Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1083 The World is a Huge Makeshift Team

The tractor dragged the jade to the riverbank and then stopped. The main reason was that the tractor had already reached the road, and further on was a hillside, which it couldn't climb.

Meng Hai instructed everyone to untie the steel cable, and the rest was just a matter of pushing it onto the small four-wheeled vehicle by hand.

Li Long and Meng Hai had already discussed this. The bulldozer created a gentle slope on the riverbank, and the trailer of the small four-wheeled tractor rested against the top of the slope.

The villagers rolled (pry) the jade stones onto a gentle slope, then rolled them to the same level as the cart bed, and then pushed them uphill.

Actually, it would be easy to remove the pins from the tractor's cargo bed and flip the bed down, but the jade is so heavy that it's not easy to push the bed up after it's been pushed in. Without a hydraulic system, the weight of the jade could damage the cargo bed when it's pushed up, which would be a problem.

It might be more troublesome and require more manpower, but it would be more reliable that way.

Moreover, it doesn't require much manpower. After the bulldozer pushed the gentle slope out and the small four-wheeled vehicle was in position, Li Long asked everyone to tie the steel cable to the jade again and pull it forward at an angle.

This way, we can save a lot of manpower.

"The steel wire has worn marks on this jade," Meng Hai said with some regret while tying the steel wire.

"It's alright," Li Long smiled. "Such a large piece of jade, a little damage is nothing."

Actually, he and Meng Hai were both considered underweight. After the steel cable was tied up, the tractor started moving, and the workers on the side slowly adjusted the direction to ensure that the jade could go up the gentle slope, Li Long personally felt the weight of the jade. It must have weighed at least three tons!
That makes sense, considering the size of these jade stones, which are all roughly the same, right? The density of the jade must be at least five, six, or seven.
The tractor pulls the jade forward horizontally, pushing the gravel and sand on the gentle slope forward. To ensure the jade can get up the slope, Li Long and the villagers have to use crowbars to pry the jade and roll it forward.

The tractor couldn't go too fast, otherwise the manual labor wouldn't be able to keep up. Fortunately, Li Long was strong and Meng Hai was experienced, so they were good at directing. Soon, after pushing the sand and gravel at the bottom of the gentle slope forward a little, Yu Shi was pried up by everyone and then climbed up the slope.

Some of the sand pushed forward went into the bed of the small four-wheeled tractor, but it didn't cause much of a problem. Seeing that hope was within reach, Li Long and his team persevered and continued prying.

They were all experienced; they knew they couldn't pry it off directly from the gravel. Some people even placed soccer ball-sized stones under the jade to make it easier to apply force with the crowbar. With each pry and roll, and with the tractor pulling to prevent the jade from falling, they slowly managed to pry the jade onto the small four-wheeled tractor.

As soon as the jade touched the truck bed, the connection between the small four-wheeled vehicle and the truck bed immediately lifted up. Li Long hurriedly shouted:
"In the past, there were two people, and they were kept under control by the pincers!"

Those who were watching and ready to help immediately jumped around and onto the bridge of the truck bed. With two people pressing down, the truck bed slowed down. Li Long and his men took the opportunity to exert force again, pressing down with several crowbars to push the jade into the truck bed.

Meng Hai had already shouted for the tractor to stop. The steel cable had become an obstacle. Li Long and the others switched hands, and someone immediately got on the truck to untie the steel cable, but they could only put it in the truck bed because the jade was pressing down on it and they couldn't pull it off.

Li Long walked down the gentle slope into the cart bed and carefully examined the jade and the cart bed.

A corner of the jade scraped against the right side wall of the truck bed, causing a bulge in the sheet metal. Fortunately, it didn't break open.

The two layers of wood beneath the cart also played a role; the top layer of wood was crushed and broken, while the bottom layer remained intact. Wood provides better cushioning than iron plates; although the jade was heavy, the two layers of wood were enough to absorb the enormous force.

"Alright, alright, it's finally installed." Li Long breathed a sigh of relief, and everyone else laughed.

