Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

After Li Long signed the contract at the county's No. 1 Middle School, the director of academic affairs emphasized one of the clauses in the contract: "We will go to your school in early September to conduct an on-site inspection of your preparations."

"All the conditions in the agreements you've provided must be met. If the preparations are inadequate, we can terminate the contract at any time."

"No problem!" Li Long agreed readily. "Give us a call before the inspection, and we'll make sure everything is ready."

After leaving the county's No. 1 Middle School, Li Long drove to the Fourth Team and went straight to the fields.

At the edge of the cotton field, Xie Yundong and his colleagues were checking the condition of the cotton separately.

As the cotton harvest season drew closer, the cooperative members became increasingly vigilant.

Li Long told everyone about the signed contract, and Xie Yundong and the others were very happy. Tao Daqiang gave a thumbs up and said, "Brother Long, it's you! If it were us, those people from the county's No. 1 High School would never have agreed."

Xu Haijun added, "That's right. Luckily you got it done. I also asked around at the junior high schools in the village. The first-year students don't go to pick cotton, but the second and third-year students go to the 149th and 150th regiments of the Eighth Agricultural Division. It was all arranged with them."

If you don't manage to negotiate with the high school, this person will be in real trouble.

“Although the contract has been signed, we still need to do a good job in ensuring the supply of food and lodging.” Li Long put away the contract and said, “The conditions I told you beforehand, which were also the conditions I promised to the leaders of the county’s No. 1 Middle School, need to be guaranteed by the beginning of September.”

"Food is no problem, the main issue is accommodation." Xie Yundong, being the manager, was quite familiar with the situation. He rubbed his hands together and said:

“We can free up about ten rooms, but we don’t have enough timber from our team. The existing timber can only cover four or five rooms at most. If we consider it as a shared room, each room can sleep about twenty or thirty people.”

"How about we follow the Corps' lead and get some wheat straw, spread it out thickly, and have them put their bedding on the straw?" Xu Haijun suggested.

"No, absolutely not!" Jia Weidong was the first to object. "Those are all children, they're still growing. There's alkali in the ground here. Even though the cooperative's houses have paved floors, they're still very damp. Even if they're covered with straw and bedding, staying there for ten or twenty days will still have an impact on their health. Using planks is the best option."

"Isn't it because we don't have enough paddles?" Xu Haijun defended himself. "I know the children's health is important, but what can we do without paddles?"

Xie Yundong looked at Li Long: "It depends on what Xiaolong does."

“What else can we do? Let’s go to the mountains!” Li Long said with a smile. “I still have a few trucks sitting unused at my cooperative. We’re free these days, so let’s get some more people and go to the mountains tomorrow. We’ll bring big saws and go fell trees.”

"Do the forestry workers allow us to transport them?" Xu Haijun questioned. "I heard that there are forestry workers guarding each mountain pass now, and people and vehicles entering and leaving are subject to inspection."

“Let’s go first. If we can get in, we will. If not, we’ll buy some,” Li Long said. “The trees that fall in the mountains will eventually rot if we don’t pull them up. It’s better to make use of them.”

"Of course, if they don't allow it, then we'll talk about it."

"Hehe, okay, let's leave tomorrow and see if your influence works." Xu Haijun joked, "Actually, at first we were all held back by the issue of finding a board."

"Just like you said, if we can't find them in our team, we can go buy them. This isn't something that happens just once or twice; we'll be bringing people here every year. And as long as we bring people, they'll definitely need to stay, so these boards can be used indefinitely."

"The matter of the board is settled. What about the meal?" Li Long asked.

"We'll just hire the wives from our few families, and then find a few more from the team, paying them by the day," Xie Yundong said. "As for slaughtering sheep, we'll just find them from Old Ma's flock, and settle the payment on the same day. The main thing is that we can get the cotton back; the other expenses are minor."

The cooperative members have reached a consensus on this point. As long as they can collect all, or at least most, of the cotton, they will make the lion's share of the profits.

