N-M Chapter 24: Another Triumphant Return
Chapter 24: Another Triumphant Return
After selling 20 jin of venison and 1 jin of deer tendon to the state-run restaurant, there are still 80 jin of venison and 1 jin of deer tendon on the cart.
These all need to be taken to the purchasing stations for sale.
If it weren't for the approaching snowstorm and the lack of time, I would try to earn as much money as possible to buy more supplies while the roads are still relatively easy to travel and prices haven't risen too much.
Li Xiangyang really wanted to keep the venison and sell it on the black market later, which might allow him to make more money.
The horse-drawn carriage circled out from the back of the state-run hotel, reached Central Street, and then walked another 400 meters to the pastoral purchasing station in Wuzhen.
Li Xiangdong parked his horse-drawn carriage on the open space to the left of the purchasing station. That piece of land was reserved by the purchasing station for herders who came to sell their goods to park their horse-drawn carriages and horses. He had come here a few times with his father before.
Li Xiangyang had also come a few times during the summer, which was the peak season for shearing and selling wool. The purchasing station was packed with herders who came to sell their wool.
The scene was very lively.
but,
Since winter began in Inner Mongolia in September, the purchasing station has become increasingly deserted.
The brothers Li Xiangyang and Li Xiangdong carried a large sack and pushed open the door to go inside. They saw an old man with gray hair dozing off in a chair.
The stove next to it was burning bright red.
"Ahem, hello comrade."
Li Xiangyang coughed and asked.
Seeing that the old man was still asleep, he coughed loudly twice more.
"Cough cough... cough cough cough..."
This startled the old man awake.
"Oh, hello everyone, what brings you here to sell?"
The old man was awakened by Li Xiangyang's coughing, but he did not show any displeasure on his face.
However, in those times of scarcity, only departments like supply and marketing cooperatives, which were responsible for distributing supplies to external entities, were entitled to be high and mighty.
"Hello, we caught a red deer yesterday. Did you buy it here?"
As Li Xiangyang spoke, he untied the reed rope binding the sack and opened it to show the old man.
"They really are deer, let's collect them all. Put them all out here."
The old man leaned forward and saw the neatly stacked venison, deer bones, and other items inside the sack, and was immediately overjoyed.
In winter, the purchasing station in this pastoral area receives very few deliveries, but they still have quotas to meet.
Li Xiangyang didn't waste any words. Since they were all going to be sold, there was no need to hide anything. He put all the cleaned venison, bones, and tendons on the purchasing table.
The old man checked everything one by one, and finding nothing wrong, he started weighing himself and calling out the number.
Venison costs 1.2 yuan per jin (500g), 80 jin (40kg) of venison; deer bones cost 0.8 yuan per jin (500g), 32 jin (16kg) of deer bones; and deer tendons cost 9 yuan per jin (500g), 1 jin (500g) of deer tendons.
A deer hide with thick fur costs 35 yuan. A pair of deer antlers weighing 5 jin (2.5 catties) costs 2 yuan per jin. An adult deer penis costs 28 yuan.
In total, it's 203 yuan and 6 mao.
"Young man, the price is right. Take a look... If there are no problems, I'll accept the goods and settle the payment with you."
"Okay, sure."
Li Xiangyang nodded in satisfaction.
Before he came, he had asked around to find out the approximate price, which was about the same as the old man's purchase price. In fact, the old man's purchase price was a few cents higher in some cases.
Subsequently,
The old man handed Li Xiangyang 20 ten-yuan bills, one lathe operator bill, one tractor bill, and three small bills.
"Young man, here's 203 yuan and 6 mao. Count it."
While Li Xiangyang was counting the money, he poured each of the two brothers a cup of hot milk tea.
The service was exceptionally attentive.
"It's cold outside, let's have a cup of milk tea."
"Thank you, thank you."
Li Xiangdong accepted the milk tea and quickly thanked him.
He never expected the people at the purchasing station to be so enthusiastic.
In the past, whenever I went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy things, the sales staff always had a condescending attitude.
Li Xiangyang smiled as he accepted the milk tea, drank it all in one gulp, and said nothing.
