During the whole process of the dragon boat race, the people on the shore were cheering, and their excitement was no less than the mood of the people who were racing in the river. Some people saw that the dragon boat team they were optimistic about had achieved a good ranking, and they jumped up happily and danced with their hands; Some people are depressed, it should be that the dragon boat team they have always been optimistic about is not doing well this time. When the dragon boat race was over, a lot of people had gone, and the shore suddenly seemed empty.

Unexpectedly, after the dragon boat race of this year's Dragon Boat Festival, there was an event, a local family surnamed Xu in Zhuo County bought 50 ducks in the market, and then ordered people to put them in the water, the ducks swam freely in the river, and there were bursts of splashes on the water. The rich man surnamed Xu said loudly on the shore: "Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, a good day for the whole country to celebrate, the weather happens to be a little hot, I Xu bought fifty ducks at my own expense, put them into the river, those who can swim can go down to the river to catch ducks, the number of ducks wins, the ducks caught not only belong to you, I Xu will give the winner 525 baht money." People who don't know how to swim cheer them on on the shore and want everyone to have fun. ”

Hearing the good news, those middle-aged men who were good at water instantly took off their coats, and one of them plunged into the river to chase the ducks that were swimming. Fifty ducks, about twenty or thirty men in pursuit, the splash in the river was even bigger, the ducks were frightened, flapped their wings, and swam faster, and the men were not to be outdone, and they all increased their speed a lot.

The competition in the river was very fierce, and many people on the shore were gearing up, as if they would jump into the river at any time to join the competition. One of them had already caught three ducks in his hands, apparently he could no longer swim, "Send the ducks to the shore and we'll watch them for you." The men on the shore shouted to the people in the river.

"This guy is so watery." Chen Lin pointed to the man who had grabbed three ducks in his hand and said, "I seem to have seen him, what is his name Ahua." ”

Let's just call him Ah Hua, Ah Hua, who put down the duck in his hand, showed his skills again in the water, none of the ducks he saw escaped from the palm of his hand, and Ah Hua gained a lot. Look at the others, they swim well in the water, but they can't catch the ducks, and some of them see that the ducks that have already arrived swim away again, and they only catch a hand of goose feathers, so angry that they wave their fists and smash them into the water, splashing a layer of water; Some simply gave up and crawled to the shore in disgrace......

Perhaps it was because the noise was too noisy, and those who had already left came back to see the fierce competition in the river, and the number of people increased again, and once again surrounded the shore, and the mood of the people watching the play on the shore was still high.

"I want to be relieved." I said helplessly, I ate two zongzi at noon, drank a lot of water, and stayed in the tree for too long, and suddenly felt a sense of urine.

"With so many people, how do you go down? You don't see a foothold. Chen Lin looked at the black pressure on the ground and said to me, "Bear with me, wait for someone to disperse a little and we will go down together, I just want to relieve myself." ”

Hey, there is no way, there are too many people, it is easy to go up the tree and difficult to get down the tree, so I can only hold it for a while, I turned my eyes back to the river.

The original twenty or thirty men in the river, now there are less than ten left, most of them have given up halfway, maybe they have lost confidence, or they may have exhausted their physical strength, and there is no doubt that Ah Hua is the winner in this game.

After a while, five more people came up, and now it was clear in the river that there were only four people left, and there were only four ducks left, no, five, and one duck that had just emerged from the water, and it was finally over. My mind is no longer on the race in the river, but simply trying to get down the tree to relieve myself, and it's really uncomfortable to hold back.

The last five ducks, Ah Hua caught two, the remaining three each had one, the game was finally over, but the crowd had not dispersed, they probably wanted to see if Xu Dafu really gave the winner fifty taels and five baht money, fortunately, they all gathered in the direction where Ah Hua came ashore, I hurriedly climbed down from the tree and found a nearby latrine for emergency.

"What's going on? Did you give 525 baht to Ah Hua? After a little relief, I went back to the place and asked Xin'er, who was still sitting on the tree.

"Give it, that Ah Hua is still carrying a dozen ducks he caught in the river, not to mention how happy he is." Xin'er said, "How can I get down?" I can't climb trees, I don't dare to jump, it's too high. ”

"It's okay, Xin'er, you jump down, I'll pick you up below, it's okay." I stood under the tree and looked at Xin'er and said, "Believe in yourself, Xin'er, it's really not high, and I will follow you down there." ”

Xin'er plucked up her courage and jumped from the tree, and I tried to catch her, but we both fell to the ground together, but luckily it didn't hurt.

"Let's go, let's go home, it's not too early, and there's nothing fun." Chen Lin came over and said.

The crowd had almost dissipated, and they should all be in a hurry to get home.

"See you tomorrow!" Chen Lin said goodbye to us.

