HPDBC Chapter 70 Dog King Zhang Taibao
Chapter 70 Dog King Zhang Taibao
The atmosphere that Xiao Kai had worked so hard to create was ruined by his second brother from his maternal uncle's family. Several attempts to remind him with his eyes failed, so he could only endure it.
After downing a sip of wine, Old Zhang ignored Xiao Kai's reminder and showed him no respect, continuing his rambling:
"He spent a few years in the mountains, but he didn't do anything serious. He either rode around on his horse and showed off, or he hunted gray squirrels and caught rabbits."
"Second brother, don't let yourself get drunk and start saying whatever comes to mind..."
Seeing that his second brother was rambling on and on, Xiao Kai could only offer a direct reminder.
With his tractor-driving skills, he should be driving a timber truck at Shanhao, but his alcoholism led him to become a handyman at the Forestry Bureau.
"What did I say? Wasn't that all your doing?"
Fearing the two would start fighting at the table, Chen Tuo could only go along with what Lao Zhang was saying.
"Master Zhang, did you also work at the mountain barracks?"
"Yeah, he played for a few years, and I worked for a few years!"
"Zhang Dabao, didn't my uncle ask me to keep an eye on you?"
"Your uncle said my name is Zhang Taibao, so it'll be easier to find a wife..."
The two were arguing quite interestingly, so Chen Tuo simply stopped trying to persuade them, picked up his wine bowl, took a sip, and watched the spectacle.
"Chen Zhiqing, my second brother, although he looks like a drunkard, he has no tolerance for alcohol; one sip is too much. He just drinks a lot..."
When talking about his second brother, Zhang Dabao, who changed his name to "Zhang Taibao" after the flood, Xiao Kai looked helpless.
Besides the abundance of trees, the forest area also has a lot of bachelors.
Wu Laowai is a bachelor, and so is his second brother.
In order to help his second brother find a wife, his uncle, after listening to some nonsense, changed Zhang Dabao's name.
In Xiao Kai's opinion, the reason why his second brother was still single was that he had a low alcohol tolerance and was an alcoholic, had more dogs than people at home, and lived a filthy life.
"It's freezing cold up and down the mountain, won't a drink warm me up?"
Drinking alcohol to keep warm is why Zhang Taibao carried a five-jin (2.5 kg) barrel of wine with him in his carriage.
The baijiu from Songling had saved his life on a snowy night a few years ago, which is why Zhang Taibao, despite his poor alcohol tolerance, still drank so much.
"Brother Zhang, drinking is fine, but you shouldn't drink and drive a tractor. What if you hit someone?"
Chen Tuo's address of "Second Brother Zhang" immediately made Zhang Taibao feel honored.
Because of his alcoholism, his bachelorhood, and his dog ownership, few people in Songling would even consider him.
"That makes sense. I'll drive the tractor after I sober up. I still have two litters of puppies to feed! Do you want one?"
Because of Chen Tuo's address of "Second Brother Zhang," Zhang Taibao wanted to send another dog, but Xiao Kai was afraid that two litters of puppies would eat the amnesiac educated youth out of house and home.
"Second brother, you can farm and grow grain, but Chen Zhiqing can't farm. He doesn't have enough grain to raise enough dogs."
Chen Tuo was taken aback by Zhang Taibao's two litters of puppies. Only after Xiao Kai reminded him did he ask:
"Brother Zhang, do you keep quite a few dogs?"
"Not many, only six or seven. We chase pheasants and rabbits when we're not busy."
"That's great! Can you tell me how you raise your dog? I'm planning to write a novel, but I'm lacking material."
"Vegetables? You really know how to eat! We have everything here, but we're terribly lacking in vegetables. Without vegetables, even taking a dump is a struggle!"
The two of them could chat about a city gate tower and a train engine, and they even had a good conversation, which made Xiao Kai laugh out loud.
Knowing that Chen Tuo was collecting materials, Hong Ye, who was inside the house, thoughtfully brought him a notebook.
"Brother Zhang, would you be happy if I wrote your story into a novel?"
If the Zhang Erge in front of him were still called Zhang Dabao, Chen Tuo wouldn't have asked that question.
