Confessions of a Salesman

Chapter 1818 Battle's Wish
I asked Battelle again: "Why did you set up a safe house on the mountain? Is it for you to rest while patrolling?"

Battle shook his head and said: "No, we rangers have our own resting place. It wouldn't be surprising if someone appeared there. It might be a tourist who entered the forest by mistake, or it might be my colleague! But the safe house is different. Then It is a refuge for Hongmen disciples who run away, but Hongmen disciples would not be able to find it there!"

I was still puzzled and asked: "You still didn't say what the safe house is for? You set up a safe house in such a remote place for refuge? If it snows heavily and the mountain is closed, Is it impossible to go down the mountain for half a year?"

Battelle nodded and said: "Yes, isn't it just right to spend the winter here and avoid hunting casually?"

I shook my head and said: "Then they won't come here to take refuge! At least the people I want to chase will definitely not take refuge here, they still have things to do, and they won't stay here for half a year! Is this place far away from Russia?" Closer to the border?"

Battelle nodded and said: "It's close, but it's harder to climb over this mountain than climbing to the sky! The snow at the bottom of our mountain is not thick, but the snow on the mountain is knee-deep, and the snow on the top of the mountain is so deep that it's impossible to walk. Move! Coupled with such bad weather, they will die if they go up the mountain!"

I asked, "How far is it from the safe house?"

Battelle pointed to the woods in front of him and said, "We have to go through this woods, and then cross a small hill, there is a path to pass!"

Looking at the dense forest, I thought to myself, sure enough, if no one leads the way, who will pass through this forest?
Battelle looked at us and asked, "Do you have any guns?"

We shook our heads together.

Battle said in confusion: "Then why are you chasing them? What are you going to do with them? I see there are more than one footprints on the ground!"

I groaned and said: "Let's not do anything first, let's talk about it after seeing the situation!"

After climbing a small hill, I walked into a cave. After passing through the cave, I vaguely saw a path. I was a little worried: "Could they already be inside?"

Battelle shook his head and said, "No one, I've seen it!"

Walking to an open space, there was nothing here, Battelle looked around, from a big tree in the distance, counted the steps, walked to the middle of the open space, swept away the snow on the ground, and an iron plate appeared Well, I really didn't expect that this safe house is built underground, or under the snow. If you don't clear the snow above, you will never find that there is still an iron plate here.

Battelle took out the key, opened the big lock on the iron plate, and lifted the iron plate with great effort. There was another iron plate inside, with a combination lock on it. After opening, the iron plate opened automatically. It turned out to be a security door. But the door opens upwards!
Barter got in first, and then Azhong, I had better go in. It was like a cellar. You had to climb down, about a dozen stairs, and your feet could touch the ground. I lowered my head and walked down a long corridor. After a few dozen meters, it suddenly became clear inside.

After turning on the lights, it looks like 5 to 60 square meters. There are all kinds of household appliances and heating inside, which makes me very curious.

I couldn't help asking: "How can there be electricity here? Isn't there no one living around here? How did the electricity come here?"

Battelle didn't answer my question, but pointed to the cigarette butts on the ground and said, "Someone has come in and smoked here, and probably stayed for a day. There is less food in the storage room. I have checked it!"

I asked again: "You haven't answered my question yet!"

Battelle said impatiently: "This is photovoltaic power generation. There are solar energy storage panels on the ground, and there are 8 batteries below, which can provide 4 kilowatt-hours of electricity every day for a month!"

Then continued to analyze: "There is a person here, probably from reconnaissance, to see if the safe house is available?"

I hummed and said, "It should be! What are they waiting for? Why don't they just cross the border?"

Battle thought for a while and said: "They should be waiting for the snowstorm! In another month, winter will enter here and the first snowfall will come. The snow will be heavy. They can sneak across the snowy night, otherwise they will definitely be caught. Seize it! The border here is a strategic area for military strategists, and it’s not that easy to cross!”

