Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 947 Clash of the Old and the New: The Final Victory

Yang Xiulan and Han Fang were in the south courtyard room, one cleaning the room and the other tidying up the offering table.

"Mom, should we enlarge this picture of Dad a bit?" Han Fang's memory of her father's image had become somewhat blurry, and she wanted to see it more clearly.

"No need." Yang Xiulan paused for a moment, then said, "It's fine as it is. This is our home, we just need to remember your dad. Xiaofang, are you hungry?"

"I'm not hungry." Han Fang shook her head. "Mom, can we set off firecrackers this year?"

"Yes, you can go." Yang Xiulan knew that Han Fang actually wanted to go to the fourth team to play with Li Juan, but she also knew that this was against the rules, so she didn't say anything.

"Your Uncle Li said that Li Juan has been studying hard lately and is trying to get into university. I haven't seen you going out to play with your classmates much either. Are you also thinking about getting into university?"

"Hmm, I saw the photos they took in Yanjing, they're so beautiful! I'd like to go see it after I get into university, Mom, shall we go together then?"

“No need to wait until university.” Yang Xiulan said impulsively, looking at her obedient daughter. “In another year, Mingming and Haohao will be in daycare. When Mom has some free time, I’ll take you to Beijing, and we’ll have a good look around. We’ll also see Tiananmen Square and the universities!”

"Great!" Han Fang was genuinely happy. "We'll have a good time then."

"We'll be living here then," Yang Xiulan said. "Are you willing?"

“…I’m willing.” Han Fang thought for a moment and finally said.

Yang Xiulan knew that Han Fang was actually unwilling. After all, Han Fang had long lacked a sense of security since losing her father. It was only because Li Long helped her and her mother, arranged for them to go to school, and finally moved into the big courtyard that Han Fang felt safe.

They'll have to move again in less than a year, which they definitely don't want.

But that's not my home after all.

Yang Xiulan knew that Han Fang was reasonable, which was why she didn't know what to say.

"Alright, it's clean enough now. Come on, let's prepare dinner. We're going to have a proper New Year's Eve dinner. After we eat, we'll go out and set off firecrackers!"

"Great! Great!" Han Fang was overjoyed to hear that firecrackers were going to be set off. It wouldn't be New Year without firecrackers!

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, many people came to the Li family to pay their respects. Even though Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia lived in the front yard, they couldn't escape being woken up early by Li Juan and Li Qiang to eat dumplings.

After giving out red envelopes, Li Long and his family prepared to eat dumplings. Then, after watching Mingming and Haohao accept the red envelopes, they returned to the South Courtyard thinking they could rest for a while. However, soon a group of people came to visit to wish them a Happy New Year.

There's no time to relax!

Logically, he should be running around visiting the older folks in the village to wish them a Happy New Year today. But firstly, he's married and his child is still young, and secondly, those who come to wish him a Happy New Year are all young adults of similar age, so he can't go out.

Fortunately, Liang Yuemei had prepared some cold dishes at home yesterday, such as braised meat and mixed bean sprouts, as well as spicy red peppers, which are common in summer but rarely seen in winter. So, when people came to pay their respects for the New Year, whether they drank alcohol or not, they were given a drink first.

That saved him a lot of trouble.

While Li Long was dealing with people who came to pay New Year's visits, there was also a lively scene in front of the winter retreat in Yushanjiang, in the mountains.

There were at least twenty or thirty people here. Most of the elders in the tribe had come, both men and women, all wearing thick fur robes over respectable clothes.

Even though they still live a nomadic life, the elderly still have decent clothes to wear when visiting relatives.

The able-bodied men were all working. Some were slaughtering sheep, others were tending the stoves. It was too cold outside to dig a barbecue trough, but Yushanjiang had made preparations. In the autumn, Li Long brought him a barbecue trough welded from sheet metal and angle iron, which came in handy.

