Chapter 598: Pinnacle of the Small Hunt — Tripping Him Up

Before Li Baoyu could ask Li Ruhai what he and his future sister-in-law had chatted about, a car horn and the sound of barking dogs came from outside.

Zhao Youcai was back!

Wang Meilan took two steps forward, pushed past Li Baoyu and Li Ruhai who were blocking her path, and strode out the door.

Seeing this, Zhao Jun hurried to follow. Right behind him were Li Baoyu, Li Ruhai, Li Dayong, Jin Xiaomei, and Jie Chen. Even Zhao Hong, Zhao Na, and Li Xiaoqiao all came out too.

By the time everyone got out into the yard, the hunting dogs had already filed in, with the Zhao family’s dogs returning to their yard and the Li family’s dogs to theirs.

The Li family’s dogs entered the yard, ignoring Wang Meilan and Zhao Jun up ahead, and bounded straight for Li Baoyu at the back.

Seeing Li Baoyu surrounded by Da Huang, Xiaohua, Flower Cat, and Hua Lang, Li Ruhai remained unconcerned. With a look of excitement, he trotted after Zhao Jun and Wang Meilan.

By now, Zhao Jun had caught up to Wang Meilan. He gently tugged her arm and whispered, “Mom, Ruhai is here.”

Wang Meilan frowned but said nothing. Just then, she heard Zhao Jun add, “Jie Chen is still here, too.”

“Nn.” Wang Meilan gritted her teeth, forcing out two words. “I know.”

In those days, few parents spoiled their children, so there was a common saying among them: “The moment we have company, you start acting up.”

This was because parents tended to be more lenient with their children whenever guests were over. They wouldn’t scold their kids in front of company.

For one, it would make the family look bad. For another, it might seem like they were trying to drive their guests away.

But in the Zhao family, the situation was a bit different. The kids were all well-behaved; the problem lay with the adults.

But Jie Chen was staying with them, so no matter how out of line Zhao Youcai got, Wang Meilan couldn’t start a fight with him. Otherwise, it would be impossible for Jie Chen to continue staying at their house.

Wang Meilan, of course, knew all this. So, after leaving the Li Family Courtyard, she just stood quietly by the wall, watching Zhao Youcai reach up toward the truck bed, waiting to help San Pang down.

By now, Little Bear, White Dragon, and Big Fatty had already returned to the Zhao Family Courtyard. Only San Pang was still in the back of the truck.

Lin Xiangshun was in the truck bed, untying San Pang’s leash. Once it was undone, Zhao Youcai could help the dog down from below.

But when Zhao Jun came out of the Li Family Courtyard, San Pang got excited. It lunged forward, a movement that both Lin Xiangshun and Zhao Youcai noticed. Zhao Youcai instinctively turned his head and saw Wang Meilan and Zhao Jun standing nearby. Wang Meilan’s gaze was icy, while Zhao Jun…

The kid glanced at him, then sighed and shook his head, giving him a look of profound disappointment that infuriated Zhao Youcai.

“Auntie, we’re back late. The truck broke down on the way.” Lin Xiangshun hopped down from the truck bed and explained to Wang Meilan. But seeing Zhao Youcai still standing there motionless, he turned and lifted San Pang down himself.

Just then, the members of the Li family, along with Zhao Hong, Zhao Na, and Jie Chen, all emerged from the courtyard.

When the scene he had imagined failed to materialize, Li Ruhai couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed, while Li Dayong, Jin Xiaomei, and Li Baoyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Once its paws hit the ground, San Pang bounded over to Zhao Jun. As Lin Xiangshun turned around, he saw nine people, young and old, lined up in a row in front of the Li Family’s Gate. The sight gave him a start.

Lin Xiangshun froze. He knew that for both families to come out and form a welcoming party, it was definitely not a good sign.

“Shunzi,” Wang Meilan called out to him. “Did your uncle get home?”

“Yeah!” Lin Xiangshun knew she was asking about Wang Qiang, so he said, “I took my uncle home first. Ahem…”

At this point, Lin Xiangshun felt it was time for him to head home. “Auntie, Uncle Li, Aunt Li, I should get going,” he said. “They’re waiting for me at home for dinner.”

“You’d better get back then.” On any other day, Wang Meilan would have insisted Lin Xiangshun stay for dinner. But today, just figuring out dinner for her own family was going to be a chore, so she didn’t ask him to stay.

Since Wang Meilan had spoken, Li Dayong and Jin Xiaomei didn’t try to make him stay either. They just heard Lin Xiangshun say to Jie Chen, “Brother, next week on my day off, you, Xiaojun, and Baoyu should come over to our place. I’ll have my wife cook a few dishes, and we can eat and have a drink.”

“Sounds good, Brother Shunzi,” Jie Chen agreed with a smile. Zhao Youcai turned, about to call out to Lin Xiangshun, but Shunzi had already walked away, gotten in the truck, started the engine, and sped off.

Watching Lin Xiangshun’s truck disappear, Wang Meilan called out, “Baoyu.”

“Auntie!” Li Baoyu hurried forward, ready for instructions.

Wang Meilan instructed, “You know which box has the dried noodles. Go grab two bundles, and get some canned goods, too. That’s what we’ll eat.”

“Right!” Li Baoyu replied. He rushed to the truck bed, grabbed the side-rail with both hands, and vaulted himself up.

At that, Zhao Youcai finally found an opportunity to chime in. He chuckled awkwardly and said, “It’s so late, you all haven’t eaten yet?”

As he spoke, he glanced nonchalantly toward Li Baoyu, who was on the truck. “What did you all buy?” he asked.

But what he didn’t expect was for Wang Meilan to suddenly ask, “You’ve eaten already, haven’t you?”

“Huh?” Hearing her question, Zhao Youcai knew this was bad.

Lin Xiangshun had just said their truck broke down on the way back. Therefore, none of the three hunters had eaten dinner.

Wang Meilan had heard him say that. For her to ask this question now, there had to be a catch.

But Wang Meilan didn’t wait for him to answer. She just said, “Since you’ve eaten, go on home. Light the stove. The house is freezing.”