Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

"Sister, you guys have such a comfortable holiday!" Li Qiang said enviously, looking at Li Juan.

As a high school student, Li Qiang had winter break homework, but Li Juan did not, or at least not in the traditional sense.

The children are all grown up, and it's no longer appropriate for Li Juan and Li Qiang to live in the same room. So Li Jianguo talked to Li Long and they cleaned up Li Long's spare room, set up a stove, and let Li Juan live there.

Li Long mentioned this to Li Jianguo, suggesting that if they had time next year, they should rebuild the house.

Li Jianguo neither said yes nor no; in his opinion, whether or not to build the house was up to him.

After all, Li Juan has already passed the exam and left. In another two years, Li Qiang will probably pass the exam and leave too. What's the point of building a house then?

If you can get both kids into university, they'll be on government-subsidized food supplies and will most likely never come back, so why bother?
On this point, Li Jianguo simply couldn't understand Li Long's thinking.

Since they can already leave, why keep their household registration in the team? Do they care about that little bit of land?

With the business Li Long is doing, even a casual scramble would be more profitable than farming, right?

Of course, now that the cooperative has been set up this way, he doesn't think that way anymore. After all, there are people in charge of all the work in the cooperative, and he doesn't have to participate in anything. He can still get tens of thousands of yuan at the end of the year.

He had now figured out Li Long's thinking. After all, working in the city would only earn him a few thousand yuan a year at most, so it was really better to stay in the team.

Of course, the main reason is that the fourth team has a unique advantage. Other production teams would not be able to do this without such a foundation.

“Our homework is different from yours.” Li Juan sat at her desk, writing and drawing.

When Li Long decided that Li Juan would be living in the spare room in his courtyard, he bought a writing desk, a washbasin stand, and cabinets from the county and put them there.

The vacant house was originally used as a storeroom, and my second brother and his family stayed there temporarily when they came over. There was only a bed inside, but now a stove has been installed.

Since Li Juan is moving in, the place can't be completely bare; it needs to have everything it should.

Li Long's plan is to use this place as a guest room from now on, since it's not like before where it needs to be used to store frozen fish or frozen rabbits.

Let people live here then.

"So what kind of homework do you have to do?" Li Qiang asked curiously.

He was quite confident that he could get into university. When he first entered the school, his score in the high school entrance exam ranked in the teens in the class, but by the end of the semester, he had risen to second place in the class.

Several teachers were impressed by him, and when they learned that he was Li Juan's younger brother, some of them became very enthusiastic towards Li Qiang.

Li Qiang knew that he was enjoying his sister's influence, but he also believed that he would prove himself with his own abilities and that he could have a place in the school without relying on his sister's influence.

“Social survey,” Li Juan said as she wrote and drew on a piece of paper. “One of the professors at our school has a field of research where there is relatively little data on northern Xinjiang, so she asked me to help her collect some.”

"That must be difficult, right?" Upon hearing that it involved data processing, Li Qiang thought it would be quite challenging and troublesome.

"I don't know. I'll finish the form first, and then ask my uncle if he knows anyone there," Li Juan said. "We need to check the data in town."

It's definitely not her doing all the data collection alone; otherwise, even if she spent the entire holiday collecting data, she wouldn't get much.

Therefore, the best approach is to directly contact the local authorities, where detailed information can be obtained—official information is generally reliable in this case.

Li Qiang didn't say anything more. After asking some questions about the school and Yanjing, he went out. Mingming Haohao was outside beating the old cow at that moment, and if he didn't go out, he would be called soon.

After Li Qiang left, Li Juan put down her pen and, reflecting on the events of the past few days since her return, felt a little like laughing.

That day, as soon as I got off the bus, I saw my uncle leaning against the bus waiting, and I subconsciously said:

"Hello, Uncle!"

They were speaking Mandarin.

At that moment, Li Long, the younger uncle, was also taken aback by this greeting and subconsciously replied, "Okay, okay."

It's also Mandarin.

Then my uncle and I realized what was happening and started laughing together.

