Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

The next morning, the three of them went to patrol for rabbits, and this time they caught twenty-one at once!
Yang Yongqiang kept praising Li Long for adjusting the condom, which really came in handy!
In the next few days, Li Long and his team caught fish and rabbits. After filling a truck, they took them to Shicheng to sell.

The three of them were selling their wares at separate stalls in Shicheng. As the year was drawing to a close, the popularity of fish and rabbits was second only to the meat stalls. Li Long originally thought about killing a pig and selling it, but then he decided not to. The stall was too big to take care of, and it was easy to get hurt.

After all, if we have to kill, we will only kill the wild boars in the horse pen. The pigs at my brother's place are two sows, which are kept for the spring to give birth.

Li Long also specially kept some fish and a few rabbits, and gave two rabbits to Song Ming in exchange for a cart of sugar residue - it can't be called an exchange, because Song Ming gave money this time, otherwise he would not want it no matter what.

Li Long asked him to inquire about the recruitment situation of the sugar factory. The result Song Ming gave made Li Long a little depressed. Even if the sugar factory wanted to recruit workers, it would most likely recruit young people around 20 years old. His second brother Li Anguo was already 30 years old, so it would probably be difficult for him to be recruited.

Yang Yongqiang was somewhat moved after hearing this.

Li Long put half of the remaining fish and rabbits with Sister Yang, and sent the rest to Li Xiangqian, also asking Li Xiangqian to pay attention to where there is information about job openings.

Li Xiangqian was a little surprised when he heard what Li Long said:
"Why, you don't want to be an employee of our supply and marketing cooperative, but want to be another worker?"

"No, no, no, I'm not going. I'm looking for a way out for my second brother. My second brother plans to come over from his hometown, but it's not easy to settle down in our team, and he doesn't really want to farm, so I'm thinking about whether I can find a place to put him."

"There are job openings, but I don't think your second brother is willing to do it."

"Where?" After hearing this, Li Long was a little surprised. Is there really a way?

"One of my classmates works in a coal mine. They are short of people and are looking for someone. How old is your second brother?"

"I'm thirty." Li Long thought, coal mine, like Sun Shaoping's? That's not safe.

"Thirty is a bit old." Li Xiangqian touched his chin, thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry, let me ask more. We should wait until after the Chinese New Year, right?"

"Yes, yes, thank you in advance, Chief! I will also ask my second brother what he thinks. Let's not rush and talk about it slowly."

"Yes, take your time. Don't thank me. I can't always eat your sheep, rabbits and fish for free." Li Xiangqian said amiably, "I am proud of what you did in the summer. If I have any work to do later, just do it well. That's all."

Speaking of this, Li Long was actually quite happy.

Although working in a coal mine is hard and dangerous, at least the treatment is that of a worker. Li Long also thought that when things are confirmed, he would ask Li Xiangqian to find his classmates and do a favor for his second brother so that he could do some less dangerous work.

Work still needs to be found slowly. Li Long and his friends sold fish and rabbits twice before the New Year. He gave 100 yuan to Tao Daqiang and Yang Yongqiang respectively, and also gave 100 yuan to his eldest brother - according to Li Long, it was money for the carriage.

He received more than 300 yuan, a considerable sum, and he planned to use half of it to buy New Year's goods.

Money, earn it, spend it. With the money from selling the bear, Li Long has basically saved enough to buy a tractor, a color TV and build a house. If you spend it all, you can earn more.

He told Yang Yongqiang and Tao Daqiang that he would work at home during the days before the New Year and would not catch fish or cook rabbits. Even if he did, he would not sell them before the New Year. He went to Wucheng again, but this time he did not meet Yusup.

Before Li Long went to the department store to buy things, he went to the jade factory.

The last time Li Long met Master Liu, who had retired due to injury, and bought those high-quality small jade carvings from him, he was very happy. This time he wanted to go there to see if there were any more.

What made Li Long a little happy was that the small window at the side door of the jade factory was still open, and hot air came out from it from time to time.

Why open the window in such a cold weather? Li Long was a little confused, but he still walked over quickly.

