The whole mountain is my hunting ground.

Chapter 2006 Shen Qiushan Sues Zhao Junshan. The sky over Shanhe is not a clear sky.

Chapter 2006 Shen Qiushan Sues Zhao Jun: The Sky Over the Mountains and Rivers Is Not a Clear Sky

December 1988, 7.

Today is the day of the Zhao Family Gang's Ginseng King Conference. At 5:30 in the morning, the Zhao Family Gang's convoy, carrying guests, set off in a grand procession towards Shanhe County.

Today we didn't set off just after 3 a.m. like yesterday, but there's nothing we can do about it. We can't expect our guests to get up at 2 or 3 a.m. to get on the road.

Even so, Zhao Jun had to discuss it with the guests for a long time yesterday before he finally got their consent.

……

At the same time, Wang Meilan and Zhao Youcai also rode down the mountain in a large Jiefang truck.

Zhao Weipeng was still driving for them, and Wang Qiang, Zhang Yuanmin, Ma Sheng, Li Ruhai, Li Dazhi, Zhou Jianjun, Jin Xiaomei, Liang Xuemei, Liu Mei, Liu Lanying and Li Tongyun were sitting in the back.

Today, not as many of the women's gang led by Wang Meilan came, mainly because they were going into town and probably wouldn't be back by tonight. Such a large group of kids would be difficult to manage at night.

Therefore, Wang Meilan asked Zhao Ling, Yang Yufeng, and Xu Chunyan to stay at home to take care of the children.

Not only that, Wang Meilan also called Zhao Chun back. With her there, she could keep Zhao Hong and Zhao Na in check, and also take care of the pregnant Ma Ling.

Today is Friday, and Li Dazhi and Zhou Jianjun took leave to come.

Looking at the ginseng buns and the ingredients packed from home, Zhou Jianjun couldn't help but say to Li Dazhi beside him, "Sixth Uncle, my mom and Xiaojun really went through a lot this time."

"Then who are you asking?" Li Dazhi glanced at Zhou Jianjun with a strange expression and said, "Your dad and I, our car at the venue, all got driven away by your brother-in-law, and you didn't even know?"

"I know," Zhou Jianjun replied, then glanced at the packed ingredients next to him before saying to Li Dazhi, "I've never heard of bringing your own food when eating out."

“Then look…” Li Dazhi smiled, took out a pack of Yingchun cigarettes from his pocket, handed one to Zhou Jianjun, and said, “We not only bring our own food, we also bring our own chef.”

"Huh?" Zhou Jianjun was taken aback when he heard this. He then saw Li Dazhi gesturing with his hand behind him as if he had just put out a cigarette, and said, "Your father-in-law."

"I..." Zhou Jianjun was speechless for a moment, looking at Li Dazhi with disbelief.

Just then, Li Tongyun, who was sitting on the other side of Li Dazhi, said to Zhou Jianjun with a smile, "Brother-in-law, if it weren't for the fear of too many people gossiping and the news leaking out, my uncle would have summoned Uncle Dachun, Uncle Daming, and his apprentices."

Zhou Jianjun: "..."

"No?" After a two-second silence, Zhou Jianjun said, "If we do it this way, won't the restaurant say anything?"

“I didn’t see what they were saying,” Jin Xiaomei said, then added, “We’re not short of money, what could they possibly say?”

Hearing Jin Xiaomei's words, Zhou Jianjun was speechless again. What did this have to do with not being short of money?

In Zhou Jianjun's memory, Jin Xiaomei had always been a simple and honest woman from the forest area. How come she's speaking so extravagantly now? He thought of his own mother, who was the wife of the forest farm secretary, and she wasn't like this at all.

“Jianjun, just as Zhou Jianjun was lamenting the unpredictability of life, Li Dazhi said to him with a smile, “Your mother-in-law has a good saying.”

Zhou Jianjun looked at Li Dazhi, wanting to hear what his mother had to say, and then he heard Li Dazhi say, "If you're willing to spend money, there's no road to success."

These words, though considered morally questionable in this day and age, held profound meaning for Zhou Jianjun.

"Hmm?" Suddenly, Zhou Jianjun saw Li Tongyun waving her hands repeatedly into the air.

