Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1210 Why don't you just open a car dealership from now on?
Based on Bai Xiuming's limited skills in judging cars, he couldn't figure out anything about these cars.

"Don't worry, these cars were inspected before they were delivered. We wouldn't have delivered them if they weren't in good condition." Li Long was now truly confident in saying this.

The main issue is that we've sold dozens of cars, and so far no one has come to say there's a problem with them.

What does this mean? It means these cars can withstand the test—of course, there might be minor problems, but the owners fixed them themselves.

Used cars are so cheap these days, what more could you ask for?

Bai Xiuming was still not entirely at ease, so he asked Li Long for the keys again and drove the two cars he had his eye on around the backyard a couple more times before finally getting out of the car with satisfaction and starting the handover with Li Long.

The money for the shoes wasn't enough to cover the fare, so Bai Xiuming needed to pay more. Fortunately, he had prepared himself mentally and brought enough money.

After handing over the work to Li Long, Bai Xiuming hired two trucks from the county transportation company and took them to Wucheng.

Li Long thought he could actually drive them to Wucheng, but Bai Xiuming probably wanted to sell both cars, so he definitely didn't want any accidents to happen along the way.

Although Bai Xiuming didn't say it explicitly, judging from his smug look, he could probably make a lot of money by taking those two cars back and selling them.

As for the melon seeds, he didn't mention it, and Li Long didn't bring it up again.

What does this mean? It means that Bai Xiuming is really not that interested in picking melon seeds anymore.

This solidified Li Long's idea of ​​developing cotton production in the future; growing melon seeds had no future.

After Bai Xiuming left, Li Long originally wanted to tell his father about the idea of ​​lowering the price of melon seeds, but then he thought better of it.

If we adjust the price again, those people will probably really go crazy. The labor costs for growing watermelons are quite high, so Li Long thinks we shouldn't try to lower the price any further.

Anyway, the shells of melon seeds are hard, unlike sunflower seeds, which attract mice and don't keep well for long.

Melon seeds are relatively durable, so Li Long isn't in a hurry.

Two days later, Liu Gaolou arrived with a long convoy, which once again caused a sensation.

A full fifteen trucks!
“I’ve found every available truck in Khorgos, and this still isn’t enough to haul all the trucks my second uncle sent over.” Liu Gaolou said, a little proudly, but also as if complaining. “You know what? My second uncle brought over ten trucks this time, and they were all carefully selected.”

"So many?" Li Long was quite surprised. In the past, it was always a small operation, with seven or eight cars being the most common, and usually only three to five cars.

"What can we do? The famine over there is even worse. Many people can no longer afford to drive or even eat. In order to survive this winter, it would be best to sell the cars they own."

Liu Gaolou also became sentimental.

It makes sense when you think about it. It used to be the big brother, even though it became Soviet revisionism for a time. But in the eyes of ordinary people, it was still a behemoth. Logically, the people there should be living very well.

Or rather, at that time, most ordinary people felt that the people over there were doing quite well, at least better than us.

But in reality, because of the disaster, some people are living worse lives than the people here.

At least in Liu Gaolou's eyes, it's not as good as it seems—after all, he hasn't traveled all over the country and doesn't know that there are some remote mountainous areas where people still haven't solved their basic needs, and it might not be until around 2000 that these needs are met.

Li Long didn't think too much about it; he was only concerned about the condition of the car.

In other words, the problem used to be whether something existed or not. Now that the problem of whether something exists or not has been solved, the problem of whether something is good or bad is being addressed.

"Did your second uncle inspect these cars before he delivered them?"

“Of course,” Liu Gaolou said. “Before, my second uncle had to find a car, but now, people come to him and beg him to buy one.”

After all, my second uncle has a lot of resources over there. In any case, selling the car to him can get us some living supplies.

Liu Gaolou said this with a hint of pride: "The situation over there is like this: not only is there a shortage of food, but also a shortage of all kinds of other supplies."

People in rural areas are better off, since they can find resources in the wild. But in cities, especially in cities like Almaty, some people have no means of survival once they lose their jobs.

