Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1071 Returning to Old Friendships: Chen Hongjun's Reflections and Goals
Walking on the unfamiliar streets, Mo Linsheng understood for the first time what it meant to feel like he was in another world.

Because of his mobility issues, he walks slowly, which makes it easier for him to observe.

The small county town was actually much more backward than my hometown. There were hardly any buildings; almost all of them were single-story houses. The roads weren't very smooth, there weren't many shops, and even fewer pedestrians.

But after spending more than a month in the mountains, even the few pedestrians he encountered filled him with a faint sense of fear.

When you see people in the mountains, you should be wary. I'm not used to having so many people around now.

He looked at the passersby like that, and they looked at him with strange eyes. Morinson knew what he looked like, so he found a barbershop and went in to get a haircut.

"How long has it been since you washed your hair?" the barber asked, frowning. "It's been at least a month or two since you had a haircut, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it's been a month and a half," Mo Linsheng said. Actually, it hadn't been, but for some reason, his hair seemed to grow faster in the mountains.

"Alright, let's wash first and then comb."

After getting his hair cut, Mo Linsheng paid the bill and felt much refreshed when he left.

At least other people weren't looking at him so strangely anymore.

The work clothes Li Long gave him were still new, so he didn't need to change them. They were just a little dirty, and he planned to go back to the guesthouse to wash them.

He needed a change of clothes first. He went to the market, found a clothing store and bought some clothes, then went to the department store and bought a set of toiletries, including soap. He returned to the guesthouse, borrowed a basin from the staff, changed his clothes and started washing.

The wound throbbed again, but Mo Linsheng felt it was nothing. After all, he had suffered much worse injuries, and this was already considered good.

After washing and hanging the clothes to dry, Mo Linsheng finally felt hungry. There was no food at the guesthouse, so he went out to find a canteen and ordered a bowl of rice and a side dish.

Having money on him, Mo Linsheng didn't skimp on himself and ordered a braised pork dish as compensation.

Under the waiter's astonished gaze, Mo Linsheng ate two bowls of rice and finished an entire plate of braised pork, not even leaving a drop of sauce. The waiter found it unbelievable; how could someone so thin eat so much rice!

Mo Linsheng felt that this was normal life. What did they eat in the mountains? At best, it could only be called food.

When Mo Linsheng returned to the guesthouse, he was somewhat surprised to run into Wu Bensheng and his nephew.

"Huh? What are you doing here?" Wu Bensheng was a little surprised. "Weren't you in the mountains? This..." Then he suddenly realized: "You came back in Boss Li's car?"

"Yes, you live here too?" Morinson said with a smile. "Just arrived?"

"Yeah, we just arrived. After settling in, we came out to tidy up. We look like wild animals. Even if others don't mind, we're too embarrassed to sleep on that bed."

"Wow, you've got a haircut and changed your clothes! If we hadn't chatted for a bit this morning, I might not have recognized you!"

"Haha, I just got a haircut and had dinner too. Let me tell you, the barbershop is over there, and the barber is pretty good." Morinson was much more enthusiastic now that he was back in human society. "Just walk straight ahead along this road, turn left at the intersection, and you'll be there in no time."

"Okay, okay, you rest first, we'll go get a haircut." Wu Bensheng nodded and left.

Mo Linsheng found it quite amazing; they had just chatted in the mountains that morning, and now they had run into each other again in the county this afternoon.

But thinking about it, it's normal. After all, the county town is only so big, so it's only natural to run into each other.

Wu Bensheng was also moved. He originally thought that Mo Linsheng would stay in the mountains for a few more days and not come out until the fritillaria season was over. He did not expect that Li Long would bring him out today.

“It’s good to follow the boss. We worked ourselves to the bone to get out of the mountains, and we still had to spend money to find a tractor in the village to take us to the county town. But other people can just ride out of the mountains in a car.” Wu Donghai felt it was quite unfair.

"Alright, alright, don't just look at how well they behave in public. Think about how they suffer behind the scenes." Wu Bensheng had seen it all before, advising his nephew, "Those injuries didn't come easily, did they?"

