Chapter 645

"Fifteen for one car, thirty for two cars, not expensive, right?" Captain Ma sat down and said to Li Long. "I tell you, the price of cars isn't cheap, and it would have risen originally, but for the sake of Old Li, it's just this much."

Just as Li Long was thinking, Ma Chunlei said again:

"Don't think it's expensive either. Ten yuan for the driver, our team takes five yuan. If you think it's okay, it's settled; if not, then..."

"Fine, fine." Li Long naturally had no objections.

In this day and age, it's really not cheap for a car to pull things. Fifteen yuan to pull a trip into the mountains, that's fine.

Moreover, it's not a one-time deal; later, he'll have to pull at least fifty, sixty, seventy, or eighty trips.

It just so happens that he can also calculate how much a car can pull. If he pulls more, he can estimate based on quantity later.

After discussing the matter, Li Long drove the jeep to buy some rice, flour, oil, and daily necessities, and drove to the pastoral team's guard point.

Halimu's mother and Yushanjiang's wife and children were all here. Halimu and the others were already going to transfer, so Li Long had to come over to see the situation here.

It seemed that a few more courtyards had been added to the pastoral team this year, and some houses had also been repaired. The contrast between the newly repaired traces and the original traces was very obvious.

Some roofs had also been reinforced and covered with house mud.

Of course, the most conspicuous one was still Halimu's courtyard. The courtyard wall was generally higher and neater than other courtyard walls, with no gaps. The road from the courtyard to the outside was paved and solid.

When Li Long's jeep drove into the guard point, some people had already come out of the courtyard to look.

Nasen and Sasken were studying at the academy, and only the old lady was in the courtyard. Seeing the jeep arrive at the gate, the old lady smiled.

She naturally recognized this car. Li Long had driven this jeep many times to Halimu's winter nest before, and had pulled things for them.

Knowing that Li Long had come, the old lady stood up and walked slowly to the gate.

Li Long got off the car and moved things into the courtyard. The old lady was talking, and anyway, Li Long couldn't understand, so he just responded with "uh-huh, ah-ah."

After unloading a portion of the things, looking at the inside of the house and the kitchen, Li Long planned to bring some meat and new bedding next time he came over.

The bedding in this house was very worn out.

Li Long simply helped take the bedding out and sun it outside, so that at least it would be warmer when sleeping at night.

The weather in late April was still quite cool in the morning and evening.

After doing these things, Li Long greeted the old lady and went to Yushanjiang's courtyard again.

After sending the things and returning home, Sister Yang was already cooking.

After eating at home, Li Long drove the jeep to the transport company.

Gu Bo Yuan heard that Li Long was going to transport a batch of carrying baskets back in the evening, so he said he would stay and help unload the car when the time came.

Li Long didn't refuse either. Unloading the car was indeed a troublesome job, and it was hard for him alone to handle it.

The location agreed upon with Captain Ma wasn't at the transport company, but at the crossroads on the west side of the county town.

The transport company's cars were usually driven into the garage after getting off work, but if a car returned after getting off work, the unwritten rule was to allow the driver to drive it back to his own home and drive it back when going to work the next day.

After all, when the person managing the garage locked the door and got off work, no one wanted to run over from home at this time to open the door for the driver.

So when Li Long arrived at the west side of the county suburbs, he saw two cars.

The drivers were squatting on the side of the road smoking. Seeing Li Long drive the jeep over, the two of them subconsciously stood up and threw away the cigarette butts.

Li Long parked the jeep on the side, got off, shook hands with the two people, and stuffed two packs of Daqian Sect to each person.

The two drivers immediately laughed.

The jeep was in front, and the two cars were behind, driving towards the mountains.

The small motorcade kicked up a cloud of dust, and people passing by seeing this scene were also very curious.

What kind of big leader was going into the mountains to have such a big battle array?

When they arrived at Xiaobaiyang Gou, the people here had already finished dinner.

After dinner, some diligent people still thought about weaving for a while, and some had already rested.

After all, the labor intensity of this day wasn't small: cutting strips, chopping poles, and then having to roast the strips and weave, the hands were all black.

According to Li Jianguo's statement last year, after returning from the mountains, his hands hadn't been washed white for half a month.

The black ash from roasting the strips had already seeped into the skin, and it had to wait until a layer of skin on the hands peeled off before it could turn white.

