bantayden Chapter 1443 can be considered as a way to avoid future troubles.
Chapter 1443 can be considered as a way to avoid future troubles.
Meng Haichuan pointed to the painting and said:
"Mr. Li, I feel an instant connection with you, so I'll cut to the chase. This painting is quite good; it's one of the few among Master Qi's existing works."
The only pity is that the painting is a bit small, but that's understandable, as Master Qi rarely paints large works. As for the price, I'll give you ten thousand per square foot, how about that?
This painting is less than five square feet, so if we were to price it according to Meng Haichuan's standards, it would be more than 40,000 yuan.
Li Long shook his head and said:
"Mr. Meng, if you keep offering this price, then we shouldn't do the deal. According to you, this 'Lotus Flower Painting' is a masterpiece among Qi Baishi's works."
Even though we're in the remote northwest, we're aware of Qi Baishi's reputation. This painting is worth over 300,000 yuan; I'm not going to negotiate further.
Li Long made an outrageous demand, and while Meng Haichuan wasn't angry yet, the two people beside him were displeased.
However, Meng Haichuan didn't let them speak, but instead said slowly:
“Mr. Li, I understand how you feel, but we need to be upfront. If this painting were two years ago, it would have sold for at least 500,000, let alone 300,000.”
1994 was the peak year for Master Qi's paintings, with the average price of his auctioned works reaching 100,000 yuan per square foot.
However, starting last year, a large number of paintings flooded the market, and with collectors and investors becoming more rational, prices began to decline, and this year they have entered a downturn, with the average price falling below 20,000...
Meng Haichuan spoke with deep feeling, but his words were mostly true and half false. If Li Long hadn't been through similar experiences, he might have been fooled.
Of course, he genuinely wanted to sell, otherwise he wouldn't be circling around with the other party here.
So Li Long shook his head and said:
"Mr. Meng, that's true, but there are at least two things I think we should agree on. First, Qi's paintings have great investment potential, that's a widely acknowledged fact in the industry, right?"
Secondly, although this year is not as good as last year, let alone the year before, the average price cannot possibly be lower than 20,000. And precisely because prices have dropped, this is a good time to buy at the bottom. Mr. Meng must be thinking the same thing, right?
Meng Haichuan's face flushed red and then turned pale. He hadn't expected that Li Long would see through the excuse he had prepared before coming.
Indeed, he had actually arranged for Li Long to buy these calligraphy and paintings a long time ago. The reason he came this year was because this year is a low point for these artworks.
Meng Haichuan's idea was to buy these paintings at rock-bottom prices, hold them for a while, and then make a fortune when prices peaked.
Unexpectedly, Li Long saw through it!
However, Meng Haichuan was a seasoned veteran. He smiled, concealing his embarrassment, and then said:
"I admit Mr. Li, you're right, but there are still some differences in the details. Judging from this year's spring auctions, Master Qi's paintings still haven't improved. What does that mean?"
This means that even if I bought this painting at the current market price, I would probably have it in my hands for a long time, and it might even become a bad investment.
Therefore, I can't put all the risk in my hands, so I definitely have to lower the price. Secondly, I'm telling you the auction price, but as you know, there are transaction fees involved in auctions.
"I can't possibly pay all the transaction fees myself, and I've traveled all this way here to buy paintings; I can't possibly pay the market price in Beijing, can I?"
Li Long acknowledged that Meng Haichuan's words made sense; he was indeed eloquent. He nodded and said:
"Mr. Meng is right. But since we're here to talk business, let's talk business. I won't say a million for this painting, but anything less than 500,000 is definitely out of the question."
Your coming here shows you're optimistic about the future of these great Chinese painters' works, betting on their appreciation in value, and that's exactly what I'm thinking too. I don't know if you're a sure thing to buy, but I'm clearly not a sure thing to sell. So, unless the price reaches my expected level, I won't make a move.”
Meng Haichuan sighed. This Li Long is really troublesome.
After finally managing to reason with them and gain the upper hand, they decided not to play by the rules and broke away!
Admittedly, Li Long wasn't necessarily going to sell, but he couldn't leave empty-handed.
So he said:
"How about we compromise and put this painting aside for now, and look at the next one?"
