Chapter 1358
Is there more to the story with the tiger? Helping Qiangqiang solve his problem.
Li Long drove back to the compound, but no one was home.
He first took the scroll into the house, intending to put it in the hidden compartment in the east room, but then he felt it was inappropriate.
When Secretary Zhang asked him to bring this thing back, he was actually implying that it could be used as a talisman for him.
So Li Long simply hung it in the living room, so that it would be visible as soon as you entered.
The title clearly states that this thing is for Li Long; it's useless to anyone else.
Hanging it here means that when someone comes and sees it, Li Long can tap on it slightly, making it truly effective.
Next, he unloaded the local specialties he had brought back from the Beijing office of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission from the car and stored them in categories.
He plans to take some things back to Team 4 tomorrow to share with his family, but he will leave most of them here for his own use or to give as gifts.
After finishing this task, seeing that it was still early before Gu Xiaoxia and the others got off work, Li Long went to the purchasing station.
At the purchasing station, Li Qingxia looked at him with surprise: "You're back already? Or haven't you gone yet? It hasn't even been a week, and you've already finished your business?"
"It's all done," Li Long said with a smile. "I flew there and back, and arrived the same day. It was very fast."
Li Qingxia said with some concern, "Those big, heavy things, aren't they dangerous to fly in the sky? Let's try to avoid them in the future!"
Li Long responded and took out a pair of leather shoes from his bag, handing them to Li Qingxia. He said, "Here, Dad, try these on. I brought them from Yanjing. See if they fit."
"I already have shoes, why buy that yellow one?" Li Qingxia pretended to complain, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face.
He took the leather shoes, put them on deftly, stood up and took a couple of steps, then smiled and said, "Hey, they fit perfectly. These are so much more comfortable than cloth shoes."
I don't know if it's comfortable or not, but it certainly looks quite impressive.
Seeing that his father liked it, Li Long smiled.
A familiar middleman nearby asked Li Long what he had gone to Yanjing for, and Li Long said he had gone on business. He didn't go into details, so the middleman didn't ask any further, only mentioning the weather and fun things to do in Yanjing.
Li Long mentioned a few common topics, and everyone seemed to enjoy listening. After all, it was the capital city; even if they couldn't go, it was good to hear about it.
As it was almost time to leave work, Li Long went to pick up Mingming and Haohao, while Li Qingxia leisurely walked back. Actually, this period was considered the off-season, and both Sun Jiaqiang and Liang Shuangcheng could gradually take over his work. However, Old Li didn't want to be idle, so the counter work was handed over to him.
Mingming Haohao seemed quite happy that his father came to pick him up; he wasn't particularly surprised. They didn't have a deep understanding of the distance between the Northern Frontier and Yanjing; they only knew that Li Long had gone on a business trip and then returned.
At the dinner table that evening, Gu Xiaoxia and Sister Yang were quite surprised, sharing the same thought as Li Qingxia.
Li Long briefly explained the itinerary of the trip. After the meal, he showed them the calligraphy and painting, which caused a stir.
Then comes the distribution of gifts, which everyone is used to.
The next morning, Li Long brought the goods to Team 4. After distributing them to his family, he had a stewed crucian carp lunch. In the afternoon, he rushed to the supply and marketing cooperative and met Li Xiangqian.
A beautiful Suzhou embroidery fan was placed on Li Xiangqian's table. Li Xiangqian looked at it and asked, "Where did this come from?"
"I went to Yanjing these past two days. It was a gift from a friend there. It's a specialty from the south, Suzhou embroidery. It's really nice!" Li Long explained.
"You even went to Yanjing?" Li Xiangqian fanned himself with his fan, then carefully examined the exquisite fan before gently putting it down and saying, "It looks very valuable, doesn't it? Although I don't know much about these things, it looks so beautiful that I think it must be very expensive!"
Li Long smiled and said, "It's a gift from someone else, so don't worry about whether it's expensive or not."
Li Xiangqian stopped dwelling on it and asked about the progress of the big broom. Li Long said everything was proceeding smoothly and planned to leave after a short chat. Unexpectedly, Li Xiangqian brought up another issue.