The motorcade came over. Li Long parked the jeep to the side as much as possible so as not to affect the entry and exit of the cars, and then directed the two cars to come to the big pile of carrying baskets.

The people weaving carrying baskets came over one after another to help.

Someone nimbly opened the rear compartment board of the car and climbed up, and someone started sending carrying baskets from below, and the people above started placing them.

The two cars were loaded in an orderly manner.

Soon, Li Long saw the difference between cars and tractors.

This car could top the loading capacity of at least four tractors. Right now, the capacity of the tractor's bucket was still too small.

After the carriage was full, someone brought ten or so large wooden poles and set them up diagonally, so they could block the carrying baskets from falling off, and could continue to load higher.

There weren't enough wooden poles, so someone immediately went to chop them. Anyway, there weren't too many requirements for these wooden poles, as long as they could block the carrying baskets.

The car was loaded higher and higher, and the people above stepped on the carrying baskets as carefully as possible.

Fortunately, Li Long had very high requirements for the quality of the carrying baskets, and these carrying baskets wouldn't be stepped on and broken after a few steps.

Then Li Long discovered that nearly one hundred and eighty carrying baskets weren't completely loaded by the two cars.

There was still room to load.

He roughly estimated that these two cars could also load two hundred or more carrying baskets, or even more.

Of course, the mountain road wasn't very good, and he didn't want to load too much.

This was enough.

It seemed that it would be fine to come over and pull a trip every two or three days later.

"Brother Long, I'll go back with you to unload the car," Tao Daqiang said. "You're coming over tomorrow, right? Just bring me over when you come."

So many carrying baskets, these dozen people loaded for nearly half an hour. If Li Long unloaded them himself, he didn't know when he would finish unloading.

Not only Tao Daqiang, but also Jia Weidong, Xie Yun Dong, and others were all going to follow back.

Xu Haijun and a few other young men were the same.

"Don't need that many. Brother Xie Yun Dong, you stay. Daqiang, Haijun, you guys sit in the passenger seat of the car and follow back to unload the car," Li Long thought and decided. "I'll send you over early tomorrow morning."

The car drove out of Xiaobaiyang Gou. The sky wasn't dark yet. Those who wanted to weave carrying baskets continued to weave, and they also discussed what time Tao Daqiang and the others could return tomorrow.

Li Jianguo carried his hunting rifle and walked out.

Xu Haijun told him that roe deer passed by the mouth of the gully over there, and he wanted to go over and see if he could hit one.

With a gun in hand and having hit a wild boar, in this spare time, Li Jianguo felt he could give it a try.

This gun was a good thing!

When the jeep brought the two cars back to the courtyard, stars could already be seen in the sky, and it was indeed a bit late.

Fortunately, it wasn't dark yet. The car drove into the courtyard, and a few young men immediately jumped down from the passenger seat and started unloading the car.

Gu Bo Yuan, who was waiting, didn't expect Li Long to pull back young men. He was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

So many carrying baskets, wanting to rely on him and Li Long to unload them, it would take at least an hour or two, right?

Fortunately, there were these young men, which was very good.

After Tao Daqiang and the others greeted Gu Bo Yuan and Gu Xiaoxia, they immediately started unloading the car.

The two drivers, in order to return as early as possible, also participated. In the past, they basically wouldn't participate in unloading goods when pulling things; there were always special people to unload.

Unloading was much faster than loading. These people were busy, and soon they unloaded the carrying baskets and placed them by the wall.

There were hedgehogs there originally, but they had long been scared away by the commotion. The little black dog and the two roe deer were also scared away by such a big battle array, hiding in the backyard, poking their heads out from time to time to watch the fun.

By the time the carrying baskets were all unloaded, it was already dark.

The money had already been given, and Li Long stuffed a pack of cigarettes to each driver again and said some words of thanks.

Sister Yang had already cooked noodles, and the young men unloading the car, the drivers, and Li Long ate together.

At this time, even if Li Long wanted to invite them out to eat, there was no place. The state-run canteen had long closed, and private small restaurants were currently few and far between, and wouldn't be open at this time.

"Eat early tomorrow morning, and then send you into the mountains, not delaying your work," Li Long promised.

