Chapter 900

Although Wang Mingjun said so, if they really calculated it, except for the land that had to be planted with grain, most of the rest was planted with cash crops, including cotton, melon seeds, etc.

After all, except for what they ate and the public grain they handed in, they couldn't sell the remaining grain for much money.

Although the Corps company was a collective system, everyone also wanted to plant more crops that could sell for a good price, so they could distribute more money at the end of the year.

On this point, whether it was the cadres of the company or the employees, their thoughts were consistent.

Calculating this way, planting cotton was about the same as planting flower sunflowers. And a troublesome point about planting cotton was the seeds. Cotton seeds had thicker shells, and at this time, they needed to be etched with sulfuric acid to thin the shells before they were sold to farmers.

Otherwise, if you just cleared the cotton seeds from the seed cotton and planted them in the ground the next year, they wouldn't sprout.

The Corps was quite advanced in this respect; every company had many white plastic sulfuric acid barrels. After the sulfuric acid inside was used up, the barrels were generally not recycled, and in the end, they were taken home by employees to use as water buckets—one barrel usually held 50 kilograms of water, which was very practical.

"Do you use plastic film for the cotton planted now?" Li Long asked.

"Use plastic film? What for?" Wang Mingjun was a bit puzzled.

Li Long understood; it turned out that what was being planted now was upland cotton.

Upland cotton was the earliest planting method, planted just like wheat and corn. It would take a few more years before they started laying plastic film to plant cotton, and then it would be popularized and developed.

At first, it was narrow film, meaning two rows of cotton grew on one strip of film; the film could suppress the grass between the cotton stalks. But later it was discovered that as the cotton grew, although the film could suppress some grass, it couldn't cover the whole ground, and the grass grew quite fiercely in the places between the two rows without film.

Then it was improved to wide film, where one strip of film could plant four rows of cotton, but it was more troublesome to sow, so the sowing machine was improved, developing from the original two-row machine to a four-row machine.

Planting technology was developing, and agricultural machinery was also developing.

In general, plastic film could not only suppress grass but also lock in water; using it could increase cotton yield. Although it also increased costs, compared to the benefits, this cost was nothing.

So Li Long was thinking, should he start a plastic film processing factory?

In that case, when film-mulched cotton became popular, his factory could directly provide the film.

Just like twenty years later, when drip irrigation started, starting a drip irrigation tape factory would be just as profitable.

Hmm, it was feasible, but it seemed to go against his original intention. Wasn't his original thought to wait until cotton was planted on a large scale, then reclaim hundreds or thousands of acres of wasteland, and then contract it out to be a landlord and collect rent?

How did he end up thinking about starting a factory?

Evil cultivation, evil cultivation.

Although he felt this wasn't something he should pursue, Li Long still ended the topic after learning a lot, feeling unsatisfied.

"Xiao Long, I think you local places should also plant cotton in the future." He wanted to end it, but Wang Mingjun didn't, continuing, "What do you think cotton is used for?"

"What else, making quilts!" Zheng Xiang Yang said with a smile.

"That's not all." Wang Mingjun shook his head and said, "Do you know the Shicheng Cotton Textile Factory of our Eighth Division? It uses cotton! What is this cotton for? Spinning thread, then weaving cloth, making clothes and quilt covers!"

"We were poor before, with few clothes. Now that we have some money, which family doesn't think about buying cloth to make clothes for their children? Those with money buy ready-made ones directly, so can cotton be in short supply?"

"But now what's popular are terylene, dacron, gabardine, etc. Cotton cloth might not necessarily catch the eyes of young people." Zheng Xiang Yang also retorted.

Li Long knew that Zheng Xiang Yang was right. Don't look at how people pursued pure cotton products thirty or forty years later; now everyone felt that cotton cloth was too old-fashioned, not as stylish as dacron or gabardine.

So chemical products were actually very popular now.

But he knew that the increase in cotton planting area year by year was also inevitable. This thing was a strategic resource, and the country would definitely reserve it in large quantities, and its application would become more and more extensive.

So he really had to consider this aspect in his future layout.

The chat didn't continue; after all, the three of them had different directions. Wang Mingjun also promised Li Long that when they picked cotton in the autumn, he should come over to haul some back; it was better for making new cotton quilts.

