Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Gu Xiaoyu helped her sister greet the guests in the front yard. Although she was busy and often looked at by people, and occasionally someone would sit down and ask her about her personal life, Gu Xiaoyu found it quite interesting.

In her view, although the people from the four teams might not be very knowledgeable about social etiquette and some of their questions touched on private matters, they were all asking these questions out of respect and goodwill, showing concern for her.

This was completely different from the kind of greetings she had received in the past, which were often accompanied by rumors and gossip. So she spoke candidly about her own experiences.

Gu Xiaoyu could sense that people had mixed feelings about her. Because she came from Yanjing, they respected her. And because she was Gu Boyuan's daughter and Gu Xiaoxia's sister, those who were about the same age were curious about her and quite close to her.

She even showed genuine concern for older people.

Therefore, Gu Xiaoyu is quite satisfied with the current situation.

Li Long wasn't quite clear on these matters. He had asked people to mention subletting the land to the cooperative more than once today. He didn't know if these people had made an agreement or if they felt that farming the barren land for three years was enough and that they would have to give up the land when it was time to pay.

After all these miscellaneous calculations, the cooperative might be able to acquire some of the land that has already been reclaimed around the current plot, bringing the total area to 2,000 mu.

This is a good thing for the cooperative. After all, large, contiguous plots of land are rare, making management, cultivation, and flower picking much more convenient.

However, without exception, Li Long pushed the matter onto Xie Yundong, telling them to contact Xie Yundong when they had time.

In the afternoon, Xie Yundong called and said that several people came to see him. While drinking, they mentioned that they wanted to give the land to the cooperative and that Li Long had agreed.

"I didn't agree to that. I just told them to come to you," Li Long hurriedly explained. "But it's not a problem to take these plots of land, it's just that the compensation they receive can't be too high. That needs to be discussed."

Two families were alright; they farmed their own land, made a little money, and then asked for compensation for things like machine farming fees and fertilizer. The other two families were terrible; they seemed to be making exorbitant demands, as if we wouldn't survive without their land.

“That’s what I mean too. We’ll compensate everyone according to a uniform standard. Everyone has cultivated the land for three years, so when it’s time to pay the contract fees, there won’t be any difference in quality between the land.” Xie Yundong clearly already had a plan, he said.
“Since you have no objections, I’ll discuss it with them and finalize the compensation plan. If they agree, we’ll take the land back; if they don’t, they can farm it themselves.”

While Li Long and Xie Yundong were discussing this, Lu Yingming was also talking to Li Jianguo at the Li family home: "The situation is very clear now. Everyone knows that once the land is incorporated into the cooperative, switching to drip irrigation will make a lot of money."

If you were to cultivate it yourself, the newly reclaimed saline-alkali land would definitely need two years to be transformed. You could also make some money growing cotton on cultivated land, but it certainly wouldn't be as much as you would with a cooperative.

The difficulty is that the cooperative isn't hiring right now. I think it's enough if they can get my son, Tietou, in. I'm not in a rush; if they do hire, I'll definitely be one of their first applicants.

“Since you’re already planning to exchange your land for land next to ours, you’ll definitely be among the first to come in.” Li Jianguo thought that if they were really hiring, it wouldn’t be a problem to put Lu Yingming in the first batch.

However, he didn't care about the cooperative at all, so he wouldn't act as an intermediary for Lu Yingming. Lu Yingming knew this too, but he was very clear about the cooperative; Li Long was the one who could make the decisions. As long as he had a relationship with the Li family, he would naturally be considered in the first batch.

Gu Xiaoyu and Gu Xiaoxia didn't care about that. Every person who came to pay New Year's visits, whether they had a couple of drinks before leaving or just said a few words and left, would be told by Gu Xiaoxia to her sister about that person's family situation and their relationship with the Li and Gu families.

By the afternoon, Gu Xiaoyu had a fairly intuitive impression of many people in the fourth team. Gradually, she connected these people and learned how her father settled down in the fourth team and how he and her sister got through it.