"I heard from people in the county that they've started raising crabs in your reservoir. I remember you were the one who started it. Given our relationship, shouldn't you get me some crabs? Oh, and Director Qian called these past few days asking about you. The holiday's coming up soon, shouldn't you get him some too?"
"No problem, no problem." Li Long nodded quickly. "I'll get it done tomorrow."
Although it's getting cold now and you can't catch crabs in the shallows anymore, Li Long still has a way.
Li Xiangqian nodded in satisfaction and said, "There's one more thing. The Forestry Bureau reported a vicious murder case. People there told me privately that a tiger has been spotted in the mountains. You know about this, right?"
Li Long hadn't expected the matter to spread so widely, and he nodded.
"Hey, there really are tigers this year!" Li Xiangqian exclaimed in shock. "You saw them with your own eyes?"
“I saw it,” Li Long said honestly. “It was huge. It was carrying a deer in its mouth and easily crossed the mountain. I felt that if it wanted to attack me, I might not be able to hit it with my gun because it was too fast.”
Li Long's statement was somewhat exaggerated; his main intention was to dissuade Li Xiangqian from going to hunt tigers.
"Is he that good?" Li Xiangqian knew Li Long's abilities; he was definitely better at hunting than him, and frankly, even better than Director Qian.
He said the tiger was powerful, so it must really be powerful.
Li Long said seriously, "That's amazing! The tiger's eyes were gleaming with ferocity. I guess it's because it's eating deer. Otherwise, it might have made us its prey."
Li Xiangqian sighed and said, "Director Qian also knows about this. He was thinking of taking you along when he had some free time. We could go for a walk in the mountains. Even if we don't see any tigers, it would be good to take a walk."
Li Long thought to himself, "Director Qian must have been told by you to know about this! Otherwise, how would he know about something from so far away?"
However, he didn't say it aloud; everyone understood without saying it.
Director Qian was promoted last time because of a tiger skin. Is he planning to get promoted again? Or is he just genuinely interested in tigers?
"This tiger is a Class I protected animal in China," Li Long earnestly explained to Li Xiangqian. "Our country enacted the Animal Protection Law five years ago; it's illegal to break the law!"
Li Xiangqian glared at him and said, "You think I don't know? I'm just curious. Let me tell you the truth, this news has been circulating for several days now, and there are definitely quite a few people in the mountains who are eyeing the tiger."
"Let them shoot. This tiger isn't stupid. After hearing those gunshots, it probably ran deep into the mountains long ago."
"Nanshan is so vast and its terrain so treacherous, it's no wonder we couldn't find it!"
Li Xiangqian sighed, knowing that the matter was doomed, so he stopped talking and instead thought about how to persuade Director Qian.
He was the one who brought this up, so we can't do anything about it now; he has to step in and put an end to it.
"Don't even think about taking it easy." Seeing Li Long leisurely drinking water, Li Xiangqian was furious. Li Long had known about this for a long time but had kept it from him, which was really unfair of him. So he said:
"I'll try to persuade Director Qian. If I can't, then you can come with us into the mountains!"
The content doesn't matter; if they're going into the mountains, they're going into the mountains. It's not like it's their first time going in anyway. Once they're in the mountains, he definitely won't have a destination in mind. At most, he'll take them to the place where the tiger was found, or take them to a hot spring resort for a soak in the hot springs.
After returning from Li Xiangqian's place, Li Long called Wang Mingjun and Zhao Zongming at the purchasing station to inquire about the progress of the large brooms.
After learning that more than 1 large brooms had already been made on both sides, Li Long said he would go and pick them up tomorrow.
After hanging up the phone, they immediately dispatched people who could drive to inspect the six large trucks currently at the recycling station, in preparation for picking up large brooms tomorrow.
He called Li Xiangqian again and told him his plan. Li Xiangqian said that after the inspection, there was no need to unload the truck in the county. Li Xiangqian would go with the truck to take the brooms to the state supply and marketing cooperative, and he would explain the issue to Director Qian.
Li Long knew Li Xiangqian would do this, coming with him so that he could be dragged into the explanation and share some of the responsibility.
He's definitely a seasoned pro.
