After coming out of Xiaobaiyanggou, Li Long returned to the wooden house and started a busy day again and again.
At noon, dozens of kilograms of caladiums were collected one after another in the morning and had been washed and dried. Li Long took off a piece of meat that was about to be completely dried and prepared to make lunch.
A man carrying a pocket came from the southeast.
Li Long squinted his eyes, a little surprised.
Qiu Bingyi, the last time he came here, he and his cousin carried his nephew in panic, and then sat on the tractor all the way to Qingshui River, and finally to the county.
Is this over?
When Qiu Bingyi arrived, Li Long asked:
"When did you come back? How is your nephew? Is he alive?"
"Alive." Qiu Bingyi nodded. The head said, "The doctor took a look, little The leg was amputated, but fortunately my life was saved."
Li Long felt a little regretful, but there was nothing he could do about it. The snake medicine he had here was only for early prevention. When these two people sent the person over, then The leg was already swollen, and it was all that could be done to save it.
"My brother is watching in the hospital. He is fine now. Although his leg was amputated, it is a good thing to be alive." Qiu Bingyi was still optimistic and accepted the reality, "I have to go back when I come back to clean up. These fritillaries are for you. The life-saving money is all thanks to you."
"Okay, I saved the person, but I still have to spend money later, so I just said it at that time." Li Long waved his hand and said, "Sell it to the county. Well, it will definitely cost more later.”
“There are miles, there are miles.” Qiu Bingyi’s attitude was very resolute, “The three of us have been digging for half a month, and we have money. It doesn’t cost much after cutting, and we will be discharged from the hospital in a few days. We went back. There is just not as much land as here. I originally wanted to make more money and settle down here. Let’s go later.”
Qiu Bingyi put down the bag of Fritillaria and left, and Li Long chased after him. I gave him twenty dollars. This bag of caladium probably weighed seven or eight kilograms, and it should be all they had left.
After Qiu Bingyi left, Li Long washed the Fritillaria and dried it, then chopped the dried meat and fried it with wild celery. There was no steamed rice today, but the noodles were pulled into strips, and the chopped mutton was boiled in oil and spicy skin. When mixed with it, it tasted delicious.
It's just that my appetite isn't very good. He thought of that young man Qiu Chunlei. Regardless of the accent, Baixiang is a very handsome young man. I guess there will be many girls in the village who like him.
Unfortunately, all of a sudden, the calf is gone.
Nothing is permanent. From now on, in the village, I may have to work in obscurity.
The trajectory of my life has completely changed.
While I was eating, another person came over from a distance. He was carrying a bag of caladiums and saw that he had gained a lot. This bag of caladiums is almost full, estimated to weigh more than 20 kilograms.
Li Long speeded up his meal, finished the noodles and vegetables in a hurry, scooped a ladle of soup from the pot, rinsed the plate, and then put it on the case to cool.
The person has arrived.
This is a middle-aged man who smiles before he opens his mouth. He is not tall, half a head shorter than Li Jianguo. He is 1.6 meters tall. He takes the initiative to say hello before he even arrives:
“Boss Li is getting rich.”
“Getting rich, you are making a lot of money!”
"Hey, the caladiums have grown well these two days, and there are a lot of them in the ditch, so I can dig more in these two days."
"Sell for money or exchange for things?" Li Long went to the small room to get a scale. , asked.
"Sell money." The man's purpose was very clear.
Li Long opened the bag and took a look first, and found that the caladium was quite clean and there were not many impurities.
I grabbed a handful and it was okay.
Overdressing, the man seemed to be very relieved of Li Long and did not take a closer look. Li Long was also very fair. The scale was very high, twenty-three kilograms and three hundred grams. Li Long put down the scale and showed it to him with the scale:
"Twenty-three kilograms and three hundred grams, I count you two." Thirteen and a half kilograms, how about it?”
“Okay, I can’t believe you, Boss Li.”
The man smiled.
The words are quite comfortable to listen to.
Li Long went to the wooden house to get a big basin, poured the fritillary down with the bag in hand, then gave the bag to the man, and then took out the money from his pocket.
When I was paying, I glanced at the Fritillaria out of habit, and then I discovered the problem.
