Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Li Qiang ultimately refused the preferential treatment and moved into the third dormitory room in the cooperative with his male classmates.

A faint scent of pine wood filled the room. The room was furnished with pine wood flooring from one end to the other on the left side of the entrance, while a passageway about 1.5 meters wide was left on the right.

Each person can put their luggage and washbasin under the bunk, and some students have already started making their beds.

Because there is enough space, the cooperative's rooms are all quite long, more than 20 meters long from one end of the house to the other, like a large warehouse.

The teacher in charge of the group arranged 80 centimeters of space for each student. There were 24 boys in Li Qiang's class, which was more than enough for them.

While he was making his bed, Du Wenlong, the chubby classmate, asked him, "Li Qiang, I heard that the land where we're picking cotton this time belongs to your family?"

Li Qiang paused and asked, "Who told you that?"

"Liu Ying from Class 5 said she's from the same village as you," Du Wenlong said with a smile as he lay on his bunk. "If it really is your family's land, then you're in for a treat. In any case, you'll be able to complete your task."

“Even if it’s not our land, I can still complete these tasks. Thirty-five kilograms is nothing, fifty kilograms a day is no problem, right?” Li Qiang explained, “The land belongs to the cooperative, and our land is also part of the cooperative.”

"Are there still cooperatives now? I remember cooperatives were something from the 1950s or 60s?" Du Wenlong asked, somewhat surprised. Other classmates gathered around, and Ma Zhijie, who was good at modern history, said, "That's right. I remember that after cooperatives came the people's communes, which were dissolved a long time ago."

“The cooperative is a non-governmental organization. Whether or not the farmers want to establish it is up to them. If they want to, they can establish it.” Li Qiang explained this to them, then got off the communal bed, took a basin to get water, and said, “Come on, let’s get some water and wash up.”

The first day was for getting familiar with the surroundings. The cotton picking would begin tomorrow. Li Qiang was quite familiar with the area, so he led the boys in his class to the well to fetch water and wash up quickly.

"I think they're preparing mutton over there," Du Wenlong whispered to Li Qiang. "I guess the food's pretty good today."

"We'll be able to eat mutton every day from now on." Li Qiang recalled what his uncle had told him at home and couldn't help but reveal, "If you go northwest from where we live, there's an old horse stable there. They raise cattle, sheep, deer, roe deer, and wild boars."

"From now on, they'll send us mutton from there every day."

"Really?" Du Wenlong asked in surprise.

"And there are red deer, roe deer, and wild boars?" Ma Zhijie asked with even greater excitement. "Can we go take a look? I haven't seen any live deer yet!"

"I've never seen any either, not just live deer, but also wild boars and roe deer!" Another classmate was also surprised.

"Come on, let's go together!" Du Wenlong put his arm around Li Qiang and started walking out. Before they even reached the gate of the cooperative's courtyard, the team leader called out to them, "Where are you guys going? Don't wander around here, don't get lost. I heard dogs barking nearby, don't get bitten!"

“Squad Leader Chen, Li Qiang’s home is here, this is his territory, we won’t lose it,” Ma Zhijie said with a smile.

Squad leader Chen Shuxia, who was from the county, was very conscientious and responsible. After listening to Ma Zhijie's words, she smiled and asked, "So what are you planning to do?"

"Li Qiang said there are red deer, wild boars, and roe deer in that big courtyard over there, and we're planning to go take a look," Du Wenlong explained.

"Really? Is that a zoo?" Chen Shuxia was also very interested. There was no zoo in the county, so young people were naturally very curious about these things.

"No, that's not a zoo, it's a breeding farm," Li Qiang said. "Some of the animals I raised when I was a child are kept there. They've been raised for many years and have bred several generations."

"That's yours?" Du Wenlong asked in surprise again. "Why didn't you say so earlier? Hmm, is the mutton we eat every day also from your family?"

“It’s not my family’s, it’s my uncle’s family’s,” Li Qiang corrected. “My uncle is really amazing. When I was little, he often went hunting in the mountains. He would catch these things and then raise them slowly.”

"I'll go with you and take a look!" Chen Shuxia said. "It's not far, is it?"

