Chapter 182: Special Harvest

"No, it's just that a wild boar cub we were chasing was snatched by a leopard."

The one who answered was the young man Li Xuewu saw just now. Looking closely, he was about 18 or 19 years old, wearing patched clothes, wearing a somewhat dilapidated dog-skin hat with hair falling off, and his hand was still soothing the constantly roaring dog.

Li Xuewu glanced at him. This young man was obviously someone who played and got along with his dog all year round. After stroking it like this, the dog stopped barking randomly.

Li Xuewu just saw a light yellow shadow, but didn't see clearly what it was. With so many people in front, and so many people entering the forest together, he couldn't fire randomly.

Being able to come to snatch food under the movement of so many people entering the forest, it seems that the big cat was also hungry.

Li Xuewu put away the gun and said with a smile: "It seems that the direction we are chasing is correct. Did you find a few small wild boars?"

Several young people looked at each other and all said: "Only found one, it should be the one that ran away."

Li Xuewu nodded, gestured to the waiting team around him to continue chasing, and then asked the few young people in front of him: "Are you afraid? If you are afraid, you can go back to the roadside and wait for us."

"How is that possible? Continue, continue!"

"Exactly, exactly, what's so scary about a big cat."

These few young people encouraged each other and all wanted to continue chasing forward.

Li Xuewu didn't say much, waved his hand and said: "Then what are you waiting for, run, if you rest for a while, the piglets will be able to give birth to piglets."

Seeing Li Xuewu's joking encouragement, several young people smiled and led the hunting dogs to chase forward again.

In order to catch up with the team moving forward horizontally, these few people increased their speed.

Li Xuewu saw that they didn't run slower in the mountain land than on flat ground, and when passing through the forest, they would sway left and right to avoid branches without affecting the speed.

These are really good soldiers for mountain troops. Li Xuewu thought that he would slowly train the guard team to have the ability of urban combat. Climbing and foot strength are an important factor.

Li Xuewu saw that Old Man Zhao's pace was not slow, and following them was not strenuous, so he increased the speed.

This group of people is really "running rampant". Eight teams, more than forty people pulled a horizontal line and walked horizontally into the depths of the forest. Along the way, chickens flew and dogs jumped, and rabbits ran.

The snow in the forest is not thick, and in some places there is no snow at all. Frost and snow all hang on the trees, and the ground is a thick layer of leaves and rotten soft soil, which also provides a habitat and foraging place for small animals such as pheasants and rabbits.

Of course, omnivorous animals also like to be active in the forest. For example, sometimes wild boars will also come under the trees to pick up the fruits of the trees.

Li Xuewu sometimes sinks when stepping on it. This is not because there is mud, but because the leaves have been piled up and corroded for years, becoming a loose structural layer, which cannot withstand the weight of the human body, nor can it withstand people running on it, so there will be sinking.

This is a source of danger. Sometimes you don't know the depth and will sprain your ankle. More seriously, this kind of place may be the habitat of poisonous snakes. Fortunately, the hunting dogs in front have already walked through it once, and the young men have stepped on it once.

Li Xuewu followed Old Man Zhao, looking for hard ground to follow the team, and at the same time recorded the people who performed well and the dogs in the notebook he carried with him. As for the names of the people and the owners of the dogs, he asked Old Man Zhao and the others directly.

"Got it, got it!"

"Quick! Rush, rush!"

Li Xuewu just recorded a few names when shouting came from the front.

The one shouting "rush, rush" was shouting at the dog, and he saw three hunting dogs rushing out fiercely.

Li Xuewu looked in the direction the dog ran, and saw a big gray rabbit jumping horizontally and vertically to avoid the hunting dogs behind.

"Hehe, there really is a rabbit here."

Li Xuewu said with a smile.

Old Man Zhao also looked carefully into the distance and replied: "There are plenty, this thing can give birth, one nest has several, several nests a year."

Li Xuewu said to Yin Mancang, who was lost in thought: "This is a good thing. This mountain is the treasure house of your village. You must protect it well, and make good use of it."

