The tractor stopped after dragging the jade to the riverbank. Mainly, it had reached the road by then, and beyond that lay a hillside it could not climb.
Meng Hai called everyone over to undo the steel cable. From there, they would have to push it into the Small Four-Wheel Tractor's trailer by hand.
Li Long and Meng Hai had already discussed this. The bulldozer pushed up a gentle ramp on the riverbank, and the Small Four-Wheel Tractor's trailer was backed against the top.
The villagers would push and pry the jade onto the ramp, rolling it over, then roll it up level with the trailer bed. From there, it would be easier to push aboard.
Actually, they could also have pulled out the trailer's pin and tipped the bed down, but the jade was so heavy that once they pushed it inside, pressing the bed back down would be difficult. There was no hydraulic mechanism, and if the heavy jade smashed the trailer while they lowered it, that would be another problem.
Better to take a little more trouble and use a little more manpower. That would be safer.
Besides, it would not take that much extra manpower. Once the bulldozer finished the ramp and the Small Four-Wheel Tractor was in position, Li Long had everyone fasten the steel cable around the jade again and pull it forward at an angle.
That would save them a good deal of effort.
"The steel cable's worn marks into this jade," Meng Hai said regretfully as they fastened the cable.
"It's fine." Li Long smiled. "A little damage is nothing on a piece of jade this big."
In fact, both he and Meng Hai had underestimated it. Once the cable was secured and the tractor started, the others slowly adjusted its direction