Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Meng Hai came here on a tractor, which surprised Li Long a little, but also made him quite happy.

"Comrade Li Long, let me tell you something," Meng Hai's tractor was parked outside the yard, but he didn't come in. He entered the yard, carrying two baskets of things in his hands. He put the things down and wiped his sweat. Meng Hai explained to Li Long, "I collected the money for this tractor.

I have made some money by making brooms with you in the past two years, but it is still not enough. Last time you asked me to cut poles, I thought I couldn’t do it without a tractor, so I borrowed some money from Lao He and bought a tractor.

In fact, last time Meng Hai wanted to cut poles to make money, he just asked Li Long to confirm whether it was possible. Li Long told him that it was no problem.

He now said that it was Li Long who gave him advice, which was of course an exaggeration for Li Long. Li Long knew it in his heart but did not say it out loud. Meng Hai was a man of courage and brains. As long as he could seize the opportunity, he would definitely become successful in the future.

"It's good to have a tractor. Now it's wheat season, why don't you get a harvester and go harvest the wheat?"

"Ah, I just found out about this too. I've been wandering around in the mountains recently, cutting poles and doing some sledding. It was when I was cutting poles that I ran into Yushanjiang and his men. When they saw us driving a tractor, they asked if we knew you. Now we've met."

Meng Hai led people to renovate the house for Yu Shanjiang and others, so he naturally knew who lived in these places. Although he didn't know them, he could guess about 70% of the people who lived there from the sight of them riding horses and carrying things down the mountain.

Yu Shanjiang and the others found out that Meng Hai and Li Long knew each other, and they were very happy. They took Meng Hai and the others to eat a meal of dried meat pilaf in the winter nest, and then asked Meng Hai to go down the mountain to inform Li Long that they were back.

"Then I'll go up the mountain tomorrow." Li Long said, "Lao Meng, go to the purchasing station later and get a harvester. It's easy to use. I'll go with you and teach you how to use it. It's more convenient to harvest wheat with this than by hand."

Although the wheat season has begun and some people have already harvested their wheat, there are still many that have not been harvested. If Meng Hai enters the market at this time, he can still make some money, although not much, but it is just right to finish harvesting and connect with the big brooms behind.

Meng Hai was very happy, but he didn't let Li Long follow him.

"Someone in our team has had wheat harvested by others. I brought the person here. He is at the purchasing station. I will go over and buy a harvester and then go back. You can keep these two baskets. It's summer, and I dare not bring too much. I will bring more next time I come."

There are two baskets of things, one is eggs, the other is fresh fish. Qingshuihe Village is close to Qingshui River, which has small pike. These pike were caught this morning and have been skinned. Pike die soon after leaving the water. Now there is a plastic sheet under the basket. The fish weigh about 7 to 8 kilograms, covered with grass, and are still fresh.

"Hey, thank you, Lao Meng. I really want to eat this." Li Long said with a smile, "I went to Wucheng a few days ago and bought some food. It's just right for you to take it back for your family."

Li Long took out some things in packaging bags from the house, including milk candy, shachima, chocolate, etc. The children ate more of them.

Meng Hai looked at the package, rubbing his hands and said:
"That's too polite..."

"Old Meng, look at what you said. I think my bag of stuff is not as good as your two baskets." Li Long smiled, "In a few decades, it will be difficult for people in the city to eat this stuff..."

"How can they be the same?" Meng Hai thought Li Long was joking. "I can't easily get these things in the village."

Li Long smiled and said nothing more. In a few decades, these snacks in the city can be bought everywhere, but these green foods on the mountainside are not available to everyone.

After Meng Hai left, Li Long carried the two baskets of things in and handed them over to Sister Yang to deal with.

"Sister Yang, we can't finish all the fish. Let's stew some of it today and fry some of it. Oh, and I'll take some to the purchasing station later so that Xiao Sun can have a taste."

"Can Xiao Sun cook it?" Sister Yang said worriedly, "Do you want me to stew more and bring it to him when the time comes?"

"That's fine." Li Long thought so too. Sun Jiaqiang might not cook such small fish.