Li Long went to the window and looked inside, and saw two old men arguing in a low voice.

"Open the windows, open the windows every day. Don't you know how expensive coal is? The factory provides a fixed amount of coal. If you don't open the windows, it's enough. Once you open the windows, the heat will escape. If there is not enough coal, you have to buy it yourself. Is your salary enough?"

"We have to open it. If we don't, how will others know that we sell jade here?"

"Who would buy it? I bring you lunch every day. It's been a month. Have you sold five pieces in total? I think we should just close it down. You can apply for medical retirement and start another small business. It's better than staying here every day."

"What kind of business do you do? I don't do business! I'm a jade craftsman, what do I sell?" The man's voice suddenly rose, "I'm a formal worker! I don't do small business..."

"You are also doing business now! You are selling jade, aren't you?" The woman retorted, not giving him any face. "The factory is kind enough to let you stay here, you can't..."

Li Long finally understood.

He felt a little sad.

The man's voice suggested that he was Mr. Liu, the jadeite he had bought from, and the woman should be his wife.

Mr. Liu insisted on his identity as a worker and did not want to retire due to illness. The elderly man at home must not be living well, and his wife also wanted Mr. Liu to retire in a decent manner.

But the old man has been working with jade for his entire life and can’t bear to give it up.

"Is Engineer Liu here?" Li Long felt that he should not let the two people quarrel any further. He took a few steps back, then increased his pace and shouted loudly as he walked.

Sure enough, as soon as he spoke, the two of them stopped arguing.

"That young man is here!" Mr. Liu was so excited that he blurted out all these words. He wiped his hands, rushed to the window, and said with an unnatural smile:
"I'm here, I'm here, young man, you... Comrade Li, right? I'm here!"

"Hello, Mr. Liu. I'm here to buy some jade. The ones you carve yourself are the best." Li Long said with a smile, "My family loved the ones I brought back last time. It's Chinese New Year, so I thought of buying some more. I wonder if there are any..."

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Engineer Liu smiled and took out a square plate from the cabinet. On it were small carved pieces, including white jade, black jade, blue-white jade, jasper, and jadeite.

"Take a look. My hands aren't very obedient. I've only carved these during this period..."

There aren't many styles of items, mainly peace knots, peace and safety plaques, hand-held ornaments, a few bracelets and two bracelets.

"I'm old now, and my hands aren't as strong as they used to be. I've also been injured before, so this is all I have." Engineer Liu explained, "But don't worry about the quality. We've selected good materials, even though they're a little small..."

"Mr. Liu, I will definitely be satisfied with your carvings." Li Long said with a smile, "Calculate the price, I want them all."

My second brother is going to bring his family over, and my sister might come over later, so all these things will come in handy.

"You want all of them? Well..." Engineer Liu was a little surprised. He thought Li Long would pick a few like last time. "Although these things are small in size, they cost a lot of money when added up. Look..."

"That's all right. You do the calculation. By the way, I'll take a few of the carvings your apprentice has on display."

Li Long thought that it would be useful for gifts in the future. Even if it was an apprentice, if it could be sold here, at least the appearance would not be too bad, not to mention the materials at this time. Any of them would be good things in the future.

"Okay." Engineer Liu nodded hurriedly. Most of the things Li Long wanted were carved by him, and he had a price in mind - of course, the price was not high. He felt that it was worth it if someone appreciated and recognized the things made by a half-disabled person like him. As for the apprentice's materials, there was nothing he could do. The factory had marked the price, and he couldn't lower the price.

Li Long asked for three pairs of bracelets from the apprentice material, because even if it was an apprentice's work, there was not much difference between it and the master's work - at least in Li Long's eyes. Under the guidance of Engineer Liu, he chose the best mutton-fat jade material with skin, which was of course not cheap, costing more than 30 yuan at that time.

There were eleven items in total, and Li Long paid one hundred and eighty yuan.

Satisfied.

Li Long wrapped the jade pieces in newspapers and put them in his bag. He left and heard the woman who had been silent all along whispering:

"Is this the young man who bought jade from you last time? He's really generous, buying more than a dozen pieces..."

