As Li Long drove into the mountains with his gun, Gu Boyuan received another call from Dong Zhichao at the Purchasing Station.
"They're gone. The watermelon seeds are all gone, sold out, and the money's been divided up," Gu Boyuan said irritably. "Stop calling. Calling won't bring them back..."
While he was on the phone, Sun Jiaqiang called out from nearby:
"Uncle Gu, are we buying watermelon seeds?"
"Yes, why wouldn't we?" Gu Boyuan covered the receiver. "I'll be right there."
Then he uncovered the receiver and told Dong Zhichao, "You heard that clearly, didn't you? There are no watermelon seeds left. If you want to buy any, come early next year, and stop playing those little games!"
With that, he hung up.
Dong Zhichao felt somewhat dazed. He had heard what Gu Boyuan said to Sun Jiaqiang and thought they did have watermelon seeds over there.
Did Li Long's refusal to answer the phone mean he no longer wanted to hear from him?
He regretted it.
Why had he tried to pull that little scheme?
Not long after he put down the phone, someone called asking for him.
Qiao Xing? He had never heard of him.
Li Long drove the Jeep to his wooden cabin first.
Meng Hai and the others had not started repairing the road yet. The Team's fields had not all been plowed, and each household was still finishing up its farmwork.
Even if they could not get every last grain into storage, they at least had to put everything on the Threshing Ground away properly, haul in enough coal for winter, and stack the reeds and cornstalks used for kindling, among other things.
Here, cornstalks were cut off at ground level, leaving the roots. The roots were plowed straight into the soil. With nearly half