Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Zhang Qiang had just returned from Wucheng when he learned about Li Long collecting the broom.

After working on the construction site with his brother Carpenter Zhang for a while, Zhang Qiang could see at a glance that Li Long was taking public work and making his own money.

I told the team members that a large broom with a pole costs three dollars, and without a pole it costs two dollars and fifty cents, which is actually a high price.

But Zhang Qiang felt that Li Long must have made a lot of money from it!

It's possible to earn one or even two dollars from a big broom!
The reason why his brother Carpenter Zhang drove him back from Wucheng was that he took too many kickbacks.

Carpenter Zhang subcontracted the project from the city and hired temporary workers to do the job, paying each worker 50 yuan a month for food and accommodation.

He arranged for Zhang Qiang to be in charge of logistics procurement, mainly staple foods and vegetables for the workers' canteen, as well as miscellaneous items for construction.

Carpenter Zhang didn't dare let Zhang Qiang take care of the bulk of the building materials, because this younger brother was short-sighted and greedy. It was ok for him to take care of the small things, but if he took care of the big things, Carpenter Zhang was afraid that he would mess up the project and cause trouble.

However, he still underestimated Zhang Qiang's ability to be cheap. Carpenter Zhang originally set the daily food standard for each worker at 70 cents. Don't underestimate 70 cents, it was already a lot at that time.

After all, it was a big pot meal, and people who had been in charge of logistics knew that the more people ate together, the better the food would be. A worker with 70 cents a day wouldn't be able to eat anything good, but if 10 or 20 workers all had the same standard, then the food would be very good.

But after working for a month, the workers quit and found Carpenter Zhang, saying that the food was too bad.

Carpenter Zhang called Zhang Qiang to ask about the situation. Zhang Qiang pretended to be confused and even turned the tables, saying that the workers were causing trouble. At worst, he could just hire new people. Anyway, there were plenty of people willing to do the job with a salary of 50 yuan a month.

Carpenter Zhang was not stupid. He started checking the accounts immediately, and this check made him very angry.

The food Zhang Qiang gave to the workers cost less than 40 cents per person!

Seeing that his brother had found out, Zhang Qiang hurriedly explained that he had been cheated by the vegetable and meat sellers outside, and asked Carpenter Zhang to forgive him this time.

Carpenter Zhang didn't listen to his explanation and just sent him back.

Although Zhang Qiang was driven back, the villagers didn't know about it. They only knew that he stayed in the big city for a while, worked for a while and then came back.

With Li Longzhu as an example, no one underestimates Zhang Qiang.

"You may not know, but people over there use paper to wipe their butts. It's the best kind of paper, and it has a nice name, called toilet paper!" Zhang Qiang sat in the store, chatting with a group of people, "It's nothing like here, where people use dirt to wipe their butts. Some people even use the corners of the toilet... disgusting!"

"I know, I know. Li Long's family uses toilet paper, which is soft and wrinkled." A young man immediately answered, "Last time when I went to their house to help with the plastering, I saw this paper in their toilet."

It's Li Long again!

Zhang Qiang frowned for a moment, then relaxed his brows and said:
"Well, he went to Wucheng, so he learned it naturally. That place is not cheap... Also, the toilets there are flush! There is a long row of toilets, and after a while, the toilets will be flushed away..."

At this time, the public toilets in some places in Wucheng were no longer dry toilets with pits, but were changed to centralized flushing ones with a long row of troughs. Some people should still remember them.

"Also, there are cars on the streets of Wucheng. They are much more powerful than tractors, less noisy, and have a driver's cab. They won't be cold in the winter and hot in the summer..."

Zhang Qiang tried his best to describe the progress of Wucheng.

The people around were listening intently. There was nothing they could do. Even though the two places were only a hundred kilometers apart, most of the young men in the team might not have been to Wucheng in ten years.

Before the age of forty, their lives were basically fixed around Ma County, and they could only go to Shicheng occasionally and talk for a long time.

The older people who came from Kouli, even if they passed by Wucheng, just passed by the train station and then took a bus to here. They had neither time nor money to visit Wucheng.

After much persuasion, Zhang Qiang managed to win over quite a few people.

