Chapter 327 - 266: Zhang Yuanmin Gets Beaten
From a good distance away, the person was still walking forward, their back to Zhao Jun.
But Zhao Jun didn’t need to see his face. One look at the man’s short stature, baggy pants, and the way his short legs shuffled along was enough to know it was Zhang Yuanmin.
But what surprised Zhao Jun was that he’d only been gone a few days. ’Where did this rascal get his hands on a gun? And from the looks of it, he must’ve just come out of the logging area.’
Zhao Jun felt helpless. ’If Big Pants doesn’t stir up trouble for one day, he gets an itch he just has to scratch.’
As the first horse-drawn sled passed Zhang Yuanmin, he saw Li Baoyu sitting on it, turning back to wave at him.
Zhang Yuanmin froze. He was about to shout for Baoyu to give him a ride, but then he remembered that Baoyu had left with Zhao Jun.
Just then, hearing the clomping of hooves and the driver’s calls from behind, Zhang Yuanmin quickly turned around.
The moment he saw Zhao Jun, his face lit up in a wide grin. He waved his arm and shouted, "Brother! Brother!"
Without a word from Zhao Jun, Li the Fifth reined in the horse and stopped the sled.
"Get on," Zhao Jun called to Zhang Yuanmin, beckoning him onto the sled. But with Li the Fifth there, Zhao Jun didn’t ask where he’d gotten the gun.
But as Zhang Yuanmin sat down beside him, Zhao Jun suddenly noticed a large, red handprint on his left cheek.
’He’d been slapped!’
"Brother," Zhao Jun whispered, leaning close to Zhang Yuanmin’s ear so Li the Fifth wouldn’t hear. "What happened?"
"Brother! You’re finally back!" At Zhao Jun’s question, Zhang Yuanmin looked like he was about to cry. He grabbed Zhao Jun’s arm and said, "I was..."
Seeing this, Zhao Jun quickly squeezed his hand and shot him a look, reminding him that they weren’t alone.
Zhang Yuanmin paused, but when he caught Zhao Jun’s eye, he understood and fell silent.
The horse-drawn sled soon entered the village. Zhao Jun didn’t have Li the Fifth go out of his way to drop Zhang Yuanmin at his door. Instead, as they passed a spot near Zhang Yuanmin’s house, he asked Li the Fifth to stop the sled and let Zhang Yuanmin walk the rest of the way.
"Brother," Zhao Jun said to Zhang Yuanmin, "you head home first. I’ll come find you this afternoon when I have a chance."
"Okay." Zhang Yuanmin nodded. "Alright, brother, I’ll be waiting for you at home."
Zhao Jun waved him off, then gave Li the Fifth directions.
Before they even reached the yard of Zhao Jun’s family home, Xiaohua leaped from the sled and darted back to Baoyu’s house in a flash.
As for Zhao Jun, once the sled came to a complete stop, he carried the black dog into the yard, leaving Li the Fifth outside to tie up the horse.
Zhao Jun walked quickly to his front door. With his hands full holding the black dog, he kicked the door lightly and called out, "Baoyu! Open up!"
"Coming, coming!" The words were barely out when Li Baoyu pushed the door open from the inside.
He had arrived a little earlier with Little Bear, Da Huang, and White Dragon, but the other sled driver, Ji Lin, was with him. That was why Baoyu couldn’t go to his own house and had to bring Ji Lin and the three dogs into Zhao Jun’s home instead.
"Baoyu, here." Zhao Jun handed the black dog to him. Li Baoyu took it instinctively, and Zhao Jun said, "Take him to your house for now."
"Huh?" Li Baoyu was taken aback. Then Zhao Jun explained, "This dog’s a real asshole. If we put him with Little Bear and White Dragon, they’ll be fighting from dawn till dusk, won’t they? Leave Da Huang here and take this one to raise at your place."
Li Baoyu heard him out and figured he had a point. The dogs were all injured, so they couldn’t be tied up outside. They all had to be kept indoors.
But the black dog was a real troublemaker. If they put him with Little Bear and White Dragon, they’d be at each other’s throats all day. Da Huang, on the other hand, was docile. ’Alright, I’ll do as Zhao Jun says.’
While the two were talking, they saw Li the Fifth walk into the yard, carrying the burlap sack full of chickens horizontally with both hands.
Zhao Jun quickly jogged over to meet him. He took the sack from Li the Fifth’s hands, laid it flat on the ground, and then stood up. "Fifth Brother," he said, "come on inside and have some water."
As Zhao Jun turned to lead Li the Fifth inside, he shot Li Baoyu a meaningful look.
They had been brothers for years; one look was all it took for Li Baoyu to understand. He nodded at Zhao Jun, then carried Black Tiger toward his own house.
Zhao Jun had just led Li the Fifth through the door when he saw Wang Meilan, thermos in one hand and an enamel mug in the other, about to head into the inner room.
Her face lit up when she saw Zhao Jun. "Son, you’re home!" she said with a smile. Then she noticed Li the Fifth behind him and quickly ushered her guest inside to have a seat.
"Mom, Mom." Zhao Jun stopped Wang Meilan and took the thermos and mug from her. "Before we left," he said, "Uncle Tao gave us four chickens. Two for our family, two for Baoyu’s. They’re still in the sack outside. You should go take a look. Get Aunt Li and you two can divide them up."
"Oh, that’s too generous of him." Hearing this, Wang Meilan handed the thermos and mug to Zhao Jun, reminding him, "They went to all the trouble of bringing you back. You should ask them to stay for a meal."
"Alright, Mom. I know."
Zhao Jun went into the inner room and poured water for Li the Fifth and Ji Lin. He pulled up a stool for himself and sat down, smiling at them. "My mom says you two should stay for lunch. Don’t leave before you’ve eaten."
"Oh, we can’t do that." Li the Fifth glanced at the large clock on the wall before saying to Zhao Jun, "It’s only a little after ten. We’ll just have some water, rest a bit, and be on our way."
"Fifth Uncle, you’ve come all this way, what’s the rush to leave?" Zhao Jun urged him sincerely. "Besides, you’re already here at my home. You have to at least stay for a meal. We don’t have anything fancy, but whether it’s corn grits or cornbread, have a bite before you go. It’ll make me feel a lot better."