Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

After seeing Liu Gaolou off, Li Long called Chen Dajun again and reported the situation that Liu Gaolou had mentioned. He didn't mention the matter of Liu Shanmin's contact with Lao Na, assuming that Liu Shanmin would report it himself through that channel.

Najib is the one who will remain the president of Kazakhstan for the next twenty or thirty years; he's very capable.

After listening to and taking notes of Li Long's report, Chen Dajun asked Li Long for his opinion, which surprised Li Long.

The main topic was trade with Kazakhstan, and I asked him to speak from the perspective of a private entrepreneur about the aspects that should be emphasized in trade with Kazakhstan.

Li Long was stunned for a moment, surprised by two things. First, how did he become an entrepreneur? He had always seen himself as a middleman, a small-time trader, and even his roots were in farming, or rather, a farmer who dreamed of becoming a new-era landowner.

The second surprise was that Chen Dajun would actually ask him about his ideas on doing trade with Kazakhstan.

“I think now is a good time to do trade with Kazakhstan,” Li Long said after thinking for a while. “Their economy is relatively chaotic right now, with rampant inflation and shortages of various daily necessities. It’s the perfect time for us to enter the market.”

However, there are a few things to consider. One is that the economy and society there are in a period of reconstruction, so safety is a concern. Without sufficient security, it's best to conduct transactions in the China World Trade Center area. Although the profits may be lower, at least personal safety can be guaranteed.

Secondly, try to avoid using their own currency, which is currently the Soviet-era ruble.

I've heard about the proposed currency reform, but regardless, without economic security, their money might depreciate. It would be best to barter or peg it to the dollar or gold, hard currencies, to avoid losses.

Then there's the issue of avoiding being scammed. Just because their market is in dire need of those essential goods doesn't mean they'll trade honestly. We can see the current opportunities, but in some people's eyes, the goods we bring over are also opportunities for them.

Overall, it's a good time, but caution is still advised.

Chen Dajun jotted down the notes with his pen, then said that Li Long was right and that they could call him again if they had similar information in the future.

After hanging up the phone, Li Long felt a little annoyed, realizing that he hadn't performed well and hadn't fully explained the trade with Kazakhstan.

However, he comforted himself by thinking that, given Chen Dajun's position, it was impossible for him to only get information from him; perhaps some of the things he had mentioned were already on Chen Dajun's desk.

Therefore, the points I just mentioned should only be taken as a reference and not taken too seriously.

After comforting himself with this thought, Li Long went to attend to other matters.

This time, Liu Gaolou failed to recruit anyone, so he needed to quickly call Zhao Hui to let him know, lest Zhao Hui make a wasted trip.

Fortunately, Liu Gaolou also mentioned that he should be able to exchange this truckload of clothes for some furs. There's a lot of hunting in that area during winter, so he might be able to bring back several truckloads of furs on his next trip.

Not long after the first snowfall, it snowed twice more here.

Li Long noticed that there were many more snow removal machines on the streets, and to his surprise, there was more than one brand using them for the winter season.

Kuishi Machinery Factory produces the largest volume of snowplows, but other brands of snowplows have also appeared, which means there are competitors there.

After arriving at the purchasing station, Li Long called Director Du.

Upon hearing Li Long mention the snow removal machine, Factory Director Du said that they had already noticed this, and although their current market share had declined, they still held a dominant position overall.

“It’s snowing all over the north, the market is so big, we can’t possibly capture it all. Although we have patent laws now, to be honest, our patent for this snow removal machine can’t stop others from copying and selling it.”

Factory Director Du was also quite helpless: "They sell cheaply, and sometimes the materials they use are even inferior. But because they are cheap, there are bound to be buyers. We have a big reputation and many old customers, but it's difficult to expand our market share."

This is the case across the entire industry now, not just snowplows, but also harvesters.

Li Long was somewhat speechless, but he knew this was an inevitable process. Patents hadn't yet taken root in people's minds, and from this point onward for ten years, or even longer, the country's reputation as a nation of counterfeits wasn't unfounded.

We can only wait for it to gradually become standardized.

Of course, Director Du also brought good news to Li Long: in the fourth quarter of this year, the dividends for both harvesters and snowplows increased compared to previous years, mainly due to rising prices and increased sales volume.

The second piece of good news is that a breakthrough has been achieved in one of the key technologies of the cotton harvester, finally giving the technicians a reason to be proud.

"Although it is only the first step in a long journey, after overcoming this hurdle, our technicians feel that the technology of cotton harvesters is not so far out of reach. We will continue to work hard."

Although Li Long was very anxious, at this point he could only tell them not to rush and to proceed with the research and development steadily.

