When Li Long and the others drove their tractor up to the gate, he could clearly see that the man on the bicycle was still reluctant to give up. He asked the gatekeeper:
"How many hides do I need before I can sell them here?"
"At least a hundred, no matter what. We don't take smaller lots." The gatekeeper held his chin high.
That was close, Li Long thought. Good thing I had plenty of hides, or I really would have made the trip for nothing.
Big businesses pushed their customers around. At the time, light industrial enterprises such as the Woolen Mill and the Leather Factory were major taxpayers, with high output and tax contributions. They received strong local support, the factories offered good benefits, and their workers thought very highly of themselves.
This was the Leather Factory's time, and it would do well for at least another ten years. Only after that would it gradually fade from public view. The next rising star would be the Thermal Power Plant, followed by various other enterprises such as the Cotton Textile Mill and the Red Wine Factory.
Each enjoyed a period of success, then gradually gave way to new enterprises.
For a considerable stretch of time, at least, the Leather Factory offered excellent benefits. No wonder even its gatekeeper was so haughty.
There were already people who traveled through streets and villages buying hides, accumulated a certain number, then brought them to the Leather Factory to sell in bulk.
They might buy a hide for ten yuan and sell it for eleven or twelve. A trip into the countryside earned them a yuan or eighty fen per hide. It was hard work, too.
But hide prices really were high at the time. Li Long vaguely remembered that even the skin