Chapter 171: Killing the Chicken to Warn the Monkey: I Have Ability, So I Can Run Rampant

Xie Yun took Li Long out of the mouth of Bai Yang Ditch, and then entered a ditch opposite. Walking east along this ditch, out of this ditch, there was a row of dugouts. There were quite a few horses tied in front of the dugouts, and a herdsman's winter shelter in a higher place.

Several herdsmen were discussing

Seeing someone coming over, those few herdsmen all looked toward this side in unison.

Xu Jianjun, seeing Li Long and Xie Yun Dong coming over, threw his axe away and shouted loudly:

"Yun Dong, Xiao Long, save me!"

He tried to run toward this side, but was kicked back by a herdsman.

Li Long felt it was a bit absurd, having a feeling like watching a movie about ransoming someone.

Two herdsmen walked over, and one of them asked in relatively stiff Mandarin:

"Did you... bring the fine?"

Xie Yun Dong looked at Li Long.

He hadn't brought any money when he came; if he had brought money, he would have already led Xu Jianjun back long ago.

"I am a purchasing agent for the county supply and marketing cooperative," Li Long said; he was carrying a gun when he came over, and at this moment he took out his credentials and letter of introduction from his pocket:

"The supply and marketing cooperative has a batch of procurement tasks for carrying poles, and this person..."

Li Long pointed at Xu Jianjun and continued:

"Our procurement task is a bit urgent, so we hope you can release him back to cooperate with our work."

The herdsman who spoke Mandarin took the credentials and letter of introduction, looked at them carefully, and then said a lot to the other person in their ethnic language, looking at Li Long while speaking.

The red seal on the letter of introduction couldn't be fake—at this time, the act of forging seals basically didn't exist.

Li Long could tell that this person should be of the same ethnic group as Yusufu, and was different from Ha Ha Li Mu and the others.

The one who couldn't speak Mandarin was clearly not very satisfied and unleashed a torrent of words at the one who could speak Mandarin; the voice was urgent and loud, attracting the attention of the few people over there.

Li Long was also thinking of a solution in his mind at this moment. Actually, paying the money would work, but for the sake of Xu Jianjun, Li Long didn't want to invite this trouble. If the fine was paid, the money would definitely end up on Xu Jianjun's head in the end, but if Xu Jianjun paid it, there would inevitably be conflict with him later.

Being able to take the person away without spending money was of course the best, but looking at the current situation, the possibility didn't seem very high.

Li Long could only think of using those two pieces of proof to minimize the loss.

"However, your people crossed the boundary, destroyed our Fritillaria Valley, dug up a lot of fritillaria, and even ruined some fritillaria seedlings!" the herdsman who acted as the translator said to Li Long again:

"Although you are from the supply and marketing cooperative, it can't just be let go like this..."

He clearly believed Li Long's identity, and his tone softened a bit, but it was clearly telling Li Long that wanting to take the person away directly was impossible.

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

"More than three kilograms!" that person said very angrily, "And he destroyed quite a few fritillaria that could have been dug, at least a loss of more than one kilogram!"

"You confiscated the fritillaria, right?" Li Long continued to ask.

He looked at Xu Jianjun; he didn't expect that this guy usually looked like a loafer, a person who would steal and play tricks, but his fritillaria digging technique was actually quite impressive—digging so much in one day!

Of course, it was also possible that he had been digging secretly for two or three days, just that they were put together.

"That of course, we caught them together!"

Li Long thought for a moment and said:

"Look, how about this. First, I guarantee that from now on, my people will absolutely never come to your Fritillaria Valley to dig fritillaria again."

That person listened to Li Long's words, glanced at him, and then translated it for his companion to hear.

The companion listened without speaking, clearly intending to hear the rest.

"Second, those three-plus kilograms of fritillaria, let's just say we buy them from you, plus the remaining one-plus kilogram of loss, ten yuan, how about that?"

The translator listened to Li Long's words, clearly paused, and turned his head to translate for the person beside him.

The person beside him listened, rolled his eyes, and said a sentence; the translator immediately said:

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

"Alright then, twelve yuan, that's the most it can be." Li Long waved his hand very magnanimously, "We are also doing things by the book. If that's still not enough for you, then leave the person here, and you can deal with him however you want!"

As soon as he said this, Xu Jianjun over there was suddenly unhappy and shouted loudly:

"That won't do, Xiao Long, you can't leave me here..."

Li Long was extremely annoyed at this moment; couldn't this guy tell what he meant? The other side was clearly hesitating, why are you causing trouble here—it really feels like ransoming someone from bandits in a movie...

