Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

On February 13th, Li Anguo drove his family to Ma County.

He went to the main compound first—since they were both government employees, Li Anguo guessed that Li Long was probably waiting for Gu Xiaoxia to have her vacation before going to the fourth team.

He found no one in the courtyard; Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia had already returned to the fourth team. After all, Gu Xiaoxia was now a school cadre and not in the Education Bureau; since the students were on holiday, she was on holiday too.

Only Sister Yang and Han Fang were in the courtyard. After Li Anguo found out what was going on, he drove to the fourth team.

The first to spot them was Li Qiang, who was playing with Mingming and Haohao in the alley.

Li Qiang remembered his second uncle's license plate number. Upon seeing the familiar plate, he immediately called out to Mingming and Haohao and ran back, prompting the children playing with them to call out in confusion:

"Li Qiang, what's wrong?"

"My relatives have come to visit!" Li Qiang replied, already running back to the yard.

Although Li Qiang is already a high school student, to be honest, he is still the king of the kids in the village, and playing with those kids has become his daily routine during holidays.

"Li Qiang, is that dung beetle your relative's car?" the child who had been shouting earlier asked.

“My second uncle!” Li Qiang replied again, then pushed open the door and shouted inside, “Dad! Uncle, my second uncle and his family are here!”

Upon hearing that Li Anguo had arrived, the Li family members who were chatting inside immediately stood up and walked outside.

"Second Brother is here a day early this year," Li Long said to his father with some surprise as he walked out.

Old Lady Du Chunfang didn't move. She was leaning against the fire wall, dozing off comfortably, and didn't want to move.

"Maybe the holiday started too early?" Li Qingxia guessed.

To be honest, he's practically a city dweller now. Although he's not a government employee, he still feels quite superior to workers like Li Anguo.

He earns more than Li Anguo, has longer holidays, works more freely, and has the power to set prices. Most of the middlemen have to treat him with respect and deference when they talk to him.

How comfortable!
Unlike Li Anguo and his colleagues, whose wages are not high and who are provided with government-subsidized grain rations, things are different now. With the market economy, resources are becoming more abundant, and more and more things can be bought without ration coupons.

At this point, the cost-effectiveness of eating commercial grain is decreasing. Of course, for ordinary people, it's still not bad, at least education and medical care are better.

But if you make enough money in the countryside, you won't care about this anymore.

Li Qingxia has this mindset now, so he supports Li Long keeping his household registration in the team, and also keeping Mingming and Haohao's household registration in the team.

Having been a farmer his whole life, his attachment to owning land is exceptionally strong.

When Li Anguo drove the car into the yard, Li Long and the others came out to greet him.

The kids who had been playing with Li Qiang also followed the car over, wanting to see if the person sitting in the cow dung was a relative of the Li family.

It's mainly for the entertainment. It's quite rare for relatives or guests to come to the countryside at this time of year.

Although the Li family owns several cars, the arrival of a relative in a car still attracts a lot of attention.

Li Anguo and Chen Lirong, along with Xueping and Xueqin, got out of the car and were immediately given a warm welcome. They took their things out of the trunk and were then ushered into the house.

The children following the car left. Most of these children were quite well-behaved. While they might be watching the spectacle, they certainly couldn't follow relatives into the house.

Because relatives often bring gifts, they usually give some snacks to the children.

Parents would teach their children not to visit other people's homes at this time—at this time, everyone's conditions are generally average, and resources are generally scarce, but people value dignity highly and do not want to be looked down upon by others.

When relatives give gifts to your child, and you're watching, should they give you something in return? If they do, they might not have prepared anything for you; if they don't, what will the adults think when you go back and relay the message?
Wouldn't that be awkward?
So the best way is to avoid it. Besides, when relatives come over, they naturally want to catch up, and it's not appropriate to have outsiders around.

After entering the house, Chen Lirong took out shrimp crisps and watermelon candies from her bag and distributed them to Li Qiang, Mingming, and Haohao. Li Qiang took them and also gave some to Xueping and Xueqin.

"Juan's back from university, right? Why isn't she home?" Chen Lirong asked.