"Well, the young man has money and knows what he is talking about."

"Then you were right to open the window, otherwise people would see the window closed and think you were not selling anything, and that would be a huge loss. You sold two bracelets, and now you can explain it to the factory..." Li Long's mouth curled up slightly. This is the so-called win-win situation, right?
After taking the bus to the department store, Li Long started shopping.

Dried and fresh fruits are must-buys, and you also need to buy more firecrackers, snacks, some dried goods and seafood, and gifts for everyone in your family.

This time, I bought a headscarf for Gu Xiaoxia - at that time, women in small towns were used to wearing headscarves. I bought a pair of leather gloves for my eldest brother. Although my family made him a pair of rabbit skin, the rabbit skin was not tanned well and was a bit hard. I bought a pair of small leather boots for Li Juan, and a set of imitation children's military uniforms for Li Qiang.

Li Long didn't buy anything for himself here. He planned to go to Xinhua Bookstore later to buy some books to read.

After experiencing all kinds of information reception in the previous life, the biggest problem in this life, after being able to solve the problem of having enough food to eat and eating well, is that there are too few entertainment activities.

I can only read books.

After all, in the previous life, people of this age didn’t read much, and later, with the advent of mobile phones, they read even less. In the era of short videos, even fewer people can read long novels (traditional), but now Li Long has been given such an opportunity.

After all, there are still many classics at that time.

The Xinhua Bookstore in Wucheng has many books that are not available in Shicheng, Ma County, and Li Long bought several of them and put them in a bag. There are also hunting rifles and small-caliber rifles for sale here, but Li Long is not short of guns or bullets at the moment, and the double-barreled hunting rifle he got from the robbery has not been used yet.

He bought a large bag of odds and ends and a handbag. Canvas handbags were still quite popular at that time, so Li Long also carried one and came to the bus station with his things. He waited for a long time in the cold wind until the bus came, and he squeezed into the bus and sat down to the train station.

Out of habit, he looked at the stall again and found that Yusup was not there. Li Long wondered if he had collected enough money to go south to sell raisins.

After all, the Han people celebrate the New Year, but they don't. Taking raisins to the south at this time can just sell them at a good price. Li Long also bought some raisins this time, planning to put them on the table with melon seeds, candy, and peanuts during the New Year.

In the era of scarcity, raisins were a good thing, and those who could put them on display were usually from well-off families. A few decades later, red dates, walnuts and raisins were also placed on the fruit plates of ordinary people, but as the joke goes, only locals would eat these three things unless there was nothing else to eat on the fruit plate.

People are indeed fickle.

Li Long got on the bus and returned to Ma County. He still didn't encounter any problems this time. He was wondering if some movement had already begun.

Otherwise, why does it feel like the order in Wucheng is much better, and the same is true at the train station?

After returning to the county, Li Long carried his things to the big yard. After putting them down, he began to sort them.

Some things should be placed here, and some things should be taken back to the team. The things for Gu Xiaoxia should be placed separately.

At this time, Gu Xiaoxia had not yet finished get off work. After Li Long divided the food, he started cooking.

In the evening, Gu Xiaoxia returned to the compound and had dinner happily with Li Long. After dinner, Gu Xiaoxia washed the dishes. Li Long took out the headscarf and said to her:

"This is a New Year's gift for you. I don't know if you like it or not..."

"I like it!" Gu Xiaoxia smiled happily, "I'll finish washing the dishes later and put it on for you to see!"

"Okay." Li Long stood by and watched.

After Gu Xiaoxia finished her work, Li Long handed her the headscarf. Gu Xiaoxia put it on her head, tied a knot around her neck, twisted it left and right, and said with a smile:
"Does it look good?"

“It looks good. It really looks good.”

Although it may seem a bit rustic from the perspective of future generations, just like the way the people in "My Father and Mother" dress, clothes that fit the style of the era are beautiful.

After breakfast the next day, Li Long went to the bus station again. This time he was going to Shicheng.

