Chapter 400 - 334: Ambidextrous Combat
"Dad, what is it?" Zhao Jun was taken aback. 'We have guests,' he thought. 'You can't be planning to cause a scene, can you?'
But to Zhao Jun's surprise, Zhao Youcai looked at him with a kindly expression and said, "Son!"
"Yes, sir." His father's expression scared Zhao Jun so much that he even used a formal address.
You have to understand, that sort of thing wasn't common in the mountain Forest Farm areas back then. Even workers just used "you" when speaking to the farm director.
What surprised Zhao Jun even more was yet to come. He saw Zhao Youcai counting on his fingers as he spoke to him, "Your friends are here, so Dad's preparing six dishes for you: braised Black Bear meat, deboned wild boar with garlic dip, wild boar stew with vermicelli, stir-fried wild boar slices with cabbage, flash-fried shredded potatoes, and scrambled eggs with green onions."
"Dad, you must be tired. You've been busy for a while, haven't you?" Zhao Jun couldn't figure out what Zhao Youcai was up to, so he could only reply politely and gently.
Zhao Youcai chuckled, a sound that made Zhao Jun's hair stand on end. "I was thinking we should add a couple more dishes. How about we go to the little store and grab some more canned goods?"
"Grab some more canned goods... okay!" Zhao Jun thought that if he went to the store and bought a can of luncheon meat and a can of fish, they'd have eight dishes. That would instantly elevate the quality of the meal.
He could also buy some fruit cans for his two little sisters. After all, even though they hadn't converted the Bear Gall and Ginseng into cash yet, it was still worth a small celebration in advance.
"Okay, Dad, I'll go right now!" Zhao Jun said and was about to head out, but Zhao Youcai grabbed him.
Zhao Jun paused and asked, "Huh? What is it, Dad?"
Zhao Youcai craned his neck to peek inside the house. Seeing Wang Meilan asking the two brothers for their home addresses, he turned back to Zhao Jun and said, "Son, I'll go buy it."
"Huh?" Zhao Jun was a little baffled, staring blankly at Zhao Youcai.
'Is this son of mine a complete idiot!' Zhao Youcai grumbled to himself. He didn't say it out loud, only remarking to Zhao Jun, "I don't have any small change in my pocket. You have..."
Zhao Youcai deliberately trailed off, but how could Zhao Jun not understand? He immediately pulled a wad of cash from his pocket, fanned it out, and started counting from the outermost bill.
It seemed everyone organized their banknotes this way: small denominations in the front, large ones in the back.
Then they'd fold it in half, with the small bills on the inside and the large ones on the outside. But when counting, they'd start with the large denominations.
Zhao Youcai watched with envy and desire. Zhao Jun counted past the ten-yuan bills, and when he reached the first five-yuan bill, he pulled it out and handed it to Zhao Youcai. "Dad, I'll give you a bit more, so you can buy some extra things. In a bit, have Uncle Li's family come over to eat too. Uncle Li and Baoyu can join you in drinking with the guests. Then, have my auntie, Ruhai, and Xiaoqiao set up another table in my room with Mom and the others."
When you have guests over, you not only have to make sure they eat and drink well, but the hosts also have to entertain them well.
But Zhao Jun didn't drink, and he was afraid he couldn't rely on Zhao Youcai alone. And just now, outside the courtyard, Zhao Jun had seen Li Ruhai, which made him think about how much they had troubled Jin Xiaomei to look after his two little sisters while Wang Meilan was away.
Now that Zhao Youcai and Wang Meilan were both back, and they had prepared plenty of food, it was the perfect opportunity to invite the whole Li Family over. Except for the underage Li Ruhai, all the men would entertain the guests in the east room.
Meanwhile, Wang Meilan and Jin Xiaomei would take Li Ruhai and the three little girls to set up another table in Zhao Jun's room.
Hearing Zhao Jun's plan, Zhao Youcai's eyes lit up, and he immediately nodded. "That works! On my way back, I'll stop by your Uncle Li's place, see if he's off work, and let them know."
"Okay." Seeing Zhao Youcai agree, Zhao Jun added, "Buy plenty of canned goods. Luncheon meat, fish, Peach Cans, and hawthorn. Get two cans of each."
Since Zhao Youcai was going, Zhao Jun decided not to bother going himself. He'd just have Zhao Youcai buy everything at once.
