Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1206 Now that we're rich, we need to take it easy with hunting.
Since they had run into each other and were so close, Li Long raised his gun.

With his marksmanship, he estimated the distance to be no more than 60 or 70 meters, and taking down the bear would be a sure thing—the bear was a bit anxious, tearing at the skin of the mackerel, sometimes holding the fish up with both paws and gnawing on it, sometimes putting the fish down and pressing it down with one paw while gnawing on it with the other.

He doesn't seem very skilled.

Li Long has excellent eyesight. Although he couldn't see the bear's subtle movements from this distance, he could sense that the bear was trying its best to swallow the fish.

Just as Li Long was wondering and preparing to fire, a bear's roar came from above!
Another bear has arrived!

This time it was a big guy—this creature was at least 2.67 meters tall, and it crawled and climbed as the behemoth ran toward the little guy.

Li Long suddenly remembered a video and joke he had seen before, which said that brown bears hunt black bears.

Is this big guy going to kill this little guy?

His gun was aimed at the big, dark brown guy—who was charging at him with an even bigger fish in his mouth…wait, what?

Li Long was about to shoot the big bear, but then he saw the little bear hear the bear's roar, put down the fish, and pounce on the big bear, and then... rub against the big bear.

Li Long understood; so these were a mother and baby bear.

The big bear put the large fish it was carrying in its mouth—a big mackerel, weighing two or three kilograms, which was quite large—on the ground, and pushed it with its paw, seemingly indicating to the little bear that it should eat it.

Only then did Li Long take a closer look and realize that the bear cub wasn't a pure black bear; it was brownish-black and hadn't fully grown yet.

After releasing the fish, the bear roared at the opposite bank of the river. This direction was about thirty degrees away from Li Long's location; otherwise, Li Long would have thought he had been discovered.

Then I saw four gray wolves dart out of the grass by the river and howl at the bear across the water.

Wow, this is quite lively!

Li Long laughed.

He truly hadn't expected to encounter wolves here!
These wolves are tall and strong; they seem to have eaten quite well this year. The biggest one, for example, is almost as tall as my own little black wolf, and looks quite fierce.

Are these wolves planning to surround the bear cub?

Isn't that a bit too audacious?
Li Long watched the show while thinking to himself.

The big brown bear howled at the wolves, and the little bear imitated its posture, but its voice was too immature. As soon as the voice came out, Li Long officially confirmed that this was a little bear.

Those wolves, facing a brown bear several times their size, showed no weakness and roared back. Judging from their appearance, if there hadn't been river water, they might have torn each other apart.

However, Li Long felt that if there hadn't been river water, the wolves would have run away long ago. Despite its large size, this brown bear was surprisingly fast, carrying the fish with it as it ran.

Li Long's gun barrel also turned towards the four wolves as he observed them.

The mother and cub bear scene was heartwarming, and Li Long felt that hunting wolves might be more in line with his current worldview.

The four wolves were focused intently on the two bears, showing no sign of weakness, completely unaware that there was another enemy eyeing them menacingly.

"boom!"

Having made his decision, Li Long no longer hesitated and pulled the trigger at the largest wolf.

He didn't know if it was a wolf, but it was the one that howled the loudest.

The wolf fell to the ground with a thud... Because it was a large target and because it was across the river, the wolf was quite at ease and didn't move much. The bullet went through its neck, severing its carotid artery, and the wolf died on the spot.

Gunshots echoed through the valley, and the remaining three wolves scattered and disappeared into the bushes. The big brown bear, however, spotted Li Long, roared at him twice, and then hurriedly left with its cubs.

Li Long wasn't particularly large compared to a brown bear, but the sound of his gunshot was deafening. The noise, flash, and vibrations were very intimidating to wild animals.

After the wolf and bear had run away, Li Long picked up his gun and walked towards the direction where the wolf had fallen.

The wolf died on the spot, and blood gushed from the wound on its neck, staining the nearby bushes red.

Li Long didn't find any other wolves nearby, but he didn't want to stay there any longer. He tucked the wolf under his arm and left.