"It's not far, it's not far. Just walk that way, you see that big courtyard, it's less than fifty meters away." Li Qiang pointed to the location of Old Ma's shop.

As the group walked out, they kept running into people asking questions. By the time they left the courtyard and headed towards Old Ma's place, the original five or six people had grown into twenty or thirty.

Most of them were in the same class as Li Qiang, and they all looked on with curiosity, wanting to see what the farmed deer and wild boars looked like.

When they got to the back door of Lao Ma's house, Li Qiang said, "There are dogs in here, but don't be afraid, they're leashed. Walk along the left wall, I'll block the dogs for you. Don't worry, it's very safe."

The students lined up in a long row and walked in along the left wall. They also saw the Tianshan Mastiff in the dog pen. The dog stood up abruptly when it heard the noise, but wagged its tail when it saw Li Qiang.

Uncle Luo heard the commotion, came out of the house, and was stunned for a moment when he saw so many students. Then he smiled when he saw Li Qiang.

"Uncle Luo, I brought my classmates to see the red deer and roe deer," Li Qiang greeted them. "Are they all here?"

"Qiangqiang, you've come here to pick cotton, right?" Uncle Luo said with a smile. "Go and see, I'll cut a watermelon for you."

"No need, no need, Uncle Luo, the cooperative has already prepared a meal for us. I'll go over after I've finished looking around." Li Qiang hurriedly waved his hand to refuse. "We just want to see these animals; I haven't seen them in a long time."

"Alright, alright, you can go take a look." Uncle Luo smiled and pointed to the enclosure inside, saying, "There are baby deer too. Just look at them, but don't go in, or you might get bumped by them."

Li Long calls him Uncle Luo, and Li Qiang calls him Grandpa Luo; these are just their respective ways of addressing each other. Li Jianguo has a higher seniority in the team, so he directly calls him Uncle Luo, which is why Li Juan and Li Qiang called him Grandpa Luo when they were younger.

The students eagerly followed Li Qiang to the edge of the enclosure, looking at the pictures of the red deer and roe deer inside.

After years of domestication, these two animals have been basically domesticated. When they see people approaching the wall, they raise their heads and come over for food.

Li Qiang grabbed two handfuls of dried sugar residue from a bag by the wall and threw them in.

Other students followed suit, and the animals inside gathered around, begging for food or scrambling for food on the ground.

Li Qiang then moved aside to let the other students watch.

"Li Qiang, I heard there are also wild boars?" Chen Shuxia asked, leaning over after watching the red deer and roe deer for a while.

Li Qiang pointed to the wild boar pen and said, "It's over there. But there are no baby wild boars now. They're not fun to play with once they grow up, and they smell pretty bad."

As he spoke, a group of wild boars grunted over there. Li Qiang then took Chen Shuxia over to see what was happening.

Uncle Luo and the others often clean the pigsty, so it's not dirty. Li Long provided water pipes for Lao Ma's place, and they would wash the pigsty every now and then, so it smells alright.

“This is why it looks different from domestic pigs,” Chen Shuxia said, looking at the half-grown wild boar. “It seems quite agile and intelligent, but it’s not as pretty as a baby deer.”

Li Qiang thought to himself, "Girls are indeed visual creatures. I think the meat of wild boar tastes better than that of deer and roe deer."

Whether it looks good or not is another matter.

Uncle Luo and the others cut two large watermelons, brought out a small table from the house, placed the watermelons on the table, and invited the students to come and eat.

Unable to refuse the students' enthusiastic invitation, Li Qiang took the lead and each of them took a slice of watermelon and started eating.

Worried that the teacher might be looking for them there, they ate a piece of watermelon and then quickly went back.

When they got back, they found that someone was indeed looking for them, but it wasn't a teacher, but a classmate.

Everyone noticed that many people were missing and they were asking around, but they didn't know where they had gone.

When the other students learned that Li Qiang and his friends had gone to see the animals, they also wanted to go. However, the teachers soon came and organized the students to get their trays and meals, so the plan was abandoned.

Some classmates, knowing that Li Qiang had taken them there, privately told him that they should definitely take him to see it sometime.

