Chapter 500

The old street market was becoming increasingly lively. By the time Li Long arrived, the tractor couldn't get in anymore. It had completely turned into a pedestrian street, with a parking lot opened up outside. It was mainly for bicycles, with some donkey carts and horse carts, and there were also two tractors parked there.

Li Long drove the tractor in. The parking attendant gave him a tag and told him he didn't need to take the starting crank with him; they would keep an eye on it.

Of course, if he wasn't at ease, it was fine to take it.

Li Long didn't take it. The starting crank port was universal; even if he took the crank, if someone really wanted to drive the tractor away, they could just find another crank and start it.

Of course, that would be a major crime.

Li Long walked inside with the tag. At this time of day, he didn't know if his father and Tao Daqiang were still selling fish at the old street.

After walking around, there were several fish stalls, but he didn't see Li Qing Xia or Tao Daqiang.

Had they not come, or had they already sold out and gone back?

Ke Ke Ke Youmu's milk tea shop was still open. There were quite a few people eating naan and drinking milk tea there, coming and going in waves; he saw both Han and ethnic minority people.

This market was much more prosperous than Maxian City, with more people selling food, vegetables, and handmade goods. Li Long listened to the fishmongers shouting; large carp had already risen in price to 1.2 yuan.

No wonder his father and the others were selling fish here; it was profitable!

However, the fish in the small Haizi were mostly crucian carp, and there weren't that many carp. The price of crucian carp here hadn't risen yet; he estimated it would take another twenty years or so for the price of wild large crucian carp to reach its peak, directly breaking the price of carp, reaching twenty-five yuan per kilogram.

There were also two meat stalls. From afar, Li Long saw Chen Xingbang still near the spot where he had first set up his stall.

He didn't know if this was considered his customary stall or if he came early every day to occupy this spot, which was why the location remained unchanged.

When Li Long arrived, Chen Xingbang was bargaining with a man leading a sheep.

"For this sheep, I can only pay twenty-five yuan. Let me tell you, bone-in mutton is 1.3 yuan now. Your sheep is thin; I can slaughter at most fifteen kilograms of meat from it. I'll sell it for nineteen point five at most, and the skin can sell for five or six yuan, that's about it. The only profit I'll make is the money from the offal..." Chen Xingbang sized up the fine-wool sheep in the man's hand and said.

"Just the money from the offal? A set of offal should sell for five or six yuan, right?" The sheep seller naturally wasn't happy about earning less.

"Then go sell it to someone else," Chen Xingbang didn't back down at all. "Isn't slaughtering a sheep hard work? Isn't skinning and cleaning the offal hard work? If you think I'm making too much, why don't you slaughter it yourself? I have to pay a one-yuan stall fee here every day—I'm only making the offal money, and you have an opinion? Then go find someone else."

"Then how do I know if the fifteen kilograms you mentioned is true or false?" The man couldn't win the argument against Chen Xingbang, but he wasn't willing to leave. Li Long guessed he must have been to other stalls, and the others offered even less, which was why he was lingering here.

This was a person like Ma Jinbao, indecisive.

"Hey!" As soon as he said that, before Chen Xingbang could speak, the other onlookers weren't happy. "You can say other things, but you're questioning Old Chen's judgment? Let me tell you, he's called Chen the One-Knife! The cattle, sheep, and pigs he looks at, one glance, and he knows exactly how much meat they'll yield! In the days he's been in this market, how many people didn't believe him, and in the end, weren't they all convinced?"

"Exactly! The name 'Chen the One-Knife' didn't come for nothing!"

No one had spoken up when they were discussing the price of the sheep, but now that the seller questioned Chen Xingbang's judgment, people immediately chimed in to help.

Li Long hadn't expected his brother-in-law to have so many supporters in this market, and these people were quite supportive of him.

"Fine, fine, fine, twenty-five is twenty-five, give it to me, give me the money!" The sheep seller handed the rope to Chen Xingbang and reached out his other hand for the money.

Chen Xingbang was wearing a leather apron covered in bloodstains. He reached into his apron pocket, pulled out a handful of loose change, searched for a long time, found a ten-yuan note, then found two five-yuan notes from the steelworkers, then fished out a two-yuan note and three one-yuan notes, straightened them out, and handed them to the other party, while taking the straw rope used to lead the sheep.