Li Xiangqian also told Li Long that it would be best to prepare some crabs tonight and give them to Director Qian when they went to the prefectural commune tomorrow. It wouldn't be right not to bring some of such fresh stuff to the leader.
Li Long naturally had no objections.
He didn't have time to do it himself, so he called his older brother and asked him to arrange it.
The cooperative was free at the time, and Li Jianguo thought that since Li Long was going to give gifts to the leaders, he couldn't let them miss out.
He simply called all of Li's relatives, took out the sheep offal from the refrigerator to prepare, and planned to go directly to Xiaohaizi to work the next morning.
The next day, Li Long led the convoy to Wang Mingjun's company. He was quite happy to see the mountain of brooms piled up.
He conducted a spot check before loading the brooms onto the truck, and also asked the driver accompanying him to pay attention to the quality of the brooms.
Overall, the quality is fine. After all, this is a well-established business. Out of more than 1 brooms, Li Long inspected more than 1000, and only one was substandard.
Wang Mingjun's face turned bright red, and he asked Old Chen to go and see who made this, saying he would deduct 10 times the amount.
Regardless, his attitude was very good. Li Long paid Wang Mingjun for more than half of the broom on the spot, which immediately turned Wang Mingjun's anger into joy. This thick stack of bills would definitely boost the cohesion of the company's employees.
Wang Mingjun insisted that Li Long stay for dinner, but Li Long was in a hurry to get to Zhao Zongming's place to finish up the remaining brooms, so he refused.
Wang Mingjun and Lao Chen were not very happy, so Li Long said that he would definitely eat here next time he came.
The quality was still quite good after Zhao Zongming's rigorous inspection. Li Long was quite pleased, thinking that entrusting this task to them hadn't been in vain.
Zhao Zongming said that they try to finish the work before picking cotton, so that the work of sweeping the big brooms can be completed on time and the task of picking cotton can be delayed.
Li Long meant that no matter what, the quality must be guaranteed, otherwise they might not be able to secure the job next year.
Zhao Zongming patted his chest and assured Li Long that the quality would definitely meet the standards, assuring him that he could rest assured.
We ate some noodles at Zhao Zongming's place, and then drove back to the county town.
While Li Long was inspecting the large brooms at the Corps site, Li Jianguo, along with Li Junfeng and Li Junhai, had already arrived at Xiaohaizi.
Seven or eight members of the Li family lined up at intervals of twenty or thirty meters along the Xiaohaizi Dam line. Each of them held a fishing rod made of a long tree branch, with a line tied to the rod and a piece of sheep offal attached to the line. They then threw the rod into the water.
Yang Laoliu, brandishing his sheep-herding whip, approached Li Jianguo and asked with a smile, "Old Li, are you having a family crab-catching competition? And you've got it all set up so neatly?"
Li Jianguo said while holding up his fishing rod, "What? Xiaolong said their leader wants to eat crabs. They've been kind to us, so since they brought it up, we can't just ignore it."
"Xiao Long has a leader?" Yang Laoliu was a little surprised. "Isn't he a leader without a unit?"
Li Jianguo said, "Have you forgotten? Xiaolong was a temporary worker at the supply and marketing cooperative. Back then, our team's tasks of weaving carrying handles, making large brooms, and processing reed bundles all came from the supply and marketing cooperative."
Yang Laoliu nodded in sudden realization and said, "Of course! It's definitely right to deliver crabs to this leader! Our team has benefited a lot from this. Without these jobs, our team members wouldn't be living such a good life!"
Li Jianguo smiled and continued to focus on fishing for crabs. He felt that his hand was much heavier, so he simply lifted it up.
There are three crabs, two large and one small, tied to the lamb liver on the fishing line.
The crab clung tightly to the lamb liver, swaying in the air.
Li Jianguo quickly put away his fishing rod, shook it vigorously twice into the bucket he carried with him, and poured the crabs in.
The little crab wouldn't come down, so Li Jianguo slapped it down.
Seeing that Li Jianguo had a catch, the others also picked up their fishing rods. Some had one fish on them, some had two, some had three, and some had none.
Each has its joys and sorrows.
