pdf-ebookys Chapter 331 This is money delivered right to my door!
Chapter 331 This is money delivered right to my door!
After the two strangers left in a hurry, the crowd at the village entrance gradually dispersed.
Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou walked up to Zheng Dehou and asked with concern, "Captain Zheng, are you alright?"
Zheng Dehou wiped the sweat from his brow and let out a long sigh of relief: "Luckily you came, otherwise, if we didn't pay this month's due, it would be difficult to explain. I must say, Xiangyang, your name in the Forestry Bureau is quite useful."
Wang Ergou chuckled and patted Li Xiangyang on the shoulder: "That's right, Xiangyang, your reputation is growing stronger every day."
Li Xiangyang smiled and shook his head: "What good is it? The Forestry Bureau has absolutely no connection with them. If you ask me, the fact that they're being so agreeable probably means they want something from me."
"What are you asking for? Do you want us to hunt for them? Xiangyang, let me tell you, if you don't pay, don't even bother with us," Wang Ergou said. "It's getting dark, let's go, Captain Zheng."
After saying that, the three of them went home.
As soon as Li Xiangyang pushed open the courtyard gate, he smelled the aroma of food.
"You're back?" Li Xiaoyun poked her head out from the kitchen, her expression no longer as irritable as it had been during the day.
Li Xiangyang stepped forward, put his arm around his wife's waist, and asked softly, "Feeling better?"
Li Xiaoyun nodded: "Yes, I took a nap this afternoon and feel much better. By the way, what was going on at the village entrance just now? I heard a commotion."
Li Xiangyang briefly told his wife what had happened. Li Xiaoyun nodded upon hearing this: "Oh, he's a metal collector. I thought something bad had happened."
"It's nothing serious, they just don't believe Captain Zheng. They think there must still be iron hidden in the village that hasn't been handed over," Li Xiangyang said with a smile. "Let's not think about that, let's eat."
After dinner, Li Xiaoyun cleaned up the dishes, and the two sat in the room chatting.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door outside the courtyard.
Li Xiangyang frowned, got up and walked towards the door: "Who could it be so late?"
When I opened the door, I saw the same two people I had seen at the village entrance that afternoon. They were standing at the door with a slightly apologetic expression, carrying several gift boxes in their hands.
“Comrade Li, I apologize for disturbing you.” One of the slightly overweight middle-aged men spoke first. “My name is Zhang Ming, and this is my colleague Wang Yong.”
Li Xiangyang nodded: "Oh, it's Comrade Zhang and Comrade Wang. What brings you here so late?"
Zhang Ming smiled slightly awkwardly: "It's like this, we want to apologize to Comrade Li. What happened this afternoon was our fault; we shouldn't have doubted Captain Zheng's words."
Li Xiangyang gestured for them to come into the courtyard: "Come inside and talk, it's chilly outside."
The three of them sat down at the table and chairs in the courtyard.
Zhang Ming placed the gift box on the table and pushed it towards Li Xiangyang: "This is a small token of our appreciation, a token of our apology."
Li Xiangyang didn't refuse, accepting the gift box and placing it aside: "You're too kind, both of you. Actually, I understand your difficulties; you've been given a task, and it's not easy to complete."
Seeing that Li Xiangyang was so understanding, Zhang Mingming breathed a sigh of relief: "Comrade Li is truly a wise man! We've heard you're a good hunter, so we'd like to ask you for a favor."
Wang Yong chimed in, "Yes, we'd like to ask you to hunt a deer, preferably one with antlers. If you can get some, we can make wine from it and send it to you, which will ease our predicament. Of course, we'll pay you."
Hearing this, Li Xiangyang couldn't help but laugh: "Gentlemen, it's not that I don't want to help, but you might not know this. It's already autumn, and the antlers of male deer have long since ossified and become hard antlers. Fresh antlers are only available in spring and summer."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ming and Wang Yong exchanged bewildered glances, clearly unaware of the situation.
"Oh, is that so..." Zhang Ming was a little disappointed, but quickly cheered up. "Well, it's really nothing, a male is fine!"
Li Xiangyang pondered for a moment: "Hunting deer is no problem, but deer have legs, so I can't just go into the mountains and find them. You'll have to give me some time, about ten days."
"Great!" Upon hearing there was hope, Zhang Ming excitedly grasped Li Xiangyang's hand. "Then we'll come back in ten days. Here's a fifty-yuan deposit for you."
Li Xiangyang accepted the money without hesitation: "Okay, we'll settle the rest after we catch the deer."
"Then it's settled. We'll come back in ten days."
After seeing the two off, Li Xiangyang picked up the gift box on the table, opened it, and found several bottles of wine and some canned food, all of which were rare items in the city.
"They're gone?" Li Xiaoyun asked curiously as she came out of the house.
Li Xiangyang placed the gift box on the table and said with a smile to Li Xiaoyun, "Well, let's go. These two gave quite a generous gift."
Li Xiaoyun leaned closer curiously, her eyes lighting up: "Yes, these are all good stuff."
She picked up a jar of canned yellow peaches and examined it closely. "I've never had this before."
Upon hearing this, Li Xiangyang quickly opened a jar and handed it to Li Xiaoyun, saying, "Have a taste; it's brought here to eat."
Li Xiaoyun took the canned food, her expression slightly worried: "Going into the mountains again? How many days will you be gone this time?"
Li Xiangyang put his arm around his wife's shoulder: "Don't worry, we'll definitely catch it within ten days. Tomorrow I'll talk to Er Gou and tell him to come back early. While I'm gone, you just rest well at home. I'll tell my older sister before I go into the mountains to come with you."
“Okay.” Li Xiaoyun nodded, then softly reminded her, “Be careful when you go into the mountains, don’t take too many risks. We’re not short of money right now, so if you encounter any danger, come back immediately.”
Li Xiangyang nodded in agreement, feeling a warmth in his heart.
Although Li Xiaoyun had some concerns about his going into the mountains, she never stopped him from doing what he was good at. This understanding and support made him feel incredibly happy.
The next morning, Li Xiangyang got up early, prepared breakfast for Li Xiaoyun, and then went straight to Wang Ergou's house.
"Ergou, are you home?" Li Xiangyang pushed open the courtyard gate and called out.
Wang Ergou was squatting in the yard feeding Xiao Jin when he heard the sound and looked up: "Oh, you're here so early?"
"I've got a good job," Li Xiangyang said excitedly as he walked up to Wang Ergou. "Last night, those two iron collectors came to me with some gifts. They wanted me to help them hunt a male stag and even gave me a fifty-yuan deposit."
Upon hearing this, Wang Ergou's eyes lit up instantly: "Really? This is money delivered right to my door!"
Li Xiangyang nodded: "I told them I'd give them an answer within ten days. When are you free, so we can go into the mountains together?"
Wang Ergou thought for a moment: "I have some things to do at home today, how about tomorrow?"
"Okay, tomorrow it is then." Li Xiangyang made the decision, then looked around the yard. "Xiao Jin is quite good-looking; this is a good opportunity to bring it along to test its skills."
Wang Ergou grinned: "Of course, I've trained it a lot these past few days."
The two discussed the route into the mountains again, and after everything was arranged, Li Xiangyang left Wang Ergou's house.
Back home, Li Xiangyang saw Li Xiaoyun tidying up the house and quickly went to stop her, saying, "Don't do any more work. You need to rest more now."
Li Xiaoyun rolled her eyes at him helplessly: "I'm not sick, what's wrong with doing some housework? Okay, just leave me alone, go about your business. We should get the supplies for the mountain trip ready."