Although I had heard my father and sister tell these stories more than once, they were all told in a linear fashion. Now, with the addition of these people who came to pay their respects for the New Year, the original linear stories, like a sapling, have begun to sprout branches and leaves, becoming fuller and more three-dimensional.

The next day, Li Long, Gu Xiaoxia, Mingming, Haohao, and Gu Xiaoyu went to Old Gu's house to pay New Year's respects. When they met Old Gu, they noticed that although he was smiling, he was clearly a little resentful when he looked at them.

Teacher Gu and Teacher Song gave Mingming and Haohao lucky money, 100 yuan each. Mingming and Haohao obediently kowtowed to the two of them, then each grabbed a handful of candy, and went out to play with a big bag of various fireworks that Teacher Gu had given them.

"I'll prepare two dishes for you two, you can have some drinks first," Teacher Song said to Gu Boyuan and Li Long. "Xiaoxia, Xiaoyu, and I will chat over there and prepare the lunch dishes."

Soon, five cold dishes were placed on the table: fried peanuts, cold pig's ears, cold preserved eggs, cold beef, and cold mung bean sprouts, along with a bottle of Yili Special Qu liquor, the kind with a white porcelain bottle and a tin cap.

Gu Boyuan reached for the wine, but Li Long snatched it from him, pouring it for him while saying with a smile, "Uncle Gu, how could I let you pour the wine? Come on, let me fill it up for you."

"Don't try to be smug after getting the benefits." Gu Boyuan glared at him. "My daughter married you, and look what happened. Xiaoyu came all the way here to spend the New Year, and she's spending New Year's Eve and New Year's Day at your house. How am I supposed to feel about that?"

"Don't be angry!" After pouring the wine, Li Long picked up his glass and gestured for Gu Boyuan to pick up his glass as well. "Uncle Gu, think about it, Xiaoyu traveled all the way from Yanjing. We called you in advance before we came, didn't we?"
And what's worse, when you came back, you hadn't even heated up Xiaoxia's old room. How is she supposed to live there?"

“Isn’t that ahead of schedule? As soon as she arrived, we started setting up the stove and heating the house,” Gu Boyuan said, picking up his glass but not drinking, explaining, “The house was warm in two days, so why didn’t she come back to stay?”

"Doesn't that still make me feel like you're not sincere?" Li Long smiled, picked up his glass and clinked it with Gu Boyuan's. "Just kidding, just kidding. It's mainly because the two of us sisters have a lot to talk about, and I felt that if Xiaoyu came over, she might disturb you and Aunt Song who live here."

"What nonsense! We're not like you guys!" Gu Boyuan cursed. Seeing that Li Long had already finished his drink, he reluctantly poured his own into his mouth, swallowed, frowned, and when he saw Li Long was about to pour more, he said, "Drink slowly, don't rush, let's get this straight first."

"By the way, Uncle Gu, aren't you and Teacher Song planning to have another one?" Li Long joked again. After filling the glass, he picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of beef, and said while eating, "You two aren't old, and Teacher Song is still quite young."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Gu Boyuan's face turned red. "Xiaoxia and Xiaoyu are already so grown up, how could we possibly have another child? That's just ridiculous. Let's get down to business. Xiaoyu is back today, she has to stay at home, right? Otherwise, the people in the team will start laughing at me."

"You'll have to ask Xiaoyu. Xiaoxia and I can't make that decision." Li Long also shirked responsibility, pointing at the plate with his chopsticks and saying, "This dish must have been prepared by Teacher Song. You definitely don't have that skill."

"I'm your father-in-law, shouldn't you show me some respect?" Gu Boyuan laughed in exasperation.

“I used to call you brother,” Li Long said, quite happily today. “Back then, we were peers.”

Gu Boyuan picked up his chopsticks, intending to tap Li Long on the head, but then thought better of it and shook his head, saying, "Well, no matter what, you brought Xiaoyu back, and seeing that Xiaoyu had a pretty happy New Year, I'm content."

