The whole mountain is my hunting ground.

Chapter 1811 Why is there an old man with you when you're traveling around?

Chapter 1811 Why is there an old man with you when you're traveling around?

"My dad's in trouble again... He beat up Old Niu again... My brother Zhang messed with Black Bear, and Black Bear got him in trouble again..."

Looking at the five men's comical appearance, Zhao Jun recalled all the upsetting things that had happened in the past year in his mind, so that he wouldn't laugh out loud at their miserable state.

Composing himself, Zhao Jun clasped his hands in greeting to the five men and said, "I'm sorry, I came from Heilongjiang Province and I'm late."

Zhao Jun was afraid that these people wouldn't understand what Lingnan, Lingxi, and Lingdonggou meant, so he used "Heisheng" to represent the location of his home.

"Mr. Zhao, you're too kind." The short, thin middle-aged man who had spoken to Zhao Jun yesterday stood up, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed in response to Zhao Jun, saying, "If it weren't for you asking Manager Sun to help us, we still wouldn't be able to eat."

“That’s easy to say,” Zhao Jun said with a smile. “When we’re traveling, it’s fate that we meet. It’s perfectly fine to lend each other a hand.”

"Well, thank you all then." The short, thin middle-aged man clasped his hands in thanks again, then said, "Boss Zhao, I have another favor to ask of you."

"What's wrong? Tell me?" Zhao Jun was taken aback and subconsciously replied. Then he heard the short, thin middle-aged man say, "We've been robbed of all our money. We just took five packs of Shilin cigarettes from Manager Sun's counter. I want to borrow twenty yuan from you to pay back Manager Sun, and then I'll return the money to you when I get to Changchun."

“That’s easy to say,” Zhao Jun said, reaching into his pocket to take out some money.

When he turned around and handed the money to Sun Haizhu, Sun Haizhu stopped Zhao Jun and said, "Brother, forget it, just take it and keep it."

"No way, Brother-in-law Sun, I've already caused you a lot of trouble." Zhao Jun pressed down on Sun Haizhu's hand, which was refusing, and stuffed the money into his pocket. As the manager of the supply and marketing cooperative, Sun Haizhu bought cigarettes at the wholesale price, which was four yuan a pack. Five packs of Shilin cigarettes would cost exactly twenty yuan.

After handing the money to Sun Haizhu, Zhao Jun greeted the five men, whose faces were bruised and swollen, saying, "We haven't eaten dinner yet, have we?"

Seeing the five men nod, Zhao Jun turned to Sun Haizhu and said, "Come on, brother-in-law Sun. Let's find a place to have a good meal. It's on me."

Just as Zhao Jun led his men out to a restaurant, Wang Meilan, along with the Zhao family's women and Li Ruhai, walked along the path in Yong'an Village, bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun.

They chatted and laughed all the way, while behind the women were small donkeys pulling carts.

The people of Yong'an Village say that Zhao's donkey is very intelligent and runs on its own without being driven.

At this moment, the little donkey closely followed Wang Meilan and the others. When Wang Meilan and the others turned, the little donkey also knew to turn, showing that it was quite intelligent.

The donkey cart was loaded with four large bundles of grass, most of which were barnyard grass.

The grass was cut by the Zhao family's women near Dongdagou. Originally, it was a whole cart full of grass, but a large portion of it was unloaded directly at the Zhang family's villa.

Several families jointly raised nearly a hundred geese in Zhang's villa. Since three geese are equivalent to one pig, a hundred geese consume a considerable amount of hay every day. The remaining bundles are the feed for the little donkey.

As they approached the Zhao family compound, they heard Ma Ling call out "Mom".

Wang Meilan thought she was being called, but when she turned around, she saw Ma Ling staring straight ahead. Following her daughter-in-law's gaze, Wang Meilan saw Wang Cuihua hurrying towards her from the opposite direction.

"Mother-in-law." Wang Meilan quickly stepped forward, only to hear Wang Cuihua say, "My dear mother, I heard that Xiaojun is going to give his younger brother 45,000 yuan?"

"Huh?" Wang Meilan was a little surprised to hear this. It was already evening when Wang Cuihua remembered to ask about what happened in the morning.

Just then, Wang Cuihua said, "I've been busy all day, and I just came back from the fields. Everyone who bumps into me tells me about it."

Upon hearing Wang Cuihua's words, Wang Meilan and the others all turned to look at Li Ruhai.

Li Ruhai was also completely bewildered. He clearly hadn't spread these words himself, so how could they have spread throughout Yong'an Village in just one day?

But Li Ruhai knew that this was not the time to dwell on this, so he quickly explained, "Aunt Ma, I didn't spread these rumors! I've been working with my mother and the others all day, and I haven't had time to talk about these things."

As soon as Li Ruhai said this, everyone's eyes turned to Wang Cuihua again.

Because Li Ruhai was right, he didn't go anywhere all day. He stayed by Wang Meilan's side, helping with chores at home, and had no chance to spread the news.

"I didn't say it was you who said it, Ruhai." After saying this, Wang Cuihua said angrily, "My little rascal, he went from house to house, telling everyone he met that he and his brother-in-law went up the mountain to carry corn. Then his brother-in-law sold a corn stalk for 100,000, and he got 45,000!"

