Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

To speed up the dredging process, the silt dredged from the bottom of the reservoir was piled up on an open space on the east side of the dam.

The original plan was to haul the silt back to each household's land, but there weren't enough trucks, and that would be too much trouble to move it. So they simply piled it up first and will deal with it after the dredging is finished.

Some villagers would come by donkey cart or tractor to haul a load or two of silt to fertilize their vegetable gardens. They would tell Li Long when they came, and Li Long never refused.

This kind of thing isn't worth much; I just gave it away as a favor.

In the afternoon, when Li Qingxia drove Li Qiang to the school, Li Qiang was carrying a bag containing the spicy fish that Liang Yuemei had cooked for him.

The green peppers in the vegetable garden were long gone, but the farmers couldn't let them go to waste. When cleaning the garden, they picked off the remaining peppers and green peppers still growing on the vines and stored them in an unused room. These vegetables, grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides, could be kept for a long time in the unused room.

Liang Yuemei stir-fried the cleaned crucian carp and pike that she had fished out of the small lake with green chili peppers, then packed them into a large canning jar and had Li Qiang take them to school.

Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei both knew that the school food wasn't very good, but they didn't have many other options, so they could only try to improve the situation by bringing some food with them each week.

Li Long had actually invited Li Qiang to his home for lunch and dinner, but Li Qiang said that would take up too much time, as he would be taking the college entrance exam next year and time was still quite precious.

Li Qiang carried the fish stir-fried with chili peppers into the dormitory and placed the canned food jar on the table by the windowsill.

Du Wenlong had already returned, so he came over and asked, "Li Qiang, what's this? What delicious food did you bring?"

"Fish, stir-fried fish!" Li Qiang described with great enthusiasm the large fish that the children had cleaned out. As he spoke, he took out his own rice bowl, pried open a canned food jar with chopsticks, took out a third of the chili-fried fish, and said to everyone, "Come on, everyone, have a taste!"

The other people in the dormitory didn't stand on ceremony either. They all took their own chopsticks and then gathered around the small half-bowl of grass carp to enjoy it.

"Hey, this grass carp is much better than the one you got last time. The meat is quite fatty and not dry at all," one of my roommates said while eating.

“If there’s food, then shut up!” Du Wenlong said to him. “Last time, Li Qiang brought over some fish, and you said it was too dry, had no meat, and was too lean, but you ended up eating the most.”

The fish that Li Qiang brought last time were caught in the Dadonggou Reservoir to the east. Those fish were fish that leaked out when the Donggou Reservoir collapsed during the summer flood.

If a fish stays in a large puddle for too long, where there is no grass or food, it will either starve to death or become skin and bones.

So even though it was made the same way, that fish really didn't have any meat.

But for this group of teenagers, eating the low-quality food in the cafeteria regularly, with the occasional fish or meat as a supplement, was already quite good.

"Alright, alright, hurry up and eat," Li Qiang said with a smile. "After you finish eating, you still have to go to self-study later. By the way, Lao Du, have you finished reading that Sherlock Holmes series you borrowed? I've finished reading this collection of military movie scripts and plan to return it before going to self-study."

"I've finished watching it. How's it going on your end?" Du Wenlong asked while eating.

Both of them were regulars at the bookstore, starting with renting martial arts novels. After they had read most of the martial arts novels in the bookstore, they started reading other literary works.

"It's good, but I suggest you don't watch it. It's depressing to watch." Li Qiang's voice became somber when he said this.

"What's wrong? Tell me in detail." Du Wenlong looked at the few fish left in the rice bowl, put down his chopsticks, and asked.

Both of them possess strong mental fortitude, and ordinary things cannot disgust or affect them.

Li Qiang recalled the ending of the movie "Ballistic Trajectory Without a Trace" in the script collection he had read. Pingyang was discharged from the army and returned home, while the other two, one promoted and the other taking the college entrance exam, got married. This made him feel very uncomfortable.

I'm used to reading martial arts novels where the protagonist always achieves perfect enlightenment in the end. They're surrounded by beautiful women, or at least they live peacefully and accomplish their goals.

