Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1110 With nothing to do, I went hunting abroad.

On October 20th, it snowed in the mountains, and road construction in Menghai was halted.

The bridge is already usable. He came down the mountain specifically to tell Li Long that the total length of the road is about 42 or 43 kilometers, which means it's about halfway done.

The Dongfanghong 75 tractor has been driven back to the village; it has already been serviced.

It hasn't snowed in the county yet, but it's getting colder every day, and you can already wear a fleece under your coat.

Liu Shanmin finally received a call; his superior instructed him to continue searching for that type of part.

Some of the parts and materials sent back last time were sent to research institutes for reverse engineering, while the rest were sent directly to the factory and put to use immediately.

More is better!

It's likely that the higher-ups knew about the situation there. Originally, they were just casting a wide net to see if they could catch anything, but they didn't expect Liu Shanmin to actually get some, so naturally they wanted to get even more.

The higher authorities naturally gave their strong support to Liu Shanmin's idea of ​​starting a trading company.

Although material support is lacking, some authority can be granted, and procedures can be handled on a case-by-case basis.

Liu Shanmin had a better idea of ​​what was going on. It seemed that the higher-ups had also noticed the momentum on the other side and thought now was a good time to take advantage of the situation.

Liu Shanmin then came to find Li Long again.

“The formalities are all done, and you can come with us anytime,” Liu Shanmin said. “You can go now, or you can go when it’s less busy in winter. If you go hunting now, it’s still autumn there, and there are plenty of things on the grassland. In a little over a month, when it snows, you can also hunt, and the game will be easier to find.”

Of course, the most urgent task at hand is to get three more truckloads of white sugar.

Liu Shanmin took out six thousand US dollars and handed it to Li Long. Li Long was used to this kind of thing, so he didn't stand on ceremony and took it, saying:
What do I need to prepare if I want to go there?

"Just everyday clothes are fine, everything else is available over there. Once we get there, it's basically my territory, so honestly you can have whatever you want, you don't even need to bring anything."

Li Long thought it best to bring some US dollars. He figured he couldn't buy anything there with RMB, but he could manage with a small amount of dollars. Any more than that, and he'd have to go through a bank, which would make him more likely to be investigated.

He really intends to go there.

I've discussed it with Gu Boyuan, and we believe that safety can be guaranteed if we go there.

Through these few interactions with Liu Shanmin and Liu Gaolou, it became clear that the uncle and nephew were principled and quite trustworthy.

The cooperation between the two parties went smoothly, and overall, they can be trusted.

Gu Boyuan also felt that if the purchasing station only bought medicinal herbs, the resources in the mountains would eventually become increasingly scarce. If they could investigate the situation in Kazakhstan and expand the market there, the purchasing station would definitely be better off in the future.

Moreover, in the eyes of ordinary people, the Soviet Union, though rigid, is not chaotic.

After all, it's still the big brother country, so its basic systems can still be guaranteed.

So, in conclusion, just go.

So Li Long decided to go to Kazakhstan with Liu Shanmin and the others to experience the local customs and culture.

Before leaving, Li Long consulted with Liu Shanmin about which car would be better for him to drive.

"You'd better not drive any of them. When you come over, I'll get you a car with all the proper paperwork. There are plenty of cars in Almaty, but not many supplies."

"From now on, we'll bring over a well-equipped car, focusing on quality over quantity. With all the paperwork in place, it'll be convenient whether you give it away as a gift or sell it."

Li Long thought this was a good idea.

He is now very strong, can run fast and jump high, and his hearing and vision are much better than the average person, so he really doesn't have much to fear in terms of safety.

The farm work in Team Four is basically finished, and the winter wheat has been planted. This year, only one family in the team is growing rice. They are growing it for their own consumption, and Li Jianguo had already arranged to buy more than a ton of rice, which is more than half of their yield.

Li Jianguo was already quite popular in the team, and now with the new tractor and Li Long's influence, no one said anything about buying rice.

Anyway, even if others don't buy from this company, they can still buy new rice from the processing plant in the village.

