pertwk Chapter 117 Using a Tiger's Skin
Chapter 117 Using a Tiger's Skin
Xiao Kai, who didn't have a close relationship with Chen Tuo, didn't want to hide the fact that the transaction involved a speculative deal like swapping horses.
He had just hinted that he would report it to the Forestry Bureau when the sound of footsteps crunching in the fresh snow came from outside the educated youth settlement.
In forest areas, snow often doesn't actually fall; when the wind picks up on the mountain, it can make it look like snow.
Chen Tuo's direct impression was that it snowed lightly every three days and heavily every five days.
Seeing that it was Wu Laowai, who was out on a hunting trip, who was not expected to be reported by Xiao Kai to Chen Tuo of the Forestry Bureau, he also started to use public opinion to blackmail people.
"Uncle Wu, I just talked to Section Chief Xiao about going to Hulunbuir, are you going?"
"Go! Why not? Let's take the train and go out for a bit, earn some food, that'll be enough to get through the winter..."
Wu Laowai, who was pulling an old wolf and two rabbits on a sled, had his eyes light up when he heard that Chen Tuo was going to the grassland.
He had long wanted to go to Eqi with Su Dao to do business, but Su Dao wouldn't take him along.
Because of their status as hunters, the higher-ups didn't pay much attention to Su Dao and his group.
They were allowed to use the leather they had obtained by exchanging tea and wine to exchange for grain in Jagdaqi or surrounding counties and cities.
Then they would take the grain they had obtained and exchange it for livestock hides on the grasslands.
After exchanging for leather, they could then exchange it for tea and wine.
Although this deal wasn't large, it was for government agencies.
For an individual.
Su Dao and his group could make enough money in one transaction to cover their expenses for several years.
"Uncle Lao Wai, Chen Zhiqing doesn't know what's going on inside, but don't you? Why are you meddling in this?"
In Songling Town, as a seasoned mountain runner familiar with the terrain of Songling Mountain, Wu Laowai could still receive some preferential treatment from Sun Changkui.
If it were Xiao Kai, a second-generation forestry worker living in the forestry bureau's area, Wu Laowai would just be an old codger in Songling Town.
He's called "Uncle Lao Wai" simply because he's close to Chen Tuo.
If it were the convicted Chu Maolin here, he would directly call him "Old Wu Wai," or "Old Bachelor," or "Old Roller Stick."
Forestry heirs like Xiao Kai and Chu Maolin disliked Wu Laowai.
Wu Laowai also disliked them.
If Sun Changkui or Chu Mingshan asked him to do something like hunting wolves, he would definitely go.
If it were Xiao Kai or Chu Maolin who came to him, he wouldn't go no matter how easy or difficult it was to fight the wolves.
If Xiao Kai had been leading the team that night in Hetao, Wu Laowai probably wouldn't have even bothered to persuade them; he would have simply turned around and left, leaving them to be wiped out in the snowstorm.
The reason is simple: the wolves that the Forestry Bureau can't fight are the ones that Wu Laowai can.
When it comes to skills and livelihood, Wu Laowai is really not a good person.
"What? It's none of your business if Su Dao wants to take me."
Going to the grasslands with Su Dao, or crossing the river to go to the market, is related to Wu Laowai's life after he retires from the world.
Xiao Kai's call of "Uncle Lao Wai" couldn't stop him.
"Section Chief Xiao, didn't you ask me about your future before? Your future might lie with Uncle Su Dao."
Wu Laowai's abrupt refusal prompted Xiao Kai, who was used to being powerful and domineering in Songling, to raise an eyebrow and be about to reprimand him, but Chen Tuo stopped him.
Chen Tuo didn't mention the grasslands but instead mentioned the Sudao route, and Xiao Kai understood that he was referring to the two routes: the grasslands and the river crossing.
"Chen Zhiqing, what Su Daoneng can do, we can't do! If he were dealing those things, we'd be executed several times over!"
Whether it's the value of horse trafficking on the grasslands or the act of crossing the river to go to the market.
The hunters in Sudao could do it, but for forestry workers, it would be a job that could cost them their heads.
