sinovels Chapter 1948 Shen Qiushan: I'd rather die than leave!
Chapter 1948 Shen Qiushan: I'd rather die than leave!
Chapter 1948 Shen Qiushan: I'd rather die than leave!
Hearing Ma Sheng shout, Zhao Jun was about to speak when Ma Yang loudly replied, "What grade of leaves?"
Upon discovering wild ginseng on his first time hunting in the mountains, Ma Sheng was extremely excited and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Four-grade leaf!"
"How much..." Ma Yang was about to ask again, but Zhao Jun pulled him, causing the "Miao" character to disappear.
"Huh?" Ma Yang looked at Zhao Jun with a blank expression, only to hear Zhao Jun say irritably, "What's all the noise about? Are you going to make noise again?"
Although Zhao Jun had set a trap for Shen Qiushan and his group, he was just being cautious. What if none of Shen Qiushan's group of twenty-odd people discovered the "treasure"?
"Ma Lao Er!" Zhao Jun had barely finished speaking when Li Ruhai appeared from behind him, pointed at Ma Yang, and shouted, "Sneak into the village, don't fire!"
"What are you saying?" Zhao Jun said, shoving Li Ruhai aside. "That's not something a human being would say."
"Hehe." Li Ruhai chuckled, then followed Zhao Jun toward Ma Sheng.
At this moment, the rest of the Zhao family gang approached Ma Sheng from all directions. As they walked, Xing San said, "The Ma family's children are all so lucky."
Hearing Xing San's words, everyone felt the same way. Back home, Ma Yang's search for the Little White Dragon, the conjoined ginseng king, and the sea-crossing ginseng king had practically dazzled everyone.
Today, while rafting in another city, the first person to be amazed was Ma Sheng.
“We, the Ma family, are blessed!” Ma Yang said with a smile. Li Ruhai then said to Zhao Jun, “Brother, next time, let my sister-in-law lead the way.”
"Get out of here!" Zhao Jun said to Li Ruhai with a smile, then walked to Ma Sheng's side and glanced at the four-leafed clump of grass.
“Lift!” Zhao Jun turned to Zhang Yuanmin and said, “Brother, the two of us will lift it, and the rest of you can carry it.”
As soon as Zhao Jun said this, everyone responded. Zhang Yuanmin took out his tools to help Zhao Jun carry the ginseng, while the others continued to search for wild ginseng nearby.
Around noon, Ma Yang continued to demonstrate his Fuwa-like qualities, discovering a wild ginseng with three leaves in the grass behind a large pine tree.
At this time, Zhao Jun and Zhang Yuanmin hadn't brought out the fourth-grade leaf yet. But everyone was hungry, so Zhao Jun had Li Ruhai use a mallet lock to tie up the third-grade leaf that Ma Yang had just discovered, and then everyone gathered together to have lunch.
They say it's good to stay home for a thousand days, but difficult to go out for even one day.
When the Zhao family was herding animals in the mountains, their living conditions weren't bad. But today, they finally understand what truly harsh conditions mean.
We were in an unfamiliar place, and we didn't even know where the nearest water source was. Although everyone had filled their military water bottles with water when we left the forest farm, it was only enough for drinking, not enough for cooking or making noodles.
Under these circumstances, Zhao Jiabang took out the pancakes, salted goose eggs, and canned luncheon meat he had brought from home and had a simple lunch.
After lunch, Zhao Jun called Li Baoyu over and said to him, "Baoyu, do you dare to go and find some water nearby?"
"I dare!" Li Baoyu agreed readily, saying, "What's there to be afraid of?"
“I’m afraid Zhang San might come after you.” Zhao Jun said with a hint of worry in his eyes, “If Shen Qiushan and the others are there plotting that treasure, Zhang San should go after them. But if Shen Qiushan and the others didn’t see it, then it’s hard to say.”
“Brother, I’m not afraid!” Li Baoyu said decisively, “If I can’t handle it, I’ll just climb a tree!”
"I'll have your uncle go with you," Zhao Jun said. "It'll be good for him to have company and someone to look after him!"
Upon hearing Zhao Jun's words, Wang Qiang immediately stood up, gun in hand, and said, "Baoyu, I'll go with you!"
"Are you two going to take the dog or not?" Lin Xiangshun pointed at Mao Mao and said to Li Baoyu, "This dog is brave, you can take it."