Spending a little money to accomplish a lot is the right thing to do.

If you're afraid to spend this small amount of money and end up not getting the cotton back, then the loss will be much greater.

Food and lodging are the biggest expenses. After those two were settled, there were some miscellaneous things to consider. Li Long agreed to let the school provide bus transportation, which, according to the cooperative members, meant renting some buses from a passenger transport company.

Li Long wanted to call Liu Gaolou as soon as possible and ask him to talk to his second uncle so that he could bring back a few large buses on his next trip.

There are quite a few people involved in tourism, transportation, and long-distance transport these days. Even if it's just running between townships and counties, or villages and counties, there's still potential in the transportation business.

However, he didn't tell anyone else about this, wanting to prepare for both possibilities.

So the itinerary was finalized: tomorrow, more people would be sent to the mountains to haul timber. After the timber issue was resolved, they would buy a large pot and stove, and at the same time contact people to make steamed buns and naan. Jia Weidong suggested preparing some dried noodles as well, because they couldn't always eat steamed buns and naan; they could eat rice, dried noodles, and wheat noodles as well.

This suggestion was adopted.

After returning from the team, Li Long went to the purchasing station, picked out a few young men who could drive, and asked them to clean up the four trucks currently stored at the purchasing station, fill them with gas, and prepare to set off tomorrow.

The young men were all quite happy. They all knew that Li Long provided extra subsidies for workers who went on official business, and the treatment was very good. They couldn't wait to go.

Li Long called Liu Gaolou from the purchasing station and told him about the bus. The person who answered wasn't Liu Gaolou himself, but a girl with a slightly strange accent. Li Long asked her to relay the message to Liu Gaolou and to call him back when she had time.

The girl said she remembered and would pass it on to Manager Liu.

Normally, it would be best for Li Long to make a long-distance call to Liu Shanmin, but Liu Shanmin's long-distance calls are often unsuccessful, and he frequently changes his residence, so it would be better to have Liu Gaolou relay the message.

Li Long thought about it and decided he should call the forestry police station. Rather than going there to try his luck, it was better to let them know beforehand.

The police station chief had dealt with Li Long before; the person Li Long had sent them last time had earned them a considerable reward.

So when Li Long said he was going to the mountains to haul some fallen trees to make beds for the children who were doing work-study programs, the director readily agreed, saying, "No problem, just come and haul them."

Everyone knows that fallen trees in the mountains rot over time and become no different from a pile of dirt.

If you pull it out directly when it's poured out, it can still serve some purpose.

However, the forestry department didn't need this kind of timber, or rather, the forestry department and the timber business were not subordinate to each other. Unlike in Northeast China, where there were state-owned timber operations like those run by Bald Qiang's father, there really weren't any here at that time.

Let's consider it a favor.

The next morning, Li Long first went to two naan shops and bought more than twenty naan breads. He then loaded a box of canned meat and a box of canned fruit onto the car, along with seven or eight watermelons.

When going to work in the mountains, make sure you have enough food first.

When Xie Yundong and his group arrived at the purchasing station, the trucks were already ready.

The team members arrived in two cars, one belonging to Xie Yundong and the other to Xu Haijun. Li Long had them park their cars at the purchasing station, then sat in the passenger seat of the truck and in his own SUV.

The tools were all prepared quite well: four axes, several rolls of rope, and two long saws.

The SUV led the way, followed by four trucks, speeding into the mountains.

When they passed through the checkpoint, Li Long didn't feel anything was wrong, but the others who came with him were a little scared.

No one stopped them, and the convoy entered the mountains smoothly.

Everyone knows that this isn't the key point; the key point is when you come out.

Unlike ten years ago when Li Long went into the mountains to collect wood for firewood, now when he goes into the mountains, he mainly looks for suitable wind-fallen trees that can be sawed into planks; the crooked and twisted ones are definitely not acceptable.