Li Qiang agreed, as he had no problem with that aspect.

The cooperative found more than a dozen wives, who lined up in the yard to serve meals to each class.

When it was Li Qiang's turn, Deng Guilan, who was serving the food, glanced at him and said with a smile, "Oh, Qiangqiang, you're here too." As she spoke, she scooped a large spoonful of braised mutton from the bucket and poured it into his plate. Seeing that she was about to scoop another spoonful, Li Qiang hurriedly said, "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, that's enough, that's enough!"

"Eat more, you're all growing," Deng Guilan said with a smile. "If you're still hungry, come find me later."

Li Qiang picked up his tray and sat down to eat. A classmate came over and asked, "Li Qiang, is she your sister-in-law?"

“She’s from our village. Her husband calls me Dad or Uncle,” Li Qiang explained while eating. “He’s the manager of the cooperative where we work.”

The classmate smiled and nodded, indicating that he understood.

The mutton was stewed until very tender, and it was mixed with potatoes and carrots, along with a little chili pepper. It tasted great.

The food on the first day exceeded most people's expectations. Some said it felt like the food they ate during their initial military training at the university. Li Qiang thought so too. During their initial military training, everyone paid a considerable amount for food, and back then they ate a whole sheep every day, which was quite good.

At the time, Li Qiang thought that eating in the school cafeteria would be like this from now on, but he never expected it to become a thing of the past.

Just as Li Qiang and the others were finishing their meal, Li Long and the others returned from the fields with the teachers.

We took them to the fields, mainly to divide the plots. Each class had two teachers leading the group, and this time one teacher from each class went to the fields to check on the situation. This way, we can have a plan when we go to the fields to pick cotton tomorrow.

"I never imagined cotton could yield such a harvest," a teacher said with emotion while washing his hands. "I feel like the cotton plants are full of cotton."

When I led a team to pick cotton at the farm last year and the year before, I felt that the cotton there was already grown very well. But after seeing the cotton from this cooperative today, I realized that there are even better cotton varieties being grown.

"Exactly," another teacher said. "It seems like each cotton plant has dozens of cotton bolls, and with such a large area, our students might not be able to finish picking them all in twenty days."

"But this is good, the students can pick the cotton faster. In fields with poor quality cotton, they have to run around a lot, but now they can pick a full bag in just a few steps, which improves efficiency."

After the students finished eating, they lined up to wash their plates at the well and then handed them in to the kitchen.

Then someone told them to collect the watermelons in shifts, six watermelons per shift, all of them large ones weighing seven or eight kilograms each. Tao Daqiang, who was distributing the watermelons, said to everyone:
"If you don't have enough, you can come and get more, but you can't waste any. After you finish eating, put all the watermelon rinds in a basin, and then pour them over at Old Ma's place for the pigs and sheep to eat."

After finishing their meals, the teachers would check on the students, mainly to see if their beds were made, if the food suited their tastes, and if they had any difficulties.

The students also took the opportunity to ask the teacher about the cotton situation.

"Don't worry," said Teacher Wang, who teaches Li Qiang's class, with a smile. "I've never seen such good cotton before. You guys are really lucky. You'll definitely have a great harvest picking cotton tomorrow."

Teacher Wang knew that Li Qiang's family owned a share of the cooperative's land, but this was not the time to joke around. After chatting with the students for a few minutes, he went to another dormitory.

The teachers leading the group also have their own accommodations, with male teachers in one room and female teachers in another.

However, the cooperative also specially arranged a car to take one teacher from each class to the county before dark and pick them up the next morning.

This wasn't written in the contract; it was discussed privately. Since it's relatively close to the county seat, one teacher per class is sufficient for duty.

The teachers were very happy about this.

With the teachers in charge of management, the cooperative members had a relatively worry-free experience. However, they still made a round of each dormitory that evening, without going in, mainly to ask if there were any difficulties or troubles.

The large stove used for cooking had hot water boiling in the pot, which could be used for drinking or soaking feet.

That evening, Li Long drove back to the county. He actually wanted to stay at the team's headquarters so that any situation could be dealt with promptly.