“That’s more like it.” Li Long smiled, put down his chopsticks, swallowed the food in his mouth, and then picked up his cup to clink glasses with Gu Boyuan: “There always needs to be an adjustment period. I guess Teacher Song is also trying to find out if Xiaoyu is staying here or not. I guess Xiaoyu will stay, but as for how long, I don’t know.”

"Staying for two days is the same as staying for two days." Because Gu Boyuan didn't raise Gu Xiaoyu when she was young, he couldn't make the same demands as he did with Gu Xiaoxia.

But after all, she is his daughter, and he must want to live with her and experience the life of an ordinary family, enjoying the happiness of family life.

Gu Boyuan was grateful to Li Long for bringing his daughter from Yanjing, especially during the Spring Festival.

This son-in-law is a good choice. He said he was complaining, but he was just venting his little grievances to the younger generation. Besides, who else could he turn to besides Li Long?

In the east room, Teacher Song and the two sisters prepared dishes while chatting about everyday life. She first talked about her life with Gu Boyuan in the valley, about the big courtyard they looked after for Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia, and about the fruits that ripened in the courtyard in summer and autumn.

"We also brought you some dried apricots, apricot jam, strawberry jam, and wild plum jam this time. They are all local specialties. Xiaoxia, take them back with you when you leave. If Mingming and Haohao don't want to eat breakfast in the morning, they can eat the jam with steamed buns."

Gu Xiaoxia responded habitually and then said thank you.

"No need to thank me, we're all family," Teacher Song said with a smile, then turned to ask Gu Xiaoyu:

"Xiaoyu, have you found someone yet? Your dad doesn't really want to ask about these things, so he asked me to inquire. Don't be shy, it's okay if you don't want to find someone. We modern women are free to choose our marriage and love."

"I haven't met the right person yet." Having gotten used to being asked this question, Gu Xiaoyu said casually while preparing the dishes, "There have been quite a few people trying to set me up, but I just don't feel like it's a good match."

"Let nature take its course," Teacher Song smiled. "We might meet again in a few years. Look at your dad and me, it's quite fitting that we met at this age."

Teacher Song, who made fun of herself, was easily accepted by the two sisters. Gu Xiaoxia said that it was her father's good luck to meet Teacher Song, and also said that Teacher Song must have many suitors over in the valley, which made Teacher Song laugh happily.

Teacher Song naturally said that the house had been dried for many days and was prepared for Xiaoyu. Then she told Gu Xiaoxia that this was originally your house, but the yard is only so big, so Xiaoyu has to take care of it for now.

Gu Xiaoxia hurriedly said it was alright, it was alright. She was already married, and besides, her own courtyard wasn't far from here, so it didn't matter where she lived.
Seeing that Gu Xiaoyu didn't speak or express any objection, Teacher Song knew that Gu Xiaoyu must have agreed to stay that night.

During the meal, Li Long and Gu Boyuan finished a bottle of wine and chatted happily. Last year, Gu Boyuan decided to add import and export trade to the company's business, mainly dealing with individual customers and not wholesale.

However, because the company could often get goods from Li Long, and Gu Boyuan had a lot of connections there, plus Liu Gaolou's endorsement at the port, the business was doing quite well.

While they might not be considered extremely successful, they are among the top sellers of unpackaged goods, boasting high profit margins and a strong reputation.

By the end of the year, Gu Boyuan actually received more profit dividends than in the previous two years.

After all, the purchase of hides dropped sharply in the first two years after the introduction of the Animal Protection Law, and the profits of trading companies relying on fritillaria and other medicinal materials were much lower than in the first and second years.

With the added benefit of import and export trade, the year-end dividends have started to increase again, and the company feels like it's thriving and prosperous.

Gu Boyuan was thus rejuvenated, and his relationship with Teacher Song became harmonious and fulfilling.

Since we had already drunk alcohol before the meal, we didn't drink any more alcohol during the meal. Instead, we chatted more, commented on the quality of the food, talked about what had happened recently, and discussed our future plans.

Gu Boyuan also made it clear at the dinner table that Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia were well-off and earned a lot of money, so he planned to give Gu Xiaoyu more support.

