Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1425 On the topic of "borrowing flowers to present to Buddha," Li Long is a master

The smell was very strong in the backyard of the recycling station.

Although the hides that Liu Gaolou brought had been dried, the fishy smell was still hard to get rid of.

Moreover, these leathers were simply processed and dried before being brought over. As is customary, Liang Shuangcheng and his employees were brushing the leathers to remove excess grease.

This time, Liu Gaolou brought over three thousand hides, which, combined with the five thousand hides from the previous trip, brings the total to over eight thousand hides.

It would take a long time to clean all these hides. Fortunately, the workers didn't have much else to do. By this time, the season for harvesting fritillaria bulbs was over. Although some dried mushrooms were brought in every day, the quantity was not large, so the main task was to clean the hides and antelope horns that Liu Gaolou had brought over. These tasks were handled by Liang Shuangcheng and Sun Jiaqiang, while Li Long only occasionally checked on them.

Liu Gaolou had a new task this time. Cement production equipment was difficult to source in northern Xinjiang, so Li Long picked up the phone at the purchasing station and made a call. Zhao Hui answered, asking, "Boss Li, the hides are all sorted now, do you need me to come and pick them up?"

Li Long said, "Don't rush. I have nearly ten thousand hides in my warehouse right now. However, we can't trade with money this time."

I need you to help me get a cement production line, even a used one will do. If you can get it for me, I'll give you a discount on the price of the leather.

“Cement production equipment…” Zhao Hui hesitated for a moment, then said, “We do have quite a few cement plants around here, but I’ll have to ask around. These things are not easy to transport.”

Upon hearing that there was a chance, Li Long immediately said, "I'll cover the shipping costs. As long as it can be delivered, I'll reimburse you for the shipping fees."

Hearing Li Long's words, Zhao Hui perked up. He asked, "Are you sure both brand new and used are fine? What specifications are you looking for?"

Li Long shook his head and said, "I don't know either. You can help me find out what kind of things are available, and then I'll choose. By the way, it would be best to bring some technical personnel along so they can come together. I'll reimburse their travel expenses as well."

Zhao Hui said, "Okay, I'll look into it for you in the next couple of days, and I'll call you once I find out."

Li Long originally planned to cast a wide net and see if he could catch any fish. However, after calling Zhao Hui first, Zhao Hui said that he should be able to find out, so he put aside his plan to call Huang Lei second.

Zhao Hui did not disappoint him. Two days later, he called Li Long back. He told Li Long, "I've found out. If it's brand new cement equipment, we need to order it. Don't expect to get this stuff in stock anytime soon; it takes at least a month from ordering to delivery."

Because many of the machines inside aren't readily available, since cement production equipment is a set of supporting facilities. However, there's a factory here that plans to upgrade its cement production equipment. The original equipment was 5 tons, and they plan to expand production capacity by getting a new set, so they're now considering selling the 5-ton set of equipment.

I've inquired about it; they've used this equipment for six years, and it's in decent condition. The overall price isn't high by market standards. So, I think I'll give you a call and ask if you want it.

Oh, and there's another set of older, 20,000-ton-class equipment. The components are pretty much the same, but this equipment has been in use for almost ten years. It's had some minor issues from repairs, but it's still operational.

Zhao Hui inquired in detail and even explained the various parts of a cement equipment—a vertical shaft kiln—to Li Long. For example, it includes a crusher, raw material feed, a raw material ball mill, a cement ball mill, as well as integrated equipment such as lifting and conveying systems, packaging facilities, and electrical control systems. They're all roughly the same size, just with different specifications.

Li Long was completely confused, but after Zhao Hui finished speaking, he roughly understood that to produce cement, a complete set of equipment and civil engineering were needed, including a crushing workshop, a raw material grinding workshop, a calcining workshop, and a cement grinding workshop, as well as a packaging workshop and a finished product warehouse.

Building the factory would require installing electrical control cables, cable trays, and auxiliary equipment throughout the entire facility, making it far more complex than his drip irrigation tape manufacturing plant.

Li Long found the explanation complicated and felt overwhelmed, so he asked directly, "How much is this 50,000-ton used complete set of equipment? And what about the 20,000-ton one?"

Zhao Hui said, "This 5-ton capacity cement plant isn't just something I've seen and want; two other competitors have also made offers. So, the price might be a little higher, since there are many interested buyers. I've heard that the other offer is 85 yuan, and the cement plant manager is still hesitant and wants to raise the price."

As for this 20,000-ton-class equipment, it was cheap; the seller offered 350,000 yuan for the whole thing. However, currently, while there are viewers, no one is making an offer.

