Chapter 660: Suspicious personnel in the mountains

Li Long rushed down the mountain with his gun before those few people arrived. Although the jeep was locked, he was not at ease.

In this wilderness, it was not the area he was in before. There, he was the landlord, and he knew very well which area had people and which area basically no one went to.

Here, he was completely unfamiliar—although it was all the southern mountains of Maxian, the area range was relatively large, and he couldn't cover it.

Li Long arrived at the jeep before those few people arrived, and he looked at those three people vigilantly.

One was fifty-some years old, and two were twenty or thirty years old.

The fifty-some-year-old was wearing a Zhongshan suit, looking although sweaty, but not embarrassed, indicating that his physical fitness was quite good.

Those two twenty or thirty-year-olds were both in denim suits, both carrying double-barreled hunting guns, and carrying backpacks on their backs.

The mountaineering shoes with thick soles and medium waists on their feet were clearly people who climbed mountains often.

Seeing Li Long holding a Type 56 semi-automatic, these three people stopped six or seven meters away.

"Little comrade, are you responsible for patrolling the mountains for the Forestry Team?" asked the man who was fifty-some years old, with gray hair and a duck-billed cap.

"No. I'm here on business," Li Long replied, "What about you?"

"Us? We entered the mountains to find some things, and we need a guide who is relatively familiar with the local area."

"I'm not familiar, it's my first time entering the mountains." Li Long shook his head. These three people gave him a feeling of unkindness, and he didn't want to join them.

"Hahaha, little comrade is very vigilant." That duck-billed cap smiled, "Don't be so nervous, we are not bad people. My ancestors used to be from here, later because of illness, they were buried in the mountains. We haven't been here for many years, now we want to find the place where people were buried..."

This explanation seemed to be an explanation, but in Li Long's place, it had a feeling of painting a snake and adding feet, wanting to cover up.

He guessed that these three people came over, it should be to find the treasure of Sheng Sheng Shi Cai.

However, it had nothing to do with him. He was not familiar with this area, and he didn't think about taking the treasure as his own, so he stopped talking.

That duck-billed cap saw Li Long didn't answer, and was a bit disappointed. He didn't expect Li Long to be so calm, thought about it and said again:

"Little comrade, look if this works, today you point the way for us, or you help us find someone who is familiar with the environment nearby, I'll give you one hundred yuan, how about it?

You can drive a jeep, you must have status, finding such a person is easier than us. We outsiders want to do things here, it's really difficult."

"Can't do it, I told you, I'm not familiar with this place, I don't even know who manages this place, naturally I can't find anyone. Alright, you guys leave, I'm here on business, I'll leave in a while too."

Li Long's right index finger was always intentionally or unintentionally pressing on the trigger guard of the gun, and the safety was also off, ready to fire at any time.

The other party's two young people held hunting guns, clearly not good people either.

He could see the eye contact of the three people, so his vigilance was higher.

Perhaps because Li Long had a gun, perhaps because of the role of the jeep, these three people, although somewhat unwilling, finally left.

Li Long guessed that the reason why that duck-billed cap wanted him to point the way was probably guessing that he could drive a jeep, he must be on the official side, why did he run here? Would it ruin their plan?

The three people left, Li Long was also hesitating, continue to search, or go out of the mountains along the national defense highway to Little Bai Yang Ravine?

Just when he was a bit undecided, someone rode a horse over from the northwest.

His jeep target was too big, and the other party saw it very early. (End of chapter)

Sun Jia Qiang asked curiously while eating:

"Hearing Bolati, you have a lot of grazing over there, don't you have many cattle and sheep? You should be able to eat meat every day, right?"

"Hehe, are you dreaming?" Hearing Bolati looked at him speechless, "In this day and age, whose family can eat meat every day? Cattle and sheep are counted; if you eat them every day, the herdsman's family will eat them all in less than a year. How will they live in the future?"

"Then what do you usually eat?" Sun Jia Qiang was quite interested in this. After all, different ethnic groups, although they were in the same place right now, he really didn't know, and he was really curious.

"Eat naan, drink milk tea, eat stir-fried dishes." Hearing Bolati explained to him for Li Long's sake, and then turned his head to go to the horse, gnawing on a bone with one hand while untying the rope with the other, and put down those two bags.

"This, trade for meat this time. Yes, also trade for some liquor, and just give me some money." Hearing Bolati said while eating, "These are all traded for others. Their patrol area is relatively far, and it's not easy to come over."

