pjbooks Chapter 31 Lighter and Bearskin
Chapter 31 Lighter and Bearskin
When he arrived at the spot where he had set the lasso, Shan Yaowen gasped.
The scene was a far cry from the meticulous setup he had created; it was a complete mess.
The noose was destroyed, there was blood everywhere, rabbit and pheasant feathers scattered all over the ground, and even some uneaten meat was everywhere. There were also a bunch of dense footprints on the surrounding snow. It was a scene straight out of a crime scene.
Those footprints... were they from a wolf pack?
As Shan Yaowen examined the footprints, a shadow fell over his heart.
Could it be that this pack of wolves is after his ranch?
That doesn't make sense.
Thinking back to the lone wolf from yesterday, Shan Yaowen had a feeling that something was off about this pack of wolves.
Pack up all the lassos; take the broken ones back to repair them, and don't leave the good ones here.
Whatever the wolves are doing, if they're here, there won't be any small wild animals for them to catch.
After tidying up, Shan Yaowen went back to the village secretary to explain the situation of the wolf pack.
The wolf pack came down from the mountain, and they would spread the word to everyone who found them, since he wasn't the only one running a ranch there; there were other people around.
Whenever traces of wolves are discovered, others are alerted to take precautions; this is an unspoken understanding among the herders.
Instead of going door-to-door to talk to each household, Shan Yaowen told the Party Secretary directly that the Secretary would inform everyone.
After saying that, he took the things and went to town.
In Deng Jianguo's small courtyard.
Shan Yaowen brought out all his recent earnings. He gave the meat to the state-run restaurant, and now the purchasing agent Qu was back to his old self, willing to eat any amount of meat Shan Yaowen brought.
Of course, he also knew that Qu Jitong wasn't only buying meat for the hotel; he also needed to use the meat to build relationships.
"Brother Shan, you're amazing! While everyone else is staying home during this heavy snow, you must have been up the mountain quite a bit, right? And you've managed to get so much."
Looking at the furs taken out of the bag, Deng Jianguo really didn't know what to say.
He was dazzled by the sight of wolf pelts, boar pelts, mink pelts, rabbit pelts, and so on, big and small.
"There are many people here together, but I'm the one who brought them to sell," Shan Yaowen said with a smile.
Actually, they were all his, but he didn't want to attract too much attention when he was out and about.
"That's still pretty impressive," Deng Jianguo smiled. "No licorice this time?"
"No, it was covered in snow and difficult to dig, so we didn't dig."
There are specific seasons for harvesting licorice. It sprouts in spring and grows in summer, but it's generally not harvested during these two seasons. It's only suitable to harvest in autumn when there's no snow. In winter, it's even less worthwhile to harvest, as the area is covered in white grass and you can't find any at all.
Before it snowed, Shan Yaowen dug up quite a lot of licorice, but he sold most of it to the supply and marketing cooperative, mainly because Deng Jianguo bought very little of it.
He mainly accepts these items for relatives and friends; he only accepts them when there is a need, and he won't accept them if no one wants them.
After talking for a while, Deng Jianguo had calculated the prices of the fur coats.
"There are thirteen pelts in total. This wolf pelt is damaged, but the damaged area is not large and it is well preserved, so it's worth ten pieces; there are three boar pelts in total, each worth twelve pieces..."
"In the end, it's 147 yuan in total, I'll give you 150."
Hearing this, Shan Yaowen nodded with a smile, "Boss Deng is very generous!"
The prices of each pelt were roughly the same, so we rounded them up to a whole number.
You should know that three yuan is a lot of money. A senior bricklayer in the village only earns two yuan a day to repair houses, and that's about the same amount a worker in the city earns in a day.
"What do you want to buy?" Having already done business with Shan Yaowen several times, Deng Jianguo had figured out his habits.
When I make money selling things, I'll buy some things on the side.
"Same as always, is there any food?"
"Hey bro, you've been going back and forth so many times buying food. Haven't you gathered enough supplies for your winter yet?"
"Sigh, there are a lot of people in my family, and this year's snow is clearly going to be heavier, so I'll feel uneasy if I don't stock up on some food."
"Okay, I don't have much food here, but I do have potatoes and cabbage, would you like some?"
