Chapter 155 - 154: Zhao Wendong’s Arrangements

Chapter 155: Chapter 154: Zhao Wendong’s Arrangements

Even after Li Guangming’s truck had vanished from sight, the crowd still stared at Zhao Wendong, unable to understand. The murderous intent he’d displayed just moments ago had been no act, so how could he suddenly let Li Guangming go?

"Li Guangming is abusing his power. Secretary Yang, I let him go out of respect for you, but this is far from over. I’m going to report his actions to the higher-ups. I’m going to file a formal complaint!"

Zhao Wendong’s look of righteous indignation stunned Yang Wenxue. ’Has he really decided to trade his sword for a pen?’ he thought. Honestly, if Zhao Wendong was truly resorting to filing reports, Yang Wenxue felt a bullet would have been quicker. The official process could take three to five years, and even then, the outcome might not touch Li Guangming. From start to finish, the man had framed everything as official business, and there was no hard evidence of any personal agenda.

Zhao Wendong ignored his confusion and called Niu Yuesheng over. The two of them stepped aside.

"Brother Niu, can you take these guys back to the Commune for me?"

Niu Yuesheng nodded, then lowered his voice so only the two of them could hear.

"After I drop them off, I’ll pretend I’m heading back to the county seat. Then I’ll circle back using a deserted road."

"Don’t, Brother Niu. You don’t have to come back!"

Zhao Wendong was touched, but the risks were too great. He didn’t want to drag anyone else into it.

"As the old saying goes, ’speed is of the essence in war.’ You need me, and if you consider me a brother, then that’s the end of it. Remember, meet me outside the village in an hour!"

With that, Niu Yuesheng turned and walked away. Zhao Wendong silently pulled out his pocket watch to check the time. A short distance away, Niu Yuesheng was already shouting to the crowd.

"I’m heading back to the county seat! Everybody on the truck, let’s go! I’ll take you back to the Commune."

Liangzi, Zhang Dadan, and the others were reluctant to leave, but Zhao Wendong shooed them all away. They dawdled, but one by one, they climbed onto Niu Yuesheng’s truck. The roughnecks and the men from Dragon King Pond waved farewell to each other; the day’s events had forged a deep, battle-born camaraderie between them. With Li Guangming gone, Yang Wenxue had no choice but to board Niu Yuesheng’s ’getaway’ truck. He took the passenger seat Zhao Wendong had occupied earlier. With a truck bed full of the Commune’s troublemakers behind him, he suddenly felt a little... unclean.

On the ride back, Zhang Dadan yelled from the bed of the truck.

"When we get off, don’t rush off! Everyone gets fifty cents. Come get it from me! Brother Dong already gave me the money."

"Brother Dong is solid!"

"Brother Dong is a badass!"

The sixty-odd men in the truck bed erupted in another cheer. Many had been quietly wondering if the promised fifty cents had been forgotten, though no one would have dared to ask. After all, getting chauffeured by truck, receiving food and gifts, and even being handed cigarettes was more than generous. They would have understood if the money had been forgotten in the heat of the moment. What no one noticed, however, was that one person was missing from their ranks. The perpetual loner, Little Bastard, had not joined them on the ride back.

Back at Dragon King Pond, Zhao Wendong thanked all the villagers who had come to help. The village committee then dismissed the crowd, telling everyone to head home.

Once most of the people were gone, only Zhao Weiguo and Third Master Zhao remained, insisting on staying. Zhao Wendong had no choice but to lead them and his family back into the house. Everyone froze the moment they stepped inside. Sometime while they were gone, another person had appeared in the outer room. He was squatting on the ground, petting three dogs, who affectionately swarmed him, wagging their tails furiously.

Zhao Weiguo recognized Little Bastard. He leaned in and whispered a few words in Third Master Zhao’s ear. Third Master Zhao’s eyes lit up. He glanced from Little Bastard to Zhao Wendong, and a rare smile finally appeared on his stern, old face.

Little Bastard seemed not to see them, completely absorbed in petting the dogs. The moment Zhao Wendong stepped into the inner room, a warm body flung itself into his arms. It was Lin Zhiyin, her beautiful face streaked with tears, sobbing uncontrollably. Just a short while ago, she had truly believed they would either be meeting in the afterlife or forced to live as fugitives on the run.

"Okay, okay, don’t cry. The whole family is watching."

Zhao Wendong’s words made Lin Zhiyin blush. She shyly lifted her head from his chest and, sure enough, saw the whole family smiling at them. Little Tuanzi was staring at her with wide, curious, adorable eyes, not even blinking, which made her face turn beet red. Watching them, Shitou couldn’t help but shake his head in amusement.

"Auntie is so pretty. I’m going to find a wife just as pretty."

His mother, Song Xiaoyu, who was standing nearby, heard him and smacked him on the back of the head.

"Oh, get out of here. With standards like that, you’ll end up a bachelor for life, just like your third great-uncle."

Third Master Zhao, who was standing right there: ??!

Zhao Dashan, who was on the kang, finally spoke up. The situation earlier had been so dire that he had managed to crawl off the heated brick bed by himself. But now that Zhao Wendong was back... He had thought about trying to contribute more to the family, but now he finally realized he was old. The future belonged to the next generation.

