sbdcsierra Chapter 1983 The Lone Commander
Chapter 1983 The Lone Commander
Chapter 1983 The Lone Commander
When the Zhao family returned to the Zhao family compound, it was already past 2 p.m.
As soon as Zhao Jun and the others returned, Wang Meilan quickly led people to make dumplings.
"Oh." Zhao Jun was slightly taken aback when he saw the sailor shirt Wang Ya was wearing. Although all the children had two sailor shirts, he felt that the one Wang Ya was wearing must be the one he had bought for Zhao Hong.
As for why Wang Ya was wearing it, Zhao Jun believed that Wang Meilan gave it to the child.
So here's the question: given Zhao Hong's personality, how could she possibly let this go?
Li Ruhai, who was best at reading people, leaned close to Zhao Jun and whispered in his ear, "Those clothes were given to that child by Xiao Hong."
"Huh?" Zhao Jun was taken aback and looked at Li Ruhai in surprise.
In fact, this shows that Zhao Jun underestimated his sister.
Li Ruhai nodded emphatically, indicating that Zhao Hong was a good child.
Immediately afterward, Li Ruhai glanced warily at Ma Sheng, who was chatting and laughing with Zhao Youcai, and then leaned close to Zhao Jun's ear and whispered, "Brother, your brother-in-law got beaten up again."
"Get beaten up?" Zhao Jun frowned upon hearing this. When he took Ma Ling back to her parents' home, his father-in-law wasn't there.
“My mother was so angry with him that she cried her eyes out.” Hearing Li Ruhai’s words, Zhao Jun frowned, feeling that Ma Yang was outrageous.
But the next second, Zhao Jun suddenly turned his head and stared at Li Ruhai.
Li Ruhai was taken aback by Zhao Jun's gaze. He quickly realized what was happening and waved his hand, saying, "This has nothing to do with me!"
Just as Zhao Jun was about to say something, he heard someone call out to him, "Uncle Jun."
The only person who could address Zhao Jun in that way was Wang Ya.
"What's wrong, little girl?" Zhao Jun replied with a smile. Wang Ya asked, "Um... Uncle Liu didn't come back with you?"
Hearing Wang Ya ask about Liu Jinrong, Zhao Jun sighed inwardly and shook his head slightly. Seeing the little girl's worried face, Zhao Jun changed the subject, saying, "Little Ya, are the dumplings your aunt and uncle make delicious?"
"It's delicious," Wang Ya replied, then, as if remembering something, she turned to Wang Meilan and said, "Grandma, let me wash my hands, and I'll make dumplings with you."
Wang Meilan quickly stopped her, saying, "With so many adults in the family, how can we let the children do chores?"
Another concern was that Wang Meilan was worried that she wouldn't wrap the dumplings properly and that if she couldn't seal the opening, the dumplings would turn into soup as soon as they were cooked.
But in the end, Wang Meilan still couldn't stop Wang Ya. And as it turned out, Wang Ya was indeed a child who did housework every day, and her dumpling-making skills were no less than those of Wang Meilan and the others.
With Wang Ya's help, three hundred dumplings were quickly made.
Cook the dumplings in batches, without adding cold water after the pot boils. Once the dumplings are plump, scoop them out with a strainer.
Steaming hot dumplings were served one by one on a large enamel plate.
As the Zhao family sat down to eat, Wang Meilan asked Zhao Jun, "Son, shouldn't we prepare lunch for the forest rangers tomorrow at noon?"
"Yes, Mom." Zhao Jun nodded and said, "They'll all be here tomorrow."
"What should we prepare for them?" Wang Meilan asked. Zhao Jun swallowed the dumplings in his mouth and said, "Mom, you don't need to bother. After I finish eating, I'll go to Uncle Guofeng's house and talk to him to see if he's willing to take care of it. If he is, then let his wife take care of it."
During this militia training, there was a group meal every day at noon.
