Chapter 675

Liang Wenyu had originally thought about staying here, but looking at Gu Xiaoxia's current situation, it wasn't necessary yet. Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia also persuaded her to go back first and come over again after the baby was born.

It wasn't until the sun was about to set that Li Jianguo drove the tractor and took the whole family away.

There were still two pigs and a flock of chickens at home. Although they had entrusted Sister-in-law Lu to help feed them once, they couldn't just leave them completely unattended.

The pigs were fine in the pen, but if those chickens had nothing to eat, they would likely go into the vegetable garden and peck all the vegetable leaves clean.

After Li Jianguo and the others left, there was nothing left to tidy up in the courtyard. Everything had been cleaned up.

Sister Yang sat beside Gu Xiaoxia chatting with her. Han Fang felt a bit dejected and quietly asked her mother when Li Juan and Li Qiang would be able to come again.

Gu Bo Yuan also went out and headed back.

The roe deer and the little black dog felt they could finally have some peace, and the large courtyard quieted down.

Gu Xiaoxia smiled and said:

"I'm still not quite used to it."

Although the large courtyard was big, the number of people living there was always just those few. Suddenly becoming lively all at once, Gu Xiaoxia found it quite novel.

"If you want, we can also move to the team," Li Long said. "The large courtyard at our team is still empty, it would be fine to go back and live there for a while."

"Better not." Gu Xiaoxia rested her hand on her lower abdomen and said with a smile: "Let's wait until the baby is born later. Going back now would just be a hassle."

In order to avoid being hassled by those buying harvesters again, Li Long took two trucks to Kuitun on time.

This trip, he didn't drive the jeep; he went over by truck directly.

Before leaving, Li Long made a phone call to the Kuitun Farm Machinery Factory through the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and explained the matter to Factory Director Du.

Factory Director Du naturally had no problem with it and even told Li Long he would leave workers behind to help him load the goods onto the trucks.

Li Long had also thought about the unloading problem.

Loading about twenty harvesters, with just him and two drivers, wouldn't they be unloading until midnight?

So before he left, he went to the team and asked his older brother to drive the tractor around that time, bringing Tao Daqiang and a few others over to help unload.

Li Jianguo naturally had no objections.

There were still many trucks on the Wuyi Highway at night, and from time to time, one could see tractors bouncing along.

Only when passing through the no-man's-land could one no longer see herds of Mongolian gazelles running.

Trucks were much faster than tractors, and they reached Kuitun City in less than two hours.

Because they had to make time, the trucks headed straight for the farm machinery factory.

The farm machinery factory had already finished work, and the main gate was closed. However, when the two trucks arrived, the guard appeared at the gate.

Watching Li Long get out of the truck, the guard opened the main gate.

Li Long had some impression of this guard, but didn't know his name.

"Comrade Li Long, right? Factory Director Du is waiting for you." The guard said with a smile, "You arrived quite fast."

"Thank you." Li Long smiled, handed the guard a cigarette, and then turned his head to signal the drivers to drive into the factory.

Factory Director Du was waiting at the entrance of the workshop, and Li Long saw two rows of harvesters stacked on both sides of the workshop.

Seven or eight workers were chatting and smoking outside the workshop.

"Comrade Li Long has arrived." Factory Director Du walked over with a smile and said, "This speed is fast enough."

"It's a truck, after all, naturally faster than the tractor I had at the time." Li Long smiled, "Sorry to trouble you, having to wait for me during off-hours."

"Don't mention polite words. Without you, we wouldn't have so many orders, and it would be impossible to start production so prosperously. Come, check the machines. If there are no problems, we'll load them onto the trucks."

"Good." Li Long came over and began to check the harvesters.

This thing was a bit on the crude side, all metal parts, so the inspection didn't need to be that detailed. What surprised Li Long was that this time, Factory Director Du had equipped each harvester with a small parts bag containing some spare assembly screws—double the amount, with a surplus, to avoid the trouble of not being able to find replacements if they were damaged or lost.

This was quite good.

After checking, Li Long nodded, and Factory Director Du said:

"Then let's load the trucks. Comrade Li Long, shall we go and issue the invoice and sign?"

"Sure." A total of twenty harvesters, Li Long felt it should be about enough.

