Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

"I had planned to bury a water pipe for each family in the spring of next year to bring water down from the mountain. This way they can get water more conveniently without having to run dozens or hundreds of meters to the river to fetch water. The water will also be clean."

Li Long finally told his plan.

He could see that Director Wei wanted to achieve some political achievements in this area.

There is only one supply and marketing cooperative in the whole county, so there is no way to make a horizontal comparison. But if Director Wei wants to make progress, he has to find ways to achieve results in other areas.

The emergence of Li Long, especially as an advanced individual in national unity, gave him an inspiration.

Moreover, several reporters were very considerate and specifically mentioned their supply and marketing cooperative when writing about Li Long, saying that Li Long was an employee of the supply and marketing cooperative.

The supply and marketing cooperatives benefited a little, but not much.

Director Wei feels that it is not good to be so passive all the time. Now that the herders have sent things over, it is a good opportunity to help them solve their problems and do something practical. Isn't that the result?

Li Long did not think that Director Wei's idea was wrong. At this time, it was his deeds that mattered, not his heart. No matter what, he could really help his herdsmen solve their problems, and that was a good thing.

How could it not be possible?

That's why he came up with this idea.

It would be great if the supply and marketing cooperative can do it, but if it can't, I will do it myself anyway. To be honest, the hard plastic pipes cost a few cents per meter, and the total amount needed by a dozen herdsmen will not exceed one kilometer, so he can afford a few hundred yuan.

Besides, they gave us so many sheep and leather.

The capital is enough.

"Okay, okay, it's a hard plastic tube, right?" Director Wei's eyes lit up when he heard it, and he turned to look at Li Xiangqian:
"Old Li, do we have pipes in our warehouse? The kind used to pump wells."

"Yes, yes, a few hundred meters, right?" Li Xiangqian thought for a moment and said, "I don't know how many meters we sold. But it's okay. This pipe is easy to purchase. Not many people are using it right now. If it's not enough, we can just buy another batch."

Li Xiangqian turned around and asked Li Long:

“How many meters do you need?”

"One thousand meters?" Li Long roughly judged that one thousand meters should be enough.

"That's fine. I'll just ask them to buy some more before the New Year."

"Okay!" Director Wei knew that the matter was settled, so he asked Li Long:
"Xiao Li, when do you plan to implement it?"

"We can do it once the snow melts in spring. The main problem is that it is frozen now and it is difficult to do it." Li Long said.

"Okay." Director Wei was a little helpless. He couldn't wait, but he had to wait. He thought for a moment and asked again:
"Is it appropriate to go and visit some herdsmen at this time, and by the way... invite the county propaganda official Ma?"

"Director, it's really not appropriate now. It's mainly because it's too cold in the mountains." Li Long said, "Besides, after the winter slaughter, they basically start to hibernate, and they don't like strangers to disturb them."

Declined.

Director Wei also knew that going to the mountains with great fanfare at this time would not be a good excuse, and even if it did make a fuss, it would be difficult for people to write about it in the news, so he settled for the next best thing:

"Then when we use the pipes to divert the water, Director Ma should be able to be contacted, right?"

"Yes." Li Long thought that Ma Xiaoyan would be delighted, right?

Now that things have been discussed, the next step is to divide the meat.

The director and deputy director each had a sheep. The director had a deerskin and the deputy director had a wolfskin - the deerskin was the skin of a male elk, which was much larger than the wolfskin.

Each of the remaining shares is a sheep, and is divided not by the number of people but by shares.

In addition, Section Chief Hou and Li Xiangqian were each given a wolf skin.

Some people disagree with this special preference, while others are very clear about it.

"I'm in the purchasing department. I'm taken care of by Chief Li in all aspects, so naturally I'm given more credit."

"Then why does Section Chief Hou get an extra piece of skin?" At that time, a piece of skin was worth a month's salary, which was more valuable than in later generations. Naturally, some people were dissatisfied, mainly because they felt it was unfair.

"Don't you know that Section Chief Hou gave him so many bullets twice to give to those herdsmen? Without those bullets, would they have had so much meat to eat?"

"Wasn't that approved by the Director?"

"Even if the director approves it, Section Chief Hou still needs to give him the bullets."

That's how the matter was settled.