Feeling that the girl was behaving strangely, Zhou Jianjun blurted out, "Xiaoyun, what are you gesturing for?"

"Ah, hehe..." Li Tongyun smiled upon hearing this and said, "I'm imitating the gestures my aunt used when she said those words."

As she spoke, Li Tongyun waved her hand forward again, but she turned her slender hand around and stared at her palm, saying, "Why can't I learn that? When my aunt waves her hand, it's as if she has a thousand troops and a heroic spirit soaring to the sky."

Zhou Jianjun: "..."

"Heh!" At this moment, Wang Qiang, who was sitting on the other side, chuckled. He, the only son of the Wang family, couldn't even do that wave of Wang Meilan's hand, let alone Li Tongyun.

……

At 8:30, the car entered Shanhe County and first dropped off Zhao Youcai and the ingredients at Ruyi Grand Restaurant.

"His father," Wang Meilan instructed Zhao Youcai, "I'm leaving the cooking to you."

Hearing her words, Zhao Weipeng and Li Dazhi, who were helping to move the ingredients, looked a little strange: You call this a meal?

"Lan, don't worry." At this crucial moment, Zhao Youcai didn't act like usual, but solemnly replied to Wang Meilan, "Leave it to me, there won't be any problems."

For some reason, Wang Meilan felt particularly at ease after hearing Zhao Youcai's words.

After saying goodbye to Zhao Youcai, everyone got into the car and headed to the Shanhe branch of the Zhao Family Chamber of Commerce, which was the compound of the supply and marketing cooperative's purchasing station.

When they arrived, Liang Xuemei's nephew, Liang Dahai, had already been waiting there for quite some time.

Liang Dahai was born with a disease that prevented a certain part of his body from developing. He's already thirty, and it's still like a silkworm cocoon.

His parents later had another son, and from then on, Liang Dahai lost his status in the family. He wasn't beaten or scolded, but it was almost like living under someone else's roof.

However, Liang Dahai was an honest and reliable man. Although he wasn't very educated, he was more than capable of managing the place. With him overseeing Yong'an Supermarket and Chu Xiaoxue handling the accounts, there were never any problems.

Wang Meilan bought furniture the day before yesterday and arranged for it to be delivered yesterday, but she and her family went home the night before last.

My home is so far from the county town, and I couldn't make a special trip there yesterday, so on my way out, I passed by Yong'an Supermarket and handed the keys to Liang Dahai, asking him to help me receive the furniture.

Seeing Wang Meilan and the others get out of the car, Liang Dahai went up to greet them. The group went inside, all the way to the large house of more than 200 square meters that used to be the recycling station.

Wang Meilan started rolling up her sleeves before entering the house, but once inside, she found that the sofa, sofa table, and chairs were all arranged in sets.

"Dahai, did the furniture delivery guys arrange this?" Zhao Weipeng asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.

"No, Uncle," Liang Dahai said with a smile, "They left the room and then moved it slowly."

Due to his physical condition, Liang Dahai is far weaker than a normal adult male, so it would be too difficult for him to organize all the furniture in the room.

The observant Wang Meilan also knew this, and she hurriedly asked Jin Xiaomei to get cigarettes for Liang Dahai, but Liang Dahai refused.

Moreover, after returning the keys to Wang Meilan, Liang Dahai took his leave. It wasn't that he didn't want to stay and help the Zhao family, but rather that he had to go back to check on the supermarket.

"That kid is too honest!" Watching Liang Dahai's hurried departure, Wang Meilan turned to Zhao Weipeng and said, "Give him an extra ten yuan every month from now on."

After saying that, Wang Meilan led everyone to start setting up the venue.

They took out the red banners that Teacher Liu had written and hung them on the walls on both sides of the gate. The left side read, "Forge a strong work style and build a solid defense line for the forest area," while the right side read, "All members participate in training to hone their fighting spirit and work together to protect the mountains and forests."

Hot water was boiled inside the room and filled into thermos flasks.

Wang Qiang, Li Dazhi, Zhou Jianjun, Zhang Yuanmin, and Li Ruhai went to the supply and marketing cooperative in the front yard to pick up goods: cigarettes, alcohol, sugar, and tea—everything they needed. In addition, there were also soft drinks, teapots, teacups, and enamel plates.

