novelslam Chapter 1839 The Robbers Arrive
Chapter 1839 The Robbers Arrive
Chapter 1839 The Robbers Arrive
As Li Baoyu was handing money out of the car, a Santana pulled up not far from them.
As Zhao Jun and his seven men were leaving, two people got out of the Santana.
The two groups walked out together and met on the path, both of them taking a moment to realize what was happening.
The two men, one carrying a briefcase and the other a burlap sack, were bulging, likely filled with money.
When the two men saw Li Ruhai carrying a briefcase and Xie Chen carrying a snakeskin bag, smiles appeared on their faces.
The man carrying the briefcase had a full beard and a fierce look; he didn't seem like a kind person.
But when he spoke, he was slow and soft-spoken, creating a striking contrast: "You're here for a meeting too? I've never seen you before."
"This is our first time here," Zhao Jun replied with a smile, then tried to build rapport by saying, "Master, judging from your accent, you're from Liaoning Province?"
"Ah," the bearded man said, "my hometown is Jinzhou."
"Hey." Upon hearing this, Zhao Jun turned and beckoned Zhao Jinhui over, then said to the bearded man, "Master, can you and this brother of mine be considered fellow townsmen?"
"Fellow villager?" Upon hearing this, the bearded man gestured with his chin toward Zhao Jinhui and asked, "Where are you from?"
“I’m from Jinxi.” As soon as Zhao Jinhui said this, the bearded man laughed heartily and said, “From Jinxi? Of course we’re from the same hometown!”
After saying this, the bearded man's gaze swept across the faces of the Zhao family gang members. Seeing that almost all of them were young, he said, "You all look quite young. How many years have you been collecting ginseng?"
Zhao Jun was taken aback upon hearing this. He realized that the bearded man probably mistook them for ginseng dealers who had just arrived.
“We…haven’t harvested any ginseng yet, haha…” Zhao Jun said with a smile, “We’re ginseng hunters.”
"A ginseng hunter?" The bearded man was slightly taken aback, looking at Zhao Jun in surprise, and asked, "Then you're the ginseng leader?"
Among the seven members of the Zhao family gang, Wang Qiang and Zhang Yuanmin were relatively older, but Zhao Jun was always the one speaking.
"Yes, I am the ginseng leader." Zhao Jun nodded and said, "That's right, I am the ginseng leader."
As soon as Zhao Jun said this, the two men opposite him stepped forward at the same time. The middle-aged man, who had been silent until now, glanced at the snakeskin bags and briefcases that Jie Chen and Li Ruhai were carrying, and then asked, "How many stalks of clams did you bring? Can we take a look at them first?"
The man seemed quite anxious, and when faced with his question, Zhao Jun said somewhat embarrassedly, "Um... we didn't bring any clubs."
Hearing Zhao Jun's words, the two bearded men frowned, and then Zhao Jun explained, "We came here mainly to exchange experiences with our peers. Boss, if you need a club, we can exchange contact information. We'll call you when we need to carry it."
Zhao Jun believed that what he said was correct, but the two bearded men had already begun to look down on them.
A group of young people, carrying backpacks and umbrellas instead of ginseng, clearly weren't up to any legitimate business.
Just then, Shao Zhiqiang's voice came from not far away: "Boss Guo, why are you only arriving now?"
The "Boss Guo" that Shao Zhiqiang mentioned should be the bearded man, because he turned around and called out "Boss Shao," and then led his companions to greet the six members of the Shao family gang.
He strode away without giving Zhao Jun a word or even a glance, leaving the seven members of the Zhao family gang standing there in the cold.
Zhao Jun's smile froze. Li Baoyu behind him snorted softly, but Wang Qiang grabbed his arm.
Although it was unclear what had happened between the Zhao family gang and Guo Da Hu Zi, Shao Tianpeng had noticed Guo Da Hu Zi's disdain for the Zhao family gang.
While Shao Zhiqiang was greeting Guo Dahuzi, Shao Tianpeng waved to Zhao Jun.
No matter how rude Guo Da Hu Zi is, there are no problems between the Shao family gang and the Zhao family gang. Moreover, since arriving here, Shao Tian Peng has repeatedly made a name for the Zhao family gang and Zhao Jun, which is truly commendable.