"Come on, come on, take the money first." Li Long immediately went to the car and took the money out. "This year's new banknotes, one hundred yuan a note, come on, one note for each person!"

The hundred-yuan bills weren't red yet; they felt very heavy. Some people took them directly, while others quickly wiped their muddy hands on their clothes before carefully taking the money and examining it closely.

Although the hundred-yuan bill has been found for some time, almost no one in the village has ever seen or used it.

Very novel.

Some even brought the new bills close to their noses to take a good sniff.

"Mr. Li, you can hold onto this for me. We'll collect the money after we finish the work." A villager handed the money back to Li Long, saying, "It won't look good if it's folded."

“Yes, yes, yes,” another villager immediately echoed, “It won’t look good if it’s broken.”

Two villagers had already folded the money and put it in their pockets, but when they heard what the others were saying, they immediately regretted it.

"Alright, if you want new ones, give them to me. It's okay if they're broken, I'll get you new ones when we get back." Li Long smiled; he understood the sentiment.

When giving children New Year's money, it's customary to exchange it for new bills. It's the first time they've received new money, so they want new bills. I understand.

The tractor got stuck while driving onto the roadbed, but luckily there was a tracked tractor. Everyone pushed from behind while the tracked tractor pulled from the front, managing to get the small four-wheeled vehicle onto the road.

There was some damage on the side of the roadbed, so Meng Hai had a few people use shovels to repair the gap before driving the tractor back.

He handed the tracked tractor to a villager to drive back to the village, while the small four-wheeled vehicle followed Li Long's jeep to the county.

Meng Hai thought it through and covered the jade with a tattered sheet. Although it was a bit of a cover-up, at least at first glance, you couldn't tell what was underneath.

The tractor drove back slowly, at about 20 kilometers per hour, and by the time it reached the county, it was already midday.

Meng Hai and the others wanted to remove the jade before eating, but Li Long laughed and said, "Even the King of Hell doesn't starve. We don't do that. Come on, let's eat first. After we finish eating, let's rest at my house for a while before we get back to work."

In the cafeteria, each person had a bowl of noodles. Li Long had asked everyone to have an extra bowl of noodles beforehand, and everyone was hungry, so all they could hear was the sound of slurping noodles.

A meal can be finished in less than twenty minutes, which is quite fast, even by military standards.

Li Long had already asked the waiter to bring out the soup. He poured half a bowl for each person and they slowly drank the soup to aid digestion.

By the time we arrived at Li Long's courtyard, it was almost four o'clock in the afternoon.

“Take this big rock to the backyard and unload it, then the rest is my job,” Li Long said. “We just need to unload it, and then everything will be fine.”

Meng Hai smiled but didn't say anything.

Unloading was much easier, as Li Long had already placed several old car tires behind the truck bed. While loading, he was worried the immense inertia would crush the truck bed, preventing it from tipping over, but this wasn't a concern when unloading.

They simply pulled off the pins on the truck bed, and several people together lifted the truck bed upwards, so that when the jade rolled down, it would hit the tires, dissipate the force, and then fall to the ground.

Although it smashed several bricks on the ground, the jade landed safely.

Li Long wanted Meng Hai and the others to go back, but Meng Hai smiled and said:

“We have to finish this job no matter what. We’d feel guilty if we earned a hundred yuan like this. Comrade Li Long, tell me, where do you plan to put this stone?”

Since everyone was so enthusiastic, Li Long didn't have much to say. He pointed to the wall and said, "Let's put it there."

The other villagers immediately got to work, quickly using crowbars and ropes to pry the jade stone to the wall, then standing it up, and using the bricks that Li Long had prepared to support it from underneath.

"Mr. Li, do you have any cement at home?" someone asked.

"There are some." Li Long's family has many houses, and some materials that they couldn't use were just left unused. He thought he still had a few bags of cement at home.

“Bring it here, we’ll mix some cement and sand,” the man said with a smile. “We’ll cover this stone base with it, then prop it up with something. Once the cement dries, we’ll remove the supporting wood and bricks, and this thing will stand up.”

