Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

"Comrade Xiao Li, it's really right to entrust this job to you. I originally thought that since this is the second time I've taken this job, it's colder now and the reeds are not as easy to harvest as before, so the quality might be lower. I didn't expect that the quality of the more than 7,000 reeds I received today is still as good as before!"

Chen Zhenming said this when he was having dinner with Li Long in the afternoon.

They were originally planning to have lunch together, but Chen Zhenming meant to check all the reeds and load them onto the truck before eating, otherwise he would not feel at ease.

Li Long naturally knew what Chen Zhenming meant. After the inspection, it would be difficult to do anything else. The unqualified ones were directly picked out, and the qualified ones were taken away. When eating, there was no need to watch it all the time, which was so obvious.

Of the seven thousand reeds taken away, less than twenty were unqualified, which was already very good.

After issuing a ticket to Li Long and paying 1,400 yuan, Chen Zhenming left with the second bus and said:

"I'll be here early the day after tomorrow, just get ready."

Chen Xingbang, who was smoking reed in the yard, looked at the thick stack of money in Li Long's hand and was extremely envious. However, he also understood that if he wanted to reach Li Long's level, he would need to work hard. At least he had to have a considerable network of contacts and accumulation to get such a job.

Now just work hard. At least his brother-in-law is really willing to pay him. In just these three days, he has earned nearly ten dollars.

Ten yuan! In the past, even if you worked in the village for a year, you might not be able to earn ten yuan by the end of the year.

Although these three days were tiring, it really felt like a dream!
Not only him, but also Li Junfeng and Li Junshan, who slept on the same bed at night, talked about their feelings in the past few days, except for Li Anguo who was less talkative. Li Junfeng was already thinking about buying a bicycle when he could earn enough money to buy one, and riding it around the village like his third grandfather.

"No, I won't. I have to build a house when I make enough money." Li Junshan also expressed his thoughts, "I'll ask a matchmaker to find a wife for me. My parents said that I should get married soon so that they can have grandchildren sooner."

"Hahahaha, Junshan, you have a good idea." Chen Xingbang leaned on the quilt and said with a smile, "It's true."

The fire was burning brightly, and the room was warm. Li Long had just come in to remind them to be careful with the gas. They also knew that it was poisonous, so there was a hole on the door for ventilation.

"I'm telling the truth." Li Junshan didn't get angry, but smiled and said, "Now I know why Third Grandpa can do so many things when he goes back home. This money is really easy to make!"

"Then you can settle down here in the future." Li Junfeng joked, "Life here is better than in my hometown. I can eat meat every day and white flour at least once a day. The landlords in my hometown didn't eat like this before."

Li Junshan didn't respond.

Li Junfeng was originally joking, but after he finished speaking, he was stunned. This is not impossible.

"I just don't know if it's going to be troublesome to settle down." Li Anguo suddenly spoke up, "I heard from my elder brother that the land in the team has been distributed here. What should I do if I don't get land when I settle down?"

"Brother, you don't really want to settle down here, do you?" Chen Xingbang was shocked. "This place is far from my hometown. You also said when you got off the train that this place is deserted and far worse than my hometown."

"But life here is much better than back home. I've seen that people here don't have as many messy things as back home. There aren't many people, and there aren't many things to do. Everyone is busy making money, and you can see how well Xiaolong has connections here..."

Li Anguo seemed to have really made up his mind and said, "If we can really settle down, then at least we won't have to worry about whether we can have enough to eat. You have seen how I make money. Although Xiaolong treats me the same way as others, the money he gives me is really generous..."

No one else spoke.

To be honest, the money in your pocket cannot be faked.

In the past, they had followed other relatives out to work, and many of them made big promises, but when it came time to pay, few were as forthcoming as Li Long.

Although people would say in private that Li Long was not very kind, he was a relative after all.

But when I really received the money from Li Long every day, I couldn't hide my joy.

Come to think of it, the meals they eat every day, the place they live in, the stove they use, Li Long really didn't treat them badly.

In the summer when there is no farming, I followed other people in the village to go out to work. What did I eat? It was not even as good as the pig food that Uncle Luo cooks now!

The truth!

The room was silent, and then I heard Li Long talking outside with a flashlight.

Someone must have come to give me some reeds again.

"Uncle Xiaolong has a hard time too." Li Junshan got up and said, "I'll go and give him a hand."

"What can you do? Xiaolong doesn't let me check it." Chen Xingbang didn't want to move.

"If you don't want to inspect, then we can help move the reeds to the stack." Li Junshan smiled and walked to the door. "It's time to get off work, and we are all relatives."

He went out, and Li Junfeng followed him out, followed by Li Anguo, and finally Chen Xingbang sighed and went out. You can't be the bad guy yourself.

Li Long is now receiving the reed handles sent by Lu Yingming's family, and later there will be ones sent by Gu Boyuan.