Around 1 p.m., Li Jianguo called for the day to end.
In total, we caught about seventy or eighty crabs.
As requested by Li Long over the phone, they took two buckets, put 28 crabs in each bucket, and took the rest back to cook and eat.
The two buckets of crabs were covered and delivered to the supply and marketing cooperative by Li Jianguo, who then handed them over to Director Li Xiangqian.
In the afternoon, Li Long led a long convoy back to the county. When they arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, Li Xiangqian had already taken his bucket of crabs home.
But I was still a little worried that the crabs would die. Unexpectedly, when Li Long arrived, the crabs were still full of energy, running rampant in the bucket, vying to step on their companions to climb up. Those that lagged behind used their pincers to grab the ones above them, desperately trying to pull those who had climbed up down.
Li Long led his convoy but didn't enter the cooperative. After honking the horn a few times outside, Li Xiangqian hurriedly came out with buckets, got into the car, and they went to the state supply and marketing cooperative together.
The convoy arrived at the state supply and marketing cooperative's compound just half an hour before the end of the workday.
Because they had called Director Qian beforehand, he came downstairs after the convoy entered the courtyard. Li Xiangqian got out of the car to talk to Director Qian, while Li Long carried the bucket to the vehicle team, found Xiao Si, explained the situation, and asked Xiao Si to put the crabs away safely.
By the time Li Long went to greet Director Qian, Li Xiangqian had already quietly told the director about the crabs.
"Xiaolong, I never expected you could come up with something new in the reservoir," Director Qian said with a smile. "Not bad, not bad. Excellent people are excellent no matter where they are."
I heard you went to Yanjing these past couple of days? And you even received a special gift?
Li Long was surprised that Director Qian had such a wide network of connections and found out so quickly.
So he didn't hide anything and recounted how Secretary Zhang called him, he reported his thoughts, went to Yanjing to pick up his things, and then rushed back.
Director Qian focused his questions on the scroll, expressing great envy.
Li Xiangqian pointed at Li Long with annoyance and said, "Li Long, you're supposed to be from my area, how could you not tell me about something this important?"
Li Long said somewhat awkwardly, "I'm just embarrassed. If I say it, it will sound like I'm bragging."
Director Qian said with a smile, "This kind of thing should be mentioned. It's a great thing and deserves to be publicized."
Li Xiangqian looked at Li Long with envy; this kind of thing is something that not everyone can experience.
Li Long hurriedly made an excuse to inspect the loading and unloading of large brooms, and then went to work.
Although Li Long enjoyed Director Qian's deep trust, such a large quantity of goods still needed to be inspected.
The state supply and marketing cooperative sent four people to inspect the brooms, showing that they took the large brooms very seriously; it wasn't a random check, but an inspection of every single one.
There were many people conducting the inspections, and they were quick, so the inspections were completed around 9 p.m., before it even got dark, and the goods were unloaded.
Li Xiangqian finished explaining the matter to Director Qian. Director Qian also called Li Long over to ask about the tiger incident. Because the matter was widely known, many people knew about it, so they didn't specifically look for a secluded place to ask him questions.
Li Long spoke the truth, saying that the thing was really hard to fight and very fierce.
Moreover, once this thing gets out, it will probably cause a sensation throughout the entire Northern Frontier.
After all, it was said that this thing was extinct since the 20s. Now it has suddenly appeared, and there are more than one eyewitness. Experts, journalists, and busybodies will definitely want to come and see it.
It is said that the last time someone saw a tiger was in the 1980s. Director Qian and Li Long tacitly agreed that there were some things that could not be mentioned.
Regardless, this matter has become a public issue, attracting widespread attention from all levels of society, so it's best to avoid getting into the eye of the storm.
The three reached a consensus on this matter, and Li Long also promised that if his friends in the mountains had any new clues, they would report to the two directors immediately.
In the evening, Director Qian arranged for them to have dinner at a nearby restaurant. He originally wanted to invite Li Long and Li Xiangqian to his home, but it wasn't appropriate since they were accompanied by several drivers.
Director Qian still said, "Thank you for the crabs, Li Long. I'll try to come to your house when I have time."
