Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1185 Panic Caused by the Arrival of Commodity
The purchasing station became increasingly busy in May. Li Long recalled and compared the purchases, and found that the amount of fritillaria and dried wild mushrooms purchased this year was more than 30% higher than the same period last year.

I don't know if it's because the Forestry Bureau was reorganized and the news that the authority of the forest rangers would be handed over to the Public Security Bureau has been leaked, but this year, both the herb collectors and the forestry teams are acting very wildly.

It was only mid-May when Li Long went to the forestry team twice and brought back nearly two tons of fritillaria from Aili and Ablat.

"This is insane!" Li Long thought. "Are there really so many fritillaria bulbs in the mountains? If you convert that to fresh stock, this is equivalent to the entire annual output of Ma County three or four years ago!"

The forestry team gets a lot, and the purchasing station also buys quite a lot. People like Fan Mingcheng come every five days or so, and each trip brings back no less than 100 kilograms of dried fritillaria, which is about 600 or 700 kilograms of fresh fritillaria.

So in mid-May, Jia Tianlong came again, took away three tons of dried scallops, and left Li Long with more than 500,000 yuan.

On May 19th, Liu Gaolou arrived with his trucks, once again leading a long convoy.

It's been a while since my last visit.

"There was no other way. Kangmain was too slow. It took me three days to drive the convoy from Yili to here. I originally planned to have the driver slowly drive over, but then I thought better of it. You specifically asked for this, so it's better for me to bring it over directly." Liu Gaolou stood in front of Kangmain, explaining his contribution.

To Li Long's surprise, Liu Gaolou drove up with two cars.

One was a John Deere 1065, and the other was a Massey Ferguson MF800, both self-propelled, which met Li Long's requirements.

"Two units. If you only need one, then I'll keep the other one for you to resell. If you want both, then it'll be cheaper; the total price for both is ten thousand US dollars."

"Not expensive, I'll take both." Li Long nodded. John Deere products are generally of guaranteed quality. He hadn't heard of the other one; he'd try it out and see.

"My second uncle said that on the surface he is a proper business owner, but in private he has already made contact with many farms, the logistics department of the border defense brigade, the managers of farms, and machinery factories."

"They get all this stuff directly from my second uncle, no money needed, it's so convenient." Liu Gaolou could tell Li Long was satisfied, and he was too, smiling as he said, "So we still need the sugar and cement."

This time, Liu Gaolou brought six cars again, including three GAZ trucks, one Lada, and two Volga trucks.

Besides the carts, there were 2,500 pairs of antelope horns and 5,000 hides.

The cars are slightly more expensive, averaging $800 each, mainly because they are all relatively new, so the price is still very low.

In that case, Liu Gaolou would have to deduct $14,800. He would have to pay Li Long $70,000 for the cement and sugar he was transporting, and after deductions, he would need to pay $55,200.

For the other goods, Li Long had to give Liu Gaolou 475,000 yuan.

The money from selling fritillaria bulbs vanished instantly, and they even had to pay out of pocket.

Also, when Li Long takes the sugar, he has to give the sugar factory $10,000 and RMB50,000. In this way, Li Long will earn $45,200 on this trip.

Of course, once Zhao Hui arrives, all those hides will be returned once they're sold.

Before the truck was even unloaded, a middleman in the front yard saw it and came over saying he wanted to buy the truck, specifically the GAZ truck.

"The truck hasn't been unloaded yet, let's see after it's unloaded," Li Long said with a smile.

"I'm mainly worried that if too many people buy it after I unload it, I won't be able to keep up with it." The dealer was an acquaintance who came to sell goods around the same time as Fan Mingcheng and his group. However, after Fan Mingcheng bought the GAZ truck, he brought significantly more fritillaria bulbs with him each time, which made the dealer envious.

After all, in that short period of time, the two men were earning roughly the same amount, but the gap widened, with the former earning tens of kilograms more each time. According to Fan Mingcheng, he directly went to the mountains to find people to collect the extra kilograms.

How could this person not be envious?
"Don't worry, don't worry, you'll definitely get one." Li Long knew this dealer's surname was Duan, but he forgot his exact name, so he said, "Old Duan, go and sell your stuff with peace of mind. I'll definitely save one for you. You probably don't have enough money with you right now, right? Don't worry, there are three for you."

