Chapter 372 - 309: Lost Another Sheep
Zhao Youcai led the way into the house. He froze for a moment when he saw who was there and asked, "Chengguo, what brings you here?"
"I have the day off today." Zhou Chengguo gave a faint smile and said, "I’ve run into my brother Zhao Jun a couple of times lately, and he sounded pretty worried about you. Since I’m free today, I thought I’d come and check on you."
"Ah." At his words, Zhao Youcai’s mind raced, but he didn’t say much.
Just then, Zhou Jianjun came in, carrying the burlap sack of mutton. He placed it by the stove, intending to call Hu Sanmei and Zhao Chun out to deal with the lamb, but he heard voices from the main room and went in there first.
As soon as Zhou Jianjun entered the room, he heard Zhou Chengguo ask Zhao Youcai, "How’ve things been these past two days? Seen any sign of the Wild Leopard?"
Zhou Jianjun saw his father-in-law shoot him a look. Then, Zhao Youcai said to Zhou Chengguo, "Nope. We’ve been searching in the mountains for two days and haven’t seen a thing."
At Zhao Youcai’s words, Zhou Chengguo nodded. "That’s what I figured."
"What?"
Anyone could tell from his tone that there was more to what he was saying.
Zhou Chengguo smiled. "I ran into my brother Zhao Jun yesterday. He said that the day before, the Wild Leopard ran off toward the 42 Forest Class. He even saw it himself."
’That little bastard...’ Zhao Youcai cursed inwardly. In front of Zhou Chengguo, however, he showed no anger, saying only, "That’s no problem. It’s common for a Wild Leopard to cover dozens of miles in a single night. It’s probably come back by now."
Having just seen it two hours ago, he knew perfectly well the Wild Leopard was back.
After a bit more small talk, Zhou Chengguo got up to leave. Hu Sanmei and Zhou Jianjun saw him out the door, and when they returned, Hu Sanmei noticed the burlap sack by the stove.
’That sack wasn’t there before my son and his father-in-law got back. It only appeared after they returned.’
Filled with curiosity, Hu Sanmei asked Zhou Jianjun, "Son, what’s in this sack?"
"Mutton."
"What?" Hu Sanmei froze. She quickly hauled the sack upright, opened it, and peered inside. There were about ten pounds of mutton, but it was mostly small, bony pieces with very little meat on them.
Hu Sanmei knew at a glance that this was the meat from the little lamb her son had carried off that morning.
"How did the lamb die?" Hu Sanmei asked, looking at Zhou Jianjun.
At the mention of it, Zhou Jianjun felt a pang in his chest. He wanted to go to his room and rest, but Hu Sanmei blocked his path, forcing him to answer, "The Wild Leopard killed it."
"So you really lured the Wild Leopard out?"
"Yeah."
Zhou Jianjun had just nodded in confirmation when Zhao Chun emerged from the west room with their child on her back.
When Zhou Chengguo had arrived, Zhao Chun had only stepped out to greet him before returning to the room to soothe their child. Hearing he was gone, she came back out. The first thing she heard was talk about the "Wild Leopard," so she hurried over to ask, "Did you kill it? The leopard?"
"No." Zhou Jianjun shook his head. He was about to explain further when he saw Zhao Youcai emerge from the east room and retreat to his own quarters, leaving Jianjun to face his mother and wife alone.
Hu Sanmei and Zhao Chun exchanged a glance before Hu Sanmei asked Zhou Jianjun a soul-crushing question: "If you didn’t kill the leopard, then how did the lamb die?"
By this point, Zhou Jianjun was already distraught. He didn’t want to say another word. He just wanted to go to his room, collapse onto the kang, and sleep.
But he couldn’t afford to provoke the two women in front of him, so he could only give them a brief account of what happened in the mountains that day.
"Sigh!"
"Sigh!"
Hu Sanmei and Zhao Chun couldn’t stop sighing after hearing the story. Hu Sanmei lifted the sack with both hands, holding it open for Zhao Chun. "Just look," she said. "We spent ten yuan on this lamb. Wasn’t it a complete waste?"
The old woman had been frugal her entire life. Even though it wasn’t her family’s money, she still felt the sting of the loss.
If she felt the sting, Zhou Jianjun felt it even more. He turned and headed for the west room.
This time, the two women paid him no mind. Zhao Chun glanced into the sack, then looked up at Hu Sanmei. "It’s alright, Mom. The lamb’s dead. Let’s just stew it right away."
’It was her own father who bought the lamb. What could she possibly say to her mother-in-law?’
Besides, the weather was warm, and the meat wouldn’t keep. It would be an even bigger waste if it spoiled before they could eat it.
"Alright." Hu Sanmei set the sack aside. "I’ll cook it," she said to Zhao Chun. "You go on back to your room, dear."
That evening, Zhou Chunming came home carrying two bottles of liquor. Even though he was a local leader, he never put on airs with the villagers, and especially not with his own in-law visiting.
For the past few days, Zhou Chunming had made a habit of sharing a drink with Zhao Youcai over dinner. But since Zhao Youcai and Zhou Jianjun had to go into the mountains the next morning, they could never drink too much the night before and hadn’t yet had a chance to really enjoy themselves.
Today, as soon as he stepped into the courtyard, even before entering the house, Zhou Chunming caught a delicious aroma.
’Mutton!’ A surge of joy went through Zhou Chunming. He figured they must have killed the leopard, and since the lamb was no longer needed as bait, they were stewing it for a celebration feast.
But then a pang of regret followed. ’Even if they got the leopard, couldn’t they have brought the lamb back to raise it? Killing it for meat when it’s so young... what a waste.’
Zhou Chunming slid the door open and stepped inside. Hu Sanmei, who was whisking eggs by the stove, casually remarked, "You’re back."
Zhou Chunming glanced toward the inner room. ’In his mind, his in-law had paid for the lamb. If he wanted to slaughter it and eat it, it wasn’t his place to say anything, especially not in his own house.’
So, Zhou Chunming raised the bottles of liquor he was holding. "Where’s our in-law?" he asked Hu Sanmei. "We’re going to have a proper drink tonight."
"A little is fine, but don’t drink too much." Hu Sanmei shook her head. "Our in-law has to get up early for the mountains again tomorrow."