After reading the script, he felt very frustrated. (Li Qiang was unaware at the time that because the ending of the script was so frustrating, the ending was changed when the movie was released, with a new line added that Shi Pingyang was promoted to company commander.)

Another example is the movie "Garland at the Foot of the Mountain," whose script felt very realistic and also quite cruel.

So Li Cheng meant that Du Wenlong shouldn't watch it, as it would affect his mood.

His words piqued Du Wenlong's interest, and he became determined to read Li Qiang's book.

Li Qiang had already read the complete Sherlock Holmes stories he had rented, so the two of them went to the bookstore together. After returning the complete Sherlock Holmes stories, Du Wenlong rented a book for Li Qiang in exchange.

Li Qiang finally chose "The Record of Washing Flowers and Swords" to change his mood.

On the way back, Du Wenlong asked Li Qiang, "Have you thought it through? What major do you want to apply for in the college entrance examination?"

"No," Li Qiang shook his head and said, "It's still early."

"I want to be a doctor, and I'll apply to Xinjiang Medical University." Du Wenlong has already made up his mind. "I'll study clinical medicine first, and then traditional Chinese medicine. That way, I'll have a better job prospect."

Li Qiang didn't say anything. Now, his classmates and friends are gradually developing their own clear goals. Although he has a few general directions, it's hard to say which one to choose.

Fortunately, there is still time, enough time for him to consider.

Winter was approaching, and night fell quickly. The two went straight to their classroom and began studying.

Li Qiang remembered what his sister said: at this time, he should first work on his weaknesses, so he started memorizing vocabulary.

As the days went by, more and more silt accumulated on the barren beach on the east bank of Xiaohaizi, and the cleanup work at the bottom of the reservoir was gradually completed.

Li Long stood on the dam line, looking at the reservoir bottom which had been mostly cleared, and nodded in satisfaction.

“We dug almost a meter deeper on average,” Meng Hai said from the side. “Boss, as you said, we didn’t move the big clumps of reeds, we only cleared out the ones that were growing in a messy way.”

There were so many things in the silt that were cleared out; it was truly unexpected.

Li Long asked, "What kind?"

"A rifle with a rotten handguard and grip, a grenade with a missing pistol grip, bones from some unknown animal, and some crabs. The workers collected the crabs they dug up and steamed them; they were quite delicious."

It seems that Xiaohaizi has been used by many people as a good place to bury evidence. I don't know if those guns were secretly hidden by some people or lost by others.

In short, it's all a mystery now. Li Long didn't even look at the rotten guns and grenades; they definitely wouldn't be usable if they'd been left there for too long.

At that time, a comprehensive gun ban had not yet been enacted, and he couldn't be bothered to care.

“In two more days, the bottom will be cleared, and then we can open a gap in this cofferdam and let the water in,” Meng Hai said. “I plan to keep this cofferdam so that it will be useful when we clear another third of the water next spring.”

"Yes, indeed, this saves a lot of effort." Li Long nodded. The bottom of the reservoir is now generally flat. Except for a few large puddles that still have a lot of water, the rest have been repaired and look much better.

The temperature at night is now below zero, and some puddles that have only a little water left have started to freeze over when I came to check this morning.

There are no fish left in these shallow puddles; they've either been scooped up or thrown directly into the water over there.

Li Long roughly estimated that of the fish trapped in this one-third of the reservoir, a little more than half were caught, while the rest were either released or remained in the large puddles.

Because there is no shortage of fish, the obsession with eating fish is not so strong.

The villagers felt the same way; few people thought about selling the fish. Everyone had the simple idea that the fish belonged to the Li family, and sharing them with everyone was a gesture of goodwill.

However, it's not appropriate to take the fish that someone gives you and then sell them.

The dredging work was completely completed on November 10th, and the next step was to use trucks to transport the silt to the fields.

The cooperative's individual plots of land and vegetable gardens in the yards have all been covered with mud. In fact, with the large-scale cattle and sheep farming at Lao Ma Hao, the manure from there has already made the vegetable gardens of these cooperative members sufficiently fertile.