Fortunately, Li Long was a local expert in the mountains. He knew which area had the most fallen trees. He drove his off-road vehicle and truck along the road they had built, driving for more than ten kilometers until he stopped at the edge of a large pine forest.

Li Long pulled the car over to the side of the road, got out, and said to the group of people who followed him out, "This is it."

He pointed to the hillside covered with pine trees and said, "Go down this gully and you'll find many fallen pine trees."

Pick the thickest and largest branches and pull them back. Bring all your tools and cut off the pine branches and ends; you only need the middle sections that are usable.

"By the way, don't pull the little pine tree down any further; you can't split it into planks, so it's useless."

Li Long also pulled an axe from the trunk and walked into the mountains with the others.

After walking a few steps, we saw a pine tree, as thick as a person's embrace, lying by the ditch.

The workers who followed were about to cut the branches of the pine tree when Li Long stopped them: "This pine tree is rotten and unusable. Don't worry about it, keep going."

Seeing that everyone was still skeptical, Li Long stepped forward and chopped down on the pine tree with his axe. The pine tree snapped in two, revealing its rotten and insect-eaten interior. Only then did everyone accept his words.

Soon they discovered new fallen trees, and two or three people worked together to start dismantling them.

Li Long quickly walked past them up the slope.

The pine trees on this slope were sparse in some places and dense in others. He quickly found a suitable fallen tree in a sparse area.

Li Long kicked it and, finding the wood acceptable, picked up an axe and began chopping along the grain.

The sounds of chopping wood and discussions echoed through the valley. Soon, the nearest log was cleared away, tied with rope, and dragged onto the road.

"Get away from me, I'm going to push this log down!" Li Long chopped quickly and with his strength, he cut off the branches and top of the tree, and also chopped off the root section. He planned to let the rest roll down.

The pine trees in this pine forest have relatively shallow root systems. Mainly, the soil layer on the mountain surface is only about half a meter thick, and below that is rock.

Take, for example, the wind-fallen tree that Li Long chopped down. After its roots penetrated half a meter, they radiated outwards in all directions, resting on a flat, solid stone slab. If the roots couldn't penetrate deep enough to hold onto the ground, it would inevitably fall over in a strong wind.

With no one below, Li Long kicked the cut log down. As it rolled down, it hit several other trees, adjusted its position a few times, and finally landed at the bottom of the ditch.

Li Long quickly followed, picked up one end of the log and tried to drag it forward, but then found it a bit difficult and put it down.

He cut a small section at the narrow end of the tree, like a handle, then tied it with a rope and dragged it forward.

The bottom of the ditch was covered with thick weeds, which reduced friction.

Tao Daqiang and an employee were working together to load the log onto the truck. He was at the bottom, and the employee was at the top. The log hadn't been on the truck for very long; it looked like it had just dried in the shade and was quite heavy. It was quite strenuous for the two of them to do it.

Just as they were about to shout and push together, they suddenly felt a lightness in their hands. The log seemed to have climbed onto the truck involuntarily, and they pushed it all the way to the back of the truck bed.

Turning around, I saw that it was Li Long who was exerting force.

After pushing the log in place, Li Long clapped his hands and said, "Come on, it's my turn."

Knowing that Li Long was strong, Tao Daqiang wasn't surprised and went with Li Long to hug the piece of wood.

But the employee had never seen anything like it before; his eyes widened like copper bells, and his mouth gaped open like a cave, unable to close it for a long time.

When Li Long urged him to lend a hand, he finally realized what was happening. As he stepped forward to help, he exclaimed in amazement, "Boss, you're incredibly strong! If you were in the army, whether it was throwing grenades or being a heavy machine gunner, you'd be absolutely top-notch! You might even get promoted because of this!"

Li Long smiled, and then the three of them worked together to push the log into the carriage before turning back to continue their work.

"Hehehe!" Li Long was chopping wood when Tao Daqiang shouted to him from the ditch, "Brother Long, I found a pair of deer antlers!"

"What else could I have gained?" Li Long was somewhat surprised and quickly walked towards him, carrying his axe.

