Li Long pulled a cart of poles back to the compound first.
He is not a workaholic, there is no need to be a machine and do one thing after another.
Family comes first, life comes first. Earning money is to make life better, not to take away time to enjoy life.
It was morning when we returned to the compound. Seeing that it was still more than an hour before it was time to go to Sister Yang's house for dinner, Li Long planned to clean up the house first.
The twenty leathers have been dried and hard. That's what untanned leather is like. Since I don't know much about tanning myself, I just sell it directly to the purchasing station.
There were a lot of skins, but the tractor was pulling poles and had a harvester in front. Li Long took out the skins twice, stuck them on the back seat of the bicycle, and then rode out.
The leather smelled very strong, and the stench was permeating the air, so Li Long didn't close the door of the wing to disperse the smell, otherwise other things would be stuck behind it.
The yard of the purchasing station was very busy at this time. When Li Longqi passed by, he found that there were several people queuing up to sell things in the yard.
Someone brought it over, someone came over with a donkey cart, and there was also someone riding a bicycle, just one.
Li Long propped up his bicycle and stood it against the wall to look at it, and found that there were all kinds of things sold there.
There are mostly medicinal materials, and there is even a Fritillary seller selling them at this time. It seems that they were dug up in the summer and kept there ever since.
It weighs more than ten kilograms and can be sold for a lot of money.
Li Long remembered that there were still about ten kilograms of dry goods in the big yard, but he didn't plan to sell them.
Someone came here carrying two antlers. I don’t know whether they were picked up from the edge of the mountain or from the mountain. It seemed that the antlers had just fallen off this year. They were relatively complete and had no cracks.
Someone pulled a donkey cart with licorice. It is not the season to dig licorice now. The licorice is dry. I don’t know if it is left over or newly dug.
To Li Long's surprise, someone came with Codonopsis pilosula, but the Codonopsis pilosula looked a bit soft and must have been dug recently.
Right now, Codonopsis pilosula has not grown full yet. This thing is not like ginseng and can be dug in any season. Even if Codonopsis pilosula has been harvested for decades, it will be useless if dug in May and June.
It is best to dig in September and October. The best season for digging is late autumn.
There used to be an article in the Chinese textbook called "Collecting Herbs", which explained it very clearly.
Li Long’s skin is the only exception.
There are actually quite a lot of things being purchased in the purchasing stations right now, but there are really not many things that ordinary people can buy.
Although people who can come to northern Xinjiang these days are not stupid, the bottom line of being law-abiding is basically still there, and after those ten years, no one dares to make any big moves.
Even the eldest brother Li Jianguo said that when he plowed the land to dig out the money bank, he really didn’t dare to just pretend to go to the purchasing station to sell it for money. Maybe he would have to report it to the team or Brigade or commune.
The smell of leather on Li Long's bicycle was too strong. It should have driven everyone away. Unexpectedly, two people came over.
Li Long saw the two men holding the antlers and Codonopsis pilosula.
"Little comrade, is this sheepskin? Isn't sheepskin valuable?" asked the man who took the Codonopsis pilosula.
Before Li Long spoke, the man holding the antlers shook his head and said:
"Brother, you are wrong. This is not ordinary sheepskin. I think it should be wild goatskin. , This thing is not available outside, it can only be found in the mountains. This leather is more expensive than ordinary goatskin... Look, there are roe deer skins and deer skins in it!"
I heard there was deer skin. Others gathered around.
Although there are red deer in the mountains, about 99% of the people in Ma County have never seen a deer.
Deer is a fairy animal, so these people are naturally interested in it.
The man holding the antlers is about forty years old. His hair is relatively short. It is not cut, but it is relatively small. The beard is quite long. He looks a bit vicissitudes of life, but he is quite polite and has no hair. He started directly and asked Li Long:
"Comrade, can I take a look at your deerskin?"
"Okay." Li Long didn't mind, he couldn't see it anyway. What to go.
The man carefully pulled out the deer skin and showed it to everyone:
"Did you see, Deerskin? It looks like this deer is not yet mature. A small red deer..."
"A small red deer is that big?" Some people have never seen a red deer, and they are a little confused and a little surprised. .
"Red deer, do you know why it is called red deer? It is as big as a horse." The middle-aged man explained, "When it grows up, it must weigh two hundred kilograms!"
