sbdcsierra Chapter 1889 Li Baoyu: Master, we are also acting under orders.
Chapter 1889 Li Baoyu: Master, we are also acting under orders.
Chapter 1889 Li Baoyu: Master, we are also acting under orders.
At this moment, not only Song Lixia understood what was going on, but Wang Meilan also understood.
For a moment, Wang Meilan wished there was a crack in the ground in front of her so she could disappear into.
Too shameful!
"Well... Chunhua's here." Wang Meilan smiled at Xu Chunhua and said, "You and your sister come inside and sit for a while. I'll take Teacher Song to school."
"Yes, Auntie," Xu Chunhua responded, nodding and smiling at Song Lixia.
The two groups passed each other by. Wang Meilan saw Song Lixia to the door and said, "Teacher Song, I'm so sorry, my child has caused you and the school trouble."
Song Lixia opened her mouth, wanting to talk to Wang Meilan about how parents are a child's first teachers, and how parents should set a good example when educating their children.
But looking at the Zhao family's grand and wealthy household, Song Lixia thought for a moment and finally said, "Second sister-in-law, we need to guide the children properly. Children this age are at the age where they learn by example, aren't they?"
"Yes, yes." Wang Meilan understood Song Lixia's unspoken meaning and felt extremely ashamed.
Song Lixia didn't dare say anything more, and after saying goodbye to Wang Meilan and the others, she quickly left.
Wang Meilan turned around and glared at Zhao Hong, then hurriedly walked into the yard.
Back inside, Wang Meilan pushed up her tense cheeks, grinned, and walked towards the door of the east hut, saying with a smile, "Chunhua, have lunch here!"
"No, Auntie," Xu Chunhua said. "I have to say a few words and leave right away. There are still children at school."
Preschool is different from primary school. Preschool is mainly about taking care of the children, so Xu Chunhua can't stay out for too long.
Wang Meilan entered the room, and Xu Chunyan made way for her. Wang Meilan sat down next to Xu Chunhua and asked with a wry smile, "Chunhua, has my little rascal gotten into trouble at school?"
“Yes, Auntie.” Xu Chunhua nodded with a smile and said, “Zhao Na, Wang Tian, and Wang Xue, the three of them were scared to tears by Pang Gaoming’s daughter, Pang Xiaoling.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Meilan glanced at Zhao Na, then asked Xu Chunhua, "You didn't fight with anyone? You didn't hurt anyone's child, did you?"
“No, that’s not it.” Xu Chunhua shook her head and said, “The three of them scared Pang Xiaoling, and Pang Xiaoling cried loudly. Then our teacher Zhang heard about it and went over.”
"Ah..." Hearing Xu Chunhua's words, Wang Meilan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Just then, Xu Chunhua said, "When Teacher Zhang criticized Zhao Na and the others, they didn't say anything. But when Teacher Zhang turned around, we heard Zhao Na tell Pang Xiaoling to wait for her after school."
Wang Meilan: "..."
"That wicked child!" Wang Meilan glared at Zhao Na, who retorted confidently, "But I didn't hit her, did I?"
"I..." Wang Meilan was furious when she heard this and was about to get up, but Xu Chunhua stopped her.
“Auntie, there’s a child.” As one of their own, Xu Chunhua spoke to Zhao Na, saying, “Say a few words to him and teach him a lesson.”
"This child needs a good scolding," Wang Meilan said. "I'll give her a good shoveling later!"
Hearing Wang Meilan's words, Zhao Na instinctively hid behind Wang Tian. Zhao Na knew her mother doted on Wang Tian, and thought that in the future, if there were similar situations, Wang Tian should take the lead.
"Alright, Auntie, it's not a big deal." Xu Chunhua was still young and didn't take the children's quarrel seriously. She just said, "Don't go to school today. Stay home and rest. Go tomorrow."
These days, kindergartens mainly just look after children; there's not much to teach them.
After Xu Chunhua finished speaking, she was about to leave. Wang Meilan and Xu Chunyan couldn't stop her, so they could only see her out.
When the group reached the outer room, they saw Xiaolingdang standing at the door, calling to Xu Chunyan, "Aunt Lin, Xiaobao hasn't come back yet."
"Oh!" Xu Chunyan suddenly realized and turned to ask Xu Chunhua, "Chunhua, where is your nephew?"
