Chapter 325 - 264: Tiger-Fighting Hero
It was no wonder Zhao Jun was grumbling to himself. The black dog wasn’t being the least bit cooperative, and setting the splint was no easy task.
Fortunately, with everyone working together, they just barely managed to secure its injured leg.
"Doctor Qu, how much do I owe you?" Zhao Jun asked, pulling money from his pocket to pay Qu Zanyang for the visit.
"Just give me two—" Qu Zanyang had just started to speak when he was cut off by someone shouting from the outer room, "Zhao Jun! Zhao Jun!"
Hearing that voice, Qu Zanyang instantly swallowed the end of his sentence.
"Brother, in here!" Li Yunxiang, who had been standing at the doorway watching the commotion, heard the voice and hurried out to greet him.
"Director Tao is here!" Qu Zanyang said to Tao Fulun. "Uncle Tao, I’ll go take a look."
"What’s there to see?" Tao Fulun chuckled. "Didn’t you hear him? He’s here looking for Zhao Jun. He’ll be right over."
As they spoke, Tao Dabao came in from the outer room. He glanced in from the doorway and saw Li Baoyu sitting on the kang holding a black dog, while a crowd of people stood on the floor below.
"What’s going on here?" Tao Dabao asked, looking puzzled.
"Can’t you see for yourself?" Tao Fulun didn’t mince words with his son. "They’re treating the dog’s leg. You see Doctor Qu is here, don’t you?"
Tao Fulun gestured to the side, and only then did Tao Dabao notice Qu Zanyang.
When he saw Tao Dabao looking at him, Qu Zanyang quickly nodded. "Director Tao."
"Sorry for the trouble, Doctor Qu," Tao Dabao said with casual politeness.
"It’s no..." As Qu Zanyang started to reply, he saw Tao Dabao turn to face Zhao Jun, so he trailed off without finishing his sentence.
"Zhao Jun," Tao Dabao said. "Get ready. We’re holding a victory celebration this afternoon, and you’re going to be on stage receiving an award."
"Huh?" Zhao Jun was taken aback. The others, equally surprised, started to gather around him and Tao Dabao.
"Uncle Tao," Zhao Jun asked hastily, "I didn’t bag that much. How could I be getting an award?"
In truth, Zhao Jun had bagged a considerable amount of game over the past six days, including wild boars, Black Bears, roe deer, and other deer.
But in the Yongxing Brigade’s Hunter Team, most hunters worked in groups. All the game they bagged would be tallied under one person’s name, and once the reward was collected, they would split it among the group members.
So, even though Zhao Jun had brought in a lot of game, he was still a long way from winning an award.
Tao Dabao had invited him over to get acquainted, and Zhao Jun had come with the same thought in mind. Whether or not he won an award was never a concern.
But now Tao Dabao was saying he would be receiving an award on stage. ’Is he pulling some strings for me?’
’But given Director Tao’s character and principles, that doesn’t seem likely.’
"What’s wrong with getting an award?" Zhao Jun’s question caught Tao Dabao by surprise. He retorted, "Have you forgotten? You helped us catch a Tiger. If that doesn’t deserve an award, what does?"
"That’s right!" Tao Fulun slapped him on the back with a laugh. "That one Tiger you got is worth more than a whole pile of wild boars!"
"Exactly, exactly," Qu Zanyang chimed in from the side. "Think about all the production brigades around here. They all do a spring hunt every year, but which one of them has ever caught a tiger? Only us! It just goes to show, ever since Director Tao came back from his military service, our Yongxing Brigade gets better and better by the day."
The moment he finished speaking, the room fell dead silent. Tao Dabao’s brows knitted together tightly.
The flattery was so blatant and forced, it was utterly artless.
Zhao Jun snuck a glance at Qu Zanyang and saw that the man’s smile hadn’t faltered in the least. He couldn’t help but sigh to himself. ’Now I see why Director Tao can’t stand him.’
"Brother," Li Yunxiang said, sensing the awkward atmosphere and trying to break the tension. "Zhao Jun brought back a couple of deer legs today. You should take one home later."
"I smelled them," Tao Dabao replied with a laugh. "I caught that gamy scent before I even stepped into the courtyard."
As Tao Dabao laughed, the others joined in. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say you could smell the scent of a big Ma Lu from a mile away if the wind was right.
