When Li Long arrived at the Jade Carving Factory, he found Engineer Liu already waiting at the entrance.
Li Long felt rather bad about making the old man wait outside in such cold weather, but Engineer Liu, wearing a Lei Feng hat, seemed unbothered. When he saw Li Long get out, he stamped his feet and said:
"Come on, come over here. Take these things and put them in your car."
Only then did Li Long notice a rigid imitation-leather suitcase at Engineer Liu's feet, a little larger than an ordinary briefcase. He went over to pick it up.
It was quite heavy, and something shifted inside. Li Long asked, "Engineer Liu, is this... jade?"
"That's right. Jade I've saved up. I've retired for good now, haven't I? There was some fairly good jade here, along with a few finished carvings, so I took it upon myself to buy it all.
"I figured you'd want it. You've got plenty of money. Pay Xiao Wu a thousand yuan and take it away."
As he spoke, Engineer Liu called into the shop:
"Xiao Wu, he's here. Come collect the money."
Only after saying that did he realize something. He lowered his voice and said to Li Long, "I forgot to remind you to bring money... Did you?"
"Yes, yes." Li Long set the suitcase down and hurried to the car for the money.
He handed the money to the middle-aged man who came out of the shop. The man was quite conscientious and even gave Li Long a receipt. It looked as though it had been written out beforehand, with the purchased items listed. Li Long glanced over it: seven pieces of rough jade, a pair of jade bracelets, three plain pendants, three handheld pieces, four Jade Buddhas and Guanyin figures, and