Early that morning, Wang Yan returned from exercising.
He saw Wu Changgui and his wife wandering around the courtyard, calling out, "Egg King!"
Egg King was the old hen the Wu couple had raised. She had earned the name because of her remarkable talent for laying eggs. Wang Yan had noticed her when he first arrived. Mrs. Wu raised her chickens well; they ran all over the large courtyard, genuine free-range chickens. One egg every two days, sometimes one a day—she could collect seventeen or eighteen eggs a month. And her breaks were short, too. After laying for a month, she would rest only a few days before starting again. She truly was a fighter jet among hens.
"Brother Wu, what is it? Egg King's gone missing?"
"That's right. We got up this morning and she was nowhere to be seen." Old Wu's eyes searched all around.
"Wang Yan, you get up earlier than anyone in the courtyard. Did you see her?" Mrs. Wu asked anxiously.
The moment she finished speaking, Old Wu glared and scolded her. "Shut your mouth. Listen to what you're saying. Wang Yan, don't take it the wrong way. Your sister-in-law is just worried about Egg King."
At that, Mrs. Wu realized what she had implied and hurriedly tried to make up for it. "Right, right. I raised Egg King from when she was little. She's contributed a lot to this family over the years. We've grown attached."
Wang Yan nodded with a smile. "It's fine, Brother Wu, Sister-in-law. Do I not know what kind of people you two are? But I really didn't see her."
"Tell me, where could she have gone? Egg King, Egg King..."
The Wu couple resumed calling for Egg King...
But they ultimately failed to call out Egg King. Instead, they