Chapter 300 - 219: Bumper Harvest
The four brothers had just reached the edge of the village when they saw flashlight beams shining from the direction of their home. Knowing their family was waiting, they quickened their pace. The beams from their flashlights converged with the ones from the house, like their ancestors signaling one another during the war. By the time they were near their front door, Chen Yanmei and the rest of the family had already come out to meet them.
"Why are you all back so late?"
Upon seeing her sons, Chen Yanmei, who had been on pins and needles, finally let out a breath of relief. She stepped forward to help with their load, unable to stop herself from asking.
Zhao Wendong stopped her. "We got lucky and bagged some big game, that’s why we’re late. We’re almost there. Let’s talk inside the courtyard."
Only then did Chen Yanmei and the others notice that the four men, and the sled they pulled behind them, were laden with goods. Once Zhao Wendong’s group had brought everything into the courtyard, Lin Zhiyin and the women rushed forward to help them unload.
"Holy cow, that’s a massive wild boar!"
Chen Yanmei’s eyes immediately fell on the wild boar, which weighed over four hundred pounds. She let out a cry of delighted surprise, followed by one gasp after another. Everyone else inside, except for Zhao Dashan and Little Tuanzi, swarmed out to help.
"What’s in this bag? Are these wood ear mushrooms?"
"And all these frozen greens."
"How did you get so many Forest Frogs? Huh? Why did you bring back a bag of mud?"
Chen Yanmei stared at the bag of frozen black mud, confused. Zhao Wendong chuckled and explained, "That’s not mud. It’s full of loaches."
"What? There are loaches in here? Oh, that’s wonderful."
Zhao Wenwu suddenly leaped out, draped in a tiger pelt, and let out a playful roar: "ROAR~"
Hearing him, the family turned to look and were immediately struck dumb.
"A t-t-tiger!"
"Oh my god, you guys actually hunted a tiger!"
"Zhao Wenwu, you’re going to scare me to death..."
Chen Yanmei stopped mid-shout, instinctively clamping a hand over her mouth. She glanced around nervously, terrified someone might have overheard.
"Quick, hurry and put everything away! There’s no room for all this in the house. Son, will it be alright to leave things in the house and the courtyard?"
Chen Yanmei looked at the goods filling the courtyard, a new worry creasing her brow. She’d never dreamed that Zhao Wendong and his brothers would have such a massive haul from this trip to the mountains. It wasn’t just one prize catch after another; it was all top-tier game. First a bear, and now a wild boar and a tiger. They’d basically collected a full set of the mountain’s biggest creatures. She suddenly felt her house was a little too small.
Zhao Wendong, unloading his own pack, reassured his mother. "It’s okay, Mom, don’t worry. My friend is coming to haul it away tomorrow."
"Ah? It’s all being hauled away tomorrow?"
When Chen Yanmei heard this, she felt a pang of disappointment. ’We just got our hands on all this, and it’s already being taken away?’
"Hahaha."
The family couldn’t help but be amused by Chen Yanmei’s fretting. She even let out a small, self-deprecating laugh. ’Why am I suddenly so worried about every little thing?’
Zhao Wendong’s enormous haul left the entire family both astonished and overjoyed. The delight of such a bountiful harvest was plain to see on every face.
"Come on, everyone, let’s go inside and eat! We’ve been waiting for you; the food’s already been reheated twice."
Chen Yanmei ushered everyone inside. Dinner was a stew of potatoes, cabbage, and glass noodles served with sorghum rice—another meal that would make the village children weep with envy. Although Dragon King Pond had received grain from Zhao Wendong in exchange for bricks, it was just enough to form a safety net.
They had gotten a lot of seafood from their last trip to the coast, but they didn’t dare eat too much at once. Most of it was shellfish, which wasn’t very filling anyway. As a result, the entire village was only able to eat two half-filling meals a day. Still, compared to other villages, that was probably considered a luxury.
Zhao Dashan was reclining on the kang with Little Tuanzi snuggled in his arms, petting Little Xiaobai. At their feet, a yellow furball and two black ones tumbled about. Zhuangzhuang was taking on two opponents at once, chasing the pair of bear cubs and sending them scrambling in every direction.
"Third Brother, how are you so amazing?"
Little Tuanzi watched Zhao Wendong come inside, her big, innocent eyes sparkling. ’Ever since Brother San woke up, life has gotten better every day. We have more and more to eat, and it’s so much yummier. Even Papa is nicer to me now. He always wants to hold me, and his arms are so warm.’ Though she was just a little girl, she had a keen sense that all these changes were because of her Brother San, Zhao Wendong.
"Hahaha, because I’m Little Tuanzi’s Brother San! And Brother San is only so amazing because he gets encouragement and support from Little Tuanzi every single day!"
Little Tuanzi held out a hand to Zhao Wendong. "Then come here, Third Brother. Little Tuanzi will give you some encouragement."
Zhao Wendong leaned in with a smile, and Little Tuanzi planted a loud smooch right on his cheek. The sweet, childish scent seemed to make him dizzy with affection. After her kiss, Little Tuanzi glanced at Lin Zhiyin and gave her a shy little smile.
"Sister-in-law, I just gave Third Brother a little kiss. I’m not trying to steal him from you, I promise."
"Hahahaha!"
The family erupted into another round of laughter. Lin Zhiyin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’Am I really the type to get jealous of a girl who isn’t even four years old?’ she thought. Lin Huaimin and Wang Lulu’s laughter was particularly joyful. The longer they stayed, the more they grew to love life in Dragon King Pond, and the more at peace they felt. Previously, they had lived on tenterhooks, constantly afraid that they would be taken away one day. But now, they were beginning to realize that their son-in-law could truly guarantee their safety.