Yu Qiao thought of the puppies and immediately said, "We could each raise a dog and tie them all up in there. Then anyone who wanted to steal something would have to worry about getting bitten."
When Yu Qiao, Cai Fangyuan, Du Shang, and Lin Qile heard they could raise dogs, they didn't even stop to consider whether it was practical. They agreed at once.
They were all children of power plant workers, so they had some pocket money. Once they'd made a plan, they started by carrying things bit by bit. During their morning runs, they brought some cement and bricks from a nearby construction site to a hollow halfway up the mountain.
Under Wang Yue's direction, they built a few little shelters around a shallow cave in the hollow, along with a tiny yard outside. At the edge of the hollow, they put up a wooden fence.
The wooden fence was only temporary, of course. Whenever they came by, they picked up stones and used them to build a stone wall around the yard instead.
Once everything was ready, the group took advantage of a weekend with no school and went together to a village on the other side of the mountain. They bought five puppies and several baskets of chickens, ducks, geese, and rabbits.
After bringing everything back, they put the animals in the little shelters they'd built.
From that day on, Wang Yue, Lin Qile, and the other three started exercising twice a day instead of just once in the morning.
At night, though, they herded the chickens, ducks, geese, and rabbits into the cave and blocked the entrance. The five dogs stayed in the yard outside.
Early the next morning, they let out the chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs, but kept the rabbits in the