Li Long hadn't expected to make it so formal. He thought he'd just leave it there like an ordinary stone, preferably without attracting anyone's attention. He planned to cover it with a plastic sheet or some straw and water it occasionally.

But since they were so kind, he didn't feel comfortable asking for anything in return, so he went and got a bag of cement. Later, when the glass house was converted into a greenhouse, the sand left in the corner came in handy, and someone even went to the yard to get water from the well. Everyone had their own tasks, and they worked together very well.

Li Long pulled Meng Hai aside and said, "Old Meng, did you see that? You guys are working together so well. Once you've repaired the bridge and gained experience, I'll see if you can find work repairing cement canals or rural roads. If you can, making money won't be a problem."

He was speaking from the heart, but Meng Hai recalled his own reflections and thoughts from the morning in the mountains. He wasn't worried at all that Li Long was just making empty promises. Based on his experience over the past few years, since Li Long had spoken, he would definitely put in the effort.

So, should I do it myself or not?

Having already gotten on the path to making money, Meng Hai was somewhat unwilling to go back to toiling in the fields like before.

The village has limited land and output. If one is limited to being a farmer, it will be quite difficult to become wealthy.

There's also something I'm reluctant to talk about: because he does all the work that Li Long assigns, his prestige within the team is probably even higher than that of the team leader, He Yuqing.

Some have even hinted that they'll elect him as team leader in the next election. After all, whoever can lead everyone to prosperity will be the one they support.

But Meng Hai didn't want to be the team leader. He went to see He Yuqing about it. He Yuqing knew what he was thinking, but the villagers' opinions were not something the two of them could completely control.

Therefore, bringing people along to work is actually a win-win situation.

After all, there's always something left to do when it comes to building roads in the mountains.

And after that?
It's definitely something we need to think about now.

Everyone worked quickly, and by a little after 5 p.m., the jade stone had been upright against the wall, not leaning against it, like a scenic view in the backyard.

"Remove two bricks under this jade stone and plant some climbing plants to block it," Meng Hai said with a smile. "Ideally, something easy to care for. Grapes are out of the question; they'd have to be buried in winter, and this is brick ground, so it wouldn't be easy. Morning glories or something similar would be best."

Li Long had thought of several ideas, but it was difficult to find seeds right now. The ideas were good, but there was no rush.

"Come on, come on, wash your hands," Li Long said with a smile. "Drink some water. This time it's really time to give out money."

The villagers, having finished their work, all smiled. The work had been done well; the host was happy, and so were they.

Although 100 yuan is a lot, I'm confident I can keep this a secret, and I did a good job today, so I have no conscience taking it.

After drinking the water and receiving their money, the tractor drove out of the yard and headed to the department store at Li Long's waving.

Having finally made the trip to the county town, naturally they wanted to buy some things to take back. Some people were reluctant to spend the hundred yuan, not wanting to break the bank, since they had brought their own money. Others didn't care much; while a hundred yuan was nice, it was even better to buy what they needed for their home.

On the way back, Meng Hai put on a stern face and said to everyone again, "Don't tell your families about what we did this time! If the news leaks out and I find out who leaked it, then you can forget about the road repair job and the broom job!"

As you all know, we've made a lot of money from road construction, and Comrade Li Long is thinking of introducing us to other jobs later. He's been kind to us, so we can't let him down.

You all earned that hundred yuan today quite easily, didn't you? Part of it was to keep it a secret! If anyone leaks this information later, they'll be throwing away everyone's money!

That's a pretty harsh statement, and nobody wants to be the one to say it—if this gets out, it'll be hard to stay in this village any longer.

So the villagers all promised not to tell anyone, and then they all gave the same story: they went to work for Li Long.

With the jade brought back, Li Long felt relieved. Now that no one was around, he examined the jade carefully.

The texture of this jade is similar to the chubby baby jade in the front yard. The parts without the outer layer are a beautiful, vibrant green. The outer layer is also bluish-green, forming irregular patterns.

As you can see, the entire piece of jade has almost no cracks. Although the steel wire rope has worn some marks, those "scars" will disappear with simple polishing.