Sure enough, in the bushes not far from where they found the fallen tree, there were two elk antlers, less than two meters apart. Tao Daqiang picked up the antlers and showed them to Li Long.

These forked antlers belonged to a young red deer; they are beautiful, well-proportioned, and undamaged. Judging from the marks on the surface, they likely fell off this year.

Li Long said with a smile, "I'm lucky. I can sell it for a few hundred yuan."

The price of red deer antlers has risen now, costing several tens of yuan per kilogram, which is not cheap.

Tao Daqiang happily picked up the sika deer antlers, then asked worriedly, "Can I take this out?"

"Put it in the main compartment, under the wood, it should be fine," Li Long said. "We're not checking this vehicle today."

Tao Daqiang took the pair of stag antlers out of the ravine and carefully placed them in the corner of the carriage. He adjusted the position of the wood so that it could just cover the stag antlers.

Seeing that Tao Daqiang had found something good, the others also became excited. While searching for fallen trees, they all paid attention to their feet, trying to see if there was anything special.

However, by noon, no one else had found any deer antlers. On the other hand, when Jia Weidong went to the toilet on the way, he startled a pheasant.

Because he didn't bring a gun, he couldn't shoot any pheasants and ended up having to come back by himself.

By noon, when they were about to eat, they had already pulled out more than thirty fallen logs, filling most of the four trucks.

These fallen trees, some so thick that it takes two people to hug them and several to load them onto a vehicle, and others so thin that they are thirty or forty centimeters in diameter, can be sawn into several planks.

Lunch consisted of naan bread with canned meat and watermelon.

While eating, Xie Yundong said, "It's a pity about those branches and roots; they're all good firewood, but we just can't get them out."

"There's nothing we can do about it." Xu Haijun didn't want to eat naan, so he held half a watermelon and ate it with a knife, saying as he ate, "The resources in these mountains are all managed by the forestry department. Even if they rot in the mountains, they won't let us take them out."

"Alright, alright," Li Long said, holding a can of meat, using a knife to pick up a piece of braised beef, and stuffing it into his mouth as he spoke. "It's not like you guys actually burn wood in the winter. Even if we brought it back, you wouldn't burn it."

"We use coal for cooking in winter and corn stalks and sunflower stalks for heating in summer. Even if you were given firewood to burn, you'd complain it's too hard."

His words made everyone laugh. Actually, Xie Yundong's comment about feeling sorry for the people was simply a matter of habit. After all, resources weren't as abundant as they are now, so seeing so much good firewood on the mountain naturally made them feel it was a waste.

Now that everyone has become wealthy, they haul at least six, seven, or eight tons of coal every winter. In the summer, they use cotton stalks or corn stalks to burn in the pot, which is convenient and quick. If they were to use pine branches, there might still be embers under the pot after cooking, which would be troublesome.

"It's a pity the grass has all turned yellow now. If it were May or June, we could have seen if we could get some fritillaria bulbs." Tao Daqiang recalled the days when he was weaving carrying poles and digging for fritillaria bulbs. With his mouth full of naan bread, he mumbled, "Brother Long, is that stuff worth a lot of money now?"

“Yes, the market price is now over 100 yuan per kilogram,” Li Long said. “It’s just that the forestry department is in charge, so they’re digging less.”

"Back then, a kilogram only cost two or three yuan, and you could get fresh ones for just one yuan. It felt so cheap back then," Xie Yundong recalled when Li Long led him to organize people to go into the mountains for the first time.

Actually, before that, as the head of a sideline team, he had also gone into the mountains to do these things. But the impression wasn't deep anymore; what he remembered most vividly were the times when Li Long led the way.

It was just so amazing.

The employees listened to their chatter, occasionally chiming in, but mostly kept their heads down and ate, trying to replenish the energy they had lost that morning.

After eating and resting for a while, Li Long ordered them to move to another location and drive to another ditch to search.

"There are still plenty of logs ahead in this ditch, why change locations?" Tao Daqiang asked, somewhat puzzled.

