By December 6, they had gathered fifty tonnes of mutton. Li Long and Jade Mountain River hired trucks from the County Transport Company to haul all those sheep carcasses to Wu City and hand them over at the Railway Station.
It was Li Long's first time leading such a long convoy. More than a dozen trucks made quite a procession.
Li Long drove his Land Cruiser at the front, while Jade Mountain River brought up the rear in his GAZ vehicle. They found the freight office at the Railway Station, where a worker told them the person in charge had not returned yet and asked them to wait.
While they waited, Jade Mountain River was still a little worried.
"Li Long, what if they take the mutton and don't pay us?"
From start to finish, he and Li Long had advanced all the money together. Jade Mountain River had really sunk a fortune into this venture, though he had gained a great deal too. Pastoralists and cattle and sheep resellers across a large part of Northern Xinjiang had now established contact with him.
Getting beef and mutton would be much easier in the future.
Quite a few people respected him for being able to run a business on this scale.
Fifty tonnes of beef and mutton might not amount to much twenty or thirty years later, but at this time, it was enough to cause quite a stir in the market.
"Don't worry. It'll be fine." Li Long felt a little uneasy too, but he did not show it and reassured him instead.
After a dozen minutes or so, the man in charge arrived. Directed by the worker, he spotted Li Long and Jade Mountain River together and came over smiling to shake their hands.
"You're Comrade Li Long, right?