Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 942 Return Journey: Yanjing, though beautiful, is not a place to stay for long.

Li Jianguo praised the first two-courtyard house highly, and did not belittle the second one-courtyard house either. Although the courtyard was small and messy, this was Yanjing, after all.

Although he already owned a courtyard house, Li Jianguo never thought that buying one in Yanjing would be easy. The words of that man surnamed Shao from the day before—that one couldn't buy a courtyard house without a Yanjing household registration—had already made him back down.

Li Long has now bought two courtyards, and also bought one under his name, which is good enough.

He himself knew that, in the end, the value of such a yard wouldn't be much less than that of the tractor he drove.

Anyone with money can buy that tractor, but this yard is a different story!
"This courtyard is quite nice. It's a good place for the whole family to live, and it's quiet. It's also easy to clean here. The foundation is in good condition, and all the stuff on top can be cleaned up in half a day," Li Jianguo commented on the small courtyard.

It's easy to find renovation and other services here. After all, this is Beijing, the capital city. I can't say for sure about other things, but at least there should be no shortage of various construction teams.

After looking around the yard, Li Long and Li Jianguo walked back, discussing their next plans as they went.

"Shouldn't we go to the Great Wall?" Li Jianguo asked after Li Long finished explaining his plan to buy local specialties. "Is it far? If it's not too much trouble, we should go, right?"

The Great Wall, yes, I really need to go to the Great Wall.

Li Long hadn't included this in his plans when he came, so he hadn't thought about it. Mainly, he had visited the Great Wall in his previous life and seen a meticulously restored version; the feeling was different from what he had imagined. Therefore, Li Long didn't have any particular attachment to the Great Wall in this life.

However, he underestimated the Great Wall's appeal to others, especially to ordinary people like his elder brother Li Jianguo, who was half scholar and half farmer.

“Okay, let’s go to the Great Wall first tomorrow, and then we can buy some local specialties,” Li Long said. “Anyway, our business went smoothly and we can go back early, so we can have a good look around the Great Wall. But we’ll have to ask Xiaoyu how to get there; it’s a bit troublesome if we try to find it ourselves.”

Definitely.

Having finalized their plans, they returned to the inn, but Gu Xiaoxia and her sister hadn't returned yet. Li Long and the others chatted in their room, discussing the details of their return journey.

It was almost dark when Gu Xiaoxia returned. Li Long heard the commotion next door and went out to see her. He noticed that Gu Xiaoxia's expression wasn't good, so he quietly asked her what was wrong.

There were too many people around, so Gu Xiaoxia couldn't say anything and just shook her head.

When they returned after dinner, Li Long deliberately lagged behind Gu Xiaoxia and asked her about what happened that afternoon.

“I went to see my mother.” Gu Xiaoxia was in a bad mood and her voice sounded weak. “I waited for her to get off work from dinner until she got off work—to be honest, I was really looking forward to it, but when I saw her, I felt… that she didn’t seem like my mother. It was completely different from what Xiaoyu said about seeing her father.”

"Did you talk to her?" Li Long asked.

“No.” Gu Xiaoxia shook her head. “I originally wanted to go see her and talk to her, but when I saw her, I didn’t want to say anything. When I saw her, the feeling I had was one of complete unfamiliarity. I didn’t think that was my mother…”

Li Long smiled and said, "This is really unfair to your mother. You know that Xiaoyu was prejudiced against Uncle Gu when she first met him. Your mother said some bad things about Uncle Gu, and she planned to leave a few hundred yuan and then leave. Uncle Gu's true feelings changed Xiaoyu, and that's how the conversation started."

“But the moment I saw Xiaoyu, I felt like she was my sister, my family.” Gu Xiaoxia disagreed with Li Long’s explanation.

"That's because you and Xiaoyu look alike," Li Long said with a smile. "You and your mother don't look very much alike, do you?"

"Hmm, not quite, but there's a slight resemblance..."

"Let me put it this way, it's normal that you felt a sense of unfamiliarity when you met your mother. After all, Xiaoyu went to Ma County twice to meet you, visited the courtyard and the village, and observed Uncle Gu's shop. She was fully prepared before meeting you, but even so, Xiaoyu was still a bit reserved and polite at the beginning."