As he spoke, Lin Xiangshun raised his right hand, pinched his thumb and forefinger together, and gestured that it was about the size of a quail egg, saying, "This dog's asshole is so big!"
The Zhao family and Lin Xiangshun have the same criteria for choosing dogs: they both look for dogs with large anuses. It's unclear who taught them this, but they say a dog with a large anus is bold.
"It's that big?" Hearing Lin Xiangshun's words, Zhao Jinhui, who was closest to the long-haired dog, grabbed the dog's tail and said, "Let me see!"
The fat man's sudden action startled the long-haired dog, which let out a "howl," but didn't bite Lin Xiangshun.
"Let's not take it," Li Baoyu said. "If we take it and we climb a tree, it'll be in trouble."
“Lead it!” Wang Qiang’s opinion differed from Li Baoyu’s: “What if there are other things in this forest? If we lead the dog, we can let them know if anything comes up.”
“Yes, Baoyu.” Upon hearing this, Zhao Jun quickly echoed Wang Qiang’s words and said to Li Baoyu, “Listen to your uncle, you two lead that dog.”
After Zhao Jun spoke, Li Baoyu had no further objections.
After watching Wang Qiang and Li Baoyu leave, Zhao Jun hurriedly called Zhang Yuanmin and the others to carry ginseng and halberds.
The four people carrying the ginseng were Zhao Jun, Zhang Yuanmin, Xie Chen, and Li Ruhai. Zhao Jun and Zhang Yuanmin carried the fourth-grade ginseng leaf, while Xie Chen and Li Ruhai carried the third-grade ginseng leaf.
The remaining Xing San, Lin Xiangshun, Ma Sheng, and Ma Yang simply arranged their sticks, with Xing San assigning Ma Yang to strike the first blow and Ma Sheng the last, hoping to rely on the Ma family's lucky charm attribute to achieve new success.
While the Zhao family gang was busy, the Shen family gang wasn't idle either. Shen Wanglin led his men back to retrieve tools, and upon their return, the Shen family gang began laying down the trees.
Before lowering the tree, as instructed by Shen Qiushan, they climbed the tree and tied ropes to the large branches and forks. When the tree top was sawed off, Shen Qiushan and his men pulled the rope on the other side of the three-petaled leaves, causing the tree top to fall to that side without touching the three-petaled leaves that were swaying in the wind.
Seeing that the three leaves were intact, Shen Qiushan breathed a long sigh of relief. Next, all he had to do was saw off the trunk and carry it home.
At this moment, Shen Qiushan only had eyes for that "big treasure" and didn't feel hungry or thirsty at all.
Shen Qiushan did this because he believed that the ginseng on the tree was priceless, and by promoting the ginseng, he would become the richest man in Fusong.
In Song Daikui's mind, although the ginseng on the tree could sell for 15,000 or 16,000 yuan, he would only get a few hundred yuan.
Therefore, Song Daikui was still hungry.
But after asking around, Song Daikui discovered that none of the people had brought any food with them.
This is because they didn't come to graze in the mountains at all; they came to fight the Zhao family gang. They planned to fight and then leave, so who would bring any rations?
Shen Qiushan told Song Da Kui to be patient, saying that a tree as thick as a ginseng root could be felled in no time. Shen Qiushan promised that after bringing the ginseng home, he would slaughter a pig and host a feast for everyone.
Hearing Shen Qiushan's words, Song Daikui stopped saying he was hungry. But just as everyone was about to continue releasing the trees, the hunting dogs started barking.
The wolf pack has returned!
"Fire! Fire! I'll take care of the bullets!" Shen Qiushan shouted, ordering Shen Wanglin and the others to open fire.
After a burst of gunfire, the hunting dogs were still barking, but the gunners didn't move. The dogs were probably barking because of the gunfire.
The gunners stood ready, but after about half a minute, when the barking of the dogs had not yet subsided, they realized something was wrong.
"No, Qiushan!" Shen Wanglin said to Shen Qiushan, "The wolf hasn't left!"
"They didn't leave?" Shen Qiushan was taken aback, then shouted, "If they didn't leave, then fight! Fight!"
"How do we fire?" Shen Qiushan had barely finished speaking when a gunner shouted, "Out of ammo!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Qiushan angrily shouted, "I already said that! Shoot as many bullets as you want, I don't care how many you fire!"
