Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1037 Some people are reluctant to give up their secure jobs, while others are eager to escape this predicament.

The flood came quickly and receded quickly. By the next day, the floodwaters flowing down from the reeds were only knee-deep.

Li Jianguo drove his tractor to the West Flood Control Canal and used a bulldozer blade to block the flood discharge. The water in the main canal still needs to be sent downstream. The outlet was opened earlier to discharge floodwater, but now that the flood has receded, it has to be blocked. Otherwise, when the water station releases water here in a while, the water will flow into the reed ditch.

Actually, everyone knows that there will be a major flood in June or July, but we'll talk about that then; for now, let's focus on the immediate situation.

The next day, when Li Long went to the fourth squad again, he heard another piece of news.

"When the floodwaters receded in Dongdagou, they washed away the upper, middle, and lower reservoirs!"

Dongdagou is located less than three kilometers east of the Fourth Squad. It is right next to the Huke Highway that was built behind it. It used to be a river, but the upstream river changed its course and it became a dry ditch. Li Long used to catch rabbits in it.

Last year or the year before, someone made a decision on a whim: to build three dams in the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Dongda Ditch using bulldozers, and then modified the area in front of the dams to create three reservoirs—but they are empty.

The people who built the dam probably thought that when a flood comes, they can use the dam to hold back the floodwaters, and then the reservoir will be formed. At that time, it will be good for both fish farming and water storage.

Those who build reservoirs have some common sense. After blocking the flood with dams, they also specially built three sluice gates. This means that when the upper and middle reservoirs are flooded, the sluice gates are opened to let the water go to the lower reservoir first. When the water in the lower reservoir is almost full, if there is too much floodwater, it will continue to be released downstream. The downstream reservoir is directly connected to the Dahaizi and Baitukeng reservoirs, which can divert the water.

If the water volume is insufficient, the gates will be closed separately so that all three reservoirs can be filled with water.

Ideal is full, the reality is very skinny.

The north dam line of the reservoir was directly bulldozed without any compaction. In the eyes of these people, the dam line was piled up three or four meters high, and a tractor could run over it a couple of times, which should be enough to stop the flood.

After all, in their experience, the annual floods are not large enough to breach the dam.

Moreover, the sluice gate they built was not located at the lowest point of the terrain, but rather in the center of the dam, at a position that was neither too high nor too low.

Ideally, the dam should hold back the water, and when the water reaches halfway up the dam, the gates should be opened to release the water downstream, while the water slowly accumulates in the reservoir.

However, this year was an exception. The floodwaters were three or four times larger than before, and they were all at once. A single flood peak came and directly breached the dam of the upper reservoir, creating a gap more than 20 meters wide at the lowest point. The water then rushed downstream, and the middle and lower reservoirs suffered the same fate!

The three reservoirs were rendered useless before they were even put into use.

"I don't know what those people were thinking. They thought they could build a dam just by piling up dirt? Back when we were building the dam at Xiaohaizi, we used tractors to run it over countless times, and we even had to tamp it down with stones for days before it was up!" Xu Chengjun said with a sarcastic expression. "You think you can just make something happen on a whim? It's not that easy."

In Li Long's memory, this kind of thing happened more than once. Ten years later, someone remembered the three unfinished reservoirs again, so they blocked the openings. The spring flood was stopped, and these people were secretly happy. They released a large number of fish fry into the three reservoirs, preparing to make a fortune in the fall.

Unexpectedly, snowmelt floods struck again in July, and the three reservoirs collapsed again due to a single flood. This time it was different; all the valuable fish in the three reservoirs were washed away, resulting in heavy losses!

It seems to be 1996?

Li Long sat at Xu Chengjun's house for a while, then went to his elder brother's house.

“Your old man had nothing to do, so he went to inspect the canal. He said there should be fish in the canal, and he wanted to go and take a look.”

There are definitely fish, and maybe even some big ones. After all, the floodwaters are huge, carrying the fish downstream, whether in reed ditches or main and branch canals. Once the floodwaters recede, the fish will be stranded, which is the perfect time to catch them.