After all, Li Long is relatively independent, and apart from Tao Daqiang and Yang Yongqiang, other young people can't get close to him.

After hearing what Zhang Qiang said, they thought he was quite capable. If they could become as successful as Li Long, they could at least buy a bicycle like Tao Daqiang, if not a tractor, right?
Of course, it would be even better if I could have a formal job like Yang Yongqiang.

Zhang Qiang saw that the time was right and began to deceive people:
"Do you think Li Long's family lives a good life? They also find ways to make money. Take making a big broom for example. He gives us three dollars for a broom with a handle and two dollars and fifty cents for a broom without a handle. We make a lot of money from this..."

No one spoke, which is normal.

Why should they give us work to do? To learn from Lei Feng? No one likes to be a saint. So Li Long took some money from it, which everyone thought was normal.

Some people even defended Li Long:

"Last year, there wasn't that much money. The team had to take a cut. This year, the team didn't take a cut. Li Long used the cut to let us earn money, which is already pretty good."

"Yes, yes, this year's big broom costs fifty cents more than last year. He's a nice guy!"

Some people joined in, while others remained silent.

Zhang Qiang noticed this, and when everyone stopped talking, he acted like he knew everything:
"Hey, that's what he wants, to make money and gain fame! The price of the broom was one last year, and it must be the same this year, otherwise why would he raise the price for you?
It’s not just the brooms. The prices of rice, noodles, and meat have all gone up. So can the price of the brooms go up? But if this person doesn’t say it, then naturally other people won’t know either.”

"Who cares if the price goes up or not? As long as I can make money, that's fine." A young man couldn't stand Zhang Qiang's constant criticism of Li Long, so he said directly: "I don't have the ability to take on such a job, but he took it and gave it to me. I can make money, so I think he's a good person."

"That's right. How much money someone makes depends on his ability. I have to thank him for giving us this job and making us money. I'm not going to say any more. I'm going to go back to sleep. I still have to cut sedge tomorrow."

"Let's go." The other one also left.

Several of them walked away from the circle, leaving seven or eight people.

"Are there any of you who want to leave?" Zhang Qiang was not surprised. Li Long had been in the village for more than a year, so naturally he would have some supporters. If he didn't have any, he would be a failure.

"You're not leaving, right? Then I'll get down to business." Zhang Qiang looked at his boss and lowered his voice:

"I'm thinking of doing this business too. Sell me the big brooms you made. I'll give you two dollars and fifty cents a broom. This way you won't lose money, right?"

It costs two dollars and fifty cents when sold to Li Long (three dollars with a handle), and it also costs two dollars and fifty cents when sold to Zhang Qiang. There is actually no difference.

But everyone knew that if this was sold to Zhang Qiang, Li Long would be offended, so some people hesitated.

"Don't worry, it's me who's fighting Li Long, not you. If you're worried, you don't have to sell it all to me. You can leave some for him to do his job. That way, at least he'll be targeting me if he has any ideas."

Zhang Qiang's subsequent words dispelled everyone's concerns, and someone smiled and said:
"Brother Qiang, what are you talking about? It doesn't matter who you're selling it to. Two dollars and fifty cents, okay! I have more than eighty at home, I'll take them to your house later? But let's make it clear, this has to be paid in cash - Li Long pays in cash."

"Cash... OK!" Zhang Qiang gritted his teeth, "No problem. But you'd better call more people, otherwise my money is in whole pieces, and it will be difficult to break it if there is less money."

After hearing what Zhang Qiang said, some people felt relieved. Those who had a lot of money had deposited them in the bank, so they were naturally not short of money.

Think about his brother Zhang the Carpenter, he was the richest man in the village before Li Long, he must have a lot of money. Even if Zhang Qiang is a little bit less, it's not much less.

So overnight, Zhang Qiang's house had three or four hundred more brooms.

This scared her wife.

Zhang Qiang's wife was an honest and decent villager, and had never seen anything like this before. She guessed Zhang Qiang's intention and persuaded him to stop that night.

"That Li Long is not someone you can easily mess with. Last year, the Hu family competed with him for the reed handle, but he still made them lose everything in the end! Don't follow their example, isn't it better for us to live a peaceful life?"

