Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 82: Old Ma's "Family Assets"

Of course, the box was not filled with RMB, but most of it was filled with Ma Qian, or copper coins.

Li Long flipped through it casually. There were coins of the Five Emperors, as well as hemp coins from the Kaiyuan and Zhenguan periods of the Tang Dynasty. In addition to the hemp coins with words, there were also some large coins. Coins refer to privately minted coins that are not in circulation, mainly used for playing and blessing. However, they also have a certain collection value in later generations.

The box was open. As soon as Li Long entered the study, he saw this old-fashioned wooden box, about 40 to 50 centimeters long, wide and high, placed on the table. Li Long guessed that there should be other things in the box, but they should have been taken away by old man Ma.

There are several old edition thread-bound books on the bookshelf in the study, including the Siku Quanshu, medical books, quotations, martial arts novels, and some magazines, all in a mess.

There was a painting and a calligraphy scroll hanging on the wall. He couldn't make out what was written on it, nor could he understand the signature, so he just hung it there for now.

On the heavy wooden desk were placed pens, inkstones, and paper. They looked a bit old, so they were probably ordinary things. But the box containing the money looked quite old, so it must be quite old.

I don’t know whether this half box of hemp coins will be valuable in the future.

Li Long closed the box and placed it in a corner of the desk, then sat down and opened the drawer.

Inside was a stack of vertical letter paper, which looked quite rustic, but I didn't know whether it was an imitation or old paper.

After closing the drawer, Li Long opened another drawer and found three brushes inside. He couldn't write calligraphy, so he simply closed the drawer.

There was nothing else in the study, so Li Long went to the bedroom.

The stove was now burning brightly, and the bedroom was warm. Li Long looked at the wooden bed, wondering if it would be warm at night.

The bedding had a faint musty smell, so he decided to take the time to tidy it up. It was inconvenient to buy new ones now, so at least he had to take them apart and wash them.

He was a little surprised by the wooden floor in the house. The paint on the wooden floor had been worn off, and it was obvious that the house was quite old.

The carvings on the bunk bed were very delicate and beautiful. There were figures on them, and it looked like a comic strip. He didn't know whether it was the West Chamber or the Dragon Girl shepherding sheep, and he didn't quite understand it.

There was a large wardrobe in the bedroom, which was a new model and looked a bit out of place here. Li Long opened it and found two old clothes inside, the kind of double-breasted gowns. He planned to take them back to his sister-in-law when he returned to make paste for shoe uppers.

Coming out of the bedroom, he went to the utility room.

There was an old wooden single bed inside, and next to it were some old chairs, low tables and other old furniture. Li Long was not sure whether they were valuable or not.

When he was about to take a closer look, Tao Daqiang's voice came from the other side.

When Li Long went over, he saw that Tao Daqiang had already cooked the rice porridge. He then found a cabbage, peeled off the dry skin on the outside, took out the intact leaves inside, washed it in the sink, and then cut it into thin strips.

Wang Mazi's kitchen knife had been sharpened to a very thin layer, but it was still sharp. He cut a plate of thin shreds. Li Long found some sugar and vinegar, sprinkled some on the shreds, and mixed them. Now it was a dish.

Tao Daqiang looked at it with some doubt. Can this thing be delicious? Eating raw cabbage!

However, when he ate the cold cabbage with white porridge, he was surprised by the refreshing taste. It tasted so good!
"Go to bed early at night. We'll go out to eat tomorrow morning and then go back into the mountains to pull sheep." Li Long said while drinking porridge, "We may have to stay in the mountains for a whole night, so be prepared."

"Yeah." Seeing that Li Long finished the porridge and didn't want to eat it, Tao Daqiang poured the cabbage and juice on the plate into the porridge, drank it up in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and then went to wash the dishes.

The next morning, the two men hurriedly washed their faces, went to the big meat canteen to buy a few buns, and ate while heading into the mountains. When they arrived outside Halimu's winter nest, they saw that the sun had not yet risen to 45 degrees southeast.

That is, it is less than ten o'clock now. Li Long is very satisfied with this speed.

Amid the barking of dogs, Halimu came out of his winter den.

"Why did you come here so early?" Halimu had just had breakfast - milk tea.

"I sold all the sheep yesterday. I'm here today to give you the money and take the rest away." Li Long said with a smile, "How about that? Is that okay?"

"That's great!" Halimu didn't expect the sheep to sell so quickly. "Let's go to the winter den to warm up first."

"I sell a kilogram of mutton for 95 cents, but if I buy it from you, I will charge you 80 cents." Li Long drank a bowl of milk tea, took out the money and started to settle the bill with Halim:
"Twenty-two sheep weigh a total of 363 kilograms, which is 290.4 yuan. In addition to the 120 yuan I gave you earlier, I will give you another 170.4 yuan. I'll give you the money, and you can share it with Brother Yushan Jiang."

"You sell it for 95 cents and charge us 80 cents?" Halim waved his hands hastily, "We don't do that. You're just working for us for nothing."

"No, no, I have my own ideas." Li Long said with a smile, "You have to give me those sheep offal, I make money from it."

"That won't work either. You'll be at a huge disadvantage." Halimu got excited. "We can't let you suffer this much. We are friends. Friends make money together and share it together..."

"I've earned a lot." Li Long could understand Halim's excitement. "Do you know that piece of jade? That piece is worth more than those sheep..."

"That's different. We can't sell it. It's a gift for you..."

Tao Daqiang watched the two sides arguing, both wanting the other side to get more money, which he found difficult to understand.

The people in the team do business together, and many of them want to make more money for themselves, but here, it's the opposite.

While Halimu and Li Long were talking, the dog outside started barking.

We have arrived at Yushan River.

This time, he brought five sheep.

After learning the whole story, Yushan Jiang also advised Li Long to take more money:
"When we sell sheep, we usually get 50 or 60 cents per kilogram, and even 70 cents has never been seen before. Now you are charging 80 cents, this is not acceptable..."

"Okay, okay." Li Long said, "Listen to me, first, you have to give me all the sheep offal, I use it to make money. Second, when spring comes, you point out where there are jade stones, then I can pick up one or two pieces, and then it will all be returned to me."

Finally, at Li Long's insistence, the money was settled according to his word.

Of course, it is hard to say how much the ten sheep can be sold for when they are taken to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Li Long's plan was to make a hard-earned profit of at most 1 cent per kilogram. He still planned to make money with sheep offal. These things could make a fortune if they were handled well.

Besides, even if it can’t be sold, it tastes better than mutton if it is washed and cooked.

When Li Long came down the mountain, there were ten more Klangzi sheep piled on the carriage. This time he was going to the supply and marketing cooperative in Ma County to find his fellow clan member, Section Chief Li Xiangqian.

I don’t know what price Section Chief Li can offer?

(End of this chapter)