Chapter 652: Could This Treasure Be Real?

The next day, after settling matters at home, Li Long drove the jeep into the mountains.

He did not go to Little White Poplar Gully first, but headed to the wooden cabin instead.

Yesterday had been Sun Jia Qiang's first day "on the job," and he didn't know how things were going over there or if any problems had arisen.

When the jeep reached the small wooden cabin, Li Long saw Hearing Bolati's horse grazing nearby; three sacks lay beside the horse, while Hearing Bolati and Sun Jia Qiang stood before the cabin, watching the approaching vehicle.

Li Long vaguely remembered that Hearing Bolati and Sun Jia Qiang had met last year, so they probably wouldn't clash.

As soon as the jeep stopped and Li Long stepped out, Hearing Bolati approached and asked:

"Li Long, is this person the one you left here?"

"Yes," Li Long replied. "I couldn't handle everything alone, so I had him come help harvest the fritillaria bulbs."

"Well..." Hearing Bolati pulled Li Long aside, then glanced back at Sun Jia Qiang before whispering:

"Can he be trusted?"

"Probably." Asked like this, Li Long wasn't entirely certain himself.

"Let me tell you, as you know, these fritillaria bulbs I brought are hidden from our Forestry Team; if he reports us..."

"That won't happen." Li Long waved his hand and lowered his voice as well. "First, he doesn't know where your Forestry Team is located. Second, he wants to make money too; is there any reward for reporting you?"

"No, but they would fine us."

"Exactly. With no benefit, he won't do it." Li Long was trying to reassure Hearing Bolati, but honestly, he wasn't very sure himself.

After all, the human heart is hard to fathom; such things are difficult to test.

"Then it's fine. Look, I've brought you these three sacks of fritillaria bulbs this time; that group of people was truly wicked.

However, they were sensible enough; seeing me holding a gun, they handed over the bulbs. I also told them: if you're digging fritillaria, just dig fritillaria; either go deep into Shenshan, or don't destroy the grass sod..."

Relieved, Hearing Bolati smiled and pointed at the three sacks of fritillaria bulbs.

Li Long went over and hefted one; each sack must weigh at least thirty or forty kilograms—fresh fritillaria bulbs are quite heavy.

He had Sun Jia Qiang bring the scale, weighed the three sacks at one hundred and twelve kilograms, stored the bulbs properly, and then asked Hearing Bolati what he wanted.

"Money, meat, alcohol..."

This was a big deal; once reassured, Hearing Bolati immediately started making his demands, waving his hand like a bay, "I want them all!"

"Alright." Li Long smiled and began arranging the items for him.

Sun Jia Qiang helped from the side, feeling quite envious.

It was only because this Hearing Bolati didn't trust him; otherwise, with so many fritillaria bulbs, he would have earned over fifty yuan himself—a huge sum!

But this also boosted Sun Jia Qiang's confidence. Helping Li Long here exchange fritillaria bulbs for supplies truly offered excellent prospects.

Many herb gatherers entered the mountains this year; the experienced ones knew supplies could be exchanged here. If veterans brought newcomers, this news would spread even wider, attracting more people than last year to exchange goods.

Money could be made!

While packing items for Hearing Bolati, Li Long casually asked:

"Did you intercept these people at Mantou Mountain? That place isn't close to here, is it?"

"It's truly not close," Hearing Bolati said while counting money. "Think about it: west of the Tashi River, inside those mountains, there's a round one—" He glanced at Li Long, saw he still didn't understand, shook his head, and continued:

"Just at that Mantou Mountain; there are several gullies there where people dig fritillaria bulbs..."

He glanced again at Sun Jia Qiang, then lowered his voice to tell Li Long:

"I encountered someone; when I checked him, he claimed he wasn't digging fritillaria bulbs but searching for something here. I heard that long ago, a high official of your Han people buried many treasures here, gold and such... That person was searching right there!"

Li Long paused upon hearing this. Was there really a treasure? And someone was looking for it?

Seeing Li Long's expression, Hearing Bolati laughed:

"See? You people are very curious about this. However, we have lived here for so many years and never knew of any treasures there. We say it's fake; it couldn't possibly be real..."

The topic passed; after Hearing Bolati finished counting the money and took the other goods, he waved goodbye to Li Long, mounted his horse, and rode away.

Shortly after mounting, Li Long could see him tilt a bottle to his mouth for a drink; he shook his head—this fellow's alcohol addiction seemed quite severe.

