sinovels Chapter 1927 The First Memorial Since the Kangxi Emperor Now in the Zhao Family
Chapter 1927 The First Memorial Since the Kangxi Emperor Now in the Zhao Family
Chapter 1927 The First Imperial Examination Since Kangxi's Reign Now in the Zhao Family
Before answering Manager Huang's call, Zhao Jun knew that if a call came in, he would ask Wang Meilan to answer it for him first.
But after Zhao Jun finished receiving that call from Manager Huang, all he could think about was selling the ginseng king for two million.
When the call was answered, Zhao Jun realized something was wrong, but it was too late.
"Ah...who is this?" Zhao Jun asked. The person on the other end of the phone said, "Team Leader Zhao, I'm Zhang Xudong, the security chief of Lushuihe Forest Farm. Um...Zhou Chengguo is my comrade-in-arms."
"Ah, Director Zhang, hehe." Zhao Jun greeted him with a smile, saying, "Hello."
"Hello, Team Leader Zhao," Zhang Xudong replied, then went straight to the point: "I called your forest farm before and spoke with Secretary Zhou and Director Yan, saying that you could come and help us hunt wolves after the May Day holiday."
"Ah, ah, yes, that's true," Zhao Jun said. "Director Yan told me about it, but..."
Just as Zhao Jun was about to find an excuse to postpone it for a few days, Zhang Xudong said, "Team Leader Zhao, listen to me. I really didn't intend to rush you at first. After all, we are already very grateful that you agreed to come."
At this point, Zhang Xudong changed the subject, saying, "But these past two days, these wolves have started causing trouble for people. They no longer stay in the gullies they used to, but have all moved into the meadows. As a result, many of our forest farm families who raise sheep, geese, and ducks have been harmed by these wolves."
These days, livestock and poultry in the countryside aren't fed commercial feed. Feeding them grain is out of the question; even the Zhao family has to let their geese roam freely.
Lushuihe Forest Farm is different from Yong'an Forest Farm, or rather, most forest farms are different from Yong'an Forest Farm.
Most forest farms are located next to residential areas for family members, and these residential areas are surrounded by forest sections.
However, Yong'an Forest Farm and the family quarters are separate. The area around the forest farm is forest compartments, but the family quarters are not.
Behind the residential area of Lushuihe Forest Farm, there is a small grove of trees, beyond which lies an alpine meadow. To the south of this meadow is a primeval forest, and below that is Langcaogou.
Hearing Zhang Xudong's words, Zhao Jun frowned slightly and asked, "Director Zhang, which of you has betrayed those wolves?"
After Zhao Jun said this, Zhang Xudong fell silent.
He didn't speak, and neither did Zhao Jun. Zhao Jun knew that while the lone wolf might be starving, a wolf pack wouldn't provoke people. Even if they were extremely hungry, they wouldn't attack domesticated poultry or livestock.
However, wolves hold grudges. If a person provokes a wolf, even if the wolf dies, it will still seek revenge.
After a silence of about five or six seconds, Zhang Xudong said with a wry smile, "Team Leader Zhao is really an expert; nothing can be hidden from you."
On the other end of the phone, Zhao Jun's lips twitched, but he didn't respond to Zhang Xudong's words. Then he continued, "Team Leader Zhao, you don't know, the wolves around here are a large pack. There were ten of them last year."
Northeast wolf packs do not have large groups because they are composed of a monogamous alpha wolf that mates for life.
The lower-ranking wolves are mostly the offspring of the alpha couple, that is, sub-adult wolves and young wolves.
Once sub-adult wolves reach adulthood, they are driven out of the pack and expelled from the territory by the alpha wolf.
Therefore, in a wolf pack, besides the alpha couple, the only other adult wolf is the former alpha wolf, which is the old wolf in the pack.
The older wolf in the pack has a low status and is generally only responsible for leading the way and keeping watch. It eats last when there is food, and goes hungry when food is scarce.