Just after nine o'clock, Zhao Weipeng drove off in his Jiefang truck, heading straight for Shanhe Railway Station.

Just a few minutes after Zhao Weipeng arrived at his destination, the locomotive pulled a carriage to the station and stopped.

Jie Zhong led fifty-two men from Xishantun off the train and boarded the Liberation truck at the station.

The Great Liberation truck sped back, entering the branch compound one after the other with the three Song brothers.

The Jiefang truck was advanced, but the Song brothers' truck was a step behind.

As their car drove into the compound, Song Da, who was sitting in the car, watched as the Jiefang truck in front of the house stopped.

Then people started jumping down like dumplings being dropped into a pot, three or five at a time, and in the blink of an eye, dozens of people had come down.

"What are these people doing?" Upon seeing these people, Song Da, Song Er, and Song San in the car were all stunned.

"Big Brother!" Song Er turned to Song Da, who was sitting in the passenger seat, and said, "Have we gone to the wrong place?"

“Right…” Song Da sensed something was wrong, because the people of Xishantun were dressed very poorly; even ginseng gangs or ginseng dealers wouldn’t dress like that.

Just then, someone came out of the house in front. Song San saw a familiar face and hurriedly said to Song Da and Song Er, "Big brother, second brother, we didn't make a mistake. I saw... what was his name again? Zhao Jun's uncle."

As soon as Song San finished speaking, a commotion broke out in the crowd ahead, followed by shouts of "Village Chief" and "Grandma" rising and falling.

"What is this thing?" The three Song brothers were bewildered again. They knew what a village head was, or more formally, a village group leader. But what was this "Grandma"? It sounded a bit scary.

"Big brother!" Song San, sitting in the back row, tightened his grip on the bag in his arms and called out to Song Dadao, "What are they doing here? Should we just take a ride?"

Hearing Song San's words, Song Da and Song Er also began to consider backing out.

Just then, a burst of laughter came from behind. Song Da looked out the car window and saw Li Ruhai, wearing a white polyester short-sleeved shirt, clasping his hands in greeting and saying, "Isn't it a pleasure to have friends coming from afar! Boss Song, Boss Song the Second, Boss Song the Third, Li Ruhai, on behalf of the Zhao Family Gang, welcomes you all!"

Upon seeing Li Ruhai, Song Da hurriedly pushed open the door and got out of the car.

At Li Ruhai's age, he's too old to be involved in the Li family's affairs these days. But today is different; this is Zhao's gang's territory, and Li Ruhai is in charge of Zhao's gang.

"Manager Li," Song Da said, getting out of the car and bowing to Li Ruhai. "Where is your foreman Zhao?"

"Our Zhao family leader has gone to Chuncheng to pick up the guests," Li Ruhai said with a smile. "They should arrive around noon. Then, our Zhao family will prepare a simple feast at the largest restaurant in Shanhe. We'll move there for a meal and enjoy the celebration together."

"Ah..." Hearing Li Ruhai say that, Song Da murmured, "Zhao said that we just need to arrive before noon."

"Right, hehe..." Li Ruhai smiled, about to say something more, when he heard someone shout from behind, "Thank you, Grandma Zhao!"

"Huh?" The three Song brothers were all taken aback. When Li Ruhai turned around, he heard someone shout, "Thank you, village chief."

"This is..." Song Da looked at Li Ruhai, who smiled and said, "Mr. Song, please come with me. I will introduce you to Ms. Wang Meilan, the mother of our Zhao Batou, the president of the Zhao Family Chamber of Commerce and the leader of Xishan Village in Yushu Township."

Li Ruhai's words left the three of them exchanging bewildered glances. But since they were already there, Song Da followed Li Ruhai forward.

At this moment, the sounds of the Xishantun people thanking Wang Meilan could be heard everywhere. Li Ruhai squeezed through the crowd and shouted, "Auntie! We have a guest!"

"Huh?" Wang Meilan was taken aback. At that moment, she was handing out cigarettes to the people of Xishantun, and they were even offering Zhonghua cigarettes!

When Song Da, Song Er, and Song San arrived, they saw that each of the Xishantun villagers was holding boxes of Zhonghua cigarettes, and they couldn't help but feel that this scene was somewhat absurd.

