Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

The melon seeds that brother picked were particularly clean, two sacks weighing 126 kilograms. Li Long saw that the brother packed the melon seeds very cleanly, so he raised the price to one yuan per kilogram, a total of 138.6 yuan.

After Fan Mingcheng waited for the old man to take the melon seeds away, he said to Li Long:
"Boss Li, here I come again. This time, I am just as good at picking melon seeds as the guy just now!"

Since Fan Mingcheng has this confidence, Li Long will naturally give him this opportunity.

Li Long originally wanted to pick up a bag and take it down for inspection, but Fan Mingcheng was obviously very confident, so he took down all the bags of melon seeds.

Li Long opened a bag and took a handful of food.

It’s okay, quite clean. Some of the empty seeds are gone, and there are no impurities in this handful of melon seeds.

I changed a few bags and they all looked good, although I could occasionally see some white, unfilled melon seeds, but it was still pretty good.

"Okay, I'll also charge you one yuan for your melon seeds - but if you still bring in the same kind in a couple of days, I'll charge you one yuan at most." Li Long said, "Today, with that guy in front of me, I feel a little embarrassed to lower the price for you, but to be honest, your processing is not as good as others."

"I know, I know." When Fan Mingcheng heard what Li Long said, his face was as bright as a flower. "Boss Li, don't worry, I will definitely deal with the melon seeds I collect cleanly!"

This time, Fan Mingcheng collected more than one ton of melon seeds, and Li Long paid him more than 1,400 yuan.

Fan Mingcheng didn't make much money this time, and it took a lot of effort. But he was very happy because it was a big job.

Is there any future for middlemen?

Very few.

He had heard about Li Long's story of making a fortune - to be honest, it is really not easy to find out about some people's origins, especially some detailed processes, these days.

Fortunately, there are newspapers now, and Li Long’s experience was reported in the Autonomous Region Daily and Beiting Daily.

Although it is not very detailed, we can analyze from it that Li Long also started out as a middleman dealer and eventually became what he is today.

Li Long's path to wealth is very clear. He started by selling fish and reselling things from the mountains to accumulate assets step by step, and later reselling Fritillaria.

Now Fan Mingcheng is also doing Fritillaria in the summer, but the profit he makes is definitely less. Moreover, his shortcoming in collecting Fritillaria from the mountain people is that he doesn't know many people.

But this melon seed is different. Fan Mingcheng himself was born in the countryside, and many families in his township grow melons. Last year or two, someone made money from growing melons and bought a tractor. This news spread throughout the county, resulting in a large number of people growing melons.

Now that they knew they couldn’t sell the melons, the melon growers panicked, so Fan Mingcheng easily bought a truckload of them at 90 cents a kilogram.

Although I make 20 cents per kilogram, this tractor truck carries more than a ton, so I can make 200 yuan.

Running for seven or eight days normally is not as good as this!

So Fan Mingcheng knew that this was his chance. Maybe he could earn enough to buy a tractor during this melon seed season!

Fan Mingcheng was excited and drove away excitedly on his tractor.

The others in the yard saw that Fan Mingcheng had unloaded the melon seeds but did not take them back, so they knew that he had sold them. Then they saw that his expression was obviously suppressing his happiness, so they knew that the price must be good and he made a lot of money.

Some people looked at each other, and some were wondering whether they should also go and collect some melon seeds.

Even if you don't have a tractor, you can still make some money if you have a bicycle and carry two sacks like the guy just now.

It is easy to find melon seeds, which is much easier than running around the countryside to collect them like a lottery.

There were smart people among these people who seriously asked Gu Boyuan and Sun Jiaqiang about the precautions for collecting melon seeds. There were also some reckless people who collected them after selling their things. Some of them, like Fan Mingcheng, ran into obstacles.

After all, those people think that if they can't reach the special grade, then it's okay to make the collected melon seeds cleaner and give them a grade, right?

The first level they are thinking of is different from the first level that Li Long is judging.

Tiejia is located in the east of Ma County, which is still considered a suburb at the moment. Only in 20 or 30 years will it be expanded into a road.