But with so many people in the team, it wouldn't make a difference if he were one more. On the contrary, he's the only one living in the county town, and he'll be needed to pick up the teachers and bring them to the team tomorrow morning.

When they got home, it was already dark. Mingming Haohao was still awake. After seeing Li Long return, he chatted with him for a few minutes, telling him some interesting things that had happened at school.

When they went to bed that night, Gu Xiaoxia told Li Long that Li Juan might be in a relationship.

"At school, is she his classmate? With whom?" Li Long seemed quite interested in this information and asked, "Did your sister tell you?"

"Yes, Xiaoyu called to say that when she went to the university to see Juan a couple of days ago, she saw Juan chatting happily with a boy. Xiaoyu guessed that he was her boyfriend, but Juan said no, he was just a close classmate."

Xiaoyu said that judging from the situation, it seemed that the boy was pursuing Juan. He was also from northern Xinjiang, from Urumqi, a year ahead of Juan, a senior this year, and would graduate next year.

At this point, Gu Xiaoxia said with some concern: "The two of them are not in the same year, so it will be quite troublesome if they are assigned to different places."

Li Long smiled and said, "It depends on her. Juan is quite steady in her actions; she must have her own reasons. What does that guy look like?"

"He's taller than Juan, about 1.75 to 1.80 meters. It sounds like he's about the same height as you were before you got married. Xiaoyu said he's very refined and polite, and has a pretty good appearance."

Li Long nodded. Li Juan was also at the age to date, and it was normal for her to have a relationship in a relatively pure place like school.

After finishing that topic, he talked about the preparations for picking cotton today, including the level of reaction from the school.

“You’ve done a good job. If the school is still not satisfied with this, then the school is being a bit ungrateful.” Gu Xiaoxia had also worked in the Education Bureau and knew that the conditions there were much worse than those at the farm.

The next day, after breakfast, Li Long met the teachers at the entrance of No. 1 Middle School and then went to the Fourth Team Cooperative.

Four large buses have already taken some people to the cotton fields and are coming back to pick up the next group.

The cooperative prepared more than a thousand fertilizer bags and more than two hundred cloth bags for picking cotton. Some students preferred to pick cotton directly with the urea bags, while others preferred to wrap a cloth bag around themselves, pick a bagful of cotton, and then pour it into the urea bag.

The teacher takes the students to the field and assigns rows of cotton. Some students prefer single-layer cotton, while others prefer double-layer cotton; it's a matter of personal choice.

Li Qiang likes to straddle two membranes, with a cotton bag in the middle, and pick four rows by himself, using both hands simultaneously while wearing a cotton bag. He moves very quickly.

His family has been growing cotton for more than a year or two, so they are experts in the field. In the past two years, he has been one of the best cotton pickers in the class, and he is very fast.

Just as the teachers said, the cotton grown by drip irrigation produced a lot of fruit. Both bags were already full, and the urea bag was almost full, weighing more than ten kilograms, but it felt like we hadn't walked more than twenty steps.

The cotton plants grew so densely and produced so many clusters that Li Qiang couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

When I was in junior high school, I went out to pick cotton. I would stuff a bag of urea into it as much as I could, and it would weigh about ten kilograms.

Now that I'm a few years older, a bag of urea can hold seventeen or eighteen kilograms, nearly twenty kilograms of cotton. It's really different now.

A small four-wheeled tractor drove up to the edge of the field, and Xu Haijun stood on the tractor and shouted, "Come and eat watermelon or drink water if you're thirsty."

Some people straightened up and turned to look at him, while others heard him but ignored him, continuing to quickly pick up cotton. Li Qiang was one of the latter. He knew that he should pick as much as possible in the morning, because by noon the cotton husks would harden and become prickly, making it less efficient.

Moreover, it was extremely hot and uncomfortable at that time, and people easily became tired.

Not all families are like the Li family. Some students come from poorer families and hope to earn more money while picking cotton. If they exceed their quota, the extra money is returned to them at a rate based on the kilogram.