“My sister is in the front yard,” Li Qiang said. “Her school has assigned her a social practice project, and they’re compiling the data right now.”

“Hey, things are really different now that you’re in college,” Li Anguo said with a smile. “Juan is really impressive, going to a university in Beijing. Last year, quite a few of the children from our Jian’an Company took the college entrance exam, but none of them got in. The best one they got was a place in Chang’an.”

"Hehe, let Xueping and Xueqin study hard, and try to get into that field in the future," Father Li Qingxia said with a smile.

"Hey, forget about them. No matter what I say or how I scold them, their grades are just so-so. They've been in school for several years now, and they've never brought me a single award certificate."

Chen Lirong took the tea that Gu Xiaoxia brought over and asked:

"Haohao is in elementary school now, right? How are his grades?"

"It's alright," Gu Xiaoxia said modestly.

Mingming was unhappy: "Mom! My brother and I have great grades! We got 100 in both subjects!"
We both received the "Three Good Students" award! At the end of the semester, I also got twenty-one small red flags, and Hao Hao got twenty!

"Okay, okay, we know." Gu Xiaoxia was a little embarrassed when her words were exposed, and she gave the two children a perfunctory reply.

"Hey, that's really good!" Li Anguo exclaimed enviously again. "Xueping and Xueqin, look how well your older brother and sister are doing in their studies, and now your younger brother is doing so well too. You two need to work harder!"

The two children were unhappy.

But by then they knew there was no way to refute it. They had already given in when Hao Hao said he'd get perfect scores.

Li Long knew that parents at this time usually liked to belittle their own children and praise other children, which inadvertently damaged their children's self-confidence, so he said:
"I heard Xueping sings really well, right?"

"Yes," Xueping said with a hint of pride, now speaking fluent Mandarin. "I participated in the city's student singing competition and won third prize. I got a fountain pen as a prize!"

"Hey, that's really impressive! Out of so many people in the city, winning third prize is truly remarkable," Gu Xiaoxia praised.

Chen Lirong also felt a sense of pride.

Li Anguo added, "What's the point of singing well? You still need to study hard."

“Singing well is also impressive,” Li Long said. “There is an arts exam for the college entrance examination. As long as you don’t score high on the academic subjects, you can still get into a good university if you do well on the arts exam.”

He was talking nonsense. His main concern was that he didn't want Li Anguo to keep focusing on grades. Although children at this age are less likely to become depressed due to parental pressure, they still want to save face in front of adults.

After Li Anguo said that, Xueqin was fine, but at this moment she was only focused on eating candy and basically ignored her father's words. Xueping's face turned red and she was a little embarrassed.

"Alright, alright, it's the New Year, what are you saying?" Old Mrs. Du Chunfang, leaning against the fireplace, was displeased. She had already realized that her younger son was trying to save face for the two children, but the second son just wouldn't let it go.

If you're so capable, manage your child well at home and improve their grades. Don't just try to pressure them outside; what kind of behavior is that?

Once the old lady spoke, everyone changed the subject and asked about her recent situation.

"Xiaolong, do you have any more trucks or anything? Our company said we need to buy a few to haul materials," Li Anguo said.

“As the team leader, I also have the right to make suggestions. Buying a new truck is still a bit expensive. If a used one has complete paperwork and is cheaper, we can buy it.”

"Yes, six trucks just arrived from the Soviet Union a few days ago, and the cargo hasn't been unloaded yet," Li Long said. "Six GAZ trucks and three KamAZ heavy-duty trucks, big guys!"

"Kamas? That's a huge machine!" Li Anguo exclaimed in surprise. "You said there are three?"

“Yes, three units,” Li Long said. “They’re currently sitting in the yard of my purchasing station.”

"What kind of car is Kamaz?" Li Qingxia asked.

“A Soviet-made truck,” Li Jianguo said. “I’ve seen them before; they were taller than Dongfeng and Jiefang trucks.”

“It carries a lot,” Li Long said. “It’s a heavy truck; the chassis can hold missiles.”

"What kind of cargo is on that truck?" Li Qingxia asked again.

