There are plenty of prey in the mountains, so the dogs can eat their fill and often bring back some game.
But if one day they fail to bring back any prey, some greedy people might blame the hunting dogs, just like Aunt Mei did.
This is not what Song Wei wants to see. To her, these dogs are like family and comrades. They are not just tools to be praised when useful and beaten or abandoned when useless.
Although the incident with Da Huang had somewhat dampened her mood, Jiang Wenwu was still in high spirits overall.
At home, the brigade leader and Aunt Xinghua didn’t ask much when they saw he had only brought back a bundle of firewood. But seeing his foolishly proud and smug expression, they couldn’t help but feel the urge to give him a good beating.
Fortunately, he quickly pulled out some buns and steamed bread.
“Mom, Dad, your son has done well today. I bought these to show my filial piety to you.”
He even walked with the swagger of someone returning home in glory.
The brigade leader didn’t say a word, silently taking off one of his shoes and raising it.
Jiang Wenwu gulped and immediately returned to his senses.
“Dad, let’s talk this out calmly. No need for violence.”
Once inside, he not only handed over the food he had bought from the state-run restaurant but also gave up his money.
Seeing the money, Aunt Xinghua was truly shocked.
“Where did you get this?”
The brigade leader, still holding his shoe, was itching to act: “You didn’t do anything bad, did you?”
Jiang Wenwu cried out in protest: “How can you have so little faith in your own son!”
“I was with Brother Lin Zhen and Song Zhiqing. What trouble could I possibly get into?”
Hearing this, the brigade leader put down his shoe.
“Explain clearly. Don’t beat around the bush.”
Jiang Wenwu obediently explained everything and concluded with a sigh of admiration.
“Brother Lin Zhen and Song Zhiqing are really amazing. They took down a huge wild boar in just a few moves, and they even had connections to sell all the mountain goods.”
The brigade leader said, “If only you were half as smart as Lin Zhen.”
But he truly hadn’t expected that Lin Zhen and Song Zhiqing could bring back so much from their trip to the mountains and even give his foolish son fifty yuan.
“Keep this matter to yourself. Don’t breathe a word of it to anyone, understand?”
Jiang Wenwu patted his chest and assured them, “Don’t worry, my lips are sealed.”
In the end, Jiang Wenwu was left with only three yuan, and the rest was taken away.
The reason given was that he was too reckless with his spending.
Jiang Wenwu was heartbroken. His money had barely warmed his hands before it was taken.
…………
The next day, Jiang Wenwu took the cleaned bear teeth to show his friends early in the morning.
He quickly became the most popular guy among the young men in the brigade.
Not only the young people, but even some of the older folks couldn’t help but take a look at the bear teeth.
“Wow, these teeth are as long as my finger and as thick as half my palm. One bite from these, and your whole hand would be gone.”
“Exactly, how big must that bear have been?”
“Our brigade’s dogs are really something.”
“Speaking of which, it seems like the dogs from our brigade didn’t go to the mountains today. I saw them all lying outside the school when I came by.”
Bringing this up, Jiang Wenwu couldn’t help but mention what had happened the day before.
He said indignantly, “They’re complaining that the dogs didn’t bring back enough meat, but their family used to have nothing at all. If it weren’t for Wolf One and Wolf Two, their dogs wouldn’t even be able to go into the mountains. And now they’re blaming Brother Lin Zhen and Song Zhiqing. How shameless.”
“Did you know? Da Huang from Aunt Mei’s family was picked up by Grandma Wang. After Grandma Wang passed away, the family didn’t want to keep it anymore, saying it only knew how to guard the house and ate too much.
I even heard them talking about slaughtering Da Huang for dog meat. But later, when they saw Da Huang could take the kids to school and the children liked it, and now it even brings back meat from outside, they decided not to kill it.”
They were talking about this in the fields, and Song Wei overheard.
When the brigade leader called out, the group quickly dispersed to get back to work.
Song Wei called Jiang Wenwu over.
“Keep an eye on Da Huang these next few days.”
If they really planned to do something, then they would have to act too.
Jiang Wenwu was more than happy to do this.
He gathered his closest friends and distributed the bear teeth among them.
The bear teeth varied in size and appearance, and to avoid any feelings of unfairness, he had everyone draw lots and choose based on luck.
If someone ended up with a less impressive tooth, it was just their bad luck.
“Don’t be discouraged if you get a smaller one. Next time Brother Lin Zhen and the others go to the mountains and encounter a wolf pack or even a tiger, I’ll make sure to share the tiger teeth with you too.”
After painting this rosy picture, Jiang Wenwu got down to business: “Song Zhiqing said that the dogs in our brigade won’t be going to the mountains for a while. They might need some time to recover. Keep an eye on Da Huang. If that family really tries to do something terrible and slaughter Da Huang, we’ll have to step in and save it.”
“Brother, you’re being too polite. Isn’t that just stealing?”
Jiang Wenwu immediately retorted, “Nonsense! That’s not stealing. We’re doing the right thing!”
“These dogs have even been in the newspapers, and they bring back meat. If it were my dog, it’d be like a brother from another mother.
Da Huang might not be my dog, but Wolf One and Wolf Two are my brothers. Da Huang is their brother, so that makes it my brother too, and your brother as well. We can’t let our brother die such a pitiful death.”
His friends were almost convinced by his twisted logic, but the plan did sound a bit exciting.
Let’s do it!
It’s safe to say that those who stick together and get along well are often birds of a feather.
Over the next few days, the dogs in the brigade didn’t go to the mountains, and the villagers were puzzled. When they asked Song Wei and Lin Zhen, the two simply said it was the dogs’ own business and they had no idea what the dogs were thinking.
Finally, Aunt Mei’s family couldn’t sit still any longer.
Since Da Huang no longer had any use, they decided to slaughter it while their child was at school. After all, it hadn’t been bringing back much meat lately.
Aunt Mei’s husband had long had his eye on Da Huang’s meat. He hadn’t acted before because his mother was still around, but now that Aunt Mei brought it up, he agreed without hesitation.
When Jiang Wenwu heard from a friend that Da Huang had been tied up, he couldn’t sit still and immediately went to find Song Wei and Lin Zhen.
The group quickly came up with a plan and set it into motion.
When Aunt Mei took her youngest son to school, Lin Zhen found an excuse to call her husband away.
Song Wei swiftly climbed over the wall into their yard and untied Da Huang, who had been starved for two days.
Da Huang looked at her with teary eyes, whimpering in grievance.
Song Wei patted its head: “From now on, you’ll live in the mountains.”
The dogs that had been hunting in the mountains had developed some survival skills, so even if they went back to the wild, they could manage.
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