Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

For the next few days, the villagers talked about the evening news on the county television station with great interest.

Aside from the fact that everyone from the cooperative was on camera and no one questioned it, everyone else was discussing or participating in the matter.

Some people confidently claimed that they were also on camera, showing a profile in the shot at a specific minute and second.

Some people are extremely regretful, saying that when the cooperative came to them asking them to come and help, they were too busy to go and now they regret it terribly.

This was an appearance on the county TV station; the whole county knew about it!
Some people were sour, saying that Li Long's cooperative was hogging the benefits, and that such a good opportunity should be given to the whole village to show off.

Some people even went to find team leader Xu Chengjun and asked him to talk to the cooperative and tell them that this shouldn't happen again.

Xu Chengjun directly retorted:

"This was arranged by the county and implemented by the township. What does it have to do with the cooperative? If they wanted to be on camera, they offered to help in the first place. How could they not want to?"

Xu Chengjun appeared on camera several times; Li Long had specifically mentioned it to him.

So naturally, he would side with the cooperative.

There are three cooperatives in the village. Everyone calls Li Long's cooperative the Li Family Cooperative. Although Xie Yundong is the manager of the cooperative, everyone assumes that Li Long must have set it up.

Even Li Jianguo couldn't come up with this. Although he has the courage, he is extremely cautious and wouldn't take the initiative to use those old things from the past.

The villagers were discussing appearing on camera, while people outside the village were focused on the situation in the cotton fields.

After the television station broadcast the live report, starting the next day, large numbers of people drove tractors and rode bicycles to the fourth team to watch the drip irrigation farming.

Although there are experimental fields in the village, only a few people know about them, and the area is small, making comparisons impossible.

The cooperative's land is different; it's over a thousand acres, which is very visible. You can tell at a glance whether the crops are well-grown or not, and there's no way to fake it.

Some of these people were just watching for the spectacle, while others wanted to see if drip irrigation farming was as miraculous as the news made it out to be, and even more so, they wanted to know if this thing could be promoted.

However, most of the time, people who come to inspect the land don't see anyone in the land, so they basically just look at the land and then leave.

If they happen to be cultivating, watering, or weeding, they might go up and ask a few questions to learn more about the situation.

Li Long was rarely there. Although he paid attention to the situation in the fields, he would only come over for a quick look and then leave.

Now, everyone in the cooperative has a telephone installed in their home—actually, the significance of installing a telephone isn't that great; it's just for several families to call each other.

Or, during the Spring Festival, if you want to call relatives back home, you have to dial the village committee number and have someone come and call you.

But we installed it anyway. After that, it's convenient to call each other if we need anything, like playing cards when we're free, or catching fish after watering the plants and calling each other to have a drink together that night.

Because watering and fertilizing are done together, drip irrigation farming is much less strenuous, which makes the people in the cooperative quite happy.

However, those in the team who earned extra money had objections—in the past, the cooperative couldn't handle the weeding and other chores on these lands, so they had to hire villagers to do them.

Now that drip irrigation is used for farming, there is less work to be done, and they have fewer ways to make money, so naturally they have complaints.

But the cooperative certainly wouldn't accommodate them; it would gather people when there was work, and leave them idle when there wasn't.

Moreover, the people in the cooperative made it clear that this would continue in the future, and there would definitely be less and less work. Apart from connecting the capillary pipes, pruning the roof, and occasionally weeding, the cooperative would hardly need to hire people to do any more work.

If you can't make money from the cooperative, some people will definitely complain.

But it doesn't matter to the people in the cooperative. Doing these things isn't charity work; everyone in the village starts from the same point, and nobody owes anyone anything.

The family that experienced the most changes throughout May was my sister's family.

On May 21st, Li Long took Liu Gaolou to the cannery to pick up the remaining stock, and unexpectedly saw Chen Xingbang and his sister Li Xia unloading meat together.

Li Long then asked Liu Gaolou to watch the workers packing canned goods. He went to the raw material workshop and greeted his sister and brother-in-law.