“It’s fine to say that outside, but your parents won’t be used to it if you say it like that at home.” Li Long smiled as he took Li Juan’s suitcase and put it in the trunk, saying, “Get in the car quickly.”

Li Juan wanted to speak to her uncle in her hometown dialect, but she couldn't get the words out after trying twice.

Li Long knew she needed time to adjust, so after getting in the car, he asked her about the school and things in Yanjing in his hometown dialect.

Li Juan initially spoke in Mandarin, but after a few sentences, she switched to her hometown dialect with Li Long.

So when they got home and got off the bus, Li Juan was able to respond freely to her parents and her excited younger brother Li Qiang in their hometown dialect.

Looking back now, it was actually a very ordinary thing, but Li Juan understood that the opportunity for this change did not come all at once.

This situation is not obvious in high school, since students from rural areas often switch between two or three languages ​​during high school.

But after entering university, I spoke Mandarin entirely at school and on the way back. Now that I'm home, I really can't adjust immediately.

On the contrary, Mingming Haohao has been speaking Mandarin since he was a child, and he speaks quite naturally with his family.

She knew that her uncle and aunt must have explained it to Mingming and Haohao, so the two children didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

Actually, it wouldn't be a problem if Li Juan always spoke Mandarin, but she felt it was better to use her local dialect when she returned home, otherwise it would feel like a betrayal.

"Sister, Uncle and Aunt are here," Li Qiang said loudly, knocking on the window. "They're in the backyard."

After saying that, Li Qiang ran away.

Li Juan closed the notebook, put the pen caps back on, arranged them neatly, stood up, and walked out.

I lived in Yanjing for three months, interacted with my aunt Gu Xiaoyu, and also met with staff members of the Ethnic Affairs Commission several times.

There were also local students from Yenching University at the school, so Li Juan also learned about the lives of people from Yenching University.

The more I learned, the more I realized how amazing my uncle really was.

In such a harsh environment in northern Xinjiang, they managed to build such a large undertaking solely through their intelligence and hard work.

Really great!
This means that she has already decided that she will not work in the business field in the future; otherwise, Li Juan would definitely have kept asking Li Long for his experiences and lessons learned.

After all, even in Beijing, only a minority of people can afford to drive cars, and most of them drive Santanas, Fiats, etc., with very few Mercedes-Benzes.

Li Juan knew very well that her uncle Li Long's purchasing station had already sold no less than five Mercedes-Benz W14s, and even if they were second-hand, they would still be more expensive than a new W14.

Moreover, my uncle is perfectly capable of driving a Mercedes-Benz W140, he just doesn't.

Even in Yanjing City, this level of skill would be considered among the very few.

Moreover, Li Juan had spent the past few months in Yanjing, which broadened her horizons considerably. She had talked with Gu Xiaoyu and visited Wangfujing and several other places, so she knew how expensive high-quality jade could be.

Jade of the same quality as the one in my uncle's yard, when carved into large pieces, would be worth tens of thousands, if not priceless, but my uncle just leaves it in his yard.

Just think how many of them could possibly be collected?

As Li Juan grew increasingly impressed with her uncle Li Long's abilities, she also realized that her uncle could probably be of help with the investigation she was conducting.

When she went out to the backyard, her uncle and aunt were chatting with her grandmother.

When Gu Xiaoxia saw Li Juan come over, she started chatting with Li Juan. According to her, Dong Zai didn't say much that day. Li Juan was mainly chatting with Han Fang. She was busy and didn't get to ask many of the things she wanted to ask.

Li Long chatted with his mother for a while, mostly listening to her.

Du Chunfang, the old lady, complained to Li Long that she had been eating a lot of meat lately and had gained weight!
Yes, to Li Long's surprise, his mother complained about gaining weight, saying it wasn't a good thing.

"Isn't that what they say, 'Money can't buy you a lean old age'?" My mother heard this saying somewhere and actually put it into practice.

"That's for other people, not for you." Li Long was a little amused and exasperated. "Do you know how much you used to weigh? Qiangqiang was heavier than you when he was in junior high. Do you even weigh 40 kilograms now?"

"Yes, it's here. It wasn't here before the New Year, and it's already 80 pounds. Isn't that heavy?"