When Zhao Jun led his men over, he heard Guo Dahuzi introducing the man he had brought to Shao Tianpeng and Shao Zhiqiang, saying, "Old Master Shao, Chief Shao, this is my uncle's brother's second brother-in-law. His family is in Huanren. Like you, he is also a ginseng chief."
"Ah..." Shao Zhiqiang looked over following Guo Dahuzi's introduction, and exchanged pleasantries and introductions with the man.
The man said his name was Huang Wenbin and that he lived in Erpengdianzi, Huanren.
At this moment, Guo Da Hu Zi said to Huang Wenbin, "Second Brother, now that you know the old man and Chief Shao, you should visit each other more often and communicate more."
At this point, Guo Dahuzi lightly patted Huang Wenbin's elbow and said, "Their ancestors were all herdsmen. Old Master Shao's father is still alive. That old man..."
As he spoke, Guo the Bearded Man gave a thumbs-up and said, "This is it!"
When Guo Da Hu Zi praised Shao Tu Zha Zi so highly, everyone in the Shao family gang smiled, and Shao Tian Peng laughed heartily.
After praising the Shao family, Guo Dahuzi gestured towards Huang Wenbin, then said to Shao Tianpeng and the others, "My second brother's family is also old mountain herders. His grandfather, that old man, that was... what year?"
At this point, Guo Dahuzi paused and turned to look at Huang Wenbin.
Neither Zhao nor Shao knew what Guo Da Hu Zi was talking about, but Huang Wenbin said with a smile, "1935, the 24th year of the Republic of China."
“Yes, yes.” Guo Dahuzi nodded repeatedly and then said, “That year, his grandfather brought out a seedling of a great immortal child. That great immortal child was two hundred years old. It weighed one jin and three liang and three dan and sold for forty-two small yellow croakers.”
After saying this, Guo the Bearded raised his hand and said, "In Huanren, he's a leader even when he's out hiking!"
Hearing Guo Dahuzi's words, Shao Tianpeng's gaze lingered on Huang Wenbin's face for a moment before he asked, "Is Chief Huang a Manchu?"
The main wild ginseng producing areas in Liaoning Province are concentrated in the eastern part, which belongs to the southwestern extension of the Changbai Mountains. Moreover, that area is mostly inhabited by the Manchu people, such as Huanren, where Huang Wenbin lives, and Kuandian, where Dai Chunhua lives, both of which are Manchu autonomous counties.
Hearing Shao Tianpeng's question, Zhao Jun guessed that the old man might suspect that Huang Wenbin's ancestors were related to the Dasheng Wula Yamen (a government office for raising livestock).
But Huang Wenbin said with a proud look, "Yes, my ancestor was Prince Yu, Dorgon."
Upon hearing Huang Wenbin's words, Shao Tianpeng nodded slightly.
Zhao Jun was taken aback; he didn't understand Huang Wenbin's words. He wanted to know what Huang Wenbin had mentioned about his ancestors, but with Huang Wenbin present, Zhao Jun was too embarrassed to ask the people around him.
At this moment, Shao Tianpeng was about to introduce Zhao Jun to Guo Dahuzi and Huang Wenbin. But Guo Dahuzi beat him to it, asking Shao Zhiqiang, "Boss Shao, what ginseng did you bring this time? Let me take a look first, okay?"
Shao Zhiqiang was taken aback. He blinked, trying to figure out how to refuse, when he saw a jeep drive into the factory compound.
After entering the yard, the jeep didn't go to the parking area, but went straight to the crowd.
To be precise, the car went straight to Guo the Bearded.
Guo, who was carrying a briefcase, quickly dodged, and the jeep stopped less than two meters away from him.
Guo, the bearded man, turned around and pointed at the jeep, unleashing a torrent of profanities. Amidst the swearing, Zhao Jun heard the name Zhang Yuejin.
The jeep door opened, and people began to get out. Seeing five people disembark, Guo the Bearded Man stopped cursing. He grabbed his briefcase, pulled Huang Wenbin, and hid behind Shao Jiabang.
