Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Although winter slaughter is not a festival, it is more lively than a festival for herders. In this era, herders usually live their own lives in the mountains, and only get together to have fun during winter slaughter, sheep hunting, and horse racing.

Later, they settled down and started animal husbandry, but the herders' traditions did not change. Every winter, they would still gather together to steal sheep and race horses.

It's just that due to the small space, the sheep and horse racing makes a lot of noise and there is no special venue, so the racing will take place on the road and through the village, which will inevitably injure the villagers, especially the children.

In some places where herders live, similar things happen almost every year. Dozens of horses rush into the village and run wildly in the alleys side by side, which is very scary.

But it is difficult to stop such things. After all, it is a national custom, and some things cannot be explained. The best way is naturally to have a special venue, just like the man who stood on the horse and whistled to cheer for his nephew and became popular this year.

They have their own special field, and they have fun and are very relaxed when competing.

The winter slaughter is still very lively, just like the New Year or the market in the 1980s. It is difficult to gather people together, and everyone talks and laughs, as if they have suddenly integrated into the society.

Humans, after all, are social beings.

When Li Long arrived, the slaughtering of cattle began.

Slaughtering cattle is different from slaughtering sheep. For a herder like Halimu, slaughtering sheep can be done by one person, but slaughtering cattle is a big job.

Just think about it, if that piece of cowhide was spread out, it would cover the entire floor of a small room.

The herdsmen who helped to slaughter the cattle were also very excited. They each had their own division of labor, including skinning, gutting, setting up the stove to boil water, and cleaning the internal organs.

Because Halimu had said before that he would give the offal to Li Long, two young men took out the offal, put some of it in a large basin to freeze, and took the stomach and intestines to the waterside to clean them.

The intestines need to be rinsed with warm water because they contain grease. If they are washed with cold water, it will coagulate and the dirt inside cannot be washed away, and there will be odor.

But don't use water that is too hot, as it will cook the intestines and make them impossible to wash.

Warm water is best.

Li Long couldn't get involved to help, so he simply asked where there was a spring with more water near Halimu.

Halimu thought about it, pointed to a location and asked Li Long to go and see it.

Li Long walked over there.

All winter dens are basically built on relatively flat grass slopes, with a relatively wide field of vision, making it easier to build cattle and sheep pens and pile grass.

Li Long walked about fifty or sixty meters before he reached the edge of the mountain wall. There were trees and shrubs here, and there were quite a lot of weeds. He looked around, walked forward a little further, and found a stream.

Although it is winter, the water is still flowing, with only a thin layer of ice on it, and the water flow rate is not small.

Li Long turned his head and looked at Halimu's winter nest. The young people there had already started to remove bones and meat to prepare for cooking in a big pot.

There aren't so many types of food these days, and boiling, grilling and frying are basically what everyone eats.

He looked at the distance from here to the winter nest. If hard plastic pipes were used, most of them would have to be buried underground, otherwise they would easily be damaged.

The water inlet of the water pipe can be on the edge of this stream. Li Long’s idea is that it would be best to get to the source of the stream, where there should be spring water.

He broke off a branch from the side and felt his way inside, thinking that if the water source was not far away, it would be best to go right at the water source, as that way the possibility of contamination would be minimal.

After all, there are relatively few places like his wooden house where there are springs nearby.

Soon, Li Long found that it was difficult to go forward. There was a small waterfall here in the stream, and it was difficult to climb up.

However, even here, the altitude is 20 to 30 meters higher than that in the winter nest, and higher than the water tower built later by Team 4, so it is enough.

He looked at the location of the small waterfall, and saw a small puddle with a stone bottom. Li Long felt that he could dig a trench and bury the water pipe in the puddle.

Of course, the opening of the water pipe must be covered with gauze, otherwise stones will get in and block the pipe over time.

Gauze will easily rot over time, so it is best to get a wire mesh with very fine mesh.

It's a little troublesome, but once you do it well, it can be very useful.

Li Long walked down while thinking about what to do.

The stick in my hand kept probing. At this time, there was wind and snow, so the snow in front of me looked white, but if I stepped on it, it might be a snow pit.

In the end, I simply followed the footsteps in the direction I came from. This was safer.

