Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Li Long returned to the compound first, pulling a cart of poles.

He is not a workaholic, so there is no need for him to act like a machine and do one thing after another.

Family comes first, life comes first. Making money is to make life better, not to take away time to enjoy life.

It was morning when he returned to the compound. Seeing that there was still more than an hour before dinner at Sister Yang's house, Li Long planned to clean up the house first.

The twenty pieces of leather had been dried and were hard. This was the condition of untanned leather. I didn’t know how to tan it anyway, so I just sold it to the purchasing station.

There were a lot of hides, but the tractor was pulling a pole and there was a harvester in front, so Li Long carried the hides out in two batches, put them on the back seat of the bicycle, and then rode out.

The leather had a strong, foul smell, so Li Long did not close the door of the room. He had to let the smell dissipate, otherwise other things placed behind it would be stained by the smell.

The yard of the purchasing station was quite busy at this time. When Li Longqi went over, he found that there were several people queuing up in the yard to sell things.

Some people carried it here, some brought it on a donkey cart, and some came on a bicycle, just one.

Li Long propped up his bicycle and stood it against the wall, then leaned over to take a look. He discovered that there were all kinds of things being sold.

There are mostly medicinal herbs, and there are even Fritillaria for sale at this time. It looks like they were dug in the summer and kept there.

It weighs about ten kilograms and can be sold for a lot of money.

Li Long remembered that there were still about ten kilograms of dried goods in the yard, but he didn't plan to sell them.

Someone came over carrying two deer antlers. I didn't know whether they were picked up from the side of the mountain or in the mountain. It looked like the antlers had fallen off this year. They were relatively intact and had no cracks.

Someone brought over a donkey cart of licorice. It's not the season for digging licorice now, and the licorice looked dry. I don't know if it was left over or newly dug.

What surprised Li Long was that someone actually brought some Codonopsis pilosula with him. However, the Codonopsis pilosula looked a little soft and shriveled, so it must have been dug recently.

At present, Codonopsis pilosula has not grown fully. It is not like ginseng, which can be dug in any season. Even if it is several decades old, it will be weak if dug in May or June.

It is best to dig it in September and October, and the best season for digging is late autumn.

There used to be an article in the Chinese textbook called "Collecting Herbs", which explained the story very clearly.

Li Long's leather is the only exception.

There are actually quite a lot of things being purchased at the purchasing stations right now, but there are really not many things that ordinary people can get.

Although people who can come to the northern border these days are not stupid, the bottom line of abiding by the law is basically still there, and after those ten years, no one dares to do anything big.

Even the eldest brother Li Jianguo said that when he dug up the money vault while plowing the field, he would not dare to put it directly into the purchasing station to sell it if it were now. He might have to report it to the team, the brigade or the commune first.

The leather on Li Long's bicycle smelled so strong that it should have scared everyone away, but unexpectedly two people came over.

Li Long saw that they were the two holding deer horns and codonopsis.

"Young comrade, is this sheepskin? Sheepskin is not very valuable, right?" asked the one holding the Codonopsis pilosula.

Before Li Long could speak, the man holding the deer horns shook his head and said:

"Brother, you are mistaken. This is not ordinary sheepskin. I think it should be wild goat skin. This thing is not available outside, only in the deep mountains. This skin is more expensive than ordinary goat skin... Look, there are also roe deer skin and deerskin in it!"

When they heard about deerskin, others also gathered around.

Although there are red deer in the mountains, about 99 percent of the people in Ma County have never seen a deer.

Deer are magical animals, so these people are naturally very interested in them.

The man holding the antlers was about 40 years old. He had less hair, not because he had cut it, but because it was naturally thin. He also had a long beard and looked a bit old, but he was very polite. He didn't start directly, but asked Li Long:
"Little comrade, can I take a look at your deerskin?"

"Okay." Li Long didn't mind. He wouldn't miss anything after taking a look anyway.

The man carefully pulled out the deerskin and showed it to everyone:

"See, deerskin? It looks like this deer is not yet an adult, a young red deer..."

"Is a baby elk this big?" Some people had never seen an elk before and were confused and surprised.

"Red deer, do you know why it's called red deer? It's as big as a horse." The middle-aged man explained, "When it grows up, it weighs 200 kilograms!"

He looked at the intact leather and exclaimed:

"The person who shot this red deer was very capable. He didn't hurt the deer. The skin is intact and could be worth a lot of money!"

