boyutpedia Chapter 1435 Planning Xiaohaizi, Helping Liang Wenyu
Chapter 1435 Planning Xiaohaizi, Helping Liang Wenyu
Li Juan and Wang Yusheng stayed at the fourth team for two days before returning to their work unit. Since neither of them was very old, they weren't in a rush to get married and would take it one step at a time.
In May, the purchasing station began to buy large quantities of fritillaria and dried mushrooms again. Around the middle of the month, Huang Lei arrived as promised, bringing 10,000 crab seedlings.
"Let me tell you, these are crab seedlings that I specially went to find. They said it's a newly bred variety," Huang Lei proudly introduced to Li Long. "They are quite cold-resistant, and of course, they're not cheap. They're in high demand. I had to ask a friend to help me get 10,000 of them."
"Hey, thank you so much this time." Li Long looked at the tiny crab larvae in the box and said happily, "Boss Huang, to be honest, you deserve the most credit for these things surviving and growing here. Don't rush to leave these next few days. I'll go catch some crabs tonight, and we'll steam them for tomorrow."
Huang Lei seemed quite interested and said, "Okay, I won't go crabbing. I'll come here tomorrow to eat steamed crabs."
Huang Lei was in a rush this time because he was delivering crab seedlings. He was worried that the seedlings would die if he was delayed too long, so he took a plane.
Although Li Long offered to reimburse his plane ticket, Huang Lei refused, saying it was his duty.
Compared to Zhao Hui, Huang Lei is more sentimental. Of course, this is also because Li Long saved him from danger.
After dropping Huang Lei off at the county guesthouse, Li Long drove to Xiaohaizi.
Now that the crab larvae have arrived, we should quickly put them in the water. These things are too small; leaving them in the box like that, even though they can breathe, will inevitably cause them to die if left there for too long.
There's no one fishing at Xiaohaizi right now. I don't know if Li Andong took them away when they came, or if the Fourth Team has been strict with fishing lately, so no one comes to fish.
It's pretty good.
Li Long circled around and came to the shallow beach that had been specially left during the dredging. He thought about scattering the small crabs there, but then he changed his mind.
Crabs eat anything. It's mid-May now, and the crabs should be out here at night. There are quite a few crabs gathered here. If you put small crabs here, wouldn't they just become food for the big crabs?
It's not worth it.
Li Long then circled around to the south side of Xiaohaizi. There was an opening there, through which spring water overflowing from a small swamp upstream would flow into Xiaohaizi.
Although the amount of water is not much, it serves as a continuous replenishment for the small lake.
In a few years, as the groundwater was continuously pumped out and the water level dropped, the area gradually dried up and the spring disappeared.
Li Long found a spot with decent aquatic plants and released the crab larvae into it in sections.
The crab larvae were still very small, the kind that were translucent. They were almost invisible once they entered the water. Li Long could only vaguely see them scatter and swim away. Some were clinging to water plants or something, perhaps nibbling on them, some dived underwater, and some swam unsteadily and far away.
Then a fish suddenly emerged from the water, swallowed the little crab, and then dived back into the water.
Although the five-striped black crab is not a large fish, it is enough to eat small crab seedlings.
Li Long's face immediately darkened—this release operation had gotten off to a bad start.
But it's already in there, so there's no point in saying anything now. Fortunately, most of the crab larvae are in the shallow water, clinging to aquatic plants and reeds, swaying gently with the ripples, looking quite content.
After releasing the white streaks, Li Long walked around the small lake, watching the white streaks on the water create waves that looked quite impressive.
After releasing the crabs, Li Long drove to his older brother's house.
He planned to have lunch at his older brother's house, then stay in the afternoon, catch crabs in the evening, and then rush back overnight.
Li Jianguo was quite free at the moment, chatting with Li Andong in the yard. When he saw Li Long coming over, he asked him what was wrong.
Li Long said he was releasing the crab larvae, but before he could say what his next plan was, he saw a large basin full of river mites in the yard.
He looked at Li Andong and said with a smile, "Brother Andong, you went to Dahai Lake?"
"I was bored, so I went over to set up a net. I didn't expect there to be so many of these things in that trough, so I scooped some up. The river bream in this big lake are really big, but it's a pity there are no pearls," Li Andong said regretfully.
Li Long looked at the river clams in the large basin. The largest one was as big as an enamel basin used for stewing chicken. The surface had layers of patterns, and the edges of the shell were also damaged. He estimated that it had been growing for at least ten years.