"Live a peaceful life? Living a peaceful life means being poor!" Zhang Qiang exploded when he heard about living a peaceful life:
"Others eat delicious food and drink spicy drinks, but I have to live a poor life? I don't want to! I also want to eat meat and drink wine, and I also want to make money! Don't interfere in this man's business!"

It was no wonder that Zhang Qiang got angry. After he got into trouble in Wucheng, Carpenter Zhang knew that his brother was not cut out for this line of work, so he gave him some money and asked him to return to the team and live a peaceful life.

But Zhang Qiang was unwilling to do so. After being accustomed to the glamorous world of the big city, how could he be willing to return to the poor countryside?
He also wants to make money and live a good life!

So when he heard the words "live a peaceful life", he inexplicably wanted to get angry.

Li Long hadn't come back yet, and some people wanted to get the money first, so they sent the broom to Zhang Qiang.

Zhang Qiang didn't accept everything. He knew that Li Long had a very strict control over the quality of the brooms he collected last year. So he also had strict requirements and would not accept those that were not tied tightly.

But the villagers saw that his strictness was far inferior to Li Long's, so they still preferred to send the children to him and take the money and leave.

The amount of money Zhang Qiang brought back was rapidly decreasing, while the pile of brooms was increasing.

Tao Daqiang hadn't made many brooms these days, as his wife was about to give birth, so he had been taking care of her. But he still knew a little about the situation in the village. Since Li Long hadn't come back, someone had told Tao Daqiang about this matter, hoping that he would tell Li Long about it.

After all, this is considered as poaching Li Long's people.

In fact, Li Long himself felt it too. He called Xu Chengjun a few days ago. It should take time for each household to cut Achnatherum splendens, but to be honest, with the current strong sun, Achnatherum splendens can be dried in two days, and some people still have stocks at home.

If we really want to make them, we can at least make hundreds of them in these few days, right?

But Li Long went to find Xu Chengjun, and the loudspeaker announced that he was back and it was time to put away the broom.

As a result, only dozens of brooms were delivered!
This number is seriously insufficient!

Combined with Tao Daqiang's words, Li Long realized that someone was making trouble and interfering.

In fact, according to the time given by Li Xiangqian, dozens of swords a day would definitely not be enough.

However, Li Long felt that it was still necessary to give the villagers a reminder and a chance.

Or give some people a reminder and an opportunity.

He went to Xu Chengjun's home and broadcast the news through a loud speaker:
"Just to let you know, my name is Li Long. I'm the one who took on this job of tying the big brooms, so please send the brooms to me. If they're up to standard, I'll pay you on the spot.

I heard that some people have started collecting big brooms. That’s fine. Everyone can collect them. But not everyone can sell big brooms, so I hope some people will be wise. ”

After notifying him three times, Li Long turned off the radio. Xu Chengjun had been busy at home these past two days and had no time to take care of these things. After hearing what Li Long said, he immediately asked:

"Xiaolong, what happened?"

"Carpenter Zhang's brother Zhang Qiang took away some of the brooms." Li Long said calmly, "The brooms I collected are not enough."

"What does this guy want to do?" Xu Chengjun was a little annoyed. Although Li Long was no longer allowed to make brooms in the team, at least the work was still done by the villagers. The villagers could make money and he could also earn a little.

He certainly didn't want someone to interfere, so he suddenly thought of a question and asked:
"How much does he pay?"

"Two dollars and a half, the same price as mine."

"Then how does he make money?" Xu Chengjun was puzzled.

"I guess he wants to stockpile the brooms and negotiate the price with me when the time for delivery is approaching."

It's just hoarding, not a magical trick.

"This guy...I'll go find him!" Xu Chengjun thought to himself that he still had some dignity.

"No, no." Li Long waved his hand. "Captain, I was just reminding him. If he doesn't listen, don't blame me for being rude."

"What? You want to bring people to deal with him?" Xu Chengjun asked. If that was really the case, he would have to persuade him.

"Why should I punish him?" Li Long shook his head. "I don't have the time to do that. Besides, I'm a law-abiding citizen and I won't do anything illegal. I just want to teach him a lesson."