After receiving the goods and phone call from Liu Shanmin, Li Long didn't tell Li Qingxia. He didn't unload the goods, thinking he would do it after the New Year.

But his father was a bit impatient and cared more about the purchasing station than he did. He was worried that if his father found out there was cargo on the truck, he would be tempted to take people to unload it, so he hadn't said anything.

I let it slip today.

"One truck contains parts for Kamaz, and four trucks contain a set of oil refining equipment."

"Oil refining equipment?" Li Anguo was somewhat surprised. "Why bring this thing here? We don't have any oil here."

"The Soviet Union is about to collapse." Li Long didn't hide anything this time, explaining:

"The neighboring republic may be going to separate; they issued a declaration last October. Many factories in that country have stopped production, and the workers have no food, so they sold off their equipment and other things."

"Did those cars come from the same place?" Li Jianguo asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, most of them are."

"Don't they feel any pain selling their father's land?" Li Qingxia exclaimed.

That's a difficult question to answer.

Li Anguo seemed to be deep in thought, and Li Long and the others steered the conversation elsewhere—mainly towards the impact of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Actually, these days, if you watch the news every day, you'll see some things in the international section of the evening news from time to time. If you pay attention, you can see them. It's no secret.

For example, Yeltsin of Russia, and the Baltic states, etc.

However, the common people found it hard to accept all at once. After all, it was the great empire, the former big brother in the eyes of Li Jianguo and his people.

Although it betrayed its faith, it was still a behemoth. Even a centipede with a hundred legs doesn't die easily, so how could it fall apart in just a few decades?

At that time, every man in the country was a politician, and each of them could offer some analysis, though it was hard to say from which angle they would analyze it.

After a long while, Li Anguo suddenly interjected:

"Xiaolong, you're planning to sell that equipment, right?"

"Huh?" Li Long was talking about the Soviet Union's rigid system and didn't notice.

"I mean, you're planning to sell that oil refining equipment you mentioned, right? You're not going to open an oil refinery anyway, are you?"

“Yes, I sold it when I found a suitable one,” Li Long said. “Second Brother, do you have any friends who want to buy it? By the way, are there already small oil refineries in Dushan District?”

"I'm not sure, but they should have it in the oil city," Li Anguo said. "I'll ask when I get back."

Li Qiang took Xueping, Xueqin, Mingming, and Haohao to the front yard to find Li Juan, mainly because Xueping and Xueqin wanted to see their older sister.

Li Juan was reading when a group of children came in, so she couldn't read anymore. She played with the children for a while, and after Li Qiang led them away, she went to the backyard.

I pushed open the door and saw my second aunt, mother, and younger aunt working and talking in the kitchen. I greeted them and then went in to greet my second uncle.

“Hey, Juan is so different after going to college,” Chen Lirong exclaimed. “She used to hardly ever greet people, but now she’s so confident and outgoing, just like a girl from a big city.”

Li Juan, with her good hearing, overheard her aunt praising her and slightly pursed her lips. Wasn't it Li Qiang who used to never greet people? When did she ever act like that?

However, it wasn't appropriate for her to sit in the inner room and listen, as almost everyone there smoked. So she simply moved a small stool and sat at the doorway of the room where she and Li Qiang used to live, listening to her mother and the others chat.

"Juan, are you going to visit your teacher for the New Year?"

“Yes, that’s right,” Li Juan said.

"When?" Gu Xiaoxia continued to ask.

“My classmates and I made plans for the third day of the Lunar New Year,” Li Juan said. “We’ll stay home on the first day, visit relatives on the second, and then it’ll be the third and fourth.”

"Then how will you get there?" Chen Lirong asked. "It's not close to the county, is it?"

"About ten kilometers," Gu Xiaoxia said. "Juan, why don't you learn to drive with me these next couple of days? It's very easy to drive, and we can drive there together."

"That won't do." Liang Yuemei was the first to object. "There's no time to learn on the fly, it's only been a few days!"

"Three to five days is enough," Gu Xiaoxia said with a smile. "Driving a car isn't difficult at all. Juan is an adult now; she'll learn very quickly!"