This wolf weighed forty or fifty kilograms, much larger than those internet-famous wolves seen in videos later on. It also had many healed wounds, indicating it had been through numerous battles.

But that's all in the past.

Li Long, carrying the wolf carefully to avoid getting its blood on his clothes, quickly returned to the road repair site.

The construction team was still working, but the aroma of pilaf was already wafting from the tents.

It's obviously lunchtime.

Seeing Li Long return with the wolf, many people greeted him with smiles. Someone said to the person next to him, "See, I told you so. As long as Boss Li goes out with a gun, he basically never comes back empty-handed."

The engineering team members truly appreciated Li Long's hunting skills, having tasted quite a few of them.

After placing the wolf beside the tent and putting the gun back in the car, Li Longcai took out his knife and began skinning the wolf by the river.

“This wolf is quite big.” Meng Hai walked over and watched Li Long skin the wolf. “Wolves have been active near our tents for the past few nights. Although we brought guns, I told the night watchmen not to shoot randomly as long as the wolves didn’t come near the tents, so we didn’t hit them.”

"I encountered a bear cub first. These wolves were planning to ambush the bear, but they were scared by the big bear. I took advantage of the situation and killed the wolves."

Li Long peeled the skin while explaining to Meng Hai.

He was quite pleased that he had managed to get a full hide from the hunt today.

"Discard the wolf's internal organs. After skinning and gutting it, just throw the stomach and intestines aside," he said to Meng Hai.

"I'll take these things with me when I leave later, so as not to attract wolves again at night."

"No, please!" Meng Hai didn't want to waste a single bit. "Don't throw it away! I'll ask the cook to see if they can clean it up. It's meat after all..."

Alright, Li Long didn't stop him. Anyway, this matter had already been handed over to Meng Hai. He was just here to check on the progress of the project and see if there were any difficulties.

To be honest, he was really satisfied with the progress of the project.

These people are significantly more motivated than before.

After the pilaf was prepared, the cook tapped a tractor track next to the tent, which served as a reminder to start eating.

The others had already smelled the aroma of the pilaf, and they all put down their tools and came back.

Meng Hai told Li Long to get his food first, but Li Long refused. He salted the wolf skin and let it dry, leaving one wolf leg for Meng Hai and the others, and packed the rest into a bag to take back with him.

I haven't eaten wild game for a while, so this is a treat to try something new.

Of course, right now we're going to eat pilaf – it smells delicious.

After the meal, Li Long drove away. Before leaving, he told Meng Hai to come to him if he encountered any difficulties, and that he was also making connections in the county. He would also notify Meng Hai and his team in a timely manner if there were any projects available.

At the current pace of road construction by Meng Hai and his team, if they work harder, it is possible that the road will be completed by the end of this year.

This is the difference between a full-time construction team and a part-time team.

Of course, the assistance of forklifts and trucks was also crucial; otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible to achieve such speed.

Li Long went back and stayed for two days, and then Yang Bo called, saying there really was a project.

"It's still a section of irrigation canal, but longer than last time, and the workload is a bit bigger. It should be finished around October—mainly after some of the winter irrigation work is completed in the fall," Yang Bo explained.

"The road repairs Lao Meng and his team did last time were highly praised by the higher-ups during their inspection, so our leader said we shouldn't bother two people with the same task. This section of the canal will also be handed over to Lao Meng and his team." "That's wonderful! Thank you, senior brother," Li Long said with a smile. "I'll treat you to a meal sometime."

"Forget about eating. I know Lao Meng and the others are in the mountains right now. Have him find someone to dig some Codonopsis pilosula for me when he has time. The elderly in my family have poor blood and qi and need to replenish their qi. I've heard this stuff is good."

"Hey, do you really need to look for him? I'll deliver it to you this afternoon." Li Long said with a smile, "Old Meng and the others are novices when it comes to digging medicinal herbs, they're not as good as me. The codonopsis I have here this year is as thick as a child's arm, it'll definitely work."

"So big? It must be decades old, right?" Yang Bo had obviously done his research, and he was still shocked when Li Long said that.

"Pretty much. There are still some in the mountains. You'll understand when you see them this afternoon."

