Chapter 1063

After the phone call, Captain Aili told Li Long about the situation after Bolati brought those two people in yesterday.

"These two people indeed committed crimes in the interior; they stole and sold the cows from a village and also injured the cowherd who was watching the cattle pen.

After being discovered, they fled here. On the way, they stole people's things in Gansu. Along the way, they committed quite a few crimes.

We have already handed them over to the Gongan Bureau, and I estimate they will be sentenced very soon.

As for that woman, after she arrived here yesterday, she waited for our people to finish interrogating these two, and then said 'don't worry,' and left this morning."

It was just as Li Long had guessed. At this time, many people felt that the border areas were not checked as strictly as the interior, so they all ran here after committing crimes. Some people really did change their names and hide their identities after running over here, and they really did manage to gloss over their past deeds.

But there were still some people whose nature was hard to change; after arriving here, they committed crimes again, and naturally, they wouldn't have a good outcome.

Leaving Captain Aili's place, Li Long took the car and went straight back to the county purchasing station, unloaded the Fritillaria and other medicinal herbs, and then went to the transport company to renew the rental of the truck for another day.

The truck driver had eaten hand-grabbed meat with Li Long at noon, so naturally, he was willing to continue working for another day. The matter was settled just like that. Originally, Li Long had thought he could free up some time this afternoon to go into the mountains again, but it seemed that not only could he not go today, he couldn't go tomorrow either. Then let the people in the mountains wait a little longer.

Mo Linsheng carried a bag of Fritillaria to the wooden cabin, only to find that there was no jeep here, nor was there anyone.

During this period, these people in the mountains had become accustomed to Li Long coming every day. Now that Li Long suddenly wasn't coming, they were actually a bit unaccustomed to it.

Half of the bag of Fritillaria that Mo Linsheng was carrying was dug by himself, and the other half was what he had snatched back when others tried to rob him.

The spoils were quite substantial. He estimated that it could be worth several hundred yuan, but there was a price to pay. Among the herb diggers in the mountains, there were quite a few with hard fists. He had slashed two large gashes on the other party's arm and leg, and the other party had smashed a fist into his nose, causing it to bleed.

In short, both sides had suffered injuries, but he had taken advantage; the other party belonged to the type that fled in a panic.

Mo Linsheng didn't know how many times this was that he had snatched back gains, but he was starting to like this feeling a bit. Although he had injuries on his body every time he came back from a fight and it took a good while to recover, selling the snatched harvest and holding that thick stack of money was truly comfortable.

So every time he sold the snatched Fritillaria, he would buy one or two bottles of Yunnan Baiyao from Li Long to treat his injuries.

This time Li Long didn't come, and he had a vague, bad premonition. He didn't know if Li Long was just not coming today, or if he wouldn't be coming for several days?

He didn't have much food left, but he had quite a lot of money. Mo Linsheng didn't want to leave the mountains; those forest rangers were all waiting at various mountain passes. He was carrying so much money and had Fritillaria on him; if he left the mountains at night, the blood on his body would definitely attract wolves.

Leaving the mountains during the day was equivalent to delivering food to the forest rangers, so forget it.

This bag of Fritillaria weighed forty or fifty kilograms. He didn't want to carry it anymore, so he simply took the Fritillaria and his bag and walked into Li Long's shed.

There was still a roll of bedding here, but he didn't know whose it was. His own hadn't been taken out of the cave, so he simply wouldn't go to get it; he would just wait here.

Mainly, he was injured and didn't want to run back and forth carrying the Fritillaria. The wounds were very painful, and it wasn't suitable to dig for Fritillaria at this time either.

Although Li Long didn't have food here, there were spring water, a stove, firewood, and everything else. The little food he brought could also be used to start a fire to roast and hold out for two days, so he would just stay here first.

Mo Linsheng wasn't the only one who wanted to come and trade Fritillaria today; the Wu uncle and nephew also came over carrying bags right after him.

They didn't see the jeep, so they knew Li Long might not be here. Seeing someone busy by the wooden cabin, they came over, harboring a glimmer of hope.

When they got close and saw it was another herb digger they were somewhat familiar with, Wu Bensheng asked:

"Comrade, is that boss not here?"

"He didn't come, I'm also waiting for him," Mo Linsheng said while starting a fire. "It's already noon now, I estimate he might not necessarily come today."