Sun Jia Qiang came over to help Li Long pour the three large sacks of fritillaria bulbs into basins and begin washing them.

With so many bulbs, they certainly couldn't wash them all at once, nor was there enough space to dry them. Drying them now couldn't be as thin as before; like drying grain, they needed to be spread thicker and turned more frequently.

Looking at so many fritillaria bulbs, Sun Jia Qiang spoke while working:

"Once dried, these might yield twenty kilograms, right?"

"About that." Li Long calculated; during the transition between spring and summer, four or five kilograms of fresh fritillaria bulbs dry down to one kilogram, so these should yield around twenty kilograms.

If the price of fritillaria bulbs doesn't rise this year, they could sell for about eight hundred yuan; if prices rise, then nearly one thousand yuan.

The money and supplies given to Hearing Bolati amounted to roughly three hundred yuan; thus, just this morning, they earned five hundred yuan.

That equaled Gu Gu Xiaoxia's entire annual salary.

Truly enormous profits.

"Indeed quite a lot; that group of people must be furious," Sun Jia Qiang said while washing. "How far is that place from here?"

"Twenty or thirty kilometers, perhaps?" Li Long wasn't too sure either; he had never gone that way. Later, a national-level Shimenzi Reservoir was built in the upper reaches of the Tashi River mountains, reportedly with nice scenery. However, for some reason, people stopped mentioning it later; whether it leaked or something else, no one promoted it anymore.

"That's good then," Sun Jia Qiang said, relieved. "Since they are so far away, it's highly unlikely they will come over here."

Li Long knew he worried those people might come; if they learned Hearing Bolati had connections with the cabin's owner, would they seek revenge here?

After all, those people were a group, not just one or two individuals.

"In the future, open the door later in the morning and close earlier in the evening," Li Long reminded. "Just ensure your own safety."

"Don't worry about that; I pay close attention to my own safety. Besides, utterly ruthless people are a minority," Sun Jia Qiang said, pouring the washed fritillaria bulbs onto the table. "Most still fear official authority. Right now, I somewhat represent half the official power, haha."

Alright; since he thought that way, Li Long didn't say much more.

Before finishing washing these three sacks of fritillaria bulbs, another person arrived to exchange goods; Li Long sent Sun Jia Qiang to handle it. Sun Jia Qiang felt slightly embarrassed, but seeing Li Long say nothing more, he wiped his wet hands on his clothes and went over to ask the person.

"Exchange for hanging noodles," the person said in a suppressed voice, sounding very strange.

Li Long turned to look and saw this person had shoulder-length hair, with half their face covered.

He examined it carefully, smiled, then lowered his head to continue with his own work.

I truly never expected that among the mountain herb gatherers, there would actually be a woman.

However, this woman was likely afraid of being recognized, so she disguised herself as a man; even her voice was deliberately deepened. I wonder if Sun Jia Qiang can tell.

That woman still held a stick in her hand, occasionally stealing glances at Li Long, clearly showing heavy vigilance.

"Exchange everything for dried noodles?" Sun Jia Qiang asked enthusiastically: "Let me weigh these fritillaria bulbs you have... four and a half kilograms, quite clean. If exchanged for dried noodles, you could get over ten kilograms. I suggest you exchange for some other items instead—salt, sugar, and things like matches."

That person hesitated for a moment, thought it over, and said:

"I heard there is meat..."

"Yes, yes. Cooked venison, currently air-drying," Sun Jia Qiang sounded exactly like a shop assistant promoting his goods, "rubbed with salt, very delicious. Oh, and we also have rubber boots; this kind of shoe is the most practical in the mountains..."

In the end, this woman exchanged for four kilograms of dried noodles, four pieces of cooked venison, a pair of rubber boots, and some other supplies before leaving.

When Sun Jia Qiang brought these fritillaria bulbs over to clean them, he said:

"These fritillaria bulbs are much cleaner than the previous ones. Oh, Li Long, have you noticed? This person isn't short, so why are their feet so small?"

Li Long smiled; it seemed Sun Jia Qiang hadn't discovered this was a woman.

He had no intention of exposing her, so he just muddled through.

Before lunch, two more people came to exchange goods. After the exchanges were done, Li Long gathered all the fritillaria bulbs, loaded them into the jeep, and then drove Sun Jia Qiang to eat.

Sun Jia Qiang's idea was for Li Long to go eat while he stayed here to watch. Li Long disagreed; if two or three people really showed up and robbed the fritillaria bulbs, wouldn't his losses be huge?

