Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1168 Good things should be kept for oneself
While eating, Li Long said to Meng Hai:
“Hey Xiong Kelang, you cut half of them and keep them, I’m taking the rest.”

"Alright, alright." Meng Hai didn't stand on ceremony with Li Long. While instructing people to chop the bear meat, he asked Li Long curiously, "Where did you find this bear?"

"We followed the bear's tracks southeast for seven or eight kilometers and found it in the grass. We don't know who the bear was fighting with, but its neck was bitten off and its internal organs were eaten. Unfortunately, it didn't even have a gallbladder."

"It's nothing, as long as there's meat. We don't usually need bear bile, and besides, it's free." Meng Hai chuckled as he comforted Li Long. "Comrade Li Long, I told you, we should just eat this free stuff as soon as possible."

"Yes, yes, that makes sense." Li Long continued eating. Whether he thought the stir-fried wild vegetables and lamb offal he had yesterday was better or something else, the cook here made another pot of rice today.

Judging from the situation, there aren't many left, probably because everyone likes to eat lamb offal.

It didn't taste as good as Ma Xiaoyan's, but it was still pretty good.

"By the way, anything that can eat a bear might be a tiger. You guys still need to be careful at night. Don't go out alone easily. Even if you go out to use the toilet, it's best to do it in pairs near the tent so that nothing can drag it away."

"I know, I know. I told them when we went into the mountains that the wild animals in these mountains are very dangerous, and everyone is being careful."

After Li Long finished his meal and went to the water to wash up, Meng Hai had already divided up the bear meat.

He didn't actually leave half as Li Long had said, but instead left a small portion.

“We have lamb offal here, and we might catch something every now and then, so we won’t keep too much. Since you have a large family and many people, take more back with you, and it will be gone when everyone shares it,” Meng Hai said.

Li Long didn't stand on ceremony. He loaded the meat into the car and casually asked, "Did that rock explode?"

"It's blown up," Meng Hai said with a smile. "We used about half of the explosives, drilled several holes and stuffed them in. We blew out a gap first, and then we knew the holes were too shallow. So we continued, and it ended up blowing itself off."

"That rock was quite heavy; the tractor needed several steel cables to secure it before it could be pulled away."

“Okay, I’m relieved that it’s resolved.” Li Long said to Meng Hai, “I’ll head back now. If you have any trouble, come find me. I’ll come back in a couple of days.”

"Alright, alright." Meng Hai waved and saw Li Long off.

Li Long walked to Halim's winter nest, thought for a moment, and then went inside. He found that Halim and his men were already preparing to move to a new location.

Seeing Li Long, Halim was quite happy. He carried a roll of carpet onto the tractor bed, clapped his hands, and came over to greet Li Long.

“I just came from the road construction site. The road has been extended for several kilometers. You can use tractors to transport the supplies to the end of the road first, and then transport them on horseback.”

"Well, that's already pretty good. It would probably take two days to travel such a long distance on horseback, but I got there in half a day by tractor, which makes my horse less tired."

Li Long understood. After all, carrying so much cargo on horseback, unloading it every day and then reloading it the next day was not only a waste of time, but also tiring for the horse.

However, tractors can transport supplies directly to the end of the road being repaired, saving a lot of time, and horses don't have to carry them for as long.

"What are your thoughts on the child's schooling?" Li Long asked the crucial question.

“I’ll do it your way. I’ll buy a courtyard in the county, bring my mother and child there, and then after we move to the mountains, I’ll gather more supplies. In the fall, I’ll send the child to school in the county. I’ll ask you to help me with this.”

"No problem. What about the Yushan River area?"

“Ghana is willing, but Yerjan is not so willing. Yerjan’s grades aren’t very good, and he’s worried he won’t be able to keep up,” Halim said. “Yushanjiang is thinking that if it doesn’t work out, he won’t go for now.”

“If your grades are falling behind, I suggest you ask Yushan Jiang to spend some money to find a tutor for after-school tutoring.” At that time, after-school tutoring was little known in the small county, or rather, almost no one did it. Students were left to their own devices and see how they did.

Li Long felt that if Ye Erjiang was really willing to learn, finding a teacher for after-school tutoring should be effective.

After all, the content to be learned at this time is relatively simple, and the pressure is not so great.

“Then I’ll tell him.” Halim nodded.