Although some groups have many members and the amount of meat they get is not much, they can still get a few kilograms of meat. Although 99% of farmers in the country want to eat commercial grain these days, those who actually eat commercial grain cannot eat meat every day.

The main reason is that supplies are not sufficient. Firstly, wages have to be used to support the family. Secondly, even if you have money, it is impossible to buy too much meat at once. There are not enough meat coupons, and the price of meat in the free market is high.

Who wouldn’t want to eat this meat that’s suddenly available for free?

So no matter what, everyone still likes Li Long. At least this guy is not a lone wolf and is easy to deal with.

Although most people are selfish and would not divide their money like this if they made money, they all like to make friends like this.

Therefore, when you are rich and generous, you will have the most bad friends.

When Li Long delivered meat to each group, he always said that it was a gift from his herdsmen friends, but everyone knew it clearly in their hearts: who among the herdsmen knew them?

It is obvious that Li Long took on those big jobs from the supply and marketing cooperative, made money, and then gave the feedback to the people in the cooperative.

To put it bluntly, it just wants to shut everyone up.

They have experienced such things many times, but none of them were as magnanimous as Li Long.

After dividing the meat and skin, Li Long and Li Xiangqian chatted for a few more words and then drove away on the tractor.

He also wanted to send a leg of lamb to Ma Xiaoyan and tell her what to do in the early spring.

Ma Xiaoyan was stunned for a moment when she heard the guard say someone was looking for her. Her family was also in the county town, but they rarely came here to see her, which was strictly prohibited by her.

After all, the county compound was still quite strict about these things at that time.

"Li Long? Are you looking for me?" Ma Xiaoyan was a little surprised when she saw Li Long.

"Well, I just came back from the mountains. My friends in the mountains have returned from their pastures, and they are slaughtering their sheep for the winter. Because you wrote the article, their herding team paid a lot of attention to them, so they are very grateful to you and asked me to help send you a leg of lamb."

I didn't send Ma Xiaoyan a whole lamb because it would be too conspicuous. I put the lamb leg in a plastic woven bag, tied the bag, and carried it away so no one could tell it was there.

Ma Xiaoyan was very surprised and happy. She quickly realized that this was actually the leg of lamb that Li Long gave him.

It doesn't matter, this kind of gift is accepted openly.

There are many people in her family, and she is not married yet, so she has to pay for the family's food. The last time she wrote an article, the payment was not much, and the department rewarded her with two yuan.

Two yuan can buy a kilogram of meat now, which is nothing to her.

But the lamb leg that Li Long brought over weighed at least four or five kilograms, which was quite a lot.

She pretended to decline, feeling a little embarrassed, and said:

"I did that for work, I didn't really do anything..."

"Secretary Ma, just accept it. In the spring, our company plans to go to the herdsmen in the mountains to help them solve their water problems. We may need to trouble you to go over then..."

"Solve the water problem? What are you going to do?" Ma Xiaoyan became interested when she heard it. "Dig a well?"

"It's not realistic to dig wells in the mountains, so the main thing is to use water pipes. There are water sources in high places, and we use plastic pipes to bring water down from high places and bring it all the way to the herders' winter dens."

Li Long explained briefly: "It's a certain amount of work, and it mainly requires a lot of hard plastic pipes."

Ma Xiaoyan understood. This kind of supplies can basically be found in the supply and marketing cooperatives, and then she confirmed:
"Is this caused by your company?"

"Well, I have to do it alone, and the workload is a bit large." Li Long said vaguely, but did not say that he could not do it.

After all, Ma Xiaoyan worked in a propaganda unit, so she understood it immediately.

She nodded to show that she already knew.

After saying this, Li Long said goodbye to Ma Xiaoyan and went to the radio station.

Ye Laya currently works at a radio station, and Li Long wants to send her a leg of lamb, this time to express his sincere gratitude to her. If she had not translated for reporter Zhang Xinhua at the time, this incident would not have become so big and would not have had such a big impact.

Li Long now knows that being famous has its benefits.

At least many people are still willing to give face.

Yelaya was very surprised. Her parents were also from the animal husbandry team and had just returned from the farm. Although they were also slaughtering meat in winter, they were unable to send her meat.

For these herdsmen, the county town is too far away and there are too many people in the county, so it is very difficult to find her.