“Heavy? Not heavy at all,” Li Long said earnestly.

My mother has a hunchback, so she looks only about 1.4 meters tall now. Even without the hunchback, her actual height would be at most 1.55 meters; she's really thin. However, because she doesn't exercise much and doesn't do much work, it doesn't show.

As for why he was fat, Li Long knew very well that it was because he ate a lot of meat, and he especially liked braised pork.

And it can be digested without causing food stagnation, which is great!
Du Chunfang was complaining to Li Junfeng's mother that she had gained weight, which was actually a bit of a boast.

After all, can an ordinary family afford to eat braised pork every day?

But Li Junfeng's mother heard that saying somewhere and told it to Du Chunfang: "If you're thin, you won't get sick; if you're fat when you're old, you're more likely to get sick."

My mother, Du Chunfang, feels that she has only enjoyed a few years of good life and doesn't want to get sick, so she is a little worried.

Now that her youngest son had said that, she felt half relieved.

Seeing that his mother's expression had improved somewhat, but she was still a little worried, Li Long said:
"If you don't believe me, ask Juan. She went to university; she's the most educated person in our whole team."

When Du Chunfang heard this, she thought it made sense, so she went to look at Li Juan, who was sitting by the bed talking to Gu Xiaoxia.

“Juan, your grandma has gained a few kilograms since the New Year. She heard from someone that this is not good, but I think it’s fine. You’re in college now and you’re very knowledgeable, so why don’t you tell your grandma what’s good about it?”

After Li Long explained the situation, Li Juan, being so clever, couldn't possibly misunderstand. She pulled over a small stool, sat down next to her grandmother, and said with a smile:

"Grandma, look! Before, when I held your hand, it was all skin and bones, barely any flesh on it. I didn't dare say anything then, but now look at your hands, they're all fleshy now, aren't they wonderful!"

"Then you should say I've gained some weight, right?" Although my mother, Du Chunfang, didn't even finish elementary school, she still had great respect for intellectuals who could go to university. Those who could go to university were definitely more capable than the scholars of the past; they were like stars in the sky, and we had to listen to them.

“Of course it’s better to be a little chubby,” Li Juan said with certainty. “Grandma, you’re worried about being fat. You’re saying that being fat can cause health problems, like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and the like.

That kind of talk, based on your height, means you need to weigh at least 60 or 70 kilograms to be considered fat, but you're far from that.

Besides, you need to be a little chubby; otherwise, if you catch a cold or something, you won't be able to fight it off if you're not strong enough!

"So that means I still need to gain a little more weight?" Du Chunfang was completely relieved after hearing Li Juan's words.

She had been afraid to eat too much meat after gaining some weight, worried that she would gain even more. Now, things have changed.

"You can eat, but it's best to eat more in the morning and at noon, and less in the evening, otherwise it will be hard to digest."

"I understand now." Du Chunfang grasped Li Juan's hands with both of them and said with a smile, "Juan's education has paid off; she understands everything now."

Li Long thought to himself, "This mother of mine is so hypocritical. She doesn't believe what I say, even though the principle is the same. But if Li Juan says it, then she's learned it well."

It seems that authority is still not enough.

But it's good that you've been persuaded to come back.

Li Juan chatted with her grandmother for a while longer, then Du Chunfang dozed off, and Li Long and the others left.

The main reason we didn't ask Du Chunfang to go to bed was that the old lady could doze off by the fireplace, but if she actually went to bed, she wouldn't be able to fall asleep.

"Uncle, there's something I'd like to ask for your help with." As they left the house, Li Juan said to Li Long, "We're conducting a social survey to understand some livelihood issues in northern Xinjiang. What do you think..."

"How can I help?" Li Long was unsure if he could actually help.

"I want to go to towns or villages to find some data, anything publicly available and not classified, but I don't know who to contact," Li Juan clarified her approach.

"I understand now. Do you need it in the next couple of days or after the New Year?"

"In the next couple of days, I guess there won't be much time after the New Year," Li Juan said.

