After finishing the phone call, Team Leader Aili told Li Long what had happened after Bolati brought the two men over yesterday.
"Those two really did commit crimes back in Inland China. They stole cattle from a village and sold them, and injured the cattle keeper guarding the livestock pen.
"After they were found out, they fled this way. On the road, they stole things in Gansu, too. They committed quite a few crimes along the way.
"We've already handed them over to the police station. They'll probably be sentenced soon.
"As for that woman, after she got here yesterday, she waited for our people to finish questioning those two, then said she could rest easy. She left this morning."
It was much as Li Long had guessed. These days, many people thought checks out here on the frontier were less strict than in Inland China, so they fled this way after committing crimes. Some really did conceal their names, take on new identities, and get away with their past deeds.
Others, however, could not change their nature. Once they committed more crimes here, things naturally ended badly for them.
After leaving Team Leader Aili, Li Long took the truck straight back to the county purchasing station and unloaded the fritillaria and other medicinal herbs. Then he went to the Transport Company to extend the truck rental by another day.
The truck driver had eaten hand-pulled meat with Li Long at noon and was naturally willing to work another day. That settled it. Li Long had originally hoped to free up some time that afternoon for another trip into the mountains, but now it looked as though he could go neither today nor tomorrow. The people in the mountains would just have to wait a little longer.
Mo Linsheng carried