Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 982 He really is a decisive and ruthless person!

Li Long prefers to listen to the Northern Xinjiang News Broadcast because he feels that the CCTV version is too far removed from his own life, while the news from Ma County is often unavailable and can only be watched on television—something that didn't exist back then.

The news broadcast about northern Xinjiang covers events happening in both northern and southern Xinjiang. I'm familiar with the cities and can easily connect the events to them. Plus, there's a special program called "Xin Guangxingfengxian" that addresses many issues faced by ordinary people, so I really like it.

In the 1980s and 1990s, there were no programs during the day except for children's programs on weekends, so people could only listen to the radio.

When listening to the news broadcast about northern Xinjiang, one inevitably hears the names of the leaders of northern Xinjiang from different periods. For a time, Li Long memorized all those names.

The man in front of me is someone I haven't heard much about, but who is very memorable. He fought in wars, had high prestige in the northern frontier, was among the first batch of generals after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and then went on to govern a region, where he became renowned.

Because of these advantages, when Li Long first saw the leader, he felt that the leader had an imposing and authoritative aura.

But when the leader saw him, he smiled and waved, and Li Long felt like he was a kind old man—he was indeed very old.

"Comrade Li Long, right?" The leader sat there and said with a smile, "Come, sit down. Actually, when we last met, I wanted to talk to you. You're in charge of ethnic unity, so we have some common topics in this regard."

Li Long sat down, feeling somewhat reserved, but more than that, he was curious, and even a little surreal.

In my previous life, I was nobody. The highest-ranking leader I ever saw was the county magistrate, and I only saw him from afar when I was participating in a county event.

It's impossible not to feel moved to see such a high-ranking leader in this lifetime.

A staff member came over and poured water for Li Long. Li Long then placed the dried fruit and other items he had brought on the coffee table, along with a small bag of dried meat—something he had kept for himself to eat occasionally, cooked.

"You brought this?" The leader asked with a smile, looking at what Li Long had put down. "What is that?"

“Dried meat, I made it myself,” Li Long said hurriedly. “We raise some sheep at home, and I often go hunting in the mountains. We get mutton, beef, venison, and so on.”

"Bring it here, let me try it." The leader actually became interested in the dark, dried meat.

Li Long hurriedly handed over the meat.

The staff hurriedly tried to dissuade him: "Sir, your teeth and stomach... the doctor doesn't recommend eating such dry and hard food..."

"Haha, have a taste, what's there to be afraid of?" The leader laughed, picked up a small piece of dried meat, put it in his mouth, and said slowly as he ate, "Little Li, I'm getting old. I ate this kind of meat when I was fighting in Xinjiang before, and I miss it a bit—you learned this cooking method from the ethnic minorities, right?"

“Yes, my friends are Kazakhs, and I learned it from them,” Li Long explained.

"Well, in northern Xinjiang, various ethnic groups live together, so promoting ethnic unity is necessary..." The leader seemed to remember something and didn't continue, but instead asked Li Long about some things related to northern Xinjiang.

"...After the household responsibility system was implemented, development has been rapid in the past few years," Li Long said. "In our northern Xinjiang region, we have a lot of land, to say the least. Besides growing grain, we also grow a lot of cash crops. We can eat our fill, pay our grain taxes, and still make money..."

"What are the people most concerned about right now? For example, your village, township, and county?" The high-ranking leader asked about basic information.

"What are you most concerned about? Naturally, it's how to get rich faster." Li Long thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "As life gets better and better, everyone wants to live even better. When the dirt road becomes a gravel road, people think about when it will be paved; and walking to the county is too far, so even though they have bicycles, they still think about when they can drive a tractor, ride in a car, and so on."

"Yes, it's true that ordinary people pursue a happy life," the leader said while chewing on some dried meat. "So, what do you think of the current situation regarding ethnic unity?"

Li Long thought for a moment and said, "In my county, Ma, things are pretty good in this regard because the Han Chinese make up a relatively large proportion of the population, and they value ethnic unity. Ultimately, it's about the majority uniting with the minority, but..."

He considered whether or not to bring up the issue.

After all, the seeds of this problem have already been sown.

