bookrebus Chapter 398 Not Losing Out at All
Chapter 398 Not Losing Out at All
Zhao Pao stared wide-eyed at Li Ju'an drinking and eating snacks by the kang (a heated brick bed), and laughed in exasperation. He came in and said, "Nephew, you're really something. I was wondering why you asked me to go to the forest farm, but you snatched such a good job away from me."
Zhao Pao had previously told Li Ju'an that the forest farm was recruiting rat-catching teams, and Zhao Pao had sighed and complained that it was unfair that he hadn't been selected. Li Ju'an comforted and encouraged him to try again, saying that he might be able to surpass Sun Quande and Qin Pao in Captain Chen's eyes.
Before Zhao Pao even reached the door of the forest farm's top official, he was politely invited out by Secretary Chen. As soon as he turned around, he heard the news that the forest farm had handed over the rat-catching team's work to Li Ju'an.
Zhao Pao, with three falconers following behind him, shouted at the top of his lungs, "Nephew, you really caught me off guard! I was just thinking about how to give a gift to get Leader Chen to see me. How did you manage to get in touch with Leader Chen so quickly?"
Li Ju'an pulled him down to sit and said with a smile, "It was the top leader who called me over to test drive the car."
"Pah! I've lived this long, I don't believe you for a second. You look so innocent, but your guts are all tainted."
Lu Zhiqiang was completely confused and asked Lu Jinyang what he meant by that.
Lu Jinyang said, "Zhao Pao is talking about Li Ju'an and Huang."
Li Guaizi, standing nearby, almost spat out a mouthful of deer blood wine, laughing so hard he was panting, "It's clearly black."
Zhao Pao was still grumbling and fuming, sitting there drinking alone and ignoring Li Ju'an. Just looking at him made him angry.
Li Ju'an smiled and stuck close to Zhao Pao, saying kindly, "Uncle Zhao, don't get angry. Getting too angry is bad for your health. Let's have a couple of drinks, and we'll go into the mountains together tomorrow. I'd also like to ask Uncle Zhao for some guidance."
Zhao Pao's face fell, and he said irritably, "What guidance do you need? You've got a lot of swagger now, you even have more falcons than I have. What do you need me to guide you on?"
Upon hearing this, the three falconers realized there was potential in the business and quickly sat down to ask Li Ju'an how much the forest farm had paid him to take the job.
Li Ju'an spread out the guns and bullets he had been given to show everyone.
The forestry station went all out to catch rats this time, providing four Type 56 semi-automatic rifles and two heavy boxes of 7.62mm ammunition. The 7.62mm x 39mm ammunition, with a magazine holding 30 rounds, achieves maximum power at an effective range of up to 300 meters, and doesn't require locking the magazine after the ammunition is used up.
When the falconer saw so many automatic rifles and bullets, his eyes widened in excitement, and his heart pounded faster.
They are falconers who mainly rely on falcons for hunting. In the past, they did not carry guns. However, with the communication and integration between falconry and hunters in the Xingan Mountains, falconers gradually began to use pump-action shotguns and hunt in cooperation with their falcons.
Those who initially looked down on falconers who carried guns began practicing aiming techniques, pre-aiming, and hand stability. Even Sun Quande started learning how to set traps from Qin Pao; the hunters' hierarchy of contempt was gradually dissolving.
As long as we can catch prey, we don't care what method we use; as long as it brings in money and meat quickly, that's all that matters.
Li Ju'an distributed the Type 56 semi-automatic rifles to the Lu brothers, Chen Xiangqian, and Song Desheng.
The Lu brothers previously used a Type 54 pistol and a Type 99 revolver, both of which were extremely unstable. They would aim at the ground sheep for a long time, only to have the surrounding dirt splattered off, while not a single piece of the ground sheep's fur was wiped off, leaving the two brothers extremely frustrated.
Now the two men switched to their preferred Type 56 semi-automatic rifles, excitedly touching the handles and shouting, "Li Ju'an, is the forest farm giving us these guns? Aren't they going to take them back?"
