Chapter 75: Is This Risk Worth Taking?

At the entrance of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, thirty-six-year-old Li Xiangqian stepped down from the passenger seat of the car, stamped his feet vigorously, and asked with a smile:

"What's wrong? Why is everyone gathered here? Welcoming me? I can't accept that!"

"Who's welcoming you?" the elderly gatekeeper scolded jokingly:

"It's because the holiday welfare you provided wasn't adequate, so everyone went out to buy meat. Look how good this young man's meat is—one yuan per kilogram, and no meat coupons required."

"That good?" Li Xiangqian walked up to the cart, took off his gloves, and poked at the remaining sheep necks, saying:

"Not bad, it's fresh sheep fat. One yuan per kilogram? Worth it."

"Pity there are only two; they're already sold out." Someone who wanted a sheep leg but didn't get one chimed in.

"This young man can get quite a few sheep. That's why he's coming to you, Section Chief Li, to see if you'll buy them." Before Li Long could speak, the old man explained his purpose.

Li Long was also somewhat surprised; the old man was a bit too enthusiastic. But at this moment, he knew he had to step forward, so he smiled and said:

"Hello, Section Chief Li. I'm from the Fourth Squad of Xinhu Brigade, Hongqi Commune. I have a few friends in the mountains who brought me these sheep. I can indeed get quite a few from them. The sheep from their area are indeed grass-fed."

In these times, not many people raised sheep in pens with feed.

"How many can you get?" Li Xiangqian took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. Li Long recognized the brand: Golden Leaf.

Li Xiangqian pulled out a cigarette and offered it to the elderly gatekeeper, who waved his hand:

"This young man gave me Daqianmen."

"No wonder you keep speaking up for others," Li Xiangqian chuckled, lit a cigarette for himself, blew out a smoke ring, and asked Li Long:

"I won't buy fewer than ten."

"Then... no problem," Li Long thought. Whether it was Harimu's or Yushanjiang's flock, both were quite large, over a hundred sheep. Slaughtering ten was definitely feasible.

"If the quality is all like this, I'll take them," Li Xiangqian pointed to the sheep necks on the cart. "Of course, the wholesale purchase price won't be one yuan; otherwise, I'd lose money."

"I understand that."

"Alright then, come find me again when you bring the sheep." Li Xiangqian took another deep drag of his cigarette and said with a smile to the elderly gatekeeper:

"Second Uncle, you've really given me a difficult problem!"

"Why don't you say I helped you solve a problem? You're just being stubborn!" the elderly gatekeeper scolded jokingly. "Go get to work!"

He then waved to the others: "Everyone, scatter. There's no more meat. You can't even butcher these roe deer, so wait for the next batch."

As the crowd slowly dispersed, the old man said to Li Long:

"Young man, that's how things are now. You see, we will definitely buy, it just depends on how many sheep you can get."

"Old man, thank you!" Li Long said sincerely. Without the old man's words, he wasn't sure he could have settled the matter to this point.

"Alright, alright, I'm going to return the scales. You should head back too; Xinhu Brigade isn't close." The old man waved his hand, bent down to pick up the scales, and walked toward the sales office.

Li Long untied the horse reins and led the cart back.

Now that the excitement had subsided, Li Long calmed down and realized he had been somewhat impulsive.

The procurement section chief of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative said he would buy the sheep, but if Li Long actually brought them, he wasn't sure whether he would really accept them.

Furthermore, he hadn't discussed this with Harimu or Yushanjiang; he didn't know if they would agree to slaughter the sheep. Moreover, he would have to advance the money for the purchase himself. Calculating at fifteen kilograms per sheep, how should Li Long price them when buying from Harimu and the others? He hadn't even asked what price they had sold their sheep for before.

Section Chief Li Xiangqian said he would buy, but certainly not at one yuan. Would it be ninety cents, or eighty? If it were seventy cents, Li Long wouldn't sell at all; he'd rather take them to Shicheng and sell them individually with the fish.

Thinking this over, he led the cart to the northern part of the city and happened to see an old man dumping trash.

"Oh? Young man, aren't you the one who sold fish last time?" The old man's shout brought Li Long back to his senses from his thoughts. Looking over, he recognized the old man from the large courtyard—the one who had bought all his fish during his first visit.

"Hello, old man. It's so cold; why didn't you let a family member come out to dump the trash?"

"Family members? Heh, my family isn't here. I'm the only one in this large courtyard." The old man pointed to his own grand, old mansion with high gates.

"Just you? That's not very convenient," Li Long said. "You should hurry inside, old man; it's too cold out here."

"It doesn't matter for a moment," the old man, who still looked spirited, pointed at Li Long's cart and asked, "Changed your equipment? Now driving a cart to sell fish?"

"I'm not selling fish today. I came back from the mountains with a roe deer and two sheep, but the sheep were already sold out."

"Tsk tsk," the old man chuckled. "Your business is doing well these days. That... isn't that a sheep neck? Sell it to me? I have a particular fondness for that."

!.

"Then take it, old man, and eat it," Li Long said, feeling sorry for the old man. With no family nearby, living alone in such a large house was quite desolate.

"It won't cost you much. Two yuan." The old man pulled a bill from his pocket. "I won't be eating it many more times anyway."

"What do you mean?" Li Long was somewhat surprised. "Old man, your health..."

"You're overthinking it," the old man said with a smile as he reached for the sheep neck. "My eldest son is in Shanghai. He's been rehabilitated and now works as a deputy editor-in-chief at a newspaper. They've allocated him a house and asked me to move there. I just can't bear to leave this house, but thinking about staying here all alone, I might as well go over there."

"Then what about this house?" Li Long pointed to the large building. "Are you selling it?"

"I want to sell it, but I haven't found a buyer yet." The smile vanished from the old man's face. "In these times, not many people can suddenly come up with several hundred yuan to buy a house. If it's not sold in a few more days, I'll sell it to the neighborhood committee."

"Several hundred yuan?" Li Long was stunned. That cheap?

"What? Do you have the money?" Seeing Li Long's expression, the old man smiled. "If you can pay five hundred yuan, I'll sell it to you. That's better than selling it to the neighborhood committee for three hundred."

"As for five hundred yuan, I actually do have it," Li Long said. "But you're not joking, are you, old man?"

"What joke? I'm this old; can I joke with you?" The old man narrowed his eyes. "Come on, come on, bring the cart inside. I'll show you my house."

Li Long had only said that offhand; he hadn't actually thought about buying a house in the county.

But since the conversation had led here, he was genuinely curious. He had entered the courtyard once before and only glanced around briefly. Now that the old man was leading him, Li Long intended to take a proper look at this imposing old house.

Perhaps he would truly fall in love with it?

(End of Chapter)