Chapter 650

This person left behind the fritillaria bulbs, and Li Long also took away the things he should have taken.

He didn't spoil him.

However, that person wasn't angry either; when he was about to leave, he asked:

"Comrade, if I find those things again, will you collect them?"

"Collect." Li Long didn't even lift his head, busy with his hands, "However, the price won't be high; these things aren't worth much."

"As long as you can give money." That person wasn't picky either and left.

Li Long was also doubting how this person was so sure about finding things; had he discovered a treasure cave?

But if it were really some treasure, it wouldn't be just these few things; there was a high probability that they were left behind by former jade miners or gold panners.

Maxian was known as "Gold Plate and Jade Bottom"; the Southern Mountains and Ma River had many gold mines and jade mines, and there had been people mining gold and digging jade since before the Qing Dynasty. By the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing government at that time felt these things belonged to the official side, so they banned private gold mining and jade digging and started official management.

It should be things left behind from that time.

Li Long didn't think much and started to clean these fritillaria bulbs.

After washing the fritillaria bulbs clean and spreading them out on the board to dry, Li Long took out the bedding in the large room to air.

With nothing to do, and it not being good to go find prey right now, he simply tidied up the room.

Just as he was tidying up, someone walked over from afar. Li Long looked; this person seemed a bit uncomfortable, swaying every few steps, and he could hear coughing from afar.

Was this person having a cold or did they have lung disease?

Li Long suspected, then put down the broom in his hand, went to the jeep's trunk, and rummaged for the medicine he had brought this time.

Aspirin, Vitamin C Yinqiao tablets, and the like were all there; by the way, there were also cold capsules; this stuff was quite effective at the time, and it would be better in one or two times.

After putting the medicine away, Li Long waited for that person to come over.

Those who came to exchange things these few days mostly carried three or four kilograms of fritillaria bulbs, and the bags inside were also dirty and hadn't been cleaned.

However, Li Long didn't mind; anyway, he had earned quite a lot, so spending some time washing them clean didn't count as anything.

When this person reached the front, Li Long discovered that he wasn't old, about thirty years old, but his body was extremely thin, probably less than fifty kilograms. He wasn't even one meter seven tall, just like a big child—if it weren't for the dense beard on his face and the messy hair that even had some white hair mixed in, Li Long would have really taken him for a child.

"What to exchange?" Li Long asked from three or four meters away.

That person didn't speak, carrying the bag all the way until he stopped less than a meter away from Li Long, looked up at Li Long, who was over one meter eight, and coughed hard twice—Li Long had already subconsciously stepped to the side, and the foam and such that the person coughed out sprayed into the empty space.

Li Long saw the unwillingness and complexity in this person's eyes; his heart tightened, he stepped back two steps, and raised his voice:

"What do you want to exchange? If you want to exchange, exchange; if not, leave!"

He heard it; when this person coughed, it didn't sound like a cold, but rather like his lungs were full of phlegm; this guy should have an infectious disease, right?

"Exchange for dried noodles, exchange for matches, exchange for some salt... cough cough cough..."

That person carried the bag and walked two steps toward Li Long, and just after walking two steps, he started coughing again.

Li Long walked in large strides to the trunk of the car, took out the gun, and pointed it:

"Put the bag down, step back, step back!"

Looking at the pitch-black muzzle, that person actually took another step forward; obviously, he thought Li Long didn't dare to fire and was scaring him.

"Bang!"

Li Long fired a shot at his feet; the bullet hit the ground, and the dust and fine stones that sprang up hit his lower leg, causing him to let out a "wow" and hurriedly step back, with a look of disbelief appearing in his eyes.

This person really dared to fire!

"Damn it, you want to harm me, right? Put down the fritillaria bulbs, take this bag of dried noodles, and get out!"

"Not enough, why is it just this one bag?" That person still wanted to move forward, but just as he lifted his foot, he stepped back; he already knew Li Long really dared to fire.

"You damn thing, you want to harm me, and you still have the face to say the things aren't enough?" Li Long said, holding the gun, "If you don't leave, I'll break your leg!"

That person defended himself while going to take the dried noodles; seeing Li Long's muzzle never leaving him, that person had to turn his head and leave.

"I've remembered that stench of yours; if you dare to destroy my house while I'm not here, I'm telling you, I can find you, and when the time comes, I'll kill you and bury you in the woods, and you can just wait to be fertilizer!"

