Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 703: A Group of Youngsters! A Big Job
When the auspicious time came and the feast officially began, Lao Jiang raised his glass and said a few words, and then everyone started to eat. He and Zhou Hui toasted around several tables.

Xu Laonian, Du Shoucai and others accompanied Zhou's uncles and aunts, while Xu Ning was drinking with Zhou Hui's brother-in-law and younger brother, chatting about family matters and everything under the sun.

The lively and festive atmosphere lasted until after three o'clock in the afternoon. The men, after having eaten and drunk their fill, sat at the table smoking and drinking tea. The women were in no hurry to clear the table, but simply put away the dishes and sundries.

Before this, Zhou Hui publicly gave Jiang Qiuer a red envelope containing ten big unity banknotes. This amount of money was not small, enough to prove her love for Jiang Qiuer. After all, she had never had a child, and she had set her sights on Lao Jiang, so naturally she had to treat his daughter well.

There is an old saying that if you have a stepmother, you will have a stepfather. This actually depends on the person. Some stepmothers are a hundred times better than their biological mothers, and some biological mothers are more vicious than their stepmothers!
Everything depends on people and everything is done by man. This is the foundation for the survival of human society.

The jubilation eventually faded. At about four in the afternoon, Zhao Yue'e, who was stationed at the garrison, ran to Lao Jiang's house, found Xu Ning and said, "Sandaohe called you and asked you to call back when you have time."

Xu Ning was slightly stunned by the alcohol. Sun Lianfang rushed over from the west room and asked, "Sister-in-law, who called my family?"

"Your third uncle Sun Jiye."

"Ah, do you want to talk to my brother about something?"

"I didn't say what it was. Anyway, I heard that there was a happy event in our village, so your uncle said there was no need to rush."

Xu Ning stood up and said, "Then I'll reply to him and see what it is about."

Du Shoucai said, "Come on, I'll go back with you, Yue'e can stay here and help with the chores."

"I'm going too! This Sun Lao San didn't even bother to call his niece when he called. He's really like water spilled after a daughter is married off."

Sun Lianfang was also busy. She hadn't been back to Sandaohe for a while. The last time she went back was before the opening of Lengchang Mountain.

Soon, Sun Lianfang drove the old Dongfeng to the village headquarters. Du Shoucai said while smoking a cigarette, "There is a number on the wall."

"Oh, I know. Lianfang, can you give it back?"

"I'm not disliked by anyone. No one even asks me..."

Sun Lianfang said with a pout.

"Hahaha, look at you, you're still trying to be right. Let me beat you then."

Xu Ning sat down, picked up the phone and dialed the number. After going through many levels of transfers, the call was finally connected to the village office of Dahe Village in Sandaohe.

"Sandaohe Dahe Village Committee..."

"I'm Xu Ning, looking for Sun Jiye."

"Ah, Xiao Xupao, the third brother is looking for you."

In just a few seconds, Sun Jiye's voice came from the microphone: "Erning, how come you finished so quickly?"

"I just finished eating and was chatting in the house to sober up. How is your greenhouse going?"

"It's OK. I was thinking of picking some vegetables and sending them to you later. The tomatoes look a bit ugly, but they taste good, sour and sweet. The eggplants seem to have no taste, not as good as those grown in spring."

Xu Ning smiled and said, "The things grown in the greenhouse are not in season, so it's normal that the taste is a little off. After all, this thing doesn't grow in the natural way. Is there something you want to talk to me about?"

"Yes, something happened! Isn't there something wrong at my Dongyao Mine? The owner of the mine is the brother Min who transported the slabs for your kang."

"Ah, I know him..."

Only after Sun Jiye explained it did Xu Ning understand the general situation.

The story began a week ago, when heavy snow blocked the mountains and the temperature dropped sharply, so the mine was closed for five days. We only started working a few days ago after clearing the snow.

Three days ago, more than ten poultry, including chickens, ducks and geese, raised in the mine died. At first, the mine thought it was done by yellow-skinned or red-skinned foxes, so they put some clamps and traps in the poultry pen. Because these small animals like to walk into corners, they were placed under the wall, and the chickens, ducks and geese were kept in their nests. Unexpectedly, the pen was already airtight, and more than ten poultry died overnight.

The bodies of these dead poultry were not left behind, only chicken, duck and goose feathers all over the ground. The person in charge of raising poultry entered the pen and found two tufts of hair, which looked a bit like dog hair. He reported the matter to the boss and found an experienced person to take a look, and then confirmed that it was green fur!

It’s not a big deal that young snakes come to the mine and bite poultry to death, but it affects the livelihood of the mine workers. Raising poultry is to improve the food for the mine workers. Of course, the mine boss, family members, and small leaders can also be workers...

Just the day before yesterday, the mine owner Sun Weimin found two good hunters, planning to go into the mountains to hunt the bandits. However, they didn't expect that something bad would happen less than half a day after they entered the mountains. The two men slipped down from the top of the mountain, broke their legs, had slight fractures in their arms, and their faces were covered in blood from scratches from tree branches.

