Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1043 Road Repair, Jade Collection, Sheep Harvesting, and a Wild Boar Boy Face-to-Face! (Only one chapter today)
At lunchtime, everyone gathered in small groups, each with an enamel basin filled with mutton and mutton soup, and a naan bread in their hand.

The villagers of Qingshuihezi originally prepared their own dry food, and Meng Hai and his tractor also carried a pot, planning to boil water and make tea at noon so they could have a simple meal.

Unexpectedly, the supply and marketing cooperative staff came together, and the local herders warmly welcomed them, slaughtering the sheep so they could have a delicious meal.

If we hadn't found any jade, the main topic of discussion at lunch today would definitely have been mutton.

After all, earning money while enjoying a free meal of hand-pulled mutton is such a wonderful thing. Although it has happened a few times before, it is still a very nice thing overall.

However, the people from the supply and marketing cooperative found jade, and the villagers found agate.

Even if these things are cheap, they're still more than the eight dollars you earn working a day.

So even though they were holding mutton bones and munching on naan bread, their conversations still revolved around valuable things like jade and agate.

The villagers' relationship with Li Long was at most that of acquaintances, familiar faces, and occasional greetings, but their relationship with Meng Hai was much closer.

Therefore, Meng Hai was surrounded by a larger group of people, all of whom were discussing the matter of mining jade.

Meng Hai's idea was sound; he put down his chopsticks and admonished the villagers:
"Let me tell you, if you happen to find jade or something while working, then whoever finds it keeps it. But if anyone tries to use work time to specifically dig for jade, don't blame me for not warning you upfront. Once I find out, they'll be out of work and out of business!"

In recent years, Li Long has given Meng Hai the work he assigned, and Meng Hai organized everyone to do it, and then led everyone to make money.

Meng Hai's authority was built up through these organized activities, so people listened to him. Sometimes, his words even carried more weight than those of He Yuqing, the team leader.

Therefore, when Meng Hai said this, the villagers all laughed and agreed, saying that it would definitely not interfere with their work.

The discussion among the cadres and employees at the supply and marketing cooperative was much more lively.

They came here to do voluntary labor. Li Xiangqian was in charge of the main work, while others did some casual work. Zhou Yuan and the other section chiefs were responsible for their respective people. They turned a blind eye to the work and mainly listened to their own initiative.

After all, the people who can be brought here are all quite conscientious, and there are basically no ones who would slack off or not do their job.

But now that someone has made an unexpected gain, everyone's attention is focused on that.

The staff and employees of the supply and marketing cooperative were quite familiar with Li Long, so they boldly asked him:
"Comrade Li Long, do you think there might still be jade in this ditch?"

"Exactly! Someone found two pieces in just half a day. Does that mean there are actually quite a lot of jade in the river?"

"If there's jade and agate, could there be something else?"

Li Long himself sat on a rock, holding an enamel basin containing a piece of lamb neck and half a bowl of soup. He took a sip of the soup, ate a bite of naan bread, and said:

"Yes, there definitely is. Let me put it this way: in the Nanshan Mountains of Ma County, there are jade stones in almost every valley."

Why do I say that? Because our Ma County is one of the world's three major jade producing areas. If you go a few dozen kilometers further in, there are places where the entire mountain is covered in jade.

During the Qing Dynasty, the government set up a jade factory here, specifically responsible for jade mining.

So if you ask me if there's jade in these ditches, the answer is definitely yes. But if you ask me if you can actually find it, then I can't say for sure.

Even if they exist, they're not everywhere. Our Nanshan isn't the Nanshan from the Classic of Mountains and Seas. In that story, Nanshan is said to be covered in jade. If someone here is lucky enough to find a few pieces, that's already quite an achievement.

So if you find something while working, that's good luck; if you don't, that's normal.

Of course, we didn't come here specifically to collect jade. We came to make it easier for the herders in our mountains to move their livestock during their migrations. We're here to do a good deed.

Finding something is a pleasant surprise, but if you don't, you should remain calm. Right?

His words resonated with everyone. These people did indeed have the idea that they might find something good while working in the afternoon, but this idea was just a possibility or a hope.

Even if someone wanted to come specifically to pick up some, hoping to find something, they wouldn't say it directly or do it directly.