While walking to the factory office, Li Long said to Factory Director Du:

"Thank you, Factory Director Du, for keeping your promise. In the areas I represent, these harvesters haven't been sold."

"That is a given." Factory Director Du said with a smile, "This harvester is your idea, and my factory has prospered because of this idea of yours. If I couldn't even manage this bit of integrity, I wouldn't need to be this factory director."

Li Long felt this Factory Director Du was worth befriending.

Factory Director Du continued:

"Actually, from the beginning of the year until now, we have also thought about developing some auxiliary agricultural machinery products, but unfortunately, we've innovated several types, and none have been verified or recognized by everyone yet. We've also recommended them to those who come to buy harvesters, but to be honest, no one likes to buy them."

"What have you designed?" Li Long asked curiously.

"Aren't there many people growing corn? We designed a corn thresher, also driven by a tractor belt, but people saw it and said it was too clumsy and didn't buy it.

There's also a small-scale plowing machine, the kind towed behind these small four-wheeled tractors, with two plowshares. Although it doesn't plow fast, it's not bad for plowing small plots of land, like small gardens, but no one bought that either..."

Li Long had seen both of these products in his previous life, and to be honest, they really didn't have much of a market; in the countryside, they were the type that flashed and vanished.

Although he hadn't seen the actual machines yet, Li Long could guess what they looked like.

Entering Factory Director Du's office, while Factory Director Du was finding the invoice to issue it, Li Long explained:

"Factory Director Du, let me analyze it for you. I think your positioning might be a bit off.

Although every household grows corn now, to be honest, corn is no longer the mainstream food crop. If one has land at home, who doesn't want to grow more fine grains?"

Factory Director Du nodded, but it was clear this reason alone couldn't convince him.

"This corn definitely still needs to be grown. After all, every household in the countryside raises chickens, and many raise pigs; corn is excellent for feed. However, these things used as feed are not like rice and flour; there's no urgent need for them.

Everyone is short of money right now. After bringing the corn back, they just put the cobs in a bag and leave them in a spare room. When there's nothing to do in winter, they drag a bag into the room, and the whole family rubs the corn cobs while watching TV. This is work done in winter.

If corn is urgently needed in other seasons, they take half a bag, tie the mouth, put it on the ground, hit it with a stick to break it, then rub it, pick out the cobs, and then the corn can be processed. This thing isn't like flour eaten every day, there's no urgent need, so that corn-rubbing machine isn't a rigid demand."

"What's a 'rigid demand'?" Factory Director Du was a bit puzzled by the new term that suddenly popped out of Li Long's mouth.

"It means something that must be had. Rigid demand." Li Long knew he had let it slip and hurriedly explained, "That's roughly what it means.

For example, this wheat-harvesting machine is a rigid demand because many people grow wheat, the plots are large, and everyone has to race against time to harvest. If you miss the time, the wheat might lodge, mold, or sprout. But corn is different; in some places, corn isn't harvested and stays on the stalks, and can be left until early winter..."

Factory Director Du understood a bit.

"Still the same saying, everyone is short of money right now. If it's not very urgent work, they'll do it themselves if they can; physical strength isn't worth money. Your two-share plow is the same principle; this thing can only turn over vegetable plots.

The vegetable plots grown by every household are all worked on during the slack season. During the slack season, there's only that mu or so of land, and a couple can finish it in a day or two. Why would they need a tractor to plow, and besides, that tractor isn't easy to get into a vegetable garden."

Just because of Factory Director Du's honest attitude, Li Long actually thought about whether he should hand over the few types of agricultural auxiliary machinery he had envisioned to them to produce in the future.

But that was still too far off, and it wasn't easy to transport things sold from his side. Moreover, this was a state-run factory; it was fine while Factory Director Du was there, but if Factory Director Du did well and was transferred away, once the relationship was broken, he would be the one suffering.

Let's think about it first.

Factory Director Du could also tell that Li Long's understanding and grasp of agricultural machinery were too thorough, and he couldn't help but say:

"Comrade Li Long, what you said is very good. When it comes down to it, it's still us who make agricultural machinery who haven't gone deep into the masses, don't understand or grasp the agricultural machinery the masses truly need, and haven't achieved having a clear idea in mind. Look, how about our factory hires you as a technical consultant? Just like this harvester, you don't need to do too many things. If you have any good ideas, tell us, and we'll study and produce good agricultural machinery together. It's good for the vast number of farmers, and our factory can also develop."

