Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1028 Who wouldn't love such a gift?

At this time, everyone was still relatively well-behaved, and since it had snowed, the shop's goods weren't displayed. Li Long was cracking sunflower seeds at the entrance, peeking inside. The shop owner's wife was warming herself by the fire, and seeing Li Long standing at the door, she greeted him warmly:

"Hello comrade, what kind of seasonings do you want? We have Sichuan peppercorns, dried sesame seeds, ginger, bay leaves, and more. Buying more will get us a discount..."

"Do you have cumin?" Li Long asked.

"Yes, how much do you want?" the proprietress asked.

"How about three to five kilograms?"

"So many? You own a barbecue restaurant?" the proprietress asked in surprise.

Aside from barbecue restaurants, practically no one would need that much cumin. After all, its aroma dissipates quickly, and once it's gone, it's practically worthless. Most households would only buy a few hundred grams, and they'd pack it tightly in plastic bags or jars.

"No, I'm making dried meat," Li Long said. "By the way, boss, you sell seasonings, do you know the seasoning ratio for making beef jerky? If you do, I'll buy some from you and try it out."

"I know, my family makes them ourselves, but not many." The proprietress let Li Long in and pointed to the oven door, saying, "When you crack sunflower seeds, just spit the shells out there."

As Li Long entered the house, the landlady said while moving the cumin bag:
“It’s not that I’m trying to turn away business, but you’ve weighed out so much cumin. If you were to make this, you’d need to cook hundreds of kilograms of meat, right? Otherwise, it wouldn’t be enough. Besides, cumin isn’t usually used when making dried meat. People in northern Xinjiang can’t really eat this kind of flavor.”

Li Long was somewhat surprised by what he said; the proprietress seemed quite honest.

You could tell he had a slight Sichuan or Chongqing accent; he was in his thirties, and at least from what he just said, it sounded very genuine.

The proprietress took out a large bag of cumin and placed it in front of Li Long, then grabbed a handful of cumin powder and handed it to him.

"Smell it, does it smell right?"

"Yes, yes, it's very pungent and fragrant. It must be from last year." Cumin is actually a type of anise, or its scientific name is Anise benzoin. It looks the same. In later years, Li Long saw in short videos that people intercropped cumin in other fields, and it grew quite well.

"Shall I weigh this for you?" the proprietress asked.

Li Long inquired about the price, which was even cheaper than at the department store. As for the goods, they were all about the same; as long as they weren't moldy and tasted right, it was fine.

After weighing the cumin, Li Long asked the proprietress about their family's recipe, weighed some according to the proportions, and planned to do an experiment when he got back.

At home, Li Long and Sister Yang made several different flavors using common seasonings, and they turned out pretty well. However, Li Long thought he should make a few more to see which ones everyone would like to eat.

The seasonings were weighed and packaged up in various ways. At that time, plastic bags were not common, so the proprietress used a lot of newspapers to wrap the ingredients. After wrapping them, she wrote on them to indicate which seasoning they were.

The last few seasonings were packed into a large bag, and Li Long paid for it and carried it out.

On his way back, he happened to see freshly baked naan bread coming out of the oven, so he bought two and ate them on his way home.

When I got back into the car, the west was already ablaze with color, and half the sky had cleared. The snow fell quickly and fiercely, and it went away just as fast.

The next day, Li Long went to the transportation company. There were still quite a few trucks there. Because of the snow, some planned tasks had not yet started in various units. Li Long and the team leader agreed to hire two trucks and plan to load up the goods and drive into the mountains the next day.

The deal was agreed upon: two trucks would arrive at Li Long's house early tomorrow morning, and Li Long would take the trucks to load things up before driving into the mountains to unload supplies and transport beef and mutton.

Since they were old friends, Li Long paid for the hired vehicle first, then went back and began to list the supplies to be transported into the mountains.

Rice, flour, oil, and salt are essential. This includes not only iodized salt for human consumption but also coarse salt for livestock. Brick tea, sugar cubes…

Li Long buys a lot of these things every year. This time, the expenditure is mainly based on the cattle and sheep given by the herdsmen, calculated according to the price.

After the expenses were listed, all that was left was to get the money and prepare to start buying tomorrow.