Those three brothers usually only smoke Hongtashan cigarettes, but these... ragged, filthy people are smoking Zhonghua cigarettes?

It's not that the three Song brothers look down on the poor, it's just that something feels off.

"President... Chairman Wang!" Li Ruhai opened his mouth, wanting to call her "Auntie," but suddenly realized his mistake and quickly changed his words: "These are Boss Song, Boss Song the Second, and Boss Song the Third. They are all distinguished guests invited by our Chief Zhao!"

"Oh dear!" Upon hearing this, Wang Meilan hurriedly raised her hands and clasped her hands in a fist salute. At this moment, she was still holding half a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes in her hand.

At this moment, Wang Qiang and Zhang Yuanmin also arrived. They knew the three Song brothers and greeted each other with clasped hands.

"Qiangzi, quickly invite the guests inside." Wang Meilan, unfamiliar with the rules of the ginseng gang, habitually instructed Wang Qiang.

Immediately afterwards, Wang Meilan turned around again. While taking cigarettes out of the half-pack, she said to the three Song brothers, "There is tea and pastries inside. Come in and sit for a while to cool off."

As she spoke, Wang Meilan handed a box of Zhonghua cigarettes to Song Da. Then it was Song Er's turn, and Song San's turn, one box each.

After offering cigarettes, Wang Meilan waved to Zhang Yuanmin and Li Ruhai, saying, "Yuanmin, Ruhai, you two go upstairs and chat with Boss Song and the others for a while. Once I'm done with my work here, I'll come in right away."

Zhang Yuanmin and Li Ruhai responded in unison, and then together with Wang Qiang, they invited the three Song brothers into the house.

After seeing the guests off, Wang Meilan turned back to light a cigarette. Unlike Zhao Jun, Wang Meilan knew everyone in Xishantun, could call them by name, and had some understanding of their families' situations.

And so, Wang Meilan chatted as she handed out cigarettes. When she handed the last pack of cigarettes to Wu Dalin, before Wang Meilan could even speak, Wu Dalin said loudly, "Grandma, just tell us what chores you want us to do."

“Yes, village chief!” As soon as Wu Dalin finished speaking, someone next to him immediately chimed in, “We told the young master yesterday that others are unwilling to work for your family, but we are willing to do it.”

Inside the room, Song Da had just sat down on the sofa when he heard these words coming from outside the window, so he got up again.

Upon hearing the words "young master," Song Dacai finally realized what the "eldest mistress" was all about. What kind of era is this? How could anyone still witness such a scene?

Meanwhile, outside, Wang Meilan smiled and said to everyone, "Today, we don't have anything else to do, just ask everyone to help me keep an eye on things. If anyone causes trouble, please stop them!"

"Anyone who dares to cause trouble, smash their head!"

"That's right! Anyone who goes against our village chief is going against our entire Xishan Village."

Hearing this, Wang Meilan was very happy, while Song Da inside the room was filled with confusion. If these people outside were landlords and farmhands, why were they calling him "village head"? It was really strange.

But Song Da didn't dwell on it for long, and soon Wang Meilan went inside. As for the people from Xishan Village, Zhao Weipeng led them aside for training.

Wang Meilan entered the house, greeted the three Song brothers with a smile, and then said to Li Ruhai, "Ruhai, go outside and greet the guests."

Upon hearing this, Li Ruhai instantly understood Wang Meilan's meaning: guests should be welcomed in, while non-guests should be kept outside the courtyard.

After Li Ruhai left, Wang Meilan, Wang Qiang, and Zhang Yuanmin chatted with the three Song brothers.

“Sister-in-law…Chairman.” At this moment, Liang Xuemei walked over quickly and called to Wang Meilan, “Give me the warehouse key, they need to take out equipment.”

The guns allocated to the militia for training in the Yong'an Forest Area were all misappropriated by the Zhao family gang. In addition, Zhao Jun took thirty guns with him when he left, leaving the rest in this warehouse.

As for the three mortars borrowed from the Yongxing Brigade, Zhao Jun only took one with him; the other two were in the warehouse next door.

Upon hearing this, Wang Meilan immediately took out her keys and gave them to Liang Xuemei.

When Wang Meilan turned around, Song Da asked, "President Wang, what kind of business does your chamber of commerce do?"