Li Juan was eager to try. Although she wasn't the type to flaunt her wealth, riding her bicycle to visit her teacher in the dead of winter was really cold.

At this age, if you wrap yourself up like a loaf of bread, where is the beauty in that?

But after thinking about it, she decided against it and said, "Auntie, can you teach me to drive? But I won't drive to visit my teacher for the New Year. One of you can give me a ride, or if I'm busy, I'll ride my bicycle."

Liang Yuemei nodded with satisfaction. Her daughter was sensible after all.

“Okay, I’ll drive you then. You should learn to drive with me these next couple of days,” Gu Xiaoxia said. “No matter where you work in the future, you’ll definitely need to know how to drive. Once you can drive, and you have a car at home, it will be convenient for you to go anywhere.”

Li Juan really wanted to learn.

Gu Xiaoxia was a straightforward person. After lunch and tidying up, she took Li Juan to learn to drive.

As a result, Li Qiang wanted to learn too, so Gu Xiaoxia asked Li Long to teach him.

Surprisingly, Li Qiang has a strong talent for this; he basically learned to drive in just one afternoon. Of course, he still needs to practice the details, but overall, he's fine with driving.

After all, this thing is similar to driving a tractor, except that it has a driver's cab and you need to pay attention to things like looking in the rearview mirror.

Li Qiang already knew how to drive a tractor when he was in elementary school, so driving a car is nothing special for him now.

The speed at which he learned the material truly amazed everyone else. Although Li Qiang felt somewhat proud, he didn't find it particularly difficult.

"Right now you can drive, but you'll learn more about traffic rules like reversing and passing other vehicles later," Li Long said. "You still need to practice. Your task now is to learn. When you really need to drive, find a professional to guide you."

Although traffic regulations are not as detailed as they are in later years, if Li Qiang really wants to drive on the road, necessary training is still unavoidable.

Although Li Juan didn't get the hang of it as quickly as Li Qiang, she progressed quite rapidly. By the afternoon of the first day of the Lunar New Year, she was already able to drive on her own.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, she was going to visit her maternal grandfather with her parents. When she returned in the afternoon, Li Juan practiced some more. On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Gu Xiaoxia drove Li Juan and Li Qiang to the county to pay New Year's visits.

Li Qiang also wanted to visit his teacher to wish him a Happy New Year and meet up with his classmates.

When the car arrived at the main gate of the county's No. 1 Middle School, some students were already waiting there.

"Our classmates have arrived." Li Qiang, with his sharp eyes, was the first to spot the group of four boys and girls.

Li Juan also discovered her classmates, and her class was even larger. Because after the classes were merged, many of the top students were in the same class, and a significant portion of them were from the county town.

We arrived early.

After saying goodbye to Gu Xiaoxia, Li Juan and Li Qiang got out of the car and quickly walked to their classmates' circle.

Gu Xiaoxia watched the two of them greeting their classmates, looking like they were reunited after a long separation, which was truly enviable.

She thought of her high school classmates, who should have long since been assigned to various positions in the county.

Over the years, she had met a few classmates at the Education Bureau, but compared to her classmates like Li Juan and Li Qiang, most of her classmates were worldly-wise, and she really had no intention of contacting them.

When Gu Xiaoxia was dropping off Li Juan and Li Qiang, Li Long drove his second brother's family to the purchasing station.

Li Anguo wanted to take a look at those oil refining equipment. He didn't say that any of his friends needed it; he just said he wanted to take a look so that if he came across something he really needed, he could describe it to others.

Upon arriving at the purchasing station, Chen Lirong led Xueping and Xueqin to the reception room. Li Anguo and Li Long first looked at the Kamaz equipment, and then at the other equipment.

After reading it, Li Anguo took a large envelope from the glove compartment of his car and handed it to Li Long:

"Xiaolong, this is the three thousand yuan I've saved over the past two years. Take it first. I'll pay you back the fare slowly."

“What’s the point? I don’t need this,” Li Long declined. “You can keep it.”

"No, no, no," Li Anguo said with a smile, "I can also make some money with this car. After get off work, I can pick up passengers or do some fare, unlike what you think, where I get a fixed salary."