"Not a difference of that hour or so," Xu Haijun joked while eating. "When I was in the army, I thought about when I could sit in our regiment commander's jeep. I didn't sit in it in the army, but I didn't expect to have the opportunity to sit in it after returning. It's worth it!"

"Exactly, it's worth it!" Another young man also said with a smile.

Li Long had many houses here, so arranging a place for a few young men to stay was no problem.

After eating noodles, Gu Bo Yuan took a flashlight and returned to his small courtyard. Li Long arranged a room for the young men to stay, then returned to the bedroom to soak Gu Xiaoxia's feet.

Please... you... collect_()

Gu Xiaoxia's due date was in June, more than a month or nearly two months away, but right now her feet were quite swollen, and her belly was quite big.

According to Li Long's meaning, just ask for leave and don't go; health was important.

But Gu Xiaoxia couldn't. She felt she was still okay; it was just that going to and from work was a bit tiring, and staying in the office usually wasn't that troublesome at all.

"You don't know, those colleagues in the office envy me so much!" Gu Xiaoxia said to Li Long with a smile while soaking her feet. "I said I don't have any reaction now, don't have anything I don't want to eat, and don't have anything I particularly want to eat. And I don't vomit..."

"Stop talking," Li Long said hurriedly. "Just be fine yourself, don't talk and then have a reaction; wouldn't that be troublesome? You know this place is evil, right?"

"Fine, fine, I won't talk. In your words, keep a low profile and make a fortune." Gu Xiaoxia waited for Li Long to wipe her feet, brought her slippers, and after squatting down to put them on for her, only then went to pour the water.

At the beginning, Gu Xiaoxia was still a bit embarrassed, but now she was used to it. Looking at Li Long's back, her eyes were full of happiness.

Sister Yang knew that Li Long and the others had to go into the mountains early, so she got up just as the sky was getting bright to cook. After Li Long and the others got up and washed, breakfast was already ready.

Gu Xiaoxia soaked her feet last night, and when sleeping, Li Long put a pillow under her legs again, so she slept quite well. It was said that this was a quick rest method passed down by someone who had been a special forces soldier.

So although she got up quite early, Gu Xiaoxia slept well and was quite energetic.

After eating breakfast together, Li Long first sent Gu Xiaoxia to the Education Bureau, then came back to pick up Tao Daqiang and the others, and drove the jeep into the mountains.

Sitting in the jeep, Xu Haijun, who had snatched the passenger seat, was full of excitement:

"Heh, our regiment commander used to sit here. Usually, when we saw this car and this seat, we were really envious—I didn't expect that one day I could sit in it too. This car is really more comfortable than a tractor or a big truck!"

Li Long thought to himself that in twenty-something years, when you buy a small car, you'll feel how uncomfortable this 212 is to sit in.

The shock absorption system of cars at this time wasn't very good, and it certainly wasn't as good as cars in later generations.

The first batch of cars in the fourth team wasn't bought by everyone earning money, but because the county and township had a three-year interest-free loan for women in rural areas at that time, which was to help local women start businesses.

Anyway, there was no interest, so some families got this money and turned around and bought a car—although it wasn't a good car, it was at least a car.

The old people said these guys were show-offs, buying a car to drive without much money.

It was just unexpected that by 2010 or 2011, the price of cotton suddenly skyrocketed. That year, those who planted cotton had money, and then nearly half of the families in the village bought cars. Some didn't even have a driver's license, but they bought the car back—that was just the two years when the driver's license was easy to take.

Tao Daqiang and others were squeezed in the back row, and they were also looking at the scenery on both sides.

It wasn't much different from looking at both sides while sitting in a car, but in their eyes, the feeling was completely different.

This car, except for this one, others were really only sat in by leaders.

When they arrived at Xiaobaiyang Gou, they had already eaten breakfast here, and some people were cutting strips, and some were already roasting strips preparing to weave carrying baskets.

Only then did Xu Haijun and the others collect their hearts and quickly return to their work positions to start working.

Li Long's gaze fell on Old Huang's place.

A roe deer was hanging on a tree next to Old Huang's stove, and he was looking at how to start skinning it.

Li Long walked over and asked suspiciously:

"Brother Old Huang, where did this roe deer come from?"