"Brother-in-law, this is working hours. Have you taken leave?"

Chen Xingbang smiled and said, "Why ask for leave? I'm a team leader, after all. I have the right to come out and take care of some things."

Delivering meat is no easy job. I wasn't comfortable with your sister coming alone, so I decided to come along and help. That way, we can get the job done faster and go home sooner.

Hearing his brother-in-law say this, Li Long was quite happy. He remembered that Chen Xingbang used to look down on his sister for doing this job, but he was also a little envious that this job paid more than what he, a regular worker, earned.

Now that Chen Xingbang can put aside his pride and work with his sister, no matter how much they earn, it's a good thing for the family.

He smiled and said, "Very good, very good." Then he asked his sister, Li Xia, "Sister, how many pigs and sheep did you raise this year? Was there enough sugar residue to send over to your side?"

Because Halim had already driven the cattle and sheep into the mountains, including the ewes and lambs that had given birth, the sugar residue from the sugar factory was no longer being sent to him. Some of it was being sent to Yushanjiang, some to Lao Mahao, and some was also being sent to his sister's place every week.

“That’s enough, that’s more than enough.” Li Xia said after watching the workers weigh the food. “We also need to supplement it with other feeds, like cornmeal and oilseed meal. We can’t just feed them sugar residue. The amount delivered to me each week is enough. I’m just one person, and I can’t raise that many pigs and sheep.”

Li Long said with a smile, "If one person can't handle it, we can hire someone. As you can see, our cannery has a huge demand for meat. As long as the meat quality is up to standard, we can accept as much as you send."

"Sister, you've gained experience raising pigs and sheep over the past two years. Your yard is also quite large, so you can definitely hire a few people to help you expand the scale. Developing livestock farming has a lot of potential."

Chen Xingbang wanted to say something, but seeing Li Xia's eagerness, he remained silent.

Li Xia was a little unsure of herself. She hesitated for a moment and said, "Me? Hire people to do the work? Can I manage that? I'm afraid I won't be able to manage them! I know how to do this job myself, but if I were to instruct others, that's really hard to say."

“What’s so hard to say? Just do what you’ve done, and when you hire people, you can instruct them. If they don’t do a good job, tell them; if they don’t listen, deduct their wages.” Li Long’s approach was simple and direct:
"It's relatively easy to recruit people now. There are quite a few people coming from out of town looking for work. Find two honest people, preferably a couple. Your yard is big, so it would be good to find them a place to live. This way, they can raise pigs and sheep and expand the scale of their operation."

To put it bluntly, if you raise a pig, the money you earn in a month is enough to pay their wages, and the rest is profit, plus you can relax.

Look at you now, you've worked yourself to the bone and lost a lot of weight. With that foundation, isn't being a boss easier than working for someone else? As long as there's nothing wrong with those extra pounds, I'll cover for you!

Li Xia's expression hardened after hearing Li Long's words. She said, "Okay, I'll go back and give it a try. Actually, I've met some people in the old street who wanted to work with me, but I didn't know how to manage people, so I refused."

He's a pretty honest guy, he just came from his hometown in the last two years, he's hardworking and willing to put in the work..."

"That's good. It's reassuring to find someone you know well," Li Long said encouragingly. "Getting you an assistant will also prevent my brother-in-law from taking too much leave, which could easily be discovered by his workplace."

Chen Xingbang looked a little embarrassed. He quickly waved his hand and said with a smile, "It's nothing, it's nothing. Nobody cares about me here. It's normal to lend a hand to your sister."

Chen Xingbang started the car, and before paying the bill, Li Xia whispered to Li Long, "Your brother-in-law's salary isn't enough to cover his expenses. When he asks me for money, he's not as arrogant as before."

If I were to become the boss, he might not feel good about it, but I was hoping to see if I could change his mindset. It would be best if we could work together. Now I've realized that earning a hundred or two hundred yuan at a food factory is really not as good as working with us.”

