"Shh, that’s also one of Sister’s magic tricks," she told the child.
"Oh... then can we eat the steamed bun yet?" the child asked again.
Xia Chuyi smiled and said, "You can now."
Hearing this, Xiao Yi, and the timid child joyfully opened their eyes.
After appeasing the children and while they were eating their steamed buns, Xia Chuyi began to contemplate her next move.
Sending the letter was just one of her plans.
If all went well, she wouldn’t need to do anything else but wait for the police or the military to come and rescue them.