Even so, the stick in his hand found several snow pits, just one or two steps away from where he was standing.

It is still very dangerous in the mountains when it snows, and it's not just the wild beasts that are dangerous.

When Li Long returned to the winter den, the cow had been slaughtered and was being cut up. The large pieces of meat and bones were already in the pot and being cooked, and the internal organs had been cleaned and put into bags, ready to be frozen and taken away by Li Long's tractor.

The things in the tractor had also been taken out and scattered into piles, and the people who came to help would use horses to carry the things away when they left.

There was already a pile of skins on the tractor's bed. From the looks of it, most of them were wolf skins and deer skins. Because there were so many skins, Li Long only took a quick look and planned to sort them out carefully after returning.

And he didn't have time. The beef bones in the pot had already turned over many times, and the aroma of the meat could be smelled for several kilometers.

There are wolves howling in the distant mountains, and I don’t know if it has anything to do with the winter slaughter here.

If there wasn't too much, the bottle of wine that Li Long brought was opened, and the pieces of meat were fished out and put into the enamel basin that Li Long brought. Otherwise, Halimu really didn't have that many bowls here, so he had to eat with his hands.

The naan is made, and each person breaks off a piece. Most people eat the meat first. Winter slaughter is also a day to satisfy cravings, and meat is the main thing to eat. Naan is mainly used to relieve the greasiness at the end.

Li Long was full of food, so he picked up a piece of neck and chewed it slowly. The meat here was tasty, but a little more difficult to chew. After all, the meat had been cut first, and the owner kept the cut meat for winter.

The wine in the bottle was poured into a glass, and those who liked to drink were given a glass each. Someone handed one to Li Long, and Li Long pointed at the tractor, indicating that he did not drink it, otherwise he would drive the tractor into the ditch.

Others did not force him and passed the wine glasses to others. They chatted with each other about the interesting things they encountered in the summer ranch, some in Kazakh and some in Chinese, which gave Li Long some understanding of the summer ranch.

The summer pastures in the deep mountains are alpine grasslands or meadows. The terrain is very high, and there are also large tracts of irregular grasslands. They are not as vast as the grasslands in Yili or Inner Mongolia, which are separated by cedars, shrubs, rivers, etc.

These pieces of land become the exclusive pastures of each herdsman. They are in different locations and encounter different things.

"Such a large piece of ice fell from the ice cap in a flash, and almost hit my sheep. After that, I dared not to graze sheep there anymore..."

This is a story told by a herdsman about his time herding sheep to the edge of a glacier.

"...It was such a large herd of wild goats, at least seventy or eighty of them. I thought it would be great if I could mix them into my flock. But they ran too fast, and I couldn't catch up with them even on horseback..."

Others laughed at him, and he blushed and tried to defend himself:

"You all know that they run up the mountains. My horses can't go up there at all... I kill several of them every day in my grassland. The sheepskins are all there!"

He pointed to the leather on the bucket of Li Long's car to show that he was telling the truth.

Someone else confirmed that he had indeed taken the skin, and everyone believed him with a smile.

"…Several nights, my sheep were eaten. I hid by the sheepfold at night and saw a black creature rushing into the sheepfold. I thought it was a wolf, but I found out that there was only one creature and it didn't howl. I shot it and realized it was a leopard…"

……

Li Long listened to their stories with great interest. He wondered if he could go to the Xia Ranch when he had time.
Don't even think about it in the short term. After Gu Xiaoxia gave birth to a child, I dare not go far away. At least I have to wait until the child goes to school.

Oh, it’s quite enviable to let them talk about it.

Yushanjiang and Halimu did not say anything about this. They just looked at each other, smiled and said nothing.

After eating meat and drinking two bottles of wine, Halimu refused to let him drink any more, or refused to give him any more. Li Long brought a lot of wine, but Halimu did not share it, because he was worried that someone would open the bottle and drink it on the way, and get drunk and unable to return.

After eating and drinking, the herdsmen climbed onto their horses one by one and staggered back. Halimu and his wife cleaned up the mess. Li Long wanted to help Halimu but he stopped him and told him to go back to the cabin quickly.

"I won't keep you here any longer. You have your own house. Go back quickly. You need to put up a stove there too."