Li Long got several; he has some at home, and Yu Shanjiang and Halimu each have one. Yu Shanjiang also brought over Halimu's, otherwise there wouldn't be enough to grill, since there are too many people.

Halim quietly asked Yushanjiang:
Did you speak to those people beforehand?

“I told them. They were still a little hesitant, worried that they couldn’t win the argument with the elders.”

“It’s normal to be worried. As long as we make the proposal and clarify things when the time comes, we’ll be fine with these people on our side.” Halim was confident. “Good days will come once the roads are repaired. I don’t believe they want to go back to their old ways.”

Yu Shanjiang smiled and said, "That's true. Even the elderly are slowly changing their lives and gradually accepting new things. Although road construction is a big change, it's not impossible to convince them."

In the distance, many children were running and playing in the snow, their laughter echoing from time to time; they were clearly very happy.

Although the adults all wore expressions of worry, the children didn't think about any of that. They'd been cooped up in their winter nests, itching for something to do. Now that they'd finally gotten together, they were as excited as monkeys, playing and frolicking about.

Yushanjiang slaughtered two sheep, boiled the bones in two large pots, and grilled the meat that was removed from the bones.

Beside the tandoor oven, Yushanjiang's wife and Halim's wife were baking naan together. Several elderly people were cleaning sheep offal by the water, preparing it in their own way.

At midday, the sun was high in the sky, and the people in front of the winter shelter were already warm. The four bonfires had turned from open flames to glowing embers, and all kinds of food were cooked. The women and young men placed plates of meat on several long, low tables. There weren't enough benches, so yesterday Yushanjiang and the able-bodied men brought over a lot of wind-fallen timber, sawed it down, and shaving it clean to use as benches.

Yushanjiang invited everyone to sit down and start eating, and then said while eating:
"When I informed everyone, I said that we were going to discuss an important matter today, which is about road repairs."

As you all know, Li Long, our Duosen, has been helping us. He came to see us a few days ago and said he wanted to build a road for us, to connect the winter hut to the road down the mountain. This would make it easier to haul hay, coal, and wool from the winter hut.

Furthermore, after repairing the road to the winter pasture, he also planned to repair the road from the winter pasture to the summer pasture. He observed that every year during our seasonal migrations, we had to use horses to transport large quantities of supplies up the mountain, which was extremely inconvenient. He thought that once the road was open, tractors could go up the mountain, greatly shortening our migration time, and the return journey would be the same.

Before Yushanjiang could finish speaking, an old man spoke up:

“I disagree! We have continued our nomadic tradition for hundreds of years. Back then, we used horses to haul things and move around. We’ve been doing just fine for the past few hundred years. Why should we change it?”

Once that road is built, will the grasslands still be ours? Those Han Chinese from outside are now frequently appearing on the mountains around this winter settlement.

They dug things up our pasture, and they damaged it so much that the grass isn't growing properly anymore.

"If the road to the summer pastures is also repaired, those Han people will surely flee to the inner mountains. Who knows, they might destroy our summer pastures then?"

As soon as he said that, several elderly people immediately chimed in to agree.

Some people say from a traditional perspective that young people today only know about new things from the outside world and don't learn the traditions of the tribe. In the long run, will they still be people of the tribe?

There are claims that outsiders are affecting their nomadic lifestyle. They say that in recent years, more and more people have come to their pastures to dig for fritillaria bulbs, ginseng, and hunt, which has indeed affected their normal lives.

Others say that the Kazakhs are a people who live on horseback, and using horses to carry things is a tradition passed down from their elders for hundreds of years. Why should they change it?
Although the elders were old, they still held considerable authority after being in charge for so long. Once they spoke, the others, though their expressions were displeased, dared not immediately refute them.

