Chapter 839: If you can't bag a tiger, bagging a snow leopard is also quite good

For the past two days, whenever Yushanjiang went out to herd sheep, he would skirt the edge of the forest, wanting to see if that tiger would come back and prowl around here again.

It stands to reason that these wild animals are all very smart and have a strong sense of revenge. Once they have a grudge against humans, it's almost a fight to the death. While herding in the summer pasture, Yushanjiang had been retaliated against by a wolf pack, but he had a rifle, and that pack of wolves eventually all became pelts.

So Yushanjiang felt that once that tiger's injury healed, it would definitely come back to take revenge on him—being able to discover him from so far away, Yushanjiang wasn't worried at all that this tiger wouldn't be able to find him.

So for these two days, his rifle never left his hand, thinking that if that big tiger came back, he would give it a shot.

Li Long had said at the time that tiger pelts were very expensive. Yushanjiang thought that if he bagged this tiger and peeled the tiger skin to dry and give to Li Long, the favor of renovating the winter shelter would be repaid in full.

But for two or three days in a row, there was no movement at all in the summer pasture, let alone a tiger, not even a wolf was seen. The wild mountain goat flocks often seen on the distant sandy mountains also disappeared. Yushanjiang knew that the tiger probably wouldn't come.

However, he still wouldn't give up. For these two days, he tried his best to expand the grazing range, driving the cattle and sheep to graze near the mountains, almost reaching the edge of his summer pasture.

The boundary of the summer pasture was an abrupt high mountain, blocking the grassland like a wall.

On top of this high mountain, wild mountain goats and ibex often appeared, but this time when Yushanjiang came, there were no wild animals on the mountain top; he didn't know if they had been scared away.

Yushanjiang knew that many snow lotuses grew on this hillside, but the snow lotuses hadn't bloomed yet at this time. In the past, Yushanjiang only occasionally went to look and hadn't paid serious attention to them. This time, he let the cattle and sheep graze at the foot of the hillside, left the horses there, and climbed up the mountain along the wall himself.

The hillside wasn't very steep at the beginning, and there were still large patches of ice and snow that hadn't completely melted in the shaded, concave places.

Among those rocky clusters, stalks of snow lotuses were growing stubbornly. Beside them were some wild grasses that were also not afraid of the severe cold. This green, mixed in the gray mountain rocks, although not very dense, burst forth with vigorous vitality in this harsh environment.

Yushanjiang patrolled this area with his rifle. Usually, looking from afar, he could see flocks of wild mountain goats or argali, but today he saw nothing. Those wild animals seemed to have sensed some crisis and all disappeared. It was a pity that he wanted to bag one or two but couldn't.

Yushanjiang went down from the mountain top somewhat depressed, returned to his horse, mounted it, and continued to herd sheep.

Although he was very disappointed, he also knew that hunting was not something you could bag just because you wanted to; there was an element of luck involved.

In the evening, Yushanjiang drove the flock back to his yurt. He drove the cattle and sheep back into the pen and then started to cook.

The sheep dog at home wasn't there, so he had to solve the eating problem himself. He had gotten used to this over the past two years.

Every year during the seasonal migration, Li Long would prepare a large amount of daily necessities for them. As the two families with the best relationship with Li Long, Halimu and Yushanjiang had the most complete supplies.

In the yurt, there was prepared naan, jam, and honey.

Yushanjiang first took down the naan wrapped in a bed sheet, broke it into pieces, and placed it on the kang table, put jam and honey in small plates, and then added two pieces of coal to the stove to start boiling milk tea.

When the fire in the stove became vigorous, he took down a piece of air-dried beef from the shelf on the north side of the yurt, shaved off the unclean parts on the edge, and put it on a plate for later.

After the milk tea was boiled, Yushanjiang lifted the teapot and poured himself a bowl, then put it aside, and then took off the stove lid. He put on a pot, poured water into it, added a steamer, and put the plate containing the air-dried meat in to steam.

While steaming the air-dried meat, Yushanjiang carried a bucket to the small stream about 20 meters away from the yurt to fetch water and brought it back.

A big reason for choosing the yurt here was that there was water nearby and woods to block the wind. The sheep pen was built in the early years, and it only needed to be maintained every year when they came over.

The fetched water was poured into a large square iron bucket; this large water bucket was also prepared by Li Long. Originally, Yushanjiang and the others thought plastic ones were easier to use, but Li Long said plastic ones weren't clean or something, so they believed him.