At this moment, no one from Zhao's or Shao's gang paid any attention to Guo the Bearded, and they all turned to look at Li Ruhai.
The person who got out of the passenger seat was around forty years old, wearing a black Zhongshan suit and leather shoes... he was wearing the same outfit as Li Ruhai.
This man must be Zhang Yuejin, whom Guo Dahuzi mentioned. After he got down, he pointed in the direction of Guo Dahuzi and shouted, "Guo Dahuzi, you stand right there!"
"I'll stand up to your grandson!" Guo the Bearded Man cursed, then led Huang Wenbin and ran towards the small building over there.
"You handsome, big-bearded Guo!" Zhang Yuejin jumped up and down, pointing in the direction Guo had left, and cursed, "Don't let me catch you! If I do catch you, I'll beat the shit out of you, or I'll consider you clean!"
"Boss Zhang." Shao Zhiqiang went up to greet Zhang Yuejin with a fist and palm salute.
"Chief Shao." Zhang Yuejin returned the greeting with clasped hands, then clasped his hands again to Shao Tianpeng and called him "Old Master Shao."
"What's wrong, Mr. Zhang?" Shao Tianpeng asked Zhang Yuejin with a smile after returning the greeting. "Aren't you good friends?"
"Come on, old man," Zhang Yuejin said irritably. "That bastard Guo Dahuzi's adopted son is a real dog! Not only did he steal me, but he also goes around blaming me."
Zhang Yuejin's use of "qiaoxing" means to steal his business, while "jiaoju" means to speak ill of him.
Shao Tianpeng remained silent after hearing Zhang Yuejin's words.
Immediately afterwards, Zhang Yuejin pointed in the direction Guo Dahuzi had left and continued, "That bastard, he was blaming my in-laws and even told them not to associate with me."
"Ha ha……"
Zhang Yuejin's words made everyone laugh.
Seeing everyone laugh, Zhang Yuejin said, "It's true! He told my in-laws everything, and then he suddenly realized what he meant."
"Hahaha……"
Laughter erupted, and then Zhang Yuejin turned to the young man who had just gotten out of the driver's seat and said, "Xiao San, go park the car over there. See where everyone else is parking, and that's where we'll park."
"Hey, Uncle, I know." The one Zhang Yuejin called Xiao San responded, turned around, opened the car door, and got into the driver's seat.
At that moment, Zhang Yuejin noticed Li Ruhai, who was wearing the same outfit as him. He immediately smiled and asked Li Ruhai, "Who is this young man? How come he has such a good sense of style?"
Amidst the light laughter of those around him, Li Ruhai smiled and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhang Yuejin.
Zhang Yuejin did not look down on Li Ruhai because of his young age. When Li Ruhai clasped his hands in response, Shao Tianpeng stepped forward to introduce him and Zhao Jun.
Upon hearing from Shao Tianpeng that Zhao Jun and his group were members of the Ginseng Gang, Zhang Yuejin was surprised by their youth but showed no contempt. Instead, he greeted Zhao Jun warmly.
As always, Shao Tianpeng promoted Zhao Jun and the Zhao family gang. He said to Zhang Yuejin, "Boss Zhang, you may not know this, but the wooden dragon and the white dragon sold to big bosses in Beijing were all promoted by Zhao Jun and his gang."
"Oh!" Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuejin looked at Zhao Jun with even more surprise in his eyes.
The man then smiled, gave Zhao Jun a thumbs-up, and said, "Young man, you're really something! You're really capable!"
"Mr. Zhang, you flatter me." Zhao Jun smiled gently and replied politely.
Previously, Zhao Jun would just smile faintly whenever someone praised him. But last night, when they were going to bed, Li Ruhai criticized Zhao Jun for this.
Li Ruhai told Zhao Jun that people in the martial arts world shouldn't be too humble, because being too humble makes people think you're weak and easy to bully.
If someone compliments you and you just smile without saying anything, it doesn't feel right.
Then, Li Ruhai taught Zhao Jun how to respond.
Upon trying it out, Zhao Jun felt it was quite good. Zhang Yuejin praised Zhao Jun again, saying, "This is no exaggeration. Releasing the little white dragon in Yacao City is a real feat!"
