Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

After explaining the situation to Meng Hai, Li Long wanted to leave, but Meng Hai took him to find the old man in the village and put Xuelian on him.

"I'll come over tomorrow. I'll find you after I finish my work, and then we can talk about Xuelian."

"Okay, okay, then you should go back soon. It will be cold after the sun sets." Meng Hai waved at Li Long and asked him to get in the car. He watched the jeep go away, then walked back with his sleeves rolled up.

Hey, I stopped him right, he's alive again!

He was already thinking about who to look for. Meng Hai actually knew that the idea of ​​making a cart handle would not last long. Although the team headquarters and schools were still using cart handles, the country was developing so fast and so many tractors were being built, so it must be easy to make a cart.

By then, the job of carrying the handle will be gone and we will have to find other ways.

He Changqing and Meng Hai were also thinking about it, and at the same time hoped to strengthen their connection with Li Long.

This is a capable person, he must have a way.

really!

It doesn’t matter how much work there is, as long as there is work and people still remember Qingshuihe Village, that’s enough.

Li Long returned to the courtyard at a very good time, as Gu Xiaoxia had just returned and Sister Yang had just finished cooking.

"Alas, it won't be so relaxing in two days." Gu Xiaoxia sighed, "Xiaofang doesn't go to school, so she can help look after Mingming and Haohao while Sister Yang is cooking. Xiaofang will start school in a few days, and I'll be at work then..."

"Don't worry, I'm at home." Li Long said, "I'll concentrate on finishing the things I need to deal with in the next two days. Then I'll stay in the county, go to the purchasing station when I'm free, and come back early."

"Oh, the students in my class..." Gu Xiaoxia was also very depressed. Li Long was almost always there when she was there, and work seemed to have become her main occupation.

"Why are you talking about this? It's time to eat." Li Long smiled and patted her back. "Isn't it good for us to be in front of the child?"

Gu Xiaoxia asked with some doubt:
"Then they must be in front of the child. Can the child run away?"

"No, no, I just suddenly felt emotional." Li Long nodded towards the kitchen, and Gu Xiaoxia understood immediately.

In fact, what Li Long lamented is that in another 20 or 30 years, there will be a large number of left-behind children, and it will be the norm for the children's parents not to be around.

After dinner the next day, Li Long drove a jeep to the mountains. When he arrived at Halimu's winter nest, Yushanjiang's family was already there.

There were some things outside the winter den, not much, but enough to fit in the jeep.

A stack of leather is placed on the outside, about seven or eight pieces in total.

Li Long guessed that it must have been Yushanjiang who hit him himself.

When they saw the jeep, everyone came over to greet it, obviously having been prepared for it.

Li Long greeted Yushanjiang's family, and then spoke to Halim:

"Seven fawns, plus the leather and antlers, are worth two thousand two hundred dollars. Here, I'll give it to you."

Halimu was also shocked by the thick stack of money. He wanted to wave his hand, but Li Long had already stuffed the bundle of money into his hand.

In the past, they were mixed together. He delivered supplies to everyone, and everyone collected these raw materials for him. There was no clear number who benefited and who suffered a loss, or in the eyes of both parties, they were both taking advantage.

The price for the deer had been agreed upon, so Li Long paid according to the figure.

That's fair.

After Halimu realized what was happening, he glanced at Yushanjiang. Yushanjiang came over and took the money from Halimu, took out 800 yuan and handed it back to Li Long:
"The money for the fawn was agreed upon before, no problem. This skin and antlers are given to you by everyone, just like you gave us vegetables and food, no money required."

Li Long wanted to speak, but Yushanjiang continued:

"We'll do this from now on. If we find what you need, you'll pay for it, whether it's a fawn or a snow lotus. As for the rest, we'll each settle our own accounts. Some things can't be settled."

Li Long smiled and took the money back. Yes, some things cannot be calculated.

After drinking a bowl of milk tea, Li Long took Yushanjiang and his family down the mountain.

Because there was still room in the car, Li Long drove them into the county, went to the grain store to buy rice and flour and stuffed them into the car, and then continued to the stay point.

The herdsmen's team gradually gathered at the rear area. When Li Long and his team entered the village, they encountered several groups of people.

The procedure was similar to yesterday. When we arrived at Yushanjiang's yard, we first cleared the snow inside, and Yushanjiang's wife set up the stove to boil water.

