Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1000: Encountering two close calls in one day is truly bizarre.

Heading east from Kuitun, Li Long sped along the road in his jeep, braving the sunlight, and soon entered the no-man's-land.

The rising sun in winter isn't dazzling; even without clouds, it seems veiled. Only when it rises higher, becoming more intense, and reflecting off the snow, does it cause some discomfort to the eyes.

As Li Long drove, he took out his sunglasses and put them on. Looking ahead, there wasn't a single car in sight for over ten kilometers. The road was empty and clean.

When they were almost at Anjihai, the first vehicle appeared. A truck sped over in the snow and wind, and when it passed Li Long's jeep, the wind it brought made the jeep shake.

Li Long cursed, narrowed his eyes, and continued driving forward.

Another truck came by. The driver was nice; he slowed down when passing it and was quite polite.

They passed several small restaurants, and someone was calling out from the restaurant entrances. It was only a little past eleven o'clock, and Li Long wasn't hungry, so he didn't stop and continued on his way.

Once again in the no-man's-land, Li Long saw a group of gazelles wading in the snow ahead. Some had already crossed the road to the south and were frolicking in the snow, some were stopped on the road, and a few were in the snow to the north, preparing to cross.

Fifty or sixty meters away from Li Long, the gazelles reacted differently when they saw him. Those on the north side of the road stopped and turned back. Those in the middle of the road went north at one end and south at the other. However, the gazelles on the south side did not sense any danger and continued to play in the snow.

Li Long hurriedly stopped, took the gun from the passenger seat, and walked forward while releasing the safety, cocking the bolt, and preparing to fire a shot or two.

Just then, another large truck came from the opposite direction. When it was more than 100 meters away from the gazelles, the truck suddenly honked its horn loudly. The gazelles, who had not planned to run away, suddenly started running wildly when they heard the noise.

Li Long couldn't shoot directly at the other side, since there were trucks there. So he turned his gun around and aimed at the gazelles running in the snow to the south. He roughly aimed and fired three shots, and a gazelle fell to the ground.

Upon hearing the gunshot, the gazelle accelerated again, but the snow was too thick, and the gazelle would sink into the snow with every jump. So Li Long checked the distance of the remaining gazelles and fired again, "bang bang." After two shots, another gazelle fell down.

The truck stopped where the yellow sheep had crossed the road. The two men jumped out of the truck and looked in the direction where Li Long had attacked the yellow sheep.

Li Long frowned. He was pretty sure that the big truck had deliberately honked its horn to prevent him from hitting the gazelle.

Because from the perspective of the big truck, you can see yourself getting out of the truck, crouching down, and aiming.

Li Long got into the car and drove to the place where Huang Yang was crossing. He stopped and saw the two people standing by the roadside as if they were waiting for him.

"Comrade, not bad shooting." One of the men, who was in his thirties and whom Li Long had just seen get out of the driver's seat, said with a smile, "You hit two, impressive."

Li Long got out of the car with his gun, glanced at him, ignored him, locked the car, and walked into the snow.

"How can you be so rude? I'm talking to you!" The young man who got out of the passenger seat yelled when Li Long ignored him. "Didn't anyone teach you that?"

Li Long abruptly stopped, turned to look at the young man, and said coldly:

"You dare say another word?"

He raised the gun with one hand. Although he didn't point it at the young man, it startled him, and the young man's face turned pale.

"It's a misunderstanding, Xiao Wu. That's not what we meant. We're all drivers, so it's fate that we met. We were thinking of buying one of the two gazelles you hunted."

"If you can't speak properly, then shut up." Li Long glanced at the driver, replied, and then turned and walked into the snow.

The two gazelles, one male, should be just reaching adulthood, with only a short horn on its head, less than a hand span long, and weighing about 30 kilograms; the other female, is obviously larger, weighing about 40 or 50 kilograms.

Blood seeped into the snow. Li Long turned off the safety on his gun, slung it over his shoulder, and dragged back a yellow sheep in each hand.

"Brother, these two gazelles look pretty plump. How about it, twenty yuan, I'll buy one..."

"Not for sale." Li Long, thinking he needed to get back and deal with the yellow sheep quickly, said this bluntly, then opened the car door and put the yellow sheep into the car.