Before Li Long left, Li Jianguo drove the No. 69 truck over with the new rice and flour, and chatted with Gu Boyuan at the purchasing station for a while.

It's fun to chat with old friends, tease each other, and reminisce about the past.

Li Long had already told his older brother that he was going to visit the neighboring Kazakhstan Soviet Socialist Republic. Li Jianguo didn't say much, only telling him to be careful.

Actually, Li Jianguo didn't really want him to go; he mainly hoped that he would be safe and sound.

But since my younger brother is resourceful and has his own ideas, I won't try to persuade him.

Li Long left on October 22nd. He and Liu Shanmin squeezed into the passenger seat of one truck, while Liu Gaolou sat in the passenger seat of another truck, leading the convoy at the front.

Starting from Ma County, heading west, passing through Shicheng, Wulanwusu, Shawan, Kuitun, and Wusu, it was evening when we arrived at Jinghe.

Not all of the roads were paved, so the journey wasn't very fast. They could have continued on to Wutai Mountain to rest, but Liu Shanmin didn't want to rush any further; he wanted to rest properly in the county.

Along the way, Liu Shanmin talked about his experiences in Kazakhstan, which Li Long listened to with great interest.

"I was worried about my safety when I first went there, so I found two Kazakhs at the border and asked them to come with me. They were supposed to be my companions and translators, but really they were there to protect me," Liu Shanmin said with a touch of self-deprecation.
"At that time, my will to survive was still quite strong. I didn't want to be in danger at all, but I had no choice but to go."

Then my two bodyguards had relatives there, and they got in touch. I didn't go to Almaty immediately; I went with those two men to their relatives' house first.

At the time, I still had some money. The supplies I brought over were my first pot of gold, and then I slowly started my business. Actually, the most important thing was that I had some influence. After figuring out what they needed there, I bought it from here, brought it over, and used these supplies to exchange for what I needed. At the same time, I also built up connections.

It sounds simple, but Li Long is also a businessman and knows that it is extremely difficult to create something from scratch, especially in cross-border trade, even with some privileges.

"Anyway, I've finally made it, and even got married over there," Liu Shanmin said with a smile, not wanting to mention the hardships of the past. "She graduated from a national university three years ago, and she's quite a bit younger than me. I guess I've hit the jackpot."

Liu Shanmin was in his thirties when he married a college graduate in her twenties, so he was definitely making a profit.

"But I've been telling her not to be like those other girls who eat like crazy as soon as they get married, or they'll get fat." Li Long was a little surprised that Liu Shanmin would care about this.

After settling in Jinghe, Li Long discovered that the county town was slightly smaller than Ma County. It hadn't developed yet, but large-scale cultivation of goji berries had already begun, and there were slogans about goji berries in many places throughout the county.

"The goji berries here are good. You can buy some to take back with you when you go back," Liu Shanmin said as they got off the bus. "It's a pity that not many people in Kazakhstan eat these, otherwise I would definitely buy some to take back with me."

Goji berries are a medicinal herb, and they're still relatively expensive, at least at this time of year. They're also grown in Ma County, but in smaller quantities.

The accommodation was a state-run guesthouse, which at that time was not much different from the office area, just like in Ma County.

The walls were painted white with lime, and green paint was applied from a height of over a meter downwards. The furniture was made of solid wood and yellow, and there was a steel-framed bed.

The temperature in Jinghe is slightly cooler than in Ma County. The guesthouse has already started using a boiler, so there is heating and the temperature is alright.

We had lunch in the Golden Triangle, near the Kuitun military post, where the private restaurants were starting to grow. Liu Shanmin treated us to dinner in JH County that evening.

The next day, after breakfast, the truck refueled and continued on its way, passing through Sitai and Wutai Mountains, until it reached Sayram Lake, and then crossed Guozigou in the afternoon.

The "Four Platforms" and "Five Platforms" actually refer to mountains. Sayram Lake is called "Three Platforms Lake" because it is located near the Three Platforms.

It should start from a certain landmark (Guozigou), with mountains resembling high platforms, from the first to the fifth platform.

However, the Urumqi-Yinchuan Highway passes through only the four, five, and three lakes.

