Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

After taking the bus to the South Railway Station, Li Long took a special look at Yusup's stall and found that there was a new person there.

Yusup left?
Originally, Li Long wanted to wait until he bought something good and then come over to see what was on the other stalls. If there were any good things, he would buy some more.

Now that Yusup is not here, Li Long vaguely remembers the two stalls next door. One sold snow lotus and the other sold shoes, the kind of labor protection shoes, rubber shoes, etc.

Li Long no longer had any thoughts of going shopping, so he got out of the car with his things and walked towards the Bayi Guesthouse.

After arriving at the Bayi Guesthouse, Li Long bought a ticket back to Ma County, waited for a while, and then got on the bus.

He tied the bag of melon seeds and placed it on the luggage rack. As for the bag containing the jade, he just held it in his hand. Li Long wrapped his coat tightly and looked out through the window.

There are "short-distance" buses to several cities in northern Xinjiang. The so-called short-distance refers to those that are no more than 300 kilometers. Tickets for destinations like Huxian, Maxian, and Shicheng can be purchased here.

If you want to take a bus to further places, such as southern Xinjiang or Kouli, you have to go to Nianzigou to catch the bus.

Through the car window that has not yet frozen, you can see the people coming and going outside. There are more people here than in the old street.

The car started away quickly. After what happened on the way here, Li Long was still quite cautious, but the return journey was smooth and nothing unexpected happened.

I got off the car and carried my things back to the compound. Gu Xiaoxia had already finished get off work and was cooking.

Gu Xiaoxia was a little surprised to see Li Long come back. When he left, Li Long told her that he might stay in Wucheng for one night. She didn't expect him to come back so soon.

"I'll steam two more buns." Gu Xiaoxia said, "I didn't know you were coming back. Fortunately, I cut a lot of vegetables."

Li Long looked at the pickles that Gu Xiaoxia was cutting in the kitchen and asked:

"Why don't you add some more meat? It won't taste good with just pickles."

Gu Xiaoxia didn't say anything. Li Long guessed that she was trying to save money, so he smiled and said:

"You can eat as much meat as you want. If you don't have enough, we have wild boars at home, and I can go hunting in the mountains. We can live a good life now, so don't save it."

Gu Xiaoxia smiled.

Li Long knew that it was too late to thaw the meat, but he still asked Gu Xiaoxia to scoop more of the stewed oil, as there were some meat chunks in it, so the fried pickles would be more fragrant.

After finishing these, Li Long took the melon seeds and put them into the house. He also scattered the jades in the unused rooms. Let's keep these things for a while. We don't know when they will be useful in the future.

By the time Li Long had changed his clothes and done a quick wash, Gu Xiaoxia had prepared the meal.

"Is everything done?" At the dinner table
Because there was not much material left for No. 76, Li Long drove the carriage back to the team the next day.

Because of fishing and chasing rabbits, people can be vaguely seen moving around outside the village, and occasionally someone can be heard shouting.

Li Long laughed as he drove the carriage and heard the sound. This was the change he brought about - before him, or after him, the village was usually very quiet during the coldest and warmest days of winter. Even if someone went out, they would visit other people and rarely go out.

This situation will continue until the Chinese New Year. During those days, people will set off firecrackers, or something more powerful, and then visit relatives and friends to wish them a happy new year. Only then will the village become a little more lively.

The freezing temperature of minus thirty degrees Celsius is destined to make the villages in northern Xinjiang not as lively as the rural areas in Kouli.

But this also has its advantages. The entire village is not gathered together in the form of clans or blood relatives, and the interactions between everyone are also very appropriate. Each household comes from a different province and region, and even the customs of celebrating the New Year are not exactly the same.

In this way, you can retain some customs and remove some unnecessary customs according to your family's situation and preferences, and live more freely.

When Li Long returned to Li's house, Li Qiang was beating the old cow outside the yard. There were not only him, but also several other children. They whipped the old cow. At this time, the game had rules. Li Qiang whipped his old cow to spin very fast, and then stopped at a place of his choice. Another child whipped his old cow and made it hit Li Qiang's old cow hard. If the child could knock Li Qiang's old cow out and kill it, then the child would win. Of course, if Li Qiang won this round, then it would be Li Qiang's turn to fight back, and the rules would be the same.

