Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1154 The Wisdom of an Old Man: If This Continues, It Might Be Difficult to Explain
After returning from the hot springs, Li Long went back to his room to rest. Catching fish in the morning had been really tiring and cold, but after soaking in the hot springs, he felt much more comfortable.

Li Long felt that the trip had been worthwhile, as he ate dinner at the hotel that night and didn't go out for a stroll.

The next day, after breakfast, Liu Gaolou and Buick loaded a lot of things into the car, and then called Li Long to get in the car and leave.

"No need to call Wu Yongbo anymore?" Li Long asked as he drove east.

"No need for now," Liu Gaolou said. "We're going to visit our relatives in Buick for the holiday. Wu Yongbo has his own things to do, so we don't need to worry about him."

With Liu Gaolou's friends on either side, Li Long didn't think too much about it and drove forward following the road Buick pointed out.

He sensed the car was heading towards Gongliu, but he wasn't entirely sure. The roads at that time were vastly different from those forty years later, making it difficult to discern even the general direction.

Fortunately, the place wasn't too far, only about 30 or 40 kilometers away. Of course, it was his 69-class car; a regular sedan would easily get stuck in such conditions.

Some roads were simply carved out of the grassland. There weren't many rules then, since there weren't many cars around. The grass was already green, and the tender grass shoots were just sprouting. When a car drove over them, it crushed them, releasing the scent of fresh grass juice, though not very strong.

In some places, yellow flowers have already bloomed, which are dandelions that grow close to the ground, and there are other wildflowers that I don't recognize, which dot the green grass and look quite pretty.

Of course, these landscapes were ordinary to Buick and Liu Gaolou. The wheels relentlessly crushed them, destroying the scenery, but also bringing them closer to their destination.

This is a village, unlike the vast expanse of yurts that Li Long had imagined. The people here live a semi-settled life, and he doesn't know if it's similar to the settlement of Halimu's herding team.

When the car pulled up in front of a courtyard, Li Long noticed that a number of people were already standing at the gate. Although their clothes looked rather old, they were all quite neat.

The elderly wore chapan (traditional Chinese clothing) and ethnic felt hats on their heads. Some of the young people wore suits, and some wore jackets, similar to the young people in the county town, except that most of them wore hats, some of which were baseball caps, and a few wore old-fashioned green military caps.

After getting off the bus, someone came over to greet me and offered to shake my hand.

Buick took the lead, shaking hands and introducing them, while Li Long said, "Dorsen, Jax, huh!"

Liu Gaolou followed suit. The young people who came over to greet him were all very happy and said a lot of things. Li Long could understand them. They were just welcoming him, so he responded. Liu Gaolou only knew one sentence, so he could only smile.

Li Long could clearly sense that the smiles on the faces of these young people had become much more genuine.

It's quite normal to think about it. Just like when foreigners come to China in later generations, if they can say "hello" in Chinese, many people will definitely feel more at ease. If they can also say a few more things like "Have you eaten?" or "It's nice to meet you", they will definitely win a lot of applause and praise.

Not only with young people, Li Long and Liu Gaolou also took the initiative to shake hands and greet the elderly, which won the favor of people from the surrounding area who came to celebrate the festival.

"Not bad, Mr. Li, your Kazakh is quite fluent." After the introductions and greetings, and after unloading the things from the car and handing them over to the host, as the two were settled into the house to drink milk tea, Liu Gaolou whispered, "Look how different these people are looking at you."

Li Long smiled and said, "As you know, I also have a group of Kazakh friends over there."

He could tell that Buick outside was introducing him to others, since some people were curious about how he could speak Kazakh so fluently.

In reality, I only know some basic conversations; I don't really know anything more sophisticated.

After learning that Li Long came from the north of the Tianshan Mountains and had Kazakh friends there, they became even more curious.

Buick wasn't very clear about Li Long's situation either, so they didn't say much. Some people were thinking of coming over and asking him themselves.

