Chapter 490: The Sack Has Been Woven; The Money-Making Season Is Nearly Over

Coming out of Little Poplar Gully, Li Long returned to the wooden cabin and began another cycle of his busy day.

Near noon, the several dozen kilograms of Fritillaria bulbs he had collected throughout the morning had already been washed clean and set out to dry. Li Long took a piece of meat that was nearly fully air-dried off the rope, preparing to make lunch.

A man carrying a sack approached from the southeast.

Li Long narrowed his eyes, somewhat surprised.

Qiu Bingyi. The last time he came over, he and his cousin had carried his nephew, panic-stricken, then ridden a tractor all the way to Passing Qingshuihe, and finally reached the county town.

Had it already ended?

When Qiu Bingyi arrived before him, Li Long asked:

"When did you return? How is your nephew? Is he still alive?"

"He's alive," Qiu Bingyi nodded and said. "The doctor treated him; his lower leg was amputated, but fortunately, his life was saved."

Li Long felt a pang of regret, but there was nothing to be done; his snake medicine could at best provide early prevention. By the time those two brought the victim over, the leg had already swollen; saving his life was already doing one's utmost.

"My brother is watching over him in the hospital. Things are okay now; although the leg is gone, being alive is what matters." Qiu Bingyi remained optimistic, having accepted reality. "I've come back to pack up; we need to return. These Fritillaria bulbs are to repay you for saving his life; we owe it all to you."

"Enough now that the person is saved; you'll still need money later. I was just saying that back then." Li Long waved his hand. "Take them to the county town to sell; you'll definitely need to spend more money afterward."

"We have it, we have it." Qiu Bingyi's attitude was very firm. "The three of us dug Fritillaria for half a month; we have the money. After the amputation, it won't cost much more; we'll be discharged in a few days and then go back. We have land at home, just not as much as here; originally we thought about earning more to settle down here, but that's for later."

Qiu Bingyi set down the sack of Fritillaria bulbs and left; Li Long chased after him and pressed twenty yuan into his hand. This sack of Fritillaria probably weighed seven or eight kilograms; it should have been all they had left.

After Qiu Bingyi departed, Li Long washed and set out the Fritillaria to dry, then chopped the air-dried meat and stir-fried it with wild celery. Today he hadn't steamed rice; instead, he had pulled noodles from kneaded dough, mixed with chopped mutton and chili skins rolled in oil; eating it mixed together was incredibly fragrant.

Yet his appetite wasn't very good. He thought of that young man, Qiu Chunlei. Judging not by his accent but by his appearance, he was a very handsome lad; presumably, many girls in the village must have liked him.

Pity that in one instant, his lower leg was gone.

Life is impermanent. Henceforth in the village, he might only be able to work silently, laboring away.

The trajectory of his life had changed completely.

Just as he was eating, another person approached from afar, carrying a sack of Fritillaria that looked like a substantial harvest. This sack was nearly full, probably weighing over twenty kilograms.

Li Long sped up his eating, slurping down the noodles and vegetables, then ladled a scoop of soup from the pot to rinse the plate before setting it aside on the cutting board to cool.

The man had already arrived close by.

He was a middle-aged man who wore a smile before even speaking, not tall, half a head shorter than Li Jianguo, standing about 1.6 meters; before he even reached Li Long, he proactively greeted him:

"Boss Li, wishing you prosperity."

"Prosperity, prosperity! You've gathered quite a lot of Fritillaria!"

"Hehe, the Fritillaria has been growing well these past two days; there's plenty in the gully. Only during these couple of days can one dig up so much."

"Selling for cash or trading for goods?" Li Long went into Let Xiao Fang to fetch the scale and asked.

"Selling for cash." The man's purpose was very clear.

Li Long first opened the sack to take a look and found the Fritillaria fairly clean, with not much impurity.

He grabbed a handful; it was also acceptable.

Weighing it, the man seemed to trust Li Long completely, not bothering to look closely. Li Long was also very fair, holding the scale high: twenty-three kilograms and three hundred grams. Li Long put down the scale and showed the marker to him:

"Twenty-three kilograms and three hundred grams; let's count it as twenty-three and a half kilograms, how about that?"

"Good, good, good! How could we not trust you, Boss Li?"

This man smiled broadly.

His words made one feel quite comfortable.

Li Long went into the wooden cabin to fetch a large basin, lifted the sack, and poured the Fritillaria into it, then handed the empty sack back to the man before reaching into his chest pocket for money.

While pulling out the money, he habitually glanced at the Fritillaria and immediately spotted the problem.