Because Yushanjiang's two children were older, they moved quickly. After clearing the snow, Li Long took them to install the well-pressing pole and poured two pots of hot water into it. When they pressed again, the water came out in a short while!
While Yushanjiang was helping his wife and children clean up the house, Li Long drove to the yard of old lady Halimu's house. He had said before that he would bring rice and flour and other supplies there. Half of the rice and flour bought at the grain store was placed in Yushanjiang's yard, and the other half was taken over.

The old lady was busy in the house. When she opened the door and saw Li Long, she was very happy.

Li Long helped put the rice and flour away, and then gestured to ask where Nathan and Susken had gone.

In fact, there is no need to ask to know that these two must have gone out for fun.

After all, the winter camps in the mountains are separated by many mountains, and one might get lost if one is not careful. It is not a flat grassland, and it is impossible to let the children visit by themselves.

So now, even friends who are not that close to me seem very friendly to me.

Li Long returned to Yushanjiang's yard, had a simple lunch here, and then pulled him back.

Yushanjiang was alone in the winter den for a while. If something happened, he could only entrust his cattle and sheep to others. Li Long didn't know how to explain it.

"In another year, when the child is older, he will be able to live here by himself. Then I won't have to come to this yard anymore." Yushanjiang seemed to know what Li Long was thinking and said with a smile, "We are from the mountains after all. The child can be at the foot of the mountain or in the county."

Li Long nodded, it was normal. Just like he was considered a wealthy person in the team, he still had troubles.

But there is always a solution.

He even thought about getting Yushanjiang's child to work at his own purchasing station. After all, it would not only be the Han people who would come to the purchasing station to sell things.

One-tenth of the population in Ma County is Kazakh, and about 3% is Uyghur. There are even more ethnic minorities in the mountains.

The resources they controlled were exactly what the purchasing station needed, and they were very valuable, such as animal skins, medicinal materials, jade, and even natural gold.

But after thinking about it, I decided to forget it. Yushanjiang should have made some arrangements for his children. Let's see how the situation goes.

When the jeep arrived at the county town, Li Long asked Yushan Jiang:

"Would you like to take something back?"

“No need.” Yu Shanjiang waved his hand. “We have everything at home. Every time you go into the mountains, you bring things with you, and you can never use them all. Now I’m the only one left in the winter den, and I’ll need them until we move to another place.”

Li Long knew that Yushanjiang had money. At that time, he gave Halim 2,200 yuan, and Yushanjiang returned 800 yuan, leaving 1,400 yuan, of which 400 yuan was given to Yushanjiang, indicating that he had caught two young red deer.

The jeep drove into the mountains, and when we arrived at the Halim winter camp, the sun was still quite high.

The skins that Yushanjiang brought had already been loaded onto Li Long's car. His horse was still tied at the stable, eating grass with its head down. When it saw Yushanjiang getting off the jeep, the horse snorted and wagged its tail, looking very happy.

Li Long also got off the car. Halimu and his wife were clearing grass in the sheepfold and greeted the two of them. Yushanjiang went over to help and took the wooden fork from Halimu's wife, who then went into the winter den.

Li Longze said hello to them and drove back in the jeep.

The problem in the mountains has been solved, and the next thing is the problem in Shawo in the north. Since I have promised others, I have to get it done.

Of course, he had to go to Meng Hai's house today. To Li Long's surprise, when he arrived at Qingshuihe Village, Meng Hai was still waiting there.

"Come on, get in the car." Li Long said to Meng Hai, "Let's go and see the old hunter you mentioned and see how many snow lotuses he has."

"The old man in our village doesn't actually hunt professionally. He just goes into the mountains often to look for good things. He has a lot of medicinal herbs at home. If anyone in the village needs something, they will ask him for some, and he will give it to them. He also sells medicinal herbs, but he seldom hunts."

Li Long understood that this man was more of a mountain runner than a hunter. If such a person was not a minority, he would most likely be from the mainland and have inherited his skills. Most of the local Han people knew some common herbs at best, but it was hard to say what they knew.

The old hunter Meng Hai mentioned lived in front of the wheat field, in the south of the village, and the location seemed a bit isolated. Qingshuihe Village was built earlier than the Fourth Team, so the houses of the villagers here were not as neat as those of the Fourth Team. Some were built according to the terrain, and the roads were not straight.