"If you have any concerns, you can speak now." Seeing Li Long's hesitant expression, the leader immediately said, "If you can't speak here, then you really have nowhere else to speak."

“I have two best friends,” Li Long said after thinking for a moment. “They herd livestock in the mountains, and their children go to school at a rural community center. I also get along very well with the children of my two friends. I often buy them stationery and toys, and they tell me about it.”

They said that the textbooks they used at their school, and the content they taught, were quite different from what I and their father had told them.

"You mean... the textbook issue after the branch school?" The leader frowned, his imposing manner returning. "Shouldn't these things be reviewed and approved by someone?"

Li Long shook his head and didn't say anything.

"I understand." The leader nodded slowly. "Yes, it's very good that you've gone to such lengths to help our ethnic minority friends open up roads in and out of the mountains."

We need to let the people in the mountains come out and communicate with each other so they can understand what's good. We need to unite the majority of people who are willing and worthy of unity, and let them know that we want to help them live a better life…

“I didn’t go all out,” Li Long said with a smile. “Actually, the first money I earned came from them. There are many resources in the mountains, but they don’t know how valuable they are. As a middleman, I would exchange their goods for resources, and then use the money I earned to buy them living supplies…”

“I’ve read the report, and I agree with some of the points made in it. You made money, but instead of continuing to block the channels in the mountains, you spent money to build roads so they could get out. That alone is enough. If you were greedy enough, you could have kept the channels under control and made even more money that way.”

And you chose to open this channel, letting them come down the mountain to see for themselves, letting them choose for themselves. You truly consider them friends, that's good, that's good. This aligns with our Party's united front for ethnic unity, you've done a great job..."

The leader asked Li Long some more questions, mostly casual ones, and even inquired about Li Long's family situation.

Knowing that Li Long had opened a purchasing station in the county, but his household registration was still in the village, they asked Li Long why he didn't transfer his household registration to the city. If needed, they could put in a good word for him. At this time, everyone basically agreed that eating government-subsidized grain was better than farming in the countryside.

“Our leader also mentioned it, but I didn’t take it. I thought that since I come from a farming background, I should have some land. That would be more reassuring. Maybe in a few decades, a rural household registration will be more desirable,” Li Long joked.

The leader didn't force him, knowing that someone at Li Long's level wouldn't bother or need to lie.

After chatting for a few more minutes, and with staff coming in to pour water twice, Li Long knew it was time to leave.

"Xiao Hu, leave your phone number with Comrade Xiao Li," the leader said to the staff as Li Long was about to leave. "Write down his contact information as well. If he needs anything later, he can call you. Within the bounds of principle, do what you can."

Li Long was immediately moved; the leader was doing him a huge favor!
The staff member immediately wrote down Li Long's phone number, and after taking Li Long away, gave him a slip of paper with their office phone number written on it.

“The boss seemed quite happy today,” said Xiao Hu, a staff member, sincerely. “It’s rare to see him so relaxed and chatting like this. Give me a call if you ever come to Yanjing again; he might even want to see you. But don’t bring that dried meat next time; the boss’s teeth and stomach aren’t very good…”

"I understand, I understand!" Li Long was quite excited.

As Li Long left the workplace, holding the note in his hand, he still felt like he was in a dream.

I don't think I said anything, but my boss seems to like me quite a bit?

Xiao Wang was still waiting by the car when he saw Li Long come out with a note in his hand, so he came over and asked:

"Comrade Li Long, have you finished meeting with the leaders? This is..."

"The boss told me to leave my contact information, and then he gave me his secretary's phone number." Li Long waved the note, "He said to call him if I need anything..."

Xiao Wang was filled with awe!
They only met once, and he already gave her his phone number? The boss really considers Li Long one of his own!
It's not easy for the director of my own Beijing office to even meet with a leader.

Thinking this to himself, Xiao Wang's enthusiasm grew even stronger: "Let's go, let's go, now that we've finished our business, let's hurry back. Director Dai is still waiting for news."

Li Long thought to himself, "What news is Director Dai waiting for? Isn't he busy with other things?"

Sure enough, Director Dai wasn't there, so Li Long told Xiao Wang that he had finished his business and met with the leader, and now it was time to go back.

