PCJ – Chapter 446 Unbelievable

The tiger placed Zhang Jiaohua on the ground, licking his forehead with its tongue, unsure of what to do next.

The mountain leopard crouched next to Zhang Jiaohua, staring at him without blinking. The fat cat slept soundly with its head resting on Zhang Jiaohua’s body. The fat monkey kept scratching its head in the tree. They didn’t seem to think anything was wrong with Zhang Jiaohua being like this. When Zhang Jiaohua woke up, he would naturally come to.

The herbalist Liu Zhaodong hurried home carrying a basket of medicinal herbs. Because he had been following the tiger, Liu Zhaodong had taken a longer route. By the time he arrived at the village, it was already getting dark.

Liu Zhaodong’s grandson, Liu Jun, anxiously went up to meet him, taking the bamboo basket off his back, and complained, “Grandpa, why are you so late? I was worried sick.”

“Today, I encountered something strange in the mountains, which delayed me,” Liu Zhaodong shook his head.

“What strange thing?” Liu Jun put the basket in the living room, pulled the string of the light switch, and with a click, the light illuminated the dim wooden house. He quickly went to prepare food for his grandfather, taking hot dishes from the cooking pot.

“I saw tigers in the mountains today!” Liu Zhaodong said, looking at Liu Jun as if to see his reaction. He guessed that Liu Jun wouldn’t believe him.

Liu Jun laughed, “Grandpa, stop joking. Where would there be tigers in the mountains?”

Liu Zhaodong smiled bitterly, “I’m not lying. I saw five tigers today. The most surprising thing was that one of them had a child in its mouth. I followed them, hoping they would put the child down so I could save it. But the tigers noticed me. What’s strange is that they didn’t attack me. Later, a monkey caused a commotion, and when I was picking up the herbs it had scattered, the tigers were gone.”

“Grandpa, you’re lying to me again. The tigers in Meishan were long extinct. How could there be a group of tigers? And tigers don’t travel in groups. They are solitary creatures, the king of the beasts!” Liu Jun refused to believe.

“Well, I knew you wouldn’t believe me. If I had a camera, I could have taken pictures. Then you would believe me, right?” Liu Zhaodong said, somewhat frustrated. He was telling the truth, yet even his own grandson didn’t believe him. Luckily, no one else had heard about it, or they might think he was crazy.

After dinner, Liu Zhaodong began working on the herbs. He didn’t know Meishan magic, but he was familiar with many medicinal plants and was well-known in the village. Of course, he couldn’t cure serious diseases, but for common colds or mild ailments, he could handle it. His specialty was dealing with unknown swelling and pain using herbal remedies. Meishan’s rich natural resources provided an abundance of medicinal plants. If you had a discerning eye, treasures could be found everywhere.

“Grandpa, are you really not lying to me about what happened today?” Liu Jun, noticing his grandfather had been in a bad mood since returning from the mountain, began to believe him.

“Grandpa has never lied to you,” Liu Zhaodong chuckled.

“You’ve lied to me plenty of times,” Liu Jun said with some resentment, recalling how many times he had been tricked by his grandfather when he was younger.

“This time, I’m telling the truth. When you’re on vacation, I’ll take you to see the tiger tracks on the road,” Liu Zhaodong said.

Liu Jun, starting to believe his grandfather, said, “If the tiger really took the child, that would be dangerous.”

“Exactly. When the tiger is full, it might not be interested in the child, but if it gets hungry, who knows what might happen?” Liu Zhaodong said, feeling uneasy about it.

“Grandpa, do you think the tiger might eat the child?” Liu Jun asked.

“Maybe it will, maybe it won’t,” Liu Zhaodong answered.

Meizi’ao, located far from the mountains, was now engulfed in the stillness of night. Zhang Youping and Liu Qiaoye sat in front of their house, anxiously looking down the road, hoping their child would suddenly appear.

“Where could Zai Zai have gone? Why hasn’t he even called to let us know he’s okay?” Liu Qiaoye was on the verge of breaking down.

Zhang Youping didn’t want to show his pain like a woman, as he was Liu Qiaoye’s support. Though he was also worried about their child, he had to remain strong for her.

“It’s all your fault. I told you to let Zai Zai go to the county town for middle school, but you insisted he go to that poor place, Yidushui, to study. How could this have happened otherwise?” Liu Qiaoye blamed her husband entirely.

“It’s my fault, it’s my fault,” Zhang Youping took the blame, not angry at all, despite his wife’s complaints.

“You need to figure something out! Whoever finds Jiaohua, we’ll pay anything. We should advertise on TV. As long as someone has seen him, we can find him,” Liu Qiaoye suddenly came up with a great idea.

“Alright, I’ll have someone go to the TV station,” Zhang Youping replied, even though he had already been there earlier to post a missing person notice. He only agreed now, fearing it might upset his wife.

A family is like a ladder, with the child being the connection point. Now that the connection was in trouble, the ladder was unstable.

“Hire more people to search. Jiaohua is still so young, and if he doesn’t come home tonight, he’ll suffer more. I’m getting tired, so it’s up to you to handle this,” Liu Qiaoye said, leaning back, her body swaying as she fell weakly.

“Qiaoye!” Zhang Youping panicked. If something happened to her, he wouldn’t know how to cope. Jiaohua, where are you? Don’t you know how much your mother is struggling for you?

“The person isn’t seriously hurt. He just hasn’t eaten or slept well for a few days. A couple of IV drips will fix it. But this can’t go on forever. Don’t worry too much. After all, your child is grown up, and it’s unlikely he was abducted. Even if he was, we can still find him,” the doctor at the hospital said, knowing about the Zhang Youping family’s situation.

The people of Xintian County had already searched for Zhang Jiaohua several times, but every time they returned disappointed. Everyone in Xintian County owed the Zhang family a favor. The Jade Immortal Drink had helped the entire tea-farming community prosper.