“Living in the capital is not easy. We are far away and cannot take care of each other. It’s good to carry more money with us so that we can handle any problems that may arise,” Gu Boyuan said.

Gu Xiaoyu waved her hands repeatedly, indicating that she didn't need it and had money on hand. But everyone else thought it was the right thing to do, and Gu Xiaoxia thought so too.

"Xiaoyu, please accept Dad's gift. To be honest, our family is better off than yours, and we're all family, so don't be shy. This is also Dad's gift."

Even Mingming and Haohao joined in the teasing, saying that their aunt should accept the money, which made Gu Xiaoyu blush.

Gu Boyuan did not take out the money on the spot, and the topic was moved on after it was over. It was obvious that he planned to give the money to Gu Xiaoyu privately after she settled in. Giving it at the dinner table would not be appropriate.

After finishing their meal and chatting for a while, Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia left with their child. Gu Xiaoyu stayed behind to help Teacher Song clean up the kitchen. After they finished cleaning up, Gu Boyuan handed a bag of money to Gu Xiaoyu.

“Dad, I really don’t want that much,” Gu Xiaoyu said. “When we first met those years ago, you gave me money. Later, my sister and brother-in-law asked me to do jade business. I know that they were actually trying to take care of me and wanted me to earn more money.”

I have my own salary, I'm not married yet, I don't have many expenses, and I've even saved some money..."

"What's yours is yours, and what we're giving you is what we're giving you." Gu Boyuan stuffed the money into Gu Xiaoyu's hand. "You're so far away, we can't take care of you."

To be honest, we have the means now, so we're supporting you. If we didn't have the means, I wouldn't be saying this.

Besides, your place is better, so there are bound to be more expenses. We can't possibly let you transfer here from there. While you're living there, we definitely want you to have a comfortable life. Take this money and save it; if there's any emergency, you can withdraw it immediately.

Gu Xiaoyu held the money, unsure of what to say.

“Take it,” Teacher Song said with a smile. “Your dad has always felt indebted to you, so taking it will make him feel better.”

In the end, Gu Xiaoyu accepted the money. When she went to the county to deposit it after the Spring Festival holiday, she found out that it was 50,000 yuan.

That's equivalent to hundreds of months' salary.

The New Year passed quickly, and before the Lantern Festival, Gu Xiaoyu had to go back home. Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia drove her directly to Wucheng, bought her a train ticket, and saw her off at the train station.

Having finally made the trip, Li Long didn't go back immediately. He took Gu Xiaoxia to find Yu Sufu first.

When Yu Sufu saw Li Long and a woman approaching, he greeted them with a smile.

Business was slow before and after the New Year, but the stalls were still there. After greeting everyone, Li Long asked, "Do you have any good materials?"

"Yes, yes, yes, I've kept them all for you." Yu Sufu pulled a bag from under the stall, placed it on the stall, and opened it for Li Long to see.

Gu Xiaoxia looked at the dried fruit and planned to weigh some to take back for the elderly and children.

"Adasi, last time those lads caused trouble, were you afraid they'd find out about me, so you deliberately lured them away?" Yusufu asked Li Long in a low voice. "Thank you!"

“What are you thanking me for? This whole thing started because of me,” Li Long said softly. “They’re bullies who pick on the weak and fear the strong. I’m fine, I’ll drive off, but you still have to set up your stall here. I can’t let my problems drag you down with me.”

"You're a true friend!" Yu Sufu gave a thumbs up. "I knew you were a true friend!"

Li Long smiled as he looked at the pieces of jade in the bag. They were quite good; they were all seed jade. The quality was also very good, mostly above grade one white jade.

It's only because someone like Yu Sufu, who has a long-standing connection to the area, can consistently obtain such high-quality materials.

“I’ll take them all,” Li Long said with a smile. “I knew you had good materials here. Save them for me if you find any in the future.”

Yu Sufu calculated the price of the seven pieces of material to be 1,000 yuan. Li Long knew that he had given him a big discount and didn't say much.