Seeing Li Long leading the carriage over, several children sighed. Li Long smiled and said:
"You guys drive the old cows aside, I'll try to make sure No. 76 doesn't step on them. It depends on who's luckier. The lucky ones get to stay, but the unlucky ones can't be helped."

After hearing what Li Long said, they also showed an interested expression. Li Qiang said loudly:
"Okay, okay! Let's see who has the luck!"

Several children whipped their old cows hard, making them turn to the maximum, and then dodged.

Li Long led No. 76 past these old cows. He controlled No. 76 to avoid the old cows as much as possible. There was enough space between the two wheels of the carriage to prevent the old cows from being hit. So when Li Long passed by, except for one old cow that bumped into other old cows while rotating, then jumped out, hit the wheel and fell directly to the ground, the other old cows were still turning.

"Oh my good!" a child cheered and ran towards his old cow.

"Mine is fine too! Great! I'm so lucky!"

"Haha, my old cow turns the most steadily!" This is Li Qiang's voice.

Only one child had a sad face and shouted loudly:

"This time doesn't count, try again, try again!"

Li Long watched them arguing with a smile, and led the carriage into the yard.

"I heard some noise outside. What's going on?" Li Jianguo had already walked out of the house. Seeing Li Long leading the carriage, he asked, "Have you finished your work?"

"Qiangqiang and the others are beating Laoniu." Li Long explained, and then said:

"I've finished my work. After delivering food to the mountains, I also hunted some wild animals and sold them. Then I went to Wucheng and bought some melon seeds." Li Long did not mention the bear hunting incident.

In fact, he really wanted to say it. After all, beating a bear is really a very cool thing, and it can be boasted about for a lifetime - some people may never have close contact with a bear in their entire life, let alone beating one.

But Li Long finally decided not to tell him. If he told him, it was very likely that his elder brother would not let him go hunting in the mountains again. When he had killed a wolf before, Li Jianguo had already felt that it was very dangerous. If Li Long did not have five or six half pieces in his hand, Li Jianguo would not allow him to go into the mountains.

Now there is a bear again, so Li Jianguo will definitely not let Li Long go into the mountains.

Li Long has no plans to stop hunting yet, he thinks it is good to go into the mountains from time to time. After all, he can quickly get meat in the mountains and earn a lot of money.

"You brought back some watermelon seeds?" Li Jianguo was curious when he heard about the watermelon seeds. "How much did you bring back? Where did you get it?"

"We went to Wucheng and got more than 20 kilograms. We met an expert there." Li Long and Li Jianguo unloaded the carriage together, saying as they unloaded:
"He was a professor at the Bayi Agricultural College. He said that we need to use two kilograms of seeds for one mu of land, and plant three to five seedlings in one pit. When the seedlings have three to five leaves, we can thin them out and set the seedlings... Anyway, he said a lot, and I wrote most of it down."

"Wait until I put down No. 76, and then we'll talk about it in detail." Li Jianguo was also very happy and curious. He said, "If it can really be grown, and there are people who recycle it, then let's grow it!"

You can't get rich just by growing crops, at least if you have little land. This is something everyone has already seen clearly.

But before the land was divided last year, almost all farmers wanted to eat well. With the land area and output in northern Xinjiang, it was no problem to eat enough, but it was impossible to eat well in a short period of time. At least it was not easy to eat meat.

But the Li family had completely resolved the issue over the past year. Now all Li Jianguo wanted to do was to get rich.

Li Long's ideas and measures made him earn a lot of money. Li Jianguo was sincerely happy for his brother, but he himself was actually quite anxious.

He also wants to make more money and give his family a better life through his own efforts.

Growing melons is indeed a good choice, at least it is much better than grain crops in terms of making money.

It’s just that he has never grown it before, and even if he did, he wouldn’t know where to sell it, so Li Jianguo was actually very unsure.