The eldest sister-in-law was clearing the mud in front of the door. The flood had passed, the sun was warm, and the road dried in a day, but the dam that had been built earlier and the mud brought by the flood needed to be cleared, otherwise the road would be uneven.

Li Long worked alongside them and finished the job. Li Qingxia returned, quite happy. Although the small lake was a mess and they couldn't cast nets, they had managed to catch seven or eight kilograms of fish of various sizes from the canal, which was pretty good.

"The fish in this lake are too monotonous. If it were my hometown, after a flood like this, there would be at least some shrimp, clams, snails and other fish."

The snails that Li Qingxia mentioned are field snails, which are found in the river in his hometown. Whether there is a flood or not, they are easy to catch.

These things don't exist in northern Xinjiang yet, or at least not in the small lakes. In a few years, as more people raise fish, they'll bring in fish fry, along with shrimp, snails, and other things.

Even now, Li Long has never seen a frog in northern Xinjiang, only toads. He can tell the difference in their croaking sounds. About ten years later, he saw his first frog in a ditch. It was a hybrid, with toad-like bumps on its body, though not very noticeable. The three green stripes on its back were the most prominent feature.

Another key difference is that the toads here don't jump, while the frogs do; this is the main distinguishing feature.

As for shrimp, they appeared around that time as well, while crabs wouldn't appear in the Dahai Lake for another ten years, at the beginning of the new century, and would be farmed by people.

Actually, Li Long was thinking that it would be good if Zhao Hui or Huang Lei could bring some shrimp larvae or crab larvae from the mouth. However, unlike in later times, it would take at least several days to get them from the mouth. By then, most of the larvae would probably be dead.
It's just a thought.

"Why think so much? Do you think we'll have pike back home?" Du Chunfang was extremely satisfied with this place. She couldn't stand anything about her hometown anymore. "If the water rises there, the whole village will have to guard the dam, and it might even flood the whole village..."

“It’s flooded here too.” Li Qingxia didn’t seem to care, and didn’t even think it was a quarrel. “If there were this many fish back home, we wouldn’t have a chance. It’s different here. I don’t think many people are catching them… There are still plenty of small fish in the ditch, but I don’t even bother picking them up.”

Alright, Old Li's gotten rich now, he's picking out the biggest fish now.

Li Long had another free lunch here, and then took the peeled fish home.

On the way back, I saw some students leaving school early, or perhaps they hadn't gone to school at all. They were wading in the reed ditch with their trousers rolled up above their knees, carrying a small bag of laundry detergent. Every now and then, they would bend down and pick up a crucian carp from the reed leaves and put it in their bag.

At first glance, those crucian carp looked dead, but when you reached out to pick them up, they would jump – they were simply too weak.

They looked like they were at the mercy of others.

Occasionally, you can see children wading through the water and encountering large fish hiding under the reeds. The fish suddenly leaps up, startling the children, who are then filled with joy and rush to chase after the fish.

They might get scratched by reed stubble, but as long as they can catch fish, they don't care if their legs are injured and bleeding.

Li Long saw a child holding a large silver carp weighing two or three kilograms, excitedly showing it off to his companion.

Two days later, Huang Lei and Zhao Hui called again, saying that the jerky had sold out and that he should make another batch as soon as possible.

Li Long was thinking about what to do.
In Old Ma's shop, he had stored up a year's worth of winter lambs, and now only a dozen or so remained. These were reserved for meat consumption throughout the year, and he couldn't slaughter any more.

Li Long could get another batch from Halim and his group, but it's only the beginning of spring, and he doesn't want to get any more cattle and sheep from them. Halim and his group have enough fodder this year, and their cattle and sheep are well-fed. With spring approaching, someone should come to buy their cattle and sheep, and Halim and his group should make some money.

Li Long had already offered his cattle and sheep a lower price, and he didn't want to take advantage of them anymore.

So he thought, why not go to the livestock wholesale market by the Ma River? The first flood has receded, so the livestock wholesale market should be able to open, right?
However, Li Long felt that it wasn't a sustainable business since he was the one handling the cattle and sheep all the time.

He handed over the purchasing station to Gu Boyuan, the 75 tractor to his elder brother and Meng Hai, and encouraged Chen Hongjun to open a purchasing station in Beiting. In reality, he just wanted to shirk his responsibilities.