Until one old man got carried away and started talking, he said that Li Long might not have good intentions either, making the young men in the tribe use new foreign products, making it impossible for them to settle down and herd livestock. This was destroying the tribe's traditions, and it would be best to avoid dealing with Li Long in the future... As soon as he said this, Halim objected, and he immediately stood up and loudly refuted him:

"If it weren't for Li Long, our tribe wouldn't have enough brick tea or salt. We wouldn't have survived the snow disaster a few years ago. A large number of cattle and sheep would have died then!"
Without Li Long, we would still have to use sickles to cut grass, and we probably wouldn't even be able to cut ten bundles a day! In winter, there wouldn't be enough grass, so the cattle and sheep would just lose weight, and who knows how many would die by spring!

If it weren't for Li Long, would we have clean water to drink now? The water pipes even reach the entrance to the winter shelter. Uncle Buick, aren't you ashamed to say that?

Without Li Long, the guns in our hands would become sticks. If wolves came, we would have no choice but to fight them with sticks.

"If it weren't for Li Long, would we be living in our renovated winter shelters now? Without Li Long, would we even know what a radio is for? Would you still remember those traditions? How much of what you talk about comes from what you heard on the radio?..."

Halim was the first to meet Li Long and benefit from him, so their relationship is the best. Besides, he's the head of the household now, and his mother listens to him.

He could tolerate the old folks saying other things, but he wouldn't stand for it when they criticized Li Long!

With Halim taking the lead, the other young men also chimed in:
"Exactly! Cutting grass used to be so tiring! Now with harvesters, we just need to wait for the grass to dry, bundle it up, and throw it onto the truck. It's so much easier!"

"We no longer have to go far to wash clothes, water the sheep, or get water at home."

“Look at Talihar’s house. In winter, they no longer have to haul coal by horse in trip after trip. They have a tractor, which can haul so much coal in one trip. How wonderful! If the road could be built to the door of the winter shelter, we would also buy a tractor. It would make things more convenient for us!”

Although some of the able-bodied men were not in charge of the household affairs, they were the main force in doing the work. So when they started to speak up for Li Long or favored building the road, the older men in the family also started to argue.

The elderly insist on tradition, while the young people hope for a more convenient life.

Later, Halim even asked a heart-wrenching question: could the old people stop using radios, stop using the bullets provided by Li Long, stop using the hides they hunted in winter or the things they found to exchange for things from Li Long, stop using the water pipes Li Long repaired to make their winter shelters old, and stop using tractors to harvest grass?
After these words were spoken, not a single old man spoke again.

Although they oppose road construction and the destruction of tradition, would they really be willing to stop listening to the radio, stop using the water pipes at the entrance of their winter huts, and use sickles instead of tractors to cut grass?
Definitely not willing.

They've already enjoyed a convenient life; it's definitely not feasible to ask them to go back to the past.

From frugality to luxury is easy, from luxury to frugality.

Halim's words silenced the elderly people.

Yushanjiang promptly explained the benefits of the road construction. At least for the most remote winter pastures, whether hauling hay or coal, Yushanjiang and his tractors would be able to reach them. If they managed to gather more hides and find good items on the summer pastures the following year, and exchange them for money with Li Long, they could also buy tractors.

“Two snow leopard pelts, or three bear pelts, can be traded for a tractor,” Talihar interjected. “If we could find gold, that would be worth a lot of money too… Everyone knows our cattle and sheep aren’t actually worth much; a flock of sheep might not be enough to buy a tractor, but other things can…”

“If the road is built, those Han people will go into the mountains to hunt and gather things, and we will get less harvest,” someone said.

“These mountains don’t just belong to us.” Yushanjiang felt it necessary to tell his people this, and he said earnestly, “The mountains belong to the public. If we have to say who they belong to, then the management belongs to the forestry team, our pastures belong to the herding team, and everyone can gather things from the mountains; they don’t just belong to us. Just because we live here doesn’t mean the mountains are ours—”

After Yushanjiang said that, the others stopped saying anything.

If this were a long time ago, that mountain belonged to the tribal nobles, the Bai lords. After liberation, the mountain became public property, managed by a government unit, and could no longer be considered one's own.