Li Long's plan is simply to manufacture and put into normal operation a domestically produced cotton harvester before the end of this century.

Because only at that time will the state lift the restrictions on state-owned cotton and linen procurement and allow private individuals to purchase cotton.

The technology for cleaning cotton picking equipment is already available. As long as cotton picking technology is added, Li Long believes that cotton planting will be very easy. At that time, the era of large-scale land contracting and cotton planting will arrive.

Of course, an important part was the decentralization of cotton and linen purchasing to private individuals, allowing them to set up cotton ginning factories.

Let's take it one step at a time. Revolutionary work cannot be accomplished overnight. Li Long used this sentence to encourage Director Du.

Director Du was used to it. After all, the drip irrigation equipment was something they had to learn bit by bit. Technical accumulation is never something that can be achieved overnight, especially with large equipment like cotton harvesters. Even if you disassemble a finished product into eight pieces, take out every part, and then copy it, you might not be able to achieve the original effect when you put it back together.

After all, materials, processes, and production methods all have an impact, but we're not experts, so we won't go into details.

After hanging up the phone, Li Long felt that there wouldn't be much to do this winter. The purchasing station was basically half-closed, or rather, it had actually become a processing plant and a sales point.

Their main business is selling cars and processing leather and antelope horns. They only collect goods twice a year, once for fritillaria bulbs and once for dried wild mushrooms. Any other miscellaneous items are just sideline deals.

Even so, Li Long still had to go to the purchasing station every day. Liu Gaolou said that before January, he would come every half month on average, and each time he would bring at least thirty trucks, mainly to transport sugar, canned goods, and daily necessities such as clothes.

Li Long's situation was simpler. Sugar and canned goods were readily available. He would collect clothes from major shopping malls and private trading companies every three days, bring them back, and pack them into the warehouse.

Although the wholesale price is a bit higher than buying directly from the factory, it's more convenient. After all, I earn more money myself, so I don't care about the small price difference.

Therefore, he needed to stay at the purchasing station every day, directing Sun Jiaqiang and Liang Shuangcheng to run errands.

In late November, Chen Yan, who hadn't been seen for more than half a month, drove her luxury Volga, which she had bought from Li Long, to the purchasing station.

Before November, Chen Yan earned more than 300,000 yuan in brokerage fees from Li Long, and she would come over several times a month. But this was the first time she had come in November.

Chen Yan, who had grown her hair to shoulder length, was wearing a white down jacket. She then led a woman in a red fur coat out of the passenger seat. The woman was in her thirties and had an average appearance and figure, but Chen Yan was very enthusiastic towards her, calling her "sister" repeatedly.

Or perhaps only Li Long, through these past few months of contact, sensed the changes in Chen Yan's personality.

From the moment he first brought that rich young man, he was so aloof, but as he brought clients one by one to earn brokerage fees, his personality changed from aloof to peaceful, and then he became somewhat professional.

Observing all this, Li Long found it quite interesting. Was this growth or maturity?
Li Long led the two to the reception room, where Liang Shuangcheng poured them tea and then left.

"Sister Qiao, this is Mr. Li, the guy I told you about who has access to imported resources. You saw it just now, that row of luxury cars under the shed in the yard, Mercedes and BMWs, and the prices are reasonable." Chen Yan introduced him as the middleman.

"Mr. Li is very straightforward in business, and the quality of his cars is also excellent. I've recommended him to many friends, and they all say that the Mercedes they drive in Wucheng are very good."

The middle-aged woman glanced at Li Long, somewhat disbelieving.

"Isn't Mr. Li a bit too young? Is he just being clever for his own sake, or is he just putting on a show for someone else?" This Sister Qiao was quite blunt.

Chen Yan hurriedly introduced to Li Long: "Sister Qiao runs a clothing wholesale business in Wucheng. She bought several shops a few years ago, which she both runs herself and rents out to others."

Later this year, her shops were demolished for redevelopment, and she received several million yuan worth of compensation. Look at that foresight! She's someone who's good at big business!

So he was a resident who had received compensation for his land expropriation. No wonder he was so arrogant. Li Long categorized this Boss Qiao as a nouveau riche. Otherwise, who would talk like that in normal business?

He also sensed the underlying meaning in Chen Yan's words—that she meant he shouldn't get angry—so he smiled and said, "Boss Qiao, I just look a little younger than you; I'm not younger than you in terms of age. As for connections, I've paved the way myself, so you can rest assured about that."

The cars were brought directly from Kazakhstan; they were all carefully selected. Just look at that row of cars under the shed—at least three of them belonged to officials who held power in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic before the collapse of the Soviet Union. I got them for you.

