The whole mountain is my hunting ground.

Chapter 1848 Hailstorm, Heavy Rain, Thunder, and Lightning

Chapter 1848 Hailstorm, Heavy Rain, Thunder, and Lightning

"At that moment, I shouted 'Hey, where do you think you're going, thief?' and then leaped forward, covering several meters in the air, my gun shooting out!" In an office at the Xiangjiang Police Station, Li Baoyu spoke with spittle flying, gesturing as he described, "This shot landed right on the thief leader's face. Instantly, blood splattered, and with a scream, the thief leader fell backward, dead!"

"Someone died?" The junior police officer taking notes was shocked. Li Baoyu was stunned for a moment, then quickly corrected himself, "No, no, I misspoke. I knocked him to the ground."

The young police officer curled his lip, glanced at Li Baoyu, and said, "Speak properly, don't sound like a storyteller!"

……

In the next room, Zhang Yuanmin sat upright in a chair, crossed his legs, and rested his hands on the knee of the crossed leg. He said in a low and calm voice, "Although we were outnumbered at the time, when two tigers fight, one will surely be injured. As the old saying goes, porcelain doesn't collide with earthenware pots, and a wise man doesn't stand under a dangerous wall. This situation can only be dealt with by strategy, not by brute force."

Sitting across the table from Zhang Yuanmin was an elderly policeman in his fifties. His pen was paused on the paper as he looked up at Zhang Yuanmin with a frown.

Zhang Yuanmin continued, "At that time, I had a sudden inspiration, and a plan came to my mind. I quickly walked up to my housekeeper and whispered something to him, such and such, and so on."

At this point, Zhang Yuanmin looked up, smiled at the old policeman, and said, "Comrade, guess what I talked about with my foreman?"

After asking this question, Zhang Yuanmin saw the old policeman's gloomy face and cold eyes staring at him. Zhang Yuanmin coughed lightly and quickly said, "My foreman said after hearing this that Yuanmin's plan was brilliant, and we acted accordingly. So, more than thirty of us used the woods as cover to ambush the bandits..."

……

Compared to Zhang Yuanmin and Li Baoyu, Li Ruhai, who was in the third room, was not as shameless as the two of them, praising himself incessantly.

The policewoman who took Li Ruhai's statement was in her thirties, but she didn't write anything down at the moment. Li Ruhai said, "My brother is a real man. Faced with the thieves' threats and inducements, my brother was upright and resolutely rebuked them."

At this point, Li Ruhai paused slightly, raised his head slightly, and said, "Listening to my elder brother's impassioned speech, one heroic figure after another appeared before my eyes in an instant. They were truly 'as eloquent as Yan Changshan and as sharp as teeth as Zhang Suiyang.'"

Having held back for several days, Li Ruhai finally couldn't contain himself any longer. Now, caught up in the moment, he pointed to a spot 45 degrees to his upper right, then turned to look at his hand, saying, "Perhaps it's a Liaodong hat..."

"Bang!" The policewoman's eyebrows shot up, and she slammed her pen heavily on the table, yelling at Li Ruhai, "What nonsense are you spouting? What rubbish are you talking about?"

Li Ruhai shrank his neck and quickly put his hand down.

The policewoman glared at Li Ruhai, picked up her pen, and asked, "The 'elder brother' you just mentioned, is he your biological brother?"

“No way, my own brother…” When talking about his own brother, Li Ruhai waved his hand and shook his head. After pausing for two seconds with a disdainful look, he said, “My own brother is no match for my eldest brother. My own brother is ambitious but incompetent, brave but reckless, unlike my eldest brother, who knows how to use people well and makes the best use of everyone’s talents.”

Hearing this, the policewoman was about to glare at him again when Li Ruhai lightly tapped his chest and said, "Take me for example. I was originally just a gatekeeper, but my boss couldn't bear to see my talent go to waste, so he appointed me as the manager of the ginseng gang."

"A supervisor?" As a native of Fusong, the policewoman lived not far from the forest area and knew a thing or two about it. But upon hearing Li Ruhai's words, she looked at him with suspicion and asked, "How old are you? Why would you be a supervisor?"

Hearing this, Li Ruhai felt displeased, but out of respect for the other person's status, he could only shake his head and sigh, saying, "Truly, talented horses are common, but discerning judges of character are rare."

After saying this, Li Ruhai asked the policewoman who was about to explode again, "Have you ever heard of the Zhao Family Chamber of Commerce, the largest chamber of commerce in Lingxi?"

