Chapter 597: The Era of Wild Development

From the driver's tone, one could tell that he often ordered people around like this.

At this time, being able to drive a truck was considered a capable person. In "Ordinary World," Jin Bo drove a truck, which was considered a successful person in his hometown.

At this time, girls marrying a driver could make others envious.

After all, truck drivers had a fixed salary, and bringing some private goods back and forth could earn some extra money; although it was hard work, the money was good.

This also fostered the arrogant character of some drivers; after all, most of the time, others begged them, and they rarely begged others.

Or rather, they wouldn't show that arrogant face to people they had to beg.

Abulaiti and Abudusaimaiti were used to the driver's tone; one went to open the truck's rear tailgate, and the other went to the harvester.

Li Long also went to help, and the driver stood by the truck, commanding from time to time, and then saw the jeep parked in the courtyard.

He had paid attention to the people first and hadn't noticed that there was not only a tractor but also a jeep in this courtyard, and the alcohol smell he had just now suddenly sobered up.

What kind of family is this? And they can afford a jeep? Could it be stolen?

Impossible, he remembered that what he saw diagonally opposite just now was the police station, so naturally, it couldn't be stolen.

Then is this the family's? Or is this young man driving for some leader?

The driver absolutely didn't think this truck was Li Long's. In this day and age, those who could afford to ride in this kind of jeep weren't ordinary people. People generally wouldn't live in this kind of courtyard either; they should all be in big courtyards.

Many thoughts turned in the driver's mind, and then a smile bloomed on his face. He trotted forward and moved the harvester with Li Long, asking while moving:

"This comrade, what is your surname!"

"Surname Li, just call me Li Long." Li Long didn't know why the driver suddenly became enthusiastic, but he really didn't have a good impression of this driver.

He learned his driving skills in his previous life, and "don't drink and drive" was deeply remembered in his mind, while this driver obviously drank a lot yesterday, and the alcohol smell hadn't dissipated yet, so he couldn't be considered a qualified driver.

There would be danger.

"Comrade Li Long is young and promising," the driver even knew how to use an idiom. "This jeep is driven by you, right? I see the license plate number, is that from Beiting Prefecture?"

"Hmm, our unit leader let me drive it," Li Long said. "Let me handle things, and because the time needed is quite long, they put this car in my courtyard."

"Ooh, ooh, then the leader still values you," the driver dreamed of driving a small car. Although driving a big truck was convenient for pulling things, in this chain of contempt for drivers, it belonged to the last link. They looked glamorous to outsiders, but actually, they also had their own pursuits.

"It's okay," Li Long wasn't humble either, smiled and said, "I've handled things for the leader for two years, and the leader feels at ease with the things I handle."

"Then that's truly amazing. This small car is much more comfortable to drive than our big truck..."

"That's different, it doesn't pull as much as your big truck," Li Long also flattered the other party, otherwise, he was a bit annoyed by listening.

After the harvester was put on the truck, he saw that there were quite a few things piled up in the front half of the truck, covered with a tarpaulin, and it couldn't be seen.

"Use a rope to tie this tightly, otherwise, if it bumps and hits, and the parts are damaged, it won't be easy to repair," Li Long said to Abulaiti. "Tie it tightly."

"Okay," Abulaiti said.

The driver pulled a bundle of rope from under the tarpaulin and tied the harvester with Abudusaimaiti.

After the harvester was tied, they jumped off the truck, and Li Long said:

"Go, come in and drink some water?"

"No, no," Abulaiti remembered the driver's words just now and hurriedly waved his hand. "We are ready to set off."

"No problem, no problem, drink some water, drink some water, Comrade Li Long, is there anything inconvenient?" The driver wasn't in a hurry this time and said, "At home... are others not here?"

"They are all busy." Li Long truly wanted to keep them for some tea, so that the driver could sober up and dissipate the smell. The road ahead was all ice and snow, so if one was slightly careless, one would fall into a ditch.

Li Long took the three people into the room. Abulaiti and Abudusaimaiti had both been here, so they didn't feel anything. The driver looked around curiously, and when Li Long was pouring tea, he asked:

"Comrade Li Long, your room... is an old house, right?"

"Hmm. The previous owner went back to Shanghai, and I bought this courtyard to live in myself."