But the name 'Zhang Taibao' is very imposing. If it could be written, it would save more than just the effort of choosing a name.
"Write about me? Write about what?"
"Zhang Taibao, the Dog King of Songling, faithfully guards the mountains and forests!"
"Isn't that ridiculous? When I have nothing better to do, I go up the mountain to catch rabbits and pheasants. When there's no firewood, they cut down trees on the mountain at will. How am I protecting the forest?"
This time, Zhang Taibao really gave Chen Tuo a hard time. You can't be too honest with people.
They're too honest, and their words are especially harsh.
"Second Brother, why are you throwing everything out there? Chen Zhiqing is trying to find you a wife!"
Seeing that his second brother hadn't forgotten to stuff his mouth while chatting, and that his mouth was still as thick as a cotton waistband, Xiao Kai could only smile wryly and describe his vision to him.
"If writing about me will get me a wife, then write whatever you want! Don't even mention the 'Dog King,' you could write me as a dog, I wouldn't say a word! I desperately want a wife!"
After saying that, Zhang Taibao glanced at Hong Ye cautiously. Seeing the big fat girl's sharp eyes, he quickly lowered his head and started eating again.
Knowing that he couldn't reason with Zhang Taibao, Chen Tuo turned to Xiao Kai.
"Section Chief Xiao, here's what I'm thinking: how about I write a novel to create a model for our Songling Forest Area?"
It's simple to talk to someone who understands. Xiao Kai understood Chen Tuo's meaning clearly.
If he had thought of this earlier, he wouldn't have been loitering on the mountain back then.
"It's not that Chen Zhiqing is unsuitable, but my second brother..."
When it came to Zhang Taibao, Xiao Kai racked his brains but couldn't find a single glorious deed.
Besides being an alcoholic and keeping dogs, this guy has also taken advantage of the forest farm quite a bit.
In short, whatever the forest farm had, even dog excrement, Zhang Taibao's family had to have a share.
While this guy can't be described as having a terrible track record, he's definitely not a good bird.
"That's what I think..."
When Chen Tuo talked about Zhu Guangsheng, the "Dog King of Northwest China," and about protecting wild animals...
Not only Xiao Kai and Zhang Taibao, but even Hong Ye stared blankly at Chen Tuo.
There are protected animals in the mountains, but when you count them, only the Siberian tiger is currently off-limits to hunting.
The Greater Khingan Mountains are not a habitat for Siberian tigers, so what is the point of talking about protection?
Although you can't just fight the elk.
But in the sparsely populated Songling, let alone elk, even a Siberian tiger passing through could be killed without the forestry bureau finding out.
"Protecting livestock? Chen, let me ask you something: where did the bear offal in your pot come from?"
Hong Ye and Xiao Kai were still thinking about which animals they should protect.
With his mouth greasy, Zhang Taibao pointed at the army pot and asked Chen Tuo a question.
"You took a taxi in the Hetao area!"
"Aren't you a bear-man? You hunt bears in the Hetao region, and you won't let others hunt them? Who would believe that?"
"We can fight now, but we won't be allowed to fight in the future. It will take at least a few months for my novel to be published, and it may take years for readers to see it."
After listening to Chen Tuo's explanation, Zhang Taibao sized him up for a while before lowering his head to continue eating.
Between getting married and telling lies, this honest man also had to succumb to reality.
"Chen Zhiqing, if you're going to write it like this, could you let me see it after you're done? Let's not stray too far from reality..."
Xiao Kai didn't utter the words "pretentious and empty," which was considered giving Chen Tuo face.
Another point is that we can't let him fabricate stories about the forest area.
If it really involves forest rangers, the forestry bureau still needs to take a look.
"No problem, I'll let you take a look. It'll also help me fill in any gaps in my writing. But I need to finish the article I commissioned for Longjiang Literature and Art before I can write Blood Wolf Dog."
Having secured the lead role in "Blood Wolf Dog," Chen Tuo didn't forget to elevate his own status, directly revealing to Xiao Kai that Longjiang Literature and Art Publishing House had commissioned him for the article...