Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

At that time, except for a few multi-story buildings in Kuitun, most of the others were bungalows.

The Institute of Agricultural Sciences is no exception.

Compared with other buildings in the city, this place looks more like a farm because various plants are grown nearby, including vegetables, fruit trees, grain crops, etc.

Li Long parked the tractor on the side of the road, turned off the engine, looked around the area, and then saw the place with the word "Nursery" written on it on a large wooden sign.

This should be it, right?
He walked towards the nursery and saw people working inside, digging out some seedlings. He didn't know whether they were going to transplant or sell them.

"Hello, comrade. I want to ask where you can buy fruit tree seedlings?"

"Do you want to buy? How much?" The worker was a woman in her forties. She looked like a rural woman, but her eyes were clear. Li Long always felt that she was working hard for a career, not just to make a living. That look and gaze were different.

"I grow them in my yard. I won't buy many, maybe about ten," said Li Long.

"Then your yard is not small, you can plant so many. What kind of fruit trees do you want to buy? Seedlings here are not cheap."

"What fruit trees are there? Can you introduce them to me, big sister?"

"Is your home nearby?" The older sister asked instead of answering Li Long's question.

"My home is in Ma County, more than 100 kilometers away from here."

"Ma County, how are you going to take it back? The bus only goes to Shicheng, and it's not easy to take it on the bus."

"I drove here on a tractor." said Li Long.

"That's not bad. The climate in Ma County is similar to that in Kuitun, so you can grow jujube trees, apple trees, plums, pears, and we also have newly cultivated peaches that you can try. But you should know that except for apples, all other fruit trees have to be pruned in winter."

"I know." Lu Yingming has a peach tree at home. The tree is not very thick. Every year when winter is approaching, Lu Yingming will push the tree down and cover it with soil, otherwise it will freeze in winter. It won't freeze to death, but it will not produce peaches.

"That's good to know. We have a variety of grape seedlings here, including seedless white, rose-scented, and mare's milk grapes..."

"Then I understand. I want red dates, apples, plums, pears, peaches, and seedless white grape seedlings. I want four of each..."

"Since you can drive a tractor here, you should have enough money. Otherwise, I have to remind you that these seedlings are very expensive." The lady stood up, patted the dirt on her hands and said:

"Come on, I'll take you to dig the seedlings, and I'll also tell you about planting them."

Li Long followed the big sister wearing sleeves to a sparse forest. After arriving at the place, Li Long found that there were fruit trees planted here. The plants were not big, basically thicker than a thumb, and there were clear signs of grafting.

"These fruit trees are three to five years old. They will bear fruit the same year they are transplanted, but not much. If they are well cared for, they will bear a lot of fruit the next year. It all depends on how well they are cared for." The older woman pointed at the trees one by one:

"Look, this jujube tree may not look tall, but it already had more than one kilogram of jujubes last year, and it will have even more this year. This is the Jun jujube, also known as the dog-head jujube, transplanted from southern Xinjiang. It is large, and the largest can grow to the size of an egg. Next to it is the Hui jujube, which is small, about the same size as the big sand jujube, but sweeter than the Jun jujube. This jujube tree is not tall, so it is relatively easy to press it down now. If you press it down a little more, it will grow like a shrub."

"That's a pear tree, not the fragrant pear variety from southern Xinjiang, but the pear variety from the mainland. It's full of moisture, not as sweet as the fragrant pear, but it tastes pretty good too."

"These are apples, the Fuji apple variety. We have successfully grown them here, but they don't taste as good as those in Aksu."

Li Long knew in his two lives that the Red Fuji apples from Aksu were of high quality, but at this time many people in northern Xinjiang preferred the apples from Yili, because the apples from Yili were big, really big!

"This is a crisp plum. It's not big, similar to an apricot, but it's boneless. And when the fruit is still relatively green, it's already very sweet. It's a very good variety. I suggest you plant a few more."

"This is an early-ripening peach. If it is planted outdoors, it will mature in June. If it is planted in a greenhouse, it will mature in May. It matures very early and tastes great."