"Alright, Mr. Li, you have to reserve one for me, I need a GAZ-powered one, okay?"

"Okay, I understand." Li Long saw the old man off and then continued listening to Liu Gaolou talk.

"Your business here is really good." Liu Gaolou nodded. "Only people like you can sell these cars. I was thinking of keeping a few in Khorgos to see if I could sell them, but after several days, either the price offered was too low, or people just looked at them and left."

"Hehe, it's only in the last two years that people have become richer, so they can afford used cars," Li Long said. "New cars are still out of the question. They're too expensive, and most people still can't afford them."

“You seem to know these people quite well,” Liu Gaolou said. “You don’t often work behind the counter, but you can still recognize them. Not bad, not bad. You should be making this money.”

Li Long smiled but didn't say anything. He knew Lao Duan partly because he had a good memory, and partly because there were few people with the surname Duan around him. He had read "The Legend of the Great Tang Swordsmen" and the protagonist's surname was Duan, so he remembered it.

Besides, those years he worked as a manager at the purchasing station weren't for nothing; he remembered most of the middlemen who came back then.

Those people were essentially his core customer base. Although some other purchasing stations opened in nearby counties and cities later, those customers had all tried them and ultimately chose his station, firstly because he offered higher prices, and secondly because of his excellent service.

Even just for a few slices of watermelon in the summer and a bowl of hot tea in the winter.

"By the way, Lao Gu, your father-in-law brought over 600 kilograms of fritillaria bulbs, about 400 pieces of skin, and some miscellaneous medicinal herbs, all packed in sacks. You can check them later."

He said that the market there hasn't been developed yet and it will take time. "Liu Gaolou said.

Li Long knew this; Gu Boyuan had also called him. Initially, the purchasing station was indeed quite successful, but after the initial excitement subsided, the amount of goods purchased gradually decreased.

Gu Boyuan initially thought he had been targeted, but after conducting research, he discovered that the market had not yet taken shape. Most people were still unaware that he was buying hides and fritillaria bulbs. Although he advertised on television, gaining the trust of people in remote areas would still take time.

So Lao Gu's idea was twofold: firstly, to continue advertising; and secondly, to take people to resource-rich counties and townships to see what they could find and, incidentally, to promote the purchasing station's reputation.

In later generations, this could be called ground promotion or going deep into the grassroots.

Li Long naturally supported Lao Gu's action. The situation in Yili was different from that in Ma County. It wasn't that Yili was more backward, but rather that there were more remote areas there, and information spread more slowly.

Oh well, let's just admit we're behind.

It requires a development process.

Old Gu was full of energy, so Li Long let him do whatever he wanted, only reminding him to be careful.

After all, there's a separatist training camp not far away in the Tianshan Mountains.

Old Gu also made it clear that he valued his life and had recruited four veterans from the 7th Division. Two of them came from the reconnaissance battalion, one from the infantry platoon, and the other from the driving platoon, who were specifically hired to drive for Old Gu.

Because of the high wages, the men worked very hard. One night, a few ethnic minorities came over drunk and kicked the door. The two men went out, knocked them down, and then called the police to arrest them.

Perhaps someone gave them a heads-up, because the police station responded exceptionally quickly and handled the situation very efficiently.

Knowing that Lao Gu could think and act this way, Li Long felt relieved.

Although Lao Gu didn't bring much this time, Li Long wasn't in a hurry. Market expansion wouldn't happen so quickly; he knew the situation in Yili, where resources were much richer than in Ma County.

Especially the leather and fritillaria. About ten years later, at the beginning of the next century, almost no one in Ma County dug for them anymore. After all, there were only a few mountain passes, and if the passes were closed, it would be easy to get stuck.

It's different in Yili. Tangbula alone has over a hundred gullies, not to mention Gong! Liu, Zhaosu, and Chahar counties, which have hundreds of gullies of all sizes, it's impossible to stop them.

So around 2010, we would occasionally hear that the forest police in various counties of Yili were arresting people who were illegally harvesting fritillaria bulbs, sometimes seizing dozens or even hundreds of kilograms at a time.

One of the key points of the propaganda efforts by border guards and soldiers in Yili is to educate local residents against illegally crossing the border to collect deer antlers, mushrooms, and other such items.