It was getting dark. Li Long originally thought about going back to the county directly, but then he thought better of it and decided to go to the wooden house to take a look since he had to go to Yushan River early tomorrow.

When Li Long drove the tractor to the wooden house, the sun had already set and night had fallen. Li Long hurriedly got off the tractor and drained the water in the tank first.

The wooden house was well preserved and no one had damaged the door, which seemed to indicate that not many people came here.

He opened the door, lit the oil lamp first, and then set up the stove.

There was firewood, charcoal, and kindling in the shed. After clearing the ash from the stove, it was still very quick to set up the stove. The wooden house was cold, but Li Long didn't mind. He believed that as long as the stove was lit, it would soon heat up.

It was dark. Li Long held a flashlight in his mouth and put the leather in the tractor bucket and the bag of cow offal with lard into the small room. Otherwise, some carnivores would definitely come and take the things away at night.

Whether it is offal or skin, it is a delicacy for them in winter.

After finishing all this, Li Long locked the door of the small room and entered the big room carrying the handle of the tractor.

The stove was already lit and the temperature in the room had risen. He put the pot on it and started to boil water.

The spring was not frozen. Li Long took a bucket and fetched two buckets of water. The temperature in the room rose a little.

He shoveled some more coal from the shed and brought it into the house, then used a hammer to break it into small pieces for later use.

The door was closed and latched, and an oil lamp brought a dim light into the wooden house.

Li Long was a little uncomfortable with the sudden switch back to the oil lamp after getting used to the electric lights in the courtyard.

He sat on the bed and felt that the bedding was still a little cold, so he propped them up and placed them on a stool, closer to the stove, to warm them up.

The meat meal lasted from noon to afternoon, and Li Long was quite full. He even brought back a pot of meat soup and two bones. But he was not in the mood to eat at the moment. He just wanted to warm up the quilt and go to sleep.

It is said that if you eat too much, the stomach and brain will compete for blood, so the mind will feel groggy and want to sleep.

The bedding couldn't be heated up for a while, so he rummaged around in bed, took out a book, leaned against the table, and started reading near the oil lamp.

"Seven Heroes and Five Gallants" is a traditional chivalrous novel. It is not as colloquial as the works of Jin Gu, Liang Yu and Wen Yu, but it is still okay to read.

After all, I have read The Investiture of the Gods, which is written in more classical Chinese than this one, so why not this one?

After a while, the temperature in the room rose completely, the coal burned into red charcoal, the water in the pot boiled, and the howling of wolves could be heard outside.

These beasts have such good noses that they can smell even the slightest smell of blood.

But today I can only be disappointed.

Li Long was not in good spirits at the time and had no intention of hunting. He put down the book, stood up, scooped the water from the pot into the thermos, then took the pot down, shoveled some coal foam to suppress the fire, covered the stove lid, turned around and made himself a bowl of tea.

Kazakhs basically only add salt when cooking meat. Li Long only ate a piece of meat, which was a big beef neck, and drank a bowl of broth after eating. It was very delicious at the time, but now it feels very salty and thirsty.

I slowly drank tea and read a book. I felt that the temperature in the room seemed to be constant. After finishing a bowl of tea, I touched the bedding and found it was hot, so I spread it out, blew out the oil lamp, and went to sleep.

The howling of wolves outside became closer. Li Long turned over and fell into a deep sleep.

A few wolves glided through the snow and came to the cabin. They smelled the meat and circled around the tractor a few times, but found nothing.

Finally, the wolves left in disappointment, for they knew that the wooden house could not be broken with their teeth and claws.

Because he went to bed early, Li Long got up early too. He saw that it was still dark outside, but he couldn't sleep, so he just got up.

I don't feel it when I'm asleep, but when I wake up, I feel a heaviness in my bladder and my mouth is very dry.

He poured half a bowl of boiling water from the thermos, added some cold boiled water, drank it all in one gulp, wiped his mouth, then picked up the gun and opened the door.

A gust of cold air blew in my face, followed by some pink snow in the air.

Snowing?
Li Long looked outside and confirmed that it was not snowing, but snow blown by the wind. Then he saw a lot of claw marks on the thin snow on the wooden floor outside the house.

Wolf!

Li Long hurriedly pulled the bolt to load the gun, and for a moment he actually felt excited.