Some of these caladiums have been dried. The dried caladiums are mixed in with other caladiums and are a bit conspicuous.
These dried caladiums have been washed.
Although these caladiums were deliberately mixed and even stirred with other fresh caladiums when packing the bags, Li Long was washing the caladiums and drying them every day, and it was still obvious at a glance.
His hand holding out the money paused, and finally he took the money out of his arms.
Normally, I would carry two wads of money, two hundred. This makes it easier to give others more money. Not much, not enough to cause others to covet you, but still enough.
While counting, he asked as if unintentionally:
“Fellow, have you ever washed this Fritillary?”
“No...ah, ah, I washed some, not much. I didn’t want to clean it up to make more money...so I washed it, but it was still too troublesome.”
Li Long looked up at the man's slightly flustered eyes and sighed. You stole it just as you said you would, so why did you sell it to him?
Li Long kicked him over. The man was actually on guard and dodged for a moment. After dodging, he immediately turned around and ran away.
How could he outrun Li Long? Li Long chased him for more than ten meters before catching up with him. He raised his foot and kicked him again, turning the opponent into a rolling gourd.
Waiting for the man to get up, Li Long stepped forward and pressed his neck and asked:
"You stole my Fritillaria that day, right? Where is my rice?" ?”
"No, it's not me..." The man was still defending, "You saw it wrong..."
"You saw it wrong?" Li Long sneered and slapped the other person in the face, "I've collected over a ton of fritillaries, and I've never seen one Dig out the caladiums and wash them! You said you have a habit of washing the caladiums? Why do you wash them half and mix them together? ”
After saying that, he slapped the other person again.
The guy who was slapped by these two slaps had a nosebleed, and the marks of the slaps on his face were clearly visible. Li Long asked again:
"Tell me! Did you steal the rice from me? Where are the eggs? ”
Seeing Li Long's hand raised again, the man finally relaxed: "I ate the rice that day, and the eggs... I fried them when I got back and ate them."
Li Long actually didn't care about the rice and eggs. , and asking at the same time is just to let the other party reveal the true situation. When he heard that it was really him, Li Long slapped the other person hard several times, then found a rope and tied his hands and feet behind his back and placed them on the grass.
There was a rustling sound in the cart. Li Long knew that the big hedgehog was hungry again, so he went over and threw some leftovers.
In the afternoon, someone came over to sell caladiums. He saw the man tied up and asked why.
“Two days ago, a Fritillary digger was bitten by a snake. His relatives sent him over. I was anxious and drove the tractor to the county. When I came back, the man was drying outside. The Fritillaria that was left was gone. I saw him selling Fritillaria today, and the stuff in it was what I dried." Li Long told people the whole story.
"Damn it." He heard that Li Long left the mother-of-pearl outside to save others and confiscated it, but it was stolen by this man. The other party cursed.
Whether it’s a gesture or just what he thinks, this is what Li Long wants anyway.
When it was getting dark, Li Long collected dozens of kilograms of fritillaries, and then Bolati came over.
What surprised Li Long was that this time Polati not only brought caladiums, but also a basket containing four hedgehogs.
One big one, similar to the one in the cart, and three slightly smaller ones, which are actually adult hedgehogs. They all weigh more than two kilograms.
"You want this? I'll catch it when I see it. There are a lot of them in the beach," Bolati handed the basket to Li Long. He also saw the tied man and asked:
“What’s wrong with this man?”
“Steal my fritillary.”
“Cowardly. ." Polati used the words of a Han Chinese he had just learned to evaluate this person.
“Shall I take it away?”
"It's just for you to take away." Li Long said.
Polati took sixty dollars and left with this man.
That person may still have some savings and may have a nest in the mountains, but this has nothing to do with Li Long.
Since you have done it, then bear the consequences.
Li Long put these four hedgehogs into the cart. He also has a bit of a headache. He can't raise so many, right?
And there’s not enough leftover food to feed them. It's okay to feed her with leftovers here, but if she goes back, people might complain if she feeds her this.
Forget it, let’s have one tomorrow.
Li Long made a decision.
Putting away the fritillaries outside, Li Long allowed the hedgehogs to move around in the cart. Anyway, it’s not that cold at night now, and I won’t freeze to death.
