Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1107 Yang Pingping with an economic eye...

Chen Xingbang's family was also present. After hearing Du Chunfang say that Li Long had acquired several more cars and even gave one to his brother-in-law, they asked:

"Is that car easy to drive? If it is, I'll get one too. I won't take it for free, I'll pay for it."

No one could respond to his words. Since Li Long wasn't present, Li Jianguo couldn't make the decision for him, but he still said:

"I don't know if this Soviet car is easy or difficult to drive, but it's a second-hand car, so it depends on the condition. Also, this car is a scrapped vehicle and doesn't have license plates."

Chen Xingbang hesitated.

Like Li Anguo, he mainly lives in the city. If his car doesn't have a license plate, he usually won't be caught unless he is. If he is caught, the car will definitely be confiscated.

Not worth it.

Li Long arrived in a yellow minivan in the afternoon. He mainly needed to drop off his second brother Li Anguo's family and his sister's family; there wasn't enough room in a Jeep.

The yellow van attracted a lot of attention as soon as it entered the village. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and although students don't have a holiday, they are dismissed early. Many students, who had just returned home, chased after the van and ran until it was almost at Li's house.

When Li Long parked his car in front of his elder brother's house, several men who had already eaten and were clearly drinking were chatting in the yard. Hearing the car, they all came to the door.

Upon seeing the bright yellow van, everyone gathered around, their faces showing excitement and curiosity.

This minivan is larger, longer, and more boxy than the Tianjin Dafa van that's already on sale. It clearly has a rugged style, befitting its status as a big brother, and it doesn't look any worse than those sedans.

Of course, the workmanship is relatively rough, but it is indeed sturdy and durable.

After Li Long came down, Chen Xingbang immediately asked:
"This is a scrapped car? It looks almost like a new one!"

"It came in with the paperwork for a scrapped vehicle," Li Long explained. "It's a used car, it's been driven for seven or eight years, and the condition is surprisingly good, but without the proper paperwork, we can't get a license plate if we can't find the owner."

Li Long was able to get two license plates from Li Xiangqian, one for his eldest brother and one for his father-in-law. If his second brother and brother-in-law wanted the car later, they would definitely get a discount, but he wouldn't process the paperwork for them, since one was in Shicheng and the other in Kuitun.

The whip is beyond reach.

Li Anguo was also very interested, looking at the car and circling it in admiration.

Although Li Jianguo had already chosen vehicle number 69, he was still somewhat tempted by this minivan.

But since he had already made a promise to his younger brother, he couldn't change it; being fickle wasn't in his nature.

Moreover, the Type 69 vehicle was to his liking; it was a military command vehicle, and it looked impressive!
(The picture above shows a converted postal vehicle from the No. 69 train; the model is the same.)
Li Qingxia also stood at the door, looking on. As a parent, he felt it was a little inappropriate to join his children and grandchildren in looking at the car, but his eyes were also full of longing.

Hey, this car is great!
Several people were asking Li Long about the car when Xie Yundong hurriedly rode over on his bicycle.

He got out of the car and didn't even have time to prop it up. He just leaned it against the wall, and the car, not being properly supported, spun around and fell over. He didn't care anymore; he went over and touched the van, asking:

"This minivan?"

He told Li Long that he wanted a minivan, and he was overjoyed when he saw what the minivan looked like.

“It’s not this one. It’s similar to this one, just a bit older. It’s sitting at the recycling station. This one is what Xiaoxia’s dad wanted.” Li Long hurriedly explained, “Your one is also yellow. The two are similar in color. The county transportation company has already maintained them.”

"Then... can you drive it back today?" Xie Yundong looked at the car, liking it more and more. "I can drive it!"

"Then you can ride your bicycle back first. When I drive this car to take my second brother and brother-in-law to the bus station later, you can ride with them. When you come back, you can drive it back."

However, I need to make it clear that the car's paperwork indicates it's a scrapped vehicle. If you want to register it, you'll have to find someone to help you. Also, we need to sign something stating that I'm selling you a scrapped car.

"Hey, that's definitely no problem, I've got the money ready." Xie Yundong smiled and took out a stack of hundred-yuan bills from his shoulder bag.

After Li Long told him about the matter, he went to the bank to withdraw the money and has been waiting ever since.