"Leave the train ticket purchase to us," Xiao Wang said, taking on the task without consulting anyone. "If the director were here, he would definitely say the same thing. Comrade Li Long, do you have any other business in Yanjing? If so, please take care of it when you have some free time. By the way, which day's train do you want to book?"

"Tomorrow." Li Long thought it was getting late, and he needed to see Gu Xiaoyu to discuss the matter before leaving. If possible, he'd like to visit other places and buy some "local specialties." After all, he'd come all the way to Yanjing; he couldn't leave empty-handed, right?

"Okay, then I'll go buy you a train ticket today." Xiao Wang became very enthusiastic. In the Beijing office, Li Long was only familiar with Director Dai and him. Although Li Long seemed to come from a remote area, he had won the favor of a high-ranking leader in just a few days. Could he be an ordinary person?
They bought three courtyard houses in Yanjing. Is that something an ordinary person could do?

Therefore, Xiao Wang felt that getting in touch with Li Long and making friends would definitely be the right thing to do.

Li Long wanted to give Xiao Wang money, but Xiao Wang refused, saying that it could be reimbursed through the Beijing Liaison Office. In fact, Li Long hadn't used up the money he had given him for the renovation, and had also given him money for helping out. Even if the train ticket couldn't be reimbursed, he wouldn't lose out.

Li Long didn't refuse anymore and went to find Gu Xiaoyu during lunch.

"You're going back?" Gu Xiaoyu was a little surprised and reluctant. This brother-in-law had been here for almost ten days, and she had only seen him once, and then hardly seen him at all. Now that she saw him again, he said he was leaving.

"Well, the matter is settled. Actually, I've been waiting for a leader to see me, otherwise I would have left long ago," Li Long explained. "There are a lot of things to take care of at home, so I can't just stay here indefinitely. The yard is renovated, and I've bought a lot of furniture for it. Your sister and I aren't here, so I'd appreciate it if you could go over and check on things from time to time."

"Brother-in-law, don't worry about that." Gu Xiaoyu nodded. "I'll visit often. By the way, when are you leaving? I'll see you off."

"No need, no need. You'll be leaving during your work hours, so you can focus on your work. I have just one bag for each of us, it'll be very convenient."

“Then I’ll go with you to buy some things to take back,” Gu Xiaoyu said after thinking for a moment. “I don’t have anything to do this afternoon. I’ll go back and ask for leave later. This afternoon I’ll take you to buy some things for my dad, my sister, Mingming, and Haohao. It’s not right for me to come all this way and bring me things, but I didn’t buy anything back.”

These words were spoken with such naturalness and firmness that Li Long had no choice but to agree.

After Li Long left, the leader said to Xiao Hu in the leader's office, "Go and call the people in northern Xinjiang and ask them to send over some textbooks from Uyghur and Kazakh schools. By the way, don't go through the education system; try to find out privately."

"Yes!" Xiao Hu nodded immediately.

"Are there any signs of trouble?" The leadership has always attached great importance to ethnic unity, but this unity is based on certain foundations.

This foundation is not easily shaken.

If it shows signs of life, nip it in the bud!

After Li Long left, Xiao Wang immediately called and booked a train ticket.

Director Dai returned to his office before lunch, and Xiao Wang immediately reported what he knew to Director Dai.

"Are you serious? Comrade Li Long really got the leader's secretary's phone number?" Director Dai asked Xiao Wang.

"The phone number is..." Xiao Wang recited the number, which he could see very clearly.

Director Dai opened the drawer, took out a small address book, and flipped to the page where he saw the phone number Xiao Wang had reported.

"Hey, this Comrade Li Long is really... impressive!" Director Dai put down the phone book. "Where did he go?"

He said he had finished his business and was preparing to return to northern Xinjiang, so I offered to book his train ticket...

"Hmm, not bad. Which day did you book? Go to the finance department to get reimbursed."

"It's for tomorrow. He said he wanted to buy some local specialties and meet some people today."

“Okay.” Director Dai thought for a moment and said, “Our Beijing office is for these kinds of things. Go and prepare some local specialties that can be brought back to northern Xinjiang around this time. When you send Comrade Li Long off on the train, give them to him as a token of our appreciation.”