“It’s too far, it’s inconvenient to bring it over,” Li Long said as he started the car. “We need to get down the mountain before sunset, and it would be best to fill the truck bed by then. So we need to find a place near the roadside where there are a lot of fallen trees.”

Li Long had a general idea of ​​which gullies had pine forests and where there were many fallen trees along the way, so he quickly led the convoy a little further and stopped at a gentle slope.

There are not only pine trees here, but also fir trees, both of which are very hardy and produce excellent timber. Sure enough, near the main road, you can see some fallen logs lying haphazardly.

Without Li Long giving any instructions, everyone quickly grabbed their tools and started dealing with the fallen trees. After they were done, they loaded them onto the truck.

The mountain valley became lively again.

Because of Li Long, they had already filled the car when the sun was still high in the sky, then found a relatively open area and turned back.

These people were all exhausted and didn't feel like talking while sitting in the car.

They only became nervous when they were about to leave the mountains, as the checkpoint was getting closer and closer, and they were afraid of being stopped.

When the convoy arrived at the checkpoint, officers from the forestry police station came out to check. Li Long stopped the car, got out, and greeted them. The two officers chatted with Li Long for a few words and then let him pass.

Now the cooperative members and employees were relieved and had the energy to talk again, so they chatted in the car.

Tao Daqiang was the object of their envy because he had successfully brought out the pair of deer antlers.

"Next time I come to haul timber, I'll definitely look carefully to see if I can find a pair of deer antlers. If I do find them, I won't sell them; I'll hang them at home—they're very pretty." This was Xu Haijun's thought.

Li Long led the convoy directly to the lumber mill, which was already preparing to close. After the convoy drove in, the person in charge came out to ask about the situation.

Upon seeing the four large carts of timber, they assumed it was a timber seller and set up a negotiating stance, only to find out that Li Long told them to cut it up.

This was a small job. But four large truckloads of dozens of logs were still quite a lot, and Xie Yundong would handle the negotiations.

Xie Yundong was an expert in this area. He and the factory's technicians measured each piece of wood to calculate how many boards could be sawn out, mainly to prevent the lumber mill from engaging in any underhanded tactics.

After the calculations were completed, it was agreed that the wood would be picked up in two days. Xie Yundong said that there might be just as much wood to be picked up later, which made the person in charge quite happy.

These two timber transactions combined amount to a considerable sum, which will significantly increase income.

He also asked Xie Yundong with interest how they got the wood out, but Xu Haijun, who was standing nearby, told him not to ask so many questions and to just hurry up and saw the wood open.

The convoy drove back to the recycling station, which was already preparing to close.

After unloading the truck, Li Long invited everyone to eat at the Big Meat Canteen. Everyone happily walked over there, and no one would refuse at this point.

We had a simple lunch, all for this dinner.

After Xie Yundong and the others finished their meal, they drove back. Li Long gave each of the employees ten yuan as overtime pay. They had indeed worked hard today, doing heavy work, so the pay was well worth it.

The next day, after taking a day off, Li Long went to the fourth team and visited each household, only to find that everyone was resting at home.

I worked all day yesterday and overexerted myself, which is why my back and waist are still aching.

After all, this work is different from farm work in the fields. Moreover, in the years since the cooperative was established, the members of the cooperative have done fewer days of hard labor and less rough work. They may still have the strength, but their stamina is not as good as before.

Although these men were still quite stubborn and said they could continue when Li Long arrived, Li Long knew they were just putting on a brave face. He told them he would go tomorrow to bring back the wooden planks and lay them in the house. He planned to go again before the end of September and get about enough wood.

Li Long eventually returned to his elder brother's house.

Li Juan is packing her luggage, preparing to take the train to Yenching University tomorrow.

His family was a little reluctant, but they knew it was a necessary process. Li Long then changed the subject, saying that he had found a group of senior high school students in the county to pick cotton for the cooperative. The cooperative staff knew about this, but hadn't told his family yet; this was now the official notification.

