Chapter 1357
: The chapter brought from Yanjing represents both honor and responsibility.
Li Long was picked up by Xiao Wang from the Beijing office of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission. Xiao Wang was already waiting outside the airport when Li Long arrived.
When Li Long arrived at the Beijing Liaison Office, in Director Dai's office, Director Dai said that Secretary Zhang had called him in advance to tell him that Li Long was coming.
"Secretary Zhang said it wouldn't be very convenient for him to pick you up directly from his side. Since you came from our side, it's more suitable for you to come here."
Director Dai's words were very kind, and Li Long could accept them.
"Secretary Zhang also said that once you're settled here, he'll have me call him and we'll see when he has time to send you over."
Secretary Zhang's arrangements were truly thoughtful.
Director Dai chatted with Li Long for a while longer. Unlike Secretary Zhang, he wasn't very familiar with Li Long's situation recently. Secretary Zhang, on the other hand, was more interested in Li Long and the situation in northern Xinjiang because he was originally from northern Xinjiang but had worked in Beijing for a long time.
After chatting for about twenty minutes, Director Dai called Secretary Zhang and told him about Li Long's arrival.
Secretary Zhang seemed to have looked at the schedule and then asked Li Long to go there tomorrow morning, giving a specific time of 10:15.
After hanging up the phone, Director Dai chatted with Li Long for a while before arranging for him to rest—Li Long meant that he wasn't tired and wanted to go to his own yard to take a look.
Director Dai naturally had no objections and instructed Xiao Wang to take Li Long to the compound by car, and also told Xiao Wang to pick up Li Long at 9:30 the next day.
Li Long came in a hurry this time and didn't prepare any local specialties. Director Dai didn't mind, saying that work was important and that they had plenty of local specialties, so it wasn't necessary.
Moreover, when Director Dai saw Li Long off, he told Li Long to keep in touch and not to stop calling just because he doesn't come to Yanjing often.
After all, it's part of a system, so we can't afford to be unfamiliar with it.
Li Long smiled and apologized, saying he would definitely keep in touch often in the future.
After seeing Li Long off, Director Dai returned to his office. Someone came to report on their work and, after finishing, half-jokingly said:
“Director, I see you’re being too polite to that young man from northern Xinjiang. Isn’t that a bit unnecessary? I heard from Xiao Wang that he’s just a farmer and small business owner. Our Beijing office has so much work to do, it’s so complicated. You can just leave this to Xiao Wang.”
"You don't know anything!" Director Dai glared at him. This man was one of his confidants, and Director Dai knew he still needed to give him a heads-up. "Li Long is no ordinary person."
Secretary Zhang specifically instructed us to pick him up and drop him off, and even called the Ethnic Affairs Commission to ask for help in booking tickets. He made us responsible for booking his return tickets. Could he be an ordinary person?
Let me tell you, it'll do you good to chat more when you meet. Besides, Xiao Li isn't the small-time trader he used to be; now he's involved in international business, doing things that most people can't do!
Although Director Dai only said that Secretary Zhang valued it, his confidants knew that it was not as simple as just Secretary Zhang!
Li Long was unaware of the specific situation at the Beijing Liaison Office. Xiao Wang took him to the two-courtyard house and even offered to leave his car for him to use, but Li Long refused.
Although the Beijing office has more than one car, Li Long doesn't want to use it for personal purposes. He's not a leader of the Beijing office, nor is he an important figure in northern Xinjiang, so it's better to keep a low profile.
In other words, I don't stay in Yanjing often. Otherwise, I could buy a car here and park it in the yard, which would make it easier to get around.
The yard had clearly been cleaned, but it must have been more than three days ago, as there was a faint layer of dust on the table inside the house.
The kitchen hadn't been used in a long time, and Li Long guessed that Li Juan or Gu Xiaoyu would occasionally come over to clean it and check on the yard.
If she's going to live there, Li Juan is more likely to stay in the courtyard her older brother bought, since it belongs to their family.
On the way there, Xiao Wang vaguely mentioned that more than once people had come to buy these courtyards, and some of them had connections and went directly to the Beijing Liaison Office.
In the end, Director Dai rejected them all, saying they couldn't be sold. Although those people were unwilling to give up, there was nothing they could do.
There aren't many courtyards like this, which are complete, have no tenant problems, are already renovated, and are in good locations.
So it's normal to be targeted.
Seeing that it was still early, Li Long took the quilt out of the bedroom to air it out, and decided to sleep there that night.
The blankets didn't smell musty, which means they're frequently aired out. The room also didn't smell musty, indicating that the windows are often opened for ventilation.
It's normal that there's no popularity.
Li Long quickly tidied up the house and went out to check on the other two courtyards.