After all, there are still villagers watching over there; I can't lose my status as a cadre.

At noon, there was plenty of mutton and naan, but most of the villagers actually ate their own dry rations, then took a piece or two of mutton and soaked it in some broth.

No one acted as if they had never eaten before; they were insatiable. This resulted in the fact that after everyone had finished eating the hand-pulled meat made from the last four sheep, there was still a little bit left.

According to Li Xiangqian, they should keep it warm in the pot and eat it when they finish work in the afternoon.

After a half-hour break, we continued working. Next, we worked on building a new road. This time, the staff of the supply and marketing cooperative and the villagers cooperated well and quickly became one.

Amidst the lively scene, people were speaking and chatting in a mix of Lanzhou-Yinchuan Mandarin, Henan-Shandong dialect, and standard Mandarin. While moving stones together, they asked each other about their hometowns; while chopping wood, they talked about their families' daily lives. They even mentioned that two families, one being villagers and the other being supply and marketing cooperative cadres, had their children attending the same high school class and getting along quite well.

This brought them closer together, and they seemed to work together more seamlessly.

The key personnel from Qingshuihezi were all there. They worked for a month or two last year when the road was being built, laying the initial roadbed, cutting down trees, leveling the ground, blasting rocks, and preparing for the project. These people are all very skilled.

Although the cadres and staff of the supply and marketing cooperative had not worked on this route last year, they quickly got the hang of it after cooperating with the people from Qingshuihe for a while.

The road construction progress gradually accelerated. When the sun was about to set and they were preparing to wrap up, Li Long looked at the day's progress and found that it had exceeded his expectations.

They've advanced more than a kilometer, which is quite impressive.

In the afternoon, we mainly ate mutton, but in a different way. The mutton soup was still there, so we took the mutton out and stir-fried it with chili peppers, and then we had a stir-fried mutton offal dish.

Perhaps because we were a bit tired of the hand-pulled mutton we had for lunch, this stir-fry was especially popular. Everyone took some from the two large pots of stir-fry, and in the end, there wasn't a single thing left.

After the meal, both sides sent people to clean up the mess. They worked quickly and cleaned everything thoroughly, loading the pots and other tools onto the jeep.

The supply and marketing cooperative had trucks to take them back. Li Long and Li Xiangqian exchanged a few words. He had to give money to the villagers of Qingshuihe, so he didn't go with the others.

Li Xiangqian naturally had no objections. He gave Li Long a few instructions and then got into the truck. Ma Xiaoyan followed Li Xiangqian into the cab. She had originally wanted to take pictures of Li Long distributing money to the villagers, but Li Long politely declined.

Overall, although no jade was found on either side in the afternoon, the enthusiasm for work was still very high. Therefore, Li Xiangqian decided to come again tomorrow, and then come once a week. If he persists in coming four or five times, that should be enough.

After the supply and marketing cooperative's truck left, Li Long took out his black bag from the jeep and went over to check with Meng Hai to see who had come to work.

Because the work would last for more than twenty days, Li Long first determined the approximate number of people and then directly gave Meng Hai the money for ten days, along with the management fee for those ten days.

Meng Hai was in charge of distributing the money, while he drove a jeep to Halim's winter camp.

"Director Li and his team will be coming tomorrow, but they also said that we don't need to slaughter so many sheep tomorrow."

"Slaughter a sheep, and tomorrow they'll bring rice to make pilaf."

Just like last year, the supply and marketing cooperative provided Halim and his group with a lot of supplies and allocated 3,000 yuan as funds for road repairs.

Li Long returned alone also to give the sheep money to Halim.

Halim naturally didn't want it, but Li Long said it was Director Li's idea from the supply and marketing cooperative, and they couldn't just eat and drink for free.

In short, it was a lot of pushing and shoving, but in the end, Li Long left the money behind.

By the time he got home, it was already dark. He was exhausted from the day, so he quickly washed up and went straight to sleep.

Gu Xiaoxia and Sister Yang knew that Li Long would be very busy during this period, so they didn't disturb him and let him rest well.

The supply and marketing cooperative's staff quarters were bustling tonight. Li Fengxia didn't live here, but her name was mentioned the most in the compound today. Those who went to work were giving a lesson to those who couldn't go but were familiar with the area: what one of the world's three major jade-producing regions is, what a jade mountain is, and that someone at the supply and marketing cooperative had found a piece of jade.

