Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1125 I was just saying, but you're serious!
When the van returned to the Li family home, Liang Yuemei and Gu Xiaoxia looked at the adults and children covered in mud and looked helpless.

The women were responsible for washing the clothes, while the men were responsible for handling the fish.

"Even in the dead of winter, you can get covered in mud!" Liang Yuemei complained as she put clothes into the washing machine. "A bunch of adults couldn't keep an eye on the child, and they got themselves all so dirty... But those fish are really beautiful!"

"Sister-in-law, it's only because you prepared clothes for Mingming and Haohao that I really don't know what to do." Gu Xiaoxia said sincerely, "You're so busy every day, yet you still have time to make clothes for them. You've really gone to a lot of trouble."

"What's the big deal?" Liang Yuemei said with a smile. "It's just what I should do. Besides, it's just making a little outfit. The buttons aren't even sewn on yet. I was thinking of letting Mingming and Haohao try it on after I finish sewing it. The outfit is based on the one Qiangqiang wore when he was little, so I think it should fit."

"They look perfect together, and look how much the two kids love them!"

After the fish were brought back, everyone except Mingming and Haohao had a change of clothes. Gu Xiaoxia was in a dilemma, thinking that Mingming and Haohao should stay in the house without their coats, and wait for their clothes to be washed and dried on the heated wall before wearing them.

Unexpectedly, Liang Yuemei had already made cotton coats for Mingming and Haohao beforehand, but she hadn't had time to sew on the buttons yet.

That's already great. Mingming Haohao was wearing new clothes and helping to prepare the fish in the kitchen, looking very happy.

"Don't get yourselves dirty again!" Liang Yuemei shouted, "If you get dirty, you won't have any clothes to wear!"

"Okay!" Li Juan and Qiangqiang responded from the kitchen, and Mingming and Haohao echoed, "Okay."

Most of these fish are covered in ice and mud, so they need to be rinsed clean in a large basin before they can be skinned.

This term, "opening and peeling," is a local custom that refers to the process of scraping off scales, removing gills, gutting, and removing internal organs all at once.

Normally, for fish this small, the swim bladder is discarded; only the dried swim bladder is needed.

"This fish is quite plump," Li Long said to his father and older brother as he peeled the fish. "It looks like it's got a good amount of fat inside."

"Yes, we'll stew it in a bit. The fish will definitely be fresh, but the water is stagnant, so the fishy smell might be a bit strong," Li Jianguo said with experience.

"Use more ginger to press it down," Li Qingxia also advised.

Some of the fish had already been allocated to Li Junfeng, who, along with his wife, was cleaning and preparing them in the front yard. They were cooking separately now, and he was already very happy to have managed to get ten or twenty kilograms of large crucian carp with Li Long.

"You wouldn't believe it, once the ice was lifted, hey, seeing all those fish on that layer, I jumped in without a second thought and just went to pick them up!" Li Junfeng, who had also practiced his skills, was very fast at peeling fish. He said with a smile as he worked, "A canal is dozens of meters long, and there are fish everywhere under the ice!"

"This fish looks quite big," the woman said, sitting on a stool watching her husband busy himself. She wanted to help, but Li Junfeng wouldn't let her move, saying it would cause trouble if he gave birth at this time.

"Hmm, it's still plump. After you give birth, this fish can be frozen and used to make soup to help with milk production."

"What a coincidence," the woman exclaimed. "They caught us just like that."

“That’s because Uncle Xiaolong is familiar with the situation in this team.” Li Junfeng now truly admires Li Long. “I feel that as long as he wants it, he can get anything he wants in this team.”

I'd heard before that he used to set traps to catch rabbits, making dozens a day! I went with him once, and wow, those rabbits were really easy to catch! He's busy making money in the county; otherwise, staying in the production team would be so great! He could eat whatever he wanted!

"This team is really good. There are fewer people, more stuff, and it's easier to catch them. Unlike back home, where if there's anything, as soon as one person knows, everyone else knows too, and they all rush in, and you don't get anything..."

“Don’t you think it would be great if we stayed here?” Li Junfeng stopped what he was doing. “If we could register our household here and get ten or so acres of land, we could grow whatever we wanted and have enough to eat. If we put in some hard work, we could earn more money. It would be much better than staying in our hometown.”

"That's right, no wonder Third Grandfather wanted to move the whole family here. Look at how well they live here, that's what I call a good life!"

