PCJ – Chapter 64 Big Snake

Zhang Jiaohua needed his cousin’s protection? Of course not. But his cousin’s words still stirred something in Zhang Jiaohua, after all, they were brothers. Regardless of how things were at home, they had to present a united front outside. In the countryside, many things required more than just siblings. Like disputes over land, at the slightest disagreement, they would call all their brothers over, roll up their sleeves, and deal with it together. After all, it was rare to see someone like Zhang Youping, who could take down several people on his own.

“Jiaohua, why did Yuanbao suddenly change his tune?” Dumb scratched his head in confusion.

“How would I know?” Zhang Jiaohua was also puzzled by the situation.

When they reached the school gate, a group of people was gathered in a corner, holding sticks.

“Don’t hit it, don’t hit it! Go call the teacher.” A familiar voice rang out.

Zhang Jiaohua and Dumb exchanged a glance and quickly joined the crowd.

It was indeed Zhang Yuanbao’s voice, but the situation was not as they had imagined. Zhang Yuanbao was not being beaten; instead, this group of brats had surrounded a large black snake at the corner of the school wall. The snake was surrounded by the kids with sticks, and it dared not move. It kept spitting venom towards the kids.

This snake was called a “wushao snake.” The kids recognized it; wushao snakes were non-venomous, so the kids dared to openly surround it. If it had been a venomous snake, they would have run away long ago.

“This is a family snake, don’t hit it!” Zhang Jiaohua couldn’t help but say.

Hearing Zhang Jiaohua’s voice, the kids standing next to him quickly stepped aside, making way.

“This is school, not home. Why can’t we hit it?” Ma Sibao from the Runmalan team said disdainfully.

“Regardless, it can’t be hit. It catches mice and doesn’t bother you. Why hit it?” Zhang Jiaohua frowned.

“If Jiaohua says we can’t hit it, then we can’t. What’s with all this nonsense?” Zhang Yuanbao felt as an older brother, he should support his younger brother.

“This snake may be a family snake, but it’s not your Zhang family’s family snake. I’ll hit it if I want to, can you stop me?” Ma Sibao said.

As soon as Ma Sibao spoke, the students from the Runmalan team immediately echoed him.

“Yeah, it’s our Ma family’s business, none of your Zhang family’s business.” Ma Dongqiao from the Runmalan team also stood up and said, as he spoke, he directly swung the stick in his hand towards the large wushao snake’s head.

“I’m telling you, you can’t hit it. If you hit it, you’ll regret it later.” Zhang Jiaohua said, then he pushed through the crowd and walked away.

Dumb followed, “Jiaohua, why can’t we hit this snake? My dad says if you see a snake, you should kill it. Isn’t killing snakes a good thing?”

“Good thing? Nonsense. If you don’t provoke the snake, it won’t attack you. Moreover, it specifically eats mice. This snake was originally hiding here and didn’t scare anyone. It’s so big, who knows how many years it’s been alive. If you kill it, all the snakes in the surrounding area will seek revenge for it because it’s the Snake King.” Zhang Jiaohua could see that although this wushao snake was non-venomous, any animal that lived for a long time would inevitably possess a spirituality that ordinary animals did not have. Zhang Jiaohua saw a trace of spirituality in this wushao snake. He knew this snake was extraordinary.

Zhang Jiaohua also pulled Zhang Yuanbao out. Since Zhang Yuanbao had just said he would protect him, Zhang Jiaohua naturally had to return the favor and save Zhang Yuanbao from trouble.

“Jiaohua, can’t we really hit this snake?” Zhang Yuanbao still felt that the snake was somewhat pitiful, so he stopped others from hitting it. He didn’t know whether the snake could be hit.

“Of course, we can’t hit it! It’s the Snake King!” Even without Zhang Jiaohua speaking again, Dumb quickly repeated what Zhang Jiaohua had just said, then at the end, he asserted his copyright, “All this was told to me by Jiaohua.”

“I knew we couldn’t hit it. Killing such a big snake will bring bad luck.” Zhang Yuanbao agreed, then immediately ran into the school and called the teacher out.

But in just a short while, Ma Sibao and a group of kids had already beaten the large wushao snake to death with sticks, and they used the sticks to pick it up, easily three or four meters long.

Principal Ma Lisong was also from the Runmalan team. Seeing that the snake had been killed, he just casually said a few words to Ma Sibao. As for what Zhang Jiaohua said about the Snake King not being able to be hit, he didn’t take it seriously at all. As the head of the school, responsible for spreading socialist scientific culture, how could he believe in feudal superstition?

“Principal, they killed the Snake King, something bad will happen.” Dumb said somewhat unwillingly.

“What Snake King? It’s just a relatively large snake. As teenagers of the 1990s, you should actively resist feudal superstition. Don’t promote feudal superstition in school in the future. As teenagers of the 1990s, you are the bright sun at nine o’clock in the morning of the motherland, the flowers of the motherland. You should believe in science and resist superstition. Well, let’s end it here today. Let’s all go to class.” Ma Lisong’s eloquence was something Dumb couldn’t compare with.

Zhang Jiaohua didn’t say anything. He knew that no matter how he explained, others wouldn’t believe him. This matter had nothing to do with him in the first place, and he didn’t bother to say much about it. However, just as Zhang Jiaohua lifted his foot to walk towards the classroom, Ma Lisong stopped him.

“Zhang Jiaohua, I’ve heard about your situation a long time ago. I was just thinking of talking to you about it.”

Zhang Jiaohua stopped and looked at Ma Lisong somewhat confused.

“I know, several children who grew up with you have had accidents. I can understand that you’re having a hard time because of the Jinhu incident. But you shouldn’t carry too heavy a burden. And don’t believe in rural feudal superstition. I heard that you often talk about some nonsense. This is not good. You are a student, you should believe in science. Forget it, it’s not all your fault. Go back to class.” Ma Lisong waved his hand, and Zhang Jiaohua immediately ran into the classroom.

Ma Sibao still couldn’t bear to leave such a large wushao snake behind. It was more than ten feet long, a huge piece of meat. Eating snakes was common in the mountains. Such a large snake would be a waste to throw away.

“Ma Sibao, why are you still in the classroom?” Ma Lisong saw Ma Sibao frowning.

“Principal, I want to take this snake back. It’s a pity to throw it away here.” Ma Sibao said.

“Go ahead and come back quickly.” Ma Lisong also thought about whether he should go to Ma Sibao’s house for a home visit tonight.

Zhang Jiaohua saw the dead wushao snake and felt a thud in his heart. This matter was probably not going to end so easily. This kind of snake really couldn’t be hit. In his dreams, when Zhang Jiaohua accompanied his master to offer incense, he had encountered such situations before.

Gong Ziyuan saw Zhang Jiaohua always looking out the window and frowned, “The high school entrance exam is coming soon, and some people still don’t focus on class. When you fail the exam, how will you face your parents?”