My second uncle managed to integrate these resources. For example, the meat he obtained through hunting, while not as tasty as farmed meat, was at least edible.

Li Long understood. Although Liu Shanmin didn't need to import grain from here, he could open up trade routes between rural areas and cities to exchange resources.

Some people may have such resources, but most people do not.

"I've prepared the leather coat and shoes. Should I pay in US dollars?"

“Of course,” Liu Gaolou said. “My second uncle said, as you also said, that we should prepare more US dollars, so I mainly brought US dollars with me this time. By the way, the money you pay me for the things I brought has to be in RMB, which is my earnings.”

"Where did your second uncle get so many US dollars?" Li Long also had this question.

"You don't think we use our RMB and their rubles when we trade with our neighbors, do you? Both official and informal transactions are conducted in US dollars."

Liu Gaolou said matter-of-factly, "The US dollar is the world's reserve currency, so it's naturally the most widely used. There's also a black market for privately exchanging US dollars there, but the exchange rate is relatively high."

My second uncle runs a trading company over there. Bartering is one thing, but when it comes to selling goods—whether it's sugar, the cement from last time, or the cotton shoes and leather jackets we brought this time—they all pay in US dollars. And since my second uncle is a wholesaler, not a retailer, selling everything at once is cheaper, but still more convenient.”

Li Long then understood.

Liu Gaolou brought not only ten cars, but also three thousand pairs of antelope horns and five thousand hides. Winter was approaching there, the busy farming season was over, and people living in rural and pastoral areas could now earn money in their spare time.

Besides these, there was also a truckload of deer antlers, and some miscellaneous items brought over by Gu Boyuan, such as hides and medicinal herbs.

Li Long remembered asking people at the county leather factory, and they said there were leather factories that made clothes in Yili. So he thought he would ask his father-in-law when he had some free time, to see if he could inquire whether the leather factories there had any stock.

If there were any, he could get some and sell them over there—but Li Long guessed that this job probably wouldn't be available for him to do; someone else might have already done it.

Liu Gaolou was the messenger. He didn't know how to price Li Long's several thousand pairs of cotton shoes and leather coats, and he couldn't contact Liu Shanmin for the time being, so he simply didn't set a price for Li Long and would deal with it after he took them over.

Li Long trusted the uncle and nephew quite a bit, so he didn't refuse, only telling Liu Gaolou to bring back the money that was rightfully his next time he came over.

Liu Gaolou was exhausted from driving all this way. After both sides checked the goods and left the workers there to unload, he went to the guesthouse to rest without even having a meal.

According to him, most of the cars he brought were practically new, and it would be bad if they got bumped or scratched, so he had to be careful on the way.

There are more cars on the road now, and the Guozigou area is particularly difficult to navigate. It rained and snowed in the middle, and he was very careful to get through safely.

I was worried about everything along the way.

Li Long jokingly told him that he had earned hundreds of thousands just from these hides, antelope horns, and deer antlers, so all the hard work was worth it.

Liu Gaolou laughed.

Of the ten vehicles, three were GAZs, two were Ladas, and the rest were Volgas.

Four of the five Volga tanks are luxury models; they look beautiful and impressive.

There was a car that was the same as the one Li Long drove, but in a different color—champagne. Li Long really liked it.

However, he already has too many cars at home and can't drive them all. He took this car for a test drive and felt it was very good, so he doesn't plan to sell it cheaply.

The vendors and ordinary people selling their goods at the recycling station in front stared wide-eyed at the sight of the cars piled up so high.

Fan Mingcheng happened to be there too, and he said to Li Long with a sigh:
"Mr. Li, why don't you just open a car dealership? I went to a Santana dealership in Wucheng, and they didn't have as many Santanas as you do." Li Long smiled; that definitely wouldn't work. But he needed to get the necessary paperwork done quickly to avoid future trouble. One or two cars at first wasn't a big deal, but now they'd brought in ten, plus the ones left over from last time—about ten cars in total—that was quite a show of force.

Because these cars are all quite new and in good condition, Li Long plans to sell them for a higher price, otherwise it would be a disservice to these new vehicles.