Among these Fritillaria bulbs, some had been dried. The dried bulbs, mixed in with the others, stood out slightly.

These dried Fritillaria had been washed.

Although when packing the sack, one had deliberately mixed these bulbs with the fresh ones, even stirring them together, Li Long, who washed and dried Fritillaria every single day, could tell at a glance.

His hand retrieving the money paused for a moment, but ultimately he still pulled the cash from his chest pocket.

Usually, he carried two bundles of money on his person, totaling two hundred. This made it easier to pay people larger amounts. It wasn't so much as to arouse others' greed, yet it was enough to cover payments.

While counting, he asked as if casually:

"Fellow villager, did you wash these Fritillaria?"

"No... ah, ah, I washed some, not many. At the time, I just thought making them cleaner might fetch a higher price... so I washed them, but it was too much trouble after all."

Li Long looked up at the man's slightly panicked eyes and sighed. You stole if you were going to steal, so why did you have to come sell them right here to me?

Li Long kicked out instantly; the man had actually been on guard and managed to dodge, but after dodging, he immediately turned and ran.

How could he possibly outrun Li Long? Li Long caught up with him after chasing just over ten meters, lifted his foot and kicked again, sending the fellow rolling on the ground like a gourd.

Before this man could scramble up, Li Long stepped forward, pinned him by the collar, and demanded:

"Was it you who stole my Fritillaria the other day? Where's my rice?"

"No, it wasn't me..." The man was still arguing. "You saw wrong..."

"Saw wrong?" Li Long sneered and slapped the man with a crisp "Smack!" "Damn it, I've bought over a ton of Fritillaria, and I've never once seen anyone wash Fritillaria right after digging it! All the Fritillaria is washed by me only after I buy it. You're telling me you have a habit of washing Fritillaria? Damn it, washing half and leaving half? And mixing them together?"

Having said this, he slapped the man again with another "Smack!"

These two slaps made blood gush from the fellow's nose; the Ba Zhang Yin marks on his face became clearly visible. Li Long asked again:

"Speak! Did you steal from my place? Where's the rice? Where are the eggs?"

Seeing Li Long raise his hand again, the man finally relented: "I ate the rice that very day; as for the eggs... I took them back, scrambled them, and ate them."

Li Long actually didn't care about the rice and eggs; asking about them simultaneously was merely to make the man reveal the truth. Once he confirmed it really was this man, Li Long fiercely slapped him several more times, then found a rope to tie his hands and feet behind his back and laid him on the grass.

A rustling sound came from the cart bed; Li Long knew that big hedgehog was hungry again, so he went over and threw some leftover rice to it.

In the afternoon, someone came to sell Fritillaria; seeing the bound man, he asked the reason.

"Two days ago, a Fritillaria digger was bitten by a snake; his relatives brought the victim here. I was in a hurry and drove the tractor to take him to the county town. When I returned, the Fritillaria drying outside had vanished. Today I saw this man come to sell Fritillaria, and mixed in were exactly the ones I had been drying back then." Li Long explained the whole story to the person.

"Damn it." Hearing that Li Long had left the fritillaria bulbs out to save someone, only for this man to steal them, the other party cursed.

Whether it was just putting on a show or truly what he thought, anyway, this was exactly the effect Li Long wanted.

As dusk approached, Li Long collected several more dozen kilograms of fritillaria bulbs, and then Hearing Hearing Bolati arrived.

To Li Long's slight surprise, Hearing Hearing Bolati this time brought not only fritillaria bulbs but also a basket, inside which were four hedgehogs.

One was large, about the same size as the one in the truck bed, while the other three were slightly smaller, though still essentially adult hedgehogs, each weighing over two kilograms.

"Do you want these? I happened upon them and caught them. There are plenty in the shallows," Hearing Hearing Bolati said, handing the basket to Li Long. He also saw the bound man and asked:

"What happened to this person?"

"He stole my fritillaria bulbs."

"Scum." Hearing Hearing Bolati used a Han phrase he had just learned to evaluate this person.

"Should I take him away?"

"I left him here specifically for you to take away," Li Long said.

Hearing Hearing Bolati left with sixty yuan and the man.

That man might still have some savings, perhaps even a hideout in the mountains, but none of that concerned Li Long anymore.

Since he had done it, he should bear the consequences.

Li Long put all four hedgehogs into the truck bed. He felt a bit troubled; surely he couldn't raise so many?

Moreover, there weren't enough leftovers to feed them. Feeding them leftovers here was fine, but doing so back home might invite criticism.

Forget it; he would eat one tomorrow.

Li Long made his decision.

