Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1158 Cotton Shouldn't Be Planted in Such a Haste

It wasn't just the Revolutionary Buick couple who wanted to see the jade; Wu Yongbo also wanted to.

A large and prosperous family is an interpretation of happiness by the older generation, so being able to have children is always a good thing.

As for whether it's a boy or a girl, if you can't give birth at all, it's already a stroke of luck if you can.

So early in the morning, after Liu Gaolou and the others had breakfast, they couldn't wait to rush over to Li Long's house.

When they arrived, Gu Xiaoxia was taking Mingming and Haohao to school. The two children watched curiously as the large group of people and cars arrived at the door.

Liu Gaolou knew Gu Xiaoxia. He came over to greet her and introduced her to Geming Bek, Mia, and Wu Yongbo.

"This is Mr. Li's wife, Teacher Gu. Teacher Gu, this is a Buick, this is Mia, and this is Wu Yongbo. They just wanted to come and see the jade in your house."

He spoke very directly. Gu Xiaoxia had heard Li Long say it last night, but she hadn't taken it seriously at the time. Now it seems this has caused quite a stir.

She had just greeted a few people when Liu Gaolou began to complain:

"Li Long is really something. He has so many cars at home, why doesn't he let you drive one? It's so inconvenient for you to take the two kids to school by bicycle!"

"No, no. He actually taught me how to drive, but I can't learn it in a short time. And I heard that it's not easy to get a driver's license, so I think riding a bike is more convenient."

“It’s quite easy to learn, getting a license shouldn’t be difficult for him, right? If it really doesn’t work, I can help you with it.” Liu Gaolou was very familiar with him. “Your two kids are fine now that they’re young, but it’ll be a lot of trouble when they grow up.”

Gu Xiaoxia thought to herself that when they were older, the two of them would ride bicycles by themselves.

Li Long came out of the courtyard at this moment, saw Liu Gaolou and the others, greeted them, and Gu Xiaoxia took the opportunity to ride her bicycle away.

After welcoming them into the courtyard, Liu Gaolou brought up the matter of having Gu Xiaoxia drive again, thinking that it was a very simple matter.

"My wife is worried about the negative impact." Li Long had indeed told Gu Xiaoxia this, and Gu Xiaoxia did have concerns. These days, it usually takes more than six months to get a driver's license; this is the normal procedure.

She suddenly got it and even had perfect attendance every day; anyone with eyes could see that she had pulled strings.

Although some people feel proud to have connections, Gu Xiaoxia felt that her family's current situation was already conspicuous enough, and she should keep a low profile.

Liu Gaolou didn't say anything more. After all, it was a family matter. He only spoke up because he saw that it was inconvenient for Gu Xiaoxia to ride a bicycle with two children.

They consider us one of their own.

At this moment, the Revolutionary couple had already spotted the jade stone in the corner and couldn't wait to go over to it, looking at it with some excitement.

Wu Yongbo was also quite interested, but he didn't go over. Instead, he stayed there to talk with Li Long and Liu Gaolou.

"Mr. Li, your courtyard is quite grand," Wu Yongbo said, seizing the opportunity to flatter him. "It must be quite old, right? Is it your ancestral home?"

“That’s definitely not the case,” Li Long said with a smile. “My family has never been this wealthy for three generations. I bought this house when I was doing small business. At that time, the original owner of this house was going back to Shanghai and didn’t plan to come back. He just happened to meet me and bought the house.”

"How much?" Wu Yongbo asked curiously.

"1982, I think," Li Long said after thinking for a moment, "Four hundred yuan or six hundred yuan?"

"So cheap? And there's a backyard too, right? The cost of building the house alone must be more than that!" Wu Yongbo was very surprised. "This is really a bargain."

"Haha, that's right, I was pretty lucky back then."

They had already reached the jade stone while they were talking. By this time, Sister Yang had finished tidying up the kitchen, told Li Long, and was about to go to work at the jerky processing workshop.

After Sister Yang left, Wu Yongbo asked Li Long who this woman was. Li Long gave a brief introduction, saying that she was his partner in the meat jerky processing business.

Li Long didn't go into details about the dried meat. Wu Yongbo wanted to ask, but at that moment, Revolutionary Bek and Mia were already eager to ask how to perform the ritual.

