The old captain's method was good—attacking the heart was the best strategy. Looking at the children's innocent smiles, Zhang Guoqing rubbed his face vigorously.
After lunch, Zhang Guoqing trudged home with Zhou Jiao. He believed the captain's decision to let the children drink thinly and Old Zhuangli eat solid food was understandable. But he couldn't get over the lingering unease. What were the children? They were the future.
Zhou Jiao took out two sets of old clothes, but she didn't say anything. At this point, there was a lot that didn't need to be said between the two of them. She understood that they had to go to the mountain.
Seeing this, Zhang Guoqing pulled her up and said with a smile, "Come on, let's go up the mountain. Brother will take you for a walk."
Zhou Jiao smiled when she heard this. She wasn't a saint, but she definitely wasn't heartless either. There were still some rare and rare animals in the village, and occasionally there was game to try.
Compared to those fleeing famine, this was already countless times better. On days like this, he really didn't need to worry—who wouldn't feel bad for their own children?
Carrying Zhou Jiao on their backs, Zhang Guoqing made the journey, finding not a single feather visible outside Daqing Mountain. Worried, they went to the collapsed Taoist temple, where the boulder was fortunately still standing.
The rock that was unmovable to others was easily solved by Zhou Jiao without Zhang Guoqing even trying hard. This made him speechless and even more proud. His wife is amazing!
Zhou Jiao didn't have time to admire his elation. Fortunately, the weather was cold, and after six months, the corn bags had remained relatively intact, save for some holes gnawed by small animals.
After collecting the corn, dried sweet potatoes, rice bran and other grains, Zhang Guoqing carried his wife on his back again and went far away.
All the edible things in the dense forest have been picked up, not to mention the wild rabbits and pheasants that were once seen running around everywhere. Even the grassland has been dug up beyond recognition.
As for his blessed land, there were no more animal tracks, not even a single fish tail in the stream.
Even though Zhang Guoqing had been prepared for this—a secret once leaked was bound to be exposed—the sight before him still left him heartbroken. His wife's medicinal herbs and his back garden were all destroyed.
"It's okay, it will be back to normal in two years."
Zhou Jiao's comfort didn't alleviate his worries. Zhang Guoqing, who came from a hunter family, understood better than anyone that destroying the environment and shrinking the animals' living space was not a good thing.
He didn't want to share his concerns and worry his wife. With the freezing weather, if the animals in the mountains ran out of food, how long would it take for them to come down?
The wolf disaster has just passed. If big bears and tigers come out again, it will be a disaster.
He sighed, picked up Zhou Jiao and ran towards the wooden shack again. He hoped that his grandfather's kindness would not be torn apart and used as firewood.
Gazing from afar, Zhang Guoqing finally saw the wooden house still standing in the snow, and he felt somewhat comforted. Those people weren't completely foolish after all.
"Forget it, I'll take out a wild boar, and there's nothing left to look for anymore."
Zhang Guoqing shook his head and said nothing. He had to go see what was going on. Were the animals fleeing to the mountains, seeking safety, or were they being rounded up and wiped out? He also had to check the surroundings to identify potential dangers.
Seeing that he didn't stop and continued to move forward, Zhou Jiao looked around and asked thoughtfully, "Are you going to the Wild Boar Forest?"
"Um."
"Silly. We've wiped out all the pigs, so where are the remaining ones? What if there are wolves out there?"
"I just fed you to the wolves. Hush, don't talk, I'm listening."
Zhou Jiao patted him and hugged his neck obediently, holding her breath, not daring to breathe. Her mind raced, wondering if there was another Grandpa Pig waiting for them to fall into his trap and take revenge.
——There is no Grandpa Pig, but there are many pig brothers.
As soon as the swift-footed Zhang Xiaowu approached the old land of the wild boar forest, he put Zhou Jiao on a tree to make sure it was safe, and then he sneaked towards the wild boar forest.
Zhou Jiao waited until she was almost dozing off when he finally appeared, dragging a large and a small wild boar. She secretly gave him a thumbs-up! Zhang Budao was missing out on not hunting while in college.
"Wife, take it. Let's leave immediately."
Seeing his serious expression, Zhou Jiao didn't bother asking for details. As soon as she put it away, she immediately jumped onto his back, her speed exceeding her limit. Fearful Zhou Jiao was worried. If she didn't hurry, what if the male tiger came out to seek revenge? Then she would have to accompany her audacious fool to the afterlife.
After walking a long way, Zhou Jiao couldn't help but whispered to him, "What's going on?"
"A fish slipped through the net! Another herd of wild boars must have migrated here. There are still wolves on the hills not far away. These animals don't dare to go deep into the mountains. I guess there are still big ones in there."
Zhou Jiao shuddered and pulled his ear, "Go!"
"Haha...don't worry, I'll just deliver the meat to your doorstep."
Zhou Jiao no longer dared to respond. If she hadn't known she was a burden, she would have dragged him away. Last time it was a tiger, who knows what this time it would be.
Even after arriving at the cabin, Zhou Jiao was still worried and looked back cautiously for a long time, so long that she began to hallucinate. She felt like many wolves were following her.
"No, it's covered in snow and ice here. Let's go back and talk about it later."
Zhou Guoqing was caught off guard and was nearly knocked down by her. He quickly carried her away. It was just a little bit, just a little bit. He, a grown man, was knocked down by his young wife and his reputation was almost ruined.
Like habitual thieves, the couple sneaked back home. There was no one in the house. Needless to say, the kindhearted mother had gone out to help pick seeds. As for father Zhang, let alone him, he had just finished lunch and was weaving baskets and chatting with his friends. He hadn't come home yet.
Zhou Jiao locked the gate and grabbed him, whispering, "Little pork tender, can we keep this for ourselves?" After saying that, she smiled shyly.
Could Zhang Guoqing say no? Absolutely not. If it weren't for the abundance of flesh in the space, his wife would have been deeply saddened if she had lost even a single hair.
He looked at her speechlessly and nodded. He didn't know why she, who didn't like to eat, had to hoard food like a hamster, causing his little son to be so happy every time he saw the guards delivering food and supplies. He couldn't even see. This was definitely related to prenatal education.
Thinking of his son, Zhang Guoqing suggested with a smile, "Let's stew some meat this time. Ping An prefers clear stews and doesn't like roasted meat. I'll go to the black market to see if there's any pork. Last time, he and his father disliked the roughness of wild boar meat."
Zhou Jiao nodded happily. "I have a pig. I can trade it for fine grains. I want more bones. Can you ask Uncle Dasheng? Pig trotters and pig tails are both good things."
Fortunately, no one heard their conversation, as these words would definitely attract hatred.
Zhang Guoqing mentioned that his son thought of the children in the village. Seeing that it was getting late, he took advantage of dinner time and carried a wild boar to the cafeteria.
In the cafeteria, the old captain arrived upon hearing the news and immediately decided to keep the wild boar as a task pig. Zhang Guoqing didn't even get a single pig hair. As for comforting the children, haha... just being able to eat enough was a dream, and expecting big chunks of meat?
Accountant Xiao Shitou took the account book and counted on his fingers to calculate how much food the wild boar could be exchanged for, and how many more days everyone could have enough food to eat.
For a moment, not to mention the adults, even the children were sensible enough to remain silent, looking at the wild boar on the ground with shining eyes.
This scene made the old captain feel sorry for himself, and he finally decided to boil the remaining meat and bones in the warehouse at night so that the children could have an extra bowl of broth.
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