Yeah, thinking about all those injuries, I guess I'll pass.

The three of them had dinner together that evening, chatted for quite a while in the room, and then agreed to take a bus to Wucheng together the next day.

For the next few days, Li Long went to the mountains every day and almost always brought back a truckload of fritillaria bulbs by noon.

Gu Boyuan was lamenting that his purchasing station was considered quite good, but even so, the amount of fritillaria he received in a day was still less than what Li Long brought back in his jeep.

Li Long knew that after the forestry team tightened checkpoints this year, the people in the mountains pinned their hopes on the log cabin, where they could at least exchange their money for real cash.

If you carry fritillaria bulbs out, you might get stopped halfway, and then all your efforts will be wasted.

Earning a little less is still a profit, but if it gets taken away, you lose everything.

In early June, Li Long only managed to collect about ten kilograms of fritillaria bulbs in the mountains for two consecutive days, which told him that the fritillaria season was over.

Polati comes over almost every day. One day at noon, when he came over for lunch, he mentioned that the forestry team was running out of fritillaria bulbs. Captain Aili asked Li Long to take some time to go over and collect the fritillaria bulbs from the team.

Li Long agreed, thinking that if there weren't many fritillaria bulbs there, he would also take the ones from Captain Ablat's side.

By June 6th, Li Long's mobile collection of fritillaria bulbs was completely finished. Both forestry teams had finished collecting the fritillaria bulbs. When Li Long went to deliver supplies and collect the fritillaria bulbs, he also visited the homes of Halimu and Yushanjiang, delivering some supplies to both families.

He roughly estimated that the amount of fritillaria harvested this season was unprecedented, totaling about twelve or thirteen tons.

1987 was his year of great wealth. Before half a year had even passed, his gross income had exceeded one million, and after deducting costs, his net income was nearly seven hundred thousand.

Before the last batch of fritillaria bulbs at the purchasing station had even been sold, Li Long had already started distributing semi-annual bonuses.

Gu Boyuan didn't get much. Old Gu didn't manage the money, he just collected it. He had a general idea of ​​what was going on, but he didn't take more than his share.

He repeatedly told Li Long that he was self-aware. He explained that more than half of the fritillaria bulbs they were able to collect came from the two forestry teams and the mountains, and that he couldn't participate in the profit sharing.

So Gu Boyuan only took 10,000 yuan.

Li Long gave Sun Jiaqiang and Liang Shuangcheng a bonus of 500 yuan each, and also gave them two days off each. Of course, it wasn't just the two of them; after the fritillaria was harvested, the purchasing station also gave them two days off every week or so.

There are still wild mushrooms around, and the fritillaria bulbs are still being harvested, but things aren't as tense anymore.

The industrial three-phase power supply for the jerky processing workshop has been connected. Because of Li Long's status and the fact that there are not many private enterprises in the county, some leaders also know that the higher authorities intend to make him an entrepreneurial star, so they are very supportive in all aspects.

With the dryer in use, the processing speed and efficiency of jerky have increased significantly. Sister Yang is already proficient in operating the dryer, so Li Long doesn't have to worry about it much.

On June 8th, Chen Hongjun called and said that his purchasing station was taking a day off and he wanted to come over to talk to Li Long about some things.

Li Long naturally welcomed it.

Chen Hongjun arrived in the county on the morning of the 9th, and Li Long picked him up at the bus station.

"You're being so polite. I've worked in Ma County for so long, I'm just as familiar with it as you are." Sitting in Li Long's jeep, Chen Hongjun said with a smile, "It's so close from here to the purchasing station and to your house, there's no need for a pick-up."

"After all, you were my mentor," Li Long said with a smile as he drove. "Now we're partners, so you should at least get the treatment you deserve."

When the jeep arrived at the purchasing station, Chen Hongjun looked at the people lining up to sell their goods in the yard, somewhat surprised, and then remarked with emotion:

“When we were working here, we never imagined it would become so prosperous.” “Haha, times have changed. Back then, we weren’t allowed to do many things, and people didn’t have the guts or the enthusiasm. Now, the higher-ups are encouraging us to develop side businesses, and everyone wants to live a better life, so naturally, the enthusiasm is high.”

