Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

At noon, there was steamed rice, fried pickled vegetables and meat, stewed fish, spicy lamb's head meat, and a scrambled egg.

There are only four dishes, but the portions are large. They are served in enamel bowls and are steaming hot. It is so satisfying just by looking at them.

Gu Xiaoxia was used to eating meals cooked by Sister Yang every day. Occasionally, when she had a meal cooked by her sister-in-law, her appetite really opened up. She usually ate one bowl of rice, but today she ate one and a half bowls.

If she wasn't so full, she felt she could still eat.

"Sister-in-law, the food you cook is so delicious." Gu Xiaoxia praised sincerely, "I haven't eaten such delicious food for a long time."

Gu Xiaoxia was eating happily, and Liang Yuemei's face was also bright. She smiled and said:
"Hey, it's a home-cooked meal. The fish is fresh, and the lamb head meat made by Xiaolong is clean. If you like it, then ask Xiaolong to bring you back on Sundays and I'll cook it for you!"

Gu Xiaoxia had never been treated as an outsider before, and now they were even more like a family. Liang Yuemei looked at the pregnant Gu Xiaoxia and felt as if the next generation had grown up.

Very pleased.

"Have you swept the yard over there clean?" Li Jianguo asked Li Long while eating.

"It's been cleaned, and the stove has been set up. The house hasn't had a stove in it for a while, so it's very damp. I plan to add another stove of charcoal this afternoon, and then talk to Daqiang and ask him to help set up a stove every day to warm the house."

"Why bother Daqiang?" Li Jianguo waved his hand. "His kids are so young, and he has to catch fish every day. He's very busy. I just go over there at noon and set up the stove."

"It's a long way to get there." Li Long said, "It's troublesome."

"What's the trouble? It's only a few minutes' ride on a bicycle." Li Jianguo decided, "Don't bother others with your own affairs if you can avoid it."

"That's fine. But if it snows heavily, you have to ask people to help you sweep the snow. I'll also tell Daqiang and the others that if it really snows heavily, they should finish their own work and come over together."

The matter was settled. The relationship between the Li family and the Gu family was different from that of ordinary families.

Li Jianguo and Gu Boyuan had a good relationship, and Liang Yuemei had almost watched Gu Xiaoxia grow up. There was even a period of time when Gu Xiaoxia often went to the Li family. A lot of women's knowledge came from Liang Yuemei.

Liang Yuemei felt sorry for Gu Xiaoxia at that time and treated her as her daughter. In fact, for quite a long time after Li Long came, Liang Yuemei felt that Li Long was not worthy of Gu Xiaoxia.

Because of this relatively close relationship, the sense of propriety that should be present in closeness does not exist here. Gu Boyuan is alone and now in the county town. Li Jianguo took the initiative to take over the work of cleaning the yard over there, and he did not think it was inappropriate at all.

If Gu Boyuan knew this, he would also smile and say that the cake was not given in vain.

After eating and resting for a while, Li Qingxia and Li Jianguo pulled the plow to Xiaohaizi again. Gu Xiaoxia wanted to help Liang Yuemei, but Liang Yuemei refused and asked her to go to her house in the front yard to rest.

Gu Xiaoxia heard from Li Long that although he and his wife did not live there every day, they still had a stove in the house in the front yard to prevent moisture.

She was curious and went to have a look. Li Long wanted to go to Xiaohaizi, so Gu Xiaoxia took Li Juan over.

There was indeed a stove in the room, and there was no smell of damp at all.

When Li Long went to Xiaohaizi with his father and elder brother, he said:

"Brother, when we take the fish to Shicheng to sell, we have to pull the sled. The tractor has to be parked in the parking lot, and our fish and sheep have to be pulled into the water by the sled."

"Well, OK." Li Jianguo nodded. "Then shouldn't the offal be sold in the team? This year, most of Ma Jinbao's sheep were sold to the township purchasing station, and not many were slaughtered. If the offal is sold in the team, it should be sold, right?"