Li Long naturally wanted Liu Shanming to make a name for himself over there, so he immediately said to Zhao Hui, "As long as that 5-ton vessel can operate normally and the equipment is in good condition, you can raise the price to 90 and buy it back. Then, I'll calculate the transportation costs and the trucking fees for the dismantling and assembly workers separately."

Seeing Li Long's generosity, Zhao Hui immediately said, "Okay, okay, no problem. They should be able to accept this price over there."

Li Long hadn't expected the purchase of the cement equipment to go so smoothly. At that time, cement was still a scarce commodity, so the price of cement production equipment also rose accordingly.

Although this kind of thing is considered a polluting enterprise, not just anyone can build it. After all, once the materials are put in, the cement produced can be sold immediately, making a lot of money.

There weren't many factories like that in northern Xinjiang. It wasn't until two or three decades later, when the country cracked down on environmental protection, that many small cement plants with outdated production capacity were shut down. Those owners were unwilling to give up their profitable businesses, so they simply moved their equipment to some remote counties and farms in northern Xinjiang, rented a piece of land, and started their own factories.

So, a few years ago, you could see that in many places in northern Xinjiang, a large chimney suddenly appeared, emitting strings of black smoke. These were outdated and polluting enterprises that had been transferred from the mainland.

Zhao Hui knew that once Li Long had made a promise, he wouldn't go back on it. Therefore, this deal determined whether he could earn tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands more.

Therefore, he paid close attention to this cement equipment. After obtaining Li Long's authorization of 90 yuan, he directly had his driver take him to the cement plant.

They found the person in charge of the factory, and he immediately asked for 880,000 yuan.

The cement plant manager was also taken aback. After all, quite a few people had come here to discuss business in the past few days, and many wanted this equipment, but the highest price offered was 85 yuan.

This is a relatively high price in the industry. There's a market for used equipment, and 85 is already a very high price, even a premium. It's just that cement is in short supply right now, so a lower price is normal. He didn't expect Zhao Hui to ask for 88 directly, and then he became a little suspicious.

Zhao Hui immediately demonstrated his capabilities, displaying his bank accounts, cash checks, and other evidence, including his business qualifications. The cement factory manager could easily ascertain Zhao Hui's wealth through inquiries.

After no longer doubting that it was a scam, I became curious as to why someone who was in the leather business would be interested in cement equipment.

Zhao Hui didn't explain much. After paying a high price and taking the initiative, he immediately asked professional technicians to test the equipment to ensure it could produce normally and had no hidden defects or problems.

The cement plant manager was quite confident about this and agreed to include it in the contract.

Seeing the other party's confidence, Zhao Hui felt much more at ease. However, he still spent money to hire technicians to test the equipment from start to finish and found that there were indeed no problems.

Although the equipment was fine, Zhao Hui didn't pay immediately; he needed to clarify the transportation details. Transporting such a large set of equipment was different from transporting leather. Leather could be easily folded and packed into any truck. Cement equipment was more complex to disassemble and assemble.

Fortunately, there are professionals to handle these kinds of tasks. The cement factory staff helped him contact a professional transportation company. Although the freight cost was a bit higher, it ensured that the equipment would be transported to northern Xinjiang intact.

As arranged by Li Long, Zhao Hui hired technicians at a high price to accompany the equipment to northern Xinjiang for installation. After all, even with the instruction manuals, Liu Shanmin might not be able to find suitable installers in Kazakhstan. Li Long's plan was to see this through to the end.

On August 11th, when Zhao Hui arrived in the county with a long convoy of cars and a mobile phone, Li Long was quite surprised. He hadn't expected that Zhao Hui wouldn't call him even after arriving in the county.

However, when he saw Zhao Hui holding the mobile phone, he laughed at him: "What use is this thing to you? We don't have a signal here."

Zhao Hui originally wanted to show Li Long a big one to demonstrate the function of the big brick in his hand, but he didn't expect Li Long to know. He felt a little frustrated, but when he pointed to the long convoy behind him carrying the things, Zhao felt a sense of accomplishment.

He said smugly, "See that? I brought everything. A complete 5-ton cement production line, and four absolutely top-notch master craftsmen. How about that, buddy? Pretty loyal, right?"

As he said this, he discreetly put his mobile phone into his black bag and handed it to his female assistant.

Li Long knew that Zhao Hui was able to acquire this equipment primarily because of money. But regardless, bringing over this complete set of equipment solved a major problem for him. So, Li Long smiled and said:

"You're so loyal, absolutely loyal. Since you're so loyal, I certainly won't be stingy either. It's settled then, all the hides I have here, whether they're whole hides, complete hides, or scraps, will be discounted to 15% off. How about that?"