"Hey, hey, hey, this isn't very nice of you," the driver said, getting a little angry. "I'm trying to be nice to you, and this is how you treat me? Just because you drive a car doesn't make you special."

"You have the nerve to say that?" Li Long felt that if he didn't stand up for himself, these two guys might block his way. He pointed at the driver's nose and cursed, "If you hadn't honked, would I have needed to make Huang Yang run so far before honking?"

You deliberately sabotaged my sheep hunt, and now that you see I've succeeded, you're having second thoughts?"

"What are you saying? How did I ruin your sheep hunt?" The driver's face turned bright red when his thoughts were exposed. He stepped forward to grab Li Long's collar, seemingly forgetting that Li Long had a gun on his back.

However, Li Long had no intention of using his gun. Since the other party wanted to make a move, he figured he might as well play along!
"boom!"

The man's hand touched Li Long's collar, but Li Long grabbed his arm and pulled him down, tripping him and kicking him several times with his big boots. The driver dodged and shouted.

The passenger in the front seat wasn't intimidated at all. He turned around, grabbed a chain from the car, locked it, and then started hitting Li Long.

Li Long took two steps back, and the co-pilot hurriedly stepped forward to protect his master. Then, he used a chain lock to scare Li Long. Li Long smiled, took the gun off his back, and then opened the bayonet.

The young man immediately lost his courage, stopped swinging the chain lock, and his face turned pale again.

Li Long stepped forward and kicked him to the ground. He kicked him a few more times, but the young man covered his head and didn't utter a sound, showing even more defiance than the driver.

Li Long felt the fighting was pointless, so he put away his gun, cursed a couple of times, got into his jeep, and drove off.

These two were just bullying others by taking advantage of their power, but they didn't expect Li Long to be so brutal and start fighting directly. Moreover, he was able to take down both of them in one-on-one combat.

Although they knew Li Long had a gun, these two men were probably certain that Li Long wouldn't dare to point it at anyone.

After all, people who drive Jeeps tend to have more concerns, but they didn't expect Li Long to be so careless.

They drove back to the compound, just in time for lunch. During lunch, Gu Xiaoxia and Gu Boyuan both asked about the situation on Li Anguo's side.

After learning that everything was fine over there, there wasn't much more to say. Li Long, however, recounted all the details he knew. Everyone loves gossip, and although the situation over there wasn't exactly gossip, sharing it helped to liven up the atmosphere at the dinner table.

“I signed a contract with the agricultural machinery factory over there. They will give me 15% of the profit for every snowplow they sell,” Li Long said. “I just don’t know when they will be able to produce it.”

“If it really gets produced, I’ll suggest that our leader buy one too,” Gu Xiaoxia said with a smile. “Our yard isn’t small, and shoveling snow is such a hassle.”

"Yes, it's really been produced. I'll bring back dozens of them to sell here on consignment," Li Long said. Harvesters aren't selling as well as before, but if the snowplows can be produced before New Year's Day, they'll definitely sell well.

After all, judging from the current situation, the heavy snow is still to come.

"Is there a fixed term for your contract?" Gu Boyuan asked after wiping his mouth after finishing his meal.

"No."

"Hey, this factory manager is really good to you. As long as there's production, you'll get paid. Not bad, not bad." Gu Boyuan nodded. "These days, factory managers like this are really rare. Hmm, if there are no unexpected changes, we can let them make any designs we come up with."

Gu Boyuan already knew that Li Long had designed the harvester and the tiller. Now, with the snowplow, he was at a loss for words with his son-in-law. Had Li Long truly undergone a complete transformation after just one trip to Wucheng?
In any case, it's a good thing for him and for his daughter right now, so he stopped thinking about it because he couldn't figure it out.

After the meal, Li Long began to process the two gazelles. He skinned and gutted them, and Sister Yang helped by pulling their legs to clean out their internal organs.

After processing the two gazelles, Li Long kept one at home and put the other in a bag, intending to take it to the Fourth Squad.

He also removed two legs from the one at home, intending to give one to Sun Jiaqiang and the other to Liang Shuangcheng.

After all, they're all working for their own families, and they're doing a good job.