Since Yushanjiang and the others went down the mountain early, it’s time for Li Long to go up the mountain as well.

He planned to drive a tractor up the mountain tomorrow to bring some supplies to the people in the mountains and also bring the tractor harvester up to cut grass for Yu Shanjiang and others.

The tractor is currently still in Team 4, so Li Long drove a jeep to the team in the afternoon to take a closer look.

The eldest brother’s threshing ground, or the Li family’s threshing ground, is located in the south of the residential area, which is two hundred meters south of Li Long’s yard.

When Li Long drove the jeep to the threshing ground, his father Li Qingxia was driving his tractor, circling around the threshing ground.

The threshing ground was not big, and one family had to thresh their wheat in two or three times. There were six families in the threshing ground, and four of them had already finished threshing. The threshed wheat was piled up and had not been processed yet, but there were many children playing beside the tall wheat straw.

The wheat straw cleared out after threshing is pressed very soft by the roller, and people will not feel pricked when they fall on it, so children like to play on it very much, or dig a hole in it and hide in it.

Seeing Li Long coming, the people waiting around greeted him one after another.

"Why are you here again?" Du Chunfang complained, "What are you doing here? It's all dusty..."

"I came to see how many days it will take to thresh the land. I need this tractor to cross the canyon." Li Long was talking about serious matters. Du Chunfang didn't understand and turned to look at Liang Yuemei.

Liang Yuemei, who was wearing a headscarf, turned her head to look, then said:

"The two families haven't played, two games a day, at least until the day after tomorrow. If you need it urgently, we can play with horse-drawn rollers tomorrow."

"No need for that. These two days won't matter." Li Long smiled. "I just came to take a look and see the situation, and adjust my arrangements at the same time."

Since the tractor cannot be adjusted, let's not mow the grass for the time being.

Li Long felt that Yushanjiang and his men had come down the mountain a little too early, so it was okay to cut grass now, but it would be better to wait a few days. The grass was too tender and full of water now, and it would not be enough after drying.

After a few days, when the grass grows taller and tougher, the grass you cut will be heavy.

The sound of watermelon sellers came from afar. Mid-July was the peak season for watermelons. The watermelon sellers would choose their location and go to the wheat field, just like the popsicle sellers.

Li Long waved from afar, and the tractor pulling watermelons drove over.

The tractor's bed was surrounded by tall wooden planks so that more watermelons could be loaded. There were two people selling watermelons, a man and a woman, most likely a couple, with the man driving and the woman sitting in the car.

It is used to both check the melons and weigh them.

Don't underestimate some children at this time. When the tractor selling watermelons is running on the road, some children will climb up along the vehicle and then steal the watermelons - of course, there is a high probability that the stolen watermelons will break when thrown down, but there is also a possibility that they will be thrown into the roadside ditch and remain there.

So it also depends on the melon.

"Where are the watermelons?" Li Long asked when the tractor arrived at the wheat field.

"From the wild!" the man shouted in a loud voice, "Genuine watermelons from the wild, seven cents a kilogram!"

Seven cents, the price has increased. It was five cents two years ago - but seven cents is not bad, it's actually not expensive.

"How about watermelon?" Li Long asked again.

"Bring one down for me to try!" The man turned off the engine and shouted to his wife above him. Then he took the melon and smashed it open without using a knife.

The melon should be 90% ripe - not 100%. If it is overripe and it is shaken again, the melon will be inedible.

When the watermelon is smashed open, the juice splashes everywhere, and it looks very nice.

"Come on, comrade, have a taste!" The melon seller broke off a piece and handed it to Li Long, "Guaranteed sweetness. If not, no money!"

Li Long took it, tasted it, and then said:
"Okay, weigh two sacks." I have melons at home, but I don't buy many. Since I came here and saw them, I'll buy more.

"Great!" The watermelon seller was very happy that a big business had come. Li Long took the freshly cracked watermelon from the man, broke it into pieces and distributed them to the people at the wheat field one by one.

At this time, the villagers didn't say thank you. They just took the food with a smile and started eating.