River clam meat is difficult to process. Li Long used to fish for it after the Dahai Lake was drained, but he didn't pay much attention to it afterward.
"These river puddles are going to be a problem to manage," Old Lady Du Chunfang muttered, sitting by the wall. "Back home, we used up a lot of firewood, but here we have plenty. But this stuff won't cook properly, how are we supposed to eat it?"
Li Long remembered eating this with a friend from Hubei Province in his previous life, and said with a smile:
“I’ll take care of it; there’s a different way to eat it,” Li Long said, rolling up his sleeves. “It’s just that my mom can’t handle spicy food very well, so this won’t taste good if it’s not spicy.”
"You do your thing, what do you care about me? How many bites can I possibly eat?" Du Chunfang also wanted to see what her youngest son was capable of. "Isn't this a hassle?"
“No trouble at all.” Li Long went to find a knife and began to pry open the clam shell. “This is how they eat it in other provinces. There’s a lot more to eat than here, unlike us who only eat those three pieces of meat.”
They are accustomed to eating three pieces of meat from clams: two adductor muscles similar to scallops, and the foot.
But the way the person from Hubei province taught us to eat it allows us to eat everything except for things like the stomach and intestines.
Li Long was strong and fast. After prying it open, he quickly scooped and flicked the clam meat off, which fell into a specially prepared enamel basin.
Watching Li Long's movements, Li Andong exclaimed, "Xiao Long is really strong, and his hands are so steady. A few days ago, I caught some river slugs and kept them at home. It took me half a day to clean up half a plate of meat. I didn't know whether to throw it away or cook it. Look at Xiao Long's movements. He can clean up this whole basin of river slugs in less than half an hour."
Hearing this, Li Long smiled and said, "Then I'll make some here, and you can take half back, Brother Anton. It'll smell delicious when stir-fried with chili peppers."
Li Andong chatted for a while and then went back. He also had some river mud at home that he needed to deal with; he definitely wouldn't accept the mud that Li Long had disposed of here.
After Li Andong left, Li Long told his elder brother his plans while processing the clam meat:
"I'm thinking of releasing tens of thousands of crab seedlings into the small lake every year for the next two years. After a few more years, once the crabs have taken root, we won't need to release them anymore. Then we can just catch them there to eat crabs."
"What's so good about that thing? There's not a single piece of good meat..." Older mother Du Chunfang had no interest in crabs. "I'd rather eat a fish!"
The eldest brother, Li Jianguo, chuckled. "Older generations like my mother are quite particular about eating meat and fish; they're basically indifferent to all that other stuff."
Sister-in-law Liang Yuemei walked in from outside, carrying a basket with some vegetables on her arm. Seeing Li Long digging out river clams, she smiled and said, "Little Long, when did you get here? Are you planning to go river fishing?"
"Hmm, I'm planning to come up with a way to eat them. A friend from the village brought some crab seedlings over today, and I poured them into the small lake. I'll pour some in every year, and in two or three years, the crabs will be able to stand on their own in the small lake. Then we can just catch them whenever we want to eat them."
I'm thinking of bringing not only crabs, but also river clams, snails, shrimp, loaches, and the like into the small lake, so we won't have to go all over to eat them.
"That's great." Liang Yuemei pulled over a small stool and said while tidying up the vegetables, "The vegetables in our private plot are growing quite well, and this celery is ready to eat."
The fourth team had a lot of land, and since the beginning of the land distribution, there has been a tradition of allocating about one mu (approximately 0.16 acres) of land to each family as a vegetable garden, which everyone usually calls their private plot, where they can plant whatever they want.
So each family actually has two vegetable plots: their own vegetable garden and the plot allocated by the team.
However, these private plots disappeared after the settlements were completely merged, and were all converted into basic farmland.
Sure enough, Li Long finished preparing the river clams in less than half an hour. Afterward, he soaked some chili peppers and prepared the seasonings.
After completing the preparations, I washed the clam meat several times and then cut it into small pieces.
Yes, he used to eat in a hot pot style, similar to a self-service hot pot restaurant.
But the conditions are definitely not right now, so we simply stewed it in the pot, and then took it out to eat together.
To ensure the clam meat is well-seasoned, it is sliced thinly into small pieces, so that it doesn't become overcooked.
Clam meat is very easy to overcook, and when it's overcooked, it becomes as tough as beef tendon and hard to chew.
