Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1089 The farmhand performed quite well: It was a bit of an accident.

On the table were large platters of stir-fried chicken, large platters of mutton, and mutton offal. Wang Mingjun and his family mostly used well water for irrigation, so there wasn't much fish. Otherwise, Old Chen would have at least served a plate of fish to liven things up.

The staple food is hand-pulled noodles—for most people, with such a sumptuous meal, rice would be the staple food. But in Ma County, northern Xinjiang, to eat your fill and feel truly satisfied, you have to rely on noodles.

Most people would be too full to eat noodles after such a lavish meal, but that's not an issue for the several portly men at the table.

While mixing the mutton offal and chicken broth into his noodles, Wang Mingjun said to Li Long:

"Our company has 37 households that are planting cotton this year, covering a total of about 700 mu. Our entire regiment has about 5,000 mu of cotton fields."

According to current data, there are more in Bima County, but the total number is not large.

The fact that it doesn't need much indicates its huge potential.

"However, the group held a meeting and said that the cotton planting area may need to be expanded by one-third next year," Zheng Xiangyang added. "Our Shicheng Cotton Textile Factory has been expanding its production capacity, saying that the current products are in short supply, so they require the cotton planting area to be expanded in order to ensure output."

Li Long certainly knew this was the general trend.

"What's the price of cotton like now?" Li Long asked.

"It depends on the quality, it ranges from one and a half to two yuan," Wang Mingjun said after finishing his noodles. "They collect them from above, so the price is roughly in this range."

Then Li Long asked about the current procedures for planting cotton and the aspects that need attention.

He actually knew most of it, but he had to go through it once. He needed to tell his older brother about it when he got back, and his brother would ask him where he learned it from. He needed to be able to tell him that he learned it from this place.

"What? You're planning to go back and have Brother Li grow cotton?" Wang Mingjun heard Li Long's thoughts and said with a smile.

"Yes. We mostly grow grains there, and the cash crops are sunflowers, flowering sunflowers, and watermelon seeds. Watermelon seeds are heavily influenced by the market and have high land requirements."

I think this cotton can be grown in saline-alkali soil; it's not picky about the land. There are a lot of alkaline flats where we live, so clearing some land to grow cotton shouldn't be a problem.

“No problem, but growing cotton is tiring. Why don’t we grow more?” Wang Mingjun said, “It’s because cotton is too labor-intensive. Seeding is okay, there are seeders, but you have to be careful when laying the plastic film.”

In northern Xinjiang, strong winds are common in the spring. If the plastic film isn't properly pressed down, a single windstorm can blow it all away, rendering the planting useless and requiring a complete overhaul. Even worse, when thinning the seedlings, you have to lie on the ground and move them forward little by little.

Cotton plants have deep roots, so if you're not careful when thinning them out and accidentally break a seedling, it can be troublesome because even a broken seedling can grow back.

After thinning the seedlings, weeding behind the plastic film is simple, and it's even better if you have a cultivator. The main problem is pulling up weeds like the seedlings, which can only be removed manually. Another task is topping in June and July, which is more troublesome. It has to be done entirely by hand and requires careful attention, making sure to top every single cotton plant.

All that's left is picking cotton, your older brother knows that's the hardest part... Of course, there's also spraying pesticides, but having your spraying machine is really helpful. Xiaolong, do you think we could keep this machine here?

Wang Mingjun revealed his true purpose. Li Long smiled, but didn't answer immediately. He quickly finished the noodles on his plate, then picked up a lamb rib and, while gnawing on it, asked:
"Company Commander, do you think there's anything wrong with this machine right now?"

"What problems could there be? No, definitely no problems." Wang Mingjun was extremely satisfied with the machine.

Think about it, a person can carry a sprayer for half a day, and the machine can do it in less than an hour by running it twice. It doesn't use much oil, and it's so convenient.

"Then how much should I sell it for?" Li Long asked again.

"That can vary greatly. If you make a lot of money, I think someone would definitely want it if you sold it for five hundred yuan. If you make a little less, you could sell it for three hundred yuan... at cost price?" Wang Mingjun asked, half answering and half asking.

The cost is really not high because it doesn't involve the complex processes of a harvester. The main costs, apart from the air pump, are the frame, hoses, and tank, which are not worth much.