"Then you..." Wu Bensheng asked with some doubt.

"I want to stay here for the night and see if he comes tomorrow," Mo Linsheng said, stating his plan. "It's troublesome to run around carrying Fritillaria, I don't want to dig anymore."

Glancing over and discovering the bag of Fritillaria placed under the shed, Wu Bensheng felt a bit envious.

He occasionally ran into Mo Linsheng selling Fritillaria at Li Long's place too, so every time he came, it was a large bag, or even two bags.

The money he exchanged every time made him envious beyond measure.

He had suspected the source of Mo Linsheng's Fritillaria, but it was only a suspicion. What others did was their own business; he had his own rules of conduct.

Li Long wasn't here, so Wu Bensheng could only think about going back and coming over again tomorrow.

After walking out a few steps, he suddenly turned his head and asked, as if inspired:

"Hey, comrade, since you plan to wait for Li Long here, can you collect my Fritillaria? It can be a bit cheaper, then we won't have to come over tomorrow."

Mo Linsheng hadn't expected Wu Bensheng to actually make such a suggestion.

He thought about it and asked with some interest:

"Then how should I buy it?" Being idle was being idle; collecting a little, maybe he could even earn some.

Although Mo Linsheng liked to fish and kill those who robbed him, he was actually quite kind-hearted by nature. Facing those who harbored goodwill toward him, he wasn't stingy about helping others.

"We often come to sell Fritillaria, so we generally know what quality of Fritillaria and what price it is," Wu Bensheng said with a smile as soon as he heard there was a possibility. "The Fritillaria my nephew and I dug is all fresh and washed clean. Boss Li collects it here for ten yuan per kilogram, so we'll sell it to you for eight yuan.

This way you earn a two-yuan price difference, and we also save the trouble of making another trip.

As for the weight, we often sell Fritillaria, so we have a general idea in our hearts. This bag of mine is roughly over four kilograms but less than five, and my nephew's bag is about four kilograms or so.

You give me thirty-six yuan and give him thirty-two yuan, how about that?"

Mo Linsheng actually didn't have a very accurate grasp of the weight of things. But he went over to lift them and felt it was about right.

Thinking about the fact that he could earn nearly twenty yuan from the two bags of Fritillaria combined, it was also quite good.

He opened the bag to look, and the Fritillaria was indeed quite clean and truly fresh goods, so he agreed to this transaction.

Mo Linsheng let Wu Bensheng and the others pour the Fritillaria onto the workbench, while he went under the shed to take out the money.

He put most of the money into a bag and stuffed it into the hay pile under the shed, and put a small part of the money into another bag, pressing it under that roll of bedding.

The results of this period were quite good, and the harvest was also quite good. As for his equipment, besides the shovel he got from Li Long, he had a short knife and a machete.

With these things hanging brightly on his body, unless someone was extremely confident or blinded by greed, no one would have designs on him.

Because he had injuries on his body, he hung these things up; otherwise, he usually hid these things, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to fish.

The Wu uncle and nephew poured the Fritillaria onto the workbench, spread it out, and after letting Mo Linsheng finish looking, they took the money, counted it separately, and then left with a smile.

Until both the Wu uncle and nephew had walked into the forest, Mo Linsheng still felt it was a bit magical.

Had he just changed from the identity of an herb digger and herb robber into an herb collector just like that?

If Li Long knew he was snatching his business, would he deal with him?

Thinking about it, Mo Linsheng shook his head. In his impression, Li Long wouldn't do such a thing.

He gathered the Fritillaria on the workbench into a corner and continued to dry it there, then lit a fire at the stove, preparing to roast the steamed buns he got from Li Long.

Eating only steamed buns felt a bit dry. After going to the spring to drink some water, he found wild mushrooms he could recognize nearby and also roasted them to eat.

There was no salt, so the food didn't have much flavor. The things were all here, and it wasn't convenient for him to go to the wooden cave to get the little salt he had stored.

This was quite awkward.

Next, several more people came over carrying bags to look for Li Long, and after discovering Li Long wasn't there, they left.

Mo Linsheng didn't pay them any mind either. Occasionally someone asked, and he would just say it straight; in short, it was a state of minding one's own business.

Naturally, some people muttered in their hearts, why could he stay here? Mo Linsheng wouldn't explain to them either; at any rate, he and Li Long had the connection of a meal.