I asked inexplicably: "Then where are they now? Haven't come yet? After coming here, come directly to the safe house, wait here for the heavy snow to come, and then start smuggling?"

Battelle hummed and said: "The plan should be like this!"

I hummed and said, "Then let's catch that scout first, and see how much we can learn from him? Do you know how to find the person who came here to see it?"

Battle thought for a while and said, "This is not difficult. If he is not in the mountains, he has gone to the town. If there are outsiders in the town, they will know it immediately!"

I asked, "Are there not many outsiders here?"

Battelle nodded and said, "Very few, but some tourists will come to ski in winter. There is a ski resort 10 kilometers away from our town!"

I hummed and said, "Then let's go to your town first!"

We went down the mountain, got into the car, drove for about half an hour, and came to the town. I thought it would be a broken town with no birds and no people, but I didn’t expect it to be like an ancient town with tourist attractions. In front of the town There is a huge stone with "Snowstorm Town" engraved on it.

Bateer introduced: "Our place was originally managed by the Amur Forestry Bureau. Later, it was withdrawn as a town and called Amur Town. Because of the tourism economy these years, it was changed to Fengxue Town. It's easy to remember! We There are only 400 households in this town, and they all know each other! After a while, when you enter the town, if anyone asks, just say that they are my relatives who came to play! Go to my house first, and I will inquire and see if there are any other places. Someone come over?"

Battelle's home is no different from ordinary homes in the northeastern countryside. It is an independent small courtyard, one-story house, with coal mountains and firewood piled up in the courtyard. The room is very clean and simple, with nothing but the necessities of life.

After Battle burned the stove, he asked us to boil water and find food while he went out to inquire about news.

Seeing Oman's painful appearance, I knew he was not used to the cold here.

She smiled and asked him, "Have you never seen such a winter?"

Aman said while warming up the fire; "I never thought the weather at the end of September would be like this? This is the first time I saw snow in September!"

I smiled and explained: "This is the northernmost place in China, and there are mountains here. Naturally, the weather in Southeast Asia is incomparable to yours? Have you never experienced winters of minus [-] degrees?"

Aman nodded and said: "Not only have I never experienced a winter of more than [-] degrees below zero, I have never even experienced a winter below zero. If I can't say it, I am not afraid of your jokes. This is the first time I have seen snow when I grow up!"

I groaned and said in surprise: "You said you have never seen snow? Oh, southerners, this is not surprising! Where is your hometown?"

Aman replied: "Shantou!"

I said with a oh: "It's still half a fellow!"

Aman said, "Are you from Shantou too?"

I shook my head and said, "That's right, I'm from Fujian!"

Ah Zhong looked out the window and said, "Battelle is back!"

Battelle didn't know what he was carrying, walked back, entered the room, and threw the things on the ground, a black sack, I thought it was a person, I was shocked, walked over to have a look, and saw Not moving at all, I thought he wouldn't kill him directly, right?This folk custom is too tough!
Seeing that the three of us were all stunned on the spot, Battelle smiled, opened the mouth of the sack, and took out the sack. Inside was a sheep, which was frozen hard.

Battelle said: "The people in the town heard that there are guests at my house, and they gave me half a sheep. Tonight we will roast sheep!"

I'm not interested in any roast sheep, I just want to know the news of the scout.

Battelle looked at my questioning eyes, and hurriedly said: "Don't worry, I asked, that person came to the town, bought some food and water, and went to the ski resort!"

I said anxiously: "Then let's go find him now!"

Battelle shook his head and said, "I can't go now. It's dark and I can't see it by car. It's very dangerous. Let's drive there tomorrow morning. He won't leave. He must think the environment here is not good. Go skiing in a comfortable tourist area." On the other side of the ski resort, many tourists are like this. When they came to our town to have a look, they felt that the environment was difficult, and they didn’t want to live here, so they went to the ski resort. There is a hotel there, which is much more comfortable than ours!”

