Chapter 556: The Power of the Collective Is Still Very Strong

Li Long looked at the remaining three or five people and laughed in anger.

Did they really think the Li family was running a charity?

He needed to get rid of these three or five people quickly; otherwise, if a steady stream of others arrived later, things would become increasingly complicated.

"My family did keep some seeds," he said, standing on the tractor and looking around, slightly regretting that he hadn't prepared a few shovel handles in the truck bed, as those things were truly handy to use.

No wonder the Great Sage used a staff and looked down on other weapons.

And no wonder men, regardless of age, usually found themselves unable to walk away when they saw a straight staff.

"Then just spare us three or five jin; even a little less is fine. We aren't asking for much."

"Exactly, exactly," another person said, seeing an opening and hastily putting on a smiling face, "We really don't want much; even enough to plant two or three mu of land would work."

"Bullshit!" Li Long suddenly cursed, "How many seed companies have you visited?"

"One," one person answered honestly.

"I also... one," another person said, involuntarily telling the truth when meeting Li Long's suppressing, scrutinizing gaze.

"With just that, you expect to get rich?" Li Long's voice rose, "To find watermelon seeds, I ran to seven or eight seed companies in Shicheng, Ma County, Beiting, and Wucheng, and finally found only that tiny bit!

You only visited one seed company, and when you couldn't find any, you thought you could just come here for ready-made ones? Let me tell you, no way! If you want seeds, either do like those others and check the fried-seed factories to see if there's any chance of getting some,

or run around to more seed companies and work harder, or else go home and drink the northwest wind! You don't want to exert any effort yet expect to pick someone else's fruit? Keep dreaming!

The seeds my family kept are for us to plant; if we give them to you, what will we plant? Leave! If you don't leave, I'll drive you out!"

Since Li Long spoke so directly, one person left in anger, while the remaining few still hoped to linger a bit longer, just as several more people arrived and joined in.

At this moment, the sound of footsteps came from the courtyard gate again.

"What are you doing? What are you doing?" Leading the group was Lu Yingming, followed by Xie Xie Yun Dong, Tao Tao Dayong, and even the frail Jia Weidong; each person held a staff in their hand:

"What do you think you're doing, huh? Coming to the Fourth Squad to act wildly? Do you think the Fourth Squad has no one left?"

Seeing a large group approaching, these people immediately became timid; one of them immediately waved his hands, smiling apologetically, and said:

"No, no, we just wanted to come buy some watermelon seeds; we really didn't mean to do anything else."

"Nothing? Damn it, the whole village could hear you badgering Brother Lao Li! If Brother Lao Li didn't have such a good temper, you'd be crawling out right now!"

The sound of a bicycle rang out, and then Xu Chengjun appeared at the courtyard gate.

"I am the captain of the Fourth Squad. Let me tell you, the Fourth Squad is a collective; speaking on behalf of Brother Lao Li, there are no more watermelon seeds; if you want to find some, go look elsewhere!

You can always find some if you visit more seed companies! Don't waste your time and energy here; if you truly think the people of the Fourth Squad are easy to bully, we can also give it a try!"

Tao Tao Dayong in the crowd immediately became excited.

It had been some years since the whole squad had joined someone else in a group fight!

Once Xu Chengjun spoke, most of those people left; they had no choice but to leave, since the squad members had come to support.

To tell the truth, after the household responsibility system was implemented, many people actually felt that the production team had suddenly fallen apart, lacking the collective spirit of the old days.

Everyone did their own work, and only during the spring cleaning of the main canal did it feel like a collective again.

When some people left, they felt quite envious; if they were in the village and got into trouble with outsiders, having their own village come out to settle the matter would make any hardship feel worth it.

But there were still some who refused to accept this, shouting loudly:

"We just wanted to come buy some watermelon seeds; what, do you intend to beat people up?"

"If you negotiate normally, we have no objection," Xu Chengjun, who was reasonable, walked up to that person; his height alone towered over the other, and as he extended his hand, Tao Daqiang directly handed over the staff:

"If you intend to force a sale or act shamelessly, thinking the Li family is reasonable and easy to bully, then you are wrong! Let me say it again: our Fourth Squad is a collective, and we are not afraid of trouble!

If you are unconvinced, I can also let you experience again what the power of a collective is!"

