Chapter 577: Having designs on the jeep

A military green jeep stopped in the courtyard of the supply and marketing cooperative. The driver got out of the car, and Director Qian in the passenger seat also got out.

Li Long remembered Director Qian, but that driver had changed. Looking at him, he still looked like someone who came out of the army, just not the same person as last time.

Li Long had forgotten what that person was called last time, but his face shape was different from this one, this one seemed younger.

"Director Qian, hello." Wei Zhuren reached out first and said with a smile, "Welcome to our cooperative to inspect and guide the work."

"Don't say that." Director Qian hurriedly waved his hand, "I'm here in a private capacity, just here to play, don't use official jargon with me, and I won't mention superiors and subordinates with you."

"Good, good, good." Wei Zhuren actually just came over to meet, Director Qian's purpose for coming had already been reported to him by Li Xiangqian, he met, and then returned to his office.

Director Qian was really anxious to hunt, and after greeting Li Xiangqian and Li Long, he went to Li Xiangqian's office to drink hot tea, sat for less than ten minutes, and prepared to leave.

He didn't ask Li Long for specific hunting information, but he talked about what happened after he went back last year.

"After going back last year, I used this Mongolian gazelle horn later, and it really worked, to tell the truth, I didn't expect it myself.

After doing this, the reputation spread, and that pair of Mongolian gazelle horns in my hand was asked for.

This year, I originally thought it wasn't easy to hit Mongolian gazelles in the mountains, but as you said, Little Li, I really felt that God was helping me, and it was also thanks to you two.

I'll tell you, I was annoyed by those old leaders... those leaders all have grandsons and granddaughters, and everyone wants to prepare this thing for emergency.

Although there are some in the pharmacy, it's expensive, and there aren't many. Unlike this, I have them in branches in my hand, and they think it's very good, and they won't give it if they don't..."

After Director Qian poured out his bitterness like this, Li Long felt that it was really not easy to be a leader. The interpersonal relationships that needed to be maintained were much more than his own.

After chatting for a while, Director Qian got up and set off. After the driver drank a cup of water, he immediately went out to start the jeep.

After getting in the car, this time Director Qian sat in the passenger seat, Li Long and Li Xiangqian sat in the back, he saw Director Qian also brought a hunting gun, the driver carried a Type 56 semi-automatic, this time this driver didn't carry a submachine gun.

"Xiangqian, you are using a hunting gun? Are the bullets enough? I brought seventy or eighty bullets, do you want me to share some with you?"

Li Xiangqian shook his head and said with a smile:

"No need, no need, I still have some there, I also brought quite a few this time, it's definitely enough to hit Mongolian gazelles."

Director Qian then asked Li Long again:

"Comrade Little Li, I see you are carrying a Type 56 semi-automatic, are the bullets enough?"

"Enough, enough." Li Long certainly wasn't good at asking Director Qian for bullets.

"Director, don't worry, our Security Section has enough bullets for Little Li." Li Xiangqian hurriedly said.

"That's good." Director Qian sat up straight, the jeep drove out of the gate of the supply and marketing cooperative, turned and accelerated all the way.

Li Long sat in the back and began to imagine.

This jeep was clearly much faster than the tractor, and it had a cover, although there was only heating and no air conditioning inside, at least it was much warmer than sitting on the tractor.

The small four-wheeled tractor was on record and couldn't add a top, it would be caught if added privately. And if it wasn't specifically for pulling things, having a jeep was much better than a small four-wheeled one.

Of course, the price was also much higher.

Li Long discovered that this jeep wasn't the one from last year, his heart moved, and he asked:

"Director Qian, this jeep isn't the one from last year, right?"

"No." Director Qian remembered that Li Long didn't seem to be excited at all when sitting in the jeep last year, he seemed to be very familiar with the car and very interested, he was also a person who liked cars, otherwise he wouldn't have found these two cars, hearing Li Long ask this, he turned his head and said:

"That one was used by another leader in the prefecture cooperative. This one was found by me from the Corps, and it's registered in our prefecture cooperative, and I'm using it.

I'll tell you, there are cars in the interior now, but to tell the truth, in our northern Xinjiang, if you really want to use it, you still have to use this jeep. Strong power, large space, and durable."

Li Long deeply agreed, nodded and said:

"That's it, it's said that this car is not easy to have problems, not so delicate, and you don't need to pay attention to too many things when using it."

"Right, right, right, that's the reason. Actually, there are similar cars and eight-seater and ten-seater jeeps imported from the Soviet Union, this kind of car is used more by the border defense, it's not easy to find.

