The whole mountain is my hunting ground.

Chapter 1685 Li Ruhai Shows His Skill Again, Following the Clues to Find the Source

Chapter 1685 Li Ruhai Shows His Skill Again, Following the Clues to Find the Source

Just now, Zhao Youcai continued, saying that when the man nicknamed "Hu the Cripple" came to sell twenty-two yellow leaves today, he, along with Zhao Jun, Xing San, Wang Qiang, and other experienced mountain runners, immediately sensed something was wrong.

There are many yellow leaves in the mountains, but not every one will be caught in a trap. Moreover, each hiker has a specific area and a stretch of riverbank where they can only collect a limited number of yellow leaves throughout the winter.

The period from snowfall to snowmelt is divided by the Lunar New Year. This year, the Lunar New Year is late, meaning there were almost three months between the snowfall and the New Year. But from the New Year until now, it has only been less than a month and a half.

Given this year's situation, it's normal to get a dozen or twenty yellow leaves before the Lunar New Year, but if you can get around ten after the Lunar New Year, that's considered good luck.

If Hu the Cripple hadn't sold any hides before the New Year, and had saved them up to sell now, that would have been fine.

But Xing San clearly remembered that Hu the Cripple had sold more than twenty tickets before the New Year, and then sold another twenty-two tickets after the New Year, which was not right.

"Third Uncle," Zhao Jun hurriedly asked Xing San, "who is that cripple Hu?"

"I don't know." Xing San shook his head and said, "I've run into him a few times in the mountains, we've talked and we know each other, but we haven't had any contact."

Knowing that Xing San rarely interacted with people, Zhao Jun turned to Zhao Youcai and asked, "Dad, do you know that person?"

“I think I heard someone mention him before I went up the mountain…” Zhao Youcai took a puff of his cigarette and said, “That person doesn’t live in our residential area. He seems to be… either from Futai or Yushugou.”

Futai Village is where Ma Ling's third aunt's husband lives, and Qing Laohu also came from that village. Yushugou is south of Yong'an Village and also belongs to Yushu Township.

Hearing Zhao Youcai's words, Zhao Jun knew he wasn't familiar with this person. He looked at Wang Qiang, who shook his head, and then Zhao Jun looked around at the others.

His gaze swept over the bewildered faces, finally settling on Li Ruhai, who was beaming with smiles.

"Ruhai, do you know this person?" Zhao Jun asked. Li Ruhai smiled and said, "No, I don't."

Immediately afterward, Li Ruhai's expression turned serious, and he said, "But if you give me a task, I guarantee I'll find out the answer for you!"

Upon hearing Li Ruhai's words, Zhao Jun immediately shook his head and said, "Forget it, you'll just get yourself targeted again."

“No way, brother,” Li Ruhai said. “I was just asking about this cripple Hu, not mentioning the people who died on the mountain. It’s not like I’m talking about anything serious.”

"Then how will you find out?" Zhao Jun was still a little worried, but seeing Li Ruhai smile confidently, he said, "Don't worry, brother, you don't need to be too deliberate about this. I'll just chat with those aunties and grandmas and figure it out easily."

"Huh?" Zhang Yuanmin was taken aback, and then he heard Zhao Jun say to Li Ruhai, "You can't talk nonsense. You can't talk about the deaths of Xu Changming and Song Laowai."

Zhao Jun did not restrict Li Ruhai from talking about Wang Jiusheng, because the news had already spread.

"Don't worry, brother," Li Ruhai laughed. "Am I the kind of person who can't keep a secret?"

As soon as Li Ruhai said this, the room fell into an eerie silence. Not only that, everyone looked at Li Ruhai with strange eyes.

The smile on Li Ruhai's face disappeared, and at this moment Zhao Jun said, "Ruhai, you can go, but I need to send someone to accompany you."

Zhao Jun's words clearly showed that he didn't trust him. Li Ruhai was about to say something, but remembering the silence just now, he nodded and said, "Okay, brother, you're in charge."

Zhao Jun looked at Li Baoyu. Of those who went out with Li Ruhai, Li Baoyu was the first choice.

Just as Li Baoyu was about to agree, he heard Li Ruhai say, "Brother, my brother won't do it."

