With this shot, Wang An didn't intend to take the kid's life, so he aimed for a spot about two meters in front of him.
However, the bullet kicked up a significant amount of gravel and snow spray, which flew toward the kid in a fan-shaped spray.
Caught off guard, the kid was instantly splattered across his face and body with gravel and snow, and some of the grit flew straight into his eyes. With a miserable scream, he dropped his axe and crouched there, rubbing his eyes.
Seeing the others standing there in silence, Wang An shouted at them with a face full of contempt
"What's the matter? You lot think you're cut out to be road-blockers with that pathetic look on you? All of you, get the fuck out of here, you motherfuckers!"
After cursing, Wang An didn't give them another glance. He casually flipped the safety on his Type 54, tucked the gun into his pocket, and went back to fiddling with the rope as if nothing had happened.
It must be said that Wang An's attitude at this moment could be described as bold and domineering, possessing a certain aura of "one man guarding the pass, ten thousand cannot pass."
There was no helping it; no matter the era, whoever holds the gun holds the truth!
Of course, these people might have felt they were losing face, or perhaps they were relying on their superior numbers, so they didn't leave. Instead, they stood there blankly watching Wang An tie the rope to the fallen log. None of them retreated, but not a single person dared to step forward.
It was a joke—they were strangers. Who knew if Wang An would actually pull the trigger on a person?
Even if they knew Wang An didn't dare to kill, not one of them was willing to be the test subject.
Ignoring the crowd, Wang An slowly tied the rope, then slowly hooked the other end onto the front towing hook of the Jiefang truck. He waved to Wang Li, signaling him to reverse.
Wang Li glanced at the group outside the window, then shifted into reverse and stepped on the gas.
As the truck backed up, the fallen log—which Wang An had failed to move several times by hand—was brutally dragged away by the Jiefang and aligned with the road.
One had to admit, the Jiefang really had some power.
With the log moved, the Jiefang could pass through smoothly. However, after unhooking the rope, Wang An wasn't in a hurry to leave. He leaned toward the window and said to Wang Li
"Drive the truck forward a bit. I think this log is pretty good; it's ash wood. It's worth at least twenty or thirty yuan. Let's haul it away and sell it to a lumber mill in Harbin."
Wang Li was stunned, saying in a state of total confusion
"Haul... haul it away to sell?"
For a moment, Wang Li truly couldn't keep up with Wang An's train of thought. Mainly because this was a log people were using to block the road, and Wang An, for goodness' sake, wanted to steal it and sell it.
Wang An frowned and gave Wang Li a sidelong glance.
"Of course! I've looked at this wood; it's top-notch. In the mountains near our home, it'd be a real pain to find an ash log this thick. If we don't sell it, it'd be great to take home and make furniture."
Mu Xueli naturally heard Wang An's words. She blinked and gestured with her eyes toward the group holding shovels and pickaxes, saying
"Um, brother-in-law, those people are just standing there watching. Is it really okay for us to just haul it away like this?"
It had to be said that Wang An had a heart of steel. A group of people were staring them down with weapons in hand, and Wang An acted as if he didn't even see them.
Wang An looked back at the people, then turned back and said nonchalantly
"Oh, it's no big deal. Stop idling and wasting time. Do you still want to buy that big color TV or not?"
And so, under Wang An's direction, Wang Li drove the Jiefang forward, aligning the rear of the truck with the fallen log.
After Wang Li and Mu Xueli got out of the car, the three of them tried to lift it. Unfortunately, the log was too heavy; the three of them could only lift one side to waist height before they hit their limit.
Helplessly, they set the log back down.
Though they couldn't move it, Wang An looked at the growth rings on the cross-section of the log and said to Wang Li and Mu Xueli
"See that? Look how good this ash wood is. It's at least two or three hundred years old. We wander the mountains every day, when have we ever come across ash this thick?"
To be honest, if this were in the future, a single piece of ash wood like this would be worth tens of thousands at the very least.
Setting aside other uses, even if this log were just used to make a coffin, wealthy people would fight over it. After all, who wouldn't want to sleep in a high-quality coffin after they die?
Mu Xueli said with a face full of helplessness
"Even if it's that good, what's the use if we can't move it?"
Wang An scanned the area and suddenly had an idea. He turned and shouted to the group with the pickaxes and axes
"Come on, a few of you come over here and help me lift this log onto the truck. You won't be helping for free—30 cents in wages per person."
As he spoke, Wang An pulled out the Type 54 again, his face clearly saying, "I'll see who dares to run."
Wang An's "god-tier" operations were always unexpected. He actually wanted to hire bandits to do manual labor; who could have possibly imagined that?
Consequently, Wang Li and Mu Xueli felt physically unwell upon hearing Wang An's words.
After waiting a while and seeing no movement, Wang An fired another shot into the air. As the gunshot faded, Wang An pointed the gun at the group and said impatiently
"What the fuck are you all staring at? Stop idling and come lift the wood. I'm telling you, I'm a security guard; if I shoot you dead, I'll definitely get in trouble. But if I just cripple a few of you, I haven't done anything wrong. Hurry up, don't make me angry."
Intimidated by the gunshot, about half of the people looked at each other, tossed aside their tools, and walked over.
However, just as they had taken a few steps, one of the people who hadn't moved suddenly craned his neck, bugged his eyes, and shouted
"I'll see who the fuck dares to move!"
These words caused those who had already walked a few meters to stop instantly.
Wang An's eyes sharpened. He raised his hand and fired a shot straight into the kid's thigh.
With Wang An's marksmanship, he hit exactly where he aimed, so there was no such thing as a miss. The kid's scream instantly echoed across the highway.
After firing, Wang An mocked the kid
"You're just a road-blocker, why the fuck are you so arrogant?"
Ignoring the kid, Wang An pointed at the few who hadn't stepped forward and said
"Which one of you wants a turn?"
Hearing this, those few people immediately shook their heads like rattles.
Wang An glanced at them, then said to those who were already walking over
"Hurry up, I'm busy."
Thus, with the combined effort of nine young men, the thick and heavy ash log was finally lifted into the bed of the Jiefang.
Wang An did not break his word. He pulled out three yuan and handed them to one of the men, saying
"30 cents each for you lot. Use the remaining 30 cents to buy a pack of cigarettes. It wasn't easy for any of us."
(End of Chapter)