Zhao Jun liked Zhang Yuejin's way of speaking. However, he disagreed with Zhang Yuejin's claims about his abilities.
Not only Zhao Jun disagreed, but Wang Qiang and others also disagreed.
Because that little white dragon was created by Ma Yang stepping on it.
But since they praised him again, Zhao Jun replied with a smile, using the words Li Ruhai had taught him: "My skills are nothing to boast about, you flatter me too much."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuejin's eyes lit up. He felt that Zhao Jun was not only capable but also cultured, making him a rare young talent among the hikers.
Next, Zhang Yuejin, Zhao Jun, Shao Tianpeng, and Shao Zhiqiang walked and talked until they reached the second floor.
When they arrived, Guo the Bearded was chatting with Pang Zhendong, Yu Wanshan, and a few others.
When Zhang Yuejin arrived, Wu Baoguo and the others stood up to greet him, while Guo Dahuzi hid behind the others.
After exchanging greetings, everyone took their seats. The three Song brothers and Zhang Yuejin's group of five sat together, as they were ginseng buyers.
Logically, Guo Dahuzi should have come over too, but he was probably afraid of Zhang Yuejin, so he and Huang Wenbin stayed by Pang Zhendong's side and wouldn't leave.
At this moment, Song Da asked Wu Baoguo, "Chief Wu, are Boss Xu and the others coming?"
“Come on…” Wu Baoguo looked up at the clock on the wall and said, “He said he would definitely come.”
"Should we wait for him?" Song Da asked again. Wu Baoguo replied, "How about we hold the meeting while we wait for him?"
"I think it's a good idea." Song Da nodded, then looked at Zhang Yuejin and said, "Mr. Zhang, what do you say?"
“I’m fine with whatever you say,” Zhang Yuejin said, and then Wu Baoguo said, “Then let’s start the meeting.”
After saying this, Wu Baoguo, as the host, stood up, clasped his hands in greeting to everyone around him, and said, "Dear bosses and colleagues, today..."
Before Wu Baoguo could finish speaking, a shout came from the stairwell: "Wu the foreman!"
Wu Baoguo frowned, but stopped. Just then, a person came up the stairs.
The man was in his thirties, with a bloody welt on his left cheek.
Two other people followed him, both of whom also had injuries on their faces.
"Oh my goodness!" Upon seeing this, Wu Baoguo hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Boss Xu, what happened?"
"Damn it!" the bloodied man cursed, "We ran into a bunch of highway robbers before entering the city..."
"What?" Wu Baoguo was shocked to hear this, and the people around him immediately started talking.
"Mr. Xu, did you come in from the south of the city?" Wu Baoguo asked. Mr. Xu replied, "No, we entered the city from the north today."
"Holy crap!" said Zhang Fuyou, a rather older man, "Could it be those guys from Shulan?"
As soon as Zhang Fuyou finished speaking, Sun Dagu questioned, "That can't be right. Why would a bandit like them run all this way? Could they have come with us?"
Sun and Zhang's gangs came to Fusong by car with the three Song brothers. Sun Dagu didn't believe that the bandits also had a car.
"Could they have received some information?" Zhang Fuyou had been cornered once before and was quite frightened. At this moment, he stood up, glanced at everyone, and said, "They heard that we were having a meeting here, so they came here."
After saying this, Zhang Fuyou paused for a moment before adding, "If we take all of these, they'll be in big trouble."
"No way, Lao Zhang," Shao Tianpeng said. "How many men and guns do we have? We can't let them rob us."
“Exactly,” Wu Baoguo added. “In broad daylight, in the city, how could you expect to be robbed? Old Zhang, what are you thinking?”
Hearing what Shao Tianpeng and Wu Baoguo said, Zhang Fuyou fell silent.
At this moment, Wu Baoguo called for someone to get medicine to treat the wounds of Boss Xu and the other two.
Everyone crowded around, asking Mr. Xu about his robbery experience.
The Zhao family members also gathered around, and at that moment, Zhao Jun suddenly remembered something: "Those bandits outside Shulan City robbed a seedling of Amber Dragon before! Could it be that they really have come?"