Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1045: Transferring Locations, Dried Meat, Fritillaria Bulbs, Road Construction Completed

Not long after Li Longcai put the wild boar cub in the greenhouse, and was washing clothes for his two children and himself in the washing machine, Keyum arrived with a truckload of meat.

When Li Long left, he handed the money to Sister Yang, instructing her to weigh the meat and pay for it directly when Keyum delivered it. Of course, the quality of the meat was paramount, and that had to be checked.

Having cooked for several years, Sister Yang could tell the quality of beef and mutton. Keyum also knew that Li Long and his group had moved their jerky-making facility to another courtyard, so when they needed to get meat, they would simply deliver it there.

When I turned back, I saw that the gate to the courtyard was unlocked, and thinking that Li Long had returned, I came over to say hello.

“This time I brought you 500 kilograms of beef and mutton, as well as a whole set of beef and mutton offal. They’re all cleaned, so you can cook them right away,” Keyum said sincerely. “I thought you weren’t back, so I didn’t bring them over and left them in the yard over there. Wait a moment, I’ll bring them over.”

“Just sell them and get the money. I don’t need any meat to eat,” Li Long advised. “You’ve only just started this business, you haven’t made much money yet, have you? You don’t need to send me any.”

"It's alright, it's alright. I sell offal here cheaply. I think the profit from the meat is enough. I'm very grateful for this big business opportunity."

Li Long didn't try to persuade him anymore. After rinsing the clothes in the washing machine once, he put them back in and started washing them. By the time he finished, Keyum had already brought the cattle and sheep over to the water.

Together with the driver, he carried the items in baskets to the kitchen in the courtyard. Watching Li Long washing clothes, Keyum asked Li Long:
"Comrade Li Long, should I cook this for you right here? It's hot now, so this stuff can't be left out."

"Keyumu, there's no need to be so polite." Li Long could sense Keyumu's sincerity, but he felt it was unnecessary.

Now that we've chosen this supplier for our raw materials, and based on our two previous collaborations, we've seen that they've done a good job, we'll likely maintain a long-term partnership.

He could understand Keyum's desperate attempt to grasp at straws and prove his identity, so he said:
"As long as the meat you provide is good, I will definitely give you priority if I need it. We are in a cooperative relationship, so you don't need to be so humble. I feel embarrassed by your attitude."

Keyumu, somewhat embarrassed, explained:
"Comrade Li Long, let me tell you this: the money I made selling beef and mutton these last two times is almost equivalent to what I earned running a milk tea shop in a year."

Such a great money-making opportunity, if it were given to someone else, they would definitely just give it to their relatives and friends.

I don't think our relationship is that close yet, but you gave me this opportunity, and I'm truly grateful! Making so much money all at once means I can do so many things I used to want to do but couldn't, so I feel like I'd be doing you a disservice if I didn't do something for you…”

Li Long was both amused and exasperated; this Keyum had really spoken his mind.

"Alright, since you're free right now, why don't you boil these offal for me?" He figured he might as well do it, and he felt more at ease having Keyum do the work, so he let him do it.

Ke Youmu happily invited the driver to join him in the kitchen to wash and process the offal from the cattle and sheep again.

Mingming and Haohao were in the yard, watching their father wash clothes for a while, and then going to the kitchen to watch Keyoumu and the others process the offal from the cattle and sheep.

The driver was also an ethnic minority, but he and Keyum didn't care that the kitchen belonged to Han Chinese. They worked quickly, using both pots to start cooking.

Sheep offal was fine, but cow offal was so large that it couldn't fit in one pot, so Keyum took buckets and basins to soak it first.

While Li Long was washing things in the washing machine, he chatted with Keyum. He learned that Keyum's idea was to earn more money and see if he could buy a car.

He wanted to buy a used truck, which would be convenient for hauling goods. If Li Long continued to need meat, he could then transport the sheep himself.

The driver, a young man, remained mostly silent.

Li Long felt that he and Keyum must have a good relationship, otherwise he wouldn't have reacted much when Keyum mentioned buying a truck.

