Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1138 There are good people and bad people in Yanjing

After confirming that this was Li Long's yard, the children let loose and played freely. After warming up inside for a while, they went out to explore and play in the yard.

Halim was worried, so he followed him outside. He looked at Li Long's courtyard and compared it with Li Long's courtyard in the county. He felt that although this one was small, it was still in Yanjing, so it was better than that one.

Li Long and Gu Xiaoyu were chatting about recent events in the living room.

He first handed a packet of dried meat and a packet of beef cubes to Gu Xiaoyu, saying:

"This is our latest product, have a taste. The small pieces are beef cubes, made from real beef and mutton, but they're not cut into strips because the meat is irregular. But being small has its advantages; they're easy to chew and digest."

"Okay, I'll try it." Gu Xiaoyu didn't stand on ceremony. She opened her bag, picked up a beef cube, and slowly chewed it while asking about her father and sister.

Although we often make phone calls, Li Long is right here with me, so he can definitely explain things more clearly.

Of course, it was also because she hadn't spoken to Li Long for a long time. After all, she and Gu Xiaoxia were the ones who did most of the talking on the phone. Sometimes Gu Boyuan would answer the phone when the call reached the purchasing station. Occasionally, Li Long would answer at home, and when he recognized her voice, he would hand the phone to her sister.

"Your sister is doing well now. She has no problems at work, her professional skills are quite high, and she is also improving her education. Your father-in-law is very busy now, but he is quite happy with his busy schedule."

The purchasing station is always busy, and recently I expanded my business to the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, which has made things even busier.

Of course, more business means more money, and Uncle Gu is quite happy. Of course, the purchasing station closes for a holiday about seven or eight days before the New Year; it's our own business, we can rest whenever we want.”

"What about Mingming and Haohao? They should be this tall by now, right?" Gu Xiaoyu gestured to her thigh and asked.

“A little taller than that,” Li Long said. “Both children are well-nourished. We eat meat often at home and drink goat milk every day, so they are taller and stronger than children of the same age. They are both class monitors in kindergarten.”

"Hey, that's great!" Gu Xiaoyu was quite happy to hear that. Although she didn't talk to Mingming and Haohao often, when she talked to her sister on the phone, five out of ten sentences her sister said were about Li Long, two were about their father, two were about their child, and the last one was about herself.

So even though Gu Xiaoyu hadn't been to Northern Xinjiang for a long time, she still knew a lot about her sister's family.

"I heard from your sister that you're not planning to do jade trading anymore?" After being interrogated for so long, it was now Li Long's turn to ask the questions.

"Well... it's not that I'm not going to do it, it's just that, well, I'm thinking I'll think about it when I have time." Hearing Li Long ask about this, Gu Xiaoyu's bright smile suddenly became forced. "Actually, I have my own job, so this is something I can do or not do..."

"Xiaoyu, tell me the truth, are you having some difficulties? If so, tell me. I have some connections here, maybe I can help you solve it." Li Long sensed that his sister-in-law was having some trouble.

After all, the two sisters had been trading jade for a long time, and Gu Xiaoxia had said they were doing quite well. Although they were using pieces made by apprentices that Li Long had bought from Craftsman Liu, the quality was good, making them first-hand sources, so they were always able to sell quickly.

If not ten times, it's at least six or seven times.

Because Li Longcun had a lot of materials, and he would buy materials from Liu Gong every time he went to Wucheng, he didn't mind shipping them from there.

The main pieces kept were those crafted by master artisans and those made of mutton fat.

Small pieces of jade and jade artifacts made by apprentices are sold off as soon as they're done; it's not like they're going to be hoarded until the very end.

Now that he has several hundred items saved up, he can sell some so that his wife and sister-in-law can earn some money, which would be a worthwhile investment.

But then Gu Xiaoyu suddenly changed her mind, and Li Long felt there must be something wrong.

But Gu Xiaoyu shook her head and said it was nothing.

Since he wouldn't say anything, Li Long didn't press him. He figured he'd stay a few more days and see if he could find out more about the situation later.