Sister Yang was also well-prepared. The kitchen itself was quite large—this large courtyard was originally designed as a residence for a large family. Normally, Sister Yang could only use a small portion of the kitchen.

Now that so much jerky is being made, the kitchen can be fully utilized. Sister Yang herself is also thinking that if she really plans to open a jerky shop in the market, her front kitchen might not be enough, firstly because the pots are a bit small.

Thinking about this problem, Sister Yang was a bit conflicted. Everything in the main courtyard was convenient, and she'd grown attached to it after living there for so long. The south courtyard was ostensibly her and Han Fang's home, and it was also close to Han Fang's school.

But would living here actually be better than living here?

Of course, it's just a temporary dilemma; Liang Garden is nice, but not a place to linger.

This is someone else's home, not yours.

The next day, Li Long got up early, finished what he was supposed to do, handed Mingming and Haohao over to Han Fang, and then drove out with his truck for a big shopping trip.

Although it was late February, the weather was still quite cold. In addition to rice, flour, oil, and other supplies, he also bought potatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage, and other vegetables that keep well.

These vegetables couldn't be kept in the truck bed because they would freeze, so they were simply put in the jeep's cargo bed.

When Li Long arrived at Halim's winter nest with two trucks, there was already a lot of beef and mutton piled up there, and several tractors were parked on the side. The beef and mutton had obviously been brought over by tractors.

When the trucks arrived, the able-bodied men who had been drinking milk tea in their winter shelters came out and began unloading supplies and loading beef and mutton.

These supplies were unloaded directly into the trailer of a tractor, and then Yushanjiang and his team would pull it around and deliver it to various herders.

Now, in addition to unloading supplies, they also have to help Li Long load the beef and mutton onto the truck.

Li Long looked at the beef and mutton that had been dissected and the meat had been removed and frozen into pieces, and he was extremely satisfied.

Because the small tribe had plenty of hay, and Li Long brought in sugar residue, the cattle and sheep didn't lose much fat over the winter. Look at the pile of meat; it's still quite plump.

As Li Long had instructed, some meat was left on the bones so that they wouldn't be just dry bones. This way, they could be dried into meat that was also edible.

One by one, the frozen pieces of meat were loaded onto the trucks. Two trucks could fit them all, so Li Long was relieved.

Because he still needed to go back to unload the truck, Li Long didn't linger. He drank two bowls of milk tea with the two truck drivers and drove away after the truck was loaded.

According to Yushanjiang, although the loading time was short, it was because there were many people. If Li Long went back alone, unloading would take a lot of time. It would be better to let him take a few people with him to go back and unload the truck.

Li Long declined. This back-and-forth was quite troublesome; the meat and bones were frozen together, which meant it would be slow to disassemble, but with him there, it wouldn't be much slower.

Since Li Long disagreed, Yu Shanjiang didn't insist. After Li Long left, he began to think about how to distribute the supplies.

Now that Li Long is around, they are increasingly reluctant to go down the mountain to buy supplies from the Han people themselves. Each time, Li Long can simply bring them up. What they pay for are things they find in the mountains that they don't usually need, as well as things they hunt.

No matter what it was, Li Long accepted it without hesitation, which made things easier for them.

The three cars drove out of the mountains and headed towards Ma County. Once they arrived in the county, Li Long led the team directly to the state-run canteen.

The driver followed, and after getting out of the car, Li Long said:
“It’s lunchtime. Let’s eat first, then drive back to my big yard and unload the truck.”

Li Long treated the driver to noodles, which naturally pleased him. He saved money on a meal, and the food was good too. Li Long was indeed as generous and magnanimous as everyone said!

After lunch, the three cars drove back to the courtyard. Hearing the noise, Han Fang ran out and opened the door. She told Li Long that Mingming and Hao Hao had already taken a nap, and their mother was watching over them.

Li Long drove the jeep into the yard, and when the two trucks drove in, he told them to keep their voices down.

Since the driver had eaten the meal that Li Long had treated him to, he didn't want Li Long to be carrying meat with a young girl, so he joined in.

Actually, Li Long could do it himself. These meats were all frozen together, and Han Fang's only role was to lift the curtain. Li Long didn't ask him to move them.