According to Zhao Jun's standards, each meal must have two dishes, and one of them must be dried tofu or regular tofu.
These two dishes were considered a staple in the forest areas of Northeast China these days.
Adding the staple food of steamed buns made from two kinds of flour, and with a subsidy of ten yuan a day for fifty people, only a dollar and eighty cents are left.
Zhao Jun felt that even the eighty cents that Wang Meilan and her team worked so hard for was not enough to make his mother suffer.
Moreover, given Wang Meilan's personality, she would have to improve those people's meals every now and then. As a result, by the time they participated in the grand competition, the Zhao family would have to lose money.
Zhao Jun wasn't short of money, but it wasn't convenient to bring over fifty families.
So he thought of moving the militia training ground behind the garrison headquarters.
As for Zhao Guofeng's wife, Zhao Jun believed she would be happy to take the job. Even the small amount the Zhao family might consider worthless was equivalent to a day's wages for an ordinary worker.
"That's wonderful, son!" Wang Meilan was very happy to hear Zhao Jun say that.
In this sweltering heat, Wang Meilan really didn't want to do that kind of communal cooking. Of course, if it were to support her son's work, Wang Meilan could take it on. Now that Zhao Jun has passed the buck, Wang Meilan is happy to do so.
After finishing his meal at the Zhao family's house, Ma Sheng prepared to leave. He heard from Ma Ling that his mother and brother had gotten into a fight, so Ma Sheng decided to go and check on Wang Cuihua.
But before leaving, Ma Sheng still had some lingering hope and said to Zhao Jun, "Jun, are we really not going to fight those bears?"
"No, brother," Zhao Jun said. "You should go back and see Mom."
"What the hell is that? A bunch of black bears?" Zhao Youcai asked. Wang Qiang replied, "A swarm of black bears."
"Qiqun?" Zhao Youcai's small eyes lit up. "Where is it?"
"Where is it?" Wang Qiang glanced at Zhao Youcai and said, "What are you going to do about it now?"
"Sure," Zhao Youcai said dismissively, looking at Wang Qiang. "If you guys can't beat him, why can't I?"
Since killing the black bear that night, Zhao Youcai's already masterful marksmanship has improved even further. Now, Zhao Youcai is confident that with a single shot in hand, he can go anywhere in the world!
This shows that Zhao Youcai's confidence in his marksmanship was no different from Li Ruhai's pride in his mouth; both of them were extremely convinced of their own superior abilities.
"Stop it, Dad," Zhao Jun said, quickly stopping Zhao Youcai. "It's too dangerous to fight the black bear at this time."
"What's dangerous?" Zhao Youcai stood up and asked Zhao Jun, "Is it near the third work section?"
"What third work section?" Wang Meilan came over and tugged at Zhao Youcai, then whispered, "Just shut up!"
Zhao Youcai sat down on the bench as Wang Meilan pulled him, but seeing his small eyes darting around, Zhao Jun knew that this man was not honest.
"Dad, we're starting training tomorrow," Zhao Jun said to Zhao Youcai. "Don't you have to participate in the big competition?"
"Hmm." Zhao Youcai nodded, then asked, "How many bears?"
"Huh?" Zhao Jun was taken aback. Wang Qiang, who was next to him, also said to Zhao Youcai, "Brother-in-law, what's wrong with you? My sister and my nephew don't want you to fight, but you still insist on going?"
“That’s right, second brother.” Xing San chimed in, “It’s so hot today. Even if you hunt bears, we won’t get much meat. The oil family still has several jars of oil.”
"Hey bro, what am I thinking?" Zhao Youcai retorted to Wang Qiang, "Let's shoot that bear back, get the meat, and then give some to the families of those forest rangers who came for training. If they're happy, won't they train harder?"
Zhao Youcai's words sounded plausible, and his reasons were indeed quite good, but no one present was a fool, and it would be strange if anyone believed him.
Seeing that no one was responding to him, Zhao Youcai pursed his lips, picked up the cigarette box next to him, opened it, took out cigarettes one by one, and handed them out to Xing San and the others in a circle.