"Huh?" Xu Chunhua was a little confused, then Xu Chunyan asked, "Where's Xiaobao?"
"My nephew Xiaobao wasn't involved in this!" Xu Chunhua said with a hint of pride, feeling that her nephew was a good kid who hadn't participated in any fights or brawls.
But then Xu Chunhua heard her sister complain, "Chunhua, why didn't you bring Xiaobao back? I still have to pick him up."
"I..." Xu Chunhua was speechless, but when she saw Xiaolingdang, she asked in surprise, "Doesn't Lingdang take Xiaobao to and from school every day? Why didn't Lingdang go to school today?"
When Xu Chunhua asked her that question, Xiao Lingdang immediately blushed. Compared to Zhao Hong and Zhao Na, Xiao Lingdang was definitely a good student. From the time she entered school until today, Xiao Lingdang had always been first in the class in every exam.
Xiaolingdang didn't regret hitting Pang Xiaodong. But she felt ashamed that she was sent home by her teacher because of the fight.
"Um... Lingdang wasn't feeling well today." Wang Meilan said for Lingdang, "She wasn't feeling well at school, so Teacher Song brought her back."
"Ah..." Upon hearing this, Xu Chunhua glanced at Zhao Hong and Li Xiaoqiao beside Xiaolingdang. She wondered if Zhao Hong and Li Xiaoqiao were also feeling unwell.
Just then, Xu Chunyan took Xu Chunhua's arm and said, "Alright, Chunhua, I'll go to school with you to pick up Xiaobao."
With that, Xu Chunyan led Xu Chunhua outside.
Seeing Xu Chunhua leave, Xiaolingdang breathed a sigh of relief. But Zhao Hong next to her was not happy, because after she left, Xu Chunyan and Xu Chunhua had Wang Meilan come back.
Since they were all family, Wang Meilan didn't stand on ceremony and turned to go back into the house, where she was immediately grabbed by Zhao Hong.
Immediately afterwards, Zhao Hong's wailing came from Zhao Jiadong's small house.
Jin Xiaomei and the others didn't stop her because they thought Zhao Hong deserved to be beaten; this girl was almost as tough as swords and guns.
But then the old lady felt sorry for him. She stood at the door and called out, "Lan, look, it's cloudy outside. Is it going to rain? Should we cover the lid off the soy sauce jar?"
In Northeast China, people start making fermented soybean paste as soon as the fourth month of the lunar calendar begins. The process involves washing and draining the soybean paste blocks that were separated the previous year, cutting them into small pieces, putting them into a vat, adding salt and water, skimming off any foam, and stirring until the soybean paste ferments.
Soy sauce cannot be eaten if it is not fermented properly, so people in Northeast China usually choose to make soy sauce on the 8th, 18th, or 28th of the fourth lunar month. The "eight" in these three days is to allow the soy sauce to ferment properly.
This is superstition; what we really need to do is put the sauce vat in the sun.
The soy sauce jars were exposed, and leaving them open not only allowed dust to settle in but also attracted insects. So, a white cloth was used to cover the mouth of the jar, and the cloth was secured with elastic bands, also known as rubber bands. If possible, iron lumps would be tied to the four corners of the cloth.
These days, every household in Northeast China relies on soy sauce. A single jar of soy sauce lasts a year, and each family typically cooks 180-190 kilograms of soybeans to make it.
Although the sauce blocks will lose weight after being separated, water still needs to be added. This jar of sauce is kept outside permanently; it can't be moved indoors when it rains.
Rainwater falling into the soy sauce jar would cause it to stink, ruining the entire jar of soy sauce. So, when it was about to rain, Northeasterners didn't call their neighbors to bring in the laundry; instead, they called to cover the soy sauce jar.
Ordinary households use a board to cover their soy sauce jars, while those who are particular use a sauce cap.
The so-called "sauce cap" is simply a bottomless cone-shaped object welded together from sheet metal, which is then placed over the mouth of the sauce vat.
Hearing the old lady call out, Wang Meilan subconsciously looked outside and saw that the sky had indeed darkened.
At this moment, Jin Xiaomei, Zhao Ling, Liang Xuemei, Yang Yufeng and the others all ran home.
Wang Meilan didn't even bother to scold the child anymore. She told everyone to stay home and cover the soy sauce jars and collect the recyclables, while she herself ran to Lin Xiangshun's house. Xu Chunyan had gone to pick up Lin Xiaobao; someone needed to look after the soy sauce jars at her house.