Li Long drove his jeep to the purchasing station, got out, and took one leg inside, giving it to Liang Shuangcheng. Liang Shuangcheng was surprised and astonished; he hadn't expected Li Long to give him meat. "Take it and eat it. Don't skimp on your own cooking; the young man is still growing," Li Long said, then took the other leg to Sun Jiaqiang's house next door.

Sun Jiaqiang was washing diapers when he heard Li Long's voice. He hurriedly stood up, wiped his hands on his clothes, and went to open the door. However, his hands were still wet and he stuck them directly to the doorknob.

"Don't rush, don't rush, don't pull hard—" Li Long immediately understood what was going on when he saw Sun Jiaqiang holding onto the doorknob and couldn't open it. "Let's get some warm water to pour on it..."

Someone inside heard this, and a woman in her forties or fifties came out. Seeing the situation and having overheard the conversation between the two, she hurriedly went inside to get a ladle and scooped up half a spoonful of warm water to pour over the water, which finally freed Sun Jiaqiang's hand from the doorknob.

"No need to rush," Li Long smiled. "We hunted two gazelles on the way to Kuitun today. Here, take this leg of lamb. Are your wife and child alright?"

"That's good, that's good," Sun Jiaqiang said, taking the lamb leg.

"Okay, you keep going, I'll be going now." Li Long couldn't take care of the baby since he was still in confinement, and he wasn't in the mood for it either. He was thinking about hurrying to the fourth team to take the sheep to Brother Yang's place.

Sun Jiaqiang watched Li Long leave, then carried the lamb leg into the house.

He said to the iron orchid through the curtain:
"Boss Li brought me a leg of yellow sheep and told me to take good care of the two of you."

“This boss is pretty good,” said the nanny hired by Tielanhua with a smile. “This lamb leg isn’t lean; it must weigh five or six kilograms.”

Tielanhua understood her husband's meaning; Sun Jiaqiang was telling her to relax. Since Li Long had already brought the lamb leg, there was naturally no reason to fire him; otherwise, there would be no need.

Li Long drove his jeep all the way to the fourth production team and handed the sheep to his older brother, Li Jianguo. Li Jianguo was in the house calculating the costs of plowing and sowing the fields with the tractor this year. He told Li Long to wait, saying that they would split the money after the calculations were done.

Li Long looked at the thick ledger in front of Li Jianguo and said with a smile:

"Brother, take your time calculating, no rush. This money isn't going anywhere. I see you can't figure it out in a short time, so I'll head back now. We'll split the money when I come back in a couple of days."

After warming up in the house for a while, Li Long went to the east room to chat with his parents for a bit, and then drove back home.

As for dinner, let's go back and eat there.

The jeep drove into the village and turned south. Less than a kilometer into the village, Li Long saw two people walking towards the county. He even honked the horn—the two people were walking in the middle of the road and didn't move aside when they heard the car.

After honking the horn, the two men stopped, turned to look at the jeep, and then waved.

What are they trying to do? Hitch a ride?
Ordinary people wouldn't dare to hail a jeep, since it's usually used by leaders. And most importantly, it's only three or four kilometers from the county seat, an hour's drive away.

It's not even dark yet, is it?
Li Long was a little puzzled, but he still slowed down, thinking that maybe the other person had an emergency.
The two were dressed quite warmly, wearing fleece hats with the ear flaps pulled down and tied at their chins, covering their heads completely. Their hands were tucked into their sleeves, giving them a somewhat timid and hesitant appearance.

After Li Long's jeep parked, the two men quickly walked to the front doors on both sides and reached out to pull the doors open.

The car door was locked from the inside and couldn't be opened by pulling it. The two men then pounded on the door, one of them shouting:

"Comrade, please help us. We're freezing, and my brother is sick. We need to get to the county right away. Could you please give us a ride?"

The man's face was covered, but he sounded very anxious. Li Long thought he'd just pull the car a little bit at a time, and was about to open the car door when he heard the person in the passenger seat banging on the door, but the sound of banging was a little off.

There seemed to be a metallic sound.
Li Long turned his head and glanced over. He had good eyesight and immediately noticed that the person seemed to be holding something in their hand tucked into their sleeve. It was that thing that had made the unusual sound when it touched the car door glass.

