Chapter 465

When Chen Hongjun looked over, Li Long felt something was wrong. Although his body was in a young state, his mentality was actually quite old. He didn't have much desire to compete or show off; making a fortune in silence was his most realistic thought.

But right now, Chen Hongjun didn't know if it was because he was annoyed by being pestered by this person, or if he felt Li Long was one of his own and wanted to help him make a name for himself. Although he had already seen Li Long's signal, he still pointed to the bag in Li Long's hand and asked:

"Comrade Xiao Li, this is also fritillaria, right?"

"Yes." Since Chen Hongjun had already spoken, Li Long knew he couldn't decline, so he simply admitted it generously. "I got it in the mountains a few days ago, and I brought it over after drying it these past two days."

"Then open the bag and let this friend see your fritillaria."

Li Long had sold fritillaria several times last year. In fact, not just fritillaria; Li Long had come to the purchasing station to sell things several times. Chen Hongjun had seen every item that passed through his hands. He knew Li Long's mind; when he brought things to sell, they were always clean. Unless it was something like deer antlers where there was no way around it and the quality was naturally what it was, most other things were cleaned up, at least making them look good.

He turned his head and said to that person:

"This little brother isn't selling fritillaria to me for the first time either. You look at his fritillaria, and you'll know I'm not being picky with you."

Li Long opened the bag, and a medicinal smell of fritillaria wafted out. That person vaguely guessed Chen Hongjun's idea and leaned over to look.

From the time Li Long entered the room until Chen Hongjun spoke, the two of them hadn't said a word, and he had come temporarily, so there shouldn't be any element of intentionally acting for him.

So he also wanted to see what the purchasing station comrade meant by randomly pointing to someone's fritillaria to show him. Did he have X-ray vision?

However, after he looked, his face didn't look good.

The fritillaria in Li Long's bag was clean, the grains were full, and there was no mold, broken leaves, mud, or anything like that. He didn't believe it and reached in to grab a handful—just now, the top layer of his own fritillaria bag was also clean, but Chen Hongjun was an old purchaser; he knew what kind of goods were underneath just by reaching in and touching.

He thought Li Long was the same, but after reaching in, he discovered that the fritillaria underneath was similar to the top, and the grains underneath were even larger!

This person still couldn't believe it and reached into the bottom of the bag again—even if it was clean, there should be some broken bits and dirty mud at the bottom of the bag, right?

However, reaching all the way to the very bottom of the bag, the fritillaria grabbed was all whole plants; there were no broken ones, no dirty ones, no soil, and no gravel.

This was obviously picked over.

This, isn't this too much?

That person sighed, shook his head, and said to Li Long:

"Young man, aren't you being too ruthless? We're digging for fritillaria, there's no need to do it like this, right?"

Li Long smiled:

"If you do it like this, the grade is set higher and the price given is more!"

That person thought about it, and it was the same logic, so he said to Chen Hongjun:

"Comrade, you set the price for my goods. I give up."

"Third grade, thirty-seven yuan and fifty cents," Chen Hongjun said. "After we accept it, we still have to sift it again, it's quite troublesome."

"Alright, according to the price you said." That person nodded.

Chen Hongjun's quote gave Li Long a shock.

Was the first grade last year only this price? This year, third grade is already this price?

This price increase is a bit fierce!

However, he didn't say anything. After Chen Hongjun finished weighing for this person, issued the ticket, and paid the money, and after this person left, Li Long opened his mouth and said:

"Old Chen, has the price of medicinal herbs increased so much this year?"

"Yes," Chen Hongjun said with a smile. "Since the beginning of this year, pharmaceutical factories from the interior have come to our side to collect medicinal herbs. Our own pharmaceutical factories in Xinjiang are also collecting. They offer high prices, so the purchasing price on our side has to be increased. Your fritillaria is clean and free of impurities, definitely first grade. Do you know how much first-grade fritillaria costs per kilogram?"

"How much? Can it reach forty?"

"It has, forty-five," Chen Hongjun said with a smile. "I heard there's a lot of fritillaria in the mountains this year. You should get more; you might be able to make half a ten-thousand-yuan household in one fritillaria season."

Don't say that, it's really possible!

Chen Hongjun poured Li Long's fritillaria into a basket and weighed it. This time, the dried fritillaria Li Long brought was over seven kilograms, selling for three hundred and twelve yuan. Thinking that there was still fritillaria at home that could be dried to over twenty kilograms, that would be nearly one thousand yuan.