"The weather forecast didn't say it would rain!" Ma Ling muttered. Liu Mei said, "Weather forecasts aren't accurate either!"
It's not that the weather forecast is inaccurate, but rather that these days, weather forecasts don't cover small places like Yong'an Forest Area. Yong'an Forest Area can only refer to the weather forecasts of Daohua County and Shanhe County.
"Oh dear!" Suddenly, Ma Ling thought of Zhao Jun who had gone into the mountains. A little worried, Ma Ling said to Liu Mei, "Do you think they'll be able to get water in the mountains?"
"No, sister-in-law," Liu Mei said with a smile, "Don't they live in shacks?"
After saying this, Liu Mei's smile disappeared, because she realized that her son Li Baoyu was not with Zhao Jun in the shack, but had gone with Zhao Youcai to hunt tigers in the forest.
……
Li Baoyu, who was being worried about by Liu Mei, was driving his jeep up the mountain along the sled trail.
"Baoyu!" Zhao Weipeng, sitting in the passenger seat, asked casually, "How much further are we to the shack?"
"Coming soon, Uncle Peng," Li Baoyu said. "Our shack is under Gangbeitou, we'll be there in about ten minutes."
As Li Baoyu spoke, he lightly pressed the brake pedal to slow down and go over the pothole ahead.
The people in the car all jolted, and just as the car smoothly went over the bump, Zhao Youcai shouted, "Baoyu, stop the car!"
"Huh?" Li Baoyu reacted quickly. He stopped the car, and Zhao Youcai in the back seat opened the car door, picked up his gun, and got out of the car.
Seeing Zhao Youcai's action, everyone followed suit.
Zhao Youcai strode down to the edge of the pit and saw a thick, long, black cylindrical column of excrement there.
The excrement was mixed with a lot of hair, and a strong, fishy stench hit Zhao Youcai as soon as he got close.
"Oh dear!" Wang Qiang, Li Baoyu, and Xie Chen, who came over, immediately recognized it as Siberian tiger feces.
The three major feline predators in Northeast China are primarily carnivorous, and during their carnivorous diets, some animal hair, bones, and hooves may end up in their stomachs along with the flesh.
This results in the feces of the three major feline predators appearing at first glance to be almost entirely fur. If you scribble it with a small stick, you might even find bone fragments and hoof shells.
However, due to the size differences among the three major felines, experienced hunters can deduce which predator left the droppings based on their size.
The Zhao family gang knows these three beasts best in the entire Yong'an forest area, so even Xie Chen could tell at a glance that they were left by a Siberian tiger.
Zhao Youcai looked to the side and sure enough, there were marks left by claws scratching the bark on the trees by the roadside.
These are markings left by feline predators to mark their territory!
Upon seeing this, Zhao Youcai raised his gun and scanned his surroundings with his small eyes.
"Grandpa!" Seeing this, Li Baoyu quickly stepped forward and said, "Let's go, the sky is all gloomy!"
"Shut up!" Zhao Youcai scolded Li Baoyu. Li Baoyu pouted and looked helplessly at Wang Qiang.
Seeing that Zhao Youcai was about to wade down the slope into the woods on the right, Wang Qiang quickly grabbed him and said, "Brother-in-law, it's going to rain, what if it thunders? Let's go!"
“It’s alright, I’ll just go with Yigulu and take a look,” Zhao Youcai said, but Wang Qiang held onto Zhao Youcai tightly and wouldn’t let go.
At this moment, Li Baoyu gave Xie Chen a wink, and the two brothers stepped forward, each grabbing one of Zhao Youcai's arms and lifting him up.
"Hey?" Zhao Youcai roared in anger and embarrassment, "You two brats, get off me! Get off me or I'll beat you to death!"
Li Baoyu and Xie Chen remained silent, and the two of them went to the side of the carriage and shoved the cursing Zhao Youcai inside.
Wang Qiang quickly moved to the other side, and together with Li Baoyu, they sandwiched Zhao Youcai in the middle.
Jie Chen got into the driver's seat, and Zhao Weipeng got into the passenger seat. Zhao Weipeng, who was of one mind with Zhao Youcai, also sided with Wang Qiang and the other two.
It's not that Zhao Weipeng doesn't want to hunt tigers, the key is that it's raining, and it would be very dangerous if there was thunder!