In the afternoon, Li Long went to the Water Resources Bureau to deliver some Codonopsis pilosula to Yang Bo. He also finalized the matter in Yang Bo's office and met with the director of the Water Resources Bureau.

Unexpectedly, the Water Resources Bureau also wanted to purchase two vehicles from Li Long, and Li Long was naturally happy to oblige.

As always, I treat people with the utmost respect. Li Long made concessions on the car price, offering a Volga and a Lada together for a total of 100,000 yuan.

The Water Resources Bureau was clearly aware of this and was quite impressed by Li Long's magnanimity. The bureau chief shook Li Long's hand and said that they should communicate more in the future. With a relationship like Yang Bo's, Li Long was practically one of their own.

Li Long was naturally pleased. With this connection, people would definitely think of him when there were any projects in the future.

See? That's how relationships are built—they even had drinks that night, and Li Long's drinking capacity impressed the people from the Water Resources Bureau.

At that time, no one had yet proclaimed that "drinking capacity represents ability," but that was roughly the idea.

The culture of drinking has truly been ruined in the last two or three decades, from now until 2010.

Especially in northern Xinjiang, drinking contests can lead to serious problems.

Since construction wouldn't start until October, Li Long went into the mountains to tell Meng Hai about it, so he could be mentally prepared.

It was even bigger than the original project, so Meng Hai was naturally very happy and immediately informed the workers of the good news.

The workers get paid for building the road, but they always feel uncomfortable living deep in the mountains.

Now that we have a legitimate project again, how could I not be happy?

"Let's step up our efforts and build as many roads as possible into the mountains in September, then focus all our energy on building the irrigation canals in October," Meng Hai decided. "We all know how this work came about, so we can't let Comrade Li Long down!"

Li Long himself was embarrassed by what he said.

Once Meng Hai had finished his business, he started using his own trucks from the recycling station to collect the bundled brooms from Wang Mingjun and Zhao Zongming.

This year's target for large brooms is 50,000, and the price has gone up to nine yuan—to Li Long's surprise.

It's not ten yuan, it's nine yuan, and it feels so awkward.

But it doesn't matter. The purpose of the broom task is to provide some side jobs for the villagers in a few villages so they can earn some money. For Li Long, the money earned from the broom is just icing on the cake; he can do without it or not.

However, he still completed the task very seriously. Director Qian made a special call to the purchasing station to ask him to do the job well. It is said that the market expansion for the brooms this year is quite important, and it is a very key and eye-catching item among the special products from northern Xinjiang that are sold outside the province.

Of course, the rumor came from a leader in Yanjing who mentioned it, and then someone became interested and contacted us.

Li Long naturally had to ensure the quality was up to standard.

There were no problems with Wang Mingjun and Zhao Zongming's side; the quality was as good as ever. In addition, Li Long notified them in advance that although Liang Wenyu's side was not doing the same thing this year, it didn't cause a shortage of quantity.

The fourth team still had people planting, and Xu Haijun went to find Li Long again. Li Long's reminder saved him from trouble. After Li Long mentioned it last time, he stopped going into the mountains to cut down twigs and instead went to find the red willow forest.

Although not as densely populated as in the mountains, it carries less risk.

Then I heard that the newly established forest police had arrested several criminals who were damaging forest resources in the mountains.

Previously, forest rangers would only detain someone for two days at most before releasing them. Now, if the forest police catch someone, they not only detain them but also impose fines, which significantly increases the severity of the situation.

Li Jianguo didn't organize the collection of large brooms in the fourth team, while the other households were busy cleaning up cotton. So Xu Haijun took over the task of collecting the large brooms.

“I buy large brooms from the team for four yuan each. Most of them still use my own handle, so I can make a yuan off the handle as well. I sell them to you for five yuan, so I can still make a yuan profit,” Xu Haijun said with a smile. “I can make more money going back and forth. Let’s see if I can make a fortune this time.”

It's not easy. This year, the team members aren't as enthusiastic about making big brooms as before. Mainly because more people are growing cotton, cutting reeds is more troublesome. Also, the team members are relatively wealthier, and making big brooms is actually quite hard work, so some people look down on it.