"My son," he said, "from now on, you’re in charge of this family. Whatever you think is best, you have the final say."

Zhao Wendong smiled and nodded at his father, then turned to Chen Yanmei.

"Mom, I need another hundred yuan. And give me all the grain ration coupons we have."

"Okay!"

Without a word, Chen Yanmei got up to get them.

"Sister-in-law, please pack plenty of rations and food."

"Got it."

"Brother, come here!"

Zhao Wendong leaned close to his brother’s ear and whispered.

"Go get that pistol with the drumstick grip from the storage room—the one we took from Little Bastard. And bring all the remaining bullets."

Zhao Wenjun looked as if he wanted to speak, but he held his tongue, finally just nodding and leaving. The others silently watched Zhao Wendong make his arrangements. He then whispered something to Zhao Weiguo and Third Master Zhao. The two elders left without a word and returned a short while later, slipping a piece of paper into his hand. A strange tension filled the house. Everyone spoke in hushed tones, as if afraid of disturbing someone.

Even the children, like Little Tuanzi, sensed the mood. They stayed quietly on the kang, petting the little tiger cub, making no fuss. Every few moments, Zhao Wendong would pull out his pocket watch. After checking the time for the fourth time, he suddenly sat bolt upright and spoke to Zhao Weiguo and Third Master Zhao.

"Uncle Weiguo, Third Master, if it weren’t for all the men of our village today, my wife would have been taken. Let’s have a gathering tonight. The more, the merrier. I want to treat everyone to a meal to express my gratitude."

Third Master Zhao and Zhao Weiguo exchanged a look, their expressions revealing they’d seen this coming. They had made some preparations, but they hadn’t expected Li Guangming to arrive so quickly, nor for him to be so relentless. Before, they’d held onto a sliver of hope that things wouldn’t escalate. Now, they wouldn’t stand in the way of whatever Zhao Wendong planned to do.

"Alright, let’s use the public canteen. The stoves have been cold for far too long; it’s about time we livened the place up. Dongzi, what are you planning to make for everyone?"

"My brother and his men just brought back a huge red deer. It’s massive, close to six hundred pounds. We should get at least four or five hundred pounds of meat from it. How about we roast venison tonight?"

"You’re certainly generous! That’s food fit for an emperor’s banquet. Excellent, that’s excellent! Tonight, our village will have its own ’Deer Banquet’ and bonfire!"

With that settled, the two men said their goodbyes and hurried off to make preparations.

As they passed Little Bastard in the outer room, they acted as if he wasn’t there, walking straight by him without a glance.

Zhao Wendong emerged from the inner room. Little Bastard, who had been sitting on the floor, gave the dog named General one last pat on the head and slowly rose to his feet.

WHINE~

The three dogs let out mournful whimpers.

"You mutts are living better than most people now. What the hell are you whining about?"

Little Bastard cursed with a slight grin and followed Zhao Wendong out of the house.

One behind the other, they left Zhao Wendong’s house and started walking toward the edge of the village. Zhao Wendong gazed up at the starry sky as he walked, lost in thought.

Little Bastard, trailing leisurely behind him, felt his lip twitch. He spoke for the first time without being spoken to.

"I’m useless. I can’t farm, I can’t raise dogs... I can’t even take care of my own grandfather. I either let him go hungry or let him freeze. This time, I almost let him die from his illness. Zhao Wendong, you take such good care of these dogs. I wasn’t wrong about you. From now on, please... take care of my grandfather for me."

"I will. I’ll look after him as if he were my own grandfather. I guarantee he’ll live another twenty years, until you come back."

Zhao Wendong slowed his pace, allowing the other man to walk alongside him. Little Bastard scoffed at his words, his face a mask of scorn.

"What bullshit. The Commune doctor said my grandpa only has two or three years left, tops. I came to you so he could have a little comfort before he dies."

"I have a two-hundred-year-old ginseng. That alone can keep him going for twenty years."

Little Bastard fell silent. After a long moment, he spat on the ground.

"You’ve got all the damn luck. I was born with nothing, so how come you have it so good? Is God your real father or something?"

"What good is your ginseng to me? In a few days, I’ll probably be frozen dead in some snowdrift anyway."

Zhao Wendong didn’t reply. Instead, he pulled out two pistols—the ones with the drumstick grips—and handed them to Little Bastard. The young man took them and expertly inspected both, raising an eyebrow with a hint of pride in his voice.

"See? You had to give back the one you took from me, and now you have to give me yours, too!"

Zhao Wendong laughed.

"So you’re the real badass in the end, huh? Here, take these too."

He then handed over a cloth sack filled with dry rations and a Zhaowu Water Bottle full of clean water.

"The food and the rest of the bullets are in here. Keep it safe."

Next came a thick wad of cash and grain ration coupons.

"Travel heavy when you’re on the road. Keep this for your expenses."

Finally, he pulled out a piece of paper. Little Bastard took it and glanced it over.

"What’s this say?"

"Last year, a guy from our village went missing. He was about your size. His name was Zhao Feihu. This is an official certificate from the village, stating that Zhao Feihu is traveling to Nanmin Province to find his relatives. You’ll need this to stay at inns and get through checkpoints."

"Nanmin?"