Although it was placed against the wall and in an inconspicuous location, the jade was of such high quality that it would immediately catch the eye.

Li Long thought for a moment, then found a piece of plastic sheeting and covered the jade stone with it. Unless someone spends a lot of time in the yard, they wouldn't notice it covered up like that.

Outsiders generally don't come to the backyard. We'll wait a few days until we find good seeds, plant them, cover them up, and then cover them with other plants to make it even more secluded.

Li Long picked up Mingming and Haohao and brought them back. Gu Xiaoxia had also finished get off work. Li Long then took Gu Xiaoxia to the backyard and showed her the jade stone.

"Wow, it's huge!" Gu Xiaoxia looked at the enormous piece with a stunned expression. In Li Long's eyes, his wife rarely showed such an expression, and it was quite adorable.

Gu Xiaoxia is no longer the girl who knew nothing about anything except work. Her colleagues often discuss the news of the giant jade stone found by the retired people in Shicheng, and the jade bracelet she wears is frequently commented on by her colleagues, so she knows a little about these things.

With such high-quality jade and such a large size, its value must be enormous.

She stepped forward and touched the cool jade, saying with delight:
"You brought it back today? And you even made a base for it."

"Yeah, Lao Meng and his men did it." Li Long smiled. "I told them to keep it a secret. We're not selling this jade anyway, we can just look at it from time to time."

"So beautiful!" It was the longest time of day, and Gu Xiaoxia could tell that the jade was of really good quality. She exclaimed, "There are so many treasures in our Nanshan Mountains!"

“Yes, that’s true.” Li Long nodded, deeply agreeing. “Now is the perfect time. If we wait any longer, the government will stop the mining. Once the mountain is sealed off, even if we find jade like this, we won’t be able to extract it.”

This happened twenty or thirty years later. In those twenty or thirty years, huge jade stones like this were unearthed every year or two, and they would occasionally be broadcast on the news.

Li Long didn't actually need a lot. He knew that most of the jade in the mountains had flaws, and it was extremely rare for his family to have these two pieces of top-quality jade without flaws, so having these two pieces was enough.

Being too greedy will bring divine retribution.

After seeing the jade, the couple were in high spirits. After coaxing Mingming and Haohao to sleep, they took advantage of their mood and busied themselves in the bedroom.

Li Long grew stronger with each battle. Gu Xiaoxia was initially able to handle the situation calmly, but later she could only react passively, and eventually she could only beg for mercy in a low voice.

The couple was in a harmonious and happy mood. The next day, one went to work while the other took the child to school. Their division of labor was clear, and they cooperated well.

Gu Xiaoxia went to work. While organizing files before starting her shift, her colleagues jokingly remarked:

"Xiao Gu, you look so energetic today, what kind of face cream did you use?"

"That's right, that's right! Your skin is so fair and rosy, it's even better than a twenty-year-old girl's! Tell us how you take care of it!"

Women with children at this age are often exhausted, juggling work and childcare responsibilities. They don't have much time to put in the effort to take care of their children, let alone always go makeup-free.

"No way..." Gu Xiaoxia knew her own situation and blushed slightly as she said, "As long as you get some rest, you'll be fine. You all know that my husband has a lot of free time. He takes care of the child, so I don't need to do too much, which makes things easier for me."

These words drew many envious or even jealous glances.

Everyone knows about Gu Xiaoxia's family situation: she is wealthy, her husband is capable, she has two sons, and she doesn't have to take care of her parents-in-law.

Such heavenly family treatment!
“No, no.” A colleague shook his head. “I’ve never seen you this energetic before. What kind of magic potion did you take? Come on, tell me the truth!”

Those who are close to her are already tickling her.

Gu Xiaoxia's face flushed even more as she recalled her antics the previous night. Fortunately, Director Wang heard the commotion and came over to shout, thus rescuing her from the predicament.

Li Long had already arrived at the Fourth Squad. He was a little confused when he saw the telegram from his hometown handed to him by his eldest brother and the contents of the phone call from his second brother.

(End of this chapter)