Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 994 A Pure Sibling Relationship
Less than a month after the road was repaired, more than a dozen stones appeared next to the wall of Li Long's courtyard.

They're all different sizes, and they look pretty ordinary, but after a few days of not cleaning, they've gotten covered in a layer of dust.

In fact, these were all jade stones that Li Long picked up during the road construction and loaded onto a truck to bring back. The largest piece was still in the river and couldn't be brought back.

Fortunately, he wasn't in a hurry. Even if this thing were brought back now, it would easily spread among people. If it were left for a few years or even a decade, people would hear similar news more often, and bringing it back then wouldn't be so noticeable.

Of course, we will eventually have to get it back, but only before the mountain is closed.

There was a period when a major fire broke out in the Jade Forest, and many people rushed into the mountains to search for jade. Some found it, some went missing or were injured while searching for jade, and some damaged the environment. In the end, the authorities decided to close the mountains and prohibit people from entering the depths of the mountains.

So Li Long wasn't in a hurry, but he knew there was a deadline, and he had to get things done before that deadline.

If you put this row of jade stones in your home, most people would just think they are ordinary stones, and no one would think they are jade.

After all, most Mahe jade that hasn't been polished is just a stone in the eyes of ordinary people.

Some ordinary people can't even distinguish between jade and ordinary quartz. During the years when jade was very popular, many people in the village went out to collect stones. Many people picked up quartz that looked white or a little translucent, hoping it was jade.

Unfortunately, no. Once the hype died down, these stones ended up in the trash.

It wasn't just here; the same thing happened when Gobi jade and golden silk jade became popular in Beitun. At their peak, many people near the Gobi Desert had dozens of tons of Gobi stones and Gobi jade in their yards. Stones brought from the Gobi Desert to be used to inlay sidewalks in Kuitun Park were put in the same day, only to be pried off by people in the middle of the night.

And in the end? If someone is willing to pay for it, it's very valuable; if no one is, it's just an ordinary object, like the clivia back then.

Of course, the finest gemstones and aquamarine from Fuhai are still worth picking up, but with the influx of stone hunters in recent years, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find good ones.

As soon as the road repair work was completed, although it hadn't snowed yet in the county town, preparations for winter had to begin.

There are coal mines in the mountains, but the roads leading to them are difficult to travel. Small four-wheeled tractors can barely make it, but large trucks cannot.

So Li Long didn't go to the mountains to haul coal, since he would have to dig it out himself anyway, why bother?
It costs a little over a hundred yuan to haul a truckload of coal, and they'll even help you unload it in the yard. You just need to find two people to help load it into the coal shed.

This year, Li Long has been hauling coal to many places. The coal collection station needs to haul a large truckload of ten tons of coal, as they burn it frequently both day and night. There are four stoves in the courtyard that need to be burned, and Li Long had twelve tons of coal hauled over, since they also need to grow vegetables in the greenhouses behind.

Both Sister Yang's small courtyard and Gu Boyuan's original small courtyard each had two tons of coal hauled in; this was for emergency use.

Pickled vegetables were also being prepared in the vats in the courtyard, using Liang Yuemei's method, which Sister Yang learned when she went to the Fourth Production Team. Mainly, it was for the family members who ate there, including Gu Boyuan, who all enjoyed these pickled vegetables in the winter.

According to Liang Yuemei, the pickling method is very simple and easy to learn, but to be honest, Li Long doesn't know whether it's pickling or stir-frying, but he feels that it's rare to taste a "real" flavor.

Since they had nothing else to do, Li Long took Mingming and Haohao to the greenhouse to start a vegetable garden and prepare to grow vegetables.

The stove needs to be plastered again, and a piece of coal needs to be placed on it to check if there's any smoke coming from the ground. The cotton curtain at the door needs to be taken down and washed, the fertilizer in the ground needs to be applied, the soil needs to be turned over, and then the vegetable seeds to be planted need to be selected.

These things were all very trivial. Mingming and Haohao got tired of following Li Long around for a while, so Li Long simply made a pile of mud for them to play with.

He's a country kid at heart. It's normal for kids to play in the mud. Getting dirty is no big deal; it's just mud. You can just throw him in the washing machine and it'll be clean.

If all else fails, hand washing is fine too. When he's home, he doesn't leave all the housework to Sister Yang; he washes his own family's clothes himself.

