Chapter 111: The First Time Hunting in a Small Car

Li Xiang Qian was extremely frustrated, but he could do nothing about it. At this moment, he made up his mind: as soon as an opportunity arose, he would definitely teach this kid a lesson!

Li Long, however, was not afraid in the slightest. In this second life, he had never intended to become a worker or eat the state-provided rice.

Now, by saving some money, when the first, second, and third rounds of land contracting came around, he could contract more land; then, in twenty or thirty years, he could hand the land over to a cooperative, receive several hundred thousand in annual dividends, and spend his leisure time hunting and catching fish—how wonderful that would be!

Becoming a worker meant holding another's bowl and being subject to their rules; how could that compare to the freedom he enjoyed now?

Li Xiang Qian had nearly swindled him once; if he didn't swindle him back now, was he supposed to act like a magnanimous Buddha?

Li Long was certainly not that kind of person!

"I have a small-caliber rifle there," Li Xiang Qian said, taking a deep breath to calm his emotions. "If we successfully hunt some gazelles this time, that rifle will be yours. Although it has been used a few times, it is almost as good as new."

"Alright," Li Long agreed, then added, "Section Chief Li, did you learn from Comrade Chen that I am capable of hunting gazelles?"

"Yes, how did you know that?" Li Xiang Qian asked, somewhat puzzled.

Li Long smiled, did not answer the question, and instead asked:

"Then, Section Chief Li, when shall we go hunting for gazelles?"

"Within these next two days; wait for my news. As soon as I notify you, hurry to the county seat."

"Alright."

After hanging up the phone, Li Long chatted a few more words with Xu Chengjun before heading home.

Li Xiang Qian was still pondering how Li Long had brought up Chen Hongjun when he suddenly slapped his forehead:

"This kid! He's hinting at me, afraid I won't give him the small-caliber rifle, right? Damn it, he's young but cunning as a ghost!"

Xu Chengjun also thought for a long time: this Li Long had so many connections and networks; why was he so unenlightened? Why not use those connections to get himself into the city? Wasn't eating commodity grain good? Why insist on clashing with leadership and demanding rewards?

When Li Long arrived home, Li Jianguo asked him about the specific details.

"It's just the Procurement Section Chief from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative asking me to lead them in hunting gazelles," Li Long said casually. "It's no big deal; once he calls, I'll just take them there."

"Is it that simple? Hunting gazelles shouldn't be easy, right?" Liang Yuemei asked while sewing clothes at her sewing machine, pumping the pedal as she spoke.

"The most troublesome part of hunting gazelles is finding where they appear," Li Long explained. "Below our county lies a vast expanse of Gobi desert, but there are no good roads; unless they find a guide, looking for them there is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Fortunately, I know a place where gazelles roam, so I'll take them there to have a look."

"Hunting gazelles isn't dangerous; it's nothing much," Li Jianguo nodded. "Being able to help people from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative will make it easier to speak up if anything comes up later."

"I told him that if we succeed, he'd give me a gun," Li Long said with a smile. "I wanted a shotgun, but he refused, saying he'd give me a small-caliber rifle instead."

"What? A small-caliber rifle? He's really giving one?" Li Jianguo was greatly surprised. "A small-caliber rifle isn't cheap!"

"Whatever; we can't hunt for free. I just mentioned it casually; since he agreed, it should be fine," Li Long smiled. "I'm going to the east room to rest."

"Go ahead, go ahead; you must be exhausted after these past few days," Li Jianguo waved his hand.

Li Long went to the east room; the stove fire was burning well there, making the interior as warm as spring. Li Long lay on the kang reading a book and soon fell asleep.

The next day, Gu Gu Xiaoxia came specifically to find Li Long.

"Did you receive the notice?" Li Long asked, seeing the smile on Gu Gu Xiaoxia's face. "Is there any change from what I told you?"

