Chapter 560: Chapter 432: A 700-800 Jin Black Bear
Fun times are always so short-lived!
Li Ruhai was having a grand time chatting with a group of women, and over half an hour flew by before he knew it.
It was already past five o’clock, and every household had to start making dinner. Most of the women dispersed, leaving only two who stayed by Li Ruhai’s side.
Only after everyone else had left did the older woman say to Li Ruhai, “Ruhai, my Yue’Er saw something today.”
The Yue’Er she mentioned was the young wife next to her, not yet thirty years old. Her name was Song Qiuyue, and she had married into the village from Yongfu Village. For the first two years after she moved, Song Qiuyue had no family around. It was a sudden change, and she struggled to get used to life with her in-laws, barely interacting with anyone in the village.
Then one day, she ran into the gossip-mongering Li Ruhai. From that day forward, Song Qiuyue truly became part of the big family of Yong’an Village.
Song Qiuyue nodded, glanced left and right, and then said to Li Ruhai, “Early this morning, Eldest Aunt Qi and I went to the market. Guess what I saw?”
“What did you see?”
Song Qiuyue deliberately built the suspense before continuing, “We saw…”
At this, Song Qiuyue lowered her head, peeked around, and furtively glanced left and right again before whispering, “We saw Wang Dalong go into the Sun Family’s house.”
“Which Sun Family?” Upon hearing this, Li Ruhai’s eyes sparkled. His keen intuition told him, ‘This is going to be big!’
Eldest Aunt Qi, who was standing to the side, chimed in, “Sun Big Chin’s family.”
“Right!” Song Qiuyue continued. “And when we were coming back, we happened to see Wang Dalong coming out of the Sun Family’s house.”
“Sun Big Chin’s family…” Li Ruhai furrowed his brow for a moment, then his eyes lit up. He asked, “Isn’t it just Jiang Xiaolan and her child living there now?”
“Exactly!” Song Qiuyue raised an eyebrow and said to Li Ruhai, “So tell me, what could Wang Dalong possibly be doing, holed up in a widow’s house for several hours?”
“What else could he be doing?” Before Li Ruhai could even speak, Eldest Aunt Qi cut in, “That Jiang Xiaolan is no saint herself. Just look at the way she walks around the village all day, wiggling and shaking her ass.”
“Hey!” Hearing this, Song Qiuyue gave Eldest Aunt Qi a gentle push. “Ruhai is still here! You can’t just say things like that.”
“What’s the big deal!” Eldest Aunt Qi laughed. “Ruhai isn’t an outsider.” As she spoke, she gave Ruhai a casual slap on the arm. “Right, Ruhai?”
“You bet!” Li Ruhai puffed out his chest and lifted his chin, looking extremely proud.
Seeing this, Zhao Jun turned and walked away. Even though Li Ruhai wasn’t his actual brother, Zhao Jun was overcome with a sense of second-hand embarrassment. He had originally planned on buying some snacks for his two little sisters, but now he decided against it.
As Zhao Jun walked home, he was still some distance away when the dogs in his yard erupted into a frenzy.
They hadn’t seen him in three days, and they all missed him.
Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon, who weren’t tied up, were especially ecstatic. They pounced on his legs, one on each side, their front paws constantly scratching at him until his pant legs made a rasping sound.
“AWOO! AWOO! AWOO…” Black Tiger, who was in front of the house, was going even more wild with joy.
Hearing the dogs barking outside, Wang Meilan hurried out of the house. The moment she saw it was Zhao Jun, she was so happy she tossed aside the rag in her hand.
“My son is back!”
“Mom!” Zhao Jun had just called out to his mother when he heard voices from inside shouting “Brother!” Two little girls came flying out, pushed Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon aside, and wrapped themselves around Zhao Jun’s legs, refusing to let go.
Just then, Jin Xiaomei and Li Xiaoqiao from next door also came out of their house and exchanged a few pleasantries with Zhao Jun.
Then, Zhao Jun handed his luggage and bedding to Wang Meilan, who carried them inside. He took one of his little sisters in each hand and led them back into the house.
After placating the two little girls, Zhao Jun fought back his exhaustion from the day and went back outside to check on the family’s seven dogs.
By now, Cyan Dragon was nearly nine months old, while Black Dragon was almost eight months.
Before they were six months old, they had been fed exclusively on goat’s milk. After that, Wang Meilan continued to feed them well.
Before Zhao Jun left for the New Logging Camp, Cyan Dragon’s weight had already surpassed forty-four pounds. Black Dragon was slightly smaller but was still around thirty-three pounds.
Dogs this large were ready to be taken into the mountains. With a lead dog to guide them and the Dog Gang to protect them, the two pups would start by just observing and getting a feel for things. After a while, once they started joining the fights, they would quickly be shaped into proper hunting dogs.
After all, it was much easier to learn pack hunting as a pup than to start as a full-grown dog.
The more Zhao Jun looked at Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon, the fonder he grew of them. But he didn’t neglect the other dogs. Even Black Tiger received a full ten minutes of his company and affection.
He played with the dogs for nearly an hour as the sky gradually darkened. Then, the dogs from both households started barking again, but Zhao Jun could tell it wasn’t because of a stranger. It was because family was coming home.
Zhao Youcai, Li Dayong, and Li Baoyu—the three of them had gotten off work and returned together.
When Zhao Youcai entered the gate, he froze for a moment upon seeing Zhao Jun. It was only after Black Dragon pounced on his leg that Zhao Youcai snapped out of it. He reached down to pat Black Dragon’s head and said to Zhao Jun, “You’re back?”
Seeing this, Zhao Jun felt a pang of displeasure. ‘Of everyone in the family, and all the dogs, he’s the only one to be so cold,’ he thought.
But this was his father, after all. Zhao Jun could only force a smile and reply, “Yeah, Dad, I’m back!”
“Brother!” From the yard next door, Li Baoyu spotted Zhao Jun over the wall and hastily scrambled over it.
Zhao Jun turned to greet Li Dayong, then huddled up with Li Baoyu, eager to talk about their plans to go hunting in the mountains tomorrow or the day after.