Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1195 Meng Hai has a new project, and Tao Daqiang is back to collaborate.
Registering a company is a real hassle when the legal system is sound. After all, a construction team like Meng Hai's, which can't even be considered a makeshift operation, is more like a mob.

Registration is unlikely to be successful.

At that time, while everything was in ruins and needed rebuilding, many procedures were not as strict as in later years, and it was still possible to get things done by finding connections.

The regulations naturally become stricter as time goes on, which is why many affiliations have emerged.

Following Li Xiangqian's instructions, Li Long told Meng Hai to proceed according to procedure.

The main problems Meng Hai faces are a lack of engineering and technical personnel, as well as registered capital. Li Long will figure out how to secure the registered capital, while he will be the one to find the engineering and technical personnel.

He initially thought he could find some people in state-owned enterprises, but he gave up after contacting two of them because they were too arrogant. Who would be willing to give up a secure job in a state-owned enterprise to cooperate with a makeshift team that had not yet been established?

Meng Hai could only look for odd jobs or contact recent graduates from vocational schools.

Even part-time work is fine.

Before he could even gather all the staff, Li Long found him another job.

The job was arranged by Li Xiangqian. Last time, when Li Long asked Li Xiangqian about the procedures for setting up a company, Li Xiangqian explained the situation and then called Li Long to the supply and marketing cooperative to inquire about the details.

Li Longming said that he wanted to partner with Meng Hai to start an engineering company and subcontract some work to construction teams.

Li Xiangqian hadn't expected Li Long to have this idea. At that time, privately run construction teams were basically makeshift operations, taking on odd jobs that slipped through the cracks in state-owned companies.

Of course, none of these construction teams had any qualifications; they would come together if they were on good terms, and disperse if they weren't. Many construction teams in the southeastern coastal areas were run by people from the inland regions. Most of the teams in northern Xinjiang were also organized by people from the border regions. They all started without qualifications, but as they worked and their numbers grew, they either affiliated with a company or established their own.

Li Xiangqian had been thinking about Li Long's matter. Once, during a county meeting, he overheard a leader from the Animal Husbandry Bureau saying that a project had been secured from higher authorities to build sheds and livestock pens for some impoverished herders so they could settle down and graze their livestock.

Li Xiangqian asked where the location was, and the leader said it was in Qingshuihezi. Li Xiangqian then mentioned that the main people in the engineering team that Li Long was in were from Qingshuihezi, and they had also worked on irrigation canals and roads.

Building livestock sheds isn't particularly technically demanding, and since it's in Qingshuihe, there's no need for bidding or anything like that; the leaders can make the decisions directly.

Moreover, the project wasn't large, so the leader jokingly gave Li Xiangqian the job of managing fifty livestock sheds.

The construction cost for one shed is one thousand yuan, so fifty sheds would cost fifty thousand yuan.

Anyway, according to the leader of that animal husbandry bureau, building a shed would cost seven or eight hundred yuan, and the rest would be profit.

Li Xiangqian then told Li Long.

Li Long was naturally delighted and immediately went to Qingshui River to find Meng Hai.

Meng Hai wasn't around, and he'd been looking for people these past few days. Li Long had given him a chance, and he didn't want to stay stuck here as a farmer anymore, so he'd been driving his GAZ truck around the odd-job market every day looking for workers, while also constantly asking around for technical personnel.

There's a shortage of technical personnel now, and since he can't find those with secure jobs, he's started contacting retirees.

Even if you don't get a high salary after retirement, as long as you get some money, you can basically keep your name on the payroll. After all, it's not easy to live comfortably on a retirement pension during this period of rising prices. Why not take advantage of extra money?

And sure enough, Meng Hai actually managed to contact three retired skilled workers.

His confidence soared, so he continued running. Li Long went to his house but couldn't find him, so he had to return to the county, where he ran into Meng Hai at the odd-job market.

"You mean another job?" Meng Hai asked, somewhat surprised.

The work on this irrigation canal was completed less than ten days ago.

"In your Qingshuihe area, is it possible to build fifty livestock sheds for the herders, with a budget of one thousand yuan per shed?"

"Of course I can do it... Are there any standards?"

“That’s for sure.” Li Long smiled. “If we can build it, come with me to the Animal Husbandry Bureau tomorrow to sign the contract, check the standards, and then withdraw some funds to start construction.”

