Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Li Long let Officer Guo into the courtyard and said with a smile:
"I just came back from the mountains. It's a mess here. Don't mind it."

"What's the big deal? It's nice here. I'm quite envious." Officer Guo looked around with a smile and said:

"It's like this. The case has been tried for more than half of the time. It will probably be transferred in another ten days or half a month. I'll give you a brief account of the situation. After all, you play an important role in this."

"Then you say." Li Long asked Officer Guo to sit down, and he poured a glass of water from the kitchen - Gu Xiaoxia was there, so there was hot water every day.

Officer Guo took the water, sat on the bench, took a sip, and began to speak:

"This case is actually more complicated than we thought. They not only resell fake and shoddy electronic watches, but also some contraband items. The stun gun that Gu Ermao threatened you with earlier is one of them. Among the items we seized, there are also a batch of tranquilizer guns, which is quite serious.

In addition, we found a standard pistol in the woman's residence. After investigation, it was found that it came from a certain arsenal outside the district in the form of parts. This clue is very important. It is a shocking case. The sentences of those people may be increased. For example, Gu Ermao, who you know, will most likely be sentenced to more than five years. And there is another piece of news..."

Officer Guo glanced at Li Long and said slowly:

"Gu Ermao's right leg is disabled. The tendon behind his foot was broken by your stick. We didn't respond in time and didn't take it seriously at the time. He may have to limp from now on."

"You deserve it!" Li Long said bitterly. He didn't have to hide anything from Officer Guo.

"Because he is the backbone of this case, we still need to dig deeper into him. If there are other criminal facts, then his problem will be more serious..."

Li Long nodded.

"Since this case is very significant in terms of impact, case value, and other aspects, the higher-ups were originally planning to publicly commend and reward you, but I stopped them. I think it would be better for you to keep a low profile in this regard. After all, some of the middlemen are mostly from surrounding counties and cities, and the possibility of retaliation cannot be ruled out."

"Well, thanks."

"And this." Officer Guo took out a small bag. "Originally, the plan was to commend you with a reward of 100 yuan and a silk banner. Later, because you were a temporary worker at the supply and marketing cooperative, we reported it to the cooperative - of course, we didn't explain the specific case, we just reported it. As for your reward, I asked them to change it to 50 yuan and 10 electronic watches - although this thing is a fake, it will work fine after installing batteries for a while. You see..."

"Okay." Li Long felt quite satisfied. This thing couldn't be used as the watch he wore, but it was still a good toy to give to someone.

Officer Guo finished explaining the matter and stood up to leave. Li Long originally wanted to give him some Codonopsis pilosula, but Officer Guo refused to accept it, so Li Long did not force him, as he knew it would still have an impact.

Seeing that it was still early, Li Long went out to get a haircut. When he came back, he took most of the Codonopsis pilosula to the purchasing station.

Chen Hongjun was not there. A female buyer was at the counter. When she saw Li Long coming over, she smiled and said:
"Xiao Li is here. What good stuff did he bring this time?"

Li Long remembered that this person had worked at the counter with Chen Hongjun, so he smiled and said:
"Big sister, I got some Codonopsis this time, please take a look."

"Okay." The older sister brought a large flat-bottomed bamboo basket, waited for Li Long to pour the codonopsis on it, and exclaimed:
"Wow, such a big Codonopsis! It's rare to see so many..."

Of the Codonopsis pilosula that Li Long dug, almost none were less than half a meter long, and all were large. Of course, he kept the largest ones at home. Although this thing is not as big as ginseng, it is rare to grow so big, so naturally he had to keep some for his own use.

"There are a lot of these in the mountains, but few people are digging, so I dug more." These only account for one third. Li Long kept another third, and the remaining third was not dried in the wooden house yet.

"Not bad, not bad." The woman had rarely seen so many large codonopsis pilosula, and was really surprised. She quickly calmed down, looked at these codonopsis pilosula one by one, and said:

"Comrade Xiao Li, the Codonopsis you brought is large, complete, and of good quality. It exceeds the standard of first-class products. I will charge you eighteen yuan per kilogram based on the current price."

