Chapter 54: Feeding
Zhao Wendong couldn’t be bothered with the scheming little fox’s feelings right now. The three of them first placed the Gouzi they were holding in a warmer spot in the outer room, then started unloading their things.
This time, it was mostly food and daily necessities. Many of the items couldn’t be left to freeze in the snowdrifts outside, so they had to be moved into the house’s cellar.
"Son, where did these dogs come from?"
"Are we going to raise dogs?"
Chen Yanmei had been happily helping unload things outside. When she came in and saw the three Gouzi, she asked in surprise. The moment Shitou and Little Tuanzi, who were inside, heard this, they went wild.
"Puppies, puppies! I want to see the puppies!"
"Where are they? Where are the dogs?"
The Gouzi had been held by the three brothers the whole time and had even nibbled on a cabbage head. They were in better shape now, not as listless as before. Arriving in a new home for the first time, they were quite friendly to Shitou’s and Little Tuanzi’s petting. The yellow one even wagged its tail.
Seeing that the Gouzi didn’t bite, the adults relaxed and let the children play while they went back to moving things. But then Zhao Dashan, on the kang, grew impatient and started pounding the mat.
"Honey, what dogs? Hurry and bring them in for Dad to see."
As a veteran Hunter in the village, he was extremely interested in dogs. He had always wanted to raise a hunting hound, but unfortunately, there were too many mouths to feed at home. This year, their food rations had suddenly been cut off, so he couldn’t afford one even if he wanted to.
After everything was unloaded at the house, Zhao Wenjun stayed behind to help stock the cellar. Zhao Wendong drove the horse-drawn sleigh, carrying the barrel of diesel, and took Zhao Wenwu to Third Master Zhao’s house.
At that moment in Third Master Zhao’s house, Zhao Weiguo was sitting across from him, smoking his pipe and chatting.
"Why has Dongzi been gone so long?"
"He probably got held up by something!"
"Third Uncle, do you really think Dongzi can get diesel? A whole barrel?"
Third Master Zhao didn’t speak, taking a couple of puffs from his pipe before he finally said anything.
"I don’t quite believe it myself, but Dongzi’s on the right track now. He’s much more reliable in his words and actions than before. I’d say it’s about eighty or ninety percent certain. He’s not like he used to be; he won’t make promises he can’t keep."
"Yeah, that’s true!"
Zhao Weiguo smoked his pipe, lost in his own thoughts. Third Master Zhao, being old and shrewd, chuckled and said...
"What’s wrong? Seeing that boy Wendong is finally getting his act together, are you thinking of setting him up with Xiaoyan? Even though they’re outside the five generations, they both still have the surname Zhao!"
"Huh? How did you know, old sir?"
Zhao Weiguo’s face was a picture of shock.
"Hah! Those little thoughts of yours are written all over your face. Besides, I’ve watched you grow up since you were a boy. What could you possibly hide from me? Remember when the Volunteer Army passed by our village and you wanted to sneak off to the battlefield? Who was the first one to see through your plan?"
"Hahaha, you’re right! It was you, Third Uncle. You even stuffed a few corn buns into my hands! Third Uncle, your eyes are really sharp!"
"Speaking of which, what a pity. Didn’t that commander want you to stay in the army back then? Why didn’t you do it? If you had, our village might have produced a high-ranking official by now."
Hearing this, Zhao Weiguo’s expression grew distant, as if lost in a memory. After a long moment, he gave a small smile and spoke softly.
"Country and family... the country comes before the family. I went when the country needed me. When the country didn’t need me anymore, of course I had to come back and take care of my own little family. We went to help, not to become officials!"
The words had barely left his lips when Zhao Wendong’s voice sounded from the doorway.
"Haha, Uncle Weiguo, what you said isn’t quite right. Originally, it wasn’t ’country-family,’ but ’family-country.’ I don’t know which son of a bitch switched the order."
"Get lost, you little rascal! I’ll smack you if you keep spouting nonsense!"
Zhao Weiguo made a show of raising the bowl of his pipe, and Zhao Wendong, with a roguish grin, stuck out his neck.
"Go on, go on, hit me! Right on the head. Just don’t blame me if I forget about the diesel afterward!"
"What? You brought the diesel back?"
Overjoyed, Zhao Weiguo stopped wasting time bickering with Zhao Wendong and rushed out the door. Soon, the big brown horse and the full barrel of diesel were in Third Master Zhao’s outer room.
"TSK TSK TSK!"
"There’s so much! A full barrel! How long will this last our village?"
"Dongzi, how about you..."