Seeing his sister's confident expression, Li Long smiled. However, he still said to her, "Sis, if my brother-in-law wants to do it, that's for the best. But if he doesn't want to leave the factory, don't force him."

I feel he's changing now, gradually. These people still have a strong attachment to being permanent employees; we can't change them all at once.

Li Xia nodded and said, "I know, I know. You have no idea how happy he was when he first joined the food factory. He drank last night and said his ancestors' graves were emitting auspicious smoke!"
Thinking back, only a few years have passed. I was happy for him back then, but now I feel that position wasn't all that great.

“Sister, that’s because you’re rich now, you’re capable of making your own money, and you earn more than him, so you’re confident,” Li Long said with a smile. “It shows that we’re no worse than anyone else. As long as we have the conditions, as long as we’re given a platform, we can definitely do very well too.”

“Yes, we’re no worse than anyone else!” Li Xia said solemnly, then burst into laughter.

Chen Xingbang, who had already started the car, looked at the brother and sister who were laughing happily and felt a little bewildered.

He didn't know what they were laughing about and felt out of place.

After seeing his sister and brother-in-law off, Li Long went to find Liu Gaolou, and ran into Sister Yang.

Sister Yang said with some envy, "You brothers and sisters have such a good relationship. You help each other out, without any backstabbing or scheming. It's truly enviable."

Li Long smiled but didn't say anything.

If he hadn't lived two lives, he might have thought this kind of family affection was normal. But having lived two lives, he had witnessed far too much disharmony within families, so he felt that this was the most normal and happiest state of being.

Liu Gaolou directed the workers to load canned goods into the truck.

When Li Long arrived, he said to him, "Mr. Li, you might need less of this canned pork later."

Although the economy there is currently sluggish, the political situation has stabilized.

My second uncle told me that some people are starting to plan to change Soviet-era practices by introducing religious beliefs, which would reduce the demand for pork.

Li Long understood this. During the Soviet era, especially during Stalin's time, it was forbidden to believe in any kind of shady religion. At that time, the belief was in communism, so there were basically no dietary restrictions for any ethnic group or republic.

They eat all kinds of meat, and even called on the entire population to raise pigs to ensure meat supply. This can be seen from the slices of cured pork provided to border guards.

However, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, each state now has its own agenda. Some religious forces have begun to emerge and are gradually influencing the political situation.

Therefore, the sales of imported canned pork may be affected.

Of course, this doesn't mean it should be completely banned all at once. According to Li Long's understanding, even at the beginning of the next century, some Kazakh border guards were still eating similar cured pork.

Their change was carried out in parallel with the change of official language, both being gradual and step-by-step. After all, the current mainstream population experienced the Soviet era, and it's unrealistic and unlikely that they would change immediately.

When this group of people gets old and no longer constitutes the mainstream, the mainstream language will be Kazakh, and the mainstream diet will conform to religious customs.

This must be what the higher-ups in the government envisioned.

In fact, many major countries have adopted this approach of letting time resolve everything in their long-term policies. After all, it is people who raise the questions, and when those who raised or caused the questions grow old, these problems will gradually disappear.

Li Long then said to Liu Gaolou, "It's alright, do as you say. Whatever ratio you want, I'll install it that way."

Anyway, there are already more canned beef and mutton than canned pork available now, and there are people around here who eat canned pork too. If you don't want it, I'll find other sales channels.

Liu Gaolou was very satisfied with Li Long's straightforwardness. This time, he also brought a car body, antelope horns, and some metal.

Regarding metals, Li Long told Liu Gaolou to focus on copper. China is relatively short of copper, or rather, the demand for copper has always been quite high. The level of industrialization there, or rather, the overall level of industrialization, is not very high. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and their withdrawal from the federation, a large amount of industrial equipment was dismantled and sold as scrap.

The amount of metal that can be extracted from this is enormous for Li Long's company.

Li Long didn't even want to think about those gold, silver, and other precious metals; those things had already been targeted by people back home.

However, metals like copper are not so conspicuous, but once acquired, they are quite valuable and easy to sell.