"Let me tell you, quilts made with new cotton are absolutely comfortable to cover with!" Wang Mingjun said with a smile, "You'll know when you try it then!"

Li Long naturally knew that for the twenty or thirty years starting from the 1990s in his previous life, the thing people in the village sent back to their hometowns the most was cotton batting.

The cotton in Southern and Northern Xinjiang would become more and more famous, and so would the cotton batting. Some people from the interior even asked for 8-kilogram large cotton batting to be sent back—that had to be thick!

Because they all knew each other well and had things to do, this meal was eaten quite well, and they drank some wine, but not too much. After eating, Li Long rested in the company's reception room for two or three hours, and after the alcohol wore off, he drove away.

Leaving here marked the complete end of the large broom work, and Li Long should also plan for the next steps.

The cotton planting matter was put aside for now, and the large tractor matter could only be suppressed first. Next, he had to look at the flower sunflower and melon seed matters.

In September, oil sunflowers and flower sunflowers began to mature, ready for harvest.

Originally, they were all relatively primitive harvesting methods; whether it was wheat or oil sunflowers, they were all harvested manually. Now with a harvester, wheat could be semi-mechanized, but oil sunflowers couldn't for the time being.

At this time, the combine harvester could only harvest wheat and couldn't harvest crops like corn and oil sunflowers. To harvest oil sunflowers and flower sunflowers, they could only be cut one by one manually.

Driving the jeep back to the county seat, Li Long didn't go to the acquisition station but went straight back to the big courtyard.

The courtyard was filled with the fragrance of stewed fish. Li Long parked the jeep and asked while hugging Mingming and Haohao, who were crawling in the yard:

"Where did this fish come from?"

"Mingming's grandfather sent it." Sister Yang said while walking to the kitchen, "When it was sent, it was already cleaned and prepared. Her aunt said to stew fish soup for you to drink when you come back tonight."

"Hey!" Li Long was happy. His wife knew he liked to eat fish, so she didn't let them make it at noon, letting them stew it at night.

Not long after, Gu Xiaoxia came back. Seeing the car in the yard and Li Long playing with stones with Mingming and Haohao, she smiled while propping up the bike:

"Is the business finished?"

"Finished. It's settled with the company side; we'll do the same next year. Of course, they will also hunt more yellow sheep and get more skins this winter, and I'll go collect them then."

As he was speaking, Gu Bo Yuan also walked into the courtyard with his hands behind his back, so Li Long said:

"Stewing fish tonight, I'll take a bowl to Little Sun in a while."

"No, no, don't go." Gu Bo Yuan shook his head, "Someone is taking care of him."

"Hmm?" Li Long was stunned for a moment, "Someone is taking care of him? Who? Did someone from his family come?"

That shouldn't be right? He hadn't heard Sun Jia Qiang say anything?

"Where, just now when I came over, someone went to deliver food to him." Gu Bo Yuan said with a smile, "If you go, you'll affect their relationship development, don't worry about it."

Li Long was immediately interested. At this time, Han Fang came out of the kitchen and called everyone to eat, so Li Long took Mingming and Haohao to the dining table, one in each hand.

The two children could now grab food by themselves; using a spoon was okay, although it was a bit messy, but just treat it as exercise. Sister Yang and Gu Xiaoxia took care of them, one on each side, while Gu Bo Yuan said while eating:

"The one delivering food is a Hui girl, about twenty years old. She's from the edge of our county and often comes with her family to sell licorice and such. After coming and going, she became familiar with Little Sun."

Huh? Li Long really hadn't noticed this.

Although there were few women coming here to sell things, it wasn't that there were none. Li Long didn't pay much attention; it was mainly because after he handed the acquisition station to Gu Bo Yuan, although he went there from time to time, most of the time he went to talk about business in the back reception room, and occasionally helped in the front, only paying attention to a few familiar faces.

He didn't expect Sun Jia Qiang's spring to arrive so soon?

Good thing!

"That girl likes Little Sun quite a bit. Occasionally she comes to deliver some Jiangxi, youxiang, etc., and Little Sun also buys some small things, like mirrors, to give back to the girl."

Youxiang, Hui food, similar to the fried dough cakes made by Han people.