The man licked his finger and counted the money twice, then said to Chen Xingbang with a smile:

"Boss Chen, this sheep is yours now, hope you get rich!"

After saying that, he left.

Chen Xingbang smiled, led the sheep over, and placed it by the side of the table, not slaughtering it immediately. There was still meat on the table that hadn't been sold, so he continued to shout.

"Old Chen, slaughter the sheep, everyone is waiting to see."

"Exactly, fresh mutton, slaughter it and I'll weigh two kilograms!"

"This sheep looks good, slaughter it and I'll buy some too."

"Give me the stomach, I love that part!"

The onlookers were talking all at once. Chen Xingbang remained unmoved, shaking his head and saying:

"That won't do. If the meat on this table isn't sold, the newly slaughtered meat will just have to wait to rot."

"Fine, fine, fine, we'll help you shout!" Some people really hoped to wait and eat fresh mutton, so they helped shout.

Li Long found it quite amusing; he hadn't expected his brother-in-law to have truly taken root in this market so quickly.

A good thing.

When he walked up to the table, Chen Xingbang had already seen him and said with a smile:

"Xiao Long is here, you haven't been here for a long time! I heard from Dad that you were in the mountains leading Big Brother and the others in work; are you finished?"

"Finished," Li Long walked to the side of the table, not blocking those buying meat, and said, "All done, just taking a break. I see you can collect sheep directly in the market; it's quite easy."

"Hey, it's not like I can collect them every day. Usually, I still have to go around the neighborhood in the afternoon," Chen Xingbang was glowing, and Li Long felt he was at least five kilograms heavier than the last time he saw him. "It's okay now, I can sell a few dozen kilograms of meat every day."

Someone came to weigh meat. After Chen Xingbang clarified the customer's needs, his hand moved and the knife fell; it was almost exactly the right weight. The customer was satisfied, and the onlookers nearby cheered.

A reserved smile appeared on Chen Xingbang's face. Li Long could feel that he was actually quite proud of himself.

The liveliness here attracted quite a few people, and then people started buying meat one after another. The meat on the stall was soon sold out, leaving only a few pieces of leg bone meat.

Chen Xingbang had been busy the whole time, so Li Long didn't disturb him and watched from the side for a while.

"Chen the One-Knife, should we slaughter the sheep now?" Someone saw that there was less meat on the table and said immediately.

"Fine, fine, fine, slaughtering it," Chen Xingbang was also happy and said, "Slaughtering it now."

"Brother-in-law, you go ahead and get busy, I'm going to take care of some business first." Li Long had come to see that Chen Xingbang was doing well, which was enough. He still had to go to the Shicheng Department Store to buy a color TV.

"Alright, you go do your business. Come to the courtyard at noon, I'll close the stall at noon. I'll prepare something good then; don't you leave, I'll have it ready for you!" Chen Xingbang said.

Li Long thought about it and agreed.

When he came, he had gone to the Maxian market and told Sister Yang, asking her to tell Gu Xiaoxia that he wouldn't be back for lunch, but he would definitely be home in the afternoon.

Li Long checked the time; it was still early. He first went to Ke Ke Ke Youmu's milk tea shop to drink a bowl of milk tea to quench his thirst, then went to the parking lot to return the tag, paid one mao, started the tractor, and went to the department store.

There was already a parking lot at the department store here too. Judging by the scale, Li Long could guess that there were quite a few people going in. Some were locals or from the Production and Construction Corps, but more were from the Sha and Ma counties. Last year, with the household contract responsibility system, land was distributed to individuals. Although every household had to pay public grain according to the number of people and the amount of land, their income had truly increased.

Everyone had some savings, so naturally, they wanted to live a better life, and in their spare time, they would come to buy some daily necessities.

The Shicheng Department Store was much more famous than the Maxian Department Store.

Li Long wasn't in a hurry. He walked around inside and saw that almost every counter had people buying goods or asking about prices.

The television counter was the same. A young man and woman who looked like newlyweds were asking the sales clerk to introduce a fourteen-inch black-and-white television.

Li Long wasn't in a hurry and waited patiently behind them. He heard the woman in the couple asking very detailed questions and estimated that it wouldn't be settled for a while, so he went to another counter, bought a battery-operated radio, and bought a box of ten batteries.

