Reborn in 1985: Starting from Contracting a Ranch

Chapter 7 Entering the Mountains

In addition to buying soap for the women in his family and fruit candy for his younger sister, Shan Yaowen also purchased a lot of rice and flour, as well as some basic necessities.

His family didn't have many coupons for rice, flour, and cooking oil, so he could only buy what he had on hand first and wait for a chance to get more coupons later.

In Shan Yaowu's view, his younger brother was just being a spendthrift, wanting to spend all the money he got his hands on.

On the way back, Shan Yaowu kept nagging him.

Shan Yaowen wasn't annoyed. He knew his older brother meant well, but he was just inexperienced. In his past life, he couldn't even hear his older brother nagging.

"Big brother, don't worry, I will definitely listen to you from now on."

When his older brother got tired of talking, Shan Yaowen chuckled and took out the water bottle behind him. It was a pot of tea that his mother had filled before they left, so that the two brothers would have some water to drink if they were thirsty.

Dan Yaowu took the water bottle, drank a couple of sips, and looked at his younger brother with a sullen expression. He knew that the guy hadn't listened at all, so he simply gave up and decided to let their parents talk to him when they got back.

"Didn't you say you were going to compare prices from different vendors? Why did you sell directly to a state-run restaurant?" Unable to persuade his brother, he changed the subject and asked about something else.

"That was just a metaphor." Shan Yaowen shrugged, paused, and then continued, "Actually, there is another place, but all the goods have been sold to state-run restaurants. I'll take you to the third place next time we have some goods."

There were other reasons that Shan Yaowen didn't tell his older brother. Even though the third place had been reformed and the atmosphere had improved a lot, the transactions there were still suspected of being speculative. So he didn't go to the third place after he had sold everything at the state-run restaurant.

On the way home, Lin Hao watched his younger sister happily holding the box of soap that Shan Yaowen had given him, and felt as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly.

"Xiao Nian, our wild boars have already benefited from the mosquitoes, it's a bit inappropriate for you to ask for their soap too, isn't it?"

"What's inappropriate about it?" Lin Nian looked at her older brother strangely. "Brother Yaowen gave it to me, can't I accept it?"

"It's possible, but it's not appropriate for you to ask for something from someone empty-handed, especially a whole box of soap. His family only bought one bar, and you took one all by yourself."

Lin Nian thought about it and realized that was true. No matter how good their two families were, they were still two families. "Then I'll give him a gift next time."

Lin Hao originally intended to return the soap to Shan Yaowen, not as a return gift, as it wouldn't be good to keep seeing each other so often.

Others might not know Shan Yaowen, but he certainly does; he's just like me.

If the two families were to marry, how miserable would my sister be?

"No, you should give it back to him, otherwise I'm afraid that kid will take a liking to you."

"Brother, what did you say?"

"Xiao Nian, would your brother harm you? What else can mosquitoes do besides suck blood? Why would he give you soap for no reason? He clearly has ulterior motives."

Hearing this, Lin Nian's eyes lit up. "Brother, you mean Yaowen has feelings for me?"

Seeing his sister's happy face, Lin Hao felt like the sky had fallen. Could it be that his sister had taken a liking to that worthless bastard?

Shan Yaowen had no idea about the conversation between Lin Hao and his sister that followed. He gave Lin Nian the soap because the girl had taken good care of him in his previous life.

And it was indeed pleasing to the eye, plus the two families had a good relationship, so it was just a casual gift.

As expected, after returning home, Shan Yaowen's parents scolded him again.

He said he was a big spender...

If it were the old Shan Yaowen, he would have definitely run away if he could.

But now he's happy to listen to his parents nagging. For so many years, he'd dreamt of this scene in his past life, and now it's become a reality again. How could he not be happy?

The mother looked at her second son strangely. Why was he still laughing the more she talked to him?

Did they even listen to what they were saying?

The father lay on the bed, looking at the things his son had brought back and the loose change on the table. He was not really unhappy, but he was also really worried.

This seems to be the first time in years that the second son has brought money home, but he's just too extravagant with his spending.

"Mom and Dad, I'm going out for a bit. Please pack your things." After the two elders finished speaking, Shan Yaowen made his escape.

My older sister and brother-in-law had already come, but they had some family matters to attend to. They left some things behind, didn't stay long, had lunch, and then went back.

Seeing this, Shan Yaowen had no choice but to postpone his visit to his older sister.

"A leopard can't change its spots, he's running off again. We were hoping he'd bring meat to his older sister..." Seeing her son run out the door again, the mother immediately started scolding him.

Hearing the words behind him, Shan Yaowen sighed. It wasn't that he was never home; rather, he had his own plans for the future.