“In the past two years, our domestically produced cars have gradually come out, so there will be more choices.” Li Long told Keyum, “Work hard for two years, and you can earn enough to buy a decent minivan.”

"That truck never made a sound, it must be very expensive," said Yuzuki, perhaps because he had a strong attachment to trucks.

Li Long himself was thinking of buying one when the Tianjin Dafa vans were sold in northern Xinjiang. Jeeps were still too few for carrying people. Thinking back to the late 1990s, when people were doing short-term work in cotton farming, they still needed minivans like the Tianjin Dafa van.

During these two trips selling beef and mutton, Keyum's skills in handling offal had improved. After boiling a pot of offal, he sprinkled some salt when it was almost cooked, then took out a section of fatty intestine, cut it into small pieces on the cutting board, placed it on a plate, and handed it to Mingming and Haohao next to him:
"Come on, eat it while it's hot, it's delicious!"

Li Long thought to himself, "This guy really knows how to eat. The fatty intestines are the most fragrant part of the offal, even more so than my favorite, the belly."

As he was thinking, Keyum scooped out another section of sausage, cut it into small pieces, put it on a plate, and handed it to Li Long:

"Come on, Comrade Li Long, try my cooking."

Li Long didn't stand on ceremony; he wiped his hands, grabbed a piece, and started eating.

"Hey, this tastes really good! Was the sheep slaughtered today? Sheep that graze on the alkaline grass taste so good, not gamey at all! Your cooking is great too!"

“That’s right. I think the cattle and sheep of the herders in the mountains don’t taste as good as the cattle and sheep that graze on the alkaline land here.” Keyum agreed. “It’s a pity that large areas of alkaline land in our area have been reclaimed, and there are relatively few people raising cattle and sheep on a large scale.”

Li Long thought to himself, "Didn't you see I'm raising them?" Having grown up eating alkaline mutton, Li Long now had the means to do so and felt it was better to raise a flock of sheep himself, so he could slaughter them whenever he wanted to eat them.

Keyum cut off a small piece of intestine, ate a couple of bites, then found a basin, scooped out the whole pot of offal, and continued processing the rest.

By the time we finished cleaning up all the drains, it was almost time to leave work.

Li Long's idea was to simply prepare some seasoning sauce and eat and drink it with the freshly cooked offal.

Keyum made an excuse that he had other things to take care of, and he and the driver left in a hurry.

Li Long felt a little embarrassed, thinking that this person was really too polite.

Keyum felt he had finally repaid a favor. He could earn about three or four thousand yuan from these two trips selling beef and mutton, enough to buy a small four-wheeled tractor soon.

This income was something he never dared to dream of, and now it's actually in his pocket. He really feels he can't stand it if he doesn't do something about it.

When Gu Xiaoxia returned, Li Long had already chopped two plates of offal, stir-fried the steamed buns, and cooked rice porridge in the pot. To cleanse the palate, there was a cold salad of bok choy.

Everyone at the table was very satisfied, from Gu Xiaoxia and Gu Boyuan to Sister Yang who rushed back after making the dried meat and Han Fang who came home from school.

Mingming Haohao didn't eat anything, but they ate their fill while he was making offal all afternoon. Even Xiao Hei had a good meal. Afterwards, Li Long took him to the yard to digest.

Otherwise, I'll definitely have bad breath and fart tomorrow morning.

During dinner, Li Long mentioned catching wild boars in the mountains, and Gu Boyuan criticized him for it.
"You still brought the kids into the mountains during such a dangerous time! What were you thinking? What if the wild boar charged and gored Mingming and Haohao? You'd regret it then!"

“They can’t hold us off!” Li Long didn’t argue, but Mingming and Haohao were unhappy. Mingming said loudly, “My dad has a gun! He shot a wild boar with one shot! We had a delicious lunch! Dad caught seven baby wild boars too, and they’re in the greenhouse now!”

Seeing his grandson defend his son-in-law, Gu Boyuan was both angry and amused, but he had nothing to say.

Gu Xiaoxia, however, trusted her husband and smiled as she advised her father:
“It’s good for boys to travel and see more of the world. They usually only play in the yard, but now they have the opportunity to go to the mountains, broaden their horizons, and see some new things. It’s better than staying at home.”

