Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Another snowfall began, and even after the snow stopped, the sky and earth were still gray.

Li Long doesn't like this kind of weather, he likes sunny days.

Gu Boyuan also didn't like this kind of weather, especially when he saw such a long queue in the yard, and these people were all holding ashes in their hands, he felt a little annoyed.

In previous years, in winter, there would be very few customers in the store selling agricultural supplies that he ran, so he would sit by the stove with a book in his hand, reading while warming himself by the fire.

Sweep the stove lid clean, put a grate on it, then cut a few slices of steamed buns. Sometimes, when there are no steamed buns left, just cut a few potatoes and roast them.

It only takes a few minutes to turn the steamed bread slices or potato chips over and they are cooked. No seasoning is needed. They are delicious just by looking at and eating them.

It had snowed three times now and it was already December, but looking at the bustling crowd outside, there were a few familiar faces mixed in - not the kind of familiarity that you would find in a middleman, but because these people were from his own village, and some were even from Team Four, which made him a little annoyed.

Shouldn't we stay indoors during the winter? Why are you all so restless?

He would never admit that he was a little annoyed because Li Long and his friends went hunting together several times without inviting him. He just felt that it was so lively now and it didn't seem like winter at all.

It's been a busy year, can't we have a good rest?

After that day, although Li Long thought about going up the mountain, he did not go in the end. After he rested for two days, Tao Daqiang and others came over and invited him to go hunting in the north again - this time it was not random, but someone brought news from the north that a large group of gazelles were coming.

Li Long, the person who brought the news, also knew that it was Wang Mingjun.

He invited Li Jianguo and others to go hunting. Of course, it was not just hunting. He also wanted to ask Li Long to go over and collect the skins from him. This was his biggest idea.

Wang Mingjun learned from Luo Erwa that Li Jianguo and his men went hunting in the north. When he heard the news, Wang Mingjun was a little angry.

Fortunately, Zheng Xiangyang persuaded them, and he guessed that Li Jianguo didn't want to trouble them. However, they were at the edge of Beishawo after all, which was a great geographical advantage, and a large group of gazelles would pass by their north.

So Wang Mingjun and Zheng Xiangyang discussed it and then made a phone call to invite Li Jianguo and others to come over. Of course, they emphasized Li Long and said that they had a lot of leather here.

Last year, Li Long bought the leathers of Wang Mingjun and others at a "high price", which made the company a fortune. This year, he also gave the company the job of making big brooms. No matter how you look at it, the company has made a lot of money from Li Long. The living standards of the employees have improved a lot this year, and many of them have added big items to their homes.

After Wang Mingjun and Zheng Xiangyang discussed it, they felt that they should strengthen their ties with Li Long, and the best way would be to invite Li Jianguo and Li Long over.

So there was another hunt.

Of course the news was true. To the north of the company, there was a group of about two hundred gazelles living briefly on a large beach mixed with Haloxylon ammodendron and Tamarisk.

Normally, gazelles will finish chewing all the tender branches of the shrubs in one patch before moving on to continue chewing the shrubs elsewhere.

This time, Wang Mingjun and his team provided sufficient information, and Li Long and his team were well prepared. In the evening, they directly approached the gazelle herd about 30 to 40 meters away. Li Long and his team could see that the red willows and saxaul trees in this area were basically left with bare poles, and all the branches had been eaten away.

A few people, together with Wang Mingjun and Lao Chen, shot down more than 20 yellow sheep in total.

Li Long's biggest gain was collecting more than 90 skins from Wang Mingjun. It was because Wang Mingjun told him about the situation over the phone that Li Long and his team drove two tractors, otherwise, so many things would not be able to fit in!

After that trip, Li Long didn't go hunting much these days, but there were still many people hunting in the villages.

So Gu Boyuan was a little annoyed - he had enough money, and the food and drinks were all good, but he felt like he was missing something.

Just like Li Long a few days ago.

But thinking about Mingming Haohao who called him "Grandpa" in the yard yesterday at noon, Gu Boyuan's irritability slowly dissipated.

Yeah, and these two brats.

He continued to greet people:
"Next... I'll say it again, full leather is fifty yuan, and broken leather is thirty yuan. If you don't have the skinning skills, just peel slowly. The holes you peeled off can be seen even if you cover it with oil!"