The way you see your mother now is most likely because she remarried, and when you saw her, she seemed peaceful and stable, even somewhat happy. This subconsciously makes you feel that she is no longer your relative or family.

"Yes, yes, that's the feeling. Even though I know she's my mother, I just can't bring myself to call her that. In my memory, my mother should be... should be similar to my sister-in-law, maybe a bit younger and more intellectual, perhaps because she lives in the city."

But what I see now gives me the feeling of an ordinary urban woman, completely different from the mother I imagined…”

"That's the image of your mother from before, you've idealized it too much, there's a gap." Li Long thought to himself that explaining was really tiring. If it weren't to make his wife feel better, he wouldn't have explained so much.

What business is it of mine with that cheap mother-in-law? She's already remarried; there's no way we could have a deep relationship.

But he didn't want to disappoint his wife too much, so he had to explain things to his mother-in-law to put his wife at ease.

"Is that really true?" Hearing Li Long's explanation made Gu Xiaoxia feel a little better. "I think..."

"Don't worry about it, it's bound to be like this. After all, you haven't seen her for so many years. It's normal for your mother to have changed a bit since she has a new home, but no matter what, she's still your mother."

She didn't stop Xiaoyu from coming to see you. What happened back then wasn't entirely her fault; the broader environment and your father's willfulness also played a role. So now everyone is living happily, so don't overthink it.

If you want to get to know her, then we can find a chance to meet. If you don't want to see her, then we can just live our own lives. To be honest, with such a long distance, even if you wanted to see her, you might not be able to do so often.

After hearing what Li Long said, Gu Xiaoxia thought about it and realized it made sense. She immediately cheered up and said with a smile in a low voice, "Mingming's dad, you have no idea how envious Xiaoyu is of me now. She says that the atmosphere at home is so good, and the life I'm living is what she has always been looking forward to. It's simply the happy life of her dreams."

"That's fine then." Li Long put his arm around her waist and said with a smile, "Just live our lives well. If your mother knew you were happy, she would probably bless you too."

"We're still outside..." Startled by Li Long's embrace, Gu Xiaoxia quickly took two steps to the side and whispered, "We need to be mindful of our behavior."

"Alright, alright, be mindful of the consequences." Li Long smiled. His wife's worries were resolved, that was good.

Back at the hostel, Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia and Gu Xiaoyu about his idea of ​​going to the Great Wall the next day. Gu Xiaoxia wanted to go, but she was worried that it would be inconvenient to bring Mingming and Haohao along.

"Let's rent a car then," Li Long said. "That will save us trouble."

After he finished speaking, he still looked at Gu Xiaoyu.

“Yes, renting a car is more convenient.” Gu Xiaoyu nodded. “The Great Wall is quite far away, and it’s really inconvenient to walk there. However, climbing the Great Wall at this time of year is a bit dangerous, as the snow is quite thick, so we all need to be careful.”

The car rental was entrusted to Gu Xiaoyu. Li Long originally wanted to pay, but Gu Xiaoyu refused. She said that since they had come all the way to Yanjing and were still making Li Long and the others spend money, she should also do her part.

Li Long didn't insist. They were all relatives, and they would visit each other often in the future, so it wouldn't make a difference.

He could also tell that Gu Xiaoyu seemed to sense that her sister wasn't close to her mother, and she felt uncomfortable being caught in the middle, so she wanted to make amends.

The next day, shortly after breakfast, the car Gu Xiaoyu had rented arrived—a minivan, large enough for Li Long and the others. The driver was quite talkative, chatting about the changes in Yanjing and suggesting that Li Long and his group visit more places when they had time.

Li Long truly experienced firsthand the eloquence of the drivers in Yanjing in both his previous and current lives—although he had been there before, he was on a tour and had never witnessed such a thing.

Snow on the Great Wall gives it a completely different feel. Li Jianguo said with a smile as he climbed to the top:

"The elderly truly experienced the 'northern scenery' here!"

