Chapter 763: Director Qian Is After All One of Our Own

Li Long raised the lamb meat he was carrying and said with a smile:

"Engineer Liu, this is a sheep raised at my home. I slaughtered it and brought you some to eat for the New Year."

"Hey, Little Li, you are too polite..." Engineer Liu was very moved. He didn't care about the lamb meat; the main thing was that Li Long could often think of coming to see him. For him, Li Long was like sending charcoal in snowy weather.

If Li Long hadn't come to buy jade carvings during his most difficult time, he was afraid that he would have been disheartened and planned to retire early during that period.

Although he hadn't been able to return to the workshop in the factory, he could still exert his skills here, which could be considered as exerting his remaining heat.

The older generation spent their whole lives busy; if you let him suddenly be idle, he really wouldn't know how to live. Forty years later, old people could at least swipe their phones when they were idle, but there were no such entertainment projects at this time, and TV could only be watched in the evening.

It was truly very empty when idle.

Li Long made Engineer Liu's life fulfilling again, and he was truly grateful to Li Long.

"It's not being polite; I have dug up quite a few good goods from you," Li Long handed the lamb meat to the young man and said, "My family all praise me for having a good eye."

He glanced and found that the jade material on the workbench Engineer Liu was operating on was much less than the last time he came, so he asked:

"Engineer Liu, have you been idle recently?"

"That's not it; recently I've been teaching Little Ma some basic techniques." Engineer Liu pointed to the jade material he was just carving and said, "It's winter, so the jade farmers aren't very active, and the materials collected are few. Although the factory has a lot of inventory, it's mainly for those who are on the job, so my supply here has decreased."

In the past, when there was such a situation, Engineer Liu would still be a bit unhappy, but now he had figured it out.

His own body had problems, and being able to continue working here now and teach apprentices was already very good. He came from being an apprentice and knew that once his body really had problems, he would most likely have to retire internally and leave the position to others.

There was competition everywhere, and the Jade Carving Factory was no exception. At the moment, being able to be at his post and continue to engage in the carving career he liked was already very good.

The main thing was that, calculated over this year, the salary plus bonus he received was actually much more than those masters who were on the job. Engineer Liu's apprentice, Little Ma, told him that someone had already been privately inquiring about his income.

What did this mean? It meant that the position here, which had always been disliked, was now being eyed by someone.

Now it was the transition from a planned economy to a commodity economy, and what everyone valued was not just face and position, but also income!

Engineer Liu didn't know how long he could stay in this current position. The previous factory director had clearly said that as long as he wanted to work, this position was his.

But the factory director was transferred, so whether this word counted depended on the new factory director's attitude.

But Engineer Liu actually felt it didn't matter anymore. His emotions had risen and fallen once, and he had seen through the state of the world. At the moment, he could continue carving; although slow, the quality level was still online.

If he was adjusted, at worst, he would retire internally and collect materials to do it himself.

Li Long's appearance, and the later prosperity of this small jade carving shop, let Engineer Liu see a possibility; at worst, he would collect materials from Southern Xinjiang and carve them himself.

Jade culture had been passed down in China for thousands of years, even earlier than gold, silver, and copper. Some things young people might not like, but in the eyes of the older generation, this stuff was good stuff.

So there must be a market, and his reputation was also there, so why worry about having no sales?

After figuring this out, Engineer Liu became open-minded. Of course, he still had to thank Li Long, who made him figure it out at the beginning.

Li Long's trip here really had no other thoughts; he was just delivering some meat to Engineer Liu. The meat originally prepared for Professor Wu and Professor Luo seemed to be useless.

He planned to see Engineer Liu, deliver the meat, then go to the department store to buy some New Year goods, buy some things for his family, and then go to Beiting.

"Comrade Little Li, do you have any other things today?" Engineer Liu asked. "If not, have lunch here. I'll let Little Ma tell my wife to stir-fry two more dishes at noon..."

"No, Engineer Liu. I'm going to Beiting in a while, and there are still quite a lot of things today." Li Long said with some apology, "I still have to go to the department store to buy things, so I won't eat. I'll just chat here for a while."

