Without hesitation, Li Xiangdong slung his schoolbag over his shoulder and ran towards the county town. However, after circling the town twice, he still couldn't find the Guangming Pharmaceutical Factory. He even went to the supply and marketing cooperative to ask if they bought cicada shells, but was kicked out as if he were a fool.

Covered in dirt and drenched in sweat, Li Xiangdong was dejected. Was his first plan to make money going to fail before it even got off the ground?

Li Xiangdong was unwilling to give up. Indeed, there was no other way to make quick money at the moment. If he relied on earning work points to save money, when would he ever be able to repay his third sister's hundred yuan?

The sun was already high in the sky, blazing down on everything. After walking all morning, Li Xiangdong's stomach was growling with hunger; he was practically starving.

Hunger breeds resourcefulness. Li Xiangdong cursed himself for being stupid. If he wanted to sell medicinal herbs, he should go to places related to medicine!

Ignoring his rumbling stomach, Li Xiangdong rushed to Huichuan County People's Hospital. As soon as he entered, he stopped a middle-aged male doctor and asked, "Doctor, do you accept cicada shells here?"

The male doctor was stumped by his question, "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm not sick. I'm asking you, do hospitals need cicada shells?"

"Are you out of your mind, young man? What are you doing at the hospital?"

The male doctor who was stopped was completely bewildered. This young man in front of him kept blocking his way and kept asking him if the hospital needed cicada shells.

"This is it!" Li Xiangdong noticed that the male doctor's accent wasn't from the local area, but rather sounded like someone from western Sichuan. He figured the doctor wouldn't understand what he was saying, so he quickly took out several intact cicada shells from his bag.

"Oh! This is a cicada shell! What's this cicada nymph?" The male doctor suddenly realized.

Li Xiangdong was both amused and exasperated. He quickly adjusted his tone and said in Mandarin, "I wanted to ask you if the hospital accepts cicada shells, since they are a traditional Chinese medicine."

"It is indeed a Chinese medicinal herb, but our hospital does not accept it."

These words felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over Li Xiangdong's head in the dead of winter, chilling him to the bone. Li Xiangdong forced himself to thank the doctor and turned to leave.

"Hey! Young man, we don't accept these here, only pharmaceutical factories do!"

After a series of unexpected turns, a new path opens up before you.

Li Xiangdong's heart felt like it was on a rollercoaster as the doctor gasped for breath.

With the exact address of the pharmaceutical factory obtained from the male doctor, I wandered around for a long time along winding paths, and finally saw a few houses in a vegetable field on the outskirts of the county town. A large courtyard was surrounded by red brick walls, and five large cast iron characters on the big iron gate read "Guangming Pharmaceutical Factory".

"Is anyone home?" Li Xiangdong gently pushed open the door and peered inside.

"What are you doing?" A shiny head poked out from the gatehouse.

"Grandpa, I'm here at the pharmaceutical factory to discuss business." Li Xiangdong quickly took out cigarettes from his bag and offered them to the old man. These were the ones he had stolen from his father before.

The old man had a cigarette lit by Li Xiangdong dangling from his mouth, one tucked behind each ear, and exhaled a smoke ring. "Our Guangming Pharmaceutical Factory is a state-owned enterprise. What unit are you representing at such a young age?"

"Grandpa, I'm just speaking for myself. I don't have a job. My family is too poor to afford food. I heard that Guangming Pharmaceutical Factory buys Chinese medicinal herbs, so I came here to earn some money for a meal," Li Xiangdong said pitifully.

"We can't accept these from entities that aren't government-owned!"

Seeing that the old man was still acting all high and mighty, Li Xiangdong cursed inwardly but put on a smile and quickly stuffed the whole pack of cigarettes into his hand.

"Grandpa, please make an exception. My younger siblings are starving."

"Go inside and ask Director Yan, it's the first room on the left." The old man weighed the cigarette in his hand, satisfied.

"Thank you so much, sir! You're practically our family's savior!" Li Xiangdong continued to flatter him. If he could really sell the cicada shells to Guangming Pharmaceutical Factory, he would definitely have to deal with this old gatekeeper a lot in the future.

The door to the first room on the left was open, and a man was writing something at his desk.

Li Xiangdong knocked on the door but stood there without going in.

"Comrade, do you buy cicada shells here?"

The man looked up; he appeared to be around fifty years old and was very thin. "Let me see it!"

"Hey!" Li Xiangdong carefully took out the cicada shell and placed it on the table in front of the man.

The man picked up a cicada shell and examined it closely. "Hmm, this cicada shell is golden and intact. I'll keep it!"

Li Xiangdong was overjoyed, not expecting it to go so smoothly. "About how much is it per pound?"

"The purchase price is ten yuan per kilogram."

How many can you buy here?

"I'll take any amount!"

"Alright, alright, Uncle, what's your surname?" Li Xiangdong took out a box of Golden Leaf tea leaves from his bag, took out a stick, and lit it for him.

This pack of cigarettes was also stolen from his father. His father only had these two packs of cigarettes, which he was reluctant to smoke himself and saved for work or entertaining friends. Today, Li Xiangdong took them all.

If Li Jin finds out, he'll definitely reward him with a meal of bamboo shoots stir-fried with pork!

Forget it, once I sell my cicada shells, I'll quickly buy two boxes, no, four boxes to make up for it.

"Just call me Uncle Yan!" Factory Director Yan picked up a cigarette and took a puff. "A child as young as you shouldn't smoke."

"No, no, I bought it for my dad. I'll come find you as soon as I've put the Golden Cicada Robe away!" Li Xiangdong called out to the Golden Cicada Robe along with Factory Director Yan.

Technical terms just sound nice; they make you sound more precious and valuable than cicada shells!

"OK!"

On the way back, Li Xiangdong carefully calculated the price. Ten yuan for a pound of cicada molts sounded like a lot, but cicada molts were extremely light, each weighing only about 0.5 grams. A pound contained 1,000 cicada molts, and even if he searched all night, he might not be able to find many. The harvest season for cicada molts was in summer and autumn, so he needed to seize the time as much as possible, expand his search area, and obtain the most cicada molts in the shortest amount of time.

Li Xiangdong spent the entire day investigating the distribution of cicada molts in and around the village and nearby villages. He found dried or slightly damp cicada molts on willow, elm, locust, poplar, ash, pine, jujube, and peach trees.

By the time the sun set, Li Xiangdong had already collected four or five hundred golden cicada skins in his schoolbag.

That's right, he earned four or five yuan in one day, which is equivalent to the wages of a strong laborer working for several days.

Li Xiangdong gathered four or five of his friends, including Li Guoqing, Li Xiangjie, and Zhao Xiaojun, by the river. "Xiaojun, do you want a toy gun from the supply and marketing cooperative? Erhu, do you want a firecracker?"

The children looked at each other, then nodded in unison, "We want them! Second brother, will you buy them for us?"

Li Xiangdong choked, "I don't have any right now, but I can help you make money, and then you can buy it."

How do you make money?

"Go begging?"

"I know where Mom put the money! Second brother, shall we steal it?"

Where did your mother put the money?

……