Chapter 399 - 333: Sell Him Like a Roast Chicken
"Three of them?"
Zhao Jun was taken aback. He asked Jie Chen, "One big one and two small ones?"
Bears aren't social animals. Even during mating season, you wouldn't find three of them together.
But a group of one adult and two cubs was also rare in the world of bears.
Although a mother bear usually gives birth to two cubs per litter, and sometimes just one, having three would be the absolute maximum.
But no matter how many she started with, by the time the mother bear was done raising them, there would usually only be one left.
"Yep." Jie Zhong, who was standing nearby, lit a cigarette and took a long drag. "The mother Black Bear had to be around three hundred pounds, and the two little ones were eighty or ninety pounds each. They really gave us a chase."
Jie Zhong had over twenty workers under him, but he had his favorites. To divide up the deer meat today, Jie Zhong had called on his four closest friends. Including him and Jie Chen, the six of them went to the spot Zhao Jun had mentioned and found the first large Ma Lu.
After dragging it down the slope and loading it onto the truck, they went to get the other one.
As the men were chatting on their way back up the mountain, someone commented that Zhao Jun was young and inexperienced, pointing out that the deer hooves, tendons, and tail could all be sold for money at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
Jie Zhong immediately said that even though Zhao Jun might not know, they couldn't pretend to be ignorant. He told them that later, they would remove those parts from both deer and deliver them all to Zhao Jun.
Just as they were talking, they saw the second large Ma Lu. At the same time, they noticed three dark shapes rooting around the deer.
Before Jie Zhong and the others could react, they heard a bear's roar. A Big Black Bear charged toward them, with two Little Black Bears close behind.
Honestly, if one of them hadn't mentioned before they left that among all mountain beasts, a dead deer attracts Black Bears the most, and that they should buy a string of firecrackers for protection, all six of them might have met their end on that mountain today.
"This one's on me!" Zhao Jun said to Jie Zhong. "I was careless. But when I went there this morning, there really were no bears."
"Don't worry about it." Jie Zhong took another drag from his cigarette and exhaled before saying to Zhao Jun, "Inspector, not only did that give me a scare, but when I got to your village, another Black Bear scared me again."
"What?" Zhao Jun heard this and quickly asked, "What happened?"
"Some little bastard!" To Zhao Jun's surprise, Jie Zhong started cursing. "He was walking around the village path with two bear cubs on iron chains. It startled me."
"Ah!" As soon as Zhao Jun heard this, he understood immediately. The "little bastard" Jie Zhong was talking about had to be Zhang Laibao.
Who else in any of the surrounding villages would be raising two Black Bears?
"That kid is a real piece of work!" Jie Chen chimed in, cursing as well. "My brother saw him walking with his legs all wide and awkward and figured the bear cubs must have gotten him, you know? My brother asked him about it, but he said no. Then my brother asked for directions to your house, and the bastard sent us to the north end of the village!"
"Fucking hell! That little bastard is a real piece of shit!" Jie Zhong continued to rage. "I had Jie Chen drive back to find him. We didn't, but if we had caught him, I would've broken both his legs and stuck 'em up his ass to sell him like a roast chicken!"
"Hahaha…" Zhao Jun burst out laughing at Jie Zhong's rant. He turned his head and happened to see Li Ruhai eavesdropping furtively from inside the Li Family's Gate. He immediately called out, "Ruhai! Is your brother back yet?"
"Huh?" Li Ruhai popped out from his family's gate and said to Zhao Jun with a smile, "Brother Jun, my brother isn't back yet."
Zhao Jun asked again, "And your father?"
"My uncle… wait, no, my dad isn't back yet either." Who knows what was going through Li Ruhai's head; his words were all jumbled.
"Alright, go on and play." Zhao Jun waved a hand at Li Ruhai, dismissing him. He then turned to Jie Zhong and said, "We've known each other for a while now. Let's drop the 'Inspector' this and 'Inspector' that. You're older than me, so from now on, I'll call you Brother Elder Jie, and you can just call me brother."