Xin'er and I returned home, and the adults just set up the meal, and it was really time to come back, "How was it today?" Is the dragon boat race lively? Xin'er's mother asked us.

"It's okay, it's just that there are more people than before, we had to climb the tree to watch the dragon boat race, after the dragon boat race, there was also a unique competition, our local Xu Dafu bought 50 ducks at his own expense and put them in the river, and then arranged for those who can swim to catch them, and the person who caught the most ducks can also get 50 taels and 55 baht." I say.

"And the most ducks you catch in the end?" Daddy asked me.

"I heard Chen Lin say that it seems to be called Ahua, he is really good at water, and he is also agile, and he has caught more than a dozen ducks."

At this time, a bloated person hurriedly ran over, still panting, there should be something important to say, but he couldn't say a word.

"What happened? Don't worry, speak slowly. Daddy tried to calm him down.

"Prefectural order!" The man said with a sad face. "I own a jewelry shop, and when I was sorting out the jewelry, I found out that several fine jewelry had been stolen."

"When was it stolen? Today? Daddy asked.

"It's supposed to be today, yes, it's today, I remember seeing those jewels in the morning." He reached out to wipe the sweat from his face, "I remember I locked the door and went out to watch the dragon boat race, and when I came back, I found that the jewelry was gone. ”

"When did you come home?"

"After watching the dragon boat race, I went to a drink with a friend of mine, and I just got home."

"Tell me your name first."

"My name is Zhou Cheng."

"Did you find any clues in your house?"

"Oh, yes, yes, yes!" Zhou Cheng took out a round woodcut from his clothes and handed it to his father, I leaned in to see it, the size of this woodcut was almost the size of a five-baht coin, and the pattern on it was a hunter leading a hound.

"What does this pattern mean?" I couldn't help but ask.

Daddy didn't answer me, but said solemnly, "Don't worry so much about children." He put this woodcut in his hand and looked at it many times, his face became more and more heavy, don't turn his head and ask Xin'er's father: "Lao Zhao, do you remember the big thieves who resounded throughout the capital back then?" ”

"You mean the thief who stole almost all the things of the big families in Luoyang, and even stole a plaything of Emperor Yang of Sui from the palace, and was wanted by the whole city?"

"yes, isn't he called 'Hunter'?"

"Is it called 'Hunter' or what? I don't remember exactly, you wouldn't think this petty theft had anything to do with him? Xin'er's father had a skeptical look on his face.

"Although he was not caught in the end, there has been no news about him since then, and he may not be in a good situation, I guess he has been desperate recently and started to do some small business?" Daddy speculated, "Look at this woodcut, isn't it carved in the shape of a hunter?" And it is rumored that this 'hunter' will leave a woodcut at the scene every time he succeeds in committing a crime, although I have not seen it, but I think the pattern of the woodcut should be related to his name. ”

Xin'er's father frowned and was speechless.

"Zhou Cheng, do you have any other clues at home?" Daddy asked.

"No, everything is as it was before, if I hadn't seen a woodcut on the ground I wouldn't have known I had lost something." Zhou Cheng said with a sad face, "The few pieces of jewelry that I lost are all of the highest quality, and this hateful thief can really steal them." ”

"Okay, you go back first, I'll hurry up and help you investigate this matter in the next few days."

"I hope that the county will make a lot of trouble, I am grateful!" After Zhou Cheng finished speaking, he left.

"Lao Zhao, if this is really a 'hunter', I am not sure to catch him, I think that Emperor Yang of Sui mobilized almost all his troops to turn over the entire Luoyang, and in the end he did not necessarily punish him, what can I do now?" Daddy shook his head helplessly and put the woodcut in his hand on the table.

"This 'hunter' has a big heart, he will never accept it when he acts, I estimate that all the big families in Zhuo County will lose some valuable things during this time." Xin'er's father said, "This jewelry shop opened by Zhou Cheng is indeed not small, and the 'hunter' will attack him this time, and he may attack us next time." ”

"I have heard that this 'hunter's stealing skills are first-class, and they dare to show their skills in the palace, and they are by no means idle!" Daddy held his forehead and said, "Lao Zhao, you look at the jewels in the jewelry shop more these days, and I will arrange some servants to guard your house for you, even if it is a 'hunter', we can't sit still." ”

"Lao Li, I'm going back now, how can I have the heart to drink here when I encounter this kind of thing, maybe the 'hunter' is stealing from my house at this moment." Xin'er's father got up and was about to leave, "Xin'er, your mother and I will go back first, you have to be obedient here." ”

"Lao Zhao, wait a minute, I'll arrange for ten officials to go back with you." Daddy got up and walked out of the room.

I picked up the woodcut on the table and looked at it carefully, but I didn't see anything special, "Why doesn't this hound have a collar around its neck?" Xin'er said suddenly.