PCJ – Chapter 384 The Unstoppable Tide

“Do you have any other methods besides looking at hands?” Cai Kaiming asked. Since this matter couldn’t be made public, they needed to think of another way; otherwise, they would end up losing chickens in the yard. The thief had tasted the sweetness of his crime and faced no punishment, so it would be strange if he didn’t come back.

“Why not go get the police to bring a police dog? They would definitely be able to track down the thief,” Zhang Jiaohua joked.

“Isn’t that just saying something useless?” Cai Kaiming replied irritably.

“This method is fine,” Zhang Jiaohua scratched his head; he was being intentional. In fact, if they brought in a mountain leopard, they could find the thief quickly.

“Getting a police dog is no better than checking everyone’s hands at the school.” Cai Kaiming knew it was wrong to place his hopes on a little kid.

“Well, I have no other options then. Actually, whether we catch this thief or not doesn’t really matter because starting tonight, that thief definitely won’t come to steal chickens anymore,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“Why?” Cai Kaiming asked, confused.

“You’ll understand when night falls,” Zhang Jiaohua said mysteriously.

When night came, Cai Kaiming returned from the classroom and saw that families were moving the chicken coops that had previously been placed in the corridor back inside their houses. Cai Kaiming actually disliked these chicken coops, especially in summer when they emitted an unpleasant odor. He still didn’t know how to talk to the families raising chickens about it. The school cafeteria always had some leftover food each day, which was just enough to feed the chickens. But once someone started, all the families began to raise chickens here. Every time Cai Kaiming passed by, he had to hold his nose.

“Director Li, aren’t you afraid of the smell moving the chicken coops inside?” Cai Kaiming asked.

“What can we do? Leaving them outside attracts thieves too much. We’re planning to slaughter these chickens soon to eat them, to prevent them from being stolen,” Li Shuhai said with a frown.

Cai Kaiming finally understood what Zhang Jiaohua meant when he said catching the thief didn’t matter anymore because the thief wouldn’t have the chance to steal. Moreover, those raising chickens seemed prepared to slaughter them, so there was even less to worry about with thieves.

“Hey, who would have thought that not a single child thought this through,” Cai Kaiming said with an awkward smile. However, he still felt a bit anxious. Would the thief really give up so easily after tasting the sweetness of his crime? Having succeeded twice in a row, it wouldn’t be strange if, after a while, he was tempted again and did something worse.

During the weekend, Zhang Jiaohua didn’t go to the county town but went home instead to bring the mountain leopard over.

Liu Qiaoye cooked several dishes that the little one loved, but she waited and waited without seeing the little one show up.

“Don’t wait any longer; that kid must have gone back to Meizi’ao,” Zhang Youping said helplessly.

“Ever since that time in Guangdong, Jiaohua hasn’t been as close to us,” Liu Qiaoye said, her eyes reddening as tears fell.

“Where’s the lack of closeness? Kids always grow up. At Jiaohua’s age, it’s the most rebellious time. He doesn’t want to come to the county town to study because he doesn’t want to be a little bird caged by us. You know that the little one has always had his own ideas,” Zhang Youping hurriedly consoled his wife.

“I just miss him. He comes back every week, and now he doesn’t want to be close to us when he’s just in middle school. When he grows up and gets a wife, won’t he not even recognize us?” Liu Qiaoye thought more and more sadly, leaning on the table and crying.

“This little rascal! He should follow my instructions! He promised to come to the county town every week. Who would have guessed he would go back on his word? When he comes back, I have to give him a good talking-to. Honey, when I’m beating him, you hold me back. I’ll definitely have to teach him a lesson,” Zhang Youping pretended to be angry.

“If you dare hit the little one, don’t come to my bed tonight,” Liu Qiaoye took him seriously.

Zhang Youping laughed, “Honey, how about we try harder? I feel like I’m still strong enough to have another little boy or girl without any problems.”

“Get lost! Family planning will get you punished. Don’t you dare try to have another one,” Liu Qiaoye glared at Zhang Youping.

In Meizi’ao.

Zhang Jiaohua sneezed a few times and pinched his nose, “Who’s talking bad about me behind my back?”

“It must be Liu Qiaoye from your family. You don’t even come to the county town during the holidays; why are you back in Meizi’ao? If your parents have another brother or sister for you, then they won’t like you anymore,” Zhang Jiwang laughed.

“I’m still somewhat free,” Zhang Jiaohua said defiantly, but inside he was worried.

“Ah, they say more children mean more blessings, but I see it as raising kids is all for nothing. Many forget their parents after they get wives. Your parents miss you so much, and you’re still unhappy,” Zhang Jiwang continued to carve patterns on the bamboo tube.

The packaging of the Biyu Xianyin still used bamboo tubes, and the patterns on the bamboo tubes were all hand-carved. In all of Meizi’ao, very few people could carve beautiful patterns on bamboo tubes. However, many people were practicing this skill now. But the requirements for the patterns were quite high, as each bamboo tube’s pattern not only needed to be exquisite but also completely different from one another. This was challenging for newcomers, and only master craftsmen like Zhang Jiwang could manage it.