After asking carefully, we found out that there was not just one greenskin coming to the mine, but a whole group of them! There were more than 10 of them. Even the six dogs led by the two mountain runners were bitten to death by the greenskins. They were holding old snipers and double-barreled hunting rifles, so it was a fantasy to think that they could deal with so many greenskins.

While the two were being chased by the wolves, they accidentally slipped down the mountain, but that was how they escaped, otherwise they would have been killed by the wolves.

Sun Jiye said on the phone: "Brother Min called me and asked you to come over to help me. I said you were too busy and didn't have time, so I would just go and take a look. He said it would be useless for me to go, so I had to ask you for help!"

Xu Ning was not pleased to hear that. He just frowned and asked, "You want me to go by name? No, Uncle San, we have many tough guys in Sandaohe. Let Liu Zhu lead them and fight them with 56 and a half."

Sun Jiye smiled helplessly and said, "I just wanted to take Liu Zhu to take 56 and a half, but he insisted on letting you go. This is a good thing, you go and he pays! I want to go, isn't that a favor?"

"Hahaha, I see! Thank you, Uncle San, for giving me this big job..."

"It wasn't me who took the call. He wanted you to go on his own. Maybe he didn't get you to go before, so he's thinking about you now. He usually hunts animals, but they're all small animals. He uses his gun to hunt birds, greyhounds, etc. He doesn't dare to hunt big animals because he has a family to take care of, after all."

"I see. Is he in a hurry? If not, I'll wait a few days before going."

Sun Jiye said: "The mine is closed now, and we are afraid that the gangsters will hurt people..."

"Tomorrow at noon, when the clock strikes 11, I'll go directly to the mine in Dongyao."

"Okay! Why don't you ask how much it's going to cost?"

Xu Ning smiled and said, "Can the big boss give less?"

"Hahaha, OK! This trip must bring at least 500 yuan, and all the green skins are yours. How about Lianfang over there?"

At this time, Sun Lianfang curled her lips and said, "I've been listening to you guys chattering for a long time, and you just remembered me?"

"Oh, you're busy, so why don't you come back with your brother tomorrow?"

"I'm not going back. Now that my sister-in-law is pregnant, I have to hurry up. You should prepare some money for your grandson."

"Hahaha, okay, I'll prepare more. Whenever you want to come back, I'll ask Lian Jun to pick you up." "Okay, you still act like an elder, huh."

Xu Ning handed the microphone to Sun Lianfang. She chatted with Sun Jiye for five or six minutes before hanging up the phone. When she turned around, Xu Ning vaguely saw tears in the corners of her eyes. In fact, it is not difficult to understand. Even if Sun Lianfang's personality is like a boy, she is still a real girl. She must have missed home in her heart after being away from home for so long, but she knows where the focus of the family is now, so naturally she has to make choices.

After a while, Xu Ning and Sun Lianfang returned to Lao Jiang's house. As soon as he entered the door, he heard Lao Jiang's brother-in-law and parents were preparing to leave. Lao Jiang tried his best to persuade them to stay and asked them to finish their meal before leaving, as it was almost time for dinner and they were about to leave when they saw her parents' home.

Xu Laonian pulled Zhou Hui's father and said, "Uncle, you don't want to leave. Let my son take you back in the evening. We have a car at home, so it's convenient for us to do anything!"

After hearing this, Zhou's family members no longer wanted to leave, and they just sat down and continued to chat and gossip.

Sitting on the kang in the east room, Xu Ning heard that Zhou Hui would live in Qingantun in the future, and would ride a rickshaw to work in the street, or Lao Jiang would ride a donkey to deliver. Anyway, he had to go to the street to sell meat, while Da Laba would go to Nanbeitun and Qingli to sell meat...

"What does Uncle Lianfang want to see you about?" Meng Ziyan asked.

"I want to introduce a job to you. There is a group of thugs in the East Kiln of Sandaohe. They have killed and eaten all the poultry raised in the mine."

"Ah? Isn't there a mountain runner in Sandaohe? Why are we looking for you?"

"Well, I have a lot of fame, so I have no choice, you know? When you are famous, sometimes it is hard to refuse..."

Liu Lizhen pinched her waist and rolled her eyes and said, "You're just pretending to be a fool. What's going on?"

Xu Ning said bluntly: "The owner of the mine is Sun Weimin, and he is a relative of Lianfang's family. If Lianfang's uncle takes people there, it would be a waste of favor, so it is better to spend money to find someone with a strong hand to beat the gangsters..."

"Also, this boss likes to hunt animals in the mountains. He used to hunt small animals. He probably called me over because he wanted me to hunt big animals with him."

Liu Lizhen frowned and said, "I remember when our house was finished, he wanted to find you, right?"

