Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

It is easier to work with more people. Before noon, the tempting aroma had already filled the yard.

The two pigs and their offal had been cleaned up. There were not many people in the yard. Occasionally, someone's dog would come running over smelling the fishy smell. Also, outside the yard, Li Qiang and a group of friends were kicking the pigs' bladders tirelessly without fear of the cold.

This thing is inflated at first, and it is still soft after being tied tightly. After freezing for a while, the outer leather becomes hard, just like a football, so children like it very much. Although there is no method to kick it, it is extremely fun.

Li Long watched the children playing football outside the yard, and thought of a period when Chinese football was actually quite strong. At that time, all the township middle schools had football teams, and the county held a middle school football competition every year. Two years later, there would be a special Wei School and Harbin School. At one time, Wei School and Harbin School won the championship and runner-up in football.

When did football cease to be allowed in schools?
Putting this thought aside, Li Long turned and went into the house.

The dishes had not yet been served, but in the two rooms on both sides, the men were already drinking and playing cards, and some of them had red faces.

The whole room was filled with the aroma of pickled cabbage and stewed meat. Li Long heard the woman inside vaguely saying:

"This time we are going to spend a lot of money. These two pieces of pork shanks must weigh about 7 or 8 kilograms today, right? Plus the offal, how much does it cost..."

"That's okay, as long as everyone eats well. We've been busy for a year, how can we not have a good meal at the end?" Liang Yuemei's proud voice came out.

Then the women asked Gu Xiaoxia about her work, and some even asked her where she bought her clothes. The bolder ones asked when she and Li Long were going to get married, which made Gu Xiaoxia unable to resist.

Liang Yuemei came to the rescue and said:

"Xiaoxia, you are at work, don't stay in the kitchen, we are here, go outside and let Xiaolong take you around. It's not good to have these smells on your body, and you have to go to the county in the afternoon..."

"That's right." Mrs. Lu also chimed in, "Xiaoxia, you go out first. We'll be here. Don't be polite to your sister-in-law. People of your own can do whatever they want... I'll call you when the meal is ready!"

Then Li Long watched Gu Xiaoxia walk out of the kitchen, lifting the curtain. The two looked at each other and then smiled.

"Let's go to the east room." Li Long said, turning around and walking forward. "It's quieter over there."

There were many people. There were women in the kitchen, men playing cards in the west room and the spare room that had been cleaned up temporarily, and people were sitting on the beds. Some people went to the Lu family across the street. The children were outside, and only the door to the east room was not open.

Li Long had the key to the east room, so he took Gu Xiaoxia into the east room. After Li Qingxia and his wife left, the room was cleaned up very well, and Li Long would occasionally stay there, but most of the time he stayed in the old horse room.

The stove was also set up here today, but after it was set up, the door was locked early in the morning. Now it is very warm inside.

"Are you feeling a bit uncomfortable?" Li Long waited for Gu Xiaoxia to sit down, then he went to the stove and used a hook to light the fire. While cleaning up the ashes, he asked, "It's been a while since you've felt such a lively scene, right?"

"Yes, that's right." Gu Xiaoxia nodded. She was already able to get along comfortably with Li Long. She sat on the bed, leaning her back slightly against the quilt, and said:

"Well, I work in the company and with the deputy director here, everyone is polite to me. But after all, I am seconded here, so I have to do a lot of miscellaneous tasks. Fortunately, I have special skills, so some people won't go too far."

"But after all, you came from the countryside. I think there will be some people who would show off their sense of superiority in front of you, right?" Li Long asked.

"Huh? How did you know?" Gu Xiaoxia was a little surprised.

"Haha, just tell me whether you have it or not."

"Yes, there are, but to be honest, I really don't care. I come from a peasant family, and I don't hide anything." Gu Xiaoxia is in a good mood now, but Li Long guessed that she must have gone through a period of psychological construction to be like this now.

"Well, it's good to have a peaceful mentality. It's great to be able to move up the social ladder through your own efforts." Li Long said with a smile, "In this respect, you are better than them. You have gone from the village to the township and now to the county, but they can only stay in the county, which shows that you are much better than them."

"Hehe, you speak so nicely." Gu Xiaoxia became lively, "You speak even nicer than our deputy director. Our deputy director said that they look at you differently because you are so outstanding, so you should show them your excellence."