Now that Li Long has heard that there is an expert explaining how to grow it, he will naturally become interested.

Li Long pulled the carriage into the shed and returned to the house with the bag. Liang Yuemei was sewing shoe soles. Seeing Li Long coming in, she smiled and said, "Are you done? Why did you come back so soon? Didn't you stay in the county with Xiaoxia for a while longer?"

"There's no more material for number 76," Li Long said honestly. "I bought some melon seeds from Wucheng, and I met an expert who told me how to grow melons. I thought I'd come back and tell my brother about it."

"I met an expert? What a coincidence! What a good thing!" Liang Yuemei was also surprised when she heard it. "What good luck!"

"Yes, she is a professor at the Bayi Agricultural College. She will go back to teach in a while. She also left her name for me and told me to go find her if I have any questions." Li Long sighed, "She is a good teacher."

After Li Jianguo settled No. 76, he entered the house, looked at the bag at Li Long's feet and asked:

“Is this what it means to beat the melon seeds?”

"Yes." Li Long untied the rope at the mouth of the bag, took out a handful and said:
"Two kilograms per mu of land, this is twenty-one kilograms. Let's plant more sparingly, that is, eleven mu."

"How do you plant? Can you use a seed drill?"

"It's better not to, play on demand, one pit after another."

"It will take a lot of time to cultivate those ten acres of land." Liang Yuemei was a little worried, "This is not a vegetable field, ten acres of land..."

"It's okay, brother and sister-in-law. I designed a seeding machine and plan to make a few. It can be used very quickly." Li Long repeated his idea. "The expert also agreed that I should find an agricultural machinery factory to see if they can produce a batch. Once this thing is produced, I guess many people can use it. They don't have to bend over to plant crops..."

Listening to Li Long's description, Li Jianguo thought it was feasible, but he still asked:

“Can this thing be made?”

"Yes." Li Long had disassembled and assembled this thing in his previous life. It was really simple inside, with springs and such. He believed that although big items were hard to find these days, this thing could still be found.

Although Li Jianguo had his doubts, given Li Long's past experience over the past year, he basically believed what his brother said.

Li Long also talked about how to thin out the seedlings, how to till the soil and make ridges, etc., including how to stop watering before picking the melons, and how to remove the seeds after picking the melons:
"In the past, people would open the melon and take out the seeds, which was too labor-intensive. A simpler way is to find a large pot, stabilize it with stones, bricks, or soil, and put a wooden board on top that is wider than the melon. Then find a narrower and thicker board and place the melon on the lower board. Two people can lift the upper board and press the melon to push the seeds out into the pot. Then you just need to drain the water from the pot, take out the seeds, and dry them."

"So simple?" Liang Yuemei still didn't quite believe it.

"It's that simple. This way you don't have to reach out and dig out the seeds from the melons. It takes a little effort, but the whole melon is still there, and the melons without seeds are just right for feeding pigs," Li Long said with a smile. "If you do it quickly, one acre a day is no problem, and ten acres can be finished in ten days."

Li Long is still quite optimistic. He is still thinking about going to Shicheng Tractor Factory when he has time to ask if they can cooperate.

Liang Yuemei talked for a while and then went to cook, while Li Jianguo and Li Long discussed the matter of planting melons.

"Since sandy land is easy to grow crops, then next spring, if it's really like what you said, we have to contract a piece of sandy land. Let me think about it... The land behind our team is sandy land, and it's cultivated land without salt and alkali, so we should be able to grow crops there."

When it comes to being familiar with the various local areas of the team, there are not many people who are more familiar with it than Li Jianguo.

"Well, we can contract a piece of land there to grow melons." Li Long said, "Sandy soil can grow many things, including sweet potatoes, but few people harvest them. Otherwise, we can grow a few acres of sweet potatoes."

"I won't grow that stuff." Li Jianguo said with disgust, "I've eaten enough of that stuff! There's nowhere to sell it, and it's hard to store it. I'll talk about growing it when the grain bureau collects it..."

Li Long laughed. Li Jianguo was so disgusted with it because he had eaten enough dried sweet potatoes and sweet potato flour when he was a child.