Putting the leather down, the others came over to touch it. The middle-aged man asked Li Long:

"Little brother, do you have the whip?"

"Give it away." Li Long was also a little surprised. This man was selling deer antlers. Could it be that he also knew the function of deer whip?
"Ah! What a pity." The middle-aged man said with regret, "If you don't give them away, I'll buy them for 100 yuan each... They are really good stuff!"

Li Long didn't expect that this person would be willing to pay. Not many people know the function of deer penis these days. He smiled and said:

"There's nothing we can do about it. A deer whip and a roe deer whip were both given away."

"You are really willing to do that..." The middle-aged man felt even more regretful when he heard that there was also a roe deer whip.

"Little brother, if you have more in the future, can you keep it for me? I will buy it at a high price." The middle-aged man looked at Li Long's thick stack of leather, thought for a while and said:
"I'll take the whip of a big red deer for 200! For a red deer like this one, I can only pay 100. A small roe deer will only cost 100..."

"Okay." Li Long said indifferently, "We'll talk about it later."

The man felt that Li Long's words were casual and unreliable, so he added:

"My home is in Qiaotou, and I own a carpentry shop. You can go ask around, and I'll tell you that I'm Qiao Baohua. I picked up this deer antler when I went into the mountains to collect wood. I wanted to hunt a deer, but unfortunately I didn't catch one."

After telling everyone the truth, Li Long nodded solemnly.

At this time, Chen Hongjun heard the noise and came out. When he saw Li Long, he smiled and said:

"Xiao Li is here? Are you selling leather? Wait a minute, I'll collect their stuff first."

"Okay, okay, I have time." Li Long nodded.

Seeing that Li Long and Chen Hongjun knew each other, Qiao Baohua was relieved and continued to talk to Li Long:
"Brother Li, I'm serious. I really need this thing. If you can get it, keep it for me and we can negotiate the price!"

He did not inquire about Li Long's background in the unit, intending to get some information from Chen Hongjun later.

He also comes to the purchasing station from time to time to sell things. Although his relationship with Chen Hongjun is not particularly good, they are considered acquaintances.

When everyone in front had sold their goods and it was Li Long's turn, Chen Hongjun came out of the house and asked Li Long to take the leather off the bicycle and put it on the ground while he checked them one by one.

Relationships are relationships, business is business, and they should not be mixed together.

Li Long's Fritillaria was clean, so Chen Hongjun could naturally rank it as the first-class special grade. If it was dirty and contained a lot of impurities, he would also raise it in person.

"Well, the leather is pretty good. There are seven bullet holes on it, so they are considered residual leather. The rest are all intact leather. Although the leather in this season is not as good as the one in winter, it is still pretty good."

Chen Hongjun arranged the skins separately. The complete deer skins, roe deer skins, and wolf skins were placed on one side, as they were the most valuable. The complete wild goat skins were placed on the second level, and the damaged skins were placed at the end.

There were more than twenty pieces of skin. In the end, Chen Hongjun counted and gave Li Long a total of 753 yuan.

Li Long has always recognized Chen Hongjun's business ability. After signing and getting paid, Li Long chatted with Chen Hongjun for a few words and asked:

“Can we still sell the Codonopsis pilosula we dug now?”

"Yes, we harvest it all year round, but the price of Codonopsis pilosula is not as high as it was in October. But even so, the price is higher than what you sold last year. Right now, we consume more wild medicinal herbs here, so the price has gone up."

Well, Li Long now understood why some people were digging Codonopsis pilosula at this time.

Can sell at a high price.

But he didn't have time to dig, nor did he plan to dig now, as he couldn't make enough money at the moment.

After saying goodbye to Chen Hongjun, Li Long returned to the courtyard, put down his bicycle, and went to the wing to check. The smell was still there.

The door must be closed and at most two windows opened.

There is still some time before the meal, but Li Long plans to go there early, otherwise it will be embarrassing if Sister Yang doesn’t cook enough food.

Food is still relatively precious these days, and at the county level and below, basically no one dares to waste food.

Li Long went to change the water for the roe deer. These guys had grown a lot bigger. When they saw Li Long, they cried anxiously, and it seemed that they wanted to come out for some fresh air.

Li Long did not give them freedom, and planned to discuss with Gu Xiaoxia to get them back to the stable.