The fact that Xu Chengjun could serve as the village director meant he could not only suppress the villagers but had also never backed down against outsiders.

Just a moment ago, he truly intended that if this guy continued to stubbornly hold his ground, he wouldn't mind letting him taste the power of the collective!

That short-statured man ultimately had some sense; seeing the others closing in, he realized that as soon as the village director gave the word, the staffs would collectively descend upon his head.

In the end, without leaving a single word, he slipped away.

Li Long climbed down from the tractor and was about to speak, but Xu Chengjun spoke first:

"These bastards only know how to bully honest people!"

Li Long thought about it; well, judging by the reaction just now, his eldest brother indeed counted as an honest person; after all, everyone was a farmer wanting to become wealthy, and their original intentions were good, unfortunately, some people misapplied this.

Liang Yuemei and Chen Chen Li Rong came over, one holding a teapot and the other an enamel bowl, to pour water for everyone.

It was already early October; eating melons felt a bit cold, so tea was better.

Du Chunfang smiled; this truly was the power of the collective. Actually, just now Li Long had been genuinely worried that those scoundrels might bump into his mother.

"Brother Lao Li, you cannot handle this matter; we can," Xu Chengjun said, accepting the tea bowl, "You and Xiao Long have gained fame, so you must pay attention to your image.

We are not afraid; our Fourth Squad is still a collective, so if there is trouble, I, as the village director, must step forward; you don't need to worry about the rest."

Actually, these people had all bought seeds from the Li family; how could they not come over for such a matter?

Li Long hadn't expected Tao Tao Dayong to appear either; he leaned over and asked:

"Brother Tao Dayong, I heard Daqiang's wife gave birth?"

"She did, she did; she gave birth to a daughter," Tao Tao Dayong sighed, "Not a son."

"Not having a son is good!" Li Long said with a smile.

"How can that be good?" Tao Tao Dayong asked, somewhat puzzled.

"If it's not a son, then according to family planning regulations, you can have another child in four years; if you have a son then, won't you have both a son and a daughter? Just like my eldest brother; isn't that great? If this child had been a son, wouldn't you be unable to have more?"

Tao Tao Dayong suddenly realized, slapping his thigh:

"That's right!"

"Yes, yes, yes, two is great!" the others also said, holding their bowls and leaning in, "Look at Brother Lao Li and Elder Brother Lu's families; they both have two; how wonderful!"

Tao Tao Dayong suddenly thought of himself and said with a tearful face:

"Then I... sigh!"

Li Long said with a smile:

"Actually, you can do it too."

"How can I? My family has a boy."

"Next year, plant watermelons properly. When you get the money, don't spend it; prepare for the fine, and have another one right away. Right now, the old hometown is strict; here in the countryside, the most you get is a fine. If you want another one, just prepare the fine."

Tao Dayong thought, "This is true indeed! Before, we didn't dare to have children, wasn't it because we feared paying the fine? Next year, even if we don't earn over five thousand from ten mu like Li Jianguo, even if we earn over three thousand, we can pay the fine!"

His heart suddenly grew hot.

Anyway, it wasn't peak farming season yet, so everyone just chatted in the Li family courtyard. Li Jianguo simply started explaining some techniques for planting watermelons, such as soaking seeds, using seeders, ridging, weeding, pest control, and so on.

"Brother Lao Li, next time there are pests, I'll come find you again," Xu Chengjun said, his head full of questions. "There are so many medicines; I don't know how to tell them apart. How did you figure it out?"

"Xiao Long went to the Bayi Agricultural College to ask a university professor," Li Jianguo said this with pride. Although his own family hadn't yet produced a university student, and he himself had only attended school halfway, the fact that Li Long could go consult a university professor, and that the professor was willing to teach, was impressive.

Of course, Gu Gu Bo Yuan was also a university graduate, but what he did was different.

Li Jianguo had once joked with Gu Gu Bo Yuan, saying he was "a scholar who rebels but fails after ten years." Gu Gu Bo Yuan didn't get angry or retort; instead, he thought seriously and even nodded.

He truly was just a bookish fool, full of knowledge but lacking methods.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up with a wife leaving and children scattering.

