sinovels Chapter 1877 The Tiger is Coming!
Chapter 1877 The Tiger is Coming!
Chapter 1877 The Tiger is Coming!
The sun rose as usual on June 9, 1988. The Zhao family gang, who had just experienced a major battle the night before, got up, washed up, and ate as usual.
After finishing their meal, Li Baoyu, Xie Chen, and Li Ruhai prepared to take a car to the forest farm.
Zhao Jun followed them down two steps and saw Pang Gaoming tied to a tree.
At this moment, Pang Gaoming hung his head helplessly, looking half-dead.
Zhao Jun went over, grabbed Pang Gaoming's chin with his hand, and pushed his head up. Pang Gaoming, pale-faced, groaned and struggled to open his eyes to look at Zhao Jun in front of him.
Seeing that Pang Gaoming was still alive, Zhao Jun let go of his hand and went to check on Liu Gensheng, who was tied to the big red pine tree next to him.
Liu Gensheng was also alive, but he was in worse condition than Pang Gaoming. He was in a semi-comatose state and was muttering something under his breath, as if he was talking nonsense.
Seeing that the two of them were alright, Zhao Jun was relieved. At this moment, Li Ruhai leaned close to Zhao Jun's ear and said, "Brother, these few heads of rotten garlic, we can just stuff them in and pack them up, our big backside can fit them all in one cart."
Zhao Jun believed what Li Ruhai said. In his previous life, he had heard Shen Qiushan say that one year, Shen Qiushan was playing cards when a gambling crackdown occurred, and all twenty of them, including the twenty card players and two gambling den owners, were crammed into the back seat of a jeep.
Zhao Jun couldn't imagine the scene, but Shen Qiushan said he was forced under the car seat and suffered terribly.
It can fit twenty-two people, so of course it can fit thirteen as well.
But after thinking it over, Zhao Jun ultimately gave up on this satisfying suggestion.
"Forget it, let's just have the security team come over." Seeing Li Ruhai's disappointment, Zhao Jun immediately explained, "I'm not comfortable with you bringing a whole truckload of people. Besides, I think we should at least have the security team come and take a look around here."
Zhao Jun simply wanted the security team to come and investigate the scene. Hearing this, the Li brothers and Xie Chen nodded in agreement.
"Baoyu," Zhao Jun said to Li Baoyu as a final instruction, "drive carefully."
"Understood, brother," Li Baoyu replied, then got into the jeep with Xie Chen and Li Ruhai.
Zhao Jun stood there and watched the jeep leave. The jeep disappeared in the blink of an eye as it drove down the sled track.
The car drove down the mountain, and the three people in the car chatted and laughed in a relaxed manner.
“Damn it, I’m going to buy a big Jeep too.” Jie Chen said, “The old Jiefang is so heavy in winter, the steering wheel is so hard, it’s a nightmare. I have to boil water every time I start it.”
The Liberation truck was just like that; it was alright in the summer. But in the winter, you had to boil hot water to heat up the engine before starting it.
Those big buckets, you need one and a half buckets at a time. The first bucket is poured in from one side and then poured out from the other, first rinsing it with hot water, and then the second half bucket is poured in.
After filling the hot water tank, you have to crank the crank handle. It's a huge crank, about 1.5 meters long, and sometimes in winter, one person can't crank it; it takes two people. After cranking it twice, the people in the car can use the key to start the engine.
Hearing Jie Chen's words, Li Baoyu laughed and said, "Alright, then go ahead and drive it. The Liberation truck is so convenient; you can haul whatever you want."
As soon as Li Baoyu finished speaking, Li Ruhai smiled and said to Xie Chen, "Brother Chen, I'm not trying to criticize you, but if you're going to buy something, you can't buy a Jeep. You have to buy a Santana."
"Hey? Right!" Xie Chen said, "That's right, I'll buy another Santana, and then I'll keep the Liberation truck specifically for us to use when we go up the mountain!"