Old Man Zhao leaned on the tree trunk and looked, and replied casually: "Hi, what's there to protect? It's been like this for many years. Outsiders can't get in, we can't get out. Whatever treasures there are, they have to be nested here. It's just those minerals and wood. Hi, what benefit does it have for us?"

Li Xuewu kicked the soft soil under his feet and said: "Not necessarily. This soil is good soil for growing mushrooms. If it is cultivated, just the dry goods..."

Old Man Zhao didn't refute Li Xuewu's words, treating Li Xuewu as a child who didn't know the situation in the mountain like "why not eat meat porridge".

And Yin Manshan had thoughts. He was not young, and he had seen the world when he was young. For some things Li Xuewu said, he was constantly verifying and thinking in his heart.

Just when Li Xuewu and the others were talking, the result was already there.

This rabbit is used to running in the mountain, has grown so big, has been chased by I don't know how many wild beasts, and is familiar with the situation nearby. A horizontal swing caused the two hunting dogs that were rushing over to collide together, like rolling gourds, bumping and howling. Perhaps they really bumped hard, otherwise they wouldn't have howled so miserably.

The young man who was chasing behind stomped his feet and cursed.

Only the dog of the previous young man was always trailing behind. Seeing the big gray rabbit playing with the two dogs, it rushed forward and bit the rabbit's head in one bite.

"Tiger, come back."

The young man shouted at his dog, and the dog bit the gray rabbit, which was still kicking its legs, and stumbled back.

It was really because this rabbit was too big and heavy. The dog was a bit strenuous when biting the rabbit in its mouth, and its head couldn't be lifted up, but it insisted on raising its head to show off its prey to its owner, so it was constantly shaken by the kicking rabbit, and its body stumbled.

"Good, good." The young man gently soothed his dog. Looking at the young man's attitude towards the dog, it was obvious that the young man was a warm-hearted person...???

Only saw the young man soothing the dog's head, took the gray rabbit from the dog's mouth, grabbed the ears with his right hand, and twisted the neck of the big gray rabbit, which was still playing with two dogs and not letting the tiger go, and broke it.

Looking at the gray rabbit that had lost its life and was dangling in his hand, several dogs were whimpering.

Li Xuewu shook his head and smiled, and asked Zhao Yajun: "What is his name?"

"Tiger."

Zhao Yajun saw his little partners hunting and also wanted to participate. Opportunities like this were really rare. But Li Xuewu didn't let him. At this moment, he was looking at the young man and the dog in a daze. Li Xuewu asked, so he said it casually.

"I'm asking what that person's name is!" Li Xuewu emphasized speechlessly.

"Oh oh, his name is Gao Fengkun."

Seeing his second brother glare at him, Zhao Yajun smiled awkwardly, and saw his grandfather turn his head away from looking at himself, feeling a bit unable to hold on, and pinched the dog rope in his hand.

Li Xuewu recorded Gao Fengkun's name in his notebook, and then wrote the word dog after the name. After thinking about it, he felt it was inappropriate, crossed out the word dog, and wrote the dog after it.

The young man named Gao Fengkun smiled calmly at his companion's praise, patted his dog's head, and looked towards Li Xuewu.

Li Xuewu didn't look at him after recording his name, but looked towards the forest, because other hunting dogs found prey, and a burst of exclamation came.

"Woof woof!"

Three hunting dogs surrounded a small fox, and the fox dodged left and right in the encirclement of the three hunting dogs, but couldn't rush out of the encirclement of the hunting dogs no matter what.

Looking at the few people surrounding it, Li Xuewu asked Zhao Yajun for the owner of the three dogs and

"Woof! Woof!"

Three hunting dogs surrounded the little fox, barking incessantly. Every time the little fox tried to dash out, it would be driven back by the dogs on that side.

Li Xuewu looked at the few people surrounding it, asked Zhao Yajun who the owners of the three dogs were, and recorded it in his notebook.

"Alright, call the dogs back," Li Xuewu said, interrupting when he saw those few young men already holding their bayonets, ready to strike at the fox.

Those few young men holding knives looked at Li Xuewu in confusion, not understanding what he meant by saying that.

Li Xuewu said to Old Master Zhao and Yin Mancang: "This thing doesn't yield much meat, and the meat doesn't taste good either. Only the fur is worth a little money, but we didn't come here for the fur, so let it be."

