PCJ – Chapter 146 Even the Wall Can’t Stop It

“Old man, the wolves are gone,” Ma Donghua said, listening to the sounds outside.

Zhang Manyin let go of the steel fork in his hand and sighed, “I’m old now, really old. In the past, I could handle a few big grey wolves on my own.”

“Why did the wolves leave?” Ma Donghua found it strange. She and Zhang Manyin couldn’t see the yellow light that shot out from the house protection talisman.

“How would I know? Why don’t you go out and ask?” Zhang Manyin joked.

“Stubborn old man, if anyone’s going to ask, it’s you,” Ma Donghua shot back, rolling her eyes.

“No, something’s not right. Big grey wolves aren’t animals that give up so easily. Could something else have happened?” Zhang Manyin turned to look behind the house.

Ma Donghua suddenly slapped her thigh with a loud smack. “Oh no, they went to the pigsty!”

Zhang Manyin grabbed the steel fork and rushed to open the back door, but Ma Donghua quickly stopped him. “Are you out of your mind? If the wolves eat the pig, so be it. We can raise another pig, but if they get you, we’re done for.”

“Ah, a year’s worth of pig feed, all for the wolves,” Zhang Manyin lamented. The pig they were raising was meant for the New Year, but recently, Zhang Jiaohua’s family had given them twenty pounds of wild boar meat, so they decided to save their pig. Now, he regretted not slaughtering and selling it. “I should have sold the pig earlier. What a waste.”

“Wait, if the wolves went to the pigsty, why didn’t we hear the pig squealing? Is the pig dead?” Ma Donghua held onto her husband’s hand tightly and listened. Outside, it was quiet, except for the howling wind and occasional distant wolf calls.

“There’s really no sound. It seems the big grey wolves have left,” Zhang Manyin thought the wolves had fled for some unknown reason.

Just then, from Zhang Enzhong’s house not far away, a pig’s wail was followed by Zhang Enzhong’s furious roar, “Damn wolves! They killed my pig!”

Zhang Manyin and Ma Donghua looked at each other. “The wolves went to Zhang Enzhong’s house!”

Indeed, Zhang Enzhong’s house was surrounded by big grey wolves. The few that had retreated from Zhang Manyin’s house joined the attack on Zhang Enzhong’s house.

Zhang Enzhong’s house was surrounded by a two-meter-high stone wall. He hadn’t bothered to buy a house protection talisman, believing the wolves couldn’t get over his nearly three-meter-high wall.

The courtyard gate was also very solid, reinforced recently with a steel bar and a big lock. Zhang Enzhong’s family made tofu and raised a sow and two strong pigs, along with many chickens and ducks. Though he kept a low profile, his family was quite well-off.

Zhang Enzhong never thought the wolves could breach his courtyard wall and gate. However, he didn’t anticipate that a dozen big grey wolves could dig a hole through his seemingly impregnable wall with their sharp claws.

Apart from the wall, the rest of Zhang Enzhong’s house had no defenses. The family was now hiding inside, with all doors locked, and had retreated to the attic, pulling up the ladder. The wolves couldn’t reach them for now, but the pigsty and poultry were wide open.

The wolves easily killed all the chickens and ducks, dragging them out to devour.

A few wolves jumped into the pigsty, tearing into the sow and two strong pigs.

“What do we do? What do we do?” Wang Fang trembled, asking in a low voice.

“Don’t panic, don’t make a sound, or the wolves will find us,” Zhang Enzhong said, distressed by the wolves that had raised their heads, sensing movement.

“The chickens and ducks are gone, the pigs too,” Wang Fang cried.

“Are you trying to get us killed? If the wolves find out we’re in the attic, they’ll try everything to get to us!” Zhang Enzhong exclaimed.

These were starving wolves. After finishing the poultry, they fought over the three pigs. The pigs couldn’t stand against the hungry wolves and were soon killed. The wolves then fought among themselves for the pig meat. Though the meat was enough to fill them, the wolves were never easily satisfied. One wolf looked up at the attic and quickly discovered Zhang Enzhong and Wang Fang.

The wolves immediately began attacking the house.

During the snake plague, Zhang Enzhong had also used a house protection talisman, but its power had almost faded over time. The talisman hadn’t reacted when the wolves attacked the courtyard wall, but now, a faint yellow light finally emerged from the talisman.

Seeing the yellow light, the big grey wolves turned and ran. The light dissipated as it left the house, causing no harm to the wolves.

The talisman, its power spent, turned to ashes and was no longer effective.

“The wolves ran away?” Wang Fang watched in amazement as the wolves fled.

“They did, maybe they’re full,” Zhang Enzhong speculated.

The courtyard was covered in blood and feathers, but not a single bone was left. The wolves had taken even the pig bones as they fled.

“My chickens! My pigs!” Wang Fang wailed.

Zhang Enzhong looked helplessly at the chaotic yard. He wanted to cry too, but he held back his tears. “Don’t cry, you’re taking care of two lives now,” he reminded his wife.

Wang Fang was several months pregnant, her belly large. Despite this, rural women were tough, and Wang Fang continued to do the household chores.

Zhang Dechun’s house was made of bricks and tiles, with a solid cement wall around it. The gate was a pair of large iron doors from the old Meizi’ou brigade warehouse. When the fields were contracted to households, the warehouse was dismantled, and Zhang Dechun, the brigade leader, took the doors for his house. The bricks for his house came from the dismantled warehouse too. With the extra bricks, he built the sturdy wall around his house. The big grey wolves wandered around but eventually left, unable to breach the defenses.

But Zhang Dechun wasn’t at ease either. The commotion outside meant something had happened.

“Let’s hope no one gets hurt. In the old days, I would have called the militia with a shout on the brigade loudspeaker. Even with more wolves, we’d have dealt with them. Now, without guns, going out is suicide,” Zhang Dechun reminisced about the past.