It's no exaggeration to say that this fritillaria season could really earn half a ten-thousand-yuan household—gross income.

"This pelt... damn it—you got another lynx pelt?" Chen Hongjun was startled when he saw Li Long spread out the pelt. "Isn't this a bit exaggerated?"

Being able to startle Old Chen, Li Long was also quite proud. He said with a smile:

"It was also luck. A friend said he saw a few red deer in the mountains. When I brought a gun over to hunt them, I found this guy biting a red deer fawn, and then it was butted by the male red deer, so I chased it and took care of it."

"The pelt is very complete—not bad, this pelt is very good! Although it's a spring pelt, the fur is complete, with no rot or holes, and it's well-preserved... are you selling this?"

"Yes, it's useless to keep it, it's more solid to sell it for money," Li Long said.

"If you really want to sell it, then I'll tell you, the price of pelts has gone up. For example, for this pelt, I can offer you one thousand yuan right now. But I'm telling you, for this pelt, if you keep it for another two years, it might sell for one thousand five hundred yuan... of course, you have to preserve the pelt well. For example, the snow leopard pelt you sold last year is worth over two thousand this year, and it might be three thousand by next year."

"Hmm, then I'll still sell it. I'm not very good at preserving pelts."

"It's quite easy to preserve. Get some mothballs, wrap them in toilet paper, and stuff them into the pelt to prevent insects. Once the pelt is wrapped, take it out and dry it regularly." Chen Hongjun was quite clear about this.

"This small deer pelt is also quite complete, but it's too small, thirty yuan. Since the beginning of spring this year, the price of pelts has been rising. Winter pelts might be even more expensive, and this spring pelt is already worth the price of last year's winter pelt."

Winter pelts have good fur, but many animals shed their fur in early spring, so the quality of the fur is a bit worse.

Li Long waited for Chen Hongjun to issue the ticket, signed it, and then collected the money.

With a thick stack of money in hand, one thousand three hundred and forty-two yuan, Chen Hongjun looked on with envy:

"Comrade Xiao Li, the money you've earned in over a year is equal to my ten years' salary. If I were a little younger, I would have followed you into the mountains to mix."

"Still can't," Li Long shook his head and said. "There's a cost to collecting this fritillaria. This lynx is also fierce; last year I let it scratch me, a big cut, over twenty centimeters long."

When he packed the money, he took two pieces of spinal bone from his pocket and handed them to Chen Hongjun:

"Old Chen, I heard from people in the mountains that this lynx belongs to the cat family, a bit like a leopard or a tiger, and the bones soaked in wine can treat rheumatism and waist and leg pain. You take these two pieces. Anyway, since I got them, I'll distribute them to everyone."

"It has this effect, I really didn't know." Chen Hongjun could be considered knowledgeable, but he hadn't really dabbled in medicine. Even for medicinal herbs, he only knew the price and some ordinary functions; these lynx bones were a bit specialized.

"Hmm, it should be like this," Li Long said. "Alright, I'm leaving first."

Leaving the purchasing station, Li Long originally planned to save all the money, but later thought that he would definitely have to collect some fritillaria next, so he only saved five hundred, and put the rest in his large courtyard satchel, waiting to take it back to the mountains.

Then he went to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Li Xiangqian wasn't in the office. The guard said he was putting goods in the back warehouse, so Li Long went to find him.

Seeing Li Xiangqian busy at the warehouse, Li Long didn't disturb him, and only walked over after he finished.

"You came just in time. The task for the carrying poles has come down. It's the same as last year, submit the task before the end of May, one thousand. Can you handle it?"

"It's definitely no problem," Li Long smiled. "I'm only afraid there's no work. If there's work and money to earn, how could I not handle it? Are all one thousand given to me?"

"Yes, I fought for it for you," Li Xiangqian said. "I believe you can finish it, but the quality must be the same as last year, or rather, it can only be improved, not lowered."

"That's no problem," Li Long guaranteed. "By the way, Section Chief, look at this." He took out a small cloth bag, inside which were four lynx bones. "I hunted a lynx in the mountains. I heard from people in the mountains that this thing's bones are similar to leopard bones. Although they aren't as good as tiger bones, they can also treat rheumatism and waist and leg pain when soaked in wine. I thought everyone should share them. You take this; you can soak it yourself or give it to others."

"Heh, that's really good stuff." Upon hearing it was similar to leopard bones, Li Xiangqian became energetic. "Male or female? Did you sell the pelt?"