Zhao Hui was overjoyed. The average price of a pelt was 200 yuan, with full pelts being more expensive and damaged pelts slightly less. These were all wild animal pelts, very popular in the market. Li Long gave him a 15% discount, meaning the average price per pelt was 170 yuan. With nearly 10,000 pelts, he could earn an extra 200,000 yuan, making all his hard work worthwhile.

While the two of them were talking, Liang Shuangcheng and Sun Jiaqiang invited the drivers and technicians who had come with them into the reception room, served them watermelons, and arranged for them to rest.

Zhao Hui was anxious to see his hides, as he planned to unload them here and then haul them away.

However, Zhao Hui was surprised when Li Long showed him the leather and said, "These devices can't be unloaded here; they need to be transported to the Khorgos border crossing. The goods are for sale in Kazakhstan, and the technicians will also go there to assemble them." Upon hearing this, Zhao Hui immediately shook his head and said, "That's unlikely. I told them to install it here, but you want to take them abroad? They definitely won't be happy about that."

Li Long said with a smile, "A generous reward will surely attract brave men. Besides, I can go abroad for a trip and maybe even earn some US dollars. If I talk to them properly, they should agree."

Hearing this, Zhao Hui wavered a bit. He thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll talk to them about it later. But we need to settle the bill for this trip first. Even though it wasn't installed, at least the transportation fee shouldn't be reduced."

Li Long smiled and said, "Of course."

Zhao Hui looked at the processed leather. Although it smelled unpleasant, he still wandered around the warehouse for a while. After examining it for a long time, he went to persuade the technicians, as Li Long had suggested.

Li Long quickly went to the counter and called Liu Gaolou, who was waiting.

After Liu Gaolou brought the supplies over last time, he waited here. At first, he would wander around and play around, but later, because it was too hot, he didn't go out most of the time.

He rests at the county hotel during the day, and goes out fishing or doing other things in the morning or evening. The convoy he brought last time has already gone back with canned goods and sugar, and he's the only one waiting for the equipment.

Li Long had told him that the equipment had been arranged, and he was quite excited. He would come to the purchasing station every day to wait for news, but the transportation process was quite long, so he hadn't come over recently.

Liu Gaolou, who was sleeping in the county guesthouse, was instantly wide awake when he heard that the cement equipment had arrived. After hanging up the phone, he drove quickly to the purchasing station.

Looking at the long line of transport trucks parked outside the recycling station, and the parts of the dismantled cement production equipment loaded on them, Liu Gaolou was so excited that he didn't know what to say.

When he entered the reception room of the purchasing station, Zhao Hui had already discussed the matter with the technicians, and Li Long had agreed to the conditions they proposed.

The conditions were simple: Li Long and his team would handle the paperwork, that was definitely not a problem; then, a deposit would be paid first, in US dollars as Li Long had suggested. Li Long gave each person a $100 deposit. Upon receiving the money, the people were immediately excited; it was worth over eight hundred dollars!

Thinking that they could earn some dollars by directing people to install the equipment, they all agreed. They even offered suggestions on how to load and unload it.

The main issue is that the equipment will definitely need to be transferred after arriving at the port. According to Li Long, neither the driver nor the transport trucks on this side will go; the handover will take place at the port, which he's mainly trying to avoid the hassle. Of course, if Liu Gaolou doesn't find it troublesome, then should he handle these matters?

When Liu Gaolou saw Li Long handing out US dollars to the technicians, he was somewhat surprised. He immediately stepped forward and said to Li Long, "How can you pay for this? Let me pay!"

Li Long laughed and said, "Alright, I can come up with this little bit of money. I've already had the equipment delivered. The technicians have also come. The rest is up to you."

Let me be frank with you, these things are more expensive than the Hummer you gave me, but consider it a small loss on my part.”

Liu Gaolou knew Li Long was joking. He also knew very well that even if the two were equal in cash, in his second uncle Liu Shanmin's eyes, a set of cement production equipment that could be installed and put into operation was definitely worth much more than a civilian Hummer.

However, given the relationship between the two parties, and with Zhao Hui and other outsiders present, Liu Gaolou didn't reveal too much of his thoughts. He jokingly said, "Even if you lose money, I won't make it up to you. We already agreed that it's not easy to take advantage of you once."

Everyone present knew that both sides were joking, so they all laughed.

Li Long deliberately sighed, indicating that he couldn't win the argument with Liu Gaolou, and then said, "It's quite a coincidence that so many people are gathered together today. My treat, let's go to Tuanfenglou for dinner. You can order whatever you want to eat today."

Liu Gaolou immediately said, "How can I let you treat me? You helped me find the things, I'm already thanking you enough, this treat is definitely on me."

The two sides were locked in a dispute. Zhao Hui stepped in and said, "Why don't you two just not invite them? I'll do it this time. Boss Li gave me such a big discount, allowing me to earn an extra 100,000 or so. I feel really bad about it. If I don't contribute something, I won't be able to sleep when I get home."