“Okay.” Li Long had no objections. As long as he sold some paintings, he could then promote the items he had acquired to others.
As for how much was spent, there's no need to disclose that to outsiders.
The next few paintings, because the painter was not as famous as Lao Qi, were easily sold for tens of thousands of yuan each.
Li Long didn't mind. They were painters he hadn't heard of before, so less money was fine; it helped ease the tension.
Keeping things as they are still risky; releasing some of them can avoid a lot of trouble.
Meng Haichuan must have learned his lesson, because he was more generous with the paintings and calligraphy he brought afterward. In the end, all of the dozens of paintings that Li Long brought, except for the lotus painting at the beginning, were sold.
Ultimately, it all came down to this painting.
Meng Haichuan genuinely liked the painting. He was right; it was indeed a masterpiece by Master Qi, a rare find. So the two haggled for a while and finally settled on a price of 480,000 yuan.
From Meng Haichuan's own perspective, it was an overpayment. Fortunately, he had other paintings on hand to balance it out, so it wasn't too bad a loss.
He bought these paintings and calligraphy works intending to keep them for a while and promote them. If he doesn't sell them in the short term, their value will definitely increase later.
However, he clearly didn't intend to end it there. After instructing his attendants to put the painting away, he asked again:
"Mr. Li, I heard that you bought more than just these paintings and calligraphy back then!"
Li Long smiled wryly:
"Indeed, there are more than these, but I'm a farmer, a roughneck. After buying these things, I just put them in the house, thinking that calligraphy and paintings are just like students' books and notebooks, and as long as I don't touch them, there shouldn't be any problem."
Who would have thought that when I went to check on them again three years later, they were all moldy or rotten from insect bites!
I regretted it so much, but it was too late. Only then did I realize I needed to ask around and take the painting to be framed—I really didn't know any better before, and as a result, most of it was ruined.
I only sold some of the rest after hearing from someone while I was getting them framed that the prices had gone up. I was short of money at the time, so I sold some. That's when I gradually learned about the market.
As soon as Li Long said that, Meng Haichuan wanted to curse him.
That's a real waste!
Those who truly know their stuff, once they get their hands on those calligraphy and paintings, wouldn't they carefully preserve them? Wouldn't they occasionally take them out to air them out or do some special treatment?
What do you mean by buying something and leaving it for three years without doing anything about it?
What a huge loss!
How could someone like that have bought the painting in the first place?
Meng Haichuan wanted to slap his thigh in frustration!
Unfortunately, even if he wanted to buy them at the time, he didn't have that much foreign exchange.
He started marveling at Li Long's incredible luck again.
At the time, Li Long wasn't the only one who did this; some people bought even more, purchasing thousands of paintings without batting an eye, as well as many more cultural relics.
Of course, some people buy things normally, while others do so by scavenging or taking things away under the guise of scavenging.
Returning to the topic, Meng Haichuan was skeptical of Li Long's words, but since he had said it, even if he did have them, he definitely didn't want to sell them anymore.
Meng Haichuan was actually quite satisfied to have managed to acquire dozens of paintings today.
So after calculating the amount, handing over the check, and completing the transaction, Meng Haichuan had no appetite at all, even though it was lunchtime, and drove away with his men.
He wouldn't eat, but Li Long and the others still wanted to. He and his father, Li Qingxia, returned to the courtyard.
At the dinner table, Li Qingxia asked Li Long about selling the paintings.
When Li Long spent a lot of money to buy the painting from Yanjing, his family knew about it, but over time, they gradually forgot about it.
Now that someone has suddenly come to buy the painting, everyone's interest has been piqued again.
"All things considered, these dozens of paintings sold for around two million," Li Long said. "If they were left for a few more years, the price might be even higher. However, now that word has spread that we have paintings here, if we don't sell some, people will keep an eye on us."
His family understood immediately. After all, the Li family's activities were mostly confined to the county town area, and there were many higher levels above them. If those powerful people were to exert pressure, even the Li family, with their connections, might not be able to withstand it.
After all, private airlines and companies with assets worth hundreds of millions can disappear in an instant.
What is he, a mere farmer?
It's always good to be cautious.
In the afternoon, Li Long went to the bank, cashed the check, and deposited it.
Back at the purchasing station, Li Long, as usual, gave everyone a bonus.