"I won’t take the deer leg," Tao Dabao said to Li Yunxiang. "Your sister-in-law hasn’t even cooked the roe deer meat you gave us yesterday. It’s just the two of us, how much can we possibly eat? There are more people here. You and Dad should keep it for yourselves."
"Then you and Sister-in-law should come over for dinner tonight," Li Yunxiang offered. "Zhao Jun and Baoyu are heading back tomorrow, so I was already planning to make a few extra dishes."
"Leaving so soon?" Tao Dabao turned to Zhao Jun. "You came all this way. You should stay for a few more days."
"I can’t, Uncle Tao." Zhao Jun took a step closer to Tao Dabao. "There’s still work back at the camp. I haven’t finished scaling the timber for one of the teams at the Logging Camp. The winter hauling season is wrapping up, and the crews will be coming down the mountain. I can’t hold up their pay."
"Ah..." Tao Dabao nodded. "In that case, I’ll arrange a vehicle to take you back tomorrow morning."
"Thank you so much, Uncle Tao."
"Don’t mention it." Tao Dabao waved his hand. "It’s the least I can do."
Then, Tao Dabao smiled at Zhao Jun and added, "Three o’clock this afternoon, okay? Make sure you get there a bit early."
"I’ll be there early for sure," Zhao Jun replied, also smiling.
"Dad, I’m heading out now." Ready to leave, Tao Dabao first addressed Tao Fulun, then turned to Li Yunxiang. "I’ll have your sister-in-law come over this afternoon to help you."
"Brother, you’re not staying for lunch?"
"Can’t stay!" Tao Dabao said, already heading out the door. Zhao Jun and the others walked a couple of steps to see him off.
Just then, Qu Zanyang scrambled to pack his medical kit, slung it over his shoulder, and called out, "Director Tao, I’m leaving too! We can go together!"
After saying that, he turned back to Tao Fulun. "Uncle Tao, I’m off!"
"Go on, go on," Tao Fulun said, waving his hand dismissively without looking up.
Tao Dabao said nothing, simply walking out the door with his hands clasped behind his back. Qu Zanyang eagerly trotted along behind him.
Just as he caught up to Tao Dabao and was about to speak, he heard someone call from behind, "Doctor Qu! Doctor Qu!"
Qu Zanyang frowned, but then he saw Tao Dabao stop and turn around to look.
Qu Zanyang quickly turned as well and saw Zhao Jun running out of the house.
"I haven’t paid you yet," Zhao Jun said to Qu Zanyang. "I got caught up talking and forgot. What was the fee you mentioned?"
"What fee?" Qu Zanyang snuck a glance at Tao Dabao, then turned back to Zhao Jun. "It was nothing, really. No need for payment. Just forget about it."
"But—"
Just as Zhao Jun started to speak, Qu Zanyang gave him a gentle push back. "Don’t argue with me now. Director Tao and I are leaving."
"Zhao Jun," Tao Dabao said from the side, giving him a nod. "Go on back inside."
"Alright then. Uncle Tao, Doctor Qu, you two take care."
...
「Noon.」
Li Yunxiang stir-fried a plate of roe deer with green onions, and for a vegetable dish, she made stir-fried cabbage with wood ear mushrooms.
This kind of pure, wild autumn wood ear would be hard to find even for two hundred yuan a pound twenty years in the future.
But for now, they were quite common.
After lunch, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu returned to their room for a nap. Around two-thirty, Tao Fulun sent Tao Fei to fetch them for the victory celebration.
Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu got up, dressed, and went out. In the outer room, they saw that Tao Dabao’s wife, Jiang Lan, had already arrived with her child and was helping Li Yunxiang prepare for dinner.
"Let’s get going, or we’ll be late," Tao Fulun called out, picking up his young grandson, Tao Shan, and heading for the door.
’Huh?’ Zhao Jun thought, surprised. ’It’s not even two-forty, and the walk is less than ten minutes. How could we be late?’
But he didn’t ask any questions and simply followed Tao Fulun out of the house. The group of five made their way toward the spot where the pledge rally had been held.
Compared to the thundering, battle-ready atmosphere of the pledge rally, the victory celebration felt much more festive and joyous. The moment they stepped outside, they could hear the village loudspeakers blasting the "Awards Ceremony March" on a loop.
The closer they got to the village center, the more people they ran into, and every single person stopped to greet Tao Fulun.
