Chapter 485 - 404: Black Tiger Kills a Chicken (Part 2)

"Well then, Grandpa, take care now. Come by when you have time." Zhao Jun had wanted to give the old man a couple more warnings, but after hearing him say that, he could only swallow the words on the tip of his tongue. ’I’m not worried about the dogs,’ he thought to himself. ’But I am worried about you.’

Actually, this was for the best. If Zhu Dashan had taken Little Bear and White Dragon, Zhao Jun would have been genuinely worried. But his worry would have been for the dogs getting hurt.

But since the old man insisted on taking Black Tiger, Big Fatty, and San Pang, Zhao Jun wasn’t worried about the dogs anymore.

Knowing Big Fatty and San Pang’s temperaments, they would have put up a fight against a Black Bear if Zhao Jun were there. But with Zhao Jun absent, the two of them would absolutely be able to retreat without a scratch.

As for Black Tiger, what worried Zhao Jun was that the dog might cause trouble for Zhu Dashan.

Zhu Dashan, of course, knew none of this. The old man had borrowed the dogs—and the three "good dogs" he’d had his eye on, no less. He was delighted, leading them home with a pleased look on his face. As he walked, he even hummed a little ditty: "Oh, my grain, oh, my grain. The autumn harvest fills the granary, ai, ah, ai! Ai! Ai!"

"Whoa!" Suddenly, all three dogs lunged forward. Startled, Zhu Dashan yanked hard on the leashes and looked ahead to see Li Baoyu walking toward them.

"The Li family’s boy!"

"Master Zhu!" Li Baoyu, who was just coming back from Liu Mei’s house, saw that the elder had greeted him first, so he quickly nodded at Zhu Dashan in acknowledgment. But seeing him leading the three dogs, Li Baoyu asked, "Why do you have them out?"

"A Black Bear got into my cornfield," Zhu Dashan said. "I had no choice, so I went to the Zhao family to borrow a few dogs to chase it away."

Li Baoyu didn’t know who Zhu Dashan had borrowed the dogs from. He just assumed Zhao Jun had already gone to work, leaving only Wang Meilan, who didn’t know anything about dogs, at home.

Otherwise, Zhao Jun would have never lent these three dogs to Zhu Dashan.

At this thought, Li Baoyu glanced at Black Tiger, who was wedged between Big Fatty and San Pang, and said kindly to Zhu Dashan, "Master Zhu, you can’t take them..."

"And why not?" Zhu Dashan cut him off before he could finish, saying irritably, "These are my grandson-in-law’s dogs. Why can’t I take them?"

"That’s not..." Li Baoyu was speechless. This old man wouldn’t even let him finish a sentence.

"What’s ’not’ about it!" Zhu Dashan glared, cutting Li Baoyu off again. "You’re good friends with Zhao Jun, sure, but we’re family! I wanted to borrow his dogs, and even Zhao Jun didn’t say anything. What’s with all your chatter?"

"Yes, yes." Hearing this, Li Baoyu quickly nodded. "You’re right, Master Zhu. My mistake."

"Of course you were!" Zhu Dashan averted his gaze from Li Baoyu and added another jab, "You might be good friends with Zhao Jun, but we’re still family!"

With that, Zhu Dashan led the three dogs away. Black Tiger walked between Big Fatty and San Pang, and Zhu Dashan still hadn’t noticed that there was something wrong with the dog’s leg.

Watching Zhu Dashan’s retreating back, Li Baoyu chuckled and shook his head, muttering to himself, "You may be family with my brother, but those dogs won’t go easy on you for it."

Zhu Dashan led the three dogs home and, upon entering the courtyard, tied them up in the storage shed where junk was piled.

It had to be said, the old man was stubborn and spoke bluntly, but his heart was in the right place. He even brought over some dry hay and spread it on the floor for the three dogs to lie on.

After tying up the three dogs, Zhu Dashan came out of the shed and shouted as he walked toward the house, "Juan! Juan!"

"Yes! Dad, you’re back?" A middle-aged woman came out of the house upon hearing his voice and asked, "What did Zhao Jun say?"

"The boy can’t make it." When he said this, Zhu Dashan saw that Wang Juan looked a little disappointed, so he immediately grinned. "He has to study every day now and can’t stay out after dark. So I thought about it and just borrowed his dogs."

"You borrowed the dogs? Where are they?" Hearing that Zhu Dashan had borrowed dogs from Zhao Jun’s family, Wang Juan was very curious and followed him to the storage shed to take a look.

Hunting dogs weren’t the kind to be disliked, no matter whose house they were in. Big Fatty and San Pang were lying quietly on the hay.

As for Black Tiger, he had his mouth wide open, tongue lolling out, and was wagging his tail at the two of them, putting on a lovable act.

"What a great dog!" The moment she saw Black Tiger, Wang Juan’s eyes lit up, and she couldn’t help but exclaim, "Look at him! He’s round as a ball and his coat is so glossy and shiny."

It had to be said, Black Tiger’s appearance was getting better and better.

Ever since he arrived at Zhao Jun’s family home, he hadn’t missed a single hearty meal. Even during the dog days of summer, when daytime temperatures reached thirty-three or thirty-four degrees Celsius and other dogs lost their appetites, he remained completely unaffected.

On top of that, he was good at acting cute and currying favor, which made Wang Meilan, Zhao Hong, and Zhao Na all dote on him. Whenever they were eating snacks or dry rations, they would save some from their own portions to feed Black Tiger.

Right now, Black Tiger had a small head and a large body, making him look as round as a ball. Moreover, his black fur was glossy and shiny. Judging by appearances alone, he was definitely a good dog.

"Juan!" Zhu Dashan, also fond of Black Tiger, said hurriedly to Wang Juan, "Quick, mix up some cornmeal and feed the dogs!"

Hearing this, the smile on Wang Juan’s face froze. She was very frugal; if a crumb fell from a steamed bun or a piece of flatbread, she would pick it up with her finger and pop it in her mouth. Being asked to feed cornmeal to dogs now put her in a difficult position.

Zhu Dashan knew his daughter-in-law was thrifty, so he tried to persuade her. "If you want the dogs to work, you have to feed them first. Think about how much grain we’ll save tonight if they chase that Black Bear away."

Upon hearing this, Wang Juan realized he had a point. Her expression softened, and she nodded. "Alright, Dad. I’ll do as you say."

Wang Juan went into the house to wash the pot and boil water. Once the water boiled, she ladled it into the cornmeal, scalding it until it was cooked.