Li Long's knife skills were also quite good. After cutting the ingredients, he set them aside and waited to start the fire.
As Liang Yuemei picked vegetables, she watched Li Long's preparations, thinking that if the dish tasted good, she could also make it herself in the future.
She's spent a lot of time in the kitchen, so she understood exactly what Li Long was doing at a glance. If it were her, she could probably do it after watching it once.
As it approached mealtime, Du Chunfang, the old lady, started the fire, and Li Long poured in the oil, preparing to make a traditional hot pot with river clams.
The chili peppers and oil should be plentiful, and the flavor should be strong, so as to suppress the fishy smell of the river clams.
The eldest sister-in-law, Liang Yuemei, was steaming rice at another stove.
Food from the river goes best with rice; at least, everyone in the Li family thinks so.
Soon, the courtyard was filled with the aroma of chili peppers. Older sister Du Chunfang sneezed several times and then said, "This smells so good, I could eat half a bowl more rice with it!"
Li Long laughed, "What my mother said is the truth."
Of course, there wouldn't be just this one dish. When Li Long saw that the heat was about right, he scooped the soup, ingredients, and river clams from the pot into a bowl. The rest was just stir-frying vegetables.
The remaining dish was celery stir-fried with pork. While her sister-in-law, Liang Yuemei, was busy steaming rice, her brother, Li Jianguo, took over.
The Li family's rule is that whoever is free cooks, regardless of gender. If they're really too busy, the mother can also cook a bowl of noodles, since rolling out noodles isn't difficult for her.
Once the meal was ready, the family ate at a small square table under the awning outside.
They were supposed to be a family, but there were only four people in total. Li Long felt that the family was dwindling.
Since he had come all this way, Li Long decided to get down to business. He picked up a piece of river clam meat and tasted it; it was quite delicious.
Although I didn't have any ready-made beef tallow hot pot broth, I made my own using seasonings I had at home, and it tasted pretty good. Looks like I can try making it for my wife and kids when I get home.
"Xiaolong's cooking skills are really good. We really didn't know that river clams could be eaten like this," Liang Yuemei exclaimed.
"He's been to many places and eaten a lot, so naturally he has a lot of experience," Li Jianguo commented.
My mother is afraid of spicy food, so she can't eat much of this. She only tries two pieces, but she has a smile on her face. She's happy whenever someone praises her youngest son.
Li Long smiled and changed the subject: "Brother and sister-in-law, I'm thinking that from now on, there will be more people using drip irrigation, and the demand for drip irrigation tape will definitely increase."
Liang Yuemei said with a smile, "This is a good thing. Your drip irrigation tape factory will have no worries about business in the future."
Li Long casually remarked, "I was just thinking that my factory's products will definitely be in high demand in the future, and I believe that drip irrigation farming may not only be popular here, but will also be promoted throughout northern Xinjiang and even southern Xinjiang in the future. That will require a massive amount of drip irrigation tape."
So I was thinking of setting up another factory for our relatives, so we can all make money together.”
Li Jianguo, the eldest brother, stopped eating and asked, "What do you mean? If they are relatives on our side, then there is no need to set up a factory. Why don't you just get another set of production equipment? Expand the factory's production, and at worst hire some more people."
Li Long said, "I was thinking of having Wen Yu build a factory there. A set of production equipment costs hundreds of thousands of yuan, which is beyond the reach of most people. However, the demand for drip irrigation tape is huge, so it is easy to capture this market now, and it is easy to make money in the first few years."
So I was thinking, should we help Wenyu build a factory, get some equipment, and let him manage it there? He can earn money for a few years, and even if the market becomes saturated, the money he earns in those years will be enough for him to live on for the rest of his life.
The elder brother and sister-in-law exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes. Then the elder brother, Li Jianguo, asked Li Long, "Is that really what you think? Actually, this is a viable option. You don't necessarily need to help him; I can scrape together some money to buy him some equipment."
Sister-in-law Liang Yemei asked with some concern, "It's a good thing that Wenyu is building a factory, but his place is so close to us. Won't it affect your factory's business? If so, then don't do it. You and your brother have helped him so much; you can't manage everything."
Li Long laughed. He waved his hand and said, "Sister-in-law, don't worry about that. The market is huge. Just do the math. Our team alone has more than 10,000 mu of drip-irrigated fields, and another 10,000 to 20,000 mu have come to me to buy drip irrigation tape, and that number is still increasing."