"What the hell do you care!" The gunner who had spoken earlier also had a bad temper. He shrugged at Shen Qiushan and said, "Fine, you can mind your own business, but give me the bullets!"
"Where would I get one right now!" Shen Qiushan glared and roared, "Didn't I say I'd buy it for you when we get back!"
"What should I use now?" the gunner shouted to Shen Qiushan again. Seeing this, Shen Wanglin quickly grabbed the gunner and said to Shen Qiushan, "Qiushan, I brought twenty bullets, and now I only have eight left. If we keep shooting like this, we'll be in trouble!"
To reiterate, not every hunter has the firepower of the Zhao family gang. Or rather, most hunters don't have jobs; forestry workers don't have that much free time to hunt.
Making a living by hunting is not an easy task. These hunters are very careful with their money, and they even weigh the cost of loading gunpowder carefully.
The constant firing of guns into the woods was painful for Shen Wanglin and his men.
The problem now is that we've already fired half our ammunition before we've even seen the wolf.
What's next?
The wolves are still in the woods on both sides. Should we keep shooting? If we do, we'll run out of bullets!
"Damn it!" Shen Qiushan stomped his foot in frustration, then asked Shen Wanglin, "Sixth Uncle, why didn't you take the bullets when you went back?"
"I didn't go home just now either!" Shen Wanglin said. "Just tell me to hurry back. I went to the forest farm to borrow a chainsaw and came back in a rush!"
"Oh my god!" Shen Qiushan wiped his face in annoyance amidst the barking of the dogs, then yelled at the crowd, "What do we do now?"
"Qiushan, what else can we do?" Shen Wanglin said, "Let's go back!"
In recent years, the people of Lushuihe have not come to this mountain to harvest or graze, precisely because they fear encountering such a situation. The wolf pack appears and disappears intermittently; to attack them is not an option, nor is to let them live.
"I'm not going back!" At this moment, Shen Qiushan's eyes were glowing red. He stared at the three-petaled leaf growing in the tree hole and roared, "I'd rather die than go back!"
Outsiders like Song Daikui and Shen Wanglin couldn't understand why Shen Qiushan was willing to risk his life for money, but the knowledgeable members of the Shen family gang knew exactly what was going on!
As long as they bring the ginseng home from that tree, they'll have no trouble selling it! Once it's sold, each of them, these ginseng growers, can easily earn 100,000 or 200,000 yuan a month.
So, in an instant, the twenty-one people split into two groups: one group wanted to go home, while the other group would rather die than leave.
Just as they were locked in a stalemate, a gray wolf leaped out of the woods and pounced on a spotted dog in full view of everyone.
Hunting dogs are bolder than guard dogs; when faced with a wolf's sneak attack, the spotted dog fiercely charged forward.
"Bang!" The dog owner raised his gun and fired, but he was afraid of hitting the dog, so he didn't dare to aim down. The bullet flew high, and the wolf was frightened and turned to run away.
"Bang! Bang!" As the wolf fled, Shen Wanglin and another gunner seized the opportunity to fire, but the wolf was too fast, and the bullets almost hit it, but still missed.
Seeing the wolf dart into the woods, Shen Wanglin dropped his gun and shouted to Shen Qiushan, "Qiushan, run!"
"I'm not leaving!" Shen Qiushan said, his eyes bloodshot and his neck stiff. "I'd rather die than leave!"
"Let's go, Qiushan!" Song Daikui rushed to Shen Qiushan's side, grabbed his arm, and said, "Let's go back to the forest farm and borrow a few semi-automatic rifles, then we'll come back!"
“Exactly!” Shen Wanglin also said, “This wolf is so strange, if we can’t get rid of this idiot, then Zhao… what’s their name? They can’t get rid of it either.”
"They can!" Shen Qiushan shouted, "Their arrival is like the boy who cried wolf!"
“They can’t leave even if they try!” Song Daikui helplessly advised Shen Qiushan, “This is our territory. What can these outsiders do? If they dare to steal our territory, we’ll beat the shit out of them!”
At this moment, several gunners stepped forward to persuade them to leave. Although the Shen family gang did not want to leave, they had no choice but to go in the current situation.
So, the two men dragged Shen Qiushan down the mountain, while the others followed with dogs and guns.
