Chapter 1015: The Drinker's Intent Lies Not in the Wine, But in the Jade (Continued)

Accepting the tea poured by Li Long, Sun Benchuan nodded slightly and said, "Thank you."

Li Long could tell that this man clearly felt some disdain for the brick tea in his hand, but the expression of disdain flashed and vanished; then he lowered his head, took a sip, and said:

"Mm, the flavor is very rich; drinking it makes one feel quite warm."

In truth, Li Long also admired this very polite Sun Benchuan. Beneath his woolen overcoat, he wore a suit—the kind that accentuates the figure; such suits look good but truly do not keep one warm.

On such a cold day, wearing something so thin meant either this person was naturally endowed with abundant yang energy and feared no cold, or else he was sacrificing substance for the sake of appearance, stubbornly enduring it.

The assistant beside him was far more straightforward; looking down on this brick tea, he did not drink it at all.

Li Long asked:

"Mr. Sun, your journey must have been quite arduous? After all, the transportation conditions here in our Northern Frontier cannot compare with those in the interior."

"We came by airplane," said that assistant, Luo Liwei. "It was only the stretch from Wucheng to here that was rather difficult to travel."

Sun Benchuan continued:

"In truth, I myself very much wished to take a good look at the magnificent rivers and mountains here. The scenery of every place differs; the interior has its own delicate beauty, while the Northern Frontier possesses its vast, boundless expanse—each with its distinctive features.

It is merely that, because time was tight for this trip, we traveled by airplane."

Being able to travel by airplane indicated that the status of these two was certainly not low. Ordinary people, or rather ordinary merchants, even if wealthy, were not qualified to fly at this time. Therefore, Li Long raised his level of regard for Sun Benchuan once more.

Regardless of one's personal impression of this man, at least from the fact that he flew, he could not be treated lightly.

"There will be plenty of opportunities in the future; the vastness of the Northern Frontier indeed requires time to understand," Li Long said, nodding. "Each season offers different scenery; when you have leisure, you may come often to take a look."

"A place so barren not even birds shit here—whoever wants to come can come... If it weren't for the sake of..., I wouldn't come at all," Luo Liwei muttered under his breath; his voice was very low, yet Li Long heard it clearly.

For the sake of what? He thought he heard 'jade'; could he have misheard, or was it 'sheep'?

"Xiao Luo, do not speak recklessly!" Sun Benchuan turned his head and glared at Luo Liwei, then turned back and said apologetically to Li Long:

"Comrade Li Long, I apologize. Liwei is the son of a friend of mine; I brought him along to cultivate and teach him, and he has become somewhat spoiled."

"No harm, no harm; speaking the plain truth is fine. Our Northwest region has indeed developed slowly; at present, apart from natural landscapes, there truly is little worth seeing." Li Long smiled, unconcerned. After all, forty years later, people from all over the country would rush here just to see the natural scenery; at that time, their feelings would be different. Having experienced it, he did not feel anything was improper.

"Comrade Li Long truly has a broad mind," Sun Benchuan praised. "Young people of your age are mostly high-minded and proud, not easily inclined to listen to differing opinions. Mm, very good, very good!"

Li Long felt that speaking in this manner was truly somewhat awkward, so he said:

"Mr. Sun Benchuan, shall we now take a look at the mutton and beef?"

"Uh... very well." Sun Benchuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Li Long stood up and led them into the warehouse.

"As you can see, this warehouse stores more than eight hundred whole sheep and sixty whole cattle; this is our largest warehouse here. Additionally, in two medium-sized warehouses, there are also stored quite a number of cattle and sheep.

These cattle and sheep were essentially slaughtered within the past month; their freshness is very good. We have preserved them extremely well. If Mr. Sun can purchase them now and transport them to the interior, the taste will be basically not much different from that of fresh beef and mutton."

There would certainly still be some difference, but at this time, firstly, there were no cattle and sheep raised on compound feed, so even if the beef and mutton had been frozen for a period, the texture truly would not decline by much; secondly, the common people's requirements for the quality of beef and mutton were not high—as long as it was not spoiled or foul-smelling meat, it was basically acceptable.

Moreover, this frozen meat would definitely be sold cheaper than fresh meat, and on the contrary, would be welcomed by everyone.

"Mm, mm, very good, very good." Sun Benchuan poked the rump meat of a cow with his finger, nodded, and said, "It looks very fresh; the meat quality is very good."

