Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1160: A trip to Wucheng to seek advice, and while I'm at it, I'll also bring back some jade.

Before driving into the mountains that afternoon, Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia about his thoughts.

"Learn to drive?" Gu Xiaoxia hesitated.

"Yes, learn to drive. We have plenty of cars at home, and the days are getting longer. After you get off work, we can drive to some deserted roads to practice. Whether you get your license or not, at least you should know how to drive. That way, if something happens and I'm not around, you can drive to help in an emergency."

Li Long has good connections and relationships in the county, so if Gu Xiaoxia is caught driving, it will be easier for him to get her out of trouble.

And to be honest, not many people can afford to drive these days. As long as you don't run over someone or hit anything valuable, the traffic police usually won't bother you.

Li Long's plan was to have Gu Xiaoxia learn to drive first, and then talk about the driver's license.

As for driving to and from get off work, she may not be used to it yet, but in two years, when there are more cars in the county, it won't be so conspicuous to drive there.

Gu Xiaoxia thought it made sense. After all, the family had a car, and when it came to running errands, especially in winter, driving was always more convenient than walking or riding a bike.

Li Long was also thinking about getting his father a driver's license. After all, they lived in the county now, but his mother was still at the production team. If his father wanted to go back to the team, he could drive back by himself if Li Long wasn't around.

Of course, that's a story for another time; he's already driving towards the mountains.

On the outskirts of the county town, green grass has already sprouted on the stalks in the fields, and dandelions have already bloomed, their yellow flowers standing out vividly against the green grass and brown soil.

Along the roadside leading to Qingshuihezi, the poplars were already turning green, and although they hadn't sprouted leaves yet, their tender buds looked like caterpillars. The tamarisk, on the other hand, had already sprouted leaves that resembled branches, with reeds standing upright like spears next to them.

When crossing the Qingshui River, you can see people in each courtyard, some tending to their vegetable gardens, others tidying up their belongings, and still others airing out their bedding.

Some of them were probably preparing to go into the mountains.

Li Long didn't stop and dashed into the mountains.

As soon as you enter the mountain pass, you can feel the temperature drop, and the mountain wind is stronger than outside. But it's not cold yet.

After crossing two more mountains, Li Long felt the chill intensify, but soon they arrived at Halimu and his men's winter camp.

Cattle and sheep were scattered on the grass, peacefully grazing on the newly sprouted green grass. The withered grass, which was delicious to them in winter, held no appeal for them now.

The mountain stream was flowing a bit too much, and Li Long thought that the small lake would probably flood soon. He figured that Captain Xu Chengjun should know to open the sluice gates in advance.
The first to spot Li Long was still the black dog. As soon as it barked, Halim, who was cleaning the sheep-washing pond, saw Li Long.

When Li Long drove the car to the entrance of the winter hut, Halim's wife and he had already arrived.

"Ready to wash the sheep?" Li Long asked after greeting them, then looked at the sheep-washing pool and asked, "Is it still sturdy?"

"It's quite sturdy. It's just that with the melting snow in the spring, some mud, leaves, and dry grass were brought in along with it. I'll clean it up and then I plan to fill it with water."

As you know, our tribe washes sheep here, which takes several days.

Li Long nodded and, together with Halimu, unloaded the supplies. He then asked:

"How have you been lately? When are you going to the inner mountain?"

"Let's go later tonight." After unloading the supplies with Li Long, Halim led him into the house for milk tea, sat down and said with a smile, "Since you're building roads, we're thinking of building as many roads as possible so we can go further in and use fewer horses to haul things."

“That’s a good idea,” Li Long nodded. “We’ll try to do more repairs this year, and it should be almost finished by next year.”

Tomorrow we'll go into the mountains to repair the road. It'll take about fifteen days, and we can go in four or five kilometers. After sowing, we'll repair it for a while longer, and we can go in about six or seven kilometers. That's another ten kilometers further in.

If we can keep working for a month after the autumn harvest, we can extend the road by about ten kilometers, and it should be completed by next year.

Of course, this is the ideal situation; no one knows whether there will be any troubles in the process.