Although only two cadres and staff members found the jade, there were a total of twenty or thirty people involved, which is actually not a low proportion.

Some of those who hadn't gone started making plans. When they learned that another group would be organized to go the next day, they immediately went to their section chiefs to sign up.

These kinds of things are definitely first come, first served, so when Li Xiangqian gathered in the courtyard the next day, he was a little surprised to see the group had grown to almost half its original size.

The section chiefs were also quite helpless. There wasn't much work in the supply and marketing cooperative at the moment, and some people were trying to find excuses to come. They could refuse those with whom they had only a casual relationship, but it was hard to say about those with whom they had a good relationship. So they simply brought the people over and waited to see how the director would handle it.

"Isn't this ridiculous? If everyone goes, how will our supply and marketing cooperative operate? Who will be on duty?" Li Xiangqian rarely lost his temper. "What, why didn't you sign up when we asked you to sign up as key members?"
Oh, now that everyone's heard they can find jade, they're all scrambling to get on board?

Nonsense! Selfish!
Those who didn't go yesterday are not allowed to go today! Get back to your posts right now! You section chiefs and leaders, what are you good for if you just pass on any problems or difficulties to your superiors?

This was the first time Li Long had ever seen Li Xiangqian lose his temper like this, and he actually found it quite satisfying.

Those who had joined the team today looked embarrassed and awkwardly left.

The scene wasn't very pleasant.

Fortunately, Ma Xiaoyan isn't here today, otherwise I don't know what to say.

As the car drove out of the county town, the people gradually started chatting and laughing.

The supply and marketing cooperative stopped working on the project after two days, and the road repairs were mainly carried out by the villagers of Qingshuihe.

After eating mutton for one day and pilaf for another, the road construction workers mainly ate dry rations for the next few days. Although some people complained occasionally, they only dared to do so in private, for fear of being overheard by Meng Hai.

After all, the other person is doing the work voluntarily, while I work to earn money, so it's normal for me to eat averagely.

In the following days, Li Long did not go hunting. Instead, he carried his gun and wandered around the mountains, mainly to check on the growth of the fritillaria bulbs.

Nearly half of the money I've earned in the past two years has gone into fritillaria bulbs, so I pay close attention to this.

The fritillaria seedlings have already sprouted in the mountains, and there are so many of them. In some places along the ditches on both sides of the road construction, you can see patches of fritillaria. In the future, many people will probably go into the mountains to harvest them.

Li Long spent a week wandering around the mountains with the road construction team, then worked for another day with the supply and marketing cooperative members, and then stopped going into the mountains.

Because Huang Lei and Zhao Hui are urging them to expedite the meat jerky project, the money has already been transferred.

Li Long then drove his jeep to the milk tea shop on Shicheng Old Street to find Keyum.

Keyumu waited anxiously for Li Long in the milk tea shop. Although he knew Li Long's home, he didn't dare to go there rashly, since it was Li Long who decided when he needed the goods.

So when he saw Li Long come looking for him, he was overjoyed.

After all, the money earned from selling beef and mutton once is equivalent to working in a milk tea shop for several months.

Once a person earns a lot of money, they really don't care about small amounts anymore.

His original plan was that when Li Long asked him to deliver beef and mutton, he would make money from the beef and mutton; if he didn't deliver beef and mutton, he would honestly make naan and sell milk tea.

But after selling beef and mutton once, he returned to the milk tea shop and found himself restless, no longer caring about the daily income of ten or so yuan.

But Li Long didn't come to find him, and he didn't dare to go and get the beef and mutton himself.

Keyum didn't dare touch the money he made last time or the money he used to break even. For nearly a week, he was searching everywhere for herders with large numbers of cattle and sheep.

The herdsmen have been found; now we're just waiting for Li Long to give the order.

So when Li Long came over, he was genuinely very happy. Of course, Keyum didn't immediately ask about the beef and mutton. Instead, he quickly brought Li Long milk tea and naan bread, along with honey, dried fruit, and cream. He also brought himself a bowl of milk tea and sat down opposite Li Long.