As Li Long spoke, he drove the car into the backyard.

When Chen Hongjun came down, he looked at the yard full of dried wild mushrooms and a small number of fritillaria bulbs, and said with a smile:

"That's true. Nobody used to go into the mountains to pick wild mushrooms. Even if they did, it never amounted to anything. Look at you now, how many people are counting on making some money from you to live a good life?"

Li Long smiled and led Chen Hongjun into the reception room.

This used to be my workplace, so I was quite familiar with it. Now, I see that some places are still the same, while others have changed drastically.

Once inside the reception room, Chen Hongjun told Li Long about the recent situation at his purchasing station.

"Fritillaria bulbs are quite valuable now, and many people are eyeing them. Recently, two more purchasing stations have opened, which is basically competing for business. My colleague's station went bankrupt because he didn't have enough working capital, and he owes a lot of money."

The other shop was more cautious. Seeing that they were running out of money, they closed down, tried to sell some of their fritillaria bulbs, and then reopened. They kept opening and closing. It was only here that things were going smoothly, because of your investment and Lao Jia's timely purchases.

"This line of work seems easy, but there are actually quite a few things to be careful about. If you're not well prepared, you're bound to run into big problems. In the past, with the support of those above you, you didn't need to pay so much attention. Now that you're doing it yourself, there are many more things to be careful about."

Li Long had been running a private purchasing station for several years and had gained experience. Chen Hongjun had been running a state-owned purchasing station for many years and was in a transitional period; some of his previous experience was still useful, while others were outdated.

The two of them discussed this topic extensively and talked about it a lot.

Chen Hongjun was quite modest. He knew that he was not as good as Li Long in this regard, so he wrote down everything Li Long said and planned to test it when he got back.

Li Long didn't act like a senior just because he had grown his business and become stronger. He knew that he had only achieved his current success because he had benefited from the era's advantages.

Therefore, he wouldn't talk nonsense. What he told Chen Hongjun were all about service quality and compliance with laws and regulations.

"To be honest, when I worked at the state-run purchasing station, I didn't care about those things at all. The purchasing station had its own rules and regulations, and you just had to follow them. Now that I've opened my own purchasing station, I have to figure out all the rules myself, and many aspects of the state-run system don't apply."

Chen Hongjun also remarked:
"When I first made my first money, I was really scared. I went to ask about paying taxes a couple of days later."

“Yes, we absolutely cannot be lazy in this regard.” Li Long nodded. They had made money by benefiting from the era’s dividends, and if they were still thinking about tax evasion now, they would deserve to be punished if they were found out later.

Chen Hongjun took out a wad of cash from his black bag and said with a smile:

"To be honest, I was a little apprehensive when we first discussed opening this purchasing station. At that time, I was wondering if it was too much money for you to invest all at once."

Later, when I was collecting the goods, I realized that this recycling station was just a money-eating machine in its early stages! If you don't have enough money, you really can't get it going, and it's too easy for it to go bankrupt halfway through.

Now everything's fine, the cash flow is smooth, and I've brought the first round of dividends with me. As we agreed before, your 35% share, after deducting the 50,000 yuan I kept as working capital, we'll split the rest.”

Chen Hongjun didn't give Li Long much this time, only 20,000 yuan, which included not only fritillaria bulbs but also other things such as bark and medicinal herbs.

According to Chen Hongjun, his purchasing station business is now basically established and on the right track. He and the hired workers are able to manage on their own, and the relevant departments are quite supportive of small private enterprises like his, offering certain preferential policies, which has allowed his business to develop smoothly.

Li Long could tell that Chen Hongjun was now full of confidence.

It makes sense when you think about it. Just a few months ago, he was worried about how boring and unpromising his current job was. Now he's managing a small business, which, although small, clearly has great potential for growth.

Moreover, even if it's small, it's something you built up bit by bit with your own hands, and you have an emotional attachment to it compared to your previous job.

Li Long received his dividend and discussed the next steps for development with Chen Hongjun.

