Chapter 254

"The quality is all good." Chen Hongjun concluded, "First-grade product, we price it at twenty-two per kilogram here; let me weigh these for you."

Weighing, deducting the weight of the container, the black tiger-palm mushrooms Li Long brought totaled forty-four and a half kilograms, totaling nine hundred and seventy-nine yuan.

Li Long filled out the form, signed his name, took the money, and Chen Hongjun said with a smile:

"Xiao Long, you've earned quite a bit of money, why don't you buy a watch to wear?"

Li Long thought it was true; he wasn't without money now, and without a watch, he could only estimate the time, which was quite troublesome.

He would find time to go buy a watch with Gu Xiaoxia.

Leaving the purchasing station, Li Long returned to the compound.

Gu Xiaoxia hadn't finished work yet, so Li Long started cooking. He planned to make some soup noodles today.

The chili peppers he brought back two days ago hadn't completely wilted; he took two, added an eggplant and a tomato, and sliced them finely. It was a pity there were no fresh potatoes at this time, otherwise it would have been better.

After stir-frying the vegetables, he set them aside, then kneaded the dough and cut it into small pieces.

Li Long liked his pulled noodles thin, flavorful, and easy to digest. Although he was a young man now, not the decrepit old man he was before he died in his previous life, this habit had been retained.

He cleaned the pot, poured in water, brought it to a boil, stretched the dough pieces, draped them over his arm, and then pulled them into the pot one by one.

Because he wanted them thin, he couldn't pull them as fast as his sister-in-law Liang Yuemei could with knife-cut noodles, but Li Long wasn't slow either. After pulling all three dough pieces, Li Long felt it was enough, so he took a ladle into the pot to stir the noodles at the bottom so they wouldn't stick.

After the water boiled for a while, the noodles should have been cooked; Li Long took the stir-fried vegetables and poured them in, stirred them, and the pot of clear soup immediately became a red soup, which soon came to a boil.

Li Long used a ladle to scoop up a little soup, blew on it, tasted it, and it was a bit bland, so he scooped another spoonful of salt, stirred it twice, and it was just right.

Finally, he plucked a handful of coriander from the modified vegetable garden, washed it at the faucet, sprinkled it into the pot, and extinguished the fire.

Just as Li Long scooped out the food, the door rang.

When Gu Xiaoxia pushed her bike in, she said with a smile while pushing:

"I smelled it as soon as I reached the door—are you making soup noodles?"

"Hmm." Li Long said with a smile, "I calculated the time, it's just right; you can eat as soon as you wash your hands."

The happy smile on Gu Xiaoxia's face couldn't be hidden. Just when she got off work, she heard several colleagues in the office talking about rushing back to cook, and one older sister even asked Gu Xiaoxia what she planned to cook for lunch.

Gu Xiaoxia vaguely said she would eat steamed buns, and that older sister boasted a bit, saying she was going back to steam rice.

Although she didn't eat rice when she came back, this was a ready-made meal!

How many colleagues could eat a ready-made meal as soon as they got home? Listening to those older sisters chatting, they said that it was fine since it was a holiday, but once school started, they would have to pick up their children after work at noon, rush home to cook after picking them up, and then after eating and cleaning up, rush to send the children to school and go to work.

Basically, it was a non-stop cycle.

And herself? When she occasionally came back, there was meat and vegetables in the kitchen, and they were all fine grains; she could just cook whatever she wanted. These past few days, she had been eating ready-made meals from time to time; compared to those older sisters, she was simply too happy.

The two sat head-to-head and began to eat.

Gu Xiaoxia chatted about interesting things in the office. Li Long listened while eating, and when Gu Xiaoxia finished, he said:

"After we finish eating, shall we go to the department store to buy a pair of watches?"

"Buy watches?" Gu Xiaoxia looked up, doubting she had heard correctly.

"Yes, look, you're working now, wearing a watch will be more convenient. I often run in the mountains, so I need a watch too. I sold a sack of mushrooms today for several hundred yuan; the money is just sitting there, so we might as well buy a watch for each of us."

Gu Xiaoxia was silent for a moment, then suddenly put down her chopsticks and went into the bedroom.

Li Long was a bit confused; what happened?

He only mentioned buying a watch, he didn't say anything else?

Was she angry or did he touch some emotion?

Li Long also put down his chopsticks, intending to go see what was wrong with Gu Xiaoxia.

At this moment, Gu Xiaoxia walked out of the room with a stack of money in her hand.

"Li Long, this is the money I saved over these past few months; I originally planned to buy you a watch." Gu Xiaoxia said a bit embarrassedly, "I asked my colleagues and went to the department store to look; a men's watch is one hundred and twenty-eight, and my money wasn't quite enough..."

"Hahahaha..." Li Long was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

What is called "minds linked by a single thread"? What is called "mutual pursuit"? What is called happiness?

This damn thing is happiness!

Someone thinking of you in their heart, loving you, secretly considering things for you... this feeling, really damn...