But since they'd never used silt before, everyone wanted to try something new.

The rest were simply hauled away by truck and dumped in the Li family's farmland.

Other families were still pulling their loads one after another. Li Long's attention was now focused on the two excavators that were preparing to dig an opening in the artificial cofferdam.

The breach was successfully opened, and the water that had been accumulating for a long time poured down through the opening, widening the original opening of less than two meters to more than three meters, and it continues to expand.

Seeing the rushing water overflowing the puddles of all sizes, and the fish inside seemingly feeling free, suddenly swimming out and rushing forward with the waves, Li Long smiled.

Overall, it was a great success.

The day after the silt was cleared, snowflakes began to fall.

The construction team successfully withdrew, and the cooperative's courtyard became empty again.

Liu Gaolou also brought his convoy along with the snowflakes.

After leading the convoy into the purchasing station, Li Long had the workers unload the trucks while jokingly teasing Liu Gaolou, who had just gotten off:

"Didn't you say you wouldn't come in winter? Why did you come as soon as it snowed?"

"I didn't want to come either!" Liu Gaolou was covered in snow as soon as he got out of the car. He brushed the snow off as he followed Li Long to the reception room, complaining as he walked: "My second uncle called and said that the difficulties faced by the people there have worsened in winter."

Many people are feeling like they're freezing and starving to death. It's only just started snowing here, but it's already snowed several times in Khorgos and Kazakhstan as well, with widespread snowfall.

My second uncle has already made contact with Lao Na. Although they haven't met directly, Lao Na told my second uncle through an intermediary that he knows about what my second uncle has been doing over the years, and that the things he shipped from our country have saved many lives.

Given the current tense situation in their country, I urge my second uncle to continue his efforts and make even greater contributions.

Think about it, since their boss said that, how could my second uncle refuse?

"That's really impossible." Li Long nodded. This old man has been a force to be reckoned with over there for twenty years; his methods are extraordinary.

Even if Liu Shanmin has special connections to protect him, that thing can't be brought into the open.

If he wants to maintain his foothold there, he needs to produce real achievements. There's no way around it; he's been targeted by Old Na.

"This is fine too. As long as we don't do anything too outrageous, exchanging supplies for secondhand equipment over there is perfectly acceptable," Li Long said. "I think your convoy has at least thirty vehicles, why did you add more?"

“Since Old Na has spoken, my second uncle has to go all out,” Liu Gaolou said, drinking water from a hot water jug. “He has to at least offer some kind of token of loyalty, right? It has to be better than before, otherwise how can he show his sincerity?”

"What did they bring back this time? I see that most of it is still covered with tarpaulins."

"Cars, Mercedes and BMWs, they've gone all out. Old Na's side really went all out, handing over a batch of luxury cars belonging to high-ranking officials who had fled to my second uncle to deal with. Now those luxury cars are useless over there, they'd be better off being replaced with canned goods and sugar."

Then there are antelope horns, which are completely useless over there. But we've been buying so many of them over here that people know they can exchange them for money and supplies here, so this time they've brought in a lot. I brought in six thousand pairs.

However, they didn't have any hides this time. They kept the hides and planned to make them into fur coats for the people to wear through the winter.

Although their processing techniques are indeed a bit rough, there's no other way but to put them on first.

The rest were two truckloads of miscellaneous local specialties, which, like last time, weren't included in the price.

Li Long immediately asked, "Do you have the bulldozers and excavators I asked about last time?"

"Yes, yes, yes, but that one is a bit slow; it hasn't arrived yet, it's still on its way. Three loaders and three excavators should be enough for you, right?"

"That should be enough," Li Long said, unsure.

"Don't you know whether it's enough or not?" Liu Gaolou finally calmed down and retorted, "Are you just a decoration?"

"I have someone else managing the engineering company I set up. I haven't even asked how big the business is now, so I'm not sure if it's enough," Li Long said honestly. "I'm just a hands-off boss. Isn't that more comfortable?"

