Chapter 353 - 236: Wine Does Not Intoxicate, Man Intoxicates Himself (Part 2)

Chapter 353: Chapter 236: Wine Does Not Intoxicate, Man Intoxicates Himself (Part 2)

Zhao Wenwen’s little face was flushed red from the cold, her big, shining eyes fixed on Zhao Wendong. She reached out and touched his face with her small hand. "Brother San, you’ve gotten thinner. Your face is prickly."

"That’s my stubble. I didn’t have time to shave in the mountains."

"Yucky."

"Nonsense. When have I ever been ugly?"

"You’re yucky right now!"

"Oh yeah? You take that back right now."

Zhao Wendong tucked Little Tuanzi under his arm in a mock threat, and the little girl laughed until she was out of breath.

"Brother San is the best! Brother San is the most awesome! Brother San is the handsomest!"

"Hehe, that’s more like it."

Chen Yanmei hurried over, looking Zhao Wendong up and down several times as her eyes reddened. "My boy, you’ve lost weight and gotten so tan. You must have suffered in the mountains."

"Mom, you don’t get it. This is a healthy tan."

"Oh, get outta here! Don’t give me that nonsense!"

Chen Yanmei reached out and pinched his arm, and Zhao Wendong winced and dodged away.

Zhao Dashan stood behind them, leaning on a cane. His face was expressionless, but his eyes never left Zhao Wendong. His lips moved a few times, but no words came out.

Zhao Wendong walked over, grinning. "Dad, did you miss me?"

"Miss you, my ass. Get lost. The house has been much quieter since you left."

’Right. Dad’s still as stubborn as ever.’

Zhao Dashan snorted and tapped Zhao Wendong’s leg with his cane. "Are you hurt?"

"Nope. Not a scratch on me."

"Good."

Zhao Dashan turned to leave. After two steps, he looked back. "Have a drink with me tonight. It’ll warm you up and drive out the chill."

"Alright, got it."

Seeing Zhao Wendong’s agreeable attitude, Zhao Dashan was finally satisfied. He slowly walked back, leaning on his cane. He walked very slowly, but his back was ramrod straight. Nowadays, everyone in the village had a couple of compliments for him whenever they saw him, all because his son was Zhao Wendong.

The men and the wolf carcasses were taken back to the production team headquarters. Jiang Weimin chatted with Zhao Wendong for a few more minutes before leaving—the affairs of the entire county awaited his decisions. He had officially taken over as County Secretary from Former Secretary Tao after the New Year. The only reason he had personally led the welcoming party was that it was Zhao Wendong’s expedition. Yang Wenxue reminded the production team not to forget to log all their expenses from the past few days, then hitched a ride and left as well.

"Hahaha, so many wolves!"

Zhao Weiguo stared at the sheer number of wolf carcasses, so excited he circled them again and again. Then he turned to Zhao Wendong, his expression suddenly serious. "Dongzi, what are we going to do with all of them?"

"Let’s set aside ten for the brothers who worked so hard to divide among themselves. As for the rest, how about we trade the meat for grain and put it directly into the warehouse?"

"Is that really okay? You guys are the ones who hunted all of them."

"True, we’re the ones who hunted them. But that’s only because the production team held down the fort for everyone. It’s why the brothers could go out without worrying, right?"

"Don’t stand on ceremony. Just do it my way. If you really feel you can’t accept it, then just give everyone double work points. As for the few who were injured, double their share again."

The injured men were immediately met with envious glares from their comrades. Each one of them was secretly ecstatic. ’Getting injured is an honor, and we even get a bonus for it! Just from this one trip, our kids won’t have to worry about going without meat before spring arrives.’

The militiamen were also met by their families. Some wives immediately threw their arms around their husbands and began to cry; some elderly mothers gripped their sons’ hands, refusing to let go. The village entrance was as boisterous as it was during the New Year. Zhao Wendong told everyone to go home for now and return to the headquarters that evening. The militiamen all knew this was when the meat would be distributed, so they agreed gleefully before heading off with their families.

The moment Zhao Wenjun stepped out of the vehicle, he was greeted by Song Xiaoyu. "Honey."

Zhao Wenjun’s heart warmed at the sight of his wife and child. He took Yadan from her arms. "Honey, has Shitou been behaving?"

"He’s been very good. He just keeps asking every day when his Third Uncle will be back."

Haiyang had already dashed over, hugging Zhao Wenjun’s leg and looking up at him, shouting, "Dad, did you guys hunt wolves? How many did you get? Were they big? Do they bite people?"

"We got lots of them. Your Third Uncle will tell you all about it later. Let’s go home first."

Zhao Wenjun hoisted Zhao Haiyang onto his shoulders, and the family walked home.

After being woken up by Jin Xiuying, Zhao Wenwu jumped out of the vehicle and ran towards Chen Yanmei. "Mom, I’m back!"

"Yes, yes, good. My second son is back."

Chen Yanmei patted Zhao Wenwu’s arm, then looked at Jin Xiuying. "Xiuying, this must have been hard on you."

’My second daughter-in-law is simply beyond reproach,’ she thought. ’Not only is she beautiful and capable, but she doesn’t mind that my son is a bit slow. She’s even more attentive to him than I, his own mother, am. What more could I possibly ask for?’

"Mom, there’s no need to say that."

"Mhm, you’re a good child. Come on, let’s go home."

Chen Yanmei took Jin Xiuying’s hand, and the two walked on together, chatting like mother and daughter. Zhao Wenwu trailed behind them with a silly grin, a large iron pot tucked under one arm and a string of miscellaneous junk nobody offered to help with in the other, yet he still walked with a confident swagger.

Zhao Wendong held Wenwen, his other hand holding Lin Zhiyin’s. Behind them followed Dahuang, Dahei, and Erhei. Although the three dogs were injured, they started to frolic the moment they entered the village. Dahuang even deliberately rolled around in a snowdrift to rub some of the dust and grime off his coat.

"Brother San, are Dahuang and the others hurt?"

Little Tuanzi was perched on Zhao Wendong’s shoulder, her little finger pointing at the gauze on Dahuang’s back.

"Mhm, Dahuang helped catch the Wolf King. He was very brave."

"Then Little Tuanzi will blow on it for Dahuang and the others! When Little Tuanzi scrapes her knee, blowing on it makes the hurt go away."

With that, Little Tuanzi leaned over Zhao Wendong’s shoulder and blew with all her might toward Dahuang below. The dog looked up at her, his tail wagging like a propeller.

When they returned to the Zhao Family courtyard, Lin Huaimin and Wang Lulu also came out to greet them.