"Sure, how much?"
"There aren't many potatoes left, just over 300 jin, but there's more cabbage, around 600 jin."
"I'll take them all."
Deng Jianguo: ...
"What's wrong? Is this your year of bad luck?"
"Hehe, this is the last batch. Including what I bought before, I won't be buying any more this year."
"I don't have any more if you buy more; I need to keep some for myself to get through the winter."
Shan Yaowen is indeed worried about this year's snow disaster.
So I bought more things, since we need to eat these things until April or May next year, so how can we not stock up?
As for when it suddenly started, Shan Yaowen remembers it started around New Year's Day. The snow was really heavy and never stopped. Every morning, after shoveling the snow, it would be piled up again in the blink of an eye. There was nothing else to do every day except shovel snow, which was a very strenuous task.
"Oh, by the way, I got some good stuff here, here's one for you." As Deng Jianguo was sending someone to get potatoes and cabbage, he casually pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it to Shan Yaowen.
"lighter?"
Shan Yaowen looked at Deng Jianguo in surprise, "Brother Deng, is this a gift for me?"
Feeling the cool metal casing in his hand, Shan Yaowen immediately recognized what the square box was.
"You know him?" Deng Jianguo looked at Shan Yaowen curiously. "A friend of mine brought him over; we don't have any like him around here."
"I've seen it before." Shan Yaowen opened the lid, and the crisp sound of the lid opening made him fall in love with the lighter.
Watching Shan Yaowen skillfully handle the lighter, Deng Jianguo immediately looked at him with new respect. Knowing about lighters wasn't surprising, but knowing how to use them and play with them was what surprised him.
Putting everything else aside, in his view, Shan Yaowen had at least handled lighters.
"Brother Deng, isn't this too valuable?"
Shan Yaowen played with the lighter for a while, then looked at Deng Jianguo curiously, "Your lighter is probably worth as much as these two of my skins, isn't it?"
"It's not that expensive. A friend of mine set this up. He gave me a batch of goods and told me to manage the distribution."
"Then why did you give it to me for free?"
"Don't rush, there are conditions. I have a friend who wants a bear skin, you see..."
Seeing Deng Jianguo's expression, Shan Yaowen clicked his tongue. "I say, Brother Deng, you really think highly of me. Bear skin? You think I can get my hands on it?"
Although Shan Yaowen did indeed hunt a bear in his previous life, it was only once, and he went with his brother-in-law. That time, it took five people, five guns, and more than a dozen hunting dogs to kill one bear.
To be honest, it would be a lie to say that Shan Yaowen wasn't apprehensive about hunting bears on his own.
Of course, if you encounter something that hibernates and doesn't move, that's another story.
"It's okay, I believe in you. Besides, it's not like I'm asking you to do it. You can find someone else to do it. Anyway, I won't treat you badly when you come to me."
"I can't guarantee that to you." Shan Yaowen shook his head and made a move to hand the lighter back.
Deng Jianguo pushed his hand back, saying, "Take it. There's no reason to take back what I've given away. Even without the bear skin incident, I would still be willing to be your friend. It's just a lighter."
Seeing that Deng Jianguo didn't seem to be faking it, Shan Yaowen thought for a moment and then put it away. "Okay, I can't guarantee the bear skin, but if there are any other goods in the future, I'll definitely give them to you first, Boss Deng."
"No problem."
Watching Shan Yaowen leave, someone sidled up to Deng Jianguo and asked, "Brother, is this kid worth your high regard?"
"Of course, didn't you see how much stock he brought in this month?"
"He already said it wasn't a large group?"
"Who cares how many people are with him? The fact that those people entrust their goods to him to sell proves that this kid is capable. As long as he can produce something, I'm happy to befriend him. It's just a lighter. If it weren't for that sable fur he brought last time, I wouldn't have gotten this lighter business. Sometimes, don't be too short-sighted..."
After giving his underling a lecture, Deng Jianguo packed up his things and prepared to leave, just in time to find that someone wanted the hides.
Shan Yaowen didn't know about Deng Jianguo's affairs, and even if he did, he wouldn't care. However, when he returned to the village, before he even got home, the village secretary found him halfway there.
"What, looking for a wolf pack?"