Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 219 New Identity, New Opportunity

That morning, Meng Zhiqiang saw how Li Long sold fish and understood why he could make so much money.

Li Long did not go to Shicheng today, and sold the fish directly at the county morning market.

At the morning market, when Meng Zhiqiang arrived, Li Long was shouting there. A group of people gathered around his stall. Li Long was weighing fish and collecting money in an orderly manner while reminding everyone to pay attention to their wallets and not to put their hands into the basin.

Meng Zhiqiang admired him very much - when he sold fish, although there were not many each time, people would pinch the fish when picking them, and some of the fish would be pinched to death. In the end, he had to sell them at a low price or even throw them away.

But seeing Li Long talking to those people who asked for money in a calm and composed manner, he felt that Li Long was very brave. Wasn't he afraid that others would not buy his fish?
But seeing so many people surrounding Li Long, he felt that he was overthinking. There were so many people, if one or two left, there would still be many others.

However, Li Long didn’t bring many fish today, and he sold all of them in half an hour and left.

Meng Zhiqiang was very impressed. He also wanted to shout like Li Long, but after opening his mouth several times, no sound came out.

Is it embarrassing? Is it shameful?

It doesn't seem to be.

Are you just being proud?
A little bit...

Li Long actually picked out some of the fish and put them in a basin in the yard. After selling the fish, he went to have breakfast, came back and changed his clothes in the yard, then went to the supply and marketing cooperative with the fish and a bag of reed leaves.

Li Xiangqian had just returned to his office after a meeting when Li Long arrived.

"If you don't come, I'll go find you... This big carp is nice, what is this small fish?"

"We call it ditch fish, but it is actually plateau loach, which is good for nourishing the kidneys and strengthening yang." Li Long explained.

"What about this?" Li Xiangqian asked, looking at the bag.

"Look, these are reed leaves, and these are horse lotus leaves, for wrapping rice dumplings. I've boiled half of them, so they're easier to wrap, and I've uncooked the other half, so they can be kept for a while. I'll boil them when I want to wrap them."

"Oh, that's right. The Dragon Boat Festival is less than ten days away. You are really thoughtful. I accept the gift." Li Xiangqian laughed.

The reason why Li Long used horse lotus leaves was not because he couldn't afford the rope, but because he had always felt that the rice dumplings wrapped with the rope were very uncomfortable. After all, horse lotus leaves are pure natural, and they are tough enough after being boiled, and they are comfortable to wrap and look at.

"How many leaves?"

"This pack contains 100 dried and 100 cooked reed leaves," Li Long said. "Reed leaves are big, two or three leaves can make a zongzi, which is enough for our family."

"Yeah." Li Xiangqian nodded and changed the subject:
"Xiaolong, you have obtained the identity of a forest ranger in the forestry team. Here, take it." Li Xiangqian took out a folded piece of paper from the drawer and handed it to him.

Li Long took the paper, opened it and had a look. It stated in official document format that Li Long was appointed as the forest ranger of the Seventh Forestry Team. It did not specify the specific section of responsibility, but it did state that other forest rangers and forestry team employees were required to cooperate with Li Long's actions.

That's pretty impressive.

"Your whip is still more effective." Li Xiangqian said with a smile. He took another look at the ditch fish and thought about giving it a try when he got back.

"Oh, there's one more thing. This year, all of our places have implemented the household contract responsibility system, and the Corps has also expanded its staff, so we don't have enough production tools. Our supply and marketing cooperative has received a procurement task, take a look."

Li Xiangqian took out a piece of paper, which was handwritten and a bit casual. Li Long guessed that Li Xiangqian must have written it down during a meeting.

"Three thousand large brooms?" Li Long was shocked. "So many?"

"It's a lot, but not expensive. The purchase price is 3.5 yuan per bunch." Li Xiangqian said, "And the time required is uncertain. After the task is officially issued, it may take ten days or half a month to deliver the goods. If you want to take this task, you have to prepare in advance - can you do it?"

"No problem!" Li Long thought for a moment and said, "We still have some sedge left from last year in our team, and this year's sedge will be ready for harvest in about a month.

Now the main issue is the broom, which I have time to prepare now... In fact, it is faster to make a big broom, and an experienced person can make ten brooms a day. We can have thirty or forty experienced people in our team, and we can make three or four hundred brooms a day, and in ten days..."

"Can you really do it?" Li Xiangqian still didn't quite believe it.

"Don't worry, Chief. I came from the countryside after all. Some time ago, I made a big broom for my niece at school. The kind that doesn't shed weeds..."

"Yes, yes, yes, the quality must be up to standard, no flaws."

"It can definitely be done." Li Long took on the task confidently.

Three thousand handles. Not to mention the commission, just preparing the wooden handles in advance can make me earn some money.

Once this task is completed, I will almost become a millionaire.