After storing the fritillaria bulbs outside, Li Long let the hedgehogs move around in the truck bed. Anyway, the nights weren't that cold now, so they wouldn't freeze to death.

The next morning, people were still waiting outside the wooden cabin to sell fritillaria bulbs. Li Long collected the bulbs, did not wash them yet, put them into Let Xiao Fang's room, then drove the tractor to Little Bai Yang Gully to inspect and accept the carrying frames.

To Li Long's slight surprise, Sun Jia Qiang had not gone out too early, or perhaps he had already gone out once that morning and was now eating with everyone else.

The number of carrying frames woven over the past two days was slightly lower; Li Long guessed that the willow strips nearby had all been cut, so they had to go farther to cut strips and fell poles, which took more time.

Even so, Li Long inspected and accepted forty-seven carrying frames that day.

All were qualified.

Li Long was very satisfied.

Sun Jia Qiang had dug up seventeen kilograms of fritillaria bulbs over the past two days; this time Li Long brought a scale, weighed them for him, and then paid. Sun Jia Qiang said with some worry:

"The fritillaria plants are growing a bit tall; I'm afraid they'll bloom soon."

!.

Li Long understood his thinking: once the fritillaria bloomed, this fritillaria season would be nearly over.

But thinking about it, it was enough; in one fritillaria season, at Sun Jia Qiang's current pace, he could dig over two hundred kilograms of fritillaria bulbs, earning more than six hundred yuan just from Li Long.

That was a lot.

Equivalent to more than a year's wages for some workers.

Returning from Little Bai Yang Gully, Li Long went to the spring and mixed a pile of mud.

He found a medium-sized hedgehog in the truck bed, took it out and smashed it to death, wrapped it in mud, lit a fire in the outdoor stove, and once it was burning well, stuffed the mud-wrapped hedgehog inside, buried it under the charcoal ash, and waited.

Over an hour later, he took out the hardened, baked mud; Li Long waited for it to cool slightly, then smashed it open.

The hedgehog's hard spines came off along with the mud, revealing a round ball of meat.

Li Long went into the wooden cabin, fetched a small dish, added some salt, and brought it out. Then he tore off strips of hedgehog meat and dipped them in the salt to eat.

It was very fragrant.

Two days later, Li Long drove a truckload of fritillaria bulbs back to the county town. He first unloaded the bulbs into the large courtyard, gathered the dried fritillaria bulbs airing in the side room, and went to the procurement station to sell them.

These eighty-plus kilograms of dried fritillaria bulbs brought Li Long nearly four thousand yuan in income.

If the newly brought-back fritillaria bulbs were fully dried, there should be nearly another hundred kilograms.

Afterward, Li Long went to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and found Xiang Qian, who was in his office.

"Oh, Xiao Long, you're back from the mountains?" Xiang Qian, who hadn't seen Li Long for quite some time, warmly poured him some water. "It must have been hard staying in the mountains."

"Not bad." Li Long smiled. "Section Chief, in another five days we should have nearly a thousand carrying frames; shall we discuss the matter of the vehicles?"

"Sure," Xiang Qian said. "That's fast. Five days, you say? Let me see..." He flipped through the calendar on his desk; five days later would be Wednesday.

"Then in five days, I'll bring the trucks to the mountains to haul the carrying frames. Same place, right?"

"Yes, Little Bai Yang Gully. I'll wait for you at Shankou then," Li Long said. "A thousand carrying frames will require several trucks."

"Don't worry; I guarantee we can finish hauling them all that day," Xiang Qian said with a smile. "The quality is no problem, right?"

"No problem. I inspect them daily; only qualified ones count, otherwise they're sent back." Li Long was very confident on this point. "You can rest assured about this."

"That's good."

"Section Chief, I brought two hedgehogs from the mountains for you; they're good either for eating or raising. Shall I leave them here?" Li Long offered the gift as if it were his own.

"Hedgehogs? Sure." Xiang Qian was quite curious. Li Long went outside to the truck bed, brought the basket over, and handed him the two hedgehogs.

As for the largest hedgehog caught at the very beginning, Li Long released it into the large courtyard.

The large courtyard offered ample space and room to move, making it easy to find food, so Li Long felt it should be able to survive.

After staying in the county town for a day, Li Long drove the tractor back to Little Bai Yang Gully early the next morning, finished inspecting and accepting the carrying frames, and then announced the final deadline to everyone.

Work would end in another five days; some were reluctant, some surprised, and others felt they would finally be going home.

Over the next five days, the people digging fritillaria bulbs went into a frenzy; basically, Li Long received about one hundred fifty kilograms of fritillaria bulbs every day.

