Chapter 779: Greetings and Requests from Jia Tianlong

Li Jianguo was no fool; he could see his younger brother's dismissive attitude toward his words. As he walked outside with Li Long, he said:

"Xiao Long, don't think I'm being long-winded. You aren't alone anymore; you have a family, a young wife, and small children. If something were to happen, wouldn't this family fall apart?"

Li Long listened to his second brother's sensible words. Although they weren't pleasant to hear, they were genuinely for his own good. He nodded earnestly and said as they walked, "Second Brother, I understand."

When Li Long took action, he only did so against those he was certain he could take down. He had great strength and quick reflexes, so he was truly confident.

But his second brother didn't know that, and besides, blades and guns have no eyes; who could guarantee there wouldn't be an accident?

Being a little more cautious was never a mistake.

Seeing that Li Long had truly taken his words to heart, Li Jianguo smiled, and the two brothers walked together toward the jeep.

Chen Li Rong, Xue Ping, and Li Xue Qin were waiting by the jeep, two large bags placed at their feet.

All three of them were wearing headscarves and bundled up in thick clothing, and many passersby were looking at them with curiosity.

Seeing Li Jianguo and Li Long approach, the two children immediately ran toward them with smiles.

"Little Uncle!"

"Hello, Little Uncle!"

"Hey, good, good, good. Let's go, hurry up and get in the car, it's cold outside." Li Long squatted down, picked up both children, one in each arm, and walked smiling toward the vehicle.

After putting the children down, he used the key to open the car door. Li Long put the bags in the trunk, and Li Jianguo settled his wife and children into the car. Both Xue Ping and Li Xue Qin wanted to sit in the front, but Li Jianguo refused them. Li Long had told him that the passenger seat was relatively dangerous, and it was better for the children to sit in the back.

Once everyone and the bags were in the car, Li Long started the engine, made a turn at the bus station entrance, then headed west to the intersection, turned right, and drove straight north, plunging ahead.

There weren't many cars on the road, and there weren't many people either; the car drove quite fast and steadily.

"Is everything well at home?" Li Jianguo asked. "Are Father and Mother in good health? How are your two children?"

"Everything is good, everything is good. Father and Mother are in good health, and my two children are healthy too, eating and sleeping well," Li Long said. "When do you start work over there?"

"Just about after the New Year. Some indoor work can already begin. This year the New Year is late, and we've been resting for several months, so it's time to start work. Otherwise, just relying on the basic salary makes it hard for some families to get by."

The jeep drove all the way home. On the way, they encountered a few people returning from the county seat with New Year goods; buying New Year goods at this time was considered quite rare.

The jeep drove straight to Li Long's front yard. Once the stove was set up and the room tidied, he would let Li Anguo and the others move in first.

The sporadic sound of firecrackers in the village had not stopped since noon. Although it wasn't as extravagant as in later generations, with strings of them going off incessantly, the "bang" and "pop" sounds could still be heard throughout the entire village.

The smell of gunpowder in the air was very strong; this could also be considered a kind of "New Year flavor."

Li Jianguo and his wife put their things away and then went together to the backyard.

Xue Ping and Li Xue Qin had long since run to the backyard to play with Li Juan and Li Qiang.

The affection between children is pure. They knew they were relatives and very close ones at that, so even though they hadn't seen each other for a while, they were even closer.

At this time, because transportation was underdeveloped, movement between relatives was relatively rare. Visiting relatives was a big event, and having relatives come to the house was also a big event.

Children would even happily go and show off to their friends, "Relatives have come to our house."

Of course, whether or not this was because the relatives brought delicious food was hard to say.

After Li Jianguo and Chen Li Rong put their things down, they went with Li Long to the backyard to see Father and Mother. Li Qing Xia and Du Chunfang were also very happy to see their second son return. They pulled him into the room to chat for a while. Li Jianguo also came over, and the room was soon too crowded to sit, so Li Long returned to his own front courtyard.

The children were small, and he couldn't let Gu Gu Xiaoxia watch them all by herself. Li Long thought she might want to go out for a stroll.

"I won't go out, staying in the room is just fine." Gu Gu Xiaoxia didn't want to walk around the village. She had become a state cadre, and she couldn't find common ground in conversation with anyone in the village other than her own family. Moreover, the way others looked at her was different, so she simply didn't want to go out.

Although she really wanted to see her father now, she knew the customs weren't appropriate, so she would wait until the second day of the New Year.

Li Long guessed Gu Gu Xiaoxia's thoughts and asked:

"Do you want me to take you to see Father Gu?"

