Chapter 218 Borrowing money? Yes, but you have to exchange it for something!
After May, the weather is getting hotter and the trees are growing longer.
These days, Li Long goes to set the net in the afternoon every day, and gets up early in the morning to pick up the net and select fish to sell. The market in Shicheng has a large flow of people, and it attracts several nearby counties and cities, so there is basically no situation where fish cannot be sold.
After more than half a month of hot sales, ditch fish has gradually calmed down, while carp, five-step black fish and crucian carp are still popular among everyone.
Li Long would deliver carp to the Big Meat Canteen twice a week. Zhong Guoqiang would pay on the spot, which was very satisfying. This made Li Long feel that this cooperation partner could indeed continue.
He also tried to sell his fish to several state-owned restaurants in Shicheng, but except for one that said that Li Long could deliver fish once a week, the others were not very interested in Li Long's fish.
Li Long guessed that they should have a fixed partner, or they were a state-owned unit. There were also state-owned fisheries at this time, so they were still worried about selling fish individually.
So he just sat on the old street, basically once a day, and occasionally took one or two days off a week.
But often during the break, when I go to sell fish the next day, old customers will come and ask why they didn’t come in the first place.
Some people don’t eat meat but like to drink fish soup, which has become a habit. Some people say it's fishy, but some people just like the fishy smell, which is normal.
Li Qingxia basically stopped following Li Long to sell fish. He became obsessed with riding a bicycle. After Li Jianguo's new bicycle came back, it became his exclusive possession. Li Qingxia goes to the wheat field south of the residential area to practice driving every day.
When a child learns to ride a 28-bar bicycle, he usually starts by pulling out his legs, holding the left handlebar with one hand, grabbing the seat bag with the other hand, extending his legs from the tripod, and stepping on the right pedal. Then start riding to make it easier to master the balance.
But when adults learn to ride a bicycle, they usually sit astride it directly, put one foot on the ground and the other on the right pedal, and slowly master the balance and start riding.
Li Qingxia's balance feels pretty good and he can ride slowly in one day. However, he still subconsciously looks at his feet and is afraid that he will not be able to pedal, so he practices on the wheat field every day.
Du Chunfang was sitting in the yard, nagging from time to time that Li Qingxia didn’t do any work and only practiced driving every day. Until one day when Li Qingxia insisted on taking her around the wheat field on a bicycle, she Then I suddenly discovered that my husband was already able to take people with him on his bicycle.
"When we get back to our hometown, let's buy one too, and I'll ride on it and take you to the market!" These were Li Qingxia's words, like a promise and an oath.
Du Chunfang no longer nags her husband. And she became more diligent in the yard, chopping pigweed, gathering firewood, and getting up early to boil water. She sees the hard work of both Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei. Even though the younger son is considered "lazy", he actually gets up early every day to get the net, and then rides for two or three hours to sell fish.
Although there are smiling faces every day, Du Chunfang knows that the place is far away and the hard work must be hard.
The whole family is working hard, what is the possibility of having a bad life?
This morning, Li Qiang got up, rubbed his eyes, and heard everyone outside selecting fish and commenting on the size of the fish, so he put on his clothes and ran out quickly.
Li Juan was already eating, mumbling some numbers while eating. Li Qiang knew that this was the end of the midterm exam, and Li Juan was memorizing some formulas for the previous questions that he had gotten wrong. He didn't know what the formulas were, but it was important to know.
"Qiangqiang, go wash your face, and then come over and eat eggs."
"Why do you eat so many eggs?" Qiangqiang was a little surprised, mainly because he saw a plate of eggs placed on the pot table. , he was a little confused. He used to cook two, for him and his sister. Why are there so many today?
"Because it's your birthday today." Liang Yuemei said with a smile, "So I'll boil you a plate of eggs, and you can eat whatever you want..."
Li Qiang wanted to cry but had no tears. He had already seen his sister Li Juan's smile, a joking smile - in fact, he was not greedy for eggs.
Other children in the village can only eat one boiled egg a week or even a month. The eggs laid by the chickens at home have to be saved and waited for when the salesman comes to sell them for daily necessities.
The Li family originally had this plan, but after Li Long became able to make money, the role of eggs disappeared.
Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei also believed Li Long’s words that eating eggs and meat can make you grow taller and stronger. So after the chickens lay eggs at home, Li Juan and Li Qiang basically have one egg per day. I’d say it’s unbeatable, but it’s basically guaranteed.
So it is true that Li Qiang is half a head taller than his peers.
The problem is that if you eat this thing every day, it is easy for it to eat enough. So Li Qiang looked at the plate of eggs and felt that he had no love in his life.
"What? You don't want to eat? That's not possible!" Liang Yuemei said with a smile, "It's my birthday and I have to eat it. You can eat just one."
"Then just eat one." Li Qiang held the plate and asked for it. Share the eggs with others in the family.
“Everyone is occupying their hands, you eat first.” Li Long kept watching this scene with a snicker, and when Li Qiang picked up the plate, he immediately said, “Okay, you eat quickly.”
After Li Qiang finished eating, Li Long and the others also selected and divided the fish, and then prepared to sell the fish.
Li Juan has already put her schoolbag on her back, tied her hair up, and is waiting by the bicycle.
Li Long took out a plastic pencil case from his back like a magic trick and handed it to Li Qiang:
"Qiangqiang, this is for you, a birthday gift."
"Hey, Qiangqiang also has a birthday. A gift!" Li Jianguo said with a smile, "What is this?"
"Pencil box with magnet!" Li Qiang knew this. Some students in the class had one, and they had been showing off for several days. He excitedly said loudly: "Thank you, uncle!"
"Okay, Take care of it, okay, Juan, let’s go!”
Li Long and Li Juan left. Li Qiang was still playing with the pencil box fondly. He took out his original stylus box and transferred all the pens and erasers inside to a new pencil box. The new pencil box still had There is a plastic board with a painting of a panda on it. If you look at it from the front, the panda is standing, but if you look at it from the side, the panda is sitting. It’s so beautiful!
"Okay, hurry up and put it on, you will be late later!" Liang Yuemei urged, "If you play again, I will put it away and won't let you use it."
"No! This is what my uncle gave me!" Li Qiang said loudly, stuffed the pencil case into his schoolbag, picked it up, and ran away.
When Li Jianguo hitched the carriage and was about to work, a man came to the door of the yard.
Qin Jiajie, an old resident in the village, came a few years later than Li Jianguo and others, and was considered the second batch of residents to settle in after the production team was established.
He came here as a family of four. Him, wife, and two daughters.
After joining the team, I gave birth to two more sons, which is considered a "big family".
"Old Qin, what's the matter?" Li Jianguo tied up the carriage, walked to the gate of the courtyard, and asked.
The relationship between the two families is neither close nor far. Qin Jiajie's family is in another residential area, commonly known as Dongzhuangzi. "Old Li, there's something going on back home. Can you lend me some money..."
Li Jianguo now feels that his younger brother is really a genius. He didn't have much money, and of course he didn't have much expenses, but there had to be an explanation for the money being lent out for no reason.
So Li Long told him a long time ago that someone in the team will definitely come to borrow money. If he needs to borrow money then, he will push the matter to him.
Li Jianguo asked Li Long at that time if he wanted to refuse or if he could do something else. Li Long said, no, he could just borrow money and exchange for things or work. Money cannot be borrowed in vain.
Li Jianguo is very popular in the team. If someone comes to borrow money, if he has it in his hand, he may borrow it if he can't save face.
But he has no money in his hands, the money is in Li Long's hands, and Li Long is an adult, so it is easy to say anything.
Li Jianguo felt that this was unfair to Li Long, but Li Long said that it would be of great benefit to him and the people in the team, so Li Jianguo's idea was unnecessary.
"Old Qin, you also know the situation of my family. When it comes to cash, I don't have it in my hand, but Xiaolong does. Xiaolong told me that if someone comes to borrow money, go to him. At noon, Xiaolong I'm back, why don't you come back at noon?"
Qin Jiajie nodded slowly and prepared to leave.
"Old Qin, how much do you want to borrow?" Li Jianguo looked at his back and asked suddenly.
“One hundred…”
"Then I really don't have it in my hand. Let's wait until Xiaolong comes back." Li Jianguo really had no choice.
Not long after Li Long came back at noon, Qin Jiajie came over again to ask.
"Borrow one hundred? That's fine." Li Long didn't ask for specific details, "But I have to exchange something for it."
