Qiao Lanshu didn't say anything at this time; she just went along with whatever Guan Wenjun suggested.
She was simply worried about Qin Yuanzheng, and her heart was filled with a constant sense of unease.
She didn't know where this unease came from. Perhaps it was because she had dreamed of the scars on Qin Yuanzheng's back, or maybe because she had dreamed of him being injured in an explosion.
In short, she had spoken much less over the past two days, always maintaining a silent demeanor.
Guan Wenjun even felt embarrassed to joke around with her.
Ranger Zhou assumed they were a real married couple, so he had prepared a single room for them.
Qiao Lanshu sat in the room, and Guan Wenjun felt too awkward to go in. He asked, "Are you hungry? Should I go start a fire and cook some food?"
Qiao Lanshu looked at him curiously. "You know how to cook?"
Guan Wenjun immediately replied, "No."
Qiao Lanshu: "..."
Guan Wenjun scratched his head and said, "Forget it, I don't know how to start a fire either. Let's just eat whatever and get through these next few days."
Close the case early, go back early.
Guan Wenjun was anxious to start investigating the case.
Qiao Lanshu held a dry flatbread and ate it slowly.
She knew how to build a fire and cook, but she wasn't in the mood right now. She would just cook dinner later tonight.
Right now, she wanted to take a walk around the village.
She wondered where Qin Yuanzheng was at this very moment.
Si Zhemao was probably at the town police station.
Guan Wenjun went out to find Ranger Zhou, and the two of them chatted about the forestry farm and the village.
Seeing that it was about time, Ranger Zhou said, "Let's go. I'll take you for a walk around the forestry farm."
Guan Wenjun went to call Qiao Lanshu. Holding a notebook and pen, and wearing gloves, Qiao Lanshu followed behind Guan Wenjun.
Ranger Zhou led them up the mountain along a small path to patrol their section of the forestry farm.
Ranger Zhou said, "Our area here is large. Several mountains are connected. There are jujube and pear orchards nearby, which are also under our management. There are hundreds of medicinal herbs in the mountains, mostly wild. Ordinary people aren't allowed to come in and pick them, and we usually don't go over there much if there's nothing going on."
Guan Wenjun nodded. "It's winter now, so there shouldn't be much to do in the mountains, right?"
Ranger Zhou replied, "Not much. Mainly collecting firewood. The village doesn't have enough coal, so most villagers still have to use firewood to heat their brick beds."
Since Guan Wenjun's stated purpose for coming here was to look for fruit saplings, tree saplings, and medicinal herb seedlings, Ranger Zhou specifically took him around those areas.
The mountains were too vast, and the temperature dropped sharply in the afternoon, making it very cold.
So they only wandered around the mountains for two hours before preparing to head back out.
Qiao Lanshu walked slowly, observing her surroundings as she went. Guan Wenjun also slowed his pace to wait for her.
Ranger Zhou said enviously, "Comrade Guan, you and your wife are so affectionate. Do you have children yet?"
Guan Wenjun: "..."
Guan Wenjun glanced at Qiao Lanshu awkwardly, only to find her expressionless, showing absolutely no reaction to those words.
Sometimes, Guan Wenjun truly admired Qiao Lanshu's psychological fortitude.
She didn't react to this at all.
Guan Wenjun and Ranger Zhou talked for a while about marriage, children, and love.
One guy who had been single since birth imparted dating advice to another guy who had been single since birth, complaining about the hardships of marriage, throwing in a comment about how hard it is to raise kids, and finally summarizing: Life is too hard, men suffer too much, taking a wife is fine, but don't have kids lightly!
Ranger Zhou nodded continuously. "Comrade Guan seems very experienced. Comrade Guan sees things very clearly. I envy your happy marriage and family, and that you have something to look forward to in life."
Qiao Lanshu looked at Guan Wenjun, then at Ranger Zhou, not knowing what expression to make.
She really hadn't expected this guy, Guan Wenjun, to have such a flair for the dramatic.
Seeing that it was getting late, Ranger Zhou said, "It's getting late. Let's head down the mountain now. Otherwise, it'll get really cold once it gets dark, and the road will be hard to walk on."
They needed to hurry down the mountain and back to the dorms while the sun was still up.
Guan Wenjun nodded. "Alright, we'll come back tomorrow."
As the three of them were preparing to head down, Qiao Lanshu suddenly asked, "Comrade Zhou, didn't you say there were wolfdogs raised in the mountains and other rangers around? How come we didn't see them on our way up?"
Ranger Zhou quickly replied, "Our veteran employees all live in the mountains over by the orchards. There are wooden cabins there specifically for the forest rangers to live in, and the wolfdogs are over there too."
Qiao Lanshu asked curiously, "Do the rangers live there all the time? Do you guys rotate shifts? How many dogs do you have?"