Li Long went over and hugged Gu Xiaoxia in his arms; that happy feeling really couldn't be stopped.

Gu Xiaoxia was stunned for a moment, her body a bit stiff, then she slowly relaxed and hugged Li Long back—this feeling, really good!

"We haven't finished eating yet..." Gu Xiaoxia's words interrupted the action Li Long was originally preparing to take; he smiled awkwardly, released Gu Xiaoxia, and said:

"You keep your money, you spend it yourself. I have enough money here. I also plan to buy a television in a couple of days; when you have nothing to do at night, you can watch TV or something."

"No, no, no, no need." Gu Xiaoxia hurriedly waved her hand, "No need to buy, I have a radio here, it's very good. You should save the money; if you want to buy one, buy one for your big brother's family. Your... uncle and aunt would like watching TV more!"

"Don't worry, there's enough money." Li Long said with a smile, "Enough to buy two."

"Let's not buy it here." Gu Xiaoxia still opposed, "Let's save it first, later... there will be many places to spend money later."

"Alright, then let's save it first." Since Gu Xiaoxia said so, Li Long didn't insist anymore.

The two finished eating, cleaned up together, each pushed a bike out, and went to the department store.

The watch counter was a bit deserted. A couple was also there choosing watches; after looking for a while and trying them on, they finally gave up.

Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia reached the counter, and the salesperson was the same as before, her expression a bit cold. She had seen too many people come to try them on and not buy them in the end, so she didn't intend to release her enthusiasm casually.

"Comrade, please take out one men's watch and one women's watch."

"To try on?" the salesperson asked.

"To buy." Li Long took out the money and coupons. There was only one brand of watch in this counter, Shanghai brand; the men's watch was one hundred and twenty-eight, and the women's watch was more expensive, one hundred and thirty-five.

Mechanical, the kind that needs to be wound manually.

The salesperson took out the ones the two people just tried on.

"Please take out two new ones." Li Long said, "We are buying them directly."

He emphasized the word "buying." The salesperson looked at the thick stack of "Big Unity" notes Li Long took out, hesitated for a moment, and really put the watches back, took out two new boxes, opened them, and took out the watches inside.

Li Long first took the women's watch and handed it to Gu Xiaoxia; Gu Xiaoxia took it with some shyness and excitement and put it on her hand.

"Is it not as comfortable as a leather strap?" Li Long asked Gu Xiaoxia, "Do you want to go to Shicheng to try? There should be leather straps there?"

"No need, no need, this is quite good." Gu Xiaoxia didn't want to cause more trouble; she actually liked the steel strap, it was cool.

"The watch strap is a bit long, can you remove a link?" Li Long looked and said.

The salesperson could see that Li Long and the others were genuinely wanting to buy, so she said:

"It can be removed now." Gu Xiaoxia took off the watch and handed it to the salesperson.

Li Long tried on the men's watch and felt it was just right.

After the salesperson adjusted the women's watch, Li Long said:

"Then these two." He planned to go to Shicheng or Wucheng when he had time, and if he encountered better ones, he would buy them for Gu Xiaoxia then.

Writing the ticket, paying the money, the two left the department store with the watches.

When leaving, Gu Xiaoxia turned her head to look at the counter she had noticed earlier; that female salesperson was not there.

"Are you going to work now?" Li Long asked.

"Hmm, it's almost time for work." Gu Xiaoxia looked at the watch on her wrist, "Then you..."

"I'm going into the mountains. Taking advantage of this last season, I'll get another sack of mushrooms and then return to the team." Li Long said, "This sack of dried mushrooms is worth eight hundred to nine hundred yuan, still quite profitable."

"So profitable... I even thought about going into the mountains." Gu Xiaoxia joked, "Really good!"

"That's different." Li Long said with a smile, "It's just that I'm a bit more capable. Actually, there are people who pick mountain goods in the mountains, but none are as capable as me."

!.

"You just brag." Gu Xiaoxia liked this side of Li Long; although he joked, he was confident but not arrogant. Unlike before, he was a bit vain.

After the two separated, Li Long returned to the compound, put his gun on his back, took the sack and rope, and rode his bike into the mountains.

Gu Xiaoxia returned to the Education Bureau; there weren't many people in the office, so she went to her desk and began writing documents.

This document notification was entrusted by Deputy Director Wang; she wrote a draft, followed the previous document format, revised it twice after writing it, and half an hour after work started, she took the transcribed copy to Deputy Director Wang's office.

"Hmm, written well." Deputy Director Wang said with a smile, "Judging from the work situation these past few days, Xiao Gu, borrowing you to work here was a very correct decision. Keep up the good work!"

"Yes, I understand." Gu Xiaoxia nodded and said.

"Bought a watch? Did your partner buy it?" Deputy Director Wang saw the watch on Gu Xiaoxia's wrist and asked with a smile.

"Hmm, he got his salary and bonus." Gu Xiaoxia said a bit embarrassedly.