"Sold the pelt, it was male," Li Long said. "Hmm, I'll accept the bones," Li Xiangqian nodded. "The purchasing price I'll give you for the carrying poles is eight yuan each. It's quite high this year. You decide how to distribute it yourself."

"Alright, I know." Li Long was exceptionally happy in his heart. This price had risen by more than half. Even if he gave more to the people working in the village, he could still earn quite a lot from one carrying pole himself.

Coming out of the supply and marketing cooperative, Li Long went to the meat canteen to deliver two bones to Zhong Guo Qiang, and then returned to the large courtyard. After driving the tractor to the food company to buy a lot of high-proof grain wine, he headed to the team—after having the tractor, the bicycle was only used occasionally in the county, just like those people in later generations who bought cars; even if they went from home to the pharmacy outside the residential area to buy things, they would drive.

Too lazy to walk those few steps.

The *tut-tut-tut* sound of the tractor echoed in the team, and soon it drove to the Li family's house.

At noon meal time, the Li family was very lively. Li Qing Xia and his wife, Li Jianguo and his wife, and Chen Li Rong with two girls were all eating lunch here.

Li Long happened to catch the meal time. Liang Yuemei and Chen Li Rong heard the tractor sound and both got up, one to serve Li Long rice, and the other to get him a small stool.

There were many people, so the Li family was eating outside. The noon meal was *latiaozi* (hand-pulled noodles) with stir-fried meat dishes. Li Xueping and Li Xue Qin, the two children, had their mouths full of vegetable juice. In over two months, they had grown a stretch, obviously taller and fatter than when they arrived.

Eating in the courtyard, Li Long parked the tractor outside the courtyard, carried the crank, and took the bag with the bones into the courtyard.

"Come quickly, come quickly," Liang Yuemei served the noodles—when the family makes *latiaozi*, the person cooking usually has to pull all the noodles, put them in a water basin to rinse them, so the noodles don't stick together. Those who like hot noodles rinse them in the soup, and those who like cold noodles serve them directly on a plate.

!.

Liang Yuemei served Li Long a large plate of noodles, and Chen Li Rong let him to the table, but Li Long hurriedly waved his hands:

"Second sister-in-law, I'll mix the vegetables and just eat on the side."

"Sit at the table, sit at the table, why eat on the side?" Du Chunfang still felt sorry for her youngest son, saying while eating. Her appetite was small, and the noodles in her bowl were less than one-fifth of Li Long's, yet she still ate slowly—Liang Yuemei had made wide noodles for her, which were easier to digest.

Li Long mixed the vegetables into the noodles, poured some vinegar, and started eating with the peeled garlic on the table.

"Little Uncle, I peeled this garlic!" Li Xue Qin sat beside Li Long, and seeing him bite into a piece of garlic, suddenly said in a low voice.

Li Long was stunned for a moment, smiled, and praised:

"Good, good, good, peeled cleanly."

"Little Uncle, I peeled it too!" After Li Xueping heard Li Long praise her sister, she immediately raised her hand: "I peeled it too!"

"Good, good, good, both of you can help the family work, really good! Both of you are great!"

The two little girls heard Li Long's praise and both smiled happily, their eyes squinting into crescents.

Du Chunfang watched from the side, wanting to say something, but ultimately didn't, just curled her lips.

"Can you stay for two days this time?" Li Qing Xia asked.

"Can't stay," Li Long waved his hand. "This time I came back for two things. One is that I hunted a lynx in the mountains. People in the mountains say this bone soaked in wine can treat rheumatism and waist and leg pain, so I brought the bones back, and bought the wine too, so let's soak them. Eldest sister-in-law, take a few pieces to Liang Uncle's place too. He knows traditional Chinese medicine, he should know how to handle it."

"Alright." Liang Yuemei was quite happy; her brother-in-law often remembered her father's kindness, which made her quite gratified.

"The second thing is to finalize the people who will weave the carrying poles. The work has come down. There are more than last year, one thousand, and it's also more expensive than last year. I plan to give them four yuan for weaving one carrying pole. It must be completed by the end of May. If it's still ten people, then the people must be finalized, preferably entering the mountains in these two days."

"Four yuan each?" Once Li Jianguo heard the price was higher, he couldn't help but feel moved. "Can it really be four yuan? Then do you still have money to earn?"

"Yes, and I can earn quite a lot." Li Long smiled.

"Then... I'll go too." Li Jianguo looked at Liang Yuemei, who understood her husband's look in a second and nodded. Li Jianguo immediately made a decision. "I'll go weave carrying poles too. If others are earning this money, our own family can earn it too."