"Section Chief Xiao, the bold get rich while the timid starve. Some things are just a matter of how you phrase them."
Xiao Kai misunderstood his meaning, but Chen Tuo didn't explain and just continued talking.
"What do you mean?"
"Uncle Su said that the hunters' traditions of fishing and hunting, as well as their shamanistic culture, are on the verge of extinction. He even gave me the Solon bow in the house!"
Following Chen Tuo's pointing finger, Xiao Kai saw two carrying poles hanging from deer antlers on the gatehouse wall and exclaimed in surprise:
"Huh? Weren't you talking about doing business? How did you get onto the topic of hunter settlements and the Soren Bow?"
Besides lacking opportunities for advancement, Xiao Kai was also short of money. He wanted a motorcycle, a large color TV, and to flaunt his status as an air force pilot in a deerskin jacket.
But unfortunately, he had neither money nor power, and could only look at the things he coveted without being able to get his hands on them.
"Do business? You're short of money? With a little handling of timber from the forest, the money comes in like water!"
Although he was unsure about current prices, Chen Tuo was well aware of the essential need for timber.
Let alone raw materials, the branches and firewood piled up in the old lumberyard behind the educated youth settlement should be worth hundreds of thousands of yuan now.
The key is whether Xiao Kai can get it out of the country; as long as he can get it out of the country...
Even in forest areas where there are only piles of rotten branches and firewood, you can still make a lot of money.
"Oh? Selling firewood? That's a business opportunity!"
"Stop doing that, it's taboo. I have a safer way. Now let's talk about what's happening on the mountain..."
As a young writer on the verge of fame, Chen Tuo wanted a lot.
Fame and fortune, fame comes before fortune.
Once you're famous, making money is easy!
Having created his own works, Chen Tuo now wants more.
For an author, the world they create that can be presented in reality is undoubtedly the most prestigious real-world award.
In the Blood Wolf Plains, we record the soon-to-disappear fishing and hunting traditions and shamanistic culture of the hunters.
In reality, through connections with the Songling Forestry Bureau, we were able to renew their support.
Starting with hunting knives, hunting boots, and hunting attire, we then incorporated the traditional clothing and crafts of various ethnic groups.
If one can create works that showcase the fishing and hunting traditions and shamanic culture to the public, then his works will have a real basis and continuation.
This is a big deal, but it's actually quite small in practice.
If you get a few hundred halberds, make a few thousand pairs of hunting boots, and some exquisite traditional clothing, you'll have achieved real success.
Once the results are achieved, the subsequent traditions of fishing and hunting, and shamanic culture, will naturally be debated and interpreted by so-called great Confucian scholars.
Whether it's the continuation of the Qing Dynasty's shamanism, the Liao and Jin dynasties' fishing and hunting, the Bohai Shatuo, or even the earlier Xiongnu, it's all just a matter of historians writing it down.
"What should we do about what happened on the mountain?"
Even if Chen Tuo were to express his thoughts, Xiao Kai wouldn't understand them in a short time.
When the conversation shifted from making money through business to fishing and hunting in the mountains, he became somewhat confused.
"Simple! The Dobukuer settlement on the North Mountain is short of a few shamans. Could the Forestry Bureau invite some?"
"Furthermore, they also need to make some hunting knives, boots, and equipment on the mountain. Could the forestry bureau hire a few experienced craftsmen and provide them with some equipment?"
When it comes to the hunters' fishing and hunting traditions and the shamanic heritage, Chen Tuo doesn't want to go back to the past and restore the real primitive fishing and hunting. Who would watch that?
The soul of primitive hunting and fishing, the root of modern production, and the aesthetics needed by the general public are the only things that can be sustained and passed down in the long run.
Restoring historical facts and returning to the origin is essential; it's impossible to preserve history without written records, let alone with written records!
They've used the guise of cultural heritage to treat it as a business.
This is how things that Su Dao and others hoped to pass down will be preserved, discovered, and inherited.
Similarly, it would also allow the world in Chen Tuo's works to be recreated in the vast mountains of the Xing'an Mountains according to his settings...