In the yard, Tielanhua was sorting the melon seeds she had collected. Since Sun Jiaqiang said it was okay, Tielanhua persuaded her parents to take out some money to go to the village to buy them.

They don't have a tractor, but only a half-new bicycle. They usually keep it at home and only ride it when they go to far places to collect goods. This time, Tielanhua also rode the bicycle to collect two sacks -

Tielanhua's father didn't quite believe that this could make money, so the money he gave Tielanhua was not much.

Fortunately, Tielanhua often went to the countryside, and the farmer she harvested this time was one she dealt with frequently. She paid for one sack and bought another sack on credit.

The Tie family was very happy because they bought the goods for 85 cents and got an extra sack.

After all, if you make 1.5 cents per kilogram, you can make more than ten dollars from these two sacks.

But Tielanhua did not take the melon seeds directly to the purchasing station as her family said. Sun Jiaqiang told her that Boss Li had very high standards and they had to be clean.

Tie Lanhua also asked about the standard requirements for the special grade. She was actually aiming for the special grade, but when Sun Jiaqiang told her about it, she knew that it was impossible.

So let’s just go with level one, level one is fine.

The price is even cheaper than the market price because the melon seeds are taken out from the melon pods and some impurities get into them when they are dried, and the farmers don't clean them very well.

The main reason is that they know that the melons cannot be sold at a high price, so they don’t care about it. After all, some people in the village said that the melon seeds cannot even be sold.

So at 85 cents, they still sell it. If Tielanhua hadn't had the financial resources, she might have been able to bring back two tons of melon seeds today.

"What are you still doing there? Can't you just take it to the collection station and sell it?" Tie Jinbing looked at his sister busying herself there and said with some dissatisfaction, "We can collect some more after we sell it. Otherwise, when others collect it, we will have no chance."

"Just take it away like that. It can't be sold." Tielanhua didn't think much about her brother not helping her with the work. In a family that favors boys over girls, this kind of thing was normal.

Tie Jinbing usually pays attention to his image when he goes out, but this is not the case in his own yard. He is not in a hurry to sell the goods and then collect them, but he thinks that after selling them, he can have time to meet the girl he likes and brag about making money again today.

He took all the blame for what his sister Tielanhua did, so in the eyes of another Hui girl, Tie Jinbing was a very capable young man.

"Then let's find the guy named Sun. He has been working there for such a long time, he should have some face, right?" Tiejinbing said again.

Tielanhua stopped what she was doing, looked up at her brother, and said seriously:

"Do you think it's possible? Jiaqiang is just a helper. If he can get Boss Li to lower the acquisition standards, then he is no longer a helper but the boss! He doesn't have that ability, and I wouldn't say that!"

Tie Lanhua's tone became serious and Tie Jinbing didn't know what to say.

He is very smart and knows that his sister has a bottom line. Sometimes he will bully her, but if her bottom line is really touched, his sister Tielanhua will also lose control.

If they quarrel, it will be embarrassing - all the neighbors will be involved. The Tie family, especially his father Tie Yinhu, are very concerned about their reputation and don't want others to know that there is such a conflict in his family.

"Okay, okay, you can do whatever you want, as long as you don't mind the fatigue! But Dad will be back soon, and I won't care if he scolds you then!"

After saying this, the Iron Soldier went into the house.

After Tiejinbing entered the house, Tielanhua sighed and continued to sort the melon seeds.

Her mother, Ma Haimai, came out of the house and squatted beside her to help Tielanhua pick out the stones and impurities from the melon seeds. As she picked, she muttered:
"Your brother is doing this for your own good. The guy working at the purchasing station is Han Chinese, so your father would definitely not agree. You should save more money now, and when your brother gets married, there will be one more woman working at home, and you will be able to relax a little more..."

Tielanhua disagreed with her mother's words, but she didn't say anything. It was impossible to reason with someone like her mother.

Fortunately, she went to school and was often outside collecting things. She had seen the world and understood more than her mother. Otherwise, she might have gradually become the same kind of person as her mother.

She doesn't want to.

Despite this, Tielanhua still felt a little guilty when she finally pushed her bicycle carrying two sacks of melon seeds to the purchasing station.

