Chapter 290: Chapter 244: Iron Pot Stewed Goose
Early the next morning, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu shouldered their bags, left home with their five dogs in tow, and headed for the Yongxing Team. They walked until nearly noon, and just as the Yongxing Brigade came into view, they heard someone shout from behind, "Brother Zhao Jun! Brother Baoyu!"
The two turned to look and saw Huang Gui approaching, a rifle slung over his back.
"Brother Huang, you’re here too?" Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu went to greet him.
"Yeah." Huang Gui pointed ahead and said with a smile, "I know the secretary of their Second Team. He called my village the day before yesterday and told me to come today."
At this, Huang Gui paused. He sized up Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu, then asked, "Which team are you two headed to?"
"The First Team." Zhao Jun smiled and asked, "Does that mean we’re on the same path?"
"Yup." Huang Gui gestured forward. "The First and Second Teams are both up ahead."
As they talked, the three walked on together. When they passed the Second Team’s area, someone was waiting by the road for Huang Gui. He parted ways with Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu, heading east toward the village with his friend.
Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu walked for another half-mile or so. They stopped an old man coming out of a roadside outhouse to ask for directions and learned that the nearby village was, in fact, the Yongxing First Team.
Seeing their unfamiliar faces, the old man asked, "Young fellas, who are you looking for here in our team?"
"It was Director Tao, Tao Dabao, who asked us to come over."
"Ah." The old man glanced at the dogs they had with them, and realization dawned on him. "Director Tao asked you to come for the hunt, didn’t he?"
"Yes," Zhao Jun nodded. "It’s for your spring hunt. Director Tao asked us to come and participate."
"Then why not just go straight to his house?" the old man asked.
"Well..." Zhao Jun hesitated before asking, "Director Tao is pretty busy, isn’t he?"
"You can say that again!" The old man tilted his head. "He’s in charge of so much, he’s hardly ever home."
"Ah." Zhao Jun thought for a moment, then asked, "In that case, is Mr. Tao also at his house?"
"Nope." The old man shook his head. "That old coot lives with his youngest son."
Hearing the old man call Elder Tao an "old coot," Zhao Jun figured they must be on good terms. He smiled and said, "Then I’ll go see Mr. Tao first."
The old man was surprised to hear this. "What? You know Elder Tao, kid?" he asked.
From the old man’s perspective, with a whole generation separating them, it seemed unlikely that Zhao Jun would know Tao Fulun.
"Yep," Zhao Jun replied. "We met a while back up in the mountains."
"Oh, don’t even get me started." Upon hearing this, the old man slapped his thigh. "That old coot is a constant worry for his family. Every day, he grabs that beat-up rifle and is itching to head for the mountains. He’s got his second daughter-in-law worried sick."
Zhao Jun simply smiled in response.
In the Northeast, there were plenty of old folks like that. It wasn’t that they were being difficult on purpose; they just didn’t see themselves as old. They treated many tasks that were actually quite difficult for them as a piece of cake.
As a result, they would often try to prove they were still capable, biting off more than they could chew. This inevitably created trouble for their children. It was a phenomenon known as being an "old child." Naturally, when children are little, their parents tolerate their immature behavior.
And when the elderly get on in years and become "old children," it is up to their own children to return the favor and tolerate this immaturity.
But it had to be said that for someone of Tao Fulun’s age, clamoring to go hunting every day was pushing it.
Seeing that Zhao Jun seemed unconcerned, the old man became quite agitated. "His second daughter-in-law is a wonderful person!" he went on. "She works tirelessly all day, both in and out of the house, and on top of all that, she has to live in constant fear over that old coot."
"Um... Sir." Seeing the old man was just getting started, Zhao Jun quickly cut in, "What’s your relationship to his second daughter-in-law?"
"Ah!" the old man exclaimed. "She’s my niece."
Zhao Jun nodded. "Then where does your niece live?"
The old man gestured, giving them directions. Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu led their dogs that way. When they passed a small general store, Zhao Jun told Li Baoyu to watch the dogs while he went inside. He bought two jars of canned fruit and put them in his satchel.
They continued on, and before long, they saw a house with a wicker fence. In the yard, an old man stood with his hands clasped behind his back, lifting one leg and then the other in a fight with a large white goose.
Just as Zhao Jun looked his way, the old man happened to glance over. The instant their eyes met, a broad smile broke out across the old man’s face.
"Little Zhao!" The old man abandoned the goose and made a beeline for the gate, the goose relentlessly pursuing him for two steps.
The old man trotted out of the gate to meet him. "Little Zhao," he said as he ran, "I’ve been waiting in the yard for you every single day. You’re finally here!"
"Slow down, slow down." Zhao Jun hurried forward to support the old man, afraid he might trip and fall.
"I’m fine! These old bones are still tough." Elder Tao pushed Zhao Jun’s hands away, his words defiant. But even as he spoke to Zhao Jun, his eyes shifted to Li Baoyu.
He stopped walking, glanced at Zhao Jun, then turned back to look Li Baoyu up and down. He muttered, ’This doesn’t seem to be the same guy who hunted the Black Bear with you that day, is it?’
"What do you mean? Of course it’s him." Zhao Jun knew exactly who Elder Tao was talking about but decided to play dumb. In fact, just that morning, as they were leaving with the dogs, they had seen Zhang Yuanmin stepping outside to empty a chamber pot.
But after all the trouble it had taken to send that "great hero" home a few days prior, Zhao Jun didn’t dare bring him along again.
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