So please rest assured about the road conditions and the vehicle's condition; there won't be any problems.

Because people often come to buy cars even in winter, the unsold cars are moved around every day to ensure that they can be started up whenever a buyer comes.

Li Long's composed demeanor slightly displeased Sister Qiao. Perhaps having received more flattery after the demolition compensation, she had become a little arrogant, so in response to Li Long's explanation, Sister Qiao gave a cold laugh:
"You think it was just a matter of officials driving cars back then? These days, business people talk a lot of nonsense. I think you should be more honest and just tell me about the car and the money. It's not like I don't have money. I'll definitely let you make some of what you're supposed to make. We're all in business, so let's not play these games."

"It's not that bad." This was the first time Li Long had faced a family affected by land expropriation since he started selling cars, but he wasn't intimidated at all. He said, "There are documents in the car right now, stamped by the Kazakhstani authorities. If you find someone who understands Russian, they'll understand it at a glance."

And I'm not afraid to tell you, this document is the original. If you buy the car, you take the document with you. Of course, if you can find the person responsible, you can verify it now without any problem.

When this batch of vehicles arrived, Liu Gaolou told Li Long that it was considered confiscated assets. When the relevant Kazakh authorities processed the transaction with Liu Shanmin, they made it very clear that, and to ensure its authenticity, Liu Shanmin requested the relevant documents.

Anyway, they print more than one copy of these documents; they provide one for each confiscated asset as proof. Since some of the original vehicle's documentation is no longer available, this proof is sufficient.

Upon hearing Li Long's words, Sister Qiao's expression changed, but she still pretended to be tough and said, "There's such a thing? Well, it's fine if you have it. It's a used car after all. Yanzi, let's go take a look."

He stood up, put on his leather jacket, and walked out.

Chen Yan tugged at Li Long's arm, signaling him not to be angry.

Li Long smiled but didn't say anything.

Running a purchasing station here means meeting a lot of people. When you're doing business, there's no need to hold grudges. This guy is just putting on airs; he's not like the last one who was planning to take a share.

The cars under the shed all looked pretty good—the Mercedes was imposing, the Volga was classic—but none of them caught Qiao Jie's eye. Then she took a fancy to that extremely streamlined luxury BMW coupe.

This is a BMW 6 Series e24, which is quite rare in Kazakhstan. A new car would cost around $50,000.

Li Long remembered that in the information Liu Gaolou gave him, this car seemed to belong to a diplomat from Kazakhstan. Although the car was five years old, the total mileage was less than three thousand kilometers.

The car is in very good condition. Although it's not driven much, it's been well maintained.

"Does this car also have the information you mentioned?" Sister Qiao asked, taking a liking to the car.

“Yes.” Li Long went over, opened the car door, took a stack of documents from the passenger seat, and handed them to Sister Qiao. He said, “The previous owner of this car was a diplomat. The documents are all here. If you are interested, you can ask someone to take a look at them later.”

Sister Qiao flipped through the documents. She couldn't understand Russian, but she could still recognize the red official seal.

This thing is clearly not a recent forgery; it looks authentic.

"How much is this car?" Sister Qiao was clearly tempted. "Give me a fair price, and if it's close enough, I'll take it."

Li Long thought to himself, "That's the same old trick. I bet most people who buy clothes from her store say the same thing."

“If the new car doesn’t include tariffs, it’s $50,000,” Li Long told her instead of giving a direct quote. “That’s over $400,000 for us, but with tariffs, it’ll be at least $600,000.”

Furthermore, I'm not afraid to tell you that this type of car isn't sold domestically; the total number in the country is no more than fifty. Those who own this car are mostly diplomats, foreign businessmen, or people of high status and influence—either gifts from others or purchased abroad and brought in by someone with the means.

In China, you can only see cars like this in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen; they're practically nonexistent elsewhere. Wucheng certainly doesn't have a single one; I don't need to elaborate on its rarity.

After he said that, Sister Qiao became even more enamored with the car.

Even Chen Yan couldn't help but complain to Li Long: "Boss Li, you didn't tell me about this before. If you had known this car was so rare, it might have been sold in the first two times."

Because of selling cars in recent years, Li Long has developed a habit of subscribing to car magazines, and that's where he gets his information.

He only stumbled upon this after Liu Gaolou left, and now he's just putting what he learned to good use.

Of course, it's also for the convenience of selling cars. Otherwise, if someone asks him what kind of car it is and what the price is, he won't know the answer and it will be difficult for him to give a proper response.

"Then just tell me the price." The more Sister Qiao looked at it, the more she loved it. After hearing Li Long's introduction, she felt even more that buying it would definitely be prestigious, as it was the only one of its kind in the entire city.

