Chapter 251: Preparations Before Departure
After leaving the sugar factory, Li Yi didn’t go home; instead, he rode his bike straight to Liu San’s place!
Since the liangpi business was on hold for the time being, Li Yi told Liu San to rest at home for a few days and get in touch with him later.
Originally, Li Yi had planned to take him to Beijing to build a career, but right now, the business of buying cattle and sheep was a better fit for the kid.
Don’t let Liu San’s rough-and-tumble appearance fool you—he’s got a knack for business. With him tagging along with his brother-in-law, things should go smoothly.
Earlier, in Liang Yukui’s office, Li Yi had met with his brother-in-law. After briefly explaining the situation, his brother-in-law agreed to take on the task of purchasing the cattle and sheep.
However, Li Yi knew his brother-in-law’s temperament well. As a former soldier, he was too rigid and lacked flexibility.
He’d certainly get the job done, but it would likely cost a lot more. With Liu San tagging along, there’s no need to worry about that.
That guy had been hustling in the county seat for years; his haggling skills were already second nature.
When they arrived at Liu San’s house, Li Yi saw the young man chopping wood as soon as he stepped into the courtyard.
“San!”
Hearing the voice, Liu San immediately turned to look!
As soon as he saw Li Yi, the young man dropped his axe and came over to greet him.
“Brother Yi, what brings you here? Come on in and sit down!”
“I won’t be going inside. I just came over to tell you something,” Li Yi said.
“What is it, Brother Yi? Just tell me!”
“Tomorrow morning, head over to the sugar factory in the northern suburbs and find a man named Yang Wenguang—he’s my older sister’s husband. Follow him to the back meadow!” Li Yi said.
“Alright, but what are we doing at the Back Pasture?”
“To collect cattle and sheep, but remember—we’re only taking the calves and lambs that won’t make it through the winter!”
Li Yi continued, “As for the price, try to drive it down as much as possible—we don’t have much money!”
“Brother Yi, how much money do we have, and what’s your bottom line?” Liu San asked immediately.
“I have no more than 40,000 yuan to work with. As for my target price, lambs over a month old shouldn’t cost more than 20 yuan, and calves shouldn’t go over 50 yuan!” Li Yi said.
“Alright, I’ll check the market rates once I get there. I promise we won’t spend a single penny more than we have to!” Liu San said.
“Hmm! After you meet up tomorrow, head to Nianzishan Village first. I’ll assign a few people to join you, and then you’ll all go together!”
“Got it!”
After giving his instructions, Li Yi left Liu San’s house.
He then headed straight to the county credit union—he needed to withdraw some money!
After all, he’d need the money tomorrow, and leaving it in his passbook just wouldn’t do—the herders would only accept cold, hard cash.
The withdrawal process went smoothly, and soon Li Yi left the credit union with 40,000 yuan in cash.
……
By the time he returned home, night had fallen and the streetlights were just coming on!
Seeing Li Yi push his bicycle inside, his father, Li Shankui, pointed to the bright red cabinet and said, “Uncle Feng and Uncle Tongfu have both signed that agreement and put their fingerprints on it. Take a look and see if it’s okay!”
Li Yi parked his bicycle in the main room, then walked over to the red cabinet and picked up the agreement.
He saw that Feng Kai and Zhang Tongfu had both signed and pressed their fingerprints on it, and the production team’s official seal had also been stamped on it.
“Alright!”
At that moment, his father asked again, “When do you plan to set out to buy the cattle and sheep? Do you want me to go with you?”
“No need. I’ve left that to my brother-in-law to handle!”
“Wenguang? Is he up to the task?” Li Shankui asked, frowning.
Li Shankui had always considered his eldest son-in-law to be a straightforward, no-nonsense sort of person. While he was perfectly capable of doing manual labor or handling other tasks, the business of buying and selling cattle and sheep required someone with a sharp mind—a role neither his eldest nor second son-in-law was suited for.
“My brother-in-law served in the border defense forces before and knows Mongolian! I’ve also found him an experienced person to assist him, so it shouldn’t be a problem!” Li Yi said.
Just then, his mother, who was cooking nearby, suddenly asked, “Have you seen your older sister? How is she? Is she about to give birth?”
Li Yi smiled and replied, “I haven’t seen her, but my older sister is still about a month away from her due date. There’s no way she’d give birth that soon!”
“That’s still pretty soon!”
Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “Mom, how about this? Before I leave in a couple of days, I’ll take you to the county seat to help look after my older sister!”
“That sounds good, but what about the house while I’m gone?”
“My third sister and Xiaoxue are here. Besides, it’s winter now—what could possibly go wrong at home?” Li Yi said.