Liu Gaolou left, but Li Long couldn't rest. After unloading the truck and the goods, Li Long had someone load the leather shoes and coats back onto the truck.

These things can only fill three trucks at most; the rest will be filled with white sugar. Since there's a shortage over there, Li Long is thinking of discussing with Liu Gaolou about loading more white sugar on this trip, perhaps a hundred tons?

The sugar beets are almost harvested now, and there are long queues at the sugar factory selling them. The sugar production must be high now too, maybe 100 tons?

Of course, the price of white sugar has risen slightly, but Li Long has always shipped sugar from the sugar factory at the retail price, so he figured the price increase wouldn't be much.

Since Liu Gaolou brought so many cars here, it would be a waste to drive them back empty.

The next day, after Liu Gaolou had rested enough, he came to the purchasing station and Li Long told him his thoughts.

“Sure, of course I have no problem with that. It just depends on whether you can get that much cargo.” Liu Gaolou was naturally happy; the more cargo he hauled, the more money he would make.

After all, it would be a waste to drive back empty.

"But let me make this clear, I only brought those US dollars with me this time, so I can't give you much more. The extra money for sugar, shoes, and leather coat will have to wait until my next trip to give it to you."

“No problem, we have a good relationship, and we trust each other enough.” Li Long patted Liu Gaolou on the shoulder and said, “Then it’s settled.”

After that was settled, the next step was to contact the sugar factory. After listening to Li Long's idea, Section Chief Hu discussed it with the factory. Since Li Long still wanted to pay half in RMB and half in USD according to the original contract, the factory agreed.

However, the factory also said that such a situation is acceptable only once in a while, and normally every half month or so, the standard is still 50 tons of white sugar.

Li Long naturally had no objections.

A day later, Liu Gaolou left with a long convoy, and Li Long breathed a sigh of relief.

Only then did he find the time to call Gu Boyuan and explain his thoughts.

“I do know a few leather factories around here. Two of them are pretty big, and their leather mainly comes from overseas, not just leather, but also wool. Now that you mention it, I'll take some time to ask them. Maybe I can even earn some US dollars to spend… You know what? I recently went to the bank here, and there were quite a lot of people exchanging foreign currency outside the bank.”

“That’s for sure,” Li Long said with a smile. “After all, it’s quite close to the border, so there are a lot of people coming and going, and therefore a lot of people who need US dollars.”

Gu Boyuan found out the situation in just one day.

"The two larger leather factories here are both run by ethnic minorities. One of them was established at the beginning of this century, back in the late Qing Dynasty. It was renamed later, but it mainly makes ethnic leather clothing. They don't care about the kind you're talking about, so they don't make it at all."

Both of these companies didn't have much inventory; they operated on an order-based business, making whatever the customer needed. When I went there, they were indifferent to me, so I simply didn't ask any further questions.

Li Long then offered a few words of comfort to his father-in-law, telling him not to take it to heart.

Thinking about what might happen here in ten years, Li Long thought he could ask his father-in-law to come back before then.

After clarifying the matter, Li Long went to the industry and commerce bureau and the tax bureau, firstly to pay taxes, and secondly to complete the procedures for buying and selling the car.

Because there was no precedent in Ma County, the Industry and Commerce Bureau was a bit at a loss. However, Li Long was a major client, and they knew that the procedures for the items he brought in were all legitimate, so they processed the paperwork for the sale of the cars.

If there's no precedent, then let's set a precedent.

This can be considered as giving Li Long a special passage.

Li Long had some free time after that, and he was able to go to the fourth team from time to time to check on the cotton situation.

Cotton picking began in late September, and by the end of September, the first round of picking on 100 mu (approximately 6.7 hectares) of cotton had been completed. For some plots with better cotton quality, the second round of picking had begun.

Li Jianguo, the elder brother, told Li Long that they had picked nearly 15 tons of flowers in the first flush, which is about 150 kilograms per mu (a Chinese unit of land area, approximately 0.165 acres).

Of course, the better plots yield more, around 180 kilograms, while the saline-alkali plots yield less, around 110 or 120 kilograms.