"Fine, fine, you can discipline your son however you want." Gu Boyuan was completely at a loss. "But try your best to make sure he doesn't get hurt. He's young, his arms and legs aren't fully grown yet. If he bumps or scrapes himself, it won't be a minor injury." "Uncle Gu, I understand." Li Long nodded seriously.

Li Long finally listened to Gu Boyuan's words. In the following days, although he still took the child into the mountains, he basically did not leave the construction site area and followed the workers all the way.

This resulted in a decline in the quality of food at lunchtime; since they couldn't hunt wild animals, they could only eat naan and drink brick tea.

Li Long was prepared; he would bring some of the beef and mutton offal soup that Keyum helped him make every day, mainly for the children.

The road construction progressed smoothly during this period. The villagers were already familiar with the work and could make progress of nearly 1 kilometer every day. By the time Halimu and his group moved their farms, the road had been advanced nearly 20 kilometers further into the mountains.

However, because the road was quite winding, following the twists and turns of the mountain gully, Li Long estimated that the straight-line distance should be less than ten kilometers.

Halim and his family still had some fodder left in their winter pens, but the grass in the mountains had already grown. After shearing and bathing, the sheep began preparations for migrating.

Because the road for the migration has been extended by nearly 50 kilometers, this year's migration has a major advantage: small four-wheeled tractors can be used to haul supplies to the end of the road, from where they can be loaded onto horses and transported to the mountains.

This 50-kilometer journey would take more than a day to cover with cattle and sheep. So it saved a lot of effort.

After all, it would be very tiring for a horse to carry these things for more than a day.

It's very convenient now; it only takes two or three hours to get there by small four-wheeled vehicle.

Halimu and Yushanjiang were quite excited, and they were also very emotional when they said goodbye to Li Long:
“We can already imagine how convenient it will be for us once this road is completed! We can use small four-wheeled tractors or trucks to transport supplies directly to the summer pastures, and all we need to do is drive the cattle and sheep. How wonderful!”

This year, Li Long didn't bring Halimu and his group much more supplies. When the supply and marketing cooperative came to do work twice more, they had already taken away most of the supplies.

By this time, Ma Xiaoyan's news report had been published, and Li Xiangqian received another call from his colleagues filled with envy and jealousy. He was very pleased with himself. According to Li Long, since the two sides were co-construction units, they would help the herders prepare supplies for their migration.

In Li Xiangqian's view, this is all as it should be and as worthwhile.

"It'll be almost done. In another year or two at most, the road should be almost finished." Li Long was also optimistic. He didn't expect the road to be completed so quickly this spring. "Maybe by next year's relocation, you'll be able to drive the vehicles to deliver supplies."

"Yes, yes, yes, you guys are really amazing, and Meng Hai is amazing too! After we arrive at the summer ranch this year, we must do some good things. We can't help with road construction, but we're quite good at these kinds of things."

Yushanjiang and his fellow Kazakhs, or indeed the entire Kazakh people, are not the type to simply enjoy the conveniences others provide. They repay those who help them with their sincerity and actions.

They have always done this, as the proverb among their people says: "Half of the cattle, sheep and property belong to the guests who come from afar."

After Halim and the other herders packed up their belongings and drove their cattle and sheep away, Meng Hai and his team's road repair work in early spring came to an end.

The ground temperature has risen, and the farmland now needs to be leveled for sowing. As the saying goes, "The year's plan starts in spring," and farmers must return to their homes to do this most important part well.

Traces of herb gatherers had already appeared in the mountains and forests. When Li Long was traveling back and forth in the mountains, he also encountered Bolati and his group, and harvested the first batch of fritillaria that Bolati had confiscated.

Polati kept complaining after meeting Li Long:
“You haven’t been to our forestry team’s outpost for a long time. Our team leader said that the hides in the warehouse are so plentiful that they’ll get infested with insects if you don’t come soon. He doesn’t trust anyone else and doesn’t want to sell them to anyone else…”

After hearing what Polati said, Li Long felt a little ashamed.