Li Long didn't know much, but Gu Xiaoxia and Gu Xiaoyu nodded repeatedly, and Li Juan also recited the poem.

"Hey, Juan is still the best. All I know is 'Genghis Khan shooting the eagle'," Li Long chuckled. "Juan, work hard and get into this area so you can climb the Great Wall every year!"

"I want to take the exam too!" Li Qiang shouted, afraid of being left behind.

"Alright, alright, let's all take the test here." Li Long said, holding Mingming and Haohao. "Test." Mingming and Haohao didn't know what test meant, but they habitually repeated the word after their father, which made everyone laugh.

Li Long took out his camera and took pictures of everyone. He even pulled a tourist on the Great Wall to take a group photo with him, which was quite precious.

Li Long also saw Li Jianguo secretly carve a few words on the Great Wall when no one was looking.

He wondered if it was a "I was here" graffiti. Well, it's a bad habit, but Li Long didn't stop him; some people are just stubborn. Looking back, his brother was definitely a hero, so let him carve it; he could be selfish for once.

After returning from the Great Wall, the countdown to going home began. Gu Xiaoyu's holiday was over, and she needed to go to work at the school—although there was no one at the school now, she still had to go to the office to handle some miscellaneous tasks.

Li Long and his group then went to buy local specialties.

Li Long bought twenty portions of pastries from two well-established shops, packed them up, and then used two large wooden crates he bought from a consignment shop to pack the pastries directly into the crates before going to the train station to arrange for their shipment.

Tongrentang's prepared medicines, as well as some medicinal materials that are hard to buy in later generations, such as rhinoceros horn, tortoise shells, and old ginseng, were all in large quantities. Some were kept for myself, and some were intended to be given away.

As for other things, there are many food options at the established local restaurants, so Li Long and his group only bought braised pork hock and other things they could carry on the train to eat on their way back.

At this time, train tickets from Yanjing to Wucheng were still quite easy to buy—after all, it was before the Lunar New Year, tickets for those coming were scarce, but there were plenty of tickets available for those going.

Li Long thought to himself that forty years from now, tickets to northern Xinjiang would be in short supply during holidays. There would be too many tourists, and students would be complaining, driving up ticket prices.

Finally, it was time to board the train. Before she had even seen the person off, tears were already welling up in Gu Xiaoyu's eyes.

“It’s alright. Your brother-in-law said that private phones will be able to receive calls in northern Xinjiang this year. We’ll get a line installed at home then, and we can talk to you then.” Gu Xiaoxia was quite optimistic, holding her sister’s hand and saying, “It will be soon.”

"Auntie, don't cry!"

"Auntie, don't cry!"

At this moment, Minghao and his mother joined in trying to persuade Gu Xiaoyu, which made her laugh.

"They're so adorable!" Gu Xiaoyu hugged the two children tightly. "What will Auntie do when she misses you?"

“I have photos,” Gu Xiaoxia said with a smile, seemingly unconcerned. “Don’t worry, we might come back again this summer. You’ll have to take good care of our courtyards.”

"Don't worry, I'll definitely do my best," Gu Xiaoyu said. "I'll buy my house next to yours, and we can be neighbors."

The train was about to depart. Gu Xiaoyu got off the train and waved her hand vigorously outside the window, wiping away tears from time to time.

Watching the whole family drive away, she felt like she was the one who had been abandoned. Her heart was filled with mixed emotions, and tears streamed down her face.

Gu Xiaoxia wasn't initially that sad, but seeing her sister crying outside the car window, she couldn't help but tear up as well. She grabbed Li Long's arm and said, "You know, Xiaoyu's all alone here, she doesn't even have anyone to talk to..."

Li Long was speechless. He explained, "You're not close to your mother, but Xiaoyu is different. She's the local resident, so how could she not have anyone to talk to? She's just closer to us, so she doesn't want us to leave. Alright, alright, don't worry, she'll be fine in a bit."

As the train started moving, Gu Xiaoxia was busy taking care of her child and forgot about her sadness.

Although they had only just set off from Yanjing, Li Juan and Li Qiang were already calculating when they would arrive in Wucheng.

