novelaction Chapter 192 was stolen.
Chapter 192 was stolen.
After leaving Doctor Qian's house, Wang Ergou rubbed his hands together: "Brother Xiangyang, things are all settled. How about we go to my place for a couple of drinks? My mom just cooked some meat."
“Sure.” Li Xiangyang nodded, then turned to He Mancang, “Uncle He, shall we go together?”
He Mancang waved his hand: "I'm going back now, you guys..."
"Uncle He, this won't do." Wang Ergou grabbed him. "If it weren't for your help yesterday, how could we have handled that bear so efficiently? Besides, we fought it together, you have to drink this."
As Wang Ergou spoke, he pulled the person toward his own home.
At that moment, his mother was feeding the chickens in the yard. When she saw her son bringing people back, she quickly invited them into the house.
"Ergou's father has gone out to work, please have a seat." Wang Ergou's mother quickly and efficiently brought out a few side dishes.
Wang Ergou took out a jar of grain liquor from the cabinet, which he had specially reserved to entertain distinguished guests.
Three bowls were poured, and the aroma of the wine filled the air.
"Come on, Uncle He." Li Xiangyang picked up the wine bowl.
After a few rounds of drinks, Wang Ergou lowered his voice and said, "Brother Xiangyang, we need to get rid of these bear gallbladders and bear paws quickly. They'll spoil if we leave them any longer."
Li Xiangyang nodded: "Let's go to the city tomorrow. Old Zhou and Lin Shouye are both familiar with each other, so they'll be easy to talk to."
Wang Ergou's eyes lit up when he heard about these two people.
Both of them were very fair in their payment.
Especially Lin Shouye, who was very generous when he bought the snow leopard skin last time. If he could take it, wouldn't he make a fortune?
"Uncle He," Wang Ergou poured He Mancang a drink, "you'll have to come with us tomorrow. After all, you deserve some credit for this."
He Mancang tried to decline, saying, "That won't do. I just helped handle it; it's nothing special..."
"Come on, Uncle He," Li Xiangyang interrupted. "We fought together, so naturally we should split the spoils. It's settled then, the three of us will go together tomorrow."
After a satisfying meal, the three agreed to meet at the village entrance the next day.
After seeing He Mancang off, Er Gou pulled Li Xiangyang aside and whispered, "Brother Xiangyang, we still have a bear hidden in our cave. Do you want to retrieve it and sell it tomorrow?"
"Take it back."
Li Xiangyang nodded.
He had always remembered this matter, but he hadn't mentioned it before so as not to make He Mancang overthink it.
In order to save people, they had to hide the bear in a cave.
Now that the person has been rescued, it's definitely time to retrieve the belongings.
“We need to hurry,” Li Xiangyang said. “Let’s set off now.”
“That’s what I think too,” Wang Ergou said, a glint of excitement in his eyes. “The gallbladders and paws of two bears—we’re going to be rich!”
Li Xiangyang smiled and shook his head: "Don't be too happy yet. Let's get the stuff back first."
The two packed quickly and set off.
Wang Ergou was extremely excited along the way, but when they arrived at the place where the bear was hidden, the bear was nowhere to be found.
Only some obvious drag marks remained on the ground.
"Damn it!" Wang Ergou kicked a rock in anger. "Someone stole it!"
Li Xiangyang squatted down and carefully examined the marks on the ground.
Judging from the messy footprints on the ground, there were at least three or four people.
The footprints were fresh; the soil wasn't completely dry yet.
Several cigarette butts were also found in the corner.
"Those sons of bitches!" Wang Ergou gritted his teeth. "They must have heard the gunshots, spotted us, and waited until we were hidden before making their move."
Li Xiangyang remained silent, continuing to observe every detail on the ground.
Judging from the freshness of the cigarette butt, the person had been gone for less than a day.
Moreover, the drag marks indicate that they came prepared and even brought tools.
"Brother Xiangyang, what are we going to do?" Wang Ergou stamped his feet anxiously. "A bear! We've suffered a huge loss!"
Li Xiangyang stood up, brushing the dirt off his pants: "Alright, let it go. We hid it in a cave, how can we prove it's ours? Even if we traced it back, they won't acknowledge it, and there's nothing we can do but argue."
"Are we just going to let it go like this?" Wang Ergou looked unwilling, his knuckles turning white from clenching his fists.
Li Xiangyang glanced at the furious Wang Ergou, a cold smile playing on his lips: "Of course we can't let this go. They dared to steal our prey; they'll have to pay it back sooner or later."
"So what do we do now?" A glimmer of hope flashed in Wang Ergou's eyes.
“Since there are footprints, let’s follow them,” Li Xiangyang said, squatting down to examine them carefully.
Judging from the marks on the ground, this group of people brought not only tools but also a cart.
There were two obvious tire tracks in the middle of the drag marks.
“They took the small path to the west,” Li Xiangyang said, pointing to the marks on the ground.
This path is more secluded than the main road, and few people usually walk on it, making it quite hidden.
The two followed the trail all the way until nightfall.
Under the moonlight, the tire tracks and footprints were clearly visible, leading all the way to Yangjia Village.
As they approached the village entrance, the traces suddenly disappeared.
Li Xiangyang carefully examined the surroundings and found several trampled marks in the roadside grass.
"These people are shrewd," Li Xiangyang sneered. "They know to exchange tools at the village entrance, so they won't be chased all the way to their doorstep."
Wang Ergou stomped his feet in anger: "These bastards! Stealing is one thing, but they're so cunning!"
Li Xiangyang stood up, gazing at the scattered lights of Yangjia Village in the distance. After a moment's thought, he said, "You go back first. I'll go ask Cheng Shichang. I'll come find you if I get any news from here."
"Alright then." Although Wang Ergou was reluctant, he knew this was the best solution. "By the way, just know who it is. Since you're in their village, don't act impulsively. Maybe I should go with them."
"No need. Cheng Shichang might not know. Don't worry. If he doesn't know, I'll just wander around and definitely won't cause any trouble."
Li Xiangyang gazed in the direction of Yangjia Village, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.
After saying that, he waved to Wang Ergou and strode towards Yangjia Village.
Upon finding Cheng Shichang, Li Xiangyang cut to the chase: "Shichang, do you know who in the village recently struck it rich?"
"Unexpected wealth?" Upon hearing this, Cheng Shichang frowned, and his hand holding the teacup paused slightly.
Li Xiangyang noticed his unusual behavior and continued, "I hunted a bear in the mountains, but someone stole it."
Cheng Shichang put down his teacup and pushed it towards him: "Is it really yours?"
"Um."
Cheng Shichang was silent for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "Since it's yours, I'll tell you the truth. Yang Fusheng came to me and asked if I wanted the bear. You know my uncle's connections, so of course I wanted it, and we already agreed on a price. But I really didn't know he stole yours..."
"By the way, Yang Fusheng is a ruthless and vicious man. If you're going to see him, you'd better bring a few more people with you. Of course, I advise you not to go, after all, you have a grudge against the Yang family..."
Li Xiangyang nodded: "Thanks, I understand. Just pretend I wasn't here today, and accept the gifts as usual."