Li Jianguo is a veteran in the village's founding. To be honest, his feelings for the Fourth Team are much deeper than for his hometown village.

So when he got the sheep offal, he first thought about whether he should sell it within the team.

The people in this team are richer than those in other teams, so spending a few dollars on a plate of lamb offal is nothing.

If Li Long hadn’t brought back the offal, it would have been hard for the team to buy it. The offal at the food factory’s butcher shop was cheaper than meat, so it was sold out early.

The winter before last, the team bought a lot of the offal that Li Long brought back. That year, many people in the team also said that the offal was delicious and full of oil.

Li Long didn't hear much, but Li Jianguo heard a lot. For half a year that year, people talked about it in front of Li Jianguo.

So when Li Long mentioned the sheep offal, Li Jianguo immediately thought of selling it to the team so that the team members could eat it and get something good out of it.

Li Long’s household registration is still in the team. Li Jianguo knows that his younger brother has no intention of leaving the countryside, so he has to make plans for his future.

Although Li Long doesn't care much about the impression he makes on his teammates, Li Jianguo does.

When you live, you are not just living for yourself. If your reputation is ruined, no matter how rich you are, you will still be scolded.

If you have a good reputation and are more generous, someone can make up a good reason to say that it was not Li Long's fault when he left the food factory.

Such is the world.

"Okay, then I'll pull the sheep back from the water tomorrow. By the way, we can't get all the sheep's heads and hooves, brother. You can keep some and sell the rest. They are all from the team, and I'll sell them for money."

"Okay." Li Jianguo nodded. He also liked to eat sheep heads and sheep hooves, but it took a lot of effort. Besides, how many could he eat at home? It would be better to sell most of the large pile that Li Long brought back.

When we arrived at Xiaohaizi, the three brothers of the Liang family and the three people of the Tao family had already arrived.

At present, they sell the big fish to the Li family, and keep the small ones at home, either to eat or freeze. After the New Year, it will be difficult to catch fish on the ice, so they don't plan to do it anymore.

Now, I can catch more than ten to twenty kilograms of big fish a day, and earn about ten to twenty yuan.

When Li Long is doing a big job, this money is really nothing.

But it is winter now, and most of the team members stay at home. They only spend money but have no way to make money.

Not everyone can catch a rabbit in the wild.

So many people are jealous of me for making so much money in one day.

However, not everyone can do this job. Although breaking holes in the ice to catch fish sounds interesting, some people in the team wanted to do it, but they gave up after just one day.

Not to mention the cold, the first hole in the ice that is created may not necessarily yield fish.

The Li family, the Tao family, the Liang brothers, and the Meng family have all been at the small lake in recent years, catching fish regardless of winter or summer, so they naturally know where the water is deep and where fish gather.

If you randomly make a hole in the ice and the water is less than one meter shallow, can fish come there?

And this thing also requires patience and a little bit of skill.

Some people make a hole in the ice, but give up if they don't catch any fish on the first day. Who knows that the fish are also a little patient. On the first day, there is so much noise that they won't come near. On the second day, the ice hole has more oxygen, so the fish will naturally gather there.

The truth is simple, but if it is not explained, some people may never figure it out in their entire lives.

Seeing these people making money, it is impossible for other people in the team not to be envious. But what is the use of envy? Either be humble and learn from others, bring some things to these people's homes, and ask for advice.

Or you can learn from Xie Dafa and set rabbit traps. If you catch three or five rabbits a day, you can earn ten dollars.

Or just watch.

If he met someone who was willing to ask for advice, Li Long would naturally not hesitate to give a few words of advice. There was no end to catching fish and making money. He had already taken the lead, leaving his team far behind.

So I don’t worry about being surpassed by others.

In the Xinzhuangzi settlement, a woman saw Li Long and his friends going up to the small lake, so she called her husband and asked him to go to the small lake to catch fish.

The whole village knew about Li Long's fish collection. Tao Dayong followed him and did it for a few days, and he had already made dozens of yuan more.

With his personality, it's hard for him not to show off in the store.