“Okay, if you’re free this afternoon, I’ll take you to the countryside after lunch, introduce you to the people, and then you can do your research. As for the town, we’ll go there after you’ve learned about the situation in the countryside.”

Li Long thought this matter would be easy to handle. He still had some influence in the village and town; getting Li Juan involved and providing some basic data shouldn't be a problem.

Li Juan was delighted to hear this, and then planned to go to the countryside with her uncle after lunch.

As it approached mealtime, Du Chunfang, the old woman, came out of her room and went to the west room. She then sat down by the fireplace and listened to her father, Li Qingxia, Li Jianguo, and Li Long chatting.

The purchasing station and cannery have both shut down, and most of the employees have been given a holiday. After the annual meeting, those on duty will be assigned to their shifts according to the schedule.

To Li Long's surprise, many people wanted to work during the holidays in order to get triple pay, so he shuffled the order and drew lots to schedule shifts, which was fairer.

The main reason Li Qingxia, the father, came back was to talk to his elder brother, Li Jianguo, about the cooperative.

“Our team’s cooperative is quite famous,” Li Qingxia said. “Many middlemen who come to the purchasing station to sell their goods know about it.”

They were really interested. They used to think it might not be allowed, and some even thought it wouldn't work. But they didn't expect it to be profitable, and the county even promoted it.

At this point, he turned to Li Long and said, "By the way, the county also promoted our annual meeting. As a result, many people now know about our cannery and purchasing station."

Li Long also knows this.

Because there were only photos, the county broadcast the news in written form, and then the reporter submitted the content to the state daily and the autonomous region daily.

Although they were all published as short news articles, they had a significant impact, and even reporters from Wucheng called the acquisition station to verify the matter.

Li Long only remembered that he had placed an advertisement and left his phone number in the Autonomous Region Daily and the Prefecture Daily after asking around, and that's how they found out.

The impact is quite significant; many people are asking about the canned goods situation. Although the cannery is currently closed, some people are planning to visit after the Lunar New Year holiday, saying they want to order a batch of products if possible.

It really worked.

“Consider it advertising,” Li Long chuckled. “The more cooperatives we have, the more stable our cooperative will be.”

“Right, right, the law doesn’t punish everyone.” Big Brother Li Jianguo immediately understood.

After chatting for a while, it was time to eat. For lunch, we had rice and stewed fish—fresh fish that Junfeng's father, Anton, had fished out of the small lake by breaking through an ice hole.

“This Andong is really beautiful,” Li Qingxia said with envy. “They don’t care about farming; they can catch fish and shrimp all day long. They have so much fun.”

He actually wanted to live that kind of life too, but he couldn't. He had taken over the acquisition station for so long and had developed an attachment to it.

He could let go, but he knew he needed to find a suitable person to take over. He wouldn't trust anyone other than his own people, let alone Li Long.

My mother, Du Chunfang, doesn't sit at the main table. Instead, we set up a small table by the fireplace and put a plate of fish on it for her to eat at her leisure.

Eating crucian carp requires patience. My mother didn't eat it much before, but after we came to northern Xinjiang, her family cooked it more often, and she gradually started to eat it too.

She would occasionally get pricked by a fish bone, so she preferred to soak her rice in fish soup. Later, she found the fish meat delicious and especially fresh, so she gradually started eating it too.

Of course, sometimes I don't have much patience, so I just chew the whole small crucian carp in my mouth, savor all the flavor, and then spit out the fish meat along with the bones and fins, just for that taste.

Today's main dish is stewed fish. Besides a plate of fish, there is also a bowl of salted chives on the table.

Salted chives have a very fragrant flavor. They are made by taking them out after pickling, rinsing off the salt with water, finely chopping them, and then pouring hot oil over them. The taste is excellent.

When Liang Yuemei pickles salted chives, she also adds some long, thin chilies. She cuts them with a couple of chilies on the side, adding a bit of spiciness that makes them very appetizing.

When you're eating fish and it gets a bit greasy, a bite of salted chives instantly changes the flavor.

It's a bit like going to a Sichuan restaurant and the owner giving you a small dish of pickled vegetables for free—that feeling.