It's easy to get it over there, and there's a market for it here.

why not?

Liu Gaolou loaded up a sufficient amount of canned goods, then followed Li Long to the sugar factory to load white sugar, and drove off with the convoy, leaving Li Long and Section Chief Hu to hand over the goods.

Although the goods brought over by Liu Gaolou and those brought over by Li Long are now being bartered, Li Long still abides by the rules and pays the sugar factory a portion of RMB and a portion of USD.

The US dollars used were from Li Long's inventory; he had the money and nowhere to spend it for the time being.

Going to Beijing or Shanghai to raid antique shops was no longer an option. In the early 1990s, plenty of people were using US dollars and foreign exchange certificates to buy things and send them abroad; it wasn't his turn, little Karami's turn.

He didn't want to think about these things. He would occasionally go there to buy some exquisite jade and jadeite items, planning to sell them when they became more popular in the next century.

Section Chief Hu and Li Long were old friends. After having tea in the office, Li Long handed over the US dollars to Section Chief Hu and asked him to count them carefully. He also gave Section Chief Hu a pair of antelope horns.

This was something Section Chief Hu mentioned to Li Long a few days ago when he called, saying that a newly arrived deputy factory director wanted it.

Li Long felt it was good to maintain a good relationship with the sugar factory. Kazakhstan's sugar production was limited, and the high demand for sugar would continue for another ten or twenty years, so sugar would remain a hard currency in the meantime.

Li Long believed that their business dealings could continue until the August 1st Sugar Factory went bankrupt.

Although it's a very sad topic, it's something he couldn't control or influence.

Let's leave it at that for now.

On May 30th, Jia Tianlong came over and took away the more than seven tons of fritillaria that had been acquired so far. Two tons of these were transported from the valley by Gu Boyuan.

Jia Tianlong complained to Li Long that he had been collecting fewer and fewer fritillaria bulbs in recent years.

Li Long shrugged and said, "There's nothing I can do. More and more people are coming here to buy fritillaria bulbs, and they're offering high prices to snatch them up. They're going to find those herb gatherers in the mountains. There's nothing I can do about it."

Moreover, the forestry department is becoming increasingly strict in its management, and there are fewer people going into the mountains to collect medicinal herbs than before. The goods that the forestry department takes away can no longer be sold to him, so naturally, he has fewer goods here.

To compensate Jia Tianlong, Li Long let him take away a ton of antelope horns. The price of antelope horns has increased slightly compared to last year; although not by much, it's still incredibly high relative to the purchase price.

After all, the antelope horns that are now being transported from Kazakhstan, if bartered, would be worth about 40 or 50 yuan if we counted ten cans of food.

It sells for over six hundred, ten times the original price.

In fact, both Liu Shanmin and Li Long knew that there were quite a few businessmen from China who went there to buy antelope horns, and the purchase price was quite high.

However, those who go to buy the sheep directly receive money and exchange it for their local currency. This money is then handed over to the harvesters, and by the time it reaches the sheep slaughterers, it has depreciated significantly.

So those people preferred to trade ram's horns for canned goods, at least those things were practical and didn't depreciate in value.

For them, killing an antelope meant exchanging its hide and horns for canned food. They could eat the mutton themselves, so it was a very worthwhile trade.

With the ton of antelope horn as compensation, Jia Tianlong left satisfied, while Li Long then received Zhao Hui.

There were far more hides than antelope horns. Each pair of antelope horns corresponded to two or three hides, so Zhao Hui was always happy to come and would bring Li Long some gifts each time.

Li Long received new-style tape recorders, new-style leather jackets, trendy dresses, children's schoolbags, toys, stationery, and Walkmans from him. Once, Zhao Hui even brought Li Long a new 21-inch color TV.

Li Long was one of his major leather customers. The two had cooperated so well for so many years that Zhao Hui knew he and Li Long could not reach the level of relationship with Jia Tianlong. So he would often buy things for Li Long to solidify their relationship.