Going from Elder Jie to Brother Elder Jie was a significant change in the relationship.
Hearing this, Jie Zhong pinched out the half-smoked cigarette in his hand, rubbing the tobacco to make sure it was extinguished. He tucked it into his pocket, wiped his hand on his clothes, and extended it to Zhao Jun. "Alright, brother. If you need anything in the future, just come to me. I may be a stranger in these parts, but I won't hesitate to help my brother if he's in trouble."
Zhao Jun reached out and shook Jie Zhong's hand. He believed every word Jie Zhong had said.
Then, Zhao Jun looked at Jie Chen, tilting his head with a smile. "You look younger than me, don't you?"
"I'm twenty," Jie Chen replied.
"Ah!" Zhao Jun grinned and extended his hand to Jie Chen. "Twenty, so you were born in '67, the year of the Goat. I was born in the year of the Horse, so I'm a year older. That makes you the younger brother."
Jie Chen smiled, shook Zhao Jun's hand, and called out, "Brother Jun!"
"Hey!" Zhao Jun responded, clapping Jie Chen on the shoulder. He said to both him and Jie Zhong, "Brother Elder Jie, brother Jie Chen, we're all family now. Come on inside. You're eating at my place tonight."
"Oh, we couldn't." Jie Zhong said quickly. "It's getting late. We should be heading back."
They had officially become friends today, so having a meal at his house was no big deal, but Jie Zhong was worried that Zhao Jun's family wasn't prepared.
It wasn't that he was looking for a free meal; he was worried that if there wasn't enough food on the table, the Zhao Family would lose face.
"Go back? What for?" Zhao Jun grabbed Jie Chen with both hands and started pulling him inside. As he did, he said to Jie Zhong, "Brother, Jie Chen's coming in, you know. If you don't follow, you can walk back by yourself."
Jie Zhong chuckled at that. "Alright then, eating at your place is fine. But since it's my first time visiting, shouldn't I buy a couple of bottles of liquor for your father?"
Jie Zhong didn't know the Zhao family's situation, but he knew Zhao Jun must have a father. He used this as an excuse to go to the grocery store to buy some canned luncheon meat and fish. That way, even if Zhao Jun's family wasn't prepared, there would still be plenty of dishes for the table.
"Buy? What's there to buy?" Hearing this, Zhao Jun immediately let go of Jie Chen, came over to pull Jie Zhong inside, and said as they walked, "He hasn't even finished the liquor you bought for my dad last time."
"Ah…"
The moment Jie Zhong and Jie Chen stepped into the courtyard, the dog started barking nonstop. Just then, Zhao Youcai rushed out of the house with a spatula in his hand. He recognized Jie Zhong at a glance by his signature long hair and greeted him, "The boys are here, eh?"
Being addressed by an elder, Jie Zhong quickly nodded and replied, "Yes, we're here, Uncle."
"Uncle!" Only Jie Zhong had gone to the cafeteria to deliver the liquor that day, but Jie Chen guessed this was Zhao Jun's father and quickly greeted him as well.
"Hey, and this young man…" Zhao Youcai glanced at Jie Chen, then turned back to Jie Zhong. "You two are brothers, aren't you?"
"Uncle, you've got a sharp eye." Aside from their hairstyles, the only difference in the brothers' appearances was their age; anyone could tell they were related. Jie Zhong's compliment was pure flattery. He then pointed at Jie Chen and responded, "This is my younger brother."
"Get inside, quickly! The food will be ready in a minute!" Zhao Youcai warmly ushered the Jie Brothers in. If anyone who knew Zhao Youcai had been there, their jaw would have dropped in shock.
Leading the two brothers inside, Zhao Youcai shouted toward the inner room, "We have guests!"
Wang Meilan had just settled Zhao Hong and Zhao Na in Zhao Jun's room. Hearing the call, she came out to welcome Jie Zhong and Jie Chen inside for some water.
Zhao Jun was about to follow them in, but Zhao Youcai stopped him outside.