There were two sacks of melon seeds. She had screened one bag, but she didn't have time to sort the other one. Her father didn't want her to waste her time on this, so he asked her to take it to the purchasing station and sell it first.

Tie Lanhua had no choice. If she didn't agree, Tie Yinhu would really beat her, even though she was an adult now. Li Long looked at the first sack of melon seeds pouring onto the sieve, nodded and said:
"Not bad, it's quite clean. Pour that bag in too and weigh them together."

Tielanhua blushed a little, shook her head and said:
"That bag...isn't as clean as this one?"

Li Long looked at the girl with some surprise.

Tielanhua had no way to explain this matter, and Tiejinbing said on the side:
"All up and down, all the same..."

Li Long looked up at the Iron Soldiers and ignored him, but said:

"Weigh this first."

Tiejinbing wanted to pester him again, but Li Long looked at him again and Tiejinbing didn't dare to speak.

Li Long called to Sun Jiaqiang beside him to help weigh the melon seeds in the sack.

"Seventy-seven kilograms." Sun Jiaqiang put the weights on the scale one by one and said finally.

"This one is cleaner, I'll charge you one dollar and one kilogram." Li Long had to give Sun Jiaqiang some face after all, "Eighty-four dollars and seventy. Xiao Sun, write it down, let's look at the next bag."

This bag was put into the sack prepared by Sun Jiaqiang, and Li Long untied the rope of the other bag.

As soon as he saw it, Li Long frowned.

There are white seeds, shrunken seeds, lumps of earth, and grass stalks.

"We won't accept this." Li Long was too lazy to even check it. "There are too many impurities. It won't pass the grade."

When Tie Jinbing heard this, he wanted to tangle with her. Li Long looked up at Tie Lanhua and said:

"I'll take it once it's clean. I can't take it like this."

Then he looked at the Iron Soldier and said, "You've never done any work, have you? The bag was cleaned, wasn't it you who did it?"

Tiejinbing was speechless after hearing Li Long's question.

"Keep the account and settle the bill." Li Long said.

After registering Tielanhua, paying the money and signing, Li Long went to watch the next person picking melon seeds.

Sun Jiaqiang helped Tielanhua lift the bag of confiscated melon seeds and put it on the back seat of the bicycle, and whispered, "Go back and sift it carefully. We can collect it again after it is clean."

Tielanhua nodded ashamedly. She was anxious to escape from the yard.

It was the first time she felt so embarrassed in front of Sun Jiaqiang.

In fact, she knew, and Sun Jiaqiang knew, that this was a family matter, not hers. But no matter what, at this time, everyone believed that family and individual were tied together and could not be separated.

Li Long didn't care about that and let Sun Jiaqiang handle the details. His attention was on the other people selling melon seeds.

I didn't expect that so many people came here to sell melon seeds in the past two days. Up to now, the purchasing station has collected more than five tons of melon seeds.

He had originally planned to go to the production team today, but now he can't go, so he has to deal with the situation here first.

It was not until the purchasing station closed in the evening that Li Long drove his jeep hurriedly to the fourth team.

Team 4 was where he had lived for nearly ten years, and it was considered his home. Many people here grew melons, and although they didn't listen to his advice, he still had to take care of them.

Of course, the machines for flattening and removing melon seeds are still here, so we have to use them.

As soon as Li Long returned to the Li family, someone came to ask about the situation.

Some people actually already knew that Li Zailong was collecting melon seeds at the purchasing station, but no one in the team took him there to sell them. They just wanted to wait and see what Li Long would say when he came back.

"I bought it at the purchasing station. Special grade is 1.5 yuan, and first grade is 1 yuan." Li Long told the seven or eight people who came over. "Special grade is the one with the seeds pressed flat, and first grade is especially clean without impurities. Of course, special grade must also be free of impurities... I don't need to explain how to press it. You all knew it when we were planting it last year."

"Isn't this price too low?" White Ball Card complained, "It was selling for $3.50 last year... Not to mention $3.50, even $3, no, $2.50 will do!"