As for the driver, he opened the side panel of the truck, and they got on the truck to help Li Long move the meat to the side of the truck. Li Long then carried the meat down and put it in the room.

Because there was too much meat, the storage room couldn't hold it all, so Li Long suggested storing it in a side room. The room was cleaned yesterday, and clean burlap sacks were laid out on the floor where the meat was stored.

The truck was parked next to the cargo compartment. The platform in the cargo compartment was quite high, so it was easy for Li Long to lift it. If it weren't uneven, he could even use a trolley to push it directly from the truck bed onto the platform and then into the cargo compartment.

The two truckloads of meat were unloaded in less than an hour. Li Long left a lamb leg for each of the two drivers as a thank you for their help. The drivers were very happy and drove away.

These days, drivers are still quite arrogant. Under normal circumstances, they don't unload their trucks when they help people transport goods, but Li Long was an exception this time.

After all, they gave us a lot.

After unloading the meat, Han Fang was quite tired and sweating. Li Long took two large pieces of meat to the kitchen. However, he didn't start cooking immediately. He left the meat on the cutting board to thaw while he went inside to rest—despite his strength, unloading so much meat had exhausted him.

It's just that Han Fang was too young to know what was going on, but the two drivers noticed something was wrong—there must have been four or five tons of meat and bones combined, right? Comrade Li Long almost unloaded it all by himself, and the two drivers were basically just helping out. How much strength does that take?
In the afternoon, Sister Yang and Li Long started making jerky in the kitchen.

Actually, the method is quite simple. It combines boiling and braising in one step. It's all about the proportion of ingredients and then checking how well it's cooked.

A pleasant aroma wafted through the courtyard, prompting Mingming and Haohao to immediately ask Li Long what it was that smelled so good and if it tasted good.

The first batch of meat was cooked more than two hours later. But the process wasn't finished; since it was intended for sale, it needed to be cut into neat strips, otherwise, it would look too unappetizing and no one would buy it.

At this moment, Han Fang and Mingming Haohao were the happiest. After taking the meat out, Li Long first prepared a small bowl for them to eat slowly. Then, he and Sister Yang took the cooked meat outside to cool slightly before cutting it—it's difficult to cut meat when it's too hot, as it will fall apart.

Although my knife skills aren't exactly top-notch, I can still cut slowly and steadily. According to Li Long, cutting the meat into small, finger-length square strips makes it look nicer, easier to arrange, and easier to pack.

The first batch of meat was not much, only a few dozen kilograms. About half of it was cooked. Li Long knew that if the meat dried out, some of the weight would have to be reduced.

In that case, it will be difficult to determine the price.

The beef and mutton I got from the mountains cost less than 1.8 yuan on average. The main reason I bought two truckloads of supplies was that I didn't spend much money.

But if we do large-scale production in the future, we can't use this price, since we'll be buying beef and mutton from the market then. Even at wholesale prices, it might cost two yuan.

Two yuan worth of meat can produce two to three hundred grams of jerky from one kilogram of meat, meaning the cost of one kilogram of jerky is at least six or seven yuan.

Fortunately, most people don't buy this dried meat by the kilogram; buying a little to try is the most common way.

The rest is packaging. There aren't that many plastic bags right now—the plastics industry in northern Xinjiang isn't as large-scale as it will be in the future. Whether it's Dushanzi or Karamay, the products produced by petrochemical plants mainly serve as raw materials for state-owned enterprises.

There aren't any small plastic factories nearby, so Li Long is thinking about getting a batch of clean paper for the outer packaging.

Of course, that's beside the point. He made this batch of meat to test it out and see how people like it. He'll continue making more, since Huang Lei is planning to order a batch to see how it goes.

After making it, Li Long took the sliced ​​meat strips to the purchasing station and let Gu Boyuan and the others try some. Even some of the merchants and middlemen who sold their goods there each received a strip of meat.

Li Long's original intention was to have them evaluate how well it was done, but instead, these people praised it loudly while eating:
"Really delicious!"

"Yes, it smells amazing!"

Li Long glanced at them and decided not to ask any further questions. Some people only took a small bite, not even sure if they could taste it, and then simply put the rest in their pockets. Clearly, they intended to take it home for their children.

