Chapter 358 - 237: Home is a Harbor for the Heart

Chapter 358: Chapter 237: Home is a Harbor for the Heart

Chen Yanmei made lunch. Zhao Dashan had somehow gotten his hands on half a pound of pork—a perfect mix of fat and lean—which she sliced and stewed with cabbage. The whole house was filled with the aroma of meat.

Lured by the scent, Zhao Wenwu ran over. He leaned over the pot, taking a deep whiff. "It smells so good, Mom! Is it ready yet?"

"Get out of the way. It’s not ready yet."

Chen Yanmei rapped his hand with the spatula.

"I’m just taking a sniff! Can’t I just have a sniff?"

"Not even a sniff. You’re in the way."

Zhao Wenwu dejectedly retreated to the doorway. Jin Xiuying pulled him away. When it came to food, the grown man was always like a child.

During the meal, Zhao Dashan started telling his tall tales again. This time, it was the story of how he once hunted a wild boar. Zhao Wendong ate and listened, playing along and chiming in every so often.

"Wow, Dad, you were really something else."

"That’s right! Back in my day, your old man was the best hunter in Dragon King Pond!"

"So, Dad, who’s the best hunter in Dragon King Pond now?"

Zhao Dashan was speechless. He glared at his son. "It doesn’t matter when it is. No matter how great you get, you still have to call me ’Dad’ when you see me. Got it?"

"Can’t I just call you ’Dad’?"

"Oh, get outta here, you brat!"

The rest of the family listened to their banter, unable to keep from smiling. Zhao Wenjun kept his head down and ate quietly, not participating. Song Xiaoyu secretly shot him a smile, and even he couldn’t help but crack a small grin.

The family was in the middle of their meal when the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the courtyard. The next moment, the door curtain was flung open, and someone stumbled inside.

Zhao Wendong looked up and froze.

It was Guan Yongguang.

Guan Yongguang was wearing a tattered, cotton-padded jacket, his face was weather-beaten, and his eyes were red and swollen, obvious signs that he had been crying. He burst in and dropped to his knees with a THUD before Zhao Wendong.

"Brother Dong! I heard... I heard you avenged my father and my uncle!"

Zhao Wendong immediately put down his chopsticks and moved to pull him up.

"Get up, get up! What are you doing?"

But Guan Yongguang remained kneeling, stubbornly refusing to get up. His voice was hoarse.

"I heard you exterminated that White Wolf King and its Wolf Pack! It was those beasts! They’re the ones who killed my father and my uncle! Brother Dong, let me kowtow to you!"

With that, he slammed his forehead against the floor. THUD! THUD! THUD! Three heavy kowtows, leaving his forehead red.

Zhao Wendong forcefully pulled him to his feet and sat him down on the edge of the kang.

"None of that. Your father and uncle deserved to be avenged. That White Wolf King had harmed countless people. At least now, it’s finally been taken care of."

Guan Yongguang wiped away his tears. Zhao Wendong pulled him over to the dinner table and fetched him a bowl and a pair of chopsticks.

"Eat. When you’re done, come with me to the warehouse. I kept the White Wolf King’s body. If you want to make an offering to your father and uncle, you can take its head."

Guan Yongguang held the bowl, his hands trembling so violently he could barely grip his chopsticks.

"I’m... I’m not hungry."

"Don’t argue. I said eat, so eat."

"Okay."

Guan Yongguang obediently started to eat.

Lin Zhiyin, who was sitting nearby, placed some food in his bowl with her chopsticks. "Eat slowly," she said softly. "There’s no rush."

"Okay. Thank you, Sister-in-law."

After they finished eating, Zhao Wendong had to head to the brigade headquarters anyway, so he took Guan Yongguang to the warehouse first.

On the way, he asked, "Is everyone in your family doing okay?"

"They’re doing great. My aunt is smiling every day, my little brothers and sisters aren’t going hungry, and we’re living in a better place than we’ve ever lived in our lives. Oh, right! My second-oldest sister also went to work in the county, with two of the Zhao Family’s daughters."

Guan Yongguang’s eyes were filled with gratitude. Zhao Wendong had changed his family’s destiny. He felt that even if he willingly dedicated the rest of his life to Zhao Wendong, he could never fully repay Brother Dong for all he had done for his family.

Zhao Wendong was relieved to hear it. He had helped Guan Yongguang for several reasons. It was partly a matter of being in the right place at the right time, partly because his family members were revolutionary martyrs, and partly due to his connection with Third Master.

When they reached the brigade headquarters’ warehouse, they found the White Wolf King among a pile of wolf corpses frozen solid. Its snow-white pelt stood out starkly against the surrounding gray wolves.

Guan Yongguang stared at the White Wolf King’s corpse, his whole body trembling. Then, he suddenly lashed out, kicking it viciously.

"You beast! You finally got what was coming to you!"

Zhao Wendong didn’t stop him, letting him vent his rage. He waited until Guan Yongguang was squatting on the ground, his sobs finally subsiding into silence, before patting his shoulder.

"All right now. The dead can’t come back to life. Your father and uncle are watching from the heavens. Now that they’ve seen the White Wolf is dead, they can finally rest easy."

Guan Yongguang wiped the tears and snot from his face and nodded.

"Brother Dong, I’ll remember your kindness for the rest of my life."

"Kindness? What kindness? If you want to thank me, just help me look after Pandi when you’re free. She sometimes struggles to get all her work done, so give her a hand more often. Also, do a good job working under Secretary Yang Wenxue. Become a good official and take care of all the folks in our village. That’s better than anything. That would be the best thanks you could give me!"

Lin Zhiyin, who had come along with them, watched Zhao Wendong with deep feeling. ’My husband is maturing so quickly,’ she thought. ’I wonder if I can keep up with him.’

The three of them then went to the brigade headquarters. Third Master Zhao and the others primarily wanted to ask for Zhao Wendong’s opinion on how to dispose of the wolf pelts and other spoils. Zhao Wendong said he would defer to their judgment. In the end, with everyone from the brigade headquarters present except for Jin Xiuying, they discussed the matter and decided to trade everything for grain.

Guan Yongguang tugged at Zhao Wendong’s sleeve.

"Brother Dong, on my way here, Big Wang asked me to pass on a message. He said grain is getting scarcer now that the New Year is over. Soon, meat won’t fetch as much grain, so if you have any, you should trade it quickly."

"Okay, got it. When you go back, tell him he can come haul it away tomorrow. Thirty wolves... that’s over a thousand pounds of meat."

"Okay, Brother Dong."

After leaving the brigade headquarters, Guan Yongguang went to find Zhao Pandi first, just as Zhao Wendong had told him to. The pretext Zhao Wendong gave was for Guan Yongguang to teach Zhao Pandi how to read and write.