Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 958 The Director of the Beijing Office is a Big Help!

Li Long was very happy to see Yu Sufu, and he was also very happy to see Yu Sufu's son, Li Long.

People with sons usually compare their sons with others' sons. However, right now, there is a big age gap between Minghao and Yusufu's son. This young man is a bit shy and even a little embarrassed when he sees Li Long.

Li Long chatted with Yu Sufu for a few minutes and bought some local specialties. Thinking that it was their first meeting, he should give the little guy a gift. The only thing he could take out of his bag was a piece of jade that he had just bought from Engineer Liu.

To Li Long's surprise, the young man didn't want the lighter, but he was very interested in the one Li Long casually took out. So Li Long gave him the tin lighter, and the young man was very happy, looking quite fond of it.

Li Long thought to himself that maybe his family had a lot of jade, but he was losing out. After all, the value of jade could increase many times over in a few years, while a lighter could only be kept for a few years before disposable lighters were produced and kerosene lighters were discontinued.

Thinking that he might meet some people on his business trip to Yanjing, Li Long wandered around and saw a wooden shelf at the very end of the alley with dozens of beautifully crafted short knives and leather sheaths on it.

Li Long was quite pleased with it; it would make a nice handicraft as a gift. He went over and picked one out.

The owner didn't talk much or solicit customers; he just let Li Long choose for himself. Only after Li Long had made his selection did he ask the price.

At this point, these people aren't so picky. If you want to buy, you buy; if you don't want to buy, you don't. If the price isn't right after you ask, you can negotiate. If you can't reach an agreement, then you don't buy.

Later, for a period of time, I was spoiled rotten. Whenever I picked it up, it meant I wanted to buy it—nonsense.

Of course, things will be better forty years from now.

A knife costs ten yuan, but Li Long knew the standard price in the county was eight yuan, so he said:

"Adasi, I'll buy a lot, five of them, how about thirty-five yuan?"

"No, no, thirty-five yuan is too cheap." The shop owner, a somewhat dark-skinned and thin young man, hurriedly waved his hand upon hearing the price Li Long quoted. "The lowest price is forty yuan..."

“Okay.” Li Long readily agreed and began to choose a scabbard. At this time, the knives and scabbards were not placed together. The knives were placed upright on a shelf and held up by a rope, while a pile of leather scabbards was laid out on a horizontal board below the shelf. He could simply choose whichever suited him best.

The dagger's handle is inlaid with colored glass or plastic, and the copper handle is beautifully decorated.

In the past, gemstones were used for inlaying, but later plastic came out, so they switched to this material because it was cheaper.

The knives sold here are mostly straight, with only a slight curve at the tip. There are two types: a regular short knife and a clip-on knife, where the blade can be folded back into the handle.

Li Long paid the money and put the knife in his backpack—if it was considered a work of art, he should be able to take it to Yanjing without any problem.

After buying it, Li Long remembered the shipping issue, but he didn't think about returning it. He took the items and said goodbye to Yu Sufu. When he left, he saw Yu Sufu's son still playing with the lighter, which meant he really liked it.

Back at the guesthouse, the staff came over shortly afterward to take him to dinner. The reception was very warm.

The next day, when Li Long was preparing to leave, he met Chen Xiangdong and immediately told him about his problem.

"You mean you plan to take these knives to Yanjing to give to your friends there?" Chen Xiangdong asked. "Just these few, right?"

"Yes, just these few."

"They won't bring it back, will they?"

"Of course not, it would have been given away in the past."

"That's no problem. We'll use the special lane when boarding the train. I'll explain to the staff at security. But you have to promise that these knives won't be used for any other purpose..."

"No, no, these knives aren't even sharpened," Li Long said with a smile. "They're just gifts, since they look quite nice, right?"

"Hmm." Chen Xiangdong didn't really see how beautiful the knife was. Of course, the main reason was that the Ethnic Affairs Commission here gave people gifts, and the gifts were real famous knives from various places, not just Yingjisha, but also from several other places.