I started making beef and mutton jerky just out of a passing interest; who would have thought it would turn into a business?
We can't keep ourselves tied down to tending to these cattle and sheep forever, can we?

Li Long wondered if he could find someone to wholesale beef and mutton to him, so that he could just focus on the quality of production and sales.

People regularly deliver beef and mutton, so I don't have to run around anymore.

His first thought was of his brother-in-law, Chen Xingbang—Chen Xingbang was a professional in this field.

With a market secured, Li Long believed he would need at least two hundred sheep and ten cows each month. Even if Chen Xingbang only earned one yuan per sheep, the monthly income would still be substantial.

Besides, how could he possibly make a dollar? With the hides and offal, making ten or eight dollars was definitely achievable. After all, he only needed pure meat—Li Long could sense that pure meat jerky sold faster, while meat with bones was cheaper. So later he planned to get as much meat as possible, and he would handle the bones himself.

Would Chen Xingbang do it if he could earn one or two thousand yuan a month?

Li Long is unsure.

So he needs to ask.

The next morning, Li Long drove his jeep westward. When he passed the Ma River, the sun hadn't risen very high yet.

The banks of the Ma River show traces of past floods, though the water level has decreased significantly.

There were people walking on both sides of the riverbank. Li Long wondered if they were picking up jade. In his previous life, he had heard that after the Baiyu River and Moyu River in Hotan flooded, people would rush to the river to rummage for jade, because every flood would bring up some jade from upstream or in the riverbed.

I imagine it's similar here in Mahe, right?
After crossing the Ma River, he made a detour to the livestock market and found that there were indeed flocks of sheep gathered there, but it seemed that there weren't many people buying and selling them.

Li Long wasn't in a hurry. He drove his jeep back onto National Highway 312 and headed towards Laojie.

The old street is still bustling with activity; if not teeming with people, then at least there's a constant flow of people.

Li Long parked his Jeep in the parking lot, but the person watching the cars didn't give him any face. He came over, gave him a sign, charged him one cent for parking, and then told him to leave.

Li Long locked the car with the sign in hand and walked down the street.

He smelled a variety of aromas. There were many stalls, and the storefronts on both sides had been built, but they didn't seem to be fully completed yet. Li Long wondered if he should come back later to inquire about buying a few storefronts to earn rent.
Just like the storefronts in the Ma County Free Market, the annual income may not be much, but it is stable.

He didn't intend to monopolize the market, but having this as a safety net would make it easier to get involved later.

Of course, this is just a thought. In the past, it might have been more urgent. Now that there is a purchasing station as a foundation, this rent is not even a small bonus. So, just like when he bought lottery tickets in his previous life, he would buy a ticket whenever he felt like it, without ever thinking about whether he would win or not.

The old street is now filled with vendors selling fish, tools, baskets, and large brooms—thankfully not Zhang Qiang. There are also vendors selling homemade food. These people no longer run around but have fixed stalls.

Li Long looked at the fish sellers, but none of them were from the Fourth Team, and he didn't recognize any of them. He didn't know if the fish came from Dahaizi, Jiahezi, Baitukeng, or Yawagou Reservoir.

There are many reservoirs of all sizes in the north of Ma County, and all of them produce fish, mainly carp, grass carp, crucian carp, and silver carp. There are also black carp now, but they will become increasingly rare.

There were so many things that Li Long wanted to buy some to keep at home.

He wondered if this was the typical mindset of women when shopping: even if they don't need the item, if it looks nice and isn't expensive, they'll think about buying it.

When Li Long arrived at Chen Xingbang's stall, he noticed that there weren't many people around, but one and a half of the three sheep on the stall had already been reduced to skeletons, and half a pig next to it had also been sold.

Clearly, the first wave of customers who bought food at the restaurant have already left.

Chen Xingbang was wearing a leather apron, smoking, and chatting with the person next to him about passing on his son.

Upon seeing Li Long, Chen Xingbang paused for a moment, then smiled:

"Hey, Xiaolong's here? It's been a while since you've been to the old street. Come on, what brings you here this time?"