Li Long knew what Zhao Hui was thinking, so he accepted all comers, which put Zhao Hui at ease. Two days after Zhao Hui left, Huang Lei arrived. He only came twice a year, taking away morel mushrooms in the summer and black tiger paw mushrooms in the autumn.

The relationship between the two has had its ups and downs, but overall it has never broken free from a business relationship, let alone reached the level of friendship.

There's nothing we can do about it. There are too many variables on Huang Lei's side; drying wild mushrooms is a recipe for disaster. So Huang Lei always checks very carefully, almost like he's doing a business deal.

In fact, collecting dried wild mushrooms is currently a dispensable activity for purchasing stations.

Actually, according to Li Long, his main business is not in this area, so he doesn't need to accept the fees.

However, currently, in this large area west of Wucheng and east of Kuishi, the only places where people collect dried wild mushrooms are his and Chen Hongjun's.

Chen Hongjun's business scope was smaller than his, and his reputation was also smaller. So, the middlemen who could get dried mushrooms and those who made money by picking mushrooms all sent their goods to him.

The more people come, the more popular the business becomes. So, as old man Li Qingxia said: We must buy! As long as one person comes to sell, we will buy! Even if the quantity is less than what we can sell, we can keep it for our own consumption.

The older folks have traditional ideas. They feel that people selling things here are doing them a favor, and that they only come here to sell because they think it's a good place, so they can't let them down.

Alright, since my father is the manager now, and he's spoken, Li Long naturally won't object.

On June 5th, the Dragon Boat Festival, the day before, my sister-in-law Liang Yuemei wrapped two large pots of zongzi (sticky rice dumplings).

The bamboo leaves were brought back by Li Jianguo from the reed ditch the day before. Actually, the reed leaves from the reeds in the small lake were better, but there were no boats in the small lake and the reeds all grew in deep water, so he didn't get them.

Liang Yuemei didn't wrap that many zongzi; most of them were for her own family. She wanted to send some to Li Long and take some to Liang Donglou's house. They had a freezer, so they wanted to freeze some for Li Qiang to eat when he came back.

Li Juan is on summer vacation and will be back to eat. With more people around, we need to consider all aspects.

In addition, if Li Anguo and Chen Xingbang come over when they have time, we will prepare some things for them, but we will not send them over specifically.

The zongzi I cooked last night will take four or five hours to cook, and we'll eat them on the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival.

Li Long planned to go to the team after breakfast to check on the cotton, then bring back some zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) for his family to eat together.

Unexpectedly, around 11:00 AM, before he had even set off, his second brother, Li Anguo, arrived in his car.

"Isn't today the Dragon Boat Festival? I thought I'd come and see my parents and you two." Li Anguo took out some wine, snacks, and fruit, and carried them to the courtyard. "These are from Bajiaolou. Dad was eating here with you, so I'm keeping them for you."

"Hey, looks like the factory's doing well. You've got some money on hand now?" Li Long joked with his second brother.

"Hey, I can't compare to you, but I do have some money," Li Anguo said with a smile. "Otherwise, how could I buy so much stuff?"

Li Long reminded him, "You still need to be careful. The Golden Triangle region over there is more chaotic than ours. There are all sorts of shady people there. Don't flaunt your wealth, or you might attract unwanted attention."

"Don't worry, I drive both ways," Li Anguo said nonchalantly. "I'm either at home or at the factory, nothing will happen."

Seeing that there were still many things in his car, Li Long knew they must have been left with his mother and older brother, so he smiled and said, "Shall we go to the team now?"

"Come on, come on! I've been smelling the zongzi all day. The zongzi at your brother's house should be cooked by now. Let's go eat them!" Li Anguo urged. "If I hadn't been thinking of leaving some things for you and Dad here, I would have driven straight to the team."

Li Long smiled. Since his second brother took over the oil refinery, things have changed a lot in the past year or so. It's great.

The two drove to the fourth team one after the other. When they arrived at the elder brother's house, they indeed smelled a strong aroma of zongzi (sticky rice dumplings).