Li Long's product, which clearly shows a rough manufacturing process, is not to his liking.

The leaders saw them off outside, and then a special car took them to the train station. Just as Chen Xiangdong had said, he took out his work ID and documents, and got into the car with Li Long first.

Hey, even though everyone's criticizing privilege, it feels really good to enjoy it.

Both of them were in lower bunks. After putting their luggage away, they rested.

Throughout the journey, Li Long thought that he was an advanced individual, so he kept helping the flight attendants and also helped passengers in need.

Later, Chen Xiangdong whispered to him that he should be more cautious.

"We have an important mission on this trip. Your safe arrival in Yanjing is the most important thing. Don't cause any trouble along the way, or it will be a problem. You are representing our autonomous region at this meeting."

Well, the staff are all quite cautious, and Li Long can understand that.

So he kept a low profile from then on until he arrived in Yanjing.

Chen Xiangdong, familiar with the place, led Li Long to the Ethnic Affairs Commission to report, and then took him to the office's guesthouse.

Knowing that Li Long was one of the people being honored this year, the people at the guesthouse were extremely hospitable, to the point that Li Long felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Because the meeting was on the third day, Li Long originally planned to rest for a while and then go to see his courtyard and Gu Xiaoyu the next day. However, Chen Xiangdong told him that the main task for tomorrow was to familiarize himself with the award ceremony process. This was a national award ceremony, and every part needed to be rehearsed to ensure there were no problems.

Li Long had no choice but to put aside his personal matters and focus on participating in the rehearsal for the commendation ceremony.

Fortunately, being a young man, he reacted quickly and memorized all the procedures in no time. He was also able to help the other elderly people receiving awards on both sides remember the procedures and remind them of them.

Just as he expected, there was no report when receiving the award. Each person only needed to say a few words. The speaker representing these outstanding individuals was an old teacher from the snowy area. He had been teaching students of various ethnic groups among the herders for decades. In the few years since the resumption of the college entrance examination, he had sent several students of various ethnic groups to university.

Each outstanding individual attending the meeting has a different story of excellence, all of which can withstand scrutiny and are moving even just by looking at the official materials.

After hearing about other people's stories, Li Long felt that he hadn't done enough and thought that he should go back and find a way to build a road as soon as possible so that the herders could move their herds more easily.

Then other people came over and shook his hand, saying that what he had done was great and admirable.

Li Long could tell that these people were sincere, and overall, the atmosphere was very good.

The day passed just like that. Lunch was provided by the conference organizers. In Li Long's opinion, it was not as plentiful as the meal provided by the office yesterday, but it was enough to fill him up.

On the third day, when the meeting officially started, Li Long met with the leaders of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission. The meeting hall, which had more than a thousand people, was packed. Li Long wondered about the origins of these people.

The meeting went smoothly because everyone's story was credible. It was only then that Li Long learned that there was more than one candidate from the autonomous region, and that the others also had remarkable achievements, but he was the one ultimately chosen.

As the host said, these individuals are exemplary models of ethnic unity across the country, representatives, and members of that community. Honoring them demonstrates the progress made in ethnic unity work, and they represent other outstanding individuals in receiving the awards. The awards include not only medals and certificates, but also a cash prize—not a large sum for Li Long, but of great significance.

The meeting was a great success. After the meeting, a meal was arranged for the award recipients and staff. Leaders from the People's Congress and the Ethnic Affairs Commission came one by one to toast the award recipients. When they got to Li Long, they stopped specifically to praise him, saying that his deeds of getting rich first and not forgetting to lead ethnic minority comrades toward modernization were worthy of being promoted and learned.

Li Long knew this leader; he had previously served as a leader in the autonomous region before being transferred to the central government and joining the National People's Congress. He had often heard his name on the radio, and seeing him in person now, Li Long was very excited and expressed his determination to continue working hard to do this well.

After the leader left, Chen Xiangdong's gaze towards Li Long changed. Did this guy have a powerful backer or was he favored by the leader? This leader has had considerable influence in northern Xinjiang since arriving here.