"Alright, sir, stop scolding me." Li Baoyu, who was hanging on Zhao Youcai's arm on the right, said, "This was all at my aunt's behest. My brothers and I were just following orders. Please don't make things difficult for us servants!"
Zhao Youcai: "..."
……
The jeep drove uphill and stopped when it was 150 meters away from the shack. All five people got out of the jeep.
Zhao Youcai's face was gloomy. He glared at Li Baoyu, then at Wang Qiang, and then at Xie Chen.
The three men remained silent and walked silently toward the shack.
When they were still seventy or eighty meters away from the shack, the little black bear inside the shack was the first to smell the familiar scent, but at this moment it was staring at the enamel basin on the kang (a heated brick bed), which contained steaming dumpling soup.
Next to the dumpling soup, on sheets of greased paper, were pancakes, scallions, and sliced canned luncheon meat.
Among the two tin boxes next to it, one contained soybean paste and the other contained canned fish.
Zhao Jun and his four companions sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), while Xing San and his three or four drank wine. Zhao Jun, meanwhile, sipped his dumpling soup from his bowl.
"Woof! Woof!" Suddenly, the Azure Dragon barked, startling Zhao Jun and the others.
"Oh!" Zhao Jun was taken aback. When he looked at Qinglong and Heilong, he saw the two dogs wagging their tails at the door.
Seeing this, Zhao Jun felt that it didn't seem like strangers or livestock had come; it seemed more like familiar faces had arrived.
"You guys stay inside!" Zhao Jun said to the three of them. He got up and went to the door of the shack. He pulled the door open and looked outside. He saw Zhao Youcai and his four men striding towards the shack.
"Dad!" Zhao Jun hurriedly opened the door, and Qinglong and Heilong rushed out and ran towards Zhao Youcai and the others.
"Dad, have you eaten yet?" Zhao Jun called to Zhao Youcai, saying, "If you haven't eaten, come into the shack and grab a bite!"
"What else is there to eat?" Zhao Youcai stared with his small eyes and said, "Let's hurry up and go, I think it's going to rain heavily..."
At this point, Zhao Youcai noticed the lightning rod standing behind the shack.
"Ah!" Zhao Youcai exclaimed, "You've set up lightning rods?"
"Yeah, I guess." Zhao Jun laughed. "I was in a rush this morning because I was afraid of a big thunderstorm."
As Zhao Jun spoke, he ushered Zhao Youcai and the others into the house.
When Zhao Youcai and the others arrived, Xing San invited them to sit on the kang (a heated brick bed) and drink, but Zhao Jun stopped them, saying, "Dad, if you haven't eaten, have some dumpling soup and a couple of pancakes to tide you over. If you don't want to eat, then you should leave now."
Hearing Zhao Jun's words, Zhao Youcai's small eyes widened, and he said, "What? Why can't I stay here?"
After saying this, Zhao Youcai sat down on the kang (a heated brick bed) and said, "I'm not leaving today, I'm staying here!"
Zhao Youcai was thinking that once the rain stopped and the sky cleared, he would set out to chase the tiger.
"Dad, I'm not trying to kick you out," Zhao Jun said to Zhao Youcai. "We're all out here now, what will happen to Mom at home?"
As he spoke, Zhao Jun gestured outside and said, "If there's a big thunderstorm, won't my mom be worried about us? If you ask me, the rain will probably last a while. If you leave now, it won't take half an hour to get to the Third Work Section. After the rain stops, hurry home."
Upon hearing Zhao Jun's words, Wang Qiang immediately said to Zhao Youcai, "Brother-in-law, let's go."
"Qiangzi, you guys go back," Zhao Youcai said. "After you're done, you can take Wang Tian and the others to my house to stay. I won't go back."
"Let's go, brother-in-law!" Wang Qiang urged again, ignoring what Zhao Youcai was saying.
"Let me tell you..." Zhao Youcai was about to say something when everything went black before his eyes. When he looked up, he saw Li Baoyu and Xie Chen standing in front of him.
Zhao Youcai was taken aback, then pointed his finger at Li Baoyu's nose and said, "You two brats, you just wait!"
Zhao Jun's heart tightened upon seeing this, but then he saw Zhao Youcai suddenly stand up, push aside Li Baoyu and Xie Chen who were blocking his way, and then stride out of the shack.