Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Although he only stayed in the county town for a few days, when Li Long came back, he found that almost all the land in the team that had not been planted with winter wheat had been planted. As the soil moisture improved, wheat had also begun to grow, and the fields were green and lush, and the originally barren land became full of vitality.

On the edge of the roadside ditch, the tenacious reeds poked their pointed heads out of the ground. Many children going to and from school would break off the tips of the reeds and play with them in their hands, using them as pens, darts or gambling chips. They would get bored of playing with them after a while, and those who had livestock at home would collect them and take them home to feed the animals.

For example, Li Qiang would put a lot of such reed sprouts in the empty space in his schoolbag when he came back from school, and he would pour them into the bag for No. 76 as a snack.

Li Long is drying melon seeds in the yard. After drying for a day, he soaks them for another day before planting them. His new yard is relatively flat and spacious, without any clutter.

A few reed mats were spread on the ground, and the melon seeds were picked on them. The sun was not too scorching at this time, and the heat on the body was not unpleasant.

The breeze blew up, bringing with it a slightly damp earthy smell. At this time, the grass in the wild has not yet fully grown, so when there is a strong wind, there will be a sandstorm, and when there is a light wind, there will be a little wind. After another month or two, the weeds will grow wildly and cover the wasteland in the wild, and the wind at that time will have difficulty blowing up large tracts of dust.

Collect the melon seeds at night and put them in a bucket to soak until tomorrow afternoon, then take them out and you can plant them the day after tomorrow morning.

Li Long didn't want to cook, so he went to his eldest brother's house in the backyard to eat. His eldest brother and his wife went to work in the fields, so his second sister-in-law cooked dinner. The family chatted and laughed after dinner, and Li Long returned to his own yard.

Alone, that's what he is now.

Li Long was a little regretful now. The life he had been leading these days was like a fish in water. Although it wasn't so good that he didn't want to leave, it was really a taste of life, and he didn't want to delay it for even a day.

Now that he has to come back for some important business, Li Long originally thought that being single for twenty years was nothing special, but he didn't expect that once he had this experience, he would never forget it.

It’s hard to tell.

Okay, find something to distract yourself.

He found a writing pen and a blank notebook, ready to write down his plan.

The gift book has been put away long ago, and the gifts written on it must be returned in the future. Nowadays, in the village, gifts are usually given only for weddings and funerals, without so many details. It is not like in later times, when there are weddings, children’s full moon, one year old, school entrance, and even adult ceremonies…

In later generations, they were criticized a lot. If you do these things in the city, no one will say anything, after all, not many people are invited, basically they are relatives and friends. But if you do this in the village, wouldn’t you be criticized?
There are three main things to do next. The first is to plant melons. This carries the heavy responsibility of developing the Li family's agricultural cash crops. This is the first step. If it is planted well, it will at least be a good omen. If it is not planted well, Li Long plans to plant something else.

The second thing was to go to the mountains. On the one hand, I wanted to deliver food to Halimu and his men. They were about to move to another pasture, and they would need a lot of supplies. At the same time, I also wanted to visit Halimu and Yushanjiang's elderly and children to see how they were doing in the animal husbandry team.

The third thing is to find a yard for my brother-in-law Chen Xingbang, and then bring some sheep from the mountains for him to practice. Since my brother-in-law is here and doesn't want to be a worker, I will help him within my ability. It is said that no one is necessarily a good or bad person. In the previous life, my second brother and his wife were not like this. At least from now on, they are not bad in this life. It can only be said that changes in the environment are also affecting everyone's decisions at every step.

Now that Chen Xingbang can stay in the village and work diligently, it means that he can at least afford to wait and believes in Li Long.

After Li Long finished writing these three points, he calculated and felt like something was missing. After thinking for a while, he added a four under the third point.

The fourth is to find an opportunity to visit Li Xiangqian and ask him about the lifting of the handle. Li Long believes that this thing will take at least two or three years to develop. Before the popularization of cars and carts in various units, this is definitely needed for work.

Li Long suddenly thought of something. He thought he could ask Kuitun Agricultural Machinery Factory to produce some two-wheeled carts. They were like the ones used on construction sites in the future. They could definitely hold more things than the flatbed carts of today. He thought they would be popular if they were produced.