……

The older sister introduced the fruits here one by one. At this time, she was more like a gardening expert. Just listening to her, you could feel that she had a wealth of professional knowledge.

Li Long started digging - yes, he picked and dug by himself. According to the elder sister, the researchers at the Agricultural Science Institute also had their own work to do. If Li Long wanted to wait for them to come and help dig, he would probably have to wait until the afternoon.

Li Long didn't want to wait until the afternoon, he planned to rush back to Ma County today.

Nearly twenty fruit trees were dug up and the bucket at the back of the tractor was almost full. Li Long paid more than 40 yuan, which was more than two yuan per seedling, so it was not expensive.

Of course, that's what he thought. But in this era, it's not cheap.

It was almost one o'clock, and Li Long didn't feel hungry yet, so he drove his tractor to the department store and bought a box of Kuitun Special Liquor and some snacks and sundries. He put all the things in the tractor, started it, and headed east.

The small-caliber rifle was placed in the truck bed. During the work these days, the gun was stored at the service desk. The waitress was not surprised by the gun. It was normal to have a gun these days. After all, such a gun could be bought at Xinhua Bookstore. It was also normal for Li Long, who came from a long distance, to carry a gun. Safety comes first.

The tractor left KT City and drove onto the Wuyi Highway. The vehicles coming and going made Li Long feel that this trip was actually worthwhile.

We made money, my second brother and his family were settled, we bought everything we needed, and we also had a plan for the harvester, so this trip was considered a success.

After driving for a while, Li Long stopped at Anjihai. There was a restaurant on the roadside, and he planned to have lunch here.

Anjihai is a town in SW County. It has existed for a long time and its ownership has been changing. During the Qing Dynasty, it belonged to Suila, the predecessor of Ma County, and later it was transferred to Shawan.

Now that I think about it, the original Ma County was very big - it is now 1.2 square kilometers. During the Qing Dynasty, it must have been several times larger!

Later, Anjihai became famous for its specialty, which was chili peppers. In autumn, people were drying chili peppers everywhere on the roadside. Some people even took chili peppers from here to Turpan for drying. After all, there was less and less uncultivated and undeveloped land in Pingtan County. In his previous life, Li Long had heard that someone took 500 tons of chili peppers to Turpan for drying, but a strong wind blew them away overnight.

lost heavily.

This is a long story. The main dish of the restaurant here is noodles. Li Long ordered a bowl of mixed noodles, ate it, added water to the tractor, and continued to drive forward.

When they arrived at Shicheng, the sun was already setting and Li Long was feeling tired. He decided not to go back to Ma County today, but to drive directly to the big yard, spend the night there, and then take the saplings back to plant them tomorrow.

There's still time.

Li Long was actually quite cautious along the way, but unlike what he imagined, there were no robbers who stopped him to rob him. Was it because order had improved, or had the bad guys been caught?
When they arrived at Ma County, the sun was about to set. Li Long looked at the familiar scene and felt a little emotional.

When I was young, it felt magical to travel from one city to another, from a familiar scene to an unfamiliar scene.

Later, as technology developed and transportation became more convenient, people could be in northern Xinjiang in the morning and take a plane to the beach in the afternoon. That magical feeling gradually disappeared.

Now this feeling seems to have reappeared. In the morning, I was still discussing the harvester with Director Du at the Kuitun Agricultural Machinery Factory, and in the afternoon, I had already arrived in Ma County.

Some elderly people of this era may have spent their entire lives confined to a county or even a township, never leaving the county, let alone going to places further away.

Li Long vaguely remembered that in his previous life, when he was in his fifties, there were still people in the village who had never taken a train, and there were even more people who had never taken a plane.

A cooperative was established in the village, liberating the farmers. After they had some spare money, some elderly people in their fifties and sixties went to Shicheng Railway Station to take a train to Wucheng, and then took a bus back from Wucheng, just to experience the feeling of riding a train.