"Keep it. Otherwise, it'll be hard for me, as your older brother, to keep owing you money. It's just that I can't make a lot of money, so I can't give you all the money at once."

"Okay, I'll take it first." Li Long knew that there was some face involved from the older brother, so he accepted it.

Li Anguo was driving his family towards Kui City when Chen Lirong asked, "Did Xiaolong accept it?"

“He accepted it. He initially refused, but I told him he had to, so he accepted it,” Li Anguo said.

In fact, Li Anguo had prepared six thousand yuan for Li Long, but he didn't take it all out.

When Li Long mentioned that he had an oil refining facility, Li Anguo was immediately interested.

His salary wasn't much, and although his household expenses weren't high, saving money wasn't easy. Fortunately, he had a car, and after work, on weekends, and during the winter when he had nothing to do, he could still earn some money by driving around.

A while ago, a boss from an oil city hired my car to drive back and forth, and I made a lot of money.

By taking people around, you can naturally hear some information, such as that the boss has some connections and can get oil from the oil city, then find a private refinery to process it, and then sell it.

Although oil prices are not high now, to be honest, the oil refined from petroleum can be sold for money, as can asphalt; in short, everything that is separated can be exchanged for money.

The cost of that stuff is really not high once it's extracted from the ground, or rather, the cost is all borne by the government. They get the oil at a very low cost, so relatively speaking, they make a lot of money.

Li Anguo's real intention wasn't to sell oil refining equipment; he wanted to establish a connection with that person and refine oil himself to make money.

With the rapid development of domestic industry, there are always buyers for all kinds of by-products from oil refining, so there's no fear of not making money.

He left three thousand yuan, intending to use it for bribes and hiring people. He thought of his older brother, who was in the machinery business; he'd gotten several high-horsepower machines from Li Long and was now a large landowner, earning tens of thousands of yuan a year.

Not to mention my younger brother, he has become a big boss and has acquired three Kamaz heavy-duty trucks, which even his own construction company wouldn't dare to dream of!

As for Chen Xingbang, he has kept a low profile this year, and he flatters Li Long in his words and actions. According to Li Anguo, Chen Xingbang wants to get in touch with Li Long so that he can raise more pigs on his own and sell them to Li Long's cannery.

Li Long naturally had no objections.

That leaves me all alone.

Li Anguo was initially quite satisfied with his current situation. However, his peers were all outstanding, putting him under a lot of pressure.

Actually, no one put pressure on him when we got together for the New Year. He felt that if he didn't work hard, he would fall behind.

However, he kept this matter to himself and didn't tell Chen Lirong. He guessed that if he told her, Chen Lirong would definitely disagree.

So let's keep it from them for now and find out the truth first.

If that person, knowing that I have oil refining equipment, is really willing to process oil for himself and collect refining byproducts, then this matter can be pursued.

Li Anguo couldn't wait to return to Kui City and then use these few days to find out more.

Meanwhile, Li Juan had already met up with her classmates to wish their homeroom teacher a Happy New Year.

The homeroom teacher lives in the school's staff quarters, but the Chinese language teacher lives in the county town. They agreed to visit the teachers in the staff quarters first, and then go to wish the teachers in the county a Happy New Year.

Some students are still speaking Lanzhou-Yinchuan Mandarin – they probably speak it this way at home and at school, and haven't changed it.

Some students speak only Mandarin, while others speak both, using Lanzhou-Yinchuan Mandarin with those who speak it and Mandarin with those who speak it.

Li Juan has been speaking Mandarin, and she has become able to switch between the two languages ​​fluently over this period of time.

The seven or eight classmates gathered together included some who had passed the college entrance exam like her, some who were repeating a year of high school, and two who hadn't passed the exam and weren't repeating a year, and were already working.

At least on the surface, everyone was still the same as they were in high school, with no one superior or inferior to the other. They reminisced about the fun things that happened in high school, or talked about what they had seen and heard in the past six months.

After all, they are already adults, their experiences and perspectives are different.