"Well, I didn't have time at that time, so I could go there once. I could earn some money regardless of whether it was good or bad."

"Then you better be careful. Who will go with you?"

"Let's just go over there, four of us, after breakfast tomorrow."

When Li Fuqiang, Wang Hu and Guan Lei heard about it, they all nodded. After all, they could make money by just going there. After selling Xu Ning's two shares, the three of them could get exactly 100 yuan each. In addition, they could also sell wolf skins. Isn't this money earned without doing anything?

Now the Lengchang is on the right track, working step by step every day, just waiting for the forest farm to settle the quarterly accounts. Xu Ning conservatively estimates that the gross profit of the 28 three Lengchangs in the first quarter will be nearly 3000 yuan.

Why are there so few? There are many reasons, which I won’t go into detail here.

So, how does the woodworking mill make money? It sells wood to private individuals...

However, the money invested in the market can be recovered quickly, at the latest in one and a half years, and the remaining two to three years will be pure profit.

If Xu Ning was a little more ruthless, he could cut down all the yellow pineapple, elm and walnut trees near the 28leng yard and then sell them to the sawmill, and he could make his money back in a month!

In the evening, everyone had a few drinks at Lao Jiang's house, and then around 7 o'clock, Xu Ning and Li Fuqiang drove two cars to take Lao Zhou's family back home.

It was nearly 9 o'clock when they got home, so they quickly washed their feet and got into bed.

The next day, at around 7 o'clock in the morning, Xu Ning woke up naturally and sat up. Meng Ziyan looked at him putting on clothes and asked, "How many days will you be gone? Then I'll find you two more clothes."

"Okay, take out the cotton jacket and the military coat from the closet, and take out two pairs of wool socks, the ones my sister-in-law bought for me."

"I know. These wool socks are pretty warm, huh? I'll buy you a few pairs when we get to the city."

"It's fine as long as it's enough to wear. I'll go to the city with you when I come back. This time I should be able to tell whether it's a boy or a girl."

Meng Ziyan smiled and said, "You want two boys?"

"Come on, forget it. The most satisfying thing is definitely a son and a daughter. What's the point of having two sons? You'll just have to watch them fighting all day long."

After Xu Ning put on his clothes, he got up and went to the toilet first. At this moment, Li Fuqiang, Wang Hu and Guan Lei were already dressed and sitting on the sofa waiting. It seemed that the three of them were quite addicted. Even though Guan Lei didn't often go hiking with Xu Ning, he was also brought into the practice by Xu Ning.

I heard from Sun Lianfang that he dreamed of chopping off a deer's head with an axe, and that he wanted to chop off the deer's penis and roast it to eat...

After breakfast, Xu Ning asked Wang Hu to go downstairs to fetch two barrels of oil, and then the four of them got into the car and drove towards Sandaohe.

The snow on the road had been pressed hard and shone brightly in the sunlight. The tires of the old Dongfeng were new, but as the car was empty, it didn't dare drive too fast. The roads on the Sandaohe side were much worse than those in Qing'an. They were all winding mountain roads and it was easy to fall off the mountain if one was not careful.

It was exactly 11: when we arrived at Sandaohe Dongyao.

Dongyao is located on the east side of Sandaohe and is surrounded by mountains on all sides. It is a real mountain valley!
Moreover, the Dongyao Mine was newly developed and did not have a railway track. Instead, it had a narrow road 2 meters wide with an open space for passing vehicles every 5 meters.

However, there are often cars transporting stones pressing on the road surface, making it bumpy. Fortunately, it is covered with ice and snow, otherwise the bitter water would really be splashed out.

From a distance, I saw two people standing at the gate of the mine. They were leaning against a rock and smoking leisurely. When they saw an unfamiliar car coming, they both perked up.

Xu Ning held the steering wheel with both hands. When he saw a familiar face at the gate, he immediately honked the horn and waved forward.

This acquaintance was none other than Master Li, who was surveying the Xu family's house, and the fat, big-eared man next to him was the mine owner, Sun Weimin.

"Drive into the yard! Just find an open space and stop!" Sun Weimin shouted, pointing into the yard.

Xu Ning waved and drove the car into the yard. After the engine was turned off, he jumped out of the car, turned around and raised his hand to greet him, "Master Li! It's been a while since we last met."

"That's right. It's been several months. This is our boss."

Xu Ning nodded and smiled, "I know! Uncle San told me when I came here, so I'll just call him Uncle Min, okay? I really didn't expect Uncle Min to be waiting for me in the snow..."

"You can yell whatever you want. Hey, this is nothing. This is normal! You must be tired. Let's go inside and warm up first..."

"Yes, Uncle Min, this is my eldest brother Li Fuqiang and my younger brother Guan Lei, and he is the eldest brother Wang Hu from my second uncle's family."

"My name is Sun Weimin, just call me Uncle Min. It's like being at home here, don't be polite, or I'll feel uncomfortable."

(End of this chapter)