sbdcsierra Chapter 1790 The Zhao Family Gang Goes to Lingnan
Chapter 1790 The Zhao Family Gang Goes to Lingnan
Chapter 1790 The Zhao Family Gang Goes to Lingnan
"What did you say?" Upon hearing Liu Xiaodong's words, Song Fu'an's eyes widened, causing the pine torch he was holding to sway. Then, Song Fu'an shouted at Liu Xiaodong sharply, "Say it again!"
Around 2 PM, Song Fu'an followed Pang Zhendong into the mountains, and five hours had passed since then. Song Fu'an was extremely thirsty, hungry, and exhausted. At this moment, provoked by Liu Xiaodong's attitude, anger overwhelmed his hunger and fatigue.
Song Fu'an suddenly became agitated, startling Liu Xiaodong. However, Liu Xiaodong quickly calmed down, took two steps forward, leaned close to Song Fu'an's ear, and whispered, "Captain, don't worry about this."
Actually, Liu Xiaodong wasn't wrong; he was advising Song Fu'an for Song Fu'an's own good.
But Song Fu'an was already in a frenzy and wouldn't listen to any advice. He glared at Liu Xiaodong, raised his voice a few decibels, and demanded, "Why wouldn't I dare to interfere? You still know I'm your captain?"
Speechless, Liu Xiaodong gave a wry smile, his tone tinged with helplessness and a hint of warning, saying, "Captain, I'm doing this for your own good. If you get involved in this again, you really won't be my captain."
"Fuck you..." Song Fu'an had just uttered the curse when he suddenly realized something was wrong.
This Liu Xiaodong has only been with the company for two years. He's always been very respectful to me, so the fact that he dares to talk to me like this today means he must have something to rely on.
Especially Liu Xiaodong's last sentence, "You really aren't my captain anymore," made Song Fu'an feel increasingly uneasy. The words weren't just a simple act of defiance; they were more like a reminder.
Just then, Pang Zhendong, who had followed Song Fu'an in, recognized Liu Xiaodong. He suddenly took a step forward, pointed at Liu Xiaodong, and said to Song Fu'an with suppressed anger, "Brother Song, that's him! He was the one who led the men to beat up Brother Han this afternoon, and he even arrested Brother Han and Wenxue!"
These days, a man's reputation is extremely important when he's out in the world.
Upon hearing Pang Zhendong's words, Song Fu'an instantly exploded like a firecracker, all his previous hesitation vanishing. He immediately questioned Liu Xiaodong, "Where are they? Where did you put Han Shengli and Han Wenxue? What are you doing, arresting them?"
Liu Xiaodong, being young, was intimidated by Song Fu'an's imposing manner and immediately cowered, saying, "They're behind the shack..."
"Behind the shack?" Song Fu'an frowned and said, "Where would there be a place to settle people behind the shack?"
"No, Captain," Liu Xiaodong's voice trailed off, "They...they tied them to that tree behind..."
"Tie him to a tree?" Song Fu'an was taken aback at first, clearly not expecting them to do such a thing. Then he flew into a rage, his voice filled with anger as he said, "What the hell are you people like? It's so cold at night, and you've tied him to a tree?"
After saying that, Song Fu'an didn't waste any more words with Liu Xiaodong and turned to walk out of the shack.
Pang Zhendong glared at Liu Xiaodong, then immediately started walking, chasing after Song Fu'an.
Liu Xiaodong stood there, stunned, staring blankly as Song Fu'an and Pang Zhendong disappeared into the shack.
Just then, a forest ranger who had just gotten off the kang (a heated brick bed) came over, reached out and tugged at Liu Xiaodong's arm, saying, "Xiaodong, why didn't you stop the team leader?"
"Why should I stop you?" Liu Xiaodong looked away and said helplessly, "How could I stop you? What if you don't stop me?"
No sooner had Liu Xiaodong finished speaking than the forest ranger lowered his voice and said with a hint of certainty, "We have to stop them even if we can't! If the captain lets those two go, won't our forest range be under Zhang Jimin's jurisdiction from now on?"
Zhang Jimin was notoriously selfish and stingy, and few people in the forest ranger team wanted to talk to him. He relied on his seniority and acted like a big shot because he had joined the team earlier.
The reason these forest rangers are willing to follow him, Zheng Hansheng, is entirely because Zhang Jimin has been using Zhao Youcai's name from the very beginning.