The eldest sister-in-law, Liang Yuemei, was picking zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) out of the pot, while her mother, Du Chunfang, was helping her. Some were to be eaten, some were to be frozen, and some were to be shared with the family.

Du Chunfang kept nagging: "It's enough to prepare for Xiaolong's family. Why do we need to prepare for the other two families? They only come a few times a year. They all have cars and can travel 100 or 200 miles, but they never come to visit... You're always the ones who remember them, but how many words do they remember about you?"

Sister-in-law Liang Yuemei wanted to laugh. When her mother first came, she was quite biased towards others. Although she mainly favored Li Long, she was also quite biased towards Li Anguo's and Li Xia's families, since they had more contact with them back in their hometown.

Unexpectedly, the more impatient I became with these two companies over the past two years, the better they treated me.

However, she patiently explained, "We're the eldest in our family, and we have the resources here, so we should prepare everything that needs to be prepared. If they don't want to come, that's fine, but if they do come, then we should all have everything, right? It's not fair if no one has it."

Li Anguo and Li Long walked into the courtyard after hearing these words. Li Anguo looked a little embarrassed, but he was quite at ease despite carrying so many things.

Hearing the car and footsteps, Du Chunfang and Liang Yuemei turned around to see who it was. When they saw it was the two brothers, they both laughed.

"Come on, come on, these are freshly cooked zongzi, have a taste!" Liang Yuemei said with a smile. "The zongzi are really flavorful! Anguo, you're already here, why did you buy so much stuff?"

Li Anguo said with a smile, "It's been quite a while since I've visited my parents and you all. How can I not bring anything?"

Li Long knew that the flavor of the zongzi he was talking about was actually the flavor of reed leaves. Some people would also put reed leaves under the steamer when steaming buns, and the steamed buns would have the same flavor.

However, zongzi are best eaten fresh out of the pot. He picked one up and asked while peeling it, "Where's my older brother?"

Liang Yuemei said, "This morning, Daqiang came over and said there were spider mites in a patch of the field. He took the pesticide sprayer to spray, and your older brother went with him to check."

"What? Are there bugs in the field?" Li Anguo asked. "Is it serious?"

"It should be fine. Daqiang said half a can of medicine covered the whole area," Liang Yuemei said. "We discovered it relatively early, but we can't let it spread."

Li Long picked up another zongzi, ate it in a few bites, and said, "I'll go check on the fields too. Second Brother, you rest here for now."

Li Anguo waved his hand and said, "Go ahead and do your thing. I'll take the zongzi and leave. I still have things to do at the oil refinery. I just came here specifically to get the zongzi."

In fact, both he and Li Long knew that saying they were bringing zongzi was just an excuse to visit each other during the festival.

Although they are brothers, if they don't visit each other often, their relationship can sometimes be less close than that of a neighbor.

Liang Yuemei tried her best to persuade him to stay, saying that he had to finish lunch before leaving.

Li Anguo said that his family was waiting to eat zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), so he quickly drove back to put the zongzi down. After lunch, he still had to go back to the oil refinery.

The refinery is ramping up production right now, and with the summer heat making it easy for accidents to happen, we have to keep a close eye on it.

Safety couldn't be taken lightly, so Liang Yuemei didn't try to persuade him any further. She quickly packed him some zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) and then got some syrup for him to dip a few in so he could try them. Li Anguo ate them while praising how delicious they were. After resting for less than half an hour, he drove off.

He brought back a truckload of goods, and on the way back he only brought a bag of zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), but Li Anguo was still quite happy. He drove to the county town, took the Urumqi-Yibin Expressway past Shicheng, and headed west, humming a tune as he happily drove back.

Li Anguo opened the window, and waves of heat rushed in from outside. The June sun was scorching, but he was already used to it.

After driving past Anjihai, the road opened into a long stretch of uninhabited area. Both sides were Gobi Desert, but by this time some weeds had already grown, making it a lush, green expanse as far as the eye could see.