Li Long saw that person occasionally turning his head while walking, and immediately threatened loudly.

That person instantly didn't dare to turn his head anymore, bent his waist, and hurried toward the woods to the southeast.

This person really had the intention of burning this wooden cabin, but after being seen through by Li Long, he felt guilty and immediately gave up this intention and fled.

There was also communication among herb diggers; he had heard that Li Long had beaten the person who stole things in the wooden cabin half to death, and then let the forest ranger drag him away with a horse.

Some people said that person was dragged to death halfway, and some said he didn't die, just that his face was gone.

He was worried that if he really burned this house and Li Long found him, then killing him and throwing him into the woods, whether he was buried or eaten by wolves, he would really be dead.

There would definitely be no one coming to look for him.

Better to live a miserable life than to die; better to just dig fritillaria bulbs.

Li Long watched that person walk far away and disappear into the woods; only then did he put the safety on, put down the gun, went to carry that bag, and poured the fritillaria bulbs into the large basin.

The bag definitely wasn't wanted; he planned to dry it and burn it.

As for the fritillaria bulbs, let them soak in the basin for a while longer; who knew what these fritillaria bulbs might be mixed with.

Fortunately, the sunlight was very strong now; disinfection was just right; drying them more had benefits.

At least he had watched so many videos in his previous life and knew that no matter how fierce the virus was, it couldn't live for a long time under the sun.

Li Long continued to tidy up the wooden cabin; just as he was tidying up, the sound of horse hooves came from afar.

Li Long came out of the wooden cabin and saw that it was Bolati running over. This time Bolati didn't bring fritillaria bulbs on his horse's back. He ran over and asked while dismounting:

"Li Long, what's going on? Why did you fire a gun?"

"Just now, a bad guy with an infectious disease wanted to pass the disease to me, and kept crowding toward me, so I fired a gun to scare him." Li Long explained, "This person is very bad; you guys should also be careful if you run into such people later, and don't get contaminated by them."

"Is he that bad?" Bolati obviously hadn't encountered such a situation before and was also startled after hearing Li Long's words.

There were many infectious diseases at this time, and some were not easy to cure, unlike later generations, where almost all had specialized treatment techniques and symptomatic medicine.

So Bolati was also quite angry after hearing it; he thought for a while and said:

"What does that person look like?"

Li Long described it.

"Okay, I know. Next time I run into him, I'll find a stick and beat him up first."

They weren't cruel people; they didn't want to take anyone's life, but at this time, regarding their own safety and health, they would definitely be more cautious.

Bolati and Li Long chatted for a while, and then said slightly mysteriously:

"Li Long, let me tell you, tomorrow or the day after, I'll bring a large batch of fritillaria bulbs over; you prepare money, meat, and wine. We'll exchange then."

"A large batch? Where from?" Li Long was a bit confused, "How much?"

"At least... three bags!" Bolati thought about it; he didn't know how many kilograms it could be, so he simply calculated by bags, "The things, well, we targeted a group of people digging fritillaria bulbs; these people dig very fiercely!"

"Then are you going to take away all their fritillaria bulbs?" Li Long's expression was a bit complex; was this a bit cruel?

"Impossible!" Bolati smiled and said, "We, well, give them a warning, let them not destroy the forest too much.

Those fritillaria bulbs, well, can be dug, we can also collect them, and we can also leave some for them, but they can't just run away after digging them all; those turf areas were destroyed very seriously by them! There are pits everywhere; once the mountain flood comes down, those turf areas are finished!"

So Bolati and the others also knew that this digging of fritillaria bulbs would destroy the turf.

Then Li Long didn't have to worry; the people from their Forestry Team would go to handle these contradictions.

He was only responsible for purchasing the fritillaria bulbs.

One hundred kilograms, ah; that really had to be planned well—hunting, and going back to bring things.

Li Long had the feeling of being unable to divide himself again.

Seeing that there was nothing here, Bolati rode his horse away. Later, Li Long exchanged supplies for two more herb diggers, and then loaded the washed fritillaria bulbs into the car and went to Xiaobaiyang Gou.

Eat lunch.

Just as he entered Bai Yang Gou, Li Long smelled the smell of food in the smell of burning branches. Lunch today should be rice, stir-fried dishes. There were mushrooms, wild vegetables—and it seemed there was soup?