After hearing the forest ranger's words, Liu Xiaodong instinctively took off running towards the shack. But just as he reached the door, he suddenly stopped and turned to his seven colleagues inside, shouting urgently, "You guys come with me! Why are you leaving me to go alone?"
After Liu Xiaodong and his eight men arrived at the shack, Song Fu'an held up a torch for illumination, while Pang Zhendong was untying Han Shengli.
Han Wenxue, who was tied up not far away, urged, "Hurry up, Zhendong! You're all freezing!"
As soon as Han Wenxue finished speaking, Liu Xiaodong and others rushed over. Liu Xiaodong reached out to stop Song Fu'an, but his four colleagues shoved Pang Zhendong aside.
Pang Zhendong was furious, but he didn't dare to argue with the forest rangers. He turned to Song Fu'an and shouted, "Brother Song, look at the kind of people you have!"
"Captain..." Liu Xiaodong was about to try to persuade him again when Song Fu'an interrupted him, and then he heard Song Fu'an shout at him, "You still remember I'm your captain? Xiaodong, don't you want to work here anymore?"
"Captain!" Liu Xiaodong forced himself to stop Song Fu'an, his tone full of helplessness, "If I don't stop you and you let him go, you'll be the one who quits."
"What?" Song Fu'an was stunned, then heard Liu Xiaodong continue, "It's over, Zhang Laosan will be the new captain of the forest ranger team!"
"Zhang Laosan?" Song Fu'an frowned, then asked, "Where's Zhang Jimin?"
"Uh-huh..." Liu Xiaodong mumbled a reply, but before Song Fu'an could react, Han Shengli's curses came from behind: "That bastard Zhang Jimin! He and Ergudong teamed up to mess with me, both of them..."
Unlike Han Shengli, who was filled with righteous indignation and rage, Song Fu'an was struck dumb when he heard him mention Ergudong. His head was buzzing. His anger was like being doused with cold water, and it vanished instantly, leaving him with only chaotic thoughts.
At this moment, Song Fu'an understood everything. He understood why the forest rangers had arrested Han Shengli, and he also understood why he couldn't get Han out of the way even when he came to rescue him.
Who is Ergudong? His name is Zhao Youcai, and he used to be a cook at the forest farm. But that's not the key point. The key point is that this man has a good son named Zhao Jun. And Zhao Jun is Song Fu'an's direct superior.
Although Song Fu'an's official rank wasn't high, he wielded considerable power. He oversaw nearly two hundred forest rangers. Just imagine how many people were in the entire Yong'an Forest Farm!
It can be said that in the entire Yong'an Forest Area, apart from the factory director and the party secretary, even the team leaders and the eight key personnel of each work group have to give Song Fu'an some face when something happens.
But "a local official is more powerful than a distant one," and Zhao Jun happened to be his direct superior. If he offended Zhao Jun, he would really lose his position as the forest ranger captain tomorrow.
The pine torches crackled, and the flickering flames reflected on Song Fu'an's face, making it impossible to tell that his complexion had already turned pale.
Song Fu'an quieted down, Pang Zhendong quieted down, the eight forest rangers just stood there, and only Han Shengli was left loudly cursing Zhao Youcai.
"Brother, stop yelling!" Han Wenxue was the first to lose his temper. After shouting at Han Shengli, he hurriedly shouted at Song Fu'an, "Fu'an, hurry up and untie us!"
Of the twelve people present, eleven were looking at Song Fu'an.
But at this moment, Song Fu'an dared not move an inch.
Han Xue asked him to untie the rope, but what he was untying wasn't the rope at all; it was Song Fu'an's work that he was untying.
"Sigh!" Song Fu'an sighed heavily, looked up at Han Shengli and Han Wenxue and said, "Brother Han, Shengli, hang in there a little longer! I'll go back and find someone... to put in a good word for you two."
"What the hell?" Song Fu'an's words enraged Han Shengli, who shouted, "My brother and I didn't do anything up the mountain, and you kidnapped us. And now that you, the team leader, are here, we have to find someone to plead for our release?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Xiaodong was the first to object, immediately shouting, "What? You're the only one who didn't do anything? You didn't damage the country's forests?"
"What? I'm damaging national forests?" Han Shengli, though his stomach was empty, was full of grievances and raised his voice, shouting, "I just made a mark on the tree!"
“Marking it isn’t allowed either!” Liu Xiaodong retorted seriously. “It’s a perfectly good tree. You think you can just take a knife and make two cuts on it like that? Do you think it’s your tree?”