The harvest varies with the seasons, and Chen Hongjun is more experienced than Li Long in this regard. However, Li Long is more qualified to speak on which items are more profitable and which items to focus on each quarter.

Since Li Long's two major clients were introduced by Chen Hongjun, and Huang Lei was introduced by Chen Hongjun's former colleague, Li Long mainly talked about the items collected by these three people.

After all, most of his funds come from these three sources.

"With the implementation of the Animal Protection Law this year, we may need to be more careful about the fur trade," Li Long offered a friendly reminder. "We don't know the specifics of the policy, but let's be prepared."

"I hadn't thought of that," Chen Hongjun nodded. "Yes, I'll keep that in mind later."

After handing over his dividends to Li Long, Chen Hongjun stood up and said, "I'll take a look around here. To be honest, I was quite confident at first. Now that the purchasing station has grown from nothing and is on the right track, I'm rather pleased with myself."

But seeing what you've done, I realize I still have a lot to work on.

Li Long smiled and said:
"I've been running this for several years now. Besides, I guess I had the perfect timing, location, and people. As soon as the state-owned purchasing station closed down, I opened this place, which was a perfect fit. Plus, you happened to introduce me to a few clients, so I was able to sell the goods I bought smoothly. With that foundation, I can say that I've been able to develop well."

Chen Hongjun knew Li Long was being modest, so he didn't say much. He had come to visit and wanted to learn more about the past.

There were still many people queuing in the front yard, and Chen Hongjun noticed that some people were drinking the tea that was laid out. More trees had been planted in the yard than before, providing shade. There was also a row of wooden benches along the south wall where people could sit and rest.

The people in line didn't seem impatient at all; they were chatting and laughing with each other, and it seemed that most of them knew each other.

“Nearly two-thirds of my customers are middlemen,” Li Long explained to Chen Hongjun. “They go to nearby counties and townships to collect goods and then resell them to me.”

"No wonder, they were all carrying quite a lot of bags and things. I knew it. The people who came from my area to sell things carried much less each person."

"Of course, the most important thing is to be familiar with the quality and grade of the goods you collect. You're an expert in this, Brother Chen. Don't underestimate this point. These dealers are also very familiar with these things. If you deliberately lower the quality, they will definitely spread bad rumors in the industry. Once your reputation collapses, it will be difficult to rebuild it."

Chen Hongjun was aware of this as well, so he simply nodded.

He was quite confident about the quality of the goods he received. He had been in this business much longer than Li Long and had seen far more than anyone else over the years, so he was more confident than Gu Boyuan.

Seeing that some people were carrying scrap metal, Chen Hongjun asked with some doubt, "You collect these things too?"

“Hey, most of them aren’t worth much, but since people brought them, we just buy them.” Li Long chuckled. “I went to Yanjing once, and antique collecting is starting to pick up there. With so many things, if even one item is valuable, we’ll break even.”

Even if it's not valuable, you can take it to a scrap metal recycling center.

Chen Hongjun thought this was also a viable option.

If they claim to be a purchasing station, then it's unreasonable to restrict the purchase of certain items.

So spend a little money to collect and store these ancient items. As Li Long said, keep the useful ones and sell the rest as scrap metal.

I learned another trick.

“There was an incident with wild mushrooms before, and although it wasn’t from my area, we still need to be careful.” Li Long thought of Huang Lei’s situation and added, “We should mainly collect morels and the black tiger paw mushrooms that will appear later. Try to collect as few other types as possible. These two types of mushrooms have obvious characteristics and are easy to identify. It’s hard to say about the others. If you collect a poisonous mushroom, it will be a big problem.”

Chen Hongjun nodded repeatedly, these were all words of advice based on experience. He had done the same when he was at the state-run purchasing station, and now he was thinking of increasing his stock as much as possible, but these were different from antiques; they could easily lead to bad behavior, so it was better to be careful.

After touring Li Long's place, Chen Hongjun had many more ideas. He didn't even want Li Long to invite him to stay for dinner; he just wanted to hurry back and put those ideas into practice.

Making money is the most important thing.

(End of this chapter)