"Forget it, you don't need to go. You'll only be asking around at one or two places a day, and you won't be able to collect much dried vegetables by dark. I'll just go to the village secretary's house and announce it over the loudspeaker."

Old Niu was a man of action. He then asked Li Xiangdong, "Brother Xiangdong, if you're buying dried ferns in our village, what price are you planning to set?"

“I bought some before. Dried bracken fern from the local products company costs three cents a pound. How about I pay fifteen cents?”

"Okay! It's more profitable than selling it elsewhere!"

After saying that, Old Niuzi hurriedly left. Before long, his voice was broadcast through the loudspeaker to every corner of the small mountain village.

At the same time, Gui Fa's family also came over carrying a flour sack.

It was Old Niu's wife who informed her. As soon as she heard that dried bracken could sell for such a high price, she immediately carried the dried bracken she had dried and processed herself and rushed over.

Li Xiangdong examined the dried ferns on the surface of the bag; each one was blackish-red, with white, curled heads.

This is why bracken fern is called "auspicious vegetable" or "lucky vegetable," because its head is curled up like the head of a ruyi (a traditional Chinese ornament symbolizing good fortune).

Zhou Hongsong and Gui Fajia were annoyed. Then they poured the whole bag of dried ferns onto the kang (a heated brick bed). Seeing that all the ferns were of the same quality, without any mold, rot, or inferior quality, they put them back into the bag and weighed them.

The Lu family often sells meat, so they always keep a steelyard balance at home.

Gui Fa's bag was very full. After weighing it, he saw that it weighed 30.8 jin. Li Xiangdong gave him 4.65 yuan directly.

"You count them!"

"Okay, okay!"

Gui Fajia excitedly took the cash, then spat on his fingers and began counting the bills, penny by penny.

She counted twice, then said with a smile, "That's right, that's right!"

As she spoke, she pulled out a small blue square of cloth from inside her clothes, put the roll of change inside, wrapped it up, and then stuffed it into her lapel.

Gui Fa patted the place where she kept her money, a smile appearing on her face. She didn't rush to leave, but sat in the house chatting with everyone.

"Young man, are you only buying here this once, or do you come here every year to buy?"

Old Niu's wife asked a question that everyone was concerned about.

Li Xiangdong smiled and said, "If there are no problems, we should be able to collect it every year!"

Currently, there are very few places in China that eat dried bracken fern. Apart from these places of origin, people in other places don't even know what bracken fern is.

However, our neighboring countries, Korea and Japan, both love to eat dried bracken. Li Xiangdong remembers a town on the Xiangjiang River that has sales exceeding 100 million yuan just from exporting dried bracken!

However, the state only allowed individual enterprises to engage in import and export trade in 1984, so Li Xiangdong did not need to purchase too many dried ferns during those five years.

Li Xiangdong is currently collecting dried bracken fern to make pickled vegetables.

Yifengyuan's secret recipe for pickled vegetables includes a dish called "Eight Treasures Auspicious Vegetables," whose main ingredient is dried bracken fern.

When Lao Niu's wife, Lao Lv's wife, and Gui Fa's wife heard Li Xiangdong say that they harvest bracken every year, they were overjoyed.

May is almost here. As long as the heavens send down a light drizzle, the ferns on the sunny slopes will immediately sprout from the soil and grow to be edible in just two or three days.

The tender stem makes a crisp "snap" sound when you break it.

In the past, people picked wild vegetables to add a dish to their family's meal, but now picking wild vegetables is like picking up money on the mountain.

They need to keep a close eye on things; what's growing all over these mountains isn't wild vegetables, it's real gold and silver!

Several middle-aged women were rubbing their hands together, ready to get started. Their loud and cheerful laughter made the others who had already entered the courtyard quicken their pace.

As Lao Niu Zi's broadcast began, a long line had formed in front of his courtyard. People were carrying bags, baskets, or even large bamboo baskets.

Of course, it's filled with dried bracken.

During the acquisition, Li Xiangdong ran out of money. At that time, there was no mobile payment, and all transactions were settled in cash.

People aren't very willing to buy on credit.

Therefore, Li Xiangdong and his group told the villagers who hadn't been able to sell their dried vegetables to be patient and wait until tomorrow when he would withdraw the money and come back to buy them!

The others had no choice but to wait until tomorrow.

Old Niu and Old Donkey hitched up a mule cart and helped deliver the black bear skin, two bear legs, and two or three hundred catties of vegetables to Scarface's home in Huapi Ridge.

After unloading everything, Scarface smiled and said to Li Xiangdong, "The old women in our village also like to go up the mountain to gather wild vegetables. How about I go over the loudspeaker and announce it?"

Li Xiangdong readily agreed, "Then you go, Scarface. I'll have Sister Mai take care of collecting the dried vegetables. We'll transport the stuff back first, and then we'll get some money."

...

There is a forest farm in the dam area, and every day countless red pine, spruce, and larch trees are transported down the mountain by train to places across the country that need timber.

Li Xiangdong went directly to the train station, found the foreman in charge, slipped him some money, and put his belongings into a corner of the train car.

This method of transportation is far more cost-effective than chartering a truck from the post office.

Because banks no longer offer interbank deposit and withdrawal services, you cannot withdraw money in a different location. You can only apply for interbank deposit and withdrawal services at the bank where you opened the account. Banks in other locations can only offer remittances and transfers.

Li Xiangdong used the phone in the train station duty room to make a phone call home and expressed three main ideas.

First, he, He Chaochao, and Li Guoqing are all safe and sound.

Secondly, he asked his family to wire him 1,000 yuan.

Third, he told Li Jin the time and location of the train that was transporting his goods to Huichuan County Railway Station, so that Li Jin could bring people to pick up the goods.

The rest was fine, but the main problem was the bear's thigh meat, which we had to rub with salt, air dry, and preserve after we got back.

This is a new item; he bought it at a high price, so he mustn't let it spoil.

Li Xiangdong spoke for a long time before hanging up, and by then the people on duty in the office looked quite grim.

Long-distance travel between cities is so expensive!

Li Xiangdong quickly took out the only 1.5 yuan he had left from his pocket and handed it to the person on duty.

With the money in his hand, his expression improved, and he even told Li Xiangdong that if there was any emergency in the future, he could call from the duty room!

...

For the next two days, several nearby villages were buying dried bracken.

Don't be fooled by the fact that only one housewife, Mai Zi, is in charge of purchasing wheat in Huapi Ridge. She is efficient, energetic, and decisive, making the purchasing process orderly and without any mistakes!

Li Xiangdong said to her, "Sister Mai, you can help me with the purchase of dried bracken from now on, and I'll pay you a salary!"