"Alright, alright!" Song Fu'an quickly stopped Han Shengli, who was about to argue with Liu Xiaodong, because Song Fu'an knew that if the forest ranger caused you trouble, you would definitely not be able to escape.
Don't talk about the past, don't talk about others, it's all useless.
“Dongzi,” Song Fu’an turned to Liu Xiaodong, his tone softening, and said, “Brother Han did make a mistake, but you didn’t have to arrest him, and then tie him to a tree.”
Song Fu'an didn't say this to defend Han Shengli, because he immediately added, "I heard at home that you were beating and arresting people, and I was afraid something might happen, so I rushed over here."
Song Fu'an said this in an attempt to make amends for his previous behavior.
"Captain, you don't know!" Liu Xiaodong pointed at Han Shengli and said, "This kid is fucking arrogant. We talked to him, and he cursed at us. Then he even started gesturing at us. How can we let him get away with this?"
Han Shengli wanted to protest after hearing this, but Song Fu'an stopped him.
Because Song Fu'an knew very well that in this situation, whichever side was stronger was right.
After all, these days there are no cameras or cell phone recordings, and the statements of more than twenty forest rangers are not something that two village thugs can easily overturn.
"Dongzi," Song Fu'an asked Liu Xiaodong, "do you have any dry rations or anything?"
Song Fu'an said this because he wanted to get Han Shengli something to eat, but Han Shengli replied, "I haven't eaten dinner yet."
“There’s no other way, Captain,” Liu Xiaodong replied. “We’ll take the little bit of dry rations we have, eat them all tonight, and then we’ll eat breakfast at home after get off work tomorrow.”
Liu Xiaodong's words meant there was nothing left to eat. After hearing this, Song Fu'an glanced helplessly at Han Shengli and Han Wenxue, then turned and left.
Pang Zhendong glanced at Han Shengli and Han Wenxue with a mixture of reluctance and helplessness, then quickly followed Song Fu'an.
Pang Zhendong had no choice. He knew that staying wouldn't save Han Shengli and Han Wenxue, and besides, he hadn't eaten dinner yet.
After watching Song Fu'an and Pang Zhendong leave, Liu Xiaodong and the other forest rangers went back to their shacks to sleep, leaving Han Shengli and Han Wenxue to continue to suffer from the wind.
As Han Shengli was tied up in the mountains, feeling utterly helpless, Zhao Youcai flicked his cigarette ash in the field outside the Zhao family's house and said to Wang Qiang, "Qiangzi, I'm taking on a disciple today."
When Li Dazhi's family was there, Zhao Youcai didn't mention Gu Yang. By this time, most of the diners had left, leaving only Wang Qiang's family of four, and Li Baoyu and Liu Mei.
Upon hearing Zhao Youcai mention this matter, before Wang Qiang could react, Li Baoyu said, "Grandpa, didn't I already say that I'll just go up the mountain with my brother to learn skills? I won't trouble you to teach me."
"Who said anything about you?" Zhao Youcai glared at Li Baoyu with his eyelids, then said, "I took Gu Yang in."
"Who?" Zhao Jun and the others were surprised, then they heard Zhao Youcai say, "Gu Yang, he kowtowed to me. From today onwards, he is my eldest disciple."
"Grandpa, how could you take him in?" Li Baoyu was still resentful about some of Gu Yang's actions. At this moment, Wang Qiang asked Zhao Youcai, "Brother-in-law, are you going to teach him how to cook?"
"What cooking?" Zhao Youcai waved his hand at Wang Qiang and said irritably, "I'll teach him how to hunt and have him come up the mountain with me."
"Go hunting in the mountains with you?" Wang Qiang curled his lip and asked Zhao Youcai sarcastically, "Brother-in-law, what can you teach those kids?"
"What can I teach you?" Zhao Youcai glanced at Wang Qiang, then retorted, "Can you beat me at shooting?"
Upon hearing Zhao Youcai's words, Wang Qiang immediately fell silent. He was completely convinced that Zhao Youcai was far superior to him in marksmanship.
Seeing that Wang Qiang remained silent, Zhao Youcai sneered, stubbed out his cigarette, and continued, "This time I'll teach my eldest apprentice properly and pass on all my marksmanship to him!"
After saying this, Zhao Youcai glanced at Zhao Jun and thought to himself: If this brat begs me properly, I will pass on the Zhao family's ancestral "One Strong Two Roe Deer" technique to him.
"Oh my god!" Upon hearing this, Li Baoyu grinned and said with a hint of teasing, "Grandpa, with Gu Yang's skills, when will he ever be able to master anything?"