Li Long remembered that Chen Hongjun had said that the price of dried Codonopsis pilosula in autumn was about 12 yuan. Now he was offering 18 yuan, which must have increased in price. Of course, it could also be because the Codonopsis pilosula he brought was of good quality.

"Okay." Li Long said with a smile, "Weigh it."

"Okay." The woman didn't expect Li Long to agree so readily. She immediately took out the scale, put a few Codonopsis pilosula on it and weighed them, then added up the numbers.

"The total is 37 kilograms and 200 grams - 669.60 yuan. Come, I'll give you a receipt."

One third is more than 600 yuan, so the total is nearly 2,000 yuan.

The income from ten days is better than selling fish.

Li Long thought that he could go into the mountains to dig again after two days of rest. There were fewer party parameters near the wooden house, but he could go to the Big and Small Poplar Valley.

Li Long was thinking about it and waited for the middle-aged lady to issue the ticket, take out the money, and let Li Long sign and pay the bill. Li Long happily took the money and left.

He returned to the compound, took out six more roots of Codonopsis pilosula, wrapped them in cloth, and took them to the supply and marketing cooperative.

The security guard was replaced. Uncle Li was not there, and the original security guard was not there either. Fortunately, Li Long had a certificate, and after showing it to the security guard, he was able to enter the gate smoothly.

Li Xiangqian was reading a newspaper in the office. When he saw Li Long come in, he put down the newspaper and said with some complaints:

"Where have you been? I called your team but you didn't answer..."

"I'm going into the mountains." Li Long opened the bag, spread out the six stalks of Codonopsis pilosula and said, "Section Chief, take a look at this Codonopsis pilosula. How is it? Is it big?"

Two of the codonopsis pilosula picked for Li Xiangqian were in human shape, with branches and forks, and the remaining six were common ones, like sticks, but all looked thick and big. "Is this codonopsis pilosula?" Li Xiangqian was a little confused, "Don't fool me. My mother also picks codonopsis pilosula to stew chicken, how can it be so big?"

"Haha, Chief, I see you don't know either - this is the Codonopsis pilosula from our Nanshan Mountain. I have been digging this in the mountains these days. This is decades old Codonopsis pilosula. It is not as good as wild ginseng, but it must be very strong in replenishing qi."

"Not bad, not bad." Li Xiangqian smiled, "Then I won't be polite." He collected the Codonopsis pilosula and said in a softer tone, "Recently, the task of collecting reed stems has come. It has been several days, and I was anxious to find you but couldn't find you. This task is also quite important, so I gave some to another person. That person is probably already starting to collect in your team."

Li Long could tell that Li Xiangqian was holding back, so he asked with a smile:
"How much work have you left for me, Chief?"

"This batch contains 10,000 reeds. Originally, there were 20,000, but 10,000 were taken by others. They may have already started making them - the quality must be high, so there should be a second batch, but it is not clear how many there will be in the second batch. It probably depends on the quality of the first batch."

"Okay, 10,000 will do." Li Long nodded. "What specifications do you want?"

"Have you ever hit reeds?" Li Xiangqian asked first without answering directly.

"Of course I have. You know the section chief of our team," Li Long picked up the thermos on the table and poured tea into Li Xiangqian's cup. He then found a cup and poured himself some. He took a sip and said:
"I have done everything from cutting reeds, pulling reeds, chopping heads, and pressing handles."

Although Li Long was "spoiled" in the Li family during the first two years, he still knew the basic procedures. He could not do it for long, but he could do a little.

"Since you know that, that's good. The size of the reed bundle is ten, tied three times with thin iron wire. I think you should have the tools to hold the bundle down. The length of the reed bundle should be no less than two and a half meters. It can be longer, but since they require two and a half meters, then let's do it this way... The reeds in the reed bundle cannot be thin. If they are hairy, the quality will be poor."