"Huh?" Li Baoyu was taken aback, and asked anxiously, "Who can't? Why can't I?"

Li Ruhai glanced at him, reached out and grabbed Li Baoyu's sleeve, gently pulling him and saying, "Come on, brother, tell me a few words about what the neighbors are saying, I want to hear it."

"I... I wouldn't know how!" Li Baoyu said. Li Ruhai looked at Zhao Jun and said, "Brother, did you see that? When I go out to gather information, I inevitably chat with people about this and that. You know, when I'm chatting enthusiastically with someone, he just stands there like an idiot to the side. It just doesn't feel right!"

Hearing Li Ruhai's words, everyone looked at Li Baoyu and felt that what Li Ruhai said made sense.

Li Baoyu thought the same thing at this time. He took the initiative to resign from Zhao Jun's position, saying, "Brother, you should find someone else. He keeps chattering away with those old women, it gives me a headache."

"Fine, I'll find someone else." Zhao Jun also felt something was amiss. Just as he was about to look to the side, he suddenly heard Li Baoyu roar, "Who are you calling an idiot?"

As he spoke, Li Baoyu gave Li Ruhai a whack with his pestle.

Li Ruhai was chuckling when he saw Zhao Jun look at Jin Xiaomei and say, "Auntie, then you'll have to go with Ruhai..."

“My mom can’t either.” Zhao Jun was interrupted by Li Ruhai before he could finish speaking, “My mom never chats with those aunties and grandmas in the village.”

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Jin Xiaomei. Seeing Jin Xiaomei glare at Li Ruhai, Li Tongyun smiled and asked Jin Xiaomei, "Auntie, why are you so out of touch with the crowd?"

When Li Tongyun asked her this, Jin Xiaomei pursed her lips and said with a wry smile, "My son goes out and chats with people every day. If I go out and chat with people too, what will that make me?"

Everyone burst into laughter, but Li Ruhai was dumbfounded.

At this moment, Wang Meilan smiled and patted Li Ruhai, saying, "That year, your mother and I were weeding in the cornfield when we ran into Sister-in-law Qi and a few other women chatting by the field. We overheard them gossiping about other people, but I can't remember the specifics. After listening, your mother asked if it was true or false. Sister-in-law Qi turned around and asked your mother, saying that your mother should know, since it was your Ruhai who told us about it."

"Hahaha..." The whole room was laughing so hard that Xing San was coughing.

Li Ruhai rarely covered his face with his hands, but when the laughter subsided, Li Tongyun pushed away Li Ruhai's hands covering his face and said, "Alright, Ruhai, I'll go with you this afternoon!"

"Huh?" Li Ruhai was taken aback, and then he saw Li Tongyun ask Zhao Jun, "Brother Zhao Jun, can I go with Ruhai?"

“Okay, that’s great.” Zhao Jun quickly agreed, then instructed Li Tongyun, “But sister, you have to keep an eye on him. He’ll say anything when he’s in a good mood, so don’t let him talk about those two to death.”

"I understand, Brother Zhao Jun." Li Tongyun smiled sweetly at Zhao Jun, but when she turned to look at Li Ruhai, her beautiful eyes flashed with a cold light.

"Brother, why did you send me a military supervisor?" Li Ruhai was about to complain when he heard Li Tongyun say, "Ruhai, let's go."

"Hmm?" Li Ruhai was slightly taken aback, then grabbed Li Tongyun and said, "Miss, let's go after lunch."

"Let's eat when we get back," Li Tongyun said. "We need to get down to business."

"Even if we don't eat, they still have to," Li Ruhai said irritably. "They all went home the other day, who was going to pay attention to you?"

Hearing Li Ruhai say this, Li Tongyun fell silent.

Wang Meilan and the others busied themselves cooking. After lunch, they rested for a while. At 1:30 pm, Li Ruhai took Li Tongyun out.

After leaving the Zhao family compound, Li Tongyun asked Li Ruhai, "Ruhai, where are we going?"

"Come with me," Li Ruhai said, putting his hands behind his back and slowly pacing around the village.

