vstars Chapter 128 That's impressive driving skill; he can even drive a Golden Deer!
Chapter 128 That's impressive driving skill; he can even drive a Golden Deer!
Li Guaizi, who was waiting outside the office, turned around and walked away with a cold face as soon as he heard the name of Brother Huang, Huang Lianghui.
In the eyes of all the hunters in the Xing'an Mountains, this name was comparable to that of Old Qian, the professional wolf hunter. Old Qian hunted wolves that had no offspring, but his second son and youngest son both died in the mountains, the youngest son even dying at his hands. Wasn't that a strange thing? After Old Qian passed away, his daughter and son-in-law were extorted for selling the pelts he left behind, and the money they got was stolen the very next time they saw it. They had nowhere to turn for help.
According to the villagers, it's all retribution.
Huang Lianghui's name was widely known. A few years ago, he specialized in specimen collection for the forestry station, his skill in catching weasels being unparalleled. If Qin Pao was the king of snares in Changbai Mountain, then Huang Lianghui was the king of traps in the Xing'an Mountains. He caught weasels, even using a gun, with near-perfect accuracy. The walls of Huang's house were covered with weasel pelts, and the three rooms, large and small, were entirely filled with them.
In the 1980s, a weasel pelt could sell for around eighty yuan. Huang Lianghui could catch almost eight weasels every day, and he easily earned tens of thousands of yuan a year selling pelts. His name became known throughout the forest farm, and he was quite famous. Even fur traders from as far south as the south would try to get close to him, ordering pelts to sell for a good price in Southeast Asia.
Li Guaizi disliked Huang Lianghui very much, and the old people in the village avoided him as if he were a jinx.
As a result, Huang Lianghui was attacked by a weasel in the middle of the night and crawled into the shack. Unfortunately, the bottle containing kerosene overturned on the quilt, and the kerosene was ignited by a lighter. With a "whoosh," the quilt caught fire, and the shack was engulfed in flames. Not only was he burned, but his sister-in-law and nephew also suffocated to death from the thick smoke.
Later, after Huang Lianghui regained consciousness in the hospital, he would erratically run to his sister-in-law and nephew's graves, sitting there for a whole day. He died not long after. Later, the villagers, unable to bear seeing his body left to rot in the wilderness, buried him.
Later, whenever a young hunter in the village wanted to hunt weasels for money, he would be scolded by the elders and given a lecture about Huang Lianghui.
The old patriarch of the Lu family spoke with great enthusiasm, often reprimanding his brothers: "That Huang fellow brought this upon himself, saying that if he was destined to die in a well, he wouldn't die in a river, and that dying anywhere was the same. Now he has angered the mountain god and is getting his comeuppance for catching a weasel."
Many hunters shared the same idea as Li Guaizi. When they heard that Leader Chen wanted to hunt weasels, they refused the job no matter how much money was offered.
Li Ju'an didn't think so.
He had lived two lives, pursuing power and profit in the business world, committing countless evil deeds, risking his life, and even serving ten years in prison. He knew the old traditions and had also witnessed the new era. The old hunters in the village were wary of weasels, but in his view, he had a legitimate reason and did not kill them indiscriminately; killing six weasels was a minor offense and not a great evil.
Li Ju'an clasped his hands together, bowed towards the window, and silently prayed: "Mountain God, I'm not like Huang Pao. That man kills weasels for fun, slaughtering entire families in one go. I'm just helping someone do a good deed. If you truly have a spirit, don't blame me. Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor; blame the people at the forest farm."
After he finished bowing, he looked pained and sighed heavily to Leader Chen, saying, "Leader, it's not that I'm unwilling, it's just that the reputation of fighting weasels is not good. Besides, I really can't do the job of following the car, I can at least handle the steering wheel."
A popular saying from the 1980s goes: First, power; second, money; third, the stethoscope; fourth, the steering wheel.
Upon hearing that there was still a chance, Assistant Chen asked in surprise, "Li Pao, you still want to touch the steering wheel?"
Speaking of Li Ju'an, he gets all excited. In his previous life, he got his driver's license and drove a car every day. Back in the 80s, how could he not know how to drive? But in the 80s, there were no driving schools, and a driver's license was a status symbol. To learn to drive, you had to be affiliated with a work unit and have proof of employment to take the test.
The leader's driver is on leave today; his child is sick at home. Li Ju'an glanced at the Golden Deer public bus in the forest farm yard outside and said, "How do you know I can't touch it if I don't try?"
"Li Pao, don't do anything reckless."
Leader Chen stopped his assistant from rushing over and took out the car keys, handing them to Li Ju'an. He also wanted to see if Li Ju'an had the skill to handle a car.
The Golden Deer, a car with a very retro design, is rarely seen in later generations.
In the early 80s, the Volga was the first choice for official vehicles. The name was difficult to pronounce in Chinese, and the vehicle's logo was a deer with its head held high, so it was nicknamed the "Golden Deer."
Li Ju'an unlocked the car door and got into the driver's seat. Leader Chen gestured for his assistant to sit in the passenger seat.
Assistant Chen trembled with fear. He sat in the passenger seat and didn't dare to move. He grabbed the handlebars and said in a voice that lacked its previous confidence, "Li Pao, I'm not shortchanging you. If you really can't drive, don't pretend here, get out of the car right now."
He suddenly realized that being a leader's assistant was quite risky. Holding onto this job was really not easy.
Li Ju'an reassured him, laughing, "Don't worry, I can't possibly drive you into the river."
His ignition technique was swift and steady; he turned the ignition key to the second position, to the power position, and waited at least 6 seconds. The Deer Jet's clutch is notoriously sensitive and difficult to drive. Shifting gears before second gear is truly challenging; many people drive it for over six months without accurately figuring out the clutch engagement point.
He stepped on the foot brake, shifted the gear from P to N, then released the foot brake and turned the ignition key to start the engine.
Seeing him fidgeting around, Assistant Chen felt even more uncertain, and his tone became somewhat pleading: "Li Pao, let's just stick to what we do. You should focus on hunting and not touch the steering wheel. This is not something you can figure out."
Li Ju'an suddenly stepped on the foot brake, released the handbrake, and shifted the gear from N to D. He slowly released the foot brake and started moving.
The Golden Deer car started up and circled around the forest farm compound at a slow speed.
Assistant Chen rolled down the car window, staring at the office building behind him and his boss, Mr. Chen, in the distance, remaining stunned for a long time. Could a hunter from the mountains really handle a steering wheel?
Only the logistics and administration staff of their forest farm know how difficult it is to recruit drivers. The Golden Deer has the most sensitive clutch; even drivers who can handle other cars may not be able to handle the Golden Deer.
Assistant Chen couldn't contain his excitement and waved enthusiastically to his boss, Chen, in the distance.
Li Ju'an didn't drive too far. He drove around the compound for a bit, then reversed into a bus parking space, put the car in neutral, pulled the handbrake, and removed the key.
"Can it be done?"
"Sure, sure. Where did Li Pao learn his driving skills from?"
In the 80s, even if you owned a car, you couldn't drive it, because learning to drive also required being affiliated with a work unit. You could only learn from an experienced mechanic at the unit, and there were very few spots available each year. It would take at least two or three years to get a driver's license. In addition to being tested on driving skills, you also had to learn mechanical repair and many small projects related to mechanical principles.
Getting a red, soft plastic driver's license was harder than climbing to heaven. It took more than half a year of being beaten and scolded by an instructor before you could exchange your probationary permit for a driver's license by signing a form. Anyone who had a driver's license felt a surge of pride.