bookrebus Chapter 394 Forestry Hunting Team
Chapter 394 Forestry Hunting Team
The old man's expression suddenly changed, and he quickly said, "It was our oversight as elders. We didn't bring enough gifts today; we'll have to pay a proper visit again later. This is a big deal for the Li family."
Song Lanhua sneered inwardly. Back when the third branch of the family was down on its luck, you all avoided them like the plague, trying to distance yourselves and even kicking them when they were down. Now that the third branch has risen again, you all want to get a piece of their glory.
She said, "Now you can see the situation at home. Ju'an is going to be a father, and the burden on his shoulders is heavy. Milk powder, cotton wool, all cost money. We have to prepare everything. We also have to give an explanation to our in-laws and prepare for the full moon celebration."
The old woman thought to herself, "If you don't want to lend me money, then don't. Why make such a fuss and give me so many excuses?"
Song Lanhua stood up, noticing that the sun was about to set and Li Ju'an would be returning soon, and said, "I'm so sorry. We can't grow any crops at home, and we're having a very difficult time. We feel bad that we couldn't help Li Changqing."
The old man felt guilty. Looking at the desolate and barren land, his heart sank. He said with deep regret, "We were wrong about this. Old woman, let's go back."
"Why don't you stay one more night?"
"No need, no need. The Sun family is going to the city tonight, so we can hitch a ride on their tractor."
Song Lanhua saw the elderly couple off. No sooner had they left than Li Ju'an and the Lu brothers returned from hunting.
Three falcons perched on Li Ju'an's shoulder. The large golden eagle was majestic, while the two slightly smaller eagles stood on his left arm. Behind him, nine hunting dogs barked loudly.
Lu Zhiqiang laughed and shouted loudly, "Aunt Song! Look what Li Ju'an is up to this time, he's captured a wild goat alive!"
The ground goat, also known as the plateau mole rat, is not found near Lijiatun, but is more common in the barley fields.
This time, Li Ju'an had large livestock, riding a mule and leading a blue sheep, which allowed him to travel much further and at a much faster pace.
Lu Zhiqiang took a liking to Chen Xiangqian's horse and replaced it with a pangolin skin that the old man of the Lu family had collected in his early years.
The old man of the Lu family was furious about this and chased his grandson all over the house. Lu Zhiqiang jumped up and down as he ran away, still shouting indignantly, "What's the use of collecting that hard shell? You might as well get a better horse. I'll just hunt down a pangolin for you later."
This infuriated the old man of the Lu family, who shouted, "You think you can hunt a pangolin? It nearly killed me back then, and you just give it away like that?"
"It wasn't given away; we brought back a different horse."
Lu Zhiqiang grinned slyly, shameless as ever. Lu Jinyang remained silent and didn't try to escape, taking two slaps in the process. The old master of the Lu family felt sorry for Lu Jinyang after hitting him, and only then did he stop, swallowing his anger with heavy breaths.
Seeing that someone had been in the house, Li Ju'an asked, "Mom, did we have guests just now? Who came?"
Song Lanhua recounted the visit of the elderly couple, and Li Ju'an fell silent. Li Changqing and Zhang Yingnian were doing business in the south, and Zhang Yingnian's business was now growing bigger and bigger. According to the business methods of the previous life, Zhang Yingnian would cooperate with Li Changqing, then mortgage a large amount of assets to borrow money, and buy up domestic goods on a large scale to sell overseas.
He asked his mother, feigning nonchalance, "What is my cousin selling now?"
Song Lanhua thought for a moment and said, "I heard it was cotton before, but the cotton business wasn't so good anymore, so they switched to selling bear bile, extracting medicinal materials from the bear bile, and then shipping them overseas."
Li Ju'an sneered inwardly. Zhang Yingnian wasn't really in the cotton business; he was clearly using it to swindle people. His cotton, after deducting transportation costs, barely made a profit. He couldn't afford to sell in large quantities at low profit margins, so he simply weighed the cotton down with wire to increase its weight, hoping to cheat as many people as possible.
A businessman without integrity will naturally have no repeat customers; he'll be lucky if customers don't curse him out. There aren't enough fools to collect cotton, so he'll naturally have to find another way to make a living.
