Chapter 570: Chapter 437: Vendors from the South
The truck drove all the way into Yong’an Village.
After entering the village, Zhang Yuanmin hopped down from the truck bed and walked ahead to guide Jie Chen.
The truck first pulled up to Gu Yang’s house. Zhang Yuanmin went into the courtyard to call for them, and Gu Yang’s mother, Huang Caiyu, and his sister-in-law, Yan Shuli, came jogging out.
Li Baoyu also climbed out of the truck bed. He and Zhang Yuanmin stood below to catch the sacks as Zhao Jun lifted them from the bed and passed them down.
“Careful, careful.” Seeing Li Baoyu and Zhang Yuanmin receive the large sack, which was more than half full of bear meat, Huang Caiyu grinned from ear to ear. She looked up at Zhao Jun and asked, “Xiaojun, how many pounds of meat is this?”
Zhao Jun, who had just let go of the sack, understood what Huang Caiyu was getting at after a moment’s thought. He smiled and replied, “This sack has less than a hundred pounds in it.”
Zhao Jun then explained, “Aunt Gu, your son Gu Yang saw it wrong. That black bear was only about three hundred pounds. We’re splitting it four ways—between me, your family, Baoyu, and Brother Zhang. That’s less than a hundred pounds of meat per family.”
“Huh?” Huang Caiyu’s brow furrowed slightly. She looked at Yan Shuli beside her and said, “Our youngest saw it wrong?”
“No way!” Yan Shuli said. “He said it was seven or eight hundred pounds.”
Hearing the mother- and daughter-in-law’s exchange, Zhao Jun and the others knew exactly what they were implying. Zhang Yuanmin cut in directly, “Oh, give me a break! Where would you even find a seven or eight-hundred-pound black bear?”
As he spoke, Zhang Yuanmin pulled the mouth of the sack open to show Huang Caiyu and Yan Shuli the Bear’s Paw lying on top. “Look at this Bear’s Paw. Does that look like it came from a bear that big?”
“Oh!” Huang Caiyu peered into the sack. When Yan Shuli also leaned in to look, Huang Caiyu gave her a gentle push aside, then smiled at Zhang Yuanmin and said, “I guess our youngest really did see it wrong.”
Zhang Yuanmin just wiped his face and didn’t reply, but Zhao Jun called down from the truck bed, “Alright, Aunt Gu, your meat’s been delivered.”
Zhao Jun then called to Li Baoyu and Zhang Yuanmin, “Baoyu, Brother Zhang, get back in the truck.”
They were going to Zhang Yuanmin’s house next to deliver his share of the meat, so Zhang Yuanmin got into the passenger seat while Li Baoyu climbed back into the truck bed.
But just then, Huang Caiyu suddenly called out to Zhao Jun, “Zhao Jun, um… what about the gall from the black bear you killed?”
“The Bear Gall?” Zhao Jun was taken aback. Trying to assume the best, he said to Huang Caiyu, “Aunt Gu, the gall from the last black bear we got with Gu Yang is drying in my storehouse. Once it’s ready, I’ll sell it and give Gu Yang his share of the money.”
“Not that one.” Huang Caiyu lifted the mouth of the sack with her hand and said to Zhao Jun, “I’m asking about the gall from *this* black bear.”
At her words, Zhao Jun gave Huang Caiyu a long, hard look. ‘They say an unworthy wife can ruin three generations. You just have to look at Gu Yang’s father to know it’s true.’
Zhao Jun didn’t say anything, but Li Baoyu, who was standing nearby, spoke up. “Aunt Gu, we’re not the only hunters in this village. You can go ask around. See if anyone thinks you’re entitled to a share of the gall from the bear killed today.”
“That’s enough, Baoyu.” After Li Baoyu finished and saw that Huang Caiyu was speechless, Zhao Jun stopped him, then shouted, “Jie Chen, let’s go!”
“Right!” The driver’s side window was open, so Jie Chen heard the call and started the truck.
At that moment, Huang Caiyu snapped out of it and quickly forced a smile for Zhao Jun. “Zhao Jun, I didn’t mean anything by it, I was just asking. Um… don’t be in such a hurry to leave. Come in for a drink of water.”
“That’s right!” Yan Shuli chimed in, backing up her mother-in-law. “It’s almost noon. Stay and have a bite to eat with us.”
Zhao Jun acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing, petting the head of Black Dragon, who was by his feet. Just then, the truck started up, carrying the men and the dog toward Zhang Yuanmin’s house.
“Hmph!” Watching the truck drive away, Yan Shuli said to Huang Caiyu, “Ma, look at that Zhao Jun, so arrogant.”
“Alright, alright.” Huang Caiyu nudged Yan Shuli. “Keep your voice down, or they’ll hear you.”
Then, Huang Caiyu grabbed the sack with both hands and said, “Give me a hand. Let’s get this meat into the courtyard. We’ll pick a fatty piece to render for oil, and the rest we’ll tie into five-pound bundles with wire. We’ll get up early tomorrow, and the two of us will take it to the market to sell. We’ll save the money for my grandson’s schooling.”
The grandson Huang Caiyu mentioned was Yan Shuli’s son. Hearing this, Yan Shuli was of course delighted. Without waiting for Huang Caiyu to help, she heaved the sack onto her own shoulder and started carrying it into the courtyard.
Watching her daughter-in-law stagger under the heavy load, Huang Caiyu didn’t move to help her. Instead, the corners of her mouth turned up in a cold, faint smirk.
…
When the truck arrived at Zhang Yuanmin’s house, Zhao Jun, Li Baoyu, and Jie Chen all got out. Zhang Yuanmin led Jie Chen in front, while Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu followed behind, carrying the sack.
Just as they reached the door, Yang Yufeng came out to greet them.
“Brothers!” Yang Yufeng called out to Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu as soon as she emerged. “Put that down, it must be heavy.”
After speaking, she turned her gaze to Jie Chen, giving him a smiling nod before looking to Zhang Yuanmin to ask, “And who is this?”
Zhang Yuanmin introduced him to Yang Yufeng, who then invited Zhao Jun and the others inside, insisting they stay for a meal.
But Zhao Jun explained that there was still bear meat in the truck that he needed to get home quickly to soak in well water.
Zhang Yuanmin also told Yang Yufeng to prepare food anyway, as he would invite Zhao Jun and the others over for dinner that evening.
Zhao Jun, Li Baoyu, and Jie Chen returned home. They first let the dog back into the house, then gave the Bear Gall to Wang Meilan to handle, and finally, the three of them unloaded the rest of the bear meat from the truck.