Four days later, Li Long had to go down the mountain again to sell the previous batch of fritillaria bulbs and lay out the new batch to dry.

Could this be considered the final frenzy?

On the fifth day, Li Long did not go up the mountain with Xiang Qian and the others. There was still a final batch of carrying frames in the mountains to inspect and accept, and the team members also needed to pack their luggage and prepare to return.

Li Long wanted to go over and help coordinate, after all, he was the one who had initiated this matter.

The final batch of carrying poles numbered forty-seven; after inspection, just as Li Long had expected, they all passed.

Everyone had anticipated this day, so they had lived within their means; the materials they had prepared were just about enough, leaving only a few strips and poles remaining.

Sun Jia Qiang's fritillaria bulbs weighed eleven kilograms; as soon as he received his money, he hurried back into the gully to continue digging, without even time to speak.

"Let me say a few words to everyone." After having each person verify their count and sign, Li Long finally said:

"The work of weaving carrying poles ends today. Everyone's quantities are recorded here; the County Supply and Marketing Cooperative will come to haul the poles away today, and we will all return together. You will go back to your teams, while I go to settle the accounts. This afternoon or tomorrow, I will notify everyone to collect their payments. Each of you knows exactly how many poles you wove, so for now, just pack your things and prepare to leave. When the Cooperative's truck arrives shortly, after acceptance inspection passes, we will all need to help load the poles onto the vehicle."

This was certainly no problem; everyone nodded.

Jia Weidong, who rarely spoke, suddenly raised a point:

"What if the random inspection finds some that don't pass? Shouldn't we hold off on packing up?"

Li Long knew he was considering things on his behalf and said with a smile:

"Rest assured, I wove an extra twenty or thirty. If any fail inspection, these surplus ones will be sufficient. Everyone should be clear that I was quite strict during my checks. If any still fail under their standards, that won't be everyone's fault; it will be mine."

Li Long showed responsibility, and these people all understood very well. As they went to pack their things, some whispered that if cooperation truly failed, they could simply weave some more today and return a bit later tonight.

As for the things to pack, they had actually been packing them over the past two days already. Now that it was truly time to leave, rolling up their bedding was about all that remained.

Old Huang still had some rice and flour left; he came over to ask Li Long what to do, and Li Long said it all belonged to him. There wasn't much left, only about two or three kilograms, so presumably no one minded. Old Huang himself had woven thirty or forty carrying poles over these past few days, which would amount to over a hundred yuan. As for how much money others owed Old Huang, he kept his own accounts and did not need Li Long to worry about it.

After finishing matters here, Li Long drove the tractor to Shankou to wait for Li Xiang Qian and the others.

Presumably, someone was already waiting at the wooden cabin, but Li Long could not concern himself with that right now; priority had to be given to matters here first.

The major matter took precedence.

Around twelve o'clock, dust rose in the distance; four trucks could be seen speeding over in a line. Li Long thought this was quite a grand gesture. Having arranged so many vehicles, did they intend to haul everything away in a single trip?

As the trucks approached, Li Long waved to the lead vehicle, then started the tractor and headed into the mountains.

The mountain road was difficult to traverse; even the trucks could not pick up speed, winding back and forth until they reached Little Bai Yang Gully.

Li Long drove the tractor inside and stopped; the four trucks, needing no guidance, drove straight to the place where the carrying poles were piled.

Li Xiang Qian and several quality inspectors and warehouse managers got out of the vehicles. Li Long stepped forward to shake hands, introducing the people here and those carrying poles.

"Go ahead, you few check them; you are the experts. I'll look around nearby," Li Xiang Qian said. "The scenery here is quite nice."

"If the Section Chief is interested, he can take a good look around." Li Long actually knew Li Xiang Qian was joking; did he have time to play in the mountains today? Coming here to handle the carrying poles was the main task. Since Li Xiang Qian had protected him to secure this job, he naturally hoped Li Long would make him look good. However, Li Long could not participate in this inspection; it was necessary to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

"Just looking around nearby; no need to make such a fuss of it." Li Xiang Qian smiled as well.

The quality inspectors and warehouse managers went over together to inspect, loading the poles onto the trucks as they checked, while Li Long came over to help count along with them.

This inspection was very strict; every single carrying pole had to be handled. Li Xiang Qian was slightly worried, and Li Jianguo and the others felt the same, but Li Long's expression remained perfectly calm; he trusted his own inspection results.

Soon, one truck was filled, and one stack of carrying poles was emptied.

Qualified. (End of Chapter)