Li Long quoted the school 35 cents per kilogram, and the school assigned the students a task of 35 kilograms per day. Any amount exceeding this was earned by the students themselves and would be settled with them at the end. If it was not enough, the students would need to make up the difference.

However, high school seniors should have no problem collecting 35 kilograms; it just depends on how much they exceed that.

Li Qiang didn't want to enjoy any special treatment; he just wanted to earn some pocket money through his own efforts. He felt more at ease spending the money he earned himself.

He and Du Wenlong both enjoy reading extracurricular books. They often rent books from bookstores outside the school. They also had a period of stamp collecting, which was quite expensive.

Since there was no need to plow the fields during this period, Li Long told his older brother to bring Li Junfeng and Li Junhai over that evening to help weigh and record the students' accounts.

There are many students who need to come over to have their cotton weighed, and there are also many people filling cotton containers.

The cotton picked that day had to be taken to the cotton company to sell the next morning, so there was a lot to do. Now, when you go to the cotton and linen company to sell cotton, you have to put the cotton in one of those big white cotton cloth bags and then go to the cotton and linen company to weigh it.

At that time, the cotton and linen company did not have the kind of weighbridge system, and it seemed less advanced than the grain bureau.

We'll follow their rules, even though we can offer suggestions. Whether or not they change them is up to them.

With over two hundred students, they collect more than ten tons of cotton a day, and there's simply nowhere to store it, so they have to sell it all on the same day.

The students were very enthusiastic about picking cotton early in the morning, and even while picking cotton, they could chat with the students next to them.

When the sun is blazing at noon, people start to feel listless. By the afternoon, they're basically silent. The first day of picking cotton had left everyone with terrible back pain, but they were all gritting their teeth and persevering.

Those who are already in their final year of high school are considered veterans. As long as you get through the first two days, things will get easier after you get used to it.

Lunch was eaten in the fields. Although they ate watermelon, the energy expenditure was high, so the steamed buns and two stir-fried dishes with meat made the students very happy. After lunch, there was a short 30-minute rest period. Some students could even cover their heads with cotton bags and lay two cotton bags on the ground to fall asleep.

The county television station was very well-informed; the next day, a reporter arrived in the fields with a camera and interviewed the teachers, students, and cooperative members.

The teachers were very positive about the cooperative's preparations, while the students were very satisfied with the cooperative's meals, accommodations, and various support measures. The students interviewed also said that the cotton was the best they had ever seen, and they couldn't stop picking it once they started.

Li Long had Xie Yundong speak to the cooperative, as he originally wanted to interview Xie Yundong, but Li Long didn't come forward.

Xie Yundong also praised the teachers and students of the school, saying that picking cotton was hard work, but the teachers and students had no complaints and picked it very cleanly, which made the cooperative very satisfied.

In short, everything they said was positive. The TV reporter even went into the field, patted the cotton plants, and touted the benefits of drip irrigation for cotton cultivation.

Other cotton growers in the team were also picking cotton. Those who grew less cotton mostly picked it themselves. The other two cooperatives wanted to follow suit after learning that Li Long and his team had contacted the school.

But since he couldn't contact anyone, he could only go out every day to pick cotton as a temporary worker, and he would be paid on the same day.

Adults pick more cotton each day than students do, so overall it's a win-win situation.

The cooperative's courtyard is bustling in the mornings and evenings, and the cooperative's fields are bustling during the day.

So those who didn't grow cotton, or whose families grew little cotton, would come over from time to time to watch the excitement. They would often gather around the edge of the field, watching the students pick cotton and pointing and commenting.

Some even greeted Li Qiang from afar, though it's unclear what their motivations were.

Li Qiang often finds himself in a difficult position at this time. When he's in the team, he mostly speaks his hometown dialect, while he speaks the local dialect with the students at school, and he speaks Mandarin when answering teachers' questions.

But it was a little embarrassing to talk to the villagers and respond at this time, especially in front of his classmates.

However, he ultimately followed his heart and spoke in his hometown dialect, and the result was better than he expected; no one laughed at him.

When they got back to their lodgings that evening, Du Wenlong told him that he usually spoke like this, and that he needed to learn to switch fluently between the three language forms.