"Keyumu, what have you been busy with lately?" Li Long could see Keyumu's anxiety and restraint. He tore off a piece of naan, dipped it in cream, and teased him while eating.

"Selling milk tea," Keyum said with a smile, not wanting to say "I've been waiting for you." "I also disposed of the remaining scraps by washing them and inquired about the herders' situation."

"Hmm, not bad, we don't fight unprepared battles." Li Long nodded, stopped teasing him, and said directly, "Using the same standard as last time, deliver two hundred sheep and the deboned meat from twenty cows to my family within a week. How about that? Can you do it?"

"Definitely no problem!" Keyum was so excited he almost jumped up, grinning from ear to ear. "Comrade Li Long, I've been waiting for you to say that! I'm not afraid to tell you, I've already given the milk tea shop to my brother-in-law, and I'll focus on this beef and mutton business!"

“No problem, as long as the quality of your beef and mutton remains like this, I’ll take it every month,” Li Long said. “Let’s deliver it in batches, thirty or forty sheep’s worth of meat a day, that way it’ll be more convenient for me to prepare it.”

After buying the new courtyard, they made some simple renovations. Sister Yang said it was almost ready, but there would definitely be an adjustment period at first, so Li Long felt there was no need to rush.

After finishing his naan and milk tea, Li Long wiped his mouth and tried to pay, but Keyum firmly refused, telling Li Long to hurry back so he could go discuss the sheep slaughtering with others.

Actually, Li Long could have used the sheep he recently bought from his old horse account, but he felt that the sheep hadn't fattened up yet, so he decided to wait a bit longer.

Because Sister Yang needed to make dried meat, and there was no one to take care of Mingming and Haohao, Li Long simply drove his jeep to take Mingming and Haohao to the place where they were working in the mountains.

The two children were overjoyed. Although there were fun things to do in their big yard, they got tired of staying there every day. Now that they could come out into the mountains and see the vast world, they were truly happy, chattering and laughing the whole way.

As the client, Li Long, carrying a gun, only took Mingming and Haohao for a short walk around the construction site before heading into the mountains along the transfer route. He trusted Meng Hai's organization of the work's quality and progress, and didn't need to urge them on.

Soon, the three people, one adult and two children, left the work site and walked along the narrow transition path to the riverbank.

The two children were still young, so Li Long dared not take them deep into the mountains, or even into the hot spring valley. He would just walk a hundred meters or so ahead, and then they would pick up stones and play in the water on the riverbank.

These two kids naturally love playing in the water and mud. They quickly collected a bunch of colorful stones on the shallow riverbank. Li Long, carrying a gun, watched from the side and found it quite interesting.

The stones, washed by water and soaking in it, look beautiful, but most of them are just ordinary quartz.

The two children were having a great time, as if they had found rare treasures.

Hao Hao, with his bottom sticking out, spent a long time rummaging around by the water's edge, finally pulling out a rock the size of two fists. He then excitedly held it up for Li Long to see:

"Dad! Look how pretty these stones are! They're just like the ones piled up against the wall at home!"

Hey, Li Long took a look and was utterly astonished.

My own little brat actually pulled out a small piece of jade pebble. It was quite good quality, with few black spots and a deep color. It was enough to make a bracelet, and it was even better than the jade that the two cadres from the supply and marketing cooperative had dug up earlier.

He smiled and said:
"Yes, these are all jade, just like the others, and they're very beautiful!"

Hao Hao immediately held up the stone to show his brother.

The younger brother received praise from his father, but he was a little unconvinced. He looked down at the stones he had dug up, but none of them seemed to match, so he started searching again by the river.

There was a sudden commotion in the grass on the opposite steep slope, and then a string of seven or eight wild boars came out to drink water.

The little wild boar and Mingming stared at each other, separated only by a small river about five or six meters wide, and then they both froze.

Mingming reacted first, pointing at the little wild boar and turning to shout to Li Long:
"Dad, wild boar cubs! So many of them!"

The wild boars realized what was happening and, without even drinking water, turned to run upwards. However, there were still wild boar cubs rushing down from above, causing chaos. Several wild boar cubs were pushed and fell into the river!
PS: I drove all day and couldn't keep up with the writing, so there's only one chapter today.

(End of this chapter)