A typical wolf pack in Northeast China consists of five or six wolves, while seven or eight is considered a large pack.
In the last two years, there have been many roe deer and other carnivores, so they have been raised as pets.
Just then, Zhang Xudong continued, "Around April or May, these wolves had another litter. This one, a whopping eight!"
Zhao Jun was taken aback. Although there were no wolves in the Yong'an forest area, he knew a little about them. A litter of eight—that was quite a lot.
This is likely due to the abundance of food in the past two years, and because of this abundance, these eight wolf cubs may have survived.
If that were the case, the wolf pack could still grow stronger.
Just as Zhao Jun had expected, Zhang Xudong said, "Before, these wolves blocked Langcaogou, preventing us mountain runners from going up the North Mountain. If the wolf pack rises again, wouldn't that be even more troublesome?"
"Then why are you in such a hurry?" Zhao Jun suddenly asked, then added, "How old can this wolf cub be? It's over a month old and still not weaned. Why are you all poking at it?"
"I..." Zhang Xudong was stumped by Zhao Jun's question, then said with a hint of regret, "I didn't think about these things at the time. There's a guy named Shen Lao Er in our forest farm. He said a clever person gave him some advice. What advice? He said it's like using a sheep to lure a wolf."
"Huh?" Zhao Jun was taken aback. He guessed that the Shen Lao Er that Zhang Xudong mentioned must be Shen Qiushan. As for the "clever person" who decided to use a sheep to lure the wolf... Zhao Jun turned around and glanced at the door.
Just then, Zhang Xudong continued, "He specifically got eight sheep, and he even got several friends involved. His friends all raise hunting dogs."
They tied the two sheep to the east side of the wolf-grass ditch, waiting for the wolves to run towards the sheep. Then someone set off two volleys. Afterwards, his three friends, leading dogs, went down the wolf-grass ditch from the west, directly to the wolf den, and killed all eight wolf cubs and the mother wolf.
Zhao Jun: "..."
This is a blood feud. Given wolves' nature, they'd risk their lives to get revenge.
"No way? What are you trying to achieve?" Zhao Jun said, "If you do this, won't the wolves kill you?"
Zhao Jun understood Shen Qiushan's anxiety; once they entered Qinglangtou City, the ginseng gang could finally go into the mountains. But Zhao Jun couldn't understand why Zhang Xudong was in such a hurry. He had already promised to come; what was a few more days?
"Tsk!" On the other end of the phone, Zhang Xudong clicked his tongue in regret and said, "Team Leader Zhao, don't even mention it. Our forest farm's Shen Lao Er, didn't heed some smart person's advice about 'luring the enemy into a trap' and 'closing the door to catch the wolf'?"
In the morning, they killed the wolf cubs and the mother wolf. In the afternoon, they sent a group of men to graze sheep near Wolf Grass Gully, where a wolf-hunting team was lying in ambush in the woods. They figured the wolves would definitely retaliate and bite the sheep they were grazing. So the wolf-hunting team surrounded them from both sides and killed all the wolves.
Zhang Xudong's explanation was somewhat complicated, but Zhao Jun roughly understood it. The approach sounded both complex and familiar, yet it seemed quite logical and methodical.
However, since Zhang Xudong called, something unexpected must have happened.
Zhao Jun didn't reply, and Zhang Xudong continued, "Unexpectedly, those wolves didn't fall for it. The wolf-hunting team staked out for five or six days but didn't catch any wolves. As soon as the wolf-hunting team left, these wolves started to roam. They all came to the outskirts of our village, biting chickens, geese, and sheep, and some even followed people."
Our Party Secretary saw that things were going badly, so he told me to contact you.
Hearing Zhang Xudong's words, Zhao Jun was speechless. In the local dialect, this kind of behavior from Lushuihe Forest Farm is called: "Looking for an eggplant when you have no balls."
"Team Leader Zhao," Zhang Xudong said on the other end of the phone when Zhao Jun remained silent, "we're really out of ideas, please help us."
