Li Long bought the man's three hides for forty-five yuan, and the man took a small paper packet from his pocket and pressed it into Li Long's hand.
"Comrade, you've solved a huge problem for me. This has those water rats' dung sacs in it. I took them out specially. They're yours."
Li Long took the "dung sacs," opened the packet, and looked and sniffed. Sure enough, they were water rats' scent glands.
"These dung sacs are worth quite a bit, brother," Li Long said, weighing the packet in his hand. "Haven't you tried selling them somewhere else?"
"Comrade, all we ever knew was to sell things to the Purchasing Station. Now it's gone, where else can I sell them? I live on Sand Hollow Island in North Wucha. There's only one bus a day, and if I wait much longer, I'll miss the bus home. It's only because you bought my hides-otherwise I wouldn't have made any money today, and I wouldn't even have enough for a room..."
After saying a few more words to Li Long, the man hurried away.
He really was pressed for time. For people who rarely left home, getting back the same day was best. If they couldn't, finding somewhere to stay was a major problem.
Fortunately, he at least had money in his pocket now and felt much more reassured.
Seeing Li Long buy the man's hides, several people who had been watching from nearby immediately gathered around.
"Young comrade, would you take a look at my rabbit skins? They're cheap! The Purchasing Station used to pay three yuan each. If you'll buy them, two yuan fifty... even two yuan will do."
"I've got rabbit skins too. These rabbits weighed five or six kilos-big rabbits. I'll sell the skins cheap too!"
These