After hearing what the captain said, grandma ignored him and looked at the little fox on Zhang Xudong's shoulder and said:
"Dongzi, go and release the fox. You can't just catch it. It will cause trouble."
"Grandma, I didn't catch this fox.
I saved it from a lynx today, and it's been following me ever since.
He probably wants to repay his gratitude!" Zhang Xudong said.
Zhang Xudong picked up the little fox and shouted into the house:
Zhang Xiyan, look what I brought back for you?"
The younger sister heard this and ran out of the house, shouting, "Brother, did you bring me anything delicious?"
"Eat? You only know how to eat. Look what this is?" Zhang Xudong held up the little fox in both hands to show his sister.
"Oh, what a beautiful and cute big cat. But I don't dare to hug it. I'm scared."
Zhang Xiyan looked at the little fox and said.
"You silly girl, this is a red fox, not a big cat. Don't be afraid, it's very well behaved.
It can also catch rabbits and pheasants for your home, so you will never lack meat to eat.
All you have to do from now on is give it water." Zhang Xudong said to his sister.
"Little fox, from now on this little sister will take care of you at home, you must be obedient and protect her.
Okay, let her take you to drink some water now." Zhang Xudong handed the little fox to his sister and said.
Zhang Xiyan carefully picked up the little fox. The little fox nestled in Zhang Xiyan's arms, sniffed the scent with its little nose, and then was taken away obediently.
"As long as they come to repay a favor, it's fine. As long as they don't cause trouble or incur hatred for their benefactor, they're a good animal, better than some people."
Grandma glanced at the people opposite and said.
Zhang Xudong knew that those people had upset his grandmother. He just didn't know what had happened to make the old lady so angry.
The old lady glanced at those people and they all lowered their heads, their faces turning blue and white.
Grandma continued, "Dongzi, let your third uncle explain the situation first, and you just listen.
"Leave the rest to grandma. Third brother, go ahead and speak. My Dongzi is listening."
Zhang Xudong didn't say anything either, but just turned to look at his third grandfather.
After smoking a pack of cigarettes, the third grandfather said, "Dongzi, I don't know who went out these days and said there is food in our village.
Look, in our village, more and more girls who have been away from home have brought their children back to live with their parents these past few days. More and more daughters-in-law’s families have come to visit relatives and borrow food.
This afternoon, when they came back carrying their prey, they made quite a big scene.
They carried a wild boar, nine wolves and two big goats and walked through the village in a swaggering manner, attracting more people to watch.
This was seen by relatives who came to visit, and the news spread quickly to several villages, saying that our village not only had food, but also had more meat than could be eaten. As a result, more relatives came to visit in the afternoon.
Some village cadres from other villages also came and wanted to hunt with us.
Those relatives from other villages came to borrow grain, but the families in our village really had no grain to lend them, so there was a commotion.
Some people scold their daughters for being unfilial and saying that they don’t care about their parents’ life or death after getting married. Some people cry that their parents are cruel and that a girl who is married off is like spilled water.
Some also say that people in our village do not care about the lives of others and that we are all ungrateful people.
The village has been in turmoil for half the afternoon, and the village cadres have just left. We don’t know what to do.”
Zhang Xudong was speechless after hearing this and asked the heavens, "Why are there people in this world who are even more stupid than me? Don't they know that the problem is not the lack of wealth, but the inequality of distribution?"
Zhang Xudong looked at everyone present, pretending to listen attentively, but kept his mouth shut. "Grandma only told me to listen, not to speak, so I'll just be mute."
The yard suddenly became quiet, and everyone looked at Zhang Xudong awkwardly, waiting for him to speak.
Grandma looked at everyone and said, "Don't look at Dongzi anymore. I won't let him speak. If it's offensive, let this old man do it."
"Grandma, you..." Zhang Xudong wanted to speak quickly after hearing what his grandma said.
"Dongzi, just listen to me today. In the future, you must also learn about the wickedness of human nature and the fickleness of the world."
The old lady waved her hand at Zhang Xudong to stop him from speaking.
“Third brother, let’s not talk about why they came into the village so brazenly with so many prey today.
Let's talk about the grain borrowing issue first. Are you all fools, or are all the leaders of each family fools? Do you really not know what to do?
You are just looking for an excuse, a shield.
Third brother, your second brother’s wife’s mother came to your house today to borrow food, right?
If you don't lend it to me, you won't be able to save face, and you're also afraid that your second son's wife will hate you.
You can lend it to her, but maybe your family really doesn't have anything to lend her.
But you are more afraid that once you lend the grain to the second son's wife's mother, not to mention whether the other wives will blame you or not, their families will also come to borrow grain. What should you do then, give it to him or not?
So, whether you lend it or not, it's wrong and it offends people. You just want to drag someone down with you, to take the blame.
So, you all came to find my Xudong.
As long as my Xudong decides not to lend, you can say to your in-laws:
My dear, it's not that I don't want to lend it to you, it's Zhang Xudong who won't let me. If I lend it to you, my family will have nothing to eat.
So, no matter whether it is your second son’s wife or your in-laws, they should not hate you, but should hate Zhang Xudong.
If my Xudong says, "These are all relatives, so they deserve to be lent," then you can openly borrow food from others.
Why did you lend it so generously? What are you afraid of? It was you, Zhang Xudong, who asked us to lend this food.
We have nothing to eat and we are hungry, so we are looking for you, Zhang Xudong, and you have to take care of us.
Is this true, Captain Zhang Laosan? And all of you Dongzi's grandfathers and uncles, tell me, is this true?"
The old lady almost shouted at the end, and pointed at those people one by one with her finger.
Several grown men squatted on the ground, their faces red and their heads lowered, not saying a word.
When Zhang Xudong saw this situation, he had nothing to understand. It was their own grandmother who had exposed their secrets.
Grandma paused and continued, "Let's continue talking about hunting.
You are eating meat and know how delicious it is, so you want to bring your daughters, nephews, mothers-in-law, and brothers-in-law to eat meat together.
You guys are really daring! If you really dare to do it, then do it yourself! If you don’t have the ability and don’t dare to do it yourself, then just take a break. Don’t try to push my grandson into the limelight! "
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