“When Old Jia prayed, he offered incense and placed offerings,” Li Long said, pointing to the incense burner. “But to be honest, I think… well, since you’re already here, I’ll get you some incense. Just offer some incense and silently make your wish.”

Li Long felt that since they were already there, there was no need to pour cold water on them. He turned around to get the incense and then came back to give it to both of them.

Since Revolution Buick wasn't a Han Chinese and didn't know the procedures, Liu Gaolou, acting as an expert, explained them to him.

The couple bowed and offered incense. After that, Li Long went inside to get a piece of paper and said:

"This is a prescription. I happen to have an old Chinese medicine doctor here who has recorded ancient prescriptions for this. You can take it... never mind, I don't know if your workplace has all the Chinese medicines. I'll take you to the pharmaceutical company later and get all the medicines directly. You can brew it and drink it for seven days when you have time."

"Hey, you've got pretty comprehensive services," Liu Gaolou said with a smile. "If we don't have a baby soon, there'll really be no other way."

"At least we went to his house to celebrate the holiday," Li Long said with a smile. Both of them knew that this was because of Liu Gaolou.

Although I came here specifically to worship the stone, the actual worship process only lasted less than ten minutes before the important business began.

Li Long drove the Jeep and took them to get the medicine first. Fortunately, the medicine company here had a good selection. Li Long originally wanted to pay, but Revolution Buick and Mia insisted on not letting him, so Li Long didn't stand on ceremony.

After finishing this matter, Liu Gaolou told Geming Bek, Mia, and Wu Yongbo to stay at the guesthouse while they went to get white sugar.

In fact, Wu Yongbo also wanted to go and see how Li Long handled white sugar, but Liu Gaolou didn't let him go, so he didn't join in the fun and said he was going to the purchasing station to take a look.

Li Long knew he wanted to go and learn, so he didn't say anything. After driving them there, he and Liu Gaolou led the convoy to the sugar factory.

There were no problems with Section Chief Hu; the fifty tons of sugar were loaded directly onto the truck, and Li Long still paid half in US dollars and half in RMB. He had saved quite a few US dollars now, and he thought that if things continued like this, in another two or three years, when the Soviet Union collapsed, his US dollars should be enough to make a fortune.

Liu Gaolou and his group left that day. When Li Long went to the purchasing station, Lao Gu told him that he was really planning to go to Yili to investigate.

While Wu Yongbo was inquiring about the experience of opening a purchasing station, Lao Gu was also asking Wu Yongbo about the situation in Yili.

Li Long felt that his father-in-law had almost made up his mind, so he said:
“Then when Liu Gaolou and the others come next time, you should go with them. Having someone with you will make the inspection easier,” Li Long said. “Shouldn’t you bring your car too?”

"Yes, it will definitely open." Old Gu said with a smile. "They only come back once every ten days or half a month. When I go there, I will be back in three to five days at most."

That's how it was settled.

The two men didn't hide their conversation from Sun Jiaqiang and Liang Shuangcheng. Both of them looked rather serious. If Lao Gu was going to leave, what would happen to all the things here?
"I need to get my dad over here so he can help keep an eye on things for a while," Li Long said. "With you gone, we'll be left without anyone to look after things."

Li Long believes that the staff at the counter must be his own people, and that since it's a small business, it's fine to turn it into a family business.

"Well, your dad should be fine. Go back and talk to him in the next couple of days and he can come over. My brother and I will stay at the counter for a few days, and he'll get used to it. After I leave, you can keep an eye on things, and the business will be running smoothly again."

Li Long doesn't have any suitable people at the moment, so he can only turn to his father.

Anyway, Dad doesn't have much to do at home. Now that a bunch of people have come from our hometown, we don't need any more people to do the work, so let's bring Dad over.

My dad used to run a small business, though it was a long time ago, but he's not senile now and his mind is clear. He should be able to get the hang of it after a while.

The main reason was that Li Long wanted to be lazy, and he had too many miscellaneous tasks and couldn't sit still.

Since he was going to call his father over, Li Long told Lao Gu and drove his jeep to the fourth team.

When Li Long arrived at his older brother's house, he found his mother sitting in the doorway of the east room, basking in the sun and picking alfalfa. She smiled and waved as Li Long's car drove in.

"What brings you here? Did you eat the alfalfa yesterday?"