The old lady of the Li family used to worship the "Protector of the Home" spirits, and among the three immortals, one was a fox. Li Xuewu really didn't want to commit this taboo for the sake of a single pelt.

It wasn't that Li Xuewu was a soldier with wavering faith, but from a practical standpoint, there was really no need to commit any possible "taboo" for a piece of fur.

Yin Mancang waved his hand at the few men, signaling them to call the dogs back.

A young man holding a bayonet couldn't help but say: "Uncle, we..."

Before the young man could finish speaking, Yin Mancang glared at him, stifling the rest of his words.

Seeing the young man stopped by Yin Mancang, the others looked at him with some reluctance. Li Xuewu smiled and asked: "Do you dare to use your knives on that fox?"

"Li Ke, just watch," the young man who spoke earlier said, preparing to rush forward with his knife. The other young men were also eager to try, not wanting to fall behind.

"That's enough, come here and report your names," Li Xuewu said, stopping them.

Seeing that Li Xuewu wanted them to report their names, these men were still somewhat unwilling, wanting to go after that fox.

The squad leader was a sharp one; he kicked the young man in the backside and scolded: "You idiot, just do what you're told. Hurry up and report your names; don't you want to go to the city?"

Upon hearing this, these men reacted and ran over excitedly, reporting their names to Li Xuewu one by one.

Li Xuewu smiled as he looked at the squad leader, who gave Li Xuewu an honest, awkward smile in return.

"I'm recording your names because you performed well. You can continue to be observed; I'll have to see how you perform later," Li Xuewu said to the young men.

These men looked at each other and turned back to call the dogs over. They were all clearly skilled at handling dogs; the three dogs were obedient, whimpering as they looked at the little fox, then wagging their tails as they ran back.

Seeing the dogs run off, the little fox couldn't believe it. It tentatively stretched out its front leg, and seeing that the dogs didn't chase after it, it dashed into the woods in a few bounds.

Li Xuewu signaled for the group to continue walking into the woods. He turned his head to look in the direction the fox had run, still able to see a flash of fiery red looking back at him.

"Charge! Charge!"

These young men were like they had been injected with adrenaline, chasing after the other teams deeper into the woods.

Li Xuewu and his group followed behind, continuing to observe.

Along the way, hunting dogs kept discovering prey—pheasants, squirrels, rabbits. When they caught up, the young men would all rush up and give them a good beating.

When they didn't catch up, the young men would either comfort or scold the hunting dogs.

Seeing other teams or people catching prey, and then looking at the Li Kezhang in the leather jacket behind them, these young men all became a bit anxious.

Li Xuewu asked and recorded as he went; by now, he had already asked for the names of twenty people and their dogs' owners.

Yin Mancang also couldn't figure out exactly how many people and dogs Li Xuewu wanted, but it certainly wasn't all of them, because the Steel Mill couldn't possibly recruit on such a large scale.

Li Xuewu ignored Yin Mancang's inquiring gaze, carrying his rifle on his back while observing the team in front.

"We'll be at the water hole soon," Old Master Zhao, who was leading the way, said, pointing to the light appearing ahead.

The trees in the forest were quite dense, so the light seemed a bit dim, but there was a patch of brightness ahead; that must be the water source unobstructed by trees.

"That water hole is running water; it doesn't freeze all year round. The water flows out from the mountain stream and carries warmth. The wild beasts in this area all go there to drink. We used to set traps and snares here."

Listening to Old Master Zhao's introduction, Li Xuewu nodded and took a few quick steps to catch up with the people in front.

"Charge! Charge!"

"Surround them!"

Hearing the shouting from ahead, Li Xuewu knew they must have discovered prey at the water source.

"Let's go, let's pick up the pace. Follow me carefully, don't twist your ankles."

Old Master Zhao gave a word of caution and then strode forward.

Li Xuewu had also undergone mountain training, so he was able to keep up with them, familiarizing himself with the surrounding terrain as he ran.

In fact, the higher they ran, the higher the terrain became. When they rushed out of the forest, the terrain dropped sharply, and they could already see a small stream flowing through the woods ahead.

