Chapter 75: More Money Than You Can Count
Zhao Wendong took out the rest of the money. After a moment’s thought, he pulled out twenty yuan and gave it to Zhao Ergou. "Here, Er Gou. You put in a lot of work on this trip. Take this."
Zhao Ergou backed away, waving his hands frantically.
"I can’t take it, Brother San! You’ve already given my family so much food these past few days. It’s only right that I work for you!"
Twenty yuan was a pittance compared to Zhao Wendong’s total earnings, but to Zhao Ergou, it was an enormous sum. He hadn’t done any of the heavy lifting like pulling the nets, just some odd jobs here and there. He felt he hadn’t earned the right to take any money.
Besides, it was twenty yuan! When his father got sick last year, they had used up their entire family savings, which amounted to just over three yuan. A fortune like twenty yuan felt too hot to handle; he didn’t dare take it.
"No nonsense. I said take it, so take it!"
Seeing Zhao Wendong glare, Zhao Ergou immediately took the money obediently. There were few people he was truly afraid of, not even his own father. The sole exception was Zhao Wendong, the neighborhood big brother they had all run wild behind as kids. That impression had been deeply ingrained in him since childhood.
And now, he understood Brother San even less. He could catch four thousand jin of fish, sing rousing songs, and calmly command them to row the boat out to sea to evade the people from the Commune. Best of all, Brother San wasn’t the least bit intimidated when talking to a high-ranking official. Zhao Ergou had been so nervous just standing beside him that he nearly died. He genuinely admired Brother San now.
Next, Zhao Wendong grabbed a burlap sack and began filling it with vegetables and grain, both coarse and fine, not stopping until the large sack was full.
"Take this food back with you, too. It’s all part of your reward for coming out on the boat. Take good care of your mom and Sanwazi, you hear?"
Zhao Ergou’s eyes instantly turned red. He could refuse the money, but he truly couldn’t refuse the food. He didn’t want his mother to starve so badly she nearly died from a fever again, and he didn’t want his little brother spending every day in the freezing snow, sticking his butt out to dig for mice.
Sniffling, he fought back tears as he nodded. He tucked the money securely against his body and tried to hoist the sack onto his shoulder, only to find he couldn’t. It had to weigh over a hundred jin; he couldn’t lift it at all.
"Second Brother, take this back for Er Gou!"
"You got it!"
Zhao Wenwu lifted the sack with one hand, easily slinging it over his shoulder. He was about to head out the door with Er Gouzi when he suddenly stopped.
"Hey, Third, where’s the flashlight? It’s too dark outside, I can’t see the path!"
"Heh, for fuck’s sake. Then how come you never fell into a ditch when you went out at night before?"
Zhao Wendong was so exasperated he had to laugh. Still, he rummaged through the pile of goods, found the wrapped flashlight, put batteries in it, and handed it over after checking that it worked.
"Heh heh!"
Zhao Wenwu switched on the flashlight and smugly waved the beam all over the room, making Shitou and Little Tuanzi shriek with envy. Only then did he happily light the way to take Zhao Ergou home.
"Oh my god, you little spendthrift, you even bought a flashlight? Doesn’t one of those cost two or three yuan? Son, you’re wasting money! That’s no way to spend it, even if you have it! That money is for getting you a wife, building a house..."
"Alright, Mom, you don’t need to worry about all that. I know what I’m doing!"
Zhao Wendong quickly cut his mother off before she could nag him for another half hour. He pulled fifty yuan from the wad of cash and handed it to his eldest brother, Zhao Wenjun.
"Eldest Brother, we’ll all share the food, so I won’t divide that up for you. As for necessities, everyone will get some in a bit. This money is your share of what we earned. You and Sister-in-law keep it. Buy whatever you want."
Zhao Wenjun nervously glanced at Song Xiaoyu. When he saw her eyes shining, even more excited than he was, a wave of pride washed over him. He felt as if he could suddenly stand tall and proud.
He took the money, turned, and handed it to Song Xiaoyu, feeling a rush of bravado.