"Yes, yes, we ate. We fried it this morning." Li Long squatted down and asked while picking weeds from the alfalfa with his mother, "Mom, where are my older brother and the others?"

"You brought over so many seedlings yesterday, so you went to plant them today."

"Where's my dad? Did he go too?"

"No. He said there were so many people working, so he wouldn't go. He went to Xiaohaizi to cast nets, saying he wanted to bring back some fish to cook for them at noon."

Li Long smiled; his father really was a playful person.

There weren't many weeds in the alfalfa, and they were quickly picked clean. Li Long then said to his mother:
“I’m thinking of having my dad go to the purchasing station to help collect the goods, what do you think?” “Is your dad capable?” Du Chunfang was skeptical of her husband’s abilities. “Don’t let him mess things up.”

“No way.” Li Long smiled. “Xiaoxia’s dad is going to Yili. Maybe he’ll open a station there in the future. I was thinking of getting my dad to help me out. I’m not saying he’ll help me out, but we’ll be partners and I’ll give him a share of the profits.”

"He's helping you with chores, isn't that what he should do?" The mother's favoritism towards her youngest son was blatant. "He's had enough of enjoying himself these past few years, it's time for him to do something productive."

"Then you'll come along too? And stay in my yard?"

“No, I won’t go. I’ll only cause you trouble. I can still do some work and wander around here. I don’t know anyone at your place. There’s a main road right outside the compound. I’d be too scared to go there.”

Okay, I've talked to myself quite a lot, and I do feel a bit socially anxious sometimes.

I washed the alfalfa with water, and according to my mother, I'll steam it at noon to make a dish.

Now that there are more people, and they're all from the same hometown, related by blood or marriage, the food can't be bad, otherwise people will gossip about it when we go back to the village.

It's impossible to please everyone, so let's make more varieties. That way, everyone will have something to eat, and there won't be any complaints.

Li Qingxia returned with Tao Jianshe, both carrying bags filled with nets and the fish they had caught. They no longer use nets, mainly because the water in the small lake is too cold, and going in can easily cause cramps.

"Dad, how many fish did you get?" Li Long greeted Tao Jianshe and, after he left, took the bag from his father and asked.

"Not many, maybe three to five kilograms." Li Qingxia shook her head. "There aren't many fish daring to come over from the side. There are more fish in the middle, but it's not easy to get in."

"Do you want me to get some wood to build you a boat?" Li Long blurted out a bit too quickly, then realized he was about to take his father to the county purchasing station and wondered why he had spoken so soon.
"That would be too much trouble." Li Qingxia was clearly willing.

"But not for now. You'll have to help out at the purchasing station for a while."

"What are you doing?" Li Qingxia asked warily.

"Xiaoxia's dad is planning to go to Yili to investigate and is thinking of opening a purchasing station there. I'll be without a manager here, so I was thinking, how about you come over? You won't be working for me, we can be partners, and I'll give you a share of the profits."

"Hey, what kind of partnership?" Upon hearing that he was going to be the manager, Li Qingxia laughed, "I've never done this before!"

"That's easy. It's just a matter of buying things. You can offer a higher price for good items and a lower price for average ones. Xiaoxia's dad is here these days. I'm planning to pick you up today. You can stay with him for a few days and that should be enough."

"Alright, alright." Li Qingxia was slightly excited; he was now the manager.

He was initially wary because he thought Li Long wanted to get him to work for Gu Boyuan, which he definitely wouldn't do.

The feeling is different now. Even though I'm the son's manager, I'm still the manager!
When I was running a small business, I never imagined I could become a shopkeeper.

Although Li Long never said it, and they never asked, they had privately guessed that the purchasing station's annual turnover must be at least several hundred thousand.

Such a big business is definitely better managed by family members. Even if the younger son doesn't say he's a partner, the father naturally has an obligation to help his son oversee the business.

Li Qingxia was so excited that she became very enthusiastic and took the initiative to gut the fish, saying that she would cook a good meal for lunch today.

After receiving confirmation from Li Long that it would be best to go there today, Li Qingxia asked:
"Then I need to get some decent clothes, otherwise he won't look right sitting there."

"Don't worry about that. This afternoon when we get to the county, I'll take you to the department store to buy a new outfit. If you don't like what we buy, we can just go to a tailor shop and have one made," Li Long said with a smile.