Because Beiting City and Ma County are only 100 kilometers apart, they rushed back to the county that very night.
After Li Long dropped Li Xiangqian off at home, he returned to the purchasing station with the car.
Each driver received 20 yuan in overtime pay, and they were overjoyed.
Li Long also said that there would be another trip in a few days, and that they would have to work hard after that. The drivers all agreed.
Business trips come with travel allowances, comparable to those of regular companies. Who wouldn't want that?
As the cotton-picking season approached, the workshop became busier, and Li Long would go back there from time to time.
On September 16th, Li Long went to the cooperative and found that the first batch of temporary workers had been brought in to pick cotton.
Now that there are many people and vehicles at the cooperative, Li Long no longer needs to do the job of hauling odd jobs.
Li Long didn't pick cotton. He walked around the field for a while, saw that there was nothing to do, and then went back to his older brother's yard to chat with his mother.
Li Qiang came back on the weekend, washed the clothes in the morning, and hung them out to dry in the yard. They dried in a day, and he took them in when he went back to the county town in the afternoon.
Li Long watched Li Qiang busy in the yard and casually asked, "Qiangqiang, you look thinner than usual? Is the school food bad?" "No, no, the food is fine," Li Qiang replied, sounding a little anxious, as if he was eager to explain.
The older brother's family is well-off, so the living expenses he gives Li Qiang are definitely enough. Li Long didn't investigate further, but just jokingly asked, "Is it because you've found a girlfriend that your expenses are higher?"
"How could that be?" Li Qiang explained, blushing. "I don't have a girlfriend. Our school doesn't allow early relationships."
As she was saying this, she went to collect the clothes. When she came back carrying the clothes, she passed by Li Long, who smelled a faint scent of laundry detergent mixed with a hint of instant noodles.
It's the most traditional three-ingredient Yi noodles.
Li Long's family also had this instant noodle, but Gu Xiaoxia bought it out of curiosity, and of course it wasn't tasty. Or rather, compared to the instant noodles of later generations, it wasn't tasty.
Since there's only one seasoning packet, just imagine how good the flavors can be!
For many people, this is a luxury. Some students like to eat the seasoning packet separately, cutting a small hole in it and slowly sucking it up.
But for Li Qiang's family, eating this occasionally is just a novelty. If they eat it regularly, then there's a problem.
He wondered if he should develop some new instant noodles, or rather, instant noodles that tasted better. If he could create instant noodles that tasted comparable to those of later generations, he would definitely be able to open up the market and leave everyone else in the dust.
Then it suddenly dawned on him that Li Qiang shouldn't eat instant noodles so often; the food allowance his family gave him was enough for him to eat well in the cafeteria.
What happened?
Li Long originally planned to ask directly, but considering that there were many people at home and Li Qiang's tone was a bit strange, he decided not to ask.
In the afternoon, Li Long prepared to return to the county and said to Li Qiang, "Qiangqiang, hurry up and pack your things, I'll take you back to school."
Li Qingxia usually takes them, and they arrive quite late. Today, Li Qingxia went crabbing at Xiaohaizi and hasn't returned yet.
He heard from Li Long that the eldest brother and his friends had gone crabbing together, and he was itching to try it himself, so he decided to do it.
Without thinking too much, Li Qiang picked up his bag and got into Li Long's car.
Li Long then told his mother, "Mom, when my father comes back, tell him I took Qiangqiang away."
“Fine!” Du Chunfang said, “It doesn’t matter who pulls him, your dad is like a child, once he starts playing, he never stops.”
Li Long smiled, didn't reply, got into his car, and drove away.
When the fourth team was out, Li Long asked Li Qiang, "Qiangqiang, has anyone asked you for money recently?"
Li Qiang shook his head and said, "No."
Li Long was somewhat skeptical and asked again, "Really not?"
Similar things had happened before, so Li Long thought of this.
"No," Li Qiang said definitively.
"If your dad doesn't give you enough money, why are you eating instant noodles every day?"
Upon hearing Li Long's question, Li Qiang blushed and lowered his head, remaining silent.