Li Juan was the one who got asked the most questions, after all, she was the only one in her class who got into Peking University.

For ordinary people, especially those from two thousand years ago, Yanjing held many important meanings.

"Li Juan, you've seen Tiananmen Square, haven't you?"

"I've seen it, passed by it several times."

"Did they go into the Forbidden City?"

Have you ever visited Tiananmen Square?

"What about the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall?"

"I went there and offered flowers."

What about Wangfujing?

"What about museums?"

……

Everyone asked questions at once, and Li Juan answered them one by one, without becoming arrogant because of it.

She didn't even mention that her family owned a courtyard in Yanjing. She basically answered questions one by one, and occasionally asked about other people's situations.

Very low-key.

She was somewhat relieved that she hadn't driven over. Although everyone behaved similarly, Li Juan could tell that the two students who were repeating a year were still a bit insecure, quiet, and mostly just listening.

Fortunately, we soon arrived at the entrance of the homeroom teacher's courtyard.

The homeroom teacher had just seen a group of students off and hadn't even returned to the room yet when she saw them. A look of surprise and delight spread across her face, and she said with a smile:

"I knew you'd come today! Come in, come in! Li Juan, you're here too..."

There's no way around it; good students are always remembered by teachers, and so are the naughty ones: "Wei Shengjun, you haven't caused any trouble at school, have you?"

"No, no," Wei Shengjun said hastily after being admitted to Shicheng Agricultural College. "Teacher, I've been very good."

"How could that be?" The homeroom teacher feigned disbelief. "You're never well-behaved! Unless the sun rises in the west!"

"Hahahaha!"

"Hahaha!"

Everyone laughed as they listened, and the atmosphere instantly became cheerful.

The homeroom teacher's house wasn't big, and there was no one else there. She explained that her husband had taken the children to visit relatives.

There were several plates of peanuts and melon seeds on the coffee table. When students came to wish someone a Happy New Year, they brought nothing but their mouths.

That's just how it is; the students haven't learned about social etiquette yet, and the teachers are used to it.

With so many people, it was difficult to find a place to sit, so Li Juan and another girl helped the homeroom teacher pour water for the students.

In the end, the two of them could only squeeze into a single sofa.

The homeroom teacher did not show favoritism; she asked about everyone's situation, even those who were repeating a year, right under her nose, and inquired whether they were still studying during the holiday.

When asking Li Juan, I asked her a few more questions, such as how school was going and what her holiday plans were.

After learning that Li Juan was still doing social practice, she asked if the other students who passed the exam had similar experiences.

Some people have it, some don't; different schools have different requirements.

The homeroom teacher didn't say much.

They didn't stay there long; when the next group came to offer New Year's greetings, Li Juan and her group said goodbye.

Similar scenes happened several times; there were two teachers absent, otherwise there would have been even more.

Several classmates had arranged to have dinner at a classmate's house in the county. However, when they arrived at the classmate's house, the classmate's parents had to leave urgently and left only a note telling them to cook for themselves.

There were dumplings and other dishes prepared, but it was already quite late.

Li Juan noticed a telephone on her classmate's table and said to her classmate:

Can I make a phone call?

"Okay, go ahead and cook," the classmate said, as he was worried about what to cook. His cooking skills were really terrible.

Li Juan then called her uncle's house. Li Long answered; Gu Xiaoxia and Sister Yang were already preparing the meal.

Li Juan quietly explained the situation, glancing back as she spoke. The other female classmates were discussing in the kitchen what to cook or whether to eat out.

"Call them over, perfect timing. We've been wanting more excitement at home. Should I come pick you up?" Li Long asked. "Where are you?"

Li Juan breathed a sigh of relief. Actually, asking her uncle for help was a last resort. She could cook, but she was the kind of person who could eat a lot, but not the kind of person who would be served in a fancy restaurant.

Judging from the current situation, everyone is in a similar position. If we're going out to eat, it's not good to let anyone pay, and if we split the bill, some classmates might not be able to afford it.

Let's just take advantage of the big spenders.

Anyway, her uncle's family doesn't care about these things, and Li Juan guesses that her uncle would be very happy to agree.

