Fishing and Hunting 82, Starting with Three Sisters Who Overprotect Their Brothers

Chapter 128 Revisit the Agricultural Machinery Factory

It wasn't even seven o'clock yet, but the town was already bustling with activity.

Especially near the crossroads, some daring people even occupy the street to do business, not far from state-run restaurants, supply and marketing cooperatives and other densely populated areas.

It's about five or six meters away, and at most ten meters.

Zhang Wenshan looked in the direction his elder sister pointed and saw Li Dong, Zhou's second son, and Wang Kai among the stalls.

Three people were guarding a large basket of snails, gathered in front of a breakfast stall, chatting away to the stall owner.

Suddenly, the breakfast stall owner's face darkened, and he shoved Li Dong violently.

Li Dong staggered back two steps, knocking over the basket beside him, scattering snails all over the ground, covered in mud.

Zhou Lao Er immediately threw himself on the ground and started crying out at the top of his lungs.

You can vaguely hear words like "bullying people," "doing business is not easy," and "the whole family will starve to death."

Soon, more and more people gathered around, pointing and commenting on the breakfast stall owner.

Finally, he muttered curses as he pulled money out of his pocket.

"He, they are...?" Zhang Fengxia sat in the carriage, blinking hard, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"Stealing an accident to extort money."

"Extortion."

Ge Ergui and Zhang Wenshan spoke almost simultaneously, their tone tinged with disdain.

"Same meaning," Zhang Wenshan said, squinting. "Be careful when you come to town in the future. Don't walk alone, avoid deserted places, and if you encounter danger, don't just shout for help—smash valuable things and places, especially state-owned stores—"

He solemnly reiterated the precautions and preventative measures he had previously instructed him to take.

no way.

Compared to later generations, the 1980s lacked ubiquitous surveillance cameras, patrol cars, and police booths.

You can only be careful yourself.

"Yes, I know." Zhang Fengxia nodded, then whispered with a hint of excitement, "Should we tell everyone about this when we get back?"

"I'll just let the captain know, so don't gossip," Zhang Wenshan sighed.

With the disbandment of the collective, the brigade's power has been severely reduced, and it can no longer command the same level of obedience and handle everything as before.

Otherwise, the Li family wouldn't be acting so aggressively.

"Team leader, should we turn back?"

Ge Ergui asked a question.

Normal people would go back immediately after finishing their business in town, but their own team leader might not.

"Go to the agricultural machinery factory."

Zhang Wenshan asked Hongyuan where in the town someone could repair wells, and the answer he got was the agricultural machinery factory.

According to him, the agricultural machinery factory in Maoshu Town was established in 1958 and was extremely popular at the time, a pillar industry of the county. At its peak, it had nearly a thousand employees and could manufacture medium-sized tractors, diesel engines, and water pumps.

At that time, everyone in the county wanted to work in the agricultural machinery factory, and the workers had a higher status than the cadres.

But around the 1970s, it suddenly cooled down.

Workers began to take a lot of leave and transfer away, and now only about two hundred remain, most of whom are young people who have taken over the jobs of their fathers.

But the older generation of skilled workers are still around, and there are truly some experts among them.

"Okay."

Ge Ergui agreed, flicked his whip lightly, and the carriage swayed and headed towards the agricultural machinery factory.

Coincidentally.

As they passed through an alley, Li Dong and his two companions came out from it.

Both sides stopped almost simultaneously, and the atmosphere suddenly froze.

Lang Qiuping instinctively gripped the axe, but Li Dong merely glanced at them with a hint of resentment before leading his men away.

"What's going on?" Zhang Wenshan couldn't help but wonder.

"Uncle Li might have gone to look for him." Ge Ergui thought of something and recounted what had happened in the courtyard yesterday. "Uncle Li is Li Yuegang's cousin."

"Back in those difficult times, without Uncle Li, several members of their family would have starved to death."

"There's this kind of relationship?" The image of the stern-faced old man immediately came to Zhang Wenshan's mind.

