Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

When Ma Xiaoyan got on the car, she was carrying a camera box and a cloth bag. It was obvious that the bag was made by herself, with heavy traces of hand-sewing.

Li Long didn't ask her what she brought. He drove west out of the county and headed towards the mountains.

In the farmlands on both sides of the road, Dongfanghong No. 75 tractors were plowing the land. The rumbling sound, the black smoke coming out of the tractors, and the green patches on the edges of the fields made people feel that all things were reviving and thriving.

"It's great. It's spring now and the temperature has risen. I can hear the sound of the tractor without feeling it's noisy - this tractor driver is really working hard!" Ma Xiaoyan sighed while looking out the window.

Li Long smiled secretly but didn't say anything. He could clearly hear that the tractor had stalled and was emitting black smoke because it could no longer plow the land. The man sitting on the five-share plow at the back pushed the plow head down too deep, and the land was too hard to plow, so the tractor was emitting black smoke and could not move forward.

Unlike later generations of high-powered tractors, which can be operated by one person in the cab, plowing, sowing, and harrowing required two people to operate the field together, one driving the tractor in the front and one assisting the farm machinery in the back, such as the five-furrow plow and the seed drill, to make adjustments, mainly to adjust the depth of the plowshare turning the soil, the density of sowing, and so on.

The guy driving the tractor and the guy adjusting the plowshare at the back are most likely both experts.

Li Long drove the jeep to the south intersection of Wuyi Highway and reminded Ma Xiaoyan when he turned in:

"Director Ma, the road ahead is a bit bumpy, please sit tight."

"Okay." Ma Xiaoyan often goes to the countryside and is very familiar with the road conditions in various areas of the county.

Li Long did not slow down. He thought that Halimu and the others should have started washing sheep in the morning. He didn't know how many groups they had washed so he had to go over and check the situation as soon as possible.

When the jeep passed Qingshuihe Village, it was also busy here, with people working in the fields. Except for a few dogs that chased after the car when they saw it, the rest of the time the village was very quiet.

The temperature suddenly became colder as the car drove into the mountains. When we arrived at the ravine on the side of Halimu and his group, the air was filled with the unique smell of carat phosphorus. Li Long looked over and saw several groups of sheep walking on the grass slopes, some in the east and some in the west, clearly separated.

Some of the sheep have been washed and are brown in color, basking in the sun, while others have not been washed yet and are eating grass.

When the jeep drove up to the winter den, two dogs ran over and barked around the car. When Li Long got out of the car, the dogs pounced on him affectionately.

He touched the heads of the two dogs and was about to go to the sheep washing pool, but he found Ma Xiaoyan looking at the two dogs with fear in the car and did not dare to get out.

Li Long smiled and pointed to the sheep. The two dogs wagged their tails and ran away. Ma Xiaoyan then opened the car door and got out, then quickly hid behind Li Long.

Li Long brought her to the sheep washing pool, where Halimu, Yushanjiang, Talihar and others were busy in different positions. A group of sheep had just been driven in half, and they didn't bother to come over and greet Li Long, but just nodded and smiled.

Li Long went over to help herd the sheep, while Ma Xiaoyan stood in the distance, looking for different angles to take pictures.

There is a trumpet-shaped mouth above the sheep washing pool, which is convenient for driving the sheep in. The water is led from the water pipe through a shallow channel to the large pool in the middle of the sheep washing pool. When the water level in the large pool is almost one meter deep, pour in carat phosphorus to cut off the water flow. After stirring the medicine evenly, you can wash the sheep.

The wool of these sheep has been sheared off, leaving only a thin layer of wool attached to the skin, allowing the medicine to directly contact the skin.

Sheep are washed only once a year and are often outdoors, so they are exposed to different bacteria, microorganisms, and parasites. The most common one is a type of mite, which can cause large flakes of wool to fall off. If this thing is not killed, the sheep will have to be naked in winter and summer, because the worms grow in the pores and the wool cannot grow directly.

It takes at least three people to wash sheep. One person drives the sheep into the sheep-washing pool at the trumpet mouth, and two people hold a Y-shaped wooden fork in the sheep-washing pool to press the sheep's head into the potion.