Although Engineer Liu was a bit disappointed, he still said:

"That's fine, anyway you have a car, come often when you are idle in the future, I will keep all the good materials for you."

After speaking, he opened the drawer, took out a seed material with sprinkled gold skin, and said:

"Look at this material, it's really rare for the factory to give me such material. The skin on this material is naturally a picture of a person fishing, so I didn't move it much; it's directly a very good hand-held piece, you take it."

Li Long took the hand-held piece and looked at it carefully.

Weighing less than a kilogram, it fit perfectly in Li Long's large hand. The jade quality was very fine, warm, and moist. The whole jade material was small at the top and large at the bottom, with a slight feeling of a water drop.

One-third of the jade material was covered with skin. As Engineer Liu said, looking from the front, it just looked like a person fishing; the fine lines of the fishing rod were all there, and there was skin on the very edge like water waves, with a fish head slightly raised on the water waves.

A feeling of natural ingenuity.

Li Long liked it very much.

"Thank you, Engineer Liu, how much is this material?" Li Long asked habitually.

"Don't talk about money, it's a gift for you." Engineer Liu waved his hand, "Don't refuse either; in my opinion, this material is not as practical as the leg of lamb you brought."

Li Long didn't say much more, playing with this piece of jade while saying:

"That's good, I will buy some more jade today. Little Ma, right? Can you help me introduce it?"

He thought that there should be give and take. The leg of lamb he delivered was at most ten yuan or so, and this jade material was at least dozens of yuan.

Since this was the case, he would make up for it to Engineer Liu from other aspects. He called Little Ma because he was afraid that Engineer Liu would give him too low a price and not make money.

Engineer Liu saw through his thoughts, smiled, and said:

"Alright, Little Li, don't worry, I am definitely making money on the things sold to you. Come and see, there aren't many things, but the materials are quite good."

He opened the drawer and showed Li Long the finished products he had carved recently, saying while taking them out:

"In the future, don't buy those carvings by ordinary workers. I'm not boasting, but mainly those things really don't look good when placed."

After Li Long collected these four pieces of material for one hundred and ten yuan, chatted for a while, and drove away.

"Little Ma, go to the factory in the afternoon to get some more materials. It's best to be seed materials; if seed materials don't work, mountain materials should be of higher grade. It doesn't matter if the pieces are small, larger scraps are also fine, but at least the grade must go up."

After Engineer Liu watched Li Long leave, he said to his apprentice: "Record this money as one hundred yuan, and the remaining ten yuan is your subsidy for this month. Buy some meat to take back before the New Year; I won't share this meat with you today."

Little Ma was very happy to hear it. He originally thought he was being sent away, but who could have thought that staying here, he had a subsidy every month, not much less than an apprentice's salary, and Engineer Liu also carefully guided him, which was much better than the situation in the factory where seven or eight apprentices surrounded one master.

And Engineer Liu was a truly master-level carver; any technique he released was enough for him to study for ten days or half a month.

This was a mouse falling into a rice jar.

Little Ma immediately went to execute Engineer Liu's decision. Half of the remaining money, after deducting the cost, would be issued to Engineer Liu, which was also why some people envied Engineer Liu and planned to plot this position.

Here, you could truly earn money, much higher than the bonus in the factory.

Only Engineer Liu knew that the relationship with Li Long was the biggest factor in this.

Leaving the Jade Carving Factory, Li Long went to the department store first, bought various New Year goods, and there were quite a few firecrackers and the like. Thinking that the first time he came, he left carrying a sack, now he could drive a car to transport.

The change was really too fast.

Coming out of the department store, it was already past three o'clock, which was noon in Northern Xinjiang, but it was actually shifting towards the afternoon.

He planned to finish delivering the meat today and had to go back in the evening. So he rushed to the South Railway Station, scanned it there, didn't find Yusufu, and drove towards Beiting.

When arriving at the State Supply and Marketing Cooperative, Li Long drove the jeep directly into the gate this time.

The person at the gate asked Li Long for his work permit, and then let him in.