"The Zhao Family Chamber of Commerce?" The policewoman frowned; she'd never heard of it. At that moment, Li Ruhai nodded and said, "I am but one of the two top sales representatives of the Zhao Family Chamber of Commerce."

"No? You just said a chamber of commerce?" The policewoman looked at Li Ruhai and asked, "What era are we living in? There are still chambers of commerce?"

"Yes," Li Ruhai said seriously and proudly, "Our Zhao Family Chamber of Commerce was established on January 12, 1988. The president is Ms. Wang Meilan. Ms. Wang is dedicated to the construction of her hometown, the development of the forestry economy, and helping her fellow villagers to become rich..."

"Fine, fine..." The policewoman interrupted Li Ruhai impatiently, saying, "What are you talking about now? Getting rich? Who has gotten rich?"

“Our home!” Li Ruhai said, his eyes clear and his face full of reverence.

Policewoman: "..."

……

In the fourth room on the left of the police station, Chief Yang was personally taking a statement from Xie Chen.

There's no way around it, there are just too many people who need to give statements, there are more than twenty people queuing up outside.

Compared to the other three, Xie Chen was still inexperienced. He was a little nervous and stammered, "I didn't get to drive before they made me drive. I don't know what's going on."

Director Yang blinked, feeling that the young man's words made him sound like a bad guy.

"Besides driving, you didn't do anything else, did you?" When Director Yang asked this, Jie Chen remembered and hurriedly said, "Before coming to Fusong, my brother Jun asked me to keep an eye on the bad guys in the car."

At this point, Xie Chen suddenly remembered something and hurriedly said, "By the way, the one in the back of the truck, the leader of the gang of bad guys, I know a little about his family situation, should I tell him?"

"Huh?" Director Yang looked up at Xie Chen and asked, "How did you know?"

“I berated him in the car,” Jie Chen said. “I told him he… didn’t live a proper life, and then he acted all wronged.”

"What's wrong?" Director Yang asked. Jie Chen replied, "He's the third child in his family, the youngest, so he's quite popular, isn't he? His parents spoil him rotten."

As Xie Chen spoke, he got quite engrossed, recounting what he knew about Zhao San: "His mother died early, and his father arranged a wife for him, but he passed away within two years. After that, he didn't live a proper life; he spent all his time gambling, drinking whether he won or lost."

He'd drink regardless of winning or losing, and then beat his wife. He ruined the family beyond repair, and his wife, afraid of being a burden, ran off with his brother-in-law.

Director Yang: "..."

Director Yang paused for two seconds, looked at Xie Chen who was also silent, and asked, "What else do you know?"

Xie Chen shook his head and said, "Then I don't know."

Director Yang's lips twitched. Remembering that Xie Chen was a meritorious person, he could only force a smile and said in a friendly tone, "Then I'll trouble you. You can go out and rest for a while and call the next person in."

"Yes!" Xie Chen responded and got up to leave. As he left the room, Zhao Jun entered. Zhao Jun did not embellish or exaggerate, but simply stated the facts as they were.

When Zhao Jun came out of the house, he found Wang Qiang, Xie Chen, and Zhao Jinhui smoking by the car.

"Uncle, Jinhui, are you all done?" Zhao Jun asked. Wang Qiang and Zhao Jinhui nodded. Then Wang Qiang said, "Yuanmin, Baoyu, and Ruhai, they've been inside for most of the day. Why haven't they come out yet?"

The police station has eight offices on the first floor, with twelve officers taking statements. One officer goes in, finishes, and comes out, then the next officer goes in.

Zhang Yuanmin, Li Baoyu, and Li Ruhai hadn't come out yet, even after the other thirty-four people had finished.

Not only were Zhao Jun and his men waiting outside, but Director Yang also led a group of people to wait outside those three offices.

At this moment, Director Yang wanted to know what important information the three people in the room had discussed, which had been recorded from the beginning until now.

As luck would have it, as soon as the first office door opened, the second and third doors also opened.

Seeing Zhang Yuanmin, Li Baoyu, and Li Ruhai walking out with smiles on their faces, Director Yang nodded to Zhang Yuanmin and then went into the third office.

"Brother Wang!" Chief Yang called to the fifty-something-year-old policeman as he entered the room, "Where's your statement? Let me see it."

"Bang!" The old policeman slammed the notebook in his hand onto the table, startling Chief Yang.