During this trip, they not only visited tourist attractions and universities, but Li Long and Gu Xiaoyu also bought them clothes, school supplies, and toys. The two children came empty-handed, but left with a backpack full of things, so they returned with a full load.

Li Long thought to himself that nowadays, students in Ma County all carry crossbody backpacks. If Li Juan and Li Qiang carry backpacks back with their shoulders, wouldn't they be the trendsetters?

Li Juan and Li Qiang gained a lot from this trip to Yanjing, and they can't wait to return to Ma County to share their experiences with their friends.

Even in the train's bedroom carriage, the two of them quickly made new friends and started talking about Yanjing after getting to know each other.

"The time was a bit short, otherwise the two kids could have had even more fun," Li Long said with a smile. "It's just that Minghao and Haohao are still a bit young and don't quite understand yet."

"Anyway, we've bought the courtyard, so we'll still go there often in the future." This time, they bought five beds. Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia faced each other, Li Juan and Li Qiang were in the middle bed, and Li Jianguo was next door. Even though Hao Hao was already asleep, Gu Xiaoxia thought that her sister was in Yanjing, and the courtyard was in Yanjing, so it wouldn't be a big deal to go there from time to time.

"Okay, once plane tickets are available again, we'll fly there." Li Long nodded.

Someone standing nearby scoffed when Li Long said taking a plane was as easy as drinking water.

Clearly, he was dissatisfied.

Li Long naturally wouldn't care. He was thinking that after he got the paintings and calligraphy back, he would find a special room in the courtyard to store them properly.

Fortunately, the air in northern Xinjiang is dry. He vaguely remembered that when he was about to die in his previous life, he found some books from decades ago in an empty room in his house. The books were still in good condition.

So, as long as calligraphy and paintings don't get damp, they should keep quite well, at least for 10 or 20 years. Li Long didn't plan to keep them for 30 or 50 years; he'd sell them when the time was up.

He had a receipt and catalog from an antique shop; these things would be collectibles in twenty or thirty years.

“I think the van we took to the Great Wall was pretty good,” Gu Xiaoxia said again. “It can seat quite a few people. I wonder when our county will have such convenient vehicles that can pick up and drop off people.”

“They’re selling them here now, but it’ll be at least seven or eight years before we have one that can actually carry people,” Li Long said. “We’ll see how it goes when we get back. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll buy one. That one can carry more people than our 212.”

Li Long was still quite puzzled about how many people this small bread could hold. The most he had ever seen was twelve, and some people said it could even hold twenty. With such a small space, how could it possibly fit everyone?
The Tianjin Dafa van had already rolled off the production line and gone on sale. The price of a minivan was about the same as that of a Dongfanghong 75 tractor, so it was definitely affordable.

The main reason is that it's more convenient to drive than the 212. The 212 may have a lot of hype, but in reality, it's not as comfortable to drive as the Dafa.

Of course, they were all quite sturdy compared to cars in later generations.

But we have to take it one step at a time; it's still better than a small four-wheeled tractor.

The team members are incredibly excited to be able to drive small four-wheeled tractors, and they wouldn't even dare to dream of driving a 212. Li Long is still complaining about it here.

When it was time to eat, Gu Xiaoxia looked at Mingming and Haohao, while Li Long opened his backpack, took out the oil paper package inside, untied the string, placed it on the small table, and then called Li Jianguo, Li Juan, and Li Qiang to come and eat together.

The braised pork hock looked incredibly appetizing. It could last for two days, so Li Long bought four, planning to have a nice meal on the road.

The food in the dining car was better than what he brought, but he got tired of eating it every day, so Li Long brought back a lot of local specialties to satisfy his cravings on the way back.

Their family enjoyed the meal, and others watched with envy.

After all, these days, not everyone can afford braised pork hock.

When Li Long brought out another braised pork knuckle for dinner, the people next to him stared wide-eyed. Was this guy doing this on purpose?

Others simply avoid eating there; there's no way to compare, it's infuriating.

Unlike when they came, on the way back, the Li family members almost became enemies in the carriage, and even the train attendants complained—the smell was really strong and tempting, but they couldn't eat it, which made them very angry!
(End of this chapter)