Staying in the car all the time wasn't ideal, so Lao Zhang came over and talked to Li Ningguang. They finally agreed to lend him a few umbrellas and also clear out two stone rooms for the Wildlife Conservation Association and the reporter team. The other side had quite a few people—a total of ten: Vice President Li Hongbo, three association members with experience working in the mountains, Bai Jiawei, two male colleagues (police officers Lao Zhang and Xiao Sun), and an extra driver. It turned out that Ms. Bai Jiawei was a reporter, specifically filming a documentary about this trip. Zhang Guodong had assumed they were reporters from the provincial TV station, but it turned out they were from CCTV! He was surprised; how could a CCTV reporter react so quickly? He was somewhat dumbfounded! This was quite a commotion. Suspicious, Zhang Guodong subtly inquired and learned they were a CCTV reporter team stationed in the provincial capital. The two staff members of the reporter team weren't so hesitant; they thanked Zhang Guodong for lending them umbrellas and spoke frankly. But what he overheard chilled Zhang Guodong to the bone—it was Zhang Wen who had betrayed them! These people were here to find the Green Fruit Tree! Now, those digging up trees on one side and those protecting trees on the other have ironically run into each other. This makes Zhang Guodong feel incredibly awkward! Wang Zhen and Du Wenqiang are huddled together in Li Ningguang's two stone houses, while Liu Dewang is also joining in the fun. Driver Lao Lin, naturally, is with his customers, while Zhang Guodong's side is quite free. The reason is simple: Lao Qing's impression on everyone is too shocking! Just one look from it sends shivers down their spines. This is an outcome Zhang Guodong hasn't anticipated, resulting in a somewhat comical feeling. Is Lao Qing really that scary? After settling Lao Qing in, Zhang Guodong goes to Li Ningguang's stone house. He needs to tell him about this; plans can't keep up with changes. They might run into each other! Li Ningguang is currently sulking. Li Hongbo was holding an umbrella for Bai Jiawei when he got out of the car, initially in a good mood, but his expression immediately changed when he saw Li Ningguang's mocking face. The two of them definitely know each other! Li Ningguang loudly sneered, "Who did we think it was? It's Vice President Li! When did you decide to go up the mountain? Is there a lot of money to be made there? Haven't been up here in years, can you still walk?" The sarcasm was blatant, and everyone could hear the tension in his voice. Li Hongbo's expression changed several times, and he retorted without hesitation, "Mr. Li, you are a person of status, no need for such sarcasm. As a member of the Wildlife Conservation Association, you were already lenient enough last time. I hope you'll behave yourself!" This Vice President Li...Bai Jiawei gleaned some information from Li Ningguang's words: Had Li Ningguang committed some offense? Was it related to the sale of wild animals and plants? Bai Jiawei, true to her journalistic nature, immediately asked, "Chairman Li, are you and Mr. Li friends?" Friends? Li Hongbo naturally couldn't admit they were adversaries! But not answering wasn't an option. "The thing is, Mr. Li once bought a nationally protected precious tree species, which we happened to encounter and confiscated, so—" Li Hongbo was lying, but he pinned the blame on Li Ningguang. "Oh? What kind of business does Mr. Li do?" Bai Jiawei asked curiously. Li Hongbo chuckled, "Reporter Bai, you can't just stand here in the rain like this. I'll tell you later, I guarantee I'll satisfy your curiosity!" "Alright then!" Bai Jiawei smiled awkwardly, but her eyes glanced at the furious Li Ningguang as he and the others returned to the stone house. This female reporter was no simpleton either! How much of Li Hongbo's one-sided story would she believe? The two groups separated. "Boss, should we expose him?" Wang Zhen asked in a deep voice as the other party entered the stone house. Having followed Li Ningguang, Wang Zhen naturally knew Li Hongbo and was aware of many inside stories. The presence of reporters seemed like an opportunity! "No need, let's go back!" Li Ningguang said in a deep voice. Those in this line of work are wary of media exposure and confrontations with the government; this time, facing Li Hongbo was an exception. Because he himself was also involved in illegal activities. Li Ningguang's sarcastic remarks wouldn't do much! But generally speaking, Li Ningguang had some reservations, otherwise he wouldn't have refrained from refuting. Seeing Zhang Guodong enter, Li Ningguang's expression improved considerably: "Guodong, have you found out anything? What are these bastards doing here?" Zhang Guodong's expression was rather serious. Hearing this, he glanced at the driver, Lao Lin, and vaguely said, "Brother Li, if I'm not mistaken, it should be related to Zhang Wenchu!" This statement provoked Li Ningguang into silence for a long time; the matter had indeed been predicted correctly! Liu Dewang, however, his eyes flickered, and he stammered, "Boss Li, is that the cave you're talking about?" "Shut up! Nobody thinks you're mute!" Li Ningguang snapped at him. "Don't let me run into that chicken-egg-like Zhang Wen again!" Zhang Guodong glanced at the driver, Lao Lin, but Lao Lin remained calm and composed, seemingly oblivious to their conversation, silently puffing on his cigarette. Li Ningguang thought for a moment and said, "Hmph, even if that chicken-egg-like guy talks nonsense, it's fine. Without a guide, he'll never find it in his lifetime!" The only person who could accurately locate the cave was Liu Dewang, so keeping an eye on Liu Dewang wouldn't prevent them from finding it first. Liu Dewang, upon hearing this, immediately beamed with pride. On the other side, Li Hongbo chuckled as he told Bai Jiawei and the other two anecdotes about Li Ningguang, specifically pointing out that Li Ningguang was a jade merchant with considerable wealth, yet he had been punished by the association once. This