The next morning, there were still people waiting outside the wooden house to sell caladiums. Li Long collected the fritillaries, put them in a small room without washing them, and then drove the tractor to Xiaobaiyanggou to inspect and lift the handles.
What surprised Li Long was that Sun Jiaqiang did not go out too early, or maybe he had already gone out in the morning and was eating with everyone at this time.
The number of poles compiled in the past two days is slightly less. Li Long guessed that all the strips nearby have been cut, and he has to go to the distance to cut strips and poles, which takes a longer time.
Even so, Li Long accepted forty-seven lifts on this day.
All qualified.
Li Long was very satisfied.
Sun Jiaqiang dug 17 kilograms of caladium in the past two days. Li Long brought a scale with him this time. After weighing him, Li Long paid for it. Sun Jiaqiang said with some worry:
"The caladium has grown a bit tall, and I'm afraid it will bloom in a while."
Li Long knew what he was thinking. Once the caladium blooms, , then this fritillary season is almost over.
But just think about it. In one caladium season, at Sun Jiaqiang's current speed, he can dig more than two hundred kilograms of caladium. He can earn more than six hundred yuan from Li Long alone.
That's a lot.
The salary of some workers is more than a year.
After returning from Xiaobaiyanggou, Li Long went to the spring to mix a pile of mud.
I found a half-sized hedgehog from the cart, took it out, beat it to death, and wrapped it in mud. The fire was lit in the stove outside. When it was almost burning, I stuffed the hedgehog mixed with mud into it, buried it with charcoal ashes, and then waited.
More than an hour later, the hard-burned mud was taken out. Li Long waited for it to cool down a little before cracking it open.
The hedgehog's hard thorns fell off along with the mud, revealing the round meat.
Li Long went to the wooden house to get a small plate, put some salt on it and brought it out. Then tear off the hedgehog's meat piece by piece and eat it with salt.
Very fragrant.
Two days later, Li Long returned to the county with a cart of Fritillaria. He first unloaded the dried caladiums into the big yard, collected the dried caladiums hanging in the side room and sold them at the purchasing station.
These more than 80 kilograms of dried fritillaries brought Li Long nearly 4,000 yuan in income.
And if the newly pulled caladiums are completely dried, they should still have about 100 kilograms.
After finishing, Li Long went to the supply and marketing cooperative and found Li Xiangqian who was in the office.
"Hey, Xiaolong, are you back from the mountains?" Li Xiangqian hadn't seen Li Long for a long time, and poured him water enthusiastically, "You have to work hard in the mountains."
"It's not bad." Li Long smiled, "Commander, please do it again." Five days should be enough for one thousand, shall we talk about the car?”
“Okay,” Li Xiangqian said, “It’s pretty fast, five days, right? Let’s see... "He went to look at the calendar on the table. Five days later, it was Wednesday.
"Then five days later, I will take the car to the mountains to pull the handle. It is still the same place, right?"
"Yes, Xiaobaiyanggou. I will wait for you at the mountain pass." Li Long said, "A thousand people will need several cars."
"Don't worry, I will definitely be able to help you." I'll finish it on the same day." Li Xiangqian said with a smile, "Is the quality OK?"
"No problem. I will check only if it is qualified, otherwise I will send it back." Li Long is very confident in this aspect. , "Don't worry about this."
"That's good."
"Commander, I got two hedgehogs from the mountains and brought them to you. Do you think they are good for eating or raising?" Li Long borrowed flowers and offered them to Buddha. "Shall I put them here for you?"
"Hedgehog? Okay." Li Xiangqian was also curious. Li Long went outside to the cart and brought the two hedgehogs to him in a basket.
Li Long threw the remaining big hedgehog he caught in the yard into the yard.
The large yard has a large area, enough space for activities, and it is easy to find food, so Li Long thinks it should be able to survive.
After staying in the county for a day, Li Long drove the tractor back to Xiaobaiyanggou early the next morning, inspected and accepted the tractor, and then told everyone the final deadline.
After five more days of work, it will be over. Some people are reluctant to give up, some are surprised, and some feel that they are finally going home.
In the next five days, people digging for caladiums went crazy. Basically, Li Long received about 150 kilograms of caladiums every day.