"That's right. Let them feel ashamed of themselves in this regard." Li Long nodded. "Your deputy director is right."

"Oh, you still feel ashamed of yourself? Not bad!" Gu Xiaoxia was a little surprised, "I think your academic qualifications..."

"I'm also reading and studying every day, okay?" Li Long stood up and sat on the edge of the bed, a fist away from Gu Xiaoxia, and turned his head to ask him:

"Just now, the sister-in-law asked you about our marriage. What do you think?"

"Me?" Gu Xiaoxia lowered her head shyly, then looked at Li Long:
"What about you? What do you think?"

"I think, in the early spring of next year, when I have some free time, I will find someone to build houses in the village first. I don't know when you can be transferred to the Education Bureau. But whether you are transferred or not, I think we should get it done next year."

"Well, okay. I think by the end of this year or early next year, whether I can enter the Education Bureau will basically be decided."

"Are you sure?" Li Long held Gu Xiaoxia's hand, "Can we go in?"

"We have a good chance of success." Gu Xiaoxia did not reject Li Long's close contact. She just blushed and continued, "There are a lot of things to do in the Education Bureau right now. The year-end summary is coming soon. I heard that they are going to expand the establishment and increase the number of staff. If they increase the number of staff, those of us who are seconded will definitely be considered first."

"That's good. Are there many people on secondment?"

"Not many, two."

The two chatted for less than half an hour when they heard someone outside shouting:

"Dinner is ready, come inside!"

Hearing that the voice was calling the child, Li Long reluctantly let go of his arm around Gu Xiaoxia's waist and said:

"Let's go and have some pig-killing dishes. They are the best today. Bring some with you when you leave later and heat them up when you get home."

"Yeah." Gu Xiaoxia did not refuse. Since she came here today, she had felt the attitude of Li Jianguo and his wife, including Li Juan and Li Qiang, towards her. It was the feeling of really treating them as their own family - not as their own family who they could order around to do things, but as their own family who would not hide anything and would share any good things with them.

When the two came out of the east room, Mrs. Lu and another sister-in-law were carrying dishes out. Seeing Li Long, they hurriedly said:
"Xiaolong, come in quickly. The banquet is about to start."

"Sister Lu, this time we have caused trouble for your family as well." Li Long said with a smile.

"What's the problem?" Mrs. Lu smiled, "I'm so happy. It's the end of the year. When will it be so lively?" Because there were so many people, the Lu family also had a banquet. After the waiter left, Chen Xingbang followed with the wine. When he saw Li Long, he raised the bottle of wine:
"I'll go over there and greet them. Your eldest brother said you don't drink much, but you still need to practice."

"Haha, brother-in-law, you have to be busy today. Some of the people over there can drink quite a lot." Li Long said to Chen Xingbang before entering the house.

"Then let's have a try." Chen Xingbang was not afraid at all at this time. Li Junshan also followed him.

There was a table in the west room, a table in the kitchen, and another table in the spare room, so there were four tables for adults and children. The children's table had already started eating. Li Jianguo was the host in the west room, and the wine bottle had already been opened.

"Xiaolong is here? Come on, sit down quickly and get a cup for Xiaolong..." Wang Caimi spoke loudly, his face was already red, and it was obvious that he had drunk a lot of wine playing cards before eating.

"I won't drink today, Brother Wang, you guys drink, don't pretend." Li Long squeezed out a seat and sat down, "If you want to drink, there are people to drink with you."

When the big white steamed buns were served, everyone started to eat with their chopsticks. Li Long habitually ate the pickled cabbage first, but everyone went for the big fat slices of meat, eating the steamed bun in their left hand and the fat slices in their right hand without hesitation.

The meat was stewed for a long time, and it was not greasy at all when eaten, but only fragrant. There were four dishes on the table, and everyone's chopsticks were mostly directed towards the sauerkraut stewed meat, as if this was the only dish that could satisfy their appetite.

This is indeed the case.

Li Long tasted all the dishes with a smile. He had to say that these were the most delicious dishes made with the best ingredients and the most basic cooking techniques.

"Come on, make way. I'll add some vegetables." Liang Yuemei came over with a pot of vegetables and scooped two large spoonfuls into the sauerkraut pot. After adding them, she said, "There are a lot of vegetables stewed today. You can eat as much as you want!"