Sister Yang's main job is cooking. When Li Long and the others aren't around, she takes care of Mingming and Haohao. When Li Long is around, her workload is much lighter. Sister Yang doesn't slack off; she actively seeks out tasks to do.

Li Long fixed the plots in the greenhouse into six sections. The chives didn't need to be changed; once planted, they only need to be divided into sections three to five years later, so there was no need to move them. Just cut off the weeds that were currently growing on top and water them properly.

Li Long plans to plant chili peppers, tomatoes, celery, bok choy, and green beans on the other plots.

One of the more troublesome aspects of growing vegetables in a greenhouse is the need for pollination. However, in winter, there's plenty of time, and Gu Xiaoxia, Sister Yang, and Han Fang particularly enjoy doing this work. Mainly, there's not much else to do in winter, and pollinating the flowers is quite interesting.

Two plots of chili peppers need to be planted. This stuff is widely used in winter, especially in northern Xinjiang during the cold winter months, when the demand for fresh chili peppers is very high, particularly around the Lunar New Year. Before greenhouse vegetables were common, more than one merchant would buy large truckloads of chili peppers from the mainland, take precautions to keep them warm, and transport them to northern Xinjiang. Around the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, they could be parked at any vegetable market, and the chili peppers would probably be sold out in less than half a day.

If done well, this one project alone can earn back a year's worth of money.

While Li Long was working with Mingming and Haohao in the greenhouse, the two children outside were hesitating.

"Sister, do you think Uncle will blame us?" Li Qiang didn't dare to knock on the door.

“No, why blame us?” Li Juan shook her head, pushed her bicycle forward and knocked on the door. “We didn’t do anything wrong.”

They ran away secretly without telling their families, but they didn't do anything wrong.

Han Fang heard the knocking and went to open the door. She was overjoyed to see Li Juan and Li Qiang.

It was afternoon after school, and she didn't expect that Li Juan and Li Qiang would come to the county on their bicycles.

"Come in quickly, come in quickly!" Han Fang hurriedly invited the two people into the house, and then went to call Li Long.

Li Long was somewhat surprised to hear that the two children had come, and invited Mingming and Haohao to go see their older brother and sister.

As soon as Mingming and Haohao heard that their older siblings were coming, they dropped the mud in their hands, stood up, and ran outside, running quite fast.

The two children were at least half a head taller than the average height of their peers, and their steps were quite steady. They quickly spotted Li Juan and Li Qiang and immediately rushed into their older siblings' arms.

The force was so great that Li Qiang was jolted awake.

"Why did you come here? Come, come, sit down and have some water."

Although Li Juan and Li Qiang are quite close to Li Long, their presence today is somewhat "unconventional," so they are a little hesitant.

"So, tell me, how did you end up in the county? Did you come by bicycle?"

In those days, it was about five kilometers by bicycle from the village to the county seat. It wasn't far, but for that era, it was quite a distance. Some villagers might not go to the county seat even once a month or half a year, mainly because the roads were difficult to travel and transportation was underdeveloped.

What used to take ten minutes by car in later times now takes more than an hour, or even longer.

Therefore, Li Juan and Li Qiang, the two students, were still taking a certain risk when they rode their bicycles to the county.

Quite brave.

“I earned some money through part-time work.” Li Juan had already prepared her explanation. “My parents told me to spend it as I pleased, so I thought I’d go to the county with Qiangqiang to buy some things. I bought a pencil, a spark gun for Qiangqiang, and used the rest of the money to buy toys for Mingming and Haohao.”

Mingming and Haohao each have one. It's a toy lion with an iron frame and a plastic exterior. It's better than the wind-up frogs that I bought for Li Juan and Li Qiang before. It's also made of a wind-up mechanism, and the lion will waddle around when you turn it.

Although Mingming and Haohao already had similar toys, they were overjoyed when Li Juan and Li Qiang gave them toys, especially the one that could move. They laughed and chuckled, touching it from time to time, clearly liking it very much.

Li Juan pulled Han Fang aside and gave her a hardcover notebook—at that time, students usually gave gifts such as pencil cases, pens, and hardcover notebooks.

Han Fang was both excited and a little guilty; she hadn't even thought of preparing a gift for Li Juan.

