That morning, Li Long went to the Purchasing Station again. The temperature outside was gradually rising, the snow and ice on the ground had begun to melt, and the dirty snow in the roadside ditch was slowly sinking.
A faint, unpleasant smell still lingered by the Purchasing Station's gate. Li Long opened the iron gate, went inside to get the stove going, then came back out with the iron spades those two scumbags had left behind and scraped away the last traces of filth on the ground.
He tossed the scraped-up snow, mud, and debris into the roadside drainage ditch. Seeing that this was about all he could do, he propped the spades against the courtyard wall and went inside.
More pedestrians appeared on the street, including students-whether they were late or simply not attending school, he couldn't tell. They were all in a hurry.
Before long, Li Long's first seller arrived. Unusually, it was a middle-aged woman this time. Carrying a sack less than half full, she came to the doorway and peered inside somewhat awkwardly. When she saw Li Long, she smiled first, then said:
"Hello, comrade. Do you... buy fritillaria here?"
"Yes." Li Long looked at the woman, who was around forty. Her short hair didn't quite reach her shoulders and was held back with black clips, though a few strands had escaped. Her face was flushed from walking so quickly, but she was thin, and he could tell she wasn't well off.
"Good, good. Then could you see how much mine is worth?" She set the partly filled cloth sack on the counter, rubbed her hands, and held them over the stove out of habit.
Li Long noticed several chilblains on her hands. She had evidently suffered through the winter.
The cloth sack had originally held