"What's wrong?" Chief Yang asked the old policeman. This old policeman was a veteran of Xiangjiang Police Station and could be considered half a mentor to Chief Yang. Moreover, he had a very good temper and never argued with his colleagues.

So, before the old policeman could reply, Chief Yang curiously grabbed the notebook, wanting to see what heinous things the robbers had done to make Brother Wang, who was taking the statement, so angry.

But when Director Yang took the book, he was stunned, because there wasn't a single word on it.

"Hmm?" Director Yang flipped through two pages, but they were both blank. He then flipped back to the previous page, which had text, but it contained yesterday's work content.

"No need to look!" the old policeman said angrily, sitting on the stool. "There's nothing there!"

"How can there be nothing here?" Director Yang asked in surprise. "What have you been doing all this time?"

Just then, two people entered through the door: the junior police officer who had taken notes for Li Baoyu and the policewoman who had taken notes for Li Ruhai. Their faces were half pale and half flushed, and they held blank notebooks.

Just then, a car horn sounded outside the window. Director Yang looked out and saw Zhao Jun waving, indicating that they didn't need to see him off.

Director Yang continued to lead his men to take statements from Zhao San and the other bandits. Zhao Jun and his entourage of eight vehicles arrived in a grand procession on the street.

They hadn't gone far when they were stopped.

"Zhao, the foreman!" Wu Baoguo and Shen Qiushan looked at Zhao Jun, who had rolled down the car window, in surprise, then at the convoy following behind, and asked, "You've been wandering around all morning, and you still haven't left the city?"

"No way, Chief Wu," Zhao Jun said with a wry smile. "We hadn't gone far out of the city when we ran into some robbers. They fought us twice in a row. We were taken to the police station, and we just got out after giving our statements."

"Ouch!" Wu Baoguo frowned upon hearing this and asked, "Were we hurt or bumped into anything?"

"No," Zhao Jun laughed. "We...were not hurt at all."

“Ah, okay then…” As Wu Baoguo was speaking, the various guilds, along with Zhang Yuejin, Song Da, and Xu Qianli, all got out of the car.

"Hey Wu, foreman!" Zhang Yuejin called to Wu Baoguo, "Get in the car, let's go eat. You find a good place, I'll arrange the meal!"

"Boss Zhang, what are you saying?" Wu Baoguo hurriedly replied, "Now that we're on my turf, can you still make arrangements?"

After saying this, Wu Baoguo said, "Let's just do this: let's not look for anywhere else, let's just go back to my place to eat. I have plenty of vegetables and meat, so we won't make a fuss for lunch. We can just stir-fry some simple vegetables and have a few drinks, okay?"

As soon as Wu Baoguo finished speaking, a dark cloud gathered in the western sky, followed by a loud rumble of thunder.

"Let's go, it's going to rain." Wu Baoguo called to everyone, "Let's all get in the car and head back quickly."

Urged on by Wu Baoguo, everyone got into the car and returned to Wu Baoguo's factory compound.

When Zhao Jun drove the lead car into the compound, it was already dark, and thunder was rumbling in the sky, making it clear to anyone that a torrential downpour was about to begin.

Wu Baoguo told Zhao Jun to drive the car directly to the front of the building, and the cars behind followed one after another.

As soon as everyone got out of the car and entered the building, hail began to fall outside.

As hailstones the size of soybeans pelted into the doorway, Wu Baoguo said in frustration, "The cucumbers have only grown a few leaves, and this hailstorm has ruined them all."

"Second Uncle, what's the point of cucumbers anymore?" Shen Qiushan said from the side, "The corn is all gone!"

While the uncle and nephew were discussing the damage the hailstorm had caused to the crops, Pang Zhendong, Guo Dahuzi, and others who were tied to a tree outside Fusong City suffered the consequences.

When it hailed, it was alright; the trees were lush and leafy this season, so the hail didn't hit them.

But after the hailstorm, it was like a leaky roof that rained heavily. On the road not far away, the rain made it look like it was steaming.

In the blink of an eye, Pang Zhendong and his seven companions, who had been tied to the tree, were soaked to the bone. The rain poured down their foreheads like a waterfall, making it impossible for them to open their eyes or mouths.

The rain is so heavy it's making it hard to breathe!

At this time, Zhao Jun and the others were eating and drinking on the first floor of Wu Baoguo's courtyard.

"Alright, I'll tell you!" Wu Baoguo said with a smile to the foremen and bosses at the table, "Don't leave today. Wait until the rain stops tomorrow and things calm down before you go."