His words left Liu Gaolou speechless, unsure whether to offer advice or envy his carefree life.

In the end, Liu Gaolou did not comment on the topic, but instead said, "In addition to canned goods and sugar, it would be best if you could get some clothes and shoes this time."

“Then you’ll have to wait,” Li Long said after thinking for a moment. “I need to scavenge some from the market; it’s too late to ship it here from the mainland.”

"I'll wait at most three days, then I'll have to rush back," Liu Gaolou said. "They're still waiting over there. Let me tell you, the temperature there is much lower than here, and there are really a lot of people there suffering from hunger right now."

“There’s no rush. Sugar and canned goods are readily available, but I can’t conjure up clothes and shoes for you.” Li Long shrugged and said, “Things produced by state-owned enterprises are basically owned by others; you can only get them from private trading companies.”

"Then hurry up and go find them," Liu Gaolou said. "By the way, there's something else I need to tell you. Right now, there are a lot of people who ran away in the 1960s on the other side of the border. They want to come back and get their household registration back."

"They're dreaming," Li Long said with a sneer. "Do they really think we can come and go as we please? Once they leave, they can forget about coming back. We definitely won't let them in."

“I heard that they were actually deceived at the time. The other party said that the conditions would be very good after they arrived, but after they arrived, they were tricked into becoming miners and herdsmen.”

At first, their livelihood was secure, but now that the Soviet Union has collapsed, they're completely finished. Plus, they know that life in our country is gradually improving, so they're thinking of coming back.

“Whether they were deceived or not, they did it voluntarily in the past,” Li Long said, shaking his head. “We don’t preach those Buddhist principles, like ‘lay down the butcher’s knife and become a Buddha on the spot,’ or ‘the sea of ​​suffering is boundless, but turning back is the shore.’”

"You've made your choice, and now that you've chosen a side and become one of them, don't try to benefit from both."

Liu Gaolou was just expressing his feelings; after all, those people over there really seemed quite pitiful. Of course, if it were up to him, he wouldn't want them to come back either. They were opportunists to begin with; bringing them back would bring no benefit whatsoever, and he'd have to support them. That's why Shaozi made such a decision.

After unloading the goods, Li Long, along with Liu Gaolou and the driver, went to the county hotel to check in. Fortunately, the county's reception duties were not heavy in winter, so the county hotel was able to accommodate them.

After settling them in, Li Long hurried to some privately owned shops in the county to see if he could get more shoes and clothes.

At this point, people don't care about body size or shoe size; anything that keeps them warm in winter is snapped up.

He took the truck and visited all the department stores and larger shops in the county, filling up half a truckload. With no other option, he went to Shicheng again.

Fortunately, Shicheng had a lot of these kinds of items, especially cotton-padded coats and cotton-padded rubber shoes, which had been ordered and shipped over well in advance. The items that were displayed in the mall were the surplus that had already been distributed to the employees. As a result, Li Long swept them all up, filling a whole truck and a half.

After bringing these things back to the purchasing station, Li Long thought for a moment and decided that since Liu Gaolou had said so, he might as well make another trip tomorrow to buy some more in Beiting City, or if that didn't work, he could go to Wucheng.

In 1992, the private economy in China had begun to flourish. The story of spring had been told for many years, and those with quick minds had learned to take goods from the mouth and sell them here.

In winter, although there are many fashionable items, traditional cotton coats, cotton-padded jackets, cotton-padded shoes, and felt boots still have a large market.

This made it very convenient for Li Long to buy the goods. Originally, he planned to finish within three days, but in just over a day, he bought three large truckloads of goods, which can be considered as exceeding the target.

They were basically sold at wholesale prices, which weren't expensive, but Li Long believed he could earn back two to three times the price from Liu Gaolou.

After all, the price of antelope horn has always been high here. Every time Jia Tianlong comes to Lafen, he takes some back with him. Now the price has risen to nearly 700 yuan per kilogram.

Therefore, even if Li Long bought these clothes and shoes at retail price and then handed them over to Liu Gaolou, he would still make a profit.