Chen Xingbang watched as Li Long took the money, quickly counted it, and put it in his pocket, then asked:

"How much does this car cost?"

"Five thousand," Xie Yundong said with a smile. "Xiaolong gave me face and sold it to me cheaply. With this car's condition, hey, you couldn't get it for less than ten thousand on the market."

His tone was full of pride, mainly because of his good relationship with Li Long.

Many villagers privately said that they were Li Long's lackeys, and some were jealous, saying that they were older than Li Long, yet they fawned over him, which was shameless.

He doesn't care at all.

They have work to do and money to earn. They were among the first in the village to buy tractors, the first to become millionaires, and now they are among the first to own cars.

Those people are just jealous of how well he's doing!

Immediately afterwards, Tao Daqiang, Liang Dacheng, and Jia Weidong arrived.

They only found out that Li Long had returned in a minivan from the villagers' conversations. Compared to others, they knew more and were more excited.

Tao Daqiang looked at the rugged and sturdy minivan and regretted it a little; he should have chosen a minivan instead.

However, he didn't say it either, thinking that since he had already told Li Long, it must be confirmed and there was no way to change it.

"Brother Yundong said he's going to the county to drive the car back later. What do you two mean by that?" Li Long asked them.

"We..." Tao Daqiang looked at the Li family and asked, "Can we sit down?"

"There's not enough room," Li Long laughed. "We'll have to squeeze in. By the way, can you two drive?"

Both of them shook their heads.

"Now there are only two Lada sedans left. Anyway, no matter what you decided before, you can only drive these. What I mean is, once Brother Yundong brings the van back, you two can practice your skills with it before you drive it."

"Oh, right, I just told Brother Yundong that you guys need to sign a contract with me stating that I'm selling scrapped cars. Otherwise, if they find out, it'll be trouble for me again."

“That’s definitely no problem,” the two said together. “What we’re buying and opening has nothing to do with you.”

Jia Weidong was envious. He had originally thought he would just stick to driving the tractor, but now he thought the van was really nice.

We have enough money at home, but if we use it to buy a car, all the money we've saved up for so long will be gone in an instant. Thinking about it, having a minivan doesn't seem to be very useful.

He suppressed the thought.

Li Long could tell, but he didn't ask any questions. He answered whatever they asked and even showed Xie Yundong how to drive, then let Xie Yundong practice as well.

Not bad. He can drive a tractor, so this vehicle isn't too unfamiliar to him. Besides, Xie Yundong had practiced driving Li Long's jeep before, so he was able to drive it quite well in no time.

"When the car comes back, you must practice your driving skills properly. You can't drive fast..." Li Long told him many things he needed to pay attention to. "This isn't like a tractor. A tractor doesn't have a cab, so you can just turn your head to look in all directions. This thing has covers on all four sides, so it's not very convenient to drive. You need to learn how to use the rearview mirrors..."

Li Long led his second brother, sister, and their family, along with Xie Yundong, to the bus station. Li Anguo also took the bus with Chen Xingbang to Shicheng, and then bought tickets from Shicheng to Kuitun. The bus from Ma County to Kuitun had already left, so they couldn't catch it.

After seeing them off, I drove back to the purchasing station and showed Xie Yundong my van.

That van was the same color as this one, but it was two years older and a bit worn, with some scratches on the paint.

Even so, Xie Yundong was extremely pleased. After signing the contract with Li Long here, he sat down happily, took a deep breath, thought about starting the car, slowly started the engine, carefully drove off, waved to Li Long, and then drove back.

When the yellow van parked in Xie Yundong's yard, the residential area became lively.

For a long time, only the Li family in the entire fourth team owned a car. At first, everyone found it strange, but later they got used to it.

After all, Li Long is a capable guy who's involved in a lot of businesses and he's making money.

No one expected that the team would get a second car so quickly, and it wasn't Li Long's older brother, but Xie Yundong!

Although the yellow van isn't as eye-catching as a Jeep or as classy as a sedan, it's still a unique presence here.

Or, in some people's eyes, Li Long is no longer considered a local, so strictly speaking, this yellow van is the first vehicle in the village!

So quite a few people gathered around, including Tao Daqiang, Liang Dacheng, and Jia Weidong.