The next one was Xie Yundong. He and Tao Daqiang came over with a bunch of leather, put them on the counter, and said with a smile:

"Old Gu, let me tell you, we were very careful when peeling these skins. Apart from the bullet holes, there is not a single tear. You can find them all if you check carefully."

When the people behind heard that these two people knew Gu Boyuan, they became very curious.

Sun Jiaqiang was a little absent-minded today. When he saw Xie Yundong and the others, he just forced a smile. Then he turned over the leather and helped Gu Boyuan check it one by one.

Li Long took Mingming and Haohao to play in the snow in the yard. This time he not only helped Mingming and Haohao to make snowballs, but mainly because the two little guys became bolder and bolder. They took the snowball that Li Long made first, and for some reason, they started to throw it at Li Long together, laughing as they did so.

"Hey, you two are rebelling, aren't you?" Li Long squatted there, pinched a snowball into two halves, thought about it and pinched it smaller, then threw one in each hand towards Mingming Haohao.

He was half left-handed, throwing things with his left hand and writing with his right hand, so the snowball that he threw with his left hand hit Mingming, and the snowball that was about the size of a sparrow egg went into Mingming's neck. The one he threw at Haohao was not so accurate, and hit Haohao's forehead directly - he was originally intended to hit Haohao's chest.

Haohao didn't pay attention this time, and was frightened by the fall. He sat down on the ground all of a sudden. He wiped his forehead with his hand and wanted to cry. He turned his head to look at his brother Mingming, who was tilting his head to take snow out of his neck. But he didn't cry in the end.

Neither of the two children cried, especially Mingming, the older brother, who was very calm. He smiled and took out snow from his neck. After taking out the snow, he squatted down and found another snowball. He stood up and looked at Haohao, stuffed the snowball into Haohao's hand, and then grabbed another snowball and said to Haohao:
"Hit daddy!"

The voice was very loud, and then Haohao responded with an "ang" and got up and followed his brother to rush towards Li Long.

Li Long laughed out loud. Although they were only a little over one year old and less than two years old, the two little guys were obviously much smarter and braver. The older brother took care of the younger one and the younger brother listened to his older brother. This was very good!

Two balls of snow hit Li Long one after another, splashing small snowflakes. The two children clapped their hands and laughed. Haohao laughed and shook, then sat down on the ground again. He quickly got up, patted his butt, and grabbed Mingming's arm, indicating that he wanted to continue fighting.

Sister Yang heard the noise and poked her head out of the kitchen to ask, "Uncle, aren't the two children cold? They have been playing for half an hour. Do they want to go inside to warm up?"

"No, they are wearing thick clothes, so they can play for a while." Li Long responded, "Kids should play outside in winter. They are still young and can't beat the old cows, but it's okay for them to play in the snow."

The snow in the yard was swept clean. If Li Long hadn't been afraid of making other people slip, he would have even planned to find a place to pour some water and freeze it into ice, and then make a place for the children to skate and ride horses.

Alas, life in the city is not good. When there is no Internet, it is much worse than in the countryside. At this time, Li Juan and Li Qiang can beat old cows, slide horses, play sledding, chase rabbits, and cover old birds...

A few memories flashed through his mind, but before the emotion could rise, he was interrupted by a chill. Obviously, he was very good to Haohao, but he was very cunning to his father's imaginary enemy. He took advantage of Li Long's daze, ran over, took a piece of snow and covered Li Long's neck while he was squatting. Maybe he wanted his father to also taste the feeling of snow in his neck?
Seeing that they had succeeded, the two children laughed and ran and hid in the yard. Li Long was about to pretend to chase them when he heard the sound of the yard gate opening. Someone was coming.

Sister Yang also heard the noise and hurried out of the kitchen. She wiped her hands on her apron, took Mingming in one hand and Haohao in the other, and prepared to bring the two children into the house.

It was obvious that Haohao was not happy and was struggling hard there. Li Long did not care about that. When he heard someone knocking on the door, he answered and went to open the door.

What surprised Li Long was that outside the door were Jia Tianlong and his wife Qiao Fengzhi. Qiao Fengzhi was holding a child - the child was tightly wrapped in a small blanket.