The middlemen at the gate were quite gossipy; they had already heard from the employees that Li Long had sold calligraphy and paintings that morning and afternoon. After Li Long returned, they all started asking him about it. Li Long told them half-truths, since the calligraphy and paintings had already been sold and someone had seen it, so they left the rest to him.
These middlemen never expected that Li Long could be involved in the acquisition and sale of "artworks," and they showered him with compliments. Li Long, however, remained unfazed, simply saying that he was lucky and bought the items because they seemed cheap.
He didn't mention that he bought it in US dollars, and glossed over it.
For the next period of time, Li Long originally thought that after Meng Haichuan went back, his place might be exposed and people would still come to buy. However, when there was still no news by the end of August, Li Long felt that Meng Haichuan had probably hidden the news.
Also good.
In early September, Mingming and Haohao quietly went to the junior high school of No. 2 Middle School. As usual, they were assigned to different classes, one in Class 1 and the other in Class 2.
Both children were quite excited when they returned from school. They said there were male classmates who were about their height, as well as some classmates they used to go to elementary school with. They were very happy.
Seeing that the two of them were not affected by the separation from their female classmate, Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia were relieved.
The cotton harvester has returned. Li Long has already learned how to drive this big machine and drove it directly into the yard of the cotton ginning factory.
Because we need to invite students to pick cotton in a while, the cooperative's yard is too big, and the cotton ginning factory area is also large, so this place is suitable.
In early September, after things returned to normal, Li Long and Xie Yundong determined which plots of cotton needed to be machine-harvested, and then applied flowering promoters and defoliants to these plots.
The ideal condition for machine-harvested cotton is when all the cotton bolls open at once, with few leaves.
This way, the machine can complete the task in one trip, without having to make two trips.
The downside is that cotton treated with flowering agents doesn't weigh as much. After all, the cotton bolls are still green and the cotton seeds inside haven't matured yet. The flowering agents essentially kill the cotton bolls, and after they dry, the cotton bolls open up and the cotton is exposed.
Cotton bolls don't form at the same time, but they do open at the same time, so their size is naturally difficult to control.
Weighing the pros and cons is what you need to do at this time.
After the cotton plants were treated with flowering and defoliating agents, the leaves visibly began to wither and fall off, and the number of cotton plants increased.
If this continues, the machines will be able to enter the fields to harvest cotton by late September.
Before the mining began, Li Xiangqian called Li Long and asked him to go to the supply and marketing cooperative.
When Li Long approached, Li Xiangqian was holding a piece of paper and looking at it. Seeing Li Long come over, he handed him the paper and said:
"Take a look at this."
Li Long took the paper and saw that it was an approval document from the county cotton and linen company. The gist of it was that the cotton ginning factory in Li Long's team was commissioned by the county cotton and linen company to test the cotton harvesting machine. The document was dated a month ago.
The official seal on it indicates that this is a valid document.
Li Long immediately understood, and he looked up and asked Li Xiangqian:
"Director, someone reported me?"
"Hey, you're pretty smart. Indeed, some people saw your cotton ginning factory and reported it. I reckon it's probably someone from your area."
Fortunately, I reported it to the county cotton and linen company. They knew about my relationship with you and spoke to me. I told them we were all in the supply and marketing system, on our own, and asked how to resolve it. That's how Lao Luo came up with this document.
Li Long said gratefully, "Hey, thank you, Director."
“I don’t have much here, but you have to show some appreciation to Lao Luo. Get a couple of bottles of your liquor and take them over. Lao Luo needs that right now,” Li Xiangqian said with a smile. “I guarantee that after he drinks them, he’ll be begging you for a drink.”
"Okay, okay, I'll go back and fill it up. I'll fill four bottles, and you can put two here." Li Long had plenty of the prepared whip liquor. He took the piece of paper, drove back, filled up a few bottles, and delivered them to Li Xiangqian.
Li Long also asked whether the wine given to Manager Luo of the cotton and linen company was delivered by him or by the director. Li Xiangqian said that it was no use for him, and that he would call him over in a while and let him pick it up himself.