"You said you don't have a girlfriend, so where did the money go?" Li Long asked. "Logically speaking, you have quite a bit of pocket money yourself, and you're a young man, so I shouldn't be asking. But I'm worried you might be scammed, so I think you can tell me if you have any legitimate expenses."
Li Qiang thought for a moment and said, "I bought stamps."
Upon hearing this, Li Long thought to himself, "Oh no, I've fallen into a trap."
At this point, developing a hobby of stamp collecting is really not a good thing.
But it's not all bad news. Li Long then asked, "So, what valuable stamps did you buy?"
"This is the Asian Games souvenir sheet; it's the most expensive stamp I've ever bought," Li Qiang said with a hint of pride. "It cost me 20 yuan!"
"What's the face value?"
“4.7 yuan,” Li Qiang said.
"This is a 4-fold increase? You mean it's not easy to buy?" Li Long asked while driving.
"It was hard to buy. I had to ask someone to buy it from Shicheng. I also had a set of Xu Beihong's galloping horses, but I didn't have enough money to buy it."
"So, is this the only set you have right now?" Li Long asked again. He knew that Li Qiang definitely had more than 20, so he had to ask.
Li Qiang said, "I also ordered this year's yearbook. You know what a yearbook is, right? It contains all the stamps for the year."
Li Long doesn't collect stamps. In his previous life, he watched short videos and learned what the stamp market would be like in the future. He also knew that stamps issued after the 1990s were almost worthless, mainly because too many were printed and their issuance dates were much closer than those of previous commemorative and special stamps.
To put it bluntly, they're just exploiting stamp collectors like lambs to the slaughter.
Based on the bits and pieces of stamp collecting knowledge he had gained from watching short videos last time, Li Long asked again, "Do you have all the stamps from before the first half of this year?"
Li Qiang shook his head and said, "Some have it, some don't."
"How is that possible?" Li Long asked, puzzled. "The yearbook you bought at the post office, you ordered the stamps from the post office, right? Every set should have them, how could some have them and some don't?"
“I didn’t buy it directly at the post office.” Facing his uncle, Li Qiang honestly said, “My classmates and I were quite interested in stamp collecting at the time, so we went to the post office to take a look.”
I saw someone selling old envelopes and thought I'd take a look. Then some people from the philatelic association gave us a lesson on stamps, and we ordered an annual stamp album from them.
We told them we didn't have that much money on hand; we were just buying one set at a time. Some sets had smaller print runs and weren't available at the post office, so we couldn't buy them.
Upon hearing Li Qiang's words, Li Long laughed: "You guys have run into a swindler."
“How could they be scammers?” Li Qiang argued anxiously. “They all have certificates from the county philatelic association, and we only believed them after seeing the certificates. Moreover, every time a stamp is released, they would come to the school to notify us. Except for those stamps with relatively small print runs, they did not sell the other stamps to us at a markup; they were all sold at the original price.”
Li Long laughed again: "It's normal for them to sell it to you at the original price, because they make their money from stamps with smaller print runs. I guarantee that those stamps aren't nonexistent; they just used your reservation slots to order them and then took them without giving them to you."
Li Qiang argued, "That's impossible! We went to the post office to ask them afterward, and they said they didn't have any left."
“Stamps with limited print runs have already been bought up by those in the know; how could they possibly leave any for you? But the post office will definitely reserve the stamps you ordered. If you haven't received them, it just means someone else took them for you,” Li Long patiently explained.
"They might be members of the county philatelic association, but that doesn't mean there aren't bad people in the county philatelic association. For some stamp speculators, only stamps with low print runs have value. Those stamps with high print runs can be bought and sold freely at the post office, so they have little collectible value."
"If you don't believe me, let's go to the post office tomorrow at noon. You can ask at the counter if you can buy the stamps you recently received there."
Li Qiang was still somewhat skeptical of Li Long's words, but after hearing his suggestion, he nodded in agreement.
Li Long continued, “For people like you, stamp collecting is a hobby. But some people buy stamps to make money. Only stamps with limited print runs have appreciation value, which is what motivates them to hoard stamps.”
Furthermore, your health should be your top priority right now. As for stamp collecting, spending some money on stamps is fine, but it shouldn't affect your physical development. Otherwise, you might stunt your growth and have lifelong health issues.
