Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

The two tables eating in the South Courtyard were mostly filled with young people. Xie Yundong, Tao Daqiang and others were there, and some people wanted to clink glasses with Li Long, but Li Long waved his hand:

"No, no, I'm driving soon. If I drink a cup with you guys, I won't be able to drive. Xiaoxia has to go to work tomorrow and rush back home in the evening. I didn't bring the two children's bottles, it's inconvenient."

After he gave so many reasons, everyone stopped letting him drink and turned to other people.

Young people also played finger-guessing, but their performance was not as vigorous as that of Li Jianguo and his group. Over there, those with bad tempers would stand up and step on the pedal, as if otherwise it was not enough to show the oppressiveness of the numbers they shouted out.

The finger-guessing game on Li Long's side is more "civilized". Basically, it is based on shouting out numbers. Some young talents start to learn finger-guessing and count while shouting. They may also shout out the wrong fingers and numbers due to nervousness, which will cause a lot of people to laugh.

The photo of Gu Xiaoxia and Sister Yang was relatively quiet. As the only government official present, Gu Xiaoxia was the one who was asked the most questions. From Mingming Haohao's weight to her salary, these questions were all of concern to everyone and easy to spread gossip.

Of course, the news that Li Long was going to reopen the purchasing station also spread among the women. They also wanted to know how much it would cost to open a purchasing station, and what this purchasing station would purchase, and whether it would be the same as before.

Don't underestimate women at this time. Sometimes women are more capable than men in doing side jobs.

For example, digging licorice roots is actually mainly done by women these days. When the tractor is used to open up wasteland, some women have already heard about it, and after getting the news, they will hitch a donkey cart to the wasteland and start picking up licorice roots following the tractor.

Licorice grows in large patches, and because it is perennial, the roots below will become thicker and thicker. More importantly, it can be harvested without any season. For example, Codonopsis pilosula must be harvested in autumn, otherwise it will shrivel when it is dried.

Licorice won’t, no matter which season it is dug out, it is all real.

Pick up the licorice roots from the turned over soil, take them home, wash them clean, cut them into half-meter long segments, and then take them to the purchasing station to sell.

Women are hard-working and patient in doing such things, while men are mostly annoyed by such things. They are more excited to do work that requires effort and can easily produce results.

For example, trapping a rabbit, catching a fish, hunting a fox, or digging mushrooms.

Gu Xiaoxia said what she could say, and she would not say more about what she could not say.

Sister Yang was also asked questions. Fortunately, she was knowledgeable and experienced, and after adapting, she was able to handle it with ease. This also made many women secretly admire her.

Han Fang soon became friends with the kids here. Li Juan had good grades and a good family background, so she was considered prestigious among the girls. Her friends all gave her some respect, so Han Fang soon had a group of playmates.

Although it was only one day, Han Fang felt that this should be the happiest day of her winter vacation. After all, there were so many children playing together. No one would ask what your father does or where your father is, nor would they care whether your family is rich or where your parents work.

They will only admire you for being so good at arithmetic, dressing so nicely, speaking Mandarin so "Western" and having little leather shoes!
Li Qiang and his friends finished eating early, and then went to play soccer in the snow. A group of kids with snot hanging from their noses were shouting excitedly in the open space on the south side of the South Courtyard, as if they were having a carnival.

When Li Long finished eating and was about to leave, Li Jianguo, who had drunk a little too much, moved a quarter of a pig to his car.

"Take it back and eat it. If it's not enough, come back for more!" Li Jianguo acted like a big brother at this time. "I'll clean up the pig's head and cook it, and you can take it back. Oh, and the offal, I'll braise them all, and you can bring them to the county when you come here before the New Year."

Liang Yuemei also hurried over, holding two pig livers in her hands. She put the livers in the car and said to Li Long:
"Mingming Haohao is still young, so cook this and mash it up and feed him a little at a time. It's good for replenishing blood. Remember, this can't be frozen, or it will go bad."

After saying that, she hurried back to the kitchen. When she came out again, she was holding a covered enamel basin in her hand. She tied it tightly with a cage cloth and put it in the car.

"This is the clean pickled cabbage stir-fried with pork that has not been served. You can take it back and eat it. It's best to freeze it and cut it into pieces. Take a piece out and heat it up when you eat it. The hotter this dish is, the more delicious it is..."

Gu Xiaoxia felt emotional as she listened to this. At this moment, she felt like a mother was explaining these things to her daughter.