But just as Zhao Jun finished speaking, Zhao Youcai said, "Well, the money you gave me isn't enough."
"Ah!" Zhao Jun quickly pulled out his money again. This time, without even counting, he took a ten-yuan bill from the outside of the wad and handed it to Zhao Youcai.
Zhao Youcai grinned from ear to ear. As he reached out with his right hand to take the money, he saw Zhao Jun's other, empty hand reaching for his left.
And in Zhao Youcai's left hand, he was still clutching the five yuan Zhao Jun had given him earlier.
Zhao Youcai quickly pulled his left hand back. At the same time, with lightning speed, his right hand snatched the ten-yuan bill from Zhao Jun and secured it.
Zhao Jun was stunned. 'Dad's got some Technique of Ambidexterity going on,' he thought. 'But I remember watching TV and hearing the Old Imp say that only someone with a pure and simple mind could master that.'
Zhao Youcai felt a little embarrassed too. He quickly said to Zhao Jun, "Dad lost quite a bit of money at your brother-in-law's village these last two days. So... that five yuan you promised Dad every month, you still have to give me that separately, right?"
"What?" Zhao Jun was startled and quickly asked, "Dad, were you gambling?"
"Get outta here! Would I do something like that?" Zhao Youcai stuffed the money into his pocket and turned to leave.
Zhao Jun shook his head and went back inside to entertain his guests.
A short while later, Zhao Youcai returned carrying some bags, with Li Dayong and Li Baoyu following behind him.
Soon after, Jin Xiaomei arrived with Li Ruhai and Li Xiaoqiao. But Jin Xiaomei and Li Ruhai were each carrying two plates.
Because the Zhao family's invitation was so last-minute, Jin Xiaomei had already started cooking at her own home.
When Zhao Youcai went to invite them, the Li Family just brought their dishes over. The two added dishes were soy-braised tofu and soy-braised river fish.
The soy-braised tofu was one thing, but the key was the soy-braised river fish.
Jin Xiaomei was quite skilled at stewing fish. She had put dried red chili peppers and mountain peppercorns in this one.
The resulting pot of stewed assorted fish was savory, aromatic, numbing, and spicy—absolutely delicious.
With the addition of the four types of canned goods, there was barely any room left on the kang table.
The Jie brothers, Jie Zhong and Jie Chen, sat on the kang. Seeing this spread, they felt a warmth in their hearts. 'Zhao Jun's family is truly generous,' they thought, 'true stand-up people.'
The drinking session lasted a full two hours, and Zhao Youcai successfully drank himself into a stupor.
Li Dayong also got drunk and was helped home by Li Baoyu and Li Ruhai.
Meanwhile, Zhao Jun and Jie Chen managed to get the now-incoherent Jie Zhong into the vehicle.
Since he had to drive back to Yongli Village, Jie Chen hadn't been drinking. After getting Jie Zhong into the vehicle, Jie Chen said to Zhao Jun, "Brother Jun, call Baoyu out. The three of us can drag that big one out and move it into your yard."
"Don't worry about it, brother," Zhao Jun said with a smile. "My family still has plenty of Black Bear meat and wild boar. You guys just take this deer back with you."
"But..."
"Say no more, brother." Zhao Jun clapped Jie Chen on the arm. "When your big brother gives you something, you just take it."
"Alright then!" Hearing Zhao Jun say that, Jie Chen accepted. The Jie Brothers were straightforward to the bone; they didn't put on airs. They accepted kindness shown to them, intending to repay it in the future.
But Jie Chen remembered something and quickly added, "Brother Jun, I heard that the deer's tail, tendons, and hooves can all be sold for money. But... I don't know how to butcher it. If you know how, you should take them off..."
"Hah," Zhao Jun waved his hand dismissively. "Then just take it back and find someone to butcher it for you. It's all yours anyway."
The two chatted for a few more moments. Just then, Li Baoyu came out of his house. He also exchanged a few polite words with Jie Chen before Jie Chen got in the vehicle and left.
Watching the vehicle slowly drive away, Li Baoyu said to Zhao Jun, "Brother, I already got time off from Brother Shunzi. Are we going to Lingnan tomorrow?"
Right now, several air-dried Bear Galls were hanging in Zhao Jun's family storehouse, and there were a few stalks of Ginseng in the cellar. They needed to sell all of it quickly.
But Zhao Jun shook his head. "Baoyu, tomorrow morning, grab your gun. We're heading into the mountains!"