In fact, it is not bad to grow this and make sweet potato vermicelli, but it is mainly labor-intensive, so let's talk about it later.

Li Jianguo took the bag of seeds to an empty room and put them away. He repeated several times what Li Long had said: dry them in the sun for a day before planting and soak them in warm water for a day.

Until dinner time, Li Jianguo was still asking Li Long about the details of the on-demand device.

Li Long told him while eating.

Li Qiang seemed to be quite interested in machinery, and he would ask questions from time to time when his father asked him questions. Although they were childish, Li Long still answered them with a smile.

After dinner, Li Long walked back to the stable. He would rest for a few days.

Of course, as long as I come back, catching fish and rabbits is inevitable. I think as long as Tao Daqiang and Yang Yongqiang know that I am back, they will definitely come to find me.

Sure enough, these two came over before it got dark.

"Brother Long, you're back." When Yang Yongqiang pushed the door open, Li Long and Uncle Luo were having dinner. Uncle Luo was also very happy to see Li Long back, and specially fried a meat dish, making a small pot, enough for two people to eat.

"Come on, come on, sit down and eat together." Li Long invited.

"No, no." Yang Yongqiang and Tao Daqiang waved their hands together, "I've already eaten. The day is short, so we only have two meals a day, and this afternoon meal was only eaten less than an hour ago."

"Okay, you guys sit down and we'll eat first. You've been free these two days, right?"

"It's OK. We went to the small lake to take a look and poked the hole in the ice. The teams are still catching fish, but it's been cold these past two days and the days are short, so they haven't caught much."

"Now we have also sneaked out the rabbit trap every two days, and there is only one rabbit. We think it is time to move to another place."

Tao Daqiang and Yang Yongqiang took turns talking about fish and rabbits, and occasionally talked about things in the team, which gave Li Long a certain understanding of what had happened in the team during this period.

In general, the team was relatively calm. Some people from the mainland came to Xu Chengjun to settle down, but Xu Chengjun made it clear that except for fathers and sons, or family members, no one else would be allowed to settle down. This was the policy. Either you went to the village to find connections and have the village give you a quota, or you settled down somewhere else.

This reminded Li Long of his parents. If he brought them over to settle down, the team would not only help them settle down, but also allocate land to them.

After the second land contract, that is, after the millennium, the team began to implement the policy of not increasing land with more people and not reducing land with less people.

In other words, even if you settle down there, you will not be given any land. Even if you have children, they will not be given any land.

But before that, anyone who could settle down and had children would be given land - five acres of land for food rations.

Li Long currently doesn't know that his second brother and brother-in-law are planning to come over with their entire family. He just wants to bring his parents over to enjoy a better life here - at least it's better than living in his hometown.

After dinner, Li Long and Uncle Luo cleaned up together and washed the dishes. Then Uncle Luo went to feed the deer and other animals. Li Long wanted to help but was driven away by Uncle Luo.

"I can still do this job. When I can't do it anymore, I won't do it even if you want me to." Uncle Luo drove Li Long away.

Li Long returned to the room with a smile. Yang Yongqiang and Tao Daqiang were sitting on chairs chatting. When they saw Li Long come in, they stopped talking.

"There are still about ten days before the New Year. I plan to do nothing else during these days but catch fish and rabbits to save some money for New Year's goods." According to Li Long's idea, he just wanted to stay in the house and rest.

But as a young man, thinking of Gu Xiaoxia, he felt itchy in his heart and couldn't help but want to run to the county.

"Okay." Yang Yongqiang and Tao Daqiang had exactly the same idea. Although they had made some money before, who would complain about having too much money?

If I can make more money during the New Year, I can buy more things during the New Year.

Although they could not reach the level of Li Long, they were at least better than other people in the village. They still had the idea of ​​eating more meat, buying nice clothes and other things during the New Year.

The three of them agreed to go and play with the rabbit traps early tomorrow morning, and take the rabbit traps to another place, and then Yang Yongqiang and Tao Daqiang left. (End of this chapter)