"That girl seems to have two older brothers, because she came to sell things several times, and they were different. Her parents haven't shown their faces, and I don't know if they exist; I haven't asked Little Sun." Gu Bo Yuan continued while drinking fish soup, "Every time she comes to sell things, the money she gets in the end is given to her two older brothers."

Hmm, bad habit.

This couldn't be said here, and Li Long knew it too.

There might be some trouble, but it wasn't really anything; it just depended on the attitude of the girl's family.

Actually, with Sun Jia Qiang's current net worth, he could barely be considered a low-profile diamond bachelor. His salary, plus the settlement fee Li Long gave him when he came out of the mountains, and the bonuses during this period, added up to nearly a thousand.

At this time, there weren't many people who could take out a thousand yuan in cash at once. As long as Sun Jia Qiang wanted to, he could buy a courtyard in the county and settle down now.

Of course, for the time being, Sun Jia Qiang just wanted to live in the acquisition station and didn't plan to change places.

At least he hadn't mentioned it to Li Long.

Li Long felt that he was thinking of saving more money, and then buying a courtyard, furniture, and appliances all at once. Of course, it was also possible that he hadn't thought that much at all now. After all, in this day and age, with parents not around, young people wouldn't think that much unless they were faced with it.

In that "I Miss You to Death" play, the younger brother of Zhang Damin had a girlfriend, and when he wanted to get married, he just got married; as for how to get married and where to live, he wouldn't consider it at all, because he felt someone would consider it.

He wouldn't think that much.

Li Long suppressed the thought of going over to ask Sun Jia Qiang now. After listening to Gu Bo Yuan, he felt that Sun Jia Qiang's matter might still be a bit troublesome.

Of course, if both sides were truly in love, then there would be no big problem.

At this time, some signs weren't that strong yet.

So, there was room for negotiation.

After eating, Gu Bo Yuan teased his grandson for a while, then walked leisurely to his small courtyard with his hands behind his back. Li Long hurriedly took some things off the car and handed them to Gu Bo Yuan. After seeing his father-in-law off, he entered the courtyard, locked the door, and then moved things off the jeep.

He had brought things to Wang Mingjun and the others, and with the character and generosity of the Corps people, the return gift had to be doubled.

Not to mention the wine he brewed himself, two sacks of watermelons, this was the base, then two boxes of apples, two barrels of honey, and a beer crate of Ma Naizi grapes.

Although it hadn't frosted yet, these grapes were already very sweet.

Li Long moved these things down, put the fruit and watermelons in the storage room, and put the honey on the shelf.

He took a few bunches of grapes, washed them, let Han Fang put them on a plate and take them to their room to eat, and he also took a plate to the bedroom.

It was still quite bright, and Mingming and Haohao couldn't sleep at the moment, so they were playing with stones in the room. At this time, they didn't put them in their mouths much, but the two children would grab them.

Gu Xiaoxia sat on the side, judging from time to time.

Seeing Li Long bring the grapes over, the two children were immediately excited. Although they had just eaten, they still recognized the grapes in front of them, which were obviously better than rice, and they both grabbed them.

Li Long paid attention to the two children not choking on the grapes while chatting with Gu Xiaoxia about sending large brooms to the Education Bureau and township schools.

"Our Education Bureau side is definitely willing to accept them." Gu Xiaoxia said while eating grapes, "The township schools too, but 3,000, can't they be sent out?"

"Then send them to more schools." Li Long said, "Large brooms are consumables. If they can't be sent out, just leave them. By winter, there will definitely be many units that need brooms."

Thick snow uses a snow pusher, thin snow uses a large broom; both are easy to use.

The next day after eating, Li Long waited for Sister Yang to take over Mingming and Haohao, then rode his bike to the acquisition station.

There were quite a few people queuing up in the yard to sell things. Li Long didn't see the girl.

He wasn't in a hurry either, waiting until noon to get off work, after eating lunch, and going to the acquisition station with Gu Bo Yuan.

At this time, no one had come yet, so Li Long called Sun Jia Qiang, who had already eaten, to the side to ask about this.

"It's not even a start yet." Sun Jia Qiang said with a red face, "She... Little Tie, she just, just thinks I'm quite honest. The licorice she picked was cleaned quite cleanly, so I suggested to Uncle Gu to give a fair price."