That's what they said, but after a while, Li Long only saw a woman bring over milk tea, and no one came in to disturb them.

Then I heard a hushed argument outside.

Li Long listened intently, but felt it was a family matter and it was really hard to comment.

Liu Gaolou was quite curious and asked:
"Mr. Li, what's going on outside? Should we go out and take a look?"

"No need, no need." Li Long hurriedly shook his head. "It's best if we don't interfere in the family affairs of our master, and we can't interfere anyway."

"Family matters? You can understand that?"

Li Long was surprised that Liu Gaolou was so much older than him and yet so curious.

"Don't look at me like that. This is Bekbin's relative's house, or more precisely, Bekbin's uncle's house. If they have any trouble, we should help them if we can."

"Bieke and Murat helped my second uncle a lot over there. Without them, he really wouldn't have been able to establish himself properly at the beginning. They usually don't tell me about their family matters. Now that you can understand, tell us if you have any problems, and we'll naturally help if we can."

"It's not about the money, I really can't help." Li Long understood what Liu Gaolou meant. Now that he had money, if it were a family in difficulty, lending a hand wouldn't be a big deal.

"What's that?" Liu Gaolou asked, even more curious.

"The head of this household should be the uncle you mentioned who owns Buick. He has a son who works in town and is considered a government official. The couple has been married for several years but hasn't had any children, and we don't know which side has the problem."

They thought, "If we don't want to have children, we won't. We'll see if we can adopt one." Only a few days after that, last night someone left a baby, probably a newborn, at the couple's gate.

"This is great news!" Liu Gaolou said. "Isn't this just a case of wishing for something coming true?"

"Hmm, this cadre must be Buick's cousin. He thought it was a good idea, so he came back to discuss it with his parents and decided to adopt the child." Li Longxin thought that adoption procedures should be relatively easy to handle now.

"Then his parents should agree, so why is there so much noise outside?" Liu Gaolou asked, puzzled.

“His father disagreed, saying there was something wrong with the matter.”

"What could be wrong? Is the child sick?"

"It sounds like he's not sick." Li Long had only overheard the gist of it; he had guessed some of the details.

"Is it because she's a daughter? Is it because they favor sons over daughters here too?"

"No, they didn't say the child's gender."

"Why is that?"

"The old man meant that there was something fishy about this. They had only wanted to adopt a child for a few days when someone deliberately brought the child to their doorstep, which meant that someone close to them must have leaked the information."

They adopt children so they'll become family, so anyone leaving a child at their doorstep is likely a local resident. This could cause problems later. What if, after the child grows up, their biological parents suddenly want to take them back?
Maybe they're secretly watching the child grow up.

After Li Long translated and explained it, Liu Gaolou understood.

"That makes sense. Although it's a bit cynical to speculate about people's hearts in this way, people's hearts really can't withstand scrutiny."

Doesn't Liu Gaolou himself feel the same way?

"So what happens in the end?" Liu Gaolou sighed for a moment, then immediately asked again.

Li Long glanced at him, surprised that this guy was quite gossipy.

The arguing outside had stopped, and Li Long continued:
"The old man's idea is to hand the child over to the welfare home. If they really want to adopt, they should openly adopt from the welfare home in Yili."

If you're worried about any problems with the children in the orphanage, go directly to the hospital, ask someone to pull strings, and find a newborn child whose parents have abandoned them. Give them some money for nutrition and take the child back; the two families will never see each other again.

"Hey, this old man's not bad, he seems to understand all the ins and outs here," Liu Gaolou chuckled, then suddenly remembered something and said to Li Long:
"Your jade! Doesn't your jade have some kind of magical effect? ​​Just have Buick's cousin take his wife over to pray to it, maybe they'll have a baby without needing to adopt?"

"That was just a joke. Boss Jia believes it's a coincidence, but you actually think it's true?" Li Long was speechless.