Now that Xie Chen has money, he won't wait for this year's freight dividends; buying a Santana wouldn't be a big deal for him.
The three chatted as they descended the mountain. As they passed the Dajiefang area, Jie Chen muttered curses under his breath at Pang Gaoming and the others. Jie Chen was wealthy, but anyone would be angry if someone punctured the tires of their perfectly good car.
Li Baoyu and Li Ruhai were naturally united in their hatred. After cursing a couple of times, Li Baoyu comforted Xie Chen, saying, "Don't worry, Xiao Chen. This matter definitely can't be left like this. Didn't our brother say that we not only have to make the Pang family pay compensation, but we also have to teach them a lesson... Hey?"
As he finished speaking, Li Baoyu, who had just driven onto the road, suddenly saw four people walking towards him, and he quickly stepped on the brakes.
Upon seeing the jeep, two of the four men ran towards it.
"Hey!" Xie Chen, sitting in the passenger seat, exclaimed upon seeing the two of them, "Why are they here again?"
The two men who arrived were none other than Han Shusheng and Zhai Guozhu, who had tipped off the Zhao family gang and gathered intelligence on the enemy yesterday.
Although he had some doubts, the people were right in front of him and the car had stopped, so Li Baoyu rolled down the car window and asked, "Master Han, Master Zhai, aren't you off work?"
The forest rangers work in three shifts. Yesterday they worked all day and night, so they should be off work this morning. At this time, they should go to the nearby work section to wait for the commuter cart. After the commuter cart brings the forest rangers to work today up, it will take them down again.
"Master Li, something bad has happened!" Han Shusheng shouted as soon as he arrived. Li Baoyu and Li Ruhai were startled by his words, thinking to themselves, "Why is this man like me, always jumping up and down?"
"What's wrong, Master Han? What's wrong again?" Xie Chen asked, wondering if someone was trying to target his Zhao family gang again.
At this moment, Han Shusheng and Zhai Guozhu had reached the window. Han Shusheng, panting, said, "Master Li, we were almost kicked by Big Claw just now?"
"What?" All three people in the car were taken aback. Li Baoyu stared and asked, "Master Han, what did you say?"
"I said, we almost got kicked by those big claws." Han Shusheng repeated what he had just said. Upon hearing this, Li Baoyu quickly opened the car door, got out, and asked, "What happened, Master Han? Take a breath and tell me slowly."
"Master Li, the four of us are off the night shift today, coming down from that old 25th forest section." Han Shusheng said, raising his hand and pointing north. That area, along with Qing Shi La Zi Xia, were the old logging areas of the forest farm.
As Han Shusheng spoke, two other people came over. Li Baoyu recognized them; they must live in one of the other three residential areas.
One of the men was tall, about 1.8 meters, and was carrying a 16-gauge hunting rifle.
At this moment, Han Shusheng pointed at him and said to Li Baoyu, "We were walking along when a wild boar came down from the east mountain. I think it weighed about two hundred pounds. The boar crossed the path and went up the west mountain. We didn't pay attention at the time, and by the time the boar was over, it was too late to catch it."
Just then, the small tree near the foot of the mountain on the east side made a rustling sound, and then Da Gui took the gun down. He pulled out the bullet containing the lead pellets and put a single-pointed bullet back in.
But to Qiao Tawa's surprise, a huge paw suddenly leaped down from the eastern mountain. Luckily, Da Gui had loaded a bullet; he scared the paw away with just one shot.
"Huh? It ran away in fright?" Li Baoyu was taken aback when he heard the last part and asked, "Didn't you hit it?"
"Ah, I missed." Han Shusheng said, and the guy behind him named Da Gui tried to cover for him, saying, "That big claw suddenly came down and startled me. I didn't even aim, and then bang, I fired a shot. How could I possibly hit it?"
Hearing this, Li Baoyu sighed softly and said, "Alright, as long as everyone's okay, that's good. Where did that big paw go?"
