PCJ – Chapter 241 A Stick in the Left Hand and Meat in the Right Hand

“What about you?” Zhang Wenrong asked, looking at Zhang Jiaohua, who was walking out with his backpack.

Zhang Jiaohua turned around and said grumpily, “I’ve been at school all day and I’m starving. Of course, I’m going back to cook.”

“But we haven’t eaten either,” Zhang Jiagen said with a sad face.

“How can you even say that? You want to eat without working. Don’t even think about it. The pig farm only raises pigs, not idle people. If you don’t work properly, you can join the wild pigs in eating,” Zhang Jiaohua whistled, and immediately, the mountain leopard came with fifteen hunting dogs.

“Keep an eye on these three troublemakers. If they don’t work properly, bite them,” Zhang Jiaohua instructed before leaving.

Zhang Wenrong and the others were on the verge of tears, but they didn’t dare to resist. Sixteen big dogs were staring at them.

“When will you come?” Zhang Wenrong shouted.

“I’ll come after I’ve eaten. You work hard, and I’ll give you an extra meal in the evening,” Zhang Jiaohua’s voice echoed from afar.

“Brother Rong, what should we do?” Zhang Hanggou asked.

Zhang Hanggou and Zhang Jiagen usually have no ideas of their own, and they just follow Zhang Wenrong’s lead.

“What can we do? If you can escape, try it. I’m going to cut pigweed. What bad luck, to run into this disaster,” Zhang Wenrong said, picking up a bamboo basket and a sickle, heading to the garden. The garden was not only growing tea trees well, but the navel orange trees were also thriving. Additionally, there were plenty of tender green weeds that were very suitable for feeding pigs.

“Brother Rong, are we going to cut pigweed for this brat every day? We’re not his hired hands. Why should we do hard labor for him without pay?” Zhang Hanggou grumbled while continuously cutting grass, with a hunting dog glaring at him. It was as if the dogs understood Zhang Jiaohua’s instructions.

“Yeah. Today we got caught, but does that mean we have to work for him every day? We should go to Guangdong tomorrow. I heard there’s good money to be made there. It’s better than doing hard labor for this stinky kid,” Zhang Jiagen suggested.

“Do you have money for travel expenses? If you do, we can leave first thing tomorrow morning,” Zhang Wenrong asked. He had already asked his parents and relatives for money countless times for going to Guangdong. Now, even if he really wanted to go, no one could give him money. Zhang Hanggou and Zhang Jiagen were in a similar situation.

Hearing about travel expenses, Zhang Hanggou and Zhang Jiagen fell silent. If they had money for travel, they would have already spent it. If it weren’t for being broke, they wouldn’t have been caught by Zhang Jiaohua.

“Can’t come up with travel expenses, huh? Without money, are you planning to walk to Guangdong?” Zhang Wenrong said irritably.

“Then I certainly can’t work for this kid for free every day!” Zhang Hanggou protested.

“Then find a place to hide tomorrow,” Zhang Wenrong said with a bitter smile. Now that they were targeted by this little demon, they were doomed. It was their own fault for provoking him. Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t just any kid; even the county officials couldn’t do anything about him.

“Woof, woof!” A hunting dog barked twice, warning the three not to slack off. The other hunting dogs immediately moved closer to Zhang Wenrong and the others.

“Don’t, don’t, don’t. I’m not slacking off, I’m not slacking off,” Zhang Jiagen said, almost crying.

Zhang Jiaohua was in the kitchen of the garden, cooking first. He washed a piece of wild boar meat, originally intending to cook just for himself. After thinking it over, he decided to cut more, enough for the three troublemakers. Although Zhang Jiaohua was ready to deal with these three, he wasn’t planning to starve them. He just wanted to teach them a lesson. The three were certainly bad, committing petty crimes like stealing and peeping at widows, but nothing truly heinous. Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t trying to reform these troubled youths; their own parents couldn’t handle them, and he, a mere kid, couldn’t either. But they shouldn’t have provoked him.

He also went to cut a stalk of lettuce from a nearby field, preparing two dishes.

Zhang Jiaohua then went to check on Zhang Wenrong and the others.

Zhang Wenrong and the others were soaked in sweat but continued to cut pigweed tirelessly. Seeing Zhang Jiaohua arrive was like seeing a savior.

“Jiaohua, Jiaohua, let us take a break. We really can’t continue,” Zhang Hanggou said, almost begging.

But a hunting dog barked twice and showed its sharp teeth, making Zhang Hanggou obediently continue working.

“It seems you’re really tired. I won’t let you work on an empty stomach. I’ve prepared food for you. Come and eat with me,” Zhang Jiaohua said, waving his hand. The hunting dogs immediately walked away, no longer paying attention to Zhang Wenrong and the others.

Zhang Wenrong didn’t want to eat with Zhang Jiaohua and said, “Jiaohua, look, we’ve done the work, so can we skip the meal? Can we go home now?”

“Wenrong, you don’t think that by helping me cut a few baskets of pigweed, you can offset the crime of stealing from my house, do you?” Zhang Jiaohua said with a smile.

“What more do you want? We didn’t steal anything from your house,” Zhang Wenrong said, glaring at Zhang Jiaohua.

“I said whatever was lost from my house is what was lost. How about we go to the police station together and see who they believe?” Zhang Jiaohua said firmly.

“So, how long do we have to work?” Zhang Wenrong asked.

Zhang Jiaohua smiled, “There’s no rush. I’ll let you go once I’m satisfied. If you’re not happy, you can leave anytime. But I can’t guarantee what will happen.”

Zhang Jiaohua’s threat was blunt but effective. Zhang Wenrong and the others felt completely trapped by the kid. They didn’t even have a chance to resist.

“The food is ready over there. Whether you eat or not is up to you. I’m hungry, so I’m not waiting for you,” Zhang Jiaohua said and left them behind.

“Brother Rong, what should we do?” Zhang Hanggou asked, seemingly already smelling the aroma from the food and salivating, but he still sought Zhang Wenrong’s opinion.

“We’ll go eat! If we don’t eat, he won’t let us go. We need to eat and eat more,” Zhang Wenrong said determinedly.

When Zhang Wenrong and the others finally arrived, Zhang Jiaohua had served a large bowl of rice with a mound of wild boar meat on top.