Forest rangers now are different from those in the future. In the future, the Forestry Team won't have so many forest rangers, and those forest rangers will mostly be part-time. They will also rarely patrol their defense areas every day like Hearing Bolati and the others do now; they will occasionally take a look, as long as there are no forest fires and they stop illegal logging.

Right now, the Forestry Team has just been established, and they still attach great importance to the care of the forest area, and they are also gradually protecting the various resources in the mountains.

These fritillaria are also one of the protected resources, but there have been people digging fritillaria in these mountains for years, and stopping it must be done step by step. Right now, the population policy is not very clear, and there will still be a large number of people from the interior coming to settle in Northern Xinjiang. The handling of these people is still in a relatively contradictory state.

So, the handling of herb diggers is also relatively contradictory; some are repatriated, some are locked up for a period of time and then released, and so on.

When it gradually becomes standardized later, the Forestry Team won't need so many people, and these people will be dispersed to various forestry bureaus or state-run timber mills, etc.

Right now, it can be considered a stage of personal wealth accumulation.

Li Long gnawed off the meat in a few quick bites, put the bones aside, washed his hands, and started loading supplies for Hearing Bolati.

"Do you want raw meat or cooked meat?"

"Cooked meat." Hearing Bolati pointed to the meat in the pot and said, "I want this kind."

"If it's cooked meat, you'll get less in trade." Li Long declared in advance, "This will shrink."

"I know, I know." How could Hearing Bolati, who had transferred from being a herdsman, not know this?

Li Long found a clean bag to pack the meat for him, traded half a box of liquor for him, let him tie it well on the horse's back, and finally gave him the money.

Hearing Bolati waved his hand at Li Long, got on his horse, and left while gnawing on the bone. It wasn't close from here to their Forestry Team's holding point, and he didn't have a jeep like Li Long that could drive there quickly.

Sun Jia Qiang finished gnawing on the bone, quickly put the fritillaria Hearing Bolati brought into a basket, and started washing them in the water. While washing, he said:

"Li Long, this Hearing Bolati is really good to you."

"Yeah, he's not bad." Li Long started loading things into the car and said while loading, "It's okay, wait until you get to know each other and become friends, he will also be good to you."

Sun Jia Qiang smiled and didn't speak. He hadn't been to Northern Xinjiang for just a year or two; he knew that it wasn't that easy for these ethnic people to recognize someone as a friend.

He didn't expect it anymore.

However, watching Hearing Bolati bring Li Long dozens of kilograms of fritillaria from time to time, he was really envious.

Before leaving, Li Long weighed the fritillaria Sun Jia Qiang collected today, which was twenty-one kilograms, and he gave him ten yuan and fifty cents in cash. Sun Jia Qiang said with a smile:

"Having meat to eat, a house to sleep in, and being able to get quite a bit of money every day—this life is really something."

Li Long smiled and told him to pack up the meat hanging on the wire outside and put it into the house as soon as possible, then lock the door and pay attention to safety.

Sun Jia Qiang patted his chest and told Li Long not to worry.

Li Long drove the jeep and went back before the sun set.

He still had to go back as soon as possible to handle this wild goat properly.

Although Sister Yang was helping at home, it would probably be twelve o'clock by the time it was finished.

After all, just boiling the meat takes a long time.

Whether it was Gu Xiaoxia, Sister Yang, or Gu Bo Yuan, they were not surprised that Li Long had brought back another wild goat from the mountains. Han Fang was very happy, and the little black dog was also very happy, holding the bone Li Long gave it and gnawing on it there.

Although it couldn't gnaw it.

After dinner, Sister Yang was processing the meat in the kitchen. Li Long wanted to help, but Sister Yang wouldn't let him, telling him to spend more time with Gu Xiaoxia.

Li Long washed away the bloody smell, changed his clothes, accompanied Gu Xiaoxia to watch TV, and told stories about the mountains.

Knowing that Li Long had faced a bear and also got six wild goats, Gu Xiaoxia was amazed all along.

Li Long also told her about the rock paintings and the cave in the mountains, and told the stories in those rock paintings. "I really want to go see it..." Gu Xiaoxia touched her bulging abdomen, simulating the scenes Li Long described in her mind.

"Don't worry, there will be a chance. The hot springs, wild mushrooms, caves, and rock paintings there are all things you will have a chance to see."