"Uncle Dong!" The jeep arrived at the gate of the yard and a dog was barking. After Meng Hai got out of the car, he shouted inside.

No one came out, so Meng Hai took the opportunity to turn around and say to Li Long, "Uncle Dong is a five-guarantee household. His aunt died of illness a few years ago. His son used to be involved in gang-building, and no one knows where he ran off to. He can't be found. He lives alone now. Oh, and there's also that old black dog."

The black dog was quite big, but it sounded a bit old. It was tied with an iron chain. At this moment, it stopped barking when it saw Li Long and Meng Hai, and just stared at them.

"Who?"

"I am Meng Hai."

"Come in, come in, Xiao Hai, what are you doing here? Is there something wrong? Is your family short of medicine?"

The old man’s accent sounded like that of Ludi, but Li Long couldn’t quite hear it. After all, he had lived two lives and had grown up mainly in the northern border. He had not been outside much, so he didn’t know it clearly.

A tall old man came out of the house. He looked about five or six centimeters shorter than Li Long, and was nearly 1.8 meters tall. Although he was not big and strong, he was at least much stronger than an ordinary person.

People like this who venture into the mountains wouldn't be afraid of wolves, insects, and the like, right?
"Uncle Dong, this is Comrade Li Long, the leader of the supply and marketing cooperative. He came here to collect some snow lotus. Take a look at your place..."

Meng Hai explained his purpose to Uncle Dong.

"Snow lotus? How much do you want? I don't have much left. Those guys used them all to make wine. If you can wait, you can still pick some this fall."

"I'll take as many as you have," Li Long said. "Five dollars a piece - average price."

"This price is not low." Uncle Dong's face turned red. Li Long smelled alcohol on him and guessed that he was drinking in the house at this time.

"Let's go inside and talk first." Uncle Dong glanced at the jeep and called out, "I roasted a rabbit, let's drink together."

"I can't," Li Long waved his hand and said with a smile, "Uncle Dong, I need to drive and I can't drink."

"Okay." Uncle Dong didn't force them. After leading them into the house, he asked Meng Hai to pour some water for Li Long and went out. When he came back, he was holding a wicker basket with dozens of snow lotuses in it.

"That's all I have." Uncle Dong placed the snow lotus in front of Li Long. "Take a look at it. These were picked last year."

Li Long squatted down and looked at it.

The old man was very particular. He cut the snow lotus from the stems and did not dig up the roots. At that time, when people obtained things from nature, many people were really respectful - except Li Long sometimes.

He counted them and found a total of thirty-four flowers, twelve of which were small. However, since it was his first time collecting snow lotus, Li Long paid the full price.

"Thirty-four flowers, one hundred and seventy dollars. Here, uncle."

"You don't need that much." Uncle Dong took the money, took out two big unity notes and handed them back to Li Long. "Your price is too high. I have some small ones here, so I can't go with that price. We collect and sell herbs, so we should have peace of mind."

The meaning of these words is not for Li Long, but for myself.

Li Long smiled, collected the money, and asked, "Uncle Dong, do you have Codonopsis? Fritillaria?"

"We don't have Fritillaria. The forestry team is very strict about it. I have less than one kilogram. I won't sell it. I'm using it myself. Someone in the village who has a cough may need it. I do have a few kilograms of Codonopsis. Wait a minute."

Uncle Dong went out again, and when he came back, he was holding a bundle of Codonopsis pilosula in one hand.

They are both nearly one meter long and look like two bundles of firewood from a distance.

Li Long was a little speechless. He knew that Tianshan was so big that he couldn't be the only one who knew that the Codonopsis pilosula here was very old, but it was not good for the old man to treat the Codonopsis pilosula like this, right?
"The purchasing station has closed down, and the herbal medicine company won't buy it, so I'll just leave it here." Uncle Dong placed the Codonopsis pilosula in front of Li Long. "It's more than five kilograms. Most of it is from last year, and some is from the year before last. You can decide the price and take it away."

Li Long offered a high price for Xuelian, and Uncle Dong even thought that this young man was so generous that he would be happy to give him the Codonopsis pilosula.

Li Long looked at the Codonopsis pilosula carefully.

The growth of Codonopsis pilosula in the Tianshan Mountains varies from mountain to mountain due to the terrain. For example, in the Yili River Valley, the Codonopsis pilosula in the southern Tianshan Mountains of Zhaosu is mainly long, usually growing to more than half a meter.

