Chapter 110: How Is the Compensation Calculated?

Just as the meal finished and Li Long was planning to rest properly in the east room, he heard the loudspeaker seemingly calling his name.

Li Long went out to listen carefully and heard Xu Chengjun shouting over the loudspeaker:

"Li Long! Li Long! Li Long from Li Jianguo's family, come to the team headquarters quickly after hearing the horn; there's a phone call for you!"

Though called the team headquarters, it was actually Xu Chengjun's home; the loudspeaker was installed there for convenience.

"It must be about that matter from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative calling earlier," Li Jianguo followed out, heard the voice as well, and said.

Li Qiang asked from behind:

"Little Uncle, are you going to help others hunt gazelles? Are gazelles easy to hunt?"

Li Long smiled, patted Li Qiang's head, and said:

"Easy to hunt, yet not easy to hunt; it depends on luck."

"Little Uncle, you will definitely catch one!" Li Qiang raised his head, looking at Li Long with determined eyes.

Li Long laughed heartily, went inside to put on his clothes, slipped on his rubber-lined cotton shoes, and headed to the team headquarters.

"Without Xiao Long has arrived," Xu Chengjun said upon seeing Li Long, smiling and taking the initiative to greet him. "You know someone at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative? Not bad!"

"Not really knowing them; we just met while selling fish and meat," Li Long replied vaguely, then looked at the table and noticed the phone was hung up, so he asked, "The call ended?"

"They said they'd call back in ten minutes; wait a bit," Xu Chengjun explained, then turned to Ma Hongmei and said, "Mingwa's mother, go pour Without Xiao Long a glass of water."

Ma Hongmei answered and went to pour the water; Li Long called out, "Sister-in-law, don't trouble yourself."

"What trouble? When someone visits, how can we not even offer a glass of water?" Xu Chengjun pointed to the kang bed head and said, "Come, sit. Do you smoke?"

"No," Li Long waved his hand and sat by the table where the phone rested. "I can't handle smoking."

"Not smoking is good," Xu Chengjun said with a smile, noticeably more polite today. "Without Xiao Long, you've improved quite a bit lately; among the young people in our team, you stand out."

"Not at all," Li Long smiled and waved his hand. "Haijun is the one; he has good education, broad knowledge, and can get along with everyone."

"That brat, so disobedient!" Xu Chengjun cursed angrily upon hearing Li Long mention Xu Haijun. "Stubborn as an ox! Clearly there's a better path ahead, yet he insists on joining the army—no amount of persuasion stops him!"

A better path? Li Long's heart stirred, and he smiled as he asked:

"Team Leader, has the notice for school recruitment been issued?"

"You know about it?" Xu Chengjun looked at Li Long in surprise. "Do you have insider information?"

"I met someone from the Education Bureau while selling fish," Li Long replied vaguely. "I heard about it."

"No wonder..." Ma Hongmei arrived with the water, smiling as she said, "You've truly made something of yourself!"

Since the recruitment notice had been issued, Gu Gu Xiaoxia's situation should be secure. Li Long took the water and drank a sip; just as Xu Chengjun was about to ask more, the phone rang.

"You answer it; this phone rarely rings once in three or five days, yet today it has rung several times. It must be the one for you."

Li Long put down his cup, picked up the phone, and said, "Hello?"

"Are you... You're not Team Leader Xu; you're Li Long?" The voice of Xiang Qian came from the other end.

Although the old-fashioned telephone suffered some distortion due to excessive line transfers, Li Long still recognized Xiang Qian's voice and smiled as he said:

"Greetings, Section Chief Li!"

Xiang Qian made this call just before getting off work; he truly had no other choice. Chen Hongjun had said Li Long could hunt gazelles; gazelle horns shared the same efficacy as antelope horns, and Xiang Qian recalled the young man who had sold him the sheep.

Chen Hongjun had originally intended to mention this matter when Li Long came to sell goods, but Xiang Qian was impatient; he remembered Li Long mentioning his location, so he took a chance and called the production team, never expecting to actually find Li Long.

"Comrade Li Long, you are truly hard to find," Xiang Qian said, genuinely at his wit's end. After asking around, among his acquaintances, few knew about gazelles, and almost none knew where to hunt them; the only one, his second uncle, said there were many near the Yita border, but that was at least five or six hundred kilometers away—who had time to travel that far?

"Section Chief Li, I apologize; I just enjoy running into the mountains whenever I'm free," Li Long explained. "Does Section Chief Li have some matter?"

"I suppose your team has already told you; I heard you have hunted gazelles?"

"Mm, I have."

"When?"

"Before the New Year."

"Then it's correct. This matter is quite simple; I want you to guide us in hunting gazelles once. What do you say?"

"Alright," Li Long agreed readily.

Xiang Qian hadn't expected Li Long to agree so readily, especially since some unpleasantness had occurred during the previous sheep sale. However, he quickly realized he was from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, someone many sought to curry favor with! This Li Long probably wasn't an exception, right?

!.

But immediately, Li Long's next words showed him this young comrade was different from most!

"Section Chief Li, if I guide you to hunt gazelles, what compensation will there be?"

Hearing Li Long speak so directly, Xu Chengjun, standing behind with ears pricked, felt so angry he wanted to curse!

How could this boy be so obtuse? With such a fine opportunity to curry favor, if you pleased this section chief, wouldn't you have a chance to become a purchaser at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative later? That would mean eating commodity grain!

"Compensation?" Xiang Qian was stunned by this question.

Truthfully, ever since becoming the Procurement Section Chief, others had always begged him; he had never begged anyone. Thus, when calling Li Long this time, he hadn't considered any compensation at all—ridiculous! The Supply and Marketing Cooperative seeking your help was already giving you face; you still want compensation?

But Li Long had openly raised the issue, leaving him momentarily speechless.

Li Long smiled.

Clearly, these official lords were accustomed to others serving them; regarding compensation, they truly hadn't given it a thought.

Then let him think it over properly.

Xiang Qian reacted quickly enough; after numerous thoughts spun through his mind, he asked:

"Then what compensation do you want?"

"You are hunting gazelles, and I know where the gazelles are; if you can provide a gun, I can also help shoot. If we succeed, could you arrange a double-barreled shotgun for me?"

Xu Chengjun, listening from behind, felt like cursing again!

Are you dreaming? A double-barreled shotgun costs several hundred; you actually dare to ask for that!

"That's impossible!" Xiang Qian rejected immediately from the other end. "How much is one gazelle worth? Even several wouldn't equal the value of a double-barreled shotgun. Young comrade, you are somewhat unaware of your own limitations..."

He thought for a moment and said:

"Forget the sandgun; if you take down two, I'll get you an air rifle, how about that? A single air rifle costs nearly a hundred yuan; this reward is already excellent!"

Li Long currently had no interest in an air rifle; he shook his head and said:

"An air rifle won't do; it must be at least small-caliber, otherwise forget it. Many people know how to hunt yellow sheep; you can look for others. Section Chief Li, goodbye!"

Just as he was about to hang up, Li Xiang Qian hurriedly shouted from the other end:

"Don't hang up yet!"

Li Long smiled.

(End of Chapter)