He saw that the leather was very complete and praised:
“The man who shot this red deer is very good. He did not hurt his body. This leather is very complete and can be worth a lot of money!”
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Putting down the leather, others came over to touch it. The middle-aged man asked Li Long:
"Little brother, is the whip here?"
"Give it away." Li Long also Somewhat unexpectedly, this person is selling antlers, does he also know the function of deer whip?
“Ah——! What a pity.” The middle-aged man looked regretful, “If you don’t give it away, I’ll take it for a hundred yuan a piece... This is a good thing!”
Li Long didn't expect that this man was really willing to bid. Not many people know the effects of deer whip these days. He smiled and said:
"There's nothing I can do about it. I gave away a deer whip and a roe deer whip."
"You are really willing to give up..." The middle-aged man was even more excited when he heard that there was also a roe deer whip. regret.
"Little brother, if there are any more in the future, can you keep them for me? I paid a high price for them." The middle-aged man looked at Li Long's thick skin, thought for a while and said:
“The whip of the red deer, I'll take two hundred! I can only get one hundred for a red deer like this, and only a hundred for a small roe deer..."
"Okay." Li Long can do anything. Said, "We'll talk about it then."
Seeing Li Long's casualness, the man felt that it was not very reliable, so he added:
"My home is in Qiaotou, and I have a carpenter's shop. Go and find out, Qiao Baohua is me. I brought the antlers into the mountain." I picked it up when I was making wood. I wanted to hunt a deer, but unfortunately I couldn't catch it."
After telling everyone this, Li Long nodded solemnly.
At this time, Chen Hongjun heard the commotion and came out. After seeing Li Long, he smiled and said:
"Xiao Li is here? Are you selling your skin? Wait a minute. I’ll collect their things first.”
"Okay, it's okay, I have time." Li Long nodded.
Seeing that Li Long and Chen Hongjun knew each other, Qiao Baohua was relieved and continued to say to Li Long:
"Brother Li, I am serious, I really need this thing. , if you want to get it, just keep it for me, we can discuss the price!"
He didn't ask about Li Long's work background, and planned to get it from Chen Hongjun later.
He also comes to the buying station to sell things from time to time. Although his relationship with Chen Hongjun is not particularly good, he is still an acquaintance.
When the items in front were sold out one by one and it was Li Long's turn, Chen Hongjun came out of the house and asked Li Long to take the leather bags off the bicycle and put them on the ground. He checked them one by one.
Relationships are relationships, business is business, they cannot be mixed together.
After Li Long's Fritillaria was clean, Chen Hongjun could naturally place it in the first-level special grade. If it was dirty and contained many impurities, he would also bring it up in person.
“Well, the leather is good. There are seven gun holes on the body. It is considered as residual skin, and the rest is whole leather. Although the leather in this season is not as good as that in winter, it is still very good.”
Chen Hongjun placed the leathers separately. Complete deer skins, roe deer skins, and wolf skins are placed aside. These are the most valuable. Complete ibex skins are placed in the second level, and the remaining skins are placed at the end.
There were more than twenty pieces of leather. Chen Hongjun finally did the math and gave Li Long a total of seven hundred and fifty-three yuan.
Li Long has always recognized Chen Hongjun’s business ability. After signing to get the money, Li Long chatted with Chen Hongjun for a few words and asked:
“Can the Codonopsis pilosula dug now be sold? ”
“Yes, we collect it all year round. The price of Codonopsis pilosula now is not as high as in October. But after all, the price is higher than what you sold last year. Now we are eating more wild medicinal materials, so the price has increased.”
Well, Li Long now understands why someone is poaching Codonopsis pilosula at this time.
It can be sold at a high price.
But he has no time to dig, and he doesn't plan to dig now. He can't make enough money right now.
After bidding farewell to Chen Hongjun, Li Long returned to the big yard, put down his bicycle, and went to the side room to take a look. The smell had not yet dissipated.
The door must be closed and no more than two windows must be opened.
There is still some time before dinner, but Li Long plans to go there in advance, otherwise it will be embarrassing if Sister Yang does not cook enough.
Food is relatively expensive these days. At the county level and below, basically no one dares to waste food.
Li Long went to change the food and water for the roe deer. These animals had grown a lot. When they saw Li Long, they screamed anxiously and seemed to want to come out for a walk.
Li Long did not give them freedom, and planned to discuss it with Gu Xiaoxia, and they had to get back to the horse number.