The sales clerk saw that Li Long was so decisive in buying the radio, not even testing it properly, and knew that this person must buy often, so she took the initiative to ask him what else he wanted to buy.

"Television," Li Long pointed over there, "I have to wait a bit, there are people there."

"Hey, that couple? They've been here three times, only listening to introductions and never able to make up their minds." The big sister selling radios had a very quick tongue. After finishing with Li Long, she shouted to the sales clerk selling televisions:

"Xiao Qin, there's a customer here who wants to buy a TV, can you take a look?"

That sales clerk, Qin, looked over. Li Long was holding the radio box and felt a bit awkward.

The couple seemed a bit dissatisfied. The woman curled her lip and said:

"We were here first, we're not done yet."

Sales clerk Qin was a woman in her thirties. She looked at Li Long apologetically. Li Long said: "It's fine, I'll wait a while."

"Young man, what kind of TV are you buying?" The big sister at the counter might have been annoyed by the couple and helped sales clerk Qin ask.

"Color TV, two of them, eighteen-inch ones," Li Long stated his needs.

"What?" The big sister was also startled. "You mean, you want to buy two eighteen-inch color TVs?"

"Yes," Li Long nodded.

"Are you a procurement officer for a unit?" the big sister guessed.

"No, no, no, I'm from Maxian. Our department store there only has one left, so I thought I'd come over to take a look. I'm buying them for my own family." Li Long wasn't afraid of being envied at this moment; no one here knew him anyway.

The couple immediately stopped talking.

They looked at each other, revealing a bit of jealousy and envy, as well as complex emotions that were hard to describe.

The two of them stopped talking and stepped back two paces.

For their own wedding, they had run here three times to buy a fourteen-inch black-and-white TV and still couldn't make up their minds, while this person opened his mouth and wanted two, and they were color TVs, and eighteen-inch ones at that!

When people compare themselves to others, why is the gap so big?

"We do have two eighteen-inch Panda color TVs here," sales clerk Qin said quickly. "Two thousand one hundred each. Do you want to take a look?"

!.

Huh? It's much cheaper than what I bought during the New Year.

Has production capacity increased?

"I want to take a look." Li Long saw that the couple had stopped talking, so he walked up to the counter and said, "Can I test them?"

"Yes, but it's not night, and it's not the weekend; there's no television broadcast during the day."

"Plug it in and take a look, mainly to check the screen and such." Li Long felt that since you could only see static during the day, talking about dead pixels was just deceiving yourself; it was better to check the power connection.

Anyway, there was a warranty at this time.

Sales clerk Qin brought over a color TV, opened the box, took it out, carefully placed it on the counter, and plugged it in for Li Long to see.

The big sister at the radio counter asked from the side:

"Young man, you're buying two, how are you going to take them back by yourself?"

"I drove a tractor here," Li Long said. "I'll just put them in the tractor and take them back."

"Hey, you even have a tractor! A tractor is worth more than two color TVs, right? Your family is really rich," the big sister sighed sincerely.

"It's just catching up with the Party's good policies," Li Long said casually. He was telling the truth, and it was also what he felt in his heart. Without the policy of opening up, it wouldn't be easy for him to get rich. After all, regarding the collection of fritillaria bulbs, if it weren't for the current opening up, a charge of speculation could have gotten him locked up. Although the crime still existed, to be honest, everyone didn't care much about it anymore.

After testing both color TVs, Li Long was very satisfied. He issued the receipt, paid the money, took the goods, and left.

The sales clerk helped him move one color TV onto the tractor. After Li Long thanked her, he drove the tractor away.

With color TVs in the tractor, Li Long didn't dare to go anywhere else; he drove very steadily. Although there was foam in the TV boxes, it was better not to shake them if he could avoid it.

When the tractor drove to Chen Xingbang's courtyard, to Li Long's surprise, the door was open, and Chen Xingbang had already returned.

The tractor drove into the courtyard. Before Li Long could get off, Chen Xingbang had already come out from the door.

"You rest for a while, I'm cooking here. Today, taste my craft!"

Li Long smiled, turned off the engine, got off the tractor, held the radio box, and handed it over:

"Brother-in-law, this is for you. When you're selling meat in the market, turn it on and listen; it can be a pastime and can also attract some people over."

"Hey, why did you spend money to buy this?" Chen Xingbang complained, but he was actually quite happy. His brothers-in-law were all capable, and at first, he was a bit intimidated. Now that he had some achievements and his self-confidence had grown, Li Long buying him things showed that he recognized him more, and he was quite happy.