"It's almost lunchtime, let's go eat." Seeing that Li Long wasn't bringing it up again, Gu Xiaoyu changed the subject and said with a smile, "Are all these your friends outside, brother-in-law? It's a halal meal, I ordered halal hot pot, shall we go now?"

"Sure," Li Long said with a smile. "I'm a little hungry too. Let's go."

Once outside the courtyard, Li Long said to Harim and the others:

"Come on, let's go out to eat. This auntie is treating you. We're having hot pot today!"

"Hot pot mutton?" Halim was a little confused. Yerjan and Ganaguli had heard of it, mainly because the old teacher on the road had mentioned it.

"It's just using a pot, boiling water, slicing the mutton into thin slices, and then blanching it in the boiling water before eating," Li Long explained simply. "There are dipping sauces; you'll find out when you get there."

"Shouldn't we go?" Halim asked hesitantly. "We brought naan with us, so we can just have a simple meal."

"Let's go, let's go. We'll eat something hot outside. You've been eating naan on the train, and now that we're in Yanjing, we should at least have a decent meal. By the way, it's halal there, and the business people there are all believers in your religion, so don't worry!"

After hearing what he said, Halim was tempted.

The children were naturally happy to go. After putting on their coats, Li Long put the stove on fire, locked the door, went out onto the main road, flagged down a van, and headed to the restaurant.

It's a famous halal hot pot restaurant in Yanjing. After arriving at the location, Gu Xiaoyu got out of the car and said:
"Let's take our time eating at the table we booked."

A group of people rushed into the store, and a waiter came over to greet them. Gu Xiaoyu told the waiter where she had made a reservation, and the waiter led them to a private room.

The children were visiting a restaurant like this for the first time, looking around with great curiosity. They kept chattering away after entering the private room.

They were also very curious about hot pot, and Gu Xiaoyu taught them how to use the condiment bowl, which they all found very intriguing.

It's my first time eating this, no wonder I'm curious.

Fortunately, I've experienced so many firsts in my life these past few days that I'm a bit numb.

"What are you planning to do tomorrow?" Gu Xiaoyu asked while demonstrating the seasonings.

"Let's watch the flag raising!" the children exclaimed in unison. "We're going to get up early tomorrow to watch it!"

Gu Xiaoyu looked at Li Long and asked:

"Brother-in-law, did you arrange this for them?"

“No.” Li Long shook his head. “There was an old teacher on the train who taught in Wucheng. Ye Erjiang gave her his lower berth, and she told the children a lot about Yenching. She said that when the children went to Yenching, they must see the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square. The children remembered it and prepared their red scarves.”

Actually, the red scarf is prepared for visiting the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, but it should also be worn during the flag-raising ceremony.

The children understand this very well.

“Our school raises the national flag once a week, but I heard from Teacher Cai that the national flag is raised at Tiananmen Square every day,” Ye Erjiang said. “If my classmates knew that I watched the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square, they would definitely envy me!”

“Me too! Me too!” Nathan and Sasken shouted in unison.

At this point, the children were only thinking about how to make others envious, so Li Long didn't try to correct them. Children shouldn't be lectured too much at this age; they'll probably have more insights when they watch the flag-raising ceremony tomorrow.

The hot pot broth boiled, and the meat was served. Gu Xiaoyu demonstrated how to eat it, and the children learned step by step. Halimu was a little embarrassed, but seeing that Li Long was also learning, he relaxed a bit.

"It's delicious!" Ye Erjiang said as he ate a piece of food, dipped it in the sauce, and started eating.

“I feel like this mutton doesn’t taste as good as the mutton back home!” Nathan said after taking a bite. “I think the mutton back home tastes better. This has a slight gamey smell.”

“I think so too,” Sasken agreed. Just then, the waiter brought over the meat, and upon hearing Nathan's words, smiled and asked:

"Little friend, where are you from? This meat comes from sheep slaughtered from the Bashang Grassland, it's already very good."

“Our home is in northern Xinjiang, on the grasslands inside the Tianshan Mountains.” Nasen spoke without restraint. With his father and Li Long present, he wasn’t afraid and said, “The lamb from the grasslands there is the most delicious!”

