In ancient times, mutton was more expensive than dog meat. At that time, the Central Plains was not a livestock area. Most of the northern livestock areas were in the hands of nomads, so there were fewer sheep than dogs in the Central Plains.

The origin of "selling dog meat on a sheep's head": Once upon a time, there was a Shanxi man named Zhang Cheng who loved eating dog meat all his life.

One year, he went to Junggar, Xinjiang to sell horses. When he walked to a small town, he saw a large plaque "Specialized in Dog Meat" hanging on the door of a shop. He was overjoyed and walked in.

Seeing Zhang Cheng's heavy luggage, the store owner knew that Zhang Cheng was a wealthy owner and did not dare to neglect. He immediately prepared a meal: a large pot of dried rice and two large plates of colored dog meat.

Zhang Cheng was so happy that he started eating and drinking.

After eating, Zhang Cheng was very drunk and stammered to the shopkeeper: "Shopkeeper, can you sell that big yellow dog in front of your door?" The shopkeeper said: "As long as the price is right, I will sell it." So Zhang Cheng spent five dollars.

I bought a yellow dog at a high price for two silver coins and walked out of the store. Strangely enough, the yellow dog seemed to be sensible, jumping around and following Zhang Cheng. The store manager looked at Zhang Cheng's back and said to himself: "Feng Yi."

"Blow, this man must have passed out drunk on the grassland. It seems that my opportunity to make a fortune has arrived." Then he quietly followed Zhang Cheng and walked towards the grassland.

Sure enough, within ten miles, Zhang Cheng fell down in the grass and fell asleep soundly.

When the store clerk saw this, he was so happy that his heart almost jumped out of his chest, and he hurriedly went up to unpack Zhang Cheng's bag.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, the big yellow dog pounced up with a "hoo" sound, tightly protecting Zhang Cheng, with fierce eyes flashing, not allowing the shopkeeper to get even half a step closer.

The shopkeeper was shocked and lost his mind for a while.

At this time, the northwest wind started blowing, getting stronger and stronger.

The shopkeeper frowned, and a plan came to his mind: he ran towards the limelight, lit the waist-deep thatch, and the fire followed Zhang Cheng's direction.

When the big yellow dog saw the fire, it jumped and barked, and pulled Zhang Cheng's clothes. However, Zhang Cheng was as dead as a dead man and could not move.

The yellow dog circled on the ground several times, and finally, like an arrow, it ran towards the salt lake in the distance, jumped into the lake, wet itself, then rushed back, rolled around Zhang Cheng, and moistened it with the water on its body.

Wet dry grass.

Just like this, he was running back and forth with the same momentum. After a while, the dead grass next to Zhang Cheng was wet, as if he had splashed water.

Although the big yellow dog was exhausted, it still lay beside Zhang Cheng, guarding Zhang Cheng.

The shopkeeper watched the fire bypass Zhang Cheng and burn to the side. He was very upset: he had no choice but to return to the hotel in despair.

Seeing that the danger had passed, the big yellow dog slowly closed his eyes and never opened them again.

When Zhang Cheng woke up and saw the darkness all around him, he was startled and said: "What a big fire!" Looking next to him, he saw a piece of water? The yellow dog fell dead on the side! Zhang Cheng looked at the salt lake not far away and understood in his heart: It turned out that it was a piece of water.

It was the big yellow dog that saved his life! Originally, Zhang Cheng bought this dog to take back to his hometown to kill for meat. Unexpectedly, the dog saved his life. He couldn't help but feel ashamed and burst into tears.

Zhang Cheng dug the soil into his grave, buried the yellow dog with a heavy heart, and hurried back to the hotel.

He made up his mind that he would never eat dog meat again and would not buy horses anymore. He would use the money from buying horses to buy all the dogs in the store and take them back to his hometown to raise them.

Since Zhang Cheng's bid was high, the sale was completed immediately.

After saying that, he handed the money to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper was surprised and happy. He clapped his chest and said seriously: "Sir, you are not busy! I am a trustworthy shopkeeper. I will take off the sign and hang the sheep's head before I take your money!" After that, he went to do it.

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In a short time, everything was done. Zhang Cheng presented the money with both hands. After thanking him, he easily embarked on the thousand-mile journey home.

Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper did not do what he said, but instead sold dog meat openly and secretly.

After people heard about this incident, they all scolded him for being obsessed with money and dishonest.

Since then, selling dog meat with sheep's heads has become synonymous with words and deeds contradicting each other.