Distinguishing the categories of food while driving the car to the "camp."

When Li Long got out of the car, everyone had already started eating, and someone came over with an enamel basin and handed it to him with a smile.

"Hey, Sun Jia Qiang!" Li Long looked at this person and was happy; he took the enamel basin with one hand and slapped this guy hard with the other, "When did you arrive?"

"Arrived in the mountains a few days ago, but got lost for two days after entering the mountains; only found this place this morning." Sun Jia Qiang's clothes were still relatively neat at this time, and he smiled with white teeth:

"I came over and found that everyone had left the dugout for me, and I was happy."

After Li Long greeted the others, Sun Jia Qiang sat together on a fallen tree and chatted while eating.

In fact, Sun Jia Qiang hadn't found this place this morning; he had dug fritillaria bulbs nearby for two days, and only after gathering a few kilograms did he come over.

"You don't know, the fritillaria bulbs in the nearby fritillaria gullies have been dug by many people." Sun Jia Qiang complained while eating, "I thought I didn't bring anything, and even if I wanted to join in, for Old Huang to cook for me, I had to bring something, so I dug for two days. Did you bring grain? If you brought it, just exchange it for me; I'll give it to Old Huang, so I can eat with peace of mind."

These words were the truth, and Li Long felt this Sun Jia Qiang was not bad.

He asked casually:

"Is it hard to dig fritillaria bulbs this year?"

Please... collect_(!)

"Hard to dig." Sun Jia Qiang shook his head, "In my hometown, last year someone should have made money digging them, so many people came this year, and many were two or three people, three or five people coming together.

Like last year, I was alone, and I could dig for three or five days, or even ten days in one gully. They might clear a gully in two or three days, and then go to the next gully to dig..."

Li Long hadn't thought that the competitive pressure in this line was so great.

He thought for a while, and suddenly asked:

"If I let you work for me, will you do it?"

"Do what? Weave carrying poles? I don't have that skill." Sun Jia Qiang shook his head, "I can't eat this bowl of rice; better to find a new place to dig fritillaria bulbs; at most, walk a few more *li* and run into the deep mountains."

"I mean, you go to that wooden cabin of mine and help me collect fritillaria bulbs." Li Long said, "There's a place to live there, and you can build a stove to boil water and cook yourself.

My main energy this year has to be placed on transportation, and if I don't put someone there, I can't collect some fritillaria bulbs. Of course, I'm also there usually, so you just help me as an assistant.

Then, when I'm not there, you replace me to exchange things for fritillaria bulbs; for every kilogram of fritillaria bulbs exchanged, I'll give you... five *mao*."

Last year Li Long collected tons of fritillaria bulbs; at this year's speed, he couldn't collect that many, wasn't it because he wasn't there from time to time?

Of course, Bolati's side didn't count; the main thing was those loose goods.

He thought Sun Jia Qiang was quite reliable; keeping him in the wooden cabin would make it easier for him to be busy with transportation and hunting.

One person was ultimately not easy to handle.

"This... do you trust me?" Sun Jia Qiang thought for a while and felt that this matter could actually be done.

He had dug fritillaria bulbs himself and knew that last year alone, nearly half of his fritillaria bulbs were exchanged at Li Long's place.

There must have been nearly a hundred kilograms, right?

Such a large mountain, not to mention other places, just this section of Maxian, there must be at least a hundred people digging fritillaria bulbs in the mountains, right?

Maybe a bit less, but not much less.

Just calculating that one person could get fifty kilograms in a fritillaria season to exchange things at Li Long's place, that would be five thousand kilograms... he could earn two thousand five hundred...

Don't dare to think, don't dare to think!

"Of course, if I'm there, or those Forestry Teams come to exchange, it still counts as my own." Li Long also added with a smile, "Those people usually won't deal with you."

Li Long was telling the truth. Like Bolati and those people, they wouldn't easily trust someone; once they trusted them, they would treat them as true friends and wouldn't easily change.

"Okay!" Sun Jia Qiang shoveled a few mouthfuls of rice into his mouth fiercely, "Just because you trust me, I'll earn this money! Should I go with you after eating?"

"Mm, you guard the wooden cabin, I have to go hunting. Many people want to exchange for meat recently, and I don't have much meat at that wooden cabin."