“Our chamber of commerce deals in hides and mountain products,” Wang Meilan said. “We also transport timber from the forest area to Shenzhen by train.”

"Wow!" Song Da was surprised, realizing that the Zhao Family Chamber of Commerce was doing pretty big business. Just as Song Da was about to say something, Song San nudged him and said, "Big brother, look!"

"What are you doing?" Song Da frowned and glanced at Song San, blaming Song San for not knowing the rules.

But following Song San's gaze, Song Da suddenly stood up from the sofa.

Looking out the window, one could see eight people divided into two groups, with four people carrying a mortar in each group.

"Cannon...cannon?" Song Da's eyes widened, and then he saw more than a dozen people walking from the house into the yard. These people were all carrying guns, and many of them were carrying two.

There were dozens of people, carrying dozens of guns!

At that moment, Song's brain was buzzing. He subconsciously looked down at the bag placed at his feet, which contained money!

"Heh!" Wang Meilan took in Song Da's actions and chuckled. She said to the three Song brothers, "Don't overthink it, Mr. Song. Our family is a prominent family in the forest area, in the surrounding villages, and even in this county town."

"We're not getting all this equipment for anything bad. It's just that with this Ginseng King Conference, we'll bring the ginseng, and you bring the money, so we need some protective measures."

Hearing Wang Meilan's words, Song Da's expression softened slightly. This May, during the Ginseng King Conference in Fusong, Xu Qianli encountered robbers on his way there, and they ran into them again on their way back.

Therefore, it's actually quite plausible that the Zhao family brought their men and equipment down the mountain.

As for whether guns or cannons would be pointed at them, Song Da felt it was unlikely, because the Zhao family gang seemed to be exceptionally powerful. People with such power wouldn't resort to such underhanded tactics.

"Ah, hehe..." Song Da sat down and gave Wang Meilan a friendly smile. Then, he seemed to remember something and asked Wang Meilan, "When Chief Zhao went to pick up the people, was he worried about something happening on the road?"

“Yes.” Wang Meilan nodded with a smile and said, “Since you’ve come all this way for us, we’ll do our best to ensure your safety. After the conference, if you don’t have anything else to do, you can all leave together, and we’ll send someone to take you to Fusong or Changchun.”

"Oh, that's wonderful!" The three Song brothers were very happy to hear Wang Meilan say that.

At this moment, fifty-two people from Xishan Village lined up outside, and Zhao Weipeng shouted slogans loudly.

Upon hearing this sound, the three Song brothers looked out the window.

Wang Meilan smiled upon seeing this, and then explained, "My son is the deputy leader of the forest farm's security team, and this year he's in charge of organizing militia training. It's a good opportunity to bring the team down, and under the guise of training, we can ensure the successful convening of this conference."

"Ah, this works!" Song laughed. "We feel much more at ease with this arrangement."

"Right, hehe." Wang Meilan laughed, "With this kind of setup, he wouldn't dare to act recklessly, whether it's swords, guns, cannons, or anything else, right?"

"Of course not!" Zhang Yuanmin chimed in from the side. "With the strength of our Zhao family gang and our chamber of commerce, we can easily take down any enemy, whether it's knives, guns, cannons, robbers, or bad guys. Who would dare to challenge us?"

"Hahaha..." Hearing Zhang Yuanmin's words, Wang Meilan laughed. She believed in her own strength and thought that Zhang Yuanmin was right!

Just then, a jeep stopped in front of the Shanhe County Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

The back door opened, and Shen Qiushan got out of the car. He waved to the open passenger window and said, "Thank you, Mr. Xu!"

"You're too kind, Chief Shen," Xu Qianli said. "Then we'll be going."

After receiving Zhao Jun's invitation, Xu Qianli took a tour of Fusong and felt that it was too early to go to Shanhe that day, and it wasn't interesting to find a place to stay in Fusong.

So Xu Qianli turned around and went back to Wu Baoguo.

Then, today, Xu Qianli and his two men got up early and had just come out of Wu Baoguo's factory when they were stopped by Shen Qiushan.

Shen Qiushan said he had to go to Shanhe on business and asked Xu Qianli to give him a ride.

Since it was on the way and there were seats available, Xu Qianli readily agreed.