The mountains are like Li Long's territory; he can enter and exit at will, and naturally, he can also take his family in and out at will.

Unlike in the future, where everything is fenced off.

After the meat issue was resolved, the pressure on Li Long's side was suddenly much lighter. He planned to follow the routine in the future: collect carrying poles at Qingshuihe once every six or seven days, collect them at Xiaobaiyang Gou once every two or three days, go to the cabin every day in between, and go hunting every two or three days—yes, perfect.

By the way, he also had to show Sun Jia Qiang those mushrooms... mushrooms?

Li Long reacted all of a sudden. He told Gu Xiaoxia and then ran out quickly.

He had put the morels he picked while hunting in his backpack, but he had forgotten to show them to Sun Jia Qiang because he was busy skinning the goat after bringing the wild goats back.

By the time he took them out of the backpack, half of those mushrooms had already been crushed.

Fortunately, Li Long was accustomed to removing the part of the stem with soil when picking these mushrooms, so they were relatively easy to clean.

Sister Yang was processing the mutton, boiling some and stewing some. Li Long took a basin, soaked those mushrooms, washed them three times, and told Sister Yang that she could use these mushrooms to make a soup tomorrow.

Although stewing chicken soup with morels is the most classic way, it wouldn't hinder Li Long from making it casually.

No errors in the content at a glance!

As for showing them to Sun Jia Qiang, he would pick more later.

Without pressure, Li Long had a sudden whim the next day. After sending Gu Xiaoxia to the Education Bureau, he went to the department store to buy things, then drove east, and drove all the way to the west bank of the Tashi River.

Didn't Hearing Bolati say there was a Steamed Bun Mountain over there? Since there are legends about treasure over there, Li Long planned to go over and take a look, wanting to see if there really was a Steamed Bun Mountain and if there was any treasure.

It's the same psychology as buying a lottery ticket in later generations; what if he wins?

What if there is one?

The water in the Tashi River is not as large as the Ma River, but at the turn of spring and summer, just as the snowmelt flood comes down, the river water is still much larger than in later generations.

There is a road on the west bank, but it is not very obvious and not very suitable for cars.

Fortunately, the terrain is relatively flat before entering the mountains, and there are paths stepped out by cattle and sheep. Li Long's jeep sometimes drove on the Gobi Desert, sometimes on the turf, and sometimes even passed through low shrubbery as high as his knees.

The car had just been maintained, so Li Long dared to drive with peace of mind in such an environment.

Driving into the mountain pass, there is a gentle slope by the river, which can be used for cars to pass. You can see hoof prints and feces of horses, cattle, and sheep, and occasionally you can see human footprints.

However, you can't see any steamed bun-shaped mountains from the mountain pass here.

Thinking about it, it's normal; if that treasure burial site could be discovered so casually, it would probably have been dug up long ago, and it would be impossible for there to be no news until now.

Li Long drove the jeep into the mountains. These two layers of mountains are the same as the location where he entered the mountains on the Qingshuihe side; there is no vegetation, rocks and soil are all over the mountains, and the brown rocks look like they have been roasted by fire.

The jeep made a harsh sound as it crushed those gravels.

It sounds quite uncomfortable.

Li Long stepped on the accelerator, the jeep made a roaring sound, and drove inward along the slope of the gully.

After crossing two more gullies, Li Long slowed down. The current mountain terrain became complicated, and the space by the river where cars could drive also became much smaller. He was hesitating whether to turn into any wider gully to take a look.

Otherwise, continuing forward, he was worried that he couldn't continue driving by the river and would have to turn back.

Continuing forward, he discovered that there was a very wide gully on the west side, which could accommodate at least two or three cars. Although there were some shrubs in the gully, there were no large trees. Li Long decisively made a turn and drove the car in.

Driving the jeep into the gully for more than a kilometer, Li Long was somewhat surprised. This gully was open on both sides, and there was another north-south mountain gully over there. This mountain gully was wider, or rather, it shouldn't be like a mountain gully; it should be like a dry riverbed. There were some trees that were not very large growing on the riverbed, as well as some dry riverbeds where rocks were exposed.

You can also drive here, but you have to be slow; otherwise, it's easy to flip, and it's also easy to get stuck by rocks or wooden stumps.

Li Long drove to the opposite side and stopped.