Li Long left, knowing it wasn't convenient for him to stay. After all, Li Xiangqian would definitely make a few sarcastic remarks about Director Luo before offering him the wine; people his age tend to have a lot of witty banter, and he, being younger, felt it wasn't appropriate for him to listen, even though they were of the same generation.
Li Long took the paper to a copy shop and made several copies. He kept the original at home and kept the copies at the cotton ginning factory for future use.
He realized he had been careless. Although there were no national regulations prohibiting private cotton ginning, if someone reported him or made a big deal out of it, he would be in real trouble.
Fortunately, personal connections came in handy at the crucial moment, preventing future troubles.
Li Long learned his lesson and will have to think things through more thoroughly and meticulously in the future.
On September 24th, students from several schools had already moved into the cooperative and started picking cotton.
Li Long drove the cotton harvester, roaring towards the cotton field.
The cotton fields have been cleared, the cotton storage areas have been leveled, and plastic sheeting has been laid out, ready for the cotton harvesters to start harvesting.
Li Long himself was also very careful. Since he was picking cotton for his own cooperative, he didn't go fast when he started the machine to enter the field, and he set the picking frame very low, almost touching the ground.
The cotton plants in the field are covered in white cotton, with almost no leaves, making them a very pleasing sight.
There were many people watching from the edge of the field. People had been paying attention to the cotton harvester ever since it entered the team's area. People like Wang Caimi had been asking around about when Li Long would start harvesting; he really wanted to see it.
Most of the onlookers were members of the cooperative, and the managers of the other two cooperatives were also present.
Machine-harvested cotton is a new thing. Although people can guess the principle behind it from the example of cotton harvesting, they have never actually seen it before.
Moreover, Li Long has led the development of agricultural machinery in the fourth team more than once, so everyone still trusts him.
Xie Yundong was also watching from the side, constantly explaining to everyone that the picked cotton was too dirty and needed special cleaning.
Someone laughed and said, "Old Xie, you've said this a million times, we all know it. How dirty can it be?"
Li Long couldn't hear anything inside the cotton harvester. He was wearing a pair of headphones, but the machine was very loud, and he didn't want to have his ears ringing after he finished harvesting.
After the machine passed, only bare stalks remained in the cotton field, prompting onlookers to exclaim in disbelief:
"Hey, this is really clean!"
"Exactly! One trip and it's spotless. It only takes a few minutes, right? It's much better than hiring someone to pick cotton!"
Especially after learning that picking one kilogram of cotton only cost one cent, the two managers of the cooperative started to calculate.
Of course, Xie Yundong also told them that cotton harvesters were no longer accepted by cotton and linen companies. They had to sell the cotton to these companies after it had been cleaned at the ginning plant, which was quite troublesome.
Anyway, that same set of excuses has to be repeated many times.
Li Long would empty the cotton once in one round trip, and the onlookers, seeing how dirty the cotton was, immediately fell silent.
The cotton picked by the students is clean. Grade 1 cotton can sell for four yuan this year. Cotton picked by the cotton harvester would never be accepted by the cotton and linen company—it's too dirty.
Even if you wanted it, I'd probably only be able to sell it for three and a half or six dollars, right?
The onlookers were no longer as excited as before, and when Xie Yundong spoke again, they stopped laughing.
Some people even felt a little sorry for Xie Yundong, after all, it wasn't easy being a manager with someone as troublesome as Li Long.
"After the cotton is cleaned at the ginning plant, it is processed into lint and packaged for sale to cotton and linen companies, which can fetch about three yuan and seventy or eighty yuan," Xie Yundong said.
Upon hearing this, the eyes of the two cooperative managers immediately lit up again.
If we calculate it this way, machine harvesting isn't out of the question!
However, it's no use for Huang Xinping to use machines now, even though Wang Caimi advised him against it back then.
Looking at the fields that have been harvested by machine, they are spotless, much better than those fields where they have to hire odd jobs to pick up the flowers and then hire odd jobs to pick them up again.
Li Long wasn't sure what those people were thinking. He drove the cotton harvester and thought it was pretty good. At least when he returned home, he felt quite gratified to see the fields were bare.
Yes, next year, we will expand the area of machine-harvested cotton!
P.S.: This book will be finished at the end of this month, which is two days away. I plan to start a new book at the beginning of next month, but I need to see if it will pass the editor's approval first. (End of this chapter)