Halim smelled blood and asked Li Long if he had been hunting. Li Long then told him about finding the bear.

“Anything that can eat a bear must be quite formidable.” Halim was also quite cautious. “It might be a tiger. I’ll keep a close eye on things these next couple of nights.”

"You also need to be careful on your journeys when moving livestock. There are no sheep pens along the way, and you might be spotted by wild animals."

“Yes, we know,” Harim nodded and said with a smile. “We have guns, so there’s nothing to fear.”

Li Long chatted for a while and then left, as he needed to process the bear meat when he got back.

He had already planned it all out on the way: two of the four bear paws would be eaten in the courtyard, and the other two would be taken to his older brother's place. As for the bear meat, it would be split in half.

I've given gifts to other people I know before, but I won't this time. I'll keep them for my own family.

When he delivered the two bear paws to the fourth team, he could see that some people had already planted seeds in the fields, and others, although they hadn't planted seeds yet, were leveling the land and preparing for planting.

The countryside is bustling with activity.

When we arrived at my elder brother's house, my mother, Du Chunfang, was alone in the yard picking wild thorn buds. Spring had arrived, and all sorts of edible wild vegetables and flowers were slowly sprouting.

Next to the fourth team is a thorny bud flower, taken from the bell thorn. This shrub, covered in thorns, flowers and bears fruit. The fruit looks a bit like a bubble, with black seeds inside. It makes a sound when the wind blows, hence the name bell thorn.

Seeing Li Long arrive, Du Chunfang didn't get up, but smiled as she watched her youngest son get out of the car with his things.

"What smells so strong?" Du Chunfang asked.

"Xiong went into the mountains to watch people work and saw a bear being eaten by something. He didn't finish eating it, so I picked it up and brought it back."

Li Long put down the two bear paws, and then took Xiong Kelangzi down as well. Du Chunfang hurriedly said:

"Why didn't you keep some for yourself? Why did you bring it all back and leave it here? It's such a waste to give it to them!"

Li Long knew that the "they" his mother was referring to were those relatives.

Li Long found this kind of clear-cut "simple" love and hate somewhat amusing. He laughed and said, "I want to keep it. I came here as soon as I returned from the mountains, and now I plan to cut it in half and keep it."

This meat isn't very tasty. I'll keep half here and take the other half home.

"Hmm, that's quite a lot." Du Chunfang nodded. "Giving them meat almost every meal is good enough... but they're alright at work."

Li Long took a machete out of the car, and Du Chunfang bent over and shuffled over to get the chopping block. At that time, chopping boards were rarely used for cutting meat and vegetables; wooden blocks were used instead. No one knew how much sawdust they consumed each year.

Li Long cut the remaining half of the bear meat that Meng Hai had chopped in half, placed one half on the kitchen cutting board, and said to his mother:
"Mom, I'm not touching this meat. I need to go back and finish the rest."

"Take some of these thorn flowers back with you, steam them, and let Mingming and Haohao have them as a snack."

The children in the village rarely eat snacks, either because they don't have the money or the means. The things found in the wild are their treats.

Du Chunfang felt that Mingming and Haohao, like other children, should also like to eat.

Li Long didn't refuse. He grabbed half a handful and stuffed it into his mouth. While chewing, he found his yellow satchel in the car, took half a bunch of thorn flowers from the winnowing basket in his mother's hand, and when she tried to put some more into his satchel, Li Long quickly waved his hand.

"That's enough... that's enough to eat."

“They’re everywhere along the canal to the east. I go and get some whenever I have time. You guys don’t have much to eat in the city…”

"That's enough." Du Chunfang was a little disappointed that Li Long didn't want it.

"Mom, take your time picking it up. I'm off." Li Long put his bag in the car, said goodbye to his mother, and drove away.

Du Chunfang was quite satisfied; the trip to pick the thorn flowers had not been in vain.

Li Long returned to the courtyard. It wasn't time to get off work yet, so he began to tinker with the bear parts.

Once the bear meat is removed, it should be braised. The bear bones are not suitable to be placed at this time; it's best to braise them along with the meat.

As for the bear's head and paws, Li Long's approach was rather crude: he simply skinned them and started cooking them directly.