"Then this courtyard wasn't cheap, right?" The driver exclaimed. "Such a big courtyard, on our side, in the past, only a landlord's family could afford to live in it. The materials are all very good, even now that it's reform and opening up, ordinary families can't afford it."

"It's okay, I consider it picking up a... bargain." Li Long originally wanted to say "picking up a leak," but it seemed this word wasn't popular at this time, so he changed it to two words:

"Come, drink tea, jasmine tea, it can't compare to the rose tea on your side, but the taste is okay. The cup is new, feel free to use it."

"Hey, Comrade Li Long is very polite, and knows quite a lot. The rose tea on our side is indeed quite famous," the driver was quite talkative. "Have you dealt with our minority people?"

"Hmm, I have quite a few minority friends," Li Long felt that this driver shouldn't know about his appearance in the newspaper, and he didn't want to talk too much himself, so he said:

"I have some herdsmen friends in the mountains, and the relationship is very good."

"Good, good," the driver picked up the cup and took a sip, then asked again: "Which unit does Comrade Li Long work in?"

"Supply and marketing cooperative."

"No wonder!" The driver slapped his thigh. "No wonder, no wonder, I just said, I feel Comrade Li Long, you are very approachable, I am also from the supply and marketing cooperative, Yili Prefecture United Cooperative! This tea is not bad!"

"I got it from our leader," Li Long joked. "It's good if you like drinking it."

Chatting about this and that, Li Long could clearly feel that this driver was trying to get information out of him, and he was happy to chat a few more words. Let them drink more tea, and also let this driver sober up a bit.

"It's almost one o'clock, go, I'll treat you to a meal," chatting for thirty or forty minutes, feeling it was about right, Li Long stood up and said. "Go to our state-run canteen."

"No, no," the driver immediately waved his hand. "We have to hurry. We have to arrive at Wutai before Guozigou today, and cross Guozigou tomorrow. If we don't leave now, we won't be able to arrive in the evening."

This driver's sense of time was quite strong, and he continued to explain:

"We are setting off now, drive the car to Shawan or Anjihai for lunch, and then continue westward. Only then can we arrive at Wutai in the evening and stay there."

Since the driver said so, Li Long didn't force it.

When sending the driver out, he also learned this driver's name: Hailiqie.

Hailiqie said that next time he came to run transport, he would contact Li Long again. Li Long also thought that if there was a driver who often ran to Yili, it would be convenient, so he nodded and agreed.

When Abulaiti and the others left, they left a bag of apples for Li Long. It wasn't many, ten or so, but they were all quite big.

In the middle of winter, it could be considered a rare fruit.

Sending the truck away, Li Long was also relaxed; these harvesters were all sold, and a big space was emptied in the courtyard.

Ten minutes later, Sister Yang pushed her bicycle back, looked at the wide-open courtyard gate, and seeing Li Long standing there, asked:

"Uncle Li, did someone come? I just saw a big truck go out."

"Hmm, the last harvester was bought," Li Long said. "Sister Yang, are there many people at the market today?"

"Quite a lot," Sister Yang lifted the pot lid to show Li Long. "Early in the morning, the food was sold out. The weather is getting colder and colder, and everyone wants to drink something hot."

"Then bring a thermos and a bowl when selling food later, and pour a bowl for those who want to drink water, which can attract some people," Li Long suggested casually.

At this time, most people still wanted face, and usually, drinking some hot water was considered owing a favor, so they had to think about returning something.

Unlike thirty or forty years later, when some people distributed cotton-padded clothes and down jackets for free to those in need because of the cold weather, some people ran to collect them even if they didn't need them.

Shameless.

Sister Yang's eyes lit up, and she said with a smile:

"Good, good, good, this is quite good. Many of those setting up stalls are quite pitiful."

Many people who have been rained on will think of holding an umbrella for others when they have the ability.

Sister Yang could also be considered someone who has been rained on.

Since she was going to make lunch, Li Long didn't run to the team anymore, and he planned to eat lunch before going over. He had already told his big brother and father yesterday that he would go over late today.

At Little Haizi, some people scooping fish saw that Li Long didn't come, and some felt it was normal, while some started to mutter.