"Okay, brother and sister-in-law, let's go." Li Long sat in the driver's seat and said, "You guys go in quickly, it's cold outside, brother, you drank a lot, don't catch a cold."

Dad and Mom had already said goodbye in the front yard. After Li Long finished speaking, he backed out of the yard, turned a corner and drove away.

Even after turning out of the residential area, Han Fang was still leaning against the car window looking back, wanting to see Li Juan and Li Qiang.

When she could no longer see anyone, Han Fang turned her head to look at Sister Yang who was holding Haohao in the back, then turned back and asked Li Long in a low voice:
"Uncle Li, when can I come over to play again?"

"Want to come over? Actually, if you want, you can live here for a while." Li Long said with a smile, "I'm just afraid your mother won't agree."

Han Fang pouted immediately. Her mother would definitely disagree.

Sister Yang also heard the conversation between the two people in front, but she didn't answer, obviously knowing that Han Fang understood what she meant. She didn't want to cause trouble to others.

After returning to the yard, the fire in the stove was still on. Gu Xiaoxia and Sister Yang carried Mingming Haohao, who was already asleep in the car, to the bedroom. After covering him with bedding, Sister Yang returned to her own room.

Everyone was exhausted today, including Mingming and Haohao. The two children met too many people today, and people kept teasing and praising them. The two children were also very excited and stayed awake in the front yard. Now they have a good rest.

Li Long first added coal to the stove in the house and let the fire start, then went out and moved the meat of the front leg with the ribs to the storage room, cut it into strips with a machete, and removed the bones. The meat is a little frozen now, not very solid, so it is easy to break it down. It will be difficult to handle tomorrow if the meat is frozen solid.

The meat will be eaten slowly during the winter, and when spring is approaching, it will be steamed in a large enamel basin, covered and placed in a cool room to be consumed slowly.

Then he put the pot in the kitchen on the stove, added water and prepared to cook the pork liver.

As for the stir-fried pork with sauerkraut, put them in the storage room and wait until they are frozen.

After Sister Yang lit the stove in the east room, she came to the kitchen and saw Li Long cooking pork liver. She asked him to go back into the house and leave the job to her.

Li Long did not argue. He went back to the room and continued to discuss the matter of setting up a purchasing station with Gu Xiaoxia.

"We still can't be impatient. I think we should first find a good market for it." Gu Xiaoxia still maintained a cautious attitude. If some things couldn't be sold, there was no way to be sure whether they would be accepted.

"Okay, I'll find time to go to the leather factory tomorrow to ask." Li Long said, "Let's solve the leather issue first, and then we can talk about other things like licorice."

Jia Tianlong collects Fritillaria and licorice, and the herbal medicine company also collects them, but they can't collect such a large amount. If Li Long starts collecting Fritillaria in the spring, it is estimated that several tons will not be enough, and the herbal medicine company cannot consume such a large amount.

"I still have the 7,000 yuan you gave me in the bank. Here's the voucher." Gu Xiaoxia said, "I'll take the money out and leave it with you. If I open a purchasing station later, I'll definitely need a lot of money as a deposit."

"No, no, I have some here." Li Long smiled, "Keep the money and spend it on whatever you want. Don't be reluctant. I've made a lot of money in the past two years, so I don't need that few thousand." After Li Long said this, Gu Xiaoxia smiled:
"I didn't expect that you are a money-making swindler. Your speed of making money is much faster than those millionaires advertised in the newspapers."

"Hehe, I'm lucky." Li Long also said with a smile, "Just mess around, at least it can make our family's life better and better."

Gu Xiaoxia believed this.

Sister Yang cooked some porridge in the evening. Everyone ate a lot during the day, so except for Li Long, everyone else only ate a little symbolically.

Although he had just eaten at noon, Li Long still cut a steamed bun in the evening, toasted it, and heated up a plate of stir-fried pork with sauerkraut. Not only did he finish the vegetables and meat, he also dipped the steamed bun in the vegetable juice and ate them together. Finally, he drank a bowl of porridge to feel full.

Now that his stomach is in good condition and there is no indigestion problem, Li Long feels that everything is perfect.

The next day, Gu Xiaoxia went to work. After Sister Yang cleaned up the kitchen, Li Long came to see the children. He then took his tools to the purchasing station.