Eating with many people is lively. Mingming and Haohao no longer need their parents to help them remove fish bones, and they ate very well today, earning praise from Li Qiang. As the older brother, Li Qiang has mastered the trick to getting Mingming and Haohao to do something voluntarily: praise them more.

With Li Qiang looking after Mingming and Haohao, Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia had nothing to worry about and didn't need to do anything. Mingming and Haohao were also very conscientious, finishing their homework with Li Qiang before going to play.

After eating and resting for a while, Li Juan reported to Li Jianguo and then went to the township with Li Long.

Although the township hasn't started its holiday yet, there aren't many people working in the office.

He knew almost everyone there, but he was familiar with the deputy township head. So he took Li Juan to find him. After finding him and explaining the situation, the deputy township head asked Li Juan for the data she needed, then went out and called someone to take Li Juan to check and record it.

Li Long was chatting in the deputy township head's office, talking about Chuanzi.

To be honest, the work in the township at that time was not so formal, and there were not so many things to do, unlike in later generations when a committee member had to be in charge of dozens of things.

It's truly a case of a thousand threads above and a single needle below.

However, Li Long could tell from the deputy township head's tone that formalism and bureaucracy still existed. Some things were not important, but the higher-ups really valued things on paper.

This isn't the future; there are no computers or printers now. All written materials are handwritten, which is quite troublesome.

When the county issues documents to lower levels, they are usually mimeographed, using lead type. Some people can find old documents from the 1980s and 1990s, and even find those distinctive marks of that era.

Li Juan followed the cadre to the archives to look up information. To her surprise, she ran into her junior high school classmate, Fan Yuxia, there.

Fan Yuxia happened to be in charge of the archives. She was organizing materials inside when she overheard the cadre saying to her:
"Xiao Fan, this is the deputy township head's guest. He's here to check some documents. Could you please cooperate?"

Fan Yuxia politely replied, "Okay, I understand." Then, as she looked up to ask what data the other party needed, she saw Li Juan's delighted expression.

"Li Juan? It's you!" Fan Yuxia was a little surprised. "I heard you got into university? Are you already on vacation?"

"Yes, it's a holiday," Li Juan said with a smile. "Hey, what a coincidence!"

The man was somewhat surprised to see that the two knew each other, and then said, "Since you two know each other, that's perfect. Xiao Fan, you'll have to cooperate. College student, if you need anything, just ask Xiao Fan. I have something to do, I'm going back to my office. Just call me if there's anything."

After that person left, Fan Yuxia ushered Li Juan into the house, cleared the materials off a stool, and made her sit down, saying, "I really didn't expect this..."

The two of them weren't particularly close in junior high. Li Juan was the type who had a clear goal in mind and got along well with most people, but only a very few close friends.

Fan Yuxia's academic performance is average; she wants to get good grades, but she can never quite reach her ideal level.

Fortunately, I worked hard in the high school entrance exam and barely made it into high school. After high school, I was not in the same class as Li Juan, and the two of us lost contact.

Fan Yuxia's score on the college entrance exam was too low, so she had no chance of going to university and simply went back home.

Because they weren't close, Li Juan didn't invite her to the party where she got into university.

"I heard you got into Renmin University, right?" Fan Yuxia poured water for Li Juan and asked, "In Beijing? How's university life?"

Her face was filled with longing and envy.

"Well, if you want to study hard in college, there's just so much to learn."

To be honest, when I first got accepted, I thought I was pretty good at it. But after getting to university, I realized there were so many smart and studious people; if you want to do well, you really have to work hard.

"If you say that, then university must be terrifying." Although Fan Yuxia's relationship with Li Juan was not very good before, she still admired Li Juan's learning ability very much.

Now that Li Juan is saying this, what does that mean? It means that those who go to university are all outstanding, and ordinary people really can't compare.

“You’re doing well now too, you’ve become a cadre,” Li Juan said with a smile. “We won’t start working in relevant units until after we graduate.”

I heard from some of my classmates at Tanong that they could only get certain positions in the townships after graduation, but you've already achieved that ahead of time.

