Chapter 40: When it comes to being reckless, who's afraid of whom?

Even though it wasn't a holiday, the department store was quite bustling. There were many people, and it was loud and noisy.

Li Long looked around; everyone was there to buy New Year goods. Shicheng had many workers, and with extra money at the end of the year, even if they couldn't afford big-ticket items, buying a couple of catties of fruit candy, some sesame cakes, or two cans of preserves was a way to mark the occasion.

Yang Bailao used to get two-foot-long red hair ribbons for the New Year.

Seeing some fried noodles, Li Long squeezed through the crowd and weighed out a kilogram. Compared to fruit candy, this kind of snack—fried in oil and coated in sugar—was clearly more high-end. Then there were the roasted peanuts. The production teams grew sunflowers, and every family could get a share in the autumn; some was pressed for oil, while some was kept to be roasted for the New Year, though it left one's mouth looking black after eating.

Li Long split the peanuts he bought into two portions: one for himself and one to set aside for Tao Daqiang.

He took another stroll and saw double-barreled shotguns—locally called "sand guns" because the shot was filled with iron sand or lead pellets, with single slugs being rare. One was clearly marked at over three hundred yuan. There were also air guns, priced at over a hundred yuan.

Small-caliber rifles cost one hundred and eighty yuan, the price of a bicycle. The bullets for small-caliber rifles were about the size of a fine pencil lead, and since they were still available, Li Long found them quite tempting.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the money.

After another lap, he saw cotton-padded shoes for children. He wanted to buy some for Li Qiang and Li Juan, but since he didn't know the children's shoe sizes, he would have to wait for next time.

Having not seen any fishing nets after another circuit, he left the department store and swapped places with Tao Daqiang to go in.

"Daqiang, I bought four kilograms of roasted peanuts—two for your house and two for mine. I didn't see any fishing nets, so see if you can find them in there."

"Alright." Tao Daqiang entered the department store with a mix of trepidation and excitement.

However, he emerged only a short while later. Li Long could even see sweat on his face.

"Why are you out?"

"I... I didn't know what to buy. There's too much stuff, and too many people."

Li Long smiled; it was just shyness. It was no big deal; he would get used to it after a few more trips.

"Let's go then. We'll head to the supply and marketing cooperative to see if they have fishing nets there."

The supply and marketing cooperative wasn't far from the department store, and the horse carriage arrived quickly. There weren't many vehicles on the road at this time, though a few people on bicycles hurried past.

"Are you going in, or should I?" Once they arrived, Li Long asked Tao Daqiang.

"Brother Long, you should go in. I didn't even dare to ask just now," Tao Daqiang said, looking conflicted. "If they have them, buy them for me. If not... forget it."

Li Long entered the cooperative and found it less crowded and quieter than the department store.

He walked around and saw fishing nets for sale, but they were large-scale drag nets or barrier nets; the small ones were dip nets, and there were no hand nets.

Li Long was somewhat disappointed, but he still asked the price of the dip nets.

At this time, there were only single-layer dip nets. A fifty-meter, three-finger mesh net was two yuan, and a two-finger mesh was one yuan and seventy cents. He knew the price but didn't buy anything, and the salesperson didn't say anything either.

Leaving the cooperative, Li Long told Tao Daqiang the situation. Tao Daqiang was disappointed, but there was nothing to be done about it.

"Let's head back." Li Long checked the time; the sun was slightly to the west, earlier than the time they had finished selling yesterday.

But it would take two hours to get from Shicheng to Ma County, and nearly another two hours to head back, so they would likely reach home around dusk.

As they passed a state-run restaurant, Li Long bought four steamed buns, and the two of them ate as they walked.

As they were leaving Shicheng, Li Long suddenly stopped.

Tao Daqiang, who was gnawing on a meat bun, saw Li Long stop and asked

"Brother Long, what's wrong?" He was sitting on the horse carriage, facing backward, so he couldn't see what was happening.

"Someone is blocking the road. Most likely they want to rob us," Li Long said in a low voice.

At the mention of robbery, Tao Daqiang stuffed the bun into his mouth and nimbly jumped off the carriage to look ahead.

Two young men—one holding an iron chain and the other holding an iron pipe—were slowly walking toward the carriage.

The sides of the road were lined with woods. These two had chosen a good spot; once they robbed them, they could disappear straight into the forest, making them hard to find.

"Brother Long, do we fight?" Tao Daqiang was a bit nervous.

"Are you afraid?" Li Long took the whip in his hand, wrapping the reins around the pole to make it easier to strike.

"Afraid? Afraid of what!" Tao Daqiang spat. "If they want our money, we've got to fight to the death!"

He wanted his life, and he wanted his money!

"Brothers, we seek wealth, not death. Just give us some passage money. Not much, just ten yuan, and you can leave. Otherwise, not only will we see what happens to you, but if you kill our horse, you won't have an easy time either, right?"

The one with the iron chain stood five meters in front of the carriage and said, "We aren't greedy. We know you made a good amount of money this trip. How about it?"

"Not how about it at all!" Li Long sneered. "Want a free ride? Then let's see if you have the skill!"

He turned to Tao Daqiang and said

"You on the left, me on the right..."

Before he could finish, Tao Daqiang had already charged!

The two men were startled. What did this mean—a direct fight?

Seeing Tao Daqiang charge, Li Long immediately followed. He held the whip pole, striking toward the head of the man with the iron pipe as he rushed forward—the long whip gave him an advantage.

Seeing Tao Daqiang charging, the one with the iron chain knew this wouldn't end peacefully. He swung his chain, but he didn't expect that although Tao Daqiang seemed simple-minded, he wasn't a novice at fighting or playing around in the production team. As he jumped, he suddenly threw his hat at the man's face. While the man's vision was momentarily obscured, Tao Daqiang delivered a heavy kick to his chest. As the man stumbled back two steps, Tao Daqiang lunged forward, grabbed his shoulder, and delivered a headbutt straight to his face!

The man let out a scream, clutching his head and crouching down. His eyes were filled with blood, and he could see nothing; the pain was unbearable!

While Tao Daqiang was engaged in direct physical combat, Li Long was fighting a skirmish. He swung his whip, and the opponent used the iron pipe to block. Li Long didn't get too close; he didn't have Tao Daqiang's build and wasn't particularly skilled at brawling, but he was agile. He landed sudden, stinging strikes that left the opponent frustrated and unable to react.

The man with the iron pipe tried to charge Li Long recklessly, thinking that if he could just get close, he could land a heavy blow, but then he heard his partner's scream!

Turning to look, Li Long knew his chance had come. He rushed forward quickly, grabbed the man's arm, and tripped him.

He wasn't great at fighting, but he had practiced folk wrestling!

At that moment, Tao Daqiang came to help, punching the other robber who was struggling to stand. Li Long took the opportunity to step forward and stomp on him several times, preventing him from turning over.

"Search them," Li Long told Tao Daqiang. "See if they have anything valuable."

Since they had come to rob, they had to be prepared to be robbed.

"Brother Long, I found twelve yuan and a stack of food coupons here." After the fight, Tao Daqiang reverted to his simple self, even slipping up and using the respectful address for Li Long.

On Li Long's side, he found eight yuan and fifty cents, some food coupons, and a fountain pen—it was unclear if it was stolen from someone else or belonged to the man.

"Take the iron chain and the iron pipe, let's go!" Li Long said, stowing the money. "We need to move quickly."

This was someone else's territory, and he was worried about retaliation.