It's either a knife handle or an iron rod.

The person in the passenger seat knocked on the door urgently and forcefully; they didn't seem sick at all.

When he turned back to look at the person, he noticed that the person's expression had suddenly turned into a smile, because the fierce look that Li Long had revealed when he turned around had not been completely concealed.

Li Long understood.

The car was still running. He could have easily driven off with a single press of the accelerator. Even if those two were really desperate, they could only smash the car window at the last moment.

But it's harmless.

However, Li Long did not have such a good temper.

Trying to rob me on the way?
He pointed to the car door and said to the person next to the driver's side door, "Move aside, I'll open the door now, and then you can get in."

Upon hearing Li Long's words, the man took a small step back, but he was clearly very cautious, as if he was afraid that Li Long would run away.

Li Long braked the car, unlocked the door, and then quickly opened the door a crack. Just as the person was about to pull the door open in surprise, he slammed the door open hard.

"Bang!" The man didn't have time to react and was slammed on the head by the car door. The rest of his body was covered by thick clothing, so the slap might not have had much of an impact, but being slapped on the head and face made his vision go blurry, and he instinctively covered his face and screamed.

Taking advantage of the situation, Li Long got out of the car, pulled out a machete from under the seat, kicked the guy over, and then smashed it hard on his head with the back of the knife.

The man's screams continued. The person in the passenger seat realized something was wrong and immediately went around the car to help. By this time, Li Long had beaten the man so badly that he couldn't get up, and also pulled a short knife from his sleeve.

Seeing that his accomplice had been knocked to the ground and that Li Long had both hands in his hands, the man in the passenger seat hurriedly pulled out his own weapon from his sleeve—it really was a short steel pipe!

Li Long didn't give him a chance to react. Just as he was taking out his steel pipe, Li Long had already rushed over. His strong body gave the man a great sense of pressure. Before the man could react, Li Long slashed his neck with the back of his blade. The man raised his steel pipe to fight back, but Li Long kicked him down with two kicks.

It's not that the opponent is weak, but rather that Li Long's current strength is too abnormal; an ordinary person simply cannot withstand his kick.

He kicked the guy a few times, then Li Long found a rope and tied them both up, stuffing them into the back seat of the jeep.

Even so, he wasn't entirely at ease. Both of them had their hands tied behind their backs. After getting into the jeep, Li Long tied them up again inside the vehicle, making them practically immobile. Only then did he pick up the steel pipe and drive to the county.

The car drove directly to the police station diagonally opposite the courtyard and stopped.

When the police officer on duty at the entrance of the police station saw the jeep drive up, he knew something was wrong and immediately came out.

Li Long got out of the car and, upon seeing the police officer named Li Zhengyun, immediately stepped forward and said:

"Comrade Li, I encountered some robbers on my way back from the village today. I knocked them down and brought them here."

"A highway robber?" Li Zhengyun wasn't very familiar with Li Long, but they met occasionally and he knew about him. It wasn't surprising that Li Long could catch a highway robber; after all, this guy was very strong in combat, and there were legends about him in the station.

But it's quite strange that there are still highway robbers now. The last time was in 1983, only a few years ago.
After Li Long finished speaking, he pulled the two people out from behind the car door. Seeing that the two people were tied up like dumplings, Li Zhengyun wanted to laugh.

But thinking about it, it's normal. After all, no one dares to be careless when they encounter two like these.

When he saw Li Long pull out a short knife and a steel pipe, the man's expression turned serious.

Several people came out of the police station office, including Guo Tiebing. When he saw Li Long, he greeted him with a smile.

After learning the whole story, the men who came out all looked grim and helped to escort the two men inside.

Li Long also went in to give a statement, which was taken by Guo Tiebing. After hearing Li Long's account of getting out of the car and assaulting someone, Guo Tiebing advised him after taking his statement:
"In the future, if you encounter a situation like this, safety should be the top priority. Just drive away, call the police, and we'll arrest them later. What if they have a gun?"

These words sent a chill down Li Long's spine.

But what if one of the other people has a gun? What about me...?
(End of this chapter)