"Great, great, that's wonderful!" Meng Hai exclaimed excitedly. "I was still contacting a technician today, but he was hesitant. So I won't wait any longer and will go back to let him know... This is fantastic!"

Li Long was quite happy too.

The next day, Meng Hai dressed neatly and went to the Animal Husbandry Bureau with Li Long. The director of the Animal Husbandry Bureau already knew that Li Long was the boss of this construction team. Li Long was a celebrity in the county, so the director was quite polite. After chatting with Li Long for a few minutes, he asked someone to take Meng Hai to complete the formalities and sign the contract, while he talked to Li Long about other things.

The animal husbandry bureau wants to buy a car.

They couldn't afford a new Santana; they didn't have the budget. Li Xiangqian got a used Volga, which many mid-level leaders in the county envied.

However, they also knew that their relationship with Li Long wasn't as good as Li Xiangqian's, so they couldn't get a car that cheap. But they could still squeeze out tens of thousands of yuan from the company's public funds to buy a used car.

At that time, none of the county bureaus actually had cars for their offices; being able to get one was a status symbol.

“Sure,” Li Long said with a smile. “I have GAZ-69, Lada and Volga right now. Director Nu, I suggest you buy the Volga. It’s a bit more expensive, but the brand name speaks for itself, and it will make you look more prestigious when you ride in it.”

The head of the livestock bureau, Nurlan, naturally shared the same idea, but he still needed to inquire about the price of the vehicle. The livestock bureau wasn't a wealthy organization, so anything too expensive was beyond his means.

"How much does your Volga cost?"

"The Volga cars I have are secondhand, but they're in good condition. They were all inspected before being imported, and they're not very old. To be honest, the Volga looks much better than the Santana..."

Li Long laid a lot of groundwork, and Director Nurlan was a little apprehensive listening to him. This car is good; the price must be high.

"But Director Nu has been so kind as to give our engineering team this project. We're practically family here. I usually sell this car to out-of-town businessmen for 100,000 yuan or more, but since we're family, I won't ask for such a high price. How about 60,000 yuan for this car?"

Upon hearing this number, Director Nu couldn't help but smile, but he remained cautious and said:
"Then I'll have to test drive the car—to be honest, the price is very reasonable."

Li Long thought to himself that this was more than fair; there was nowhere else in northern Xinjiang that could be found at such a price.

Meng Hai was handling the formalities, reviewing the standards, and collecting the documents, while Li Long drove Director Nurlan to the purchasing station to inspect the vehicles.

Nurlan may not be able to drive, but that doesn't mean he can't appreciate cars. The cars parked in the shed all looked quite new. While they might not be exactly brand new, in Nurlan's eyes they were much better looking than Santanas, exuding luxury and grandeur.

By the way, someone in the county has already bought a Santana, privately.

The person who bought the car was someone who had gotten rich first, and he publicly declared that he looked down on those used cars, and that if he wanted to buy a car, he would buy a European or American one, because Russian cars were not fashionable.

To be honest, the 1988 Santana was just so-so in appearance.

Anyway, Li Long didn't think much of it.

Director Nurlan had ridden in Li Xiangqian's Volga before, which is why he had this idea.

Li Long opened the car door and let Director Nu sit inside and experience it.

"Hmm, it really does look like a new car." Nurlan carefully observed the condition of the car's interior.

Li Long smiled. Each vehicle was inspected in Harbin before being brought back, and then Sun Jiaqiang and Liang Shuangcheng would thoroughly clean it up inside and out.

To be honest, it's just that there aren't many cars these days, otherwise two people could easily handle a car detailing job.

After inspecting the entire vehicle, Director Nurlan smiled broadly; he was very satisfied.

Although I don't drive, at least on the surface, the car seems to be in good condition. The previous owner took good care of it; there's little damage, and the interior looks almost brand new.

Sixty thousand yuan is a great deal—it's more prestigious than a Santana.

And that's how the deal was finalized.

There's still a process to complete the paperwork, and Nurlan also needs to find a driver, since the Livestock Bureau doesn't currently have a driver position. He needs to go and see if anyone in the agency can drive.

Things went much more smoothly after that. After receiving the contract and standards, Meng Hai immediately went back to organize the workforce and get to work. The work was being done in Qingshuihe Township—oh, I forgot to mention earlier, Qingshuihe Township's full name is Qingshuihe Kazakh Township, so many Kazakh herders live there.

