Chapter 583: Youcai Takes the Dogs Hunting (Part 2)

Chapter 583: Chapter 443: Youcai Takes the Dogs Hunting (Part 2)

Zhao Youcai had no choice but to take Liu Jinyong to the side to rest. Just then, Liu Jinyong asked him, “Master Zhao, who is that?”

“My brother-in-law.” Zhao Youcai sighed and shook his head. “He’s got nothing better to do all day than fool around. He doesn’t care about his home, his kid, nothing.”

Liu Jinyong snuck a glance at Zhao Youcai and thought, ‘You’re one to talk. A minute ago, you were calling for Li Dayong, ready to leave without a second thought for whether your own son was getting lunch.’

But no matter what he was thinking, he didn’t dare say it out loud. Liu Jinyong simply asked, “Master Zhao, we’re going to hunt that cannon egg. Why do you need your brother-in-law for that?”

“My brother-in-law is an expert at flushing and cornering prey,” Zhao Youcai said. “His Spear Technique might not be as good as Zhou Chengguo’s, but when it comes to experience and all that, he’s definitely not any worse.”

“Oh!” Hearing that Zhao Youcai was bringing in powerful backup, Liu Jinyong’s face lit up. He grabbed Zhao Youcai’s hand and shook it, saying, “Thank you, Master Zhao! You’ve really gone out of your way!”

Zhao Youcai shook his head slightly, then waited with Liu Jinyong for Wang Qiang to finish settling the score.

They ended up waiting for more than twenty minutes. Just as Zhao Youcai was getting antsy, he saw Wang Qiang, whose back was to him, finally stand up. Meanwhile, Mrs. Han and the others were all digging money out of their pockets.

These old folks were normally very frugal, the kind of people who’d pinch every penny until it screamed. They were thrilled when they won, but when they lost, every single one of them had a long face.

Mrs. Han was seen clutching a wad of small bills, unwilling to let go, but Wang Qiang forcibly yanked it from her hand.

Wang Qiang walked over to Zhao Youcai, counting the money with his head down.

Zhao Youcai, however, watched Wang Qiang with a look of annoyance and asked coldly, “Are you done yet?”

“Huh?” Wang Qiang looked up, stuffing the money into his pocket. “What’s up, brother-in-law? You need something?”

Zhao Youcai pressed his lips together and snorted before finally speaking. “Yes, something’s up. Over at our Forest Farm’s New Logging Camp, a Big Cannon Egg gored two people to death. Now the higher-ups want me to take the dogs and corner it.”

“Taking dogs?” Wang Qiang immediately latched onto the key point. He frowned and asked, “If you’re taking dogs, what do you need me for?”

Zhao Youcai said, “My family has five dogs, and Dayong House has four. With just me and Shunzi, it’ll be hard for the two of us to handle them all.”

“Right,” Wang Qiang said with a nod. “Since you didn’t raise those dogs, of course they’ll be hard to manage.”

“What are you talking about!” Zhao Youcai instinctively glanced at Liu Jinyong, then turned back to Wang Qiang and shot him a look. “If we didn’t raise them, who did?”

Wang Qiang gave a slight smirk and looked at Zhao Youcai. “So, you’re asking me to go with you, brother-in-law?”

“Yep.” Zhao Youcai walked up to Wang Qiang, grabbed his arm, and turned him around to face the direction of Zhao Jun’s family. He started to pull Wang Qiang along, saying, “Let’s go get the dogs. We’ll get there and take care of that Big Cannon Egg.”

“Oh,” Wang Qiang grunted. But his feet seemed to be rooted to the spot. He didn’t move forward with Zhao Youcai, instead turning to ask, “So, if we kill this pig, how much money is the Forest Farm going to give us?”

“They’ll give…” Zhao Youcai started to answer, but then he remembered that a reward had never actually been mentioned. He turned his gaze toward Liu Jinyong.

Liu Jinyong looked a little awkward. He took a step forward, leaned close to Zhao Youcai’s ear, and whispered, “I left the Forest Farm this morning and haven’t been back since. But Master Zhao, since you’re helping out, our… Zhou…”

Realizing his mistake, Liu Jinyong quickly corrected himself. “Our Forest Farm definitely won’t treat you unfairly.”

It was true. Hunting a boar that had killed people was the security team’s job, not the responsibility of the cafeteria’s head chef or the captain of the vehicle fleet.

If the security team handled it, it would be considered part of their duties, so the reward wouldn’t be very large. But if Zhao Youcai and Lin Xiangshun stepped in, the reward was bound to be substantial.

After hearing Liu Jinyong, Zhao Youcai nudged Wang Qiang’s arm. “You hear that? We definitely won’t get shortchanged.”

“Oh, give me a break,” Wang Qiang retorted as soon as Zhao Youcai finished speaking. “That’s not a firm promise. I might as well stay here and play a few more hands of cards.”

“What cards?” Zhao Youcai grabbed Wang Qiang’s arm and gave him a shove forward. He then hurried a few steps to pull Wang Qiang aside and said, “Qiangzi, all these years, how have I treated you?”