After all, many are military property, and people won't get them into our hands even if they are eliminated. It's the Corps that has a good relationship with us, so if you want to find it, you can still find it. The performance of this jeep is better, and the age is shorter, so I got this one."

Director Qian was not without pride in saying this, and Li Long recorded this information.

To tell the truth, it was certainly very difficult to get a jeep at this time, seeing Wei Zhuren riding a bicycle. There were large trucks in the county supply and marketing cooperative, used for pulling goods, and there were no small cars for passengers at all.

It was mainly because the level hadn't reached it.

The people in the whole county who had enough level to sit in small cars were only the leaders in the county, the leaders of the artillery regiment in the county, and the regimental leaders of several Corps in the county.

To tell the truth, the "eight-seater" and "ten-seater" mentioned by Director Qian, Li Long hadn't even seen them.

But he wasn't interested. However, it was fine if he could find this 212.

It was just that Li Long knew he shouldn't think about it for a while. The supply and marketing cooperative leaders didn't have it, how could he have it? Even if he had it, cars at this time needed a unit to hang on. More importantly, he only had a tractor driver's license at the moment, and no car driver's license.

So the first step was to get the driver's license.

It was like Schwarzenegger wanting to be president, the first step was to exercise.

The jeep drove out of the Shicheng Corps range and arrived in the SW County range, the roadside trees on both sides of the road became fewer, and the reclaimed farmland that appeared from time to time became fewer and fewer, replaced by more and more tamarisk bushes and small piles of solidified sand dunes.

"Is it almost here?" Director Qian looked at the scenery on both sides of the road, and then turned his head to ask Li Long.

"Almost," Li Long thought for a while and said, "The first herd of Mongolian gazelles I bumped into is less than ten minutes away in front."

SW County was different from Shicheng, the county seat wasn't adjacent to the Wuyi Highway, so although the jeep passed through the county area, it couldn't see many households. "Got it!" The driver, who hadn't spoken from beginning to end, suddenly opened his mouth, the jeep slowed down, and he pointed to the northwest with one hand on the steering wheel and said:

"There's a herd there!"

Director Qian also saw it, and Li Xiangqian sitting on the right also saw it through the glass. Li Long leaned over and scanned twice, only to find that there was a herd of Mongolian gazelles, itself forty-five meters away from the highway, eating grass, and at this time, they raised their heads alertly after discovering the car.

The jeep stopped in advance and didn't drive to the south of these Mongolian gazelles. Even so, the Mongolian gazelle herd immediately led by the head gazelle ran to the north, running to a high platform nearly one hundred meters away from the Wuyi Highway before stopping.

For Mongolian gazelles, distance was staying away from danger, they still didn't understand what long-range weapons were.

Director Qian carried the hunting gun and got out of the car, looked at those Mongolian gazelles, shook his head and said:

"The hunting gun can't hit, Little Si, Little Li, it's up to you two."

Li Long took the Type 56 semi-automatic out of the gun holster, walked to the back of the jeep, disengaged the safety, pulled the bolt to chamber a round, and half-squatted to aim.

This herd of Mongolian gazelles wasn't large, eight members, three male gazelles with horns, three large female gazelles, and the rest were two half-grown small gazelles.

"I'll take the left, you take the right." That driver Little Si said to Li Long, "I'll count to three, and we'll open fire together."

"Good." Li Long aimed at the male gazelle with horns on the right.

!.

This wasn't the head gazelle, the head gazelle was on the left, and Li Long didn't mind, his position was on the right anyway.

"One! Two! Three!"

Little Si counted the numbers unhurriedly while aiming, and when he counted to three, two semi-automatic rifles rang almost at the same time. Director Qian looked into the distance, and he was surprised to find that two Mongolian gazelles fell to the ground almost at the same time, without even struggling.

"Hey, both of you have good marksmanship!" Li Xiangqian also saw it. In this era, everyone's eyesight was generally good. Although the hunting gun couldn't reach, the eyesight could reach.

Li Long and Little Si both engaged the safety, and then walked into the snow with big strides, wanting to get those two Mongolian gazelles back. 【577-

Forget it, let's think about getting a driver's license first.

Li Xiangqian looked at Li Long and didn't think he was bragging. He had watched Li Long go from selling sheep at the very beginning to driving a tractor in the end; how long had that even been?

If he really said he would be driving a car in the future, it was truly possible; it felt like he would be doing it sooner than himself.

If Li Xiangqian wanted to buy a tractor, he could afford it, but there was no need. But if he wanted to buy a car, that was truly impossible.

Therefore, he felt that Li Long still had a very promising future, and he was clear-headed and knew how to advance or retreat. It was also normal to be excited occasionally.