I estimate that next year, drip irrigation will require at least 50,000 mu (approximately 3,333 hectares) of land for farming. A factory has already been built in Beiting, but the market will definitely still be short of supplies. Therefore, if Wenyu sets up a factory, making money will definitely not be a problem, and it won't have any impact on my factory.”
There will definitely be some impact, but it won't be significant, given the substantial growth potential of this market.
Upon hearing this, Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei both nodded and said, "Then let's do it. Right now, making money and living a good life is more important."
Li Long added, "The reason I consulted you instead of going directly to Wen Yu is mainly because I'm unsure about his future career path."
"Development direction?" Li Jianguo asked doubtfully. "What other development direction could he possibly have?"
“Going into politics,” Li Long said matter-of-factly. “Wen Yu has been the Youth League branch secretary for several years, and he will most likely become the village head. If he does a good job as the village head, he might become a cadre in the township. Although he won’t make as much money as he would in a factory, the title of a state cadre is different.”
What Li Long was referring to was definitely not just the title of "state cadre." He didn't mention the other hidden benefits, but his elder brother and sister-in-law were aware of them.
Li Jianguo agreed with what he said. Liang Wenyu was quite clever; back when he led people to join Li Long in building the tractor, he had already gathered a group of followers and had a considerable base of support. He had been doing this for many years, accomplishing a lot of real work. With a tractor at home, repairing bridges and roads was relatively easy, and he had built up a good reputation.
It's quite possible that they'll appoint a village head later on.
As for going up to the township level, Li Jianguo didn't quite believe it, because there was no precedent for it.
Village cadres are considered collective cadres, while township cadres are considered state cadres. Ordinary farmers are quite clear about this distinction, and they don't even consider village cadres as cadres.
Therefore, in Li Jianguo's view, if given a choice, Liang Wenyu would definitely choose to run a factory to make money.
Being a village cadre is nowhere near as satisfying as earning hundreds of thousands a year.
"What's so difficult about that? Just make a phone call and ask," said Du Chunfang, the old lady, seeing their uneasy discussion. "They're all family, and it's a good thing to help out, so what's wrong with saying it?"
Both the father, Li Qingxia, and the mother, Du Chunfang, approved of the Liang family as their in-laws. Although they were sometimes narrow-minded and sometimes biased, they were very clear about their grudges and obligations.
The eldest son was able to establish himself in Beijing, raise his younger son, and live the good life they have now, all thanks to the Liang family's help. For that alone, the elderly couple is deeply grateful to the Liang family.
Li Jianguo and Li Long both laughed. "That's true," they said, "we can just make a phone call and ask."
After dinner, Li Jianguo called the Liang family. Once the call connected, he said a few words to Liang Wenyu: "Wenyu, Xiaolong wants to ask for your opinion. What do you think you should choose?"
After saying that, he handed the phone to Li Long.
Liang Wenyu, who had just finished eating, was still a little confused and didn't understand what was going on.
Li Long didn't hold back and told Liang Wenyu about his plan to help Liang build a drip irrigation tape production plant. He also mentioned his guess that Liang Wenyu had thoughts of entering politics and said he would see what Liang would choose.
The main reason is that the Liang family only has one son, and Old Master Liang Donglou is getting on in years. After his medical check-up, he needs to focus on recuperation, so the only option is for him to choose. If they had multiple sons, this matter would be a done deal.
Liang Wenyu himself was a little confused. This sudden decision seemed like a forced request, but after careful analysis, he realized that both his brother-in-law and Li Long were doing it for his own good and for the good of their family.
Although the drip irrigation system hasn't been implemented in their village yet, the county frequently promotes it, and Liang Wenyu has been paying close attention to this issue.
He shared the same view as Li Long, knowing that this was the future trend and that it was impossible to change.
So if you set up a drip irrigation tape factory now, you'll definitely make a steady stream of money.
But if I were to manage this factory, let alone pursue a political career, it would be a question whether I could even continue operating the tractors.
Of course, if you start this factory, you'll never lack money in the future, but it's a choice between a career and money. Which should you choose?
Liang Wenyu genuinely wants to continue working as a village cadre, and he now has a certain level of popular support, so there shouldn't be any problem for him to become the village party secretary in the next election.
So he hesitated.
Li Long could roughly guess his thoughts and said, "It's alright, there's no rush. The main thing is to have more options. We don't need drip irrigation tape right now, and it's not too late to start building the factory in the second half of the year. So think it over carefully before making a decision."