The few people in the team saw that Li Long and this Sun Jia Qiang had a good relationship, and someone asked Tao Daqiang.

Tao Daqiang shook his head; he didn't know Sun Jia Qiang.

Xie Yun Dong said:

"This is the person who dug fritillaria bulbs here last year and lived here. Surname Sun, a good person; he pointed out hunting places to Li Long, and the fritillaria bulbs he dug were exchanged with Li Long quite a bit; he's an honest person."

Someone asked Tao Daqiang:

"Daqiang, why don't you go over and talk to Li Long?"

"Talk about what? If I have that energy, I'll weave carrying poles well after eating." Tao Daqiang shook his head.

"Aren't you on good terms with Li Long? Then why don't you talk? I think it's not as good as an outsider." This young man followed Xu Haijun and had the intention of watching a joke.

Tao Daqiang said:

"That relationship isn't seen by talking. I weave carrying poles well and have fewer problems, that's giving Long Ge face. How much does talking count for? Besides, there's that harvester; do I need to talk to prove it?"

After he said this, that person didn't speak.

Xu Haijun had already finished eating and just came back after washing the bowl; hearing the conversation between the two, he slapped that person on the head:

"Good food can't even block your mouth; if you talk nonsense again, I won't bring you next year!"

Xu Haijun's hand was heavy; that person let out an "ouch," covered his head, but still begged for mercy toward Xu Haijun.

Others looked over here, and Xu Haijun was also a bit embarrassed, waving his hand and saying:

"Work well, look at your performance."

Tao Daqiang and Xie Yun Dong looked at each other, both feeling that this Xu Haijun had matured quite a bit after returning from the army.

After eating, Li Long and Sun Jia Qiang washed the enamel basin, and left driving the jeep.

Before leaving, Li Long took out two large bags of dried noodles from the jeep—one was the five-kilogram kind; he handed the dried noodles to Old Huang, saying this counted as the grain handed in by himself and Sun Jia Qiang.

Old Huang laughed and took it, even saying he would make noodles in the evening—it was much easier to make with these dried noodles.

Li Long and Sun Jia Qiang arrived at the wooden cabin together; Sun Jia Qiang sighed:

"Hey, being able to live in such a house in the mountains is really like a dream."

He went to the small room side to make a floor bed and spread out his bedding—Li Long reminded him that the sun was strong right now, so he should air his bedding well to prevent dampness and remove insects; Sun Jia Qiang naturally understood Li Long's meaning and did so.

Not long after, someone came to exchange things; Li Long let Sun Jia Qiang watch the approximate exchange ratio; this person exchanged for dried noodles and matches, as well as salt.

He brought more than four kilograms of fritillaria bulbs and exchanged for quite a lot of things.

After that person left, Li Long said to Sun Jia Qiang:

"Calculating based on one kilogram of fritillaria bulbs exchanging for three yuan of things, the prices of these things are roughly like this: dried noodles are six *mao* per kilogram, matches are one *mao* per box; if someone exchanges a lot, it's no problem to give an extra box of matches.

Fresh meat, one kilogram of fritillaria bulbs exchanges for two kilograms, including bones..."

Sun Jia Qiang listened and was also recording it in his heart; after a while, another one came, and Li Long demonstrated it to him again.

"After exchanging, just pour these fritillaria bulbs into the large basin and wash them clean," Li Long dragged a large basin over and said, "Otherwise it's too dirty, and it won't be graded later, and won't sell for a good price..."

After walking through the process twice, Sun Jia Qiang remembered it.

"Really remembered?"

"Remembered." Sun Jia Qiang had this confidence.

"Then... just right, another one is coming, this time you do it." Li Long pointed at the person carrying things in the distance and said.

That person breathed a sigh of relief when seeing Li Long, and was a bit surprised when seeing Sun Jia Qiang was the one exchanging, but still said what he wanted to exchange.

Rubber shoes, dried noodles, rice, all were food.

Sun Jia Qiang exchanged according to the price Li Long gave, explained them one by one, and gave that person a box of matches.

Li Long nodded while watching; it was standard, neither giving too much nor too little, not bad.

"Okay, come, let's move the things to the small room; you stay here, boil some water, wash some fritillaria bulbs, etc., I'll go see if I can hunt something."

Li Long considered it as having put down some of his heart. (End of chapter)