The sheep's body can be soaked in medicine, but the sheep's head will not take the initiative to go in. If the sheep's head is not soaked in medicine, if there is an infectious disease, it will continue to spread throughout the body after it goes out, and the effect of washing the sheep will be greatly reduced.

If there are many people, some people will wait at the end of the sheep washing pool, and gather the sheep together after they come out. As long as the head sheep is gathered and does not run around, the sheep will usually stay in one place and not move around much.

At this time, Halimu was driving the sheep in, Talihar and Bek were forking the sheep in the middle, and Yushanjiang was at the back sorting out the flock to see if there were any missed.

Halimu's wife and Yang Gangzi, whom Li Long was not very familiar with, were making naan. Li Long knew that he was in for a treat today.

In this season, Kazakh naan is made with milk and flour. The freshly made naan tastes very good. In the words of the locals, you can finish a whole naan even if you don’t have anything else to eat - this naan is not the thin kind, but quite thick, not particularly big, but very substantial.

Li Long went over to help Halimu drive the sheep slowly into the sheep washing pool. Halimu saw that most of the sheep had gone in, then he came over to greet Li Long and told him about what happened yesterday.

"An old man in our tribe passed away yesterday, so things here stopped. We went to help deal with the matter first."

"Oh..." Li Long nodded. This was indeed an emergency and was definitely more important than washing the sheep.

"She is over 90 years old. Her family and she herself are all aware of the situation, so no one is too sad." Halim continued, "That person is..."

"I was here last year, the publicity officer. I heard that you were washing sheep, so I came to take a look." Li Longhan explained vaguely, without mentioning that Ma Xiaoyan came to interview him and he helped them dig the sheep washing pool and saw the results of the sheep washing.

"It's much more convenient." Halimu smiled. "Look, we don't have to drive the sheep to the animal husbandry team. We can just wash them here, dry them, and drive them to the pen. We save a lot of time!"

Li Long laughed out loud. This was his original idea. Now that it has come true, of course he is happy.

He looked around and found that he had indeed arrived late. This was the last group of sheep to be washed, and after washing they would be gone for the day.

"Aren't you going to wash today?"

"No more washing," Halimu nodded. "Today we are just trying to see how long it will take. In the afternoon, Talihar and the others will go back and inform the others. Tomorrow all the remaining sheep will come over, and we can wash them all in one day. There is a sheep washing pool here, which is really convenient."

Li Long watched Ma Xiaoyan take a few photos and then went to interview Yushanjiang and Talihar. He did not go over to join in, but followed Halimu to the winter nest.

"Is that enough carats of phosphorus?" Li Long asked.

"That's enough. This potion can be reused." Halimu said with some regret, "There are fewer sheep coming today. In fact, the potion in here can be used to wash two or three more flocks of sheep."

Li Long understood his idea. Although the bottom of the sheep washing pool was paved with stones, to be honest, the water in it would have seeped away after being left overnight. Tomorrow, the water would need to be replenished and the medicine would need to be poured again.

But there is no way around it, the inevitable losses cannot be avoided.

"A bottle of medicine doesn't cost much. It's worth it if you wash a flock of sheep." Li Long consoled with a smile, "I killed a bear yesterday, right at Wenquangou. I didn't expect the bears to run here. Have you encountered any recently?"

"Yes!" Halim said. "We encountered two bears in the ditch, one big and one small. Both were very fierce. But our dogs were not afraid of them and dared to bite them."

The Kazakh Shepherd Dog is really fierce, and the Tianshan Mastiff is not called that for nothing. Not many dogs dare to fight bears and wolves.

Of course, if it can be called a mastiff, it must be quite capable.

When Li Long looked at the two black dogs again, there was a bit more appreciation in his eyes.

After Ma Xiaoyan finished taking photos and interviewing, Yu Shanjiang and his team gathered the sheep back to their respective groups. The sheep also obeyed the instructions and scattered on the grasslands in the mountains, eating their own grass, resting, and gathering around the head sheep without running around.

At this time, Yushanjiang and Talihar went to the water pipe to wash their hands before coming over to shake hands and say hello to Li Long.

We haven't seen each other for a while, and I feel very familiar with each other.

"Talihar, didn't you kill two wolves? Li Long killed a bear yesterday!" Halimu said loudly to Talihar, "Hah, the bear is over there at the hot spring ditch!"