Hearing this, Wang Qiang slowly turned his head to meet Zhao Youcai’s gaze. He shook his head a couple of times before saying, “Not that great.”

“You…” Zhao Youcai’s face flushed with anger, but mindful of Liu Jinyong nearby, he could only lower his voice. “Have you no conscience? When you got married, you were broke. Wasn’t I the one who gave you the money?”

“That was my sister who gave it to me!”

“You…” Zhao Youcai was so angry he could barely see straight. “Your sister… gave it to you, sure, but wasn’t that money the two of us earned together?”

“And didn’t I pay you back later?” Wang Qiang replied calmly. He might love playing cards, but true to his name, he was a proud man and never wanted to be a burden to his sister.

Besides, when it came to important matters, Wang Qiang didn’t shirk his duties. For example, when Zhao Jun’s family was building their house, Wang Qiang was there working hard from the first day to the very last.

Zhao Youcai was out of options with a brother-in-law like this, so he had to play the family card again. “The year your sister and I first got married, you got into that fight with Zhang Wangba. His three brothers ganged up on you, remember? And in the end, wasn’t it me who brought Dayong along to get revenge for you?”

At this, Zhao Youcai saw Wang Qiang fall silent, just staring at him. A smile crept onto his face as he pressed his advantage, “You’ve forgotten all that, have you?”

“I haven’t forgotten!” Wang Qiang shook his head and shot back. “But why do you think I fought with Zhang Zhanshan in the first place? Wasn’t it because he was going all over the village calling you a good-for-nothing drunk?”

Zhao Youcai: “…”

As Zhao Youcai fell silent, it was Wang Qiang’s turn to press his advantage. “He said my sister married a lush and would be a grieving widow in less than two years. You think I would’ve fought him otherwise?”

Zhao Youcai: “…”

Seeing Zhao Youcai still silent, Wang Qiang continued, “He also said…”

“That’s enough!” Zhao Youcai suddenly yelled, startling Liu Jinyong who was standing nearby. He then raised his hand and slapped Wang Qiang on the back a couple of times. “Good brother, say no more. Just come with me. Look, this Big Cannon Egg has already killed two people. If we go take it down, then this winter, when the Forest Farm asks me to hunt for specimens, I’ll take you with me.”

“Oh, cut it out.” Wang Qiang sneered. “Xiaojun already told me that Secretary Zhou gave this year’s specimen-hunting job to him. He doesn’t even have to wait for winter. In a couple of days, Xiaojun is going to hunt wild boar and roe deer to be given as Mid-Autumn Festival gifts from the Forest Farm.”

Zhao Youcai: “…”

Seeing Zhao Youcai’s face turn shades of red and pale, Wang Qiang quickly cleared his throat and said, “Alright, brother-in-law, let’s go.”

Zhao Youcai: “…”

Liu Jinyong hadn’t heard what the two brothers-in-law were talking about, but he was happy to see Zhao Youcai and Wang Qiang walking toward the Zhao Family’s place.

By the time Zhao Youcai got home, Lin Xiangshun and Hong Yuntao had already been waiting for a long time. With Zhao Youcai still not back, the two of them had just been smoking and chatting with Li Dayong by the gate.

Seeing Zhao Youcai return, Lin Xiangshun hurried forward to greet both him and Wang Qiang.

Just then, Zhao Youcai strode into the yard. Seeing it full of hunting dogs, his heart swelled with pride. “Dayong!” he yelled. “Get the ropes! Leash the dogs!”

“You got it!”

Li Dayong called back and started working alongside Zhao Youcai. The others, being unfamiliar with the dogs, didn’t dare to step forward and help. They could only wait for Zhao Youcai to leash a dog and hand over the rope before they would dare to take it.

After Liu Jinyong and Hong Yuntao had led away Little Bear, White Dragon, Big Fatty, and San Pang from the Zhao Family Courtyard, Lin Xiangshun pointed to Black Tiger, who was in front of the house. “Second Uncle,” he asked Zhao Youcai, “aren’t we taking that big black dog?”

“No, not him.” Zhao Youcai waved a hand dismissively. “I heard that dog hasn’t had its first bite yet. We’re not taking him.”

“Huh?” Lin Xiangshun craned his neck to get a better look at Black Tiger, puzzled. “He’s that big and he’s never bitten any prey?”

“Nope,” said Zhao Youcai. “We’ll leave him here with the two little ones to guard the house. Let’s go.”

With that, the two men walked out of the courtyard.

「Two minutes later.」

A bulky jeep and a Liberation-brand truck drove away from the Zhao Family’s gate, one after the other.

In the bed of the Liberation truck, Zhao Youcai and Wang Qiang sat holding their guns. Eight dogs lay sprawled every which way on either side of them.

Back in the Zhao Jun’s family courtyard, Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon pawed at the wicker fence, watching the trucks disappear into the distance. In front of the house, Black Tiger let out a lazy, wide-mouthed yawn.