Li Long laughed as he listened. This little guy is pretty good; he's not shy at all. But Sasken, seeing the waiter come in, immediately stopped talking.

"You really came from northern Xinjiang? You've traveled quite a distance." The waiter was also quite curious. "You came by train? It must have been a tiring journey. Your place is just too far away, otherwise we would definitely be getting lamb from your region."

The waiter was a Hui Muslim, and he was quite friendly to Nathan and his family.

Nathan took a few pieces of beef from his pocket and handed them to the waiter, saying:
"Uncle, this is beef jerky and meat chunks from our area. Try some. This is made by my Uncle Li's family!" He even pointed to Li Long.

Li Long laughed. "Well, you've even started advertising for yourself."

The waiter was also a little surprised, not expecting Nathan to be so communicative. He didn't refuse, picked up a beef cube from Nathan's hand, opened the packaging, and put the beef cube inside into his mouth to chew.

"Hmm, the seasoning is a bit strong, but it doesn't overpower the original aroma of the meat. This meat is indeed quite good. To say it's better than the meat here wouldn't be an exaggeration, but it's really good. Thank you, young man," the waiter said while tasting the meat.

Nathan was about to say something more, but Harim pulled him back, so he stopped talking.

"Alright, take your time eating." The waiter smiled and took the plates out.

"It's definitely tastier than the meat here," Nathan said, sounding a little aggrieved.

“Everyone’s tastes are different,” Li Long explained with a smile. “You think it’s delicious, and I think it’s delicious, but not everyone will think it’s delicious. There’s a saying that goes, ‘It’s hard to please everyone.’ Everyone’s tastes are different. Just like this hot pot with mutton, some people like it, and some people don’t.”

Some of the children understood, while others only vaguely understood.

"Alright, alright, eat up. It won't taste good if it's overcooked," Li Long quickly said. "We're not doing research, so we don't need to worry about that. Anyway, it's pretty subjective, so just eat whichever you think tastes best."

Gu Xiaoyu smiled as she watched Li Long counsel the children, thinking that her brother-in-law was quite good at educating people.

The children ate quickly and were the first to finish, then they didn't want to stay in the house anymore. Ganaguli needed to use the toilet, so Gu Xiaoyu took her, and the boys wanted to come along too, so they all went out together.

Li Long and Halim had been mainly looking after the children to eat, so they hadn't eaten much themselves. Now they're starting to eat freely.

The way of eating mutton hot pot is quite different from the hand-pulled mutton and pilaf they usually eat, so it has a unique flavor, which is why Halim likes it quite a bit.

Because they had tractors in the past two years, Li Long would occasionally deliver supplies, and they also cut a lot of hay and were well-prepared, so the life of Halimu's small tribe was much better than that of other herders.

We eat quite a lot of meat normally, and we slaughter more meat in winter than we did a few years ago.

Don't assume that herders eat meat every day just because they graze their livestock; that's impossible. Herders' staple food is grain, and they don't eat meat often. They only eat meat during winter slaughter, festivals, or when guests come.

However, because of their good production conditions and abundant hay, Halim and his people could keep more winter lambs and did not have to sell their cattle and sheep cheaply due to a lack of living supplies. Therefore, they lived a prosperous life and ate more meat.

Therefore, they weren't actually craving meat, so there were still quite a few plates of beef and mutton left over from the dozen or so plates Gu Xiaoyu ordered. The children weren't lacking in oil and fat, so this way of eating was just to try something new.

On the contrary, the adults seemed to enjoy it quite a bit and savored it slowly.

A short while later, Gu Xiaoyu returned with Ganaguli and was somewhat surprised to find only Li Long and Halim in the house.
"I heard them come out of the bathroom just now, haven't they come back yet?"

"I'll go out and take a look." Halim was a little anxious and immediately stood up to walk outside.

"I'll go," Li Long said with a smile. "Maybe he's feeling bored inside and wants to go for a walk."

Although the children are a bit mischievous and restless, they are still quite well-behaved and certainly won't run far.