The Lu family sent more, with nearly a hundred in one car, while Gu Boyuan sent fewer, about forty.

"Brother Lu, Uncle Gu, why are you here so late?" Li Long joked, "I didn't even plan to open the door."

"It's okay if you don't open the door for me. If you don't open the door for your uncle Gu, aren't you afraid that Xiaoxia won't open the door for you in the future?" Lu Yingming joked, "Check quickly and see if there are any that are unqualified. I'll take them out myself. I have to go back after I'm done. My pants are all wet."

Gu Boyuan didn't say anything. When there were many people around, he was quite careful about the impact.

After the inspection, there were two unqualified ones on Lu Yingming's side, but none on Gu Boyuan's side.

"Old Gu, you really take good care of Xiaolong. There is not a single unqualified one. Are you trying to provoke me?" Lu Yingming took the money handed over by Li Long and said with a smile, "I will have to learn from you in the future. I still have to save face!"

"Brother Lu, this is already very good, just two." Li Long smiled and handed the money to Gu Boyuan again. In front of outsiders, the money should be given openly. Gu Boyuan didn't say anything, took the money and said:
"Go to bed early." Then he pulled the cart away.

After Li Anguo and others helped to move the reed bundles to the pile and stacked them, he asked:
"Xiaolong, what did that Lu guy mean? Is that Xiaoxia...?"

"It's my girlfriend." Li Long said with a smile, "She's working in the county now. When she comes back in a few days, I'll bring her to you, my second brother, to meet her."

"Oh, she's still working for the government." Chen Xingbang was a little surprised, "Is her father also on this team?"

"Yes. She and my eldest brother have known each other for a long time. Xiaoxia was also on the team and passed the exam to become a teacher at the beginning of this year." Li Long briefly introduced her and then said:

"Okay, come inside, it's cold outside, don't catch a cold."

Li Anguo and his friends came into the room, and the focus of their conversation was Gu Xiaoxia. Li Junfeng and Li Junshan were full of envy.

Chen Xingbang and Li Anguo thought more about it. After all, Li Long was a family member, so shouldn't they think more about it?
"People who eat commercial grains may not be safe unless they are from the production team." Chen Xingbang said his thoughts, "Just now I saw that Gu... the girl's father, he looks like an intellectual. People like them have many ideas."

"Didn't you hear that the girl's father has a good relationship with my eldest brother, so there shouldn't be any problem." Li Anguo didn't want to discuss this any more and changed the subject. "At this rate, this job will be finished in ten days. We can earn dozens of yuan, which is equivalent to a month's salary as a skilled worker. But I don't know what Xiaolong will plan for next..."

"We'll have to ask Xiaolong about that," Chen Xingbang said. "He said he would take us fishing. I don't know how much money we can make from selling fish in a day... or whether it can compare to what we can make from collecting reeds."

"It won't take long to catch fish, right?" Li Junfeng now has a real feeling about the climate here. "After a while, the ice on the water outside will be thick. How can we catch fish? We have to wait until next year, right?"

"I heard from your third grandfather that Xiaolong went fishing before the Chinese New Year last year by breaking holes in the ice." Li Anguo thought for a moment and said, "Will he let us do the same thing then?"

"We'll see." Chen Xingbang shook his head. "I think Xiaolong should be able to find a way. Now I'm thinking that after I finish the work, I'll go to the county town when I have time. I'll buy some things when I have money and send some money home."

Although Chen Xingbang was a little clever, he was still very good to his family. When he made money, he first thought about sending some back home. After all, he had to scrape together the money for the transportation and other expenses when he came here, and his father-in-law also supported him a little. But because of his coming here, life at home became more difficult. Now that he has made money, he naturally wants to make life better for his family.

"Yes, that's right. We have to tell our family. We didn't even report to them after we got off the train." Li Anguo also thought of this matter. "I'll talk to Xiaolong tomorrow and ask him to send a telegram back first."

"Yes, this matter is more important." Chen Xingbang said with certainty.

The voices in the room gradually died down. The men from the neighboring families, Han Benzhong and Zhang Laoshi, had already started talking. They worked very hard and planned to earn more money this time. But the reality was a bit cruel. The whole village was cutting reeds. Although they cut a lot of reeds every day, they could clearly feel that this job would not last long.

Then you just have to work hard every day.

The next morning, Li Anguo told him about the telegram.

"Don't worry, brother. The telegram has been sent back." Li Long said with a smile, "The day after you came here, Xiaoxia came back and I asked her to help send the telegram."

"That's good, that's good." Li Anguo felt relieved.

"Uncle Xiaolong, now that we've finished with the reed bundles, what should we do next?" Li Junfeng couldn't keep the secret and asked again.

"Later? Don't worry, there will be more money-making jobs later." Li Long knew what they were thinking and said with a smile, "As long as you are willing to work hard, you can earn more money later than now!"

"Really?"

"Really!" (End of Chapter)