Everyone knows that eating watermelon can help you cool down on hot days.

There were two sacks, totaling nearly 200 kilograms of watermelon, which cost less than fourteen dollars.

Li Long paid the money, and sent one of the two sacks of watermelons to his brother's home, and he would pull the other sack up the mountain to give to Yu Shanjiang and the others.

Two big watermelons were left on the threshing floor for the people working there to eat. Each of the two watermelons weighed seven or eight kilograms. There were less than ten people working here, so it was enough for them to eat.

Li Long did not stay any longer, mainly because Du Chunfang was afraid that her youngest son would work here. There were already three people in the family and a tractor, and they could not have any more people. She also had to go back to cook later.

Li Long asked the watermelon seller to drive the tractor to Lao Ma Hao. Since he was back, he had to go to Lao Ma Hao to take a look and buy some watermelons for the brothers.

Even though these guys have salaries, they may not be able to buy more watermelons. Except for Yang Laoliu, the others have been frugal all their lives and are very frugal with their money. Sure enough, when Lao Ma asked Lao Luo, Lao Luo said he bought five or six watermelons two days ago and has only eaten one now.

"When people get old, they can't eat much." This is how Uncle Luo explained.

He can't eat much. Dad Li Qingxia is older than Uncle Luo and the others. He can finish half a watermelon in a short time.

How could they not eat much?
Li Long didn't say much and directly asked the melon seller to unload two sacks of watermelons - there were quite a few people at Lao Mahao, five in total.

"You guys eat the watermelons. The rinds can be used to feed the wild boars and the livestock," Li Long said, shaking his head as he saw Uncle Luo trying to stop him. "It's so hot, you have to eat watermelons. Otherwise, you'll get heat stroke."

Yang Laoliu went to herd sheep. It was really hot outside.

But the pen is kept very clean, and the grass stalks eaten by the animals are cleared out every day. There is no shit or urine in the wild boar pen, there is feces, but not much.

The old comrades are very attentive.

Li Long went to the mountains the next morning, but when he arrived at Halimu's winter camp, he didn't see anyone.

There was no one or horse, and there was not even any sign of anyone passing by the door.

Li Long was a little confused. Did Meng Hai send the wrong message?
Shouldn't it?

Then he guessed that it was most likely that Halimu did not come back.

So we drove a jeep to the winter home in Yushan River.

Sure enough, at Yushanjiang’s winter den, the horses were tied outside and smoke was still coming out of the chimney of the den.

Yushanjiang is making breakfast.

He didn't expect Li Long to come so early. He had planned to wait for Li Long at Halimu's winter nest after breakfast when everyone else arrived.

He believed that as long as the message was sent out, Li Long would definitely come.

Hearing the noise, Yushanjiang came out of his winter den. When he saw Li Long, he was very excited. He strode over, hugged Li Long who had just got off the car, and patted him on the back:
"Li Long, my friend, I miss you!"

"Hahaha, I miss you guys too. Why did you come so early this year?" Li Long was a little uncomfortable and asked after letting go of his hand.

"This year, the boys knew you were going to renovate the winter den, so they couldn't help but want to come early. In addition, they also got some things and wanted to bring them down the mountain for you early."

"Did Halim not come down this time? I just went to his winter home, but he wasn't there."

"Yes, I gave my cattle and sheep to him, but he didn't come down. There are wild animals in the mountains now. Do you know what I saw? A tiger!" Yushanjiang let Li Long into the winter den and talked while making tea.

He brought back some dry naan, and Li Long simply took down the sack of watermelons from the trunk. He also brought some other supplies this time, such as brick tea, salt, air-dried meat, and food, so that Yu Shanjiang and his people could at least have supplies for the first few days.

As for the rest, these capable young men knew how to hunt and get food.

Yushanjiang still likes to eat watermelon naan, so he didn't hesitate to cut one in half, gave half to Li Long and ate the other half himself, talking while eating.

"I saw tigers eating deer and bears, and I injured one. Then they often came near our pasture. I was afraid that it would be unsafe for Halimu to stay alone in Yanggangzi, so Halimu stayed."