The other side was truly hesitating.

Li Long asked for the two pieces of paper back from the other person's hand and patted the small-caliber rifle on his back, saying:

"Decide quickly, we still have things to do over there. The carrying poles are being woven for all the units in the county, the task is very urgent, and I don't have time to talk more here. We aren't short of people there; if you keep him, at worst we'll just recruit another one."

These words directly made the previously hesitant other side make a decision. After the translator finished speaking, the team leader reached back and beckoned; the people behind pushed Xu Jianjun and walked over carrying a cloth bag.

"Take out the money, this time we are both doing official business, so let's just leave it at that; next time it won't be this easy!"

Li Long took out the money, counted out one ten-yuan note and two one-yuan notes, and handed them to the other side. He could see the gleam in the eyes of the translator and the other person—clearly, this money would definitely not be handed over to the forestry team.

Xu Jianjun must have been beaten; there were injuries on his face, and his clothes were also much dirtier. Li Long took the bag handed over by the other side and said:

"Actually, we also collect fritillaria, it's just that it's not the season yet..."

He said this unintentionally. Since the other side controlled the Fritillaria Valley, digging fritillaria was naturally something they would do. However, Li Long could guess that even if they dug fritillaria, it should be the same as Xu Jianjun and the others weaving carrying poles—the bulk would be handed over to the team, and they would take the small share themselves.

After finishing, Li Long waved his hand at these people and turned to walk back.

Xie Yun Dong and Xu Jianjun were together, and he asked about his situation in a low voice.

"I just saw there was a lot of fritillaria and thought about digging some... who could have thought they would pin me down as soon as they saw me... punching and kicking, and even confiscated the things..."

Xu Jianjun stole a glance at the bag in Li Long's hand, licked his lips, and continued: "They caught me and brought me here, made me do work, and wouldn't let me eat... I was starved to death."

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

Xu Jianjun was a bit confused; why was Li Long saying this?

His mouth moved, but he didn't say anything.

If he said it, wouldn't he have to go back?

Li Long didn't continue asking and walked with long strides toward Little Bai Yang Gully.

Xu Jianjun walked a bit slowly, limping, and Xie Yun Dong supported him from time to time without saying much.

Actually, the most angry one was Xie Yun Dong. As a team leader, he had to do his own work and also be responsible for personnel management. Whoever in the team got into trouble, he couldn't escape the responsibility in the end.

He had told everyone not to run around, but this Xu Jianjun just wouldn't listen well, drilling into small gullies every day.

Everyone was an adult, so he couldn't say much; if he said too much, Xu Jianjun would retort, and he really couldn't do anything about him.

Now that Xu Jianjun was in trouble, he still had to clean up the mess for him. Xie Yun Dong saw Li Long say one sentence that made Xu Jianjun not even dare to fart, which was actually quite satisfying.

After the three of them walked back to Little Bai Yang Gully, the others were all gathered around the dugout. Seeing them, they clearly breathed a sigh of relief.

!.

Li Long walked over, and seeing signs of the others dispersing, he said loudly:

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

Xie Yun Dong and Xu Jianjun also walked over, and the others all had some apprehension on their faces.

Among these people, except for Tao Daqiang who was younger than Li Long, everyone else was older than Li Long, but at this moment when Li Long spoke, not a single person had any objections.

For one, he was the supervisor of this task, and whether the carrying poles were qualified or not was up to him. For another, he came over in the morning and led Xu Jianjun back—no matter how he led him back, he solved a problem that Xie Yun Dong hadn't been able to solve, and everyone respected him.

At least these people would think that if they were caught by the forestry team, Li Long had the ability to get them back.

"I'll tell everyone." Li Long waited until everyone arrived. He didn't save face for Xu Jianjun; actually, there was no need to, everyone knew, "Xu Jianjun was caught by the forestry team because he stole their fritillaria—this is what was dug up.

Before we came, we all said that the forest land in the mountains is no longer in the ownerless state it was before; every piece has people managing it. At that time, it was requested not to go to other places to do things unrelated to weaving carrying poles, otherwise, I have the right to fire people."

He looked at Xu Jianjun and said:

"Now, Xu Jianjun has violated this rule, so the appropriate handling is necessary. Xu Jianjun, you pack your things and go back to the team today. How many carrying poles did you weave?"

"Seventeen." Xu Jianjun was a bit terrified; he didn't expect Li Long to fire him without even discussing it. His gaze immediately turned to Xie Yun Dong, hoping he could help him speak up.