Hey, this Factory Director Du actually has vision.

Li Long smiled and said:

"Being a technical consultant—that's too far off. It's quite good as it is now—I'll find you when I have ideas, and I'm assured of what you produce; of course, I'm also assured of your integrity. But there aren't any relatively mature ideas right now. I'll tell you when there are."

Seeing that Li Long didn't agree, Factory Director Du wasn't too disappointed. Let's handle the matter at hand first.

The type of pesticide sprayer Li Long envisioned would definitely be popular for twenty years in the future, but at least until cotton as a cash crop became widespread, its sales volume definitely wouldn't be stronger than the harvester.

So for the time being, he didn't intend to say it.

There was still time, still space for thinking and development.

As for other machinery, Li Long felt that the one with the widest development and best sales volume in the future should be the electric tricycle.

Unfortunately, that thing requires specific technology—motors, batteries, and so on—and there was no advantage in Northern Tianshan, one could even say there was no technology, so he wouldn't think about it for now.

Take it slow later.

No errors, first release, all content is at a glance!

Some meat is eaten if it's eaten; it's not a pity if it's not. From now until forty years later, there are too many opportunities, and it's impossible to grasp them all in one's hands.

Let's live well first.

Issuing the invoice, signing, and paying here—by the time Li Long and Factory Director Du came out of the office building together, the two trucks over there were already almost loaded.

Li Long shook hands with Factory Director Du and prepared to get in the truck and leave.

"Not eating?" Factory Director Du saw the sun had just set, and it was still early.

"No, no, it'll take more than an hour or two to get back, and we still have to unload. Next time." Li Long smiled, "We have plenty of opportunities for cooperation."

"Yes, yes, yes." Factory Director Du also responded with a smile.

This batch of harvesters had increased the efficiency of the Kuitun Farm Machinery Factory quite a bit and received quite a lot of praise, which also made Factory Director Du feel that this young man Li Long indeed had an extraordinary mind.

It would have been good to consult him before making the small agricultural machinery the factory produced.

Of course, that was only because the products were unsalable now. If he really asked Li Long before production and Li Long said it wouldn't work, he might not necessarily believe it.

Actually, that type of corn thresher would still have some improvement in a few years, but it would just be a flash in the pan, because immediately after, the combine harvester that could harvest corn would come out, and then there would be nothing for this thresher to do.

Li Long led the two trucks back. Originally, he had thought about treating the two drivers to a meal on the road, but the drivers refused, saying it was better to hurry back.

Li Long didn't ask for the reason; he guessed that Captain Ma might have had a requirement to hurry back as soon as possible, in case there was an emergency task and they couldn't make it back, which would be troublesome.

After all, pulling things in Northern Tianshan wasn't far, and no matter how delayed, it was only a matter of an hour or so.

But the distance to Kuitun was different.

When the two trucks returned to the county, it was already dusk. When the trucks arrived at the courtyard, Li Long found the jeep parked on the side, his own tractor outside the courtyard, and his older brother's tractor also outside the courtyard.

The one who opened the door was Tao Daqiang; his ears were good, and he had heard the sound of the trucks outside early on.

Li Jianguo, Tao Daqiang, Xu Haijun, Xie Yun Dong, and others were all there. Seeing the trucks enter and park, they started unloading without a word.

The courtyard was large, and both trucks could be parked inside. When Li Long got out of the truck, they were already getting on the trucks, opening the sideboards, and while greeting Li Long, they were already lifting the harvesters down.

A harvester weighed over a hundred kilograms and wasn't very heavy. By weight, the trucks could actually carry more.

It was just because this thing had quite a few protruding parts, making it difficult to load, so ten per truck was about it.

After Li Long got out of the truck, he saw Gu Xiaoxia sitting in front of the main room door, with Sister Yang standing there talking to her, so he went over and said to Sister Yang:

"Big Sister, we need to prepare some dinner. Is there still dried noodles at home?"

"Yes, yes, yes, they can be cooked immediately. I've already boiled the water here." Sister Yang was prepared early and said, "Should I cook them now?"

"Cook them now. I see that unloading the trucks will only take ten minutes or so. Eat right after cooking, and the drivers need to hurry back after eating."

