Chapter 102: The Big Shopping Spree Before the Price Hike

"I tore up two roe deer skins." Although the torn spots had already been patched by Harimu with roe deer oil skin, Li Long mentioned it beforehand. "You decide the price."

"Torn up? That's a pity." Chen Hongjun frowned. "Where?"

"Here, and here." Li Long spread out the skin to show Chen Hongjun.

"It's okay, the tear isn't big. If it were larger, it would be hard to buy." Chen Hongjun looked at the spot patched with skin, flipped it over, then looked up at Li Long. "I'll give you fifteen yuan for this skin. How about that? If it weren't torn, thirty yuan would be guaranteed."

"Agreed." Li Long smiled. "Prices really have gone up."

After recording the transaction, writing the receipt, and paying, Chen Hongjun said:

"Little Li, I suggest you go to the Department Store or the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Buy more of whatever you need; these supplies will likely rise in price too."

Li Long slapped his forehead. Yes, if the prices for purchased goods are rising, the prices for items sold will naturally follow.

He quickly thanked Chen Hongjun, mounted his bicycle, and headed straight for the Department Store.

After a quick sweep, Li Long first bought brick tea, salt, white sugar, and other supplies for Harimu and his family.

Then he saw the Liberation shoes piled on the counter and immediately recalled words his older brother Li Jianguo had once said.

When they went into the mountains as a sideline group to dig for fritillaria, they met herdsmen who said the Liberation shoes they wore were excellent and offered a lamb in exchange for a pair.

Thinking of Harimu and his family, Li Long immediately decided to buy two pairs for each of them.

Harimu's family had five members, and Yushanjiang's family had four. Estimating their foot sizes, Li Long rounded up and bought twenty pairs of high-top Liberation shoes. These shoes had countless flaws—ugly, stuffy, non-breathable, and so on—but one advantage was enough to make herdsmen love them: sturdy and durable.

Carrying a large bundle, Li Long left the Department Store, unlocked his bicycle, and rode swiftly toward the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

There were various fishing nets he needed there.

"Comrade, hello. Give me two of each: two-and-a-half-inch, three-inch, three-and-a-half-inch, four-inch, and four-and-a-half-inch gill nets," Li Long said, looking at the fishing nets on the counter. "And one casting net."

"How large should the mesh of the casting net be?" the salesperson asked. "How tall and how long should the gill nets be?"

"The casting net needs one-inch mesh," Li Long said, wondering if he could catch small perch. "The gill nets need a one-point-two-meter height and be one hundred meters long."

"The casting net is seventeen yuan, the gill net is three point five yuan each, totaling fifty-two yuan."

Li Long paid—the money from selling the deer antlers and roe deer skins was more than enough.

Looking around the counter, he found no waders; presumably, stock hadn't arrived yet. Since he didn't need other items in the short term, Li Long turned and left the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

Once the ice melted, catching fish wouldn't be as easy as hauling them from ice holes. But judging by current trends, the townspeople's demand for fresh fish remained quite high.

By then, the best method for catching fish would be setting gill nets, earning the same hard-earned money.

But making money requires effort; that's normal. In these times, being able to earn money was already impressive. What was a little hardship?

Riding back to the big courtyard, Li Long began to clean the two snow partridges.

The birds weren't large; making a big plate of chicken or spicy chicken would suffice for one person, but Li Long felt that would be a waste of good food.

After plucking the feathers clean and gutting the two chickens, he took them, mounted his bicycle, and headed toward the production team.

Upon entering the production team's residential area, he saw a group of children playing with a bullwhip on the road. From afar, he spotted Li Qiang, who had grown a head taller, vigorously whipping among the children. The extra meals over the past month had made Li Qiang shoot up in height; his old clothes now seemed a bit tight. Previously, clothes were made larger to be worn for two more years. At this rate, by winter this year, Li Qiang would need new clothes again.

"Li Qiang, your uncle is back, riding a bicycle!" A sharp-eyed child spotted Li Long and shouted loudly.

Immediately, all the children abandoned their bullwhips and ran toward Li Long, whips in hand.

The entire production team had only two bicycles. One belonged to team leader Xu Chengjun; it was awarded by the county for winning first place in a militia competition when he served as militia company commander.

The other belonged to the Zhang family, the only long-term residents who were there before the production team was established. They were said to have been landlords; in Li Long's understanding, they had surplus wealth, which is why they could afford a bicycle.

Li Long's was the third.

"Uncle, Uncle! You bought a bicycle? This bike looks brand new!"

"Yes, Qiangqiang, come on, get on. Uncle will take you home."

"Great!" Li Qiang was about to climb on when he turned back, kicked down the spinning bullwhip, bent down to grab it and stuff it into his pocket, wiped his nose with his sleeve, and skillfully climbed onto the rear rack of the twenty-eight-inch bicycle.

Li Long pedaled quickly toward home, with a group of children following and shouting behind him. By the time Li Long returned to the Li household, news of his new bicycle had spread throughout the entire production team.

"Li Long bought a bike? He makes that much money selling fish?"

!.

"He doesn't just sell fish, does he? He sells meat too."

"A bicycle must cost nearly two hundred yuan. That kid Li Long has really turned his life around."

"We used to say Li Long was ruined after being expelled, but who knew he'd turn things around so fast. Even becoming a worker wouldn't let you earn a bicycle that quickly."

While some were surprised and envious, others, unable to get grapes, claimed they were sour:

"What's there to envy? He just took advantage of the winter being good for fishing to make a quick buck. Wait until spring when the snow melts; who will eat his fish then? By then, he'll have to go back to working in the fields obediently."

"The more he meddles, the higher the chance he'll get thrown in! Just wait and see; he might get arrested before spring even arrives. This is speculation and profiteering!"

Seeing Li Long ride Li Qiang back on his bicycle, Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei were also surprised. Although Li Jianguo knew Li Long had obtained a bicycle ticket, he hadn't expected him to buy the bike so quickly.

"Walking makes carrying things inconvenient, and renting a horse cart every day is troublesome; the rent alone for a month is quite a bit. Yesterday, I happened to find two deer antlers in the mountains and shot a roe deer, so I had enough money." Li Long explained briefly, then turned to Liang Yuemei:

"Sister-in-law, I shot two snow partridges yesterday. Let's stew them at home today; one for soup and one stir-fried. Snow partridges are very nourishing!"

"Can the children eat them?" Liang Yuemei asked with some concern.

"Yes, they can." Li Long smiled. "They are growing, so dietary supplementation is good. They can eat."

Just as they were speaking, noise erupted outside. Li Long went out to see; it was Xu Haijun and others, coming to look at the bicycle.

In these times, whenever something new appeared in the team, people would definitely come to see it—just like the older sisters had come to see the sewing machines earlier.

Let them look; there was nothing wrong with it. Li Long simply unlocked the bike and even let those who could ride take turns trying it out.

"This bike is really powerful!" Xu Haijun couldn't help but say. Although his older cousin owned one, he couldn't always get to touch it.

Thinking that Li Long, about his own age, had managed to buy a bicycle through his own efforts, Xu Haijun felt a bit discouraged.

No comparison.

(End of Chapter)