Sayram Lake is relatively desolate at this time of year. Some parts of the lake have frozen over, and there are no swans stopping here. The scenery is far less beautiful.

“When we came in the summer, the lakeside was full of flowers, and the water was very blue and beautiful,” Liu Shanmin said. “Now it looks very ordinary. I’ve always wondered why there are no fish in such a big lake.”

"Will you be able to eat fish over there?" Li Long asked.

"We can eat, there's sea fish." Liu Shanmin was more careful at this point, because the road from Sayram Lake to Guozigou was very difficult.

The temperature had already dropped, and once we entered Guozigou, it dropped below zero and got really cold.

The journey was very bumpy, but fortunately the truck driver had made many trips and was experienced, so he knew where it was dangerous and to slow down, and where there might be falling rocks and to stop and check.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have entered the mountains in the afternoon. Generally, if the driver isn't confident, they'll wait until the next morning to cross with other vehicles. There was a period when vehicles weren't allowed to pass through at night.

In Guozigou, it had already snowed on the mountains, making it somewhat safer, at least there wouldn't be any mudslides. Along the way, there were cars coming from the same direction or the opposite direction, and Li Long even saw the wreckage of cars that had rolled down the hillside.

We made it out of Guozigou safely, but the sun had already set and it was getting dark.

"Horgos is just 60 kilometers ahead. We'll spend the night there." Once we crossed the Guozigou Valley, Liu Shanmin became much more cheerful. "The two Kazakhs I told you about are staying there. We'll stay there tonight."

Li Long thought to himself that this must be because they were going to his territory, where they would have more freedom, which was why they were thinking about being happy.

Khorgos is still a small village. Although the border crossing opened quite early, it has not actually prospered because of the border crossing.

It will take many more years.

Liu Shanmin's two bodyguards were named Bek and Murat. Bek is a common name among Kazakhs, so it's normal to have the same name.

Their lodgings weren't far from the national border, and the border defense company was nearby. Although it was dark, Li Long could still see the border gate. At that time, the border gates weren't built as grandly as they would be in later years; just having a building was enough.

The checkpoints are guarded by border guards, armed police officers, and customs officials.

The Khorgos River runs through the middle, marking the border between the two countries.

Buick and Murat looked at Li Long with great curiosity.

At this point, Li Long's height of nearly 1.9 meters was quite intimidating to the two Kazakh men, who were not short either.

To their surprise, Li Long understood some Kazakh and could exchange a few words with them, which delighted them.

Li Long mentioned that he had a group of Kazakh friends who often hunted together in the mountains, which made Bek and Murat quite envious.

For dinner, we had horse meat naren. There's a tradition of eating horse meat here. As Buick says, horse meat is hot, which is better to eat on a cold day.

Slice the horse meat and intestines. After the noodles are cooked, place the meat on top and set aside some chopped onions. The noodles are cooked in horse meat broth, which tastes great and is very comforting to eat.

Halim and his people mostly use mutton for their Naren, though they also use horse meat, but less often. Having tasted authentic horse meat Naren here, Li Long thought it tasted really good and decided to bring some horse meat and intestines back with him.

"Buy some cooked ones to take back, they taste better when cooked in a big pot!" Buick saw through Li Long's thoughts. "They sell them in Yining, but here, the place is too small, so few people buy them, and nobody sells them."

Now we eat homemade food. At this time of year, many Kazakh herders here slaughter a horse together as a family or in groups during the winter slaughter, making horse intestines and smoking horse meat, which they eat all winter.

It was indeed warm and cozy when I slept at night.

“This is the only time to eat it; it’s too hot to eat in the summer,” Liu Shanmin, who was more experienced, said the next morning when he and Li Long were using the toilet in the back. “Smell it; the urine smells like horse meat.”

Of course, you don't need to smell it specifically; the scent is already there.

"Are we going through customs today?" Li Long asked, not wanting to discuss the rather dirty topic.

