Chapter 1642
Taking a Stroll in the Mountains
After Wang An finished speaking, he saw Hao Dayou frowning, looking quite conflicted, and say:
"Brother, that's right. The price of bricks has gone up for over a year now. There's really nothing I can do about the price."
Wang An immediately said:
"Price is fine, whatever the price is, I'll be extremely grateful if you can arrange it for me in advance."
As soon as Wang An finished speaking, the phone rang again. Hao Dayou smiled apologetically and said:
"Wait a minute, bro, I need to take this call."
Sure enough, it was another call from some company urging them to build more bricks.
After hanging up the phone, Wang An hurriedly urged Hao Dayou:
"Brother, hurry up and give me the note, I'm worried someone will call you again soon."
Hao Dayou gave a wry smile and said apologetically:
"I'm constantly getting phone calls, people are always nagging me, hahaha."
As he spoke, Hao Dayou began to write a note for Wang An.
In this way, Wang An, relying solely on his good looks, easily cut in line and helped Huang Baoguo order 8 bricks.
The shortage of bricks at the brick factory, with demand exceeding supply and long queues required to buy bricks, was no secret in the county town.
Huang Baoguo, who wanted to buy bricks to build a house, had naturally already found out about it.
Therefore, when Huang Baoguo saw Wang An order the bricks so easily and happily, he was very shocked. What shocked him the most was the factory director's attitude towards Wang An.
Their attitude was just too good; the two of them were like friends.
Although Huang Baoguo knew that Wang An was very capable, he never expected that Wang An could be this powerful, practically invincible.
Huang Baoguo's admiration for Wang An suddenly surged like the endless flow of the Yangtze River, or the overflowing Yellow River, becoming unstoppable.
However, Huang Baoguo was not good with words, so he did not show it in front of Wang An.
However, Huang Baoguo kept this gratitude to himself, waiting for the day when Wang An or Wang An's family needed him, then he would do his best to help.
With the cement, lime, steel bars, and bricks and tiles all secured, all the building materials were ready. They were just waiting for the bricks and tiles to arrive before Huang Baoguo's house could be built.
Next, Wang An spent half a day using a tracked tractor to push out the foundation of Huang Baoguo's house. In the following days, the red and blue bricks ordered from the brick factory were delivered one after another.
After Huang Baoguo and his group from Weizigou blasted a lot of rocks at Shitoushan, construction officially began on Huang Baoguo's house amidst a few firecracker explosions.
Wang An didn't need to worry about the pharmaceutical factory, the motorcycle factory's business was lukewarm, and Wang Shuai and He Liang's plans to open a gold shop in Harbin didn't require Wang An's help. Han Xiaomin and Qiao Xiaohu hadn't contacted Wang An at all, and with the season approaching, the business of buying bear bile and fur was basically on hold. So, Wang An once again became a very idle person.
Like Wang An, Mu Xueli and Wang Li also found themselves with more free time.
The main reason is that at this time of year, the business of growing vegetables in greenhouses is over. After the last crop of vegetables is harvested before the vegetables are harvested from the ground, it will be time to start growing vegetables again in the fall.
The crops in the fields have only recently sprouted, so there is no need to do anything like weeding or thinning them out yet.
So for the next 20 days or so, the mountain people have nothing to do except go into the mountains to dig for wild vegetables.
So, Wang An, Mu Xueli, and Wang Li put their heads together and decided to go for a stroll in the mountains.
Wang An felt itchy all over because he hadn't been hunting in the mountains for a long time. The key issue was that Mu Xueli and Wang Li's newly bought puppies also needed to go into the mountains for training.
I can also help Huang Baoguo's family get some meat.
As I always say, I'll lend a hand if I can; it's just something I do along the way anyway.
So, that morning, Wang An, Wang Li, Mu Xueli, and Huang Zhong each rode their horses, leading a large pack of dogs and wolves into the mountains. Yes, a huge pack, a really large pack.
Wang An's four black dogs and four wolves.
Wang Li's four large yellow dogs and four half-grown Oroqen dogs.
There are also Mu Xueli's three wolfhounds and five half-grown yellow dogs.
A total of 24 dogs and wolves together—that was quite a sight!
As for Wang An's four spotted dogs, although they also wanted to don armor and go into the mountains, Wang An did not take them with him, and he would never take them with him again.
Their only remaining function is guarding the house and property.
It's not that they aren't loyal enough, nor that they aren't brave enough; the only problem is that they're too incompetent and lack talent. Two dogs together aren't even as good as one dog—they're utterly useless.
The four men rode their horses into the mountains at a leisurely pace, much like they were enjoying a scenic stroll.
"Brother-in-law, where are we going?" Mu Xueli asked instinctively when she saw Wang An looking around.
Wang An said calmly:
"If we have nowhere to go, we'll just wander around. If we come across prey, we'll hunt it. If we don't, we'll just consider it training your dog."
After a pause, Wang An asked Wang Li and Mu Xueli:
"Have you two heard anything these past few days about people encountering wild boars or bears while digging for wild vegetables?"
Wang Li shook his head and said:
“I just came back from my second brother-in-law’s house a few days ago, and I didn’t hear anything.”
Mu Xueli also said:
"I just finished planting my father-in-law's land, and I haven't even gone out into the village."
Having witnessed the speed at which a hand-held tractor could pull a seed plow, Li Xiuhong's family and Li Xiuyu's family each set their sights on Mu Xueli and Wang Li, their two sons-in-law.
Since last year, after Mu Xueli and Wang Li finished planting their own land, they would each drive their tractors to their fathers-in-law's houses to help with planting and transplanting rice seedlings.
However, under Wang An's instigation—or rather, under his influence—the two of them also adhered to the principle of "family is family, and money is money."
That means that when they helped their respective fathers-in-law farm, they weren't doing it for free; they were asked to pay money or for grain.
At first, Mu Xueli's three brothers-in-law, who were also Li Xiuhong's third brothers, were very angry. They said, "What use is this brother-in-law? He can't be relied on at all. He even asks for money to help with the farming. Isn't this what Mu Xueli, as the son-in-law, should do?"
With Mu Xueli's quick wit, how could she possibly tolerate this? After that, Mu Xueli brought up the bride price, as well as the cost of gas and car repairs, which directly stumped his three brothers-in-law.
He was shameless and greedy for cheap deals, so how could he possibly withstand Mu Xueli's questioning?
While the hand tractors of that era were durable and could last for many years, the technology of that time was limited, so the diesel engines often broke down, requiring frequent repairs.
Fortunately, the 12-horsepower diesel engine has a very simple structure. Normally, the problem is either a clogged carburetor or a blown head gasket, which is not difficult to repair.
After the two finished speaking, Wang An nodded indifferently and said:
"Then let's just wander around aimlessly, hit whatever we come across, and if we don't, so be it."
Wang Li suddenly said:
"Fourth Brother, why don't we go check out the Wild Boar Forest? I think there are bound to be wild boars there. Killing a couple would be enough for Xiao Zhong's family."
Wang An thought for a moment, looked at the group of dogs, and then said:
"Alright, if there's nothing there, we'll go to Roe Deer Gully."
To be honest, this season isn't really suitable for hunting dogs, so Wang An didn't have high hopes for this trip into the mountains. (End of Chapter)