Because there's no one around, and the occasional passing vehicle speeds by, there isn't a single gas station for over ten kilometers on either side.

So Li Anguo floored the accelerator, increased the speed, and sped off.

Suddenly, he noticed two people standing up on the roadside ahead, waving vigorously at him.

Li Anguo guessed that the two people might need a ride, so he hesitated for a moment and slowed down.

It's another 20 or 30 kilometers from here to Kui City. Walking would take most of the day, but driving would only take a couple of minutes.

In addition, he was in a good mood, so Li Anguo thought it wouldn't hurt to do some good deeds.

When Li Anguo was about 20 or 30 meters away from the two men, he was about to stop the car when he noticed that the two men looked strange. One of them was carrying a stick, and the other had his hand tucked into his waistband, as if he had something in his waistband.

Neither of them had a bag, nor were they on their feet, so it didn't seem like they had been abandoned after a long journey.

His alertness immediately rose, and with a slight turn of the steering wheel, the car, which had been leaning towards the side of the road, swerved back to the center. He then floored the accelerator, and with a roar, the car shot forward.

The reminder from his younger brother Li Long in the yard echoed in his mind. Was he being watched, or was he just being paranoid?

If it weren't for what Li Long said this morning, he might not have been so vigilant just now.

The two men watched the car speed away, and after a moment of astonishment, one of them bent down, picked up a stone from the ground, and threw it at the car. However, Li Anguo had already floored the accelerator, and the car, billowing black smoke, sped hundreds of meters away, making it impossible for him to hit it.

Li Anguo saw the two men's movements in the rearview mirror and felt a lingering fear in his heart.

If I hadn't been so careful just now, and if my brother hadn't reminded me, I might have actually dragged those two guys into it.

The consequences would be unimaginable.

He drove all the way to his home in Kui City, still feeling unsettled.

At this time, Xueping and Xueqing had already finished school and were having dinner at home.

When Chen Lirong saw him rushing back, she took the zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) he was carrying and asked, "Didn't you eat at your older brother's house? Let me get you some."

"I haven't eaten. I'm full after eating a few zongzi," Li Anguo said absentmindedly. "You guys eat, I'm not hungry."

He knew his wife's habits; she usually cooked a fixed amount of food, and if he ate, she probably wouldn't have any left.

The two children eagerly grabbed the zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), while Li Anguo washed his hands and went inside.

Chen Lirong noticed that something was wrong with him, but she didn't say anything because the children were there. She reminded her two daughters that each of them could only eat one, otherwise it would be hard to digest, and they could eat the rest when they came back in the afternoon.

Liang Yuemei's zongzi were quite large; one zongzi was enough to fill the two children up. While eating, they were comparing whose zongzi had more raisins—since each zongzi contained two red dates, which were the same, the only comparison they could make was with the raisins.

After the two children finished eating and rested for a while before going to school, Chen Lirong went into the house to ask about Li Anguo's situation.

Li Anguo didn't dare tell his wife his suspicions. He simply lied and said that there was a large truck on the road that was driving recklessly. When the two of them met head-on, the truck wouldn't give way to him, which startled him.

Chen Lirong took it seriously and berated the truck driver for being shameless.

Feeling it was just a false alarm, Chen Lirong went to clear the dishes. Knowing that Li Anguo still had to go to the factory, she told him to get some rest.

Li Anguo wasn't in the mood to rest, so while Chen Lirong was tidying up, he made a phone call to Li Long.

At this time, Li Long had also returned to the courtyard from the fourth team and was putting some of the zongzi into the refrigerator to freeze.

"You mean those two were suspicious? You suspect they wanted to rob you?" Li Long was startled upon hearing this. He immediately said, "Second Brother, you need to be careful lately. You might be being watched. You did the right thing this time; it's best not to stop in deserted areas."

Forget about uninhabited areas; even within the city, it's best not to give rides to strangers other than acquaintances! Keep some tools in your car, like a large wrench, and don't go to remote or sparsely populated areas if someone invites you!