But after thinking about it, I decided to forget it. What is restricting production now is the accessories. Any machinery factory can make a single-person two-wheeled handcart, but being able to make it and being able to mass-produce it are different. What is lacking now? It is lacking things like hubs and bearings.

After writing this down, Li Long looked at it again. These are the things he had to take note of for now.

By the way, I still need to take the tractor license test and register. Although the inspection is not strict now, I still have to go through the necessary procedures.

Then read and sleep.

The next day, Li Long followed the old man to get the net and drove the tractor to Shicheng to sell fish. There were not many fish, only about 20 to 30 kilograms. Li Long went to Shicheng mainly for the yard. He took Chen Xingbang to the yard where Gu Ermao and his men sold smuggled electronic watches. There are people living in this yard now. However, Li Long's target was not this, but another yard opposite. When he chased Gu Ermao here, he remembered that this yard was deserted.

At that time, Keyum also said that there was a yard here but no one lived there. When Li Long came here this time, he was somewhat surprised to see that Keyum's milk tea shop was open again.

Li Qingxia went to set up a stall to sell fish, Chen Xingbang followed and greeted him, while Li Long went to the milk tea shop.

"Boss, is this Jax? You didn't open the store for some time. Is there something wrong at home?" Li walked into the store and asked directly when he saw Keyum.

"Well, there are some things at home." Keyum didn't expect Li Long to keep paying attention to him. He nodded and said while making naan, "My family wants to live in the mountains. I want them to come to Shicheng and find a job. What's the good life in the mountains? They don't want to go. I went back this time to persuade them to go..."

"Have you persuaded him?" Li Long asked.

"No. The elderly think they should live in the mountains. They don't like cities. They say there are too many bad people here."

Well, to be honest, what the old man said is right.

"I want to ask something, that is, if I want to rent the yard over there, who should I contact?"

"If there are people living there, just go find the people there. If there are no people living there, you have to find the street." Keyum is quite clear about these things. He said, "There is an empty yard over there, but I don't know if it has been rented out yet."

"Then I'll go ask the street. Do you know where it is?"

"I know." Keyum pointed to the location and said with a smile, "If you want to come here to do business, that's good. You can come over to chat and drink milk tea if you have nothing to do."

"no problem."

It was not far away, and Li Long did not drive the tractor. He looked at his father and Chen Xingbang selling fish there, surrounded by many people, and then walked to the street by himself.

"Rent a yard?" The person in charge of this area was a big lady. After hearing Li Long's idea, she began to look through the information. "Are you talking about the yard near the old street?"

"Yes." Li Long told the location.

"There is indeed a yard owner who left the key with us and is looking to rent it out." The lady flipped through the documents and quickly found a letter of authorization. Then she looked up at Li Long and said:
"Since you want to rent it, I'll tell you the situation. They said that you can rent it for at least half a year, and the rent is 20 yuan per month, payable in one lump sum for half a year. If you want to renew the lease, you can discuss it one month in advance, and you can also contact us. If you think these are okay, then let's go and see the yard now. If you think it's too expensive, then don't bother. We also have yards in other places here, and the original owners went to Kou Li and entrusted us to rent them on their behalf."

Li Long was moved when he heard this and asked:

"So, are you selling this yard?"

"Sell? They didn't say. Maybe they won't sell. We can't decide that."

Well, Li Long originally wanted to take advantage of a bargain. After all, the housing prices in Shicheng would rise in the future, and they did not fall much until the severe winter of the real estate market.

Besides, this place is next to the old street, and the housing prices will definitely soar in the future... Forget it, there are many ways to make money, this one won't make a difference.

"Then let's go take a look." We had to see the courtyard. At that time, we only saw the outside, not the inside, so we didn't know what it was like.

The elder sister took Li Long to the yard. After opening the gate, Li Long found that the layout of the yard was a bit similar to his own. The vegetable field was quite large and separated from the yard by a flower wall. However, the vegetable field was barren at this time, with nothing in it. In fact, there was no need to plant it, it would be good to keep it for raising sheep.