When Li Jianguo and Li Qing Xia arrived at mealtime carrying nets, preparing to return, someone shouted and asked:

"Old Uncle Li, Without Xiao Long didn't come, are you still collecting fish?"

"Collecting," Li Jianguo said. "Without Xiao Long has something to do, he'll come over in the afternoon. If you send the fish over now, it's fine, I'll collect it. If you wait for Without Xiao Long, it's fine to send it over together in the evening."

Knowing that the Li family continued to collect fish, the others felt relieved.

"Without Xiao Long's harvester should have been sold, right?" On the way back, Li Qing Xia was also asking Li Jianguo.

"It should have been sold. If it wasn't sold, he wouldn't have come so late," Li Jianguo guessed. "It's okay, even if it wasn't sold, it's fine if I use it next year." The Li family deeply knew the role of the harvester. Li Jianguo had a tractor himself, and he also thought about working hard next year. After all, raising that circle of pigs really wasn't as good as harvesting a season of wheat with a harvester.

When eating lunch, Du Chunfang was still asking why Li Long didn't come, and Li Jianguo, who returned from collecting fish in the front yard, explained that he was busy selling a harvester to someone.

For the mother's favoritism toward the youngest son, both Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei were already used to it.

And they already felt it was as it should be.

Li Long wasn't there, and Du Chunfang didn't feel the meal was very fragrant.

"Just eat well, Without Xiao Long has his own courtyard there, how can he accompany you to eat every day?" Li Qing Xia didn't spoil his wife, "Why don't you move to the county town?"

"Then I won't go," Du Chunfang, although favoring the youngest son, also knew what was good. "Without Xiao Long and his wife don't stay at home every day, and only come back when eating, unlike the eldest daughter-in-law who is always by my side and can take care of me..."

These words made Li Qing Xia laugh angrily.

This favoritism was truly boundless.

Liang Yuemei and Li Jianguo also laughed out loud. The mother-in-law speaking so straightforwardly wasn't that a disguised admission that Liang Yuemei took good care of her.

The mother-in-law was also quite cute.

!.

After eating lunch lively, resting for a while, and preparing to go scoop fish, the sound of the jeep rang out, and soon the car drove into the courtyard, and the Li family all came out of the room.

Watching Li Long jump off the car, carrying a bag in his hand, Du Chunfang grinned and laughed.

"Father, Mother, Big Brother, Sister-in-law, these are the apples left for us, I brought some over, everyone can share one."

Li Long took out the apples and handed one to each person.

"So big!" Du Chunfang looked at the apple that was bigger than her face, a bit worried, "What to do if I can't finish it?"

"What to do? Then we'll share one," Li Qing Xia put the apple in his hand into Li Long's cloth bag, then took Du Chunfang's apple, broke it hard into two halves, gnawed half himself, and stuffed half to Du Chunfang.

"Why eat mine? Why not break yours?" Du Chunfang was dissatisfied, but still took a small bite of the apple, hey, truly sweet!

Li Jianguo followed suit, broke his apple into two halves, and stuffed them to Liang Yuemei.

"Without Xiao Long, you eat too," Du Chunfang said.

"I gnawed one on the way," Li Long smiled. "Sister-in-law, put the rest in the room, and let Juan and Qiangqiang eat when they come back."

His father and big brother's hand strength wasn't small; that apple, ordinary people really couldn't break it.

Thinking that if he could let Hailiqie send a batch of such apples, it would be good. The welfare for the New Year in the supply and marketing cooperative didn't include fruit. Winter fruit was still considered a luxury item.

If he could really get some apples, keeping them at home to eat and giving them as gifts to acquaintances were all good.

If Hailiqie really came over next time, he would ask him to help pull some over.

The Yili River Valley had world-famous wild apple forests; the apples here were native, with good taste and large quantity.

Even forty years later, Aksu apples had become the leader of Northern and Southern Xinjiang apples, but in Yili, in the wholesale market in autumn and winter, one could still buy local apples for five yuan per kilogram in boxes.

And the quality was definitely good.

Most had sugar hearts.

The hometown of melons and fruits, it wasn't bragging.

When Li Long, Li Jianguo, and Li Qing Xia appeared at Little Haizi, others all greeted them proactively.