Even if it's worthless, such a large size would still cost close to three hundred yuan. Of course, this is just Li Long's guess. If it were mass-produced, the cost could definitely be reduced.

If someone wants it for 500 yuan, then Li Long thinks that's fine.

Of course, pricing is the agricultural machinery manufacturer's business; he's only responsible for testing the data. Currently, users are quite satisfied, but he can't yet determine other aspects.

"It's not impossible for me to leave it here, but if you're going to apply the pesticides these next few days, please give me a detailed explanation. Also, I can't give it to you for free; I'll have to give you the cost price."

"Okay, okay, okay." Wang Mingjun was overjoyed to hear that Li Long was willing to leave the sprayer behind. He immediately pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket, counted it, and found he had over a hundred yuan. He held out his hand to Old Chen.
"Quartermaster, give me four hundred dollars! Consider it a loan!"

Old Chen was a little confused, but he didn't hesitate. He stood up, went to the quartermaster's office, got the money, and handed it to Wang Mingjun.

After Wang Mingjun finished counting, he slapped the five hundred yuan into Li Long's hand:
"Here's the money. Alright, this sprayer is mine now! Hahahaha, let's be clear, everyone here is a witness, this sprayer is mine! Hahahaha!"

His laugh stunned Li Long. Zheng Xiangyang, realizing what was happening, said quite seriously:

"Old Wang, you can't do this. Our company... this should be considered part of the company, right?"

"No way. I'm moving out of the company headquarters this year. My family also grows cotton, and the sprayer is my own. Of course, I'll prioritize myself first, hahaha."

Li Long realized what was happening. The Production and Construction Corps was slowly undergoing restructuring and was no longer the same as the regular army. Company commanders and political instructors had settled down in their companies, had their own land, and farmed regularly. They weren't full-time employees; they were gradually becoming like production team leaders and directors.

Therefore, Wang Mingjun immediately registered the spraying machine under his own name, so that the situation would be different if he used it later or lent it to someone else.

Li Long didn't care about that. He took the money and said, "Company Commander, this is a bit too much..."

"Not many, not many." Wang Mingjun laughed heartily. "The first one! When will there be more? We'll wait for the later ones! Cotton is in a critical period right now. If the pest infestation spreads, we can spray the pesticide as soon as possible to suppress the pests, and then the peaches will be able to set!"
The cotton yield depends entirely on the bolls, so this sprayer arrived just in time! Xiaolong, I really have to thank you!

"Thanks are appreciated," a sudden voice came from outside, "but Lao Wang, what you're doing is a bit unfair. I heard this machine was brought here for testing, and now it's yours? What about us who want to test it out?"

Li Long turned his head, paused for a moment, and then laughed.

Zhao Zongming, the company commander of the 13th Company, was also an old acquaintance.

“Old Zhao, what are you saying?” Wang Mingjun said without a hint of shame, “It’s all about first come, first served. It’s normal for Comrade Li Long to come here. Brother Li came from here, so this place is practically Comrade Li Long’s home!”

As for me, well, as the company commander, I naturally have to lead by example and test it out on my own land first. Hahahaha!

Wang Mingjun's words were somewhat shameless, yet he seemed quite pleased with himself. Zhao Zongming, somewhat helpless, said:

"Anyway, how about we bring this over there and try it out? Our cotton fields are also plagued by large spider mite infestations. Our workers have been spraying pesticides for two days, but it doesn't seem to be controlling the problem! In this sweltering heat, I don't dare let them spray continuously; without wind, they're more likely to get poisoned..."

“Okay.” Wang Mingjun didn’t hesitate at all. “But let’s keep things separate. How about 50 cents per acre?”

To be honest, 50 cents is quite cheap. If you don't believe me, just tell the workers in Zhao Zongming's production team that he pays 50 cents per mu (unit of land area) for spraying pesticides, and they'll definitely be willing to pay. After carrying the sprayer for two days, my shoulders were chafed raw, and the pesticide stung and itched terribly!
"We're from the same company, can you give us a discount?" When Zhao Zongming heard Wang Mingjun say that the spraying machine was his, he knew that he couldn't get away with not paying, so he had no choice but to bargain. "Right now, none of the employees have much money at home."

"Okay, a friendly price for the first time, three cents per acre, is that alright?" Wang Mingjun generously lowered the price.