Xie Yundong simply opened the car door to let them see, but kept calling out to them:

"Don't press or manipulate anything in the car! If you keep doing this, get off! You'll have to pay for anything you break!"

There are always some scoundrels who get on the bus and start messing around, hoping to break some part of the vehicle to quell their jealousy. Of course, the vast majority are normal; they get on, sit for a bit, experience it, and then quickly get off, afraid of breaking anything.

This isn't cheap!
The price of the car was only known within a small circle; the villagers didn't know, and even if they asked, Xie Yundong and Tao Daqiang wouldn't tell them the truth.

They weren't stupid. This price was the cost price that Li Long gave them, and it carried the intention of their own people. If they spread this price around, and people in the village or elsewhere heard about it and bought cars from Li Long at this price, wouldn't Li Long lose a lot of money?
They'd rather take advantage of people than cheat them.

Many people clamored for Xie Yundong to drive, so Xie Yundong got into the car and called Tao Daqiang and the others to get in as well. Liang Dacheng rushed to sit in the passenger seat, just wanting to see how Xie Yundong would drive.

Although Li Long joked that it wasn't much different from driving a tractor, it was definitely not the same.

Xie Yundong didn't drive far; he just drove around the alleyways of the residential area until there was no road left, and then drove a section on the saline-alkali land.

The van looks rugged and is capable of off-road driving; it's very smooth to drive.

Once they got back, everyone wanted to try driving it.

That evening, Xie Yundong parked his van in the yard, and his family sat by the van admiring the moon.

In fact, most of their attention was focused on the car in front of them.

That night, the couple didn't sleep well. They would get up and check if anyone was trying to steal the car, no matter what the noise was outside, like a dog barking or someone making a sound.

Seeing that her husband was still awake, Deng Guilan whispered:
"Don't you think we should install a big gate at our house? Otherwise, this car..."

"There's no need," Xie Yundong replied directly. He felt that installing a large iron gate would make his house seem unimpressive and would make the villagers suspicious.

But I regretted it as soon as I said it. Actually, installing a big door is quite good. At least I can sleep more soundly at night.

“Let’s not install a gate, let’s get a dog instead,” he said. “I think Old Li’s dog is pretty good, let’s see if we can find someone’s dog to breed with and have a puppy.”

This is a suitable option; the villagers won't gossip, and keeping a dog can help guard the house and the car.

He wasn't the only one who didn't sleep well; Tao Daqiang did too.

When Tao Daqiang got home that night, he told his wife, Yang Pingping, about the van, and also mentioned that he should get one.

“That van can easily fit ten or so people if you squeeze in. It can carry people. I heard from Brother Yun Dong that you can remove the seats to carry goods, and it has a lot of space.”

"That's not as nice as a sedan." Yang Pingping didn't even look at the minivan; no matter what, she always felt that a sedan was better.

"Cars are fine in the city, but they're not practical in our village."

“Who says it’s not practical?” Yang Pingping turned to face her husband in bed and said, “Think about it, winter is coming soon, aren’t there more weddings? If a wedding wants to be more impressive, don’t they need to hire a car? Do you think hiring a van is more impressive or hiring a sedan?”

Tao Daqiang understood immediately and asked:
"You mean, wait until winter... to earn this money?"

"Of course! Several families in Team Three are getting married this winter. I'll go back and talk to them. They can use our car to pick up the bride for twenty or thirty yuan each time. Don't you think that's a good deal?"

"Hey, this actually is a viable approach!" Tao Daqiang laughed.

Using a sedan to pick up the bride is definitely more impressive than using a minivan. Life in rural areas is gradually improving. Although not all villages have achieved a semi-comfortable standard of living like Team Four, people are still willing to spend money on such an important event as a wedding.

If you can host ten weddings in one winter, it's equivalent to two or three months' wages for a worker, which is a great deal.

The wedding procession usually takes place in the morning and can be completed in one or two hours. After all, young men and women getting married at this time are mostly from the same village or neighboring villages, and fellow villagers are the largest possible group.

After all, the social circle is only so big, there are only so many ways to travel, and the range of opposite sexes you can meet is also limited.

Tao Daqiang thought about it more and more and felt that this was a good way to earn money.