After picking cotton here for three or four days and things went smoothly, Li Long took the truck to the Agricultural Broadcasting School.

Principal Yang and his students were responsible for harvesting the twenty mu of cotton at the Agricultural Extension School. Since Li Long couldn't manage it all, the harvested cotton was stored in the school's warehouse. He and his men collected the cotton, paid the school a harvesting fee, and then took it back to sell it collectively later.

Principal Yang politely declined to accept the money, but Li Long insisted on giving it to him anyway. It's nothing unusual for agricultural school students to participate in farming. After all, it's their major; consider it practical experience.

However, the explanation that picking cotton involved fieldwork doesn't hold water. But work-study programs are plausible, and with the money Li Long provided, Principal Yang's approach at least wouldn't be criticized.

Although Principal Yang himself was not afraid, he agreed with Li Long's statement. Normally, things that are neither feasible nor not feasible go unchallenged, but if someone brings it up at a crucial moment, it might become a problem even if it wasn't initially thought to be.

After delivering this batch of cotton to Xie Yundong at the team headquarters, Li Long had to hurry back to the purchasing station to have the workers tidy up the trucks. After dropping off his teacher at the team headquarters tomorrow, he would take the convoy to the Production and Construction Corps to pick up large brooms.

When they arrived at Wang Mingjun's company, Li Long randomly inspected some of the large brooms, and then loaded the rest onto the truck. The quality was as good as ever, and he trusted that Wang Mingjun wouldn't cheat him in this regard.

"I heard you brought an entire high school class to the cooperative to pick cotton?" Wang Mingjun chatted with Li Long in the yard. "You grow a lot of cotton! You need so many people to pick it."

"The cotton fields are similar to last year, except we switched to drip irrigation this year, which has resulted in a higher yield, so we need more people," Li Long explained, then asked, "How did you know we had an entire grade level of people picking cotton?"

"How could we not know? Those people were originally going to pick cotton at the farm next to ours, but you intercepted them. We had no choice but to contact a school in Shicheng at the last minute, but we still haven't found enough people."

"They're all from your corps, but why do I hear you sound a little gloating?" Li Long said with a smile. "Is it because your cotton isn't as good as theirs that you're here watching the show?"

"I didn't!" Wang Mingjun immediately denied. "It's normal for there to be a little friction between people who live not far apart, but it's all an internal matter of the Corps. We don't want outsiders to laugh at us."

Hey, the troops here are pretty united.

Wang Mingjun then asked, "Can you make money growing cotton with drip irrigation? Our farm is also experimenting with it, but I heard the costs are too high and can't be reduced at all."

“I estimate that our land will yield 370 to 380 kilograms per mu this year,” Li Long said. “High yield is certain.”

"What about the costs? The cost of one mu (unit of land area) of our experimental fields in our regiment is over a thousand yuan. Even if we harvest 370 or 380 kilograms, based on last year's prices, we'll at most break even, not make a single penny. If the yield is even slightly lower, we might lose money," Wang Mingjun asked him.

“The cost is around seven or eight hundred,” Li Long explained. “We set up our own drip irrigation tape factory, producing the drip irrigation tape ourselves and selling it at cost price. If you go to the market to buy it, it costs more than one yuan per meter, but we only need four or five mao. If we use waste materials, the cost can be reduced even further.”

Therefore, if the price of cotton reaches two yuan, we can break even; if it reaches two and a half yuan, we will make a larger profit.

Once he said that, Wang Mingjun understood.

“Your situation is only suitable for yourselves; it can’t be promoted on a large scale,” Wang Mingjun said, shaking his head. “Our regiment is still researching how to reduce costs.”

To be honest, the cotton harvesters and cleaning equipment we brought back last time have all been disassembled and are being studied. We don't know when we'll be able to plant drip-irrigated cotton.

Li Long smiled and said, "It'll be soon. I'll let you in on a little news: a new petrochemical plant is under construction in Dushanzi. Once the plant is built, the raw material for drip irrigation tape will be that granular plastic, which will reduce costs."

