The noise of the tractor drew the attention of quite a few people around the stall. Chen Xingbang, who was cutting meat, looked up and saw Li Long. Smiling, he raised his knife and waved at him. Li Long braked to a stop, pulled up the handbrake, and climbed down to the stall.
"Brother-in-law, I just brought these sheep back from the mountains. Give me the key, and I'll unload them in the yard."
"Sure. I'll come over once I close up here." Chen Xingbang unfastened a ring of keys from his belt and handed it to Li Long.
"Don't worry about it. I can open the gate and unload them myself. Just concentrate on selling your meat."
"Young man, did all these sheep come from the mountains?" an old man beside them asked.
"Yes, I just brought them down. This is the last batch. Tomorrow or the day after, the sheep there will be moved deeper into the mountains." Li Long pointed at the sheep on the tractor. "If you want some, buy a bit more over the next couple of days. Otherwise, you'll have to wait until autumn to get mountain-raised lamb again."
He was following the line Chen Xingbang had used before. Li Qingxia had relayed Chen Xingbang's thinking, and Li Long had understood.
"Come on, young man, weigh me two kilos of ribs and another two kilos of meat. Make it fatty!" the old man immediately called to Chen Xingbang.
Several others joined the "buying frenzy" too.
Although there were still plenty of sheep on the tractor, who knew how many days they would last? Getting some now was what counted.
Some people still held off and watched, though. Li Long guessed they wanted to wait a couple of days and come back when Chen Xingbang