Chapter 333 - 271: Big Tongue Zhang
Zhao Jun left Zhang Yuanmin’s house. He hadn’t gone far when he saw Yang Yufeng hurrying home, carrying a mesh bag.
Seeing Zhao Jun, Yang Yufeng was taken aback. She called out from a distance, "Brother, I’ve bought all the food. Why are you leaving?"
"I’m not leaving," Zhao Jun said with a smile as he walked toward Yang Yufeng. "It’s still too early for dinner. I’m going to make a trip to Zhang Lifu’s place in Mangliu Village."
"What are you going there for?" Yang Yufeng grew anxious upon hearing this. She grabbed Zhao Jun’s sleeve and tried to pull him back, saying, "Don’t you listen to your brother’s nonsense. It’s not their fault at all."
Yang Yufeng’s ancestors and father were all hunters, so she understood the situation far better than Zhang Yuanmin. The day Zhang Yuanmin came back and told her what happened, she knew exactly what was going on. But she only chewed him out for it and didn’t tell him the reason why.
Zhao Jun was also puzzled by this, so he asked Yang Yufeng, "Sister-in-law, if you understand, why didn’t you tell my brother? Look how angry he is. What if he does something stupid?"
Hearing this, Yang Yufeng actually laughed. "Your brother," she said with a chuckle, "he just gets these bursts of hot-headedness. He’s bold enough to grab a gun when his temper flares, but he wouldn’t dare do anything afterward."
"Ah!" Zhao Jun had a moment of realization. ’No wonder they’re husband and wife,’ he thought.
At this point, Yang Yufeng added, "He never does any real work, just wanders around all day with that useless gun. If I don’t tell him, he won’t dare go out, and we’ll have a couple of days of peace."
Having said this, she turned back to Zhao Jun. "Brother, let’s just go home. I’ll make you something delicious. The Zhang Family is even poorer than we are. How can you go bother them?"
"Sister-in-law, you’ve misunderstood," Zhao Jun explained with a smile. "Through my dad’s generation, I should call Zhang Lifu ’Uncle.’ Our families are on good terms. I was thinking of going over to talk things through. Once it’s all out in the open, it’ll be fine."
"Oh!" Hearing that, Yang Yufeng smiled too. "That’s a good idea. In that case, brother... we’ll have to trouble you again."
"It’s no trouble at all," Zhao Jun said with a wave of his hand. "Sister-in-law, I’ll head over now."
"Come back to our place for dinner!"
"Got it."
After parting with Yang Yufeng, Zhao Jun thought for a moment and then headed to the small store.
Over the years, Zhang Lifu had visited his family twice a year, and he never came empty-handed. Moreover, he would never stay for a meal. He’d just drop off the gifts, exchange a few words, and leave.
Although Zhao Youcai had done him a great favor, relationships weren’t built on debts of gratitude alone.
As soon as Zhao Jun entered the small store, he heard the shopkeeper’s booming voice, "Well, look who it is! Zhao Jun! I haven’t seen you in ages."
"Aunt Wang," Zhao Jun replied with a smile, not mentioning his trip to the Yongxing Brigade. "I’ve been busy with work lately."
"Ah, work is good," the shopkeeper replied before asking, "So, what can I get for you?"
She didn’t ask what he wanted to *buy*, but what he wanted to *get*—a sign of great respect.
"Aunt Wang, for dry goods... are there only plain biscuits left?" Before coming to the store, Zhao Jun had already made up his mind. If he were visiting anyone else, he might have bought a couple of cans of fruit. But the Zhang Family was so poor that buying them canned goods was less practical than getting them some dry rations. At least those would fill their stomachs.
But on the counter, there were only plain biscuits, with no sign of the sponge cakes or butter cookies.
Hearing him, the shopkeeper craned her neck to look toward the dry goods section before saying, "Only the plain biscuits are left. Li Baoyu bought all the sponge cakes and butter cookies this morning."
"Ah, alright then." Zhao Jun already knew about that. He walked over to the box of plain biscuits and said to the shopkeeper, "Aunt Wang, I’ll take five pounds of these."
"You got it!"
After buying the biscuits, Zhao Jun carried the bag and walked out of Yong’an Village. He headed west out of the village, and after about a ten-minute walk, he saw a few small, sparsely scattered courtyards ahead. This was the so-called Mangliu Village.
Zhao Jun saw someone and asked for directions to Zhang Lifu’s house, then followed them.
