Chapter 171: Killing the Chicken to Scare the Monkey: With My Ability, I Can Run Wild

Xie Yun Dong took Li Long out of the entrance of Xiao Baiyang Gou, then entered a gully on the opposite side, continuing east along it. After exiting that gully, there was a row of earth dwellings, with many horses tied in front of them, and further up the slope stood a herder's winter dwelling.

Several herders were discussing something by the horses, while Xu Jianjun was miserably chopping wood in front of an earth dwelling; clearly, he was being forced to labor.

Seeing someone approach, the herders all turned their gaze toward them.

Upon seeing Li Long and Xie Yun Dong arrive, Xu Jianjun threw down his axe and shouted:

"Yun Dong, Xiao Long, save me!"

He tried to run over, but a herder kicked him back.

Li Long found it somewhat absurd, feeling as though he were watching a movie scene about ransoming a hostage.

Two herders approached; one asked in somewhat broken Mandarin:

"Did you... bring the fine?"

Xie Yun Dong looked at Li Long.

He hadn't brought money when he arrived; if he had, he would have taken Xu Jianjun back long ago.

"I am a procurement officer from the county supply and marketing cooperative," Li Long said, having carried a rifle on his back upon arrival; he now pulled out his credentials and introduction letter from his pocket:

"The cooperative has an urgent procurement task involving shoulder poles. This person..."

Li Long pointed at Xu Jianjun and continued:

"Our procurement task is urgent, so we hope you will release him to cooperate with our work."

The herder who spoke Mandarin took the credentials and introduction letter, examined them carefully, then spoke to the other person in their native tongue, glancing at Li Long as he did so.

The red seal on the introduction letter could not be fake—at this time, forging official seals was virtually non-existent.

Li Long could tell this person belonged to the same ethnicity as Yusufu, different from Harimu and the others.

The one who could not speak Mandarin was clearly dissatisfied, launching into a rapid, loud tirade in his native language, drawing the attention of the others nearby.

Li Long was also thinking of a solution in his mind; paying the fine was an option, but doing so for Xu Jianjun was something Li Long did not want. Paying the fine would ultimately cost Xu Jianjun anyway, but if Xu Jianjun had to pay, it would inevitably create conflict between them later.

Naturally, retrieving the person without spending money would be best, but given the current situation, that possibility did not seem very high.

Li Long could only hope to use those two pieces of paper to minimize the loss.

"However, your man crossed the boundary, damaged our Fritillaria gully, dug up a large amount of Fritillaria, and destroyed some Fritillaria seedlings!" the translating herder said to Li Long:

"Even though you are from the supply and marketing cooperative, we cannot simply let this go..."

He clearly believed Li Long's identity; his tone softened somewhat, but it was evident he was telling Li Long that taking the person away directly was impossible.

"How much Fritillaria did he dig?" Li Long asked.

"Over three kilograms!" the man said angrily, "and he destroyed a significant amount of diggable Fritillaria, causing a loss of at least one kilogram!"

"You confiscated the Fritillaria, right?" Li Long continued asking.

He looked at Xu Jianjun, surprised that this fellow, who usually looked like a rascal and a slacker, was actually quite skilled at digging Fritillaria, managing to dig so much in just one day!

Of course, he might have secretly dug for two or three days and simply gathered it all together.

"Of course, we caught him with it all!"

Li Long thought for a moment and said:

"Look, how about this? First, I guarantee that from now on, my people will absolutely not come to your Fritillaria gully to dig again."

The man listened to Li Long's words, glanced at him, then translated for his companion.

The companion said nothing upon hearing it, clearly intending to hear what came next.

"Second, we will buy the over three kilograms of Fritillaria from you. Including the remaining loss of over one kilogram, ten yuan, how about that?"

The translator listened to Li Long's words, clearly hesitated for a moment, then turned to translate for the man beside him.

The man beside him listened, his eyes rolling, said something, and the translator immediately replied:

"Our team leader says ten yuan is not enough."

"Alright then, twelve yuan. That's the maximum," Li Long said generously, waving his hand. "We are handling official business. If you still refuse, leave the man here; deal with him however you wish!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Jianjun over there immediately became unhappy, shouting loudly:

"No, Xiao Long, you can't leave me here..."

Li Long was extremely annoyed at this moment; couldn't this man understand his meaning? The other side was clearly hesitating; why was he causing trouble here? It really felt like a hostage ransom scene from a TV drama...

The other side was truly hesitating.