The group descended the mountain, followed by the wolf pack into Wolf Grass Gully. A mountain breeze blew, causing the grass to bow low, patches of gray mingling with the emerald green. Shen Wanglin and the others seized their opportunity to hunt the wolves.
But those wolves were too cunning; the moment someone raised a gun, they would immediately disappear into the green sea.
When Shen Qiushan returned to Lushuihe Forest Farm and asked for help to borrow a gun from the security section, Wang Qiang and Li Baoyu returned to Zhao Jun's side.
“Brother, Baoyu has come to report!” Li Baoyu clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhao Jun and said, “My uncle and I have found water.”
"How far is the water from us?" Zhao Jun asked, turning his head to place the four-leaf leaf he had brought out onto the moss that Xing San was holding in his hands.
“It’s about three miles away from us!” Li Baoyu said. “It’s a river branch, and there’s a dilapidated shack next to it.”
"Oh!" Zhao Jun's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he said, "That's great! Can you handle it?"
"It's unlikely," Wang Qiang said. "The kang (heated brick bed) has collapsed, and the canopy is drafty."
"I'm not afraid," Zhao Jun said, turning back to find Zhang Yuanmin.
As Zhao Jun approached, Zhang Yuanmin looked up and said to Zhao Jun with great shame, "Brother, I broke one of my beards."
Zhao Jun craned his neck to take a look and saw that the ginseng was of average quality, with a few roots still stuck in the ground. Zhao Jun immediately waved his hand and said, "Just break it, brother, don't try to pry it out. Use a shovel to pull it out, and then we'll leave!"
Five minutes later, the Zhao family gang set off under the leadership of Li Baoyu.
An hour later, the Zhao family arrived at the river branch that Li Baoyu had mentioned.
Everyone quickly put down their luggage, drank water, and washed their faces.
At the end of June, after spending a day in the mountains, everyone's faces were covered in dirt and their bodies felt sticky.
The group took out pig pancreas and towels, quickly wiped themselves off by the river, and then, led by Li Baoyu, headed towards the shack he had mentioned.
We hadn't walked far when we saw the hut nestled in the woods.
This shack is clearly not built by mountain dogs; it's made of fried dough sticks. Only forest farms would build this kind of shack for their workers.
The frying board doesn't break easily, and it hasn't collapsed or fallen over even after being abandoned for many years, except for the shed door.
There was a large kang (heated brick bed) in the shack. The kang was made of stones and plastered with sand, but as Li Baoyu said, half of the kang had collapsed.
Looking up again, I noticed that a few planks were missing from the canopy.
"Brother, is this place safe to stay?" Zhao Jun asked Zhang Yuanmin. Zhang Yuanmin laughed and said, "Yes, it's safe to stay here, more than enough."
As he spoke, Zhang Yuanmin turned to the crowd and said, "Isn't this better than living outside?"
At this moment, Zhang Yuanmin pointed to the door and said, "Baoyu, you, Xiaochen, Ruhai, and Xiaoyang, cut down more tree branches for the other door. After that, Shunzi, Shengzi, and Jinhui, you come with me to move stones and tidy up the kang (heated brick bed), so we can heat it up tonight!"
Hearing Zhang Yuanmin's words, everyone was overjoyed. Staying outside at this time of year wouldn't be too cold, but the mosquitoes in the mountains would be a nuisance. Spending the night there would be unbearable.
But living in a shack would be fine, and having a warm kang (heated brick bed) would be even better.
Following Zhang Yuanmin's instructions, everyone split up and took action, with Zhao Jun and others moving stones and dismantling the collapsed kang (a heated brick bed).
"Brother Zhang." At this moment, Ma Sheng looked up at the leaky awning and said to Zhang Yuanmin, "Shouldn't we nail some nails on tonight?"
“It’s fine whether you nail it or not!” Zhang Yuanmin laughed. “If you want to nail it, then nail the whole tarpaulin up. If you don’t want to nail it, we can still look at the stars at night.”
"Hahaha..." Everyone chatted and laughed. Although the conditions were not good, the Zhao family gang did not feel bitter at all.
At the same time, after begging and pleading with his family to borrow three semi-automatic Shen Qiushan trees from the forest farm, he led his men through Langcaogou with great momentum, heading straight up Dongshan to pick up that big treasure.