There was no one outside the yard of the purchasing station at the moment. After Li Long opened the door, he went into the house and placed a bag of coal next to the stove.

The coal ash in the stove was not cleaned out. These people's work is really rough. Don't they know that they should clean the house before handing it over?
Li Long was grumbling as he cleaned up the coal ash. When he went out to dump the ash, he found some dry firewood in the back. After pulling it back, he found some newspapers in the office and took two sheets as fire starter.

Put newspapers, hay, and broken twigs into the furnace layer by layer, then spread some broken coal on top. After covering the stove lid, open the front door, take out a lighter and light the newspaper. After watching the newspaper ignite the hay, close the front door and go to other rooms.

Because the stove hasn't been lit for a while, the room is quite damp, including the chimney. So after the stove is lit, the smoke won't go completely along the flue at first. It has to wait until the temperature rises and a convection effect forms before the chimney can draw smoke smoothly. So at this time the smoke from the stove will float all over the room. There's nothing we can do but wait.

When Li Long was tidying up and cleaning the room, someone came over with a bag.

"Selling things!" The man looked at the door of the purchasing station, which was open and filled with smoke, and excitedly ran to the door and shouted, "Comrade, comrade, I'm selling things, leather, take a look!"

The counter was not cleared, he just spread the leather on the counter and waited for people to come out.

Li Long came out with a sorghum stalk broom, looked at him with some doubt, and asked:

"Didn't you see the notice? It opens in the spring."

"I haven't seen it..." The man said with a silly smile, scratching his head, "You can't read... so you don't want to take it? The skin is very good, it's a wolf skin I hunted a few days ago! It's not damaged at all, it's a good skin!"

Wolf skin?

Li Long was a little curious, so he pointed at the counter and said, "Put it up and let's see, ahem..."

There was some coal smoke floating in the upper floors of the room, which was a bit choking.

"Your fire-making skills are not good." This man looked less than 30 years old and spoke a little silly. "The chimney is not well built, right?"

"This purchasing station has been closed for two months and has only just reopened. They set up the stove today, how can there not be smoke?" Li Long retorted to him, then flipped through the wolf skin he was looking at.

This person was not annoyed, but smiled and said:

"I heard that it was closed, but I didn't believe it, so I came up to check it out. I didn't expect it to be open."

"The price I offer is not high. Listen to me. If you want to sell it, then sell it. If you don't want to sell it, then go somewhere else." Li Long is not from a public institution, so there is no unified purchase price at the moment. If he wants to make money, he can only lower the price.

"Go ahead, I'm listening."

Li Long looked at the wolf skin, which was indeed winter skin and quite large. After checking it, he saw that there were indeed no bullet holes or knife wounds, so he said:
"This wolf skin costs fifty dollars."

This man not only brought wolf skins, but also a yellow sheep skin and a badger skin.

There were two bullet holes on the yellow sheepskin, which looked like it was shot through; the badger skin was intact, but it was obvious that it was autumn skin.

"Yellow sheepskin for thirty, it's incomplete. Badger skin for twenty, this one's not big."

Three pieces of leather for one hundred dollars.

"Well... okay." This person also knew the price, which was a little lower than the original purchasing station, but he didn't want to run again, and he didn't know where to sell it.

"Okay." Li Long looked at the leather again, then took out money from his pocket and asked:

"You made all these things?"

"Well, there are a lot of things running over to the sandbags on the north side in winter. I have nothing to do at home, so I thought about playing with them. I can always find something in a month."

"Not bad, not bad." Li Long nodded. This man was considered a part-time hunter and he made good extra income.

However, there are relatively few such people in Ma County. Everyone is a traditional farmer, and very few are engaged in this line of work.

He counted out ten Great Unity notes and handed them to the other party. The part-time hunter took them, counted them carefully, straightened the corner of one of the Great Unity notes, folded it in half and put it in the inner pocket of his clothes, patted it, and said to Li Long with a smile:
"If you hit it later, I'll bring it to you."

"Okay." Li Long also smiled. He should be able to make twenty or thirty bucks from these three pieces of skin.

During the morning cleaning time, seven groups of people came to sell things.

The same thing happened in the afternoon. Even though it was winter, there was a constant stream of people coming in. Basically, there would be someone coming in every half an hour.

Li Long's purchasing station has become popular before it is fully opened.

He guessed that some people were worried about the store closing again, so they hurriedly brought their stuff here to sell. (End of this chapter)