"Really?" Talihar was a little shocked. "How big is it?"

"About 200 kilograms. We couldn't take the intestines and stomach back, so we didn't take them." Li Long said, "It's spring now, so he's not very fat. He's about the same height as me..."

"It's so big! You killed it alone? Impossible?" Buick couldn't believe it. In this mountain area, the brown bear is considered a top predator. In their opinion, killing a brown bear alone is almost impossible - even with a gun.

After all, when Talihar had a gun, Ha Xiong was almost scared to death.

"Really? I got some bear meat today!" Ma Xiaoyan, who was standing next to him, appeared out of nowhere. After listening for a while, she quickly testified for Li Long, "The bear meat is really fat!"

"You're awesome!" Talihar gave a thumbs up in admiration, "Awesome!"

Thinking about how scared he was when facing the bear, and then looking at Li Long, it was really different. He was also a little curious and asked, "How did you kill it?"

"I was taking a bath in the hot springs, which are very good. Then a bear jumped on me, and I hurt him with a knife first, and then I shot him with a gun." "You didn't use a gun at first?" Talihar opened his mouth wide, "Didn't he hurt you?"

"I'm hurt." Li Long pulled down his collar, revealing the scarred wound, and said, "A claw slashed at me, and I dodged most of it, otherwise it would have directly opened my chest."

Ma Xiaoyan shyly avoided it for a moment, then took a curious look. After Li Long put his clothes back on, she asked worriedly:
"You scratched such a big wound, have you applied medicine? Don't let it get inflamed!"

"It's OK. I'm in good health. The scar has healed and there's no inflammation."

Li Long was also a little surprised. His body had a strong recovery ability and anti-inflammatory ability. After being scratched by the bear's claws, there was no inflammation or infection. It just formed a scar.

This is also good, at least it is easier to fool my family and they won’t worry.

"That's awesome!" Talihar was really impressed this time. It's easy to say, but when faced with a big bear like that, not many people would dare to face it and fight back.

Let alone a bear, even if there really was a wolf or even a half-grown dog pouncing on you, I guess the first thing many people would think of is to run away!
The women were not only making naan, but also preparing jam and other food. After Li Long and his friends washed their hands, they went outside. After the naan was ready, everyone got a piece and ate it.

Ma Xiaoyan was a little hesitant at first, but after trying two bites, she fell in love with it. She ate it with big mouthfuls, and exclaimed from time to time: "It's so delicious!"

I just feel a little choked when I eat too fast.

Fortunately, the women had already brought the milk tea, which was just in time.

These people did not talk about the old man's death, they were all talking about going into the mountains.

"Can you find us some more bullets before we go into the mountains?" Talihar thought it would be better to hunt with a gun, so he made a request to Li Long.

"Okay, no problem. Before you go into the mountains, think about what you want. I'll come back in a couple of days and bring the list. Next time you come, just bring the things over."

"Good good."

"Do you want snow lotus?" Buick learned from Halimu that Li Long needed snow lotus.

"The more the better."

"There is a mountainous area on the Buick family's summer pasture where snow lotus grows every year." Halim explained, "There are a lot of them. We can pick hundreds of them!"

"So many? I collected them. They cost five dollars each."

"It doesn't cost that much..." Buick was a little embarrassed, "This is something that is available every year..."

"Well, as long as the roots are not dug up, it will grow every year." Li Long also knew this.

"Is snow lotus so expensive?" Ma Xiaoyan asked like a curious baby while tearing the naan into small pieces and eating them.

"Well, some people in the mainland collect it. It can treat gynecological diseases, rheumatism, and some male diseases." Li Long explained, "Some people in the mainland use it to make wine."

"We also use this as medicine." Halimu also explained to Ma Xiaoyan.

"That's really good..."

Ma Xiaoyan didn't know what she was thinking about and was stunned for a while.

At this time, Halimu and the others finished eating and started to move things into the car - yes, into the car.

Talihar brought wolf skins, Buick brought two pieces of jade and a pair of deer antlers, Yushanjiang brought a red deer skin, a red deer whip, a pair of deer antlers, and two roe deer skins.

Halimu had two small elk here - these things filled up the trunk.