A steady flow of business will continue; there will be plenty of opportunities to do business in the future, and it will always be a give-and-take relationship.

Then Gu Xiaoxia asked him to weigh the dried fruit, and Yu Sufu readily agreed, saying, "I'll give it to you."

Gu Xiaoxia was somewhat surprised and turned to look at Li Long.

"Take it, it's a small token of Adasi's appreciation," Li Long said with a smile. "Next time we come, we can buy more things."

“That’s right, that’s right, just come and patronize my business often,” Yusufu said loudly.

Li Long knew that these words were meant for the other vendors on both sides.

The two men got into the car with their things, and Li Long drove off towards the jade factory.

Gu Xiaoxia asked where they were going, and Li Long said he would take her to see Engineer Liu.

Although the New Year was almost over, Li Long still brought Liu a gift: a ham from the State Ethnic Affairs Commission's Beijing office. The Li family wasn't really used to eating it, but Li Long knew it must be expensive, so he decided to give it to Liu so the old man could try this good stuff.

As expected, Engineer Liu was there. Seeing Li Long bring a woman in, he smiled and said, "Little Li, is this your wife? How rare!"

Li Long smiled and said, "Yes, yes, she's busier than me at work. It's not easy for her to come all this way. This is our New Year's gift to you, a belated New Year's greeting."

"Hey, Jinhua ham! Good stuff!" Engineer Liu was a connoisseur and recognized it at a glance. After taking it, he smiled and said, "I'm in for a treat."

Mr. Liu placed the ham down, made room for the two men to sit down, and then went to pour them water.

Li Long asked curiously, "Engineer Liu, didn't you always have an apprentice here? Where did he go?"

"Something came up at home, so I told him to go home first. These days, dating is still quite important to young people," Liu said with a smile. "We can't delay his important life event."

As he spoke, he took a bracelet out of the drawer and said to Gu Xiaoxia, "Look how coincidental this is! I just finished this bracelet a couple of days ago. It was carved from a piece of icy, full-green jadeite that I managed to get from the factory before the New Year. Here, here, it's for you, Gu!"

"I can't accept this, it's too expensive!" Gu Xiaoxia hurriedly declined.

“Hey, let me tell you, this isn’t even top-grade material,” Liu said with a smile. “Xiao Li and I have been friends for a long time. The amount of material and finished products he’s taken from me is at least eighty or a hundred, if not a hundred.”

"He was the one who took care of my business in the beginning; otherwise, I really might not have been able to keep my little shop open. And yes, he reminded me to stock up on materials, and in the last two years, I've earned at least this much just from that." Engineer Liu held up two fingers, gesturing.

Li Long knew that he meant he had earned about 20,000 yuan, which was quite a lot of money.

However, this icy green jadeite bangle is worth at least 10,000 yuan on the market. Although it is not high-grade imperial green, in Li Long's opinion, the water content is quite good.

Li Long had seen the same bracelet in an art shop in Yanjing some time ago. There were higher-end ones priced at 50,000 yuan, and lower-end ones priced at 6,000 yuan.

Even disregarding Mr. Liu's wages, the material for this bracelet is worth several thousand yuan.

Li Long then chimed in, "Engineer Liu, you've already said that we're all on the same side, so we can let it go for ordinary things. But for something like this ham, which costs tens or hundreds of yuan, we won't say a word."

But the craftsmanship and materials for this bracelet will cost over ten thousand yuan. If you give it to me like this, my wife and I really don't dare accept it. How about this: I think this bracelet is quite beautiful, and I think it looks good on my wife. I'll just give you ten thousand yuan, how about that?"

“That won’t do,” Engineer Liu hurriedly waved his hand, “Even if Xiao Gu couldn’t come this time, you could have come yourself. I was originally planning to give you this bracelet anyway. It’s a bit too formal for you to say that. We’ve known each other for so many years…”

“Engineer Liu, it’s like this. I’m doing better than you,” Li Long said with a smile, pointing to the car outside. “We men aren’t unreasonable. I know you’re genuinely giving this to us, but we younger generation really can’t accept it like this.”

