Chapter 48: Is This Repaying Grievance with Kindness?

Chen Hongjun was warming himself by the fire when he saw Li Long enter, looking somewhat surprised.

"Little comrade, it's you!" Chen Hongjun recognized Li Long and stood up with a smile. "Haven't seen you for a few days. What good things have you brought today?"

When they had changed shifts, they had heard their colleague Xu Lili mention that someone from the mountains was selling deer antlers. They had originally intended to buy them cheaply, but they hadn't expected the person to know their worth and refuse to sell low. She had eventually been forced to raise the price to three yuan.

At that time, Chen Hongjun had guessed it was likely Li Long.

He just hadn't expected the young man to come to sell the antlers outside of his usual shift. Was he short on time, or was their friendship not deep enough?

"Hello, hello," Li Long smiled and said, "I brought some things today, but I don't know if you guys accept them."

"Let's have a look." Naturally, Chen Hongjun wouldn't make any promises.

Li Long placed the jade he had obtained from Yushan River on the counter.

"Stone?" Chen Hongjun frowned, looked closely, and then asked in surprise, "Is this... Mahe Green Jade?"

"Yes, seed material." Li Long smiled; at least the man knew his stuff. If he had truly treated it as just a stone, Li Long would have had no choice but to pack up and leave.

"This... we really don't accept this here," Chen Hongjun shook his head. "We collect local products and medicinal herbs. This jade is a fine thing, but we don't take it."

"Then do you know where I can sell it?" Li Long was somewhat disappointed, but he wasn't discouraged. This kind of good material only increased in value over time. If he weren't currently short on cash for certain purchases, he would have simply kept it at home for twenty or thirty years before bringing it out.

"That... usually, places that do handicraft processing accept them," Chen Hongjun offered a tip. "Our county is small and doesn't have such units; even Shicheng might not have them. If you want to find a buyer, you'll have to go to Wucheng."

Li Long cupped his hands toward the man in thanks.

"Thank you! Then I won't disturb you further. Goodbye!"

"Alright, alright. If you have other things like deer antlers or medicinal herbs, feel free to bring them by. I won't give you a low price."

Li Long suddenly thought of the items in his cart and recalled something he had read in novels, so he asked

"Do you accept wild boar stomachs?"

That was also a medicinal herb, said to be quite good for treating stomach ailments.

"I do." Chen Hongjun was a bit surprised, but considering the deer antlers Li Long had brought last time, he guessed the young man likely lived near the mountains. He smiled and said, "I do. Depending on the size and the age of the boar, it's usually three to five yuan each. Do you have it with you now? Let me see."

Li Long felt a bit disappointed; it seemed these things still didn't fetch much money. He pointed outside and said

"I have two wild boars. The stomachs haven't been removed yet. It'll be in a couple of days, once I go back and butcher them."

"What?" Chen Hongjun was taken aback. "You got two wild boars? For real?"

He collected goods every day, but they were always finished products. He had seen plenty of deer antlers and deer velvet, but he hadn't seen much elk, let alone wild boars.

"Want to see?" Li Long smiled. This time, it was his turn to broaden someone else's horizons.

Chen Hongjun followed Li Long outside. Li Long removed the wood and straw covering the boars. Chen Hongjun approached curiously and immediately spotted the tusks in the mouth of the large boar.

"This boar is huge!" He had seen domestic pigs before, but compared to them, this wild boar was quite massive.

"Yeah, it took three shots to kill it. It was a fierce one."

"This boar... are you selling it? I'd like to buy some wild boar meat to try," Chen Hongjun asked on a sudden whim.

"It hasn't been processed yet, so I can't sell it right now," Li Long waved his hand. "I can't exactly cut a piece off and sell it to you, can I? Besides, if wild boar isn't prepared correctly, it doesn't taste good. To be honest, Comrade Chen, this meat really isn't as tasty as domestic pork."

Since they would be dealing with each other frequently in the future, Li Long wasn't going to rip him off.

"I see." Chen Hongjun was a bit disappointed, but his curiosity outweighed his appetite. He said, "Go home and finish processing it, then bring a piece over to me. I'll buy it to try. I've never had it and want to taste it once."

"Sure," Li Long agreed readily. "I'll bring it over in a couple of days—you work on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes. Don't forget to bring the wild boar stomach when you come."

"Will do." Li Long covered the boars with wood and straw again, tied the ropes, and led his horse away.

***

By this time, the Li household was in chaos.

The eldest sister-in-law of the Lu family had come to the Li house to tell Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei that rumors were spreading in the village that both Tao Dayong and Tao Daqiang had been arrested.

There were even rumors that Li Long had been arrested for selling things on the black market.

This terrified Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei!

The whole village knew about Gu Ermao's arrest, but the news about Tao Dayong's arrest was just starting to spread; many people still didn't know.

By the time Tao Daqiang returned home, the county had already called the township, which then passed the call to the production team. Xu Chengjun went to find Tao Jianshe in a rage, just as Tao Daqiang came running back.

"Fifty yuan! Your Tao Dayong has been arrested. There's a fifty-yuan fine. Hurry up and get the money together so you can come with me to bail him out! By the way, Daqiang, why did you run back?"

"People with armbands came... we got separated..." Tao Daqiang was still shaken, muttering incoherently.

Xu Chengjun didn't expect much from him. Tao Daqiang had a low profile to begin with, and in the eyes of others, he was quite dim-witted; both Tao Jianshe and Xu Chengjun felt he was just lucky.

Tao Jianshe was still dreaming of striking it rich, only to have his hopes extinguished by Xu Chengjun's words.

"How could he be arrested?" Tao Jianshe murmured to himself, looking lost. That little second son of the Li family had sold fish several times and wasn't caught, so why was it his family's turn to be arrested?

"Who has time for this talk?" Xu Chengjun understood the urgency. He barked, "If we don't go now, there's no telling how badly your Dayong is being beaten!"

Hearing this, Tao Jianshe immediately scrambled up and ran into the inner room, pulling out a handful of loose change. He said with a weeping face, "I only have eleven yuan and some change..."

"I have five yuan here," Tao Daqiang pulled money from the inner pocket of his padded jacket. "I'll go borrow..."

"Then go borrow it quickly! I'll go find your sister-in-law. Dayong has been arrested; I have to tell her..."

Tao Daqiang arrived at the Li house and told Li Jianguo what had happened.

"How much do you need to borrow?" Li Jianguo asked readily. "I have twenty here."

He gave the twenty yuan to Tao Daqiang. Holding the money, Tao Daqiang lowered his head, his heart filled with complex emotions.

Many families in the production team wouldn't earn twenty yuan in an entire year, yet Li Jianguo had produced it so easily.

He knew this was out of respect for his relationship with Li Long. But he had just split ways with Li Long; was it right of him to act this way?

"Go home quickly," Li Jianguo urged him. "Your father is probably waiting for the money to bail your brother out."

Tao Daqiang returned home. After a while, Tao Jianshe returned. Looking at the twenty yuan in Tao Daqiang's hand, he thought to himself that they had finally gathered enough.

Ma Chunhong only produced fifteen yuan, saying it was all the money she had.

In the end, they hadn't made any money, they had emptied both families' savings, and they were still twenty yuan short!

While Xu Chengjun and Tao Jianshe went to the county to bail the boy out, the news of Tao Dayong's arrest fermented in the village, and even more people were spreading rumors that Li Long had also been arrested!