"Come in, come in. Why did you bring the child here?" Li Long complained. "How old is he? Just a hundred days old, right? Come on, come in and warm up."

"Hey, it's been over a hundred days, why don't you come here? You have to let the child see the jade." Jia Tianlong really believed this, "He came all the way here by train, the child is very safe..."

Jia Tianlong had a child, and he called Li Long to announce the good news. Li Long congratulated him and thought about giving him a gift when he came over. But he certainly didn't expect the child to come over, after all, he was too young, and running back and forth in winter was not right anyway.

But since you're here, please come in first.

Jia Tianlong didn't hesitate and followed Li Long into the house with his wife. Sister Yang poured water for the two of them, while Mingming Haohao curiously watched Qiao Fengzhi open the quilt in the house to reveal the child inside.

"Is this... my sister?" Although no one said anything, Haohao asked naively and carefully.

"Hey, you have good eyes!" Jia Tianlong responded with a smile and said to Li Long, "Xiaolong, I really envy you. Look at your two sons, they are chubby and strong!" The family has good nutrition. Haohao is obviously taller than other children of the same age and obviously smarter. Jia Tianlong likes him just by looking at him.

"This one from your house isn't bad, is it?" Li Long gestured to Jia Tianlong to drink some water. "How much does it weigh now?"

"More than six kilograms." Qiao Fengzhi replied, "Uncle, I need to breastfeed the child..."

"Go into the inner room!" Li Long pointed hurriedly and said, "There's no one inside. Don't worry, Lao Jia and I will be here to watch over you."

Qiao Fengzhi gave birth to a daughter. When Jia Tianlong called Li Long to tell him the good news, he felt a little unwilling and thought about having another child.

For Jia Tianlong, he naturally doesn’t care about the fine. If his wife can give birth, then let her do it...

Of course, Jia Tianlong was afraid that his wife would not be able to have children, so he simply brought her out to worship the jade stone after the child’s 100-day banquet.

He believed that after worshipping this jade stone, his wife would definitely get pregnant in the future, but certainly not now.

He had nothing to do in the winter, but when spring came, he had no time to bring his wife and children over.

"Hey, you have such a thoughtful thought." Li Long thought about it and smiled.

"Not only that, since the child was born, she must come here to fulfill her vow." Jia Tianlong said solemnly, "When I saw the jade before, I felt that it was predestined, so I worshipped it, and then the child was born. Now that the child is born, she must come back to fulfill her vow, right?"

After he finished speaking, he looked at Li Long again and asked cautiously, "Xiaolong, do you think this jade can..."

"No." Li Long waved his hand. "If it was anything else, it would be fine. But this is something someone gave to me on behalf of a village. They didn't even ask for money. How can I give it to you? I still have to rely on this village to complete my mission in the next few years..."

Since Li Long said so, Jia Tianlong didn't mention the matter again.

Li Long asked Jia Tianlong to drink some water first, and he went into the east room.

Last year, after Mingming Haohao was born, Jia Tianlong came over and gave him a valuable gift. Compared to Zhao Hui's gift which was more about form than content, the gift given by Jia Tianlong was a truly valuable one.

It can also be seen from their subsequent attitudes that Jia Tianlong really wants to make friends with Li Long, while Zhao Hui is just a business partner.

So when Li Long learned a few months ago that Jia Tianlong's wife had given birth to a daughter, he had already prepared gifts. Today, Jia Tianlong brought the child to the door, and Li Long went to get the gifts.

Mingming Haohao couldn't see the "sister", so he could only look at Jia Tianlong curiously. Jia Tianlong insisted that Mingming Haohao call him "Uncle", but Mingming Haohao just shook his head and called Jia Tianlong "Uncle Jia" as Li Long taught him.

"Why don't you call me uncle?" Jia Tianlong asked the two children while teasing them.

"There are eldest uncle and second uncle." Mingming was already talking more than many other children at this time.

When Li Long came out of the east room, Jia Tianlong was a little surprised. He said to Li Long:
"Your two are only a little over a year old, right? Can they speak so clearly?"

Li Long smiled and said, "They mature early. Their mother is a teacher and taught them early."

In fact, Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia were also very surprised and astonished by this, as were Gu Boyuan, Li Jianguo and others.