Li Long took back the two papers from the other man's hand, patted the small-caliber rifle on his back, and said:

"Decide quickly. We have matters to attend to over there. The shoulder poles are being made for use by all units in the county; the task is urgent. I have no time to talk more here. We don't lack people; if you keep him, we'll just recruit another one."

These words immediately made the previously hesitant party decide. After the translator finished speaking, the team leader beckoned with a backward hand; people behind him pushed Xu Jianjun forward, bringing a cloth sack as they approached.

"Pay up. This time, since it is official business, we'll let it go. Next time, it won't be so easy!"

Li Long took out money, counted out one large ten-yuan note and two one-yuan notes, and handed them to the other party. He could see the glint in the eyes of the translator and the other man—clearly, this money would definitely not go to the Forestry Team.

Xu Jianjun must have been beaten; his face bore injuries, and his clothes were much dirtier. Li Long took the sack handed to him by the other party and said:

"Actually, we also buy Fritillaria, but it is not the season yet..."

He left this remark as an offhand comment; since the other party controlled the Fritillaria gully, digging Fritillaria was naturally something they would do. However, Li Long could guess that even if they dug Fritillaria, like Xu Jianjun and his group making shoulder poles, the bulk would go to the team, and they would keep only a small portion.

Having finished speaking, Li Long waved to these people and turned to walk back.

Xie Yun Dong and Xu Jianjun walked together, quietly asking about his situation.

"I just saw there was a lot of Fritillaria and thought I'd dig some... Who could have imagined they would see me, pin me down, beat me with fists and kicks, and confiscate everything..."

Xu Jianjun glanced secretly at the sack in Li Long's hand, licked his lips, and continued: "They caught me and brought me here, made me work, and wouldn't even let me eat... I'm starving."

"Xu Jianjun, do you remember what we said when we left?" Li Long suddenly said.

Xu Jianjun was somewhat confused; why was Li Long bringing this up?

His lips moved, but he said nothing.

If he spoke up, wouldn't he have to go back?

Li Long stopped asking and strode toward Little White Poplar Gully.

Xu Jianjun walked a bit slowly, limping, with Xie Yundong occasionally supporting him, neither saying much.

Actually, Xie Yundong was the angriest. As team leader, he had to handle his own tasks while also managing personnel. If anyone in the group got into trouble, the responsibility would ultimately fall on him.

He had warned them repeatedly not to wander off, but Xu Jianjun simply wouldn't listen, drilling into the small gully every single day.

Everyone was an adult, so he couldn't press the matter too hard; if he said too much, Xu Jianjun would retort, and he truly had no way to deal with the other man.

Now that Xu Jianjun had caused trouble, Xie Yundong still had to clean up the mess. Seeing Li Long silence Xu Jianjun so completely that he didn't dare even fart, Xie Yundong actually felt quite relieved.

After the three returned to Little White Poplar Gully, the others were gathered around the earth shelter; upon seeing them, they visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

!.

Li Long walked over. Seeing signs that the others were dispersing, he spoke loudly:

"Everyone come over, I have something to say."

Xie Yundong and Xu Jianjun also approached; the others wore uneasy expressions.

Among these people, only Tao Daqiang was younger than Li Long; everyone else was older. Yet at this moment, when Li Long spoke, not a single person objected.

First, he was the supervisor for this task; he alone decided whether the woven baskets met the standard. Second, he had brought Xu Jianjun back that morning—regardless of how he did it, he had solved a problem Xie Yundong couldn't decide, so everyone respected him.

At least these people would think: if they themselves had been caught by the Forestry Team, Li Long had the ability to get them back.

"Let me explain to everyone," Li Long said once everyone had gathered. He gave Xu Jianjun no face, though there was no need; everyone knew. "Xu Jianjun was taken by the Forestry Team because he stole and dug up their Fritillaria bulbs—this is what was found."

"Before we came, we all agreed that the forested land in the mountains is no longer ownerless as before; every patch is managed. At that time, we were told not to casually go elsewhere to do things unrelated to weaving baskets, otherwise I have the authority to dismiss people."

He looked at Xu Jianjun and said:

"Now, Xu Jianjun has violated this rule, so the necessary punishment must be applied. Xu Jianjun, pack your things and return to the team today. How many baskets did you weave?"

"Seventeen," Xu Jianjun replied, somewhat panicked. He hadn't expected Li Long to dismiss him without even discussing it. His gaze immediately shifted to Xie Yundong, hoping the other would speak up for him.