But in Li Long's view, it was probably because he came from the northern border region to be commended that the leaders said a few more words, which was normal.

After dinner, Li Long and Chen Xiangdong discussed their upcoming itinerary.

According to Chen Xiangdong's plan, after attending the meeting, Li Long would have a day and a half to explore Yanjing, take care of his own affairs, and then return home.

But Li Long told Chen Xiangdong that he needed to stay in Yanjing for a few more days, and that if Chen Xiangdong had something to do, he could go back first. Of course, if Chen Xiangdong stayed to wait for him, he could also report to the autonomous region that he had personal matters to attend to.

After thinking about it, Chen Xiangdong decided to stay. He could also take a look around Yanjing City and handle some personal matters, since everything would be reimbursed by the company.

Li Long hadn't thought about the reimbursement issue; his main concern was resolving the courtyard matter. He could easily get the honor now, but he knew he wouldn't be able to get it next year, and then he wouldn't be able to use the title anymore. Besides, once the honor was secured, he needed to find a renovation team to properly renovate the three courtyards.

So after lunch, he talked to Chen Xiangdong about it. Li Long's idea was that if it was feasible, they should make a sign and place it at the entrance of the courtyard. If that wasn't possible, he would call Director Qian to see if they could borrow the name of the state supply and marketing cooperative. If all else failed, they could use the name of the county supply and marketing cooperative, which was a bit small, but still better than a private one.

"This matter... you mean you bought three courtyards in Yanjing, but you don't come here often, so you need a pretext to prevent people from easily eyeing your courtyards, right?" Chen Xiangdong asked. "Is that the problem?"

“Yes,” Li Long said. “Mainly because I can only come here once or twice a year, at most two or three times. Although there are people here who clean the yard regularly, if it’s just a private name, it’s easy for someone else to take it over. Also, the house was a bit dilapidated when I bought it, so it needs some renovation.”

Is there anyone to clean and look after the child?

“Yes, I have relatives here,” Li Long explained. “They go over to clean the yard every week or ten days or so.”

“Then I need to ask my superiors,” Chen Xiangdong said. “When we get back to the Beijing office later, I’ll make a call and ask. If the superiors agree, then it’s fine; if not, then there’s nothing we can do.”

Overall, the trip went smoothly. Li Long cooperated well with all the arrangements, and during the interview after the meeting, he told the reporters what Chen Xiangdong had said. Therefore, Chen Xiangdong had a good impression of Li Long. Moreover, during the meal, the former leaders of the autonomous region praised Li Long highly, which made Chen Xiangdong take him seriously.

Back at the Beijing office, Chen Xiangdong approached the director, Director Dai, saying he needed to make a phone call. Director Dai smiled and said:

"Officer Chen, there's no need to consult the leadership about this. If you think it's feasible, I'll take care of it. After all, this is the Beijing Liaison Office. This little thing is just a matter of a word. We have some signs in the warehouse; we can just hang them up. As for the renovation, we're even more familiar with it. Some leaders have houses here, and some retired leaders live here. We've done the renovations on those houses before; it's very easy."

Chen Xiangdong asked with some confusion:

"Can I hang it there? Is the renovation okay?"

"What's wrong with hanging it up?" Director Dai said with a smile. "It's just a temporary affiliation. It's not a formally established unit, it's just a signboard. Of course, it depends on you. If you think Comrade Li Long is a good person, then we'll hang it up for him. I don't know him well, it's entirely because of you..."

Chen Xiangdong understood. He thought for a moment and said, "Then let's hang it up. Comrade Li Long has really brought honor to our autonomous region. And that leader—" Chen Xiangdong recounted what happened at lunch today, and then said to Director Dai, "So I think we should still do it."

"Then we must do it!" Director Dai was quite sensitive to this matter. Upon hearing it, he was both surprised and delighted. He immediately said, "This Comrade Li Long... well, he's a good comrade. We'll take care of this."

Chen Xiangdong told Li Long, who was about to leave, about this. Li Long was very happy, even somewhat incredulous.