Song Lanhua remembered and said, "I heard from your uncle that Li Changqing is coming to our area again soon. He said he'll be buying bear bile before the New Year in winter, when the price is the cheapest. I reckon he'll come looking for us again when he visits relatives during the New Year."
Li Ju'an nodded. Bear bile prices rise after the New Year, but there are fewer merchants before the New Year, so prices are at their lowest. Li Changqing and Zhang Yingnian are locals, so they naturally go back to their hometown for the New Year. They take the opportunity to buy bear bile at rock-bottom prices.
He said, "Sure, my cousin is coming to visit me, so I'll naturally treat him well."
He glanced at the dirt road surrounding the fields. According to the policies of his previous life, construction on this road was expected to begin after the New Year, and the dirt road would be paved into a winding mountain highway. It was anticipated that by next year, Changchonggou would no longer be a small, remote gully in the mountains, and the value of this land would rise accordingly.
Li Ju'an grinned, put his arm around his wife, and coaxed his mother, saying, "Mom, wife, let's eat first. I'll tell you about the fun things that happened in the mountains today."
The family sat down happily. Li Xiao held a jar of honey that had been shaken out, and nestled happily in Li Ju'an's arms, asking for praise. She also showed off the certificate of merit that the village primary school principal had given her.
Li Ju'an praised his younger sister, saying, "Nannan, study hard and go to university in the city later."
These words made Li Xiao laugh out loud.
……
The next day, Li Ju'an was dragged away by Zhao Pao as soon as he stepped out the door.
Just as he was wondering, Zhao Pao winked at him and said, "Did Captain Chen from the forest farm look for you, or for Sun Pao?"
Li Ju'an genuinely knew nothing about this and asked him, "What's wrong? What happened at the forest farm?"
"Didn't the sheep-hunting team from the forest farm contact you?"
Li Ju'an lived in a remote area, and his family didn't have a landline phone. The village originally only had one landline phone, the one in Captain Yang Dezheng's office. Later, Sun Quande installed a landline at his home for easier communication with the forest farm and ranch.
Li Ju'an thought about it and realized that he would contact Pang Duolai in the future. The old man and woman had difficulty walking, and having a phone would allow him to stay in touch with their families more often, which would be a good thing.
He said, "The forestry station can't find me either. I'm always in the mountains, only coming home every few days. Even my mother has difficulty finding me."
Zhao Pao rolled his eyes at him and said, "Your wife is quick to come looking for you."
Li Ju'an grinned, revealing his neat, white teeth: "Of course! My wife has a sixth sense; she hadn't even called me yet, so I rushed back."
Zhao Pao laughed heartily. He then told Li Ju'an about the forest farm organizing the hunting expedition.
The forestry farm was looking for a capable leader. Old Qin, the "King of the Longbai Mountains," had bought a new pack of dogs after discarding his wolf-eyed dog. After six months of training, he showed some promise and became a target for the farm's recruitment. Sun Quande was a seasoned veteran, and the Sun family could field a complete team, except for a leader dog, which was a major problem.
Captain Chen of the forest farm was torn between continuing to cooperate with Lao Qin or with the Sun family. In the end, he decided to combine the two teams and hire both Lao Qin and the Sun family. This way, they would have both a leader and manpower.
Li Ju'an handed Zhao Pao a cigarette, which Zhao Pao put in his mouth. Li Ju'an lit it for him with an old-fashioned lighter. Watching Zhao Pao squint and exhale smoke, he asked, "How much is the forest farm offering?"
"It costs 500 yuan to send out a team."
Li Ju'an's eyes lit up; 500 yuan was quite a lot. But if there were many people, the money would be divided among each person, and if the game was still considered part of the forest farm, there wouldn't be much profit to be made.
Zhao Pao noticed his worry and said, "This time the forest farm is organizing a hunt for wild goats. Whatever you catch, it's your team's; the forest farm doesn't accept them."
Earth sheep!
Li Ju'an was wide awake at the mention of the ground ram. He and the Lu brothers had just gone into the mountains and blew up a ground ram's burrow. These creatures were a menace to people and fields; they reproduced rapidly and were cunning. Once they burrowed into their burrows, they couldn't be smoked out. The three of them struggled to get one out, and in the end, its fur was completely ruined, much to Lu Jinyang's dismay.