"Seventeen. We just paid twelve yuan to the Forestry Team; you must cover that twelve yuan. As for the remaining five yuan, the team will give it to you later," Li Long said. "Go pack your things."

"No, no, no..." Xu Jianjun truly panicked. "Xiao Long, I'll definitely listen from now on... I just went over there to cut branches, saw so many Fritillaria bulbs in that gully and couldn't resist..."

"Rest assured, from now on I'll seriously weave baskets and absolutely won't do anything else. Xiao Long, we're from the same village; just lift a finger for me. This is the only time..."

Li Long remained unmoved, though his gaze turned toward Xie Yundong.

At this moment, Xu Jianjun's cunning surfaced. Seeing Li Long look at Xie Yundong, he immediately said to Xie Yundong:

"Brother Yundong, speak up for me! I'll definitely listen from now on! I promise I won't wander off or do other things again. You know I'm actually good at weaving baskets too! From now on, I'll weave seriously..."

Xie Yundong hadn't expected Li Long to hand him the initiative. Having managed several side-project teams before, he understood that Li Long wanted him to owe this favor. So he asked Xu Jianjun:

"Can you really listen from now on?"

"Yes, yes, yes, definitely! Everyone here is watching; my word is my bond! If I go back on my promise and do other things, I'm no longer a human!" Seeing room for compromise, Xu Jianjun immediately intensified his pledge, even swearing an oath.

"Then, Xiao Long, since Jianjun has said this, shall we give him one chance?" Xie Yundong asked. Inside, he felt quite pleased; previously, Xu Jianjun had called him "Old Xie, Old Xie," but now he even called him "brother." This bowing of the head was extraordinary.

"Fine. Since Brother Yundong has spoken, the person can stay. But if anything like this happens again, don't come to me to beg for his return," Li Long nodded.

"I also know you feel it's unfair: why can I carry a gun, hunt everywhere without working, and no one stops me? Let me tell you, I have the identity of a purchaser and the background of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. If you had that, you could be here like me. Since you don't, just work honestly for now."

"I'm not boasting; this is reality. When you're cutting branches and find something, you can still come to me. After I hunt it, I'll share it with you. But remember: if you secretly do other things like Xu Jianjun did, and I don't find out, naturally I won't interfere. But if you're caught, I won't go fetch you again."

Having finished speaking, Li Long picked up the bag of Fritillaria bulbs and left.

Xu Jianjun looked at the Fritillaria bag, opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

He wanted to ask for the bulbs back, after all, the fine would ultimately fall on him.

But now he lacked the courage; he feared that if he spoke up, Li Long would simply order him to leave, leaving him with absolutely no recourse.

"Don't think too much about it," Xie Yundong naturally saw through his thoughts. "Without Xiao Long, you'd still be chopping wood for the Forestry Team. Alright, go eat something quickly and prepare to weave baskets."

Xu Jianjun could only accept this reality. His mind spun through many possibilities, but no matter which path he took, the final result was that he could never reach Li Long's current status and position.

Can't do it!

Li Long arrived at Gu Boyuan's place, found a piece of wood to sit on, and opened the cloth sack to look at the Fritillaria bulbs inside.

Xu Jianjun was actually quite skilled. Who knew what tool he used to dig? Each Fritillaria bulb was the size of a thumbnail; not a single small one was among them. Once dried, they would absolutely be first-grade quality.

"Xiao Long, you're impressive," Gu Boyuan said with a smile while clearing the bowls and chopsticks. "Not even that old, yet you already have the air of a leader."

"What leader? What do I count as?" Li Long put away the sack and smiled. "Just killing the chicken to scare the monkey. The Forestry Team has only just been established; those herdsmen are constantly roaming this area. When I arrived, I saw many people drilling into the mountains. In the next couple of days, quite a few will surely suffer misfortune. We'd better just stay here honestly. Otherwise, someone here will become that chicken."

Xu Jianjun happened to come over looking for food. Hearing Li Long's words, his face burned.

Gu Boyuan handed Xu Jianjun two cornmeal steamed buns and poured a bowl of warm water, saying:

"No vegetables left; make do with this."

At this moment, Xu Jianjun couldn't care less about whether there were vegetables. He wolfed down the food, choked after just three bites, coughed twice, hurriedly drank water, and finally managed to wash the food down his esophagus.

Li Long stood up and walked toward the earth shelter. He planned to stay there for the day; who could guarantee nothing else would happen afterward?

Unexpectedly, just before work ended in the afternoon, the Forestry Team appeared again.

(End of this chapter)