The drivers Liu Gaolou brought were all very polite and not arrogant. They helped with unloading and other tasks, so the truck was unloaded quickly. Li Long then took them to Zhong Guoqiang's place for dinner.

On the way, Liu Gaolou told Li Long that the medicine for Revolution Buick had run out and he hadn't gotten pregnant yet, but he trusted the prescription. He asked Liu Gaolou to ask Li Long if he could get some more here so that Buick could take it back.

Li Long naturally had no objections. He said, "Okay, let's go get the medicine after we eat. That's the important thing."

After dinner, Li Long took Buick to get the medicine, then drove them to the guesthouse before returning to the purchasing station. Old Duan had already sold everything and was waiting in front of the GAZ truck.

"Old Duan, you're really persistent," Li Long said with a smile. "Alright, take a look. Once you've decided, go back and get the money. I'll hold the car for you."

Old Duan could drive, so he carefully compared the vehicles. The cars had just been unloaded and were quite dusty, but Old Duan didn't mind. After checking the exterior, he asked Li Long to help open the car doors and check the interior.

Some vehicle parts also came with the truck. Li Long left the truck to Lao Duan to watch over, while he moved the parts to the warehouse. GAZ trucks are sold in large quantities, so the parts are still useful.

If a car breaks down and comes to us, Li Long will definitely help replace it if he has spare parts.

Of course, once you buy a used car, you usually don't go back to the seller, since they don't own a repair shop.

Soon, Lao Duan selected one, but he didn't test it. He just told Li Long and then hurriedly left with the bag.

Old Duan isn't from the county, and it takes him half a day to go home, so he can't come until tomorrow at the earliest.

Li Long told his father, opened the door of the John Deere combine harvester, and sat down.

In his previous life, Li Long had driven a small four-wheeled tractor, a Dongfanghong 75, and a high-horsepower tractor. He even tried out a cotton harvester.

He had driven a combine harvester a couple of times, but that was all. This thing is different from a small four-wheeled tractor; the visibility is different when driving it, so Li Long was very careful.

There's no way around it, this thing is different from a high-horsepower tractor. That thing is not much different from a small four-wheeled vehicle or a car, and it's easy to learn. This one is slightly different.

He needs to drive this to the fourth team; leaving it here is completely useless.

When the combine harvester drove out of the purchasing station, it still attracted quite a few people. This thing wasn't fast; at most, it was a little faster than a horse-drawn carriage, and not even as fast as a small four-wheeled tractor. No wonder Liu Gaolou said it was a lot of trouble to drive it over.

It took Li Long more than half an hour to drive from the county to the fourth team, and it caused quite a stir.

When Li Long brought back two high-horsepower tractors, the team was shocked, but only Wang Caimi was really angry, because it would leave him with even more options.

But when this Comayne was brought back, there were a lot of people who had objections.

So when Kangmaiyin arrived at his doorstep, Li Jianguo was a little surprised, and someone immediately gave him some advice.

In front of Li Long.

The speaker was Sister-in-law Lu—by the way, let me explain first, Sister-in-law Lu and Lu Yingming, the husband and wife, both have the surname Lu, but they are not related by blood.

“Juan’s dad, look how many more vehicles you have, that’s a good thing. Xiaolong is getting more and more capable, but once we get this Kangmain back, our harvester might not have any work to do anymore.”

Sister-in-law Lu first flattered him, then expressed concern; her words were loaded with meaning, and anyone could hear the underlying message.

Lu Yingming didn't speak. He was looking up at the tall Kangmain and, to be honest, he was very envious.

Li Jianguo smiled and said:
"How could there be no work? When we bought the harvesters, some people in the team gossiped. Now the team has at least ten harvesters, and people are still cutting wheat with sickles, aren't they?"
Besides, a combine harvester costs 2.5 yuan per mu (a little higher), while a harvester can only pay 7 or 8 yuan per mu, maybe even 10 yuan. Not everyone can afford that.

Xiaolong is right. Combinator customers are those who don't have time to thresh wheat in the field. Combine harvester customers are those who don't want to bend over to cut wheat, leaving only those who prefer to cut it with a sickle.

So, Iron Head's mom, don't worry, there's nothing to worry about. Those who don't use harvesters won't use Combibloc. Those who use Combibloc are people with spare money—

Besides, cotton starts to bud in July, and your Tie Tou's dad will be going to operate the combine harvester to earn money. What will happen to your wheat then? Will you be left to harvest it all by yourself?"