Upon hearing Li Long's words, Li Qiang nodded somewhat ashamed.
"If you come across any rare stamps in the future and don't have enough money, you can come directly to me to get them. If you feel embarrassed, I can lend you some. But you still need to eat normally, so as not to affect your food expenses."
Li Qiang nodded again, feeling ashamed.
Li Long goes without saying; a loud drum doesn't need a heavy hammer, as long as the meaning is conveyed.
They agreed to meet at the school's main gate the next day at noon. After dropping Li Qiang off at the school, Li Long went back home.
After arriving at his dormitory, Li Qiang thought about it carefully and realized that what his uncle said made some sense.
So he went to his classmate, the one who bought stamps with him, and told him what happened today.
Chang Guifeng, a classmate, ate instant noodles with Li Qiang for a week and was also a bit overwhelmed. After recovering, he realized that there was indeed something wrong with the situation.
So the two of them decided to go to the post office together tomorrow.
That evening, the roommates went to get dinner together. The others joked that Li Qiang and Chang Guifeng weren't eating instant noodles anymore, and Li Qiang jokingly replied that he wouldn't eat them anymore either.
That evening, Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia about it, and Gu Xiaoxia was also somewhat surprised. However, she quickly said, "Qiangqiang is so old now, it's normal for him to have his own hobbies."
However, spending too much money on this hobby is definitely not good, you're right. Once they understand this, given Qiangqiang's intelligence, he shouldn't make the same mistake again.
“Just recognizing him isn’t enough,” Li Long said. “I also need to find that person. It’s utterly despicable for such a scumbag to cheat newcomers out of their money.”
Li Long was, after all, a representative. Although he didn't know anyone in the philatelic association, he believed he could definitely find someone he knew and it would be better to handle the matter from within their organization.
The next day at noon, Li Long arrived at the school gate and saw Li Qiang and a classmate waiting together.
After the two got into the car, Li Long asked them if they hadn't eaten.
"Uncle, we've already eaten. We didn't have instant noodles today," Li Qiang explained. "We don't plan to eat instant noodles again either."
Li Long smiled but didn't reply, thinking to himself that once the instant noodles with a good flavor came out, you would definitely eat them.
After parking the car at the post office, the three of them got out together.
Li Long led them to the stamp counter and asked directly, "Are we still able to buy this year's stamp album?"
The staff behind the counter said, "The yearbook isn't out yet; it won't be until the end of the year. But most of the stamps issued before this year are still available."
Li Qiang and Chang Guifeng blushed as soon as they heard this, clearly realizing they had been tricked.
Li Long then asked, "Do we need identification to make an advance reservation for purchasing a year's worth of stamps here?"
"Yes."
Li Long turned to Li Qiang and Chang Guifeng and asked, "When you were in contact with those people, did they ask for your student IDs?"
The two nodded in unison and said, "Yes."
Li Long then said to the staff, "Could you check if my two nephews have pre-ordered this year's stamps here?"
The staff immediately understood what was going on. After asking for the name, they checked their notebook and found it.
Li Long also looked at the notebook and noticed that there was an agent's name after Li Qiang's name. He wrote it down and told Li Qiang and Chang Guifeng to take out their student IDs, saying, "These two will come to collect the stamps from now on. They will sign for them themselves, and no one else will have to sign for them."
The staff member seemed a bit embarrassed, but Li Long said seriously, "Let's not talk about what happened before. They didn't get their hands on some stamps with limited print runs. This is related to them, but you can't escape responsibility either."
I just hope this kind of thing doesn't happen again. I don't want to report or complain to your higher authorities.
Without saying a word, the staff member crossed out the names of Li Qiang and the others.
"Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you. I'll go to the county philatelic association to find this person. The philatelic association is a mixed bag, and it's time to clean it up."
Hearing Li Long say this, the staff members relaxed.
Li Long then asked which of the remaining sets of stamps this year had relatively small print runs, and their release dates.
After clarifying the situation, he told Li Qiang and his classmate to write it down and come early when it was time to pick up the stamps.
