Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

The rope was very long. Li Long tied one end of the rope around his waist and gave the other end to Halimu. He planned to go down and see if the tiger bones were still there.

Before going down, Li Long found a rope and told Halimu that if he fell down and Halimu couldn't pull him up, he should tie the rope to the horse and let the horse pull him out.

Of course, he never fell into a snow pit, this was done with the idea of ​​falling into a sand pit.

Halimu also agreed solemnly, then pulled the rope and walked two or three steps away, watching Li Long walk down seriously.

Li Long first used a stick to probe down, but the stick could not reach the bottom. This snow pit was different from the ones he usually encountered in the county.

When snow is cleared in the county, it is piled into large pits. But the cleared snow is compressed, so it becomes more solid.

Even if a person jumps into that snow pit, they won't sink very deep, at most to the thigh level. More likely, the person won't sink any deeper after the snow reaches above the knees.

But the snow here is different. The snow in this snow pit is loose, like light sand, and it will sink when you fall into it.

Li Long took a step forward into the snow pit and felt his body sinking directly down, soon reaching his legs. He immediately moved his other leg to the other side to increase the area of ​​snow involved and stop his sinking momentum.

It was OK, I could feel the bottom below my feet, but my body did not continue to sink. Of course, I was prepared. Like the tiger before, it fell down stupidly, sank down, and struggled desperately, so it would naturally sink deeper and deeper.

"Over there, a little further over there." Halimu said, "I used a wooden fork to dig a snow pit there and buried it. I don't know if it's still there."

The place Halimu mentioned was more than two meters away from where Li Long was trapped, and Li Long slowly moved towards that place.

As soon as he moved, his body sank. He immediately poked forward diagonally with the stick, using the force of the poke to resist the force of the sinking snow pit.

After walking two steps forward, Li Long slowly became familiar with the skills of moving in the snow pit and soon arrived at the position pointed by Halimu.

He probed with a stick and really found a hard object under the half-meter deep snow.

He became excited and immediately tried to pry the thing up with a stick, but as he moved, his body began to sink again.

The snow had reached Li Long's waist. He hurriedly leaned forward to steady himself, almost lying on the snow.

This really stopped it.

Feeling that his arm could just reach it, Li Long simply reached out and started to dig the snow down.

After digging a half-meter deep pit, Li Long saw the frozen flesh and bones.

I don't know whether it belongs to the tiger or the sheep. Li Long didn't get excited this time. He slowly took out the thing and found that it belonged to the sheep.

He turned his head to look at Halimu, and Halimu understood and took the middle of the rope and threw the other end over.

Li Long slowly tied the other end of the rope to the sheep's leg, and Halimu used force to pull the sheep out.

Halimu and his men didn't eat the sheep that were bitten by the tiger, but Li Long and his men did.

It’s a waste if you don’t eat it.

While Halimu pulled the sheep up, Li Long continued to dig out the snow.

The tiger's body was not too deep below, but it was quite deep at this point, nearly one meter, and it was quite difficult for Li Long to dig it out.

Mainly because the movements and postures are too uncomfortable.

It feels like practicing yoga.

The tiger's body is much bigger than that of a sheep. Li Long tried to peel it for a long time and was sweating, but he only peeled off half of its body.

"You tie it up and I'll pull it." Halimu said on the way.

"No, no, no, it's stuck and hard to pull out." Li Long shook his head, "I'll try again."

"It's okay. If I can't pull it, I'll let Ma pull it."

"Will they pull me up too?" Li Long suddenly thought.

"It's possible!" Halimu smiled.

After saying that, he threw the rope to Li Long.

Li Long also laughed. Once people fall into habitual thinking, it is easy for them to become stupid.

Tie one end of the rope firmly to the tiger's leg, then Li Long turned to Halim and said:
"Okay."

It was simple for Halimu. He pulled the horse over, put the middle of the rope around the iron ring in front of the saddle, and then patted the horse's back gently.

The horse started to move outward, and Li Long immediately felt a huge force pulling him outward.

My waist is going to break!
The rope should be tied a few more times!