Anyway, later generations cooked pig's head, sheep's head, cow's head, and mutton in the same way: clean them, put them in a big pot, and boil them. As for bear's paws, I've eaten several already, so they're not anything special. As for the taste, I don't know if it's because of the cooking method or something else, but it's just so-so.

When Gu Boyuan and Li Qingxia returned, Li Long had already processed the bear meat and bones, and skinned the bear paws and head, ready to be cooked.

Of course, he couldn't cook right now; he was preparing dinner. Dinner was simple: he stir-fried some bear meat, made some leavened flatbread, and cooked some porridge. That was it.

When Gu Xiaoxia brought Mingming and Haohao back, she saw the situation and knew that they couldn't practice driving today. After dinner, she and Sister Yang started processing the bear's head and paws.

"Did you take the bear meat to your older brother's place?" Gu Boyuan asked Li Long while they were eating.

"Take it. Take half the bear meat and two bear paws," Li Long said.

“These mountains are quite dangerous.” Li Qingxia’s expression turned serious after hearing Li Long’s account of how he found the bear. “You’d better be careful when you go into the mountains later.”

"Yes, I have a gun with me. Even a tiger can't get close to me."

"We still can't be careless," Gu Boyuan reminded him.

Gu Xiaoxia didn't say anything, but her eyes were full of concern and worry.

"Can Daddy kill a tiger?" Hao Hao suddenly asked.

Li Long thought for a moment and said:

"If he's armed, he can be killed. If he's unarmed and has never fought before, he probably can't be killed."

"Then Dad isn't as good as Wu Song," Hao Hao said earnestly in comparison. "Wu Song killed the tiger with his fists, right?"

“But he used a baton at first!” Mingming defended her father from the side. “He not only used his fists, but he also drank alcohol!”

In Mingming's eyes, his father is the most amazing person, and no one else can be more amazing than his father.

"Then...then..." Hao Hao was also caught in a dilemma, not knowing what to say.

"Alright, alright, Wu Song was amazing, and your dad was amazing too." Gu Xiaoxia wanted to laugh, so she quickly tried to smooth things over and smooth things over. "Hurry up and eat, then go play."

The bear provided plenty of talking. That evening, Gu Xiaoxia and Sister Yang cooked the bear's head and paws, placing coal under the pot to simmer them over a low flame. The pressure cooker wouldn't work then, so they had to keep cooking it until it was very tender.

Sister Yang told Gu Xiaoxia that she would check on the fire from time to time, and urged Gu Xiaoxia to go back and rest, as she had to go to work the next day. Gu Xiaoxia went back into the house and saw Li Long telling stories to the two children, so she didn't disturb them.

After the children fell asleep, Gu Xiaoxia asked Li Long, who was leaning against the bed:
"Are you sure there's no danger? You weren't bitten, were you?"

“No.” Li Long chuckled. “What, you don’t believe me? When I found this bear, its belly was completely ripped out. I was hoping to find something to gnaw on it so I could shoot it, but I didn’t see anything.”

Li Long has a criminal record; he once injured someone without telling Gu Xiaoxia, so Gu Xiaoxia was a little skeptical of him. She insisted that he take off his clothes and carefully checked him over before she felt at ease.

The examination went on and on, and it ended up in bed. Several tens of minutes later, Gu Xiaoxia suddenly realized that she had been thinking of telling her husband to be careful when going into the mountains in the future.
Now, instead of being criticized, he's gotten himself involved.

But at this moment, she didn't want to talk anymore. She lay on Li Long's body, not wanting to move or say anything. She just wanted to lie there quietly and happily for the rest of her life.

Soon, she fell into a deep sleep.

Breakfast on the second day was exceptionally delicious.

The meat from the bear's head and paws was cooked until it was so tender that it would be an exaggeration to say it melted in your mouth.

In addition, the meat flavor had also seeped into the food, which made the Li family, who were not used to eating too much oily food in the morning, quite comfortable today. Even Mingming and Haohao ate their fill with porridge and two pieces of meat sandwiched in a steamed bun.

After the meal, Li Long took the initiative to send Mingming and Haohao to kindergarten. When he came back, he scooped up some cooked meat and planned to take it to the purchasing station.

Since neither his father nor his father-in-law came over for breakfast this morning, Li Long planned to bring some over for them to try. Of course, Sun Jiaqiang and Liang Shuangcheng would also benefit from it.