He thought for a moment and said, "How about you pack up any other materials you have and I pack them up for you?"

Although Liu was a little reluctant, he could tell that Li Long really wasn't going to accept it directly, so he took the materials out of the drawer while saying:

"Although we're not related, we've been through thick and thin together. If it weren't for you back then, I might be a cripple. Your words were very encouraging, and they gave me the courage to pick up my carving knife again. I feel that my skills have improved somewhat in the past few years, and that's largely thanks to you!"
So consider this bracelet a thank-you gift; you should accept it!

“That’s because you’re so capable, Mr. Liu. Even if I hadn’t said anything, you would have figured it out yourself.” Li Long said with a smile, “I wouldn’t dare to take credit for it.”

"I can't explain it!" Engineer Liu sighed, took out three pieces of raw material—two pieces of Hetian jade, one piece of jadeite, and two finished carvings—and placed them all on the table. Then he said:
"You have no idea how many people were waiting to see me make a fool of myself, both inside and outside the factory. Even before my hand was injured, I was arrogant and dismissive of people, and I never had anything nice to say to anyone I taught."

In the end, I almost lost everyone. It was your words that woke me up; in life and in work, one must avoid complacency, arrogance, and self-abandonment.

"Look at you, you understand all this," Li Long said with a smile. "Hey, these materials are pretty good! This jadeite is almost glass-type, right? Although it can't be carved into bracelets, making a jade pendant or something should be no problem, right?"

“Indeed, these are materials stored in our warehouse. Because they are too small, the old carvers in the factory didn’t want to work with them, so they asked me to take them.” Engineer Liu pointed to the pieces of material and said, “Pack them up, two thousand yuan.”

"I'll give you 12,000 yuan if I add the bracelet," Li Long said.

After some back and forth, the two finally agreed on a price of 10,000 yuan, with the bracelet and the pieces of jade set together.

The bracelet was the right size, and Gu Xiaoxia put it on immediately, clearly liking it very much.

They chatted with Engineer Liu for a while longer before saying goodbye and leaving.

"Whose place are we going to next?" Gu Xiaoxia asked again.

"Before school starts, let's visit the homes of those professors at the Agricultural University," Li Long said. "It'll be a belated New Year's greeting. We've brought things in the car, all the local specialties we brought back from Beijing. Let me think, how about we go to Professor Wu's house for a meal?"

Of those professors, Gu Xiaoxia had met Professor Luo and Professor Yang before, but hadn't met Professor Wu yet, and was a little nervous.

"What's there to be nervous about? You're a teacher yourself," Li Long joked.

"How can that be the same? I teach elementary school, she teaches university." Gu Xiaoxia even put away the bracelet. "I'm worried she'll test me."

"Hahaha, how could that be?" Li Long laughed. "These professors are very approachable at home. Just think of them as our elders."

Before going, I made a phone call, and Professor Wu was indeed home. Li Long jokingly said he was going to freeload a meal, and Professor Wu welcomed him.

When they arrived at the professor's house, Professor Wu first complained to Li Long that he hadn't come for a long time, and then complained to Li Long again about why he hadn't brought his wife over for her to see.

Gu Xiaoxia's nervousness gradually subsided, and Professor Wu really looked at Li Long as if he were his own student.

To Gu Xiaoxia's surprise, both Professor Wu and Professors Luo and Yang, whom she met later, spoke highly of Li Long.

Even the three professors hinted at some regret, saying that it was a great loss that Li Long didn't study at the College of Agriculture.

Professor Yang even suggested that Li Long could simply study on his own to catch up on his junior and senior high school courses and obtain a diploma, and then they would be responsible for helping Li Long get a part-time job at the Agricultural University.

Li Long half-jokingly suggested that if it was going to be so complicated, his wife might as well just get a part-time master's degree. After all, Gu Xiaoxia already had a correspondence bachelor's degree.

However, after repeated research, the agricultural university found that it was not easy to choose a major. The better majors required full-time study, and it was difficult to arrange for correspondence courses.

