Chapter 56

Li Long was called up by Li Jianguo.

He heard his brother's voice outside, climbed up from the heated brick bed, responded, rubbed his eyes, rubbed his face, and started putting on clothes.

At this time, he really didn't want to crawl out of the quilt—the stove fire had gone out, the room was very cold, only inside the quilt was hot, and the temperature outside reached minus thirty degrees, just thinking about it was uncomfortable.

But for a better life, Li Long knew he couldn't be lazy. Time is precious now; if you don't strive for it, no one will wait for you after the New Year.

After putting on his clothes and arriving at the west room, Li Long saw his sister-in-law had already finished cooking and was serving it to the table. Li Juan and Li Qiang hadn't gotten up yet.

"Let your brother send you to the city?" Liang Yuemei said while putting down chopsticks, "Two people can look after each other."

"No need, no need." Li Long waved his hand, "Too troublesome, my brother still has to catch fish at home. As for going to Shicheng, I'm very familiar with it."

Li Jianguo also didn't think a big young man going to Shicheng could have any trouble. Li Long didn't tell his family about the time he and Tao Daqiang were robbed halfway.

After eating, Li Long wrapped the two pieces of jade with a cloth, then put them in a urea bag and carried them on his back. Liang Yuemei handed over the satchel:

"Inside are white flour buns, two pieces of mutton, and two pieces of pickled vegetables, eat on the road when you're hungry. Drink the warm water in the water bottle early, see where to fill it with water later..."

"Okay." Li Long took it. The eldest sister-in-law is like a mother; Liang Yuemei had indeed taken care of him like her own child for the past few years.

Waving at his brother and sister-in-law, Li Long put on his padded hat and walked out.

By the time he walked to the county town, the sky was already light. Li Long thought about it and went to the acquisition station.

Chen Hongjun was indeed there. Li Long went over to greet him and asked with a smile:

"Comrade Chen, have a matter to ask you, do you know where the Wucheng Jade Factory is located?"

"This... I don't know either. I only know that the jade factory belongs to the Second Light Industry Bureau. You should be able to find out if you ask at the Second Light Industry Bureau."

"Alright, thank you." Li Long thanked him, went out to the big meat canteen, bought two hot buns, and continued to rush to Shicheng while eating.

By the time he arrived in Shicheng, there was still half an hour before departure.

He bought a ticket and got on the bus. There weren't many people on the bus. Li Long found a seat in the middle—the current bus has no air conditioning, saying it's just an iron shell is basically not an exaggeration, so the 150-kilometer road is very cold and needs to be endured.

The ticket price is four yuan. Li Long knew that after early spring, a series of reforms would begin, and the long-distance bus from Wucheng to this county would be connected, and the ticket price would be three yuan and five cents then.

He folded the urea bag and put it under the seat; he wasn't afraid of others stealing it like that, but instead held the satchel in his arms.

Time was up, the driver got on the bus with a large water cup, the conductor checked the tickets, and then the bus departed.

The current road is not as smooth as in later generations, plus there is thick ice and snow, so the journey is quite bumpy. Li Long had only sat on it a while ago, so there was nothing to say. By the time he got off at Wucheng South Station, it was already mid-afternoon.

There are places to stay nearby—the famous August 1st Guest House, where it is convenient to take a bus and stay. The August 1st Guest House was opened by the Civil Affairs Bureau, originally called the Military Supply Station, and was a must-choose accommodation location for many people traveling to and from Wucheng, later changed to the August 1st Hotel.

At this time, staying for one night, in a triple room, is one yuan and eight cents.

After Li Long got off the bus, he asked about the location of the Second Light Industry Bureau from the person looking after the August 1st Guest House, and the other party also told him how to take the bus there, which made Li Long feel the enthusiasm of the Wucheng people.

By the time he arrived at the Second Light Industry Bureau, Li Long first went to the nearby retail department to buy a box of cigarettes—at this time it wasn't called a store, it was called a retail department—and then took the cigarettes to find the old man looking after the door.

Inherited for many years, the one looking after the door is usually an old man. The old man took the cigarettes, and after Li Long took out a lighter to light it for him, he pointed out the location of the jade factory to him. Li Long hurriedly thanked him, and then carried the urea bag and rushed to the jade factory.

By the time he arrived at the jade factory, the sun was already slanting to the west, and it was almost time to get off work. Li Long hurriedly explained his intention to the guard, and the guard said he couldn't make the decision either, so he called the raw material procurement section inside.

Li Long carried the urea bag, feeling a bit worried while waiting. If they didn't collect it here, he would have come for nothing.

Soon, two men came out from inside the jade factory, one about thirty years old, with an upright posture, and one over fifty, with a slightly hunched back, wearing glasses. Both were a bit surprised to see Li Long—this really didn't look like a traditional "jade farmer."

"Little comrade, are you the one who came to sell jade?" The tall man asked.

"Yes." Li Long took off the urea bag and asked, "Are you looking at it now?"

"Let's go, let's go to the office." The old man said, "What kind of jade is it?"

"Mahe jasper." Li Long said.

He immediately saw the disappointed expressions on both men's faces.

Although that disappointment flashed by, Li Long still saw it.

He thought about it and said:

!.

"Better look at it now, otherwise if you wait until the office and feel it's not worth buying after looking, that would be too troublesome." Saying this, he bent down and took out the jade he got from Halimu from the urea bag, opened the cloth package, and let the jade be displayed in front of the two people.

The two looked at each other, and the old man took the seed material and started looking at it.

This piece of jade looked like a ruler, and also like a natural paperweight, weighing four or five kilograms, feeling very warm and moist—even though the outdoor temperature was now minus twenty-plus degrees, it wasn't very icy.

"Good jade." The old man sighed, "Such seed material is rare even among the Mahe jasper we collect."

"Is the jade very good?"

"Very good!" The old man said very firmly, then pointed behind him and said, "Let's go, let's go to the office to talk."

Only then did Li Long feel slightly relieved.

Following the two to the office, there was heating inside. Li Long immediately felt it wasn't cold, but instead, his feet and ears started to itch—this is a manifestation of mild frostbite.

"If this piece of seed material were placed in the interior, it would cost you at least one hundred yuan per kilogram." The old man sighed, "But here, there are too many good raw materials, and the price can't go up, so, I can only give you eighty yuan per kilogram, what do you think..."

"Alright." Li Long agreed immediately.

"Actually, this piece of jasper is of very good quality, reaching the first-grade standard or above." The middle-aged man next to him took the jade and looked at it and said, "Usually Mahe jasper has black spots, I see yours doesn't, very rare!"

"I have another piece." Li Long took out the other piece from the urea bag, opened the cloth package, and placed it on the table.

"This piece..." The old man looked carefully, shone a flashlight on it, picked it up and weighed it, and said:

"The quality is slightly worse, but actually it's also quite good."

After weighing the two pieces of jade, they paid Li Long a total of nine hundred and fifty-six yuan, of which the smaller piece was four point two kilograms, three hundred and thirty-six yuan, and the larger piece was twelve point four kilograms, fifty yuan per kilogram, selling for six hundred and twenty yuan.

Li Long suddenly had a feeling of getting rich!

This feeling was even stronger than the feeling of handing over land to a cooperative for a dividend of more than one hundred thousand at the end of the year in later generations!

(End of chapter)