She figured even if the price was a bit high, she'd still buy it. Once she gained fame, her clothing store would definitely become a hit.

“Four hundred and eighty thousand,” Li Long said. “You were brought here by Yanzi, and Yanzi is an acquaintance of mine. For her sake, let’s not mince words. If you can accept this price, then take the car and leave. If you can’t, then let’s look at other cars.”

Sister Qiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The price was lower than she had expected. Li Long had laid so much groundwork beforehand; in her opinion, it should have been over 500,000.

But her business instincts kicked in, and she still wanted to haggle: "Mr. Li, you just said that a new car is only $50,000, which at our exchange rate is no more than 500,000. Selling a used car at the price of a new car, isn't that a bit unfair of you?"

"I'll tell you about the $50,000 price, but that's the price abroad. In our country, you need to have somewhere to buy it if you want to spend $50,000."

Given the current number of these cars on the road, diplomats and foreign businessmen are unlikely to sell them to you, right? Driving one of these cars definitely makes you look good, and it sounds impressive. Just parking it in front of your shop will turn heads.

With every word Li Long spoke, Sister Qiao couldn't help but nod in agreement. It was all the truth. In the end, she still couldn't negotiate a price and willingly signed the contract with Li Long and paid the money.

Only after paying did she belatedly take the car for a test drive. After driving around the yard of the recycling station twice, Sister Qiao was very satisfied.

When she was test driving the car, Chen Yan told Li Long that it would be best to tell her about the history of the Mercedes-Benz cars they currently had, so that she could introduce them to her friends.

"If you see another BMW like this, be sure to call me. This car is so prestigious; I should have ordered it myself." Chen Yan was still a little regretful about bringing Sister Qiao along.

"Do you have enough money yourself?" Li Long wasn't looking down on her, but he felt that she probably didn't do anything else besides acting as an intermediary for him.

Money isn't so easy to earn.

"If it's not enough, I can borrow some from you!" Chen Yan said with a hint of coquetry. "We've known each other for a long time, and I get so much commission from the business I bring you. You must have earned more than a million, right? Lending me some is no big deal, is it?"

"No, no, no, business is business, and friendship is friendship. Besides, we only have a business relationship. When I told Sister Qiao that we were old acquaintances, that was for her to hear. Let's be realistic."

As Li Long said this, he was secretly amazed. How could someone who was originally so dashing and aloof smile so charmingly when it came to money and business?
Be vigilant, be vigilant.

"Tch!" Chen Yan said with dissatisfaction, "You're obsessed with money, so rigid and stingy! I was even thinking of giving you a chance!"

"Don't be like that! When you and that kid plotted against me, didn't you know I was married? If that's the case, then I'll just have to keep my distance from you!"

Chen Yan pursed her lips and remained silent.

She was actually rejected! Of course, she didn't expect that either. She hadn't paid attention to this person beforehand, and the subsequent transactions were purely transactional. When she finally remembered to pay attention to him, she was surprised to find that Li Long was already married.

This is understandable. At that time, although a large number of people went into business, some second-generation rich kids believed that business was inherently inferior to their own.

It was only after Chen Yan became a middleman that she realized how difficult it was to earn money, which is why her personality changed.

Of course, her hardships are far easier compared to those who are truly at the bottom of society.

After driving around twice to familiarize herself with the car, Sister Qiao got out, shook hands with Li Long as a farewell, and then told Chen Yan to hurry back to Urumqi.

She couldn't wait to show it off to her friends.

Chen Yan was also eager to leave, which made things a little awkward.

The two cars drove away one after the other. Li Long was quite happy. This one sale had wiped out all the money he had spent on clothes over the past few days, and he even had some left over.

This vehicle is quite rare in China, but not in Kazakhstan. Almaty alone has dozens of them, and a used one costs less than $20,000 there. If you use it to exchange for goods, the price is even lower.

As usual, Li Long gave the employees here a red envelope. He then told Sun Jiaqiang and Liang Shuangcheng to continue shopping, including cotton-padded clothes, cotton-padded shoes, felt buckets, and the like.

Although the company is quite wealthy, the previous investments were just the basic foundation, and the new investments are the surplus. Only with a surplus can they continue to make purchases.

On November 24th, Liu Gaolou drove over again, this time in a convoy of over thirty vehicles. Twenty of them were luxury cars, and the rest were scrap copper, leather, and antelope horns.

Such a large quantity surprised Li Long, and it also made him realize firsthand how desperately the supplies were being cut off there.

Liu Shanmin, having connected with higher-level officials, took even more unconventional approaches. (End of Chapter)