Chapter Forty-Two: Mountain Keeper

Zhang Huacheng had become the household's favorite barber. Upon returning to his ancestral home, his hands were kept busy, save for his mother, who insisted on keeping her braid to sell to the peddler.

Left with no choice, Zhang Huacheng gave her a simple trim.

After her haircut, the eldest sister-in-law admired herself in the mirror repeatedly, stealing glances at her pockets from time to time. Like Wang Lin, she was itching with curiosity but lacked the courage to get such a hairstyle.

Wang Lin had already changed into a new cotton-padded jacket. It was made of plaid fabric—simple, elegant, and attractive. With a red ribbon in her hair, even Zhang Huacheng couldn't help but linger a few extra looks.

"Sister-in-law, you have such a gift!" Wang Lin was full of admiration for Chen Xiuying’s handiwork; it looked better than any cotton jacket sold in the department store.

"That’s just because you’re beautiful; I wouldn't look this good in it," Chen Xiuying said, pleased but humble.

"Huacheng, take your mother and go over to your Great-Uncle Five’s house. Give him a haircut; his hair is all knotted up. Take some foreign soap and give him a good wash, too. Once you're done there, go to your Great-Grandfather Seven’s place," his father instructed.

Zhang Huacheng, just about to rest, felt his spirit deflate instantly.

Good grief! Are they really treating him like a professional barber now?

"Dad, I’m not a barber..." Zhang Huacheng groaned.

"Being a barber is a lucrative trade; the whole family will live well. Your grandfather always envied barbers, but sadly, he passed away too early," Zhang Hu sighed.

Zhang Huacheng nodded silently. His grandfather had died on the battlefield, and his grandmother had followed shortly after due to illness. It was understandable to envy barbers. In these days, with limited technology, the "ten folk crafts" were ways to make a living, and every household needed their services; one person could support an entire family.

Tinkerers, knife sharpeners, sawyers, blacksmiths, coppersmiths, stonemasons, barbers, bamboo weavers, scale makers, and bowl menders—barbers were at the top of the list.

Zhang Huacheng knew why barbers were in such demand: there were too few who knew the trade. In the county seat, a haircut for a man cost twenty-five cents, or fifteen cents for a shaved head or a child; women’s haircuts were also twenty-five cents. Those were shop prices; traveling barbers charged less. The half-baked barber the brigade usually complained about charged a flat five cents.

For the entire afternoon, Zhang Huacheng boiled water for the elders, washed their hair, and cut it. He even ended up giving away gifts to make up for what these elders lacked, making it a losing business.

Within just two days, the news of Zhang Huacheng’s barbering skills spread like wildfire through the brigade.

Hunting at night, selling goods in the morning, and barbering through the noon and afternoon—Zhang Huacheng was completely exhausted.

"Little Huacheng from the Zhang family has really made something of himself. I heard his father-in-law bought him a set of barber’s tools and even found him a master. They say he cuts hair much better than Yuanqiao does. I saw Xiuying got a haircut, too—it looks great!"

In the brigade, Chen Yan, the accountant, started gossiping to the head of the Women's Federation.

"What good could ever come from the Zhang family?" Chen Yinshan, the warehouse manager, interjected unhappily. He was Chen Qiuyang’s father; his own son was currently lying on the kang, claiming to be unwell—though he suspected his son was just too prideful to show his face. He felt a deep, gnawing resentment.

"It doesn't matter if the Zhang family produces good things or not, but your family certainly hasn't produced anything good," the militia captain, Wang Kui, retorted. Chen Yinshan’s son had slept with the wife of his late cousin. Although the two families had been on good terms before, this incident had turned the Wang family against Chen Yinshan’s kin.

"Wang Kui, what do you mean by that?" Chen Yinshan’s face turned the color of liver.

"Enough! Let’s discuss the matter of the mountain guards. The Chen family will provide one, the Wang family will provide one. Since the Zhang family is so capable, let them provide one too!" Chen Gonglin, feeling frustrated, knocked on the table to interrupt the brewing internal conflict.

Because Chen Qiuyang had slept with the wife of a late mountain guard, and since the year was coming to an end, the two remaining guards had decisively quit, demanding replacements. They had even offered a reasonable excuse: they didn't want their wives to be slept with by others after they died—it was practically naming names. The brigade was forced to swallow the bitter pill.

"The Zhang family won't be willing. They have one hundred and twelve mouths to feed; whoever goes to be a mountain guard will surely starve," Wang Kui said, taking a sip of hot water from his tea mug.