"Seventeen, just now twelve yuan was paid to the forestry team, you have to pay this twelve yuan. Then, the remaining five yuan will be given to you by the team later." Li Long said, "Go pack your things."

"Don't, don't, don't..." Xu Jianjun was truly panicked, "Xiao Long, I will definitely listen from now on... I just went to cut strips and ran over there, and when I saw so many fritillaria in that gully, I couldn't help myself...

You can rest assured, I will definitely weave carrying poles seriously from now on and absolutely won't do other things. Xiao Long, we are all from the same village, please show mercy, it's just this once..."

Li Long was unmoved, but his gaze looked toward Xie Yun Dong.

Xu Jianjun's little cleverness came up at this moment. As soon as he saw Li Long look at Xie Yun Dong, he immediately said to Xie Yun Dong:

"Brother Yun Dong, help me speak up! I will definitely listen from now on! I guarantee I won't run around doing other things again. You also know that I'm actually a good hand at weaving carrying poles! I will definitely weave seriously from now on..."

Xie Yun Dong didn't expect Li Long to hand the initiative to him. Having managed sideline teams several times, he understood that Li Long wanted him to take this favor, so he asked Xu Jianjun:

"Can you really listen from now on?"

"Yes, yes, yes, definitely! Everyone is watching here, I mean what I say! If I go back on my word and do other things again, I'm not a human!" Xu Jianjun, seeing there was room for relaxation, immediately increased the intensity of his guarantee, not hesitating to swear.

"Then Xiao Long, since Jianjun has said so, shall we give him a chance?" Xie Yun Dong was actually quite pleased in his heart. Previously, Xu Jianjun always called him "Old Xie, Old Xie," but now even "Brother" was said; this lowering of the head was not ordinary.

"Alright, since Brother Yun Dong has spoken, then he can stay. If there is such a thing again later, don't come looking for me to get people." Li Long nodded:

"I also know you feel it's unfair, why I can go hunting everywhere with a gun and not do work, and no one manages me. Then I'll tell you, I have the identity of a purchasing agent and the background of the supply and marketing cooperative. If you had this, you could be like me here. Now that you don't, then just honestly do the work first.

I'm not bragging, the reality is just like this. When you are cutting strips and encounter things, you can still come to find me, and after I hunt them, I will still share them with you, but remember, if you secretly go do other things like Xu Jianjun, if it's not discovered, I naturally won't care, but if it is discovered, I won't go to get people again."

After finishing, Li Long carried the bag of fritillaria and left.

Xu Jianjun looked at that fritillaria bag, his mouth opened, but in the end, he didn't speak.

He had the intention to ask for the fritillaria back; after all, this fine would eventually fall on his own head.

But now he didn't have the guts; he was afraid that if he said it, Li Long would directly tell him to leave, and then he would really have no way at all.

"Don't think so much." Xie Yun Dong naturally saw through his thoughts, "Without Xiao Long, you would still be chopping wood for others at the forestry team right now. Alright, go eat something quickly and prepare to weave carrying poles."

Xu Jianjun could only accept this reality. His brain turned many circles, but no matter which one, the final result was that there was no way to reach Li Long's current status and position.

Can't handle it, yo!

Li Long came to Gu Bo Yuan's place, found a piece of wood to sit down, and opened the cloth bag to look at the fritillaria inside.

This Xu Jianjun is quite impressive; I don't know what he used to dig them. These fritillaria are all the size of a thumb nail, not even a small one, and once dried, they will definitely be first-grade goods.

"Xiao Long, you're good." Gu Bo Yuan said with a smile while collecting bowls and chopsticks: "You're not old, but you have a bit of a leader's demeanor."

"What leader, what do I count as?" Li Long put away the bag and said with a smile, "Just killing a chicken to warn the monkeys. Now that the forestry team has just been demarcated, those herdsmen are turning around in this area every day. When I came over, I saw quite a few people drilling into the mountains. In these two days, quite a few people will definitely be unlucky. We'd better honestly just stay here. Otherwise, someone here will become that chicken."

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

Gu Bo Yuan took two cornmeal buns for Xu Jianjun and poured a bowl of warm water, saying:

"There's no side dish, just make do with it."

Xu Jianjun couldn't care about whether there was a side dish at this moment. He ate ravenously, and after only three bites, he choked, coughed twice, and hurriedly drank water, finally managing to wash the food down his esophagus.

Li Long stood up and walked toward the dugout. He planned to stay here today; who could guarantee if there would be other things later?

Unexpectedly, when it was almost time to finish work in the afternoon, the people from the forestry team appeared again.

(End of chapter)