As the jeep drove out of the Stone City Corps area and reached the territory of Bima County, the roadside trees along the road became fewer, and the occasionally appearing cultivated farmland also became less and less, replaced by more and more red willow thickets and small piles of already stabilized sand dunes.

"Are we almost there?" Director Qian looked at the scenery on both sides of the road, then turned his head to ask Li Long.

"Almost," Li Long thought for a moment and said, "The first herd of Mongolian gazelles I encountered last time is less than ten minutes' drive ahead."

Bima County was different from Stone City; the county seat was not near the Wuyi Highway, so although the jeep passed through the county territory, not many households could be seen.

Further west, it truly reached a no-man's-land, with no traces of man-made structures on either side, only red willows, saxaul, and the Gobi Desert. "There!" The driver, who hadn't spoken from beginning to end, suddenly spoke up. The jeep slowed down, and he pointed to the northwest with one hand on the steering wheel, saying:

"There's a herd over there!"

Director Qian saw it too, and Li Xiangqian, sitting on the right, also saw it through the glass. Li Long leaned over and scanned for a moment before discovering a herd of Mongolian gazelles, about forty-five meters from the road, grazing. At this moment, they discovered the car and immediately lifted their heads alertly.

The jeep stopped in advance and did not drive directly to the south of these Mongolian gazelles. Even so, the herd immediately ran north under the lead of the alpha, running until they stopped on a high terrace nearly a hundred meters from the Wuyi Highway.

For Mongolian gazelles, distance meant being away from danger; they still didn't understand what long-range weapons were.

Director Qian got out of the car with his shotgun, looked at the herd of Mongolian gazelles, and shook his head, saying:

"The shotgun can't reach them. Xiao Si, Xiao Li, it's up to you two."

Li Long took the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle out of the holster, walked to the back of the jeep, opened the safety, pulled the bolt to chamber a round, and crouched down to aim.

The number of Mongolian gazelles in this herd was small, eight in total: three horned rams, three large ewes, and the rest were two half-grown lambs.

"I'll take the left, you take the right," the driver, Xiao Si, said to Li Long. "I'll count to three, and we'll fire together."

"Alright." Li Long then aimed at the horned ram on the right.

!.

This wasn't the alpha; the alpha was on the left. Li Long didn't mind; his position was on the right anyway.

"One! Two! Three!"

Xiao Si finished counting unhurriedly, and the two rifles fired almost simultaneously. Director Qian looked into the distance and was surprised to find that two Mongolian gazelles fell to the ground almost at the same time, without even struggling.

"Hey, both of your marksmanship is pretty good!" Li Xiangqian also saw it. In this era, everyone's eyesight was generally quite good. Although the shotgun couldn't reach, their eyesight could.

Li Long and Xiao Si both engaged their safeties, then walked with long strides into the snow to retrieve the two Mongolian gazelles.

Director Qian and Li Xiangqian waited by the road.

"Xiao Li is pretty good," Director Qian sighed with emotion. "Xiao Si was selected from the demobilized soldiers of the military sub-district this year. He can drive, his shooting is good, and he won a third-class merit, but it's a pity he wasn't promoted to an officer. Xiao Li's marksmanship, hey."

"Director, then what about your previous driver?" Li Xiangqian asked.

"You mean Xiao Jiang?" Director Qian said. "I arranged for him to drive for a small car pool at a state organ in the prefecture. It's hard to get a staff position here with me, but there's a quota over there. He'll be a worker status from now on, which is better than driving for me here."

After finishing, Director Qian sighed:

"Xiao Jiang drove for me for three years; he has both merit and hard work. I definitely have to arrange a good future for him."

"The Director is still righteous," Li Xiangqian said sincerely. "Xiao Jiang must be very grateful."

"Yes, this child knows how to be grateful. He cried when he left, and he brings things to my house to visit me during holidays. Hmm, he's not bad."

At this time, Li Long and Xiao Si had already come over carrying the Mongolian gazelles. Xiao Si intentionally wanted to compete with Li Long in physical strength; he carried the gazelle on his shoulder and walked back with long strides. Li Long didn't overtake him, just walked shoulder to shoulder with him. Xiao Si accelerated, only to find that Li Long could also accelerate, and only then did he know that the other party was not inferior.

Actually, there was another reason Xiao Si wanted to compete: he had hit the Mongolian gazelle in the stomach, while Li Long had hit it in the head.

He felt he had lost a step, which was why he wanted to regain some face.

The two Mongolian gazelles were thrown by the roadside. Xiao Si went to the trunk of the jeep, took out a steel hand saw, and crouched down to start sawing the gazelle horns.