was a positive example of protecting wild flora and fauna resources! Bai Jiawei smiled and said, "No wonder Mr. Li has such a strong grudge against Chairman Li. But doesn't the local government care about these things?" The association's enforcement power is limited and requires the cooperation of departments such as the police. But this question was difficult to answer. Li Hongbo naturally wouldn't say that the government's supervision was ineffective, and that they lacked the funds and manpower to support it. Instead, she said, "This matter is very complicated. The association has limited personnel, and the area is too vast, so supervision mainly relies on public reports. There's nothing we can do about it—" After a brief interview with Li Hongbo, Bai Jiawei excused herself to check on Xiao Sun and left with an umbrella. Old Zhang looked after Sun Hao in the stone house next door. After being rescued from Lao Qing's mouth, Sun Hao woke up, but felt a severe headache and was a little dizzy. Besides his anger towards Zhang Guodong and the others, Sun Hao was also terrified of Lao Qing. He thought he was going to die from Lao Qing's attack, and had a close call with death, so his fear of death was extremely deep. But now that he woke up and found himself alive, his true nature returned. "No, we can't just let them get away with this!" Sun Hao sat on the stone bed with a gloomy face. His wrist had already been treated and bandaged. Old Zhang said, "Comrade Sun Hao, the fault lies with us. You used a firearm against an ordinary person without permission, which could be a serious offense punishable by imprisonment! If you remain obstinate, I will report this to the chief when we get to Qingyang!" "I've confiscated your service weapon for now; I'll ask the chief for it back when we get back to the station!" He thought to himself, "After this, do you think you can get your service weapon back from the chief? This is simply causing trouble for the station." If the reporters nearby hadn't shown leniency, the chief might have been in trouble too. Drawing a gun without permission is a very serious offense. "How are your injuries? Are you alright?" Bai Jiawei walked in and asked Sun Hao. In her heart, Bai Jiawei looked down on him for forcibly requisitioning someone's umbrella and then using a firearm. Fortunately, it didn't cause any major incident, and the matter was resolved. Sun Hao was also the team's protector; it's difficult for the reporters to operate without police protection when they're in the area. Sun Hao had lost face in front of everyone and was quite embarrassed. Old Zhang laughed and said, "It's alright, it was just a misunderstanding. Let's put it behind us. We'll just have to give Comrade Sun Hao a good talking-to when we get back!" Bai Jiawei nodded and didn't plead for him. This was a very poorly handled situation; who would speak up for you? However, seeing Sun Hao's dark expression, Miss Bai said softly, "Comrade Sun Hao was, after all, trying to lend everyone an umbrella. Although his method was a bit inappropriate, his intentions were good—" She then changed the subject. "Old Zhang, shall I go check on that wolfhound? You all rest first!" This was her real purpose: to contact Zhang Guodong and Li Ningguang. After all, it was a rare opportunity to meet some industry insiders, and not interviewing them would be a regret. Moreover, Bai Jiawei was very interested in the story between Zhang Guodong, Lao Qing, Li Ningguang, and Li Hongbo. Even if the content couldn't be reported, it would still add some excitement to a boring journey. "Should we tell Chairman Li that the wolfhound is dangerous? He said it's best for strangers not to approach—" Old Zhang hesitated. Old Qing's expression flashed through Lao Zhang's mind; those bright green eyes were unforgettable. He felt it was best not to approach Old Qing. At the same time, Lao Zhang also noticed that Chairman Li and the other party were clearly at odds. Now that Reporter Bai was about to contact him, how was he supposed to communicate and introduce them? This was not a good situation! Bai Jiawei's smile was captivating; the beautiful and graceful woman had a great attraction for the naive young man. "It's alright, I didn't bring anything, just wanted to chat. I personally love dogs, I even have one at home!" Bai Jiawei said with a smile. She did have one, but it was just a small pet Chow Chow, which was nothing compared to the fierce Old Qing. People said the Chow Chow was cute, but Old Qing had a 'keep away' sign. Lao Zhang was sweating profusely, but Bai Jiawei had already gone out with an umbrella. "Reporter Bai, we really need to contact Chairman Li and the others regarding the investigation team!" Li Hongbo's voice came from behind Bai Jiawei as soon as she left. Bai Jiawei was surprised but stopped, quite puzzled. Li Hongbo exclaimed, "Our target for this search trip is actually the one Mr. Li found first. If Mr. Li joins us, our search trip will be much smoother!" His intentions were sinister! If Zhang Guodong were here, he would definitely curse this man as shameless and treacherous. If they got mixed up with these official inspection teams, all their hopes and efforts would be wasted. "Is it him?" But this was a pleasant surprise for Bai Jiawei. If they searched the entire mountainside, it would take months or even years to find anything, let alone ten or twenty days. Unexpectedly, their target was right in front of them! What a wonderful thing, what a coincidence, what a surprise! But the same thought arose in her mind: Why didn't Chairman Li introduce Mr. Li to the team before? "According to the clues we just received, Mr. Li has a subordinate who found this tree, but we must obtain Mr. Li's consent!" Bai Jiawei's doubts immediately disappeared. Zhang Guodong and his group were unlucky; their SIM cards were destroyed by lightning, but this group arrived later and could communicate with the outside world. Of course, whether Li Hongbo just found out or intentionally concealed it was unknown.
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