Ranger Zhou: "Usually we don't rotate shifts. Each of us has our own designated area of responsibility. Plus, those two dogs have always been kept over there and they only recognize certain people. Even I don't dare to go over there."
Even though the dogs were tied up, they were very vicious. Probably because they often hunted for food in the mountains, they had a ferocious nature.
Ranger Zhou was just an educated youth sent down to the countryside. He only wanted to do his job peacefully and didn't want to risk his life.
After all, he still wanted to return to the city. If he got bitten by a dog here, it would be a huge trouble.
After all, this mountain village didn't even have a clinic.
When villagers got sick, apart from toughing it out or looking for herbs in the mountains, their only option was to go to the town clinic. It took over an hour just to get there by ox cart, which was too far.
Qiao Lanshu looked in the direction Ranger Zhou was pointing.
That orchard was on another mountain peak. They couldn't get there from here; they would have to detour along a mountain road. A round trip would take even longer.
So Qiao Lanshu didn't say anything more and went back with Guan Wenjun.
Upon returning to the dormitory area, Ranger Zhou and Guan Wenjun chatted a bit about the medicinal seedlings and tree saplings.
Guan Wenjun actually didn't understand any of this; he was just biting the bullet and talking about work with Ranger Zhou.
After talking about work, Ranger Zhou said it was getting late and he needed to cook. He took the opportunity to invite Guan Wenjun and his wife to eat with him, saying he would boil some noodles.
Guan Wenjun didn't refuse, since he didn't know how to cook.
While Ranger Zhou went to his own dorm to cook, Guan Wenjun asked Qiao Lanshu in a low voice, "What's wrong? Did you discover something?"
Qiao Lanshu looked toward the mountains and whispered, "I think you should take a walk over to the orchard. Who knows, there might be some unexpected discoveries over there."
Guan Wenjun was speechless. "Comrade Xiao Qiao, are you trying to get me killed? There are dogs over there that bite!"
Qiao Lanshu advised him in a low voice, "It's exactly because there are dogs that you have to go take a look. Think about it, if the other party didn't have a guilty conscience, why would they keep dogs?"
Guan Wenjun: "To guard the door and protect themselves, obviously. You have no idea how dangerous it is in these mountains."
Qiao Lanshu just looked at him, not speaking for a good while.
Guan Wenjun immediately said, "Don't go calling me useless again. I'm not being useless, I'm doing rational analysis!"
Qiao Lanshu gave him a silent look, then simply replied with an "Oh." She lowered her head, went back into the room, grabbed a thermos, and walked toward Ranger Zhou's room.
Guan Wenjun: "..."
Guan Wenjun followed behind her. "Wait, what do you mean, 'Oh'? Do you not believe what I'm saying?"
Qiao Lanshu didn't make a sound. Pretending not to hear him, she walked straight into Ranger Zhou's room.
And saw Ranger Zhou inside cooking.
By the window in the room was a stove with two pots on it. One was used for steaming buns, and the smaller one for boiling noodles.
Seeing Qiao Lanshu come in, he smiled and said, "Comrade Xiao Qiao, are you hungry? I steamed some multigrain buns, they'll be ready to eat in a bit."
Guan Wenjuan was here on a business trip, so the forestry center was responsible for his accommodation and meals.
Ranger Zhou had already gone to collect their grain rations, so he made the buns, bought the noodles, and also brought back some cabbage and radishes.
Qiao Lanshu asked him, "Do you need any help?"
Ranger Zhou quickly replied, "No need, I'm almost done."
He made sour soup noodles and steamed a pot of multigrain buns. This would be the dinner for the three of them.
The sour soup noodles had wood ear mushrooms and cabbage in them, and they tasted pretty good.
Ranger Zhou didn't know how to cook anything else; he could only make these simplest of dishes.
After the three of them finished eating, it was getting late. Guan Wenjuan followed Qiao Lanshu back to their room.
He said to Qiao Lanshu, "It's too cold today, I can't sleep on the floor. I'll go next door and squeeze in with Xiao Zhou. You sleep here by yourself."
Qiao Lanshu nodded, still not speaking to him.
Guan Wenjuan scratched his head, sighed, and went next door to Xiao Zhou's place.
Xiao Zhou was a bit surprised to see him. "Comrade Guan, why did you come over?"
Guan Wenjuan sighed and said with a solemn face, "My wife is at odds with me. I'm telling you, women are just difficult. They get angry over nothing. If I could do it all over again, I definitely wouldn't marry her!"
Ranger Zhou was speechless.
Ranger Zhou felt that Comrade Xiao Qiao had a pretty good temper and was quite easy to talk to.
He figured Guan Wenjuan must have been the one to make her angry, but he was too polite to say it out loud.
That night, the two grown men squeezed together on the same heated brick bed.
Qiao Lanshu didn't bother about Guan Wenjuan. She couldn't sleep either, so she lit an oil lamp and sat on her bed, suffering from insomnia.