"I don't know what happened later, but Uncle Li stopped associating with them when I was a child."

"It would be strange if they associated with that family," Zhang Fengxia snorted, her tone full of resentment.

Zhang Wenshan secretly kept it in mind, thinking about finding an opportunity to inquire about it later.

Soon, the carriage arrived near the farm machinery factory.

"You can go back now. Remember to arrange the tasks for the fishing and hunting teams."

Zhang Wenshan held the basin containing willow root pickled vegetables in his arms.

This stuff is easy to make. Hong Yuan and his wife can figure it out after just one taste. They can figure it out in two days and make it taste better than what he made. There's absolutely no need to keep it.

It's perfect for my second sister's family; they can have it as a snack.

Zhang Wenshan, carrying an enamel basin, had just reached the entrance of the agricultural machinery factory when Li Xuejun, dressed in a security uniform, came to greet him.

"Hey, it really is you, Shanzi. I could tell you looked like him from a distance."

"What did you bring this time?"

"You have no idea, that lucky fish really brought a lot of pride to our agricultural machinery factory—"

Zhang Wenshan interrupted calmly: "I brought some pickled vegetables for my brother-in-law."

Hongyuan gave him a general account of what happened at the agricultural machinery factory.

Things went pretty much as he expected; his fish, along with his words, ended up in his superior's ears.

The red-tailed golden carp were not eaten; they were kept at the agricultural machinery factory to be raised properly.

Besides, the southern inspection team did not enjoy the meal, and Director Yang completely misunderstood the meaning.

That alone would have been bad enough, but what was even more serious was that a series of problems, such as the operation of the agricultural machinery factory, directly caused the leaders to fly into a rage.

It can be said that the entire agricultural machinery factory is now shrouded in gloom, and his excessive gesticulation is not a good thing.

If it weren't for the well, he wouldn't have wanted to come at all.

"Pickled vegetables!" Li Xuejun's face fell upon hearing this. "I was wondering what good stuff it could be, you don't know—"

Seeing that the other party was about to start again, Zhang Wenshan frowned. Just as he was about to speak, the security office door opened, and Lin Deqiang walked out, his face cold.

"What are you doing here instead of patrolling?"

"I saw Shanzi coming—" Li Xuejun didn't finish his sentence. Seeing the deputy section chief's bad expression, he quickly shrank back and disappeared in a flash.

"Sigh." Lin Deqiang sighed, turned around, and asked in confusion, "What happened?"

When my brother-in-law left last time, he said he wouldn't be coming back.

Tell him to keep me informed if there's any news.

Its appearance now must mean something big is happening.

"I made some pickled vegetables for you to try, and I also want to ask you something." Zhang Wenshan carried the basin into the security office, which was empty.

"Sit down yourself, there's a smoke station over there." Lin Deqiang pointed to the table and opened the thermos to pour himself some water.

Zhang Wenshan didn't stand on ceremony, casually picked up a cigarette from the table, flicked it out, and lit it.

Brother-in-law, do you know any of the senior technicians at your factory?

"Is there anyone who can repair wells? Someone skilled who can spot problems at a glance. Not someone who just coasts along and only knows how to recite from a book."

"I'll go ask around later." Lin Deqiang placed the teacup in front of his brother-in-law, about to ask what was going on, when he suddenly noticed what was in the basin. "You call this pickled vegetables?"

"What's wrong?"

"Who in their right mind would use willow roots to pickle vegetables? Isn't that just ruining things?"

"As a great man once said, 'No investigation, no right to speak.' How will you know I'm causing trouble if you don't try it yourself?"

Zhang Wenshan wasn't angry about his second brother-in-law's attitude.

It's mainly because I'm used to it.

People these days are frugal and have limited understanding, so it's normal for them to speak up if they don't like something.

It's definitely not because we can't beat them.

"Fine, I'll investigate this thoroughly for you. This thing is covered in thorns, you think you can just make it disappear?"

Lin Deqiang picked up a willow root in a huff and took a small bite.

then.

His eyes lit up instantly!