"Brother-in-law, what are we eating for lunch?" Li Long asked.

"Steamed rice. We slaughtered a sheep this morning, so I won't sell the offal for now; I'll bring it back to clean, and while I'm at it, I'll stir-fry the stomach and intestines. Don't worry, I'll definitely clean it well. You rest for a while and just wait to eat."

Li Long smiled and nodded. Chen Xingbang went to get busy, and Li Long looked at the courtyard.

Some vegetables were planted in the courtyard, occupying about a quarter of the whole yard. The sheep he had brought before were gone, and there were no other animals here, but there were quite a few skins spread out on the middle waist wall.

There were sheepskins just slaughtered this time, as well as cowhides that hadn't been completely dried before, and donkey skins.

It surprised Li Long a bit; his brother-in-law's business was quite diverse.

In less than half an hour, the meal was ready, and Chen Xingbang called Li Long into the room to eat.

"Dad and Daqiang come over occasionally, and I've heard some news about you. It must be hard in the mountains, right?" Chen Xingbang asked while eating.

"It's okay, anyway there's a cabin in the mountains, it's convenient to live in. There's a stove, so I cook for myself," Li Long said. "It's more comfortable than the earth shelters Big Brother and the others live in."

"That's good. I heard you can often hunt game," Chen Xingbang asked again, "Is it easy or hard to hunt?"

"If you know the place, you can hunt it. Maybe one every two or three days," Li Long said, and then he also asked, "Brother-in-law, I see you have cowhides and donkey skins outside; do you slaughter everything?"

"That's for sure," Chen Xingbang said with a smile. "Just pigs and sheep aren't enough. Besides, I also want to earn more money quickly so I can bring your sister and the kids over. When the kids come, they'll need to go to school, so I need to save up more now. But it's almost there; I'm thinking in another month or so, I'll send the money back to your sister. The courtyard and land at home are managed by my father, and your sister will bring the kids over and stay here from now on."

Li Long nodded, picked up a pair of chopsticks, put some stir-fried tripe on his rice bowl, and began to eat.

Chen Xingbang's craft was not bad; it tasted quite good, with no organ odor, and it was cleaned very cleanly.

He used quite a bit of dried chili, which went very well with rice.

Li Long ate two bowls of rice. While eating, he also learned about Chen Xingbang's situation.

Because he earned some money doing business here, some thugs were jealous and came to "borrow" money. Chen Xingbang used a knife to force them away. He was terrified for a few days, fearing retaliation.

But he knew that if he cowered once, he would be manipulated by others forever.

Then, not long after, he heard from people in the neighborhood that these thugs had been arrested.

The ringleader was even executed.

So now, although some people were jealous that he, an outsider, earned so much money, there were quite a few people in Shicheng with the same accent as him, many of whom were veterans of the Production and Construction Corps or their descendants, and there were quite a few people who supported him.

So Chen Xingbang's business was doing quite well now.

"Didn't you see I've gotten fat?" Chen Xingbang reassured Li Long, patting his stomach which was already starting to show, and said, "Every day, the leftover offal can't be sold, so I can only boil it. Sometimes I boil it to sell in the morning, and the rest I eat myself."

Li Long suddenly thought of that sheep and asked:

"Then brother-in-law, do you really only earn the offal money from one sheep?"

"Hey, that's not it. That's what I tell people, otherwise why would they be willing to sell it to me?" A hint of cunning flashed in Chen Xingbang's eyes. "Think about it, what else haven't I mentioned?"

Li Long thought for a moment and said:

"Sheep head and sheep trotters?"

"Exactly, if you prepare those well, you can sell them for two or three yuan. Our old street has people who specialize in selling boiled sheep heads and sheep trotters. And the mutton, the canteens need that too."

Li Long smiled and indicated he understood. No wonder his brother-in-law could earn money; this money was earned in small, unknown places.

This was also his ability.

A good thing. As long as things continued like this, in another period of time, his brothers and sisters would all be able to take root in Northern Tianshan, and their lives would get better and better.

As for being envied, isn't that normal? If you aren't envied, you're mediocre; only if you live well will people be jealous. If you live worse than others, they wouldn't be willing to be jealous of you, right? (End of chapter)