"Oh dear!" Zhao Jun sighed upon hearing this, and said, "Director Zhang, well... I still have some work to do here. Wait until I get back to you tomorrow, and then we can decide when I'll go over, is that alright?"
"Team Leader Zhao," Zhang Xudong pleaded, "It's not that I'm rushing you, we're really out of options. If you're willing, please come quickly. As for the compensation, don't worry, you won't be shortchanged."
Zhao Jun didn't take Zhang Xudong's words to heart. Zhang Xudong was unaware of his situation, and as the saying goes, ignorance is no excuse.
But Zhao Jun couldn't agree to Zhang Xudong's request until he received a reply from Manager Huang.
Thinking of this, Zhao Jun said to Zhang Xudong, "Director Zhang, wait a moment, I'll give you a definite answer tomorrow."
Zhang Xudong needed Zhao Jun's help, and although Zhao Jun's reply didn't suit him, he had no choice but to say many nice things to Zhao Jun instead.
After hanging up the phone, Zhao Jun went out of the house and walked to the outer room.
"Son, what did Manager Huang say?" Wang Meilan asked as soon as Zhao Jun came out, as she was also quite concerned about the two million.
“Mom, it’s not Manager Huang.” Under everyone’s gaze, Zhao Jun walked to his seat and sat down, continuing, “It’s the security chief of Lushuihe Forest Farm.”
"Him?" Upon hearing this, Wang Meilan's face instantly showed disappointment, and she muttered softly, "Why is he calling?"
After saying this, Wang Meilan hurriedly asked Zhao Jun, "Son, did you agree to go with him?"
"No." Zhao Jun picked up his chopsticks, took the rice bowl from Li Baoyu, and said, "I have to wait for Manager Huang's call. I'll decide when to go after Manager Huang makes a decision."
Hearing Zhao Jun's words, Wang Meilan fell silent and turned to serve food to her two daughters.
At this moment, Zhang Yuanmin looked at Zhao Jun and asked, "Brother, what's the rush? Why are they urging us on?"
As Zhang Yuanmin spoke, his voice grew softer and softer, because he met Zhao Jun's gaze.
Zhang Yuanmin felt that Zhao Jun was looking at him strangely, as if he had done something wrong.
"Hey bro, what's wrong?" Zhang Yuanmin asked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Brother," Zhao Jun countered Zhang Yuanmin, "before the meeting in Fusong, did you give that Chief Shen some advice?"
"No," Zhang Yuanmin said, taken aback by Zhao Jun's question. "What advice could I possibly give him?"
"No?" Zhao Jun didn't rush to pick up any food, but stared at Zhang Yuanmin and asked again.
"No," Zhang Yuanmin replied, completely bewildered by Zhao Jun's question. "Brother, who told you anything?"
Seeing that Zhang Yuanmin denied it, Zhao Jun smiled and said, "That Zhang farm manager said it wasn't some clever person who taught Shen Qiushan to use sheep to lure wolves..."
"Hahaha..." Zhao Jun had just started to speak when he was interrupted by the laughter of Wang Qiang, Li Baoyu, and Xie Chen.
“Brother, I didn’t teach him that,” Zhang Yuanmin argued. “I just said that my father was in Wudaogou and devised the plan to use an ox to lure a tiger back then.”
"Hehe..." Wang Qiang laughed, "Your dad didn't catch anything either."
Zhang Yuanmin glanced at Wang Qiang, about to say something to defend his father, when Zhao Jun recounted Shen Qiushan and Lushuihe's series of actions against the wolf team.
After Zhao Jun finished speaking, Li Ruhai smiled and said to Zhang Yuanmin, "Brother Zhang, you haven't wasted your time learning the Thirty-Six Stratagems. You've even mastered theoretical warfare, hahaha..."
"So what are you thinking about?" Li Ruhai had barely finished speaking when Jie Chen chimed in with a laugh, "You didn't talk much to those people before you left Fusong. Didn't you see Brother Zhang? That guy was talking nonsense, hahaha..."