"You guys work hard on the repairs. Once we get into the mountains, we'll hunt for things and find lots of good stuff so we'll have the money to repair the road."

This winter, Halim and his group didn't get much. All they had were a few wolf pelts, a few wild goat pelts, and a red deer pelt.

There are too many people trading hides now, so the herders are getting less, and he was too embarrassed to tell Li Long about it.

A couple of days ago, Yushanjiang came over and chatted with Halimu. They planned to take a walk in the mountains after washing the sheep. It's the time when red deer shed their antlers, so maybe they could collect some. If they could catch a few fawns, that would be even better.

After all, the fawn is more valuable than the antlers!

Another thing is the jade in the mountains. Now that the snow has melted in spring, these things are easier to find.

Now that Li Long had arrived ahead of time, Halim felt a little embarrassed, but since they were friends, he made it clear.

"It's alright, it's alright. Actually, you haven't even used up all the money from selling those things you took earlier," Li Long said truthfully.

But Halim clearly didn't believe it. He didn't know how much those things could sell for, but these dozens of kilometers of road were genuinely built. If they were to let their tribe build it themselves, it would take forever.

Seeing that he didn't believe him, Li Long stopped explaining and instead talked about the revolutionary Bek, Tursun, and others he had met in Yili.

Halim was quite interested in this and asked about the situation there in detail. After learning that many people there had already settled down and started herding livestock, Halim wondered if his own small tribe would soon become like that as well.
Actually, it's pretty much the same. As far as Li Long knows, around 2000, most of the herders in Nanshan, Ma County, will be relocated from the mountains to rural areas in various townships in the form of settled herding.

There are still about ten years left, so it's worthwhile to build this road.

Besides, many things have changed since I came into being, and perhaps even the history I know will change.

After drinking the milk tea, Li Long asked about Nathan and Sasken.

"They've gone to school. I brought them some dried meat, and I also bought some potato sprouts on the way. They've wanted to go to school for a long time; there's nothing to do in the mountains."

By the way, after their trip to Yenching, they suddenly became very interested in studying and, unusually, finished their homework well before the start of the semester.

“In that case, when they take the junior high school entrance exam, remember to send them to a Chinese-language school,” Li Long said. “That way, their chances of getting into university, or a vocational school or teacher's college, will be higher. Of course, the premise is that they are willing to learn.”

Halim took Li Long's opinion seriously, and he nodded, saying:
"Nayerjan and Ghana..."

These two children have already enrolled in Harbin School.

“If possible, it would be best to transfer to a Chinese school. Even starting from the first year of junior high is fine. Of course, if you don’t necessarily plan to go to university, then you can continue attending now.” Li Long was genuinely treating these two as his own people.

Although students from both ethnic minority and minority schools can take the high school entrance exams and go on to university, the chances are very low, since the curriculum is different. For the sake of your child's future, it's better to transfer them to a Chinese-speaking school early on, as it will be easier for them to take the exams for Chinese-speaking schools.

Halim felt it was better to let Yushanjiang listen to it himself. So after finishing their milk tea, Li Long drove Halim to Yushanjiang's house.

Yushan Jiang is tidying up the sheep pen, cleaning out the sheep manure.

Upon seeing Li Long's car, he stopped what he was doing, put down his shovel, and came out of the sheepfold.

With his wife away, he had to do all the work of making milk tea by himself.

Li Long said he had already had milk tea and didn't need to be busy anymore, as he had important matters to discuss.

Yushan River was right in front of Dongwozi. He listened as Li Long explained his idea to him.

“Actually, even if you hadn’t said anything, I was planning to come to you anyway,” Yushanjiang said with a smile. “My two children, Yerjiang and Ghana, already said that when they were in school.”

Their teachers also advised them that if they wanted to study hard, it would be best to transfer to a Chinese-language school. However, their foundational knowledge would be relatively weak if they went to a Chinese-language school, so I'm still hesitating.

At this point, Li Long couldn't offer any more advice, since the final decision was ultimately up to them.

