Reborn in the 1980s, starting with fishing and hunting to build a fortune

Chapter 117 Fur Factory

After Wang Guiying pressed the kitchen knife under Li Xiangyang's pillow, she continued to ramble on for a while.

What should I do if I'm possessed by an evil spirit?

What is shamanic ritual? What is standing chopsticks upright in a water bowl? What is summoning a spirit horse? What is sweeping the hall with a kitchen knife to exorcise evil spirits? What is burning a fire basin at an empty doorway and stepping over fire? — and so on and so forth...

Li Xiangyang was getting annoyed by what he heard, so he raised his hand and shushed her, "Shh~ Mom, did you hear me?"

Wang Guiying frowned: "What? What did you hear—?"

"Your father is calling you over."

"You called me? Why would you call me? You didn't, did you?"

"Yes, yes, yes, your father is calling you. He seems to be in a hurry. Go over there quickly, and you'll find out when you get to the main room."

As Li Xiangyang spoke, he slowly pushed Wang Guiying out and bolted the door shut.

The world is quiet.

However, when Li Xiangyang returned to the kang (a heated brick bed), lay down and thought about it, he smiled again.

At seventy years old, having an old woman by your side nagging—is that happiness? Is that happiness? Or is that happiness?

The next day, at 5:30 a.m., just as dawn was breaking, the kerosene lamp in the Li family's house was lit again.

The two brothers quickly washed up with hot water, ate some milk tea and cornbread, and then led their horses to Wuzhen.

The road to Wuzhen is still difficult to travel, and some sections are even worse than yesterday. The snow is already above knee-deep, and no one has returned to Qingli.

However, the two brothers, Li Xiangyang and Li Xiangdong, have made several trips back and forth recently, and they've gotten used to it.

Practice makes perfect, even walking in the snow is the same.

However, by the time they arrived at the state-run restaurant, it was already broad daylight.

Yesterday we harvested five sheep, which yielded a total of 110 jin of mutton, 30 jin of bones, and 35 jin of offal.

According to the prices given by the state-run restaurant yesterday, mutton is 2.5 yuan per jin, mutton bones are 0.5 yuan per jin, and mutton offal is 1 yuan per jin.

It sold for a total of 335 yuan.

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Although Li Xiangdong's hands didn't tremble like they had yesterday when he received the money, he was still very excited.

Afterwards, the two brothers were invited by Tu Weimin to his office for tea. Along the way, the restaurant staff who saw them greeted them very warmly.

Yesterday, word spread throughout the restaurant that the only reason it was still able to operate was thanks to Tu's two distant cousins, who risked being arrested to travel a long distance to bring them sheep.

This indirectly helped them keep their jobs.

Before the Li brothers, Li Xiangyang and Li Xiangdong, could sit down for even a moment, there was a knock on the door.

"What is it? Can't you see I have a customer here?"

Tu Weimin had just sat down when he had to get up again to open the door, so his tone was somewhat displeased.

After what happened in the back room yesterday, his prestige in the hotel is now higher than that of the deputy director. With his newfound confidence, he naturally puts on a more imposing air.

But he remained as enthusiastic as ever towards the Li brothers.

Because he knew that this confidence came from his two brothers.

"Team Leader Tu, my master heard that your cousin is here, so he specially cooked two side dishes and asked me to bring them over."

Wow, she's quite sensible.

Upon hearing this, Tu Weimin's expression softened considerably, and he said with a smile, "Then please thank Old Xu for me."

The three of them then ate some side dishes and chatted casually.

Li Xiangdong ate the delicious side dishes silently, feeling a mix of emotions.

Think back to just over twenty years ago, when they first came to Wuzhen to sell fish, they were cold and tired and couldn't even find a place to rest, let alone have anyone treat them to a meal.

Only twenty-odd days have passed, and everything has changed completely.

Whether it was a recycling station, Aunt Pang's house, or a state-run restaurant, they were always served milk tea, and if they were hungry, they could get some food.

This was something he had never dared to dream of before.

"By the way, Brother Weimin, why didn't I see Xiao Liu and Xiao Zhang today?" Li Xiangyang asked curiously.

When they came a couple of days ago, it was Tu Weimin's two team members who were busy taking care of things, but they weren't there today.

Could it be because I offended Tu Weimin yesterday that I was sent out to buy ingredients early this morning?

"I resigned." Tu Weimin replied calmly, then, after a moment's thought, added angrily, "Those two ingrates! I treated them quite well normally, and they betrayed me at this crucial moment!"

"Oh, you resigned already?"

"Uh-huh."

"Aren't they the deputy director's men?" Li Xiangyang asked tentatively.

He didn't want Tu Weimin to actually be ousted by that deputy director. The state-run restaurant was still one of their biggest clients. If Tu Weimin were to be removed one day, things would definitely not be so easy for them anymore.

"Don't worry! It was approved by our director. Since they can't get anything done, the restaurant can't just keep them around for nothing."

Moreover, the deputy director can't touch me now.

Tu Weimin raised an eyebrow at them.

"Oh, that's good, that's good."

After a short while, seeing that the food on the table was almost finished, Li Xiangyang asked, "Brother Weimin, do you know any of the fur factories around here?"

"A fur factory? What do you need a fur factory for?"

"Your restaurant has almost finished harvesting its sheep, right? I'd like to take some time in the next few days to go hunting in the mountains. If I get any pelts, I can sell them to them."

"That's great! You've sent over nine sheep these past two days, so the restaurant has almost run out of mutton. It would be even better if you could send over pheasants or rabbits later."

However, I don't know anyone at the fur factory, I only know the address. If you need me, I can tell you or take you there.

O

"There's no need to take us there; we just need to know roughly where it is first."

The rule of keeping wealth hidden is an ironclad rule, whether it's one's parents or siblings. The money they've made at the state-run restaurant these past two days has been enough to make anyone envious, earning hundreds of dollars each time.

If they were to find out that Li Xiangyang had acquired a sable pelt, their envy would instantly turn into jealousy.

After leaving the state-run restaurant, Li Xiangyang and his brother followed the directions given by Tu Weimin and made their way to a small river.

As soon as the two approached, they smelled a very unpleasant odor in the air—the fishy smell of tanned leather and fur. Li Xiangyang felt nauseous instantly, but he knew he had come to the right place.

Not far along the stream, we saw a simple two- or three-story building made of red bricks by the roadside.

The gate wall is mottled, and a large wooden sign with white background and black characters hangs on it, which reads "Wuzhen's No. 1 Fur Factory".

Looking up, I couldn't help but shudder. The fur factory's roof was covered with light gray asbestos tiles.

Li Xiangyang quickly tore two pieces of cloth from the saddle and told Li Xiangdong to cover their mouths together.

This thing is cheap, can keep out rain and wind, and also has a certain fireproof effect. It was commonly seen in rural areas in the 1980s and early 1990s and was often used to cover roofs and build simple sheds.

But this stuff is poisonous!

Asbestos is a natural mineral that looks like a hairy stone, which may seem interesting, but it is actually very dangerous.

It contains asbestos fibers that are finer than a human hair, and are as hard and brittle as glass needles.

If you accidentally touch it, the asbestos fibers will immediately break off inside, causing pain for several days, no matter how much you wash your hands.

Asbestos is also extremely fragile, and its glass fibers can be inhaled into the lungs along with the dust. Inhaling too much can lead to asbestosis, which is carcinogenic.

It was classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the World Health Organization, but the general public at the time had little understanding of it.

As the two brothers reached the iron gate, an old man from the gatehouse poked his head out, coughed twice, and then asked, "Who are you looking for?"