It makes sense when you think about it. At this time, ordinary families wouldn't be eating dried meat as a snack. Normally, let alone every day, even eating meat once a week would make you a very wealthy family, right?

Therefore, it's practically impossible for them to give a fair evaluation of this meat strip.

They'll definitely say it's delicious, but they definitely won't buy it.

However, Gu Boyuan and Sun Jiaqiang gave very fair evaluations:

"It's really delicious, but it's a little bit spicy."

Modern spicy noodles are all about spiciness, unlike later generations which also emphasize aroma.

So the first batch of meat was spicy for the children, and the adults here felt the same way.

But even though it's spicy, it's also very fragrant.

Li Long thought he should put in less next batch, so that everyone could accept it. These days, people don't usually use toilet paper to wipe their mouths and noses, so eating this stuff can easily make your nose and eyes water from the spiciness. Let's not make it so disgusting.

Over the next few days, the aroma of cooking meat wafted continuously from the Li family's courtyard, and the smell was different almost every day. People passing by wondered if the family had opened a restaurant.

Li Long also sent a small amount to the police station, just enough for them to try. He claimed it was because his family had launched a new product and wanted the police station to help them evaluate it.

Guo Tiebing and his colleagues readily accepted the advice and offered very constructive suggestions:
"It smells amazing! If it weren't so expensive, everyone would want to buy it. The cumin flavor is even more fragrant!"

Okay, I understand now.

It took five days to finish processing this batch of meat; both Sister Yang and Li Long were exhausted.

Of course, the harvest was plentiful; we made over 200 kilograms of jerky, and more than a ton including meat and bones. We didn't dry it all in the sun, since the weather isn't suitable for it to be completely dry yet.

However, because it uses a lot of oil and seasonings, this semi-dried meat jerky won't spoil for a while.

Li Long found a channel to purchase a batch of clean, suitable packaging paper, which he obtained through Li Xiangqian. Li Long also sent some dried meat to the supply and marketing cooperative; each department received a small amount, just enough for them to try.

This made everyone in the supply and marketing cooperative quite happy.

People who have been to Beijing and Shanghai have even commented that this dried meat is no less delicious than the food they ate there.

Meat? Who wouldn't love a gift like that? It's delicious!
Li Xiangqian gave it a high evaluation and even asked him to take some time to send some over to Director Qian.

Of course, this is just a simple evaluation of the meat. Li Xiangqian wasn't very optimistic about Li Long's business, saying it was too expensive and ordinary people couldn't afford it.

That's the truth, of course.

But in any case, at least according to everyone's opinion, this thing is very good.

Li Long then went to the post office and mailed out a batch of goods. This batch, which was sent out, directly accounted for one-fifth of the total.

The address he sent it to was Yanjing, with two dots. The large package was for the Beijing office of the Ethnic Affairs Commission of the Autonomous Region. Since his several courtyards were able to stay peaceful thanks to the Beijing office, he naturally wanted to thank them. He also sent a letter to the director of the Beijing office, saying that one of the smaller packages was for that leader.

Li Longming said that the leader said he wanted to eat the dried meat from here, so he made a batch as a gift and sent it over. He thought the director would understand what he meant.

Another small package was sent to my sister-in-law, Gu Xiaoyu.

After sending the mail to both sides, Li Long waited.

Huang Lei said he was going to come over, but Zhao Hui arrived before he did.

He mainly came here to collect hides. Winter hides are of good quality, and he wants to take advantage of the snow melt to clear out the northern Xinjiang region and collect the excess winter hides. After that, he will mainly come to collect spring hides.

Zhao Hui came over, naturally wanting to see what Li Long meant by the dried meat. Before Li Long even started making it, he had asked Zhao Hui about the sales channels for the dried meat, but Zhao Hui hadn't given a definite answer.

Although he obtained a lot of beef and mutton from Li Long this winter and sold it, making a profit, he was not actually involved in the food industry.

I'm just a little interested right now, wanting to see how Li Long's products are.

P.S.: The deadline for submitting lottery numbers for the July monthly pass is the 10th, and mailings will begin on the 11th.

(End of this chapter)