The elder sister opened the door and said:

"No one has lived in this house for almost a year. It's a proper brick house with a stove and a fire wall. It can be lived in during the winter. Most of the furniture is still there. Although it's not new, it can be used..."

Li Long opened the rooms one by one and looked around. The original owner left in a hurry and packed up most of his things, leaving some odds and ends. But it didn't take much effort to clean them up. The floor was paved with bricks, so it was easy to clean.

The whole yard is smaller than my own, but larger than the yard I bought south of Wuyi Highway for Sister Yang to rent. In this location, twenty yuan is not a lot.

Li Long's plan is to rent the yard for half a year, and his brother-in-law Chen Xingbang will work first. He will pay the initial rent himself, and consider it as supporting his brother-in-law. After half a year, if he is capable, Chen Xingbang should be able to settle down, and he will not care about the yard, and will completely hand it over to Chen Xingbang. When he arrives, his brother-in-law should take his sister and the children over, right?
"Rented." Li Long made the decision. "Do you want to pay and sign the contract now?"

"No need to sign a contract. You pay the money and I'll write you a certificate." The older sister didn't expect Li Long to be so straightforward. She smiled and said, "Let me make it clear first. Pay the rent for half a year at a time. If you want to renew the lease, tell me one month in advance."

"Okay." Li Long said with certainty. The elder sister locked the door and took Li Long to the street to pay the money and get the invoice. At this time, the elder sister emphasized on Li Long's identity. Li Long took out the certificate from the supply and marketing cooperative and his work permit. The elder sister was very happy. After all, people in the government are more trustworthy.

After paying the money and getting the certificate and key, Li Long thanked the lady and quickly went to the old street.

In just a short while, the twenty or thirty kilograms of fish that Li Qingxia brought were reduced to less than five kilograms.

"Dad, I have rented the yard. You sell it first, and I will take my brother-in-law to see the yard." Li Long went over and said, and Chen Xingbang stood up excitedly.

"Okay, you guys go ahead." Li Qingxia was able to handle the sales even though he was selling fish by himself, and said with a smile.

Li Long led Chen Xingbang to the yard. Chen Xingbang asked as they walked:
"Xiaolong, how come it's so quick? This is done very quickly. Is the yard big? Can we put a few sheep there?"

There are a lot of questions. Obviously, Chen Xingbang hasn't said much in the past few days, but he has thought about it very carefully.

Li Long pointed to the courtyard and said:
"Look, it's a big yard with a vegetable garden in front. With the gate blocked, it's just right for raising sheep. But we have to bring some feed from home, which is easy."

When they arrived at the yard, Li Long unlocked the door and opened it, allowing Chen Xingbang to go in and take a look first.

Chen Xingbang walked in excitedly, and took a glance at the large vegetable garden in front of him, feeling very satisfied. He also looked at the red brick floor and the house on the three-story steps, feeling very satisfied.

Li Long opened the door again and let him see.

"Not bad, not bad, it's much better than I thought." Chen Xingbang smiled, "Isn't the rent cheap?"

"I've paid for the first half of the year," Li Long said. "After half a year, you should be able to stand on your own feet. Then you can pay. Twenty yuan a month, is that okay?"

"Sure!" Chen Xingbang said with a smile, "It's a big yard like this, and it's right next to the old street. It's really not expensive!"

Okay, since Chen Xingbang thinks it's not expensive, then the matter is almost settled. The next step is the matter of cattle and sheep.

After looking around for a while, Chen Xingbang made a decision.

"Xiaolong, I'm not going back today. I have to clean up the yard and bring some things over. It happens to be in the old street, so I can buy some things here. You and dad go back. When do you plan to go to the mountains?"

Li Long calculated that he would need a day to plant the melons tomorrow. He would also need to do some finishing work the day after tomorrow, so he said:

"The day after tomorrow, the day after tomorrow we will go into the mountains."

"Okay, I'll take the bus to Ma County the day after tomorrow. I'll wait for you at the grain store."

"Okay." Li Long didn't say much. It was completely understandable that Chen Xingbang was eager to start his own business. After all, Li Anguo and Li Junshan had already joined the company, but he had nothing to do. He must be under a lot of pressure.

