Chapter 60 Making the Wolfskin Coat

Zhang Huchen had just stepped outside when he saw Zhang Huacheng arriving at the courtyard entrance.

"Second Brother!"

Little Plum saw him too and immediately ran over to tell on the others.

Chen Xiuying could hardly stay seated; she hurried outside alongside Hualing.

Zhang Huacheng and Ergou pushed a flatbed cart through the gates and smiled in greeting.

"Second Brother, Big Brother and Sister are bullying Little Plum!" Little Plum threw her arms around Zhang Huacheng's leg, not forgetting to pull a face at Hualing.

"Second Brother, did you bring back the sewing machine?"

Hualing stepped forward to take a look.

"Yes."

Zhang Huacheng whipped off the plastic tarp, revealing the sewing machine case nestled inside alongside stacks of premium leather.

"Good grief, just how much game did you bag?"

The sight of the hides made Zhang Huchen's scalp tingle. There were wild boar leather, red deer leather, fox leather, roe deer leather, and, most numerous of all, wolf pelts.

Chen Xiuying's gaze, however, was entirely fixed on the sewing machine, her eyes shining brightly.

It was real! A genuine sewing machine!

"Sister-in-law, this was bought for the family. We'll move it into your room first. Here are the thread ends, scissors, wooden ruler, and tape measure. The cotton fabric and raw cotton are for you too. Ergou, give me a hand and carry this inside."

Zhang Huacheng immediately signaled to Ergou.

Ergou eagerly stepped up, lifting the sewing machine case together with Zhang Huacheng as they headed toward the house.

"Oh my goodness, thank you so much, Huacheng! How much did this cost? Careful, careful, watch the threshold!" Chen Xiuying beamed from ear to ear, practically dancing ahead to guide them into her room. She didn't even dare to put on any false modesty, terrified that Zhang Huacheng might change his mind.

After all, this was the sewing machine she had dreamed of for years.

"One hundred and eighty yuan and a sewing machine ration coupon."

Setting the sewing machine down, Zhang Huacheng smiled and said, "I'll have to trouble you with making clothes from now on, Sister-in-law."

Chen Xiuying probably had no idea just how many clothes she would be expected to make in the future.

"What do we care about trouble? We're all family. You even bought a sewing machine for the house, so why say such distant things? I'll pour you all some water. Oh, are you Ergou? My, aren't you quite the handsome fellow?"

Hearing the price made Chen Xiuying wince, and she quickly dropped the subject.

Catching sight of Ergou, she realized he looked completely different from what she had imagined.

In the past, Ergou was so dirty his face was barely visible; now, dressed in crisp, proper clothes, his features were refined and striking, making her pause in momentary doubt as to whether she had the right person.

Ergou nodded awkwardly.

Yet Chen Xiuying had no time to dwell on handsome faces. Within moments, her eyes were glued entirely to the sewing machine. Having poured a single cup of water, she rushed back to inspect her prize, while the parents, drawn by the commotion, came over to take a look as well.

"Have all these hides been boiled?"

Zhang Hu looked at the pile of pelts Zhang Huacheng had brought inside, looking somewhat dumbfounded.

Had his son gone out and slaughtered an entire mountain?

Hides had to be boiled; if not, they would remain stiff, lose all flexibility, and easily attract pests.

"The rest have been boiled. The ones we got last night haven't been processed yet, so we can do it here. Sister-in-law, here are the measurements for the wolf-fur coats we'll need for entering the mountain, along with the deer-skin boots, deer-skin gloves, wild boar leather knee pads, and wild boar leather inner jackets. We might not have enough boar leather, so we can use red deer or roe deer skin as substitutes."

Zhang Huacheng pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Chen Xiuying, detailing the measured sizes.

Taking the paper, Chen Xiuying looked it over and nodded. "With a sewing machine, this is even simpler than making padded cotton clothes. But whose measurements are these oversized ones? Only Tiezhu in our production brigade could possibly fit something this huge. Ah, it must be Tiezhu's."

A quick glance made it clear to her. No wonder they had previously made a pair of extra-large cotton shoes—looking at it now, these were definitely Tiezhu's dimensions.

"Please keep this between us for now, Sister-in-law."

Knowing it was impossible to keep it from her, Zhang Huacheng hadn't intended to hide it anyway.

It was only a matter of time before Tiezhu joined them in the mountains.

"You can count on me. Let me see..."

Studying the measurements on the paper and counting the pelts, Chen Xiuying quickly calculated, "The deer-skin gloves and boots are no problem at all; we have plenty of deer skin. But the wild boar leather is indeed falling short. Both the knee pads and the inner jackets require a lot of material. If we substitute Tiezhu's knee pads and jacket with red deer skin, we'll have more than enough. As for these wolf pelts, they're more than enough just for the wolf-fur coats and hats, with plenty to spare. Are these smaller sizes for Doudou?"

There was one set of small dimensions, meant to be crafted from white wolf pelt.

The white wolf pelt was fashioned into a tiny size, obviously meant for a small child. At a single glance, Chen Xiuying knew who it was for.