Li Na chimed in, “Could we bring my eldest sister back to live with us? After all, she and her husband are currently staying in the factory dorms, and it wouldn’t be very convenient for you to go there, would it?”
“Let’s not do that before the baby is born. Our village is pretty far from the county seat—if anything happens, we won’t have time to get there!”
Li Yi continued, “Let Mom take care of things until the baby is born, and then we’ll bring Big Sister home for her postpartum confinement!”
“You really are thoughtful, you rascal. Big Sister didn’t spoil you for nothing!” Third Sister said with a smile.
At that moment, Tang Xue noticed Li Yi’s bulging shoulder bag. Since he’d specifically asked her for the family’s bankbook before leaving, she knew he’d gone to withdraw money.
“How much did you withdraw?”
“Forty thousand yuan!”
“How many cattle and sheep can that buy?” Tang Xue asked again.
“If we’re talking about lambs, we can buy about 2,000 of them. If it’s calves, about 800!”
“That many?”
Tang Xue said with a look of surprise. Although she had never bought cattle or sheep before, she knew that beef and mutton were very expensive these days, costing nearly 2 yuan per pound.
By that calculation, a full-grown sheep would sell for around 160 yuan, while a cow would fetch at least 600 yuan.
Li Yi smiled and explained, “We’re not buying full-grown cattle or sheep, but rather those young lambs and calves that can’t survive the winter. If we don’t buy them, these animals would likely not make it through the cold winter, so the herders generally don’t ask for much!”
“Oh, I see…”
Just as they were speaking, a sudden clatter of footsteps came from outside, along with the sound of young men chatting.
Li Yi knew it must be Dongzi and the others arriving, so he immediately stopped talking.
Sure enough, the door was soon pushed open from the outside, and dxmbang saw Dongzi, Qiangzi, Shitou, Yongzi, Gangzi, and Xiaogouwa—six of them—walk in together.
As soon as they entered, Shitou said, “Brother Yi, we’re here!”
“Hmm. I called you all here today mainly to discuss a few things. The first is about going to Beijing. Since Qiangzi and Dongzi have already decided to come with me, what do the rest of you think?” Li Yi said.
Shitou immediately said, “My mom and dad are fine with me going out into the world with Brother Yi—I’m all set!”
Gangzi chimed in, “I’m all for it too. My parents say I’ll have a bright future if I follow Brother Yi!”
Yongzi, however, sighed and said, “My dad didn’t say much, but my mom doesn’t agree. She wants me to stay in the village and says she’s going to find me a wife!”
Li Yigang had just lifted his bowl to drink water when he heard this; he spit it out suddenly and then coughed uncontrollably.
Tang Xue immediately stepped forward to pat him on the back, and her tenderness made the young men green with envy.
“How old are you, kid? Talking about a wife this early?”
If Li Yi remembered correctly, Yongzi should only be 17 this year—and that’s his lunar age; in reality, he’d just turned 16.
Talking about a wife at 16—just how desperate was his mother to hold a grandchild?
Yongzi said somewhat awkwardly, “My mom says if I wait too long, all the good girls will be taken. She also said to just make the engagement now, and in a couple of years, when I turn 18, I’ll bring her home!”
Li Yi shook his head, then turned to Xiaogouwa and asked, “Gouwa, what about you?”
Xiaogouwa replied immediately, “I’d love to go with you, Brother Yi, but you know my family situation—I can’t leave them for a moment!”
Hearing this, Li Yi fell silent.
Xiaogouwa’s family situation was indeed rather unique. His father had passed away long ago, and his mother was ill, essentially unable to work.
On top of that, Xiaogouwa had a younger brother and two younger sisters who all depended on him for care; he truly couldn’t leave home.
After a moment’s thought, Li Yi said, “Here’s what we’ll do: Yongzi and Little Gouwa will stay in the village. You two have a few tasks to handle there!”
“First, help me look after the house. When I’m away, help out with fetching water or chopping firewood!”
“Second, keep an eye on the village’s cattle and sheep for me. Once the village’s livestock farm is up and running, you two will be the backbone of the operation!”
“Sure, Brother Yi!”
“Also, tomorrow I plan to send someone to follow the truck to the back pastures to buy up cattle and sheep. Are either of you interested?” Li Yi asked again.
“How many days will we be gone?” Xiaogouwa asked immediately.
“Two or three days—five at the most!”
“No problem, I’m in!”
Yongzi chimed in, “I’m good with that too!”
“All right, then. Tomorrow, the two of you will ride along to the back pastures, while the four of you grab your household registration books and come with me to get letters of introduction. We’ll be heading to the capital in a day or two!” Li Yi said.
“Alright!”
……