After hanging up the phone, Li Long and Li Jianguo discussed it and ultimately decided that Li Jianguo would provide the funds, while Li Long would contact suppliers for drip irrigation tape production equipment and then guide Liang Wenyu in building the factory.
Of course, this is on the premise that Liang Wenyu is willing to build the factory.
As Liang Yuemei was clearing away the dishes in the kitchen, she sighed with gratitude. Her husband and brother-in-law were so good to her family, saying that there was no one like them in the whole village. Thinking about all these years, her eyes welled up with tears. Life was so good, what more could she ask for?
After hanging up the phone, Liang Wenyu stayed there thinking about how to choose.
When the elderly father, Liang Donglou, saw that his son had gone to answer the phone and hadn't returned for a long time, he went over and knocked on the door to ask what was wrong.
Liang Wenyu recounted what Li Long had told him to Liang Donglou. Liang Donglou was initially surprised, but then said, "This young man, Xiaolong, is so kind and righteous. He repays a small kindness with a great one."
Liang Wenyu was also surprised as to why Li Long was so keen to help her family. Was it just because of the grain, meat and money her family sent to her brother-in-law's family during those years when he was unreliable?
Compared to that, Li Long has helped his side countless times over the years, and he has long since paid off the debt.
He couldn't figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it and simply asked his father for advice on what to choose.
Liang Donglou said with a smile, "That depends on you. If you want to make money, then you should build a factory. If you want to go into politics, then you should give up the factory. With your energy, you can't do both. Besides, if you try to do both, you'll easily offend people."
Liang Wenyu was naturally dissatisfied with his father's attitude, so he asked, "Dad, if you were to help me choose, what do you suggest I do?"
Liang Donglou reached into his pocket, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and then took out a lighter to light one. Chen Xiuzhu coughed, and Liang Donglou paused for a moment, then awkwardly put the cigarettes away and said, "If it were up to me, I would definitely go and build a factory."
Although we are living a good life now, who would complain about having too much money? Earning more money, even if it's just to save for later, is better than having no money at all. Who knows what the future holds?
If you want to go into politics, the best you can do is become a village party secretary. You should know what kind of person our village party secretary is, right? People criticize him every day, saying he's unfair.
Every now and then, someone goes to the higher authorities to complain that he embezzled this or that. Did he really embezzle? But some people are just deliberately picking on him.
Liang Wenyu couldn't help but defend herself, saying, "If I were in that position, I would definitely be clean. Our family isn't that poor."
Liang Donglou glared at him and said, "Some things aren't judged by right or wrong, but by your perspective. Now that you're the village party secretary, will you follow the township's decisions or not?"
Some decisions will harm the interests of certain individuals. If you follow them, people will criticize you; if you don't, you're deemed unqualified. What's the choice? And then there are those inspection teams who want you to eat, drink, and accompany them. Do you do that? ...
Old Liang is a veteran revolutionary. Although there were some changes in his life, if he hadn't come to northern Xinjiang, he could have become the director of a county hospital back in his hometown in the 1960s. He has a wide range of knowledge and experience. Although he has the kind of extreme views that come with that era, it has to be said that his experiences are still worth learning from.
After hearing his father's words, Liang Wenyu's original ambition to realize his ideals and aspirations faded a bit.
He hadn't made a decision yet, but unconsciously he had already begun to lean towards building the factory.
Liang Wenyu still cares a lot about his reputation. If he were to be criticized every day for pursuing his ideals, he might not be able to stand it.
After hanging up the phone, Li Long discussed it with his older brother and felt at ease.
The small lake will continue to develop along this path, without any changes. The fish species inside do not need to be adjusted, as the current variety is sufficient.
If we also decide on shrimp and crab, then we'll truly have an abundance of produce.
For a moment, he even considered bringing over the crayfish, but then he thought better of it. He didn't really like them; he'd think about it later.
And all the relatives and friends around me have been settled. If the Liang family's affairs are resolved, then there's really nothing left to worry about. Once machine-harvested cotton is successfully implemented, I can finally relax and become a wealthy landowner.
In the afternoon, Li Long went to the cooperative's courtyard, chatted with Xie Yundong and the others for a while, and then went to check on the fields.
The cotton seedlings aren't very tall yet, which gives them a cute, tender look.
Apart from a small amount of land used for growing grain, the vast majority of land in the village was used for growing cotton.