It's a good thing that Dad values ​​this so much.

Sister-in-law Liang Yuemei came back early to cook, but to her surprise, Li Long had already started steaming rice and stewing fish in a pot. In the front yard, Dong Xiaojuan saw that alfalfa was also being steamed.

Although the vegetable garden hasn't been touched yet, there's alfalfa and fish, and the staple food is still rice, plus sliced ​​and steamed dried meat, making for a rather sumptuous meal.

"Hey, this saves me the trouble of doing any work," Liang Yuemei said with a smile. "When did Xiaolong arrive?"

“It’s been over an hour,” Li Long said. “I came to talk to my dad about something.”

"Huh?" Liang Yuemei washed her hands by the well and was about to tidy up the bowls and other dishes.

Li Long explained the situation, and Liang Yuemei thought it was quite good, saying with a smile:

“This is a good thing. It’s a family business, so it should be looked after by family members. Xiaoxia’s father used to take good care of it, but now that he’s leaving, it’s perfect for my father to take over.”

"You also think I can do it?" Li Qingxia asked, not expecting her eldest daughter-in-law to agree.

“Why not? I heard from Juan’s dad that you did business when you were young. The principles are all the same.”

"Hehe." Li Qingxia became even more confident.

Elderly people also crave affirmation from others.

“I wanted to bring my mother over, but she’s not going,” Li Long said.

"What would I go there for? I'm perfectly fine here," Du Chunfang said hastily.

“That’s right, I’ll stay here. Your big courtyard is nice, but in the city, nothing is convenient. It’s really not as good as here,” Liang Yuemei said.

When Li Jianguo and the others returned, Li Long repeated the story to them during dinner.

Li Junfeng was having a meal with the young men in the front yard, so their conversation here wouldn't be affected.

“If Dad wants to go, then let him go.” Li Jianguo naturally had no objection. It was quite dangerous for the old man to be active by the reservoir every day. It would be better for him to stay at the purchasing station, where at least he would be safe.

Seeing that her family all agreed, Li Qingxia's confidence grew stronger and stronger.

“Some people in the team have already asked when we can plant cotton,” Li Jianguo said, referring to another matter. “When I told them it would take some time, they were still a little skeptical.”

“It will definitely take some time,” Li Long said. “It’s fine to plant other things now, like corn, they’re not afraid of the frost. But cotton is different, it will die if it freezes. We have a cold snap every spring here, so let’s wait.”

Before cotton was planted, Li Long never paid attention to the weather in early spring. Now that he has experienced it once, he realized that regardless of whether cotton is planted or not, there are always strong winds and cold snaps in early spring.

The crops from the past weren't afraid of this stuff. Since they weren't covered with plastic film, once the soil temperature rose, corn wasn't afraid of the late spring frost. Even if the seedlings were damaged, they could still grow.

Cotton is different; it's very delicate.

So we'll have to wait.

"How many goji berries have you planted?" Li Long asked.

“They plant very quickly; fifty mu can be planted this afternoon,” Li Jianguo said. “We’ll also dig the irrigation canals along the way, so we can water them when we irrigate the spring wheat.”

After dinner, when Li Qingxia was packing up her things, someone came looking for Li Jianguo and was very happy to see Li Long.

The person who came was Xu Haijun. After hearing that Li Long was going to plant cotton, he also planned to plant some himself.

Now he follows Li Long's lead in everything he does, and they've cleared quite a bit of wasteland.

“Someone I know went up north to ask, and they said there are still risks involved in growing cotton.” Xu Haijun sat in the yard, offering cigarettes to Li Jianguo and Li Long, and lighting one for himself. “A hailstorm wiped out all the cotton stalks. They told us to be more cautious.”

Li Long laughed upon hearing this, and then asked Xu Haijun in return:

"Navy, tell me, from when you were a child until now, how many hailstorms have we had here?"

Xu Haijun was taken aback by the question.

“We can’t just start hailing whenever we plant cotton, since it never used to hail,” Li Long laughed.

Xu Haijun realized what he had done and laughed, realizing he had been worrying unnecessarily.

The area around Team Four is considered a treasure. Although it sometimes doesn't rain when it should, it does hail frequently in the two surrounding townships to the north and south, but this area almost never experiences any hail.

(End of this chapter)