After all, usually it is very good for a one-year-old child to be able to speak simple words, and being able to speak sentences is almost unheard of in this age. But Haohao can clearly speak short sentences.

Li Long could only secretly attribute it to himself. Anyway, he was now very strong and his five senses were far superior to those of ordinary people. Maybe there was some special factor in his genes.

"Hey, I also know some teachers, and their children are not necessarily smarter than ordinary children." Jia Tianlong naturally didn't think what Li Long said was true. He increasingly felt that this should be the Li family's talent, or maybe it was genetic?
If that's the case, then you really have to make good friends with Li Long. It's obvious that not only is he extraordinary, but his wife and children are also extraordinary.

Qiao Fengzhi came out of the inner room holding the child, looking a little shy. Li Long took out the things he had just taken and said, "The child is already a hundred days old. This is the first time I see him. This is a gift from our family to the child. You must accept it."

Li Long stuffed a pair of small gold bracelets into the child's hands, which were quite heavy. He originally wanted to give a piece of jade seed material, but jade was not expensive at the moment, and it seemed that it was not so sincere to give it as a gift, so he simply gave gold, which at least looked extraordinary at first glance.

Qiao Fengzhi quickly refused, but Li Long stuffed the bracelet into the child's blanket and said, "You must accept it. Lao Jia and I are family, so don't be polite."

Qiao Fengzhi looked at Jia Tianlong, and Jia Tianlong nodded and said, "Since Xiaolong said so, then accept it." Li Long said that this was one of his own, and he was very happy.

Qiao Fengzhi put away the pair of gold bracelets.

She could feel that it was quite heavy.

Jia Tianlong put down the teacup and said, "Now that we have fed the baby, let's go and worship the jade."

He said to Li Long: "We came here last night, stayed in the guesthouse, and took a shower."

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Li Long complained. "You're not a stranger."

"That's different. I can joke with you as much as I want, but I have to respect the jade. In my opinion, my Yumei was obtained by it."

The girl's name is Yumei, a nice name.

What surprised Li Long was that Jia Tianlong also prepared things for worship. The bag he brought over contained not only specialties from his hometown for Li Long, but also side dishes and fruits in a lunch box for Yu Shi.

Specialties include medicinal herbs and food materials such as lily and codonopsis; side dishes include fried fish, pork elbow, and braised chicken.

It looks quite sumptuous - there's even wine.

The snow on the jade platform was cleared. Xiao Hei would occasionally come here to pee, but he didn't dare to do it after being scolded by Li Long a few times. The copper incense burner was still there, with traces of burning incense inside. Sister Yang would occasionally come over to light a stick of incense, sometimes she would remember and sometimes she wouldn't.

After Li Long led Mingming and Haohao out, he went to find a sack and spread it on the jade table. He thought that Jia Tianlong might want to bow down, and he couldn't just bow down on the brick floor.

Sure enough, Jia Tianlong arranged the things, lit incense, offered wine, and then knelt down on the sack with his wife and children.

Haohao obviously thought it was fun and wanted to come closer, so Li Long hurriedly pulled the child over. The two children were still struggling, so Li Long picked up one child in each hand.

Li Long slowly stopped holding the baby. Haohao was obviously quite heavy, and Sister Yang and Gu Xiaoxia could usually only hold one, so they simply stopped holding him.

Now suddenly being picked up by their father, the two children immediately forgot their unhappiness and started laughing happily.

Children's joy is often that simple.

Jia Tianlong's family solemnly bowed to the sleeping child, the jade stone, and then got up. Li Long hurriedly let them in. The child was still young, unlike the other two boys, and he was afraid that he would get cold.

Sister Yang has already prepared a meal for many people. In ancient times, this was considered a good relationship between family members, so naturally she would entertain them at home.

After entering the house, Jia Tianlong talked to Li Long about the market changes after Dong Zhichao, Bai Xiuming and others brought back the flat-mouthed melon seeds from here.

"I never thought that the melon seeds you sell here are so popular over there." Jia Tianlong was also very surprised, and of course, he was also very happy for Li Long.

Although he didn't know how much Li Long earned, since there was competition, Li Long would definitely not earn less.

That's all. (End of this chapter)