As he spoke, Chen Xingbang took two deep drags on his cigarette, threw away the butt, picked up a knife, and with a couple of swift cuts, severed a hind leg from the still-untouched sheep. He then cut off a piece of pork belly weighing two or three kilograms, tied the leg and the pork belly together with a rope, and handed them to Li Long.

"Here, take this and cook it. Mingming and Haohao need to grow taller, so cook them more meat so they can grow faster!"

Chen Xingbang's attitude surprised Li Long. He smiled and said:
"Brother-in-law, I have plenty of meat..."

“That’s yours, this is for Mingming and Haohao, it’s different.” Chen Xingbang said firmly, “Well, every time you go back to the Fourth Team, you bring things for Hongqin, so as her uncle, I have to get some meat for Mingming and Haohao too.”

Li Long smiled and didn't refuse again.

"This is my brother-in-law!" Chen Xingbang proudly introduced him to the people around him as he watched Li Long take the meat. "A nationally recognized outstanding individual! He's really impressive!"

Li Long thought to himself, "My brother-in-law has changed a lot."

After exchanging a few polite words with the people next to him, Li Long went into the stall. Seeing that there was no one around for the time being, he asked Chen Xingbang about his current work situation.

"It's alright. A month, my salary plus bonuses can bring in about a hundred yuan." Chen Xingbang said proudly, "Not as much as you, but much better than before. My family has enough meat, and Hongqin has grown taller... You saw her during the New Year, she's much taller than when she first came here. I was worried about what would happen if she grew too tall..."

"It's good to grow taller, it's better than not growing at all." Li Long felt it was necessary to correct his brother-in-law's attitude, but after glancing at him, he decided against it. His brother-in-law was subtly praising him while criticizing him.

"How are your parents at home?" Chen Xingbang asked about the elderly man's health.

"It's all good. There was a flood a couple of days ago, and it washed up to our doorstep, but it's nothing serious. My dad has been collecting fish in the canal these past few days."

“He was so happy. Back in his hometown, he loved catching fish and shrimp…” Chen Xingbang chuckled. “He’s finally found his footing here.”

Li Long could sense that Chen Xingbang was actually quite satisfied with his current job. After hesitating for a moment, he still shared his thoughts.

Sure enough, Chen Xingbang thought for a moment, then shook his head and said:
“If it were a year ago, I would have done it. Now… the factory treats me very well, giving me the benefits of a team leader, and they said they'd promote me further. Even though I'm just setting up a stall here now, I'm still treated like a regular worker.”

"If I quit now, I'll make more money, but what about my future? Your business is good now, but nobody can say what will happen in the future. My job doesn't pay as much as you're saying right now, but it's stable; I can do it until I retire... I'll pass on this job."

Li Long nodded, not exactly disappointed.

Chen Xingbang and Chen Hongjun are different. Chen Hongjun entered the system when he reached working age and was very clear about the working conditions within the system, so he did not cherish it. On the contrary, because he was middle-aged, had elderly parents to support and young children to raise, lacked money, and had no passion for his work, he thought about leaving.

Chen Xingbang is an ordinary citizen who has finally secured a stable job. He's so eager to hold on to it that he's not about to let it go easily.

It's just like a besieged city.

Li Long and Chen Xingbang chatted for a while longer before Li Long left with the meat.

Thinking about the prospects Li Long had mentioned, Chen Xingbang realized that earning one or two thousand yuan a month was quite a lot of money.

But he really didn't dare to try it easily. His current job was also hard-won, considering many people wanted to follow his path, but it was no longer possible. The food factory had tightened its hiring policies; many people who joined around the same time as him were temporary workers and hadn't yet been promoted to permanent positions.

I've even heard rumors that it's unlikely I'll get a permanent position.

His position is in high demand, how could he possibly give it up like this?
As for working during the week and doing this job after get off work, that's even more impossible. This meat stall is an important external window for the food factory, so the working hours are earlier and the closing time is later than other jobs.

Otherwise, where would the overtime pay come from?

Li Long, carrying the meat, walked to the entrance of Keyum's milk tea shop.

After thinking for a moment, he went inside and decided to have a bowl of milk tea first.

(End of this chapter)