Li Long, who had made a small profit again today, was also very enthusiastic toward these people.

In the following days, Li Long appeared at Little Haizi every day as if he were going to work on time, collecting fish twice at noon and in the evening.

In mid-January, when Li Juan and Li Qiang were on vacation, and Liang Yuemei went to attend the parent-teacher meeting, Li Long calculated that more than seven hundred kilograms of big fish had been collected.

There were also more than a hundred kilograms of cleaned small crucian carp stored in both families.

Li Long even let Sister Yang get some deep-fried small crucian carp to sell at the market. Every time it wasn't much, but there were many buyers.

After all, this kind of cleaned small crucian carp tasted quite good, and because it was fried crispy, there was no need to spit out the thorns, and it was convenient to eat.

People who liked to eat crispy food were definitely willing to eat it.

After Li Juan entered junior high school, her grades were good, and Li Qiang's grades in elementary school were also good, and he joined the Young Pioneers.

At this time, one joined the Young Pioneers in the second grade, unlike the future, where many joined in the first grade.

Li Long had heard a classic sentence in Yili, which was said by a minority principal: Children are also the positions we are fighting for. If we don't occupy them, those who teach the Black Sutra will pull them over.

That principal was a primary school principal in the grassland township, and those years, anyway, things were very complicated.

Therefore, Li Long had a deep impression.

Later, it became very good.

On the day of the parent-teacher meeting, the final exam results had already come out, and after the parent-teacher meeting was held in the morning, the children were on vacation. Liang Yuemei originally wanted to ride a bicycle to attend the meeting.

Li Long drove the jeep to take her and the two children over, and then calculated the time to pick them up together.

Li Jianguo was a bit worried that it was too flashy.

But Li Long said it was okay.

The jeep had been driven for a while, and now everyone had accepted that there was such a jeep here. Don't doubt people's ability to accept new things in this day and age.

In the era of wild development, when new things appeared, everyone would only be strange for a while, and then accept them.

Everyone was busy rushing toward a good life, busy. If others earned a lot of money, they would be envious and jealous, but more would be thinking about how they could also live well.

Can't innovate, then following and learning is always possible, right?

Li Long did so many things and wasn't caught, so everyone understood.

In this day and age, it's true that the above said to let everyone find ways to get rich first, and the rich lead the poor.

Then work hard to get yourself rich first.

In winter, there were all kinds of people doing business.

At this time, business opportunities were truly everywhere; after all, it was still an era of material shortage, as long as one could think and dare to do, one could earn money.

It's not excessive to sell some chives grown in winter at home before the New Year, right?

It's not excessive to sell the rabbits caught in the wild that couldn't be finished, right?

Not to mention the fish in the river, this was simply not managed by anyone; if it were managed, Li Long would have been in the fence long ago.

Of course, handmade products were the most, baskets, forks, plates, etc. At present, the steamed bun plates in the kitchen could only be made of sorghum stalks, but in a few years, when cattails started to grow in Little Haizi, cattail stalks would be used to weave steamed bun plates.

This thing could be considered an invasive species; as soon as it came, it took root, squeezing the reeds to shrink in a large area.

The market became prosperous, not just at the free market, but at the school gate, there were people selling roasted potatoes, candied haws, fried melon seeds, and fried peanuts in winter.

Although students didn't have much money, it was the easiest to earn.

At the middle school gate, when Li Long was waiting for sister-in-law Li Juan in the jeep, he bought a bag of fried melon seeds and gnawed on them.

At this time, a bag was five fen, folded into a triangle with newspaper, and opened inside, one could put a small glass cup of melon seeds, which was quite convenient.

Then he saw Liang Yuemei and Li Juan walking out from the school gate.

They were holding award certificates in their hands, obviously, Li Juan had won an award.

At this time, the gold content of the award certificate was much stronger than in the future.

That kind of award certificate that almost everyone had in the future was really hard to say.

At this time, there were only two kinds: Three-Good Student, Excellent Class Cadre.

Those who studied well were truly studying well, and there were several batches in the team; some families were poor, but the award certificates pasted all over the wall were truly the pride of the parents.

This thing was placed in a grass house, and it was not inferior to those villas. (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 598 =====