Chapter 162 - 161: Arriving in Droves

Chapter 162: Chapter 161: Arriving in Droves

Zhao Wenjun couldn’t possibly let him kneel. He rushed forward and grabbed his arm to support him.

"Sir, we’re friends of Ai Zhongguo. We came... we came to take care of you."

The Little Bastard’s grandfather froze at his words, and then tears began to stream down his face.

"What is it? My grandson... is he... is he dead? How did he die? Did he get into a fight and get killed? Or was he killed while trying to rob someone? Where is he? Can you take me to see him...?"

Zhao Wenjun hadn’t expected such a sudden reaction and was left stunned, unsure of what to say. Zhao Ergou quickly stepped forward with a smile to comfort the old man.

"Sir, Ai Zhongguo is perfectly fine. He’s not dead. He’s waiting for you back at our place. If you don’t believe us, why not come with us and see for yourself?"

The old man was silent for a moment before speaking slowly.

"My grandson has never had any friends. Who are you, really?"

"Don’t bother lying to me. If my grandson is dead, you don’t need to go to all this trouble to hide it. If he’s gone, there’s no point in me living on alone. I’ll just go down and join him."

"Don’t you worry, sir, we’re really not lying. I’m Zhao Ergou, and this is my big brother, Zhao Wenjun. We came to your house last time with our Brother San, Zhao Wendong."

At these words, the old man slowly raised his eyes to size them up.

"Oh, I remember you. You left us grain and took Dahuang and the other two, didn’t you?"

Zhao Wenjun nodded eagerly.

"Yes, yes, that was us."

The old man threw back the quilt and shakily prepared to get off the bed.

"Alright, then. You’re good people. I’ll trust you and go with you."

Zhao Wenjun quickly helped him up. The old man pulled on all his tattered clothes. He couldn’t bear to leave his worn-out quilt, so he took it, along with the bowl from his bed. As they passed through the outer room, he stopped, his eyes fixed on an iron pot with a large chunk missing, and refused to budge. With a sigh of resignation, Zhao Ergou simply dismantled the pot and loaded it onto the sleigh as well.

Ai Zhongguo’s grandfather’s tattered quilt offered no warmth. The one Zhao Ergou had brought was old, but its cotton filling was freshly fluffed. They put the old man’s quilt down as a cushion and wrapped him snugly in the new one. Only then did Zhao Wenjun and Zhao Ergou drive the horse-drawn sleigh away from the Little Bastard’s house, ready to bring the old man home.

Just after they passed the intersection and turned onto the road back to the village, a large truck shot past them like a gale, speeding toward Dragon King Pond. It was Niu Yuesheng’s truck. The two brothers recognized it immediately since they had just ridden in it earlier that day.

Watching the truck race away, Zhao Wenjun and Zhao Ergou exchanged a look, both seeing the anxiety in the other’s eyes. ’Why would Niu Yuesheng suddenly come to Dragon King Pond? Did something go wrong with the business in the county?’

Zhao Wenjun couldn’t help but urge the big brown horse onward. The horse snorted, its hooves picking up their pace as it accelerated toward home. But they had only been running for a short while when a siren wailed from behind.

Zhao Wenjun quickly pulled the horse-drawn sleigh to the side of the road. An American-style jeep sped past, followed by a large truck. In the truck bed, they could see numerous figures in navy blue cotton uniforms and winter hats with ear flaps, whooshing by as the vehicles roared toward the village.

Seeing so many police officers pass by, the two brothers were now thoroughly panicked. They urged the horse to speed up again. The big brown horse broke into a full gallop. Zhao Ergou clung tightly to Ai Zhongguo’s grandfather; thankfully, both the old man and Zhao Ergou were light, and by gripping the sleigh, they weren’t in danger of falling out.

Meanwhile, in the Dragon King Pond public canteen, the atmosphere grew increasingly festive. Everyone had mostly eaten their fill, and smiles graced their faces.

The villagers’ conversations grew louder, and the children, now full of energy, darted about playing among the adults. Laughter and cheerful chatter filled the air, creating a lively scene. This was the sight that greeted Yang Wenxue and Li Dawei upon their arrival.

The two men were momentarily stunned. ’When was the last time we saw a scene like this?’

They never imagined they would walk in on the entire village of Dragon King Pond having a feast. When they saw Zhao Weiguo approaching to greet them, with Zhao Wendong at his side, the two officials wore very different expressions. Yang Wenxue looked pleased, while Li Dawei’s face was a mask of bewilderment.

"Comrade Weiguo, your village is certainly lively! The lives of your commune members are quite vibrant!" Yang Wenxue said, though his eyes couldn’t help but drift to the roasting venison as he fought the urge to gulp.

"Secretary Yang, Police Li, what brings you here? Quick, have a seat! We’re all enjoying this thanks to our Civilian Militia Captain, Comrade Zhao Wendong. He contributed a six-hundred-pound red deer to the brigade, which is why the whole village gets to enjoy a roasted meat feast. Come, come, Secretary Yang, Police Li, you must try some."

