PCJ – Chapter 195 The Secret Action of Dogs

“1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1…”

Whenever Zhang Jiaohua had some free time, he would take his group of puppies to march through the now lush rice fields. After many days of training, the puppies had improved significantly. Every time Zhang Jiaohua trained the puppies, villagers of all ages would come to watch the spectacle.

“Jiaohua is really talented. These dogs were brought back from the police dog squad. The police couldn’t train them, but in Jiaohua’s hands, they became well-behaved immediately.”

“But what’s the use of them being well-behaved? A mongrel is still a mongrel. Do you think they can handle the big grey wolves? They might tremble at the sight of them. Take Jiaohua’s Shanbao dog for instance. Last time the wolves came, did you hear it make a sound?”

“No, but if it had, wouldn’t that have put its owner in danger?”

“When so many wolves come, it would be foolish for one dog to make a sound. Let’s wait and see if those big grey wolves dare come to our village once Jiaohua finishes training these puppies.”

“These big grey wolves must eat a lot of food. I see Jiaohua often goes to mill rice. It can’t be easy to feed so many mouths.”

…

The villagers chatted amongst themselves, but Zhang Jiaohua paid no attention. They couldn’t understand what he was doing, so why bother explaining?

After breakfast, Zhang Jiaohua put on his backpack and headed to school. He didn’t know that as soon as he left, the well-behaved puppies in the yard began to make a fuss. One by one, they sneaked out of the yard and headed for the back hills. Even the Shanbao followed, along with the five yellow puppies.

Behind Zhang Jiaohua’s house was a small forest that used to be connected to Meishan. Due to widespread deforestation, it was now isolated, but the area couldn’t be cleared due to rocky terrain, so it remained. The original large trees had been cut down by the production team, and short pine trees had grown in their place, hence the locals called it “Short Mountain.”

Once the puppies left the yard, they ran into the forest. Deep in the forest, fifteen tall native dogs were standing, with the largest male dog on a high rock, solemnly observing the surroundings. These were the fifteen hunting dogs that had escaped from the police dog squad, and they had found their way to Meizi’ao Village. Zhang Jiaohua’s house was never locked, making it easy for them. They had secretly met the puppies when Zhang Jiaohua was at school, and Shanbao had reached some sort of truce with them, allowing them to meet the puppies without reporting it to Zhang Jiaohua.

The puppies happily nuzzled their mothers, creating a heartwarming scene.

After some time, Shanbao barked, and the puppies reluctantly formed a long line in front of it, while the adult hunting dogs stood quietly to the side. Shanbao didn’t take the puppies home but ran in the forest, teaching them some of its skills.

On the playground of Meizi’ao Village Elementary School, Dumb was standing next to Zhang Jiaohua.

“Jiaohua, feeding so many puppies must take a lot of food. Do you want me to steal some from home to feed them?” Dumb asked.

“No need. Don’t get me into trouble. If your family’s old tiger finds out, she’ll make a scene at my house.” Zhang Jiaohua knew Dumb was trying to curry favor to get a puppy. Many villagers wanted one, but Zhang Jiaohua refused. Even if Zhang Manyin wanted to give away a puppy, no one in Meizi’ao Village dared take it without Zhang Jiaohua’s consent.

Dumb was disappointed, realizing he wouldn’t get a puppy.

“Stop thinking about my puppies. Even if I gave you one, would it go home with you? These puppies are all trained by me and are loyal to me.”

“Oh.” Dumb sighed, feeling dejected.

At that moment, they heard a voice behind them, “Jiaohua, Dumb, are you playing hooky?”

Zhang Jiaohua turned to see village secretary Zhang Dechun.

“Grandpa Dechun, what are you doing here?” Zhang Jiaohua saw him holding a bucket of lime and a big brush, seemingly painting a slogan.

“He’s painting slogans, like ‘If the son runs away, find the father; if the father runs away, tear down the house,'” Dumb clapped and laughed.

“You brat, get out of here. I’m painting poverty alleviation slogans today. Look here, ‘To get rich, plant trees first,'” Zhang Dechun glanced at his draft.

“Planting trees will make us rich? Meizi’ao Village has plenty of trees.” Zhang Jiaohua looked around. Meizi’ao Village was full of forests, with large trees everywhere, yet it wasn’t wealthy.

“Well, Jiaohua, these aren’t ordinary trees; they’re fruit trees. The government encourages planting fruit trees and medicinal herbs.” Zhang Dechun realized the slogan might be misleading.

“But we already have chestnut and persimmon trees. Every year, the chestnuts rot in the mountains, and the persimmons rot on the trees. Why isn’t anyone selling them?” Zhang Jiaohua questioned.

“Well, that’s true, but I’m talking about different fruit trees. The county sent us seedlings for poverty alleviation. There are citrus trees, pear trees, and plum trees. People can contract wasteland to plant them. Once they bear fruit, the county will organize buyers. The county officials said so, and they must be right,” Zhang Dechun checked a notice.

“With our village roads, not even a tractor can get out. Who will come to buy the fruit?” Zhang Jiaohua was skeptical. He had traveled the village’s bad roads many times and often heard Luo Changjun complain that Meizi’ao Village’s poverty was due to the poor roads.