When he arrived outside a wicker fence courtyard, Zhao Jun saw no one inside, so he pushed the gate open and walked in. He went up to the house, knocked twice on the door, and called out, "Is this the Zhang Family’s home?"
"Who is it?" The words had barely faded when a middle-aged woman pushed the door open, looked at Zhao Jun, and asked, "Who are you looking for?"
"Is this the home of Zhang Lifu, my Uncle Zhang?"
"It is," the woman said, looking Zhao Jun up and down. Seeing his decent clothes, he didn’t look like someone who would have anything to do with a place like Mangliu Village, so she asked cautiously, "Where are you from?"
"You must be my Aunt Zhang, right?" Zhao Jun asked. Seeing Cai Fang’s surprised look, he continued, "I’m from Yong’an Village. My name is Zhao Jun, and my father is Zhao Youcai."
"Oh! You’re Brother Zhao’s boy? Come in, quick, come in!" Cai Fang hurriedly ushered Zhao Jun inside, then shouted to the inner room, "Elder Zhang, hurry up! Stop eating!"
Zhang Lifu heard her from the inner room and put down his rice bowl. When he came out, he saw that while Cai Fang didn’t recognize Zhao Jun, he certainly did.
The moment he saw Zhao Jun, Zhang Lifu froze for a second before quickly recovering. He strode over to Zhao Jun and said with a smile, "Jun, what brings you here?"
"Uncle Zhang!" Zhao Jun smiled at Zhang Lifu and lifted the Butter Paper package in his hand. "Your nephew came to see you."
"Oh, my! You should have just come yourself. Why bring a gift for your uncle? Quick, come inside." Zhang Lifu didn’t take the package, instead pulling Zhao Jun into the inner room.
As soon as Zhao Jun stepped inside, he saw that the room was dilapidated and cluttered with stuff everywhere. The kang was also a mess, with five children gathered around a low table on it.
The children’s cotton-padded jackets and trousers were covered in patches of all sizes. The oldest boy’s jacket was so worn at the elbows that the cotton stuffing was poking out.
The youngest child was clutching a piece of pickled radish and gnawing on it.
And in front of each of them was only a single bowl of corn grit porridge.
Seeing this, Zhao Jun couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness. He placed the two Butter Paper packages on the edge of the kang, untied one of them, and said to the children, "Here, your big brother brought you something to eat."
As Zhao Jun spoke, he opened the Butter Paper package. Five pairs of eyes belonging to the five children instantly locked onto the plain biscuits.
Every eye was filled with longing, but not one of them dared to reach out and take one.
"Sigh... Jun, you really shouldn’t have," Zhang Lifu sighed from the side. Then he said to his eldest son, "Eldest, this is your big brother, the son of your Uncle Zhao."
"Big Brother."
"Hey," Zhao Jun responded, then looked at Zhang Lifu with a smile. "Uncle Zhang, please let my little brothers and sisters eat."
Zhang Lifu nodded at his eldest son. The boy was very polite. He first said, "Thank you, Big Brother," to Zhao Jun before taking the open Butter Paper package to the table.
The moment the biscuits were placed on the table, the other four children reached out, grabbed them, and stuffed them into their mouths.
As for Zhao Jun, after acknowledging the eldest son’s thanks, he turned his face toward Zhang Lifu, deliberately not watching the children eat. This spared Zhang Lifu some embarrassment.
"Child," Cai Fang said, coming in from the outer room. She handed Zhao Jun a white porcelain mug. "You must be thirsty from your walk. Here, drink some water."
"Thank you, Aunt Zhang." Zhao Jun took the mug and noticed its surface was slightly damp, a clear sign it had just been washed.
Zhao Jun opened the lid and took a large gulp. The water’s temperature was just right—not too hot, not too cold. Most importantly, it was slightly sweet.
"Did Aunt Zhang put sugar in this for me?" Zhao Jun asked Cai Fang with a smile. ’This family is dirt poor, but they’re so hospitable,’ he thought. ’Who knows how long they had to save up just for this little bit of sugar.’
Hearing his words, Cai Fang simply smiled and nodded without saying anything.
Instead, it was Zhang Lifu who said to Zhao Jun, "Jun, it’s good you came. I got a roe deer the other day. I’ve already butchered it and have it stored in a crock outside, buried in the snow. Take some meat back with you before you leave."
If Zhang Lifu hadn’t brought it up, Zhao Jun wouldn’t have known how to start the conversation. Hearing this, Zhao Jun put the lid back on his mug and said with a laugh, "Uncle Zhang, to be honest, your nephew came here specifically for that roe deer."