Just as Zhang Yuanmin, who was being ridiculed by the two, was about to speak, he heard Li Baoyu say to him, "Brother Zhang, even my Uncle Zhang's trick won't work."
After saying this, Li Baoyu raised his hand and counted: "He tried to catch a tiger with an ox, but ended up losing two old oxen. My uncle tried to catch a leopard with a sheep, but ended up losing two lambs, hehe... uh."
Zhao Jinhui kicked Li Baoyu under the table, and Li Baoyu's laughter stopped abruptly. He followed Zhao Jinhui's gaze and saw Zhao Youcai squinting his small eyes and staring intently at him.
Li Baoyu quickly lowered his head to eat, and then Wang Qiang said to Zhang Yuanmin, "Yuanmin, you can't just teach this move to others indiscriminately in the future."
“Yes, Uncle…” Zhang Yuanmin had just started to speak when Wang Qiang interrupted him, saying, “Whoever offends you, you teach them again, and they’ll either lose a cow or a sheep.”
"At the very least, we'll lose a sheep," Jie Chen added, eliciting laughter from the crowd.
"That's not true at all!" Amid the laughter of the crowd, Zhang Yuanmin still argued, "The plan failed because it was fate."
Laughter filled the two tables, from men and women of all ages, except for Zhao Youcai. He stared at Zhang Yuanmin with his small eyes, thinking, "That year I pushed Zhang Da Nao into the ditch, and he couldn't get out because of his short legs. He cursed me fiercely. Later, he taught me how to use a bull to catch a tiger, but it turns out he was the one who got stuck."
While Zhao Youcai was lost in thought, the previous topic had already passed. Xing San put down his chopsticks and asked Zhao Jun, "Kid, there are ginseng buyers in Hebei and wolf hunters in Fusong. Can you manage to switch places?"
Xing San meant that the two things overlapped.
"Oh dear." Zhao Jun sighed softly upon hearing this, "Let's wait until Manager Huang finishes his call before we talk about it. We still have to sell ginseng if we can."
"Brother Jun," Zhao Jinhui said, "if we go wolf hunting, how many days will it take, including the round trip?"
"It's hard to say how many days," Zhao Jun said. "We're not just going to hunt wolves, we'll also be grazing in the mountains."
Zhao Jun's plan was to bring out the second-highest level of ginseng king since the reign of Emperor Kangxi on this trip.
Finding a ginseng seedling in the mountains is like finding a needle in a haystack, and Zhao Jun couldn't say for sure how long the trip would take.
Add to that the travel time, and it would take at least ten days to half a month. Then there's the wolf hunt, and it would take Xiao Liu a whole month.
"Hey, brother?" Just then, Zhang Yuanmin called out to Zhao Jun, as if he had something to say.
Before Zhao Jun could speak, Li Ruhai smiled at Zhang Yuanmin and said, "What's up, Brother Zhang? What trick are you up to now?"
"Go!" Zhang Yuanmin glared at Li Ruhai, then turned to look at Zhao Jun. But just as Zhang Yuanmin was about to continue speaking, the phone rang again in the west hut.
Zhao Jun put down his chopsticks and got up to go to the west hut. This time, when he answered the phone, Zhao Jun didn't say anything immediately until Manager Huang's voice came from the other end: "Zhao Jun."
"Yes, Manager Huang," Zhao Jun responded, then asked, "What did the big boss say?"
"The big boss said it's too expensive," Manager Huang said with a wry smile. "Two million? Where would we get that price?"
"Hehe." Hearing Manager Huang's words, Zhao Jun smiled faintly and said, "Manager Huang, my ginseng king weighs 420 grams on the scale, which is 14 taels and 2 fen according to the old system."
After saying this, Zhao Jun paused slightly before continuing, "I don't know about the past. What I do know is that from the time of Emperor Kangxi until now, no ginseng seedling can compare to this one. You can ask around in the trade; this is absolutely the best ginseng since Emperor Kangxi!"