Instead of making a decision on his own, Shao Tianpeng asked Zhao Jun, "Is it alright, Chief Zhao? A night's stay?"

"Then let's stay for one day," Zhao Jun said with a smile. "It's getting late anyway, let's stay overnight and leave tomorrow morning."

The fact that Wu Baoguo was able to organize the conference at his place shows that he is a capable organizer. Upon hearing that everyone was staying, he immediately started arranging for a hearty drinking session.

After several rounds of drinks and several dishes, the rain outside had lessened slightly, but it was still pouring.

"Oh dear!" Wu Baoguo put down his wine glass, glanced out the window, and said, "This rain really soaked through. If the corn wasn't killed, it'll grow like crazy."

After saying this, Wu Baoguo suddenly remembered something. He turned to Shao Tianpeng and asked, "Old Shao, that... Boss Guo and those old Pangs, they're always following you around. Did you see them?"

"Oh no! This is bad!" Upon hearing Wu Baoguo's question, Shao Tianpeng suddenly remembered those two groups of people.

"What happened? What's broken?" Wu Baoguo asked. Shao Tianpeng replied, "They got tied to a tree by those highway robbers!"

"So you didn't care about them?" Wu Baoguo asked again. Zhang Yuejin chimed in, "We forgot about them. We were too busy running to the police station."

"My God!" Wu Baoguo exclaimed, looking out at the torrential rain. "Won't this rain drench them to death?"

"They won't die from being drenched." Song Dadao said, "With thunder and lightning, they're still in the trees. They can't be struck dead by someone, can they?"

"Oh my goodness!" Wu Baoguo exclaimed with concern upon hearing this, "How about I... drive to find them?"

“No need, Chief Wu.” Zhang Yuejin waved his hand and said, “The police station will take care of them.”

"Ah...that's alright." Hearing Zhang Yuejin's words, Wu Baoguo breathed a sigh of relief. But then, Xu Qianli asked Zhang Yuejin, "Boss Zhang, when you were giving your statement at the police station, did you mention Guo Dahuzi and his gang?"

At this moment, Zhang Yuejin put a cold dish into his mouth. Hearing Xu Qianli's question, Zhang Yuejin couldn't find the words to answer and could only shake his head.

“I didn’t mention them either.” Xu Qianli glanced at the people at the table and said, “I only mentioned the robbers I encountered that day, and how we dealt with them today. I didn’t mention Guo Dahuzi and Pang Batou.”

Upon hearing Xu Qianli's words, Wu Baoguo glanced at everyone at the table. They looked at each other, but no one uttered a sound.

Seeing this, Shao Tianpeng turned to look at the table next to him. Sitting there were members of the Zhao and Shao families. Shao Tianpeng asked them, "Before you gave your statements, did you mention Guo Dahuzi and his gang?"

Seeing everyone shake their heads, Shao Tianpeng pursed his lips and asked another table, "What about you guys?"

Seeing this, Wu Baoguo stood up and asked, "Among us, who mentioned Guo Dahuzi and his gang before giving their statements?"

As soon as Wu Baoguo finished speaking, the entire first floor fell silent; not even the sound of chopsticks clinking against bowls or chewing could be heard.

"Alright, Chief Wu." At this moment, Zhang Yuejin stood up, personally pressed Wu Baoguo down to sit, and said, "If we don't talk about it, we still have to talk about those highway robbers."

“That’s right!” Xu Qianli echoed, “Once the robbers confessed, the police station went to rescue Big Beard and his gang.”

Wu Baoguo was skeptical, but after hearing Zhang Fuyou and Dai Chunhua invite him to drink, he finally believed that Pang Zhendong and the others were destined for good fortune.

After eating and drinking their fill, everyone went upstairs to chat. By then, the rain had subsided a bit, and Wu Baoguo sent people to heat up the kang (heated brick beds) in each dormitory. In this season and weather, although it was raining outside, it was still warmer than inside.

If you don't heat the kang (a traditional heated brick bed), the room gets cold. But once you heat it up, it's so comfortable to lie down on the warm kang.

Meanwhile, at the Xiangjiang Police Station, Chief Yang, who had just finished taking statements from the robbers, frowned and said, "Something's not right."

All the police officers looked at him, and then Chief Yang said, "These stolen goods don't match up!"

After saying this, Director Yang stood up and shouted, "Bring that Zhao San out!"

……

At 3:40 p.m., the rain lessened a bit, and two jeeps drove out of the police station compound and headed straight for the outskirts of Fusong!