A group of blue sheep and roe deer were running in a panic by the stream, and there were wild boars a bit further away, but they could only see gray shadows before they vanished into the bushes.

The twenty-some hunting dogs over there had all been unleashed, and the young men behind were constantly shouting commands, urging the dogs to keep charging forward to hunt.

This was clearly the final assessment. The young men unleashed the dogs and rushed up themselves, some holding bayonets, others holding homemade knives or forks.

Watching this scene, Li Xuewu felt his own heart racing.

He watched the young men and the hunting dogs surround the blue sheep and roe deer.

Often, several hunting dogs would work together to surround a blue sheep or roe deer. These dogs would bite either the neck or the legs, and some extreme ones would even bite the hindquarters.

As long as they bit down, they wouldn't let go, constantly tearing and pulling until the prey was knocked down.

The young men who rushed up would pounce with their knives, pin down the prey, and strike the heart or neck of the fallen blue sheep or roe deer with a single blow.

Of course, there were also those who were clumsy and got kicked or rammed by the prey. Li Xuewu didn't know if anyone was injured, and even if they were, no one would answer if he asked now.

Firstly, the young men's adrenaline was at its peak, so they didn't feel the pain yet.

Secondly, the noise at the scene was truly deafening—human voices, dog barking, and the cries of the prey rose and fell; one couldn't hear anything from one side to the other.

Watching the intense scene, Li Xuewu handed his notebook to Zhao Yajun, telling him to record the people or dogs he wanted, and then he raised his rifle, fearing that something might go wrong in such a chaotic situation.

The wild boars Li Xuewu was guarding against had long since run off upon seeing so many dogs and people. These boars weren't like roe deer that would come back to see who it was; they ran into the bushes in a swarm and disappeared.

Many blue sheep and roe deer also ran off, kicking and struggling. The ones surrounded and killed by the young men were only the eight or nine that had been bitten by the hunting dogs first.

The prey were very alert. Just like the wild boars earlier—they say "first the boar, second the bear, third the tiger," but if any of these three were placed in front of these forty-some people and dozens of dogs, they would have to run as far as possible.

Seeing the young men standing up, Li Xuewu asked towards that side: "Is anyone injured?"

The scene looked very exciting because there was blood, but it was very short-lived. Hunting isn't like a gladiator arena where you perform for others; it usually takes ten minutes to kill a wild beast.

Hunting is a life-or-death struggle, with life and death decided in seconds. So, only when the scene was slowly under control did Li Xuewu speak up to ask.

Seeing Li Xuewu ask, Yin Mancang also followed up: "Whoever is injured, speak up quickly!"

"No!"

"No!"

"My arm hit the roe deer's hind hoof..."

"His... his head is bleeding."

Some young men looked at their partners; some stubborn ones were afraid of being eliminated and deliberately hid it, only to be exposed by their companions.

"No... no."

"Still saying no? Let me see." A squad leader walked over and pulled off the hat of the young man whose head was bleeding to take a look.

"It's nothing, just a scratch. Cover it with your hat so it doesn't freeze."

The squad leader just took a look and put the hat back on, completely unconcerned about this minor injury.

The young man was also tough; he wiped the blood off his face and grinned at Li Xuewu's side.

Li Xuewu's face twitched—it was too ugly, and even uglier with blood smeared on it. But ugliness had its benefits; he took his pen and asked for the man's name to record in his notebook.

The accompanying squad leaders were all confirming the children in their own teams, and once confirmed, they would report back to Yin Mancang.

"I... I got kicked in the inner thigh by a roe deer."

A young man said embarrassedly.

Yin Mancang hurried to the young man's side and asked: "It didn't kick your crotch, did it?"

The young man said with a red face: "No, Dad, it kicked my outer thigh. I dodged it."

Yin Mancang slapped the back of the young man's head and scolded: "You useless thing!" After saying that, he looked awkwardly at Li Xuewu, who was standing on the slope.

Li Xuewu pursed his lips and looked to the side; he had to give the highest administrative official some face.

The squad leaders gathered their people, washed the blood off their hands and knives in the stream, and each found wooden poles to tie up the prey and carry them over.

