Chapter 54: Chen Biao, Whose Reputation Was Ruined Overnight

Zhang Huacheng returned to the department store. After searching around for a bit, he saw Wang Lin and the others buying cloth toy tigers. Children's toys were scarce and expensive in this day and age, and this kind of Beijing-style cloth tiger was a rare textile toy for children. He guessed that Doudou had her eyes on it, since the little girl only wanted things to eat.

As he passed through the fabric section, he noticed a few simple cotton quilts priced at eighteen yuan each. They were rare and in high demand, but the rationing coupons required for them made him give up on the idea. With that much money, it would be better to just buy some raw cotton cloth to take back instead.

Cloth, cotton, needles and thread, wooden rulers, scissors...

Since he had already bought a sewing machine, these items naturally had to be fully prepared for his eldest sister-in-law as well.

He was very generous; as long as it was related to tailoring and available for purchase, he bought it all.

Hualing and the two children were the happiest. Not only did they have their eyes opened, but they also bought a lot of things. Doudou held onto a Beijing cloth tiger and refused to let go, while Little Ya's hands were full of snacks.

Laughter filled the air all the way back on the road.

"Second Brother, when Eldest Sister-in-law sees the sewing machine, her eyes are going to pop out as big as a toad's." Hualing widened her eyes to mimic the look, as Chen Xiuying's favorite expression was glaring with wide eyes.

"This sewing machine is for your eldest sister-in-law. Don't say things like that in front of Little Ya. If she accidentally repeats it back home, it will only spell trouble. In the future, our whole family's new clothes and quilts will depend on your eldest sister-in-law." Zhang Huacheng gestured toward Little Ya, who was currently sneaking a bite of food. This little girl wasn't playing with a full deck and would really blurt something like that out.

She could easily spill any secret within three sentences if someone coaxed her.

"Should we get a sledge?"

Ergou reminded him, considering that a sledge was best suited for the snowy world and extremely practical. A flatbed cart could only manage this path, whereas a sled could be pulled all the way deep into the Changbai Mountains.

Sleds were usually pulled by horses; the production brigade had three horses and two mules specifically used for pulling sleds, though human labor could be used as well.

Zhang Huacheng shook his head and said, "We don't need a sledge right now, and using one actually isn't very convenient. A flatbed cart works much better for us."

A sled was made of two shafts curved upward at the front, with horizontal wooden slats attached to the bottom for added stability. The wood used here was typically pine or birch, transporting goods in a flatbed or woven wooden box container. For him, a flatbed cart was far more practical than a sled for traveling along this county road.

"Right, when we get back, take some wild boar meat to the brigade and trade it for some 7.62mm bullets. See what the price is; if it costs more than five fen per round, we'll buy from Qin Xiaodong instead."

In the 1960s, Northeast China was not short of ammunition or Arisaka rifles, and they could be bought with cash.

Zhang Huacheng asked Ergou to inquire about the price so he would have a clear idea.

If the price was too high, he would buy them directly from Qin Xiaodong.

"I know roughly where the old Chen family hides their ammunition, and it seems they have some guns there too, though I'm not entirely sure of the exact spot. Should we go look for it?"

Hearing this, Ergou quietly moved closer to Zhang Huacheng and lowered his voice.

"They even hid firearms and ammunition?"

Zhang Huacheng was taken aback.

Ergou nodded, lowering his voice further. "It's true, right inside the old Chen family's ancestral hall. But I didn't see the exact hiding spot. I saw it with my own eyes three years ago when I went in to steal sacrificial offerings to eat. They hauled out two boxes of ammunition and carried out a couple of extra guns. The ammo crates were made of wood."

Wooden ammo crates?

Military grade!

Could it be that the old Chen family had stumbled upon a small Japanese military base and kept the supplies for themselves instead of turning them over to the commune?

No wonder every household in the old Chen family seemed quite well-off, never going hungry or cold. Even though Chen Youde treated Tiezhu poorly, the boy still had old cotton shoes, cotton pants, and cotton-padded clothes to wear, and their kang was always kept burning. Could they be surviving by selling ammunition?

At present, a single bullet could be traded for an egg; that was the going rate on the black market.

Arisaka rifles could easily be bought for cash on the black market, but most of them were heavily worn and completely neglected without any maintenance.

The Springfield rifle in his own hands had seemed a bit strange to him at the time. That was an American Springfield rifle, and the fact that such a high-end weapon existed in Chentang Sanliqu had surprised him back then.

"Who moved the ammunition?"

Zhang Huacheng's heart stirred.

"The old uncle of the Chen family led the way, and Chen Gonglin and Chen Yinshan were the ones moving the crates. They acted all sneaky and locked the door the moment they came out."

"It's them, huh."

Needless to say about the old uncle of the Chen family, Chen Gonglin had already been the brigade captain for seven years, and Chen Yinshan had served as the warehouse keeper for five years.

They were the core members of the Chen family. Could the reason the Chen family managed to have food, drinks, and coal in this era and place—with every household living relatively comfortably—be because they were selling firearms and ammunition?

