The next morning, Gu Xiaoxia made breakfast again. After they ate, Li Long cleaned up, and Gu Xiaoxia went to work.
He planned to stay in the county seat for a few days, though not too long. There wasn't much fodder in the Big Courtyard. He could stay, but Number 76 couldn't.
After cleaning the kitchen and feeding Number 76, Li Long put on his overcoat and fur hat, left the courtyard, locked the gate, and headed for the seed company.
The county seat still didn't have a full range of institutions, but the seed company, which mainly served agriculture, had been established early on. Its frontage was small, with rooms in front and a yard behind. Unlike the front-and-back compounds of the Purchasing Station and the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, it had a row of single-story rooms facing the street, some offices and some a seed shop.
Li Long wandered into the seed shop and found just one person inside, sitting by the stove behind the counter, reading.
The old-fashioned wooden counter was essentially like the simple cubbyhole cabinets of later years. Its outer face was a solid board, like a desk, while the inside was divided into twenty-centimeter-square compartments for storing things.
There was another row of cabinets behind it, labeled with different seeds. Of course, there weren't many varieties available yet, mainly common grain and vegetable seeds such as wheat, rice, chives, and Chinese cabbage.
The reader was a woman in her fifties. He glanced at Li Long and put down the book in his hand, but said nothing.
"Hello, comrade." Li Long looked around and, not seeing what he wanted, took the initiative to ask:
"Do you have any seed watermelons for planting?"
"Seed watermelons? No." The woman shook her head. "You know about those?"
"Yes,