Li Xuewu shouted to Yin Mancang: "Secretary Yin, let's head back."

He watched as some young men looked at the forest and then at Yin Mancang and Li Xuewu with reluctance.

The squad leaders also wanted to say something.

Yin Mancang looked at Li Xuewu embarrassedly and asked: "That's it? Not going to look anymore?"

Li Xuewu smiled, slung his rifle over his back, and said: "That's enough. We can't clear out all the wild beasts in the mountain just to see who's better. This look is enough. Let's go back."

Seeing that Li Xuewu had spoken, Yin Mancang didn't hesitate anymore, waving his hand and shouting: "Let's go, we're heading back, everyone keep up!"

Yin Mancang walked at the back, counted the heads, and only climbed up after everyone had ascended the slope and re-entered the forest.

The return trip was much easier; there was no need to be nervous about sudden dangers. After the shouting from the group just now, even a tiger would have to avoid these people.

Li Xuewu and Zhao Yajun finalized the names of the people and dogs he wanted, combining their individual performance, teamwork, and ability to use dogs, finally selecting 15 people and 9 dogs.

Yin Mancang pulled Li Xuewu aside at the back, signaling that he had something to say.

Li Xuewu knew what it was about, but he slowed his pace and trailed behind the team with Yin Mancang.

Seeing that they were at a distance from the crowd and wouldn't be overheard, Yin Mancang spoke up.

"Xuewu, you see, your cousin Yin Qun is 18 this year, and he's finished primary school. Staying at home isn't a solution. Do you think you could...?"

Yin Qun's name wasn't in Li Xuewu's notebook, but he was prepared to take him.

"Uncle, Yin Qun is a bit shy. Are there any military recruitment quotas in the village? Why not think about him joining the army?"

Although military recruitment quotas were very tight now, and a village might not even have one, this quota shouldn't be a problem for Yin Mancang.

Yin Mancang said with some emotion: "Your aunt's health isn't good, and we only have this one child..."

Li Xuewu nodded understandingly and said: "I understand, Uncle. Let Yin Qun come to me."

"Then you'll have to take care of him. Thank you, Xuewu," Yin Mancang said, smiling and patting Li Xuewu on the back.

Li Xuewu looked at Yin Mancang and said: "Uncle, there are gains and losses. Yin Qun isn't suitable for frontline work. The Guard Team now has a place for raising dogs. If I let Yin Qun manage the dogs, you wouldn't mind, would you?"

"Raising dogs is good. Not going to the frontline is good," Yin Mancang nodded with satisfaction.

He had already planned it out: first, send the child into the Steel Mill. Although it was a temporary position, and Li Xuewu had also said that only excellent team members could enter the Security Section of the Guard Team, and his son might not necessarily succeed just by feeding dogs, as long as he established contact with the factory, there would be plenty of opportunities to arrange for his son later.

The two stopped talking about this topic and chatted about other things, walking back with the team while laughing and talking.

Because there was no need for vigilance anymore, although they were carrying roe deer and blue sheep, neither was very heavy—at most a few dozen jin, so it wasn't strenuous for two people to carry them.

When they reached the main road, a sharp-eyed young man pointed to a mountain peak and said: "Look, that big cat! Damn it, it's it! It's even carrying that little wild boar in its mouth!"

Li Xuewu looked over there and then withdrew his gaze. What was lost was lost; looking more was useless.

Ignoring these dejected young men, he lay in the truck bed and looked at the wild boars. They hadn't died yet and were still grunting in the back of the truck.

Before leaving, Old Master Zhao had used rags to bandage the wild boars to stop the bleeding.

It was just that the bandaging technique was a bit scary—he had used gunpowder and lit it to cauterize the wounds.

This must have been learned from extreme battlefield medicine...

While Li Xuewu was checking the wild boars, the few men carrying the prey worked together to throw them into the truck bed.

Li Xuewu called for assembly, checked the number of people and dogs again with Yin Mancang, and after confirming everything was correct, he began to speak.

"Comrades, thank you all for your support. Our factory will have more opportunities for communication and exchange with your village. So, those whose names weren't called don't need to be discouraged; there will be opportunities in the future. Now, those whose names I call, go back and pack your things at home. Secretary Yin will handle the procedures for you. You are coming with me today."

