The pastoral life of the grass tribe chief

The utility poles and wires were erected and put up one after another, and the shelves arrived. Since Lu Yao was not familiar with the supply channels, he handed the task over to Li Yunpeng to purchase the goods so that he could make a profit from the price difference.

Li Yunpeng runs a small general store in the village, which also serves as a parcel drop-off point for the township. His wife and son usually manage it, and when he's not working, he's responsible for picking up goods from the nearby wholesale market.

Rural stores operate this way: they cut costs wherever possible. They source goods directly from the wholesale market if the price is lower than what the supplier delivers. Only for monopolistic goods are they delivered to their door by the supplier.

Li Yunpeng drove his van to the Shiquangou intersection. There was another van without license plates parked on the side of the road, with two men in their thirties or forties sitting inside.

Are you looking for someone?

Li Yunpeng stopped the car and asked the two men.

"No, we're going fishing at the reservoir."

"Excuse me, buddy, is this a dog farm?"

The forty-year-old man leaned out and offered Li Yunpeng a cigarette.

"Thanks, but my throat is sore today, so I can't smoke too much."

"My younger brother raises fish here, and these dogs are kept to guard the house; they're not for sale."

Li Yunpeng refused the cigarette offered by the other party.

"Oh, if it's a dog farm, I'll buy a dog."

Thanks.

The forty-year-old man said this, then turned around and drove to Longchong Reservoir.

Li Yunpeng started the car and drove towards Shiquangou.

Lu Yao and Lu Changping's father, along with their two children, are feeding stone frogs.

The stone frogs are afraid of being disturbed, so the frog pond is quite far from the valley stream.

Lu Yao dug a new ditch along the foot of the mountain, drawing water directly from the deep pool under the waterfall. He also dug a pool along the way, and the water flowed into the pool and was filtered before flowing into the frog pond.

A row of two-meter-high bamboo fences was nailed along the bank of the valley, connecting the two mountain bases.

The bamboo fences are all made of live bamboo, with bamboo leaves growing on them, creating a unique landscape.

There are signs prohibiting climbing at regular intervals.

The barren fields between the bamboo fence and the frog pond have been transformed into sloping land and planted with light bamboo leaves, covering several acres.

At the foot of the mountain at the entrance to Shiquangou, there is a cement road leading to the deep pool of the waterfall, and parking is available on the side.

There is a mountain path leading to the frog pond at the entrance. There are signs at the entrance and a fence gate to prevent strangers from entering.

The mountain road passes through valleys and streams. When the current is rapid, cars cannot pass, and you can only ride a motorcycle across the wooden plank bridge.

The small shop, a bamboo shed, was built on a promontory on the mountain, facing the frog pond across the ravine.

Two toilets were built not far away.

There are two cement sidewalks in front of the bamboo shed, which lead to the two largest pools in the valley.

Changing rooms and restrooms were built around both ponds, and ornamental trees were planted there.

The fields on both sides of the cement sidewalk are planted with cactus, covering several acres.

When Lu Yao saw Li Yunpeng's car come in, he threw all the earthworms in the plate into the frog pond, washed his hands, and walked out.

Lu Changping's father also had his grandchildren throw the small fish and shrimp they were holding into the frog pond, wash their hands, and then walk out of the frog pond.

Lu Yao drove the three of them—grandfather, grandfather, and grandson—to the bamboo shed of the convenience store.

Wang Juan and Lu Changping's wife are cleaning and arranging goods in the bamboo shed of the small shop.

When the two men saw Li Yunpeng arrive with his goods, they helped carry the lighter items.

Women are naturally weaker than men, and it is very difficult for them to lift objects weighing 20 or 30 kilograms.

Lu Yao and Lu Changping's father moved things as easily as if they were children's toys.

"Ah Yao, I just met two strangers at the intersection who were driving a van without license plates. They asked me if this was a dog farm and said they wanted to buy a dog. I think these two are very suspicious. You should be careful."

Li Yunpeng offered a cigarette to Lu Changping's father.

"I've heard that many people's dogs have been stolen recently."

Lu Changping's father said.

"How can anyone steal dogs to eat on such a hot day?"

Wang Juan said.

"In the past two years, people have not had much money in their pockets. Many lazy people who try to make money through shady means are also not making any money, and the number of petty thieves has also increased."

"The dog thief doesn't steal dogs to eat them, he steals them to sell them."

Lu Yaodao.

"If I catch these dog thieves, breaking their arms and legs would be too lenient."

Lu Changping's father had a fiery temper when he was young, and his dog was often stolen. He hated dog thieves to the core.

"I hope not. If they dare to lay a finger on my dog, I'll make them regret ever being born."

Lu Yao also said coldly.

"Should we have someone guard this place?"

Wang Juan said worriedly.

Shiquangou is now full of money, and it all belongs to her uncle. She would be heartbroken if it were stolen.

"No need, there are cameras installed here. Once you come in, you won't be able to get out."

Lu Yao wasn't worried at all.

Shiquangou is surrounded by high mountains on three sides, forming a natural barrier.

It's already difficult for a thief to sneak in, but it's even harder to take things out.

Ordinary people might not be able to catch up, but Big White and his kind can catch up with ease; they can't escape even if they have wings.

At dusk, Lu Yao was catching duckweed in the fields opposite Wumutang when an unlicensed van drove out of the mountains and slowed down at the entrance of Wumutang Valley. A man in his thirties peered into the direction of the house.

Lu Yao saw two unfamiliar men sitting in the car, who should be the two Li Yunpeng had mentioned.

Lu Yao was a bit far from the two of them, so they didn't notice him, and even if they did, they wouldn't care.

From that distance, it was impossible to see their faces clearly.

Unbeknownst to the two, Lu Yao could not only see their faces clearly, but also hear what they were saying.

Hidden in a pine tree in front of the temple is a high-definition camera that captures every pore of the two people clearly.

The car sped away after passing the entrance to Wumutang Valley.

Lu Yao cleared away the duckweed, picked it up to feed the baby fish, and then showed the video recorded by the camera to the big white fish.

The Big Whites and the others remembered the bread truck and the two faces perfectly.

Nothing happened that night.

Nothing happened for two days, and no one had heard of anyone's dog going missing.

On the morning of the third day, there was a shower, and the weather was gloomy and muggy all day.

There were hardly any people on the road, and it was even quieter at noon.

A van without license plates appeared in Maotian Village, did not stop, and drove directly out of the village towards Wumutang.

Big White was taking a nap under the pine tree in front of the temple when the sound of an unlicensed bread truck woke it up.

The unlicensed bread truck didn't stop; it drove past and quickly disappeared into the mountain road.

Big White was about to bark, but seeing this, he closed his eyes again and continued to sleep in.

Soon, the unlicensed bread truck returned.

The white dog was startled awake again. Just as it was about to bark, a person jumped out of the already opened car door, grabbed its neck with incredible speed and skill, and pulled it into the car.

The car door closed quickly, and the car sped away.

If you manage to catch such a large male dog, you can definitely sell it for a good price.

The two dog thieves were initially pleased with themselves, but their smiles soon faded.

On the road ahead, several large rocks were blocking the middle of the road in an S-shape, so that even if a car could fly, it wouldn't be able to get out.

Then, a few young people emerged from the shade of the trees by the roadside.

They ate watermelon while looking at themselves with mockery.

There was a hint of ruthlessness hidden beneath the mockery.

At the same time, the sound of a car came from behind.

The two dog thieves turned their heads and saw a handsome young man stepping down from the imposing explorer and walking towards them unhurriedly.