Although some people may still feel that their pastures belong to them, pastures only occupy a small part of the mountains. Herders can manage their pastures, but the rest of the mountains are not under their jurisdiction.

The heavy work, such as cutting grass, herding cattle and sheep, and hauling coal, was done by the able-bodied young men. In the end, the older people couldn't let go of the good life they had enjoyed for the past few years, and so the road construction project was approved.

Yushanjiang gathered everyone together to get their consent to build the road, not just to get the elderly to agree to it.

"Now that everyone agrees, let's talk about the road construction." Yu Shanjiang gestured for everyone to eat and listen. "The idea of ​​building the road was proposed by Li Long, but he did it for our sake."

We Kazakhs don't have a tradition of expecting others to serve us for free. So, when it comes to road construction, we also have to contribute our manpower and resources.

Li Long said that the road construction would begin after spring. They would first repair the roads leading to the winter settlements. At that time, every household would need to send people, and since this section of road would be relatively short, it would be a good opportunity to test the waters and gain experience.

We couldn't let his bulldozer work for us for free, so everyone with savings contributed some money.

It just so happens that Li Long's purchasing station buys almost anything. You know, he used to buy deer antlers, all kinds of hides, fritillaria, mushrooms, gold nuggets and gemstones picked up in the mountains, as well as old things from dilapidated houses and caves, and jade.

Each household should contribute something to show their appreciation, so that others' hard work isn't in vain. Of course, if they really can't afford anything, slaughtering a sheep to express their goodwill is also acceptable. After all, with the road repaired, it will be much easier to haul wool in the spring, hay in the autumn, and coal in the winter.

As some people have mentioned before, when we go to the summer pasture again, we should also look for other things while herding sheep. You've seen it yourself, three of our families have tractors, which makes working so much easier. So, if we want to buy a tractor, we need to find some other valuable items.

Before, when we found these things, we didn't know where to exchange them or how much they should be worth. Now, with Li Long, this "Duo Sen," around, he won't lie to us. So I think soon other families will be able to drive tractors too, as long as you all work hard.”

Since the road construction has already been agreed upon, this is definitely not a problem. Some people are already dreaming about driving tractors and hauling supplies to the summer pastures.

Seeing that no one had any objections, Yu Shanjiang considered the matter settled and had his servant Yang Gangzi bring out the wine and pour it for everyone.

Some elderly people complained that Yushanjiang hadn't brought out the wine earlier. Yushanjiang laughed and said, "If I had brought it out earlier, you would have drunk it and then you would have denied what you said, and you would have made a fuss."

"Hahahaha." The old man didn't take offense, laughed as he took the wine glass, drank it all in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and returned the glass.

At this point, we still use one cup to drink, passing it around from one person to another. One cup per person, it's very fair.

Some young people wanted to drink, so they joined in, while the children were all gnawing on bones. Some of the clever ones even picked out the hind leg bones with hip stones and put the hip stones away early on.

As they ate and drank, some people started singing and dancing. Someone even took out a dombra and started playing it—but in the dead of winter, even with four fires burning around, it was still very cold, and the meat and oil on the plates quickly cooled and became saturated, so they had to be reheated.

So although everyone was looking forward to and happy about the gathering, it ended early, around 4 p.m.

Yushanjiang made arrangements for the able-bodied men, instructing them to take good care of the elderly people in their families who had been drinking, and to prevent them from falling off their horses.

The able-bodied men and women helped Yushanjiang and his group tidy up the mess, and then they left.

The table and the wood used as benches were still outside, the campfire was reduced to ashes, the pot was carried inside, and Yushanjiang didn't want to move anymore.

Although it was tiring, I finally got things sorted out. Now all that's left is to wait for Li Long to come over in the spring so we can discuss starting construction.

Thinking about how he, as the chieftain, was able to lead the tribe to a better life step by step, Yushanjiang was quite happy.

(End of this chapter)