...
The next morning, Qiao Lanshu came out of the room. She didn't see Ranger Zhou, nor did she see Guan Wenjuan.
Strange, where did Guan Wenjuan go? He didn't even tell her.
Qiao Lanshu wandered around the dormitory area. Just as she was looking toward the entrance of the forestry center, she suddenly heard a commotion coming from the mountains, followed by the increasingly fierce barking of dogs.
Qiao Lanshu was startled.
Qiao Lanshu quickly stepped back. She originally wanted to retreat to her own room, but after a moment's thought, she turned and ran into Ranger Zhou's room.
Ranger Zhou's dormitory door wasn't locked; it pushed open easily.
Xiao Zhou probably left it unlocked in case Qiao Lanshu needed to cook or boil water.
This made things convenient for Qiao Lanshu.
When she had come in earlier, she had noticed a hunting rifle hanging on the wall. She happened to know how to use it.
Qiao Lanshu came out holding the gun. In the distance, on the mountain path of the forestry center, she saw a man holding a stick, swinging it backward while running for his life.
Behind him, four or five dogs were in hot pursuit.
Guan Wenjuan had never been in such a sorry state. From childhood to adulthood, he had never been chased by dogs.
Now, having traveled all the way to this mountain village, he was finally experiencing it.
Four or five fierce wolfhounds were snapping at his heels.
As luck would have it, Director Guan, who usually carried a pistol with him, had disguised himself as a grassroots cadre this time and was unarmed.
He could only use a long stick to scare the dogs while running madly down the mountain.
Guan Wenjuan was panting heavily; he had never run this fast in his life.
He suddenly felt as if he had awakened a hidden athletic talent and could represent his country across the ocean at the Olympic Games.
Even at a time like this, he was still thinking to himself that if he won an Olympic gold medal, he could leap from being a universally despised Revolutionary Committee director to a national hero.
Then, would he still need to worry about not being able to change jobs or join the organization?
Guan Wenjuan shouted at the top of his lungs, "Help! The dogs are eating me!"
Just then, a loud bang rang out.
Startled by the gunshot, Guan Wenjuan stumbled and fell flat on his face.
The wolfhounds chasing him came to a sudden halt. They froze in place, ears pricked up, looking in terror toward the source of the gunshot.
Qiao Lanshu was crouching on the roof of the forestry center dormitory, watching the fierce wolfhounds on the mountain path. She aimed the hunting rifle diagonally at the sky and fired another shot with a loud bang.
The dogs jumped in fright, their fur standing on end. Tucking their tails between their legs, they turned and fled quickly into the forest. In no time, the large wolfhounds vanished without a trace.
Only then did Guan Wenjuan scramble up from the ground.
He had scraped his left leg on a rock when he fell, and it hurt like crazy.
He brushed the grass clippings off his clothes, shook his messy hair, and limped back in a completely disheveled state.
Afraid that the wolfhounds might return, Qiao Lanshu remained crouched on the roof, still clutching the hunting rifle.
She looked at Guan Wenjuan and shouted, "What happened? Didn't Xiao Zhou go with you?"
Guan Wenjuan was furious. Standing below, he looked up at Qiao Lanshu, pointed at her, and said, "You tell me what happened! Weren't you the one who told me to go to the orchard?"
Qiao Lanshu was speechless.
Guan Wenjuan's handsome image was completely ruined.
At this moment, he looked utterly pathetic, even worse off than the dogs from earlier.
He sat dejectedly on the front steps, rubbing his left leg and grimacing in pain.
Qiao Lanshu quickly climbed down the nearby ladder, still holding the gun. She walked over to Guan Wenjuan and asked in a low voice, "Where is Xiao Zhou?"
Guan Wenjuan replied, "He went to town to run some errands. I sneaked in by myself..."
Qiao Lanshu asked quietly, "And? Did you see that old employee? Is there anything strange about that house?"
This was another reason why Guan Wenjuan was so annoyed.
He said, "I had just gotten near the place and only saw a wooden cabin from a distance. Before I could even get closer, those dogs spotted me. Those dogs are truly vicious. They chase people like crazy, it was terrifying."
He almost thought he was going to be bitten to death just now.
He was still shuddering at the thought.
Qiao Lanshu sat down next to him and lowered her voice, "Didn't they say there was only one dog? Why are there five? Are they really allowed to keep so many dogs?"
Guan Wenjuan was equally puzzled. "That Xiao Zhou didn't tell the truth. Damn it, he almost got me killed!"
As he spoke, he suddenly noticed the gun in Qiao Lanshu's arms.
He quickly reached over, pushed the barrel of the gun toward the ground, and glared at her. "Where did you get that gun? Do you even know how to use it? That thing is dangerous!"
Qiao Lanshu was speechless.
Guan Wenjuan had clearly been scared silly, completely forgetting how he had just been saved.