When Li Long went to the county hotel to find Liu Gaolou, Liu Gaolou was bored out of his mind.

This snowfall was quite heavy. For a southerner, such a heavy snowfall should be quite a pleasant surprise.

However, Liu Gaolou was already used to heavy snow in Khorgos, and after snowfall, he couldn't spend a long time outdoors. Moreover, Ma County was a small county town with not much to do.

Seeing that Liu Gaolou was bored, Li Long said to him, "If you have nothing better to do, I'll take you for a walk in the mountains."

"What's gotten better in the mountains? It's still freezing cold everywhere." Liu Gaolou curled his lip. "Is it still warm like spring in your mountains? Impossible."

"It's impossible for it to be as warm as spring, but taking you to a hot spring in the mountains is no problem," Li Long said with a smile. "I built a resort in a hot spring valley in the mountains and piped the hot spring water into the courtyard. You can soak in the hot spring in the house. How about it? Want to give it a try?"

You've been to hot springs in every season over in the valley, right? I remember we even went to a hot spring at a hotel together. Come on, let's try the ones here and see if there's any difference.

Liu Gaolou actually had some ideas. Mainly, this trip had been really tiring; he's getting older, and his body isn't what it used to be. Before, when he was tired, a good night's sleep would do the trick, but now, even two days of rest haven't fully recovered.

"Let's go then, let's give it a try!" Liu Gaolou agreed. "Let's bring some meat, we can have a barbecue by the hot spring in the winter."

“No problem,” Li Long said. “I’ll have someone skewer the meat here so we can grill it over there.”

Taking Liu Gaolou to the mountains for a change of scenery was one reason, but another reason was that Li Long figured there wasn't much to do in winter anyway, so it would be nice to visit the hot spring resort from time to time.

However, if you wait until after New Year's Day to go, the snow will be too thick, and even an off-road vehicle might not be able to get in.

Let's just start now. It's probably snowed two or three times already in the mountains. If we clear a path now, it will be easier to go later.

Having arranged to pick up Liu Gaolou the next morning, Li Long went to Lao Ma Hao and had two sheep slaughtered.

He's going to take one of the two sheep's roosters into the mountains, and the other to his elder brother.

As for Lao Ma Hao, Li Long told Uncle Luo that they also slaughtered sheep to eat, and asked Uncle Luo and Yang Lao Liu if they were feeling well enough to slaughter sheep.

Yang Laoliu knew that Li Long was trying to provoke them, but he still patted his chest and said, "Don't look down on me because I'm old. Slaughtering a sheep is as easy as making a chicken! You go ahead and do your thing. We'll take care of the meat ourselves."

"Oh, by the way, your older brother's family likes to eat sheep tripe and intestines. We'll send them one of these sets of offal after we've cleaned them."

Seeing that Yang Laoliu and Uncle Luo had made clear arrangements, Li Long didn't bother with any more and drove off with the sheep.

I delivered some good sheep to my older brother's family, chatted with my mother for a few minutes, and then went to the purchasing station.

They called two employees from the purchasing station and asked them to bring tools to help them process the sheep's roe, mainly removing the meat and separating the bones.

Li Long went home to get some mutton skewers, went to the purchasing station, and asked the people there to help him skewer the meat.

Of course, they wouldn't let them work for nothing. They set up a pot on the stove behind the purchasing station and started cooking mutton bone soup.

The workers who processed antelope horns could have a bowl of mutton soup when they had a break. After a bowl of soup, their bodies would feel warm, and they wouldn't feel so cold while working.

Li Long then carried the skewered lamb, along with several kilograms of cleaned lamb and lamb spine, back to the courtyard.

Tomorrow he plans to boil lamb bones and then roast lamb, a traditional dish. In winter, heavy snow closes the mountains, so there's no need to change it.

Of course, that alone wasn't enough, so Li Long also prepared tomatoes, onions, and a head of cabbage at home. He then drove to the market and bought some fresh chili peppers—the greenhouse vegetables were already in season by then, and while the green chili peppers weren't quite as fresh, they were still available.