After speaking, Li Xuewu opened his notebook and began to read the names.

"Gao Fengkun."

"Here!"

Li Xuewu looked at Gao Fengkun and didn't say he didn't need to answer "Here," but continued reading. The young men whose names were called later also excitedly learned to answer "Here" like Gao Fengkun.

Everyone nervously watched Li Xuewu read out the names one by one. Those called were excited, accepting congratulations from those around them, while those not called looked dejected.

After reading the 15 names, he ignored the young men and squad leaders who were on the verge of speaking and shouted: "Get on the truck!"

Seeing that Li Xuewu didn't want to say more, these people got on the truck one by one. Because there was a lot of prey in the truck bed, everyone had to squeeze in to stand; there was no room to sit.

Along the road they came, the group swayed as they headed back.

The truck was loaded with eight roe deer, three wild boars of various sizes, five blue sheep, and scattered pheasants and rabbits; small things like squirrels had been fed to the dogs.

Yin Mancang was very satisfied with today's harvest, whether it was the prey or the recruitment quotas. The squad leaders and some young men without achievements didn't look very happy.

The truck swayed into the village and was surrounded by villagers waiting in the village.

"They caught them! It's roe deer and wild boars! There are even blue sheep; I haven't seen those in years."

"It really is!"

"Third one, how is it? Were you selected?"

"Nephew, did the Steel Mill take a liking to our dog?"

The young men getting off the truck told their families the results. Those selected went home with their families to pack their clothes.

Li Xuewu didn't pay attention to the crowd surrounding them but was pulled aside by Yin Mancang.

"Xuewu, take all those on the truck. It's just right..."

Li Xuewu interrupted Yin Mancang and said: "Uncle, this is our first meeting. If you give so much now, what will you give in the future?"

Li Xuewu's words stopped Yin Mancang. He was stunned for a moment, then hit his hand with his fist and said: "Oh my, I really... you tell me, how much is appropriate?"

Li Xuewu thought for a moment and said: "Take one big and one small wild boar, three roe deer, three blue sheep. You decide on the pheasants and rabbits, and distribute the rest to the villagers. You've been out all morning; you can't go without eating some meat."

Seeing that some of the young men who weren't selected were also covered in blood, and some had torn clothes, he couldn't justify not giving them some benefits.

Yin Mancang nodded and said okay, then told people to unload one boar, two blue sheep, and five roe deer.

Upon hearing that meat was being distributed, the watching villagers happily reached out to help, and even the dogs were unleashed and left alone.

The large wild boar weighed over 400 jin, and the two smaller ones were about 200 jin each.

The blue sheep didn't have that much weight; the big ones were only about 60 jin, and the smaller ones were only 40 jin.

The roe deer were heavier, but not as big as the ones Li Xuewu brought back from the Northeast—only about 50 jin each.

Li Xuewu watched the unloading and said with a smile: "Assemble, and pick out the dogs again."

Seeing Li Xuewu talking about business, the villagers quieted down, waiting for Li Xuewu's news.

Seeing Feng Juan come out with a small bag, Li Xuewu nodded and began reading the names of the dog owners.

Those selected happily but somewhat reluctantly handed the dog leashes to Zhao Yajun, then went to Feng Juan to receive a ten-yuan note, sign their names, and press their fingerprints.

Those selected were reluctant to part, while those not selected were full of envy.

That was a ten-yuan note! No one in the surrounding villages had ever heard of anyone selling a dog for ten yuan. This was a good thing you couldn't find even with a lantern.

After Zhao Yajun led the selected dogs onto the truck, Li Xuewu went into the house with Old Master Zhao to drink a bowl of hot water, while Yin Mancang went to the village to handle the procedures.

Although the personnel had been decided, there were still people watching in the courtyard.

In the courtyard, people were noisily butchering the pork and roe deer meat. The blue sheep meat had already been decided to be distributed to the young men who weren't selected and the squad leaders.

After drinking a bowl of tea and chatting for a while, Old Master Zhao said to Li Xuewu: "In a while, we'll load some hay into your truck. It's hay Zhao Gen cut for your grandmother."