"No." Gu Gu Xiaoxia shook her head. "It's not a matter of one day. We saw each other every day not long ago. My dad is doing just fine. He might be busy preparing things right now, and if I go, I'll just add to the chaos."

"Alright then, we'll go over early the day after tomorrow." Li Long nodded. When Gu Bo Yuan was at the agricultural supplies store, they ate together in the big courtyard every noon and afternoon; it really wasn't like Li Jianguo, whom they often didn't see.

Around seven o'clock, Li Juan came to the front courtyard to call Li Long and the others for dinner. Li Long and Gu Gu Xiaoxia each carried a child over. By this time, Ming and Hao were already quite big and didn't need to lie down to be watched.

However, they were still a bit restless during meals. Li Long thought about whether he should make that kind of folding high chair for children he had seen in later generations. That way, the adults could be freed up, and with baby food placed on the tray in front of the chair, they would also be very proactive in eating.

Hmm, he could make it after this New Year.

The dinner was very sumptuous, more sumptuous than the New Year's Eve dinner in most households at this time. There were too many people to sit at one table, so there was one table in the east room and one in the west room. The men were in the east room, and the women and children were in the west room. Now there were televisions in both rooms, and they could watch TV while eating; it was wonderful.

The next day, before dawn, Li Long was awakened by the sound of firecrackers, and he hurriedly woke Gu Gu Xiaoxia up. Just as Gu Gu Xiaoxia finished getting dressed, Li Qiang ran over to knock on the door, calling them to eat dumplings.

Because Li Long and Gu Gu Xiaoxia had to watch the children, this year Li Jianguo simply waited until after eating dumplings to let the children out, having Li Juan take Li Qiang, Xue Ping, and Li Xue Qin to pay New Year greetings to the village elders.

Although he wasn't old, his seniority in the village was high, so he simply didn't go himself.

Li Juan had quite the demeanor of an eldest sister. Taking the three little ones bundled up in thick clothes, they first went to Old Tian's house in the east residential area. She was already big, so paying New Year greetings only required calling out. She called out "Happy New Year," and Li Qiang, Xue Ping, and Li Xue Qin followed, calling out in a string; it was very festive.

"Good, good, good. Come, eat some candy, pack some to take with you!" Old Tian was very happy. Li Juan and the others were the first group to come pay New Year greetings, and he was in a great mood.

Facing the fruit hard candies, Li Qiang was a bit disdainful. He didn't show it on the surface, but he declined twice and only took one. Xue Ping and Li Xue Qin, however, each took a handful, about four or five pieces.

Continuing on.

The second house was Gu Bo Yuan's. Old Gu hadn't expected that the first ones to come pay New Year greetings would be Li Juan and her younger siblings. He hadn't even finished his meal, so he hurriedly put down his bowl and chopsticks, responded to the New Year greetings of the little ones, and then took out money he had already exchanged from his pocket, giving each of them a one-yuan note.

Li Juan was stunned for a moment. What was this situation?

"Take it, we are all family. It's New Year's money, you should take it today!" Gu Bo Yuan saw the other children looking at Li Juan and said, "Take it, this is New Year's money, it's the New Year, it's festive!"

"Sigh, thank you, Father Gu!" Li Juan emphasized.

"Hey! Your dad taught you that, right? Can't you let me be a generation older?" Gu Bo Yuan was amused. "Take some more candy, I don't think you guys are interested in melon seeds or peanuts..."

The candy at Gu Bo Yuan's place was quite varied—crisp candy, sorghum taffy, and fruit candy were all there. Li Qiang didn't stand on ceremony and picked out a few he liked to put in his pocket.

Afterward, Li Juan slowly got used to it. The Tao family, Xie family, Jia family, Xu family, and others all gave New Year's money when they paid their greetings.

Li Qiang was a small person with many concerns. Before going to the Xie family, he ran into another group of children paying New Year greetings and asked them what they got when they went to the Xie family. They showed off to him that they had gotten a big handful of fruit candy.

As a result, after the four of them arrived, they each got one yuan, the brand-new kind. Li Qiang and Li Juan then understood.

After leaving the Xie family, Li Juan told them not to tell anyone else and just keep it to themselves.

After Xie Yun Dong sent Li Juan and the others away, he very simply put away the bag of New Year's money he had prepared. His wife couldn't help but mutter:

"Aren't you afraid the children will talk about it, and others will gossip?"

"What's there to talk about?" Xie Yun Dong said indifferently. "How much money have they led us to earn? What's the problem with me giving the children New Year's money? People have to be considerate; they are good to us, and we can't just take it for granted."

"But didn't we also do the hard labor? If we hadn't done the hard labor, wouldn't that money have been impossible to earn?"

