Li Long picked up his gun and opened the door. Sure enough, it was Harimu.
Harimu did not come inside. He dismounted, took two hides off his horse, and handed them to Li Long.
"Sell these and save the money. When our sheep come back from the Summer Pasture, we'll need to buy big sacks of salt."
Li Long accepted the hides without fuss. Herders usually needed large quantities of rock salt. They relied on it for curing hides, preserving food, and feeding their livestock.
One was a wolf hide and the other a roe deer hide. They were still fresh, probably from Harimu's recent hunts.
"I came by a while ago," Harimu said as he sat with Li Long in front of the wooden floor. "I saw a man tearing the plastic off your window, so I came over to beat him up. I thought he was a thief. Turned out he was here to bring you honey."
Li Long looked at Harimu.
Whether Harimu blushed was impossible to tell in the dark, but he was somewhat embarrassed, and continued:
"Luckily, I only landed a few punches."
Li Long wanted to laugh, but thinking of Lü Dafeng, he could not quite manage it.
"It wasn't all my fault. He had to come delivering honey first thing in the morning, before it was even light..." Harimu explained again.
"How's your haymaking coming along?" Li Long did not want to continue the subject, afraid he really would burst out laughing.
"Well, we're nearly done cutting. We've already started bundling some of the dry hay," Harimu answered quickly. "When I saw those things, I knew you were here. There's something I need to tell you."
"Go ahead."
"Give me some ammunition."
"How much?" Li Long stood up to rummage through his shoulder