Zhang Huacheng smiled and nodded. "Yes, we'll make Doudou a pair of small red deer-skin boots and a small wolf-fur coat, and use the white wolf skin for a hat too. This snow fox pelt can be made into a scarf for Linlin, and you can use the remaining wolf and deer skins to make winter gear for the children in the family, Sister-in-law."

He had kept only two alpha wolf pelts for his own household; all the rest had been brought here.

"Huacheng, how about taking me hunting in the mountains too?"

Zhang Huchen was turning green with envy.

Just how many days had it been? Huacheng had practically become the wealthiest man in the production brigade. Even the thousand-yuan households in the county seat weren't this rich!

"What on earth could you do? Go along and drag them down?"

Chen Xiuying hurriedly cut in.

She knew the mountains were dangerous—everyone did. If anything happened to Zhang Huchen, how would she and her orphan child survive in times like these?

Zhang Huchen managed a dry laugh and fell silent.

The sewing machine was unpacked and assembled, its dark, glossy machine head making the family loath to part with it. In this era, neither bicycles nor sewing machines were built with any skimping on materials; their sheer heft was substantial, and Zhang Huacheng couldn't help admiring it himself.

Some boiled the hides while others cut them; the entire household was bustling with activity.

Meanwhile, Zhang Hu was inquiring about the personnel who had come from the commune. Hearing the details startled him; in this era, being hauled away by the commune meant facing public struggle at best and a prison labor camp sentence at worst.

Fortunately, nothing had come of it.

"Huacheng, if you have enough money for now, perhaps you shouldn't take such risks. It's simply too dangerous."

He remained deeply worried. Venturing deep into the mountains or selling meat in the county seat were both perilous undertakings.

"I know," Zhang Huacheng replied casually, though giving up the mountains was out of the question.

"Oh, by the way, Dad, what was the story with the old Chen family at Chentang Sanliququ back in the day? Did they have some sort of background? Why did the people from the commune and Captain Wang Kui talk about cracking down on Chentang Sanliququ today?"

He decided to probe Zhang Hu.

"The commune wants to crack down on Chentang Sanliququ? Why would that be?"

Frowning at the news, Zhang Hu pondered for a moment before saying, "I seem to remember Chentang Sanliququ used to be called Chenjiatang Sanlishan. Rumor has it they were a group of bandits in the old days—though of course, that's just something I heard your grandfathers talk about while drinking. Who knows if it's true? You know how deep their old feuds run; they might have just been making things up."

Bandits?

A thought stirred within Zhang Huacheng.

He remembered that back when he served as a special forces instructor, he had used his clearance to check the records for Chentang Sanliququ, only to find the records prior to the 1950s completely blank. Bandit groups had indeed been rampant in the Northeast historically, especially during the Japanese invasion when banditry ran unchecked. Certain actions of that old grand-uncle of the Chen family certainly bore the hallmarks of a bandit.

No wonder Third Grandpa refused to speak of it, mentioning only that grievances of the older generation belonged to the older generation. Was it possible that even his father's generation knew nothing about this?

Wait a minute, if they were bandits, they must have possessed stockpiles of firearms and ammunition in the past. Could what Ergou saw in the old Chen family ancestral hall actually be their former arms cache?

"Did Chentang Sanliququ deliver their public grain quotas these past few years?" Zhang Huacheng vaguely recalled hearing something that afternoon about them failing to deliver grain for years—or perhaps he had misheard.

"Of course they did. Would the commune put up with it if they didn't?"

"That's true."

Thinking it over, Zhang Huacheng realized that failing to deliver grain was simply not an option in this climate. Yet what on earth were those people talking about earlier?

Had he misheard?

By the kitchen stove, Ergou and Hualing were busy boiling the hides.

"Hualing, go help your sister-in-law cut the pelts!"

Zhang Huacheng instructed Hualing.

Muttering a few reluctant complaints, Hualing went off to assist her sister-in-law with cutting the leather anyway.

"Ergou, come with me to the old Chen family ancestral hall tonight to take a look." Zhang Huacheng resolved to investigate; going there might just yield some answers.

"Alright." Ergou nodded.

"This afternoon, we'll head into the mountain to practice shooting. Bring all your ammunition."

He intended to teach Ergou marksmanship.

Ergou's shooting skills were truly indescribable.

Thrilled, Ergou nodded repeatedly. Zhang Huacheng's infallible marksmanship—hitting every single target, almost invariably right between the eyebrows—had left him deeply in awe.

If he could master that, he could roam the Changbai Mountains unhindered.

"Should we call Tiezhu along?"

Ergou thought of Tiezhu.

"Call him. I'll teach him some close-quarters combat."

Tiezhu possessed innate talent; with proper training, he could undoubtedly become an exceptionally formidable fighter.

Moreover, Tiezhu was remarkably fearless, seemingly devoid of anything that could terrify him. Remaining entirely calm even when facing a pack of wolves, such psychological resilience was exceedingly rare.

When Tiezhu had unhesitatingly dispatched that fugitive from the black market without a second thought, even Zhang Huacheng had been momentarily stunned.