Zhao Zongming didn't say anything more, and nodded, saying, "Okay, we'll go after we eat?"

"Okay." Wang Mingjun thought that since the most dangerous plots in his company had already been cleared, he had some free time in the afternoon and would see how things went tomorrow.

Only then did Zhao Zongming shake hands with Li Long:

"Comrade Li Long, it seems our relationship isn't strong enough. The spraying machine has arrived, but it hasn't reached our area..." "Haha, I'm too busy to be in two places at once." Li Long couldn't really say that, as Wang Mingjun said, their relationship wasn't strong enough, so he gave a vague explanation.

"But when they produce them again, you have to save one for us! Five hundred yuan... I think that's a good price!"

It's just the output of a few acres of land. This medicine pot looks to be made of good materials, so it's definitely not easy to break. The cost will be recovered in a year, and everything after that will be profit!
Zhao Zongming was preoccupied with his company's cotton fields, so he didn't stay long before rushing back. After Wang Mingjun and the others finished their meal, they wanted Li Long to stay and rest, but Li Long didn't wait and drove the tractor back.

Zheng Xiangyang wanted to argue with Wang Mingjun some more about whether the sprayer belonged to the company or to an individual. Wang Mingjun went home to drive his tractor and brought back the four hundred yuan to return to Old Chen. That settled the matter.

Having no other choice, Zheng Xiangyang made an agreement with Wang Mingjun regarding the order of pesticide application. Zheng Xiangyang had brought his wife from their hometown; he also owned land here, so the cotton plants needed to be sprayed with pesticides as well.

Li Long drove the tractor back to the county, put it down, and then drove the jeep to the fourth team.

Li Long and Du Chunfang chatted, and Li Long quickly learned about the situation. It was his mother who was at home.

Liang Yuemei took Dong Xiaojuan to the shaded area in front. According to Liang Yuemei, Dong Xiaojuan didn't actually need to go, but she said that she was still a few months away from giving birth and it wouldn't matter, and she couldn't just eat for free.

"She's alright. Although she works slowly, she does a decent job." This is how Du Chunfang described Dong Xiaojuan. "She's not spoiled."

Li Junfeng, Li Junxian, and Chen Qianjin went to work in the fields. Their main tasks were weeding and spreading fertilizer. The sunflowers needed fertilizer; they were just beginning to flower and required it.

Li Long drove his jeep to the field to take a look. When he arrived, he saw Li Junfeng carrying fertilizer bags off the tractor, opening the bags and pouring the fertilizer into a basin, before carrying them to the field to apply the fertilizer.

Seeing Li Long get out of the car, Li Junfeng greeted him with a smile.

"How are you? Are you hot?"

“It’s fine, better than the fields back home,” Li Junfeng said with a smile. “Spreading fertilizer is easy, just sprinkle handfuls on the sunflower roots. The uncle said he’ll water it the day after tomorrow, I’ll watch and learn. Farming here is different from back home, I have to learn.”

After saying that, he picked up the fertilizer basin and went into the sunflower field.

A moment later, Li Jianguo and his father, Li Qingxia, came out carrying a basin and were somewhat surprised to see Li Long.

"How is it?" Li Long asked.

“Okay,” Li Jianguo understood what his brother meant, “You’re really reliable, you can do it.”

If it seems to work on the first day, it at least shows that the attitude is acceptable, but we still need to continue to observe it for a period of time.

Li Long then recounted his experience visiting Wang Mingjun.

"Can it really be grown in saline-alkali land?" Li Qingxia had been listening for a long time and knew what it meant if cotton could grow in saline-alkali land.

"Yes. I checked the cotton fields of six households a while ago, but it wasn't very clear over there. Today I saw the cotton fields of the Production and Construction Corps. Some of them are in saline-alkali land, with alkaline soil around the cotton fields, but the cotton is growing quite well. Even if it's not 100 kilograms per mu, 70 or 80 kilograms is still better than growing wheat."

"The key is that it's not picky about the land," Li Jianguo smiled. "Now that we have people, we can clear the land in the fall, water it, and plant crops next year."

“We can buy seeders in Shicheng. We can use the cotton stalks to feed the sheep. I also have a pesticide sprayer, and we have the manpower. This can be done!” Li Long was very confident.

