Chapter 316: What Is the Next Money-Making Job?

"Comrade Xiao Li, entrusting this job to you was truly the right choice. I originally thought that since this is the second time taking on this work, and now that it's colder than before and the reeds aren't as easy to cut as they used to be, your quality might drop a bit. But I didn't expect that among the over seven thousand reed bundles received today, the quality remains just as good as always!"

Chen Zhenming said this while having lunch with Li Long in the afternoon.

Originally, they were supposed to eat lunch together at noon, but Chen Zhenming insisted on finishing the inspection of all the reed bundles, loading and hauling away one truckload before eating; otherwise, he wouldn't feel at ease.

Li Long naturally understood Chen Zhenming's intention: once the inspection was complete, it would be difficult for anyone remaining to attempt any little tricks. Substandard items would be directly rejected, qualified ones hauled away, and during mealtime, there would be no need to watch so obviously while work was being done.

Out of the seven thousand reed bundles hauled away, fewer than twenty were substandard, which was already excellent.

After issuing a receipt to Li Long and paying him fourteen hundred yuan, Chen Zhenming, as he departed with the truck making the second trip, said:

"I'll come early again the day after tomorrow; you just need to be prepared on your end."

In the courtyard, Chen Chen Xingbang, smoking a reed pipe, looked at the thick wad of money in Li Long's hand, filled with envy. Yet he also understood that to reach Li Long's level, he himself would need to make a serious extra effort. At the very least, one needed considerable connections and substantial accumulation to secure such jobs.

For now, he would just work honestly and diligently. At least, this younger brother-in-law of his was truly quick to pay; in just these three days, he had already earned nearly ten yuan.

Ten yuan! In the past, working in the village for an entire year, one might not necessarily save even ten yuan by year's end.

These three days were exhausting, yes, but it truly felt like a dream!

Not only him; everyone sleeping on the same kang that night, except for Li Li Anguo who spoke little, both Li Junfeng and Li Li Junshan were discussing their feelings about these past few days. Li Junfeng was already thinking that once he earned enough money for a bicycle, he would buy one immediately upon returning home, riding it around the village just like his Third Grandfather.

"Not me," Li Li Junshan also voiced Ji De Xiang Fa. "Once I've earned enough money, I'll go back and build a house. I'll ask a matchmaker to find me a wife. My father and mother said they want me to start a family soon so they can hold a grandchild earlier."

"Hahaha, Li Junshan, that's a good idea of yours," Chen Chen Xingbang said, leaning against his quilt and laughing. "Practical."

The stove fire was blazing, making the room very warm. Just earlier, Li Long had come in to remind them to be careful of coal gas. They also understood how poisonous that stuff could be; there was a hole specifically for ventilation above the door.

"I'm just speaking the truth," Li Li Junshan said, not annoyed, but smiling. "Now I understand why Third Grandfather was able to bring back so many things when he returned; making money here is truly so easy!"

"Then you might as well settle down and register your household here permanently," Li Junfeng joked. "Life here is much better than back in our hometown; you can see meat every day, and you eat white flour at least once daily. Even the landlords and rich families back home never ate like this in the past."

Li Li Junshan did not respond.

Li Junfeng had originally been joking, but after saying it, he himself froze; this was actually not impossible.

"It's just unknown whether registering a household here is troublesome or not," Li Li Anguo suddenly spoke up. "I heard Big Brother say that the land in this production team has already been distributed; if we register our households now, what happens if they don't allocate us any land?"

"Second Brother, you wouldn't really be considering registering your household here, would you?" Chen Chen Xingbang was startled. "This place is far from our hometown. As you yourself said when getting off the train, this area is desolate, far worse than our hometown."

"But life here is much better than back home. I've also observed that people here don't have all those messy complications like back in our hometown. There aren't many people, fewer troubles, everyone is busy making money, plus, look at how well Xiao Long gets along with everyone here in all aspects..."

Li Li Anguo seemed to have truly made up his mind as he said, "If we really could register our households here, then at least we wouldn't have to worry about whether we can eat our fill. You've all seen the methods of making money here; although Xiao Long treats us with the same standards as he treats others, the money he pays is truly substantial..."

The others fell silent.

The truth was, the yuan notes and mao coins stuffed in their pockets could not be faked.

In the past, they had also gone out to work for other relatives; many made empty promises, but when it came time to actually pay, few were as quick and generous as Li Long.

Although privately, more or less, they would say Li Long was somewhat unapproachable, after all, he was a relative.

But truly, every day when they received the money Li Long gave them, the joy was unmistakable.

Thinking about it again—the meals eaten every day, this place they lived in, the stove they burned—Li Long truly had not treated them poorly.

During the summer agricultural slack season, when they went out to work with other villagers, what did they eat? It wasn't even as good as the pig swill Old Uncle Luo cooks now!

The honest truth!

The room was completely quiet, and then they could hear Li Long outside still speaking while shining a flashlight.

Someone must have come again to deliver reed bundles.

"Uncle Xiao Long isn't having an easy time either," Li Li Junshan said, getting up. "I'll go help out."

"What can you do? Xiao Long doesn't let us handle the inspection," Chen Chen Xingbang said, not wanting to move.

"Even if we don't inspect, we can help move the reed bundles onto the stack," Li Li Junshan said, smiling as he walked to the door. "It's after work hours now; we're all relatives."

He went out, Li Junfeng followed him out, next was Li Li Anguo, and finally, Chen Chen Xingbang sighed and also went out. He couldn't be the villain alone.

Li Long was now receiving reed bundles delivered by Lu Yingming's family, with Gu Gu Bo Yuan's delivery still to come afterward.

