Chapter 406 - 340: Zhao Jun’s Dogs
Wang Meilan walked ahead, looking pleased with herself. Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu didn’t disturb her, just followed from a distance.
As they passed the house Wang Meilan had just visited, Li Baoyu peeked through the courtyard gate. After pulling his gaze back, he smiled at Zhao Jun and said, "Brother, some good news is coming your way."
Zhao Jun laughed at his words and waved his hand dismissively. "Hah, what good news could there be?"
"What good news, you ask?" Even though they had already passed it, Li Baoyu pointed back at the house. "My auntie went to Liu Tiezui’s place. What else could it be for? She’s arranging a match for you!"
Hearing this, Zhao Jun let out a hearty laugh.
In a small county town, someone called "Tiezui" or "Iron Mouth" would usually be a fortune-teller. But in a village, an "Iron Mouth" is a matchmaker.
In those days, there was no such thing as dating freely. People didn’t even really "date." A man and woman would be introduced by a matchmaker, the man’s family would visit the woman’s family, and a decision would be made on the spot.
If it worked out, they got married.
Zhao Jun was already twenty-one this year, an age when a man in the countryside was expected to start a family.
Ever since the New Year, Zhao Youcai and Wang Meilan would lie on their kang bed at night, whispering and plotting to find a wife for Zhao Jun.
Today, Wang Meilan had finally taken matters into her own hands.
When Zhao Jun entered his family’s courtyard, he saw that the main house door was closed, but the door to the storage shed next to it was open.
As soon as he went inside, Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon, who had been gathered around Wang Meilan, pounced on him, pawing at his legs and begging to be held.
By now, Cyan Dragon was over four months old, and Black Dragon was almost three. The two puppies had been drinking goat’s milk and were very sturdy.
Wang Meilan grabbed a handful of dried corn kernels and placed them in front of the broody old hen in the coop.
This old hen had been laying eggs one after another ever since she returned. Since there was a rooster around, the eggs were all fertilized. Wang Meilan hadn’t bothered collecting them, instead letting the hen sit on them to hatch chicks.
As of today, the first egg had been incubating for half a month. The mother hen dutifully sat in her nest, barely even eating.
"Son, why are you back so early?" Hearing Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon whining, Wang Meilan turned to see Zhao Jun squatting down and holding the two puppies.
"Mom, can you boil some water first?" Zhao Jun said with a smile. "Baoyu and I got three bears. We need to prepare the Bear Galls."
"Three!" Upon hearing this, Wang Meilan’s face lit up with joy. She strode over to Zhao Jun in two steps and clapped her hands on both of his shoulders.
"WOOF! WOOF..." Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon, cradled in Zhao Jun’s arms, looked up. They didn’t try to bite Wang Meilan, but they barked fiercely at her a few times.
The two puppies were protecting their master!
They didn’t understand that the patting and tapping between people could sometimes be a sign of affection; they just thought Wang Meilan was attacking Zhao Jun.
They knew Wang Meilan wasn’t a stranger, but in their hearts, Zhao Jun came first.
"You little rasc... puppies!" The sudden barking startled Wang Meilan, but she was in a good mood today. She just cursed them with a laugh and reached out to pat Cyan Dragon on its little head.
This time, Cyan Dragon didn’t snap. Instead, when Wang Meilan’s hand landed on its head, it closed its eyes slightly.
Black Dragon, next to him, simply burrowed its head into the crook of Zhao Jun’s arm.
Wang Meilan hadn’t really meant to hit Cyan Dragon. As her palm came down, she held its head and gave it a gentle rub, then said to Zhao Jun with a smile, "Son, give the Bear Galls to Mom."
’Three Bear Galls... that’s a lot of money!’
’They need to be processed right away!’
Zhao Jun squatted down, put the two puppies on the ground, and then pulled two cloth-wrapped bundles from his satchel, handing them to Wang Meilan.
Wang Meilan took the bundles and left the storage shed. Zhao Jun didn’t follow her but stayed behind to play with Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon for a while.