"Not much change." At this moment, Gu Gu Xiaoxia paid no heed to proprieties and spoke excitedly to Li Long right there in the east room:

"The notice says that high school graduates can take the exam to become middle school teachers or elementary school teachers, while junior high graduates can only take the exam for elementary school teachers. The team has notified everyone with a junior high education or above; the exam will be held in one week..."

"Do you have confidence?" Li Long asked again.

"Well—I've reviewed all the old textbooks, so I'd say about eighty percent," Gu Gu Xiaoxia replied with considerable confidence.

After all, she had learned this news nearly a month earlier than others; with this month of review time, she had the confidence to make such a statement. "That's good then; take the exam seriously," Li Long encouraged.

"This... this is for you; thank you for giving me this news in advance," Gu Gu Xiaoxia said, blushing as she handed Li Long a pair of woolen gloves. "I knitted them before the New Year; see... see if they fit you properly."

Li Long smiled and accepted them, whereupon Gu Gu Xiaoxia added:

"Then... I'll be going back."

Without waiting for Li Long to reply, she turned and left immediately.

Li Long held the gloves and saw Gu Gu Xiaoxia off as she departed.

"Did Gu Xiaoxia come by?" Li Jianguo asked, coming out after hearing the commotion.

"Yes; I previously told her to prepare and review her lessons because the schools were recruiting teachers. She reviewed for a while, and now that the notice has come down, she came to thank me."

"This is a great thing indeed," Li Jianguo nodded. "Yesterday, the big loudspeaker announced it; those in the team who attended junior high or above were nearly laughing themselves silly."

Li Long understood these people's current obsession with eating commodity grain; actually, in another half-month, when the news of contracting production to households and distributing fields to families spread, everyone in the entire team would be laughing themselves silly.

In the afternoon, Li Xiang Qian called, telling Li Long to wait at the main entrance of the County Supply and Marketing Cooperative at eight o'clock the next morning; he did not know Li Long had a house in the county seat, so this notification was half official business, half private matter.

!.

Setting aside the official business—hunting must be done early—the private matter stemmed naturally from his resentment that Li Long was still using hunting to "blackmail" him; he just wanted Li Long to suffer a bit. From the production team to the county seat was nearly ten kilometers; waiting at the cooperative at eight in the morning meant leaving at six, didn't it?

After receiving the notice, Li Long went home to tell his brother and sister-in-law, then rode his bicycle to the county seat.

That night, he slept soundly and early in the large room, waking up a little after seven the next morning.

Judging the time to be about right, Li Long dressed neatly, locked the door, walked to the Daroushitang for breakfast, and then proceeded on foot to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

Li Xiang Qian, wearing a military greatcoat, arrived at the cooperative entrance at eight-thirty; not seeing Li Long, he flew into a rage and cursed:

"This fool is trying to swindle people? It's past the time and he still hasn't arrived?"

"Section Chief Li, who are you talking about?" Li Long asked with a smile, pulling open the window of the gatehouse.

After arriving, he had naturally no intention of freezing outside. The old man guarding the gate was a light sleeper; as soon as Li Long knocked, he woke up, opened the door, and let Li Long in. Li Long did not idle either; he stoked the gatehouse stove until it was hot and sat inside warming himself by the fire.

Li Xiang Qian could say nothing to that; he also entered the gatehouse to warm himself by the fire. Approaching nine o'clock, he called Li Long to come out.

After standing outside for ten minutes, a green jeep drove up and stopped beside the two of them.

"Get in quickly," the driver shouted. Li Xiang Qian pointed to the front passenger seat and said to Li Long:

"You sit there and point out the direction."

Li Long moved to the front passenger seat and habitually reached for a seatbelt, but felt nothing; only then did he realize that this Model 212 jeep, produced in the seventies, did not have seatbelts.

He adjusted his sitting posture, leaning back slightly; the seat felt somewhat hard, but he would make do—it was still better than riding a Twenty-Eight bicycle through the cold wind.

The two people in the back seat looked at Li Long's familiar and natural demeanor, both feeling somewhat surprised.

Has this young man ever ridden in a car?

That shouldn't be the case, right?

(End of Chapter)