"Okay, the formalities are all done for you. We'll go there at noon, with three truckloads of sugar. We'll arrive in Almaty today, and I'll take you to stay at my house! Let me tell you, I have a three-story house in Almaty, which is cheaper than in cities back home, and it'll be more convenient to live there."

Li Longxin knew about this. Thirty or forty years later, Almaty, as the largest city in Kazakhstan, would have expensive rents and high housing prices, but it wasn't actually in a particularly central location. One or two million RMB would be enough to buy a three-story detached house.

The housing prices in Urumqi are not as high as those in Koucheng. After all, Urumqi is an ordinary city for people from Koucheng, but it is actually the largest city in Central Asia.

People from the five Central Asian countries (later several more were added) came to Urumqi and were all shocked. Many of them immediately became China enthusiasts.

Sure enough, when Liu Shanmin went through customs after breakfast, he had his documents and paperwork and passed through smoothly.

This time, Buick and Murati were added to the fleet. Besides bags of white sugar, they were also carrying things like ghee and butter.

When buying these things, Liu Shanmin told Li Long, "There is a shortage of not only food, but also condiments such as sugar and butter. They are all in high demand."

Things used to be scarce here, but in the last two years, supplies have become more abundant, so not only are they not scarce, but they are also easier to buy.

After passing through customs, Li Long became very curious, looking around curiously.

In later generations, large areas of the Gobi Desert in our country were planted with trees, while in their area, places far from the river, nothing grew.

The two sides are clearly distinct.

Both sides are now similar, lacking vegetation, and with the early winter weather, they feel somewhat desolate.

There are just fewer people from the Kazakh side.

As for the inspection, I don't know what methods Liu Shanmin used, but the inspection by the Kazakh customs went very smoothly.

The three trucks headed west and soon arrived at Panfilov, which later became known as Yalkent.

Here, Li Long also saw three military vehicles that were clearly from our country.

He stared at it curiously, and Liu Shanmin explained to him:

"The meeting between the military region and their side is taking place here."

"A meeting?" Li Long asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Yes, the two sides meet when they discuss military and civilian affairs. For example, the diversion of water in the Khorgos River in the summer, the handling of border residents who have crossed the border, and joint exercises."

At this point, the tension between the two sides had eased. Although there were occasional skirmishes between border guards and civilians, these mostly occurred before the 1980s, and there were no such incidents afterward.

"What language is spoken here?" Li Long suddenly asked.

He actually knew, but there were some things he had to ask.

“They mainly speak Russian, and can speak Kazakh privately, but forget about English, and Chinese is out of the question,” Liu Shanmin said. Then he suddenly remembered something, “No, wait, there are some people who came from our area who do speak Chinese, like the Dungans?”

Li Long smiled but didn't say anything.

Many people have come from our country; one was over a hundred years ago, and another was during the Italian Incident.

Later, after Kazakhstan left the Union, it strongly encouraged Kazakhs from all over the world to go there, so many people immigrated there.

The road conditions were much worse than in China, and the ride was quite bumpy, so you couldn't go fast even if you wanted to.

We had a simple lunch in an unnamed roadside town: big loaves of bread, slices of cured fatty pork, and stir-fried potatoes!

With nothing else to eat, Li Long forced himself to eat two slices of the hard, large loaf of bread.

"Just bear with it, things will get better once we get to Almaty," Liu Shanmin comforted him. "Now you know what kind of life I'm living here."

Li Long felt that he really deserved sympathy.

However, it's unlikely that people would eat like this every day. Even ordinary Kazakh families probably don't eat like this.

By the time they arrived in Almaty, it was already dark.

The city has lights, but not many.

Actually, Li Long had high expectations for this place, but after arriving, he found that it wasn't that great.

It's supposed to be the capital of a country, but it doesn't really look particularly prosperous.

There are a lot of cars and buildings, and they are built relatively spaciously, not too crowded, since the area is large.

There were streetlights at night, and not many people were around; people wrapped in fur coats hurried by.

There were many cars parked on the roadside, some covered in dust, indicating they hadn't been driven for a long time.

Many of the streetlights were not working, and there were uneven sections on the road.

My first impression was neither good nor bad.

(End of this chapter)