It wasn't too far; he finished looking around in an hour or two. Just as he expected, there were signs that his older brother's yard was frequently used for cooking. However, it wasn't the weekend, and Li Juan wasn't there, so Li Long didn't linger. On the way back, he found a restaurant, ate something quick, and then went home.
The next day, around nine o'clock, when Xiao Wang came to pick up Li Long, Li Long was already waiting in the yard.
He didn't complain about the bed and slept very well last night. After getting up this morning, he went to a food stall and ate a pancake. Of course, he didn't try the fermented mung bean juice; he still knew his limits.
Xiao Wang took Li Long directly to Secretary Zhang's place and said he would wait outside and pick Li Long up after he finished his business.
Li Long entered, verified his identity, and soon Secretary Zhang arrived.
He exchanged a few words with Li Long, and then took Li Long to the old man's room.
Before entering the house, Li Long maintained a smile. Ten minutes later, Secretary Zhang knocked on the door from the outside. Li Long finished his conversation with the old man and came out with a smile on his face, but after the door closed, the smile disappeared, replaced by a faint sadness.
The old man's health is not very good.
It was clear that the old man really wanted to talk to Li Long about things in northern Xinjiang. He asked many questions, some about Li Long and some about ordinary people.
Secretary Zhang led Li Long to his office and took out a scroll.
"This is for you, take a look," Secretary Zhang said. "I wrote it a while ago."
Li Long and Secretary Zhang opened the scroll together. The scroll was titled "Presented to my young friend Li Long," but there was no signature, only a small square seal.
The four large characters in the middle read: "Young and promising".
Li Long's eyes immediately welled up with tears.
What merit or ability do I possess?
Secretary Zhang's reaction to Li Long was as expected. He talked about some past events, mainly his evaluation of Li Long, which was all positive and uplifting.
What he has done justifies this assessment, so he should boldly accept it.
Of course, if Li Long does anything wrong in the future, Secretary Zhang will keep an eye on him.
Li Long felt quite ashamed—mainly because what Secretary Zhang said made him feel as if he had only done something perfectly normal, and that it was all expected.
But compared to some people who have become rich and then turn to keeping mistresses, gambling, gangs, or even committing crimes, Li Long's character is already considered very good.
Li Long thought to himself, "I've lived two lives. The richest person I met in my previous life lived the same way."
What he considered normal behavior was seen as a model of law-abiding conduct by Secretary Zhang.
In this day and age, some people in society are really too restless.
Although the conversation with the elderly man in the office was brief, the subsequent conversation with Secretary Zhang lasted quite a while. Li Long learned a great deal from this. Secretary Zhang told Li Long about several things and also asked him about the situation in the Soviet Union and the Kazakh republics, to which Li Long shared his "opinions."
Secretary Zhang was very interested and even wrote some of them down.
It was almost lunchtime when Li Long left Secretary Zhang's place. Secretary Zhang was quite busy and had originally planned to invite Li Long to stay for dinner, but since he wasn't there, Li Long declined and carefully took the rolled-up scroll out the door.
This thing must be kept safe. In Li Long's eyes, this scroll is far more precious than thousands of scrolls of calligraphy and paintings!
Seeing Li Long come out with the scroll, Xiao Wang hurriedly led his carriage to greet him. After Li Long got into the carriage, he tentatively asked:
"Who... wrote this?"
Li Long nodded.
Xiao Wang's face immediately showed an envious expression. This was truly a rare sight!
They are almost never seen!
Back at the State Ethnic Affairs Commission's Beijing office, Director Dai immediately lost his composure when he learned that Li Long had obtained a scroll, clamoring to see it.
In all the years he's been the director, he's hardly ever seen anyone receive one!
Unable to refuse, Li Long carefully unrolled the scroll in Director Dai's office.
Looking at the four big characters "Young and promising", Director Dai sighed and felt more and more that his guess was correct. Li Long was a lucky star!
After they finished reading it, Li Long quickly put the scroll away again, afraid of damaging it.
No wonder Secretary Zhang made me come here personally; this thing is not convenient to mail or have someone else carry it!
After finishing his business, Li Long was about to return to the compound, so Director Dai asked Xiao Wang to take him and asked Li Long when he was going back to Northern Xinjiang, saying he would be in charge of booking tickets for him.
Li Long said he planned to meet with Li Juan and Gu Xiaoyu in two days.
Director Dai said he understood.
After dropping Li Long off at the hospital, Xiao Wang drove away, saying that Li Long could contact him or call him whenever he needed a car, as the director had said that the car was mainly for Li Long's use during this period.
