Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

The village was peaceful. When the coal was burning, there was hardly any smoke. Occasionally, the barking of a dog from one or two families would break the silence, and then everything would return to peace.

When Li Long arrived at the Old Horse House in a carriage, the sun was already setting and he could hear the grunting of wild boars in the yard.

It's time to kill two more of these guys.

I really didn't gain any weight this winter, what a waste of food.

The carriage was parked in the yard, and Uncle Luo came out. Seeing Li Long, he smiled and said:
"Xiaolong is back. Your second brother and his friends went to your eldest brother's place."

"Well, Uncle Luo, you have nothing to do these days, right?"

"Nothing, I just heard that the team is going to have militia training in the next few days. Your second brother and the others were still talking about it yesterday. I don't know if you can catch up with this training."

"I have to participate in this. We have guns, and this is the only time we can get some bullets." Li Long said with a smile, "I also want to hunt in winter to get more."

"That's not easy. Just tell the soldiers to keep some." Uncle Luo had been to the battlefield and later held a gun after the village was built. People of their generation, including Li Jianguo, had no fear of guns and bullets. They had handled them often before, even detonators and explosives, so they were not surprised.

Think about the strictest gun ban laws issued by the country in the 1990s. At that time, we could even get a big gun like the Maxim. Just think about how terrifying civilian forces were.

Finding Xu Chengjun was also an option. After all, he had done so many things for the team, so it shouldn't be a problem to ask him to get some bullets, right?
Since the second brother and the others were all there, Li Long said to Uncle Luo:

"Uncle Luo, I'll go to my eldest brother first. I have something to discuss with them."

"Go ahead," said Old Uncle Luo with a smile, "It's more lively with more people. Your relatives are having a great time at night. This old horse house hasn't been this lively for some years."

Li Long smiled and drove the carriage towards Li's house.

On the way, I met Yang Yongqiang. He was also very happy to see Li Long and asked with a smile:

"Brother Long is back? Have you finished your work in the county?"

"Well, we have to pull the fish over there. Do you want to participate in the militia training?"

"Yes," Yang Yongqiang nodded, "I want to get some more bullets for you."

It's quite good. Li Long thought about it and said:

"After the militia training is finished, you can follow me to Shicheng to sell fish. You can get commissions when the fish are sold, so you can earn some pocket money in the winter. It's just that you have to walk back and forth, which is a bit tiring."

"I'm not afraid of being tired!" Yang Yongqiang waved his hands hurriedly, saying excitedly, "No, no, no!"

"Okay then, I'll call you then."

Li Long thought that during the period when he participated in the militia training, his second brother and his friends could only sell half of the fish they sold in Shicheng. They would have to continue selling for quite a long time.

Li Long thought that he would not participate at that time, so he let his second brother take charge and went to the mountains to hunt.

He has already made plans. Those who go to sell fish will sell them in Shicheng. Each person will set up a stall and sell fish from the carriage. A bag of fish only needs to be paid 30 yuan to Li Long. The stall owners set their own prices. The average price of 80 cents is the suggested price. They can sell whatever they want.

Even if a person only sells one bag of fish a day, he can still earn ten or eight yuan a day, which is very good.

Although it is tiring to go back and forth, it is really worthwhile in this era. If you can't endure hardship and still want to make money, then you can only dream.

After making an appointment with Yang Yongqiang, Li Long drove the carriage back to the Li family.

The noisy sounds of people in the house can be heard from the yard. Li Juan and Li Qiang are still in school, otherwise there might not be enough room in the west room.

Hearing the sound of the carriage, people from the inner room came out, first of all Li Junshan. When he saw Li Long, he immediately smiled foolishly:
"Uncle Xiaolong is back... Come on, I'll unload the carriage, you go inside and have a rest."

Li Junfeng at the back also helped unload the carriage. Li Long threw the reins to them and went into the house.

Li Anguo and Chen Xingbang saw Li Long coming in and said with a smile:
"Xiaolong, we were just talking about you."

"Just guess when you'll be back."

Li Jianguo also smiled and said:
"Are we going into the mountains again this time?"