"Without that opportunity, even if you worked yourself to death, could you have earned this tractor?" Xie Yun Dong always felt his wife was a bit narrow-minded in this regard. "There are so many people in the team, there are plenty who work harder than us, but how many have earned big money? Alright, alright, it's the New Year, it's only four yuan, don't take it to heart. Prepare the dishes, we have to have a drink at noon."

Near noon, the three groups of children met near the horse corral.

"Qiangqiang, how much candy did you get today?" a little friend asked Li Qiang, his tone very smug. "We went to over ten houses, and just the candy filled two pockets!"

He lifted the two lower pockets of his jacket, which were stuffed full.

"I also have two pockets full!" Li Qiang didn't show any weakness. "And mine are all good candy!"

"What good candy could there be? Isn't it all fruit candy?" that little friend was a bit puzzled. "What did you pack?"

"Look, this is crisp candy, it's not hard at all, you can bite into it in one go, it's delicious. Sorghum taffy..."

"I have sorghum taffy too!" that child rummaged in his pocket for a while and pulled out two soft candies.

"I'm saying I don't like eating sorghum taffy. Look, I have watermelon candy here, look how pretty this is..." Li Qiang was also a bit smug.

He had originally wanted to show off that he had received several yuan in New Year's money today, and that wasn't even counting what his family members had given him.

In the morning, Li Qing Xia, Li Jianguo, Li Jianguo, and Li Long had each given the children New Year's money. This year Li Long didn't make a scene and followed the crowd, giving one yuan—he had his own children, and if he gave other children five yuan, how would others reciprocate? The eldest brother was easy to reciprocate, but the second brother, Li Jianguo, didn't have that kind of strength.

Li Qing Xia was the most generous, giving five yuan to each. Anyway, he felt that having that much money was useless, and giving New Year's money at this time, seeing the children happy and joyful, was festive.

After the children returned from paying New Year greetings, Li Qiang was the first to talk about the fact that those families had given New Year's money.

Li Jianguo glanced at Li Long and then said:

"Since they gave it, then take it. Just don't go out and talk about it."

How to put it, one could see from small things that this was helping the right people.

According to custom, Li Long should also go to pay New Year greetings to the village elders, but this year he had children, so he spent the first day of the New Year at his own home. Last night was the reunion dinner, and today's lunch was the New Year greeting meal.

Liang Yuemei and Chen Li Rong had been preparing early. The prepared food was divided into three portions: one small portion was placed in Li Qing Xia's room, and then two similar portions were placed in Li Jianguo's and Li Long's rooms respectively.

Li Jianguo and his wife took the children to eat at Li Jianguo's side—according to Li Jianguo, either side was fine.

But it wasn't good for the older brother to eat with the younger brother, so they went to the backyard—at this time, women and children basically still ate in the kitchen, because some adults in the village would pay New Year greetings at noon and incidentally drink at the houses they visited.

It wasn't easy to say they were sponging drinks—at this time, being able to gather at someone's house to drink showed that this family had strong appeal and could gather people's hearts.

So there was a table in the backyard, and Li Long also prepared a table in the front courtyard.

Before lunch, Mingwa rode his bicycle to Li Long's front courtyard. He put down the bike without even putting the kickstand down and shouted toward the room:

"Uncle Li Long, there's a phone call for you!"

Li Long was a bit surprised to hear this in the room. He was setting the table with Gu Gu Xiaoxia and preparing the wine.

The wine was Kuitun Special Brew brought by Li Jianguo—this time when Li Jianguo came, besides bringing some snacks, he also brought a few bottles of Kuitun Special Brew.

Foreign monks are good at chanting sutras, and foreign wine is also popular.

He was a bit puzzled, who would be calling at this time? It was unlikely to be from his hometown; if his hometown was calling, they should be looking for Father or the eldest brother.

"Alright, Mingwa, I know. I'll go right away." Li Long wiped his hands, grabbed a handful of candy, opened the door, stuffed it into Mingwa's hand, and said, "You go back first."

"Good." Mingwa took the candy quite happily, turned the bike around, and rode away.

After riding past Li Jianguo's courtyard, Mingwa stopped, took out the candy that looked obviously more high-end, and couldn't help but peel one and stuff it into his mouth. Hmm, it was delicious!

Li Long told Gu Gu Xiaoxia, then started the jeep and went to Xu Chengjun's house.

In the courtyard, one could smell the alcohol inside, as well as the sound of people playing drinking games.

One could tell that Xu Chengjun, Xu Haijun, Xu Dejun, Xu Jianjun, and others were all there; the Xu family had many people.