Let's talk about it when he gets back. He's used to announcing things only after everything is settled. Otherwise, if he says something first and then can't do it, wouldn't that be embarrassing himself?

After leaving the house, Shan Yaowen went directly to the Lin family's residence.

"Dog Egg~"

"Where did this dead mosquito come from, buzzing incessantly!"

Shan Yaowen: ...

Is this guy on fire?

Didn't we just make over two hundred yuan selling wild boars together?

Why are you turning your back on me like this!

Just as Shan Yaowen was wondering what had happened, the Lin family's courtyard gate opened, and Lin Nian stood at the door waving enthusiastically: "Brother Yaowen is here, come in and sit down."

"What happened to your brother?"

"She's sulking." Lin Nian's eyes crinkled into crescent moons with laughter.

This was quite unusual; Lin Hao was angry, but his sister seemed quite happy, leaving Shan Yaowen momentarily unable to guess what had happened.

"Are we going into the mountains or not?" Shan Yaowen shouted at Lin Hao.

He didn't care what Gou Dan was angry about; all he wanted to do was get into the mountains as soon as possible, get the gun, and start his money-making plan.

"I'm not going."

"Lend me that shotgun."

"No."

Lin Nian tugged at Shan Yaowen's sleeve, "Brother Yaowen, I know where the hunting rifle is."

Lin Hao: ...

Damn it, there's a thief in my house.

When Shan Yaowen stood at the door with a gun, Lin Hao was already dressed and waiting at the door.

"Didn't you say you weren't going?"

"You borrowed things from my house, and I wasn't going to keep an eye on you and let you do whatever you wanted?"

Lin Hao gave him a look that said, "I'm going to keep an eye on you."

Shan Yaowen didn't care about him. This guy would suddenly have a meltdown, get angry even when he made money, and was difficult to please.

"Where are we going hunting this time?"

"Let's not go hunting yet."

"Why would you borrow a gun if you're not going to hunt?"

Shan Yaowen determined the direction and headed into the mountains according to his memories from his previous life. "First, find a gun; one hunting rifle isn't enough."

"Gun?" Lin Hao was instantly drawn in by Shan Yaowen's words, his previous dissatisfaction vanishing in an instant. "Do you know where there are guns on the mountain?"

"certainly."

The two men not only carried hunting rifles, but also tools such as sickles, ropes, and shovels. With hunting experience from his previous life, Shan Yaowen was still quite cautious. He knew that the wild animals in the mountains were very fierce at this time of year, otherwise he wouldn't have needed to borrow Lin Hao's hunting rifle to go into the mountains.

This time, the situation was different from that at Sandao Lake. You could ride a horse to Sandao Lake, but this time he had chosen a route that he could only take on foot.

The two walked up the mountain one after the other until they disappeared completely into the woods.

They walked until they reached a mountain wall before stopping.

"Isn't this the base left behind by the Japanese?" Lin Hao looked at the mountain wall in front of him; he recognized this place.

This base is quite famous in the surrounding area; it was built by the Japanese soldiers who used to capture people.

Not only the villagers, but many people who go to the mountains to hunt and collect herbs will use this place as a temporary base.

They eat, rest, and even spend the night at this base.

"Let's take a break." Shan Yaowen skillfully pushed aside a bunch of branches, revealing a cave beneath the stone wall.

It was pitch black inside, and the two of them hadn't brought any torches, so they rested in a slightly drier spot near the cave entrance.

There's really nothing inside the cave; it's just a hiding place for Japanese soldiers. Everything inside was taken away around the time the country was founded, so now it's just an empty cave for people to rest in.

Shan Yaowen didn't come here to rest in the cave; the main reason was that he knew the location of the buried guns would be easier to find using this stronghold as a coordinate.

After resting for a while, Shan Yaowen began to lead Lin Hao on a tour around the cave.

After searching for about fifteen minutes, Shan Yaowen breathed a sigh of relief when he found a strangely shaped birch tree that resembled a bench. He immediately took out a shovel and began digging at the base of the tree.

"Bang!"

The shovel struck something hard. Shan Yaowen used his hands to clear away the soil and found a black wooden box.

"Damn, there really is a treasure!" Lin Hao was cracking sunflower seeds on the side when he saw Shan Yaowen actually dig out a wooden box. His surprise was genuine.

"Don't you even know who dug this?" Shan Yaowen carried the entire wooden box out.

After opening it, peeling off the waterproof tarpaulin revealed two long guns and several large boxes of ammunition lying underneath.

Mosin-Nagant rifle.

This is Shan Yaowen's goal this time.

It was probably brought from the Russians in the north by the original owner, but it was buried here and no one came to retrieve it. It wasn't until the 90s that it was accidentally discovered.

However, it's cheaper for Shan Yaowen now.