In winter, we mainly focused on processing beef and mutton, and in the spring, we worked on road repairs, interspersed with the production of beef jerky. So we forgot about the forestry team's affairs.

He hurriedly said to Polati:
"Go back today and tell Captain Airi that I'll bring a truck to your forestry team tomorrow. I'll buy everything you collect. By the way, what do you need? I'll bring it over for you."

“We’re short on alcohol,” Pollati joked. “Bringing a few cases of alcohol is better than bringing money.”

"We can bring a little, but let's bring less." Li Long smiled. "I don't know if you have rice and flour, but bring some onions and yellow radishes. You should be able to use them when you cook."

Yellow carrots are actually the same as regular carrots, but in the Ma County area, most of them are yellow, and everyone is used to calling them that.

Polati thought it was a good idea, since yellow carrots were essential for making pilaf. Here, pilaf doesn't include raisins, just yellow carrot peel, sprouts, and meat. Plenty of oil is needed, so Li Long planned to bring extra oil with him.

Bora handed Li Long two large, half-full bags of fritillaria bulbs, which Li Long paid him eight yuan per kilogram, based on the current market price for fresh fritillaria bulbs. The fritillaria bulbs were somewhat dirty and needed to be washed again.

Li Long was surprised that so many fritillaria bulbs had already been dug up so early in the fritillaria season.

Polati was quite happy, as it was an unexpected bonus. He had been working with Li Long for a long time and knew about the price increase of fritillaria, so he had no objections.

Mingming and Haohao stayed in the courtyard and got quite tanned from being in the mountains. After the jerky was finished, Li Long stopped taking them out. Fortunately, the wild boars were still being raised in the greenhouse, so Mingming and Haohao had something to play with and didn't complain.

Li Long drove his jeep back to the purchasing station with the fritillaria bulbs, only to find that some people there had already started selling fritillaria bulbs.

He thought about it carefully and realized that the fritillaria sales started almost a week earlier this year than last year.

It seems the weather this year didn't get hot earlier than last year. Is it because people going into the mountains are too eager to make money?

It wasn't just him; the same thing happened at Chen Hongjun's purchasing station. Chen Hongjun was a little surprised when people came to sell fritillaria bulbs.

The reputation of the Red Army purchasing station gradually grew in a small area, and more and more people came to sell their goods there. Although the daily turnover was still less than one-fifth of that of Li Long's purchasing station, Chen Hongjun was already very satisfied.

His funds are now gradually becoming more readily available, mainly because Zhao Hui came to collect leather twice in the past month or two, and his working capital has basically returned to normal.

But now that he's collecting fewer hides and more medicinal herbs each day, he's starting to worry again.

After all, it was Jia Tianlong who was collecting the medicinal herbs, and Chen Hongjun already knew that Jia Tianlong's wife was pregnant again. This guy was eager to have a son, and it was unknown whether he would come at the normal time.

In fact, Li Long had already told him to contact him if he needed more working capital.

But Chen Hongjun was a little embarrassed, after all, he had already made a bold promise, and he was always wondering if he could pull through.

Li Long took some time to go back to the fourth team, but didn't see his older brother when he got home.

To be honest, the busiest person in the fourth team right now is Li Jianguo. Although he's not working day and night, people come to his house as soon as it gets light. This is because Li Jianguo's tractor driving skills are getting better and better. Except for repairing the tractor, which is still a bit lacking and not as good as Wang Caimi, Wang Caimi can't catch up with him in the rest.

Therefore, most of the team hoped that Li Jianguo could drive the machine to plow and sow the land for them. After all, a new machine wouldn't break down and would plow smoothly, which would bring good fortune for the year.

Everyone tends to believe in such things rather than not, so despite Wang Caimi's reluctance, he sadly discovered that since the beginning of spring, Li Jianguo had basically earned all the mechanized farming fees for the fourth team, leaving him to follow behind and do things that Li Jianguo couldn't take care of.

If only I had known, I would have gritted my teeth and bought a new machine. But who can predict the future?

(End of this chapter)