Chapter 81: This was truly an eye-opener

After the Factory Director left, Section Chief Hu gave Li Long a thumbs-up:

"Comrade Little Li, your efficiency is truly high! It’s a good thing you rushed the sheep over before the end of the shift; otherwise, I would have really lost face today."

As he spoke, he turned his head and cursed at Little Wang:

"You little bastard, was it you who spread this word to others? Otherwise, how did the whole factory find out I was getting sheep?"

Little Wang was about to defend himself, feeling somewhat aggrieved, when someone walked out of the factory and asked with a smile:

"Section Chief Hu, is this the welfare for us before the New Year? Not bad, not bad. Looking at these sheep, they seem quite fresh. You, as the Logistics Section Chief, have done a good job!"

"Not at all, not at all, isn't this just my duty? Secretary Xu, when the mutton is distributed, I’ll have it sent to your home!" Section Chief Hu immediately changed his expression and replied with a smile.

"Section Chief Hu, can we unload the cart and weigh them first? We still need to rush back to Maxian today." Li Long, waiting for Section Chief Hu to finish, said hurriedly, "Time waits for no one."

"Fine, fine, fine." Section Chief Hu was very happy now; having gained great face in front of the Factory Director and the Secretary, he no longer cared about the small matter with Little Wang.

The gatekeeper, Little Wang, watched them leave and wiped away a cold sweat. Only then did he feel that this person, Li Long, was not bad; that remark just now had been delivered at the right time, or else he really would have been in for a serious scolding.

Li Long and Tao Daqiang drove the horse cart and followed Section Chief Hu to the logistics warehouse.

"Lao Si Luo, hurry up and push the scale over, we’ve got a big job!" Section Chief Hu shouted loudly at the warehouse entrance.

Soon, someone pushed the scale over, looked at the "sheep mountain" piled high, and said happily:

"Section Chief Hu, you’ve really outdone yourself this time. With so many sheep, every family should be able to get at least seven or eight jin, right?"

"Let’s weigh them first before talking." Section Chief Hu said with a smile, "Hurry up and finish the work; we still need to settle the account for the little brother."

The two men immediately stepped forward to untie the ropes, and Li Long and Tao Daqiang also joined in to help unload the cart.

Twenty-two sheep weighed in at a total of 363 kilograms. Section Chief Hu was excellent at mental math and quickly calculated that he needed to pay Li Long 344.85 yuan.

"Not bad, young man. Now come with me to settle the account. You’ve gained me some face this time, so I won't delay your business."

Li Long followed Section Chief Hu to the finance office to settle the account. By the time they arrived at the finance room, the accountant and cashier were already locking the door.

"Little Liu, Sister Ma, please wait a moment. It will only take a few minutes. I just received a cart of mutton and need to settle the payment for them."

"Section Chief Hu, is this the mutton to be distributed to us?" The young female finance staff member smiled upon hearing this, "Then we certainly have no problem with that."

"Exactly." The older one also said with a smile, "How much is the total?"

"Here is the receiving slip: 363 kilograms at 0.95 yuan per kilogram, totaling 344.85 yuan."

Li Long went in and settled the account. Holding the three hundred-plus yuan—a thick stack of "Big Unity" banknotes—his mood was even more excited than when he had received nearly a thousand yuan for the jade earlier.

After all, this was the hard-earned money of the Yushanjiang and Halimu families.

By the time the two of them drove the horse cart away from the sugar factory, the sun had already set.

"Brother Long, are we going back to the team now?" Tao Daqiang asked.

"No, let's stay in the county for one night. We have to go into the mountains tomorrow." He pulled out a ten-yuan note and handed it to Tao Daqiang:

"Daqiang, this ten yuan is for your hard work today."

"Brother Long, I don't want it. You already gave me extra for the fish money, and I haven't paid you back yet." Tao Daqiang was very clear about his own position now. Besides, Li Long had only given him ten yuan yesterday, which counted as an advance on his income; how could he take more?

"It's different. We still have to sell fish once or twice more later. I won't give you money then. This ten yuan is for your hard work today and tomorrow." Li Long stuffed the ten yuan into his hand: "Before the New Year, I won't give you any more money. If we can get back early tomorrow, you can use this to buy some things in the county. By the time the New Year arrives, it won't be easy to buy New Year goods."

"Okay." Tao Daqiang took the money. Although he didn't say anything more, he was truly grateful to Li Long in his heart. He knew that not many people in the team looked up to him. Last time, he had been the one to betray Brother Long first, yet Brother Long didn't hold a grudge and still let him tag along. He really had nothing to complain about.

Tao Daqiang secretly swore that he would definitely help Brother Long well in the future. If they ran into robbers or fights again, he would definitely be the first to charge forward!

Unfortunately, the road was peaceful today, and they didn't encounter a single malicious person all the way to the county seat.

Li Long brought Tao Daqiang to the old house, where he saw the gate was locked.

"Brother Long, why are we coming here?" Tao Daqiang was a bit puzzled, "This house is locked... I remember now, isn't this the house of that... that old man who bought our fish last time?"

"Yes." Li Long said, "I'll be using this house for now." As he spoke, he took out the key to open the lock and signaled Tao Daqiang to push the gate open, then led the horse cart inside.

The courtyard was no different from yesterday. Li Long led the horse cart to the backyard, unloaded it with Tao Daqiang, tied the horse to a post, pulled out some grass from under the cart, picked out the clean parts to feed the horse, and then the two of them went to the main room.

The door to the main room was locked with the padlock hanging loosely. Li Long took off the lock and pushed the door open. To his surprise, the electricity was still connected inside!

He pulled the light cord, and with a "pop," the room suddenly lit up.

"Brother Long, are we staying here tonight?" Tao Daqiang was a bit reserved; he had never lived in such a large house before.

!.

"Yes." Li Long smiled and said, "Come on, let me find a place for you to stay."

The main house had three bays and five rooms. Besides the living room in the center, there was a study, a storage room, and two bedrooms.

Li Long naturally took the master bedroom. There was a guest room on the far west side, and Li Long told Tao Daqiang:

"Daqiang, you stay here tonight. For now, let's set up the stove."

The master bedroom and the living room shared a stove and had a fire wall. What surprised Li Long was that there was also a "ground dragon" similar to floor heating, where smoke and warm air passed through the ground—it was quite novel.

The two of them looked around outside and found a coal shed near the west wing, along with kindling, corn cobs, and some old newspapers.

They each lit their respective stoves, and soon, the rooms became warm.

Li Long went to check the kitchen in the west wing. There was rice and flour, but the only vegetables were cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. Tao Daqiang followed Li Long and asked upon seeing them:

"Brother Long, do you want me to cook some rice porridge?"

Rice porridge was actually just white rice congee. Li Long nodded and said, "Sure, and cut some shredded cabbage for a cold salad."

"I don't know how..." Tao Daqiang scratched his head.

"Then you cook the porridge first, and I'll handle the rest later."

Tao Daqiang set up the fire again. Fortunately, there were matches on the stove, and since he often did this at home, he was very skilled.

Li Long began to wander through the rooms to satisfy his curiosity.

Then, in the study, he saw half a box of "money."

Thanks to book friends 20220304235851996 and "Cognition and Destiny" for their tips. Thanks to everyone for their monthly tickets and recommendation tickets. The data is still not great, but the follow-up reading is growing steadily. Focusing on writing, I'm indeed less anxious. It's Thursday, almost June 1st, time flies!

(End of chapter)