The three bosses all offered to treat everyone, which everyone found quite interesting. In the end, Li Long paid for it; after all, he was the local bigwig, and he would have lost face if someone else had paid.

Zhao Hui and Liu Gaolou knew each other, but this was the first time they'd drunk together. Being from the same region, they found themselves surprisingly compatible on some topics. However, they both knew that Li Long was standing between them.

Without Li Long, they wouldn't be sitting at this table eating, and their politeness is merely superficial; no real trust has been established. Zhao Hui did want to bypass Li Long and Liu Gaolou and do the leather business directly, but this topic definitely couldn't be brought up at the dinner table.

He wanted to get closer to Liu Gaolou, but Liu Gaolou was a master of playing the game and simply wouldn't take the bait.

The meal lasted until late afternoon. Everyone had a good tolerance for alcohol, so they didn't drink too much, but they all enjoyed themselves.

The next day, after breakfast, Liu Gaolou led his convoy westward. Li Long no longer needed to worry about the rest. At the purchasing station, he was handing over the hides to Zhao Hui, who had arrived late.

Because Zhao Hui paid for this entire set of equipment upfront, including the shipping costs, these costs need to be deducted from all the leather goods after the total cost has been calculated.

In the end, for nearly ten thousand hides, Zhao Hui only needed to give Li Long an additional 600,000 yuan. The 15% discount Li Long mentioned was genuine. Zhao Hui had indeed made a considerable profit this time, so he happily told Li Long before leaving:

"If you need any more equipment in the future, please call me promptly. There are many factories in our area, and many companies are currently upgrading and replacing old production capacity with new equipment. There is still a lot of used equipment available."

Li Long said, "No problem. If we need more equipment in the future, we will continue to use the current transaction method."

Zhao Hui actually saw the Hummer that was changing equipment in the yard. To be honest, what man wouldn't like this kind of rugged equipment?

However, the thought of exchanging the equipment carried by those dozen or so trucks for just one truck made Zhao Hui a little reluctant. This is where a businessman's shrewdness shines through; he first calculates whether it's worthwhile.

He even felt sorry for Li Long, but he couldn't possibly know that the hides Li Long got from Liu Gaolou and his group were practically worthless, so this was also a way of repaying Liu Shanmin's favor.

On the 14th, Liu Gaolou called from the port, saying that the equipment had been successfully transported to the port and was undergoing customs clearance procedures.

He also needs to process passports for the technical personnel, as they will be staying at the border for a day or two. He has already called his second uncle, Liu Shanmin, who is already on his way from Almaty to the border in a car.

The next morning, Li Long received a call from Liu Shanmin at the border. Liu Shanmin was very grateful to Li Long for helping him get this equipment.

He hinted that the situation there was complicated and that he was facing some difficulties and targeting, so the cleanup of gangs around Almaty might be put on hold for a while.

Li Long told him that safety should be the priority. After all, he was a Han Chinese in a foreign country. Even though he had some influence, he was not a local, and people would definitely be wary of him. If things got really bad, he could run back here.

Liu Shanmin laughed and said, "It's not that bad, it's not that bad."

After hanging up the phone, Li Long breathed a sigh of relief. The matter was officially over. He was also glad he hadn't agreed to Ma Qiang's request. If he had, and things hadn't gone smoothly with Liu Shanmin, it would have been all for nothing.

The next few days were relatively easy. Jia Tianlong came by and took away another truckload of antelope horns. The price of antelope horns had now stabilized at 700 yuan per kilogram. This price was almost at the minimum acceptable price that Li Long had set for selling the goods.

Jia Tianlong hauled away nearly two tons of antelope horns, leaving Li Long with over a million yuan in payment. So, this month, Li Long went to the tax bureau again to pay his taxes. There was no way around it; it had become muscle memory. After all, we're all law-abiding citizens.

Li Long had thought these peaceful days would last until the end of the year, but less than a week later, on August 23rd, Liu Shanmin arrived at Li Long's purchasing station in his Land Cruiser. His arrival greatly surprised Li Long.

In the reception room, Li Long offered Liu Shanmin watermelon while asking him with a puzzled look, "Shouldn't you be in Almaty overseeing the cement plant's production right now? What are you doing here?"

Liu Shanmin said with a wry smile, "It's a long story."

P.S.: I originally thought that the Animal Protection Law was implemented in 1986, and I dogmatically assumed that all animals were protected at that time. However, a fellow reader reminded me that wolves were only listed as a protected species in 2000, and only became a protected species 21 years later. Thank you to the reader who reminded me.

Sorry for the carelessness, but let's see how it goes; it's hard to change now. (End of Chapter)