The average price of fifteen tons of cotton was about two yuan. There were still quite a few impurities. At first, Du Chunfang and other old ladies could help clean out the impurities, but later they couldn't clean them all when they had to pick up more. They could only dry them in the sun and then take them away to sell.

However, this price is already very good. The highest price that other cotton growers in the team can sell for is two yuan. They have even sold it for two yuan and two jiao. That's practically impossible.

The cost of picking cotton in the second crop will be higher, ranging from 0.5 yuan per kilogram. This is mainly because less cotton can be picked in the second crop. For example, a skilled cotton picker who can pick 100 kilograms of cotton in a day in the first crop might only be able to pick 50 or 60 kilograms in the second crop.

If we don't raise prices, we'll earn less money and won't be able to attract customers.

Things are still relatively good now. Li Long vaguely remembers that in a few years later, the cost of picking flowers rose to two to two and a half yuan, and the cost of picking flowers for the second crop could even reach three yuan.

However, the cotton ginning factory only sells cotton for two and a half to three yuan per kilogram—meaning that the money for the cotton goes to the ginning fee.

Such bizarre things can happen...sigh.

Because they weren't as busy with the second crop of cotton, Li Jianguo and Chen Qianjin plowed the 280 mu of saline-alkali land and were digging drainage ditches. They planned to flood the land with water when they irrigated the winter wheat to flush out the alkali, and then apply fertilizer accordingly when they planted cotton next year.

Another incident occurred in the middle. Jiang Zhiyu from the township went to the fourth team to interview about cotton planting. This time, she brought a video camera and followed the Li family to film the process of picking, sorting, packing and selling cotton. Then, she edited the footage and sent it to Beiting TV as news.

The Beiting City TV station even broadcast it. Although the fourth team couldn't see it, people in Beiting could, which caused a small sensation, and the township received praise from the county.

The Li family has also become a major cotton grower. It is said that in the winter, the township will select outstanding cotton growers and plans to nominate Li Jianguo.

When Li Jianguo talked about this, there was still a hint of pride on his face. However, he then reminded Li Long that the clerk, Jiang, was asking Li Long what he was doing at the time.

"You and Xiaoxia have been married for several years now, and Haohao is clearly growing up. You can't make a mistake—that Comrade Jiang isn't even married yet, and you two..."

"There's nothing between us," Li Long hurriedly waved his hand. "Brother, don't you know what kind of person I am? How could I do such a thing?"

“I’m not saying you have anything to say, but what if that person has such intentions? You need to be careful. It’s best to clarify things with Xiaoxia to avoid misunderstandings,” Li Jianguo said. “Some things are nothing in themselves, but once they spread, even baseless rumors can be made to sound convincing. If they become rumors, it will be hard to explain.”

Li Long thought it made sense, but he had already told Gu Xiaoxia about Jiang Zhiyu and Ma Xiaoyan frequently asking him for material, so he said to his older brother:
"Don't worry, big brother. Xiaoxia knows about this. I'm mainly in the county now and don't have much contact with the townships, so you don't need to worry about these things."

Although Li Long, Mingming, and Haohao are all registered in the village, their schooling is not actually affected, so Li Long doesn't care too much about it.

He made so many concessions for Jiang Zhiyu just to get along well with the villagers, didn't he?

Since his older brother had said so, Li Long tried to avoid going to the cotton fields as much as possible. He also took some time over the weekend to visit Nathan, Sasken, Ghana, and Yerjiang.

Nathan and Sasken are doing well. There are already some ethnic minority students in the school, and they speak Mandarin quite well and are able to get along well with the other students.

Ghana and Yerjan are a little more troublesome. They used to study at a school in Harbin, where the curriculum and study habits are different from here, and their academic performance is not very good.

Fortunately, the tutor that Gu Xiaoxia found for them is quite strict, and their grades are gradually improving.

Students still prioritize academic performance. When Li Long talked to the two of them, he could clearly feel that as their academic performance improved, more students started to associate with them.

In other words, at least the learning environment is improving. If you can get your grades into the top ten or top twenty in your class, things will get even better later on.

During the National Day holiday, Li Long received a call from Liu Gaolou.

The leather coat deal has finally been settled.

(End of this chapter)