At that time, no one knew that decades later, future generations would give this grand market extremely high praise, and a photograph recording the grand occasion would be placed in a memorial hall.
Huichuan County History commented, "This was a very wise self-rescue, and a very meaningful exploration of economic models. The Huichuan Grand Market was like a thunderbolt, splitting open the stagnant fog and allowing people to smell a hint of a free economy."
However, no matter how highly later generations evaluate it, people today are unaware of it.
They happily packed up their things, stuffed the small bills and coins in their pockets, first bowed gratefully towards the county committee compound, and then asked each other when the next market day would be.
Meanwhile, Secretary Liu, who is deeply appreciated by the people of Huichuan, is currently taking a phone call in his office.
"Mayor Zhang, oh yes! This market has come to a perfect end."
Liu Donglai appeared relaxed, but the veins on his hands, gripping the microphone tightly, were bulging, revealing a hint of nervousness.
The old man opposite said sternly, "Someone has already filed a complaint with me! They say you're openly engaging in speculation and profiteering, attracting people from other parts of the city to your area!"
"Huh? Are there any people from other provinces or cities? No one gave us a letter of introduction!"
“Mayor Zhang, we are just people from our own county bartering goods; we are not taking the capitalist road!”
Liu Donglai's fans offered an innocent explanation.
Mayor Zhang chuckled, "Don't try to fool me, kid! Alright, stop pretending! I've already turned those calls back."
“I told them that anyone who objects should help me with disaster relief. More than 400,000 people are starving! Let’s see who among them has that much food!”
"Xiao Liu, keep up the good work. If anything happens, I'll cover for you!"
Liu Donglai hung up the phone and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes with his finger.
...
Evening, Lijiapo.
Li Guoqing counted the bills in his hand, his fingers trembling, and he couldn't count them clearly even after several attempts.
Li Xiangjie snatched the money from his hand, saying, "I'll count it!"
"Forty-two dollars and fifty-three cents in total!"
The four men jumped up with joy. Although they had been transporting sweet water between Lijiapo and the county town all day and their feet were blistered from exhaustion, they had little capital!
The maltose was homemade; the only expense was the food coloring, which cost a total of six cents.
I made a net profit of 42.47 yuan today!
Each person can get 10.06 yuan!
They originally wanted to include Li Xiangdong in the list, but he politely declined.
Li Xiangdong now has not only cash, but also a lot of antiques and calligraphy and paintings. He doesn't want to fight with the guys for just a few yuan.
He has already sold the oil pressed from the wheatgrass seeds he harvested, earning 30,000 yuan!
He had originally given his third sister and brother-in-law 80,000 catties of wheatgrass seed oil, but he sold it. His third sister and brother-in-law were stunned by the huge sum of 70,000 yuan, a mountain of brand-new 100-yuan bills.
After realizing what had happened, the two of them said in unison that they didn't want a single penny.
My third sister's husband said, "You're the one who gave us the money to collect the wheatgrass seeds. Your third sister and I just did a little work. You're also the one who took the oil to be pressed and arranged for its sale. We can't take that money!"
After much persuasion and nearly turning against each other, Li Xiangdong finally persuaded them to leave 20,000 yuan.
Hong Shui and Li Ying helped Li Xiangdong wrap the remaining 50,000 yuan tightly in plastic sheeting, put it in a large iron barrel, and finally hide it in the cellar.
You might ask why not deposit in a bank?
Given the current average income level of a few dozen yuan per person, the deposit of 50,000 yuan into a bank would definitely cause a sensation!
If someone follows the trail and finds out that Li Xiangdong was selling oil, that would be terrible!
That's right, Li Xiangdong sold these tens of thousands of kilograms of oil to a mysterious big shot. People who usually speculate and make profits don't have that much capital or courage.
However, Li Xiangdong kept the identity of this mysterious bigwig a secret, and no one knew it.
"Second brother, second brother, we made eighty yuan and seventy-nine cents!!"
Li Ping twitched his nostrils excitedly as he waved a stack of small bills, some new and some old, in front of him.
Li Xiangdong's thoughts returned, and he looked at his fifth sister with immense affection, "You did a wonderful job!"
In her past life, my fifth sister carried a white-lacquered wooden box and sold popsicles in the sweltering summer sun. Her face was tanned dark and red, and her hair was wet and stuck to her scalp from sweat...
I will never let my fifth sister live like this again in my life.
"The four of us each got twenty yuan, I'll give you half!"
Li Ping was thrilled; she had made money!
In the past, it was always her second brother who spent money on them, but now she can earn money to spend on him!
Li Xiangdong would never take her money. "Keep it for yourself, use it to buy some pencils, erasers, notebooks, and stuff!"
Li Jiabao was happily counting his money when he saw Li Ping wanting to share some with his second brother. Although he was a little reluctant, he thought about the good food his second brother usually bought for them, so he went up to Li Xiangdong and offered to share some money with him.
Li Xiangdong could easily see through his petty nature. Li Jiabao was a notorious miser in his past life, greedy for money and ungrateful.
Li Xiangdong teased him deliberately, "Jiabao, you're really willing to give half of it to your second brother!"
Li Jiabao felt a little sad, but then nodded firmly, "I'm so grateful, Second Brother, you're so good to us. You bought us canned lychees, chocolates..."
The sound grew fainter and fainter.
Li Xiangdong chuckled, counted out five yuan, and said, "I'll take five yuan; keep the rest for yourself!"
Looking at the five yuan that Li Xiangdong had returned, Li Jiabao felt a little bit of relief.
Ning Ruoruo walked over and asked Li Xiangdong curiously, "Why do you only want Jiabao's and not Xiaoping's?"
Looking at her beautiful face, Li Xiangdong said gently, "Xiaoping needs to learn to be kinder to herself, and Jiabao needs to learn to give to others."
Ning Ruoruo nodded thoughtfully. In her opinion, Li Xiangdong was more like the patriarch of the Li family than Li Jin.
At this time, there were no outsiders in the house. Li Zhen was cooking dinner in the main room, and Li Jin and Zhao Sufang were not at home. This might be a suitable opportunity.
"Ruo Ruo, have you ever thought about whether you still have family in this world?"
Ning Ruoruo was taken aback. "My parents never mentioned it to me, and I have no recollection of it myself."
Her memories of the time before she was four years old are very faint, and no one has come to look for her since her parents passed away.
Seeing her bewildered expression, so different from her usual strong and aloof demeanor, Li Xiangdong's voice softened even more, "Do you remember when Secretary Liu asked for a single hair of yours last time?"
Ning Ruoruo's heart raced, and her mouth went dry. "Just a single hair, and you can find my family?"
"You may not know that someone invented a paternity testing technology called DNA testing technology, which can determine the blood relationship between two people."
Ning Ruoruo gave a very calm "Oh".
Li Xiangdong didn't know why Ning Ruoruo, who had been so agitated just moments before, had suddenly calmed down.
"Secretary Liu has already helped you find your relatives."
After Li Xiangdong finished speaking, he kept a close eye on Ning Ruoruo's reaction, afraid that she would get too excited or resentful towards her long-lost relatives.
Ning Ruoruo said "oh" again and nodded.
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