Chapter 498 - 408: Someone Died Again

"Huh?" Zhao Jun was taken aback. He smiled and asked, "Why are you building it so big for him? You and Uncle aren’t going to be living with Baoyu later on."

"Sigh." Jin Xiaomei let out a heavy sigh. "That’s why I regret it."

Zhao Jun followed Jin Xiaomei to the Li Family home, carrying a twenty-jin jug of liquor. The Li Family Courtyard was currently empty; the four dogs had been temporarily moved to Zhao Jun’s family’s house.

In the courtyard, Wang Meilan, Yang Yufeng, Li Baoyu, and Li Baoyu’s aunt, Kan Yan, were all busy as bees.

"Oh, my son’s back." As Wang Meilan took the cloth bag from Jin Xiaomei’s hand, she saw Zhao Jun following behind, carrying the jug of liquor.

"Mom!" Zhao Jun called out to Wang Meilan, then greeted the others. Looking around the courtyard, he smiled and asked, "Is there anything I can help with?"

"Brother!" Yang Yufeng called out to Zhao Jun, pointing to two thermoses in the corner. "There are tea leaves in those. Could you take them over there for me?"

"Sure!" Zhao Jun agreed immediately. He went to the corner, picked up a thermos in each hand, and started to head out.

"Over there," as Yang Yufeng had put it, was Li Baoyu’s new house. On a hot day like this, a steady supply of water was essential.

"Jun!" Jin Xiaomei called out to him. She pulled a carton of Huatuan cigarettes from the cloth bag, broke the seal, and stuffed two packs into Zhao Jun’s pocket. "When you get there," she instructed, "pass these out to them."

Zhao Jun nodded with a smile, left the Li Family home with the thermoses, and made his way to Li Baoyu’s new house.

Just as he reached the outside of the courtyard wall, Zhao Jun heard Li Ruhai’s booming voice from within.

"Two elders, past sixty years of age! Today, one is dead, one is injured! Our Yong’an Village is beset by dangers, one after another! If you wish to know what happens next, you’ll have to wait with bated breath!"

Zhao Jun: "..."

Reaching the courtyard gate, Zhao Jun watched Li Ruhai holding forth eloquently in the middle of the crowd, feeling something he couldn’t quite put into words.

’You gotta hand it to the kid.’ It had been less than ten minutes since he’d parted ways with Zhao Jun and Jin Xiaomei.

It must have taken him three to five minutes to walk over, yet in that short amount of time, the kid had already come up with a whole new story.

Zhao Jun stood at the gate, stunned for a good three seconds, before exclaiming with a sigh of admiration, "How does our Yong’an Village produce so many characters!"

"Brother!" Just then, Zhang Yuanmin spotted Zhao Jun and broke away from the crowd to walk over.

After helping build the house and tidy up the yard for Zhao Jun’s family, Zhang Yuanmin had come over to help Li Baoyu.

"Off work so early?" Zhang Yuanmin asked as he took one of the thermoses from Zhao Jun. His face, however, was a little pale.

He was scared.

Ever since he’d gotten a beating from that Black Bear, Zhang Yuanmin had developed a deep-seated fear of the creatures. He’d gone from being resourceful and eager to try anything to being scared out of his wits anytime someone even mentioned a Black Bear.

Just now, hearing Li Ruhai say that Jiang Hua had been mauled to death by a Black Bear, Zhang Yuanmin recalled his own numerous near-death experiences, and a cold sweat broke out on his back.

Zhao Jun greeted everyone, and then he was pulled aside by Wang Dalong.

Like Zhang Yuanmin, Wang Dalong had also come to help Li Baoyu after finishing up the work on the house for Zhao Jun’s family.

He said to Zhao Jun, "Xiaojun, you’ve heard, haven’t you? Elder Ghost Jiang tried to blow up a Black Bear with explosives, but the bear got him instead."

Zhao Jun chuckled at his words and pointed to Li Ruhai, who was gulping down water nearby. "With him around, you think I haven’t heard?"

Wang Dalong turned to look at Li Ruhai and laughed too. Then he continued, "That Black Bear must be seriously wounded. It’s probably lost all its fight. We should take the dogs and go after it!"

"Don’t even think about it!" Hearing Wang Dalong’s suggestion, Zhao Jun quickly stopped him. "A Black Bear that’s already killed a man is no ordinary animal! Besides, the grass is overgrown right now. It’s not the right time for a hound hunt!"

Zhao Jun was right.

At this time of year, the grass in some parts of the mountains was already a meter high, sometimes even taller than a man.

Plus, the thick foliage on the trees blocked the line of sight. If a Black Bear hid somewhere, you’d never be able to see it.

Even with hounds, if the dogs were fighting a bear in the tall grass, a person standing seven or eight meters away would have their view obstructed and might not be able to see clearly.

If you can’t see, you can’t take a shot. And if you moved any closer, you’d be putting yourself in danger.

Hearing Zhao Jun’s explanation, Wang Dalong nodded and didn’t say another word. Then, Zhao Jun joined the others in tidying up Li Baoyu’s courtyard.

By the time they finished all the odd jobs, it was just past five o’clock. The group headed over to the Li Family’s home together.

Once they arrived at the Li Family home, Li Baoyu brought out water for everyone to wash their faces and hands. Then they all sat down to smoke, drink tea, and chat.

Before long, Lin Xiangshun returned, driving Li Dayong and Zhao Youcai back. The Li Family then served the feast—three tables of food and wine—and everyone ate and drank to their hearts’ content.

After the banquet ended, Li Dayong and Zhao Youcai were both drunk. Zhao Jun and Wang Meilan helped Jin Xiaomei and her son with a quick tidying of the courtyard, and then they all went home to bed.

The next morning, Zhao Jun got up, ate breakfast, and slung his satchel over his shoulder before heading out to Lin Xiangshun’s house. He could catch a ride with Lin Xiangshun from there to the Forest Farm for work.

But just as he left his house, he saw a small hand emerge from behind a large willow tree in the distance and wave at him. "Zhao Jun!" a voice called.

Zhao Jun walked toward the willow tree and asked with a smile, "What are you doing here? Did you need to see me about something?"

Ma Ling stepped out from behind the willow tree and nodded. "Yeah, there’s something." After she spoke, she hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Are you in a hurry to get to work?"

"Not at all. Whatever it is, just tell me," Zhao Jun replied pleasantly. Then, remembering Zhu Dashan, he asked Ma Ling, "By the way, how’s your grand-uncle doing?"