Now Zhao Jun understood why Tao Fulun had worried about being late. One person after another would come over to exchange a few words or say hello.
It was worth noting that some people specifically asked Tao Fulun which one of them was Zhao Jun, and then proceeded to introduce themselves to him.
The thing was, there were quite a lot of people like that.
"Brother, this trip was definitely worth it," Li Baoyu whispered, leaning close to Zhao Jun’s ear. "You’re really making a name for yourself!"
"Oh, get out of here," Zhao Jun laughed. "It’s not that big of a deal."
"This is a huge deal," said Tao Fei, who was holding Little Tao Shan. "Doctor Qu was right about one thing. Since ’49, have you ever heard of anyone from these parts catching a Tiger? We’re just too remote out here, or this story would be on the radio."
As they chatted, they arrived at the open square in the center of the village. By now, it was less than five minutes to three.
But it really wasn’t Zhao Jun’s fault; the blame lay with Elder Tao, who had been chatting nonstop the entire way.
Just then, Li the Fifth came running over in a panic. He stopped in front of Zhao Jun and said, "Zhao Jun, quickly, come with me."
"What for?" Zhao Jun was momentarily stunned. ’I thought this was a victory celebration? It hasn’t even started yet. Are they giving me the award already?’
But before he could ask, Li the Fifth was already pulling him toward the stage.
The stage set up today was much wider than the one from the pledge rally seven days prior. Furthermore, long tables and benches had been placed on it.
Seven people were already sitting behind the tables. Yu Xuewen and Tao Dabao were in the center. To Tao Dabao’s left sat three people, while to Yu Xuewen’s right sat only two, leaving one seat empty.
Both of these men wore large, red flowers pinned to their chests.
"So this is Zhao Jun?" As Zhao Jun was watching the proceedings, he heard his name mentioned. He looked over and saw a young man holding a big red flower while talking to Li the Fifth.
"Yep." Li the Fifth pointed to Zhao Jun and nodded. "That’s him."
The young man heard this and, without another word, draped the large red flower around Zhao Jun’s neck. Once the flower was on, he began ushering Zhao Jun toward the stage.
"Hurry up," the young man said. "We’re waiting for you."
Zhao Jun looked up at the stage and saw Yu Xuewen pointing to his right, indicating that he should take the empty seat.
Since they were waiting for him, Zhao Jun didn’t stand on ceremony. He went straight onto the stage, walked quickly to the empty seat, and sat down.
As soon as Zhao Jun was seated, Tao Dabao gave a hand signal to the young man who had presented the flower, and the young man ran off.
A minute later, the music from the loudspeakers cut out. Immediately after, the microphone on the table in front of Tao Dabao crackled to life.
Tao Dabao cleared his throat and began his speech.
As a former soldier, his style was always direct and efficient. He wasted no time on pleasantries and got straight to the point.
Tao Dabao’s voice boomed from the microphone: "In this spring hunt, our Yongxing Brigade’s Hunter Team and Civilian Militia Squad fought with great courage, capturing and killing the following animals: one Tiger, five brown bears, thirty-eight Black Bears, one hundred and twenty-five wild boars, thirty-three Ma Lu, one hundred and seventy-three roe deer, three hundred and twenty-four pheasants, and six hundred and ninety-three wild rabbits. This has drastically reduced the population of dangerous animals in the hundred li of mountain forests surrounding our Yongxing Brigade, laying an excellent foundation for our spring planting and autumn harvest.
On that note, I want to commend all the hunters and militia members who participated in the spring hunt. And now, I invite Secretary Yu to present the awards and certificates to our decorated hunters."
As Tao Dabao finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted from the audience.
Yu Xuewen was just as direct. He took the microphone from Tao Dabao and began speaking immediately: "During this spring hunt, many outstanding hunters have emerged from our Yongxing Brigade. First and foremost, I want to praise Comrade Zhao Jun. Upon learning that a tiger was in the mountains harming people and livestock, Comrade Zhao Jun proactively offered his invaluable guidance and successfully led the Hunter Team and the Civilian Militia Squad in capturing the Tiger. Therefore, on behalf of the Yongxing Brigade, I hereby bestow upon Comrade Zhao Jun the glorious title of ’Tiger-Slaying Hero’ and award him this certificate of honor!"