"It just started running downhill." Han Shusheng said with a bitter face, "If it runs downhill, we don't dare to go down anymore."
After saying that, Han Shusheng added, "What if we run into them again?"
As soon as Han Shusheng finished speaking, Da Gui suddenly chimed in, saying, "The main reason is that I don't have an only son anymore, otherwise I wouldn't be afraid of him."
These words were just empty threats, but Li Baoyu didn't pay them any mind and only looked at Xie Chen.
At this moment, Xie Chen also looked at Li Baoyu. Just as the two were staring at each other, Li Ruhai stepped forward and said to Han Shusheng, "Master Han, now you know why we are in the mountains, right?"
"Huh?" Han Shusheng and the other three, along with Li Baoyu and Xie Chen, were all taken aback. Then they heard Li Ruhai say, "We just heard from someone that we saw Big Claw here, so Team Leader Zhao brought us up the mountain."
Li Ruhai had said those words to him by Zhao Jun the night before. But unexpectedly, they came true.
At this moment, Li Ruhai remembered the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," but he hadn't lied yet, so how could the wolf... tiger have arrived?
Hearing Li Ruhai's words, Li Baoyu and Xie Chen nodded in unison, but Han Shusheng frowned and asked, "Why didn't Team Leader Zhao tell us yesterday?"
Upon hearing Han Shusheng's words, Li Baoyu and Xie Chen simultaneously looked at Li Ruhai. Li Ruhai said sincerely, "Master Han, we had only heard about it at first and hadn't confirmed whether it was true or not. If we say it's not true and everyone panics, wouldn't that be troublesome?"
After saying this, Li Ruhai paused for a moment, then said to Han Shusheng and the other three, "How about this, Master Han? Let's all squeeze into the car and ride down the road."
"When you get to the spot where you bumped into the big claw, point it out to us. Then we'll take you to the third work section. Isn't it easier for you to take the commuter bus?"
"Oh, thank you so much, Mr. Li!" Han Shusheng and the other three were overjoyed to hear this. According to Li Ruhai, they could catch the commuter bus. Otherwise, they wouldn't get home until evening if they walked.
"No need to thank me," Li Ruhai smiled and waved for the group to get into the car.
At this moment, Li Baoyu leaned close to Li Ruhai's ear and whispered, "Ruhai, don't you need to go up the mountain and tell our brother?"
"Isn't that the case? Then why bother?" Li Ruhai retorted, then said, "I reckon that big claw can't be on the road. After a while, you can just drive around honking the horn, right?"
Hearing Li Ruhai say this, Li Baoyu nodded. The three of them carried guns when they went down the mountain. Li Baoyu and Xie Chen loaded their Type 56 semi-automatic pistols, while Li Ruhai held his pistol at his waist.
After everyone got into the car, Li Baoyu started the engine and drove off. After driving for about a mile, near a sharp bend, Han Shusheng pointed ahead and said, "Right here! We'll see Big Claw here!"
Li Baoyu noted down the location Han Shusheng pointed to, and then asked, "Master Han, how big are those big claws?"
After asking his question, Li Baoyu didn't receive a reply from Han Shusheng and the other three. Li Baoyu, who was driving, couldn't help but glance back.
“Well…” Han Shusheng hesitated for a moment, then said, “I think it must weigh at least five or six hundred pounds.”
"What?" Li Baoyu was taken aback, then said, "Really? Are you kidding me? Where do you get such big paws?"
Having spent the past two years working with Zhao Jun, Li Baoyu has gained a lot of experience and theoretical knowledge in hunting. He knows that a typical adult male Siberian tiger can only grow to around 400 jin (approximately 200 catties) at most.
Are there any weighing over 400 pounds? Yes, but they are extremely rare.
Just like the black tiger that died under Zhao Youcai's gun in the first month of the lunar calendar, and the big tiger that forcefully took over Lao Guitouzi Ridge.
But if, as Han Shusheng said, another large, heavy Siberian tiger suddenly appears, that's too frequent.