This flat gully could go a long way into the mountains, and currently, he couldn't see the end. He didn't intend to continue running; he just thought about finding a high place first to see if there was a Steamed Bun Mountain and if there was a road to Xiaobaiyang Gou.

If not, then he would have to drive out of the mountains and then walk along the national defense highway outside the mountains toward the direction of Xiaobaiyang Gou.

That is the famous S101 highway of later generations.

Of course, it's not as good as later generations right now; it's still a sand and dirt road.

Li Long carried his gun and climbed up the mountain on the west side using both hands and feet; this could be considered the highest mountain nearby.

He looked around, but didn't see any Steamed Bun Mountain anywhere. He was a bit suspicious whether Hearing Bolati had pointed him in the wrong direction, or if the location he mentioned was some distance away from here?

When Li Long was carrying his gun and intending to come down, he suddenly discovered that in the southeast direction, three people were walking toward the jeep.

Li Long immediately carried his gun and ran down from the mountain. Although the jeep was locked, he was not at ease.

This desolate mountain and wild ridge was not the area he was in earlier. There, he was the landlord and knew very well which area had people and where basically no one went.

Here, he was completely unfamiliar—although they were all in the Southern Mountains of Maxian, this area was relatively large, and he couldn't cover it.

Li Long arrived in front of the jeep before those few people arrived, and he looked at those three people vigilantly.

One was in his fifties, and two were in their twenties or thirties.

The one in his fifties was wearing a Zhongshan suit, and although he looked sweaty, he wasn't in a sorry state, which showed that his physical fitness was quite good.

Those two in their twenties or thirties were both wearing denim clothes, both were carrying double-barreled hunting guns, and had backpacks on their backs.

Their feet were also wearing thick-soled, mid-waist hiking shoes, clearly they were people who climbed mountains often.

Seeing that Li Long was holding a semi-automatic rifle, these three people stopped six or seven meters away.

"Little comrade, are you responsible for patrolling the mountains for the Forestry Team?" asked the man in his fifties, who had graying hair and was wearing a duck-billed cap.

"No. I'm here on business," Li Long replied, "What about you guys?"

"Us? We're going into the mountains to find some things and need a guide who is relatively familiar with the local area."

"I'm not familiar; it's my first time entering the mountains too." Li Long shook his head. These three people gave him a feeling of being unkind, and he didn't want to team up with the other party.

"Hahaha, the little comrade is very vigilant." That duck-billed cap laughed, "Don't be so nervous; we are not bad people. My ancestors were from here, and later they passed away due to illness and were buried in the mountains. We haven't been here for many years, and now we want to find the place where they were buried..."

This remark seemed like an explanation, but to Li Long, it felt a bit like painting a snake and adding feet, trying to cover up something.

He guessed that these three people coming over were likely looking for the Sheng Sheng Shi Cai treasure.

However, it had nothing to do with him. He was not familiar with this area and didn't intend to take the treasure as his own, so he stopped talking.

That duck-billed cap saw Li Long not responding and was somewhat disappointed. He didn't expect Li Long to be so composed, thought about it, and said again:

"Little comrade, look, how about this: today you point the way for us, or you help us find someone who is familiar with the nearby environment, and I'll give you one hundred yuan, how about that?

You can drive a jeep, so you must have some status; finding such a person is easier for you than for us. It's really hard for us outsiders to get things done here."

"Can't do it. I told you, I'm not familiar with this place, and I don't even know which jurisdiction this place falls under, so naturally, I can't find anyone. Alright, you guys go ahead; I'm here on business and will be leaving in a while."

Li Long's right index finger was always intentionally or unintentionally pressing on the trigger guard of the gun, and the safety was also off, so he could fire at will.

The two young men on the other side were holding hunting guns, which clearly showed they were not kind people either.

He could see the eye contact between the three people, which was why his vigilance was even higher.

Maybe it was because Li Long had a gun, or maybe it was because of the jeep, so although these three people were somewhat unwilling, they finally left.

Li Long guessed that the reason why that duck-billed cap wanted him to point the way was likely that he guessed that Li Long could drive a jeep, so he must be an official, and what was he doing running here? Would he disrupt their plan?

The three people left, and Li Long was also hesitating: continue searching, or go out of the mountains and walk along the national defense highway to Xiaobaiyang Gou?

Just when he was having a hard time deciding, someone rode over on a horse from the northwest direction.

His jeep was too big a target, and the other party had seen it a long time ago. (End of chapter)