“Our work-study program involves picking up wheat and watermelon rinds, which we then hand over to the school.” After finishing her task, Li Juan explained the details to Li Long. “There are quite a few people in our team who grow watermelons. Last year, we picked up watermelon rinds, and I thought it would be similar this year. After they finish harvesting their watermelons, I ride my bike with a bag to collect the rinds and then take them to the yard to dry.”

When the school collected the payment, I submitted the most, exceeding the quota, so the school weighed it and charged us accordingly.

This is where the money for her work-study program came from. With Li Juan's skill level, she could earn money later when she went to high school and had to pick cotton at farmers' homes—each high school student's cotton-picking quota was around 30 kilograms, fluctuating slightly. Li Juan could pick at least 60-70 kilograms a day, and for the extra, she would be paid at the school's rate—of course, this rate was lower than the market price. To avoid any misunderstanding, it's a cotton-picking task, not selling cotton; it's just a labor fee.

Li Long looked at Li Juan with great satisfaction. His niece and nephew had grown up and become sensible.

"Uncle, we don't get paid for our work-study program. We only have to complete the tasks, and the school will take the extra. When I go to junior high, I'll earn money and buy things for Mingming and Haohao!" Li Qiang said confidently.

“Hey, I believe you.” Li Long smiled.

As a song goes, every effort will be rewarded, and if you're going to do something, do it the best you can.

This can be considered another kind of reward for Li Long's efforts.

Because they needed to go home, Li Juan and Li Qiang didn't stay in the yard for long before heading back. Li Long told them to put their bicycles on the tractor and then drove the tractor to take them home.

Gu Xiaoxia and Gu Boyuan had just finished get off work and supported Li Long's decision. It was already late, and they were worried about the two children riding their bikes home.

If it weren't for the fact that there wasn't enough room for the bicycle, Li Long thought the jeep would be faster.

"Don't worry, I'll explain to your parents when we get back that you two didn't do anything wrong." Li Long knew that Li Juan and Li Qiang were worried about going back, so he explained while driving the tractor.

The two children were finally relieved.

When the tractor drove back to the Li family home, Li Jianguo and his wife were also anxious. Seeing that Li Juan and Li Qiang were both on the tractor, they were relieved.

Li Long took the initiative to explain to his elder brother and sister-in-law why the two children came home late, and praised them highly.

"Hey, that's great. It's really nice that you thought of your younger siblings," Li Long said with emotion. "I'll feel at ease if we maintain this kind of relationship from now on."

“That’s because you were good to them in the past,” Liang Yuemei said with a smile, “so that they thought of buying things for their younger brothers when they earned money for the first time.”

It was already dark when Li Long returned to the county. Inside the house, Gu Xiaoxia, who had already put Mingming and Haohao to sleep, said with emotion, "Juan and Qiangqiang are really good! They remember to buy things for Mingming and Haohao—we should treat them better as older brothers and sisters in the future."

"Juan will be going to high school in the county next year, and she'll be living at school then," Li Long thought. "I'll pick her up from time to time to come home for a nice meal."

“That’s true, there’s still a long way to go.” Gu Xiaoxia smiled. She liked the atmosphere at home; if you’re kind to others, they’ll remember it and be kind to you in return.

The next day, Gu Xiaoxia went to work. Li Long went to the purchasing station in the morning, and seeing that there was nothing to do, he came back to take care of the child and then asked Sister Yang to tidy up the small yard in front of her.

“That little courtyard hasn’t been lived in for a while. Mingming and Haohao should be starting daycare next year, and then you’ll have your own lives,” Li Long said. “Take some time to tidy up the courtyard, and you should also clean up the remaining things in the vegetable garden.”

Sister Yang was quite willing, after all, in her eyes, that place was her and Han Fang's real home. However, she still hesitated and asked Li Long:

"It might take a while to clean up..."

"It's okay, we'll finish whenever we're done," Li Long chuckled. "I'm here at home, I can cook and take care of the kids without any problem. You keep tidying up, come back for lunch, and then continue working in the afternoon."

"This..." Sister Yang hesitated a bit. It wasn't that she didn't trust Li Long's cooking skills. In fact, Li Long had occasionally cooked one or two dishes in the past two years, but she still admired the level of skill he achieved.

But I'm still receiving a salary, is that okay?

"Consider it a day off," Li Long said with a smile. "You can't work every day, can you? Even government officials have Sundays off."