Just then, Director Dai arrived with a staff member, holding a metal sign. Upon seeing Li Long, he smiled and said:

"It just so happens that Officer Chen is here too, Comrade Li Long. Officer Chen just told us about this. Let me tell you, our Beijing office is here to help people solve their problems, so please leave this to us. Give the address to Xiao Wang, and we'll have him put up the sign for you today, how about that?"
Regarding the renovation, we'll need to contact a renovation company to see what kind of renovation you, Mr. Li Long, plan to have. However, it must be agreed that you'll have to pay for the renovation yourself.

"Thank you so much..." Li Long was a little overwhelmed; this was a bit too much enthusiasm. "Director, you've really helped me a lot!"

"Hey, we're all on the same side, no need to be so polite," Director Dai said with a smile. "Comrade Li Long, you've brought honor and glory to our autonomous region, and this is just a small token of our appreciation from our Beijing office."

Look how eloquently he put it!
Li Long realized that he still needed to learn.

He took out a file folder from his backpack, took out the property certificates for the three courtyards, and asked Xiao Wang to write down the addresses. Director Dai instructed Xiao Wang to go and register the properties first, and then contact the renovation company to come and discuss the matter tomorrow.

"Comrade Li is really impressive," Director Dai exclaimed when he saw that Li Long had brought out three houses. "We've worked in Yanjing for so many years, and we're still living in company-provided housing..."

“Our policies are really good,” Li Long said with a smile. “Taking advantage of the reform, I set up a purchasing station to collect some of our local specialties from northern Xinjiang, process them, and sell them back to the border. I made some money that way. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to build roads for the herders in the mountains.”

"Yes, yes, even to do good deeds, you need funds. Comrade Li, we admire your deeds very much. It's truly touching that friends who were there for us in our time of need can still maintain their original intentions and not forget to improve our living conditions after they become successful!"

After chatting for a while, he received a phone call for Director Dai, so he said goodbye and left. Chen Xiangdong said to Li Long:

"You've taken care of most of what you needed to do. You're free to do whatever you want with the rest of the time. Shall we leave the day after tomorrow?"

"Let's postpone it for another day," Li Long said after thinking for a moment. "Since we've come all this way, we should at least buy some local specialties to send back home. Who knows when we'll be able to come back next time?"

“That makes sense.” If Chen Xiangdong hadn’t been with Li Long, he probably wouldn’t have come to Yanjing, so he thought he’d buy some local specialties to take back with him.

Li Long then used the phone from the Beijing Liaison Office to call Gu Xiaoyu, asking her when she would get off work, and they agreed to meet near his elder brother Li Jianguo's courtyard.

When Li Long arrived there, a large army of people was already flowing on the main road after work. At this time, the saying "bicycle kingdom" was truly an exaggeration. At the gates of some factories, it was like a bicycle race was being held 30 or 40 years later, with hundreds of bicycles suddenly appearing, and nothing would happen.

Most of them were old-fashioned bicycles, and one-third to one-quarter of them had people sitting on the back.

The locals took it for granted, but Li Long viewed it as scenery.

Li Jianguo's courtyard hadn't been seen since the handover with the man surnamed Shao. When Li Long arrived at the courtyard gate, he was surprised to find that the sign had already been installed.

"The Third Section of the Ethnic Affairs Commission of the Northern Xinjiang Autonomous Region in Beijing."

Li Long roughly understood what it meant. Anyway, even if it was a subordinate unit of the Ethnic Affairs Commission of the Autonomous Region stationed in Beijing, having such a signboard would at least intimidate some people, right?

It's a government-affiliated organization, after all.

Of course, it's just a brand name, since the property certificate is in your own hands.

Opening the gate and entering the yard, I found it very clean. Some furniture had already been bought and placed in the yard, and now the trees had sprouted buds and leaves; overall, it looked quite nice.

He opened the door again. The room was drafty, and there was only a faint smell of dust inside.

Overall, it's good. I'll find the renovation team tomorrow, and the rest will be easy.

(End of this chapter)