I haven't hunted for a long time. Are there any wolves out there? How many are there?
Li Long went out through the crack of the door with a gun in hand, closed the door, and observed carefully.

It was still dark, with a few stars overhead, and no movement near the tractor.

Ran?

Li Long was a little disappointed. He looked at the paw prints carefully again. Sure enough, there was a little bit of snow on them. The wolf had been here for some time.

He walked around the tractor and looked into the distance. He didn't see any trace of the wolf, but he didn't dare to let his guard down.

He walked around the cabin with his gun and looked inside the shed, but found nothing moving, so he released the water and went back into the house.

I looked at the watch on my wrist. It was past seven o'clock and still dark. The wild boars should have come down the mountain by now, right?

But since we are going to Yushanjiang today, let’s not provoke that group of people.

Returning to the house, Li Long cleaned the stove and boiled water. He added some water to the broth from last night and heated it up, intending to make some naan for breakfast.

As for the two bones, he had no appetite for the time being.

Go to the corner of the room, open the jar, take out the frozen pickles, put them into an enamel basin and dissolve them with warm water, wash them and cut them into small pieces, add oil to the pan, stir-fry briefly, serve them out, and eat them immediately. They are very delicious.

After everything was packed up, I locked the door and drove the tractor to Yushanjiang.

Some people have already arrived at Yushanjiang’s winter home and are helping to clean up the area.

Yushanjiang's family was also slaughtering a cow, and he was leading the cow out of the pen.

The cattle breeds here are mainly local yellow cattle and brown cattle. Brown cattle are huge in size, and an adult cow can produce five to six hundred kilograms of meat. Yellow cattle are much smaller in size.

Yesterday Halim slaughtered a yellow cattle, and today Yushanjiang's family slaughtered a brown cattle - herders don't raise many brown cattle, mainly because they have a huge appetite. In the past, they might not be able to afford to raise them.

Fortunately, this year Li Long started using a tractor to harvest grass, and he was able to harvest a lot of grass that was previously out of reach. This saved time and increased the amount of grass fodder he had.

Secondly, because Li Long would bring in some things from time to time, Yushan Jiang Halimu and the others were willing to feed the cattle and sheep with concentrated feed. Of course, as members of the pastoral team, they would return the cattle and sheep that they handed over. After all, everyone had their own plans in mind.

For example, Yushanjiang meant that as long as there was enough grass and fodder, it would be better to raise more brown cattle. After all, they produced a lot of meat, and slaughtering one brown cattle was equivalent to slaughtering several yellow cattle.

Of course, the amount of food consumed is the same.

Yushanjiang thought like this: after slaughtering the cow, not much could be eaten in one meal today, so he would give the remaining beef to Li Long and give the offal to Li Long. He would dry the remaining meat and bring his wife and children over when the students were on vacation.

Both children are grown up now, and they eat a lot with big appetites. Now that life is not so difficult, it is a good time to replenish their appetite.

This brown cow was much taller than the yellow cow. It seemed to have sensed that today might be the end of its life. It kept roaring and refused to move forward.

Li Long came forward to help. He was very strong and together with Yushanjiang, he led the cow to the place where it was to be slaughtered. There was a stake here to tie the cow, and later the cow's hooves would be tied up before being slaughtered.

Li Long vaguely thought of a story he had heard before, which said that there was an old man who killed a cow. He just took a wooden hammer and hit the cow's head lightly, and the cow fell to the ground and died.

Very magical.

I don't know where I hit.

"Have you seen the leather from yesterday?" Yushanjiang asked Li Long.

"No, I got home late, so I carried the skin into the house and went to sleep." Li Long explained.

Yushanjiang nodded and said nothing more.

Li Long didn't think anything of it at first, but after thinking about it, he felt something was wrong.

After Yushanjiang and Halimu gave him things, they usually wouldn't say anything. They would just give him whatever he said.

Why did you suddenly say this today?

Is there anything special about those leathers?

Li Long was about to ask when a few more people came. With more people, they could slaughter the cow.

Li Long put this matter aside temporarily.

(Acute suppurative tonsillitis, intravenous injection, but the high fever still persists. There is only one chapter today. I have no choice but to take care of one of the children since their mother is not around.) (End of this chapter)