Chapter Fifty-two Expectation

  "Brother Tiger, you like to scare people!" A clear voice of a small child sounded in Zhang Jinquan's ear, and judging from the sound, it should be a 13 or 14-year-old child. Zhang Jinquan's panicked heart slightly calmed down, this group of people brought children with them, they shouldn't be any extremely evil villains, it seems that he and Zhang Jinchao won't be in danger.

  "Send them away, just the hunters from here, remember where their homes are and that's it." At another sound, Zhang Jinquan suddenly crouched down like a cheetah, lowering his body very low, as if ready to pounce on prey at any moment. This was not Zhang Jinquan having a seizure, he had simply felt danger or perhaps what should be called killing intent in the instant that voice sounded, and reacted with instinct.

  "Haha, this big fellow still has some use, let's keep him for now. Tonight, let Kuaishou watch him first." The voice that made Zhang Jinquan feel a sense of danger rang out again, but this time it was tinged with a hint of amusement, perhaps because Zhang Jinquan's current actions had amused him.

  "Come on, kid, the old man has taken a liking to you, your chance has come." The hoarse voice sounded again, but was much gentler towards Zhang Jinquan, who had his head covered, and no longer gripped his arm with great force. After leaving the largest tent, Zhang Jinquan was led into another one, and the black cloth hood covering his head was removed.

  "What about the person who came with me?" Zhang Jinquan didn't dare to turn his head to look at the person standing behind him. Although Zhang Jinquan had been hunting in the mountains since he was a child and spent his days fighting with wild animals, the caution of the villagers made him still feel somewhat at a loss in this new environment.

  "Don't worry, he's already been sent home. Someone from your family has also gone to greet him. Just stay here quietly and tomorrow morning, our master wants to see you." The hoarse-voiced man walked up to Zhang Jinquan with a swagger, and it was only then that Zhang Jinquan got a clear look at the person who had caught him. He had a pale complexion, average build, and a very ordinary appearance. If he were to carry a hoe on his shoulder, he would be a standard farmer - this was Zhang Jinquan's first impression of the man in front of him.

  "My name is Zhao Meng, and my brothers all call me Old Tiger. You can call me Brother Tiger. Our boss didn't leave you here with any ill intentions, he just really appreciates you. Tomorrow morning, whatever our boss asks you, just answer truthfully. Who knows, maybe he'll let you stay with us, and then you won't be a villager anymore. Just wait for the day when we can all go to the big city together and have some fun!" Zhao Meng said with a smile, patting Zhang Jinquan's shoulder before turning around and leaving the tent.

  "Are you that bold little kid?" A black-clad man who looked more familiar than Zhao Meng entered the tent, holding a lunchbox. "There's meat soup inside, it's for you, eat up quickly!" Seeing Zhang Jinquan standing still in a daze, the man smiled and stuffed the warm lunchbox into Zhang's hands, along with a spoon.

  "My name is Yu Dazhi, and everyone calls me Kuai Shou," he said, pointing to Zhang Jinquan's breast pocket, hinting that he should check his own pocket. Zhang Jinquan had a hard-boiled egg in his breast pocket that his sister had cooked for him the night before, intending to save it for tomorrow to bring to his brother on the mountain. Following Yu Dazhi's hint, Zhang Jinquan felt around his breast pocket with his hand, but the egg was gone, leaving only an empty pocket. But he was sure he had put the egg in his pocket, so Zhang Jinquan started feeling around other parts of his body.

  "Stupid kid, stop looking! What's this?" Yu Dazhi stretched out his right hand, and in the palm of his slowly opening hand was the egg that Zhang Jinqian had lost. Yu Dazhi thoroughly enjoyed the look of shock and amazement on Zhang Jinqian's face. "You little brat know why they call me Quick Hands now? If our boss decides to keep you tomorrow, I'll teach you a few tricks, how about it?" Yu Dazhi was indeed good at dealing with people, at least he had already gained Zhang Jinqian's favor.

  The meat soup tasted great, and Zhang Jinqiuan was still in his growing years. The dinner at home was usually salted vegetables with porridge, and half-grown boys like Zhang Jinqiuan would often get up in the middle of the night to find something to fill their stomachs. The fields in Xiao Zhang Zhuang were not many, so the game hunted on the mountain was usually taken to the county town to exchange for money. Even a skilled hunter's family like Zhang Jinqiuan's rarely stewed meat at home. The meat soup in front of him emitted a strong meat aroma, and Zhang Jinqiuan couldn't help but swallow hard, taking several big gulps, and poured half a box of fragrant meat soup into his stomach.

  Eating and drinking, but the string in Zhang Jinquan's heart was still tight, this group of outsiders in his heart became more and more mysterious, especially that person who could make him feel dangerous just by talking. Wiping the oil stain from the corner of his mouth with his hand, Zhang Jinquan finally looked around at the objects in the tent, a 5 or 6-person capacity tent now only had himself and Yu Dazhi inside, on the thick layer of straw scattered two animal hide mattresses, it seemed that only he and Yu Dazhi lived in this tent, didn't they say there were 10 people?

  Perhaps noticing Zhang Jinquan's confusion, Yu Dazhi sat cross-legged on the animal skin mat, pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth. "The other brothers will stay outside to keep watch, tonight this tent will only have us two people." Keep watch, this is a new term that Zhang Jinquan heard tonight, although he didn't understand what it meant, he still nodded, indicating that he knew.

  Everything that happened tonight was like floating on cloud nine for Zhang Jinqiuan, a young farmer. Lying on the animal hide bed, Zhang Jinqiuan didn't feel sleepy at all, he just stared blankly at the top of the tent with his big eyes open wide. He didn't know why, but usually he could fall asleep as soon as he went to bed, yet tonight he couldn't sleep a wink. The words Zhao Meng said kept echoing in his mind: "The master wants to see you tomorrow morning. If the master keeps you, you'll be with us from now on. The master appreciates you. Maybe you won't be a farmer anymore."

  Until the sky was about to brighten, Zhang Jinqian finally fell asleep in a daze. He looked forward to meeting "Grandpa" after dawn, and then his doubts would be answered. Listening to Zhang Jinqian's breathing becoming more stable due to deep sleep, Yu Dazhi, who lay beside him, slowly relaxed his body. This kid was too capable of making trouble, not sleeping well at night, and forcing himself to pretend to sleep. Alas, the waist ached and legs were numb, it was really unbearable.