Welcoming and seeing off guests, and coordinating communications are the duties here, something Xiao Wang is used to doing, so he immediately agreed.

In the afternoon, Gu Xiaoyu took Li Long to visit several bustling areas, and Li Long bought quite a few things.

He bought stationery and toys for the younger generation, such as Li Juan and Li Qiang, and clothes, hats, shoes, etc. for Gu Xiaoxia, Gu Boyuan, his older brother and sister-in-law. This time, he didn't plan to buy food, mainly because it was too hot and difficult to carry.

If it's winter, then it's a good time to buy some things.

Incidentally, Li Long also visited the famous Liulichang and Panjiayuan markets in later generations. At that time, they were not as large as they would be in later years, and Panjiayuan mainly sold handicrafts, which was actually quite similar to later times.

As for handicrafts, you can say whatever you want about them.

After finishing my visit, by the time I got back to the Beijing Liaison Office, the sun had already set. This trip was exhausting and hot, and it had completely drained my energy for exploring Yanjing. I didn't want to go sightseeing for the next while.

When I returned to the Beijing office, I found Director Dai and the others there. They said they wanted to see Li Long off, so we drank some alcohol that night.

At this time, the liquor displayed by the Beijing Liaison Office was not only Moutai, but also other strong-aroma liquors, such as Fenjiu and Laobaigan.

Li Long really showed off his drinking capacity today; even Director Dai, a cadre who's good at testing alcohol tolerance, ultimately succumbed.

Li Long himself was also not happy. Thanks to Xiao Wang's deliberate publicity, everyone knew that Li Long was favored by the leaders, and those who respected him came.

The next day, Li Long slept until late morning. He felt a little dizzy after getting up, washed up, and prepared his things.

Just then, Xiao Wang came over and knocked on the door. Li Long peeked out from the washroom to look at him.

"I thought you should be up by now, so I made some sour soup noodles on the stove. I came to call you for breakfast."

Although Li Long wasn't feeling well and had little appetite, he still insisted on eating the sour soup noodles. He felt he had drunk too much alcohol, and a bowl of sour soup noodles would quickly soothe his stomach.

After a quick wash, Li Long followed Xiao Wang to the cafeteria, asking as they walked, "You seem to be doing quite well. You must have had quite a bit to drink yesterday, right?"

"I'm fine, I didn't drink more than half as much as you." Xiao Wang smiled. "We're here to see you off, so you're definitely the main person in charge, and the director is about the same, so it's just that you guys drank more."

Li Long knew this was only fair and didn't blame him.

There were quite a few people eating in the cafeteria. When Li Long came over, they all greeted him. Perhaps a few drinks had really brought them closer together.

A bowl of sour soup noodles was served. It didn't smell very appetizing at first, but after taking a sip of the hot soup, he suddenly had an appetite. After finishing the noodles, he was sweating slightly on his head and face, and his stomach felt less uncomfortable. Li Long went to ask for another bowl. This time he ate more slowly, savoring the taste. He thought the chef here was quite skilled.

After finishing their meal, Li Long washed the bowls and put them back on the table. Li Long and Xiao Wang left the cafeteria. Xiao Wang said:

"I've already got the tickets. How about we get into the station an hour early?"

Yanjing Railway Station was crowded at this time, so Xiao Wang wanted to get into the station early to avoid being in a rush.

"Sure, actually you don't need to see me off, Xiao Wang. I can get to the station by myself." Li Long felt that he was a young man, strong and healthy, and didn't need anyone to help him at all.

"Comrade Li Long, you wouldn't want me to be treated differently by the leader for the things he assigned, would you?" Xiao Wang said half-jokingly. "And there are some things I need to bring you."

"What did you bring me?" Li Long asked, somewhat puzzled. "What kind of things did you bring me?"

"You brought us things, so let's reciprocate," Xiao Wang said with a smile. "My boss asked me to buy some local specialties for you to take back. Don't worry, they're tied up securely, and I'll be there when you get on the bus."

Since the other party meant well, Li Long didn't say anything more.

After saying goodbye to Director Dai and the others, I took a car with Xiao Wang to the train station. This trip to Yanjing was now a complete success.

(End of this chapter)