Li Long intended to lead him to view the other two warehouses, but he shook his head and said it was unnecessary:

"The quality of this beef and mutton is good; I can accept it. Now let us discuss another matter."

"The matter of jade?" During this period, Li Long had finally understood: this Sun Benchuan's true purpose was to come and inspect the jade; viewing the beef and mutton was merely a formality. Just now, upon entering the warehouse, he had already seemed somewhat distracted.

But it did not matter; Li Long thought that as long as the terms were within his acceptable range, selling the beef and mutton would suffice.

There was no need to worry about anything else.

"The jade is in my courtyard; if Mr. Sun wishes to see it now, then let us go; I will take you over to have a look."

"Good, let us go now." Sun Benchuan was somewhat impatient.

Li Long felt that this must be because Jia Jia Tianlong had exaggerated the jade so greatly that this Sun Benchuan had become so eager.

Could it be called seeking help in desperation?

He led Sun Benchuan on foot back to the large courtyard, chatting as they walked.

Sun Benchuan spoke vaguely about the industry he was engaged in, saying only that he ran a trading company; originally, the main business had been medicinal herbs, but currently, due to some special reasons, he also wished to examine the situation of the beef and mutton market and give it a try.

Li Long nodded and did not ask further. After all, if the other party did not wish to speak, it was not proper for him to forcibly pry open someone's mouth.

Upon reaching the large courtyard, Li Long pushed open the small gate and gestured for Sun Benchuan to enter; the black dog in the yard immediately began barking.

Li Long found this somewhat strange. When his friends came over, including Jia Jia Tianlong and Zhao Hui, as long as he was leading them, the black dog rarely barked; why was today an exception?

He scolded Little Black once; only then did Little Black, with some reluctance, glance at Sun Benchuan, retreat to the dog kennel, and lie down, though his eyes remained fixed on this man.

"Comrade Li Long has raised a fine dog," Sun Benchuan said. At first, he had been startled by Little Black, but now that the dog had withdrawn, he wore a smile and offered a compliment.

Sister Yang came out of the house with Mingming and Haohao; Li Long introduced them:

"This is Sister Yang; these are my two children. Mingming, Haohao, call him 'Uncle'."

"Uncle."

"Uncle."

Mingming and Haohao were very obedient and addressed him.

Sun Benchuan responded with a sound; the look in his eyes as he gazed at Mingming and Haohao was somewhat strange—a mixture of fondness and something more complex.

Li Long guessed that this must be the feeling of wanting a son because he himself had no son.

Sun Benchuan turned his head toward Luo Liwei and extended his hand to him. Luo Liwei understood; from the bag he carried with him, he took out two red envelopes.

At this time, a red envelope was truly just an envelope wrapped in red paper. Sun Benchuan took the red envelopes, went over, squatted down, and tucked them into Mingming and Haohao's hands, saying with a smile:

"This is a meeting gift from Uncle to you; take it and buy some candy."

Mingming and Haohao looked at Li Long; Li Long nodded and said, "Since Uncle has given it, just accept it."

A meeting gift—accepting it was no big deal; since Sun Benchuan observed propriety, later when calculating the price for the beef and mutton, one could press it down a little and return the favor.

This was Li Long's thinking.

Having accepted the red envelopes, Sister Yang glanced at Li Long, understood the meaning, and led Mingming and Haohao back into the house.

Li Long pointed to the corner and said:

"The jade stone is right there."

Although several heavy snows had fallen in succession, the area around the jade stone platform had been swept clean. Moreover, it was evident that the snow hadn't just been cleared in the last couple of days; it had been swept away immediately after each snowfall.

After all, Jia Jia Tianlong had valued this matter so highly, and his predictions had come true; thus, both Li Long and Sister Yang had fallen into the habit of clearing this spot whenever they found a moment after a snowfall.

The jade stone rested neatly upon the concrete platform, and the incense burner offered before it still held ash. Sister Yang would light three sticks of incense inside it whenever she had leisure, and Li Long occasionally did the same.

Even Gu Gu Bo Yuan would sometimes come over to light a stick of incense there while digesting his meal after eating.

Upon seeing this piece of jade, Sun Benchuan's expression immediately turned solemn. First, he walked over reverently and examined the jade stone carefully, to the point that he did not even dare to touch it with his hands.

Primarily, this jade stone appeared truly natural; although it bore not a single trace of carving, it nevertheless bore such a striking resemblance to a plump baby boy lying on his side.