This is a very important location for Ma County's settlement and livestock development program. The site was selected by the Livestock Bureau, and Meng Hai and his team could start laying the foundation and getting started right away in their 75-liter tractors.

Li Long went over to take a look, and then didn't bother with it anymore. This place wasn't far from Meng Hai's village, and they could eat and stay at home, so Li Long didn't need to worry about it.

Moreover, he was very busy. After the Livestock Bureau bought a Volga, it was like a domino effect. One after another, bureaus in the county came to Li Long to buy cars, and they specifically wanted Volga.

Even though there are newer, cheaper Ladas available, they insist on Volga.

Li Long was naturally happy. There wasn't a single Volga left, but the Armed Forces bought a GAZ-69, saying that the vehicle suited their style better.

By the way, at that time, the armed forces department was still considered part of the county's organizational structure.

Thirty or forty years later, the county would generally have four sets of leadership, including the People's Congress and the CPPCC. But before 2000, it was five sets of leadership, including the Armed Forces Department.

Before 1986, the Armed Forces Department was active duty; after 1986, it was transferred to local jurisdiction; and more than a decade later, it was changed back to active duty, but under dual leadership.

Li Long practically gave away the GAZ-69 truck. It was less than three years old and very new. The Armed Forces Department wanted it, so Li Long offered 25,000 yuan as a favor.

They were naturally aware that the Armed Forces Department had a driver and also had a 212, but because they had a lot of work to do, they needed another vehicle for official use.

As a result, only two Ladas remained unsold in the yard of the purchasing station.

However, Li Long wasn't worried. More and more people were getting rich, and many wanted to buy cars. The Santana was quite expensive in China, and the Xiali hadn't been released yet. Even if it were, its price and appearance wouldn't be able to compete with the Lada.

Of course, you can still buy a minivan now, but some newly rich bosses feel that minivans don't match their image, which makes things a bit tricky.

Lada is a good choice for them.

Of course, Liu Gaolou's return gave these people more options—this time Liu Gaolou brought two second-hand trucks, a forklift, three Volga trucks, and a Lada.

This trip yielded relatively few hides, only two thousand, and one thousand pairs of antelope horns.

There are five hundred pairs of antlers—a small number, but quite heavy, and they take up more space than antelope antlers.

Li Long had to pay Liu Gaolou another large sum of money, and of course, because of the sugar and cement, he would receive another large sum of US dollars.

“The forklift isn’t expensive, five thousand US dollars,” Liu Gaolou said. “The used truck isn’t expensive either, one thousand US dollars. The other prices remain the same. The situation there isn’t very good right now. My second uncle said that the number of hides and antelope horns may continue to decrease.”

Li Long had no objection to this. He already had a lot of antelope horns, and having more would only be icing on the cake; not having any wouldn't make a big difference.

After settling the deal with Liu Gaolou and sending him away, Li Long finally felt relieved.

There wasn't much work at the purchasing station; they were mainly buying black tiger paw mushrooms, so Li Long could relax a bit. Since Mingming and Haohao were already on holiday, Li Long took them to the fourth team and left the two children with his mother. When his mother couldn't keep an eye on them, Li Qiang would take care of them.

The two children trusted their older brother and followed Li Qiang around every day, getting covered in mud every day. When Gu Xiaoxia came back on the weekend and saw this, she was both disgusted and heartbroken.

Li Long didn't care at all. He thought it wouldn't hurt for a child to have more contact with the earth, as long as he wasn't raised like a hothouse flower.

In the afternoon, when Li Long was preparing to return to the county, Tao Daqiang arrived.

In the past two years, he has had less contact with Tao Daqiang, or rather, not like he did in the first two years. Back then, it was basically Li Long leading Tao Daqiang in this business; Xie Yundong, Liang Dacheng, and others weren't in this circle yet, or they hadn't formed a circle at that time.

However, Tao Daqiang later preferred a simple life with "wife, children, and a warm bed," and Li Long didn't force him, so they each went about their own business.

It's not that they're drifting further and further apart, it's just that Tao Daqiang can no longer keep up with Li Long's pace.

Of course, their relationship remained unchanged and was still very good. Tao Daqiang also greatly respected Li Long, whom he called "Brother Long," and would always think of the Li family when he had something good.