When he came out of the shed, he brought Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon with him. The moment the two puppies were out, they started to frolic wildly.
At this point, there were quite a few dogs in Zhao Jun’s family’s courtyard.
Big Fatty, San Pang, Little Bear, White Dragon, and Black Tiger—five dogs tied up in four different spots.
Puppies are curious, and they love to stir up trouble!
As soon as Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon came out, the first dog they saw was White Dragon, and they immediately charged toward him in unison.
When they were about a meter away from White Dragon, the two puppies stopped again and started barking their heads off at him.
But White Dragon ignored them both, simply standing there looking at Zhao Jun and wagging its tail.
Zhao Jun walked over, squatted in front of White Dragon, and gently stroked its neck.
This was a silent communication between a master and his dog.
White Dragon narrowed its eyes in comfort. After a few strokes from Zhao Jun, it lowered its head, rubbed it against Zhao Jun’s pant leg twice, and then its legs gave way. The dog flopped onto the ground, immediately rolling over to expose its belly.
Zhao Jun quickly reached out to rub its belly.
A "rub" meant running his flat hand from its chest down to its stomach.
Seeing Zhao Jun being so intimate with White Dragon, Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon got even more worked up. They yelped at White Dragon and even rushed to within half a meter of it.
Normally, a big dog wouldn’t bother with puppies. White Dragon acted as if it couldn’t see or hear them, quietly enjoying Zhao Jun’s attention.
After rubbing White Dragon’s belly for five or six minutes, Zhao Jun got up and walked over to Big Fatty and San Pang. The two brothers were tied up together.
Since Big Fatty and San Pang had only arrived recently, they weren’t very close to Zhao Jun yet. But after being fed by him for a few days, they weren’t so resistant anymore.
However, they still weren’t at the point of exposing their bellies to Zhao Jun like White Dragon did; they only let him stroke their necks.
Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon kept following behind Zhao Jun. When he walked over to Big Fatty and San Pang, the two puppies followed, but after taking one look at Big Fatty’s frame, the two little ones got a bit scared and didn’t dare press forward.
When Zhao Jun headed toward Little Bear, Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon were still trailing him.
Female dogs are clingier than males. Seeing Zhao Jun approach, Little Bear started hopping back and forth. As soon as Zhao Jun was close, she pounced on his legs.
Just then, Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon came closer. Little Bear pulled her head out of Zhao Jun’s embrace, bared her teeth at them, and let out a "HUFF" from between her teeth.
Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon were startled and ran a few steps away. They stood there, wagging their tails, and barked at Little Bear.
Seeing them retreat, Little Bear ignored them and went back to pestering Zhao Jun, demanding neck scratches one moment and belly rubs the next.
Zhao Jun interacted with Little Bear the longest, for about ten minutes. Only after soothing her did he walk toward Black Tiger, who was tied up in front of the house.
Seeing Zhao Jun approach, Black Tiger scurried back and forth on his three legs, head low and wagging, but with his rump stuck high in the air, his tail wagging furiously.
Zhao Jun chuckled, remembering how Zhao Youcai would always point at Black Tiger whenever he acted like this and say, "This dog is a real suck-up."
But regardless of the dog’s true nature, Zhao Jun believed that since he had taken him in, he had to take good care of him.
This was especially true for hunting dogs. They risk their lives for their masters, so their masters must give them the love and care they deserve.
However, it seemed Black Tiger hadn’t actually done any work for Zhao Jun yet, though he’d certainly caused his fair share of trouble.
Zhao Jun came to stand before Black Tiger. The moment he squatted down, Black Tiger sidled up. Unlike the other dogs, he didn’t rub his head against Zhao Jun’s legs. Instead, he raised his head and stuck out his tongue, trying to lick Zhao Jun’s face.
"Sigh!" Zhao Jun sighed helplessly, tilting his head and using his hand to push Black Tiger’s head aside. But Black Tiger wouldn’t give up, forcing Zhao Jun to stand up, ready to ignore him.
But just then, Black Tiger lunged forward, rope and all, and pounced on Cyan Dragon, who had been circling nearby, pinning him to the ground.