Sheng Xiping also glanced at the prices of other items and suddenly discovered that the prices of medicinal herbs such as Gastrodia elata, Fritillaria cirrhosa, and Asarum sieboldii at the purchasing station were higher than those at the forest farm.
It makes sense when you think about it; the people from the forest farm come down and it takes them two days to get back.
The expenses for food and lodging are significant, and it's really not worthwhile if it's just for selling Gastrodia elata.
And the purchasing station of the forest farm, after all that work, must make a little money in the process.
"Comrade, could you please weigh these copper scraps?" Sheng Xiping handed over the scrap copper he had brought so the salesperson could weigh them.
Although the salesperson's attitude wasn't great, they were quick to act.
I took the scrap copper over and examined it carefully; it was all quite clean.
"Where did you get all this copper?" the salesperson casually asked. "You didn't steal it, did you?"
"No, no, we are from the forest farm. The school is encouraging the children to collect scrap iron, only iron, not copper."
The children chipped off the copper parts from the scrap metal and collected them.
It was perfectly reasonable for people to ask this question, so Sheng Xiping naturally had nothing to be annoyed about and simply told the truth.
The other party was just going through the motions and asking questions, and since Sheng Xiping's answer was reasonable, they didn't bother with it anymore.
So he weighed it on the scale and called out to the other side.
The other person wrote down what things were and how many kilograms they weighed in the ledger, and then quickly calculated the price using an abacus.
After the calculation was completed, they gave Sheng Xiping a receipt, which he then used to collect the money at another location.
It totaled four jin of brass and two and a half jin of copper, costing sixty-two yuan.
"Wow, that's quite a lot. I didn't expect copper to be so expensive."
My family also has about three or four pounds of scrap copper, which we'll sell when the next batch comes down.
As he left the purchasing station, Wang Jianshe couldn't help but mutter to himself.
In fact, life in the forest area is very isolated. Many people may live in the forest area for decades and only leave a handful of times.
The forest farm's purchasing station doesn't accept scrap copper or iron, and normally no one who comes to Songjianghe would specifically inquire about it.
So it's normal that they didn't know the price of copper was high.
"Okay, just sell it, but don't tell your younger siblings how much it cost."
Otherwise, with all those mischievous kids in each family, I'm afraid they might run off and steal copper.
This isn't just likely, it's certain.
Those brats in the forest farm are all incredibly bold. If they knew how valuable copper was, I guarantee some of them would dare to steal copper from the farm.
It's best to avoid this kind of thing as much as possible.
Upon hearing this, Wang Jianshe's mouth dropped open in surprise. He was about to say, "No way!"
But then he remembered the incident a while back when the school asked for scrap metal to be handed in, and his younger brother went to remove the railway spikes from the railway embankment.
When the school assigns tasks, they might only give a verbal compliment, but these kids will go crazy trying to find iron everywhere.
If they had known copper was valuable, who knows what they might have done.
This is no joke. If they get caught by the authorities, it's not just about losing face; the parents' jobs will likely be affected as well.
"Yes, yes, we should be careful. There's nothing those bastards wouldn't dare to do."
Wang Jianshe snapped out of his daze and nodded.
"Don't talk about others, we were just as mischievous when we were kids, we're all the same."
Sheng Xiping smiled. Who wasn't mischievous as a child? We all went through that phase.
These days, it's not easy for adults to earn money; they have to stretch every penny in half to spend it. Children can forget about it; they can't even see a trace of money in their hands.
Anyone who knows a way to make money would be eager to try and make some.
Otherwise, why would Sheng Xiping have been so eager to go hunting in the mountains with his master?
Isn't that because hunting not only provides meat to eat, but also allows you to earn money?
Animal furs, bear bile, deer antlers, musk—aren't all of these valuable?
There are many young men of the same age in Qianchuan Forest Farm, so why is Sheng Xiping able to become the leader of these people?
Isn't it because he's capable and can occasionally get some good food to share with everyone?
Wang Jianshe thought about it and realized it made sense, and immediately smiled.
The two chatted and laughed as they returned to the railway. Everyone else gathered around, asking about the price of broken copper.
Sheng Xiping didn't hide the price, but he also told them what he had just said.
Upon hearing this, the group nodded in agreement. "Yes, that makes sense."
Boys can be mischievous in all sorts of ways, but they absolutely cannot steal chickens or dogs; this is a matter of principle.
As they were chatting and laughing, the car drove back from a distance. Everyone had rested enough, so they all stood up and started working.
There were about ten people on both sides, so they worked quickly. In no time, the firewood on the cart was all cleaned up and loaded onto the truck.
Sheng Xiping and the others all climbed onto the vehicle and put chainsaws, oil drums, and other items on it as well.
Then the driver started the car, carrying a load of firewood and people, and headed back.
Zhou Mingyuan's family lived in the Baishan Street area. When Zhou Mingyuan and Wang Chunxiu were transferred here, their work unit helped them rent a house.
The courtyard of the three rooms is not large. To the east is a small alley, and to the west is another house connected to the mountain.
There wasn't much in the courtyard; there were woodsheds on both sides of the gate, and a row of storage rooms built against the garden pole at the east end.
There is an east-west ditch in the middle of the courtyard, mainly to prevent the house from being flooded by heavy rain in the summer.
Of course, when washing clothes or something, we would just pour water directly into the ditch. The water happened to flow eastward and ended up in the ditch outside the yard.
The alleys in the family residential area are not wide; cars can barely get in, but unloading firewood is inconvenient.
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