The Codonopsis pilosula in Nilektangbula of Zhongshantian is short and thick, with many lumps and various shapes.

The Codonopsis pilosula that Uncle Dong brought was the long kind, and it looked quite complete.

More than five kilograms, not a small amount.

"Then I'll make an offer. I can't offer a high price for this." Li Long said, "Twenty per kilogram, do you think it's okay?"

"Okay, okay, why not?" said Uncle Dong with a smile.

Li Long took out another eighty yuan and handed it to Uncle Dong together with the twenty yuan he had just returned.

Meng Hai looked at it with some envy. In this round trip, Uncle Dong brought back both a bicycle and a sewing machine.

It’s not simple!
Li Long carried the things into the car, then said goodbye to the two people.

After watching Li Long leave, Meng Hai humbly asked Uncle Dong:
"Uncle Dong, is the snow lotus easy to pick?"

"If you say it's easy to pick, then it's easy to pick. If you find a good place, you can pick dozens of them at a time."

"Then... we have to run quite far, right?"

"That's right. We have to go at least several dozen kilometers into the mountains, and it may take three to five days to come back." Uncle Dong said proudly, "Not everyone can pick them."

Of course Meng Hai wanted to learn it. It was very troublesome to weave the handlebars. A day of weaving the handlebars was not as good as two days of searching for snow lotus in the mountains.

But the Tianshan Mountains are so vast that without a target and someone to lead the way, picking snow lotus would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

In fact, if Halimu had not given Li Long guidance at the beginning, it would not have been easy for Li Long to gain a foothold in the mountains.

Even now, if Li Long wants to get something in the mountains, he needs to try a few spots he knows. Of course, he can also ask Halimu and Yushanjiang for help.

Uncle Dong has been in the mountains for so many years. Although he doesn't have any suitable weapons, he has really made a name for himself in picking herbs. He knows several places where snow lotus grows and what herbs are in which ditches.

In the past, no one bought snow lotus. The medicinal material companies had special channels, and private individuals would not buy it, so Uncle Dong just picked it and left it there, and basically didn't sell it.

Now that Li Long suddenly offered a high price, he really planned to wait until July to go into the mountains and harvest the fruits.

As for the wheat grown at home, he could just entrust it to someone else - the output of an acre of wheat was not as much as the money earned from selling three or five snow lotus flowers, so he still knew which end was heavier.

Meng Hai also wanted to know how Uncle Dong picked snow lotus. He even thought about whether he should leave the wheat to his wife and follow Uncle Dong himself?
As for whether Uncle Dong is willing or not, there is still nearly half a year left, so just think about it.

When Li Long was driving the jeep back, he was actually thinking about this kind of thing.

He also really wanted to go deep into the mountains.

He had almost walked through the outer layers of the mountain, and felt that they were pretty much the same. He had never been to the inner mountain, but he had heard about it from Halimu and his friends, such as the large alpine meadows, the snow-capped mountains that never melted, the family of brown bears, the snow leopards that often attacked sheep, and so on.

I really want to go into the mountains to see the magnificent scenery there.

Li Long knew that there was an ancient road leading to southern Xinjiang in the Nanshan Mountains of the neighboring Hu County. This ancient road was the dream of many time travelers, but it was very dangerous. In order to avoid casualties, later generations directly closed this road.

But people who have walked this road before said that the scenery along this road is extremely beautiful, surpassing the Wusun Ancient Road and the Xiata Ancient Road. There are snow lotus and some rare animals on the snow-capped mountains along the way.

I don’t know if I’ll have the chance to go and see it in this lifetime?

Li Long returned to his thoughts after driving the jeep back to the courtyard. Today was a busy day, and there was another day tomorrow. After tomorrow, he could take a short break and fulfill what he had said to Gu Xiaoxia, that he would stay at home for a while.

Of course, he didn't know how long he could stay there, because the snow would melt soon. Once the snow melted, Professor Luo from the Agricultural College would probably bring people over.

Then we will be busy with new work.

My child has a fever and wants to eat peaches. When I went to buy some, I talked to the shopkeeper. She said that children nowadays can eat whatever they want. When they were young, they didn’t dare to tell their families. They didn’t have enough food. In 1982, this comparison is still better. (End of this chapter)