Li Long didn't explain it clearly, and Xu Chengjun didn't think it through either.

But after Li Long left, Xu Chengjun still went to find Zhang Qiang. He didn't want a big dispute to happen in the team.

"Captain, this is not right." After listening to Xu Chengjun's advice, Zhang Qiang said with a fake smile:
"Why is it that Li Long is allowed to collect brooms but I am not? He charges 2.5 yuan, and I also charge 2.5 yuan. I am not cheating anyone. I clearly mark the price and you pay when you see the goods. Why, is this not okay?"

"It's not impossible. Aren't you obviously trying to challenge him? Do you also have work assigned by your superiors?" Xu Chengjun followed Zhang Qiang's words.

Zhang Qiang would not say that. He shook his head and said:

"Captain, this is a trade secret, so I can't tell you. Now I'm not breaking any laws or regulations, so you can't blame me. If you have a ready-made broom, you can bring it to me. I'll charge you $2.50, too. How about that?"

Seeing that the man refused to listen, Xu Chengjun ignored him.

He didn't believe that Zhang Qiang could defeat Li Long.

After the property was distributed to each household, the captain's prestige declined. People like Zhang Qiang who had seen the world did not take the captain seriously.

In his opinion, after the household contract responsibility system was implemented, the team leader's authority was not as high as that of the cadre in charge of water supply. After all, if they wanted to control you, they could still do so.

Li Long carried dozens of brooms back to the county.

He did not tell Gu Boyuan or Gu Xiaoxia about this.

Even if it was his eldest brother and sister-in-law, he didn't let them do anything and just let them do what they were supposed to do.

So a rather strange side appeared in the team.

Every household was making big brooms, but when the big brooms were made, it was obvious that Li Long had returned, so many people sent the brooms to Li's house.

And secretly many people sent the broom to Zhang Qiang's home.

Zhang Qiang gradually felt the pressure. He now had nearly a thousand brooms piled up at home, and after paying more than two thousand yuan, the money that Carpenter Zhang gave him was almost gone.

He had saved some money from working for Carpenter Zhang. If he lent all this money out, he would be completely penniless.

Can I make a profit from all those big brooms piled up in the yard?
After wavering for a moment, Zhang Qiang immediately became firm.

Not enough money, borrow!
He was looking for Wang Caimi and used the excuse of Zhang the Carpenter.

Although Wang Caimi still owed the team a lot of money, he still had some money in his hands.

I don’t know why, or maybe just for the sake of Carpenter Zhang, Wang Caimi really lent some money to Zhang Qiang.

When Li Long had carried more than a thousand brooms to the yard, Zhang Qiang came to confront him.

He couldn't hold on any longer.

He spent all the money that Wang Caimi borrowed from him, and also wrote IOUs to many people.

There are now nearly two thousand large brooms piled up in his yard.

He heard that Li Long's task of making 5,000 big brooms was to make them. He originally wanted to make at least 3,000 before he could make a deal with Li Long.

But I can't hold on any longer.

He originally thought that by paying for two thousand brooms in the early stage, his reputation would be established, and he could let others buy the brooms on credit and he would pay later.

But except for a few people who believed it, the others still wanted to see cash, so they turned around and gave the broom to Li Long.

What a bunch of idiots!
Zhang Qiang cursed in his heart, but he also knew that this was basically the end.

Li Long had no objection at all when Zhang Qiang came to see him.

This guy just wanted to take advantage of me and then take the opportunity to raise the price.

So Li Long saw that he had a sullen expression and seemed to be indifferent.

"Li Long, don't blame me for being unjust. I do this kind of thing openly and honestly. If you add fifty cents to each of the big brooms in my yard, I'll let you take them all away!"

Although Zhang Qiang was a little nervous, he said confidently:

"I think your working time is almost up, right? You're still a long way from getting a big broom, right? I know that even if you add 50 cents, you can still make some money. I'm just letting you earn less, and I'm also helping you check and gather the big brooms to save you some trouble. How about it, give me a straight answer?"

"Straightforward words?" Li Long sneered:
"Okay, I'll give you a straight answer: keep those big brooms of yours for yourself, I don't want any of them!" (End of this chapter)