Li Xiangdong recalled the Lee-Enfield No. 4 short rifle that his maternal grandfather, Luo Hongkai, had hidden in his house.
Good heavens!
I hope my stepfather wasn't a bandit!
Li Xiangdong's mind immediately conjured up many stories from decades ago.
When Old Cui heard that bandits had reappeared in Ant Ridge, his thick, dark eyebrows furrowed into two black lumps. He cursed the "national essence" and then sighed, "That place was a bandit stronghold before liberation. It was wiped out by the People's Liberation Army. How come they've reappeared?"
Niu Santiao happened to be helping to dry red ginseng at Lao Cui's house. He was quick and efficient, and placed a basin of freshly steamed ginseng that Cui Xinni handed him on the clean drying platform.
“Uncle Cui, these bandits have been around since last year. Before, Tiehan was driving an oxcart with his wife to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy soy sauce and vinegar, and they were robbed by bandits when they came back late.”
Old Cui glared at him, "How come I didn't know about this?"
Aunt Cui shoved a bowl of ginseng into his hand, glanced at him, and said, "What do you know? All you know is smoking and carrying a gun into the mountains!"
Old Cui took the basin from his wife and defended himself, "I was just trying to find some mountain products to exchange for money!"
Not long after, Lao Hai'er and the others arrived.
As they chatted, they started talking about how the region seemed to be getting increasingly unstable lately.
Old Hai squatted in the shade, taking a puff of his pipe. "I heard that in big cities there are still a lot of street fights, with two groups of people using knives and shovels, even beating each other until their brains are turned out like dogs' brains."
His son, Jinsheng, works at a hospital in Harbin.
"Last time Jinsheng came back, he said that they were performing surgery on a man who had been in a group fight and whose stomach had been stabbed open. Just as they put his intestines back in his stomach, sewed him up, and wheeled him out of the operating room, his enemies came over and beat a group of people waiting outside the operating room with shovels, leaving them with bloodied heads!"
Everyone gasped in shock. Good heavens!
Why is this scene so chaotic!
Old Cui gave a thumbs up, "Jin Sheng is really something, he's practically delivering business to our doorstep!"
Others chimed in, sharing what they knew: "There are highway robberies, carjackings—everyone who runs a personal transport business has been robbed. The police can't keep up; it's complete chaos!"
"Many educated youth have returned to the city. They have nothing to do all day, so they wander around the streets and get into fights at the slightest provocation!"
Li Xiangdong thought to himself that he only knew there were many fights in Northeast China in the 1980s and 90s, but he didn't expect it to be like this now.
Of course, this situation is not unique to Northeast China. In many places, with the promotion of the household contract responsibility system, fewer people are farming, and more young and middle-aged people are idle. With nothing to do all day, fighting, theft, robbery, gangs, and public security are rampant.
No wonder a nationwide crackdown was launched in 1981!
After chatting idly for a while, the group started asking about Li Xiangdong's ginseng purchases.
"Dongzi, squad leader, the price of ginseng from the medicinal herb company is high this year. The other day, Zhang, the purchasing agent, came over and said that first-grade ginseng is 12 yuan per jin, second-grade ginseng is 10 yuan per jin, and third-grade ginseng is 9 yuan per jin."
Old Hai'er's son, Jin Sheng, was an old classmate of the purchasing agent of the county's medicinal materials company, and they got along quite well. Therefore, Old Hai'er had better access to information than others.
This is important news!
Li Xiangdong gratefully handed Uncle Hai a cup of herbal tea.
If he continues with the previous statement, he would be paying two yuan more for ginseng than the price offered by the pharmaceutical company, which would significantly increase his costs.
Old Hai'er meant that if he thought it was too expensive, he should make it known in advance.
If the villagers are all waiting to sell him the extra ginseng they have to meet, but he thinks it's too expensive and can't afford to buy that much, not only will Lao Hai'er and Lao Cui be left in a bind, but it will also be extremely difficult for Li Xiangdong to do business with them again.
Li Xiangdong pondered for a moment, then looked at Luo Yonggang and the others. This wasn't just his business; he also needed to see what the others thought.
Luo Yonggang, Bai Yulong, and He Chaochao exchanged glances, then huddled together and whispered a few words. Finally, Luo Yonggang leaned close to Li Xiangdong's ear and whispered, "Xiangdong, you make the decision! If we buy at a high price, we can sell at a high price too. As long as we make a profit, that's fine!"
Their meaning was exactly what Li Xiangdong was thinking.
"Uncle Hai'er, I'll say it again: I'll pay two yuan more than the pharmaceutical company to buy it!"
Old Hai tapped his pipe at his feet. "Alright! As long as you know what you're doing!"
Everyone else was also very happy to hear this, it seems they can earn a lot more money this year!
Having received this confirmation, everyone hurriedly said goodbye and went home.
Well, we also need to notify our relatives and friends.
They also had to clean out the red ginseng stored at home, pack it up, and sell it to Li Xiangdong.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a fortune!
As the number of people in the courtyard dwindled until only one person remained.
Old Cui asked in surprise, "Hey, Huang Mao'er, why did you decide to leave the kang (heated brick bed) today?"
Huang Mao was a man who knew his wife when he went out and his bed when he came home. In today's terms, he was a "homebody." He rarely went to other people's houses to chat, except when he was working.
Unexpectedly, they came to visit my home today and stayed for quite a while.
Huang Mao chuckled and said, "Hehe, I have some news to tell the immortals... oh, no, I mean, Brother Xiangdong!"
...
Contrary to his usual behavior, Li Xiangdong did not react with the same jubilation Huang Mao had anticipated upon hearing the news of the wild ginseng. Instead, he did not immediately send Huang Mao to Chaoyang Village to buy wild ginseng from Sun Deyi.
Even after Huang Mao described in detail the appearance of the excellent wild ginseng and estimated its age, Li Xiangdong became even calmer.
"Are you going? I'll take you! These kinds of things have to be done secretly. If you go by yourself, Old Sun can't take it out."
Huang Mao glanced at Li Xiangdong's expression and then voiced his thoughts.
Based on his speculation, since he had given Li Xiangdong such important information, he should at least get some referral fee!
Li Xiangdong didn't laugh. He stared intently at Huang Mao. "Our county's regulations only allow the free trade of sixth-grade wild ginseng, right? This one you're talking about is probably first-grade wild ginseng!"
Huang Mao shuddered as he looked at Li Xiangdong's suddenly cold expression and his dark eyes. "Well, isn't this the kind of money you guys make..."
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