"Heh, your brother hit it this morning," Old Huang said with a smile. "After hitting it in the morning, he was preparing to eat breakfast, so he soaked it in water. Now just see how to handle it—I think it's better for you to handle it."

Li Long pulled out his knife, put this thing down, and started skinning it.

While skinning, he muttered, Big Brother is impressive! He had only been here for a few days and had already hit two animals. This Nanshan hunter didn't feel like himself, but like Big Brother.

Li Jianguo carried a bundle of strips back. Seeing Li Long skinning, he put down the strips and came over.

"Big Brother, how did you find it?" Li Long asked while skinning.

"Didn't Haijun say yesterday that they saw a roe deer at the head of their gully? After you left yesterday, I went to see it. I only saw several piles of feces and didn't find it. I got up early this morning and carried a gun over. I didn't expect them to still be there, so I hit one."

Li Jianguo had a smile on his face, and the smile was a bit proud: "Those roe deer are very stupid; they didn't run when they saw me."

"That's because they saw you alone. If they saw many people, they would have run," Li Long sighed in his heart. This couldn't be called luck; this was ability. Others listened to Xu Haijun's words, and only Big Brother went over to see.

Not to mention others didn't have guns, even if they didn't have guns, if they went to see and found it, and came back to tell Li Jianguo, and Li Jianguo hit it, he would also share a portion with them.

Of course, Li Jianguo hitting it certainly meant he wanted to leave the meat here to eat. However, the previous wild boar meat hadn't been finished, and this roe deer wouldn't leave much, so it still had to be brought back.

The wild boar meat left before was smoked by Old Huang, and a portion was also stewed and placed in an enamel basin, stir-fried every day.

Right now, there were many wild vegetables and mushrooms in the forest, and everyone brought cabbage, potatoes, and salted vegetables, so there was no shortage of vegetables.

So for this roe deer, Li Jianguo's meaning was to bring the whole carcass back, and just leave the offal and internal organs here.

The roe deer Li Jianguo hit, he could handle it however he wanted. This was a young female roe deer from the first year, and right now it had grown to about forty kilograms, which wasn't small.

"Big Brother, are there still bullets?" Li Long asked while skinning.

"Yes, I used five bullets in total twice," Li Jianguo said with a smile. "There are still some."

This matter was settled just like that. After Li Long finished decomposing the roe deer, he pulled it and went back. According to Li Jianguo's statement, Li Long would leave half a carcass there, and pull the remaining half home.

He wouldn't send it to the Liang family first; he had just sent a wild boar leg, and it was estimated that they wouldn't be able to finish it for a while.

Although some people still wanted to taste the roe deer meat, the roe deer was hit by Li Jianguo, and the decision-making power was with him.

Some people thought about walking around nearby after eating dinner at night. If they could see wild beasts, they would call Li Jianguo to hit them, and if they hit them, they could also share some.

At least sharing a leg wouldn't be too much, right?

At this time, Hearing Bolati rode a horse to Li Long's wooden cabin.

He didn't see anyone, and the door was locked. Hearing Bolati was a bit surprised.

There was a small bag of fritillaria on his saddle, and he originally planned to come over to exchange for some things. Right now, it seemed he could only give up.

Although he was a bit unwilling to hand over these fritillaria to the forestry team, it seemed there was no other way.

Hide it?

Hearing Bolati thought while riding away. Half an hour after he left, someone quietly walked out from the forest on the south side, bending over and sneaking, observing all around while walking.

Arriving at the wooden cabin, he found the door locked. This person looked left and right, hesitating.

Finally, this person left carrying the bag, but after walking out, he still turned his head to look here from time to time.

Li Long's original plan was to send Xu Haijun and the others to Xiaobaiyang Gou, and he would go to the wooden cabin. Right now, he could only go back first.

On the way, he also thought about cutting a roe deer leg and putting it in the wooden cabin to eat when he cooked there. But thinking about it, he gave up. Big Brother could hit things, and there was no reason he couldn't hit things with a five-six semi.

So he planned to eat the things he hit himself.

Send the meat back today, come over in the afternoon or tomorrow, and then wipe the gun properly, and then look around to see where the prey was.

The salt mine cave and the hot spring gully were good places.

At noon, that person came to the wooden cabin again. Seeing no car and no tractor, he gathered his courage and used a stone he picked up to smash the lock of the wooden cabin... (End of chapter)