So everyone knows that as long as you catch a big fish, Li Long will take care of it.

This really solves the worries of many people. It has been taken care of, so why are you still hesitating?

But some men are unwilling to go.

"What are you going to do? It's so cold, how comfortable it is to lie on the kang? Does your family need that extra money?" This is what some men said.

Others simply avoid women and go out to play. They visit each other all day long, but nothing can be said.

As for why such a thing happened and why I didn't go fishing, my thoughts are mixed and it's hard to explain.

Li Long and his two companions arrived at the ice hole, knocked off the thin layer of ice on top, and started fishing.

The coldest days of winter are the peak season for fishing. After this period, the weather is not so cold, there are fewer fish, and fewer fish come to the ice hole. "Brother, you have collected nearly a ton of fish during this period, right?" Li Long asked his brother loudly while fishing.

"That's almost there." Li Jianguo stopped what he was doing, thought for a moment and said, "If we add the fish my dad and I caught, then we'll be almost there."

He had almost used up all the money he had.

Even if Li Long didn't say it, he had to say it. The fish collection these two days still used the old man's money.

"Brother, let's sell the fish in two days before the New Year. I'll pull the sheep over tomorrow. If anyone in the team wants to buy them, they can take them all away."

Li Long thought about it and realized what his elder brother said was right. It was simpler to sell fish. It wouldn't be too much trouble to pull in 20 or 30 mutton. After all, the quantity was small, so it was easier to sell fish directly.

Li Jianguo didn't say anything, Li Qingxia responded directly. After collecting so many fish, he had long wanted to go to Shicheng and exchange the fish for money. Now looking at such a large number of fish, he only collected them but didn't sell them, and the money in his pocket kept going out, which made him feel uncomfortable.

Li Qingxia, Li Jianguo and Li Long took turns digging in two ice holes. When Li Long took a break, he looked at the ice surface. Huh? To his surprise, there were a few more groups of people on the ice.

These people chose a place far away from others and started to chisel holes in the ice, making quite a loud noise.

From a distance, it really looked like someone from the team.

Is this also intended to catch fish?

Li Long was happy. It was good. It was good to know how to earn money through hard work.

He simply went over to take a look and found that they were indeed members of the team. Of the three new families, two were unfamiliar to Li Long, so he went over to say hello. The other one who surprised him was Jia Weidong.

Jia Weidong came with his wife, and the two of them were using steel chisels and shovels to smash holes in the ice.

Seeing Li Long coming over, Jia Weidong curled the corners of his mouth and smiled.

His wife took the initiative to speak:

"Xiaolong is here. I want to catch some fish, too. Do you still accept them?"

"I can collect it for another week."

After hearing Li Long say that it would take another week to harvest, Jia Weidong nodded and continued to break the ice with a steel chisel.

Li Long looked at their location and couldn't help but say:

"Weidong, your position is not very good. It looks far from the west bank, but the water is not deep here, so fish can't gather here."

"Ah?" Jia Weidong stopped in confusion. His wife also stopped after seeing that the ice hole was nearly half dug.

"Take a look," Li Long pointed to several other large vacant lots:
"Someone has dug there before, but they left when they didn't find any fish. Look at us, Daqiang's side, Dacheng's side, we all looked for deep water areas where there are no reeds nearby. There are more fish in deep waters, and if there are no reeds nearby, the outside air can't get in, so the fish are suffocated..."

Jia Weidong understood, looked around, and became worried.

He knew there were people near the deep water area, so where else could he go?
"Near the dam mouth." Li Long pointed and said, "The water is deepest there. At the beginning, because there was a dam there, air could enter, so no one destroyed it. If you want to dig, it's best to go there.

In addition, if you don’t want to go there, there is a deep pit near the water inlet, but it’s not very big. Fortunately, I will only be collecting fish for another week, so if you fish in that big pit, it will be enough for a week. If you want to fish more later, you can use our ice hole.”

Li Long's words were clear enough. Jia Weidong picked up the steel drill and said to his wife:
"Let's go to the dam."