When they reached Zhang Yuanmin, Zhao Youcai saw that he looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't.
“Yuanmin, what do you think about Zhang Yuanmin’s obsession with scheming against bears?” Zhao Youcai asked immediately, remembering Zhang Yuanmin’s obsession with scheming against bears. “Your brother mentioned those black bears, do you have any thoughts?”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuanmin immediately looked at Zhao Jun. Although he felt a sense of disappointment at being "unappreciated," he also knew whose side to take.
Before Zhang Yuanmin could even get a signal from Zhao Jun, Zhao Youcai said, "Alright, it's pointless to ask you. You can't even come up with that plan."
"Oh no!" Upon hearing Zhao Youcai's words, the faces of Li Baoyu and Li Ruhai changed drastically. They didn't know where Zhao Youcai had learned this goading tactic from, but they knew that Zhang Yuanmin would definitely fall for it.
"Uncle, why are you underestimating me?" Zhang Yuanmin immediately became displeased, refusing even the Zhonghua cigarettes Zhao Youcai offered, and said, "I have two plans, the superior one and the middle one, both of which can defeat the bear pack and wipe them out in one fell swoop!"
Zhao Youcai couldn't quite understand his half-classical, half-vernacular speech, so he casually tossed a cigarette in front of Zhang Yuanmin and said, "Just tell me what to do!"
Zhang Yuanmin caught the cigarette Zhao Youcai threw to him with both hands and said, "Great plan! Uncle, you can choose a few people, take double-barreled firecrackers, climb over from the other side of the mountain, and set off firecrackers on the ridge."
"As soon as the cannon fires, those bears will run downhill. We few, the better marksmen, will wait below, ready to pounce, and make sure those bears never return."
Upon hearing Zhang Yuanmin's words, Zhao Youcai's small eyes lit up, feeling that it was feasible.
At this moment, Zhang Yuanmin held up his cigarette and said, "We've fallen for their trap. Let's take Hei Zi directly over there and use Hei Zi to lure those big black bears over. Then, when one of them comes, we'll kowtow to them."
Zhao Youcai had been hunting for many years and was familiar with the habits of black bears. He understood Zhang Yuanmin's meaning as soon as he heard it.
“Yuanmin, your plan is more reliable than your plan!” Zhao Youcai said, “Your plan to fire the cannons on the embankment won’t work. If the cannons explode, won’t the bears scatter? Where will we fight them then?”
In Zhao Youcai's opinion, it would be better to use the bear cubs to lure the adult male bears. This would ensure that the male bears wouldn't wander off and would instead head straight for the gun.
Faced with Zhao Youcai's questioning, Zhang Yuanmin laughed and said, "Uncle, you see in the novel, when the strategists offer advice to their lord, there are three levels: superior, middle, and inferior. The lord will definitely choose the middle one, so I put the reliable one in the middle."
“Brother Zhang, that’s not right.” As soon as Zhang Yuanmin finished speaking, Zhao Jinhui said, “You said it yourself, everyone else has upper, middle, and lower grades, why do you only have upper and middle grades, and not lower grades?”
"Oh dear!" Li Baoyu tugged at Zhao Jinhui and laughed, "You still ask? It's because our Brother Zhang didn't come up with so many tricks."
Li Baoyu was absolutely right. However, seeing Li Baoyu chuckle after speaking, Zhang Yuanmin, feeling embarrassed, quickly retorted, "Baoyu, your brother Zhang is full of clever ideas, but he just never comes up with a bad one!"
"Huh?" Li Baoyu was taken aback by Zhang Yuanmin's response.
Zhang Yuanmin also thought so.
Zhao Jun looked at Zhang Yuanmin, who was standing there with his neck stiff and a smug look on his face, and was about to say something when he heard someone call out to him: "Brother Jun!"