"Senior year starts? That means it's Qiangqiang's batch, right?" Li Juan immediately realized, and said with a smile, "Qiangqiang will be so happy now, he can pick cotton right at his doorstep, and he can just go home if anything happens."

"Hey, that's great!" Du Chunfang was also quite happy. "No need to go out and work hard anymore. He can just pick some things at home. We can keep track of a hundred or so kilograms for him every day. It'll save us a lot of trouble!"

“I can’t afford to lose face!” Unexpectedly, Li Qiang objected. “I’ll keep track of whatever I pick up.” After saying that, he looked up and asked Li Long:

"Uncle, are we really picking cotton on our team's premises?"

"What? You don't want to stay in the team? You want to go to Xinhu? That's so remote, it's practically right next to the sandbags!" Before Li Long could speak, Liang Yuemei asked, "Isn't home good enough?"

Li Qiang didn't speak and lowered his head.

Li Long could roughly understand his thoughts. Young men at this age all want to go out and explore, to see the world and experience new things.

I was probably mentally prepared to share the hardships with my classmates, but I never expected that the final destination would be right on my doorstep, and that I might even receive preferential treatment.

He definitely can't stand it.

Li Long said, "It's confirmed. I've already signed a contract with your school. Of course, if you don't want to go home, you can stay in a dormitory with your classmates."

Don't worry, if you don't want special treatment, we won't give you any. Anyway, you know the situation of our cooperative, we will definitely make sure you are well-fed.

Moreover, our cooperative is using drip irrigation to grow cotton this year, resulting in exceptionally high yields. We can't keep up with the demand for casual laborers to pick cotton, so hiring you students is the most cost-effective option. Don't worry, you won't feel uncomfortable in the process. Just like you did picking cotton in Xinhu last year, you'll do it here this year.”

His words made Li Qiang feel a little better.

Li Qiang's family didn't care much about his little scheme. Regardless of whether Li Qiang wanted to enjoy preferential treatment or not, since he was right at their doorstep, they would definitely take care of him.

Although Li Qiang is already seventeen years old, he is still a child in his family's eyes.

After packing her luggage and putting it in her room, Li Juan began preparing to cook with her mother.

Liang Yuemei told her to rest for a while, but she said it was rare to do anything at home, so she would do whatever she could to help.

Now she's definitely a city girl; her demeanor has changed a lot. She speaks more confidently and naturally gets involved in family matters.

Her family didn't treat her like a child. During holidays, they would consult her on various matters. Having studied in Beijing for two years, she had seen and experienced a lot. Li Juan had unique perspectives and insights on various things, and her suggestions often surprised her family.

For example, besides the cooperative, Li Juan suggested that all the remaining land in the family be transferred to Li Junfeng and his family for cultivation, while the family could focus on the cooperative and agricultural machinery, making it more professional.

Liang Yuemei objected, saying that if that were the case, she wouldn't be in any trouble.

Li Juan said she could easily create two vegetable plots. In addition to the two vegetable plots in the yard, there would also be a private plot, which would also be a place for each family to grow vegetables.

Li Juan meant that it was already quite good that her mother could manage these lands well, and there was no need for her to make herself so tired.

This not only solved Liang Yuemei's desire not to be busy with housework, but also freed the family from all farming work, allowing Li Jianguo and his team to focus entirely on operating agricultural machinery.

As for the matters of paying grain and oil to the state, they were handed over to Li Junfeng and his group, and naturally, they were responsible for handling those matters.

In fact, Li Long was thinking of converting all the land belonging to the cooperative members into the cooperative in a few years, but the time was not right now because the land plots were not contiguous, making the operation more complicated.

The land exchange can only be carried out after the drip-irrigated fields have been planted and yielded results this year.

So Li Juan's suggestion is quite good.

Li Jianguo plans to do it this way next year; it would be great to be able to concentrate on plowing and harvesting.