"Well, I went into the mountains and delivered some supplies to my friend." Li Long said, "The conditions in the mountains are better this year than in previous years. I plan to live in the mountains for a while and go hunting."

"That fish..." Li Jianguo was a little surprised.

"That's easy." Li Long said his thoughts while taking off his coat, "I heard from Uncle Luo that the team will have militia training in a few days. We will definitely participate, and I'm also thinking about getting more bullets."

Several people in the room were listening, including Liang Yuemei. They also knew that Li Long had something to say next.

"When the time comes, my second brother will take my brother-in-law, Junshan and Junfeng, and drive a cart to Shicheng. We will load a cart with fish and sell them at separate stalls. Actually, if you have nothing to do, you can go too. If you want to go, I'll leave the stall to you. Anyway, you won't participate in the militia training..."

Li Long suddenly felt that it was actually his eldest brother Li Jianguo who was the best person to take the lead.

"What do we do then?" Li Jianguo didn't say whether he agreed or not, and continued to ask.

He was actually asking on behalf of others.

At this time, Li Junshan and Li Junfeng also walked in. When they heard what Li Jianguo said, they both stood at the door of the inner room.

"It's easy to calculate. A bag of fish weighs about 40 to 50 kilograms. Let's use the average price of 80 cents, and a bag of fish can be sold for 35 to 40 yuan. I charge 28 yuan as the cost, and the rest is for the vendors."

Facing these close relatives, Li Long was not shy about talking about money. Brothers should settle accounts openly. Unlike Li Jianguo, Li Long hoped to give more money to his eldest brother's family to pay off the debts of his previous life and his own debts of the past seven or eight years. As for others, even his second brother, Li Long could treat them rationally and at most give more money privately.

"Are there just a few of us? Can we sell it?" Li Jianguo continued to ask.

In fact, he was asking on behalf of Li Anguo and the others, and he knew it was not easy for them to ask.

"During the militia training, it was just my second brother, my brother-in-law, Junshan and Junfeng. After the training, Daqiang and Yongqiang will be added. I want to go into the mountains, so I won't participate."

"I don't know whether the fish will be easy to sell or not..." Chen Xingbang was a little worried.

Li Anguo said nothing and looked at Li Long. The same was true for Li Junfeng and Li Junshan.

"I pulled a cart of ten bags of fish to sell in Shicheng this morning." Li Long took off his clothes, pulled a stool and sat down against the fire wall and said:
"Ten bags of fish were sold out in less than three hours. The sales were slow at first. It's winter now and there aren't many people in the market because it's too early. I waited for a long-distance bus to come and shouted, and the people came over when they heard me. Our fish look beautiful, so many people want them."

When everyone present heard that Li Long sold ten bags of fish by himself in the morning, their eyes widened.

"Then your eldest brother should go too." Liang Yuemei said directly, "He's just sitting around doing nothing anyway."

"What about the pigs?" Li Jianguo was a little hesitant.

"I feed them. I can't even feed a few pigs." Liang Yuemei looked at him with a look of looking down on him. "There's nothing else to do in winter."

There really wasn't much to do in winter, and now there was a well in the yard, which saved a very heavy job. All that was left was cooking and feeding the pigs, which were really no big deal for rural women in that era.

Men can make money and have their own ways to make money, and women will not interfere but will encourage it.

"Okay, I'll go then." Li Jianguo nodded.

"That's good. Then big brother, I'll leave this matter to you." Li Long said with a smile, "In fact, the more people the better. I heard from a young man who runs a milk tea shop over there that there were still some troublemakers in the Old Street Market some time ago, and the management caught a group of them. But it is said that they were only detained for a few days and then released. If you go with more people, you can calm them down."

"Yeah." Upon hearing this, Li Jianguo's expression became serious. On the contrary, Li Junfeng said with a smile at the door, "What are you afraid of? We are all together, young and strong. With a few sticks, who are we afraid of?"

Li Long didn't say much, he knew Li Jianguo had his own way.