Li Long had told her that if anyone asked about her partner, she should say he was a purchaser for the supply and marketing cooperative. In this day and age, people in the supply and marketing cooperative were still quite capable; he believed that if someone really asked Li Xiangqian, Li Xiangqian would also cover for Li Long.

And when Gu Xiaoxia first arrived at the Education Bureau, someone indeed had designs on her. Although it was a secondment, judging from the leader's attitude toward Gu Xiaoxia, the possibility of becoming a regular employee was very high. Pretty, capable, and appreciated by the leader, there would inevitably be "excellent young men" coming to take the initiative to make friends.

Gu Xiaoxia directly clarified that she had a partner. Gu Xiaoxia had analyzed it herself: if she said her partner was a farmer, those who pursued her would definitely look down on him, then think their status as commodity-grain eaters was more noble, and then pester her.

So directly saying Li Long was a purchaser and an employee meant the other party lost that sense of superiority and it was easier to keep their distance.

This point really worked.

Gu Xiaoxia returned to the office and continued working. The older sister colleague soon discovered the watch on her wrist and came over to ask about the situation.

"My partner got a bonus and bought it for me." This was Gu Xiaoxia's unified explanation, and these people believed it now. After all, there was a women's bicycle parked there; what did that mean? It meant Gu Xiaoxia's partner had money.

Whether the family had money or he had money himself, he was definitely not an ordinary person. That was enough; just this one point was enough to make 90% of the toads retreat on their own.

As for the remaining 10%, Gu Xiaoxia wouldn't give these people any opportunity.

Li Long took the sack and rode his bike directly to the Bai Yang Gou area.

Black tiger-palm mushrooms wouldn't grow in the outer mountains; he rode his bike all the way inside, entered the mountains for two or three kilometers, and when he could almost no longer ride the bike, he reached the bottom of the pine forest.

The trees on the outskirts of the pine forest weren't dense, there was plenty of moss, and various mushrooms were hidden underneath.

Encountering lynxes twice, Li Long was also a bit vigilant; he picked up a few stones and threw them into the grass, and after there was no abnormality, he went in to start picking mushrooms.

Black tiger-palm mushrooms often appear in patches; once discovered, it's a whole patch, and one patch can often yield six or seven kilograms or even eight or nine kilograms. Li Long dragged the sack and searched in the grass. This thing was much easier to find than morel mushrooms; after all, it was large and the color was easy to spot.

Occasionally he could see pine mushrooms he recognized, but Li Long let them go. Now it was about picking money—no, earning money was the priority; those other miscellaneous mushrooms would be left to nourish the earth for now.

When he had picked half a sack, Li Long saw a soil trench washed open by water, and two stalks of Codonopsis pilosula were hanging right by the edge of the trench, with only a little bit of the roots still in the soil.

One of them had burst because it was exposed, and the other was still relatively intact.

Both were over half a meter long and very thick; Li Long happily pulled them out, twisted off the plants on top, and put them into the sack.

This counted as an unexpected joy.

Patting the mud off his hands, he grabbed a handful of wild strawberries and stuffed them into his mouth, chewed twice, swallowed them to moisten his throat, and continued picking mushrooms.

When the sun was still half a pole higher than the mountain to the west, the sack of mushrooms was already full; Li Long carried the sack and walked out, still feeling unsatisfied.

There was no trouble along the way, and he didn't encounter any animals; when he was about to come out of the gully, he was tripped by something and almost fell.

After balancing himself and standing firm, he looked over: it was actually a deer antler!

It was a pity that after picking it up, he found that this deer antler had been there for too long, pressed under the thick grass, and had already rotted out of shape.

Li Long estimated that it wouldn't sell for much money if he took it back, so he threw it away.

Finding his bike, he unlocked it, placed the sack on the back seat, tied it securely with rope, and Li Long pushed it out of the gully.

When he could ride, he rode quickly toward the cabin.

There was no change in the cabin; Li Long parked the bike, took down the sack, dumped the mushrooms onto the wooden floor to spread them out, and then cooked.

Days like this wouldn't last many more.

After dinner, Li Long saw there was nothing to do and it was still early, so he carried his gun on his back and walked toward Lv Dafeng's place.

Lv Dafeng was harvesting honey; Li Long didn't disturb him, but sat far away by the stream, watching the small stream fish occasionally rushing up or down.

He seemed to have once thought about making a net to intercept and catch fish in the stream, but this plan had never been implemented.

He didn't know if Tao Daqiang's side at home was still harvesting wheat or if they had listened to him and taken nets to catch fish. However, with Daqiang's personality, it was probably hard for him to open his mouth and shout to sell fish.

He couldn't compare to a ruthless person like Meng Zhiqiang.

Of course, this wasn't something he needed to worry about.

While Li Long was letting his imagination run wild here, Lv Dafeng had already finished harvesting the honey, walked over, and said with a smile:

"I went to your cabin both morning and afternoon, but didn't see you... it's just right that you came over; you must take some of this newly harvested honey back to eat."

Li Long said with a smile: "Alright!" (End of chapter)