These words silenced Sister-in-law Lu.

Li Long was actually planning to speak, but Li Jianguo stopped him. Sister-in-law Lu was older than him, so Li Jianguo was the more suitable person to speak—in fact, the most suitable person to speak was Liang Yuemei—but Liang Yuemei was working in the vegetable garden at the moment, so he, as the older brother, would speak instead.

Soon, just like when Li Long drove the high-powered tractor back, many people from the Li family came again, all to see Kangmain.

Many people have seen this thing, but they mostly just pass by it. At that time, the military corps had a lot of these things, but they were rare in other areas.

Sure enough, some people shared the same concerns as Sister-in-law Lu. The fourth team had made a lot of money by buying combine harvesters and harvesting wheat, but Li Jianguo dismissed all their worries.

Li Long then began teaching Li Junfeng how to drive. He planned to train several young and strong men from his hometown who knew how to drive. As for the eldest brother, he could focus on overall management, leaving the actual work to the younger generation.

Actually, Li Jianguo was quite curious and wanted to take a look—in his mind, since Li Long bought the Kangmaiyin, it belonged to the Li family. With Li Long away, he, as the eldest brother, was naturally in charge and had to take good care of his younger brother's belongings.

Li Long then taught his older brother a few more times, and also told him:

“Brother, if someone wants to harvest, let’s try it on the wheat in our own field first. If it works well, then we can harvest for others.”

"Don't worry about that, I know what I'm doing." Li Jianguo quickly got the hang of driving. However, since there were no wheat fields right now, he couldn't test how to harvest, so he focused on mastering his driving skills first.

After getting off the car, while others were watching, Li Long told his older brother something else.

"Big brother, I'm planning to sell a car to my second brother and brother-in-law at a discount, so it will be more convenient for them to come over in the future," Li Long said. "That's what I'm thinking. Our family has some money now."

"You have a car, but those two families don't; people will laugh at you. Give them a discount; if they don't have the money, they can owe you one and pay you back slowly."

“It’s definitely good, hey, the three of us older siblings have been taking advantage of you all along,” Li Jianguo said, still a little embarrassed. “We’ve really been a bit irresponsible.”

"What's the big deal? We're family, no need for such formalities. If you were in our shoes and making this much money, you'd still take care of us." Li Long chuckled. "There's another Kangmain at the purchasing station, a different brand. I'll drive it back tomorrow."

“What do you need me to do tomorrow? I’ll drive you there now, then bring Kangmain over. Let Junfeng ride in too; he can drive back later,” Li Jianguo said.

"Actually, you don't need to come at all. Just give me a call and we'll be right there. You're busier than us right now, so don't waste your time on this."

"What's the waste? I want to come back more often and see how the crabs and shrimp are growing."

“That guy…” Li Jianguo didn’t really think Xiaohaizi could keep the crabs and shrimp alive. He said, “Don’t spend too much money on it, otherwise you’ll end up with nothing and lose a lot of money.”

"Don't worry, brother, we'll definitely be able to raise them. Maybe we'll be able to eat crabs from the small lake by the Mid-Autumn Festival this year," Li Long said confidently.

Since Li Long had already spoken, Li Jianguo didn't say anything more. He went over and called Li Junfeng to drive to the county to bring back the other combine harvester.

I heard there's another one, and some people who were already amazed are speechless. Is the Li family planning to open a farm machinery factory? How many machines do they have?

Immediately, some people began to analyze how much money Li Long had made over the years—how much would it cost to buy all these agricultural machines?

Li Long didn't care about everyone's speculations. What was this to him? The team would gradually get used to the situation. Besides, because they met so often, the other four teams had no real sense of his wealth and didn't really notice it.

This also happened in his previous life, but the person being exorcised was not him at that time.

"How's Lao Gu doing over there?" Li Jianguo asked on the way.

"It's alright," Li Long explained the situation. "With someone protecting us, it should be fine."

Hearing that Lao Gu was being protected by scouts, Li Jianguo laughed: "Hey, he's got the air of a boss now. Lao Gu, I never expected... a scholar like you, you've managed to turn into a businessman, hey! Interesting!"

Gu Boyuan probably didn't expect this either.

Life is full of unexpected events; that's what life is all about.

(End of this chapter)