At that time, the Internet allowed people to understand the world. It felt like what was happening simultaneously abroad appeared on mobile phones and computers, as if the world was really a village. But how many people were actually measuring the world on foot?
After eating a bowl of soup in the meat canteen, Li Long bought ten steamed buns and took them back to the compound. Gu Xiaoxia had just gotten off work, and when she arrived at the compound gate, Li Long had just opened the door and drove the tractor in.

Gu Xiaoxia was startled when she saw the tractor entering the yard. Then she thought the person driving the tractor looked familiar. She rode her bicycle into the yard and saw that it was Li Long. She smiled.

"Where are you coming from?" Gu Xiaoxia asked after parking the car.

"From Kuitun. These saplings were brought back from Kuitun." Li Long said as he took the buns from the carriage.

"Come, have some buns. Don't cook dinner tonight."

"it is good."

During dinner, Li Long talked about his next plan.

"Our team's house has been built. I'll go back tomorrow to plant these saplings. The furniture at the village carpenter's shop should be almost ready. You can go back this weekend and we'll decorate the house together. After that, we'll... get the certificate and do the business."

At first, Gu Xiaoxia was eating buns and listening to Li Long attentively. Then her face gradually turned red and she buried her head.

She knew Li Long's thoughts very well. Although this large courtyard was where the two of them would live permanently, the new courtyard in the team was still their real home.

In fact, she thought so too. This place used to be someone else's home, so it didn't count. That big yard was the home of the two of them. It was new, newly built, and everything was newly purchased, which completely met the concept of a new house.

Seeing that Gu Xiaoxia didn't say anything, Li Long smiled and said:

"What does your silence mean? Do you disagree or do you acquiesce? We still need to discuss the layout of the house together. Now we only have the house and furniture, but there are still many things to buy and decorate."

"Yeah." Gu Xiaoxia lowered her head and hummed, "I'll go back this week..."

She actually didn't tell Li Long that she had been using her spare time to make some home decoration items, including the wedding characters to be pasted, cushions on the stools, and curtains - although the villagers didn't like to use curtains, after all, the window glass was all patterned at that time, but after living in the county for a while, Gu Xiaoxia felt it was still necessary to get some curtains.

She also used her salary to buy other small things, such as pillowcases, pillow towels, red quilt covers, etc. She knew that Li Long had been working hard for this new home, and as the future hostess, she never thought that she could enjoy all this with peace of mind. This was their new home together, and they needed to work hard together to build it.

Gu Xiaoxia decided to take the things she prepared back on Saturday this week. In fact, there were some other things she had planned to prepare, but now it seemed that it would be too late before the event, but it didn't matter, she could continue to prepare slowly.

The next day, after getting up early and having breakfast, Li Long planted grapes, apples and plums in the courtyard. There were not many, just three or five trees. After all, the space here was limited.

When they drove the tractor back to the Li family compound, Li Qingxia, Du Chunfang, and Chen Xingbang were all busy in the vegetable field. They were mainly planting vegetables - now that the farm work had not started, they would tidy up the vegetable field first.

"Xiaolong is back? This trip took a long time." Li Qingxia asked with concern.

Li Long did not call the team, mainly because he did not want to publicize the matter. He believed that if he called the captain and the news spread throughout the team, many people would definitely come to him, hoping that he could help lead people to work in Kuitun.

The temptation of being a worker at that time is unimaginable to people in later generations.

"I helped the company over there haul bricks for two days." Li Long explained as he got out of the car, "Where are my big brother and the others?"

"We went to the fields." Chen Xingbang was digging ditches and preparing to plant beans. "My eldest brother contracted a piece of land. He and his eldest sister-in-law took a horse-drawn carriage to check the condition of the land. The land was planted with wheat, and he said he would give the team more money for seeds."

Li Long nodded and said:

"I brought back a lot of fruit tree seedlings this time. I planted some here and some in the yard in front of me. There are dates, apples, peaches and everything else."

"That's great. We can eat the fruits in the fall." Several people in the vegetable garden said with a smile.