When Li Long was about to leave, Li Xiangqian suddenly said at the door of the office:
"Xiaolong, is it easy to handle this reed leaf?"

"That's easy!" Li Long said, "How many do you want, Chief? I can get you 3,500 leaves, right?"

"I want to buy some." Li Xiangqian whispered, "The Dragon Boat Festival is coming, and as the head of the purchasing department, I have to do something fashionable. Our supply and marketing cooperative has glutinous rice and red dates, and I will give them to everyone. Then our employees will thank me very much. Oh, and there is a share for you."

"How much does that cost?"

"How do you plan to sell the leaves?"

"A bunch of twenty leaves, plus ten horse lotus leaves, sell for six cents..." Li Long thought for a moment and said, "It can make seven or eight dumplings, which is enough for a family..."

"Don't be stingy. One cent a piece." Li Xiangqian said, "I want to buy 600 pieces. When can you deliver them?"

"The day after tomorrow." Li Long said, "Do you want it cooked or uncooked?"

"Just cook it, it saves trouble." Li Xiangqian said.

"Okay, I'll deliver it the day after tomorrow morning. By the way, Chief, how much is a kilogram of glutinous rice, red dates and raisins?"

"What? You want to get some to sell?" Li Xiangqian saw through Li Long's thoughts.

"Hehe." Li Long actually wanted to purchase a batch and then sell them cheaply to the people in the team, mainly those who work with him. Half-selling and half-giving away, it can be considered a welfare.

"As for the purchase price, glutinous rice is 88 cents, red dates are one dollar, and raisins are one dollar. " Li Xiangqian said, "You are considered an insider, so just add one or two cents to the purchase price. Of course, if you want more, more than 50 kilograms of each kind, then it can be cheaper."

"Okay, thank you, Chief. I'm leaving now!"

After completing his first deal, Li Long left the supply and marketing cooperative somewhat excitedly.

He also gave Zhong Guoqiang and Chen Hongjun some reed leaves and fish as an advance holiday gift.

Chen Hongjun didn't expect Li Long to give him this. He was a little surprised and touched:

"Xiao Li, you are thoughtful."

"Haha, I should."

The next day, after Li Long sold some fish at the morning market, he went to the compound to change his clothes and then rode his bike to Shicheng.

He went to Shicheng to look for Chief Hu of the Logistics Department of the Bayi Sugar Factory.

Section Chief Hu Xianxu was writing something in his office when he heard the guard say that someone was looking for him. It was the man who sold sheep during the Chinese New Year. After thinking for a while, he thought of the young man. He asked the guard to let the man in, thinking about what the young man wanted.

"Give it to me? Fish? Reed leaves?" The fish were fine, but what about the reed leaves? However, these two big carps were really beautiful. As the head of the logistics department, Hu Xianxu was well-informed. There were not many such beautiful fish.

Hu Xianxu was a little confused, so Li Long hurriedly explained:

"Chief Hu, the Dragon Boat Festival is coming soon, and I thought we didn't have much good stuff in our village. These reed leaves and horseweed are used to make rice dumplings, so I sent some to show my appreciation. Chief Hu helped us a lot during the New Year."

"Haha, you're welcome, you're welcome." Knowing that reed leaves are used to wrap zongzi, Hu Xianxu suddenly realized that, yes, the Dragon Boat Festival is coming soon. He looked at the reed leaves and his eyes lit up:
"Xiao Li, you are thoughtful. How many rice dumplings can be wrapped with these reed leaves?"

"I brought you twenty bunches of dried ones and twenty bunches of boiled ones. One bunch has twenty leaves, a total of eight hundred leaves. Oh, and there are also horse lotus leaves. After boiling, these horse lotus leaves are just right for wrapping zongzi. They have a special fragrance. We grow reeds there, and the leaves are big. Two or three leaves can wrap a zongzi..."

"So, these leaves can make two or three hundred zongzi?"

"Yes." Li Long said.

"That's pretty good. But it's just reed leaves, no glutinous rice or raisins..."

"That's easy." Li Long's eyes lit up when he heard it. "Chief Hu, I'm a buyer for the county supply and marketing cooperative. We have glutinous rice, red dates and raisins. I should be able to get some for you at a low price..."

"Really?" Hu Xianxu was a little unconvinced. After all, the last time he met Li Long, he was just a villager. Now he has become a buyer?

Li Long took out the certificate - he had placed it well and was sure not to take it out by mistake.

Looking at the paper, Hu Xianxu smiled:
"Well, let's not bother two people with one thing. Calculate how much the reed leaves, glutinous rice, red dates, and raisins cost."

"There are 20 reed leaves in a bunch, plus 10 horseweeds. The boiled ones are 10 cents, and the uncooked ones are 8 cents..." Li Long thought the price should be unified, so he said, "Glutinous rice is 1.2 yuan, red dates are 1.5 yuan, and raisins are 1.6 yuan."