After doing all this, the air-dried meat in the pot was almost done. Yushanjiang took out the air-dried meat and placed it on the kang table. He sat sideways at one end of the kang table and started to eat. He pulled out a small knife, and while drinking milk tea, he took naan and dipped it in jam to eat, then shaved off a piece of air-dried meat to eat; it was a bit strange. He simply stopped eating jam and specifically shaved the air-dried meat.

Kazakh people cherish food very much, and there are many proverbs about cherishing food. This strip of air-dried meat didn't completely fill Yushanjiang's stomach.

However, adding naan and milk tea, it was about enough.

After finishing the large pieces of meat, Yushanjiang used a small knife to trim off every bit of meat and skin attached to the bones and stuffed them into his mouth.

Although living conditions were getting better and better now, even slaughtering a sheep every day was no problem.

But the living habits formed over a long time made Yushanjiang still very frugal when eating every day. It was already much better than before, so he couldn't be too wasteful.

The sun had completely set, the sky gradually darkened, and the stars twinkled in the sky. At this time, the moon hadn't risen yet, and the Milky Way spanned the night sky, exceptionally clear. If there were astronomy enthusiasts here, they would be very happy, but Yushanjiang and Halimu and the others were already used to it. They could see it every year, looking at it for half a year, and no one would feel amazed anymore.

After eating, Yushanjiang tidied up the kang table and the stove, took a flashlight, went out of the yurt, and patrolled the stable and the cattle and sheep pen.

A few horses were flicking their tails, still grazing unhurriedly there. The cattle and sheep had all lain down; some were ruminating, but most were already asleep.

After returning to the yurt, Yushanjiang closed the door, turned on the radio, and listened to the programs playing inside.

Life in the mountains is very lonely. Having a radio here makes it much better. Yushanjiang heard Li Long say there was a kind of television that didn't need to be plugged in, and he didn't know if it could be bought now. If it could be bought, he didn't know if it would work if brought here.

As for the price issue, Yushanjiang didn't consider that much anymore. According to the prices Li Long gave for Fritillaria bulbs, snow lotuses, and pelts, Yushanjiang felt that as long as he wandered around the mountains more, it would be easy to earn enough money to buy a radio and a television before the winter migration.

The attitude of these middle-aged people toward money is different from that of young people. Middle-aged and elderly Kazakhs are relatively persistent in ancient traditions and don't think money can change everything. They care more about whether the tribe's traditions can be passed down from generation to generation. Young people want a better life, more material enjoyment, and don't want to be out of touch with society.

The sky got darker and darker, the surroundings quieted down, and occasionally wolf howls could be heard from the deep mountains, but this was not enough to arouse the vigilance of Yushanjiang and the others, because the distance was too far. They often ate wolves, and they were already used to it.

Every year when they first moved to the summer pasture, the herdsmen of the tribe would bag a few wolves that came to probe.

Once they felt that the tribe's military force was strong and could not be contended with, those wolf packs would leave to find other prey.

There are many wild animals deep in the Tianshan Mountains; they don't necessarily have to risk their lives to get food here. Wolves are very smart.

The program on the radio ended, and Yushanjiang was also very sleepy. He turned off the radio, retracted the antenna, put it away, and then lay on the wooden kang, covered himself with a quilt, and prepared to sleep.

The altitude here is high, the temperature difference between morning and evening is large, and the ultraviolet rays are strong. The sun is very hot during the day, and the temperature at night is very low. Sleeping without a quilt would make one feel cold and could possibly lead to a cold.

In the middle of the night, fierce dog barking suddenly came from the direction of the sheep pen outside. Yushanjiang woke up at once. He violently lifted the quilt and climbed up. He hurriedly put on his clothes, carried his rifle, took his flashlight, and rushed out.

In the light of the flashlight, he discovered that the family dog was barking at the sheep pen, and something in the sheep pen was attacking the flock.

Yushanjiang hurriedly opened the safety, pulled the bolt to chamber a round, carried the rifle, and headed toward the sheep pen. He was wondering, could it be that Northern Tianshan tiger?

Walking to the sheep pen, Yushanjiang took the flashlight and shone it inside, quickly locking onto the target.

In the sheep pen was a guy that was a bit smaller than he imagined but bigger than an ordinary wolf, furry and black and white—this was a snow leopard.

This adult snow leopard didn't know if it was starving or wanted to taste the flavor of farmed cattle and sheep. After coming down from the mountain, it sneaked into the flock in the middle of the night.