"No way." Fan Yuxia shook her head and said with a wry smile, "I'm not officially employed. I'm just doing odd jobs here. I'm considered an extra staff member."

A relative of mine lives in the countryside. He felt that I didn't have much to do at home, so he suggested that I go to the countryside to help out and get some experience.

If I could really become a cadre in the township, I would be willing to do so.

Actually, there's one thing Fan Yuxia didn't mention: the county and township governments do have a certain number of openings every few years. Although she's currently on the non-permanent staff, once she gains work experience, she'll naturally be given priority when it comes to hiring in the future.

“I know what you mean by that, but they’re different from us. Right after graduation, they’re assigned to the township, and they’re already deputy township heads in charge of science and technology. Their rank is impressive,” Fan Yuxia sighed.

"It's incomparable."

Li Juan was aware of this as well. Graduates from Tanong University, or other universities in Xinjiang, would typically be equivalent to deputy company commanders in the military, and some might even be promoted to a higher rank due to the harsh conditions at the grassroots level.

After all, life at the grassroots level in many places is still quite tough, and many students who have worked hard to get into university don't want to go there.

After chatting for a while, Li Juan got down to business and started checking the data.

Since they were classmates, Fan Yuxia was very concerned about Li Juan's affairs. She gave her all the data she could find, since it wasn't classified information anyway.

If she didn't have it there, she would go to other offices to ask Li Juan for it. Because she was the deputy township head, no one would give her a hard time.

What Li Juan thought would take at least half a day to complete was actually finished in less than half an hour. The extra time was mainly spent catching up with her.

Although Fan Yuxia didn't get into university, she was still quite concerned about her classmates who did, and asked Li Juan about them one by one.

Li Juan knew more, and she told Fan Yuxia everything.

“Most of them took the exam in northern Xinjiang.” Fan Yuxia counted on her fingers, “Beiting Teachers College, Shicheng Agricultural College, Bayi Agricultural College, Tanong… There’s only one person like you who got into Yanjing.”

Li Juan smiled but didn't say anything.

Before leaving, Fan Yuxia asked for Li Juan's address at Yenching University, saying she wanted to write to her.

Li Juan neatly wrote the address on the paper she handed her, saying that they should keep in touch.

When she went to the deputy township head's office, she heard her uncle Li Long laughing loudly, clearly in a good mood.

Upon seeing Li Juan arrive, Li Long spoke to the deputy township head and then left.

Because they needed to go to the town to find data the next day, Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia took Li Juan to the county.

"Do we need to let them know in advance?" Gu Xiaoxia asked on the way back. "Isn't it different in a town than in a village?"

"I called Ma Xiaoyan in the township, and she said I could go over tomorrow while I'm at work," Li Long said as he drove. "I've built a road for them, so getting some data shouldn't be a problem."

"That's good then." Gu Xiaoxia nodded. "Is she still the deputy secretary?"

“Hmm,” Li Long said, “probably.”

It had been a long time since Li Long had contacted Ma Xiaoyan. He called her old office number, and the call went through and she answered, so there shouldn't be any problem.

When they arrived at the courtyard, both Sister Yang and Han Fang were there. Han Fang was especially happy to see Li Juan and led her to her room.

Gu Xiaoxia tidied up the guest rooms. The guest rooms in the side rooms were specially set up, with heating and new bedding, which was just right for use.

The next day after breakfast, Li Long took Li Juan and Han Fang to town. Although Han Fang didn't have any social practice assignments, she wanted to accompany Li Juan and see what data was needed.

Upon arriving at the town government office, Li Long parked his car and led two people inside. Just then, they ran into a young man who was also locking his bicycle and walking inside.

The young man paused for a moment when he saw Li Long and the others, his gaze falling on Li Juan before he tentatively called out, "Li Juan?"

Li Juan was whispering with Han Fang when she heard someone call her name. Looking in the direction of the voice, she smiled and said, "..."

"Yang Xinhua, what a coincidence!"

Yang Xinhua was Li Juan's classmate in the first year of high school, but they were no longer in the same class after being reassigned to different classes. Li Juan remembered that he seemed to have been admitted to Tanong, the school she had mentioned to Fan Yuxia yesterday.