Just as this thought flashed through Li Long's mind, the horse had stopped and he had been pulled out of the snow pit.

The horse is too powerful.

As soon as he landed, he untied the rope and went to see the tiger.

The hair on the tiger's head was not peeled off, and there was actually a word "王" on its forehead.

Unfortunately, the tiger doesn’t look majestic at all and even looks a bit pitiful.

Prey is always a source of pride for the hunter.

These words only flashed through Li Long's mind for a moment, and he said to Halim:
"Okay, let's tie them to the horses and go back, shall we?"

"Okay." Halimu naturally had no objection.

From then on, the majestic feeling of the tiger completely disappeared from Li Long's mind.

It turns out that beating a tiger is so easy.

In fact, after careful analysis, Li Long knew that it was not that simple. If the tiger had not fallen into the snow pit, whether it could be hit or not was another matter.

Halimu himself didn't want to fight. In the minds of Chinese people, this thing is already very powerful, otherwise it would not be often listed alongside the dragon.

But it was courting death and had extremely bad luck. It fell into a snow pit and was unable to climb out, which gave Halimu an opportunity.

The snow pit is also the reason why its body was preserved. Even if carnivores wanted to eat it, they would probably run away immediately after stepping on it when they came to the edge of the snow pit.

Between eating and dying and living on the side of hunger, even animals would choose the latter, right?

Li Long took two large plastic woven bags from his horse, one for the sheep and the other for the tiger.

Halimu tied the bag containing the tiger to his horse, and asked Li Long to tie the bag containing the sheep to the horse he was riding, and the two men hurried back.

Li Long is good at riding a horse, but tying something that is not very coordinated on the horse's back is a little bit difficult.

The two men hardly rested on their way back. When the horses were tired, they got off and walked for a while. Most of the time they were on the road.

Even so, it was already dark when we arrived at Halimu's winter nest.

Halimu's wife heard the sound of horse hooves, came out and saw the two of them, and immediately went into the house to make some milk tea.

The two men unloaded the things and threw them onto the tractor's bed, then went into the house to warm up and drink milk tea.

Halimu asked Li Long to live in the winter house, but Li Long waved his hand to indicate that it was not necessary. He just asked Halimu's wife to help boil a pot of hot water. When he left, he drained the water tank of the tractor, and now he had to add water before leaving.

After drinking two bowls of milk tea, Li Long felt warm in the cozy winter nest.

Li Long also told Halimu and the others about the benefits of tiger bones. What he meant was to leave a few pieces of tiger bones for them as backup.

Halimu and the others shook their heads. Although they also used drugs from the county pharmaceutical company, they were still not used to using alcohol to treat illnesses.

Then take them all back. Anyway, the bones of this tiger alone must weigh 50 to 60 kilograms, which can be used to make a lot of wine. Li Long plans to make more wine, and when the elderly in Duosen's family are no longer strong, he can send some wine to them for them to drink.

Pour boiling water into the water tank. After filling it up, Li Long shook it a few times to preheat it. Then Halimu helped to reduce the pressure. He held the crank with both hands and shook the tractor in one breath.

The sound of rattling echoed in the valley, waking up the cattle and sheep in the pen, pheasants, rabbits and other wild animals hiding in the woods.

Li Long said hello to Halimu and his wife, and drove the tractor towards the wooden house.

When he returned to the wooden house, it was completely dark. Li Long dragged the bag containing the tiger into the wooden house, then took down the bag containing the sheep and threw it in. He locked the door, drained the water tank, and then went back to the house.

The fire in the stove had gone out, and he set up the stove with ease.

This time, I didn't boil water. The water I boiled in the morning was still warm in the thermos. After pouring a bowl of water and drinking it slowly, Li Long touched his thigh. He rode back and forth for more than ten hours that day, and his inner thigh was rubbed sore.

I don’t know how people like Halimu who ride horses every day can bear it.

When the fire was burning, Li Long shoveled a shovel of coal foam, lifted the stove cover and pressed the coal foam onto the fire. In this way, the newly lit coal could only smolder slowly, at least until the second half of the night. The room was always hot.