Liu Gaolou learned about this matter because one time when he was unloading antelope horns in the yard, he saw an incense burner and offerings next to the jade stone, so he asked about it out of curiosity, and Li Long told him about it half-jokingly.

I didn't expect him to remember!
"Who knows? There's no harm in trying!" Liu Gaolou said, then shouted, "Buick, Buick!"

Just as Li Long was about to stop them, Buick rushed over. "Mr. Liu, what's the matter?" Buick asked succinctly.

"Is your cousin unable to have children?" Liu Gaolou and Buick always spoke very bluntly. "You know Li Long's family has a piece of jade, right? There was a boss from the mainland who couldn't have children with his wife, so they prayed to that jade that looked like a chubby baby. First, they had a daughter, and then they had a son."

So, do you think it would be better if your cousin went to their house to pay his respects when he has time?

Buick paused for a moment, then turned to look at Li Long.

Li Long said with a wry smile, "It should be a coincidence. There was jade, and the boss really did pray, and the child was really born, but whether it has anything to do with praying for jade, I don't know."

After he finished speaking, he added, "Your brother is a government official, right? He probably doesn't believe in this, does he?"

"Was it my cousin and his wife praying together, or was it just him alone?"

Buick's words completely ignored Li Long's last sentence, leaving Li Long speechless. However, he still explained, "It's both of them bowing together."

"Okay, I'll tell them."

After saying that, Buick hurriedly ran out.

Li Long could tell that Buick had first told his uncle, who then asked for details, such as whether Buick had seen the jade, where Li Long lived, and what kind of person he was.

When Bek revealed that Li Long truly had a group of Kazakh friends in the mountains who were helping them repair roads, his uncle suddenly became excited, ran into the house to fetch a newspaper, and then, together with Bek, took it to find Li Long.

“That’s him.” Buick looked at the profile in the newspaper, then at Li Long, and said to his uncle, “That’s him, his name is Li Long, this is Dorsen.”

"Go find your brother and tell him to come over!" This time, Buick's uncle spoke in a commanding tone.

After Buick left, his uncle solemnly said to Li Long:
"Friend, thank you for everything you've done for the Kazakh people! You're truly welcome today!"

He spoke in Kazakh, which Li Long recognized. He immediately stood up and said, "I did this for my Dorsens. They have given me a lot of help. We are all friends."

"Yes, yes, a true friend!" Buick's uncle smiled happily. "You're a real friend!"

A moment later, Buick pulled his cousin over and introduced him to Li Long:

“This is my cousin. He works as an armed forces officer in the village. His name is Geming Bek.”

I go!

One is called Buick, and the other is called Revolutionary Buick; they're both armed officers!
Revolutionary Buick was somewhat reluctant. Li Long could understand this; after all, no one wanted to make their embarrassing secret public.

However, when he learned that Li Long was the nationally recognized advanced individual for ethnic unity who had a group of Kazakh friends in Ma County, a smile immediately appeared on his face.

Li Long had no choice but to explain his jade situation again, stating explicitly that these were likely coincidences. Revolutionary Buick, being a state cadre, probably wouldn't believe such things.

"Well then, my wife and I will take some time off to come and take a look at that jade piece. Is it convenient for you there?"

“Of course it’s convenient for me. Mr. Liu often brings his car over, so you can go anytime,” Li Long said. “Won’t it interfere with your work?”

"It won't affect anything, it won't affect anything. The militia is being reorganized in May, and I'll be free until then. So..."

It's clear that this revolutionary Buick is quite curious and looking forward to it.

Buick heard the young men's voices outside and said, "Let's go out and see, quite a few people are coming again."

Most of the people who came were relatives of the Buick family, people who were related by blood or marriage. The courtyard here is large, and Buick's uncle's family has produced a government official, and his wife is also a teacher in the village. They are considered to be quite prestigious and respected in this area.

Therefore, many people come here to celebrate the festival together.