People coming and going didn't take a second look at the jeep—there were a few cars in the State Cooperative, so not many people paid attention.

Li Long drove the car directly to the car team, where he saw Little Si.

Little Si was also a bit curious to see Li Long drive the car in directly, and when Li Long got out of the car, he hurriedly came over to greet him.

"I'm having a winter slaughter there, and I brought Director Qian some beef and venison. This venison is very nourishing, so I also brought you a piece to take back for your family to cook and eat; it's winter nourishment, after all." Li Long explained his intention, "Is the director in?"

"Yes, there haven't been many things recently," Little Si said with a smile, "You go up, give me the car key, and I'll maintain it for you."

"Okay. Come, I'll put the meat in your car first." Li Long opened the trunk door and said: "This bag is for Director Qian, these are for you, don't think it's too little."

"Hey, how could I think it's too little? This meat is something you wouldn't even think of having usually, right?" Little Si really didn't think it was too little, he said with a smile, "Thank you."

Li Long handed the car key to Little Si, and then turned and went to the office building.

Director Qian was looking at documents in the office. Hearing the knock on the door, he looked up and saw it was Li Long. He was a bit surprised, then smiled and pointed to the sofa and said:

"Little Li is here, come, come, sit."

Someone came in to pour water for Li Long, and left after pouring. Only then did Li Long greet him and explain his intention.

"You raised the red deer?" Director Qian was a bit surprised, "Hey, I didn't expect you to do this too."

"Well, the red deer fawns caught by those friends in the mountains in early spring were given to me, so I fenced them in and raised them, and it's okay. This raised venison tastes better than wild ones. The meat I slaughtered this time is from a small male deer, not smelly, and the taste is quite good."

"Good, good, good, I have to taste it." Director Qian naturally also knew that raised animals, because of what they ate and the habit of pen-rearing, the meat was just different from wild ones.

Wild ones were satisfying to hunt, but if the meat wasn't prepared well, it certainly wouldn't be as delicious as raised ones.

Of course, it wouldn't be to the point of being inedible. The wild boar piglets Li Long brought back were cooked with heavy ingredients and wine to remove the fishy smell, and the taste was quite good.

Director Qian only paid a little attention to this, and then asked about Li Long's recent situation.

"You said fattening sheep? Is there any prospect? How is the mutton?" Hearing Li Long say that he had recently been fattening sheep and it was quite profitable, Director Qian became interested, "Will the meat quality be good?"

"A sheep can gain ten kilograms of meat in two months, and the fat is very thick." Li Long said, "There is a piece in the meat I brought for the director this time; you can take a look when you go back."

"Why wait until I go back? The meat is with Little Si, right? Let's go, let's go take a look."

Li Long didn't expect Director Qian to be quite interested in this, so he stood up and walked out.

Little Si was helping Li Long tidy up the car. After checking, he found that the car had been maintained and was quite good in all aspects, so he thought about filling it with gas. At this time, Director Qian and Li Long came down.

"Hey, this car, Little Li, you maintained it quite well." Director Qian was also quite interested in the car; he saw at a glance that this was the car he "allocated" to Li Long, looked it over, and said, "Not bad, not bad, you cherish it quite a bit."

Li Long secretly felt ashamed; if it weren't for Xiaoxia saying to fix up the car, the car he drove over this time would have been a "broken car".

"The director said he wanted to see that meat." Li Long whispered to Little Si.

Little Si hurriedly opened the trunk of his car. Li Long stepped forward, untied the bag, and took out a leg of lamb from inside.

"Hey, it's really fat!" Director Qian looked at the leg of lamb and said, "It's really different from what I usually see."

"This is still the one chosen that is not so fat, mainly because I was worried that if it was too fat, you wouldn't like to eat it." Li Long said honestly, "This beef is also fattened, and there is this venison."

After showing each kind of meat to Director Qian one by one, Director Qian nodded, then turned around with his hands behind his back and walked back, saying while walking:

"Not bad, not bad, this is a good way."

Li Long exchanged a look with Little Si and hurriedly followed. Little Si packed the meat back in, locked the car door, and went to fill Li Long's car with gas.

