The man left his fritillaria, and Li Long handed over the things he was entitled to take.
He did not indulge him.
But the man did not get angry either. Before leaving, he even asked:
"Comrade, if I find more of those things, will you buy them?"
"Sure." Li Long did not even look up, his hands still busy. "But the price won't be high. None of that stuff is worth much."
"As long as I get some money." The man was not picky. He left.
Li Long wondered how the fellow could be so sure he would find more. Had he discovered a treasure cave?
But if it really was treasure, there could not possibly be so little. It was most likely something left by jade prospectors or gold panners in the past.
Ma County was known as "Gold Board, Jade Base." The Southern Mountain and Ma River had many gold and jade deposits, and people had been mining gold and digging jade since before the Qing dynasty. During Qianlong's reign, the Qing Government decided these resources belonged to the authorities, banned private gold mining and mineral extraction, and began running the operations itself.
These things were probably remnants of that time.
Li Long gave it no more thought and began cleaning the fritillaria.
After washing it and spreading it on boards to dry, Li Long carried the bedding out of the large room to air in the sun.
With nothing else to do, and since it was not a good time to go hunting, he simply tidied the cabin.
While he was cleaning, another person approached from a distance. Li Long looked him over. The man seemed unwell, swaying every few steps, and his coughing could be heard even from far away.
Did this fellow have a cold