"Alright, I'll go work in the front yard then." Sister Yang thought about the withered vegetables in the front yard, and how the house hadn't been cleaned in a while. Winter was approaching, and although the coal needed to set up the stove had been brought back, other things still needed to be done together.

Sister Yang rode her bicycle to the front yard, while Li Long, along with Mingming and Haohao, busied themselves in the kitchen.

"Mingming, wash this carrot."

"Haohao, wash this onion. Don't peel it, just wash it clean."

"Come on, look what this is! Lamb! Fresh lamb meat! Today we're making pilaf!"

To make pilaf, you need both red and yellow carrots from the carrot arborvitae, and ideally, you should use young lamb from that year, the kind with tenderloin on the ribs, which is very tender.

The two children are at the age where they love to eat, and they were very excited when they heard that they would be having pilaf and mutton today.

At this time, the long-grain pilaf rice wasn't available here yet, but the seasonal rice was already in season, and the local fresh rice was delicious.

After rinsing the rice, Li Long saw the two children having a great time playing in the water, so he had no choice but to go over and wash the rice with them.

Because many people eat it, Li Long makes a lot: four kilograms of lamb chops, three large bowls of rice, four carrots, and one onion should be enough.

After chopping the carrots and onions and cutting the lamb chops into pieces, Li Long didn't blanch them. Instead, he prepared two basins of water for the two children to play in outside. When it was almost time, he started preparing to cook.

In late October, it was already quite cold in the mornings and evenings in northern Xinjiang. The children were already wearing fleece jackets, but they still liked to play outside. The sun was quite warm around 1 a.m., and the dairy goat at home had given birth to new lambs. This goat is very productive, giving birth to three litters in two years, with each litter usually containing more than two lambs. Li Long only needs to take the goat to the old horse stable during its estrus period, and the rest of the time he just needs to feed it.

Mingming and Haohao were at a very mischievous age, and the three little lambs were less than a month old, which was also a very fun time. Knowing that they were no match for Mingming and Haohao, they would still try to challenge them from time to time.

So everyone, young and old, was having a great time playing in the yard. Li Long simply ignored them and would occasionally come out to take a look.

Heat oil in a pan, then add lamb chops and sear until fragrant. Next, add carrot peels and stir-fry until almost cooked. Finally, add rice and water.

In northern Xinjiang, lamb pilaf is typically made in a small pot, usually at home. There are generally two methods: one is to boil the lamb and use the broth as water to cook the rice; the other is to pan-fry it, like Li Long does. Each method has its own unique flavor.

Outside, there's a big pot of pilaf with several large pieces of mutton on top of the rice. You can get the meat and vegetarian versions separately, but the vegetarian version doesn't have any meat pieces, and it's very bland.

Some people are lazy and their methods are rather disrespectful because they make vegetarian pilaf directly, and the meat chunks are boiled. They don't even make meat broth for pilaf, so the rice doesn't have that meaty aroma.

Some famous small-pot pilaf dishes are considered relatively authentic, as the meat and rice are cooked together, and the taste is quite good.

Authentic pilaf requires a lot of oil; each grain of rice should be soaked in oil to make it fragrant, which naturally uses more oil.

Soon, the aroma of meat and rice filled the kitchen. Even Mingming and Haohao, who were engrossed in playing with the lambs, couldn't help but turn around every now and then to see if the food was ready.

"Wait a minute, it's not ready yet," Li Long said. "You guys play first."

Pilaf is very oily, so we also need to boil a pot of tea. After eating, we can enjoy a bowl of brick tea to quench our thirst and help cleanse our system of excess oil.

Just as Li Long finished getting ready, Han Fang entered the room. She was a little confused because she didn't see her mother.

“Your mom went to tidy up the yard in front,” Li Long explained. “I’m cooking today.”

While answering questions, he also had to prepare two cold dishes. Actually, before, he would just chop some salted chives, pour hot oil over them, and drizzle with sesame oil, and that would be enough. Of course, Li Long didn't want to make it that simple, so he prepared a glass noodle salad, chopped some salted chives, and also made a cold bean sprout salad.

In winter, bean sprouts are also a common "fresh vegetable" eaten by ordinary families.

When Gu Xiaoxia and Gu Boyuan entered the courtyard, the pilaf was already cooked and ready to serve!

(End of this chapter)