Chapter 616: Capturing a Roe Deer Alive

It was already past nine o’clock when Zhao Jun and the others left Zhang Yuanmin’s house.

By the time Zhao Jun got home, Zhao Hong and Zhao Na were already asleep, and Zhao Youcai was sitting alone in the west room, eating.

Jie Chen followed Zhao Jun inside. As the younger man, he greeted Zhao Youcai, “Uncle, just now eating?”

“Come on, son.” Zhao Youcai played the part of an elder, inviting Jie Chen, “Sit down and have a drink with your uncle.”

“No, thank you.” Jie Chen replied with a smile, “I already drank plenty at Brother Zhang’s house today.”

“Have some water then.” Wang Meilan poured water for Jie Chen from a thermos, explaining, “Your uncle had a work dinner at the canteen today, so he got back late.”

The plan for today was to have dinner at the Li Family’s home, but even after Li Dayong and Li Baoyu returned, Zhao Youcai was still nowhere to be seen.

But given the nature of Zhao Youcai’s work, Wang Meilan didn’t think much of it, simply assuming he had a dinner at the canteen. So, the two families went ahead and ate without him.

But then, after eight o’clock, Zhao Youcai returned and told Wang Meilan he hadn’t eaten dinner.

Wang Meilan didn’t overthink it. She just boiled some water and made him noodles. She also sliced up a plate of the braised roe deer leg they had brought back from the Li Family’s.

Jie Chen accepted the enamel mug, thanked Wang Meilan, and sat on the edge of the kang bed. The group chatted, keeping Zhao Youcai company while he ate.

Before long, Zhao Youcai had finished his meal. Zhao Jun and Jie Chen helped Wang Meilan clear the table, but as Zhao Jun watched his father’s back retreat into the other room, he couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

‘Logically,’ he thought, ‘if there was a work dinner, Dad should’ve been able to grab a bite, no matter how good or bad the food was. He’s never come home this late without having eaten before.’

‘But from what I know of my own father, he’s a bit of a sneaky troublemaker. He’s good at hatching minor plots and playing petty tricks, but he wouldn’t dare do anything that constitutes a major mistake.’

So, Zhao Jun didn’t dwell on it. After washing up with Jie Chen, he climbed onto the kang bed to sleep.

Meanwhile, after Wang Meilan finished tidying up in the outer room and returned to the east room, she saw that Zhao Youcai was already fast asleep.

Wang Meilan was just about to undress and get under the covers when she heard a “HEH HEH” chuckle come from Zhao Youcai.

Someone suddenly laughing in the dead of night was quite creepy.

It gave Wang Meilan quite a scare.

But there was Zhao Youcai, his head tilted to one side, a broad smile spreading across his face. The corners of his mouth were stretched wide as he chuckled, “HEH HEH,” nonstop.

“Sigh…” Wang Meilan shook her head and sighed. ‘I shouldn’t have let him eat so much this late at night.’

At that moment, Zhao Youcai was having a fantastic dream.

In his dream, he carried a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle on his back, leading his Dog Gang as they roamed free through the mountain forests.

His Dog Gang was composed entirely of black dogs. The only flaw was that its leader, Big-headed Dog, was lame in one front leg.

In the dream, Zhao Youcai slayed the Pig God and vanquished fierce tigers. All the taxidermy specimens in the surrounding villages, including those at the Yong’an Forest Farm, were from animals he had hunted all by himself.

The game he hunted was exchanged for stacks of banknotes, which he used to stuff his padded jacket and pants.

Other people’s padded clothes were stuffed with cotton, but Zhao Youcai’s were stuffed with money. His jacket and pants were so stiff that even walking was a struggle.

…

Early the next morning, when Zhao Jun got up, Zhao Youcai had already cooked breakfast. The two little girls were still asleep, so the four of them ate in the west room again.

They had eggplant stewed with potatoes and deboned wild boar stir-fried with peppers, served with large, two-grain flour steamed buns. Zhao Jun and Jie Chen each ate four buns before finally putting down their chopsticks.

Just then, Wang Meilan came in carrying four lunchboxes, each one packed tightly with four steamed buns.

Jie Chen stood and packed all four lunchboxes into his satchel. They had a clear division of labor for their trips up the mountain: Zhao Jun carried bullets, gauze, and medical supplies in his pockets, while Jie Chen was responsible for the rations.

“Son!” Wang Meilan sat on the edge of the kang, pointing to the outer room as she spoke to Zhao Jun. “How about you take a tenderloin, half a rack of ribs, and a pig’s leg to Brother Zhang?”

“Okay!” Zhao Jun replied. He then got up from the kang to take the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle down from the wall.

But at that moment, they heard Zhao Youcai ask Wang Meilan, “Meilan, do we have any wild boar legs left?”

“We do,” Wang Meilan said. “Why? Who do you want to give one to?”

“Oh,” Zhao Youcai replied, “shouldn’t we give one to Qiangzi? He’s the kids’ uncle. We’re close family, after all.”

The moment Zhao Youcai said this, Wang Meilan and Zhao Jun exchanged a look, both finding it unbelievable.

‘In the past, whenever I brought home game, Mom was always the one to take meat to Wang Qiang’s family. Dad never got involved, and his non-involvement was absolute. He would never, ever deliver the meat himself.’

“What’s gotten into you?” Wang Meilan had a gut feeling that Zhao Youcai must have caused some trouble; otherwise, he wouldn’t be acting so “thoughtful.”

“Ah!” Zhao Youcai sighed. “That Qiangzi… he doesn’t do a lick of proper work, just gambles his days away. I figured I’d take him some meat and give him a talking-to.”

Hearing this, Wang Meilan’s eyes lit up. “There’s a hind leg outside. You can take it to him in a bit. It’d be good for you to have a word with him. I scold him every day, but he just tunes me out now.”

“Right!” Zhao Youcai put down his chopsticks, climbed off the kang, and said, “I’ll take it to him right now.”

Zhao Jun frowned as he watched his father’s retreating figure, feeling that something was off. But when he replayed Zhao Youcai’s words in his head, he couldn’t find any flaws. He turned to Wang Meilan and said, “Mom, Uncle Zhao might come by later to give us the money for the boar. It’s one hundred yuan total. Just hold on to it for now, okay?”

“Oh, yes, okay.” As soon as she heard money was involved, Wang Meilan eagerly agreed.