Several piles of firewood had already been stacked in the courtyard, indicating that they would be lit tonight. Both men and women were dressed in the finest clothes of the era, showing how much they valued the festival.

The children were all dressed in new clothes, running and playing among the crowd. Naturally, they were the happiest during the festival.

Buick introduced many people to Li Long and Liu Gaolou. These people were very formal, shaking hands and exchanging greetings. After learning Li Long's "true identity," their smiles became even brighter.

A pile of pine and cypress branches in the yard had already caught fire. Uncle Buick held the burning branches over the heads of the young people and children, then went around the livestock shed, and finally put the pine and cypress branches into the fire.

People gathered in different circles chatting, and many more gathered around Li Long to inquire about what was happening outside the valley.

Li Long also wanted to check out the livestock market here, and he was surprised to find that beef and mutton were much cheaper here than in Ma County.

If we could set up a jerky processing plant here, the costs would be reduced significantly.

Then he chuckled, wondering when he had become so business-minded. Why did everything he talked about involve making money and doing business?

Today is not the right day to talk about this.

There was a large pot in the kitchen, and another large pot temporarily set up outside was cooking porridge. This "Nawu Rouzi Rice" was made by cooking the leftover grain from the previous year together with seasonings. The grain was contributed by each family. The porridge was very thick, and everyone wanted to eat it.

The people waiting for their meals were also doing various things. Some were chatting with Li Long, while others started picking up their hip stones, and still others found a flat spot and drew lines below.

Li Long could tell from the young people he was chatting with that they envied Buick. He was able to go out of the valley with Liu Gaolou, broaden his horizons, and even go abroad to see the new world.

However, because of Buick's existence, they also learned about the neighboring country, where some people are now struggling to get enough to eat, which can be considered a way of demystifying that country in advance.

These young people want to go out and make a living, but most of them only went to primary school, their lives are confined to the grasslands, and the farthest they have ever been is the county town. Some of them think that visiting the bazaar is a very happy thing.

So they were genuinely envious of Buicks, which could go to even more distant places.

So many people gathered at Uncle Beike's house to celebrate the festival, partly because Revolutionary Beike was the only township cadre from their small village, and he was in charge of armed forces work, including conscription, so he had a lot of prestige.

The second reason is that Buick was taken out of the country, which is considered "promising".

Li Long could understand the feelings of these young people, or rather, these young people felt that there were two ways to get out of poverty: one was to become a cadre, and the other was to join the army. Now Buick had shown them a third way.

Unfortunately, neither Liu Gaolou nor Liu Shanmin have any plans to hire anyone for the time being.

The porridge was cooked quickly, and everyone was given a bowl. Some sat, some squatted, and some stood, all gathered around to eat, and it tasted delicious. After finishing, the bowls were handed over, but the people didn't disperse; instead, they formed a small circle and chatted.

While they were chatting, Revolution Buick came over with a young woman and introduced her to Li Long.

“This is my wife, Mia, who is a teacher at the village middle school,” said Revolutionary Bek.

Revolutionary Bek wasn't very tall, was slightly balding, but quite sturdy. His wife, Mia, was very beautiful, and Li Long wondered if it was because of Revolutionary Bek's status as an armed cadre that he had married such a beautiful woman.

Mia greeted Li Long with a mixture of shyness and anticipation. Li Long guessed that Revolutionary Buick must have told her about the jade, and she was probably also troubled by it. If it could be resolved normally, that would be the best outcome.

Li Long had no choice but to explain again. Mia barely considered it and then said she wanted to go with Revolutionary Bek.

Li Long guessed that this family must have tried many methods, but none of them worked, so this was probably their last straw.

Li Long had said that they would be going back after the holiday and would be bringing a car. If the two of them could get leave, they could go back with him and come back together in the car.

These two were naturally happy to agree, because with Buick by their side, Li Long's reputation as a guarantor, and a ride-sharing service, how could they refuse?

(End of this chapter)