"What's there to be afraid of?" Zhao Youcai glanced at Li Baoyu and said confidently, "You need to practice shooting more, and you need experience in hunting."
After saying this, Zhao Youcai pointed at Li Baoyu and said, "I take him with me every day, and he'll surpass you in a year!"
"What? You surpassed me in just one year?" Li Baoyu's eyes widened as he stared at Zhao Youcai in disbelief.
Zhao Youcai then pointed at Wang Qiang beside him and said, "Qiangzi, you wait! Five years, at most five years, and my eldest disciple will be stronger than you and Zhao Jun!"
Zhao Jun and Wang Qiang exchanged a glance, both of them smiling, but neither of them said a word.
At this moment, Zhao Youcai raised his hand to look at the light bulb hanging on the shed, seemingly talking to himself, and said, "Ten years from now, my eldest apprentice's marksmanship will catch up with mine. By then, I'll be in my fifties, and then I'll pass on the Zhao Family Hunting Gang to her!"
Hearing Zhao Youcai's words, Zhao Jun chuckled inwardly. What use would it be if the Zhao family hunting gang were passed down to Gu Yang in ten years, and then gun and hunting were banned again? Even if you were a crack shot, capable of killing a Tyrannosaurus Rex with a single shot, what good would that do?
……
At this moment, Gu Yang, who was sewing his tattered clothes in the east room of his house, said to Huang Caiyu, "Mom, Uncle Cai said he would take me up the mountain to hunt in a while!"
"That's great!" Huang Caiyu's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and she quickly said to Gu Yang, "Well... your third brother doesn't have a job either, why don't you let him go with you?"
Hearing his mother's words, Gu Yang was at a loss. Just as he was about to say something, he heard his third brother, Gu Hai, say to Huang Caiyu, "Mom, I'm not going up the mountain with Zhao Youcai."
"Are you stupid?" Huang Caiyu picked up the small broom for sweeping the kang (a heated brick bed) and casually smacked Gu Hai, saying, "You go up the mountain with Zhao Youcai, and whatever he catches, he'll share with you. If we bring back the meat, we can sell it for money, even if we don't eat it ourselves."
"Heh heh!" Gu Hai sneered and retorted to Huang Caiyu, "What if he hits a brick wall? Will I have to split the cost with him then?"
Huang Caiyu and Gu Yang: "..."
……
The next day was May 22, 1988, the day Zhao Jun led the Zhao family gang to Lingnan.
In the morning, Wang Meilan, Ma Ling, and Liu Mei did not go to work in the fields. Instead, they made dumplings for Zhao Jun and the others at home, which was in accordance with the local custom of "dumplings before getting off the horse and noodles after getting off the horse".
After finishing their meal, Zhao Jun and his men began packing. They needed to bring guns, ammunition, wound medicine, and bandages. In addition, Zhao Jun also packed the Little White Dragon and Amber Dragon that they had carried out a few days earlier into the back seat of the jeep.
On this trip to Lingnan, Zhao Jun might meet some wealthy businessmen, and he wanted to find an opportunity to sell these two ginseng seedlings.
After everything was tidied up, Zhao Jun walked out of the house with his bag over his shoulder. In the courtyard, Li Baoyu, Xie Chen, and Li Ruhai lit the firecrackers that were standing on the ground one after another.
Six loud bangs rang out in succession in the Zhao family's courtyard and above, causing the dogs in the backyard to bark incessantly.
"What's going on here?" Zhao Jun asked. Zhang Yuanmin laughed and said, "Brother, this is called setting off with cannons, which means our trip will be very successful and we'll be victorious soon."
"This day..." Zhao Jun smiled and said nothing more.
At this moment, Wang Meilan and others came out of the house. Today happened to be Sunday, and the children were not in school. Men, women, and children all came to see the Zhao family off.
More than thirty people rushed out of the Zhao family compound. As usual, Wang Meilan reminded Zhao Jun and the others, "When you're out and about, be careful in everything you do..."
Just as Zhao Jun was about to agree after Wang Meilan finished speaking, Ma Ling suddenly said, "Hey? Why is my mom here?"
Following her gaze, everyone looked towards the eastern intersection and saw Wang Cuihua, Ma Yang, and Li Meijuan hurrying towards them.
Zhao Jun didn't recognize Li Meijuan. Looking at Ma Yang and Wang Cuihua in front of him, Zhao Jun laughed and said, "My mother-in-law and brother-in-law have come to see me off."
(End of this chapter)