After having lunch at his elder brother's house, Li Long returned to the purchasing station, gathered a group of employees, and drove two trucks to the brick factory to buy two loads of bricks, which he then transported to the cooperative's courtyard.

The house is ready, but the timber hasn't arrived yet. However, we can start by building up the bricks that support the timber.

Li Long looked around and found that a well was still missing.

Although there is already a hand pump in the yard, one hand pump is definitely not enough for more than 200 people to wash up in the morning.

So he plans to hire someone to drill two more wells, just in case.

Fortunately, the cooperative's yard has enough space to plan the location of the well and the stove.

Xie Yundong arrived while Li Long and the others were laying bricks. After learning that Li Long had bought two truckloads of bricks, he went to call Jia Weidong over and wrote down the bill for the bricks.

“This money should be paid by the cooperative, not by you,” Xie Yundong said. “Xiaolong, in the future, if you do something like this, you should let me know first. We can’t mess up the accounts.”

I know you mean well, but if you keep adding money, it'll be difficult for the rest of us.

"Okay, okay, I understand." Li Long humbly accepted the criticism. "Then when you go to pick up the boards tomorrow, you can also buy the pots, stoves and other utensils. Let's prepare these things step by step."

Preparations are underway step by step. Supplies in the cooperative's courtyard are gradually being replenished. The stove has been built, the pots have been set up, and firewood for cooking has been brought back. The well-drilling is also progressing quickly. At this time, the groundwater level is still very shallow; after going down ten or twenty meters, you will find clear and sweet well water.

The first batch of planks was brought back and laid out. Then, a second truckload of wood was brought back, split into planks, and the dormitory-style sleeping area for the students was ready.

When they were hauling timber for the second time, Li Long didn't stay with them the whole time. He went to Halim's winter pasture to see how they were cutting grass. There were fewer people this time, and it didn't feel as lively as before.

Fortunately, with three harvesters working together, the efficiency was quite high. Halim told Li Long that after they returned from their migration, he hoped Li Long could provide him with some sugar residue, which Li Long readily agreed to—no big deal.

On September 2nd, after school had started, Liu Gaolou brought a batch of supplies to the purchasing station.

“You need it in a hurry, so we’ve brought four large buses this time,” Liu Gaolou said. “My second uncle said that if you need more, we can bring a few more next time.”

Of course, this bus was acquired in a rush, so it's only been used for a few years. It only underwent a quick maintenance check when it arrived, so it doesn't look its best. Just make do with it.”

Li Long looked at the four large buses, two white and two yellow, and was very satisfied. He nodded and said, "That's good. As long as the engines are fine and they can run smoothly, that's fine."

"Don't worry, these buses are no more than five years old and have only been used for driving around the city, so the wear and tear isn't serious." Liu Gaolou, clearly having received an introduction from his second uncle, said, "During the maintenance, all the parts were inspected, and there are no problems."

In addition to the bus, several cars, two truckloads of leather, and two truckloads of scrap copper were also brought over.

“There are people over there who specialize in buying antelope horns at high prices. My second uncle’s point is that you’ve already bought quite a lot over the years, so let’s stop doing this. They’ve driven up the price quite a bit, and now with inflation, it’s pointless for us to compete with them.”

“Okay, I’ll listen to your second uncle, no problem.” Li Long nodded and said, “We can bring over more copper, since we’ve always been short of copper here.”

The first few shipments of copper were sold out quickly, and at quite high prices.

Just like leather, this kind of thing is basically not kept in stock, which is why Li Long likes it.

Liu Gaolou liked it too. Because the canned goods and sugar transported from here were basically not kept by his second uncle; they were immediately exchanged for other scarce goods or US dollars.

He's satisfied if he can make a little extra money after handling the matter.

"You've hired a few young girls, huh?" After the formal discussion, Li Long joked, "Looks like life's got some interesting twists and turns."

