Two days before Beiting City's Ethnic Unity Commendation Ceremony.
After Zhao Hui left, Li Long deposited most of the money. After that, at Gu Xiaoxia's request, he went to the State-Run Barber Shop for a crew cut-he disliked the fashionable seventy-thirty and sixty-forty side parts, finding a crew cut more suitable.
After his haircut, he went home. When Gu Boyuan, Gu Xiaoxia, and the others returned, they all said he looked sharp now-Gu Boyuan even thought Li Long really had something of a government employee's bearing. Unfortunately, he wasn't one.
Li Long merely smiled and handed Gu Boyuan a thick stack of money. He hadn't deposited all of it, keeping twenty thousand as working capital for the Purchasing Station. Leaving it with Gu Boyuan made it convenient to access.
Gu Boyuan wrote Li Long a receipt, too; this money would go into the accounts. For now, Gu Boyuan kept the books himself, recording every purchase and every payment for goods. He was being accountable to Li Long as well as to himself.
The Purchasing Station was running smoothly now, taking in large quantities of goods every day, which required substantial cash backing.
The original Purchasing Station's large courtyard had running water-not every household had it at this time. Some families shared a single tap, which might stand outside someone's courtyard gate or at a corner in an alley.
The Purchasing Station had been established early, and since it counted as a public institution, water had been piped straight into its courtyard. In that respect, it differed from the Big Courtyard where Li Long lived.
Gu Boyuan would also wash and sort the medicinal herbs they purchased early in the morning or at night, but he spent most of his time buying goods, leaving these miscellaneous chores to Li Long.
Over