Chapter 81: That was truly an eye-opener

After the factory director left, Section Chief Hu gave Li Long a thumbs-up:

"Comrade Li, your efficiency is truly high! It's a good thing you managed to deliver the sheep before the end of the workday; otherwise, I would have really lost face today."

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

"You little bastard, was it you who leaked this to others? Otherwise, how did the whole factory find out I was bringing in sheep?"

Xiao Wang was just about to defend himself, feeling rather aggrieved, when someone came out from the factory and asked with a smile:

"Section Chief Hu, is this the welfare benefit for us before the New Year? Not bad, not bad. Just 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 basic duty? Secretary Xu, once the mutton is distributed, I'll have some sent to your home!" Section Chief Hu immediately changed his expression and replied with a smile.

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

"Sure, sure, sure." Section Chief Hu was extremely happy now; having gained such prestige in front of the factory director and the secretary, he no longer cared about Xiao Wang's little slip-up.

Security guard Xiao Wang watched them leave and wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. Only then did he feel that this Li Long fellow was quite decent; that remark just now had been delivered just in time, or else he really would have been in for a severe scolding.

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

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

Soon, someone came over pushing a scale. Looking at the "mountain of sheep" piled high, he said happily:

"Section Chief Hu, you've really brought in a lot this time. With so many sheep, every family should be able to get seven or eight jin, right?"

"Let's finish weighing them first before we talk about that." Section Chief Hu said with a smile, "Hurry up and get the work done; we still need to settle the bill with this 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 quite adept at mental arithmetic and quickly calculated that he had to pay Li Long 344.85 yuan.

"Not bad, young man. Come with me now to settle the payment. 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 reached the office, the accountant and cashier were already locking the door.

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

"Section Chief Hu, is this the mutton that's going to be distributed to us?" The young female accountant asked with a smile, "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 warehousing receipt: 363 kilograms at 0.95 yuan per kilogram, totaling 344.85 yuan."

Li Long went in, settled the account, and held the three hundred-plus yuan—a thick stack of "Big Unity" banknotes. His mood was even more excited than when he had received the nearly one thousand yuan from selling the jade.

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 heading back to the team now?" Tao Daqiang asked.

"No, let's stay in the county for the 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 more than enough 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 just given him ten yuan yesterday, which counted as an advance on his income; how could he take more?

"It's different. We'll be selling fish once or twice more later, and 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 take this to buy some things in the county. Once it gets closer to the New Year, it won't be easy to buy 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 even let him tag along. He really had nothing to complain about.

Tao Daqiang secretly swore to himself 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 journey today was peaceful, 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 main gate was locked.

"Brother Long, why are we coming here?" Tao Daqiang asked, feeling a bit strange, "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 a while." As he spoke, he took out the key, opened the lock, and signaled for Tao Daqiang to push the gate open. He 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 pillar, pulled out some hay from under the cart, picked out the clean parts to feed the horse, and then the two of them went to the main house.

The main room door 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!

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

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

!.

"Yes." Li Long smiled and said, "Come, let me find you a place 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. To Li Long's surprise, 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 on the side of the west wing, along with kindling, corn cobs, and some old newspapers.

The two of them lit their respective stoves, and soon, the room 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 this:

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

Rice porridge was essentially white rice congee. Li Long nodded and said, "Sure, and cut some cabbage into thin strips 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 in a bit."

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

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 actually not that anxious anymore. It's Thursday, and the 1st of June is almost here. Time flies!

(End of chapter) *** **CHAPTER 82**