He has grown up, is no longer cute, and has learned to kick people!
Arriving at Sister Yang's courtyard, Li Long saw Han Fang was also there, thinking that it was holiday now.

Han Fang, who was peeling onions in the yard, was stunned for a moment when she saw Li Long, and then shouted in surprise:
"Uncle Li!" Then he turned around and shouted to the kitchen: "Mom, Uncle Li is here!"

Han Fang has grown taller and slimmer, and seems to have become more slender.

Sister Yang came out of the house. She stewed fish and steamed rice today.

Many villages in Marrakech grow rice, so it is more convenient to eat rice. Just like the survivor bias, many people in Marrakech these days think that rice is easier to eat.

But in fact, except for a few rice-growing places such as Miquan, Ma County, and Cha County in Yili, it is not easy to eat rice in other places. It is very difficult to eat pilaf twice a year.

Even in the rice-growing areas of Ma County, before the reform and opening up, grain was distributed in a 2:8 ratio, with 20% fine grains and 80% coarse grains. Of the 20% fine grains, flour accounted for the majority, and rice accounted for a smaller portion, because most of the rice had to be handed over.

The amount of rice distributed to the family was not much, and most of it was broken rice.

Fortunately, the germ of rice and flour will not be removed, so at least you can eat it in its original flavor.

Unlike later generations, the rice and flour looked beautiful, but no one could guarantee what was removed and what was added.

Li Long was almost drooling over the rice and stewed fish. Of course, he didn't know how good Sister Yang was at stewing fish.

"I was just about to steam rice. Now that you're here, Uncle Li, I'll give you half a bowl more rice." Sister Yang was very happy.

"Okay, you guys go ahead and do your work, I'll go see Uncle Gu." Li Long came over just to say hello, asked about Han Fang's summer homework, and then rode away on his bike.

Gu Xiaoxia is at work and can't see it, but she can go to Gu Boyuan's agricultural supply store.

When there were cars, this kilometer or so was nothing, it only took a few minutes to get there. Now, although there are not many people on the road, it still takes a while to ride.

When Li Long arrived at the store, he was parking the car when he saw someone coming out carrying a bottle of pesticide.

Dichlorvos!
There are no restrictions on buying pesticides these days, unlike in later times, where registration is required.

This thing is poisonous!

Of course, these days everyone is living a positive life and can persevere no matter how difficult it is.

Times are different.

Li Long went in and saw Gu Boyuan just picked up a book. He glanced at it and saw, "Wow! Vertical version! Hey, it's still traditional Chinese characters!"

He is indeed a cultured person.

"Why are you back?" Gu Boyuan looked up and saw that it was Li Long, and asked with a smile.

"I've finished my work in the mountains and I'm going to make a big broom, so I'm back. Uncle Gu, how's business going?"

"Not bad." Gu Boyuan said concisely.

That won't work.

Li Long thought about it and gave a suggestion:
"Uncle Gu, can you please buy some soybean and cabbage seeds? The wheat has been harvested and the land is left idle after being plowed. Some of them are planned to be planted with winter wheat in a while, and some are simply left to be planted next year.

You can tell the people who come to buy pesticides and fertilizers to plant soybeans and cabbages, which will give you another harvest..."

"That's a good idea..." Gu Boyuan nodded thoughtfully, "In fact, the team has planted it before, but no one was interested and didn't want to be too busy. In addition, the soybeans we planted were not filling..."

"It doesn't matter if you're not full, as long as you don't lose money. After harvesting soybeans, the bean plants can be used to feed sheep, and the soybeans can be used to feed pigs and cows. The cabbages can be stored in the vegetable cellar during the winter, how great!"

"Then let me try..."

In fact, this method of planting is more popular in Yili. The reason why it is not planted here is probably because there is too much land and the harvest is not good.

But it’s better than not planting anything, right?

Now there is not as much land as in later generations, so people can still handle it. But in a few years, there will be too much land to be reclaimed, and then we will not be able to take care of it all.

After sitting in the store for a while, Li Long looked around and found that in half an hour, about two or three people came to ask questions, but only one came to buy something.

Business is not really good, but fortunately Gu Boyuan has a good attitude.

It’s about time, so I lock the door and eat.

Gu Xiaoxia was also very happy, and the lunch itself was delicious, so they all chatted and laughed while eating together and had a lively time.