Besides, driving a sedan gives you prestige, doesn't it?

The hesitation in my heart disappeared without me even realizing it.

At Jia Weidong's home, his wife noticed he couldn't sleep and, knowing what was on his mind, said:
"Since you have enough money at home, if you want to drive one, then go ahead and buy one. You can always earn more money if you run out; you can make money driving a van anyway."

When Jia Weidong took the initiative to approach Li Long, she didn't object. Now it seems that her husband's choice was undoubtedly correct.

Although they weren't among the richest in the village, they were much better off than the others.

Li Long was able to help Jia Weidong just like he helped Tao Daqiang and Xie Yundong, which was of course because Jia Weidong took the initiative to get close to him.

Like Xie Yundong and the others, many people in the village made sarcastic remarks, but they were earning real money!

A good life is what truly matters. It doesn't mean eating meat every day, but at least two or three times a week, and ensuring that children don't suffer, that would be the best outcome.

"I won't buy it. I'll save the money for later; you never know when I might need it." Jia Weidong thought for a moment and then shook his head.

Cars are not a necessity for their family, so there's no need to buy them just to save face.

If there were a way to make money that required a car, he would definitely buy one; if there isn't one right now, then forget about it.

The next day, Tao Daqiang and Liang Dacheng went to Xie Yundong's house after dinner and asked Xie Yundong to teach them how to drive a car.

At the purchasing station, someone drove up in a tractor to sell watermelon seeds, and Gu Boyuan explained the purchase price to them.

"The average price is one yuan per kilogram. The kilograms must be flattened and clean. We generally do not accept kilograms that are not flattened."

This was not only said to the people who came to sell melon seeds, but also written on the blackboard.

Some middlemen also traded melon seeds, but the purchasing stations wouldn't buy them, so they hoarded them.

Now it seems the purchasing stations have opened up avenues. Although they only accept par value, we can find out how to flatten the price.

"Soak it in water until it softens, then press it down," Gu Boyuan suggested. "After pressing it flat, let it air dry."

There are only a few flattening machines, either at the team's headquarters or at the purchasing station. Right now, the purchasing station only has two odd-job workers, so they simply don't have time to deal with this.

Normally, Tielanhua would definitely be willing, but right now she's helping out at the jerky processing workshop and earns a good wage, so she won't do this.

The tractor that was hauling the melon seeds back immediately.

As long as we can buy it, that's fine; right now, it's not about the price anymore.

One mu (unit of land area) yields more than 100 kilograms, and one kilogram is worth one yuan, which is more than 100 yuan, better than growing wheat and corn.

Of course, if cotton is planted next year, then there will be a comparison.

The news spread quickly, and that afternoon someone drove over with a tractor loaded with watermelon seeds. A little over two tons of clean, flattened watermelon seeds, which they exchanged for over two thousand yuan.

They came excited but also a little nervous, and left all smiles, having shed a big burden.

I'm not planting any more next year!

The purchasing station became busy again, with large quantities of watermelon seeds being brought in every day.

After having Sun Jiaqiang and Liang Shuangcheng inspect the goods, Gu Boyuan found a clean warehouse to store them. These things would be stored for a long time, so the warehouse needed to be kept clean and free of rodents.

For this reason, the purchasing station also kept a few cats, but at this time there was only a tabby cat, which was excellent at catching mice.

In one week, 20 tons of watermelon seeds were harvested. The pace of subsequent purchases slowed down, but several hundred kilograms were still arriving every day.

Li Long estimates that this process will be quite long, because many people are planting watermelons this year, some may not know the news, some may not have flattened their watermelon seeds yet, and some may be waiting and seeing.

After all, one yuan per kilogram is still too low compared to the prices of last year and the year before.

The day after the melon seeds were harvested, Tao Daqiang and Liang Dacheng arrived at the purchasing station in Xie Yundong's van to drive the two Lada sedans back.

Li Long simply drove the No. 69 vehicle back to the fourth team so his older brother could practice driving it.

In this way, the first batch of seven vehicles brought in by Liu Gaolou were all dealt with.

The cost was 21,000 yuan, but it sold for 20,000 yuan, resulting in a loss.

However, it's worth it.

(End of this chapter)