The main reason is that drip irrigation is more expensive. Leaving aside pesticides, fertilizers, and seeds, the amount of drip irrigation tape needed per acre is considerable. Growing grain won't break even unless you stop using drip irrigation altogether.
If we don't use drip irrigation, then all the farmland improvement efforts will be for nothing. Others earn 200 yuan per mu by growing cotton, but you only earn 50 yuan per mu by growing grain. Nobody can accept that.
Therefore, Li Long estimates that by next year, these 10,000 mu of land will basically no longer be used for growing grain. As for paying grain taxes, everyone will simply convert it into cash and hand it over; they will buy their own grain from flour mills.
After dinner, Li Long prepared the things to catch crabs. What's annoying is that the days are quite long now; it's not dark until after 10 pm, which is quite frustrating.
At this time, we were still watching nighttime television; there were no channels during the day except on weekends.
Fortunately, we started having real weekends this year, which is a big deal.
At 11 p.m., Li Long drove to Xiaohaizi. After parking the car, he put on his headlamp, stab-proof gloves, and a bucket and went to the shallow beach.
The sound of rubber boots splashing in the water was loud and clear, echoing from the reeds in the distance. You could hear frantic splashing and fish leaping from the reeds.
I don't know if it's a wild duck, a water chicken, or a water rat.
Before he had walked more than a few steps, Li Long spotted two crabs, one on each side, lying in a shallow pit under the water plants. They were quite large, and looked to be two or three years old.
Li Long was quite happy and immediately went forward, grabbed the two crabs, and threw them into the bucket.
We walked forward, picking up as much as we could, and before we even reached the shallows, we already had more than half a bucket full.
If you try to catch it again, the crab might crawl out.
Li Long was quite content and stopped walking, turning around to go back. The crabs he had picked up today were all quite large, and because there were so many of them, he didn't want the smaller ones.
Then he saw a point of light flickering at the shallow beach, right where he had just walked.
Will-o'-the-wisps?
The color is wrong!
Li Long moved a few steps to the left, came ashore, and observed carefully.
Then I heard people talking.
It turns out to be Xie Yundong and Tao Daqiang.
Before he could say anything, Tao Daqiang shouted, "Brother Long, is that you up ahead?"
"It's me. I stirred up the water over there. If you want to collect crabs, come over here. There are quite a few here."
Hearing Li Long's call, the two men also came ashore and quickly walked over here.
The two men, each carrying a bucket, came over to look at the crabs in Li Long's bucket and were quite surprised.
"Brother Long, you picked up so many?"
"There are a lot of crabs this year, I guess they've really reached a certain size. I plan to release tens of thousands more seedlings this year, so it'll be even easier to catch them next year," Li Long said. "When I saw your headlamps earlier, I thought they were will-o'-the-wisps."
"You know what, when we drove here, we actually saw will-o'-the-wisps by the reed ditch," Tao Daqiang said. "When we go back later, I plan to take a detour around the cooperative before heading home, but these things are considered unlucky, so let's not get involved with anything."
Li Long couldn't help but laugh when he heard this.
However, Tao Daqiang spoke so solemnly that he suppressed his laughter.
Then he pointed and told the two of them to go to the beach to pick up crabs.
There were quite a few on the beach, and the two of them picked up everything they saw, regardless of size. In no time, each of them had collected two or three kilograms, which was about right.
The three of them chatted and laughed as they returned to the dam area, and then each drove back home.
When Li Long returned, he paid special attention, but he couldn't find any will-o'-the-wisps. Did they disappear after the traffic restrictions were implemented, or did they just not want him to see them?
After arriving at his elder brother's house, Li Long left half of the crabs at home and drove the rest back to the county.
Li Jianguo originally wanted him to bring all the crabs, since this place was close to Xiaohaizi and there was no shortage of them.
Li Long said that even if he brought it over, they wouldn't be able to eat that much. It was just a chance to try something new, so everyone should have a taste.
The next morning, Li Long steamed the crabs, and the whole family tasted them.
After dropping off the children, he took the steamed crabs to Huang Lei as a thank you gift for the crab seedlings.
Of course, the amount owed will still be paid in full; it will all be factored into the price of the dried mushrooms.
I wonder if Zhao Hui can bring some crab seedlings with him next time he comes.
They're counting on these two people over there.
P.S.: That's all for today. My stomach's upset, so I'm going to the bathroom. (End of Chapter)