Seeing that Professor Wu was actually thinking about her academic qualifications, Gu Xiaoxia felt a little flattered.

It feels like Li Longzhen is the professor's student, or even more favored than the student.

Of course, during meals, it's inevitable to ask about the farming situation.

Li Long then honestly explained the cooperative's drip irrigation system and cotton planting methods.

“This kind of drip irrigation farming is going to be a major trend in the future.” Professor Wu was clearly knowledgeable about this area. “The fact that you were able to take the lead shows that you have good foresight. The cooperative model is really innovative. I heard a lot from Lao Yang when he came back; he praised you a lot.”

"Xiao Li, you've noticed it too, haven't you? We agricultural researchers really admire people like you who have innovative thinking about farming and can combine it with practice, and who are capable of making progress."

Li Long nodded vigorously.

"So, do a good job. Agriculture is the foundation of our country, and agricultural modernization is really important. We researchers really hope that these things can be promoted in rural areas. I think your demonstration and guidance role is very important, so you must persevere!"

"My dream is to be a wealthy landowner who can live a life of leisure," Li Long joked. "I'm working towards that goal now, and I think I can do it!"

The people eating burst into laughter.

As we drove back from Wucheng, the sun was only halfway up the mountain. Gu Xiaoxia said excitedly in the car, "I never expected you to have so many acquaintances in Wucheng, and so many elders who think highly of you!"

Look at their expectations of you! From now on, you can't just work sporadically while farming; you have to work hard!

"Look at you, you've misinterpreted the original meaning of the idiom again, haven't you?" Li Long joked as he drove. "Fishing people have to fish for three days and dry their nets for two, otherwise the nets will be covered in rust and trash from the water. If they don't dry them, they won't be able to catch any fish later!"

"Hmph! You know perfectly well what I mean, yet you still insist on explaining it to me!" Gu Xiaoxia said reproachfully. "Speak properly!"

Seeing that Gu Xiaoxia, who is usually well-mannered, was rarely angry, Li Long laughed instead: "Look at you, you are a teacher after all. You should talk things out and not get angry so easily. Getting angry will cause wrinkles!"

Gu Xiaoxia couldn't help but laugh.

"Let me tell you, the development model of our cooperative is now following my original plan. This is the model for doing agriculture."

Everyone saw that we made money, but the real reason was that we had a good foundation. First, Team Four had such a large plot of land for us to experiment and develop. Second, Lao Xie, Da Qiang, Da Cheng, and I had a good relationship, so it was easy for us to get things done when we were together. Lao Xie also had management experience, and since I had led them for the first few years, they trusted me, which made things possible.

Then I participated in the drip irrigation experimental field that Professor Yang and his team were working on. Once I accumulated this experience, things became much easier later on. In addition, Lao Du and his team produced the drip irrigation equipment, so it was a perfect storm of favorable conditions.

If any one of these elements is missing, nothing will work. Therefore, our cooperative is currently unique. Others can't learn it unless the price of drip irrigation tape comes down in a couple of years.

"Will it be widely adopted by then? Will everyone be able to make money by farming like this? Will the price of cotton drop because everyone is farming like this?" Although Gu Xiaoxia has been a teacher for several years, she is still quite worried about this because she comes from a farming background.

"Don't worry, with the current production scale, even if everything were turned into cooperatives and drip irrigation were implemented, cotton prices wouldn't come down. It's still a seller's market for now, and cotton prices will only continue to rise," Li Long said.
“This is different from other things. Cotton is a necessity and a strategic reserve. The market is far from saturated.”

After he said that, Gu Xiaoxia felt relieved.

By the time he got back to the courtyard, the sun had already set. Li Long called his older brother to let him know he was safe.

Gu Boyuan, who was waiting at Li Jian's house, was relieved to hear that his youngest daughter had been put on the train and that his eldest daughter and son-in-law had returned.

The day after returning from Wucheng, Li Long went to the Fourth Team. Then, several people from the cooperative held a meeting and determined the acceptance standards for newly reclaimed land in the surrounding area, with compensation ranging from fifty to one hundred yuan per mu.