Being a mountain guard meant giving up commune rations. While guards could hunt in the mountains, the local terrain was infested with wolves, bears, and even tigers. Every year, mountain guards were either severely injured or killed.

One had died this year, and the remaining two had fled back. With the year ending, who would want the job? Whoever took it wouldn't even get to share the year-end pork. Selecting guards now, when the howling of wolves in the mountains was loud enough to tear the brigade apart, was a nightmare.

"This is an organizational task, not something they can decide for themselves!" Chen Yinshan sneered.

They had ways to deal with the Zhang family, but they knew not to push them too far. Back in the day, the Zhang family’s collection of rifles had claimed several of their own, and just a few days ago, the "mad dog" third son of the Zhang family had nearly shot Chen Gonglin.

"Mingtang, I’ll leave this matter to you," Chen Gonglin said, looking at Chen Mingtang.

Chen Mingtang was the head of security. While this shouldn't technically fall on him, his capability was such that no one was surprised.

"Who will the Chen family send?" Chen Mingtang asked, furrowing his brow as he packed his pipe.

"The usual rules: have everyone who meets the requirements draw lots!" Chen Gonglin had already made up his mind.

"And what about your Wang family?" Chen Mingtang looked at Wang Kui.

"I don't know. Handle it yourselves." Wang Kui didn't want to get involved; if he chose someone and that person died in the mountains, he would be cursed for the rest of his life.

Hearing this, Chen Mingtang felt a headache coming on. With the Chen and Wang families acting this way, would he be shot if he went to the Zhang family, with their sparse population, to demand a guard?

"Mingtang, you’d be better off approaching the Zhang family through their son-in-law. Let him notify them; don't just set the list in stone without warning. If the Zhang family’s ‘mad dog disease’ flares up, no one will be able to stop them," Chen Yan advised, her heart softening. The Zhang family was full of thorns, especially the elders, who would gladly take a few people with them to the grave if they were pushed to the edge.

Chen Mingtang frowned. "What son-in-law? I don't recognize any such thing."

"Enough, there are no outsiders here, so stop that talk. The engagement between Qiuyang and Zhang Hualing was brokered by Xiuying anyway," Chen Yinshan said sarcastically.

"And was the fact that that brat Chen Qiuyang slept with the mountain guard’s widow also brokered by Xiuying?"

"Damn it, are you ever going to let it go?"

"Heh, if not for him, would we even be needing to pick new guards right now?"

When word arrived that three mountain guards needed to be selected before the year’s end—one each from the Zhang, Chen, and Wang families—the three men huddled around the stove, gnawing on wild rabbit, all looked up at Hualing simultaneously.

"Really?" Zhang Huacheng was stunned. Was there such a stroke of luck?

Hualing nodded, giggling as she snatched a rabbit leg from the pot, causing the little girl to yelp in protest. Zhang Huacheng looked at Tiezhu, then at Ergou.

"Brother, this seems just right."

Tiezhu couldn't help but look around; wasn't it perfect?

"I’ll volunteer. Ergou, you go to the Wang family and tell Wang Kui you’re volunteering, too. Don't let them draw lots. As for Tiezhu, ignore it; let them draw. Since no one wants to go, you can step forward and volunteer then," Zhang Huacheng said, his energy surging.

He had been wondering how to do this openly; the current secrecy was uncomfortable. This Chen Qiuyang was a lucky star!

They had heard wolves howling again last night, though from a great distance. They had drained the blood from two roe deer they had killed, hoping to lure the pack in tonight.

"Mountain guards get issued rifles, and there's a quota for bullets," Ergou said, tossing aside a bone. If they all had guns, they wouldn't fear a direct confrontation with the pack.

"Ergou, go say it now!"

"I have no problem here. I was caught poaching by the guards before; Uncle Kui was the one who handled it. He knew I could hunt alone and even said I was good material for a mountain guard." Ergou didn't elaborate. He was the only child adopted by Old Man Wang; Wang Kui hadn't had the heart to send him into the mountains before.

"That’s perfect!" Zhang Huacheng smiled. It would be even easier on the Zhang family’s side; who didn't know he was poaching in the mountains every day?

As for Tiezhu, there was no rush. Let the Chen family draw their lots first. It would be best if that beast Chen Qiuyang was picked. Let’s see if he dared to head into the mountains. If he did, they could feed him to the wolves—though the chances of that were slim.