After preparing all the supplies, Li Long drove to Halim's house, intending to take Halim with him. However, when he arrived, Halim's mother and wife told him that Halim had gone into the mountains to check on the cattle and sheep at their winter pasture.

Li Long thought to himself, "It would be good to go directly to the winter hut to find someone tomorrow."

The next day, after loading everything into the car, we went to a naan shop and bought about ten freshly baked hot naan breads. After getting in the car, we went to pick up Liu Gaolou.

Liu Gaolou had already eaten breakfast and was waiting at the county guesthouse. When Li Long arrived, he asked, "Is it just the two of us?"

"I'm planning to go to the mountains to pick up another friend. If you want to bring people along, you can bring a few too."

Liu Gaolou then went to call his driver. He had gotten a Land Cruiser for the past few trips and felt that driving it on long distances was more comfortable than driving a sedan.

Of course, he stopped driving himself a long time ago. He has a professional driver for every trip, and he no longer sits in the passenger seat of the truck, because that would make him look less like a boss.

The two cars drove out of the county town one after the other, heading into the mountains.

After crossing the Qingshui River, the snow on the road into the mountains only left two tire tracks. Fortunately, the snow was not thick in this section, and the off-road vehicle drove out and made a path.

Through the car window, Li Long could see traces of wild animals in the snow on the road and in the fields beside it. There were mostly rabbits, but also other animals such as wild boars and gazelles.

The tracks all looked quite fresh, but although Li Long carried a gun, he had no intention of hunting. He drove further in, passing through several layers of outer mountains, where the snow became thicker and the animal tracks became sparser, perhaps because they had all burrowed into uninhabited areas to avoid contact with people.

Fortunately, although the snow was thick, it couldn't stop the off-road vehicle. The car sped along, and the desolate mountains disappointed Liu Gaolou.

His heart began to stir when he arrived at the hot spring resort. The area was shrouded in slowly rising mist, making it appear exceptionally vibrant amidst the silent mountains.

The car stopped at the entrance of the hot spring resort. Liu Gaolou got out, his cotton-padded leather shoes crunching in the snow.

He looked to the right at the steaming stream. The water was not frozen, and green grass swayed in the water. There were also some small grasses on the bank, growing vigorously with the help of the warm water.

In this icy and snowy landscape, a splash of green suddenly appears.

That's fine.

Li Long had no time to appreciate the scenery. After getting out of the car, he took the shovel from the back seat and started shoveling snow. When he reached the gate of the hot spring resort, he unlocked it and pushed hard inside. The iron gate pushed against the snow inside, making an unpleasant sound. Li Long was very strong, and the thick snow could not stop him from moving forward.

"Come on over here and help me clear the snow." Li Long treated Liu Gaolou like family. He pointed to the trunk of his Land Cruiser and said, "There are tools there. Choose one yourself."

Liu Gaolou withdrew his gaze from the scenery, picked up a wooden shovel, and went into the courtyard. While shoveling snow with Li Long, he complained, "You invited me here to soak in the hot springs, but what I've got is this work to do. Are you treating me like a farmhand?"

The driver quickly grabbed a snowplow and started shoveling snow. The two bosses were talking, and he had no chance to interrupt, so he could only keep his head down and work.

“I treat you as a friend, not a guest,” Li Long argued. “This is my yard. Shouldn’t you help me out since you’re here? Look at that house over there, it’s steaming. It would be nice to soak in the hot spring there.”

Just imagine, you'll be soaking in the hot springs there while I cook and grill meat for you outside—doesn't that sound wonderful?

"That's true." Liu Gaolou thought about the scene and thought it was quite nice.

"That's right. We've cleaned this place up, and you see, it's mainly for your benefit, so what's there to complain about?"

Liu Gaolou felt he had been caught in a trap and had no way to defend himself, so he simply stopped talking and silently pushed the snow.

Li Long was delighted; it seemed his eloquence had improved.