Li Long didn't care. Wang Mingjun and Zhao Zongming's brooms had already taken care of 80 to 90% of the work. As for He Yuqing's work in Qingshuihe, he would take care of it as long as he could. He also reminded Xu Haijun to make sure the quality was good, and he wouldn't accept work that wasn't up to standard.

Xu Haijun reassured him, saying that he wouldn't take his own money-making matters lightly.

The 50,000 large brooms were delivered to the state supply and marketing cooperative in multiple shipments. In Li Long's view, Li Xiangqian was becoming increasingly lazy. In the past, the county supply and marketing cooperative would collect them, inspect them, and then deliver them to the state cooperative. Now, however, Li Long was directly allowed to collect them and deliver them to the state cooperative; he had completely abandoned his responsibilities.

In Li Xiangqian's words:

"Anyway, we are confident in the quality of the brooms you produce. Our county didn't do much scavenging in the process, so you might as well just send them directly to the prefecture. That way, you can meet the leaders there."

Not only was the job assigned to Li Long, but three trucks from the county supply and marketing cooperative were also allocated to him.

Li Long had no choice but to do it anyway.

Before the brooms were even finished being collected, Halim and his men drove down the mountain in their tractors. The grass had already been cut, so they drove the tractors to Li Long's place, said hello to their families, and then headed back into the mountains.

When Li Long was collecting the large brooms, many cotton fields in the team had already blossomed.

Not everyone who grows cotton for the first time can listen to Li Long's advice like Xie Yundong and others. For example, cotton plants must be treated with mepiquat chloride, they cannot be allowed to grow too tall, the tops must be pinched off, and nutrients cannot be allowed to grow on the stems and leaves, etc.

Some people felt that this was wrong and did not conform to their farming philosophy, so they added some personal ideas when managing the fields.

As a result, some cotton plants grew too tall and produced few fruits, while others grew too tall and only had stalks without any branches, just like poplars that shoot upwards.

Some farmers didn't properly moisten the soil when watering, and they didn't manage the insects either, resulting in the cotton plants losing their leaves early. Without leaves to provide nutrients, the few remaining peaches also withered prematurely.

Some people are actually quite happy about this, feeling that it's a good thing that their cotton blooms early, so they can pick it up early and sell it for a good price. After all, everyone knows that the first batch of cotton flowers fetches the highest price.

However, those who frequently listened to Li Long's words knew that to ensure cotton seedlings reached 80% maturity and each cotton plant had seven or eight bolls, only then could the yield per mu (unit of land area) be guaranteed to be between 150 and 200 kilograms or more.

So when Li Long came back to find Xu Haijun to pull the big broom, he saw that some people had already started picking cotton in the field.

These people picking cotton did not think like Li Long. They carried urea bags in the field, picking up a section and dragging it forward.

The earliest way Li Long remembered picking cotton by hand was to tie a cloth bag around his waist, bend over and pick it up as he walked, and then pour the full bag into a urea bag.

This saves time and effort, and is convenient.

My sister-in-law is already making this. My older brother, Li Jianguo, used to grow cotton in the Production and Construction Corps, so he knows how to pick cotton more easily.

So he didn't pay much attention to it when he saw it. Some people remember your kindness when you remind them, while others think you're being nosy when you do.

Li Long wanted to finish his own big job first. He wasn't the same person he was a few years ago. The official tasks were limited to this one large area each year, and as for the others he represented, he could handle them casually. After all, he was already at the grassroots level, and having lived two lives, he could see some problems now but they would emerge later, so his proposals were based on those issues.

It would be best if it were adopted, but it's okay if it isn't; just do your best to fulfill your responsibilities.

In late September, the task of making large brooms was completed ahead of schedule—mainly because Wang Mingjun and Zhao Zongming started early, and not only them, but also some workers from other nearby companies were making large brooms during the busy farming season and then handing them over to the workers of these two companies.

If you have a good relationship with someone, it's no big deal to take this opportunity to earn some money to supplement your family's income.

Next, the cotton harvesting season officially begins.

(End of this chapter)