Zhao Wendong knew what Zhao Weiguo was about to say and quickly held up his hand. "Stop, stop! What we agreed on is what you get. If you take too much, I might get thrown into the sea. You expect me to paddle back myself tomorrow? What if I run into a storm?"
Ignoring the bickering between Zhao Wendong and Zhao Weiguo, Third Master Zhao had already taken out a jerrycan and found a rubber hose, skillfully preparing to siphon the diesel.
First, he opened the barrel and inserted the hose. Then, Third Master Zhao gave a sharp suck on the other end, lowered the tube, and the diesel began to flow out with a GUSH. When the first jerrycan was nearly full, Third Master brought out another one.
Zhao Wendong saw this and immediately protested, reaching out to stop him. ’These two old codgers planned this all along! Two of those cans is at least forty liters of diesel gone. I’m taking a huge loss!’
"Alright, alright, that’s enough."
Third Master Zhao chuckled calmly. "You little rascal, we’re not taking your diesel for free. The production team has four fishing nets. You can take them. Otherwise, where were you planning on getting nets?"
Zhao Wendong slapped his forehead. ’I’m done for.’ He’d been completely outmaneuvered, and he had no choice but to accept it. His family’s own fishing nets were in terrible shape, riddled with holes, and he guessed everyone else’s were much the same. The production team’s nets, on the other hand, had been mended and stored properly. They were ready to use, which was definitely better than him trying to scrounge up nets elsewhere.
"Fine, fine! I give in, you two. They say with age comes cunning, and it’s absolutely true."
Neither Zhao Weiguo nor Third Master Zhao got angry. Instead, they exchanged a triumphant glance. No matter how much of a Monkey King Zhao Wendong was, he couldn’t escape the palm of their Buddha.
Once the diesel was siphoned, they screwed the cap back on the remaining barrel and placed it on the sleigh. Zhao Weiguo handed Zhao Wendong two keys.
"One is for the team headquarters; I’ve already taken the fishing nets out and put them in the room for you. The other is the key to the boat. Make sure you keep them safe and don’t lose them."
"Yeah, got it!"
Zhao Wendong nodded. He didn’t waste any more time with small talk and left with the keys. They still had a lot to do. In winter, the days were short and the nights long, so they’d have to work after dark to get everything ready.
When he got back home, Chen Yanmei was happily stoking the fire. Seeing Zhao Wendong return, she immediately said...
"Son, I heard from your big brother that your cooking is amazing?"
"Hehe, yup. I’ll show you what I can do tonight. I’m making pickled cabbage stew with pork and vermicelli!"
Chen Yanmei and Song Xiaoyu were worried, so they stood to the side and watched Zhao Wendong cook, afraid he would waste the ingredients and seasonings. The result, naturally, left them stunned.
"Heavens, son! When did you learn how to cook?"
"Hehe, Mom, did you really think I was just loafing on the streets all day? Whenever we went out to eat, I was the one doing the cooking!"
"Amazing! My son is a genius."
In the main room, Zhao Dashan lay on the kang, petting the three purebred Northeast native dogs. These were prime hunting hounds, and he had no idea where his three sons had gotten them. When he asked the eldest, he just stammered and couldn’t give a straight answer.
Hearing Chen Yanmei’s words from the outer room, Zhao Dashan curled his lip in disdain. ’Silly woman. Only she would believe Zhao Wendong’s nonsense. Cooking and hunting... he must be possessed by a spirit. I’ll wait until he’s had his fun, then have Granny Liu take a good look at him.’
Soon, the pot of pickled cabbage and vermicelli was simmering over a low fire.
Zhao Wendong got dressed, took out a bar of soap, the small mirror he’d bought, and after a moment’s thought, rummaged through the food he’d brought back from Big Wang’s place. He found a bag of red bean buns, frozen solid as rocks. They made a clear CLANGING sound when they knocked together. Big Wang had said these things were from the personal hoard of some big shot leader in the county. The leader had been transferred, so the buns fell into his hands, and he’d sold them to Zhao Wendong for cheap.
These things had red bean paste and sugar inside, making them far more delicious than ordinary flatbreads, steamed buns, or corn buns. He took out five or six, stuffed them in his pocket, put on his hat, and prepared to go out.
"We’re about to eat. Where are you off to?" Chen Yanmei couldn’t help but ask.
"Going to feed your future daughter-in-law!"
Zhao Wendong pushed the door open and hurried out, leaving behind a single sentence that vexed Chen Yanmei.
’Sigh. My son has become so good at everything now, but for some reason, his judgment when it comes to people is just blind. What’s so good about that filthy capitalist’s daughter, anyway?’
’Is she the reincarnation of some ugly fox spirit? How else could she have my son so bewitched.’