PCJ – Chapter 254 Transformation

“In just a few more months, when these puppies grow as big as Zuan Shanbao, they should start showing the prowess of mountain dogs. For ordinary local dogs, Zuan Shanbao isn’t quite an adult yet. However, Zuan Shanbao’s size has already significantly surpassed that of typical local dogs. Although you can’t see bulging muscles on Zuan Shanbao, his smooth body reveals hidden strength that can burst out at any moment. When he’s fully grown, even the alpha of the wild wolves might not dare to face him alone.

Before these puppies could tear up his pants, Zhang Jiaohua quickly shouted, ‘Line up, line up!’

This time, surprisingly, there was no need for Zuan Shanbao to act as an interpreter; the puppies obediently lined up on their own, perfectly aligned, leaving Zhang Wenrong and the others behind him in awe.

‘These puppies really seem to have become sentient; they can understand what Jiaohua is saying,’ Zhang Jiagen muttered.

‘These are no ordinary puppies. Jiaohua said they’re mountain dogs, just like him they belong to Meishan,’ Zhang Hanggou said.

Zhang Wenrong glared at his two followers. ‘Shut up, both of you. Do I have to tell you what to do?’

Zhang Wenrong picked up a hoe, and Zhang Hanggou and Zhang Jiagen hurried to follow with hoes of their own.

Zhang Jiaohua no longer assigned tasks to the three of them. They were free to act on their own. Zhang Wenrong planned to clean out the abandoned reservoir in the garden and redirect water from the canal. The garden’s reservoir had been abandoned for a long time; the surrounding concrete walls were cracked, and the bottom was covered with a thick layer of silt. The reservoir was leaking badly. They needed to clear out all the silt and then patch it up with cement slurry. They also had to figure out how to prevent leaks before they could redirect the water.

For several days, the three of them spent every spare moment cleaning the reservoir. It didn’t seem like the reservoir was a vital facility for the garden, as it never seemed to experience drought. Whenever it got slightly dry, rain would mysteriously fall. Although Zhang Wenrong and the others knew this had something to do with Zhang Jiaohua, they didn’t know exactly how he managed it.

Zhang Jiaohua noticed the changes in the three of them. They used to be lazy, but now they couldn’t stay idle. The garden covered over 200 acres, with endless tasks to be done. Now, the three of them spent every day working non-stop in the garden.

As Zhang Jiaohua was walking out from the warehouse, he heard someone calling from the garden entrance.

‘Wenrong, Wenrong.’

Zhang Jiaohua looked and saw that it was Zhang Wenrong’s mother, Xiao Shuangnu, carrying a basket.

‘Auntie, do you need Wenrong for something?’ Zhang Jiaohua quickly walked over.

‘Tomorrow is Wenrong’s father’s birthday. I wanted him to come home for dinner. We have guests, and I’m worried I won’t be able to manage. Wenrong told us there’s too much work to be done at the garden,’ Xiao Shuangnu was very grateful to Zhang Jiaohua. Her son used to idle around the village, getting into trouble, and had a bad reputation. The villagers looked down on them, and the family couldn’t hold their heads up. But ever since Zhang Wenrong started working at the garden, he had completely changed. During the last tea harvest, everyone could see that Zhang Jiaohua valued Zhang Wenrong greatly.

‘Then I’ll have Wenrong go home tonight. Is Uncle celebrating a big birthday or a small one? Are you inviting the villagers for a meal?’ Zhang Jiaohua asked.

‘It’s a small birthday, just with Wenrong’s aunt and her family. Wenrong can come home tomorrow. Jiaohua, keep an eye on Wenrong and the others. Don’t let him slack off. His father and I spoiled him too much before, not letting him do anything. That ended up harming him. If it weren’t for you, Wenrong’s life would have been ruined. Now that he’s on the right track, don’t let him fall back into his old ways. Oh, and I brought you all something to eat.’ Xiao Shuangnu handed the basket to Zhang Jiaohua and lifted the towel covering it, revealing some water spinach rice cakes (water spinach is a local name for a herb known scientifically as Tacca palmata).

‘Ah, water spinach rice cakes!’ Zhang Jiaohua didn’t hesitate, grabbing one and taking a big bite. The unique flavor of the water spinach rice cake filled his mouth. To Zhang Jiaohua, this was a delicacy. The water spinach balanced out the richness of the glutinous rice and added a special fragrance. This was a specialty of Meiziao. There was another type of rice cake that tasted great too, but it was out of season now. During Qingming, villagers would make rice cakes from chicken excrement vine, which had an even more distinctive flavor.

‘I know you love them. I picked some water spinach today and steamed these just before bringing them over,’ Xiao Shuangnu said with a smile, pleased to see Zhang Jiaohua enjoying the rice cake. What she didn’t mention was that Zhang Wenrong also loved water spinach rice cakes.

‘Baozi, go call the other two back,’ Zhang Jiaohua specifically sent Zuan Shanbao to fetch them.

Zuan Shanbao wasn’t interested in such vegetarian food, and dogs dislike food that sticks to the mouth. Puppies often get food stuck in their mouths, causing them distress. Glutinous rice-based foods were even more of an enemy for them.

In no time, Zhang Wenrong and the others came running over. They had no choice, Zuan Shanbao was always impatient when calling people, chasing after them if they didn’t run fast enough, and pretending to bite.

Even though they knew Zuan Shanbao was only trying to scare them, they understood it meant Zhang Jiaohua was calling for them.

As soon as Zhang Wenrong saw his mother holding the basket, he quickly called out, ‘Mom.’

‘I made some water spinach rice cakes for you,’ Xiao Shuangnu, for some reason, felt a bit fearful of her son. She was afraid Zhang Wenrong would resent her for coming.

‘Didn’t I say I’d come home when it’s Dad’s birthday? There’s so much work to be done at the garden right now.’ Zhang Wenrong was actually very touched, his eyes a bit misty, but he didn’t want to show it and deliberately acted like he was complaining.

Xiao Shuangnu grew more anxious, ‘I didn’t ask you to come back today. I already talked to Jiaohua, and he agreed you can come home tomorrow. Also, invite Jiaohua, Hanggou, and Jiagen to come eat. Today, I saw a lot of water spinach in the field, so I made some water spinach rice cakes.’

Zhang Jiaohua kicked Zhang Wenrong, ‘Watch your mouth. Or there won’t be any water spinach rice cakes for you.’

Zhang Wenrong lowered his head and didn’t dare to say anything else.

‘Auntie, don’t mind him. He actually told me a while ago that he was planning to use last month’s salary to buy a few pounds of meat for Uncle’s birthday tomorrow,’ Zhang Jiaohua was sensitive to these matters. For some reason, he felt a bit emotional too.”