"If you're not there often, will the crops in the front yard be stolen?" Chen Xingbang asked worriedly.

"Shouldn't it be?" Li Long didn't dare to guarantee it. Adults probably wouldn't come and steal, but it was hard to guarantee the children. After all, fruit trees were rare at that time, and it was normal for children to want to plant fruit trees in their own homes.

"It's okay, I'll just go and watch over it from time to time." Du Chunfang said positively, "It's nothing to worry about anyway, once you're settled over there, your father and I will go over and take care of your vegetable plots."

This is a good idea. Li Long and his family are often not in the yard, and with the two elders taking care of it, the vegetables and fruit trees in the yard can grow normally.

When Li Long designed the house, there was also a place for the two elders to live. However, at the moment, Li Qingxia and Du Chunfang do not plan to live in the new yard in front.

Li Long simply took down the fruit trees and divided them into three parts, two with more and one with less. The more were planted in the two yards here, and the less were given to Gu Boyuan.

It was almost noon when the fruit trees were planted. Li Long went to the kitchen to cook and Chen Xingbang followed him.

"Xiaolong, are my second brother and the others okay over there?"

"Well, my second brother and Junshan are both skilled workers now. Although they are temporary workers, they earn 1.3 yuan a day, which is not bad. I heard that there are a lot of people being recruited this time, so they should be able to be recruited." Li Long said while cutting vegetables, "We should know soon."

"I've made up my mind these past two days. I plan to set up a stall in Shicheng." Chen Xingbang said, "Being a worker is stable, but the money is too little. I went to the county and Shicheng these two days to take a look. The stall owner in the old street can earn half a month to a month's salary for one person in one day."

This is true. The first people to get rich were actually the merchants who seized the business opportunity at this time. They bought various materials at low prices from rural areas or other cities, set up stalls in the old street and sold them, making a lot of money. After all, the old street, a gathering place for people, has also become a gathering place for goods.

Chen Xingbang chose the right place.

"Okay, I'll rent a yard over there in a couple of days, and it will be better for you to live there and set up a stall. Brother-in-law, what are you going to sell?"

"Meat, sell meat." Chen Xingbang had already thought about it, "Get some beef and mutton to sell, preferably alive, and sell while slaughtering."

Li Long recalled that Chen Xingbang was very skilled in slaughtering pigs before the Chinese New Year, so it seemed that he had practiced in this area.

"People here live a good life, and many people eat meat." Chen Xingbang continued, "I think selling meat should not be a loss. Just like selling fish before, there will be many buyers. The meat supplied by the food factory is now supplied to those public institutions. Ordinary people have to go to the market to buy meat. They can make a lot of money by buying cheap cattle and sheep from the countryside and mountains and slaughtering them in the old street to sell."

Li Long nodded. This was a replica of what he had done when he brought sheep to the sugar factory to sell them. The only difference was that he sold them wholesale, while Chen Xingbang sold them retail. In comparison, retail was more profitable, but the cycle was longer.

"I'm going to the mountains in a few days. Brother-in-law, you can come with me. Then I'll buy a few sheep and try my hand."

"Okay." Chen Xingbang was actually waiting for Li Long to say this. At this time of year, the pigs in the countryside have just started to be fed, so it is definitely impossible to get good pigs. Although there are sheep in the countryside, they are definitely not cheap. Chen Xingbang knew that Li Long had bought sheep in the mountains before, and he bought them cheaply, so he had this idea.

When Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei came back, the meal was almost ready. When they saw the tractor, they knew that Li Long had returned. Li Jianguo got off the tractor and asked Li Long about the situation of Li Anguo and the others over there.

After listening to Li Long's words, Li Jianguo felt relieved. He said:

"After dinner, go to Mahao. Your second sister-in-law and the others don't know the situation yet, so you have to tell them. Oh, and Yongqiang's family, too. After dinner, I'll go tell Yang Hua about it so he doesn't worry too much."

"Let me do all the talking." Li Long said, "It won't take much time. I'll explain it more clearly."

"That's fine." (End of this chapter)