He had quite a few gas coupons in his hand, so filling a tank of gas was no problem.

Returning to the office, Director Qian said:

"Little Li, this matter, actually, it would have been better if you had come earlier. Our State Cooperative purchases a large amount of beef and mutton at the end of each year, partly as welfare for employees and partly as reserve meat. I think the meat you brought is not bad. If you had come a month earlier, our State Cooperative could have purchased a batch as reserve meat."

"Then will there be any next year?" Li Long asked curiously.

"Of course there will be, every year."

"Then let's wait until next year. I will tidy up the pen well in early spring, and then raise more at that time." Li Long didn't regret it at all. The cattle and sheep raised this time didn't enter the retail market at all; they were all wrapped up by "connections", and even then, he earned quite a lot.

So whether he contacted the State Cooperative or not, the cattle and sheep could be sold.

Seeing that Li Long didn't regret it at all, Director Qian smiled, changed the topic, and asked about Li Long's family situation.

After chatting for a while, Li Long planned to say goodbye and leave. When Director Qian got up to see him off, he said:

"Go back and tell Xiangqian, don't be anxious; what should be his, others can't snatch away, and what isn't his, it's useless for him to be anxious."

"Okay, okay, Director, I will definitely bring these words." Li Long responded, and then left.

When he went downstairs to the car team, Li Long saw the car wasn't there, so he waited here for a while.

The sun was already slanting west. Li Long also planned to go to that small shop that made saddles in a while, firstly to buy saddles, and secondly to take that Mongolian gazelle skin and ask if it could be processed here.

It was mainly because he felt that the skin on the saddle made by the other party was processed very well, so he had this idea.

Soon, Little Si drove the jeep over. Seeing Li Long waiting, he got out of the car and said with a smile:

"Went to fill it with gas for you, you maintained this car quite well."

"Maintained at our county transport company." Li Long explained, "That gas money..."

"Hey, don't say this word, I didn't give you money for that meat either. If you have something to do, go handle it quickly. If it were summer, I would keep you for a meal."

Li Long said goodbye to Little Si and drove the car to the saddlery.

The door was closed but not locked. When Li Long knocked on the door and went in, the old man was still grinding wood inside. After seeing Li Long come in, he smiled.

Li Long asked the old man how many saddles he had now. The old man gestured with the number three, and Li Long said he would buy them all.

"This skin, can you process it? It's better to be a bit softer." Li Long showed the Mongolian gazelle skin to the old man.

The old man took the skin, looked at it, nodded, and stretched out his fingers again, gesturing five.

"Five yuan?" Li Long asked suspiciously.

"Five days, no money. You bought so many saddles, this one is helping you process it, no money."

The old man emphasized that there was no money, then slowly stood up and helped Li Long tidy up those saddles.

Li Long had great strength and fast movements; soon he moved the three sets of saddles onto the car, and then paid the old man.

The old man's speed of counting money was also slow. After counting, he smiled at Li Long, then pointed to the skin, saying to let Li Long come to pick it up in five days.

Li Long turned and got into the car. At this time, the sun was less than a pole high from setting.

The outdoor temperature had already dropped. Walking west, looking at the sun in the distance, it was like an egg yolk without egg white, yellow and red, and he couldn't feel any temperature or heat at all.

Most of the tasks for this trip had been completed, and Li Long felt it was quite good.

He planned to plan the matter Director Qian mentioned well. Go back and find time to talk to Uncle Lao Luo, see if he can tidy up the pen in early spring, and prepare to fatten another batch in the autumn.

If the State Cooperative could continue to purchase, this would be a sustainable industry.

When the car drove to Letuyi, the sun only had half a face left. Li Long accelerated, hoping to return to the large courtyard before dark.

Pingyuan Forest Farm, Taxihe, Baojiadian, Tougong... the county town arrived. Although there were no street lights, the electric lights already turned on by the households in the county made Li Long feel warm for no reason.

People are social animals after all; after staying in a natural, empty place for a long time, they still want to return to the crowd. (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 764 =====