"You're going? Eldest brother, if you go, what about the land?"

"The land, there's your sister-in-law, and your second sister-in-law can help too."

"Isn't there me?" Li Qing Xia was slightly dissatisfied; his eldest son didn't even mention him, which made him lose face.

"What can you do? You're catching fish all day long." Du Chunfang exposed his bottom line without mercy. "Since coming over in early spring, you haven't done much work."

"Shouldn't we be watering later? Can sister-in-law handle the watering?"

"Heh, Xiao Long, you're underestimating me." Liang Yuemei smiled and said, "I've done plenty of watering work in the team before. That earns a lot of work points, and I've even gone to water at night. If it really doesn't work, I'll call Wenyu over."

"Why would that be necessary? I can do the work too." Chen Li Rong interjected. Although there was no momentum, one could hear her determination.

"Eldest brother, since it's like this, then go if you want to go. Weaving carrying poles for a month, you can earn a few hundred yuan." Since Li Jianguo had decided, Li Long didn't say anything more.

"Are there enough people? If not, call Tie Tou's dad, he's also an old hand." Li Jianguo said. "He has done this work of weaving carrying poles before, and weaving four or five a day is no problem."

"That's fine." One more person or one less person really didn't matter to Li Long. Since his eldest brother mentioned it, then go ahead. "Eldest brother, when you talk to Lu eldest brother, you must make it clear that we must improve the quality of this work. If the quality doesn't pass, it will be sent back to be re-woven. The reason I can have this work for two years is because of the good quality."

"Don't worry about this, I'll definitely tell him." Li Jianguo smiled.

"Don't just tell him, you pay attention yourself too. Don't let others weave well while you don't, then you won't be able to show your face, and don't wait for Xiao Long to talk about you." Liang Yuemei issued the order. "Our family won't lose that face!"

"Heh, what are you saying? Can I be careless about this? This is definitely not just about earning money. Can the work given by Xiao Long be bad? Don't worry, even if it's slower, I'll definitely weave the carrying poles well."

Li Long knew this was his eldest brother and sister-in-law trying to put his mind at ease in their own way, but it was obvious that his mother didn't hear it. At this moment, hearing his eldest sister-in-law talk about his eldest brother, she was a bit unhappy.

His father heard it. Li Qing Xia gently patted Du Chunfang, and Li Long knew there was no need to think too much; his father would definitely explain it to his mother in a while.

His mother lived a really simple life, and only in this way could she live a long life.

This matter was settled just like that. After eating, the tractor was driven into the courtyard, the old wine was taken down, and the bones were spread out on the table, and the Li family looked at them as a curiosity. Li Long took two sections of spinal bone and a leg bone and said:

"I'll take this to the team leader and tell him about it. We won't share the money for the carrying pole weaving with the team this year, but the matter must be made clear first. I'll give the bones to Old Old Old Luo Shu, and Xiaoxia's dad must also be given a share."

"As it should be, as it should be."

"Then you might as well wait until our family soaks the wine, and take the wine directly over." Li Jianguo said. "Anyway, you brought back so much wine, just soak it and then send it."

"I was thinking of waiting for eldest sister-in-law to tell Liang Uncle, to see if Liang Uncle has a recipe, and whether to add ingredients." Li Long thought of the method he had thought of earlier and said, "Then like this, don't worry about Old Old Old Luo Shu and Gu Uncle for now, I'll take these bones to the team leader first."

Li Long rode Li Jianguo's bicycle to Xu Chengjun's house, told him about the carrying pole weaving work coming down, and then placed the bones on the table and said:

"Team leader, these are lynx bones. This thing is the same as a leopard; the bones soaked in wine can treat rheumatism and elderly waist and leg pain. You put them away, and don't tell others that I have them here."

"Alright, alright." Xu Chengjun had also just finished eating. In fact, when he heard the tractor sound at noon, he guessed Li Long had returned, and also guessed that the carrying pole work should have come down.

"The work has come down. Actually, in the few days you weren't back, they also discussed it. Let Old Huang do the cooking. Each person submits a task of one carrying pole, and pays Old Huang two mao. Each person brings ten kilograms of corn flour, two kilograms of white flour, and one kilogram of rice. At that time, concentrate them together. Old Huang will bring the cooking utensils. As for the others, just ask Xie Yun Dong."

Since they had already discussed it, Li Long felt much more relaxed about this matter.

People in his own team were still worry-free. (End of chapter)