Just as Li Tongyun was getting impatient, she heard Li Ruhai call out, "Aunt Sun, have you had lunch yet?"

"Eat up," Sun Yongrong from the east fenced yard replied, "I'm just giving the goose some water. Ruhai, what are you doing?"

Li Ruhai didn't say what he wanted to do, only saying, "Let's go to the convenience store after we finish drinking, Aunt Sun, let's chat for a bit."

“Okay, okay.” Sun Yongrong quickly agreed, saying, “You go first, I’ll be there right away.”

Li Ruhai pulled his right hand out from behind his back, raised it to signal to Sun Yongrong, and then continued walking south along the road.

When Li Ruhai arrived at the convenience store, Li Tongyun, who was following behind him, was already in a daze.

Along the way, Li Ruhai called out to them a few times, and as many as thirteen women responded.

Li Ruhai led Li Tongyun into the small shop. Today was a workday at the forest farm, and there were no old men playing chess or cards in the shop, only Wang Fu and his wife and Aunt Qi.

Upon seeing Li Ruhai arrive, the three of them greeted him warmly. They knew Li Tongyun, but weren't familiar with her; they simply exchanged a greeting and that was it.

"Aunt Wang," Li Ruhai said to Yang Xue, "weigh down two jin of Mao Ke (a type of Chinese liquor), and put it on my tab!"

Yang Xue quickly grabbed the scale and plate, preparing to weigh the melon seeds for Li Ruhai. At that moment, Li Ruhai reached for the wooden box on the counter.

The wooden box had no lid, and inside was a flour sack. A rope was threaded through the opening of the flour sack; pulling the rope would tighten the opening, and pulling the tightened rope would loosen the flour sack.

Li Ruhai skillfully tore open the bag of flour, took out a red candy ball, and stuffed it directly into his mouth.

Immediately afterwards, Li Ruhai took out another green one and held it to Li Tongyun's lips.

"Did you pay? Then eat it!" Li Tongyun dodged backward, but Li Ruhai pushed the candy ball upward, indicating that Li Tongyun didn't need to worry about it.

Li Tongyun wasn't that shameless, and just then she heard Wang Fu say, "Eat up, girl, it's alright."

These candied hawthorns are cheap, only five cents a pound. The children in the village can get a penny from their parents and run to the corner store to buy a handful. Two candied hawthorns don't even cost a penny, but Li Tongyun was too embarrassed to eat someone else's food for free.

"Put it on my tab!" Just then, Li Ruhai's arrogant voice rang out: "Nine candies will settle the bill."

Nine candy balls cost about one cent. After Li Ruhai finished speaking, he took advantage of Li Tongyun's momentary daze and stuffed the candy ball into Li Tongyun's mouth.

Coming to her senses, Li Tongyun was furious. It seemed that Li Ruhai hadn't washed his hands after using the toilet before leaving the house!

But Li Tongyun was too embarrassed to spit out the candy ball in front of outsiders.

"Have some, Auntie," Li Ruhai said, handing one to Old Aunt Qi, and added with a smile, "Eating melon seeds with a piece of candy in your mouth is the best way."

At this moment, Yang Xue spread a yellow paper package in front of Li Ruhai, with a lot of melon seeds piled on it.

"Miss, have some!" Li Ruhai grabbed a small handful of melon seeds, and Li Tongyun quickly reached out and grabbed a handful, saying, "I can do it myself."

As soon as Li Tongyun finished speaking, the door of the convenience store was pulled open from the outside, and the old women and young wives that Li Ruhai had summoned came in one after another.

Li Ruhai stood up and greeted everyone. At this moment, someone said, "Ruhai, how long has it been since you came out to chat with us? What's wrong, is your mom keeping a close eye on you?"

"There are too many things to do at home," Li Ruhai said with a bitter face. "I have to make decisions on everything, big or small. It's been a chaotic day."

"You're kidding me," a woman said to the others, exposing Li Ruhai's words. "At home, his word doesn't carry as much weight as his sister's."

"Hahaha..." Everyone laughed, and Li Ruhai laughed along with them. At this moment, Li Tongyun looked at Li Ruhai and felt that this child was much more relaxed with these women than at home.