Someone like Professor Wu was different; even though he went to the Seed Company in previous years, as soon as an opportunity arose, he immediately entered the Bayi Agricultural College and restored his professor status.

No one came to find Gu Gu Bo Yuan. That was the difference.

After finishing the talk about planting watermelons, Li Long brought out several decks of playing cards, and Liang Yuemei brought out fried melon seeds. This suited Xu Chengjun and the others well; they simply sat on the ground and started playing cards in the courtyard.

People kept coming over. Truly, there was no need for Li Jianguo to speak; Xu Chengjun directly blocked them.

Basically, it was just those few sentences:

"There are no seeds left. If you want to find some, go to the snack factory or other seed companies. Don't try to cause trouble here, or you'll be targeted by the collective force."

Seeing so many people standing guard, these people were sensible; they either left directly or asked Li Jianguo some knowledge about planting watermelons, and then left.

Li Long drove the tractor to the township and ordered twenty more seeders from the blacksmith.

The blacksmith shop didn't have springs. Li Long said they weren't needed; just leave the space for installing springs.

He had a position at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, so finding some springs wasn't really difficult.

After all, in this era, where there were people selling bicycles, there were also people selling bicycle parts.

Otherwise, how would you repair them if they broke?

Others might not buy them easily, or wouldn't buy many, but he was different. This thing was a key component of the seeder; buying a few more was no problem.

He didn't plan to sell them. Xu Chengjun and others coming over was repayment for the favor of buying seeds, but next, he planned to see if he could make this small collective even tighter.

!.

Li Jianguo had told him that during the chaotic years before, the team had actually set up cooperatives and mutual aid groups, planting things together, harvesting together, and sharing dividends.

Li Jianguo didn't expect at this moment that thirty years later, this cooperative would become popular here again.

If he united these people now, grew more profitable cash crops together, and earned money for several consecutive years, this small collective would directly become the wealthiest collective in the entire Fourth Squad.

Next, whatever they did would be more convenient.

Everything else was empty; interests were lasting. As long as the things they planted together could keep making money, everyone would definitely be willing to continue following.

Li Long judged that making money from watermelons could last at most three to five years; afterward, they would have to switch to something else.

After all, the scale would inevitably keep expanding, but market demand was stable. When the market couldn't absorb that many watermelon seeds, the price would inevitably drop, continuing until it reached a reasonable number.

Li Long and his group were just earning quick money in the first few years, just like those capitalists earning money from "Garlic is fierce" and the like.

The difference was that Li Long and his group didn't need to speculate; they just needed to find crops with large market gaps.

If we really talk about it, Li Long could still find quite a few. It just needed to be like watermelons, finding a suitable outlet for shipment.

Saying that everything was waiting to be rebuilt in this era was a bit of an exaggeration, but many crops were indeed very short on seeds. Those who grew seeds would definitely be warmly welcomed.

For the next two days, Xu Chengjun brought people to the Li family. Occasionally, someone wasn't there, which didn't matter. With these few people gathered here, those coming to buy seeds would first feel a bit of fear, and wouldn't dare to cause trouble.

And by the third day, Li Long drove the tractor over, bringing many seeders, and gave two to each family.

"Come, let me show you. This is the thing for planting watermelons. Pay attention when planting; come to the vegetable garden, and I'll demonstrate it for you."

These people originally came to help Li Long block trouble; next, they gathered together to play cards, which was quite enjoyable.

Now, they were truly getting to work. Next year, they would rely on watermelons to make money and become rich. Even if they couldn't earn a tractor, they could get a good cart or something, or, as Tao Dayong thought, earn enough money for the fine.

So when Li Long said this, they became very serious.

The seeder looked simple, but the design was quite clever. The number of seeds dropped each time could be controlled; this required practice. Naturally, everyone was reluctant to use watermelon seeds for practice, but practicing with sunflower seeds and corn seeds in Li Long's vegetable garden was no problem.

Li Long could imagine that next year, there would definitely be some extra sunflowers and corn growing in this field.

These people were good at playing cards, and they had no problem doing serious work either.

In the following days, people kept coming to the Li family to buy seeds, but they weren't so aggressive anymore. If they couldn't buy any, they would go to the snack factory or other seed companies to find some; they wouldn't be unable to find any.

The Li family still had to plant winter wheat, still had to send live pigs to the township procurement station, and still had to harvest half-ripe cabbages in the summer wheat fields.

