Chapter 308

Wang Tiancheng pondered for a while after hearing what Hu Lao Er said.

It should be said that he knew Li Long's background and backing. His cousin-in-law also said that if it weren't for Li Long being in the mountains this time, this job wouldn't have been his turn. After all, a temporary worker earned such a big face for the supply and marketing cooperative, and the leaders were also relieved to hand over the work to him.

"Are you saying he didn't look for those who signed a contract with us, but only contacted those who didn't sign a contract, and also found people from outside?"

Wang Tiancheng asked again, he wanted to confirm.

"Yes, but some of those who signed a contract with us secretly sent reed bundles to him, and he didn't refuse."

Hu Lao Er thought Wang Tiancheng didn't want to conflict with Li Long, so he immediately said:

"The most important thing is that he set the price of reed bundles at fifteen cents, and we have no advantage here."

"What advantage do you want? We want to make money! He set the price at fifteen cents now, excluding the expenses and costs, how much money is left?"

Wang Tiancheng didn't know that there might be subsequent reed bundle tasks. He felt that since he took on these ten thousand reed bundles, he should earn the money he should earn. Reed bundles used to be ten cents each, so ten cents now, is that okay?

"No matter how much money he has, as long as he doesn't interfere with us and doesn't pry away those who signed papers with us, don't worry about him." Wang Tiancheng just wanted to make money and didn't want to cause trouble. Li Long had a backing, although not a relative, but it felt better than his. So he didn't want to offend people, maybe there would be opportunities for cooperation in the future.

Hu Lao Er failed to provoke, sighed, and had to go back. He didn't get along with Li Jianguo in the team, and this time he got the agency for reed bundles from Wang Tiancheng, so he thought about how to suppress the other party. Everything was fine originally, but now that Li Long came back, it felt like he was going to be suppressed again.

And this Wang Tiancheng, clearly having a big backing, was unwilling to be strong, it was really shameful.

Hu Lao Er had no choice but to go back.

The real situation in this era is actually like this. No one has to force others to death—unless they meet a fool like Gu Ermao, otherwise everyone earns their own money. As long as you don't target me, I won't target you.

There is no deep hatred, who would deliberately target others? Isn't it good to earn money properly?

Like Li Jianguo and Hu Lao Er, at most they don't talk when they meet, just turn their heads. Even if Hu Lao Er wants to target Li Jianguo, he has to think of a reasonable excuse and find someone with a backing.

Otherwise, he can't take action, because he knows that even if he takes action, no one can do anything to anyone, which only increases discomfort.

The next morning, breakfast at the horse station was corn pancakes, corn porridge, and stir-fried cabbage.

Li Long knew that in ten years or so, one of the dishes that students hated most would be stir-fried cabbage. This was basically one of the standard dishes when picking cotton by hand in later generations, and the other was stir-fried potato shreds.

But at this time, Han Benzhong and others were very happy—this dish was made with wild boar oil, which was not only lard but also meat. When had Han Benzhong and the others put meat in their vegetables every day?

Uncle Lao Luo whispered to Li Long:

"Without Xiao Long, these people have a huge appetite. Yesterday noon, they ate all the steamed buns in the three-layer cage in one meal. The corn cakes steamed in the evening didn't have many pieces left, and the oil wasn't used slowly..."

"But they work well, right?" Li Long said with a smile.

"That's really true!" Uncle Lao Luo gave a thumbs up when he heard Li Long ask this:

"They are really strong laborers! The reeds harvested in half a day are equal to what a big young man in our team harvests in a day. They work hard! They eat a lot and work fast, it's just that the snoring at night—it scared the wild boars in our pen."

"Hahahaha, it's okay, if they eat and don't work, we can't use them. Now they can eat and work, so it's fine." Li Long said with a smile, "Only by eating well can they have the energy to work."

It's no problem to take care of fellow villagers appropriately, at most, earn a little less. Completing the task is the most critical thing right now. After completing the task and having subsequent work, then they can earn more.

Han Benzhong and the others actually knew that their appetite was too big, mainly because the young men encountered such good food, so naturally, they wouldn't go hungry and would eat as much as they could.

He had told the young men, but couldn't say too much, so he could only tell Zheng Xiumei, and let Zheng Xiumei and the others put less oil when cooking, otherwise, the host would definitely not be willing in the end.

He felt that although he gave up five cents for food and housing, the food he ate felt much more valuable than those five cents.

No way, just work hard.

The young men also understood, so they didn't spare their efforts when working. Every day, big carts of reeds were pulled back, and the women quickly pulled the reeds and pressed them into reed bundles.

Li Long stayed at the horse station because reed bundles were sent over every once in a while. In less than five days, there were more than three thousand reed bundles piled up in the old horse station, and the pile of wool reeds next to it was also growing.

So Han Benzhong and the others withdrew a few big young men to pull reeds in the courtyard to press reed bundles.

Li Long was thinking about whether to send some reed bundles out, otherwise, it would take several days to pull them when all ten thousand were made.

He took out fifty yuan and put it with Uncle Lao Luo, and if someone came to send reed bundles, Uncle Lao Luo would collect them after checking.

Uncle Lao Luo agreed readily:

"You go do your work, I guarantee that what I collect are all qualified. I've learned how to check reed bundles by watching you these past two days."