Li Ju'an ate the roasted mutton with gusto and laughed, "I don't know about other forest farms, but Captain Chen is a straightforward person. He has never taken back the guns he issued."
In the past, when he was collecting specimens for Team Leader Chen, he only issued him a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle. Now, with the rampant infestation of wild goats in the mountains, Team Leader Chen is extremely worried. These four Type 56 semi-automatic rifles also show how troubled Team Leader Chen is. He was so annoyed that he had no choice but to spend a lot of money to recruit the best gunners in the vicinity, determined to make sure that the wild goats in the Xing'an Mountains could not recover.
Zhao Pao asked Li Ju'an, "How many people are allowed in the forest farm?"
"There are no rules. The sheep that are caught belong to the owner."
"No rules? It's not easy to divide the money and bullets like this."
Li Ju'an opened another room. Upon opening this room, boxes of homemade bullets appeared on the floor, causing Zhao Pao and the other three to widen their eyes and gape in disbelief that so many bullets could appear in one room.
Li Ju'an grinned and said, "This bullet was made by Uncle Tao and me, and this one was made by the Lu family patriarch and the Lu family."
When the eldest grandson of the Lu family joined the forest farm's rat-catching team, the old man of the Lu family scoffed and said sarcastically, "Why bother getting involved in that?" But in practice, he spared no effort in supporting his two grandsons' job. Sure enough, in just two days, the second aunt of the Lu family delivered several boxes of bullets along with several of the Lu family's younger uncles.
Lu's second aunt said with a smile, "This isn't something our old man gave to Lu Zhiqiang and his two lads to use for catching rats; it's specifically for Li Pao to play with."
Li Ju'an was secretly delighted after hearing this. He needed to find a way to save face, and it was none other than Old Master Lu who made him readily accept the offer.
The local fighters were incredibly excited to see so many bullets. They looked through the ammunition boxes, but were a little embarrassed and hesitant to rummage through them too openly.
Li Ju'an said, "It's alright, making more is the same as making more. Just take any suitable models you find."
The craftsmen from Yingtun finally understood how warm and simple the people of Lijiatun were.
They excitedly told Zhao Pao, "The hunters in the mountains are really great; they're warm-hearted, righteous, and loyal."
Zhao Pao felt something was off, something was off. Li Ju'an suddenly said, "Uncle Zhao, why don't you come with us into the mountains to hunt rats?"
"What?"
"Let's go into the mountains together. We'll divide the shares equally, not according to the number of shares."
After he finished speaking, Li Guaizi and Lao Zhang both stood up. Lao Zhang said, "This isn't the right thing to do either. Aren't you being taken advantage of? The mule is yours, the dog is yours, the eagle is yours, and you even supplied the hunting rifle."
According to the division of labor presented by Li Ju'an, he would receive one share as the gunner, one share as the lead dog, one share as the hunting rifle, one share as the livestock, plus his own share, totaling five shares. However, he rejected this division and opted for an equal split.
Li Ju'an laughed and said, "We're all brothers. Going into the mountains to catch rats together is for the good of our fellow villagers. The land has been distributed to individual households. Every household's harvest is their own, and everyone hopes their family can have more grain. These rats only harm our own families. Catching more will make our homes more peaceful."
These words moved the three men from Eagle Village. They nodded repeatedly, realizing that Li Ju'an was indeed different from the "Little Li Cannon" they had heard about him before. He was generous and easygoing, making people want to befriend him, and they liked his personality.
Zhao Pao chuckled and said, "You're quite shrewd, kid. You've made contact with the ranch area too, haven't you?"
Li Ju'an said, "Uncle Zhao is still the most astute."
"It's not that I'm well-informed, it's that I know you well. You called us to hunt rats together. If we hunt a lot of sheep, the ranch will be keeping an eye on the teams this time. If you lead the team well, Captain Wang of the ranch will come looking for you. There won't be any left for me and Sun Quande. You're taking up two teams, aren't you?"
Li Guaizi and Lao Zhang then realized what was happening, sat down again, and laughed along.
Little Li, you're so cunning. You might think you're at a disadvantage, but you're actually not at all at all.
They are the ones who seem clever, but are actually just honest fools.