At this time, winter came early; unlike in later generations, when sometimes it wouldn't snow properly until the end of November. In this era, heavy snow was already thick in November. One could only say that winters in later generations were becoming less and less like winter.

When Li Long returned to the county, he met Jiang Jiang Zhiyu. He told her about the matter half-jokingly, asking Jiang Jiang Zhiyu not to write about them too excessively in the future, to avoid more trouble.

Jiang Jiang Zhiyu, being a propaganda officer, upon hearing this, instinctively wanted to write a report about it. But seeing Li Long's slightly reproachful look, she had to drop the idea.

This matter was neither big nor small, so Jiang Jiang Zhiyu could only promise that she would tone it down when writing reports in the future.

After the two parted, Jiang Jiang Zhiyu finally realized: she was, after all, a news officer in the township, a state cadre. How could she admit her mistake to Li Long and change her style?

But she also knew that the biggest news in the entire township would most likely come from the Li brothers. To continue publishing articles in the Autonomous Region Daily in the future, she really couldn't offend him.

Li Long ran back and forth. What surprised him was that although the Reed Lake wasn't dry yet and hadn't frozen, some people had already started cutting reeds early.

At first, he was a bit puzzled, but then Li Long understood.

Were they certain they could get the big job of bundling reeds?

To make money, one must work hard. Cutting reeds is just the first step in bundling them.

But they had already tied them up early; as soon as Li Long collected the work order from this side, they could take them directly to exchange for money.

Who says rural people have conservative thinking? Isn't this thinking quite thorough?

The reed lake belonging to the production team hasn't been contracted out, so the reeds in Little Little Haizi can also be harvested. Right now, whoever harvests more reeds will be able to tie more reed bundles later.

This is the same principle as before Li Long took over the big broom-making job, when Li Jianguo had already cut many reeds on his side.

It's just that right now, Xiang Qian at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative hasn't mentioned the reed bundle work to Li Long yet.

Instead, Gu Gu Xiaoxia's work unit distributed autumn and winter benefits.

At this time, if a unit is doing well, the benefits are naturally good; if a unit is slightly worse off, the benefits are just average.

What surprised Li Long somewhat was that besides laundry detergent, toilet paper, and soap, the benefits distributed by Gu Gu Xiaoxia's Education Bureau even included loose rice and crushed corn; there wasn't much of each, but they smelled quite good.

When Li Long went to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, Xiang Qian also told him to collect his benefits.

The benefits at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative were much richer. Besides ordinary toilet paper, laundry detergent, gloves, soap, and other Chang Yong Pin, there was also brown sugar, honey, rice, clear oil, and so on.

He had originally ridden his bicycle over here, yet it turned out he couldn't carry everything on it!

"Section Chief, are our benefits always this good?" Li Long asked with some surprise; last year, it seemed they hadn't distributed this much.

"They will get better and better in the future." Xiang Qian suddenly remembered that last year Li Long had only collected the basic benefits and missed out on those for regular employees, so he said:

"In a moment, I'll write a note for you to collect an extra share. Last year you didn't collect those for regular workers, only the ones for temporary workers; this won't do. The Director has already said that you are a meritorious contributor to our cooperative..."

"No, no, no." Li Long did not want any special treatment; he said, "Just these are fine. My family couldn't use even this much."

"Alright, you have awareness." Xiang Qian said with a smile, "It's nearly the end of the year, and performance evaluations are coming up. Come stay at the cooperative often when you have nothing to do, so everyone can see you; otherwise, people might talk, understand?"

"Understood, understood." Li Long naturally understood.

Xiang Qian still hadn't mentioned the matter of the reed bundles.

Instead, something happened back at home.

His second brother had taken leave to come over, intending to take his second sister-in-law and the child away.

Li Li Anguo had finally made his decision and rented a courtyard near the Kuitun No. 1 Construction and Installation Company. The location was a bit remote, north of the company, already considered the urban-rural fringe, but it was still better than living apart in two different places.

Chen Chen Li Rong felt relieved on one hand that they would no longer live apart, yet on the other hand, she felt somewhat reluctant to leave.

Having lived in the production team for so long, she had truly become accustomed to being here. (End of Chapter)