Chapter 56: The Jade is Good, but It Can’t Be Sold at a “Price” Li Long was called up by Li Jianguo. He heard his eldest brother's voice outside, climbed up from the kang, answered, rubbed his eyes, rubbed his face, and began to put on his clothes. At this moment, he really didn't want to get out of the bed - the fire had gone out, the room was very cold, only the bed was warm, and the temperature outside had reached minus thirty degrees Celsius, which was uncomfortable to think about. But for a better life, Li Long knew that he could not be lazy. Time is precious now. If he does not work hard, no one will wait for him after the New Year. After getting dressed and going to the west room, Li Long saw that his sister-in-law had already prepared the meal and was bringing it to the table. Li Juan and Li Qiang had not gotten up yet. "Let your brother take you to Shicheng?" Liang Yuemei said as she put down her chopsticks, "The two of you will have someone to take care of you." "No, no." Li Long waved his hand. "It's too troublesome. My brother has to go fishing at home. Let's go to Shicheng. I'm very familiar with it." Li Jianguo didn't think that a young man could get into trouble in Shicheng. The last time Li Long and Tao Daqiang were robbed on the way, Li Long didn't tell his family. After dinner, Li Long wrapped the two jade stones with cloth, then put them in a urea bag and carried them on his back. Liang Yuemei handed over the bag: "Here are some white flour buns, two pieces of mutton, and two pieces of pickled vegetables. Eat them on the way when you're hungry. Drink up the warm water in the kettle early, and fill it with more water when you see where you are..."
"Hey." Li Long took it over. As the eldest sister-in-law is like a mother, Liang Yuemei has indeed taken care of him as her own child in the past few years. After waving to his brother and sister-in-law, Li Long put on his cotton hat and walked out. By the time they reached the county town, it was already daybreak. Li Long saw that the state-owned stores were opening one after another, so he thought about it and went to the purchasing station. Chen Hongjun was indeed there. Li Long went over to greet him and asked with a smile: "Comrade Chen, I have something to ask you. Do you know where the jade factory in Wucheng is located?" "That... I don't know either. I just know that the jade factory belongs to the Second Light Industry Bureau. You should be able to find out if you ask the Second Light Industry Bureau." "Okay, thank you." Li Long thanked him, went out to the big meat canteen, bought two hot buns, and continued to rush to Shicheng while eating. When we arrived at Shicheng, there was still half an hour before the departure. He bought a ticket and got on the bus. There were not many people on the bus, so Li Long found a seat in the middle - the bus nowadays doesn't have air conditioning, it's basically not an exaggeration to say that it's just an iron shell, so it's very cold for the 150-kilometer journey and he needs to endure it. The ticket price is four yuan. Li Long knows that when a series of reforms begin in the spring, long-distance buses from Wucheng to the county will be available, and the ticket price will be three yuan and fifty cents. He folded the urea bag and placed it under the seat. He was not afraid of being stolen. Instead, he held the shoulder bag in his arms. When the time came, the driver got on the bus carrying a large cup of water, the conductor checked the tickets, and then the bus started. The roads nowadays are not as smooth as those in later generations, and there is thick ice and snow, so the ride is quite bumpy. Li Long had taken this ride some time ago, so there was nothing much to say. By the time he got off at Wucheng South Station, it was already mid-afternoon. There is a place to stay nearby - the famous Bayi Guesthouse, which is convenient for both transportation and accommodation. Bayi Guesthouse was opened by the Civil Affairs Bureau. It was originally called the Military Supply Station and was a must-stay for many people traveling to Wucheng. Later, it was changed to Bayi Hotel. At this time, one night's stay in a triple room costs yuan. After getting off the bus, Li Long asked the gatekeeper of the Bayi Guesthouse about the location of the Second Light Industry Bureau. The other party also told him how to get there by bus. This made Li Long feel the enthusiasm of the people of Wucheng. When he arrived at the Second Light Industry Bureau, Li Long first went to a nearby retail store to buy a pack of cigarettes - at that time it was not called a store, but a retail store, and then took the cigarettes to find the uncle who was guarding the door. After many years of inheritance, the gatekeeper is usually an old man. The old man took the cigarette, and after Li Long lit it for him with a lighter, he pointed out the location of the jade factory. Li Long hurriedly thanked him, and then hurried to the jade factory with the urea bag on his back. When he arrived at the jade factory, the sun was setting and it was almost time to get off work. Li Long hurriedly explained his purpose to the guard, who said he couldn't make the decision and called the raw material purchasing department.
Li Long was carrying a bag of urea and was a little worried while waiting. If they didn't accept it, then his trip would be in vain. Soon, two men came out of the jade factory, one was about 30 years old, with an upright figure, and the other was in his 50s, with a hunched back and wearing glasses. Both men were a little surprised to see Li Long - he really didn't look like a traditional "jade farmer". "Young comrade, are you the one here to sell jade?" asked the tall man. "Yes." Li Long took off the urea bag and asked, "Do you want to see it now?" "Let's go to the office." The old man said, "What kind of jade is it?" "Mahe Jade." said Li Long. He immediately noticed the disappointed expressions on the two people's faces. Although the disappointment was fleeting, Li Long still saw it. He thought for a while and said: "Let's take a look at it now. Otherwise, if we wait until we get to the office and you decide it's not worth buying, it will be too much trouble." As he said this, he bent down and took out the jade he got from Halimu from the urea bag, opened the cloth bag, and displayed the jade in front of the two people. The two men looked at each other, and the old man took the seed material and began to look at it. This piece of jade looks like a ruler, but also like a natural paperweight. It weighs four or five kilograms and feels very warm - even though the outdoor temperature is now more than 20 degrees below zero, it is not very cold. "What a nice jade." The old man sighed, "This kind of seed material is rare even among the Mahe jasper we collected." "Is Jade good?" "Very good!" the old man said confidently, then pointed behind him and said, "Let's go to the office to talk." Only then did Li Long feel slightly relieved. He followed the two people to the office, where there was heating. Li Longgan immediately no longer felt cold. Instead, his feet and ears began to itch - a sign of mild frostbite. "If this seed material were sold in mainland China, I would have to pay you at least 100 yuan per kilogram." The old man sighed, "But here, there are too many good raw materials and the price cannot go up. So, I can only pay you 80 yuan per kilogram, you see..." "Okay." Li Long agreed immediately. "In fact, your piece of jasper is of very good quality, reaching the first-grade standard." The middle-aged man next to him took the jade and looked at it and said, "Usually, Mahe jasper has black spots, but yours doesn't. It's very rare!" "I have another piece." Li Long took out another piece from the urea bag, opened the cloth bag and put it on the table. "This piece..." The old man looked at it carefully, shone the flashlight on it, picked it up, weighed it and said: “The quality is slightly lower, but it’s actually pretty good.” After weighing the two pieces of jade, Li Long was paid a total of 956 yuan. The smaller piece weighed kilograms, so he was paid 336 yuan. The larger piece weighed kilograms, so he was paid 50 yuan per kilogram, so he was sold for 620 yuan. Li Long suddenly felt like he had gotten rich! This is even stronger than the feeling of handing over the land to a cooperative and getting a dividend of more than 100,000 yuan at the end of the year in later generations! (End of this chapter)