"You've looked for it before, haven't you?"

Zhang Huacheng looked at Ergou.

Ergou nodded quite directly.

"I didn't find it, but I'm sure the two boxes of ammunition aren't just sitting out in the open inside the ancestral hall. Dust covers everything in there, but the ancestral hall itself is kept very clean."

A secret room?

A cellar?

Zhang Huacheng thought about it all the way back. No wonder he had always felt that Chentang Sanliqu had a somewhat mysterious aura, coupled with a strong sense of xenophobia. For all these years, they had remained at odds with the old Zhang family like fire and water.

When they hurried back, Chentang Sanliqu was already bustling with activity.

The old Wang family was distributing meat. Ergou and Zhang Huacheng had hunted a wild boar, and last night Ergou had given Wang Kui over fifty catties of pork.

By the time the news spread, the meat had already been portioned out, and every household in the old Wang family had received a share.

The old Chen family couldn't sit still anymore. Who didn't want to eat meat?

The pig raised by the brigade hadn't been slaughtered yet, and everyone was so envious their eyes had turned green.

The first to suffer was Chen Biao. While he was still sleeping in his quilt, a crowd of men, women, and old folks from the old Chen family crowded into his room.

"Xiaobiao, where is your share of the wild boar meat?"

"The old Wang family has already finished dividing theirs, why are you still sleeping, child? Hurry up and get up to show us the wild boar you hunted!"

A chorus of uncles and aunts urged him on.

Chen Biao was bewildered. "What wild boar?"

What on earth were they talking about?

"You child, stop playing dumb! Learn from Ergou; the old Wang family is going to have meat for lunch today!" Chen Biao's second aunt got upset upon hearing this. Was he trying to keep all the meat to himself?

"Huh?"

Ergou? The old Wang family was going to have meat for lunch today?

"I told you Xiaobiao was sleeping at home last night and didn't go out, but you wouldn't believe me!"

"Would we lie to you?"

Chen Biao's parents both chimed in to explain.

"Oh, come off it. Your family couldn't possibly finish that much meat alone. Don't even think about hogging it all for yourselves; bring it out so we can divide it up. You're a mountain guard now, you can go hunt anytime you want."

His cousin Chen Mingyang searched around and couldn't find any wild boar meat, his tone turning rather hostile.

"What do you mean by that? What hogging it for ourselves?"

Chen Biao got anxious. What wild boar?

What hogging food?

"Why waste time talking nonsense? Just tell us whether you went into the mountains last night or not!"

Chen Biao's uncle barked a reprimand.

"No!"

Chen Biao shook his head.

Hearing this, Chen Mingyang grew angry and said sarcastically, "Chen Biao, Ergou and little Huacheng both went into the mountains, and you're saying you didn't? You're both mountain guards, so why didn't you go when the two of them did? I get it now, you were too scared to go into the mountains and came scurrying back to hide, right?"

"Pork is being distributed!"

"Mom, Dad told me to tell you the old Zhang family is giving out pork!"

Just at that moment, a child ran past at top speed, shouting at the top of his lungs that the old Zhang family was distributing pork.

"This kid is completely spineless. Let's go find little Huacheng and get some meat!"

"Why does our old Chen family keep producing such good-for-nothings?"

By the time the crowd quickly dispersed, Chen Biao still had no idea what had happened.

"Dad, what is going on here?"

He looked toward his parents.

"Don't call me dad from now on; I certainly don't have a son like you. You've really given your old man a great face!" Mancang stormed out, his old face flushed red, unsure whether from anger or shame.

"Mom, what on earth is going on?!"

Chen Biao's face turned livid with anger. How could his reputation be ruined just by taking a nap?

Zhou Xiaoyu sighed, sat down on the kang, and said, "Ergou and little Huacheng hunted a wild boar. Ergou already gave out meat to the old Wang family, and when these people heard about it, they came looking for you."

"They hunted... they hunted a wild boar? That's impossible! Even the veteran hunters and mountain guards in our brigade steer clear of wild boars when they run into them!"

Chen Biao found it hard to believe.

How could that be?

A wild boar came first, a bear second, and a tiger third. Neither of them had any experience whatsoever; what did they rely on to kill a wild boar? The veteran hunters had always said that bullets couldn't even pierce a wild boar's hide.

And not only did they kill it, but they even dragged it back?

Little did he know that the ranking of "one boar, two bears, three tigers" was not a ranking of combat strength, but rather of the threat they posed—a threat that included damage to crops. Tigers were ranked last because, as apex predators, they lacked for nothing to eat and would choose to stay away even upon seeing a hunter.

If a wild boar were actually forced into a fight with a Siberian tiger, the wild boar wouldn't even touch a single hair of the tiger.

As for what the veteran hunters said about bullets failing to pierce a wild boar's hide, it was purely an excuse they made up to avoid wild boars. Carbon-based lifeforms facing a rifle would always fall to a single well-placed shot to a vital organ, and tigers were no exception.