There is a furnace tube that draws smoke upwards, and there are gaps at the windows, so there is no need to worry about coal smoke poisoning.

Li Long didn't even bother washing up. He quickly took off his clothes, lay down on the bed, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

I have to attend another winter slaughter tomorrow, so I need to get enough rest.

In the next few days, he participated in a winter slaughtering activity almost every day. By the time this series of winter slaughterings was over, twelve sheep shells and a pile of skins were already piled up in his cabin.

He was asked to replace the pipes and let in water in the spring.

Li Long naturally agreed to everything. It was not a big deal. He was mainly a technical consultant, and someone else would do the hard work.

When the winter slaughter of the people of this small tribe was over and Li Long returned to the county, the tractor bucket was already full.

He also became untidy and his mouth smelled of mutton - not the kind of mutton that makes people unable to eat, but the kind that comes from eating too much beef or mutton.

After all, even urine smells like beef and mutton, so how can your body not smell like that?

I sweat a lot.

Li Long couldn't wait to go back and take a bath. The best he could do in the wooden house was to boil some water and wipe his body.

There were no electric shavers at that time, and he was not used to using a razor. There were a few small red marks on his face from shaving with the razor.

When he came back, Li Long laughed at himself, saying that he used to stay in the mountains for one or two months, but now he couldn't stand it after only ten days.

It is really easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality.

It was still morning when the tractor arrived at the gate of the compound. Gu Xiaoxia had not returned yet, but Sister Yang had already returned from selling food at the market and was preparing to cook.

Hearing the sound of the tractor, she hurriedly wiped her hands and came to open the door. There was no other way, her hands were wet and would stick to iron objects, she had learned this lesson before.

Not only did she have it, Han Fang also had it.

There is no way. Many people who have come from the oral tradition have had such lessons. After all, at this time such lessons cannot be spread quickly and widely.

After opening the gate, Li Long was ready to get out of the car. Seeing Sister Yang open the gate, he drove the tractor in.

"So many sheep?" Sister Yang was really surprised when she looked into the truck bed.

"Well, it needs to be sent out." Li Long got off the tractor. This time he didn't drain the water in the tank because he still had things to do.

"No wonder. I was thinking, with so many sheep, we can't eat them all." Sister Yang has already regarded herself as a member of this family.

Of course, a very well-behaved family.

"Sister Yang, what are you cooking for lunch?"

"Latiaozi. I asked her aunt when she was at work this morning, and she said she wanted to eat latiaozi."

"Okay." Li Long smiled. It was just right. Homemade noodles and fried pork noodles outside have their own flavors. You can try both.

Looking at the time, it was too late in the morning. Sister Yang went to the kitchen to cook, so he sorted out the sheep's flesh, counted out eight, and put the rest, along with the tiger's body, into the wing room.

He planned to keep the matter of the tiger a secret.

There were skins on the cart, so he picked up a deerskin and a few wolf skins and put away the rest.

I don’t plan to sell the leather for the time being. I don’t know what the price of leather will be in winter. I’ll decide when I find out.

He didn't plan to keep the tiger skin, but at least he would sell it when the price was good.

Including snow leopard skins. After all, private individuals are not allowed to own that thing. It is better to sell it for money.

In this regard, Li Long is very practical.

The stove in the room was burning. Li Long lifted the stove lid, put a small pot on it, poured water into it and boiled himself. He simply washed his face and went out to find a barber shop to get a haircut.

When he came back, the water in the house was almost boiling, so he scooped out some water, added cold water, and began to wash his body.

After wiping his body, pouring out the water and changing his clothes, Gu Xiaoxia and Gu Boyuan arrived one after another after a while.

Li Long was wondering if Gu Boyuan had intentionally come later to avoid suspicion.

This is normal. At that time, the separation between men and women was much more serious than in later generations. If a man and a woman were alone together, there would definitely be people gossiping.

Although the incident in 1983 is not as serious here as in the mainland, Gu Boyuan still pays attention to it.

Both Gu Boyuan and Gu Xiaoxia were very happy to see Li Long come back.

Gu Boyuan asked:
"Why are there so many muttons on this truck? Why don't you unload it? Come on, it'll only take a few seconds..."