Everyone was speechless upon hearing this. They say one shouldn't flaunt wealth, but who's as ostentatious as Ma Yang? Now that he's rich, he wants everyone in Yong'an to know.

Wang Cuihua was speechless. Zhao Jun took Ma Yang up the mountain, carried a wooden mallet to earn money and shared it with Ma Yang. This was originally a good thing.

But her son is too restless. Last time Zhao Jun gave him three thousand yuan, and as a result, Ma Yang got a big slap in the face from his father.

If it's changed to 45,000 this time, wouldn't they tear down the roof of the house?

“Ma Niang, don’t be angry.” Just as the atmosphere was heavy, Li Ruhai spoke up to comfort Wang Cuihua, saying, “Your Ma Yang is also a poor man who has suddenly become rich. He has never seen so much money before. Before, he was just fishing for wild catfish and pheasants in the South, and he only sold them for three or five cents each. Now that he suddenly sees forty-five thousand, how can he not be stunned?”

Li Ruhai's first sentence sounded quite reasonable, but his later words were rather unpleasant.

But Wang Cuihua had no time to argue with Li Ruhai. She anxiously asked Wang Meilan, "Mother, what should we do?"

"It's alright, mother-in-law." Wang Meilan gently patted Wang Cuihua's hand and comforted her, "If anyone asks you again, just say that your brother-in-law was just joking with him. He can't possibly give that much money. He can only give three or five hundred at most."

After saying this, Wang Meilan paused slightly, then continued, "Where would you find a 100,000 yuan idiot? You can't trust anyone."

Hearing Wang Meilan say this, Wang Cuihua's eyes lit up. But then she remembered something and couldn't help but feel discouraged, saying, "That good-for-nothing brat, who would have thought? The whole village knows!"

"No problem." Wang Meilan smiled and waved her hand, then pointed to Li Ruhai beside her and said, "We have Ruhai, what's the big deal about this?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Cuihua turned to look at Li Ruhai. When she saw Li Ruhai's youthful face, Wang Cuihua's suppressed heart instantly felt lighter.

"Ruhai," Wang Cuihua called out to Li Ruhai. Li Ruhai looked troubled and said, "Ma Niang, you know me, I've been in this village for so many years. I can talk, but I never lie. I say what I mean, and I don't say what I don't mean."

"You think this is some good thing?" Jin Xiaomei said, giving Li Ruhai a sidelong glance. "Hurry up and get this done for your mother. This is a family matter, don't you understand?"

"Understood, understood." Remembering that Wang Cuihua was Zhao Jun's mother-in-law, Li Ruhai nodded repeatedly, then said to Wang Cuihua, "Don't worry, Ma'er. With me, Li Ruhai, I guarantee that your Ma Yang will be like a blind man lighting a lamp, wasting his time."

Wang Cuihua: "..."

After finishing his sentence, Li Ruhai turned and ran away. Although he had worked all day, all his fatigue instantly vanished when it came to his profession.

"Thank you, Ruhai," Wang Cuihua called out from behind, then turned around and thanked Jin Xiaomei again.

"No need to thank me, Sister-in-law Ma," Jin Xiaomei said with a smile. "We're not strangers, no need to be so polite."

“That’s right,” Wang Meilan chimed in. “Come on, mother-in-law, let’s go inside. Let’s go upstairs for a bit.”

"I'm not going." Li Ruhai's intervention relieved Wang Cuihua of a huge weight. She waved to Wang Meilan and said with a smile, "I'm going back. I'm going back to see if that little brat has come back yet."

Her little calf hadn't gone home yet; at that moment, Ma Yang was sitting outside Liu Tiezui's courtyard gate.

Ma Yang, arms crossed, leaned against the woodpile and fell into a deep sleep. No one knows what he was dreaming about, but in his sleep, he was grinning from ear to ear.

When Liu Tiezui returned from outside, he happened to see Ma Yang looking like a lovesick fool.

These days, there are peak and off-peak seasons for matchmakers in forest areas.

At that time, there were no restaurants near the forest area, so if you wanted to hold a banquet, you could only do it at home.

In that case, it's fine when the weather is warm, but there's really nothing we can do when it's cold. After all, you can't expect people to sit outside and eat at a banquet when it's below -30 degrees Celsius, can you?

Moreover, there are fewer vegetables in winter, unlike in summer when you can grow piles of eggplants, green beans, persimmons, and peppers in your own little garden. Add in some wild mountain vegetables and river fish, and you can easily make six or eight dishes.

Spring planting is basically over now, and any work left in the fields is just piecemeal.

So Liu Tiezui has been busy these past few days, leaving early and returning late every day.

When Liu Tiezui saw Ma Yang sleeping at her doorstep, she was taken aback. But seeing the handprint on Ma Yang's face, Liu Tiezui shook her head inwardly, thinking that the kid had been beaten by his father again.

It was already the end of May, and it wasn't cold outside. Plus, the young man was full of energy, so Liu Tiezui ignored Ma Yang and went straight into the yard and back to his house.

