When Ma Jinfu heard Li Jin say that, his old face turned red.
He sighed and poured Li Jin a glass of water. "Brother, I know you mean well and want to help me get rid of this burden."
"It's not that I'm greedy, brother, but our two brigades are right next to each other. The members of your brigade eat meat and drink soup every day, while the members of our brigade tighten their belts and eat bran and wild vegetables!"
"Brother, please don't misunderstand. I absolutely didn't mean anything by it. Your brigade is doing well because you're capable."
"But it pains me to see all the commune members looking so pale and thin!"
"So, could I beg you, brother, to give our brigade a hand?"
Ma Jinfu spoke frankly, and Li Jin readily agreed.
Secretary Liu Donglai originally intended to promote "Pohong No. 1" wheat, Bainong wheat, and Qiongsu watermelon throughout the county. Ma Jinfu only asked them to ensure that they could supply enough seeds to Guanyutai Brigade first, which was not a difficult task.
Seeing that Li Jin had agreed so readily, Ma Jinfu was a little embarrassed to say what he was going to say next, but for the sake of all the members of the brigade, he still said it.
"Brother, this land is yours from now on. How about you give us a token subsidy?"
This is where the money comes in.
"Big brother, how many do you want?"
"Ten yuan per mu, how about that?"
Ten yuan per mu, two hundred mu would be two thousand yuan.
Although Li Jiapo is wealthy, this is still a considerable sum, and Li Jin cannot make the decision on his own.
Li Jin was about to go back and discuss things with the brigade leadership when Ma Jinfu earnestly saw him off at the door.
After watching Li Jin walk away, Ma Jinfu's eldest son asked his father in confusion, "Isn't two thousand yuan too much?"
Ma Jinfu glared at his son, "You're asking for the moon, but you should bargain! What do you know?! If I asked for five hundred right now, he could bargain me down to two hundred and fifty!"
"Father, that makes sense! But it's saline-alkali land where nothing grows! Aren't you afraid they'll change their minds and not want it anymore?"
"What looks like saline-alkali land to us might not look like it to others!"
Ma Jinfu sighed as he spoke.
"They must have come up with a great way to make money from saline-alkali land! Otherwise, why would they be so eager to spend money and offer benefits to buy saline-alkali land!"
Ma Jinfu's eldest son expressed his skepticism, saying, "Really? What kind of money can you make on saline-alkali land? Even sorghum won't grow there!"
"You're just a pig with a big, gluttonous brain, what do you know?"
Ma Jinfu tapped his son on the head, then sighed with his hands behind his back, "Why didn't I give birth to a son like Li Xiangdong! God is so unfair to me!"
Watching his father stroll into the house, Ma Jinfu's eldest son muttered resentfully, "Like begets like. A rooster shouldn't expect to give birth to an eagle!"
Ma Jinfu didn't hear his son's complaints, otherwise he would have hit him on the head with the back scratcher in his hand!
When Li Jin went back and explained the situation, he said it was only two thousand yuan. It wasn't that they were being arrogant and could just casually pull out two thousand yuan.
"I think Captain Ma probably didn't expect to get this much money. It's all about bargaining; he wanted two thousand, we bargained down to eight hundred, that's not unreasonable!"
Li Xiangdong said this and didn't let Li Jin go, planning to keep Ma Jinfu waiting for two days.
It's not that we're unwilling to spend the two thousand yuan, but mainly, Panjiazhuang Brigade still has eight hundred mu of saline-alkali land!
After Hu Shusong's downfall, Pan Dachun was also implicated in a series of scandals and resigned in disgrace.
The newly appointed brigade leader is named Pan Mingzhong. He is a young man in his early twenties and is very energetic!
The economic gap between Panjiazhuang Brigade and Lijiapo Brigade was widening, and Pan Mingzhong was certainly eager to improve the situation.
He was a high school graduate and believed he was no less capable than the legendary Li Xiangdong.
No matter how capable Li Xiangdong is, he's still just a fifteen-year-old kid who hasn't even graduated from junior high school.
Can he possibly understand all that?
In Pan Mingzhong's view, Li Xiangdong's reputation was probably a persona that Li Jin created for his son.
Whether it's to get his son recommended for a worker-peasant-soldier university or to prepare him to take over his job in the future, a good reputation is useful.
...
Li Xiangdong thought that if Guanyutai could exchange 200 mu of saline-alkali land for 800 yuan and high-quality seeds, Pan Mingzhong would definitely want to do the same.
Even without the Lijiapo brigade taking the initiative, Pan Mingzhong would come over on his own.
Therefore, in order to reduce the cost of the subsequent 800 mu of saline-alkali land, we cannot give too much to the fish-viewing platform.
Ma Jinfu waited at home until evening, but there was still no news.
Another day passed, but there was still no sign of anyone from Lijiapo.
How would you describe Ma Jinfu's feelings on the second day?
It's like two people in a flirtatious relationship; the guy is quite proactive, but the girl is a bit distant.
If a boy suddenly becomes distant, the girl will feel extremely distressed and filled with worries, wondering if he has found someone new or if he's no longer interested in her.
All of these things mean that Ma Jinfu's feelings right now are exactly the same as a girl's!
Ma Jinfu's eldest son also complained to his father, "I told you you were asking for too much, but you didn't believe me! Now look what happened! Nobody's coming anymore! If the other villagers find out about this, they'll definitely call you senile behind your back!"
Ma Jinfu was already feeling annoyed, regretful, and sad. When he heard his son complaining about him like that, he suddenly threw the back scratcher at his son!
Just then, a smiling voice came in, "Brother Jinfu, are you disciplining your son?"
Ma Jinfu's heart was filled with joy, as if he had finally met his long-lost sweetheart.
He quickly climbed down from the kang (a heated brick bed), pulled Li Jin's hand, and sat him down. "Brother, why did you take so long to get here?"
Li Jin chuckled, "It's all because you, my dear brother, were asking for such an exorbitant price that I was too scared to even come!"
Ma Jinfu stared wide-eyed. "This, this, you don't agree?"
Li Jin shook his head. "Two thousand is too much!"
A deep sense of disappointment washed over Ma Jinfu. His expression lost its enthusiasm, and his voice became somewhat dejected. "Oh!"
Li Jin couldn't help but chuckle when he saw that Li Jin's whole body seemed to be shrouded in dark clouds.
He wanted to savor Ma Jinfu's dejected look one more time, so he picked up a glass of water and sipped it slowly.
Ma Jinfu's feelings shifted from frustration and disappointment to anger. Seeing Li Jin's leisurely demeanor, he became even more furious and was about to tell Li Jin to see him out.
Then Li Jin asked, "Is eight hundred yuan okay?"
"What?!"
"You won't sell it for eight hundred?"
"Sell! Sell!"
In just a few moments, Ma Jinfu's mood was like a rollercoaster ride. After the great disappointment, the joy of success overshadowed his thoughts of bargaining.
Although he was prepared to sell it for a thousand yuan, the only generous but foolish buyer was not willing, and there was nothing he could do about it.
After agreeing on the price, they went to the commune and county to have the documents notarized, officially transferring the 200 mu of saline-alkali land to the Lijiapo Brigade.
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