The yard was quite large, but Li Long didn't intend to clear all the snow. He only cleared the snow from the entrance, the area in front of the hot spring house, and the path leading to the toilet and the outdoor pool. Since it wasn't used often, there was no need to do unnecessary work.

After pushing it, he opened the door to the hot spring pool and let Liu Gaolou prepare it himself.

He went inside to set up a fire, then cleaned the stove outside and started burning firewood.

Once the fire started, the temperature in the yard rose slightly, and it didn't feel so cold anymore.

Li Long threw the washed lamb spine into the pot, covered it, and let it cook.

Then he gathered some burning wood, put it into the barbecue trough, and covered it with some smokeless coal to prepare for grilling the meat.

The skewered meat was taken out and placed inside the house to thaw slowly.

He went over to tell Liu Gaolou that he was going to call a friend, and if the friend was there, he would invite him over; if not, he would be back soon.

"Are we in danger here?" Liu Gaolou asked.

“After I drive away, close the gate and lock it,” Li Long said. “Even if wolves or wild boars come, they won’t be able to pry the gate open.”

So Liu Gaolou was relieved.

Li Long drove directly to Halim's Dongwozi. When he arrived at Dongwozi, he found that there were indeed cattle and sheep grazing in the snow.

As the car pulled up in front of the winter hut, someone got out; it was a young man Li Long didn't recognize.

"Where did Harim go?" Li Long asked.

"I went to check on the cattle and sheep at that winter pasture up ahead," said the honest-looking young man. "Who are you?"

“I am his friend, Li Long,” Li Long said, then got into the car and drove on.

He should have realized that there were no cars around this winter camp, so Halim shouldn't be here.

When the car arrived at the location where Buick's family used to winter, Li Long saw Halim's GAZ truck.

When Halim heard the car, he came out of his winter shelter and was quite happy to see Li Long.

“I’m taking my friends to the hot spring resort. Would you like to join us? I’ve already started cooking the lamb bones and we’re also getting ready to grill some meat,” Li Long said, getting straight to the point.

Now that the hostess is gone, the young men don't even remember making milk tea.

“Okay.” Halim thought he could do the check-up for the rest of the afternoon, and since he didn’t have anything else to do for the time being, he drove off with Li Long.

When the two cars arrived at the entrance of the hot spring resort, Li Long saw two wolves darting into the woods in a panic.

He guessed that the wolf must have smelled the aroma of the meat in the pot and came over to see if it could hunt some wild food.

Li Long originally wanted to pull out his gun and fire a couple of shots into the woods to intimidate them, but then he thought that firing suddenly in this quiet time would carry far, and it would be best not to attract the attention of the forestry police station.

Although there is a connection, it's best to avoid unnecessary trouble.

When he got out of the car and knocked on the door, it was already open. The driver opened the door and said to Li Long, "Mr. Li, there was something scratching at the door just now."

“It was two wolves. They had already run away when we arrived,” Li Long explained. “Just close the door properly and don’t let them in.”

He introduced Liu Gaolou to Halim, and then introduced Halim to Liu Gaolou. After Liu Gaolou and Halim greeted each other, Liu Gaolou said to Li Long:
"Soaking in your hot spring is quite exciting. There's a hot spring inside and wild animals outside to keep you company. I was so scared just now that I jumped out of the hot spring pool, changed my clothes, and was afraid that something might break down the door."

Li Long chuckled and said, "No, no, it's not that bad. This iron gate is so big, so tall, and so thick, even a wild boar couldn't get in. You can relax and enjoy your soak!"

To be honest, Liu Gaolou only felt relieved after Li Long returned.

It was incredibly comfortable, and incredibly exciting!
PS:

When I was a child, I was very happy to see these clods of soil that cracked after being watered. I would pry up a piece, take a knife, and carve it into the shape of a pistol.

Although I loved the Mauser C96 pistol the most, it was too difficult to make, especially the twenty-shot one. The trigger on the Type 54 was also hard to carve; one wrong move and the whole clod of earth would crumble. Unforgettable childhood memories. (End of Chapter)