Li Long only intended to take them to Yanjing. If they were interested, that would be best, as interest can motivate children to study diligently.

As long as you are more diligent than your peers, have learning goals, and have the bonus points policy, getting into university shouldn't be a big problem.

Even if you only get into a vocational college like Beiting Teachers College, your future prospects will be very good. Of course, this is just the minimum requirement; who knows, you might get into a better school?

Li Long didn't linger there. The sun was already setting, and he didn't plan to spend the night in the mountains, so he had to hurry back to the county.

“Then I’ll see if I can transfer to a Chinese school before I go into the mountains,” Halim said.

“No need to rush,” Li Long said after thinking for a moment. “It’s fine to finish this semester. How about we buy a house in the county? When you come back to cut grass during the summer vacation, we can bring your mother and children over. That way, I can take care of them here.”

My wife works at the education bureau, so she found a primary school in the county town for Nathan and Sasken. But you'd better remind them that they really need to study hard this semester, otherwise it will be troublesome if they fall behind at the Chinese school.”

"Buy a yard?" Halim didn't expect Li Long to bring up the idea of ​​buying a yard so easily in his conversation.

In his opinion, the conditions at the ranch team were not bad.

"One problem is that it's too far away, and the other is that the conditions for going to school there aren't very good. Let me give you a comparison. Think about it, what are the conditions for children going to school in the county town, and what are the conditions for the school in your pastoral team..."

Halim was indeed tempted, but he felt that buying a yard was such a big deal, requiring a lot of money, and he wasn't mentally prepared for it.

"It doesn't cost much, just a snow leopard pelt is enough," Li Long joked. "I have some here. Whenever you hunt down a snow leopard or bear pelt, you can just take that away."

Look at that Polati, he's even thinking of buying a house for his child to get married in the county, since the conditions here are better.”

As soon as Li Long mentioned Bolati, Halim immediately gained confidence.

If that drunkard can buy it, why can't I? It's just a snow leopard pelt. I'll just fight some when we move up the mountain!
“I forgot to tell Yushan Jiang earlier, you can tell him when you have time,” Li Long continued. “The sooner the better. Buying early means the yard will be cheaper, because the price will definitely go up as time goes on.”

Halim nodded; he understood this.

After all, the price of a sheep is much higher than before, let alone a yard.
Li Long returned to the county just as the sun was setting. When his car arrived at the purchasing station, he saw his father-in-law and father-in-law walking out together.

"You go back first, your father-in-law and I will walk back." Old man Li Qingxia waved his hand, "We still have things to talk about."

"Alright, let's talk then." Li Long actually quite enjoyed seeing this harmonious scene. Gu Boyuan used to be on the same generation as his older brother, so he didn't talk much with his father. Now, although they mostly talked about business, it was still better than having nothing to say at all.

The two were still discussing some tips for receiving goods at the dinner table, with Li Long occasionally chiming in. To Gu Boyuan's surprise, Gu Xiaoxia was no longer saying she didn't want him to go to Yili, which made him quite happy.

"I'm planning to go to Wucheng tomorrow," Li Long said while eating. "I want to ask the professors at the Agricultural College what I need to be careful about when growing cotton. Is there anything you want to bring back?"

"It's nothing. Can you come back tomorrow?" Gu Xiaoxia asked.

"I'll try my best, it should be possible," Li Long said. "We're driving, it's a quick round trip."

"Don't rush," Li Qingxia reminded her. "Safety first. There are more cars on the road now than before, and your car is small, so you need to be careful."

Li Long nodded to indicate that he understood.

The next day, after breakfast, Li Long loaded some dried meat and dried fish into the car and drove east.

Sure enough, there were more cars on the road. In the past, at this time of year, most of the cars on the road were trucks carrying goods or passenger buses, but now you could occasionally see one or two sedans.

With improved living conditions, there are more wealthy people, and more cars are becoming available.

When the car reached Beiting, Li Long did not stop. He drove through the city and went directly to Wucheng.

Seeing that there was still some time before the end of the workday, but not much, Li Long thought he would go to the Agricultural College in the afternoon and take care of some miscellaneous tasks during that time.