The quality inspection of reed bundles is all on the surface, long enough, enough in number, and no adulteration. Sometimes people can put one or two more, which is fine.

Li Long ran to Xu Chengjun's house. Xu Chengjun was not there, Ma Hongmei was pulling reeds in the courtyard. Seeing Li Long coming, she stood up and greeted: "Without Xiao Long, you're here. Mingwa's dad is not here, he went to harvest reeds, look..."

"Sister-in-law, I'll make a phone call." Li Long said, "Ask something at the county supply and marketing cooperative."

"Okay, okay, okay, you make it." Ma Hongmei said, "The phone is on the table."

Li Long walked into the room, picked up the phone, and started shaking it.

Connected to the supply and marketing cooperative, and then transferred to Li Xiangqian's office, Li Xiangqian answered the phone after two seconds.

There was still current sound in the voice.

"Hello, Section Chief, I'm Li Long. I already have more than three thousand reed bundles here, do you want to send a truck to pull a batch away first?"

"More than three thousand? Can you reach five thousand in a few days?"

"Three or four days."

"Then call me when you reach five thousand, and I'll send a truck to pull them. Otherwise, it's too few to be interesting." Li Xiangqian said, "I'll call everyone together then, check if they are qualified, and pay you on the spot."

!.

"Okay, okay, okay, I'll call you when I reach that number." After Li Long finished speaking, he hung up the phone.

Li Xiangqian was very satisfied. At this speed, the task could be completed ahead of schedule. This kid Li Long is not bad. Handing such work to him is really reassuring.

Li Long hung up the phone, walked out of the room, saw Ma Hongmei standing in the courtyard, and said:

"Sister-in-law, I've finished the call, I'm leaving."

After Li Long left, Ma Hongmei was still muttering what Li Long said. She planned to tell her husband these words after Xu Chengjun came back to see if they were useful.

Before Li Long returned to the old horse station, he met Li Jianguo who was rushing over from the Li family.

"Big brother, what happened?" Li Long saw that Li Jianguo's expression was a bit wrong, so he asked.

"A telegram came from home." Li Jianguo's expression was a bit complicated.

"A telegram came from home... Dad and Mom are okay, right?" Li Long was startled. A telegram at this time, wouldn't something happen?

"It's okay, the telegram from Dad, Mom is fine. But... but your second brother, your brother-in-law, and several cousins are coming to earn money."

Li Long was stunned for a moment, then smiled:

"Then let them come, I have a place to live at the horse station, and food, they can just live there when they come."

"They think earning money is so easy." Li Jianguo sighed, "Dad must have shown off again when he went back, so those cousins at home are restless."

"Big brother, it's okay, let them come. Anyway, since they dare to come, the land at home must have been planted, there is no work in the fields, so they come to find a way to earn money, after all, it is too difficult to earn money at home. Here, even if I take them to catch fish and sell fish, they can earn a portion of money for the New Year.

Don't worry about this, the people who come, including the second brother, all go to my place and listen to me. If they can work, I can let them earn money, if they can't work and are lazy, then don't think about earning money."

"Okay." Li Jianguo had no choice. The matter caused by Dad, he naturally had to cover it. Now thinking about earning money, it really has to be Li Long who can handle it.

They were not wrong. After Li Qing Xia went back, he directly bought a bicycle and went to the market three times a month, riding the bicycle and taking Du Chunfang to join the fun.

Not only going to the market, but also playing cards in the village, and if anyone had an urgent need, he would give one or two yuan generously.

His seniority is high, and he is generous. After a while, some people guessed that the two sons of the old man in Xinjiang must have earned money, otherwise how could he afford a bicycle?

When the old man was asked on the card table, he was naturally unhappy and told about his catching fish to sell for money and going into the mountains to hunt. After saying this, others didn't believe it—you said two catties of fish could be sold for one yuan, is that robbing money?

You said that catching dozens of kilograms of fish by putting a sticky net in the water puddle over there, isn't that dreaming? The village is next to the big river, put a river-blocking net, can you catch ten catties of fish all day long?

Even if an old fisherman takes a cast net, how many catties of fish can he catch a day?

The old man said a few more words, and didn't say anything later, believe it or not, anyway, hundreds of yuan were in his hands, so how to spend it was his own business.

People of the same clan, including his son, knew that although the old man liked to brag, he wouldn't talk nonsense about big things, so they gathered together and guided the old man to talk about things here, and some people's minds became active.

Since it is so easy to earn money in the northern border, then go there!

This matter did not spread, several families with close relationships, including Li Long's second brother Li Anguo, brother-in-law Chen Xingbang, and several cousins, discussed together, and then found Li Qing Xia, asking him to send a telegram to Li Jianguo, saying that these few people were going to the northern border to rely on him.

Li Qing Xia regretted it at this time, what was he showing off here, wasn't this recruiting things for his two sons in the northern border?

But the palm and the back of the hand are both meat, the two sons in the northern border are sons, and Li Anguo here is also a son. Moreover, he couldn't watch the grandson here still wearing patched clothes in the middle of winter, so send a telegram.

Fortunately, he knew that Li Long had many ideas, so he wasn't very worried. He thought that Li Long would be able to handle these clansmen when the time came. Of course, Li Jianguo was not a good person either. If these people went there and didn't listen, it would be normal to be suppressed in minutes. (End of chapter)