"How much is one handful?"

"Because it requires thin wire and special tools, and considering that you also need to pull out the reeds, a bunch costs 20 cents."

Li Long did some calculations. Before he joined the factory last year, the team was selling reeds, and the price of a reed handle was about the same as this one, 10 cents each. Now the price has doubled. One reason is that the demand has increased, and the other reason is that the economy is being revitalized. The previous price reduction can no longer be suppressed. With competition, the price has naturally risen.

Thinking about the reed ditch and reed lake on both sides of the team, there are also many reeds in the small lake, and there are some reed ponds on the large lake. The number of reeds must be enough, so he said to Li Xiangqian:
"Captain, this price is fine. How long will it take to deliver?"

"Ten thousand reeds. The original time is one month, but several days have passed now." Li Xiangqian calculated, "You have about twenty-five days. Can you finish it?"

"Absolutely no problem, maybe there will be more deliveries."

"Okay, I'll leave this matter to you. I'll come over to collect the goods, and you can't embarrass me."

"Don't worry, Section Chief. I'll go back right away... No, I have to go to the supply and marketing cooperative first to buy 20 kilograms of thin wire."

"Well, that's good, you have an idea. Go back and check on the boss. After all, the person who took the job is from your village too, be careful of the competition."

Li Long's heart sank slightly. If there really was competition, it would be difficult to deal with.

The only place with the richest reed resources is a village below Dahaizi, besides my team. There are some reed ponds nearby, and a junior high school student in that team even wrote an essay titled "I Love the Reeds in My Hometown".

However, the amount of reeds over there is not as much as here, so if that person is from the local area, he is probably already looking for someone in the team to cut the reeds.

I am facing a strong enemy!

After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, Li Long went to the store and bought 20 kilograms of thin iron wire and put it on the back seat of his bicycle. After thinking for a while, he spent money to buy 50 pairs of white wire gloves. Cutting reeds mainly depends on physical strength, but pulling reeds requires gloves, otherwise the hands will be useless.

He hasn't earned any money yet, but he has already spent dozens of dollars. However, Li Long doesn't feel bad about it. If you want to do your work well, you must first sharpen your tools.

He turned to the big meat canteen, bought ten big meat buns and returned to the compound. It was already noon, and Gu Xiaoxia and Li Long entered the door one after the other.

"You're back?" Gu Xiaoxia was quite surprised. "Did you get a haircut? You look quite energetic."

"Yes, but we have to go back to the team right away. We have a lot of work to do." Li Long parked the car, raised the buns in his hand and said, "Don't cook for lunch. Let's eat buns."

"Okay. What's so urgent in the team?" Gu Xiaoxia asked while preparing the ingredients in the kitchen.

"I've received a job of pressing reed stalks from the supply and marketing cooperative, and someone else in the village has also taken it. I have to go back and check the situation. If everyone in the team has taken the job, I'll have to find a new way."

"I heard that the team really accepted it." Gu Xiaoxia was a little worried. "The last time I went back, my dad said that the village chief had called the villagers' group to discuss it. This matter... is quite troublesome, right?"

"It's not a big deal, actually. Think about it. There are so many reeds around our team, how can we handle them all? Maybe there will be some left over at the end. More work for the team means more money, which is a good thing."

"Yeah." Seeing Li Long's confidence, Gu Xiaoxia felt relieved. She placed the prepared sauce in front of herself and Li Long, and the two began to eat the buns.

The meat buns in the big meat canteen were still delicious, but Li Long was thinking about something else, so he ate very quickly, finishing a bun in two or three bites. Gu Xiaoxia hurriedly poured hot water, added cold boiled water, mixed it into warm water and placed it next to Li Long.

Li Long smiled at her, picked up the bowl and took a sip.

After eating, Li Long hurriedly rode his bike to the team.

He still doesn't know what the team has left for him. (End of this chapter)