bookrandom Chapter 108 You're really judging people by a narrow perspective.
Chapter 108 You're really judging people by a narrow perspective.
If it were before, Wang Ergou saying that would have been wishful thinking; it would have been impossible for any educated youth to be interested in someone like him.
However, now that he says so, it is indeed possible that it will come true.
After all, these days, young men who can earn money are highly sought after by girls.
Moreover, this phenomenon will only become more and more serious in the future.
Li Xiangyang ignored his wishful thinking and asked instead, "Is what you're saying reliable?"
"That absolutely has to be reliable!" Wang Ergou's eyes lit up. "You know, I may not have much else, but I have a lot of friends and I'm well-informed. Those guys even had their equipment sponsored by me before they set off, who knew it would all be..."
Halfway through his sentence, Wang Ergou suddenly realized he'd let something slip and added with an embarrassed laugh, "Anyway, everyone's gone, so who would know it was me who gave it to them? That's why I even know where it is..."
Li Xiangyang's eyes flickered slightly.
If this is true, it is indeed an opportunity.
The equipment sponsored by Wang Ergou was not bad; even if those people had an accident, Na'an must have been injured.
We can't have missed a single shot, can we?
Thinking of this, Li Xiangyang was tempted.
The moose is an adult male that can weigh over 1,000 kilograms.
It is the largest living deer species in the world, and is also known as the Kandarhan.
Such prey is only available in this era; don't even think about hunting it again...
Seeing that Li Xiangyang didn't speak, Wang Ergou became anxious: "Xiangyang, don't be confused! Let me explain. Look, back in '58 everyone was eating in the communal canteen, but look at how it is now! Don't think that money is useless now, since you need ration coupons for everything. But how many years can this situation last?"
Slightly tipsy, Wang Ergou spoke the absolute truth: "Let me tell you, from now on, everything will be about money! If you don't seize the opportunity now, you'll regret it later..."
Li Xiangyang was secretly surprised.
He never expected that Wang Ergou, who usually seemed like a tough nut to crack, would say such a thing.
The key point is that this statement is true.
“Okay,” Li Xiangyang pondered for a moment, “tell me the details.”
Li Xiangyang looked at Wang Ergou's drunken face and waited for him to continue.
“Actually,” Wang Ergou lowered his voice, “those guys were pretty much like me, the kind of people everyone in the village hated. When they came to my door, of course I didn’t dare go with them. Let me tell you, I’m pretty good at judging people, the only one I misjudged was Li Daqiang, but as it turns out, he’s no good while you are, look…”
He gazed into the distance, his eyes blurry with drunkenness, and continued, "Let's not talk about useless things. The information is absolutely genuine. As for how they got the information about the prey, I have no idea. Anyway, everyone's gone; they were either killed by elk or taken care of by other wild beasts."
At this point, Wang Ergou's eyes lit up, and he turned to look at Li Xiangyang: "But with our equipment, what are we afraid of? Your Type 63, my Mosin-Nagant, tsk tsk..."
"Can you shoot?" Li Xiangyang interrupted him, looking directly into his eyes.
Wang Ergou chuckled: "I'd naturally say no to others. But since we're partners from now on, and you asked, I'll tell you the truth."
He leaned closer, lowering his voice even further, and said, "Think about it, guarding such a huge armory, do you think I wouldn't be able to?"
Seeing that Li Xiangyang remained unmoved, Wang Ergou said again, "If you don't believe me, give me a bullet, and I'll show you what I've got."
Li Xiangyang hesitated for a moment, then took two bullets out of his pocket and handed them to him: "Shoot them and let me see."
"Okay, watch carefully."
Wang Ergou took the bullet, raised his hand, and aimed at a big tree in front of him.
His movements were skillful, his breathing steady, and he aimed and fired in one smooth motion.
"boom!"
The crisp sound of gunfire echoed through the mountain forest in the morning.
"I'm using this gun to target a specific point; you watch it."
"boom!"
Another gunshot rang out. Li Xiangyang stared intently and saw two bullet holes on the trunk of the big tree, no more than a palm's width apart.
Although the shot missed its mark, considering the opponent was drunk and confused, the marksmanship was truly masterful.
"How about that? It's only because I drank a bit too much," Wang Ergou said smugly, brandishing his gun. "Normally, do you believe I could have hit the same target?"
“I believe you!” Li Xiangyang nodded, already having made up his mind: “Okay, it’s settled then, let’s go.”
Wang Ergou's face lit up with joy, but he rubbed his hands together somewhat awkwardly, saying, "Well, let's keep things separate..."
"Go ahead."
"That 350..."
Li Xiangyang understood and took out some money from his pocket: "Here, take this."
Wang Ergou took the money, his face beaming with joy: "Xiangyang, I, Wang Ergou, have never submitted to anyone in my life, but today I truly submit to you."
Li Xiangyang smiled faintly.
This Wang Ergou, seemingly reckless, is actually quite shrewd. He's a good shot, well-informed, and a truly excellent partner.
As for his character, we'll see after working together.
"Let's all get some rest today," Li Xiangyang said as they parted. "See you at the village entrance early tomorrow morning."
Daylight had broken, and the two parted ways.
Li Xiangyang hurried home. As soon as he entered the yard, he saw his mother busy in the kitchen.
"Mother, I'm back." Li Xiangyang put down his gun and approached the kitchen door.
"Okay, it's good to be back. Can you tell me where you went?"
Without looking up, the mother asked, her hands still adding firewood to the stove.
Li Xiangyang hesitated for a moment, then told the truth: "I went to check the cave with Wang Ergou. It's where his gun was found. There wasn't just one in the cave, and I was worried he might do something reckless. But don't worry, we've already reported it to Captain Zhou."
Upon hearing the name Captain Zhou, Li's mother's brow relaxed slightly, but she still said worriedly, "You should stay away from that Wang Ergou in the future. He's lazy and good-for-nothing, and he never does any work properly. When the village distributed work points, his family always got the least. If it weren't for the basic food rations, they would have starved to death long ago."
The fire in the stove reflected on the mother's face, revealing the worry in her eyes.
These days, you can tell how hard a person works just by looking at their work points.
“Mother,” Li Xiangyang smiled, “you really are judging people by a narrow view.”
He squatted down and helped his mother tidy up the firewood. "Wang Ergou might seem unreliable, but believe it or not, with that kind of drive, he might end up doing better than anyone else."
Li's mother stopped what she was doing and turned to look at her son: "Why do you suddenly value him so much?"
“Mother, these days, just burying your head in work isn’t enough. How much can you earn in a year just by shoveling food in the fields? If you want to get ahead, you need to be shrewd and know how to get things done.”
"Wang Ergou met with Captain Zhou once and immediately got himself a hunter's license. Do you think that's something an ordinary person could do?"
"The key point is that he not only took credit for himself, but also helped me take credit. Think about it, how many people would think of that?"
"And his marksmanship is exceptional."
Hearing her son say this, Li's mother's prejudice lessened slightly, but it was impossible for her to completely change her opinion of Wang Ergou.
"Since you've put it that way, then you can decide for yourself," Li's mother sighed, still worried, and added, "But you mustn't pick up any of his bad habits."
"Don't worry, Mom," Li Xiangyang patted his mother's shoulder, "I know what I'm doing."