As for the contract fee paid to the team after the contract expires, it will be settled between the cooperative and the production team.

The original idea was to unify the standards, but after understanding the situation of these lands in detail, two standards were proposed.

"The main problem is that some people just cultivate the land and then plant whatever they want without fertilizing or watering it. The land hasn't been very well improved in the last three years, so such land will only receive a maximum compensation of fifty cents," Xie Yundong said.
"It's obvious that these people opened up the land with the intention of selling it to us later. They didn't take good care of it, so naturally the price can't be high."

Some people cultivate their land diligently after clearing it, using sufficient fertilizer, improving saline-alkali soil, and implementing proper flood irrigation. For such land, a subsidy of 100 yuan is no problem.

"Why pay them for land that they're not going to improve properly? Let's just leave it. They don't plan to farm it anyway. Can't we just take it over after they've abandoned it?" Xu Haijun felt that they shouldn't indulge these people.

"The main thing is that these lands have already been plowed, so our compensation is to cover their machine plowing and land preparation costs."

"Furthermore, if our cooperative needs to expand and develop, it will inevitably have to expand into the surrounding areas. The sooner we integrate these lands, the sooner we can earn more money," Xie Yundong patiently explained.
"Our cooperative is going to stay in the team after all, so we can't make things too tense. They took the initiative to come and talk, and they were quite humble, so let's just leave it at that."

Li Long knew Xie Yundong's thoughts. It was probably because of some things they had talked about that made him worried. He was afraid that if those people didn't get what they wanted, they would do something that would harm others and themselves.

In any case, the cooperative could accept the price, and those people received compensation, so it was a win-win situation.

Let's just consider it as adhering to the principle of survivors yielding. After all, the cooperative has made a lot of money in the past two years, and there are quite a few people who are envious. Paying some money to incorporate the surrounding land will benefit the development of the cooperative and also reduce some enemies.

Once the New Year was over, time seemed to accelerate, rolling forward rapidly. February passed by in a flash, and by the time the children returned to school in early March, the snow had already begun to melt. With the asphalt road leading into the village, everyone was willing to take the initiative to tidy up their own yards.

Therefore, most households in the village have either cement floors or brick floors in their yards. Even those that are less well-off will haul in several truckloads of sand and gravel to pave their yards, at least to ensure that the yards are not muddy when the snow melts and it rains.

So when the snow melts, the children from the fourth team go to school clean and dry, and they come back just as clean.

This made many parents reminisce, recalling when they were in school, they would often get covered in mud during this season, and their shoes would be soaked when they came back from school.

There's no comparison; life is getting better and better.

On March 7th, just after the snow had melted and the ice shards in the small lake had disappeared, Meng Hai brought the construction team to carry out a second cleanup.

They need to clear away the remaining third of the silt from the small lake before the floodwaters come down.

To meet the deadline, bulldozers and excavators are working day and night, and truck drivers are working in three shifts, with Li Long paying overtime wages.

The original cofferdam in Xiaohaizi was still there, and it came in handy this time, shortening the construction period by one-third. After all, all that was needed was to build another one northwestward from the center of the existing cofferdam.

Li Long also borrowed the original water pumps. This time, the staff from the Water Resources Bureau asked him to let them know when he was catching fish, and Li Long agreed.

The cofferdam was completed on March 12th, and water pumps began pumping water. At the same time, excavators and bulldozers began dredging the silt on the bank.

By March 15th, the water had been mostly drained, leaving behind several large and small pits at the bottom of the small lake, where many fish could be seen struggling.

Li Long had the purchasing station's bus take the people from the Water Resources Bureau directly to Xiaohaizi, so that these city folks could participate in the reservoir clearing and fish-catching activity.

When Yang Bo and his group got off the bus and arrived at Xiaohaizi Dam, they saw Li Long carrying a net in one hand and dragging a large carp more than a meter long towards the shore with the other. To be honest, at that moment, Li Long felt as if the jaws of a dozen or so people had dropped to the ground.

Stunned! (End of Chapter)