Li Xuewu knew this was the hay Zhao Gen had cut for the horse at Li Xuewu's home, wanting to take advantage of this trip to haul it back.

Li Xuewu glanced at the driver and said: "Old Master, this is an official trip. That hay is our own work; I'll come to haul it after the New Year."

Just as Li Xuewu finished speaking, before Old Master Zhao could say anything, the driver said in a muffled voice: "Li Ke, what are you saying? You should also be considerate of those young people. There's no road where they can sit on this trip. I think carrying the hay is just right for the young men to sit on; the hay is very soft."

Li Xuewu handed the driver a cigarette and said: "Then I'll listen to Brother Liu. It's just that I'm troubling you to make this trip for me."

The driver waved his hand, took the cigarette without saying anything, and went back to sit on the edge of the kang.

Feng Juan looked at Li Xuewu with a smile, thinking that this person was truly smooth and didn't leave any room for others to criticize.

He was a good candidate for a partner, but he was a bit hard to grasp. He hadn't said little on the way, but he hadn't touched on the main point, and with the driver nearby, there was no way to speak clearly.

Seeing that Li Xuewu had settled the hay matter, Yin Mancang also entered the courtyard with the procedures and the selected young men.

Hearing Old Master Zhao, who had come out with Li Xuewu, mention the hay, Yin Mancang waved his hand at the fifteen young men who had assembled first and said: "If you want to sit on your way to the city, hurry up and move the hay!"

Seeing that it was work for their future leader, the dozen or so young men didn't hold back. They put down their bags, and each threw a bundle of hay into the truck bed, with two people standing in the truck bed to stack the hay.

In total, it was a little over half a truckload of hay, stacked high in the front, leaving space in the back for the people and dogs to sit, as well as space for the two boars to breathe.

After the hay was stacked, Li Xuewu called for the young men to get on the truck. Yin Mancang still wanted to keep a few people for a meal.

Li Xuewu declined: "Uncle, it's not that I can't eat at your place on an official trip, but because this matter is best handled and discussed quickly. You also want to finalize it today, right?"

Yin Mancang thought for a moment, gave instructions to the squad leaders, buttoned up his clothes, and got into the back of the truck.

Yin Mancang had just gone home to change into a Zhongshan suit; he was afraid the hay would dirty his clothes, so he deliberately sat on the edge.

Li Xuewu wanted to let Yin Mancang sit in the front while he sat in the back, but Yin Mancang wouldn't hear of sitting in the front with a young woman—that would let the village women gossip to death.

Not to mention the gossiping wives, even if his aunt at home found out, she would beat him up when he got home. It wasn't worth the trouble; didn't he see the young woman glaring when Li Xuewu offered?

"Hurry up, you sit in the front, let's go quickly."

Seeing that Yin Mancang didn't want to go to the front, Li Xuewu could only let Feng Juan get on the truck first, and he followed into the passenger seat.

The truck chugged along as it drove out, and the villagers followed to see them off, especially the families of the fifteen selected people, who followed all the way to the village entrance.

Once they reached the main road, the driver increased the speed, and the villagers stopped following.

In the cab, Li Xuewu unloaded the bullets from the Type 56 rifle, put the 5 bullets in his pocket onto the stripper clip, inserted them into the ammunition belt, and tied the rifle to the strap on the upper frame of the front windshield.

Swaying along the way, Li Xuewu dealt with the talkative Feng Juan, and amid the driver's suppressed laughter, he drove the truck into the west courtyard of the hutong.

"Is this your home?"

Facing Feng Juan's question, Li Xuewu smiled without speaking. He jumped off the truck and said to his grandmother who had come out to greet them: "Grandmother, this is the hay Old Master Zhao brought for you. I brought it back when I went to the Red Star Commune."

Seeing a truck drive in, the grandmother wondered what was going on. Seeing her grandson get off, she came over to greet him.

"Good, good. I'll go help you unload the truck."

Yin Mancang, who had jumped off the back of the truck, called out: "Old Uncle, why would we need you? I have a dozen young men with me."

After speaking, he waved his hand at the truck bed. A dozen young men jumped off the truck; two passed the hay out from the truck bed, and the others carried the hay bundles and followed the grandmother to the feed shed in the front courtyard.

