Li Long was delighted to see Yusufu, and he was happy to see Yusufu's son too.
Men with sons usually compared them with other people's sons, but Mingming and Haohao were quite a bit younger than Yusufu's son. The young lad was rather shy and seemed a little embarrassed to see Li Long.
Li Long chatted with Yusufu and bought some local specialties. Since this was their first meeting, he thought he ought to give the little fellow a gift. What he had in his bag to give was the river jade jewelry he had just bought from Engineer Liu.
To Li Long's surprise, however, the young lad did not want it. Instead, he was very interested in the lighter Li Long happened to take out, so Li Long gave him the tin lighter. The young lad was delighted and seemed unable to put it down.
Maybe his family has plenty of jade, Li Long thought. But he's losing out. In a few years, that jade could multiply in value many times over. Give that lighter a few years, and once disposable lighters come out, kerosene lighters like it will stop being made.
Thinking he might meet some people on this official trip to Yanjing, Li Long wandered around. At the very end of the alley, he spotted a wooden rack displaying dozens of beautifully crafted short knives, along with leather sheaths.
Li Long was pleased. These would make good gifts as handicrafts, so he went over and began choosing.
The stallholder said little and made little effort to draw customers in, simply letting Li Long choose for himself. Only after choosing did Li Long ask the price.
People here did not have those obnoxious habits yet. If you wanted to buy, you bought; if not, you did not. If