Zhao Weiguo eagerly offered them some meat. Secretary Yang demurred a few times, but when he saw that truly everyone in the village was getting a share, he finally accepted a piece of venison. The moment he took a bite, the rich flavor filled his mouth, and he closed his eyes in pure enjoyment. Li Dawei also took a bite, but he could barely taste it. His gaze remained fixed on Zhao Wendong.

"Zhao Wendong, why treat everyone to venison out of the blue? Six hundred pounds... that’s enough to feed your own family for a very long time!"

As soon as Li Dawei spoke, the area grew quiet. Many people turned to look at Zhao Wendong, while others shot angry glares at Li Dawei. Zhao Wendong simply exchanged a knowing smile with a few members of the brigade committee. ’They had already rehearsed the reason for this.’

"Police Li, Secretary Yang, the answer is actually quite simple. When winter started, our brigade suspended the communal meals and also waived the requirement to turn over a portion of our hauls. That was done to help everyone out, but I can’t just take advantage of the collective!"

"I got lucky on my last fishing trip and brought in four thousand pounds of fish. So, I figured I should still turn over the originally required twenty percent share to the brigade. This six-hundred-pound red deer just happens to cover part of that."

Zhao Weiguo chimed in at the perfect moment.

"Comrade Zhao Wendong’s ideological awareness is truly high. He already contributed a hundred pounds of grain to the brigade, and he promised another hundred pounds later. Adding this red deer makes up the twenty percent share of his fish haul, which will be used to help the few families in our brigade who are on the verge of running out of food!"

"On top of that, he came up with a brilliant work-for-relief plan! It not only provided those families with food but also solved our village’s long-standing problem of fetching water!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

Yang Wenxue’s interest was immediately piqued. For one, he was impressed by Zhao Wendong’s conscientiousness and integrity. Li Guangming had been so insistent that Zhao Wendong was taking advantage of the collective, but look at this! The brigade had told him he didn’t have to contribute, yet he had taken the initiative to do so anyway.

For another, he was intrigued by the work-for-relief program Zhao Weiguo mentioned and wanted to see if it was a model that could be replicated elsewhere.

"Shall we go take a look, then?"

"No rush, no rush. Once everyone’s finished eating and we’ve concluded our meeting, we’ll take you over, Secretary."

"Very well!"

Yang Wenxue considered it and agreed it made sense. In a pleasant mood, he took another bite of venison. ’Mmm, this is incredible. It seems they’ve even added some spices. So delicious!’

Li Dawei glanced from Zhao Wendong to the smiling faces of the other brigade committee members. A veteran policeman’s intuition screamed that something was wrong. Everything was plausible, yet the whole situation felt... off. The faint, nagging suspicion that he couldn’t put his finger on was driving him mad. The venison in his hand suddenly lost its flavor.

BANG!

The door to the public canteen was thrown open again. This time, three men entered. All eyes turned toward the entrance. Upon seeing who it was, Yang Wenxue immediately stood up to welcome them.

"Secretary Weimin, Station Chief Wang, what brings you here?"

The newcomers were none other than Jiang Weimin and his companions. Both Jiang Weimin and Wang Defa immediately searched for Zhao Wendong. Spotting him standing next to Yang Wenxue, they both let out a visible sigh of relief and rushed toward him.

Zhao Wendong’s gaze swept naturally over to Niu Yuesheng, who gave a slow, subtle shake of his head. Zhao Wendong’s eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second before he broke into a smile and stepped forward to greet the arrivals.

"Secretary Jiang, Brother Wang, Brother Niu, you all must have sharp noses to smell our roasting venison all the way from the county seat! You’re welcome to have some, but there’s something I need to say first."

After speaking, Zhao Wendong saw that all eyes, especially those of Jiang Weimin and Wang Defa, were fixed on him. His expression suddenly shifted to one of righteous fury. He pulled Lin Zhiyin to his side and began his tirade against Li Guangming, addressing Secretary Jiang directly.

"Secretary Jiang, this is my partner, Lin Zhiyin. You’ve all met her. Because of his son, Li Guangming has been relentlessly hounding us. Today, he chased us all the way to Dragon King Pond! I admit, I hit him. But he was abusing his public office for personal gain! In broad daylight, in this new society, he tried to abduct a woman! Is there no law left in this land?"

"Are the common people still the masters of this country or not? If you don’t get me justice, if you don’t punish Li Guangming severely, then I, Zhao Wendong, will risk my own life to drag him down with me!"

Hearing this, Jiang Weimin’s expression turned strange. The corner of his mouth twitched into a smile that looked more painful than a grimace.

"You don’t need to drag him to his grave. He’s already dead. His wife and son, too. They’re all dead."

As his words fell, the entire hall plunged into dead silence.