The courtyard was suddenly filled with so many young men helping the Li family move hay, and the women in the courtyard were discussing it animatedly.

Li Xuewu followed into the front courtyard, ignored the onlookers, went into the house to see the child, and spoke a few words with his mother. Who would have thought that Yin Mancang would have a young man carry a blue sheep into the house?

"Uncle, what are you doing?"

Yin Mancang pushed away Li Xuewu's blocking hand and said: "Don't argue with me. It's not for you; it's for my in-laws. It has nothing to do with you."

It turned out that when unloading the blue sheep, Yin Mancang had deliberately left one behind for the Li family.

Seeing Liu Yin holding the child behind him, Li Xuewu didn't dare to argue with Yin Mancang and helplessly had to let Gao Fengkun drop the blue sheep on the floor.

Seeing Yin Mancang greet the old lady of the Li family and then leave, Li Xuewu said to Liu Yin: "Mom, I'll find someone to butcher the blue sheep when I get back. There's still work at the Steel Mill, so we're leaving now."

After speaking, he went out, led the young men back onto the truck, and drove back to the Steel Mill.

This trip to Li Xuewu's home took an extra half hour or so.

After entering the Steel Mill, Li Xuewu had the driver drive the truck directly to the back door of the cafeteria to wait, took Yin Mancang to the main building, and brought him to the reception room on the third floor, telling him to wait for him.

Li Xuewu settled Yin Mancang and went to Dong Wenxue's office.

"Xuewu is back?"

"Teacher, the matter is settled."

"Oh? How many people did you recruit?"

"17 people, 10 dogs, and some special gains."

On the way, Feng Juan gave Li Xuewu a ten-yuan note, and Blackie became an asset of the Steel Mill.

The 17 people included Zhao Yajun and Yin Qun.

"What are the special gains?" Dong Wenxue asked indifferently.

Li Xuewu sat opposite Dong Wenxue's desk, proposed his opinion on the situation in the mountains and building a training ground, and mentioned that the Red Star Commune Secretary had sent pigs, blue sheep, and roe deer to express his gratitude, and that the person was already waiting in the reception room.

Dong Wenxue thought for a moment and said to Li Xuewu: "This matter has nothing to do with our Security Section; it still needs to be discussed by the Logistics Director."

Li Xuewu nodded: "Teacher, that's what I thought, so I came to tell you first."

Dong Wenxue considered it and said: "I understand the Red Star Commune's intention. Actually, it's fine. We don't have to spend anything; we just need to allocate some recruitment quotas every year. This matter still needs to be coordinated from above. Let's go, we'll go to Li Kezhang Fu's office to talk, and then go to Vice Factory Director Li's place. His word counts."

The two left the office and turned into Fu Bin's office. Dong Wenxue didn't knock but pushed open the half-closed office door and went in.

This was a default signal in government offices: if the office door was closed, then no matter who came, they would knock and wait for a response before entering.

This meant the leader was currently inconvenient or discussing something, requiring the door to be closed. Generally, visitors wouldn't knock unless there was an emergency.

This situation also occurred during lunch breaks.

If the office door was half-closed, it meant the leader had deliberately done so. Peers or superiors would push the door and enter directly, while subordinates would know the leader was inside and knock; in this case, the leader would let them in.

And if the door was wide open, there were two situations. The first was that the leader was away, and the office door would be left open, representing that they were temporarily out, and subordinates with business could wait outside or come back later.

Peers could enter the office and wait on the sofa, while superiors would generally have nearby office staff notify them.

The other situation represented that the leader had just started work or was preparing to leave, and visitors with business could enter directly to talk to the leader. Once finished, they would handle it quickly and leave, and the door wouldn't be closed during the conversation, telling you to speak quickly and pick the important points.

After the leader left work, the door was left open, representing that the leader was selfless and had nothing that couldn't be seen by others. Even if the door was closed, it wouldn't be locked because there were security personnel, so things wouldn't be lost. Important materials were generally in the confidential room or the secretary's office, both of which were locked.

The ins and outs of this were roughly as described.

Requesting tickets:

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