When I grow up, I am no longer cute, but I also learn to kick people!
Arrived at Sister Yang's courtyard, Li Long saw that Han Fang was also there, thinking that she was on vacation right now.
Han Fang, who was peeling onions in the yard, was stunned for a moment when she saw Li Long, and then shouted in surprise:
"Uncle Li!" Then she turned and shouted into the kitchen: "Mom, Uncle Li is here! ”
Han Fang has grown taller and slimmer, feeling slim.
Sister Yang came out of the house to stew fish and steam rice today.
Many villages in Ma County grow rice, so it is more convenient to eat rice. Just like the survivor bias, many people in Ma County these days feel that rice is relatively easy to eat.
But this is not the case. Except for a few places where rice is grown, such as Miquan, Ma County, and Cha County on the other side of Ili, it is not easy to eat rice in other places. It’s not easy to eat pilaf twice a year.
Even in the rice-growing areas of Ma County, before the reform, the grain distribution was 20/80, 20% fine grain and 80% coarse grain. Of the 20% fine grain, flour accounted for the majority and rice accounted for a small proportion, because most of the rice was rice. To be handed over.
The rice given to the family is not much, and most of it is broken rice.
Fortunately, no matter the rice or noodles, their embryonic teeth will not be removed, at least they will be eaten with the original flavor.
Unlike later generations, the rice noodles look beautiful, but no one can guarantee what has been removed and what has been added.
Rice with stewed fish, Li Long is almost drooling. Of course, he doesn’t know how good Sister Yang is at stewing fish.
"I was just preparing to steam rice here. Uncle Li, you are here. Then I will add half a bowl of rice." Sister Yang was very happy.
"Okay, you guys are busy first, I'm going to see Uncle Gu." Li Long came over just to say hello, asked about Han Fang's summer homework, and then rode away on his bicycle.
Gu Xiaoxia is at work and can't see it, but Gu Boyuan's agricultural supplies store can be seen.
When you have a car, this one kilometer is nothing, and you can get there in just a few minutes. Although there are not many people on the road right now, it will take a while to ride.
When they arrived at the store, Li Long was putting the car away when he saw someone coming out with a bottle of pesticide.
Dichlorvos!
There are no restrictions on buying pesticides these days, unlike in later generations where you had to register.
This thing is poisonous!
Of course, everyone is living a positive life these days, and we can persevere no matter how difficult it is.
Times are different.
Li Long went in and saw that Gu Boyuan had just picked up a book. He glanced at it, yo! Vertical version! Hey, it’s still Traditional Chinese!
He is indeed a cultural person.
“Why are you back?” Gu Boyuan looked up and saw it was Li Long, and asked with a smile.
"I'm done with the work in the mountains. It's time to set up the broom, so I'll be back. Uncle Gu, how's the business?"
"It's not bad." Gu Boyuan spoke concisely and to the point.
That’s not possible.
Li Long thought for a while and gave a suggestion:
"Uncle Gu, see if you can put in some soybean and cabbage seeds? Now that the wheat has been harvested, the land will be plowed. Some of them plan to plant winter wheat later, while others simply plant it next year.
You can tell the people who come here to buy pesticides and fertilizers that if you plant soybeans and cabbage, you can get another harvest..."
"That's a way..." Gu Boyuan nodded thoughtfully, "Actually, the team has grown it before, but no one is interested and don't want to be too busy. Plus, the soybeans grown are not enough..."
"If you are not full, you are not full. As long as you don't lose money, that's fine. After harvesting the soybeans, the beans can be fed to sheep, and the soybeans can be fed to pigs and cows. That cabbage can be stored in a vegetable cellar in the winter, how great!”
“Then let me try...”
Actually, this method of planting is more popular in Yili, but there is a high probability that it will not be grown here. There is a lot of land, and secondly, the harvest is not good.
But it’s better than nothing, right?
There is not as much land now as there will be in later generations, and people are still busy. In a few years, too much land will be opened up, and it will be too much to take care of.
After sitting in the store for a while, Li Long took a look. In half an hour, two or three people would come over to ask questions, and only one would buy something.
Business is really not good, but fortunately Gu Boyuan’s mentality is also good.
Looking at the time, lock the door and eat.
Gu Xiaoxia was also very happy, and the lunch itself was also delicious. The few of them chatted and laughed together and had a lively meal.