"What should I exchange for?" Qin Jiajie smiled bitterly, "My family Four dolls can just keep their mouths shut now, how can they be valuable?"
"Is your eldest son thirteen or fourteen years old now?" Li Long asked.
"That's...you..." Qin Jiajie's face suddenly tensed up.
"Brother Qin, don't think so nonsense." Li Long saw Qin Jiajie's expression and knew that he had misunderstood. He hurriedly waved his hand and said, "I mean, if I can work, I can help you." . Let's put it this way, I want Wei Yezi to lend me a hundred dollars. I'll lend it to you now. After a few weeks, if you give me two thousand reed leaves every day, is that okay? I’ll give you two yuan for the two thousand reed leaves. If you give me ten days of reed leaves, I’ll give you twenty yuan off. What else to do? I’ll think about it later, what about?”
How can you disagree? Those Wei Yezi things are everywhere! There are large reed lakes to the east and west of the production team, and tall reeds grow in the ditches on the ground. You can get these things everywhere!
"But I want a big one, not a rotten one, and twenty reed leaves are folded and tied with a horse lily leaf. That's it..." Li Long casually pulled a reed leaf from outside the yard and demonstrated.
“If each handful of leaves can carry five lily leaves, I can give you an extra dollar a day.”
“Good, good!” You can lose three cents in ten days after listening to it. For ten yuan, Qin Jiajie hurriedly agreed, fearing that Li Long would regret it.
"The remaining money will be paid back at the end of the year. But before the end of the year, I may have to do some side jobs for the team. Then your family will send someone to join in. If you earn more or less, you will always be able to There is hope."
"Okay, thank you Xiaolong, thank you!" Qin Jiajie kept saying.
Li Long took out a wad of money, counted out ten big solidarity notes and handed them to him: "Take this money, but we are doing business, and I have to ask you to write an IOU."
"Okay, okay, okay. , no problem." With money in hand, the family's big difficulties have been solved. At this time, Qin Jiajie could only thank Li Long.
After writing the IOU, Qin Jiajie asked again:
"Xiaolong, when the time comes, there will be too many reed leaves..."
"If there are too many, then I will I’ll take them all. But I guess it’s only ten days… I’ll last two weeks, and I won’t need it after that.”
"Okay, I understand." Qin Jiajie hurried home. He has already planned to mobilize the whole family by then. The children who go to school can also be beaten after school. He must be beaten more!
Li Jianguo watched the whole process. When Qin Jiajie left, he asked:
"Are you planning to sell reed leaves for the Dragon Boat Festival? Can anyone want this?"
"I won't sell it first, I will give it away first." Li Long said, "From winter to now, I have inherited a lot of love from others, and I can't just give it away all at once. There’s no reaction at all. We don’t have much good stuff in the countryside, and it’s almost the Dragon Boat Festival, so this is the only thing we can get, so it’s fun to give some with fish.”
Li Jianguo. Smiling, this younger brother of his is really not like the twenty-year-old young people today. He is so experienced in doing things that he can't compare with him.
Li Long sold fish for another week, and then Qin Jiajie sent three thousand reed leaves, plus handfuls of tied horse lotus leaves, that night.
Li Long accepted it and wrote "minus three" directly on the IOU. This means that Qin Jiajie's debt has become ninety-seven.
As for Li Long himself, starting from tomorrow, he will have a new round of plans.
Of course, he really just wanted to express his gratitude, nothing more.
Thanks to book friend Xiaoyu Xiaoxiao for the reward, and thank you all for your support.
June has come to an end. I have calculated that in the entire June, I posted almost 400,000 words. Except for the more than 40,000 words posted on the first day, the rest were basically around 12,000 words per day. I’ve almost finished saving the manuscript, and I’ll work hard to update it in July, hoping to keep it up.
Of course, everyone has been very supportive of the release of so many chapters, and the number of subscriptions throughout June has been quite high. I called the old man at home and asked for a lot of materials from them, so some of the June manuscript fees should be divided among them. The old man laughed and then said to buy some Internet cafes. Although Xiao Haizi didn’t Big fish, but crucian carp is still good.
After being hot for half a month, it is finally cooling down and I can calmly code.
In July, we are here.
(End of this chapter)