"I came to town to look up some information," Yang Xinhua said. "Are you on holiday?"

It was a pointless question, but Li Juan still answered him earnestly: "It's holiday time."

At this moment, Ma Xiaoyan came out of the office and said to Li Long with a smile, "I knew it was you when I heard the car. Come on, don't wait outside, it's cold outside, let's go inside."

"Okay, okay." Li Long then beckoned Li Juan and Han Fang into the office.

To Li Long's surprise, the man named Yang Xinhua also came in.

"Is this your niece?" Ma Xiaoyan had been to the Fourth Team and had a slight impression of Li Juan. She pointed at Li Juan and asked, "She got into Renmin University? That's impressive."

"Yes, this is Li Juan, and this is Han Fang, the daughter of Sister Yang from our college. She went to a teacher's college," Li Long introduced.

He didn't mention Yang Xinhua, which surprised Ma Xiaoyan. She had originally thought that this young man was also brought by Li Long.

"Hello, Secretary Ma, my name is Yang Xinhua. My father is Yang Yongwu from the Armed Forces Department," Yang Xinhua introduced himself.

"Oh, I see." Ma Xiaoyan smiled. "Perfect, you all need data together, and you're all top students. Okay, I'll take you there."

Then she said to Li Long, "Please sit here first. I'll take them over and come back to talk to you about something."

Li Long waited for Ma Xiaoyan to take the person to another office, and returned a few minutes later.

Ma Xiaoyan's new haircut makes her look very capable. After returning to her office, she poured water for Li Long, saying as she did so:

"I saw your news about the annual meeting, you did it, right? I knew you could come up with something new every now and then."

Li Long chuckled and said, "It's just something we've been doing. We need to find something for everyone to do. It's almost the end of the year, so it's good to have some fun."

"It's more than just okay; from a management perspective, this is a very effective way to generate cohesion." Ma Xiaoyan handed her water glass to Li Long. "I think businesses in our county should learn more from you in this regard."

Factory workers need more than just material rewards; they also need emotional and psychological support. I've been thinking of adopting your approach and doing the same in our office.

“If the government were to do it, there would probably be more changes,” Li Long said. “The nature of the changes is different.”

"I know that. I just think this format is excellent. It allows everyone to relax and also brings everyone together."

They were chatting about the annual meeting, while Li Juan, Yang Xinhua, and Han Fang were recording data over there.

Yang Xinhua asked Li Juan and learned that the two of them needed slightly different data. So, while collecting the data, the two of them held two separate documents, taking notes and chatting at the same time.

They have classmates in common. Although not many students from the entire No. 1 High School were admitted to university last year, there are still some.

Some classmates have connections and both know the situation, while in others one party knows but the other doesn't, so they just introduce them.

“There’s a class reunion in Tanong County, though it’s not large, we get together occasionally,” Yang Xinhua said. “Sometimes it’s with the students from Shicheng, since it’s closer. Does Renmin University have a similar class reunion?”

“Yes, there are people from the northern border region,” Li Juan said. “But I don’t participate often, and everyone has their own things to do. Sometimes we don’t know each other well, so we don’t know what to say.”

Li Juan is a freshman. Shortly after entering the school, she heard about the alumni reunion in northern Xinjiang and was invited by a senior to participate.

I attended a party during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the senior student who organized it gave everyone mooncakes. I felt really good about it.

However, things didn't go well for her later. A senior student liked Li Juan and started pursuing her. Li Juan didn't like him and told him directly, but he still kept bothering her. So Li Juan simply ignored him and stopped attending gatherings.

After this rather annoying incident, Li Juan began to avoid such gatherings.

Of course, she didn't tell anyone about these things. Once she got to university, she was an adult, and there were some things she needed to handle on her own; there was no need to worry her family.

While helping Li Juan copy down the data, Han Fang listened to them talk about their university life and felt quite envious.

However, she chose this path herself, and she feels that she is doing quite well now.