Upon entering Shanhe County, we inquired along the way and eventually arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative.

The address Zhao Jun gave was behind the supply and marketing cooperative, so Xu Qianli had his men drive down the street.

Shen Qiushan happened to be looking for this supply and marketing cooperative.

Shen Qiushan strode into the house and impatiently shouted, "Where is the acquisition station?"

Upon hearing the sound, a female sales clerk wiping the counter raised her hand and pointed inside.

Shen Qiushan turned and headed east. Last time, when the Zhao family came to buy melons, the place where the general merchandise was stored was separated, and Bi Dongsheng and two of his men were there collecting things.

Just now, Shen Qiushan called out from over there, and Bi Dongsheng thought a business had come, so he looked up and waited for Shen Qiushan to come over.

As Shen Qiushan approached, Bi Dongsheng's eyes lit up.

Their purchasing station not only buys mountain goods, but also scrap metal. But seeing that Shen Qiushan's hands were empty, Bi Dongsheng guessed that the man was carrying a club.

"Master, what do you sell?" Bi Dongsheng asked, getting up, but Shen Qiushan replied, "I don't sell anything!"

Hearing this, Bi Dongsheng frowned: "If you're not selling anything, what are you here for?"

"You're in charge of the purchasing station?" Shen Qiushan asked. Bi Dongsheng replied curtly, "Yes, that's me, so what?"

Shen Qiushan raised his hand, pointed to the north window, and asked, "Do you know Zhao Jun from the courtyard behind you?"

Bi Dongsheng's tone was harsh just now, but when Shen Qiushan mentioned Zhao Jun, Bi Dongsheng's attitude softened instantly, and he smiled and said, "I know him, he's my brother!"

"Your brother..." Shen Qiushan swallowed his words. He had come to the purchasing station to complain about Zhao Jun.

But Bi Dongsheng said Zhao Jun was his brother, so how could he file a lawsuit?

Seeing that Shen Qiushan remained silent, Bi Dongsheng laughed and said, "You're here for a meeting, right? Then you'll have to go to the back street..."

Before Bi Dongsheng could finish speaking, Shen Qiushan interrupted him: "You even know he's in a meeting?"

"Ah, I know," Bi Dongsheng replied, only to be followed up by Shen Qiushan's question: "So you're not going to do anything about it?"

"What do I care?" Bi Dongsheng was taken aback, then saw Shen Qiushan staring at him and shouting, "Did his clubs pass through your purchasing station? Were they graded? And he just went ahead and sold them?"

"Ah..." Upon hearing this, Bi Dongsheng understood that the person in front of him had come to cause trouble for Zhao Jun.

As soon as Shen Qiushan shouted, both the sellers and buyers over there turned to look in this direction.

“I’m ready.” Bi Dongsheng was not afraid at all. He met Shen Qiushan’s gaze and said, “I’ve seen all his clubs. They’re mostly damaged, rusty, and spotted. I told him to take them back and sell them himself. So what?”

"You..." Shen Qiushan had just opened his mouth when Bi Dongsheng interrupted him, "What the hell do you do? You think you can tell me what to do?"

“I’m pretty…” Shen Qiushan opened his mouth to curse Bi Dongsheng, but heard Bi Dongsheng shout: “I’m pretty, wow! You try being arrogant again! If I make you leave this room, I’ll change my surname!”

Shen Qiushan's chest heaved violently. He suddenly realized that his goal for this trip was not Bi Dongsheng, and that it would be pointless to cause trouble for Bi Dongsheng.

So, Shen Qiushan glared at Bi Dongsheng, then turned and walked out.

As Shen Qiushan left the supply and marketing cooperative, the warm sunlight shone on him.

Shen Qiushan looked up. The sky was cloudless and the weather was fine. But even such a beautiful day appeared gray to Shen Qiushan.

The sky in Shanhe County was not clear, which Shen Qiushan disliked.

"Zhao Jun!" At this moment, Shen Qiushan thought of Zhao Jun and walked towards the street corner.

Turning the corner, just as he entered the street, Shen Qiushan saw a brick on the ground. Without hesitation, he bent down, picked up the brick, and then strode aggressively toward the Zhao Family Chamber of Commerce branch compound.