The couple chatted on and on, and by the time they finished preparing the fish, it was past noon.

Although Li Long and his group had a lot of fish, they also had a lot of people and were quick. Liang Yuemei and Gu Xiaoxia cooking didn't delay Li Long and his group from cleaning the fish. By the time the food was ready, the fish were almost done.

"We should give the kids a good compliment today!" Li Long said with a smile at the dinner table. "They all helped out, scaling and gutting the fish. They'll be experts at preparing fish in the future."

He didn't know if Minghao Hao could do it, but Li Qiang definitely could. This kid had been catching fish by himself since he was little, and now he knew exactly where the fish were in the team. He was no worse than him.

“Hey, of course he’ll help out at home. What kid his age doesn’t help out?” Li Jianguo said with a smile. “Clearly Hao Hao has never done this before, but he’s very eager to help. He deserves praise.”

Rice and stewed fish—it's just one dish, but there are two big plates of it, and there's also milky white fish soup in the pot. It smells and looks so appetizing.

Gu Xiaoxia ladled fish soup into the bowls of rice that Mingming and Haohao were serving, telling them to soak the rice in the soup before eating.

Li Juan carefully picked up the tender meat from the bellies of several large crucian carp, removed the large bones, and divided them into several portions. Mingming and Haohao each had some in their bowls, and Grandma Du Chunfang also had some in hers.

"Hey, you even put some in my bowl! Juan has really grown up." Du Chunfang grinned, clearly pleased. "Going to school here really makes a difference. She'll definitely get into a good university in the future."

Sigh, those old ways of thinking are no longer effective. I always thought the kids were the best, and this girl is good too! Getting into university will bring honor to the family just the same!

"I never expected my mother would make such a remark after eating a piece of fish," Li Long said with a smile. "Oh, my mother has become knowledgeable."

Li Juan blushed at the praise and quickly lowered her head to eat her rice.

Mingming Haohao tried to imitate Du Chunfang, wanting to give her some meat from his bowl, but Liang Yuemei quickly stopped him.

"You two just eat what you need to eat and focus on growing strong. You don't need to take care of anyone else!"

The two children were a little unhappy after being scolded, but they made the adults laugh out loud, filling the room with a cheerful atmosphere.

After finishing the meal, the remaining fish was divided into two portions. Most of it was kept here, while Li Long and his group took a small portion back to the county to eat.

The fish are already gutted and frozen; they're thawed when we want to eat them. Of course, they might not taste as good as fresh fish, but it's better than nothing.

Because they were willing to use coal, the house was very warm, so by the time they finished eating and cleaning up, the washed clothes were already dry. Li Long and his men didn't stay long in the fourth team; they loaded up what they needed to carry, went to the northern settlement to pick up Gu Boyuan, and returned to the county.

Gu Boyuan reeked of alcohol, indicating that he had indeed drunk quite a bit in just over a day.

"Grandpa smells bad!" Hao Hao said with a hint of disgust. "Drinking too much alcohol is bad!"

"I'm not drunk either." Gu Boyuan earnestly defended himself, still slightly drunk, without laughing at or ignoring Hao Hao just because he was young.

"Grandpa should drink more hot tea and honey water when he gets back," Mingming suddenly said. "My dad drank alcohol, so my mom made him honey water."

Upon hearing this, Li Long, who was driving, and Gu Xiaoxia, who was next to him, were taken aback at first, then smiled. They hadn't expected Mingming to say such a thing, but then they looked at each other and fell silent.

"Uncle Gu, shouldn't you find a companion?" Li Long suddenly said. "Find someone to take care of you, otherwise you'll be all alone, just like Mingming said, no one will take care of you when you drink too much."

"What do I need to take care of? I'm perfectly fine on my own." Gu Boyuan waved his hand. "You don't need to worry about me. Just live your lives well."

Alright, since the elders don't want me to talk about it, Li Long won't say anything either.

After all, with the child around, there are some things that are difficult to say.

My father-in-law isn't that old; he should find a companion. After all, Xiaoxia and I are doing well now, Xiaoyu has a stable job in Yanjing, and even my former mother-in-law has her own family. He's all alone now, which isn't a good thing.

Back in the courtyard, after putting down his things and getting out of the car, Li Long drove Gu Boyuan, who had been drinking, back to the purchasing station.

Gu Boyuan has his own small courtyard on Tuanjie Road, about two or three hundred meters from the purchasing station. He also has a room at the purchasing station, where Liang Shuangcheng is currently staying. Gu Boyuan has been drinking and needs someone to take care of him.