Li Long smiled and agreed, but he didn't actually intend to use it. As an outsider, it was better for him to use the official vehicle as little as possible.
I really miss the days in northern Xinjiang, when I had my own car and could use it as I pleased!
Today is Tuesday, so Li Juan definitely won't go to the yard. Li Long ate something quick outside and then went to find Gu Xiaoyu.
Li Long knew the location of Gu Xiaoyu's yard. When he arrived, Gu Xiaoyu was packing her things in the house, preparing to go to work.
Seeing Li Long arrive, Gu Xiaoyu was taken aback for a moment, then asked with delight, "Brother-in-law, when did you get here? Why didn't you give me a heads-up?"
Li Long said with a smile, "It was a bit urgent, so I flew here and didn't call ahead."
Gu Xiaoyu had recovered from her surprise by this time. While pouring water for Li Long, she asked, "Brother-in-law, how long are you staying in Yanjing? Is everything going smoothly?"
"The matter is all settled, and I'm planning to go back in the next couple of days. I came here just to see you and then go see Li Juan," Li Long said. "You two have seen each other recently, haven't you?"
"Yes, we met. We met before Juan'er started school. She even brought me some local specialties from northern Xinjiang. We spent one night here before school started, and one night in my older brother's courtyard."
Speaking of Li Juan, Gu Xiaoyu's face lit up, and she seemed much happier. Then, she looked worried and said:
“Juan’er said she would go back to work in northern Xinjiang after she finishes university. I thought it would be so good for her to stay in Yanjing since there’s a courtyard here!”
“It’s not certain that we can stay.” Li Long shook his head. “So many people are eyeing the position in Yanjing.”
"Let's think of a way," Gu Xiaoyu said, then looked at Li Long expectantly.
Li Long didn't respond; this matter was up to Li Juan herself.
He glanced at his watch and said, "You should be at work by now, right? I just came to check on you. I won't keep you from your business. I'm going to the school to find her now."
“They should be in class now. If you’re not in a hurry, I can take you there this afternoon after I’ve finished taking care of some things here,” Gu Xiaoyu said. “I’m quite familiar with their school.”
Li Long thought for a moment and said:
"also."
Gu Xiaoyu asked Li Long to rest and wait at her house, but Li Long refused, saying he would go back to his own courtyard.
In the afternoon, Gu Xiaoyu and I went to see Li Juan. In the evening, Li Long treated us to dinner. He wanted to take the two of them to a nice, upscale place, but neither Gu Xiaoyu nor Li Juan wanted to go, so we ate at a regular restaurant instead.
Li Juan was closer to Li Long, so she asked him why he had come. Li Long told her the truth, which surprised both of them.
Li Long was quite pleased with himself.
The next day, Li Long strolled around Yanjing City and bought some local specialties that were easy to carry.
This time, I'm not planning on finding any bargains—or rather, there aren't any bargains to be found at this point, because too many professionals have already entered the industry.
Fortunately, he brought a lot of money with him when he came. He went to a well-known jewelry and jade shop and bought some high-quality jadeite and jade artifacts, all of which were already carved.
In any case, compared to prices in later generations, the price at this time, if not dirt cheap, should at least be considered copper coin price, which Li Long could still afford.
On the third day, Xiao Wang picked up Li Long early and took him to the Beijing Liaison Office. Director Dai met with Li Long there and said that Li Long's stay was too short and he was too busy, otherwise he would have treated Li Long to a meal.
Li Long also said that he would definitely stay a few more days next time he came so that he could get to know everyone better.
It's just polite talk; there's no harm in saying more.
Without further ado, to Li Long's surprise, Director Dai prepared a box of local specialties for him. These were all local specialties that the State Ethnic Affairs Commission's Beijing office had bought or exchanged with local offices in Beijing.
In Director Dai's words, "They're nothing valuable. They're just gifts for my family, a token of my appreciation."
Li Long was no stranger to such things; these items were extremely exquisite and not something the average person could obtain!
This is great stuff!
This was a very generous gesture, and Li Long felt somewhat at a loss for how to repay it.
But the plane tickets were already bought, and there was no way he could find a way to make up the difference, so he could only go back and deal with it later.
Overall, this trip was very rewarding. Although there was some sadness, there's no rush to move on.
Let's talk about it when we get back.
P.S.: Today I helped the old man repair nets and traps, and tidy up the gillnets. That's all for today, I'll continue tomorrow.
Add two more pictures:
The old man is logging off. He'll check tomorrow and if he finds anything, he'll take pictures and send them to you.
This is a stretch of mudflat in the middle of Xiaohaizi. It used to be full of water, but in February the production team needed to dredge it, so they opened a sluice gate nearby and drained all the water. Alas! (End of Chapter)