Growing watermelons relies too heavily on the local market, and Li Long knows it's risky and involves too much gambling. If Bai Xiuming and his group don't come to buy the watermelon seeds this year, those who grow them will be left without a market.

Farmers, at least for now, cannot rely too much on the market unless they sign an agreement when planting.

That's settled then, and the three members of the Li family—father, son, and brothers—are all quite confident.

Li Long wanted to join in spreading fertilizer, but Li Jianguo stopped him, saying that with so many people, they could finish spreading it in no time.

"Hey, manual labor is so fast!" he said with a smile. "Normally, it would take your sister-in-law and me at least half a day to finish this 15-acre plot, but now we've done it in less than half a day."

Li Longxin thought that it would be easier once the planting technology was improved, but he still had to wait for now.

Having explained everything, Li Long returned directly to the county. While Han Fang was still playing with Mingming and Haohao, Li Long went into the bedroom, sat down at his desk, took out some paper from the drawer, and began writing a report on the data from the pesticide sprayer.

The information is all in his mind; the process now is to organize it. Li Long didn't intend to write a long essay; just a sentence or paragraph that can be clearly explained would suffice.

It's not like I'm writing literature or a novel. I don't need any rhetoric or descriptions. Just plain language, the simpler the better.

He wrote half a page, thought it was almost done, then checked the time and realized it was already time to leave work. A little disappointed, he decided to call Director Du again the next morning and ask for another sprayer.

This sprayer works quite well, and it's just sitting there anyway. But he felt a little uneasy without something in his hands.

Driven by a small-farmer mentality, they want to keep any good things to themselves, hoarding them regardless of whether they'll actually sell them, but at least they have to have them.

Li Long knew this was the case, but he wouldn't reflect on it. He just considered it preparation, since no one could guarantee that it wouldn't be needed later.
During dinner, I told Gu Boyuan and Gu Xiaoxia what I had said to my older brother. Gu Xiaoxia was just curious about what cotton looked like. Even though we lived in the same county, she had never actually seen a cotton plant.

“To be honest, growing cotton is definitely the right thing to do. With grain and cotton, the market will always be there.” Gu Boyuan habitually considers things from a long-term perspective. “Strategic materials are not like snacks such as sunflower seeds.”

As he spoke, he sighed again:

"More than 80% of the wasteland in Team Four is saline-alkali land. If cotton could be grown there, how much could be cultivated? Xiaolong, how much land does Team Four have now?"

"Less than three thousand acres, right?"

“At that time, it’s possible to develop 10,000 mu,” Gu Boyuan said.

“It all depends on who starts first,” Li Long laughed. “No matter what others say, our family will definitely start by opening up several hundred acres.”

"Several hundred acres? How could anyone possibly cultivate all of that?" Gu Xiaoxia, who had experience farming, immediately said it was impossible upon hearing the number.

“Take it slow, it’s not like it’s a year,” Li Long explained. “For plowing and sowing, we have our own tractor and seeder, and now we have other people to help us. When it’s time to clear the land, all we need to do is dig a ditch to the edge of the field. The rest is easy.”

Gu Xiaoxia was a little bewildered. When did farming become so easy?

“Listen to him, it’s not that easy.” Gu Boyuan waved his hand. “It’s complicated. He’s just saying what’s easy to say.”

From beginning to end, Sister Yang simply listened. Her current focus, besides the three meals a day here, was mainly on the processing of the dried meat at the workshop. As instructed by Li Long, she no longer needed to do the work herself; the prepared seasonings were handed over to the part-time workers, and her main responsibility was to supervise the quality.

Now, Sister Yang is starting to act like a boss in the workshop, but she's still pretty much the same in the courtyard.

The next day, after having breakfast and settling in at home, Li Long called Director Du to explain the situation with the spraying machine.

"You sold that machine?" Factory Director Du said with a smile. "Five hundred yuan, that's quite a high price. Actually, the cost isn't that high, and our original plan wasn't to price it that high."

After all, it's directly supplied to farmers; they can't afford anything too expensive... As long as there aren't any major problems, it'll be fine. I'll arrange for one shift to start production. Output definitely won't be high at first, since the market isn't that big yet. Next, I'll wait and see how accurate your prediction is!

Li Long thought to himself, "It's definitely accurate!"
(End of this chapter)