After the matter was resolved, Li Long drove them back to school. On the way, he told Li Qiang, "If you run into that person again, don't pay any attention to him. If he's already at school and you can't handle it, just report it to the teacher."
Of course, you're not kids anymore, and school is your home turf. It would be best if you could work together to resolve this.
If you need to reason with them, then reason with them; you all understand the reasons. If they won't listen to reason, you can get a few more classmates involved and teach them to reason with you.
Li Long's explanation was a bit convoluted, but Li Qiang understood it.
Before getting out of the car, he said to Li Long, "Uncle, don't worry, we already know how they tricked us. If they really find the school, we'll make them talk back."
Li Long laughed.
In the afternoon, Li Long went to the supply and marketing cooperative. When he arrived at Li Xiangqian's office, Li Xiangqian was reading a newspaper.
Seeing Li Long come in, Li Xiangqian said to him, "Li Long, those crabs are really good, so fresh! Absolutely incredibly fresh!"
"That's good," Li Long said. "If we eat like this again, it'll be next year."
"Alright, good things are indeed not suitable to be eaten in excess." Li Xiangqian originally planned to use this as an excuse to get some more crabs, but after hearing what Li Long said, he gave up the idea.
"Director, I have something to ask you," Li Long said, getting straight to the point.
"What's wrong? Tell me."
Do you know anyone in our county's philatelic association?
"I don't know it," Li Xiangqian shook his head and said, "I don't do that kind of stuff, it's all just fluff. What's up? You want to collect stamps?"
Li Long then recounted what had happened.
“It’s not that complicated,” Li Xiangqian said. “I’ll just call Old Wang at the post office. For him, it’s just a matter of a word.”
Li Long then asked, "Who is Old Wang from the post office?"
“Their bureau chief,” Li Xiangqian said as he dialed the phone. After a few words with the other end, he told him about the matter.
After a question was asked over the other end, Li Xiangqian covered the microphone and asked Li Long, "What's that scoundrel's name?"
Li Long then recited the name he had seen in the notebook.
Li Xiangqian gave his name, and after a few words, Li Xiangqian nodded repeatedly, responded a few times, and then hung up the phone.
"Alright, this matter is resolved." Li Xiangqian said, "The philatelic association is a non-governmental organization, and the threshold for membership is very low. As long as you like philately, you can join. Some members are introduced by others, so there is basically no need for much screening."
The tacit understanding behind these kinds of things is that none of the seasoned veterans see anything wrong with them.
Of course, this matter can't withstand scrutiny; if it were investigated, the consequences would be quite serious. But just like unspoken rules, since no one brings it up, no one cares.
After all, the post office hopes the number of stamp collectors will continue to grow; this is also a way for them to attract new customers.
Li Long was also somewhat helpless, so he asked, "So what are their plans to do?"
Li Xiangqian said, "What else can we do? Return the stamps that were withheld to your nephew, and let him handle the stamp collecting himself from now on."
But if you ask me, don't take this too seriously. If you like it, just buy it, even if you have to pay extra.
But don't invest too much. Your nephew is still in school, right? His studies should be his priority.
Didn't your family have a college graduate? Is this one also a potential college student? Don't get distracted right now.
Although Li Long was somewhat unwilling, he knew there wasn't much he could do. At most, he could go over and threaten the person or beat them up.
If the fundamental problem cannot be solved, we can only advise Li Qiang not to focus too much on this.
Over the weekend, Li Long met Li Qiang at his older brother's house. Li Qiang seemed to have gained a little weight since the previous week and was smiling more often.
Privately, Li Qiang told Li Long, "That person returned the stamps to us, apologized to us, and said that we can contact him directly if we have any questions about stamp collecting in the future."
"That's not bad. But you shouldn't get too caught up in stamp collecting in the future; know when to stop," Li Long advised again.
"After this incident, we feel that stamp collecting doesn't need to be so obsessive." Li Qiang readily agreed. "We don't really like some of the stamps we've acquired, so we're slowly saving up money to buy the ones we like."
Li Long was relieved.
P.S.: We caught a fish.
Fish on the Internet
The large crucian carp picked from the basin
The small fishpond north of Dahai Lake (End of Chapter)