Although the populations of roe deer and red deer have seen a small surge in the past two years, and the three major feline predators—lynx, Amur leopard, and Siberian tiger—have ample food and their numbers will certainly increase, their large size will not lead to a significant increase.
“It’s not that big.” At this moment, the one named Da Gui said, “It doesn’t even weigh three hundred jin.”
This guy, Da Gui, was carrying a gun, so he was obviously an amateur mountain runner, making his words more credible.
"That's a little tiger..." Li Baoyu was thinking when he heard Li Ruhai, who was sitting in the back row, cough lightly and call out to him, "Brother, slow down when you turn the corner."
There's a sharp right-angle bend ahead, and for driving safety, the forestry station specially laid a road and paved a slope on the inside.
After the jeep passed through smoothly, it took Han Shusheng and the other three to the third work section.
Although the four of them were delayed for a while on the way, they were never late because they traveled by jeep.
When they arrived, the commuter cart had just arrived. Li Ruhai called Li Baoyu and Xie Chen forward and gathered the forest rangers from the old 25th forest section and several nearby forest sections together, telling them to take the commuter cart home and wait for further notice.
Although Zhao Jun did not agree to this, Li Baoyu and the other two believed that even if Zhao Jun knew, he would approve of their actions.
After arranging the forest ranger's affairs, Li Baoyu and the other two got into the car and headed to the forest farm.
Inside the jeep, Xie Chen, leaning on his semi-automatic pistol, said, "This thing with such a big claw came along the other day; it's not easy to shoot it."
Over the past year, Jie Chen hadn't been wasting his time. He knew that at this time of year, the mountains were covered in green, obscuring the view. And since Siberian tigers are known for their stealth attacks, a person might not even notice them when one gets right in front of them.
"Oh dear!" Li Baoyu sighed upon hearing this. Their Zhao family gang was different from the Zhao family hunting gang. The Zhao family hunting gang was obsessed with hunting Siberian tigers, while their Zhao family gang was focused on making money.
Big Claw is indeed a treasure trove, but you can't sell it after you've killed it, right? What are those two bonuses from above even enough for?
If the Zhao family had that kind of time, wouldn't it be better to raise ginseng in the mountains?
Let's not even talk about the ginseng king being promoted every day; how much would it cost to promote a regular seedling with four leaves? Who has a big head to mess with that?
"Alright, let's not worry about it anymore." At this moment, Li Ruhai, who was sitting in the back row, said, "When the forest farm reports this to Director Yan, we'll say that we went into the mountains to find this big claw."
“Talking to him is a complete waste of time,” Li Baoyu said. “What’s the point of talking to him? Even if we do, we’ll still have to go and fight him. What’s the point of him going?”
“Brother, that’s different!” Li Ruhai laughed. “We went through so much trouble to build shelters in the mountains to protect the forest area, and then Pang Gaoming and his gang raided our shelters in the middle of the night. What kind of behavior is that?”
"Huh?" Li Baoyu and Xie Chen were both taken aback when they heard this. They subconsciously turned their heads and glanced at Li Ruhai, who was sitting in the back row with a smile on his face.
"Alright!" Li Baoyu smacked his lips twice and laughed, "If you put it that way, Pang Gaoming and the others will be even more offended!"
"Of course!" Li Ruhai laughed. "Let him ruin things for us, just watch how I expose them."
This was said openly, but after saying it, Li Ruhai thought to himself, "And Ma Xiaoer, you just wait!"
Just as Li Ruhai was lost in thought, Li Baoyu's words reached his ears: "Ruhai, if word gets out that there's a big claw on the mountain, won't our master be worried again?"
"This..." Hearing Li Baoyu's words, Li Ruhai hesitated for a moment, but then said, "It's alright, I'll talk to Auntie when I get home tonight and ask her to keep an eye on him."
After saying that, Li Ruhai couldn't help but shake his head inwardly, thinking to himself that this adult was no easy task.
Sorry guys, I fell asleep in the middle of the night...