"I will return the rent for the yard to you when I make money," Chen Xingbang said again.

"No, no." Li Long waved his hand. "This is my gift to you. You should have it. Don't worry about it. Just think about what to do next."

Li Long came out of the compound and walked to the old man. Li Qingxia had already sold all the fish and was packing up. The tractor's crank was also here. After Li Long packed it up, Li Qingxia asked:

"Your brother-in-law stayed there?"

"Well, he won't be back. Clean up the yard and come with me to the mountains to buy sheep the day after tomorrow."

"Okay, as long as he can get things done." Li Qingxia is very open-minded. "He is good at dealing with this."

The two men arrived at the tractor, put down the things, and Li Long asked the old man:
"Dad, do you want some milk tea?"

"No, I still prefer porridge. Besides, I'm not hungry now. I earned more than 20 yuan today. Let's go back to that county, to the big meat canteen. I'll pay for the fried meat noodles!"

Dad is generous!

Li Long smiled as he got on the tractor and, when turning the corner, he passed by Keyum's milk tea shop. He waved his hand as a greeting, then drove away, leaving behind a cloud of smoke, diesel fumes, and envious looks from many people.

After dinner, Li Qingxia insisted that Li Long drive the tractor to the market, where he bought some vegetable seedlings. Only then did he get on the tractor and drive back contentedly.

Li Long didn't see Sister Yang in the market, and he didn't know if she had sold her whole pot of rice and went back. But looking at the time, it was lunchtime, so she should have gone back to cook, right?

When he got home, the old man didn't put down the nets in the afternoon. Li Long asked him about it, and he said that he would plant melons tomorrow and needed manpower, so he also wanted to go to the fields to take a look.

The next day, a tractor took the entire Li family to the melon field.

Li Jianguo and his wife, Li Qingxia and his wife, and Li Long. Chen Lirong was not at home, she stayed at home to cook.

The tractor stopped at the edge of the field. After Li Long turned off the engine, he went to the back to get something. Li Jianguo had already jumped off the tractor and put a bag of melon seeds at the edge of the field.

Liang Yuemei, wearing a headscarf, followed behind with three on-demand devices. Li Qingxia carried a basket of five kilograms of tea, and Du Chunfang had a basket full of dried steamed buns on his arm.

The custom here is to break the leftover steamed buns into pieces and dry them in the sun. This way they are not likely to go bad, are easy to preserve, and are good for the stomach.

But later on, people gradually stopped steaming so many steamed buns, and with the advent of refrigerators, fewer and fewer people dried the steamed buns in the sun.

When Li Long was watching short videos in his previous life, he saw that people in Qitai, one of the three eastern counties, were still drying steamed buns until the 2020s, and he felt very familiar with them. Although some customs and eating habits no longer exist in Ma County, they still exist in other places.

For example, the dry steamed buns from Qitai and the cold noodles from Fangcao Lake.

Of course, it is also easy for internet celebrities to target you and produce counterfeit and shoddy products.

Need to distinguish carefully.

When the things arrived at the field, Li Long picked up a seed drill without hesitation, opened the lid, and grabbed a handful of melon seeds from the bag and put them in.

Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei followed. They had used this in their vegetable garden at home, but this time it was a large field, and the feeling was different.

Li Long's action restored their confidence.

Li Long came to the edge of the field. The field had been plowed, leveled and harrowed, and was very flat. He could feel the loose sand when he stepped on it, which was good.

He pointed at the ground at the edge and said:

"One ridge has two rows, and then another ridge is built every 80 centimeters to one meter. I will be the first one to do it."

As he spoke, he took the jukebox and started to demonstrate.

Seeing Li Long's actions, Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei, who often farmed, immediately understood and followed suit.

But they did not move forward.

Li Qingxia and Du Chunfang filled three cloth bags with melon seeds, about two or three kilograms. Li Long and his three companions tied one on their waists, and when the melon seeds in the seeding device were empty, they would take a handful from their pockets and add them in, so that the seedlings would not be missed.

Let’s get started! (End of this chapter)