Our domestic drip irrigation tape production technology is now world-class. As long as the cost comes down, the selling price of drip irrigation tape won't be high. Your Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps has always been pursuing technology and mechanization in cotton cultivation. I think that once the raw material output from the petrochemical plants over there increases, you will definitely be growing drip-irrigated cotton within three to five years.”

Wang Mingjun was delighted to hear this: "That's wonderful! If we can harvest 300 to 400 kilograms of cotton per mu, our workers' income will increase."

After loading the large brooms onto the truck, they had lunch at Wang Mingjun's place, then went to Zhao Zongming's place to load more large brooms. After that, they drove directly to the state supply and marketing cooperative.

Li Xiangqian had said beforehand that there was no need to go through the county supply and marketing cooperative's procedures, and since he was busy with other things, he wouldn't go along.

After Li Long arrived at the state supply and marketing cooperative and explained his purpose, someone came to meet with him and inspected the large broom.

Upon hearing the news, Director Qian also came downstairs and chatted with Li Long while the staff were inspecting the premises.

Li Long thanked him for speaking up for him; otherwise, he might not have been able to persuade students from that grade to pick cotton.

"You've made quite a big deal out of this; people in the prefecture are talking about it, saying it's a model of scientific and technological farming," Director Qian said with a smile. "It makes me proud to be discussed like this. Besides, I can't always be causing you trouble; it makes me happy to be able to help you when you're in trouble."

Knowing that Li Long had many sources of information, Director Qian asked him some questions about foreign trade. Some functions of the supply and marketing cooperatives are gradually disappearing, and Director Qian is also thinking about ways to address this situation.

Li Long thought that in a few years some cooperatives would be dissolved, some would be left as empty shells, and it would take decades for them to recover.

If we really want the supply and marketing cooperatives to remain vibrant and effective, we really need to expand outwards in the northern Xinjiang region.

The original role of supply and marketing cooperatives was to regulate the economy and supplement the planned economy by collecting some of the produce from farmers, transporting locally needed goods from other places, and then selling them.

The name lives up to its name.

However, after the reform and opening up, the commodity economy and market economy became prevalent, and some functions of the supply and marketing cooperatives were gradually replaced by the market. Therefore, if they did not find new ways to play their role, they could only be lost in the tide of history.

Li Long then gave Director Qian a detailed explanation of the current situation regarding foreign trade, especially the feeling that the other side's economy was somewhat collapsing and that there was a great need for a large amount of daily necessities and light industrial products.

Supply and marketing cooperatives could certainly make use of this opportunity to shift some production capacity.

After all, although some of the functions of supply and marketing cooperatives are gradually disappearing, their channels for procurement and sales are irreplaceable by private enterprises.

However, some of the things being purchased now are no longer needed by the general public, or rather, the market is quite abundant, with enough private enterprises acquiring them through various channels and releasing them into the market.

So, can these materials be used directly for export trade?

Of course, this was just Li Long's idea. As an official functional department, it wouldn't be easy for the supply and marketing cooperative to do these things. Opening policy channels wasn't so easy. Director Qian knew Li Long's idea was somewhat wishful thinking, but it wasn't without merit as a feasible suggestion.

After unloading the broom and receiving the receipt, Li Long was about to go back. Director Qian invited him to stay for dinner, but Li Long thought he had already refused several times, so he simply let the drivers drive back on their own and went to Director Qian's house.

At home, Director Qian continued to ask Li Long about foreign trade, and the current scale of the trade he was engaged in.

During the meal, Director Qian also gave Li Long a heads-up. He had been in his position for quite some time, and if he wanted to advance further or be transferred to a more suitable position, he would inevitably have to make some achievements.

Actually, at this level, a peaceful retirement would be fine, but Director Qian wanted to contribute more, as he also noticed the booming foreign trade with the neighboring country.

So I want to work hard in this area.

Li Long was definitely very supportive, because foreign trade with the neighboring country would continue and keep growing, especially in the later stages when trade in raw materials and oil and gas resources accounted for a considerable share.

Therefore, Li Long spoke freely on this matter and mentioned that many Western countries in Europe and America are also vying for it, but those countries are mainly seizing high-quality industries such as oil and gas resources.