"What brings you here?" Li Long asked with a smile. "Didn't you bring the kids?"

Tao Daqiang's first child was a daughter, and according to policy, he could have another child in five years. This one is a son, and he's still young.

"Pingping is with him." Tao Daqiang walked to Li Long's side, holding something in his hand, and said:
"Brother Long, look."

"Huh? It's grown so big?" Li Long looked at the crab in Tao Daqiang's hand and immediately realized that it must have grown from the crab seedlings that he had put in the small lake.

With the help of Huang Lei and Zhao Hui, Li Long released about ten batches of crabs, a considerable number.

He still kept an eye on it from time to time in June, but later, because he was busy with the purchasing station and Meng Hai's engineering team, he rarely went to Xiaohaizi anymore. In addition, the cotton is now in the critical period of topping, and he has been guiding Li Junfeng and the others in their work these past few days, so he has even less time.

“Yesterday I went to the rice field and saw some kids catching crabs with nets, so I went over to take a look and saw the crabs they had caught. I chased the kids away, but the crabs stayed—they were quite big.”

Indeed, this crab, excluding its claws and pincers, is about the size of a small mooncake, and it's definitely edible—or rather, most of the local crabs that were later released to the market from the Ili River Valley in northern Xinjiang were this size.

The crabs must have grown this big to be from the first batch released; the later ones probably wouldn't have grown this big.

Li Long immediately became excited, turning the crab over and over to examine it, and said:

"It's so big now, it's ready to eat! Daqiang, let's go crab hunting tonight, wanna come?"

"Go ahead," Tao Daqiang readily agreed, "but... how do we catch them?"

"Take a flashlight, carry a bucket, and it's best to wear gloves, otherwise this thing can pinch your hands and hurt a lot."

In later generations, headlamps were used; they're still unavailable now. Or perhaps Li Long didn't look for them—he didn't need them, and he couldn't remember.

But the best way to catch crabs here is at night, wearing a headlamp, by the lake.

In his previous life, he liked to catch crabs, and he did so at Dahaizi.

Several inlanders used to raise crabs in net cages over Dahai Lake. The crabs escaped from the cages and made their home in Dahai Lake, where they survived year after year.

The south bank of Dahai Lake has a gentle slope, and the shallowest part of the water only covers the instep. On nights in July and August, if you wear a headlamp and walk slowly in the shallow water on the south bank, you can see crabs lying in the clear water through the headlamp.

Wearing stab-proof gloves, he could grab anything accurately—Li Long once grabbed seven or eight kilograms in one night!

There's nothing we can do about it; sometimes there are just too many.

He truly misses it.

Of course, there aren't that many crabs now, and they're not that big, but since there are some and someone has caught them, I naturally have to hurry up and get the crabs back.

Why did Huang Lei and Zhao Hui bring over so many crab seedlings just to have a bite of this?

Besides, at least 60-70% of these crabs won't survive the winter. They'll freeze to death if they dig shallow burrows. It's better to catch them yourself and feed them to your family.

"What time will the arrests begin?" Tao Daqiang asked.

"Let's go after 11 o'clock," Li Long said. "The days are long now, it's not dark yet around 10 o'clock, 11:30 is the best. That's when the crabs come out in the shallow water, they're easier to catch."

"Okay, I got it." Tao Daqiang went back excitedly. He still missed the days of catching fish with Li Long, but it had been several years since he had done so.

Today, with this opportunity suddenly presented itself, he excitedly returned home and began preparing.

Yang Pingping saw him rummaging through drawers and cabinets looking for something, so she asked what he was doing. Tao Daqiang smiled and explained what was going on, and Yang Pingping pursed her lips.

What's so great about catching crabs? She saw one yesterday, and it looked really scary. Plus, it's all shell, so it probably doesn't have much meat.

Li Qiang brought Mingming and Haohao back, and when Li Long told them that they were going to catch crabs that night, they wanted to go too.

"You can't go." Li Jianguo had already returned and immediately stopped them. "There's a dam right next to Xiaohaizi, and the water is deep. Your uncle is going to catch crabs and won't be able to keep an eye on you. What if you fall in? Nighttime is different from daytime; you can't go!"

Li Jianguo's words were the final word, and Li Long could only cast a helpless glance at Li Qiang.

Young man, I can't help you anymore!
(End of this chapter)