Han Fang also keenly noticed that Yang Xinhua would glance at Li Juan from time to time, and his gaze was different from when he looked at others. So she guessed that Yang Xinhua might like Li Juan.
To say Li Juan is exceptionally beautiful wouldn't be an exaggeration. It's mainly her college student aura that sets her apart from ordinary people, plus the added advantage of attending a prestigious university.

This is Han Fang's idea.

Li Juan didn't think too much about it. After copying the data, she exchanged some information with Yang Xinhua and added the contact information of some classmates she couldn't reach.

The two even made a promise to visit the school during the Chinese New Year to wish their teachers a happy new year and see each other again.

While they were busy here, Li Long was also discussing things in Ma Xiaoyan's office.

"Your cannery has grown quite large. Do you have any plans to expand production?" Ma Xiaoyan asked Li Long. "You're the only well-known enterprise in our town. I'm counting on you to make it bigger and stronger."

Only after she said that did Li Long realize that his trading company, cannery, and construction and installation company were actually under the jurisdiction of Ma Xiaoyan and her group.

At least the locations are all in the town.

"Not for now." Li Long directly rejected Ma Xiaoyan's idea:

“A canning production line costs more than two million yuan. I have built one, but the current production capacity is not even half of what it used to be. Let’s talk about increasing production later.”

"When will we have to wait?" Ma Xiaoyan asked, disappointed, then exclaimed in amazement, "More than two million! That's too high a price!"

"There's no other way; setting up a fully automated production line is just that expensive." Li Long said with a hint of helplessness.

"Also, although we have a slight advantage in raw materials, we don't have an advantage in other aspects, making it difficult to expand the market."

As you know, I mainly sell these canned goods to the Soviet Union; that's where they can consume my products.

If we really expand production, and then can't sell the canned goods, wouldn't that be a disaster for ourselves?

Knowing this was the truth, Ma Xiaoyan didn't dwell on the matter further and instead inquired about the business dealings with the Soviet Union.

As one of the heads of a first-level agency, she naturally knew that the situation in the Soviet Union was quite chaotic. Last year, she studied a lot of internal Soviet documents, so she knew a bit about it.

“No matter how chaotic it is, people still need to eat,” Li Long said. “I’m only in charge of production here. Someone comes and takes the canned goods away, so although it’s chaotic over there, it doesn’t affect me as much as you might imagine.”

"We plan to repair two roads on the edge of town this spring. If we get funding from the county, we'll contact you," Ma Xiaoyan told Li Long, bringing him good news.

"However, I can't decide whether we can give you all of them. Our leader said that you used to repair the roads for us for free, and those roads are in very good condition, so at least one road can be given to you."

"That's wonderful," Li Long said with a smile. "As long as you leave it to us, you can rest assured about the quality of the road!"

"Don't worry, don't worry, we're confident in that. You were so dedicated to the road leading into the mountains, you'll definitely be even more dedicated to the road in the city."

Ma Xiaoyan flattered Li Long to an extreme degree, and Li Long knew it, but he still enjoyed it.

Of course, quality has always been the most fundamental principle that Li Long pursues in all aspects, so he has this confidence.

Li Juan, Han Fang, and Yang Xinhua came over together, and Li Long said goodbye to Ma Xiaoyan and left.

Watching Li Juan and Han Fang get into Li Long's car, Yang Xinhua pushed his bicycle, waved goodbye to Li Juan who rolled down the window, then miserably put on his cotton hat and gloves, and rode his bicycle home.

Although his family was well-off, it paled in comparison to Li Juan's family.

Yang Xinhua didn't expect to run into Li Juan, but since he did, he was bound to have some ulterior motives.

However, Yang Xinhua quickly saw through it himself; the gap was too big, and he could tell that Li Juan would most likely not return to Ma County after graduating from university.

As for myself, I will most likely come back, ideally to a government office in the county, but almost I'll end up in the township.

That's just how things are in the family, what else can we do?
Li Juan found it quite amazing, or perhaps she felt that the world really wasn't that big. It was quite unexpected that she had run into two classmates on these two trips.

She's now looking forward to seeing who she'll run into when she visits her teachers to wish them a Happy New Year. (End of Chapter)