The Lu family delivered a large amount, nearly one hundred bundles loaded onto one cart, while Gu Gu Bo Yuan delivered less, about forty bundles.

"Big Brother Lu, Gu Shu, why did you arrive so late?" Li Long joked. "I was almost not going to open the door."

"It's fine if you don't open the door for me, but if you don't open the door for your Gu Shu, aren't you afraid Gu Xiaoxia won't open the door for you later?" Lu Yingming joked back. "Hurry up and inspect; if there are any substandard ones, I'll pull them out myself. We still need to get back; my pants are already wet."

Gu Gu Bo Yuan did not speak; when many people were present, he paid considerable attention to his image.

After the inspection, there were two substandard bundles from Lu Yingming's side, while Gu Gu Bo Yuan's side had not a single one.

"Old Gu, you really are looking out for Xiao Long; not a single substandard bundle. Are you trying to provoke me?" Lu Yingming said, laughing as he took the money Li Long handed him. "In the future, I must learn from you; one must still save face!"

"Big Brother Lu, it's already very good; only two," Li Long said, smiling, as he then handed the money to Gu Gu Bo Yuan. In front of outsiders, money had to be given openly and legitimately. Gu Gu Bo Yuan said nothing, took the money, and said just one sentence:

"Rest early." Then he pulled his cart and departed.

After Li Li Anguo and the others helped move the reed bundles onto the stack and arranged them neatly, he asked:

"Xiao Long, what did that man surnamed Lu mean by that? Is that Gu Xiaoxia perhaps...?"

"!."

"She is my partner," Li Long said, smiling. "She is currently working in the county town; in a few days when she has some free time and returns, I will bring her to meet you, Second Brother and the others."

"Oh, she eats state-supplied grain," Chen Chen Xingbang said, somewhat surprised. "Is her father also in this production team?"

"Yes. He knew my big brother early on; Gu Xiaoxia was originally part of the team as well, but earlier this year she passed the exam and became a teacher," Li Long briefly introduced, then said:

"Alright, hurry inside; it's cold out here, don't catch a chill."

Once Li Li Anguo and the others entered the room, the center of their conversation and discussion was all about Gu Gu Xiaoxia. Li Junfeng and Li Li Junshan were filled with nothing but envy.

Chen Chen Xingbang and Li Li Anguo, however, considered more factors. After all, Li Long counted as family, so shouldn't they think a bit more deeply?

"Someone who eats state-supplied grain, if she didn't come from within the production team, things might not be stable," Chen Chen Xingbang voiced Ji De Xiang Fa. "Just now, looking at that Gu... that girl's father, he seems like an intellectual; people like that have many ideas."

"Didn't you hear? This girl's father has a good relationship with Big Brother, so there probably won't be any problems," Li Li Anguo said, not wanting to discuss this further, and shifted the topic. "At this pace, this job will be finished in ten days. We can earn several tens of yuan, equivalent to a month's income for a skilled worker. However, afterwards, we don't know what arrangements Xiao Long will have..."

"Then we still have to ask Xiao Long," Chen Chen Xingbang said. "Earlier, didn't he say he would take us to catch fish? I wonder how much money one can make selling fish in a day... whether it matches up to processing these reeds."

"Catching fish probably can't last too long, right?" Li Junfeng, who now had a real sense of the climate here, said. "After some time, when the ice on the water surface outside gets thick, how can we catch fish? If we catch, we'd have to wait until next year, right?"

"I heard your Third Grandfather say that last year, before the New Year, when Xiao Long caught fish, he smashed holes in the ice to catch them," Li Li Anguo thought for a moment and said. "Could it be that when the time comes, he'll have us do this as well?"

"We'll see when the time comes." Chen Chen Xingbang shook his head. "I think Without Xiao Long should have a way. Right now, I'm just thinking that once we're done, if I have some free time, I'll go to the county town. With money in hand, I need to buy some things and send some back home."

Although Chen Chen Xingbang possessed some petty cleverness, he was still quite good to his family. As soon as he earned money, his first thought was to send some home. After all, the fare and other expenses for coming here had been scraped together; his father-in-law had also contributed some support. But for the sake of his coming here, life at home had become even tighter. Now that he was earning money, naturally he had to let his family live a bit better.

"Right, that makes sense; we also need to inform the family. We haven't reported our safe arrival since getting off the train." Li Li Anguo also thought of this matter. "How about this: tomorrow I'll talk to Without Xiao Long and see if we can ask someone to send a telegram back first."

"Agreed, this matter is important," Chen Chen Xingbang said with equal certainty.

The sound of conversation in the room gradually faded. Next door, the men from the Han Benzhong and Zhang Laoshi households had long since started snoring. They worked extremely hard, planning to earn more money to take back this time. But reality was somewhat cruel: everyone in the village was cutting reeds. Although they cut quite a large number of reeds every day, it was obvious to feel that this work would not last long.

That meant the only option was to work desperately hard every day.

Early the next morning, Li Li Anguo brought up the matter of sending the telegram.

"Second Brother, rest assured, the telegram has already been sent back," Li Long said with a smile. "The day after you two arrived, Gu Xiaoxia came back, and I had her help send the telegram out immediately."

"That's good, that's good." Li Li Anguo felt relieved.

"Uncle Without Xiao Long, once we finish with these reed bundles, what work will we do next?" Li Junfeng, unable to hold back his words, asked again.

"What comes next? Don't worry, there are still money-earning jobs ahead," Li Long said with a smile, knowing their thoughts. "As long as you're willing to endure hardship, the money you earn later will be even more than now!"

"Really?"

"Really!" (End of chapter)