Also, the pastoral area where her parents lived was not in the same place as Halim and his family. After all, the grasslands in the southern mountains of Ma County were small and could not be compared with the grasslands in Yili.

She was on secondment in the county, so she had to pay for her meals in the cafeteria, which was really expensive.

Li Long sent her a leg of lamb, which really solved her big problem. She had her own dormitory with a communal stove where she could cook.

Li Long did not use any official words to Ye Laya. He just expressed his gratitude to her and told her that if she had any difficulties, she could go to the supply and marketing cooperative to find him.

Yelaya felt like crying. Although she tried hard to get into the county, she found out that the competition was fierce and there were few ethnic minorities in the radio station. She didn't have much advantage.

I was able to stay only because I often followed Secretary Ma to interview and do publicity work.

Otherwise I would have returned to the team long ago.

Li Long couldn't say much about Ye Laya. He agreed to take care of her because she was from the animal husbandry team. Li Long felt it was his responsibility to help her - of course, within his ability.

The remaining two lamb legs were given to Chen Hongjun and Zhong Guoqiang.

Just because they were able to rush from the county to join the team when I got married, I have to maintain this friendship.

After delivering the sheep around, Li Long left a sheep in the compound. He planned to bring two sheep to the team tomorrow and tell his eldest brother about the tiger bone incident.

He wasn't going to tell anyone about this except his wife and eldest brother.

Even if it was discovered later, people would simply say it was a lynx bone.

However, Li Long had not returned to the team yet. The next morning, Li Jianguo drove a tractor and brought Li Qingxia, Du Chunfang, Liang Yuemei, Li Juan and Li Qiang to the county.

This surprised Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia a little.

After all, Du Chunfang rarely moves around with people from the Li family.

Li Juan and Li Qiang were able to come because it was Sunday.

As soon as they came, Li Long immediately went over and called Gu Boyuan over, so that both families were basically present.

Fortunately, the yard and the room are big enough to accommodate us.

Li Juan and Li Qiang ran from one room to another, looking around out of curiosity.

Du Chunfang held Gu Xiaoxia's hand and slowly asked about the situation. The daughter-in-law was pregnant, so the mother-in-law came to ask, and Du Chunfang was actually a little uneasy.

Fortunately, Liang Yuemei was there, occasionally saying something to make Gu Xiaoxia and Du Chunfang feel more comfortable. Liang Yuemei had acted as Gu Xiaoxia's maternal elder at some point, and she was also a straightforward person, so she asked a lot of questions.

Gu Xiaoxia mostly spoke with a red face.

Li Qingxia stayed in this yard for a night. Looking at it now, he felt that this yard was still a little too big.

Sister Yang and Han Fang were also there. The Li family knew them, so they were not strangers. On the contrary, although Sister Yang and Han Fang had heard about these people from the Li family from Gu Xiaoxia, and they had lived in the compound for a longer time.

But at this moment, the other party is the host and they are at most guests, so they still feel a little uncomfortable.

Liang Yuemei quickly came out of the bedroom and took Sister Yang's hand, mainly to express her gratitude.

"My family lives in the countryside, and Xiaoxia works here, so we can't take care of her. All thanks to you." Liang Yuemei spoke honestly, and Sister Yang felt comfortable listening to it.

"If it weren't for Uncle Li's help, Xiaofang would be gone. I can't thank them enough." Sister Yang was speaking from the heart.

As the two chatted, they talked about their hometowns, which turned out not to be far away, just a neighboring county, about a few dozen kilometers away.

This is quite far away in my hometown, but in northern Xinjiang, it is only dozens of kilometers away from the county, so it is considered close to fellow villagers.

The more they talked, the closer they became, and Sister Yang also felt at home.

So we cooked together.

Liang Yuemei also admired the kitchen in the yard, which was much better than the stove at home.

Although building houses in northern Xinjiang emphasizes size, these days the kitchen, storage room and kitchen are usually in one room, so clutter is inevitable.

Unlike here, the kitchen is the kitchen, the storage room is the storage room, and the dining room is the dining room. Although the rooms are not big, they are easy to clean after being separated.

Liang Yuemei even thought that when she built the next house, the kitchen would be designed like this.

It's better to separate.