The main reason is that he doesn't want to live in the compound; otherwise, that would be the best place for him.

Upon hearing the car, Liang Shuangcheng immediately came out, and then, together with Li Long who had gotten out of the car, helped Gu Boyuan into the house.

"I'm not drunk, why would I need help?" Gu Boyuan muttered reluctantly, "Xiaolong, you should go back now. It's warm here, I'll fall asleep soon." He really did fall asleep. He had been drinking with the team last night and again at noon, no wonder he was sleepy.

“Brother Long, I’ll take care of Uncle Gu, so you can leave him alone.” Liang Shuangcheng spoke to Li Long with much more composure.

"Have you found your yard yet?" Li Long asked casually.

“There are two that look good,” Liang Shuangcheng said. “The prices are different. The cheaper one is a bit far from here, and the one closer is a bit more expensive. I’m still considering it. The closer one is just two courtyards away from here, to the west of Old Sun’s courtyard.”

“Then let’s choose one that’s closer,” Li Long said directly. “I’ll give you some extra money. If you choose one that’s closer, it’ll be easier to take care of things if anything happens here.”

"Sure!" Liang Shuangcheng agreed with a broad smile.

Seeing that Gu Boyuan had already taken off his clothes and was ready to sleep, and noticing that he was slightly drunk but not actually intoxicated, Li Long left reassured. As he left, Liang Shuangcheng was already pouring him warm water.

Back home, Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia what had happened. While Han Fang was taking Mingminghao outside to play in the snow, Gu Xiaoxia whispered:

"What do you think about getting my dad and Sister Yang together? I think Sister Yang is capable, and my dad is getting along well here..."

"I'll ask Uncle Gu what he thinks in the next couple of days. If he agrees, then I'll ask Sister Yang what she thinks," Li Long said after thinking for a moment. "I don't think it'll necessarily work out. If it were, they would have already expressed their opinion. There hasn't been much progress over the years, so they probably haven't even considered it."

"Let's ask first." Mingming's words today had a great impact on Gu Xiaoxia.

If her mother had never been found, she certainly wouldn't have had such thoughts, but now everyone is living happily, and her father is all alone and miserable, which is truly unbearable.

Before Li Long could ask anything the next day, a new customer arrived at the purchasing station: Liu Gaolou.

"You actually brought all this stuff?" Li Long was astonished as he looked at the three truckloads of goods that Liu Gaolou had brought.

“Hey, didn’t you say this stuff would sell well here? So I brought it over,” Liu Gaolou said with a smile. “Actually, it wasn’t my idea, it was my uncle’s. He said that since it’s winter, it’s hard to transport other things, but this is the easiest to get, and after finding connections, it only cost a little money to clean it up.”

There are plenty of unemployed people over there now. You can easily find a large group of workers by spending a little money, or even without paying them. Just give them a few loaves of bread a day and you can find many young and strong people to work.

So it's easy to clean, and the cost is practically zero. There are tariffs, but they're negligible compared to the cost of importing them. Plus, my uncle got a lot of good stuff they need this time, so it's basically like they gave it to us for free. The biggest cost is actually the shipping fee.

Three trucks, loaded with more than 20 tons of cattle and sheep offal!
"They have as much of this stuff as they want over there. After all, it's a pastoral area, and they supply beef and mutton to many countries. They process a lot of it, and all this offal is disposed of as garbage," Liu Gaolou sighed. "Sigh, I don't know what kind of habit it is, that they don't eat it?"

Wouldn't that just benefit yourself?

"Unload it, I'll take it all," Li Long said with a smile. "Name your price."

Since Liu Gaolou has already revealed the bottom line, these things certainly won't be expensive.

"Let's go inside first and talk to them while they unload," Liu Gaolou said. "I have other things to do."

Li Long then went into the reception room with him. Liang Shuangcheng and Sun Jiaqiang went to unload things, so Li Long poured him some water.

Liu Gaolou was wearing a leather jacket and a heavy leather hat. He took off the hat, smoothed his hair, placed the hat on the table, opened his bag, and said:
"The shoes sold out. My uncle didn't sell them for a high price; he mainly wanted to get rid of them as quickly as possible. So, in the end, the money he made came to $12,000."

According to the official exchange rate, this amount of money is just enough to cover the cost.

But if you buy at the black market price, you'll make a lot of money, double the profit.