“There are more talented people over there now, so I don’t want to work so hard anymore,” Liu Gaolou explained. “There are college students from there, and my second uncle found a way to get them to stay. They studied Chinese, and they know Russian and Kazakh, so they gave me part-time jobs as a receptionist and a translator. It’s pretty good.”

Li Long didn't care much about their mess; he just listened to it as a joke. The economy over there was in chaos, and many talented people wanted to go to Europe or other countries. Some wanted to come over, but the vast majority couldn't stay or couldn't come at all.

Those who can come must have a special skill, which is not something he needs to consider.

After sending Liu Gaolou away on September 4th, Li Long went to the academic affairs director of the county's No. 1 Middle School and asked him to send someone over for inspection.

To Li Long's surprise, the vice principal and the director of academic affairs came to inspect the site together.

Li Long and the members of the cooperative greeted them together, which was a way of showing that they valued the occasion.

The vice principal and the academic affairs director toured the cooperative's courtyard with him. Seeing the large communal sleeping area, smelling the fresh pine wood, and looking at the stove, well, four large buses, and the storage room full of ingredients, the academic affairs director and the vice principal were very satisfied.

To let the two leaders experience the students' meals, they were treated to lunch in the cooperative's courtyard.

"Vice Principal, Director, this is what the students' meals will be like after they arrive," Li Long explained to the two school leaders.
"The lunch menu will vary. The staple food is steamed buns, rice, or noodles. Usually, there are two dishes and a soup. The dishes will definitely contain meat, and the staple food is unlimited."

Please rest assured that we are not heartless capitalists. While we have our students working part-time, we also pay attention to their physical health.

The vice principal and the academic affairs director felt the enthusiasm of the cooperative members. During the meal, the vice principal said, "This food is very good. If you can guarantee this kind of food, I believe the students will definitely not want to go to other places to pick cotton next year, hahaha."

The vice principal was half-joking, but the academic affairs director was somewhat worried.

Because the conditions here are indeed very good, much better than those offered by the Production and Construction Corps in the past two years. As a result, the Production and Construction Corps will have very little competitive advantage in the future.

It's a good thing that we brought senior high school students. If it were junior or sophomore students, they would definitely not be able to adapt to other places after picking up trash here once.

Although work-study programs can help students develop their ability to endure hardship, they are, after all, students.

After finishing their meal and seeing the two school leaders off, the members of the cooperative were finally able to relax.

There are still about ten days until cotton picking. Some cotton plants in the production team have already started to bloom ahead of schedule due to land or human factors.

The cooperative's cotton harvest is still some time away from opening, so they're not in a rush.

With all preparations complete, the next step is to assign tasks: who will lead the students to pick cotton, who will weigh it, and who will sell it. Everyone needs to be responsible for these tasks.

Li Long is considered a mobile worker, and since this is the first harvest from drip irrigation, he certainly won't stand idly by.

In addition to the land on the cooperative's side, there is also land contracted by the agricultural extension school. Although Principal Yang said that he would organize the students to pick cotton, Li Long would definitely be responsible for weighing and transporting the cotton.

So Li Long will definitely be very busy in the next month or two.

Moreover, it's not just about cotton. The state supply and marketing cooperative is about to put the task of making large brooms on hold, and Li Long also needs to contact Wang Mingjun and Zhao Zongming to tell them to hurry up and prepare to make large brooms.

As these tasks were carried out one by one, time passed day by day. By the time the day agreed upon with the school was to be used to pick up the students, Li Long had already delivered 20,000 large brooms to the state supply and marketing cooperative.

He considered himself a master of time management, as he managed to keep everything progressing smoothly despite having so many things mixed together, which he considered quite impressive.

Four buses were parked at the school gate, and students boarded in batches and were taken to the cooperative.

The bus had to return to the school to pick up more people. In this batch of senior students, besides Qiangqiang, there were several students from the third and fourth teams. They were quite surprised and proud, telling the students next to them about the situation here.

The entire courtyard of the cooperative was bustling with activity.

The cooperative's first cotton-growing season using drip irrigation has begun. (End of Chapter)