Over the years, Li Tongyun has spent most of her time studying away from home, and when she's not in school, she's usually home alone.

When I got here and stayed with the Zhao family, they didn't say everything they wanted to say.

It was in this small shop that Li Tongyun witnessed what it meant to chat about anything and everything. They talked about things that had absolutely nothing to do with anyone present, and they also talked about things they had heard from elsewhere. They even talked about some of the main characters in their conversations, people that none of the people present knew.

These people seem to have only one purpose in getting together: to keep their mouths shut.

What? This old lady is tormenting her daughter-in-law? That man bought canned food for a young widow and got caught by his wife…

Li Tongyun listened to all sorts of gossip with a wide-eyed and amazed expression.

"Doesn't my sister's mother-in-law's house have a new baby?" At this moment, Song Mingyue said, "She told me that before the New Year, there was a family in her village where a big man gave birth to a calf. But because of the local climate, the baby couldn't be born. This family didn't want to spend money to find someone to fix it, so they just hired a few people to scare the baby."

When cattle or horses give birth, they often need human assistance to pull the calves out. This process of pulling the calves out is jokingly referred to as "pulling the calf."

At this moment, Song Mingyue smiled, threw the unfinished sunflower seeds in her hand onto the greaseproof paper, then slapped her thighs and asked everyone, "Guess what? These guys were tugging at each other, and then we heard a 'thud' from the calf's leg. After that, when the calf got off, its leg just wouldn't stand up."

This time, they called the veterinarian who tends the livestock. The veterinarian examined the animal and told them it was hopeless.

Laughter broke out, and Song Mingyue waved her hand, saying, "They say his hip bone is broken, and no one can help him now."

“This is utter nonsense!” Sun Yongrong said casually, then laughed and said, “Yeah, it really is nonsense.”

“Absolutely!” Song Mingyue said, “I’m telling you, that’s how that wife of hers wailed, jumping up and down and cursing her husband.”

"You wouldn't need to go directly to a knowledgeable person!" someone commented. At this moment, Li Ruhai stopped being ambiguous and asked Song Mingyue directly, "Sister Mingyue, is there a cripple named Hu in your village?"

"I don't know," Song Mingyue said. Someone then asked Li Ruhai, "What's wrong, Ruhai? What's wrong with him?"

Li Tongyun looked at Li Ruhai, wanting to see what he would say.

"Oh dear!" Li Ruhai put down his melon seeds and said, "Today he went to my older brother's house to sell leather, twenty-two yellow leaves, and took away a thousand yuan from Xiao Liu'er."

"Wow, you must have sold quite a lot!"

"Those who pick yellow leaves, they all make a lot of money. Take Wei Tie from our village, for example, doesn't he always end up with a thousand or so yuan every year?"

Li Ruhai interrupted the women's gossip and said, "This guy didn't just sell a little over a thousand; he came back before the New Year to sell a bunch. He sold them for 1,200 that time. When I saw this, I thought, 'This is making way too much money!'"

Li Tongyun looked at Li Ruhai in surprise. She hadn't expected Li Ruhai to make Hu the cripple the focus of everyone's discussion so smoothly.

"Hey? Ru Hai!" At this moment, Wang Fu asked Li Ru Hai, "Do you think that person is working in the shack in the North Third Class?"

"Ah!" Li Ruhai responded, "Uncle Wang, you know him?"

“I don’t know him,” Wang Fu said. “He came to my house to buy cigarettes the morning before yesterday. I saw that he was a stranger, so I asked him a question.”

These days, anyone who comes to a village can question a stranger. If they don't cooperate, they're arrested as spies. So, before the New Year, when Li Ruhai went to Yangjia Village to gather information, he disguised himself as a beggar and had to sneak around the edges.

"Ru Hai, isn't that person from Xinxing?" Suddenly, a woman said, "Isn't that person from Yushugou?"

"Really?" Li Ruhai perked up immediately upon hearing this. He had heard Zhao Youcai say at home that the person was either from Futai or Yushugou.

His question to Song Mingyue about whether Hu the Cripple was in Xinxing was just to lure out that person.

At this point, someone said that the cripple Hu was from Yushugou, which makes sense now.

(End of this chapter)