He first went to the train station to buy jade pebbles from Yu Sufu.

Next to Yu Sufu's stall, the stall owner had changed. Li Long wanted to laugh when he saw it; the new stall owner was Yu Sufu's original son.

"Adasi, how are you?" Li Long greeted Yusufu. "Your business is getting bigger and bigger, these two stalls are yours now."

"Haha, more people are coming here, so my business is better," Yu Sufu said with a smile. "Are you here on business?"

"Hmm, do you have any good stuff here?"

Li Long has lost interest in ordinary jade pebbles. Although they can be bought for a few or ten yuan now and worth hundreds or thousands of yuan in twenty or thirty years, the appreciation rate is quite high, but it is still far inferior to those top-grade jade pebbles.

Having been involved with jade for so many years, he has gained an understanding of the quality of seed jade. Now that he has a large stock at home, he won't rush to collect it all at once.

"Yes, yes," Yu Sufu nodded immediately. "You've kept the good pieces. Many of the people who come to buy don't know their value; they just pick the cheapest ones..."

As he spoke, he pulled a yellow satchel from under the stall and showed Li Long what was inside.

When someone came to buy dried fruit, Yusufu's son would come over to greet them.

Li Long nodded as he looked at the jade pebbles in the satchel. Yu Sufu was right. There were seven jade pebbles in there, the largest about the size of a fist and the smallest a little bigger than a pigeon egg. Although the quantity was not large, the quality was at least first-grade white jade.

Li Long reached out and picked up a piece. It felt smooth and warm to the touch, like jade.

He picked up the largest piece of material with a bit of sugar coating and examined it closely. The pores were fine, indicating it wasn't fake.

Although Yu Sufu was an old acquaintance, this material wouldn't be cheap, so Li Long naturally had to be careful.

“The price of raw materials has gone up now. I went to my old friends, and they said it’s harder to find good materials now.” Yu Sufu’s businessman’s tone came through. “So I can’t give you these seven pieces of material at a discount.”

The two "discussed" it, and Li Long paid him five hundred yuan for the seven pieces of material.

The most valuable piece is the largest one, which costs 300 yuan and weighs less than a kilogram. It's considered a high price, but even a piece like that could sell for 200 yuan at a jade carving factory.

The remaining material was too small; it was basically just a bonus.

Li Long paid the bill, and both parties were quite satisfied. Yu Sufu insisted on treating Li Long to a meal. At this time, spicy chicken, or rather, big plate chicken, had become popular. The two of them ate a meal near the train station. Yu Sufu left half for his son, who would come over to eat later.

Li Long told Yu Sufu to keep an eye out for such good jade, saying he would take as many as he could get his hands on. Yu Sufu then told Li Long that his friend had a large piece of jade, and if he wanted it, he would bring it over for him next time.

"How big?" Li Long asked.

“Just like the quality of that big piece I sold you earlier,” Yusufu said.

"You didn't cut it open? Are you suggesting I gamble?" Li Long laughed. With such a large size, the quality seen from the outside might not be the same as what's inside.

He didn't have X-ray vision, and he had no intention of gambling on jade.

"It's because it's too big that it's never been cut open, and no one dares to gamble on it. But it was fished out several years ago, and I think it's pretty good," Yu Sufu explained with a dry laugh.

"Let's play it safe," Li Long said. "If it's cheaper, I can take a look, since there's always a risk. If it's too expensive, then forget it."

There's another reason he doesn't want to gamble: once you get hooked on this, even though you seem to have a lot of money, you really can't afford to lose it all.

Seeing that Li Long was tight-lipped, Yu Sufu said:

"Alright, I'll try to persuade him to sell it cheaper next time I go back. It's better to sell it and get some money than to keep it as a treasure."

After dinner, Li Long drove to the jade carving factory.

He didn't get much out of Yusufu, so he planned to see if he could find any surprises with Engineer Liu.

After all, Yu Sufu only has Hetian jade, but Liu Gong might be able to get some other good stuff.

(End of this chapter)