"Good, good, good. I've already stir-fried the vegetables, I'll cook the noodles now."

If it were clear soup noodles, it would taste better if the pot was seasoned. But Sister Yang's idea was to stir-fry some potatoes with tomato sauce and some chili to make that kind of soup rice with hand-torn noodles.

She knew Li Long and the others liked to eat it, so she would often make this sour and spicy style.

Sure enough, as Li Long said, the twenty harvesters on the two trucks were unloaded by these strong laborers in less than twenty minutes.

"Wash your hands and eat. Nothing fancy, just soup noodles. Wash your hands and serve the food, there's plenty." Li Long greeted everyone with a smile.

He hadn't unloaded the trucks just now; he couldn't squeeze in, and his older brother Li Jianguo wouldn't let him touch it.

"Smelled it." Xu Haijun joked with Li Long, "Just for the taste of this soup rice, I have to eat a big bowl."

Everyone knew the appetite of the strong laborers, so Sister Yang directly made two pots. Seeing that the unloading was finished, she hurriedly urged everyone to serve the food.

There were many enamel basins in Li Long's house. Everyone took a new one and served themselves one after another. The dining table couldn't seat everyone, and these people didn't sit either; they just found a place outside to sit and eat.

The two drivers were the first to get their food; the people from the team all yielded to them. After serving their food, they sat directly on the steps in front of the east wing.

The courtyard was swept clean everywhere, and it felt quite good to sit anywhere. The two little roe deer ran over to watch the excitement, smelling the scent and intending to eat some too. The little black dog was more disciplined; seeing many people, and perhaps having been told by Sister Yang earlier, although it didn't bark, it was still very vigilant.

This made everyone couldn't help but praise: this courtyard, this environment, is really good.

Sister Yang served a lot. Except for the drivers, everyone else had a good relationship with Li Long, so they weren't polite, and most of them added another bowl.

After eating, the drivers drove away, and Li Jianguo and the others also wiped their mouths and left. Sister Yang sighed:

"Men who work are really able to eat. This meal alone consumed seven or eight kilograms of dried noodles!"

Li Long also ate more than a bowl. He was sturdy by nature and naturally ate a lot. Hearing Sister Yang's words, he said with a smile:

"One is that the appetite is good, and the other is that the food you make, Sister Yang, is also delicious."

Sister Yang was happy to hear that.

Gu Xiaoxia had eaten dinner in the evening, so at this time she just drank some soup. Hearing Li Long's words, she also continued:

"Exactly, the taste of this soup is really good."

"Then I'll make it often." Sister Yang often made this kind of soup rice to sell at the market, so the seasoning was very good. When others praised her craftsmanship, she was naturally happy.

For the next period of time, Li Long sold one to two harvesters on average every day. Knowing that the harvesters had been brought back, the original customers came one after another.

At this speed, the harvesters might be sold out in less than ten days. However, before ten days had passed, Li Long took Gu Xiaoxia to the Shicheng Hospital and completed the admission procedures.

Although Gu Xiaoxia didn't feel anything wrong yet, Li Long calculated that the time was about right, and Gu Xiaoxia's belly was too heavy a burden relative to her body, so Li Long was still worried.

To be honest, not many people were hospitalized for childbirth in this day and age. It was better in Shicheng; after all, it was already considered an industrialized city by this time, with many workers, so they knew relatively more about this aspect and were more particular.

Knowing that Li Long came from Maxian, the obstetric nurses and doctors were quite surprised, so they took good care of Gu Xiaoxia. Li Long wanted to give red envelopes at the beginning, but they wouldn't accept them.

After Gu Xiaoxia was admitted, Sister Yang originally wanted to come over to accompany her, but Li Long said Han Fang was still there, so he didn't let her. Although his older sister Li Xia was also there, her family also had children, and her husband Chen Xingbang was away during the day, so the children couldn't be managed. Li Long went back to the Fourth Team and brought his sister-in-law over.

When his sister-in-law came, she brought a bag of things: baby clothes, shoes, diapers, swaddling blankets, etc.

Liang Wenyu had also sewn loose clothes for Gu Xiaoxia to wear during her confinement.

Li Long had also bought some baby bottles, small toys, and the like in advance. Everything was quite complete, and now they were just waiting for the birth. (End of chapter)