The two of them went together to Xiaobaiyang Gou for a meal. During the meal, Li Long also mentioned that he would come over this afternoon to inspect the carrying poles.

Those having lunch here at noon, Xu Haijun and Liang Liang Wenyu along with their respective groups, understood immediately; they needed to bring the carrying poles over in advance, otherwise it would be troublesome later.

Today's lunch was hand-torn noodle flakes in soup. Old Huang told Li Long that he had been tearing dough for over an hour—these guys had demands that were too high; eating dried noodles wasn't good enough, they insisted on hand-torn flakes.

However, while saying this, Old Huang's face carried a smile.

With more than twenty people weaving carrying poles, in one month, the money he extracted just from the carrying pole business could reach four or five hundred. With so much money involved, just for cooking, let alone eating hand-torn flakes or tearing dough for an hour, even if he tore dough all day long, he would be willing!

After finishing his meal, Li Long dropped Sun Jia Qiang off. He did not unload the fritillaria bulbs; instead, he unloaded some supplies and put them into the small wooden cabin. After waiting to see Sun Jia Qiang exchange for another person's fritillaria bulbs, he drove the car back to Xiaobaiyang Gou.

He needed to complete the inspection as soon as possible.

Here at Xiaobaiyang Gou, Xie Xie Yun Dong and the others were also waiting for Li Long to arrive; when they saw the jeep approaching, Xie Xie Yun Dong already had his ledger ready.

For every inspection, Li signs, the person who wove the carrying pole signs, and Xie Xie Yun Dong signs; only after all three parties sign does the number become effective. These numbers are finally added together to determine the total valid count.

Li Long discovered with some surprise that during today's inspection, the quality of the carrying poles had improved; the pass rate was quite high, reaching eighty percent.

Of course, the best results still came from the veterans in Big Brother's group, whose pass rate reached eighty-five percent; the pass rate for the carrying poles woven by the people led by Xu Haijun and Liang Liang Wenyu was about the same.

Therefore, the total number of carrying poles this time was slightly higher than last time, reaching nearly two hundred.

Two cars could fit them all. Unloading would be somewhat troublesome, but Li Long had already thought of this; anyway, he would need to take a few people back to help, as he could not handle it alone.

After inspecting nearly two hundred carrying poles, Li Long drove the jeep to the wooden cabin again.

Please... collect... 6... 9... Books....!

Although the carrying pole site was his home base, with Xie Xie Yun Dong, Big Brother, Xu Haijun, and Liang Liang Wenyu watching over it, nothing would go wrong there no matter what; even if outsiders came, their large group had nothing to fear.

But the small wooden cabin was different; only Sun Jia Qiang was there, and Li Long was afraid something might happen.

If something really did happen, it would be quite troublesome.

When the jeep drove to a point where the small wooden cabin was visible, Li Long saw three people struggling with Sun Jia Qiang. His heart skipped a beat; he immediately pressed harder on the accelerator while honking the horn, rumbling loudly as he drove over.

Not far from where the three people were with Sun Jia Qiang, there was another person; that person seemed to be watching the spectacle, standing twenty or thirty meters away, neither leaving nor speaking.

Upon spotting Li Long's jeep, those few people separated from Sun Jia Qiang, but they did not leave.

The fact that they hadn't left indicated there was room for negotiation, rather than them simply coming to bully someone; Li Long felt slightly relieved.

He drove the jeep right up to them, got out, and saw Sun Jia Qiang looking full of grievance, yet still forcing a smile at him. Those three men all appeared to be in their twenties or thirties; although their physiques were slightly weaker than Li Long's, they were much stronger than Sun Jia Qiang.

Their gazes at Li Long were also somewhat hostile.

Li Long roughly understood the situation.

"What's going on?" Li Long asked Sun Jia Qiang.

"He looks down on us, selling at high prices!" One of the three men blurted out.

That man wore shoulder-length hair and denim clothing, which few people in Northern Xinjiang wore at this time.

"I wasn't asking you!" Li Long retorted, glaring at him before turning his gaze back to Sun Jia Qiang.

Sun Jia Qiang had wanted to speak earlier but was cut off by that man, so he hadn't said anything; now, seeing Li Long stand up to them so firmly, he immediately said:

"They brought fritillaria bulbs to exchange for goods, and I made the exchange for them, but they said no, claiming I gave them too little..."

"If you think it's too little, then don't exchange!" Li Long understood clearly, turned to the three men, and said, "Outside the mountains there are county towns, villages, and supply stores; if you think prices here are high, go out there to exchange!"