"I see. Fine. Bring me a thousand bunches of boiled reed leaves. Five hundred kilograms of glutinous rice, and two hundred kilograms each of red dates and raisins."

The price Li Long offered was cheaper than that in the department store. Section Chief Hu knew this, so he asked for a lot.

Of course, the sugar factory itself has a large number of employees, and each family is given one or two kilograms of glutinous rice, half a kilogram of red dates and half a kilogram of raisins. The logistics department must reserve some for emergencies.

After Li Long left, Section Chief Hu thought for a while, this Li Long is really amazing, he said he was here to deliver something, but actually he was here to explore the way, if he succeeds in this deal, he can make a lot of money, right?
Li Long made a lot of money. One thousand bunches of reed leaves cost one hundred yuan, and he bought them at a price of three cents a bunch. He made seventy yuan by cooking them. He made two cents a kilogram of glutinous rice, and fifty cents a kilogram of red dates and raisins, which was more than three hundred yuan!

I can still make dozens of dollars from Li Xiangqian. What I discussed in the past two days is equivalent to selling fish for ten days!

Li Long went home happily.

Qin Jiajie borrowed money from the Li family. This seemed to have ignited a fuse, and immediately two more families came to the Li family to borrow money.

Li Long agreed and exchanged it for reed leaves.

These people were very happy and immediately took people to the reed lake to pick reed leaves.

Some people even came to ask Li Long if he would accept the reed leaves if they could sell them directly to him.

"Yes, give them the same price. A handful of reed leaves has twenty pieces. With ten stalks of horsetail it's three cents. Without the horsetail it's two cents." Li Long said it very clearly.

He had already set up a big pot in the yard and was boiling reed leaves.

There was originally a stove in the Li family's courtyard, but now it was obviously not enough, so they temporarily set up another stove to cook pig food and reed leaves.

Just use a different pot.

This time the whole family joined in. After the boiled reed leaves were tied together, the whole family put the broken leaves aside, and Li Long was responsible for cutting them - the front part of the reed leaves had to be cut off, otherwise the leaves would easily be broken when wrapping.

The total number of leaves from both sides was 1,500. The Li family finished the job in two days, and villagers even sent some leaves over.

Four days before the Dragon Boat Festival, Li Long stopped purchasing.

"No, this is the last batch today." Li Long said to everyone who brought leaves, including the babies.

The news that the Li family collected reed leaves spread throughout the village. The children would pick up a few handfuls of leaves and exchange them for a few cents or a dime, and then go to the store to exchange them for candy.

Li Long made a rough estimate and found that in addition to the reed leaves to be sent to the supply and marketing cooperative and the sugar factory, there were still about a thousand leaves left over.

Nearly half of it was sent by Qin Jiajie's family. On his IOU, Li Long waived forty-one yuan.

The other two families borrowed less money, so they delivered the reed leaves later, so they also received less money.

"What will you do with all those remaining reed leaves after you deliver them?" Li Jianguo was a little worried.

"I'll sell the rest when I sell fish," Li Long said. "I'll deliver the reed leaves to the supply and marketing cooperative and the sugar factory today, then set up the nets in the afternoon. I'll sell the reed leaves when I sell fish tomorrow."

"Then cook?"

"It's still better to cook it. It's easier to sell after cooking."

"Row."

"Brother, I need to use that carriage."

"Do you need to ask?" Li Jianguo smiled, "Go ahead, do you need help?"

"No need, I can just take Daqiang with me."

"Remember to ask Daqiang to run errands, and you have to pay him."

"That's for sure."

Li Long and Tao Daqiang hitched a horse-drawn carriage and loaded with reed leaves and went to the supply and marketing cooperative early in the morning. After unloading the 500 bundles of reed leaves needed by the cooperative, they took the note approved by Li Xiangqian, went to the finance department to pay the money, got the seal, and then went to the warehouse to get glutinous rice, red dates and raisins.

When Li Longtou saw the warehouse of the supply and marketing cooperative for the first time, he was really eye-opening.

Barrels of cooking oil, bales of cotton cloth, boxes of wine...

The red dates and raisins were packed in sacks, and the glutinous rice was packed in cloth bags. The custodian counted the bags one by one for Li Long, and Li Long and Tao Daqiang loaded the bags one by one into the car.

After packing the things, Li Long and Tao Daqiang came out, and Tao Daqiang suddenly said:

"Brother Long, it would be great if all the things in this warehouse were ours. We would have enough to last for many years..."

Well, Li Long felt that the brother he brought with him really had no choice but to follow him.

There are so many things to eat but we only think about eating them. Our vision, our perspective, and our pattern need to be broadened!

He led the carriage to the big yard, unloaded a bag of glutinous rice and some red dates and raisins, loaded a shovel, and then the two of them happily drove the carriage to Shicheng.

(End of this chapter)