Li Long even thought that he could just give his 56.5mm rifle to Li Jianguo and let him hide it. Even if he didn't use it, it could still serve as a deterrent. After all, Li Jianguo had been here for many years and knew when to use a gun.

The matter was settled like that.

"We'll start from the Lao Ma Hao and pull the fish to Shicheng. We'll leave early so that the sun rises in Shicheng, and the fish will be sold quickly by then." Since Li Jianguo had decided to go, he began to plan:
"Let's give it a try tomorrow. We'll adjust if there's any problem."

Gu Xiaoxia lives alone in the big yard. Li Jianguo knows that it would be inconvenient for these people to go there, so he starts by leading them from this side.

"Then big brother, I'll give you a key to the big yard. When you're done fishing here, go over there." Li Long said, "Xiaoxia is basically at work during the day. I found her a place to eat at noon, and she doesn't go home very often."

"Okay." Li Jianguo nodded.

If you want to sell fish, you need to have some things, a beam scale for each one, which Li Long has provided. It's not expensive anyway, only a dozen yuan. Just put it away after use. If it turns out that the beam is made of red wood, then you'll still make a profit.

After that, they discussed some other things while Liang Yuemei had already prepared the meal.

Cornmeal steamed cake, fried meat with pickles, and rice porridge.

There was too much food to cook and there was no room for so many people at the table, so Li Long and Junshan and Junfeng went to eat in the vacant house.

"Uncle Xiaolong, when are you going to the mountains to hunt?" Li Junfeng was obviously very interested in hunting. "Can I go with you?"

"After our militia training is finished, let's do it before the New Year. You guys will have sold most of the fish before the New Year. There's nothing else to do. When I find a place, I'll take you to hunt wild boars." Li Long boasted, "I don't know if I can get a few more guns - by the way, have you ever shot a gun in your hometown?"

"Of course I have." Li Junfeng patted his chest, "We train every year, but to be honest, training is training, but we can't shoot accurately. We don't have much organization and training like you do here (dialect), so we have become like this in the last few years."

Li Long understood. When the time comes, just fight and let Li Junfeng and the others assist from the side. Guns are better in the hands of reliable people.

The next morning, after having breakfast as usual, Li Jianguo drove the horse-drawn carriage to the Laomahao. Li Anguo and his friends had also eaten and started moving the fish outside the yard and loading them into the carriage.

There are two rooms full of fish. Since they are kept in the house, there is no need to worry about them going bad in such a cold weather. There is no need to worry about them being eaten by rats. On the contrary, it is better to sell the fish piled outside as soon as possible.

There were still a few days left for the militia training, so today Li Long followed them to Shicheng to sell fish. He stuffed a few wooden sticks under the carriage, and when the carriage was full, Li Jianguo led the reins and walked in front, and the others followed behind.

Although Li Long had a bicycle, it was not convenient for him to ride alone among so many people, so he did not ride it. He did not bring a gun either - if six young men were together and brought guns, it would be a bit excessive.

More than an hour later, they arrived at the county. Li Long asked Li Jianguo and the others to go to Shicheng first. He took Li Junshan and Li Junfeng to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy six beam scales. He also tore a long roll of plastic cloth, divided it into six pieces, put it in a bag and carried it to catch up with the carriage quickly.

By the time the carriage arrived at Shicheng, the sun had already risen high.

There are more and more people in the old street, and it is harder to find the stalls.

"Brother, stop the carriage over there." Li Long pointed to a secluded spot near the fork in the road and said, "Let's each set up a stall. Find a place to set up the stall. The management fee here is not much, only a few cents for a stall. Yesterday I sold fish by the carriage for only one dollar, so don't evade the fee, just pay it directly. Now each of you carry a bag of fish and find a place."

Li Long went forward to find a place, but Li Jianguo waved his hand and said:

"You don't need to. I'll go and try it out today. I'm familiar with selling fish. Let them watch me."

Li Long couldn't persuade his elder brother, so he asked Li Jianguo to carry a bag of fish, a scale and a plastic sheet, and then he found an empty stall and walked over.

Let's begin. (End of this chapter)