Four days later, Li Long had to go down the mountain again, sell the caladiums from the last time, and dry the caladiums this time.
Is this the final madness?
On the fifth day, Li Long did not go up the mountain with Li Xiangqian and the others. There are still the last batch of lifts in the mountains that need to be inspected and accepted, and those in the team also need to pack their luggage and prepare to go back.
Li Long wants to go over to help and coordinate, after all, he is taking the lead in this matter.
The last batch of forty-seven lifters, after inspection, was not to Li Long’s expectation and all were qualified.
Everyone was anticipating this day, so they lived within their means and obtained similar materials. There were only a few strips and poles left.
Sun Jiaqiang’s fritillary weighed eleven kilograms. After getting the money, he hurried into the ditch and continued digging without even having time to talk.
"Let me tell you something." Li Long asked everyone to check and sign, and finally said:
"Today's compilation of the handles is over. Everyone's quantity is here. Today the county supply and marketing cooperative will take away the handles. We will go back together. You go back to the team and I will check out. In the afternoon or tomorrow, I will We will notify everyone how much money each of you can make. Shao Duozi knows it well, so he is going to pack his things and prepare to go back later. After the supply and marketing cooperative's car comes and passes the inspection, he will ask everyone to help him load it into the car. "
< br>This must be no problem, everyone nodded.
Jia Weidong, who usually doesn't talk much, suddenly said:
"What if some of the random inspections fail? Shouldn't we pack things in a hurry?"
Li Long Knowing that he was thinking about himself, he smiled and said:
"Don't worry, I've made up twenty or thirty more. If there are any that are unqualified, the remaining ones will be enough. You should know that I was quite strict during the inspection. If there are still unqualified ones after meeting this standard, that's not the case. Everyone’s problem is my problem.”
Li Long is responsible, and these people understand it. They went over to pack their things, and someone was whispering that if they really didn't cooperate, they would make up some more today and go back later in the evening.
The things that need to be packed have actually been packed in the past two days. Now when I'm ready to leave, just rolling up the quilt is enough.
Lao Huang still had some rice noodles left. He came over and asked Li Long what to do, and Li Long said it would be his. There wasn't much left, only two or three kilograms, so I guess everyone didn't care. Lao Huang himself has made up thirty or forty tricks these days, which amounts to more than one hundred yuan. As for how much money other people have to give Lao Huang, Lao Huang himself has an account and doesn't need Li Long to worry about it.
Li Long finished the work here, and then drove the tractor to the mountain pass, waiting for Li Xiangqian and the others.
I think there should be someone waiting at the wooden house now, but Li Long can't care about that much, so he should stay here first.
Big things matter.
At around twelve o'clock, smoke and dust were rising in the distance, and four trucks could be seen driving past. Li Long thought that this was a big deal. With so many cars, do you plan to pull them all in one trip?
When the car came over, Li Long raised his hand at the front car, then started the tractor and walked towards the mountain.
The mountain road is not easy to walk. Even the speed of the truck cannot be increased. It goes around and around until we reach Xiaobaiyanggou.
Li Long drove the tractor inside and stopped, and the four cars drove directly to the place where the handles were piled up without any instructions.
Li Xiangqian and several quality inspectors and warehouse managers got out of the car. Li Long stepped forward to shake hands and introduced the people here and those in charge.
"Go ahead and check it out, you guys are experts. I'll take a look nearby." Li Xiangqian said, "The scenery here is pretty good."
"If the section chief is interested, You can have a good time." Li Long actually knew that Li Xiangqian was joking. Is he free to play in the mountains? The main task of this trip today is to get some help. He kept doing this job for himself, naturally hoping that he could make him look good. It's just that he can't participate in this inspection to avoid suspicion.
“It’s not so troublesome to go around the neighborhood.” Li Xiangqian also smiled.
The quality inspector and the warehouse manager went over to inspect them together. While inspecting and sending them to the car, Li Long came over and counted them together.
The inspection this time was very strict, and everyone had to go through it. Li Xiangqian was a little worried, and so were Li Jianguo and the others, but Li Long's expression was always calm, and he believed in his inspection results.
Soon, a car was full and a pile of handles was empty.
Qualified. (End of this chapter)