Then Battelle started to marinate the sheep, coated the whole body of the sheep with sauce, set up the stove, added firewood to it, and the whole room was warm and very comfortable.

While working, Battle asked us: "What on earth do you do? Why does Mr. Zhong value you so much? He doesn't speak easily! I haven't heard his orders for a long time!"

I asked curiously, "How did you get here?"

Barter explained: "I am from NMG Baotou. I have been in Mohedu for 13 years. I made some mistakes. I served four years in Jixi. My grandfather’s relationship allowed me to join the Forestry Bureau and become a forest ranger. I was not used to it at first, but after getting used to it now, I think this place is very good. The villagers are very simple and warm-hearted. After 8 months of work, the mountain will be closed as soon as it snows, so we have nothing to do! The salary is still high, the benefits are good, and the most important thing is that there is no pressure at all here, you can live as you want!"

Ah Zhong asked with a smile: "Then why don't you marry a wife? You're in your thirties, and you're still a bachelor!"

Battle smiled and replied: "All the local girls have been married off, leaving only some old people. People from other places are unwilling to marry here. The environment is too bad!"

I hummed and said, "It's no wonder, it's really inconvenient here! It's not safe either!"

Battelle hurriedly said: "Why is it unsafe? We haven't had a murder case in ten or eight years! There are few people, and they are all easy to manage by the elderly!"

I shook my head and said, "The Mohe shooting case in 03, the bombing case in 08, how many people died, right? The kidnapping and ticket tearing case in 16 are all here!"

Battelle argued: "In 03, I haven't come yet. The bombing in 08 was accidentally injured because of snow blowing. Don't listen to the rumors from outsiders. It's not revenge on society at all! The kidnapping in 16, I know best Yes, I'm right there! That's tens of kilometers away from us, not our place! The two gangsters did come to our place, and they planned to pay us at the beginning, but that's still here. There is no transportation, and cars can’t come in. It’s really inconvenient, so I changed the place! Back then, when the arrest was made, I was at the scene and mobilized people from all the nearby villages to conduct a blanket search. The body of the kidnapper was found on the mountain. The two gangsters were trapped on the mountain and wanted to cross the border, but they encountered a blizzard and froze to death! So, if there are no locals to lead the way, no one can cross the border. Look at the weather!"

I thought for a while and said, "Then you said they want to go out, do you still have to ask you to lead the way? Without you, they can't go out at all!"

Battelle nodded and said, "It must be!"

I asked again: "Then besides you who are familiar with the terrain, is there anyone else who can lead the way?"

Battelle shook his head and said, "No, I am the youngest member of our forest ranger team. There are two old men left. One is only in charge of communication, and the other is in charge of outreach. They are not usually here! There are some guides in the town. However, none of them have any experience in the mountains, they are familiar with the ski resorts, but they dare not go into the mountains!"

I hummed and said: "Then let's change the plan, you find a way to get close to the scout and let them know that only you can take them into the mountains, how about being an undercover agent for me?"

Battle hesitated: "This... Master Zhong didn't say anything!"

Ah Zhong hurriedly said: "I can call Master Zhong immediately!"

Battelle shook his head and said, "That's unnecessary! But, aren't they all dangerous?"

I smiled and said, "There must be danger! However, if you want anything, just say it, and I will satisfy you if I can satisfy you!"

Battelle smiled, embarrassedly said: "Can you find me a wife?"

This stumped me and said: "I can't buy you one, can I? Marrying a wife is a joy between two people. I can't do human trafficking! If you spend money to buy it, it's not true love." , how can I promise you?"

Aman said suddenly: "I can help you!"

I looked at Aman with a groan, and Aman said with a smile: "It's not forced. Many girls in our clan seem to come to the north to see the snow. They like life here. When this is over, I will bring them over to have a look. At that time, it will depend on whether you have the ability to keep them!"

This time Barter agreed ecstatically.

(End of this chapter)