Li Long couldn't help, so he took a knife and gutted the Mongolian gazelles.

If they weren't gutted, they would be hard to deal with once they froze later. Everyone present knew this, so Director Wu and Li Xiangqian just watched.

Li Long and Xiao Si cooperated tacitly; while one finished gutting and put the internal organs into a bag, the other had also sawed off the horns.

And so they swapped.

In less than an hour, the two Mongolian gazelles were mostly processed, then both were bagged and put onto the jeep, and they continued westward.

Knowing they had reached the area where Mongolian gazelles appeared, Xiao Si drove much slower.

Perhaps because the crisp sound of the gunfire just now had traveled quite far, they drove for more than twenty kilometers without seeing any more Mongolian gazelles by the road. Li Long had sharp eyes and saw a herd of Mongolian gazelles more than two hundred meters away, but since he couldn't hit them, he didn't point them out.

It wasn't until they were almost at Anjihai that Director Qian discovered a herd of Mongolian gazelles first this time.

Moreover, they were relatively close to the road, and the herd was quite large, with more than a dozen.

There were six or seven horned rams.

This time Director Qian was quite excited. He opened the car door, didn't get out, and while loading bullets into his shotgun, he said with a smile:

"Watching you two shoot just now made my hands itch. Now there's an opportunity. Xiangqian, come, let's see who's better! Xiao Si, Xiao Li! You two provide covering fire!"

"Alright."

"Understood."

Li Long and Xiao Si once again stood on both sides, one left and one right.

That herd of Mongolian gazelles ran to the Gobi Desert on the south side, more than fifty meters from the road. Some Mongolian gazelles hid directly into the red willow thickets and could no longer be seen.

Only seven or eight could be seen in their field of vision.

"I'll take the left, you take the right," Director Qian said to Li Xiangqian. "Xiao Si, count one, two, three, and we'll fire together."

"Alright." Li Xiangqian was just here to accompany them for fun, but at this moment he also had a competitive spirit. He raised his shotgun and aimed steadily into the distance.

At such a long distance, both of them were using slugs.

"One, two, three!"

Xiao Si counted the numbers while aiming. When he reached three, Director Qian and Li Xiangqian both fired, and after firing one shot, they immediately fired again.

Li Long only aimed roughly. After their guns fired, the herd of Mongolian gazelles exploded. He immediately captured a hornless ewe running east. Standing on the east side, he estimated the lead, aimed roughly, and "Bang!" pulled the trigger!

That Mongolian gazelle tumbled and fell, struggling to get up, but failed, and eventually collapsed.

Xiao Si also fired at this time; Li Long didn't know if he had hit anything or not.

"Go, go, go, I hit one," Director Qian said excitedly. "Xiangqian, I think you wounded one, right?"

"Yes, I wounded one. That gazelle was still running, so I let Xiao Si finish it off," Li Xiangqian said truthfully.

It seemed his marksmanship really still had room for improvement.

Director Qian took the lead and walked forward. Xiao Si pulled the key out of the jeep, locked the door, and followed.

Li Long walked alone toward the ewe that had been knocked down. This ewe had already run twenty or thirty meters away from its original position and the herd had scattered.

Li Long had shot this one just to eat the meat.

The meat of this gazelle was at least better than that of the ram.

As for the horns, he felt he already had enough.

Upon reaching the spot, Director Qian stepped on the Mongolian gazelle he had shot, feeling very proud.

This was an alpha; the horns were a full thirty centimeters long—this was already considered very long in a herd of Mongolian gazelles.

The slug had hit the stomach, and the power was great; the gazelle had died on the spot.

The one Li Xiangqian had hit and Xiao Si had finished off was also a ram. It looked younger than the alpha, with fur that was a mix of gray-yellow and white, looking very beautiful.

Blood flowed all over the ground.

Over on Li Long's side, he was already carrying the ewe back. Here, Xiao Si was carrying the gazelle Director Qian had shot, and Li Xiangqian was dragging the one he had shot. Everyone walked back together.

Li Long walked fast, threw the ewe by the jeep, and returned to take the gazelle Li Xiangqian was dragging.

The back of the jeep was now full.

"I'm not satisfied yet!" Director Qian felt he could still shoot, but it was a pity it couldn't fit anymore. "This is too simple to hunt."

"There are many wild animals and few people, so it's simple to hunt," Li Long said. "The land is vast and sparsely populated; where people haven't stayed, it's been occupied by wild animals. They haven't developed a fear of humans yet, so they won't run far."

"That's the logic," Li Xiangqian said. "Director, are we still going to shoot?" (End of chapter)