The men were much easier to talk about. With Sister Yang here to take care of Gu Xiaoxia, both Gu Boyuan, Li Qingxia and Li Jianguo were relieved.

They just advised Li Long to go out less and stay at home more often next year, because pregnant women need more care.

That's all. Nowadays, most men still have some chauvinism. Although they attach great importance to having children, they don't attach as much importance as later generations. After all, family planning has only been implemented here for a few years.

Li Long focused on the matter of winter slaughter, saying that since Li Jianguo was here, he should take the meat back.

Li Qingxia and Gu Boyuan started talking about his plan to break a hole in the ice to catch fish again. Li Long then took Li Jianguo to move the sheep and also let Li Jianguo take a look at the tiger.

The tiger's head was still there. Li Jianguo was really following Li Long to move the sheep. He was caught off guard when he saw a tiger's head and screamed:
"tiger!"

Li Long hurriedly took a bag to cover the tiger's bag, and at the same time moved a sheep's bag to Li Jianguo.

"What's the matter? What tiger?"

Li Qingxia asked outside.

"It's okay. My brother saw a tuft of hair and thought it was a mouse." Li Long explained inside, and then two people each carried a sheep out of the room and placed the sheep on the cart.

"You're such an adult, yet you're still making a fuss." Li Qingxia said to Li Jianguo and continued talking to Gu Boyuan about the fish.

The two of them are considered relatives. Although Gu Boyuan is young, Li Qingxia still attaches great importance to the issue of seniority, so he has to have a good talk with his relatives.

Li Long pulled Li Jianguo into the side room again.

"How did you do it?" Li Jianguo asked, knowing that Li Long didn't want others to know.

"Halimu killed it and gave it to me." Li Long whispered, "I plan to keep it a secret, and then pick out the bones in the next few days, save some, and soak some in wine. Just treat it as a lynx bone and don't tell anyone."

"Yeah." Li Jianguo thought about it and nodded. He had never heard of tigers in the northern border, let alone seen them. The reason why he didn't say anything when Li Long explained just now was that he was digesting the news.

The tiger thing is really hard to talk about. Li Jianguo's father-in-law Liang Donglou knows Chinese medicine, and Li Jianguo also knows a little bit about it, and knows that this thing is valuable.

This is not like in the Northeast, where it is easy to get, but difficult to get here, so it is more precious. Once it is leaked, there will probably be too many people who want it, and it will be impossible to keep it.

"This matter must not be leaked out." Li Jianguo became more and more frightened the more he thought about it. "Who else knows about this?"

"Xiaoxia, I, you." Li Long said with a smile, "I have already told Halimu and the others, don't tell anyone, they are trustworthy."

"That's fine. Get rid of the head as soon as possible and peel off the skin. Don't let it be visible directly. As long as the skin is peeled off and there is only bones and meat, no one can tell it."

Li Long nodded. This was exactly what he was going to do next. He also joked:
"Brother, can you take the tiger whip?"

"What would I do with that?" Li Jianguo glared at him. "You keep it for yourself."

As he walked out, Li Jianguo hesitated for a moment and said:
"If you can get a deer whip, give me one."

Li Long took out a sika deer whip and put it in the bag and handed it to Li Jianguo.

Halimu and the others knew that Li Long wanted a whip, so they kept the whip after killing the deer.

Li Long had some here, but he didn't give any more away.

These things are not rare for him, but it is different for others.

For example, the leather of yellow sheep is easy to hunt because they live in groups in the Gobi Desert and occasionally run to villages near the mountains.

Wolves are easy to hunt, and can be found in the Gobi Desert and even on the edge of sparsely populated basins. There was a period of time when they were almost wiped out, but now that the ecology has improved, they are starting to increase in number again.

In the 1920s, groups of wolves often appeared on the shores of Sailimu Lake in winter.

But sika deer are not easy to hunt. They only live in the mountains, and most of them are deep in the mountains. Ordinary people cannot get them.

That's why Director Wei was happy when I gave him the red deer skin.

After leaving the room, Li Long turned around, locked the door, and began to discuss next year's plans with Li Jianguo.

He has some ambitions. He has been doing some small things in the past two years, but he can't do that next year.

There needs to be certain rules.

However, after hearing his plan, Li Jianguo was also shocked.

Isn't this a bit too much? (End of this chapter)