The little sika deer had only its hooves tied and was crying in a thin voice, which made Ma Xiaoyan feel very distressed.

Li Long wanted to pay the money, but Halimu and the others persuaded him to go back, saying that the money could be used to prepare supplies later.

Li Long did not refuse. He planned to come next time and bring over rice, flour and other food supplies. These things were what he needed most after moving into the mountains.

Seeing the sun setting and the things packed, Li Long said goodbye to Halim and the others and left. Yushanjiang and the others shook hands with Li Long and said that they were leaving too and had to drive the sheep back home quickly. Now that they had dried the sheep, they would prepare to move to another pasture.

"After you move to the new place, I will bring people to repair your winter nests." Li Long made a solemn promise, "When you come back to cut grass in the fall, you will see a brand new winter nest."

"That's great." Yushanjiang said with a smile.

When the jeep drove out of the ditch, Ma Xiaoyan suddenly said in the car:

"Comrade Li Long, we still have some time. I want to ask where I can pick up mushrooms nearby?"

"Picking mushrooms?" Li Long was stunned. There are many places to pick mushrooms. Why did Ma Xiaoyan think of this?
But since they had asked, and there was still some time left, Li Long pointed to the right front and said, "Go forward to that ditch. There are a lot of mushrooms. Come on, I'll take you to pick them up."

Ma Xiaoyan agreed with a smile.

The jeep drove to the roadside at the mouth of the ditch and stopped. Li Long got out of the car and looked at Ma Xiaoyan carrying the cloth bag. He realized that she had been preparing to do this for a long time.

Li Long also took the lead and walked into the ditch with a backpack. The shady slope on the south side of the ditch was covered with pine trees, and the sunny slope on the north side was covered with grass. The slope was relatively flat. The grass had not grown yet, and there was water in the ditch, so the air was slightly humid.

Not long after Li Long and his companions walked in, he pointed to the north slope and said:

"Look, there are a lot of straw mushrooms on the slope. Pick those that have just opened their caps or those that haven't opened yet. It's best not to pick up other mushrooms. Oh, you can also pick up big white crispy ones - look at this, this one is big white crispy, and it tastes good when fried."

Ma Xiaoyan responded and hurried off to pick mushrooms.

Li Long finally understood that people like Ma Xiaoyan who worked in the county party committee department might look noble, but in reality their lives were not as good as they imagined.

I think if we can pick a bag of mushrooms today, our family can save enough money for vegetables for several days, right?

It hasn't rained in the past two days, so there are not many mushrooms on the grass slope, and no mushroom circle has formed yet.

Li Long once saw a time when there were a lot of mushrooms. On a grassy slope, there was a straw mushroom almost every few steps. It was July at that time, and it would rain every few days, so the straw mushrooms grew luxuriantly - of course, the fact that the grass was not tall was also an important reason.

In ordinary grasslands, grass grows in July and the mushrooms disappear.

Ma Xiaoyan's family is large, and they live in a large courtyard. She has to pay for the family's food. There are not many people in the family who work formally, so they save as much as possible - they really have something serious to do here today, and picking mushrooms is also a selfish thing.

She picked the mushrooms carefully, unlike Li Long who just broke off the umbrella stem, so that she wouldn't have to bring dirt with her. She picked them with the roots, and then she peeled them with a knife. There was also mushroom meat on the roots, and she thought Li Long was too wasteful.

In half an hour, Ma Xiaoyan's cloth bag was full. She looked at the white dots on the slope in the distance and sighed, regretting that she didn't take enough in the bag.

Li Long was quick and skilled, and had already filled his backpack. He saw that Ma Xiaoyan's bag was also full, so he said:
"Let's go, it's time to go back to the county."

Sitting in the car, she could feel the cool mountain breeze. Ma Xiaoyan thought that Li Long would go into the mountains again in the next two days. She wanted to follow him, but then she thought that she still had work to do, so she gave up.

Oh, if I could go into the mountains every day, I could save so much money on vegetables!

When she was picking mushrooms just now, she also saw some newly grown wild onions and garlic, which can also be dug. There are so many resources in the mountains!

Li Long was driving while thinking whether to come tomorrow or the day after tomorrow - the purchasing station had not been open for two days, so he had to go and catch some. (End of this chapter)