After hanging up the phone, Li Juan told her classmates about it.

"Really?" This time, the classmates who couldn't cook were immediately excited, as were those who didn't have any money. At that time, not everyone had pocket money.

“Yes, my uncle will drive over to pick us up soon,” Li Juan said. “Let’s sit for a few minutes, then go outside and wait.”

After hanging up the phone, Li Long went out and told Gu Xiaoxia. Gu Xiaoxia and Sister Yang were quite happy, while Han Fang was even happier, as she really wanted to meet more people her age.

Li Long drove his Land Cruiser to pick up the person. He thought he should make two more trips since he didn't have a van and had sold his GAZ truck.

When Li Long arrived at Li Juan's place, the other students were already waiting outside the courtyard.

Actually, it's not far, just next door to the Jiang family in Yushan.

"I'll take some people over first, and you guys can walk slowly. I'll come back to pick you up in a bit."

Li Juan wanted to stay, but was pushed to sit in the passenger seat.

When Li Qiang came with his classmates to visit each other for the New Year, he happened to see Li Juan getting into a car at the alley entrance, while some other classmates were still waiting.

He was somewhat surprised. Why had his uncle taken them away? What was going on?
However, he was quickly pulled away by his classmates. The classmates went to visit each other's homes, and this time they went to a girl's house. The girl was also in the group and said that dinner was already prepared at home.

When Li Long brought the second group of students to the courtyard, the first group of students were already developing the "spectacle" in the courtyard.

The chubby jade baby was the first to be discovered, and the dairy goat and its two calves, which had just given birth half a month ago, became the main focus of everyone's attention; in order to keep the students from getting bored, Gu Xiaoxia even opened the empty room and let them see the hedgehog in winter.

Then there's the little deer that was hopping around in the backyard, which was just brought over by Halim a few days ago.

"Li Juan, your uncle's house is so much fun!" a female classmate whispered. "How come there are so many animals, and such lifelike jade stones!"

“My uncle has an old horse stable in the village, and he raises a lot of animals there,” Li Juan said proudly. “He even has little wild boars that are like domesticated pigs; they’re really mischievous!”

Hearing these classmates express their longing, I really would have gone to see it if it weren't for the current inconvenient transportation.

A short while later, Gu Xiaoxia told them to wash their hands and eat.

To make it easier for the students to be together, Li Long set up two square tables in an empty, heated room and served all the prepared cold and hot dishes together so that the students could sit and eat together.

Han Fang sat down with them, while the three adults ate in the dining room next to the kitchen.

Li Long also brought over two sets of wine glasses, as well as two bottles of sweet wine and two bottles of spicy wine.

“You’re all adults, so you should be able to have a little. Of course, alcohol is just for livening up the atmosphere. If you can drink, then drink a little; if you can’t, don’t force yourself,” Li Long said, placing the bottle and glasses on the table. “Those who can’t drink can have small champagne or soda.”

Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia are both indifferent to carbonated drinks, so they don't keep any at home. They only stocked up on mini champagne because it was popular.

Li Long closed the door as he left, and Wei Shengjun sighed:

"I never expected that there would be such a hidden talent in this county!"

"Li Juan, isn't your uncle the one who arrested the thug who tried to rob you?" a classmate remembered.

“Yes, that’s right,” Li Juan said.

The students exclaimed in amazement once again.

If Li Long were here, he'd probably be smug. "I may be gone from the martial world, but my legend lives on."

"Who's drinking?" Li Juan asked. "Should we pour some sweet wine for everyone?"

The sweet wine that Li Long brought was white wine, with a low alcohol content; drinking a little wouldn't be a problem.

"Guys should drink baijiu (Chinese white liquor), but not too much," Wei Shengjun said. "Sweet liquor isn't very potent."

After he said that, the boys tacitly agreed.

So they split into two groups.

The room had heating, but no stove, so the temperature wasn't very high; it felt just right after taking off my coat.

Since everyone was the same age, Han Fang, though slightly younger, was not looked down upon because she attended a teachers' college. She was treated equally, and the group chatted quite happily.