"Don't be so nervous, right?" Li Anguo felt that his younger brother was making a fuss over nothing. Although it might be a little dangerous, he thought that even if something like this happened, at most they would just rob him of some money.

But Li Long said to him very seriously, "I told you this morning that the Golden Triangle region you're going to has a very complex population; there are all kinds of people there."

Some people might assume you're a wealthy person just because they see the car you drive. For those who are greedy or willing to take risks, you'll be their primary target!

You don't really think they'd let you live after robbing you of your money or your car, right? So be careful and don't put yourself in danger!

Let me tell you, the people who came to buy goods from me these past two days have all told me about similar incidents. Some of their friends were invited to meet in the suburbs to discuss business, and then those people just disappeared!
After the police were notified, they found the cars a few days later, but they had already been sold. What about the people? Some were found, killed and buried in the suburbs; others simply vanished.

You really have to be careful! I'm telling you, things are a bit better here; I've been quite vigilant. And since it's a small place, we know about even the slightest disturbance.

"You've just started your factory, and it's in a rather remote location. You're in the oil city, but your home is in Kuicheng. Traveling between the two places will easily cause problems. If all else fails, I suggest you register your household in the oil city. Since you have a factory there and connections with Ajinbek, you should be able to get your household registration transferred."

Li Long said this was not an exaggeration. He vaguely remembered that in the 1990s of his previous life, there was a big case in Kui City where a taxi driver was taking two people to a military station, but they were killed halfway there and the car was abandoned in a no-man's land.

The case was solved more than twenty years later, when the driver's body was finally found.

The two murderers thought the driver was rich, but they didn't actually steal much money.

Li Long initially thought it was an isolated case, but after meeting friends in Kui City, he learned that similar cases were not uncommon. There were also instances where private cars were hijacked, the perpetrators were murdered, and the cars were never found.

That's why he solemnly reminded his second brother that it would be best to register his household in the oil city.

Although it's far away, my place of residence is relatively close to the factory. The oil city is now a large unit, with a relatively simple nature, not so complicated, and without so many chaotic people.

Kuytun, Dushanzi and Wusu are jokingly called the "Little Golden Triangle" by locals. This place has all sorts of people, making it a very complex place.

After hanging up the phone, Li Anguo thought about Li Long's suggestion carefully and felt that it was indeed a good idea.

Although there aren't many people in the oil city, the overall quality of life is better than in the Golden Triangle region, and the quality of education is also higher. It would be better for children to study there than here.

This incident today deeply affected him, and he had this idea at that moment.

Thinking about it carefully, there are many advantages to moving there. At least the family won't have to live apart, and I won't have to travel back and forth anymore.

From the oil city to Kuishan, there are also large uninhabited areas. If someone with ulterior motives really targets you, it's impossible to defend yourself.

Li Anguo immediately went to discuss the matter with his wife, Chen Lirong, who was somewhat surprised.

However, after Li Anguo carefully analyzed the situation, especially after thinking that they could live together and not be separated, Chen Lirong felt that there was no problem.

Li Anguo said, "Then I'll contact them when I get back to see how to register our household. It would be best if we registered during the summer vacation so that it wouldn't interfere with the child's schooling."

Without hesitation, Li Anguo started his car and headed towards the factory. By the time he arrived in the oil city, it was almost closing time.

He went and bought some things, then found someone he knew and asked around.

The oil city is actually a large petroleum administration bureau. Although it is called a city, the city and the administration bureau are actually the same organization.

Having connections in the community makes obtaining residency not too difficult. The main reason is that Li Anguo's factory is under the community's jurisdiction, considered a profitable business, and pays taxes, so the residency process isn't particularly difficult. Another factor is that Li Anguo's family currently receives government-subsidized grain rations, making the conversion process relatively simple.

Therefore, it can be done.

Li Anguo was relieved.

P.S.: Modern cotton planters are amazing! They don't even need manual soil pressing; the soil is already pressed onto the plastic film after the seeds are sown, and it's very dense. (End of Chapter)