“Jiaohua, phone call.” Even though the tea factory in Meizi’ao had moved, production continued as usual, managed by Zhang Youlian. At this time, Zhang Youlian was still in the tea factory office.

Zhang Jiaohua ran over quickly, and when Zhang Youlian saw him, he couldn’t help but scold, “What are you running back for? Your mother has called several times this afternoon.”

Zhang Jiaohua picked up the receiver, and as soon as he greeted the person on the other end, they exploded. He quickly moved the receiver away.

“Zhang Jiaohua! Are you still my child? Didn’t your father tell you that you were supposed to come to the county town today? Why are you not keeping your word?” Liu Qiaoye initially planned to be gentle, but upon hearing someone’s voice, she couldn’t help but explode.

“Mom, I originally planned to come to the county town today. But our teacher insisted I help him with something. I had no choice. Didn’t you tell me to build a good relationship with the teacher? Our homeroom teacher asked me to do something for the first time, and it wouldn’t be right to refuse, would it?” Zhang Jiaohua explained.

“Hmm? What did your homeroom teacher ask you to do?” Liu Qiaoye asked.

“The teacher’s apartment in our school has been frequently robbed. The old hen that the teacher fed was stolen by someone. Teacher Cai wanted me to bring a dog over, so the thief wouldn’t dare to steal the teacher’s things. How could I not help with this?” Zhang Jiaohua said half-truthfully.

Liu Qiaoye paused, “Of course, you should help with the teacher’s business.”

“I knew that even if my mom knew, she would definitely support my decision. I just got back and hadn’t eaten, so I came here to call and tell you I couldn’t come today. I didn’t expect you to call,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

Liu Qiaoye repeatedly reminded him that he must come to the county town next weekend; otherwise, she would cut off their mother-son relationship.

“Jiaohua, you’re lying. I’m going to tell Liu Qiaoye and see how you argue,” Zhang Youlian said, unable to stand the lies.

“Uncle, I’m not lying. If you don’t believe me, ask Teacher Cai if he didn’t ask me to come back and bring the leopard to school. Yuanbao, come tell Uncle,” Zhang Jiaohua quickly called Zhang Yuanbao over.

“I don’t believe Yuanbao’s words. Who doesn’t know that you two are thick as thieves? I only believe in my Manni. Runtian, did your brother and Jiaohua do anything bad at school?” Zhang Youlian asked.

“They didn’t do anything bad, but they didn’t do many good things either. We often don’t see them during meals. The other day, they almost got blamed for stealing someone else’s hen,” Zhang Runtian ignored the threats from those two.

“Alright! How dare you steal someone else’s hen!” Zhang Youlian was already looking for something to hit them with.

“Dad, I was saying they were wronged by someone else,” Zhang Runtian explained what happened that day.

However, the main point Zhang Youlian heard from Zhang Runtian was completely different, “You two rascals have meat to eat, yet you didn’t call Runtian! Let me see how I’ll deal with you two!”

Okay. Zhang Jiaohua and Zhang Yuanbao exchanged glances of frustration, and without a word, they took off running.

“You two little rascals, don’t run!” Zhang Youlian chased after them with a bamboo stick, but the two little rascals had already disappeared without a trace.

“I told you, never involve Runtian in anything, or you’ll be doomed. My dad must have a problem with his head. Other families favor boys over girls, but our family is the opposite,” Zhang Yuanbao said, feeling hurt.

“I think you might have been adopted,” Zhang Jiaohua laughed.

“You’re the one who was adopted. You were picked up from behind the toilet,” Zhang Yuanbao joked back. The little kid was blissfully unaware that he had outgrown the age of the mystery of his origins.

Zhang Jiaohua enjoyed lying on the grass on the hillside of Meizi’ao, looking up at the blue sky.

“Jiaohua, do you think Meizi’ao will really become a tourist area?” Zhang Yuanbao asked.

“It should,” Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t sure what the future would hold.

People grow up, and so does Meizi’ao. The village had already spread the news that Meizi’ao would become a key area for tourism development in Xintian County. The thousands of acres of tea fields in Meizi’ao were already being planned. The road from Meizi’ao to Gezhuping Town was also planned to be paved with cement.

However, Zhang Jiaohua remained worried about the huge risks at Laoling and felt something bad would happen there. But he was still just a middle school student and couldn’t stop the decisions of the adults.

“This will be an opportunity for Xintian County. If Xintian County’s tourism industry takes off, then in the future, Xintian County will not only become a strong tea county but also a strong tourism county. After several years of hard work, we’ve finally shaken off the hat of poverty, but that’s not enough; we still need to move towards prosperity…” The Xintian County TV station was broadcasting Luo Changjun’s speech.