If you really count them, it's not that many.

“My uncle said that if we have these shoes, we should bring a few more truckloads over. Life is really tough for people there. The Khartoum region produces its own grain and meat, but the entire Soviet Union centrally allocates resources, so everything produced has to be sent to other countries, leaving many people to suffer from cold and hunger.”

Li Long remained silent. He knew that with the rigid system there and the added problem of corruption, it was no wonder that ordinary people couldn't live a good life.

“The price of sugar has gone up over there, and it’s selling for a bit more than before. My uncle said he won’t be going, so you’ll get a discount. But this time, I’ll still give you six thousand US dollars. The extra amount will cover the cost of the raw materials and shipping fees,” Liu Gaolou continued. “So this time, I’ll give you eighteen thousand US dollars.”

However, the car I brought this time is more expensive; it's a brand-new Volga, worth three thousand US dollars. The original owner was a black market broker in Almaty who was competing with my uncle. In the end, my uncle used the supervisory authorities to kill him, and the car ended up in my uncle's hands.

However, my uncle needs to keep a low profile over there, so we couldn't leave the car here and drove it over.

I always thought Liu Shanmin was a harmless person, but I never expected him to have such a ruthless side!
But thinking about it, it makes sense. In such an environment, how could a truly kind person possibly survive?

"Isn't it a bit cheap for a new car?" Li Long wasn't stupid, so he asked.

“I didn’t have the capital to begin with, and besides, they’d check the car there, so it wouldn’t be easy to sell,” Liu Gaolou explained. “Actually, I had my eye on it, but I couldn’t drive it. I spend most of my time in Khorgos, where they’d be watching me anyway, so I brought it here.”

"Don't worry, all the paperwork is complete. You can drive it yourself or sell it directly. Of course, don't sell such a new car cheaply, or I'll feel bad." Liu Gaolou smiled. "In that case, I'll pay you fifteen thousand US dollars. I also need to transport sugar over this time, so we can discuss the price separately, okay?"

“Okay.” Li Long naturally had no objections.

People said the price of sugar had gone up, and they even mentioned it specifically to me. A typical businessman probably wouldn't say that; others are already making a profit, and besides, I've already made quite a bit.

He even made a point of mentioning this; he's really being kind to himself.

Such a partner is truly exceptional; genuine cooperation is inevitable.

After a while, once the unloading was finished, Liu Gaolou went straight to the guesthouse without stopping.

Li Long wanted to treat him to a meal, but he said he had already eaten in Kuitun and was now tired and sleepy, so he just wanted to get some rest.

Let him be.

The black Volga looked imposing and composed; it was a new car. However, Li Long's gaze only lingered on the car for a moment before he looked at the vehicles going into the water.

The wastewater was packed in woven bags and frozen in place.

Li Long went over and opened a bag to take a look. It contained cleaned stomachs, intestines, heart, liver, and oil.

It was washed really clean; even when it was frozen, you could still smell the internal organs, but it wasn't smelly.

Twenty-odd tons, even if it's only sold for one yuan per kilogram, it'd be fine. After all, this stuff tastes better than meat!

However, I don't have a separate store here, and I don't have time to sell them. What should I do?

He rolled his eyes and decided to do the same thing as Apple: promote the product directly to middlemen so they could buy it wholesale and resell it.

Now, both beef and mutton are over two yuan. If the price of offal is set at one yuan, middlemen can sell it for one and a half to one yuan and make a profit, and there will definitely be plenty of buyers.

Without thinking, he went to the front yard, looked at the seven or eight people who were preparing to sell things, thought for a moment, asked Gu Boyuan for some chalk, and started writing on the blackboard.

"Starting today, our purchasing station will supply cattle and sheep offal, frozen goods, at a wholesale price of one yuan per kilogram, sold in bags only, while supplies last. Buy now if you wish!"

"What? There are offal from cattle and sheep? Can we take a look?" Someone with sharp eyes had gathered around while Li Long was writing, and asked immediately after reading it.

This price is really cheap!
Some people might have ulterior motives; could they be up to no good? Is it really that cheap?
Li Long brought a bag from the backyard to show them.

Looking at the few people who had gathered around, Li Long was full of confidence. This thing would definitely sell well!
P.S.: I have a cold, with a runny nose and coughing up yellow phlegm. I feel nauseous and uncomfortable, like all the water in my brain has drained away...

(End of this chapter)