Chapter 160: I Am Not a Human

Li Xuewu watched the black dog frolicking in Zhao Yajun's arms, unloaded the bullets and magazine from the Type 54, and handed them to Zhao Yajun.

"Try letting the dog smell the gun, and then hide it later for it to find."

Zhao Yajun held the gun at a loss, looked at Li Xuewu and said: "Haven't tried metal..."

Li Xuewu laughed: "What is needed is to let it check metal. It doesn't matter. Metal will leave some smells that we humans cannot detect after processing and human touch. You don't need to worry about these, let's do an experiment for the time being."

Zhao Yajun squatted on the ground, put the Type 54 in front of Blackie's nose. Blackie looked at Zhao Yajun very suspiciously, looked at this thing he hadn't seen before, smelled it again, wanted to stick out his tongue to lick it, and Zhao Yajun was so angry that he hugged Blackie's head and rubbed it, then put the Type 54 over, turned his back, and put it over again, repeating this to tease Blackie.

Zhao Yajun saw that Blackie was already familiar with it, so he returned the Type 54 to Li Xuewu, and then led the dog to the back of the house.

Li Xuewu held the Type 54 and looked left and right. He saw a woman in the room looking out from the window, but didn't pay attention, smiled, walked to the wall, and stuffed it into the dog kennel.

"Swallowing the Starry Sky: Signing in to Become a God"

Li Xuewu's face, which was still red from drinking, and his joking actions, made Old Master Zhao and Zhou Lao Liu roll their eyes.

Hearing Li Xuewu's call, Zhao Yajun led the dog back, and compared the gesture of holding the Type 54 in his hand to it, and let it smell the magazine again.

Blackie began to circle around a few people, turned two circles, and circled around the courtyard jumping and smelling. Finally, it couldn't believe it smelled its own kennel, used its front paws to pull the Type 54 out and held it in its mouth, looking at Zhao Yajun triumphantly, but the expression looking at Li Xuewu was a bit wrong.

"You actually hid it in my house, are you playing or not? Are you?"

"I am not a human, but you are a real dog!"

Li Xuewu watched Zhao Yajun command the local dog to sit, lie down, crawl, and roll, very skillfully and obediently, and nodded to Old Master Zhao.

Old Master Zhao got the confirmation, so he said to Zhou Lao Liu beside him: "Xuewu's factory needs a dog to check cases, and they have taken a fancy to the hunting dog on our side. You see if you can let Blackie go to Xuewu."

Zhou Lao Liu looked at the local dog frolicking with Zhao Yajun with some reluctance, but thinking of the dog's food every day and his daughter-in-law's nagging, he could only harden his heart and say: "Old brother, you take it away."

Li Xuewu didn't recognize the woman leaning against the window, but Old Man Zhao did; she was Zhou Lao Liu's daughter-in-law, also a formidable character in the surrounding villages, and he knew the helplessness of his old friend.

Old Master Zhao looked at Li Xuewu and said to Zhou Lao Liu: "It's not that I want it, it's for public use, not for meat. You say a number, so that Xuewu can consider it."

Zhou Lao Liu heard this, looked at this police officer with extraordinary skills, thought about it and asked: "Is it for public use, not for meat?"

Li Xuewu smiled, took out his work permit and showed it to Zhou Lao Liu. Zhou Lao Liu hadn't read a book, so he didn't know what was written in the book.

But he knew the red emblem and seal, and the photo was also Li Xuewu, so he nodded and said: "You give 5 yuan."

Li Xuewu smiled, took out a big group of ten yuan and handed it to Old Master Zhao, saying politely: "Thank you for your love, I know this is your favorite, how can I take advantage of you."

Zhou Lao Liu didn't want the big group of ten yuan that Old Master Zhao stuffed over, saying that they lived in the front and back courtyards, and selling a dog for 10 yuan would make people poke their spines.

Li Xuewu didn't care about these 5 or 10 yuan, but Zhou Lao Liu definitely cared. Even if he cared, he

Old Man Zhao firmly shoved the money into Zhou Lao Liu's hand and said, "We two old brothers are dealing with this; I won't show favoritism. I actually think it's quite appropriate, so just take it."

Hearing Old Man Zhao's words, Zhou Lao Liu then shyly accepted it and even thanked Li Xuewu.

Li Xuewu hurriedly responded with courtesy.

Seeing the transaction completed, Zhao Yajun led the dog away first, while Old Man Zhao and Li Xuewu exchanged pleasantries with Zhou Lao Liu for a while before also heading home.

Old Man Zhao walked with his hands behind his back, saying as he went, "Ten yuan isn't a loss. I've trained this dog for over a year, and it's only just over five years old—it's at its prime for being useful."

Li Xuewu looked at Zhao Yajun, who was playing with the dog in the Zhao family courtyard, and asked the old man, "What kind of work does Yajun do at home?"

Old Man Zhao led Li Xuewu to stand at the courtyard entrance to watch his grandson, and upon hearing Li Xuewu's question, he replied, "He works in the fields to earn work points. Usually, he goes up the mountain with me to roam around, or he weaves baskets at home. These past few days, he's been following the team to ferment manure for fertilizer."

Li Xuewu offered a cigarette to the old man and lit one for himself, then said slowly, "Yajun has a very good personality. I asked him if he resented his sister, and he said he didn't."

Old Man Zhao exhaled a puff of smoke and sighed, "How could he not resent her? It's not that he resents his sister, but his father. He was even better at his studies than his sister, but this child is honest and listens to advice. After his grandmother told him that the family needed someone to shoulder the heavy burden, he told his sister himself that he wouldn't study anymore. He still reads books on his own; he's a child with ambition."

Li Xuewu nodded; that was normal. If he didn't ask clearly, he wouldn't feel at ease in his own heart.

"If I take Yajun away, can the family manage?"

Old Man Zhao looked at Li Xuewu in surprise before saying, "That's true. You can't get that dog back yourself; let Yajun help you deliver it. A day or two won't delay anything. He hasn't been to the city many times, so when the time comes, you can put him on the bus..."

Li Xuewu smiled and interrupted, "Take him away. My intention in taking him is that I won't let him come back."

Old Man Zhao was even more confused upon hearing this: "Not coming back? What do you mean?"

Li Xuewu took a drag of his cigarette and looked at the young man over there, saying, "Find him a job at the steel rolling mill; he won't be coming back."

Old Man Zhao was initially somewhat incredulous, but his expression changed immediately, and he asked with some guilt, "Did Yafang tell you? She hasn't learned her lesson after being beaten once."

Li Xuewu shook his head and pointed at Zhao Yajun, saying, "He's a good young man; it's a pity to keep him cooped up in the mountains. It has nothing to do with my sister-in-law. The steel rolling mill is currently recruiting workers, but it's only a temporary position at seventeen yuan and fifty cents a month. It's perfect to arrange him in there to help us manage and train the hunting dogs."

Upon hearing Li Xuewu's explanation, Old Man Zhao asked again, and only then did he smile.

No matter how difficult their own family is, they cannot drag their granddaughter down; if they always need others to support them, they will never learn to walk on their own. The Zhao family would rather be poor than produce shameless bastards.

If they can earn money by their own strength, that is fine. Although they are still benefiting from the in-laws' favor, this debt of gratitude can be repaid slowly; if he cannot finish repaying it, his eldest son can continue to repay it.