Chapter 503 - 410: A Pack of Dogs Crossing the River

The moment he heard Zhao Jun say they were planning something big, Li Baoyu was thrilled and immediately set off after him.

But after just a few steps, Zhao Jun turned and headed back toward his house.

Li Baoyu had just caught up when he heard Zhao Jun say, "Baoyu, when you get back, tell Ruhai that we’re going on a hunt tomorrow."

"Huh? Oh..." Li Baoyu was taken aback at first, but he quickly understood and said with a grin, "So, you want Ruhai to spread the word for you, Brother."

"Mhm." Zhao Jun smiled too. "It’s better for him to come looking for us than for us to go looking for him."

The moment Li Baoyu heard that, he knew who Zhao Jun was talking about.

...

The next morning, Zhao Jun got out of bed at six-thirty. By the time he dressed and came out of the bedroom, Wang Meilan had already prepared the dog food.

When Zhao Jun got back the previous evening, he discovered that Zhao Youcai had already told Wang Meilan about his plan to hunt the man-killing Black Bear.

After hearing this, Wang Meilan absolutely refused to let Zhao Jun go. It took a great deal of persuasion before Zhao Jun finally managed to convince his mother.

With the big hunt looming, Wang Meilan spared five pounds of cornmeal, scalding it to make dog food. Zhao Jun carried the large basin out of the house and fed the seven dogs one by one.

By now, Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon had grown up. They had long since stopped drinking goat’s milk and were eating the same food as the other dogs.

While Zhao Jun was feeding the dogs, Zhao Youcai quietly came to his side. Watching Zhao Jun use a wooden ladle to scoop food into Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon’s bowls, Zhao Youcai took a drag from his cigarette and said, "After the New Year, when you get married and move into the new house, you’re planning on taking all these dogs with you, right?"

"Yeah!" Zhao Jun, who was bent over tapping the ladle against the food bowl, turned his head and looked up at Zhao Youcai. "Of course," he replied. "I still have to hunt even after I move out."

At that, Zhao Jun suddenly realized something was off and quickly asked, "Dad, you and Mom... aren’t you supposed to be moving with me?"

"We’re not in a hurry. You guys can move first." Holding his cigarette, Zhao Youcai looked around at every nook and cranny of the yard and said with feigned sentimentality, "This house... I’ve lived here for most of my life. I can’t bear to leave."

Zhao Jun knew instantly that his father was up to something again. But he didn’t try to persuade him further. ’After all, it’s not like Zhao Youcai is the one who calls the shots in this family.’

Seeing Zhao Jun remain silent, Zhao Youcai stuck the cigarette in his mouth, pointed at Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon, and said, "When you leave, leave those two with me."

"What?" Zhao Jun could hardly believe his ears. He never would have imagined that Zhao Youcai would set his sights on Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon.

"I said, leave these two pups with us," Zhao Youcai explained. "Sometimes I have to entertain guests at the station and get back late. Your mom and your two little sisters are at home. If there isn’t a dog to watch the house, they’ll be scared."

’What kind of excuse is that?’

’He had to hand it to his father, coming up with an excuse like that. Zhao Youcai knew that Zhao Jun cared about Wang Meilan and the two little girls.’

"Hmm..." Zhao Jun had just finished feeding the dogs. He straightened up and stood before Zhao Youcai, seemingly lost in thought.

Zhao Youcai looked at Zhao Jun with hopeful eyes, waiting to hear a positive answer.

"Dad, you’ve got a point," Zhao Jun said, turning to his father. "You can’t live in the countryside without a dog."

"Exactly!" Hearing Zhao Jun say this, Zhao Youcai’s face instantly broke into a wide smile.

But in the next second, Zhao Jun pointed to Black Tiger, who was in front of the house with his head buried in his food bowl, gobbling noisily. "Mom and the girls like Black Tiger," he said. "I’ll leave him for you when the time comes."

"You..." The smile vanished from Zhao Youcai’s face in an instant. He glared indignantly at Zhao Jun.

But Zhao Jun didn’t meet his gaze. Instead, he looked away at the dogs in the yard who were single-mindedly devouring their food and sighed softly. "If Hua Xiao were here, I’d be much more confident about this fight."

Even now, with a total of nine adult dogs between the two yards, Zhao Jun still couldn’t feel at ease.

Hearing this, Zhao Youcai snorted and muttered, "If Hua Xiao were here, I would’ve gone after that Black Bear myself long ago!"

With that, Zhao Youcai clasped his hands behind his back and went back inside.

Zhao Jun ignored his father, his gaze falling on Cyan Dragon. After Hua Xiao and Cyan Wolf had both died in battle, it was the only dog in these parts that could be called a Big-headed Dog.

Unfortunately, Cyan Dragon was still young.

"Brother!"

Just then, Li Baoyu’s voice came from the next yard.

Zhao Jun turned to see Li Baoyu just coming out of his house with a dog food basin, about to feed his dogs.

Zhao Jun went to the wall and glanced toward the front of the Li’s House. Seeing no one, he asked Li Baoyu, "Where’s Ruhai?"

"Heh heh..." Hearing Zhao Jun ask about Li Ruhai, Li Baoyu couldn’t help but laugh. "After I told him last night, he couldn’t sleep a wink. He was tossing and turning so much that I couldn’t get a good night’s sleep either. Then, he went out early this morning, around four o’clock."

"You’re terrible," Zhao Jun said, pointing at Li Baoyu with a laugh. "Didn’t I tell you? It would’ve been fine if you’d just waited until this morning to tell him."

"Heh heh..." Faced with Zhao Jun’s "accusation," Li Baoyu just laughed without saying a word.

Suddenly, the dogs in both yards started barking, but not as fiercely as they had when Zhao Jinshan arrived the previous night.

’It must be someone they know.’

"Xiaojun!" Wang Dalong appeared at the yard gate. "Watch your dogs!"

For the past half-month or so, Wang Dalong had been helping the Zhao and Li families build their houses. He often helped Wang Meilan and Jin Xiaomei carry things back, so the dogs from both families had grown familiar with him.

"Cyan Dragon!" Zhao Jun called out. At his command, Cyan Dragon averted his gaze from Wang Dalong.