Baiqiuka is older than Li Long and is in the same group as Li Jianguo, but Li Long does not treat him any differently because of his age. These people in the village are all fence-sitters who follow the crowd, and of course what he said also represents the voice of these people.

Li Long said:
"This price is not for you, but mainly for the melon growers. I'm giving it a minimum price, just like a protective price. If you can sell it at a high price, that would be the best. If you can't sell it at a high price, then I'll buy it at this price.

In fact, you know that even if you buy at this price, you will still make money, but not as much as last year, so you feel unbalanced. But think about it, how many households planted melons last year? How many are there this year?

If everyone grows it and can get such a good price, then the market will be huge... at least it is impossible in our county.

I am a representative now, and I have opened a purchasing station. I have more connections than you do, so I can provide a guarantee, but it does not mean that I must let you make as much money as you do. I am not doing charity."

Li Long's words were very straightforward, and he didn't give these people face. But everyone knew that he was telling the truth.

If they paid the price Li Long offered, they would definitely make money - after all, it was much better than growing grain. Even if the team had the best land, one mu of land could produce 200 kilograms of wheat, which would only cost less than 30 yuan if sold to the grain bureau.

According to the price given by Li Long, the first grade is one yuan. An acre of land can produce 100 kilograms of inferior ones, and the better ones can produce 130 or 140, or even 150 or 160, which is more than 100 yuan.

A lot more!

But people are never satisfied. After all, one could earn four or five hundred yuan per acre of land last year!

These people knew that they couldn't bargain with Li Long, so they eventually left.

Later, Xie Yundong and his group came over, and they also came in a bunch. They came because Li Long came over and wanted to chat. Some of them wanted to ask Li Long if he could sell the remaining sunflower seeds.

"You're here just in time. I'll be collecting and threshing melon seeds in the next few days. I have a flattening machine. See if anyone of you is free and can help me flatten the melon seeds. It's 10 cents for one kilogram of flattened seeds."

In the past, one kilogram was 50 cents, which was time-consuming and labor-intensive. Now that there is a flattening machine, Li Long will not charge the original price. He helped them sell sunflowers before, but he didn't make a penny, just helping out. Now it's a business, it's different.

"I'm free." Tao Daqiang raised his hand, and then Jia Weidong responded.

"Count me in." Xie Yundong said hurriedly, he was afraid that if he said it too late, he would have no chance.

One cent is one cent. He had seen the machine at Tao Daqiang's place and knew it was very useful.

All you need to do is soak the melon seeds, which is not a big deal.

Liang Dacheng was about to raise his hand, but Li Long said hurriedly:

"Dacheng, don't do this anymore. Help me pull the melon seeds. I collect a lot in the county. I pull all the melon seeds back and send them to these companies. You just make the shipping fee."

We had previously told Tao Daqiang and the others that the flattening fee would be 10 cents per kilogram, and now that Liang Dacheng is asked to earn the freight, that's all.

Everyone makes their own money.

As for the purchase of the team, Li Long handed it over to his eldest brother. The sunflowers have been harvested, but the sunflower stalks in the field have not been picked up yet. There is no rush to plow the field, so Li Jianguo still has some time. Collecting and threshing melon seeds is not a big job. If someone comes to sell them, they just need to weigh them and pay for them.

This still requires us to pay more attention to the team. Otherwise, if we ask them all to go to the county purchasing station to sell melon seeds, there would be nothing we can do about these people.

After everything was arranged clearly, Li Long went over it in his mind again and found that there were no problems, so he felt relieved.

In this way, the first batch of flattened melon seeds can be harvested in three days. By then, both Bai Xiuming and Dong Zhichao will have something to say when they see them.

Of course, we have to see if Dong Zhichao will buy sunflowers. The fact that the sunflowers of the families in the team have not been sold out is a problem for Li Long. I persuaded my elder brother to plant sunflowers, and these people followed suit. I didn't persuade him at the time, so at least I have to finish this matter.

In fact, the Shicheng roasted nuts factory also accepts goods, but the price is not high. Li Long still wants to make Dong Zhichao the first target of sales. If it doesn't work, he will look for other places. (End of this chapter)