After dinner, Li Long, Gu Boyuan and Gu Xiaoxia went out on bicycles together. Gu Boyuan went directly to the store, where he lived. Li Long sent Gu Xiaoxia to the Education Bureau and explained his plans by the way.
"After the big broomstick is deployed, I plan to go to the village every two days to check and accept the big broomstick, and then bring it back to our yard. I will wait until the three thousand poles are almost used up before going "Chopping in the mountains."
In this way, I spend most of my time in the big yard, taking care of things in the village.
Gu Xiaoxia was very satisfied. She could feel that Li Long was not balancing, but trying his best to spend time at home.
Although she still has to run away from time to time, Gu Xiaoxia understands that after all, she has to make money and live a better life.
In fact, in her opinion, the living conditions at her home are already among the top among her colleagues. Two colleagues who come frequently have a better and better relationship with her and come to visit from time to time.
But Li Long wants to develop better, and she naturally supports him.
Back in the yard, Li Long took a shower and changed clothes, and washed off the clothes he had changed.
After being in the mountains for so many days, my clothes have become sore.
When Gu Xiaoxia came back, Li Long had already prepared dinner. In fact, he was thinking about calling Gu Boyuan over to have dinner with him, but he thought about it later.
With Gu Boyuan’s sour temper, he would definitely not come over.
The two of them were eating and chatting. School was about to start again. Although the cadres of the Education Bureau were not teaching, they still wanted to check the school's preparations for the start of the school year.
There are many things.
Li Long’s matter is relatively simple and clear, a big broom thing to make money.
Women are responsible for careers and men are responsible for making money and supporting the family. There is nothing wrong with that.
Li Long drove the tractor back to the team the next day.
What surprised him was that there were a lot of splendens in his eldest brother's yard!
I just told Xu Chengjun a few days ago about cutting a big broom. In just these few days, it is impossible to cut so much, right?
"Hey! When you went to cut grass in the mountains, your elder brother said that the big broom was about to be put in. Our family had to make preparations early, so we went to cut the splendens."
Li Jianguo was not here, but Li Qingxia was at home. Faced with Li Long's doubts, he explained with a smile:
"As soon as we cut it, the opposite Lu family and several other families also reacted and followed suit. There were still people in the team gossiping. Hey, you may not be able to get a job as a broomstick today. Some people didn't dare to cut it because they were afraid of leaving their homes behind.
As a result, a loudspeaker in the team said a few days ago that those people were rushing to cut it. We don't need it anymore. We cut all the good ones. . ”
Li Long was happy, my eldest brother has a very keen sense in this regard.
Li Qingxia and Li Long removed the poles from the truck body together. After unloading, he smiled and said:
"Your eldest brother and sister-in-law have been busy in the melon fields for the past two days. After finishing their work, they will come back to fix the big broom."
Li Long naturally has no objection to the eldest brother and sister-in-law making big brooms. Just like making a fortune, he will give you the full payment when the time comes. As for the others, he planned to pay the price last year—the price Li Xiangqian gave was only slightly higher, four yuan a handful.
Li Long quoted three yuan to the team last year, and he plans to quote three yuan a piece this year. Of course, if you use your own pole, it will be two and a half yuan. The pole must be counted as fifty cents. If you have your own pole, it will be three yuan.
After all, cutting a pole requires effort.
Li Long can understand that the price increase of large brooms is not as high as that of lifting handles. After all, lifting handles are basically irreplaceable before carts are launched in large quantities, but there is a competing product for large brooms, namely bamboo. broom.
Even for a long time in later generations, splendens brooms had been squeezed out of the big market by bamboo brooms, and they only had customers in rural areas and urban-rural fringes.
Fortunately, it slowly came back later.
It doesn’t matter, anyway, whether it is splendens or bamboo, they are both grass.
Grass.
Of course Li Long didn't expect it. He originally thought of a win-win situation with the villagers, but there were a few people who couldn't stand him making a lot of money and wanted to give him some eye drops.
He came back to remove the pole, and then explained the situation to Xu Chengjun. After two days of inspection, Li Long returned to the county. He thought this matter was already done and there was no need to stare at it.
However, what surprised him was that when he came for acceptance two days later, only more than a hundred large brooms were delivered.
Tao Daqiang revealed the news to him. Someone was working together to force him to raise the price.
Li Long listened, haha. (End of this chapter)