China doesn't have much of an advantage in this regard, since in terms of foreign exchange reserves, it simply can't compare with established developed countries in Europe and America.

However, we have advantages in light industrial products. First, they are cheap; second, they have large production volumes; and most importantly, they are close to the location, so the transportation costs are relatively low.

Li Long analyzed the situation for Director Qian in his own way, and then left the rest to Director Qian to consider.

After finishing his meal and saying goodbye to Director Qian and his wife, Li Long hurriedly drove back to the county.

It was almost eleven o'clock when they got back to the county. Gu Xiaoxia opened the gate for Li Long, and Sister Yang also rushed out. When Li Long parked the car, turned off the engine, and got out, Gu Xiaoxia couldn't help but say, "Seeing how busy you are every day, it feels like you can't do any of these jobs without me."

Li Long then half-jokingly said, "Take advantage of your youth now so you can still cause trouble. In another ten or twenty years, you won't be able to cause trouble anymore."

Sister Yang and Gu Xiaoxia both laughed. Sister Yang asked Li Long if he had eaten yet, and if not, she would quickly make him something. Li Long said he had eaten and told Sister Yang to rest.

Back in the house, Li Long went to check on Mingming and Haohao, who were already asleep. Gu Xiaoxia whispered, "The two kids asked their dad why he wasn't back yet before they went to sleep."

"They're so grown up now, they'll have to get used to it gradually," Li Long said softly. "They haven't caused any trouble at school, have they?"

"His academic performance is quite good, but he's a bit mischievous. He's clearly quite smart and already knows the material taught in class, so he's prone to getting distracted."

They were both tall and sat at the back of the class. Sometimes the teacher couldn't hear them, so they would misbehave and talk to others.

“Boys are boys, it’s normal for them to be a little mischievous,” Li Long said with a smile. “As for their grades, average is fine. If their grades are too good, they’ll go to a good university and never come back, and it’ll be hard to even see them.”

But thinking about it, by the time Mingming and Haohao go to university, job assignments will no longer be guaranteed, so maybe they can stay in northern Xinjiang.

"They're still a long way from taking the college entrance exam. Who knows what the situation will be like then? Besides, after they get into university, aren't they all assigned back to their original places? Except for those with exceptionally good grades, don't they usually have to go back to the northern frontier?" Gu Xiaoxia couldn't predict the future, but at least for now, getting into university still meant being assigned a job.

Li Long didn't explain the details of what happened after his death; he just smiled and didn't elaborate.

It was a tiring day, so I just washed up and rested.

The next day, he went to the county's No. 1 Middle School early in the morning, picked up the teacher, and went to the cotton field again. He was too lazy to participate in the cotton selling process, mainly because he had to wait in line for a long time, which was quite annoying.

The students had already started picking cotton. After getting off the bus, Li Long wandered around the field, greeting Li Qiang when he saw him, without deliberately avoiding him.

Li Qiang whispered to Li Long, "Uncle, some of our classmates are complaining that this plot of land isn't as good as the one they picked up last year."

"What's wrong? That shouldn't be the case. This plot of land has such a high yield, how could it be inferior to other plots?"

“They said that when they were picking cotton last year, there were other things planted in the field, such as pears and watermelons. It would be a pleasant surprise to find them, but there is nothing in our field.”

"Oh, okay, we'll replant some next year when we plant more, but you won't be able to pick them then. You can tell them that the watermelons and melons grown there are sprayed with too many pesticides and don't taste as good as the ones we provide."

"I bet one of your classmates knows about this place, that our family owns some property here, and you two have a little conflict, so he's saying this on purpose." Li Long joked. "Don't take it too seriously. Those who spread rumors are themselves rumor-mongers; you can easily shut them down with a single sentence."

Li Qiang nodded as if he understood, and after Li Long left, he quickly picked up the cotton with both hands.

Time is precious now, so we should pick as much as possible; the cotton we pick in the morning is heavy.

P.S.: I never expected this wind to blow across the entire northern Xinjiang region; some areas have suffered significant damage.
This land was damaged by the wind; the drip irrigation tape needs to be removed before the seeds are replanted. (End of Chapter)