"Alright, alright," Wang Dalong agreed readily.
Just then, Jiang Xiaolan slapped away his groping hand. She glanced around nervously before saying to Wang Dalong, "Don't be in such a rush. Wait till tomorrow morning."
At this, Jiang Xiaolan added, "And before you come tomorrow morning, bring the fifty yuan with you!"
"Got it!"
'From the sound of it, the show's over for today,' Zhao Jun thought. 'And Wang Dalong should be heading home any minute now.'
The moment he thought this, Zhao Jun spun around and took a detour, avoiding Jiang Xiaolan's front door. He broke into a run, heading straight for Wang Dalong's house.
When Zhao Jun arrived at Wang Dalong's home, Wang Dalong wasn't back yet. Only Wei Xiaojuan was there, busy getting dinner ready. She was out in the vegetable garden behind the house, picking cucumbers and tomatoes.
Zhao Jun entered their front yard. The four dogs tied up there had just been on the hunt with him today, so they were familiar with him. When they saw him come in, they only barked a couple of times, just enough to alert Wei Xiaojuan.
Hearing the barks, Wei Xiaojuan quickly came over from the backyard, carrying a basket of vegetables. When she saw it was Zhao Jun, she smiled. "Xiaojun, have you eaten yet? I can fix something up. Why don't you stay for dinner?"
"I can't, Sister-in-law." Zhao Jun smiled, pulling a wad of cash from his pocket. He unfolded the bills and handed them to Wei Xiaojuan. "Sister-in-law, me and Brother Long, we went and killed a Black Bear today. The village gave us a five hundred yuan reward. Me, Baoyu, and him—the three of us—we each get a share. A single share is one hundred sixty-six yuan and sixty-six cents. I rounded it up for you, so here's one hundred and sixty-seven!"
That's right, Zhao Jun had given their family an extra forty cents. It was nothing to him, but it was important to be clear about the numbers.
"This..." But after hearing what Zhao Jun said, Wei Xiaojuan just stared at him blankly, not daring to reach out for the money.
Zhao Jun was taken aback and quickly explained, "Sister-in-law, the Black Bear meat is still up in the mountains. We'll haul it back tomorrow, and I'll have Brother Long carry some back for you. I've also got the Black Bear's gallbladder. Once I sell it, you'll get a share of that money too."
"No, that's not it." Seeing that he had misunderstood, Wei Xiaojuan looked at the money in his hand and said with a confused frown, "Your Brother Long never said anything about getting money. He just said he was going hunting with you, and that you were helping handle the dogs."
"Ah, haha." Zhao Jun laughed. Without another word, he stepped forward and pressed the money into Wei Xiaojuan's hand. "Sister-in-law, just take it and keep it safe." Then he glanced around and asked, "Is Brother Long not home?"
"Oh... right!" Wei Xiaojuan clutched the money, a dazed look on her face. Hearing Zhao Jun's question, she managed to answer, "Your Brother Long said the four dogs are all injured. He had to go find Doctor Han to give them an anti-inflammatory shot."
"So he went to find Doctor Han." Zhao Jun smiled and nodded. "Alright, that saves me a trip. How about this, Sister-in-law? When Doctor Han gets here, could you tell him to come by my place after he's done? My dog needs a shot, too."
"Okay, okay." Wei Xiaojuan quickly nodded. Seeing Zhao Jun turn to leave, she walked him to the door, saying, "Xiaojun, why don't you stay and eat with us?"
Zhao Jun didn't answer, just smiled and shook his head. He gave Wei Xiaojuan another wave and left.
Wang Dalong had been a troublemaker even before he got married, always fooling around with the young wives and widows of the North and South Villages.
After the New Year, he'd even gotten into an affair in Yongli Village and had been chased down and beaten before being sent packing.
How could Wei Xiaojuan not have heard whispers of all this?
But in those days, certain traditional ideas were still deeply ingrained. Especially in the countryside, women might drink poison or hang themselves, but they didn't get divorced.
And though Wei Xiaojuan could be quite assertive at home, whenever her fights with Wang Dalong neared the point of divorce, she would always be the one to back down.
When Zhao Jun got home, he was surprised to find that Zhao Youcai was back from work early. He was already home, sitting on the kang and sipping tea.
Meanwhile, Wang Meilan was at the counter, rolling out dough. It looked like they were having hand-rolled noodles for dinner.
Zhao Jun was about to go inside to greet Zhao Youcai when he heard dogs barking outside. He glanced out the open door and then shouted into the inner room, "Dad, look! We have a visitor!"
Hearing this, Zhao Youcai quickly set down his tea mug and climbed off the kang. He knew that if Zhao Jun was calling for him, the visitor must not be a regular at their house.
"Anyone home?"
Hearing the voice from outside, Wang Meilan stopped her rolling pin. She frowned as she peered out the door. "Why does that voice sound so familiar?"
"Jiang Zhou," Zhao Jun said from beside her. "Elder Jiang's nephew."
"Oh!" Hearing this, Wang Meilan quickly set down her rolling pin. She dusted the flour from her hands and said to Zhao Jun, "Isn't he from your brother-in-law's logistics department? I should go out and greet him too, then."
"Let's go." Just then, Zhao Youcai came out of the inner room and led Wang Meilan outside. Once in the yard, Zhao Youcai shushed the dogs. He and Wang Meilan walked to the gate and called out to Jiang Zhou, "Brother, how are things at home? I've been so busy these past few days, I haven't had a chance to stop by."
These were just pleasantries from Zhao Youcai, empty gestures of goodwill. But the two families didn't know each other well, so this was the only way.
So, without waiting for Jiang Zhou to answer, Wang Meilan added, "Quick, don't just stand out there. Come in for a drink of water."
"I can't, Auntie." Jiang Zhou quickly took a step back, declining the offer. "I just came to thank you. If it wasn't for your Zhao Jun, my aunt would never have allowed my uncle to be buried."
As soon as Jiang Zhou said this, Zhao Youcai and his wife exchanged a look, both tacitly agreeing not to speak.
Because there was nothing to say. It was a matter between the old couple; whatever the old woman decided was final. Even Jiang Zhou himself had no authority to intervene. What could two outsiders like Zhao Youcai and Wang Meilan possibly add?