Li Long went outside and walked around the second floor. Hearing no movement, he went down to the first floor. Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he heard people talking in the lobby:
"Hey, he's obviously a country bumpkin from somewhere. He doesn't know anything and just comes up here asking questions, and he can't even speak clearly..."

Li Long walked into the hall and saw Yerjan protecting Nasen and Sasken behind him, his face flushed.

At a table in front of them, someone was playing with two stone balls, and while doing so, he called out:
"Is anyone claiming this child? Whose silly child is this? Why is he running around like this? If no one claims him, kick him out, waiter!"

"What's wrong with the child? Did he eat your rice?" Li Long disliked the man with the burly face as soon as he saw him. Based on what he had just heard, he guessed that Ye Erjiang and the others were just curious and came here to ask questions, only to be ridiculed.

Li Long was naturally unhappy that his own child was being talked about, so he got down and went to Ye Erjiang's side, patted him on the shoulder, and comforted him, saying:

"Good job, you know how to protect Nathan and the others when something happens!"

"Hey, hey, hey, how can you talk like that?" The burly man, startled by Li Long's outburst, felt utterly humiliated. The main problem was that he was facing a pretty young woman, and being embarrassed in front of her made him angry. He stood up, intending to shove Li Long, while saying:

"Is this your child? What kind of adult are you? You let your child run around and don't even keep an eye on him. If he bumps into someone, are you going to take responsibility?"

"Was it aimed at you or did it bump into you? I heard it from upstairs. I just wanted to ask you a question. Our child came from northern Xinjiang and hasn't seen some things before. Can't I ask him a question?"
Even if it's not possible, just say no, that's all. Why all the fuss? Who do you think you are, arguing with a child?

Actually, it wasn't a big deal. Li Long simply took the child away, and that was the end of it.

But when he heard this person call Yerjiang and the others "silly children," and that the children actually understood, Li Long became unwilling.

"Hey, out-of-towners! If you don't like it, get lost! What are you doing in Yanjing?" Upon hearing Li Long say they were from the northern frontier, a hint of superiority appeared on the man's face. He twirled the stone in his hand. "Since you're here, follow the rules. Don't act like an idiot..."

"You're the idiot! What, is Yanjing your home? You can't even come here?" Li Long was actually a little annoyed because of Gu Xiaoyu's matter. He hadn't been able to vent his anger, and this guy just happened to be there.

He wasn't really a troublemaker, but at this moment he just wanted to give this guy a piece of his mind, partly because he couldn't stand him.

"Yanjing is the capital of the whole country. You think you can just tell us not to come? You think there are rules and they're rules? You have to go back more than a hundred years. There were stricter rules back then. This is the new China!"

Li Long's words were like a machine gun, leaving the guy red-faced and unable to find a chance to retort.

At this moment, the waiter came over and tried to mediate the fight.

"Please calm down, both of you. It's not a big deal. Let's not make a scene. Getting angry is bad for your health. How about we bring each of you a plate of meat as a way of making peace?"

"Not good at all!" The man finally found an opening and immediately launched into an insult:
"What? Do you think I'm short of that plate of meat? Who do you think you are? This bastard is from out of town, and he dares to act so arrogantly on this turf. I'd like to see what he's got to offer... Let me tell you, going back three generations, back in the day, this Yanjing city was truly ruled by men!"

Hey, we actually ran into each other!
Just as Li Long was about to speak, Gu Xiaoyu, who had just come down from the stairs, spoke up:

"You were in charge for three generations back, but now? Now the people are in charge! Who are you calling a grandson? You're just embarrassing the people of Yanjing!"

“Comrade, we can’t say that. What the comrade just said is right. Yanjing is the capital of the whole country. We welcome comrades from all over the country, instead of thinking we are superior to others.”

The waiter who had just spoken to Nathan also came over and advised, "We believe in equality for all. We need to change those bad habits from the old society. Don't bring them here and make us a laughingstock for our out-of-town guests!"

Li Long thought, "This person really knows how to talk!"

(The next chapter will be a little later)
(End of this chapter)