After dinner, Li Long, Gu Boyuan and Gu Xiaoxia went out on bicycles together. Gu Boyuan went directly to the store where he lived. Li Long sent Gu Xiaoxia to the Education Bureau and told her about his plans.

"After the big brooms are tied, I plan to go to the village every two days to inspect them and bring them back to our yard. When the three thousand sticks are almost used up, I will go to the mountains to cut them again."

In this way, I spend most of my time in the big yard, while also taking care of village affairs.

Gu Xiaoxia was very satisfied. She could feel that Li Long was not trying to balance, but was trying his best to spend as much time as possible at home.

Although she has to go out from time to time, Gu Xiaoxia understands it very well. After all, she needs to make money and live a better life.

In fact, in her opinion, the living conditions of her family are already among the best among her colleagues. The two colleagues who come frequently have a better and better relationship with her and come to visit her from time to time.

But if Li Long wanted to move towards better development, she naturally supported him.

Back in the yard, Li Long took a shower, changed his clothes, and washed the clothes he had taken off.

After so many days in the mountains, my clothes have become sour.

When Gu Xiaoxia came back, Li Long had already prepared dinner. In fact, he was thinking about whether to invite Gu Boyuan to have dinner together, but then he thought better of it.

With Gu Boyuan's sour temper, he probably won't come.

The two of them ate and chatted. School was about to start. Although the officials from the Education Bureau did not teach, they also had to check the school's preparations for the start of school.

There are many things.

Li Long's business is relatively simple and clear, it's about cleaning the house and making money.

There is nothing wrong with women being responsible for careers and men being responsible for making money to support the family.

The next day, Li Long drove a tractor back to the team.

What surprised him was that there was a lot of Stipa sphenanthera in his elder brother's yard!

I just told Xu Chengjun about making a big broom a few days ago. It's impossible to cut so much in just a few days, right?
"Hey! You went to the mountains to cut grass, and your eldest brother said that it's almost time to make the big broom, so our family has to prepare early, so we went to cut sedge."

Li Jianguo was not at home, but Li Qingxia was at home. Facing Li Long's doubts, he smiled and explained:

"As soon as we started cutting, the Lu family next door and several other families also reacted and started cutting. Some people in the team were gossiping, saying that you might not get the job of making big brooms today, so some people didn't dare to cut the brooms for fear of leaving them at home and wasting them.

As a result, a few days ago, when the loud speaker in the team announced it, everyone rushed to cut the vines. We don’t need them anymore, so we cut all the good ones.”

Li Long was amused. It turned out that his elder brother was quite sensitive in this regard.

Li Qingxia and Li Long unloaded the poles from the truck bed. After unloading, he smiled and said:
"Your elder brother and his wife are busy in the melon field these days. They will come back to make big brooms when they are done."

Li Long naturally had no objection to his eldest brother and sister-in-law making big brooms. Just like making broom handles, he would pay the full amount when the time came. As for the others, he planned to pay according to last year's price - the price Li Xiangqian offered was only slightly higher, four yuan a broom.

Last year, Li Long quoted the team three yuan for a pole, and this year he plans to quote the same price. Of course, if you use your own pole, it will be two and a half yuan, and the pole will be 50 cents. If you have your own pole, it will be three yuan.

After all, it takes time to cut poles.

Li Long could understand that the price increase of the big broom was not as high as that of the handle broom. After all, the handle broom was basically irreplaceable before the carts were launched on the market in large quantities. However, the big broom did have a competing product, namely the bamboo broom.

Even for a long period of time in later generations, the large Sedge broom had been squeezed out of the big market by bamboo brooms, and only had a few customers in rural areas and urban-rural fringe areas.

Fortunately, it gradually recovered.

It doesn’t matter. Whether it’s Sedge or bamboo, they’re all grass.

Grass.

Li Long certainly didn't expect that, although he originally wanted a win-win situation with the villagers, there were just a few people who couldn't stand him making a lot of money and wanted to give him some scorn.

After returning to remove the pole, he went to Xu Chengjun to explain the situation. After two days of inspection, Li Long returned to the county. He thought that this matter was already done well and there was no need to keep an eye on it.

However, to his surprise, when he came to inspect the goods two days later, there were only over a hundred brooms delivered.

Tao Daqiang revealed the news to him that some people were colluding and wanted to suppress the price of brooms and force him to raise the price.

Li Long listened and laughed. (End of this chapter)