When people are having a sweet dream, they never want to wake up. Liu Tiezui had already gone inside, but Ma Yang was still asleep at her doorstep, sleeping until the forestry workers got off work.

It has to be said that Li Ruhai is really amazing. The efficiency he achieves in one hour is equivalent to Ma Yang's entire day's work.

When Ma Dafu and Ma Sheng entered the village, the news that Zhao Jun was selling a wooden mallet for 100,000 yuan had already been suppressed by Li Ruhai.

As the father and son walked home together, they happened to pass by Liu Tiezui's house.

Seeing someone leaning against the gate of Liu Tiezui's house, Ma Sheng frowned and said, "Dad, look who's that? Why is he lounging around Liu Tiezui's gate?"

"Who else could it be but Yong Sheng, that big scoundrel?" Ma Dafu said with a look of disgust. "The village head slapped him across the face that time, and he still dared to come back."

In rural and forested areas, single women, whether widows or older spinsters, do not have an easy life.

Some scoundrels like to harass people; in the local dialect, they're called "scoundrels who pester."

"Damn it!" Ma Dafu said, rolling up his sleeves and cursing, "This son of a bitch has no shame, watch me slap him across the face!"

"Yeah, let's beat him up!" Ma Sheng chimed in. "Let's give him a good beating, you two!"

It's not that these two men like to meddle; the key is that every family has female relatives, and every family is annoyed by that kind of scoundrel.

And who is Liu Tiezui? He's in very poor health; he's not disabled, but he's practically so.

Lai Zi is loitering at her doorstep; that's just too much of a bully!

The father and son hurried forward, and just then, Liu Tiezui came out to splash water. Seeing Ma Dafu and his son passing by his tent, he immediately shouted, "Brother Ma, come and see your old son! Why is he sleeping at my doorstep?"

"Huh?" Ma Dafu's feet seemed rooted to the spot, frozen in place.

Liu Tiezui's shout woke Ma Yang up. He smacked his lips, opened his sleepy eyes, and immediately saw his father and older brother.

"Dad, Big Brother," Ma Yang mumbled sleepily, "You two are off work?"

"You're so pretty!" Ma Dafu cursed under his breath at Ma Yang, then kicked him in the leg and said, "Get up! Get home!"

……

While Ma Dafu was angrily cursing "liar," Zhao Jun and thirteen others were already sitting in a private room at the halal restaurant, drinking.

While waiting for the food to be served, the people on both sides introduced themselves. Zhao Jun then learned that the short, thin middle-aged man was named Lin Guodong; the bespectacled old man was named Zhang Xinglin, from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, and was already sixty-six years old, but looked younger than Zhao Youcai.

The burly man who came with them from Beijing, looking like a bodyguard, was named Li Zhongguo, and indeed, he was a bodyguard. As for the two from Changchun, let's not even mention them.

As everyone ate and drank, the conversation flowed freely, and Lin Guodong recounted their ordeal of being kidnapped.

The three of them flew in from Beijing and couldn't carry any weapons. However, the local thugs they'd contacted in Changchun had considerable influence, and the five of them made sure they were well-prepared before heading to Shulan. They thought they'd be safe, but those robbers had tricked them!

Lin Guodong said that not long after they left the city by car yesterday afternoon, they saw a person lying across the middle of the road.

Zhang Xinglin, a doctor with a kind heart, said that a passerby had suddenly fallen ill and he wanted to get out of the car to treat him. No one thought much of it, and Lin Guodong and Li Zhongguo accompanied him out of the car.

When the three arrived in front of the man who had fallen, the man suddenly sat up and aimed his gun at them.

Then, more than twenty people rushed out of the grove of trees on both sides of the road, carrying knives, guns, and clubs, and surrounded Zhang Xinglin and his two companions and Santana.

Then, the robbers forced the two people in the car to get out, and in this way, all five people were captured, tied up, and robbed.

After hearing about Lin Guodong and his group's robbery, Zhao Jun said to him, "Master Lin, let's not leave tonight. Let's find a guesthouse here to stay for the night, get a good rest, and leave tomorrow. Is that alright?"

Lin Guodong and his four companions were tied to a tree all night and couldn't sleep at all. By this time, they were so tired that they had no objection to Zhao Jun's suggestion.

However, after glancing at Xing San slurping up meat strips, Lin Guodong thought for a moment and finally asked Zhao Jun, "Boss Zhao, I told you on the phone that the road is not safe, why did you still bring the old man out?"

At this moment, Xing San was wearing a gray jacket with black stripes and washed cloth pants that Zhao Jun had bought for him in the city, and a blue old man's hat on his head.

Since they met today, Xing San hasn't said a word. When people offer him cigarettes, he smokes them; when they pour him drinks, he drinks them; when they serve him food, he eats it voraciously.

Looking at Xing San, Lin Guodong felt that he was a pampered old cadre.

Although Lin Guodong was thin and small, he believed that he could knock down three old men with one punch.

As soon as Lin Guodong said this, he immediately sensed that the atmosphere in the private room was off. He looked around and saw that everyone from the Zhao family gang was staring at Xing San.

(End of this chapter)