He knew perfectly well why the old man was so enthusiastic.
really,
Before they had even finished their milk tea, the old man chuckled and spoke up.
"Young comrades, my name is Liu Fuguo. I work every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If you have any other good stuff, remember to bring it to me then. The price will definitely be fair."
"Sure, Uncle Fuguo, I'll bring over any other animals I hunt later."
Li Xiangyang put down the ceramic cup, gave a reply, and turned to leave.
"Alright, then take care, see you another day."
Liu Fuguo warmly welcomed them out the door.
Actually, he didn't need to be so enthusiastic. Li Xiangyang didn't care about these superficial gestures; as long as the money was right, that was enough.
As we left the purchasing station, a few snowflakes began to fall from the sky again.
As Li Xiangdong untied the carriage reins from the hitching post, he complained:
"Sigh, little brother, this year the snow really seems to never stop, it snows every day without stopping."
Hey, the prince has finally figured it out.
Li Xiangyang was somewhat surprised, and replied with a smile:
"Yes, brother, didn't I tell you to be careful about this winter snow? It might turn into a major snow disaster."
"Pah, pah, pah, we herdsmen don't say things like that, it's taboo."
"Haha...Brother, don't be so superstitious. I'm not a god, just an ordinary person. What's wrong with saying a few words?"
"The weather will go its own way, but... no matter what, since the weather is unusual, it's always good to be prepared."
"Yes, brother is right. No matter what, it's always good to be well-prepared."
Li Xiangdong was also subtly influenced by Li Xiangyang's views.
then,
The two drove the carriage to the supply and marketing cooperative.
Li Xiangdong tied up the carriage and waited outside, while Li Xiangyang went inside carrying two packets of Daqianmen cigarettes.
Unfortunately, he didn't have enough tickets on him today.
Upon seeing Li Xiangyang approach, the plump woman from the supply and marketing cooperative greeted him with a beaming smile.
She remembered Li Xiangyang; he was the young herdsman who had delivered Daqianmen cigarettes to her partner last time.
"Comrade, what do you need to buy today?"
"I don't really want to buy anything, I'll just look around."
Li Xiangyang made up a lie and got away with it.
He felt a deep aversion to such petty people who fawned over the rich and swaggered over the poor.
After wandering around for a while, he found the male salesman who had sold him 300 kilograms of cabbage before.
Practice makes perfect, and without much preamble, Li Xiangyang handed the male sales clerk two packs of Daqianmen cigarettes.
Upon seeing that it was two packs of Daqianmen cigarettes, the male sales clerk was somewhat surprised by Li Xiangyang's generosity and immediately realized that Li Xiangyang had not brought any receipts with him this time.
However, he was even more enthusiastic than before, and directly invited Li Xiangyang to go to the backyard to pack things.
At last,
Li Xiangyang spent 50 yuan to buy 100 jin of cornmeal, 100 jin of millet, 60 jin of wheat flour and 3 jin of sesame oil.
They also cut 5 jin of pork belly to render into oil.
The male sales clerk didn't say anything, and quickly got everything ready for him. After he finished, he even rushed to help Li Xiangyang carry it to his car.
This operation,
Li Xiangdong was completely dumbfounded.
"The supplies we bought today, plus the existing reserves at home, should be enough to meet the survival needs of our whole family during a major snowstorm."
Li Xiangyang was making plans as he moved things.
Before leaving, I went back and got four bottles of canned fruit and two pounds of sunflower seeds.
The canned fruit was a gift for my nephew and his wife, Liu Xiulan, while the two pounds of melon seeds were bought for my father, Li Zhenshan, so he could eat them when he was bored.
After everything was loaded into the car, it was another day of returning home fully loaded.
Li Xiangyang felt very satisfied.
Giddy up!
Under a sky filled with swirling snowflakes, two brothers drove their horse-drawn carriage along the quiet road home.
after an hour,
A horse-drawn carriage, fully loaded, appeared on the village road. Li Xiangyang had intended to keep a low profile, but it still attracted envious glances from countless villagers.