The tractor factory in Shicheng is the largest agricultural machinery factory in the area where Li Long lives. It was formerly an automobile repair factory. Li Long is not sure how it will develop in the future, but it is very famous at this time. In the next ten years, at least 60% to 70% of the tractors in the nearby rural areas will come from here.

The small agricultural tractors here are 12 horsepower, with small four wheels and a hand-held round steering wheel, not the grasshopper-legged ones, and a trailer at the back. When you buy them, they also come with matching items, and you can hang some other equipment behind the small four wheels.

But to be honest, in the decade of the 1980s, most people in the village bought tractors just to pull things, and never used them for other things. It was not until the 1990s that the two most common things they did were to install a harvester in front of the vehicle to cut down the wheat, and to use the diesel engine in front of the vehicle to drive a thresher that could pull corn kernels off the corn cobs.

The former was widely used and was popular for about five or six years, while the latter was less used and existed for a shorter period of time, and was soon replaced by the combine harvester.

Li Long is now thinking that if this cooperation can be successful, then the next step is to contribute the idea of ​​the harvester in front of the small four-wheeled vehicle in advance. The next step is to develop a pesticide sprayer when cotton is planted on a large scale - that technology is between the two, simpler than the harvester, and slightly more difficult than the handheld and roller seed drills.

In fact, as long as you have some knowledge of mechanical principles and are considered a professional in this area, you can figure it out by listening to Li Longyi's description.

So Li Long thought that he could make this as a stable source of income in the future. He couldn't make a cotton picker, nor did he have the ability to do so, but it was easy to make a pesticide sprayer, harvester, tillage machine, pole beating machine and so on.

There is no need to really pursue patents. China is not thinking about patents for at least the next 30 years. It is enough to reap the first wave of dividends.

It’s a nice thought.

Li Long took a short bus to Shicheng, and just thought about it all the way to the old street.

He saw many people on the bus carrying large and small bags of things, and sometimes he thought that if they caught fish and rabbits, they could just take the bus to Shicheng to sell them. The ticket price was cheap anyway, only 50 cents.

But then I thought, how much can one person carry on a bus? Fish smells so fishy, ​​the driver may not let you take it on the bus.

We can't let fish and humans compete for space.

After thinking about it, it would be more reliable to have a tractor behind me, so I don’t have to be controlled by others.

The three-wheeled motorcycles that became popular throughout the country in later generations are actually the best, but it’s a pity that they are not available now.

When they arrived at Laojie, Li Long got off the car and strode towards the tractor factory.

The names of the tractor factories at that time were all very famous, such as The East is Red, October, Red October, Red Flag, etc., all of which were both red and professional.

The tractor factory was in the suburbs of Shicheng. Li Long walked a long way and it took him almost an hour to get there.

There was a guard post at the gate. When Li Long arrived, the factory gate was closed. It could be seen that the factory was quite large.

When Li Long arrived at the gate, he was a little surprised to see that there were two guards on duty, and they were both young men. They were wearing green military uniforms, Lei Feng hats on their heads, military belts around their waists, and holding semi-automatic rifles. He guessed that they were most likely militiamen from the Corps.

"Comrade, what can I do for you?" a guard asked.

"Hello, I'm looking for the technical R&D personnel in the factory. I have a R&D idea and would like to discuss cooperation with the factory."

"Is this the technical department? Is there anyone specific you are looking for?" the guard asked again.

"No."

"Well... okay, I'll call the technical department and see if there's anyone there... Do you have a letter of introduction?"

"No, but I have a work certificate." Li Long immediately took out his certificate from the supply and marketing cooperative. These days, some places are connected to the whole country, and you need a letter of introduction and a certificate to go anywhere. For example, now, sometimes it is more open-minded and you can get things done without a letter of introduction and a certificate, such as staying at the Bayi Guesthouse in Wucheng, or setting up a stall in Shicheng and Ma County.

It can only be said to be a local characteristic.

The guard looked at Li Long's certificate, nodded, picked up the phone, shook it a few times, connected to the switchboard, and then asked to transfer to the technical department.

Li Long waited for the result of the phone call a little nervously. (End of this chapter)