Upon hearing this voice, Zhao Jun instinctively closed his eyes, and then heard Xie Chen continue, "Brother Zhang's move works! Let's do it!"
Zhao Jun's cheeks twitched, and his fists clenched on his knees.
On the way back, Xie Chen was in the car behind and didn't catch that sentence, but now he's saying it out loud.
Seeing Zhang Yuanmin devise a plan and Xie Chen volunteer for battle, but Zhao Jun remained silent, Zhao Youcai suddenly brightened up and said, "Yuanmin, Xiaochen, you two will come with me tomorrow, and I will lead you there!"
"You..." Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuanmin and Xie Chen both paused, their eager expressions faltering.
Although Zhang Yuanmin and Xie Chen wanted to fight this battle, they knew that at home, Zhao Youcai was their uncle. But once they were in the mountains, Zhao Youcai would be the leader of the Zhao family's hunting gang, and the two of them would be members of the Zhao family gang.
"Forget it, Uncle," Zhang Yuanmin said. "My brother said this isn't very reliable, and I..."
"What's unreliable?" Zhao Youcai interrupted Zhang Yuanmin, saying, "Let's go up the mountain and find a good spot, somewhere with some trees and grass, tie Heizi up there, and then we'll lie in wait and take them down one by one!"
After saying this to Zhang Yuanmin, Zhao Youcai looked at Xie Chen and said, "Xiao Chen, you drive tomorrow and take us there."
"Uncle, I... I'll go tomorrow..." Xie Chen was trying to come up with an excuse to refuse when Zhao Jun spoke up, saying, "Alright, let's both leave home early tomorrow morning and go see if there's a suitable place."
If what Zhao Youcai said is true, there are sparse vegetation areas on that hill where a person's line of sight can extend twenty or thirty meters, then that battle would not be difficult to fight.
"You...you're not training tomorrow?" Zhao Youcai's reaction was quite strong. He was planning to take Zhang Yuanmin and Xie Chen up the mountain tomorrow, and then show off his skills, defeating the two with his unparalleled marksmanship. But he didn't expect Zhao Jun to go too.
Zhao Jun glanced at Zhao Youcai. He wasn't afraid that Zhao Youcai would poach his men, but rather that Zhao Youcai would act recklessly and without thinking once he got up the mountain.
"My brother Zhou is coming tomorrow, I'll have him cover for me for a while," Zhao Jun said. "Then we'll go early and come back early, before noon."
"I..." Upon hearing this, Zhao Youcai instinctively stood up to say something, but was interrupted by Zhao Jun, who said, "Dad, you're done for. You'll be training at home..."
"What training do I need?" Zhao Youcai's small eyes widened as he said, "I want to go up the mountain!"
After saying that, he glared at Zhao Jun, as if to say, "If you don't lead me there, I'll make you regret it."
Just as Zhao Jun was about to speak, he heard Wang Qiang say to Zhao Youcai, "Okay, brother-in-law, you can come up the mountain with our Zhao family tomorrow, and we'll show you around."
"Why the hell do I need you to take me?" Upon hearing this, Zhao Youcai's expression immediately changed, and he shouted, "I'll ride my motorcycle myself tomorrow!"
"Alright, Dad." Seeing how easily Zhao Youcai was teased, Zhao Jun quickly said, "You should come with us tomorrow, but don't ride that motorcycle."
“Going with you is fine.” Hearing Zhao Jun say this, Zhao Youcai’s expression softened slightly. “But let me make this clear first: tomorrow our two gangs will be joining forces, so we’ll follow the rules once we’re up the mountain. If anything happens, your Zhao family gang will have to discuss it with our Zhao family hunting gang!”
After Zhao Youcai finished speaking, he did not receive a response from Zhao Jun. When he looked up, he saw that Zhao Jun, Wang Qiang, Zhang Yuanmin, Li Baoyu, Xie Chen, Zhao Jinhui, and Li Ruhai were all looking at him with strange expressions.
Zhao Youcai: "..."
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