Chapter 101: The Snow Partridges No One Would Buy

Li Long still used the plastic sheet to drag the roe deer fawn and the two snow partridges to the black market.

This time, he was not lucky enough to snag a prime spot in the middle, so he simply dragged the roe deer meat to the very edge of the morning market, spread out the plastic sheet, and laid out the roe deer meat and the two snow partridges. Also displayed was the head of the roe deer fawn.

This spot was quite remote; most people browsing the morning market found what they wanted among the stalls in the center and then left.

Seeing that this wouldn't work, Li Long stood up and shouted loudly:

"Selling wild game! Fresh roe deer meat, and snow partridges that boost yang energy! Take a look!"

His shout startled the vendors at the two stalls nearby, but they soon saw people approaching upon hearing the cry, and those vendors grew happy—at least someone had come.

Another vendor, somewhat worried, kept glancing around, fearing Li Long's shouting would attract the members of the joint defense team.

"Roe deer meat? Really? Do we even have roe deer in Northern Xinjiang? That seems unlikely."

"Who says otherwise? Probably just bragging." The passerby said this while walking over to take a look.

"No bragging, no bragging. We do have roe deer in Northern Xinjiang; they're called roe deer fawns. Look at this head; we shot it in the mountains yesterday. And these snow partridges are rare wild game. Selling cheap!"

Nowadays, many stallholders sold their own local specialties, and few dared to shout out. Thus, Li Long's loud cry actually attracted quite a few people. His explanation, combined with the roe deer head, made some people genuinely consider buying.

"How much for the meat?"

"Two yuan per kilogram." Li Long held up two fingers. "Don't think it's expensive. The reason 'roe deer fawn' has the character for deer in its name is that it belongs to the deer family, just like deer. The meat nourishes yin and boosts yang, offering great medicinal benefits. This stuff is rare!"

"You're just bragging here. It's a roe deer, nothing more. Don't try to link it to deer!" Someone clearly disagreed with Li Long's claim.

"I'm not bragging. A few days ago, I shot a male one. I took its antlers to the procurement station, and Comrade Chen there told me they were buying them as deer antlers. Do you think the people at the procurement station would lie?" Li Long brought up Comrade Chen Hongjun from the procurement station, and the other person immediately fell silent.

"Come on, weigh out two jin for me!" Someone squeezed forward. "Here's the money!"

"Alright!" Seeing someone wanted meat, Li Long smiled. With the first sale made, he knew the rest would follow easily.

Watching people weigh out three jin here and five jin there, the middle-aged man who had initially argued with Li Long couldn't hold back anymore. "Come on, come on, weigh out five jin for me too. I want ribs—"

As Li Long took the money, he heard the man mutter quietly, "Pity it's a female..."

"Everyone, don't rush. I often go into the mountains; maybe one day I'll shoot a male roe deer. Feel free to come by and check regularly."

Upon hearing this, some people's eyes lit up. The one who had just bought meat immediately whispered:

"Young comrade, if you do shoot a male roe deer, save the penis for me, how about that?"

Looking at the middle-aged man whose hair had turned white early, Li Long nodded understandingly and said, "Sure, but you'll have to come early then. If others rush to buy it, I can't very well refuse them, can I?"

"Good, good, good." The middle-aged man paid and left, satisfied.

The roe deer meat, boosted by the deer association, sold quickly. However, the two snow partridges, both with large holes in them, found no buyers no matter what Li Long said. Chinese people knew a bit about deer, but snow partridges were another matter.

"It looks smaller than a domestic chicken, yet you dare ask for five yuan? Have you gone mad for money?" Someone picked up a snow partridge, examined it, and said disdainfully, "And it's got such a huge hole from a gunshot; it's a pain to clean up..." In the end, the roe deer meat was sold out after dawn, but the snow partridges remained unwanted.

"If no one wants them, I'll take them home and stew them myself!" Li Long declared grimly, rolled up the plastic sheet, grabbed his scale, and headed back to the big courtyard.

Seeing that it was almost time for work, Li Long tied the deer antlers and the roe deer hide to the back seat of his bicycle and rode to the main meat canteen. Currently, this was the only canteen in the county worth mentioning; one had to wait for policies to relax before those small restaurants would dare to open.

After drinking porridge and eating steamed buns with pickled vegetables for breakfast, Li Long was about to head out when he saw Zhong Guoqiang walking out from inside, smiling and saying:

"Young Comrade Li, I heard you went to sell roe deer meat this morning?"

"Yes." Li Long hadn't expected Zhong Guoqiang to be so well-informed. "How did Manager Zhong find out?"

"One of our regular customers told me and even criticized us for having too little wild game. Young Comrade Li, if you have any wild game in the future, send some here too; the price is negotiable!"

"Sure!" Li Long said with a smile. "Whatever I catch next, I'll bring it to you first. But to be honest, it's usually just wild boar meat, roe deer meat, and things like that, maybe an occasional snow partridge."

"That works too. But the snow partridges must be whole; otherwise, they're hard to cook." Zhong Guoqiang added, effectively cutting off Li Long's plan to sell those two partridges there.

"Alright, I'll come find you when I have stock." Li Long called out, stepped out, and rode his bicycle to the procurement station.

!.

After locking his bike and taking the deer antlers and the roe deer hide into the procurement station, Li Long saw Comrade Chen Hongjun discussing prices with a customer.

Li Long peeked over and saw that what the customer had placed on the counter were several large stalks of codonopsis.

Seeing Li Long enter, Comrade Chen nodded at him and continued discussing the price:

"...Old comrade, I won't hide it from you. After the New Year this year, our purchase prices have indeed risen. For codonopsis of your quality, it would have been eight yuan per kilogram before the New Year; now I'll give you eleven. This is mainly because your codonopsis has been stored for two years. If it had been harvested last year, I could have given you twelve yuan per kilogram."

Prices have gone up?

Li Long couldn't help but feel happy. With prices rising, the money he made later would naturally be greater. He was one step closer to becoming a ten-thousand-yuan household.

The elderly man selling the codonopsis hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to sell it.

Comrade Chen issued a receipt, weighed the goods, and paid twenty-seven yuan. After the old man left, he smiled at Li Long and said:

"Young Comrade Li, what good stuff have you brought this time?"

"Two large deer antlers and one roe deer hide."

Li Long placed the items on the counter and asked:

"Comrade Chen, have the purchase prices gone up?"

"Yes, quite a bit." Comrade Chen said with a smile. "That's good news for you."

"Then take a look at these antlers..." Li Long let him see the antlers first, mainly because he felt a bit guilty about having skinned the roe deer hide poorly.

"These antlers are excellent." Comrade Chen picked them up and examined them. "Great quality; they look like they were shed last year. Hmm, I'll offer you six yuan per kilogram. How about that?"

"Doubled?" Li Long was somewhat surprised. "That's great."

"Haha, mainly because antlers of such good quality are rarely seen." Comrade Chen placed the two antlers on the platform scale. "Eleven kilograms total—this is a large red deer. Sixty-six point six yuan. Truly an auspicious sign!"

(End of Chapter)