"No, no, no, these sheep were given to our supply and marketing cooperative by herders from the mountains. Our sheep have already been unloaded into the house."

"Oh." Gu Boyuan nodded, "Your trip into the mountains seems to have yielded a lot."

Li Long smiled and said:
"Anyway, there's plenty of meat, enough to eat this winter."

Indeed, although I haven't hunted much this winter, the meat I brought back is enough to eat.

Not only that, but there were a few extra sheep. He had planned everything: one for his eldest brother, one for his eldest sister-in-law's family, half for Uncle Luo, and some for others.

For example, should we send a leg of lamb to Secretary Ma to express our gratitude?
Li Long was not trying to maintain his network, as this would not help him build his network. He just wanted to express his gratitude.

After all, although the article was written by reporter Zhang, Director Ma also contributed to it.

So Li Long felt that this was necessary, and also included Secretary Jiang.

Well, it seems that as the end of the year approaches, there are more and more relationships to deal with, which is quite troublesome.

Don’t think about it, let’s eat first.

He could already smell the aroma of beef wrapped in spicy noodles. Today's noodles must be very delicious, so he had to order at least two large plates!
Han Fang was the last to come back. Her school was far away and she had no bicycle after school, so she had to walk. Sister Yang actually planned to buy her a bicycle, but Han Fang didn't ride one herself, saying that there were too few people riding bicycles in the school and it would be too conspicuous for a non-local student like her to ride a bicycle.

Unlike other rice dishes, you don’t need to wait until everyone is present. Eat the noodles right after they are cooked, otherwise they won’t taste good after a while.

Sister Yang knew that Li Long had a big appetite, so she made a lot of noodles, and he basically finished it all. Today, the minced beef, spicy skin and tomato sauce were particularly flavorful, and everyone ate more than usual. Finally, they had a bowl of noodle soup, and they could hardly move.

While eating, everyone else was listening to Li Long talking about the winter slaughter in the mountains. Li Long thought it was very common and they listened with great interest.

Although the straight-line distance to Halimu's winter nest is no more than 20 kilometers, and no more than 40 kilometers on foot, for other people in the yard, it is like living in two different worlds.

After dinner, they talked for a while and felt relaxed. Gu Boyuan and Gu Xiaoxia went out one after another. At the same time, Li Long drove his tractor out.

He planned to deliver the things from the supply and marketing cooperative over now.

The reason why so many Klangzi sheep are needed is to send them to the leaders and various departments of the supply and marketing cooperative.

As a temporary worker in the supply and marketing cooperative, Li Long usually did a lot of things in the name of the supply and marketing cooperative and earned a lot of money.

It's impossible for him to take all the good things for himself. Although Director Wei and Li Xiangqian in the supply and marketing cooperative are very supportive of him, there are still many people under him.

Li Long plans to take advantage of this opportunity at the end of the year and, under the name of herdsmen, give some mutton as welfare to each group.

In fact, he believed that although he was a herdsman, everyone knew that the mutton was obtained by him, so they had to do him a favor.

The tractor rumbled into the yard of the supply and marketing cooperative, and then Li Long saw Li Xiangqian walking to the door.

"Why did you think of coming here today? Didn't I hear that you went into the mountains?" Li Xiangqian should have just arrived as well.

"My herdsman friend in the mountains asked me to bring some meat to share with everyone. He is very grateful for the support and help from our community." Li Long spoke in official language in a loud voice, "so he sent some mutton for me to share with everyone."

"Oh, these herdsmen are great." Li Xiangqian immediately understood what he meant. "Let's go find the director. The director just arrived as well."

Director Wei actually heard the noise outside, but he was the director and would not leave the office easily unless the leader came or something big happened.

After Li Xiangqian and Li Long entered the office and reported the matter, Director Wei's eyes lit up and he said excitedly:

"Our herders are really kind. We just did a trivial thing. By the way, Xiao Li, do you know what difficulties they have?"

Director Wei has big ideas, and this is not just a matter of face.

Li Long immediately thought of that incident. Should we talk about it? (End of this chapter)