This kind of heroic spirit immediately attracted cheers from the people at the table.

On average, each person ate one steamed bun, and then the movement slowed down. Li Jianguo also took this opportunity to start a drinking game and pass the level.

Li Long has lived two lives, but he has never been good at finger-guessing.

The rules are known. If the sum of the number I shout and the number you shout is the number I point with my fingers, then I win, otherwise you win.

But he couldn't understand how could he react so quickly when speaking at such a fast speed?
Li Jianguo is an expert in this area, because from a few years ago until his death in an accident, almost everyone in the village was convinced by the game of finger-guessing.

As a wine commander, if you want to manage the wine bottles well, you must play the first round. To play the first round, those who are a little older know that it means going through the whole table one by one, and those who know how to play finger-guessing, and those who don't know how to play three. Usually at this time, those who can be a wine commander must not only be good at playing finger-guessing, but also have a good alcohol tolerance and high emotional intelligence.

After all, not everyone will follow the rules. There will be those who refuse to fight, those who get drunk, and those who don't want to drink.

At this time, it depends on the ability of the wine commander.

Sitting next to Li Jianguo was Wang Caimi, who Li Long felt was more talkative today. Li Jianguo smiled and started a finger-guessing game with Wang Caimi.

"No, no, I didn't hear that..." Wang Caimi must have drunk a little bit of wine today, and he lost the first punch. He felt embarrassed and yelled.

"Okay, then let's not count the first punch and start over, how about that?" Li Jianguo said with a smile, "We can't ignore the second punch, come on, Gaosheng..."

The first sentence of the game of finger-guessing here is "Gao Sheng", for good luck, and then it's time to throw punches. Before three punches, Wang Caimi lost again.

There was no way to deny this. Wang Caimi hesitated when he raised his cup, so Li Jianguo also raised his cup:

"Come on, how about I accompany you? You are the main force today, you have to bear the brunt of the work! Come on, do it!"

"Come on, come on!" Wang Caimi was so proud of himself that he simply drank the wine.

Continue to the next one.

Li Long looked at it and sighed, it was really all about personal relationships at the dinner table.

Some people play finger-guessing in a gentle and soft voice, some play with great vigor, some sit firmly on the Diaoyutai, and some just play randomly - they don't understand what they are doing themselves, and they should be considered beginners.

It actually added a lot of fun to everyone.

When Li Jianguo finished a level, two people were already drunk and were helped to lie down on the bed.

Li Long clinked glasses with Li Jianguo and drank twice. He was not good at finger-guessing games, so he simply admitted defeat.

At this time, Li Jianguo remained calm and looked normal. Li Long really admired his elder brother for his excellent alcohol tolerance.

There was also a noise coming from the idle house. Li Jianguo glanced at Li Long, who had already stood up and walked over.

"There's a little dragon over there, just ignore it and continue. I've finished the game, who wants to come for another round?"

The game of clearing a level usually starts with the Wine Commander. If anyone is not happy with it after the game is over, they can ask the Wine Commander for another round. Of course, they can also compete individually.

Li Long went to the empty room and saw Li Anguo arguing with another person in the team. Both of them were red in the face and thick in the neck. After listening for a while, Li Long understood. It turned out that the two sides had a misunderstanding because of the different words shouted by the people on the other side.

"No, no, no, this is a simple matter." Li Long took a glass and poured wine:
"There's no right or wrong in this matter. The rules there are different from here. My second brother has only been here for a short time, so we just met. Come, let's have a drink and let this matter pass. We're not strangers, so don't hurt the relationship."

Li Long spoke, and Li Anguo naturally had nothing to say. The man wanted to say something, but the others at the table immediately pushed him back:
"Xiaolong has given you enough respect, drink it quickly! Stop wasting time here!"

Taking advantage of this, the man drank the wine.

Li Long smiled and said:
"Okay, everyone, eat and drink well, but don't ruin the harmony. There's plenty of wine and food today, so don't rush, take your time."

"See, Xiaolong is still good at talking. People who venture out here are really different."

When Li Long turned around and listened to other people's comments about him, he felt a little amused. These people really treat people differently based on their appearance. (End of this chapter)