Li Long entered, and others greeted him one after another. Xu Jianjun was a bit awkward.

"Go ahead and take it, it's a call from the interior, it wasn't easy to transfer it over." Xu Chengjun pointed to the phone and said, "After you finish, just have a couple of drinks."

Li Long went over to answer the phone.

"Hello!" Li Long called out.

"Little Li, Happy Holidays!" A familiar voice came from the other side.

Hey, it was Jia Tianlong's. Although this call had been transferred through many layers and was a bit distorted, he could still recognize it.

"Happy Holidays, Boss Jia. Thank you for having the heart to make this call." Li Long said with a smile, "Is everything well at home?"

"Good, good, good, everything is good. How about you over there?"

"Also good."

When Li Long was chatting with Jia Tianlong, the sound and movements of Xu Chengjun and the others drinking almost stopped, and their attention was all here.

"Little Li, let me tell you, today isn't just for New Year greetings, there's also a matter I'd like to ask for your help with."

"Go ahead, don't be polite." Li Long said with a smile.

"It's about that Tianshan snow lotus, you know it, right?"

"I know, we have them right here in our Nanshan."

"Right, right, right, it's great that you have them. It's just this... let me tell you, a friend of mine is preparing to make snow lotus tonic wine and wants to get a batch of snow lotus. There are too few snow lotuses on the market, so I wanted to ask for your help..."

"How many do you want?" Li Long only remembered that although this thing sounded precious, to be honest, it had never been able to fetch a high price. In the year 2000, they sold for a dozen yuan a flower in the Wucheng train station square, and twenty or thirty yuan packaged. Ten years later, it was still that price, or even lower.

From the herdsmen who could pick them, they could be collected for even three or five yuan a flower.

"Starting from five hundred flowers. My friend specializes in medicinal wine and has an old recipe. He thinks using this has a lot of market potential."

"Five hundred flowers... that's doable." Li Long knew that Halimu and the others could pick them in the summer pasture, and this thing wasn't that rare at this time. Often they grew in large patches, and there were true snow lotuses, not stone lotuses.

Of course, for Jia, it didn't matter if it was a snow lotus or a stone lotus, as long as it was real.

It could only be said that even forty years later, when information was very widespread, there were people on the internet who believed in those fake-as-can-be dynamic images of land lotuses growing on snow mountains made by AI, and some people actually believed they were snow lotuses.

It could only be said that some people's cognition matched their standard of living.

"It's great that you can get them. Let me tell you, I've called several people, and they all said they could get a few, but couldn't get a large amount."

"It shouldn't be a problem." Li Long had chatted with Halimu and Yushanjiang before. Although it was said that only one in four thousand seeds germinated, there were few people on the snow mountains at this time, and even fewer people collecting them. Herdsmen or people going up the mountain usually just picked a few when they encountered them, and they wouldn't pick them to extinction, just cutting the flowers.

Unlike some immoral mountaineers in later generations who, upon discovering them, dug them up by the roots and even displayed them—one digging could wipe out the snow lotuses in an entire area!

"Then the price..." Li Long asked.

"This, I asked about the retail price, it's about five or six yuan a flower, do you think this price is okay?"

"It's okay, who makes us friends? Six yuan is six yuan!" Li Long was amused. "What if we pick more?"

"The more the better!" Jia Tianlong was naturally happy to hear Li Long say this. He said, "Do you know that martial arts novels have been very popular here in the last two years, and even more so in the coastal areas?

That Tianshan snow lotus is a good thing in martial arts novels! Seven Swords Descend from Tianshan, Jade Bow of the Sea of Clouds, many novels say Tianshan snow lotus has miraculous effects... this is an opportunity!"

Li Long thought to himself, these business people really know how to seize business opportunities. He really didn't have this kind of brain, or rather, didn't have this kind of channel.

However, he could grasp the source and just earn this money.

After chatting for a few more sentences, he hung up the phone. When Li Long turned around, he saw everyone else looking at him.

"Xiao Long, is this another business deal?" Xu Chengjun asked. "Snow lotus? Is there really any in the mountains?"

"Can I get one if there really is any?" Xu Haijun actually had a bit of yearning. "Tianshan snow lotus..."

"It's not as miraculous as the legends say, it just treats gynecological diseases and rheumatism." Li Long hurriedly stopped his fantasy. "Oh right, also impotence."

"Hey!" At this, the other few people were also excited!

Being able to treat impotence, this is a good thing!

They had just heard Li Long say six yuan, and this thing was still affordable!

(My body is in the recovery period, so I'll just do one chapter for this period of time, and I'll add more after I've recovered.) (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 780 =====