After the first toast, Li Juan suggested that everyone say a sentence and raise a glass. After all, none of them knew how to play drinking games, and the "tiger, bar, chicken" games were too noisy, so it would be fine to just go around in a round like this.

Her suggestion was supported by everyone, and she was allowed to speak first.

"I wish everyone all their wishes come true," Li Juan said, raising her glass with a simple blessing.

But everyone knows that these most ordinary words are actually what everyone wants most, but can't necessarily have.

Everyone drank and ate a few bites of food; it was time for the next person.

Han Fang said, "I wish everyone a peaceful and happy life."

The TV series "Desire" is already airing, and the ending theme song "May Good People Live in Peace" sung by Li Na has become a song that many people often hum.

"May everyone stay young forever."

May you have peace and safety every year.

May you prosper!

……

Each simple yet sincere blessing was spoken, and everyone raised a glass in response.

After each person finished speaking, the atmosphere became lively, and even those students who were originally self-conscious and introverted started to talk, sharing their thoughts and wishes with the help of alcohol.

Even though it was just a little wine, some people might lack that little bit of courage. I took this opportunity to get contact information from some people I hadn't contacted before.

Li Juan was the one who was asked the most. She gave everyone the address and then remembered Yang Xinhua.

We had agreed to wish our teacher a Happy New Year together today, but he didn't come.

But before she could ask, someone else had already said it.

“Yang Xinhua originally planned to come with me today,” said a boy who was Yang Xinhua’s neighbor. “Yesterday, his family received a call that a relative in Wucheng had some trouble, so the whole family rushed over yesterday afternoon.”

Oh, I see.

If we didn't meet, then we didn't meet.

The thought flashed through my mind, and I started chatting with my classmates about other things.

When they had almost finished eating and were preparing to leave, Gu Xiaoxia knocked on the door and came in, holding a point-and-shoot camera, and said:

"It's rare for you classmates to get together, would you like to take a group photo?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The students, no longer reserved, shouted in unison.

"Come on, let me take a group photo of you young people, and then you can freely form groups to take your own photos," Gu Xiaoxia said with a smile. "Keep your addresses, and Juan will send the photos to you later."

The students immediately found seats and sat down.

They instinctively placed Li Juan in the middle, with a row of girls sitting in front and several boys standing behind. Some were smiling, some were reserved, and some were pretending to be calm, all looking at the camera in Gu Xiaoxia's hand.

"One, two, three—cheese!"

Gu Xiaoxia took two photos, then handed the camera to Li Juan, saying, "It's new film, take as many photos as you like."

At this point, a good roll of film can take about thirty shots, while some can take twenty-seven or twenty-eight, depending on the situation.

When Li Juan took out the camera, several classmates had already gathered around and were shouting:

"Come on, Li Juan, take a picture of us first!"

Some people like to take photos in the room, some plan to take photos outside with the chubby jade doll, and some want to take photos while holding the little goat.

In short, this whole roll of film was used up in the yard today for group photos, photos of two or three people, and photos of a single person holding a small animal, etc.

By the time the filming was finished, the sun had already begun to set in the west.

Li Long wanted to send the students back, but was refused.

After dinner, they took photos in high spirits. The effects of the alcohol had long since worn off. They made plans in twos and threes to go back together. Some of them lived in the county town, while others lived in the townships and either caught a bus or stayed at a classmate's house.

Li Long didn't insist. As the students said goodbye, he reminded Li Juan not to forget to send them the photos after they were developed.

Li Long thought that perhaps some people already understood that by this point, such a gathering might only happen once in a lifetime, maybe two or three times, and then all that would remain were memories.

To be honest, he was quite envious, but despite his envy, he had also been the envy of others because his luck had been completely depleted several times.

That's it.

While Li Juan and her classmates were taking photos, Gu Xiaoxia and the others had already cleaned up the house. Seeing that everything was alright, Li Juan went inside, opened the back cover of the camera, and loaded the film into the small dark box, planning to develop it the next day.

Although it's only the third day of the Lunar New Year, in her view, the most important event of the year is already over. (End of Chapter)