There weren't many people in the morning. When Li Long brought the meat over, the group only took a taste. They had already eaten breakfast, and the meat was a bit greasy, so they just wanted to try it out and planned to have a proper lunch.

"Xiaolong, your old man can basically handle things on his own now. When is Liu Gaolou coming over?" After finishing his meat, Gu Boyuan asked Li Long. "If he doesn't come over anytime soon, I'll drive over first."

It's already early April, and I'm thinking of going there to investigate as soon as possible. If it's feasible to open, I want to get the purchasing station up and running before the fritillaria season arrives, and maybe even make some extra money on the side.

“I’ll call him again,” Li Long said, “to ask about the situation.”

Li Long went to the counter to call Liu Gaolou, but no one answered.

“He’s not here. I’ll call again this afternoon. If he’s still not here, then he should be heading this way,” Li Long said. “Uncle Gu, don’t worry, it’ll only be a matter of a few days.”

“Okay,” Gu Boyuan said. “Then I’ll wait a little longer.”

Actually, Li Long thought it would be best if Zhao Hui came first. There were still four or five thousand hides in the warehouse. If Liu Gaolou came first, they would probably have to bring over another batch of hides, which would add up to more than ten thousand hides.

Those leathers alone are worth millions, and Zhao Hui might not be able to buy them all at once.

I never expected that after the Animal Protection Law was enacted, we would end up with more animal skins on our side.

The warehouse could hold this, but Li Long never wanted to have too much stock on hand.

Five thousand hides were tied up for at least four hundred thousand, plus the antelope horns he had been hoarding and not selling, so his cash increase wasn't actually that much.

Some were converted into US dollars, and some into supplies.

But thinking about it won't help. Li Long knew that if Zhao Hui didn't come, he would have to wait.

The leather factory was also buying leather, and some people from the leather factory even contacted Li Long, saying that if he had a lot of leather, he could sell it to the leather factory.

The price offered by the leather factory wasn't high, so Li Long never planned to sell there; it was just an alternative.

The next day at noon, Liu Gaolou arrived with his convoy.

The long convoy drove into the purchasing station again. Although this scene happens every few days, people still stop to watch along the way.

At this time, it was extremely rare to find someone who could afford to organize a convoy. For ordinary people, this was a spectacle and a topic of conversation for days.

Liu Gaolou brought four GAZ trucks this time, all worth 20,000 US dollars. He still paid Li Long 500 US dollars per truck. The amount of leather wasn't as much as expected, only 2,000 hides. 1,000 pairs of antelope horns.

Wu Yongbo also came over, bringing five hundred hides, which he had received in the past few days.

Liu Gaolou said that Liu Shanmin still wanted white sugar over there, fifty tons of white sugar, and after deducting the cost of four GAZ trucks, he would give Li Long forty-eight thousand US dollars.

Li Long then had to give Liu Gaolou 190,000 yuan.

Li Long told Liu Gaolou that his father-in-law was going to Yili to investigate the possibility of opening a purchasing station. Liu Gaolou naturally had no objections and said with a smile:

“I’ll have Buick go with your father-in-law around Yili. Oh, and Wu Yongbo is here too, you can talk to him. He’s also thinking about opening a purchasing station.”

Li Long thought it was good enough that he didn't scold him.

Only after Liu Gaolou's transaction was completed could Wu Yongbo get his turn.

Wu Yongbo was unaware that Gu Boyuan was going to Yili; he was currently calculating the value of his own hides.

Although the price of the hides cannot be calculated based on the price Li Long received from his father, who owned Revolutionary Buick, Wu Yongbo had already obtained them at a lower price. In addition, Liu Gaolou did not charge him for transportation. He estimated that he could earn 20 yuan per hide on this trip, and 500 hides would amount to 10,000 yuan!
He can earn 10,000 yuan in one trip. If he keeps doing this and makes a few more trips, he'll have enough money to open his own purchasing station!
Of course, this is the ideal situation. In the past few days, he has already collected all the leather stock from the contacts he could find. It is unlikely that he can continue to collect such a large quantity in the short term.

But he was confident!
When Li Long and Wu Yongbo were counting the hides together, Li Long told him about Gu Boyuan's trip to Yili to investigate the possibility of opening a purchasing station.

Wu Yongbo's face immediately darkened.

What do you mean? Are you going to become a traitor?
(End of this chapter)