"Here, wife. From now on, I’ll follow our third brother and earn even more money. Buy whatever you like. There’s more where that came from!"
Song Xiaoyu almost burst into tears. In all their years of marriage, she thought Zhao Wenjun had never looked more handsome than he did at this moment, practically throwing money at her.
Seeing Chen Yanmei staring eagerly at the bills in his hand, Zhao Wendong smiled and stuffed the rest of the money into her hands all at once.
"Mom, the rest of this is all for you!"
"You’re giving all this to me? This... how much is this?"
"It’s not that much, only about four or five hundred left. You can count it yourself, I didn’t."
Chen Yanmei clutched the money tightly, so shocked she almost collapsed onto the floor again. ’F-four or five hundred! Just a few days ago, I gave him our entire savings of a dozen or so yuan, and now he’s brought back four or five hundred? Good heavens, how much is four or five hundred? How long will it take me to count it? I can’t even fathom it!’
’Oh my god, are we the richest family in the whole village now?’
Lying on the kang, Zhao Dashan choked on his pipe and started coughing nonstop. He was filled with a complicated mix of emotions. His son, Zhao Wendong, was so capable now. He was proud, of course—after all, Wendong was his flesh and blood. ’But what’s this sour feeling?’
Seeing Zhao Dashan coughing relentlessly, Zhao Wendong patted his back a couple of times. Then, remembering something, he found the bedpan and handed it over with a smile.
"Dad, this is for you. With your leg injury, you can’t get off the bed, so this will be simple and convenient. We don’t have to worry about food anymore, so eat more and you’ll heal faster. You’re the head of this family, you know. You can’t just be lazy and rely on me to support everyone, can you?"
Zhao Dashan took the milky-white plastic bedpan and rolled his eyes irritably.
"If we relied on you, no matter how much we had, you’d just squander it all away, wouldn’t you?"
"Heh heh, exactly! That’s why they say an old general on the field is worth two men. You need to get better quickly. This family still needs you in charge. Without you, we’d fall apart. I’m just a soldier under your command; I’ll fight wherever you point!"
"Get lost, just looking at you is annoying!"
The corners of Zhao Dashan’s mouth were twitching uncontrollably. He quickly turned his head to face the inside of the kang, his shoulders shaking.
"Third Brother, Third Brother, is there a present for Little Tuanzi?"
Now that Little Tuanzi was getting proper nutrition, some color had returned to her cheeks. Paired with her big, adorable eyes, she was getting cuter by the day. She was also much livelier than before, loved to talk, and was always smiling and laughing happily.
"Of course there is! How could everyone else get a present and not Little Tuanzi!"
"Really? Third Brother, you’re the best! Third Brother, give me my present, quick!"
Little Tuanzi dropped the fox she was holding and lunged toward Zhao Wendong with her arms outstretched. He scooped her up and "flew" her around in two circles, making the little girl roar with laughter.
’Damned human, just you wait.’
The abandoned little fox shot Zhao Wendong an indignant look before running over to a corner and curling up again in a pile of quilts.
Zhao Wendong glanced at it. ’This little guy has really settled in now,’ he thought. ’It’s got a good eye. After my rebirth, I can’t say our family will have the best life in the entire county, but we’ll definitely be one of the top families in all the surrounding villages. By choosing to stay with us, this little fox is in for a life of comfort.’
The three dogs in the straw pile in the outer room were also recovering well. Chen Yanmei must not have been skimping on their food these last two days. You could tell from their condition that they were at least seventy or eighty percent recovered.
"Dad, you can laugh later. How are the three dogs? Are they ready to go up the mountain?"
Zhao Dashan turned around, his face stern and serious, and mumbled gruffly.
"Oh, shut up. Your dad wasn’t laughing. Those three were just starving before. They can definitely go up the mountain, but they’re still a bit small. They won’t be able to handle any big game."
Zhao Wendong nodded, resting his chin on his hands as he stared blankly at the three dogs. Suddenly, the table leg, which was unstable, wobbled and nearly sent him tumbling.
"Holy shit! I forgot to get rid of this piece of junk! Quick, quick, throw this out and get a new one."