Li Long nodded, that's right.

It was quite amazing that Yushanjiang could injure the tiger.

"Are you satisfied with this winter home?" Li Long asked with a smile.

"Satisfied, very satisfied." Yushanjiang held the naan in one hand and raised his thumb with the other. "To be honest, I thought you just fixed up my winter nest, but I didn't expect you to completely renovate it. When I came to see it, I wondered if it was my winter nest."

Li Long was relieved, as long as he was satisfied. He was really worried that Yushanjiang would not be satisfied, but for now, he would still wait and see.

"My tractor was busy these two days, so I didn't drive it up. I'll drive it up in two days to mow the grass for you."

"It's all right, it's all right. The boys will be here soon, and I'll let them pick up stones and wood and tidy up the pasture. It will be convenient when we cut the grass later."

"Okay." Li Long thought this was fine, he had to find a job for the young men.

After breakfast, Yushanjiang took Li Long to the house next door and said:
"Come, look at what I brought you!"

Yushanjiang's tone was full of pride, which surprised Li Long.

Any good stuff again?

What caught my eye were two snow leopard skins, what a surprise!
Then came half a bear skin. Yushanjiang pointed at the skin and said, "This is the bear that was eaten in half by the tiger. I skinned it. The gallbladder is gone, so I didn't take it."

There were also some deerskins, wolfskins, and roe deer skins, about forty or fifty pieces.

It can be seen that in the past two or three months, Yushanjiang has really become famous for hunting.

"There are some from Halimu in here," Yushanjiang said. "There are some antlers, but I can't bring them back. I'll put them aside for now and take them back when I move to another place."

It was already very hard for a horse to carry back just these dozens of skins. On the way back, Yushanjiang spent most of the time leading the horse, after all, these things were not light.

"Each of them brought something with them, so they should be here soon." Yu Shanjiang said with a smile, "We are just unlucky, otherwise we would have brought back a tiger skin. I was thinking, you repaired the house for us, so we should thank you very much anyway."

"That shouldn't be said," Li Long shook his head, "You paid for the house renovation last year. I've said it before, we have to settle the accounts now. You brought back so many things for me, I have to pay you..."

"No money, no money." Why would Yushanjiang take Li Long's money? He waved his hands hastily, "No, no, no!"

Li Long smiled and said, how could it be impossible?

It is impossible for you to keep taking things from the herders for free and then make money by selling them.

He couldn't live with it because he was a representative now and had the convenient conditions, so he was thinking about how to make the herdsmen rich.

With his presence, the lives of the herdsmen have improved, but he hopes it can be even better.

"How about this," Li Long thought for a moment and said, "I'll buy you a tractor and a harvester. You can drive the tractor anyway, so the machine is yours. These leathers are enough to buy a machine."

"These leathers? Buy a tractor?" Yu Shanjiang hesitated.

Although they are a nation that lives on horseback, do you think they would want a tractor?
Definitely want to!

How convenient it is to cut grass, pull grass, and go down the mountain to see the children...

He is not stupid!

But are these leathers enough?
"Li Long, buy me a tractor," Yu Shanjiang thought, "If I don't have enough money, I'll go hunt those things after I return to the summer ranch, and use the skins and deer antlers to make up for it!"

"That's enough." Li Long pointed at the things in the room and said, "That's really enough."

"Haha, Li Long, you can't fool me. Don't worry, I'm a good shooter and I have bullets."

The last time Li Long got a large box of bullets from the forestry team, fifteen hundred rounds. He planned to give half of them to Yu Shanjiang and others, as he didn't actually need that much.

After hearing what Yushanjiang said, Li Long came out, took out the tin box of bullets from the jeep and placed it at the door of the winter den, saying:

"Yushanjiang, I'll give you the bullets. Distribute them to everyone. Since you mentioned there are tigers, it seems that this Xiachou Ranch is also quite dangerous. It's safer to have guns and bullets."

"So many? That's great!" Yushanjiang is more confident now!
He secretly encouraged himself to shoot down the tiger. A tiger can be exchanged for a tractor, right? (End of this chapter)