Now two sheep had already fallen in the sheep pen. This big snow leopard didn't eat those two sheep but was pouncing, preparing to kill a large ram.

Yushanjiang's appearance saved that large ram.

The snow leopard heard the movement outside the sheep pen and turned its head to look at Yushanjiang. It felt the threat but wasn't afraid and didn't run away. Opening its mouth, it hissed and roared at Yushanjiang to demonstrate. Looking at the 4 big teeth this guy bared, Yushanjiang raised his hand and fired a shot!

Although he heard Li Long say that this snow leopard would become a national first-class protected animal in two years, and hunting it would result in fines and jail time, but for the time being, hunting it was hunting it. Who told it to sneak into the sheep pen and bite a sheep to death?

And at this time for Yushanjiang, it was a valuable pelt. The snow leopard didn't know what function the tube Yushanjiang extended had, but it felt the threat and then immediately pounced toward Yushanjiang.

The snow leopard's head happened to meet the bullet shot by Yushanjiang.

"Bang," the snow leopard pouncing into mid-air fell to the ground. The flock was so scared that they scattered, all leaning against the edge of the sheep pen, their eyes full of fear.

That snow leopard twitched twice on the ground and didn't move. Yushanjiang's shot was also quite hasty, aiming at the snow leopard's body. He didn't expect this snow leopard to be quite cooperative, directly meeting it. This shot hit its head.

After the snow leopard died, Yushanjiang took the flashlight and shone it around the sheep pen again, finding no other predators. It seemed this snow leopard was a lone traveler.

The dog didn't bark this time, obediently standing by Yushanjiang's side, not knowing if it was scared by the gunshot or because Yushanjiang had already knocked down the intruder.

The crisp gunshot echoed in the mountains for a long time before disappearing. This time two sheep were lost, but a snow leopard was bagged, and Yushanjiang was still quite satisfied.

Li Long had given him the bottom line; the pelt of this snow leopard was worth at least 1,500 yuan. Renovating his winter shelter shouldn't cost that much, right? Although it wasn't a Northern Tianshan tiger, a snow leopard would do, right?

Yushanjiang moved the rifle strap to his shoulder, entered the sheep pen, and dragged the two dead sheep and the snow leopard out one by one.

Then Yushanjiang checked and discovered that the sheep pen had no damaged places, indicating that this snow leopard had jumped in from the outside—truly amazing.

The sheep pens in the summer pasture were all built with wood. The wood Yushanjiang chose was pine wood about 1.5 meters long and as thick as an arm. This snow leopard jumped quite high.

He couldn't sleep at night. Yushanjiang held the flashlight in his mouth and started to peel the snow leopard. Before long, the sound of horse hooves came from the northeast. He stopped the work at hand, took the flashlight, and shone it over there. Before he could see the person clearly, he heard Halimu's voice:

"What's wrong? Did we fire a shot?"

"A snow leopard entered the flock, bit two sheep to death, and was then shot dead by me." Yushanjiang explained.

"That's just right, I'll help you peel the pelt."

"Good, this snow leopard pelt, after peeling, put it to dry and take it back to give to Li Long."

Yushanjiang and the others wouldn't eat the sheep bitten to death by wild animals, only keeping a sheepskin.

Li Long would definitely feel sorry if he were here, but this was the tribe's tradition, and they wouldn't easily break it.

Peeling the pelt together would be very fast. The two of them finished in more than an hour, and by the way, dug a pit and buried the carcasses of the two sheep.

Halimu rode his horse back to his yurt. Yushanjiang smeared salt on the snow leopard's pelt, stretched it out, and hung it inside the yurt. As for the snow leopard's meat, he prepared to taste it tomorrow.

Li Long didn't know that Yushanjiang had also bagged a snow leopard for him. After Jia Tianlong left, Li Long finished lunch and then drove the jeep to the bank to deposit money.

It wasn't appropriate to keep so much money at home. He planned to deposit 80,000 and keep the rest as acquisition funds. The reason for keeping so much money was mainly because of the forestry team's warehouse—according to Bolati, the Fritillaria bulbs stored there were more than the previous few times, so the money needed was at least 10,000 or more.

Now the acquisition station stably received about 100 kilograms of dried Fritillaria bulbs every day, and occasionally one or two big customers would appear. Such big customers would usually bring more than 200 or 300 kilograms of dried Fritillaria bulbs, and this transaction would be 10,000 or 20,000. The Fritillaria bulbs they brought were of relatively good quality, and the price Li Long gave was also relatively high, so cash couldn't be less.