Little Tie?

Li Long immediately thought of a big movie starring Baldy Qiang.

Thinking about it, it was also true; the Hui people had the surname Tie.

"What's her name?"

"Tie Lanhua." Sun Jia Qiang smiled, "Nineteen years old, graduated from primary school and didn't go to junior high. Two older brothers and one younger brother, parents are both there, just on the edge of the experimental station to the east. The family has little land, so she came out to do some side business."

The situation was quite clear.

"Then what's your impression of her?"

Being able to deliver food to Sun Jia Qiang showed that she had a very good impression of Sun Jia Qiang and had taken a fancy to him. Now it just depended on Sun Jia Qiang's meaning.

"Quite good." Sun Jia Qiang lowered his head with a red face. Although Li Long was younger than him, firstly he was his boss, and secondly, his household registration and work were all handled by Li Long. Now that Li Long asked like this, it was like a parent questioning about finding a partner.

"Hmm, then develop it first. Finding a partner doesn't just depend on the partner's situation, but also on her family's situation, and the attitude of her parents and family. Unless you plan to break ties in the future, you must pay attention to this point."

Sun Jia Qiang nodded, but looking at his expression, Li Long knew he hadn't listened.

Young people at this time were about the same as those before 2020 in the later generations, thinking that they could overcome all difficulties in love.

Only when they really talked about marriage did they find that the mountains they couldn't cross were one after another.

In the afternoon, Li Long saw Tie Lanhua.

A girl dressed too simply, her appearance was quite delicate, a bit thin, and there were patches on her clothes and shoes. Li Long took one look and shook his head slightly; it looked a bit complicated.

Because the person who came with her was about her brother, his clothes were obviously much neater, not only without patches but also looking quite new, and his feet weren't handmade cloth shoes but a pair of sneakers.

Tie Lanhua's brother was obviously quite familiar with the few middlemen here. After entering the yard, he chatted with those people, while Tie Lanhua carried the basket and queued up.

The things they sold this time weren't licorice but half a basket of copper coins; this thing wasn't light.

Every time Tie Lanhua moved up one spot, she carried the basket and moved one step. Her brother didn't have any intention of helping at all, just chatting there purely.

This wasn't coming to sell things, but coming to supervise his sister's work, right?

Li Long felt it was a bit too much just looking at it.

However, he didn't go over to help. Unless you have a sense of resistance yourself, outsiders can't help with this kind of thing.

If you are a bun yourself, don't blame others for wanting to pinch you.

Going too far, the main thing is that you have to have a sense of resistance yourself; otherwise, if others want to help you up, you won't be able to get on the wall.

Of course, this also depends on how Sun Jia Qiang handles it.

Li Long remembered often hearing people say in his previous life not to easily interfere with other people's karma, otherwise, it would be easy to be backlashed.

He naturally wouldn't easily open his mouth to say anything.

When the girl reached the door, Sun Jia Qiang came out to help carry the basket in. When he carried it in, he shouted at the girl's brother outside:

"Tie Jinbing, such heavy things, why don't you carry them? Why do you always let your sister carry them?"

That Tie Jinbing didn't dare to offend Sun Jia Qiang, so he hurriedly accompanied him with a smile and said:

"Hehe, actually I carried them all the way, just reached the yard, thinking it wasn't a few steps..."

Sun Jia Qiang standing up for Tie Lanhua was a good thing, having a sense of responsibility.

However, it was just simple now. When he really wanted to marry Tie Lanhua, the difficulties would be many.

But it depended on the later development. If Sun Jia Qiang made up his mind and had this thought, Li Long would definitely help when the time came.

A little trouble is just a little trouble; who told Sun Jia Qiang to be capable?

For Li Long, this matter was just an interlude; he had many other things to do.

For Sun Jia Qiang, Tie Lanhua's existence was a touch of brilliance in his dull life, feeling that he could see her from time to time and receive some things she sent, and his life became wonderful, fulfilling, and happy.

Although it was autumn, the season of human life wasn't as persistent as the wild animals on the African savannah, insisting on rushing to spring; autumn or winter was also fine.

Of course, Li Long didn't care about that much, because he had more important things to do.

Bai Xiu Ming called.