These three men had not expected Li Long to be so tough; they were instantly stifled.

Subsequently, the one wearing denim jeans said defiantly:

"What? Is this how you do business? Do you still want to make money or not?"

"What? Do you think I'm running a charity here?" Li Long sneered, looking at him. "Exchange if you want, don't exchange if you don't, just leave! We don't welcome people who haggle here!"

The three men felt extremely stifled; the one behind the shoulder-haired man in denim rolled up his sleeves, a gesture indicating he wanted to fight.

Would Li Long be afraid of him?

Actually, the moment he got out of the car, he had realized these three were no good; three grown men, each carrying bags of fritillaria bulbs that looked like mere dregs, might very well have come intending to rob goods.

They could not be indulged!

Sun Jia Qiang had actually been enduring and explaining the whole time, but now he understood: the other party had never intended to exchange, and with Li Long here, they had no intention of settling peacefully. So, the moment he saw the other man rolling up his sleeves, he immediately turned, grabbed a stick from the cabin doorway, and assumed a fighting stance.

"What? Want to have a fight?" Li Long laughed. "Come on, come on, all of you together!"

He did not reveal his gun, mainly because he realized these three were relying on their superior numbers to try to overpower Sun Jia Qiang.

After all, Sun Jia Qiang did not possess Li Long's physique.

As for fighting, they were not prepared for it.

The one in denim suddenly reached out to block his companion, sneering as he said:

"You can't be here all the time, can you? With this wooden house, do you think you can protect it after offending us?"

Li Long sneered and said:

"I don't know if the house can be protected, but if it truly gets destroyed, I'll come for you first. If even one of your six legs isn't broken, I'll take your surname!"

He turned his head and said to Sun Jia Qiang:

"Tonight, sleep in the dugout. Today, I'll watch to see who dares to touch this house!"

The man in jeans had originally intended to intimidate Li Long, but unexpectedly encountered a tough opponent.

Now he was in a dilemma, like riding a tiger with no easy way down.

The companion beside him, eager to fight, could no longer hold back:

"Old Niu, what nonsense are you spouting? Knock him down and we'll have everything! Can he bite off your balls?"

As he spoke, he lunged at Sun Jia Qiang nearby.

It must be said that fights among farmers were nothing like the punch-and-kick scenes in martial arts films; they mostly began with grabbing, pulling, and wrestling, and once an opponent was thrown down, one could pin them and do as one pleased.

Li Long didn't attend to Sun Jia Qiang first; since the other side had made their move, he reached out, grabbed the denim-clad man by his collar, and as he yanked him over, slammed his head straight into the man's nose.

"Ah—"

The man in jeans let out a miserable scream, clutching his nose as he sat down; it was damn painful!

The other attacker was slightly slower; he grabbed Li Long's arm, trying to rescue Old Niu, but Li Long twisted his arm, tripped him to the ground, and slapped him across the face, causing blood to gush from his nose immediately.

Another kick landed on the fellow's abdomen, and while he clutched his stomach in agony, Li Long had already moved to rescue Sun Jia Qiang.

Sun Jia Qiang had just been disarmed of his club and pinned to the ground; the attacker straddled him, preparing to strike his face, but Li Long grabbed the fellow by the back of his collar and dragged him aside, then said to Sun Jia Qiang:

"Grab the club and hit him!"

Sun Jia Qiang truly possessed a fierce streak; he picked up the club from the ground and began striking without aiming for head or face.

Li Long then looked toward the person standing in the distance.

"This has nothing to do with me; I'm just here to trade goods," that person said, waving the bag in his hand.

Inside the bag were four or five kilograms of fritillaria bulbs; it seemed correct indeed.

But to be honest, no matter how Li Long looked at it, he felt this person was hoping to profit from the conflict regardless of which side won.

But what should be done about these three men?

Li Long felt slightly troubled; after all, they had already fought, and harsh threats had been exchanged. If he and Sun Jia Qiang weren't present, he truly feared that once these men were released, they would burn down the wooden house.

At this moment, Li Long felt somewhat like he was riding a tiger with no easy way down.

What should be done?

Just then, the sound of hoofbeats came from the distance.

Li Long told Sun Jia Qiang to stop fighting and go trade goods with that person first.

He looked in the direction from which the hoofbeats sounded.

Hearing Hearing Bolati had arrived.

Li Long smiled.

(End of Chapter)