Although there were fewer people coming to sell Fritillaria bulbs these past few days than those two days, there were more people selling pelts.

In this Northern Tianshan area, there were no people who truly made a living by hunting in a realistic sense, and even people like Li Long who often bagged prey in the mountains were few.

But there were still people who occasionally bagged red deer, yellow sheep, and wild mountain goats—accumulating little by little—these pelts were collected by those middlemen, and in previous years, they would be sold to bigger dealers, but this year they would be sold to the acquisition stations in various counties and cities.

Although they knew that those private acquisition stations were suppressing prices, they had to sell.

Now Li Long's acquisition station had become famous, and everyone knew that the price collected here was high and fair, so the middlemen in the nearby counties and cities would tacitly bring the good things they collected here to exchange for more money.

Although it would increase the cost of travel expenses, compared to the travel expenses back and forth, the extra money sold was much more than the travel expenses.

So Gu Bo Yuan had been quite busy these past few days, and he was also slowly getting used to it. The income of the acquisition station had his own shares, and every extra transaction collected was equivalent to earning more money for himself; what a good thing.

After getting the tip from his friend in the industry and commerce department, Li Xiangqian thought about it and felt that it was not necessary to disturb Director Qian for the time being, so he called Wei Zhuren first.

Although Wei Zhuren was transferred to Beiting City as the director of the supply and marketing cooperative at the same level, Beiting City and Maxian were different after all. There were many people here, and many units.

As a very powerful unit, the supply and marketing cooperative had many people needing to find him to build relationships, while he didn't need to beg anyone.

Wei Zhuren wanted to retire in his current position. After all, his age was about the same as Director Qian's, but the rank was very different.

It was very difficult to be promoted to Director Qian's position, but it was no problem to stay in this position for a few more years.

Being the director now, many people begged him to do things, and the treatment he enjoyed when going out was much better than in Maxian.

Li Xiangqian rarely called him, so when he picked up the phone and heard the voice of his old subordinate, Wei Zhuren was a bit surprised.

After the two exchanged pleasantries on the phone, Wei Zhuren took the initiative to say:

"Xiangqian, let's not use these polite words among ourselves. If you have anything, just say it directly; I will definitely handle what I can handle here."

"Alright, I won't be polite either. I'll tell you clearly, someone wants to move against Li Long."

"What? Want to move against Li Long? What?" Wei Zhuren was startled. Wanting to move against Li Long, shouldn't they check Li Long's background? That was Director Qian!

He naturally didn't know that Jiang Chunlin had also inquired, and upon learning that Li Long was a temporary worker at the supply and marketing cooperative, he thought Li Long definitely had no big background, otherwise how could he be a temporary worker?

"What kind of person could it be? It's someone from your side." Li Xiangqian said, "Yesterday, someone from the industry and commerce department called me and said that the boss of that private acquisition station in your Beiting City, called Jiang Chunlin, felt that Li Long was engaged in unfair competition and had poached some of his customers.

Then he found someone from the industry and commerce department on their side and greeted someone on our side, asking to clean up Li Long.

This guy is putting a dirty pot on Li Long's head, you say, beat him up? Otherwise, some people might think that people from our county supply and marketing cooperative are easy to bully!"

Once Li Xiangqian said this, Wei Zhuren understood. He breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile:

"So that's how it is. You're talking about this Jiang Chunlin, he does have some background. His brother-in-law is in the Beiting Municipal CPPCC.

This guy was originally in the system, made a mistake, and came out, and then relied on relationships to do business—this private acquisition station is not his main business, but it can be considered a large cash flow supporting his expenses.

He should really not know the relationship between Li Long and us, and Director Qian. We have eaten at the same table, of course, I don't need to have any connection with him. Since it involves Li Long, then I will find someone to beat him up. If he is sensible, he will know what to do. If he is not sensible and wants to make trouble again, then you don't need to say, I will let him know who should be provoked and who cannot be provoked."

"Good, with your words, Old Wei, I can rest assured. I'll tell Li Long later, he will definitely thank you."

"Does he need to thank me? If our own people are bullied, isn't it right for us leaders to stand up? Why, do you still want to exclude me? Let me tell you, impossible!"

"Hahahaha, Wei Zhuren, your words are inspiring!" (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 840 =====