"Half of this place has been demolished..." The wife was a little reluctant.

"Even if we smash it through, if there's no fish it would be a waste of time, right?" Jia Weidong saw it clearly.

"By the way, we just broke it out, so there may not be many fish for a while." Seeing that Jia Weidong listened to his advice, Li Long said, "You may not be able to dig out anything this afternoon, but tomorrow morning, if you go dig in the ice hole again, there will definitely be a lot of fish."

Li Long is willing to help anyone he knows in the team who is willing to work hard to make money and put it into action.

If something easy can change a family's life, why not do it?

Jia Weidong went to the dam to break the ice. The water there was indeed deep, and there must be a lot of fish underneath, but the ice was also thick.

The two men worked for nearly an hour to dig the hole in the ice. They were so tired that they didn't want to talk much.

After resting for a while, Jia Weidong went to check on Liang Dacheng, who was closest to them.

Last summer, the two of them went to organize the fishing together. Given their friendship, Liang Dacheng also said a few words, which were similar to what Li Long said, that they would see the fish tomorrow morning.

Jia Weidong had a clue in his mind.

Sure enough, after he recovered, he used a scoop net to scoop up fish, but until the sun was about to set, he only caught two or three kilograms of crucian carp and some small dog fish.

The largest carp weighed less than one kilogram. Carps of this size are not delicious.

Jia Weidong's wife was a little unhappy and felt that this place was not very good. Jia Weidong felt that what Li Long said was true.

He used a scoop net to explore the bottom of the ice hole. The two-and-a-half-meter-long scoop net was bottomless, so the water here was indeed deep.

For safety reasons, he also piled the ice holes he dug out around the area to serve as a warning.

Don't let anyone fall.

The three members of the Li family caught a total of about ten kilograms of fish in the afternoon, including about ten kilograms of large fish weighing more than one kilogram, which was not a lot.

He was in a hurry to go back. Seeing that the harvest in the afternoon was not as much as in the morning, Li Jianguo did not stay here for long.

As soon as they returned, everyone else started packing up and preparing to go back. They wanted to take the big fish to Li's house and sell it.

On the way back, Li Long took out five hundred yuan and gave it to his eldest brother as money for buying the fish.

Li Jianguo only took 300 yuan, saying it was enough. There was still a week left, so he really couldn't spend much money.

After returning, Li Long first drove his jeep to Gu's house to add some more coal to the stove, then pressed it up with coal foam and returned to the big yard.

Gu Xiaoxia has returned from the front yard and we are preparing to have dinner.

That is, after Li Long was reborn, the Li family gradually got used to eating three meals a day. In fact, when Li Long was not around in the summer, they usually only had two meals a day, and the meal in the evening was at best a midnight snack.

After the family had a lively dinner, Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia drove back.

Li Qingxia and Du Chunfang were the happiest during the meal. When people get old, they are afraid of loneliness, and the more people there are in the family, the happier they are.

So Du Chunfang felt a little unhappy when she saw Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia leaving.

"Xiaolong will be back tomorrow, why are you unhappy?" Li Qingxia counseled her, "Why don't you take a car and go to the county with them?"

"I won't go. I don't like to move." Du Chunfang thought about it and shook her head. She felt most comfortable staying here. Every day, she would lean against the fire wall, do some work, and take a nap when she didn't want to work. How comfortable!
"That's it." Li Qingxia smiled and filled himself with a pot of tobacco. "It's such a good day, but you're still thinking about this and that. I think you're just idle."

Du Chunfang wanted to refute, but didn't know where to start.

Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei did not try to persuade them. It was quite entertaining to listen to the old couple bickering.

Li Qiang was forced by Li Juan to do his homework in the inner room. He was very well behaved at this time. He was mainly anxious to finish his homework so that he could go to his grandfather's room to watch TV.

After watching it, I can brag about it when I play Lao Niu with my friends tomorrow. That's a big color TV!
When Li Long and his friends returned to the county, it was already dark. Without them, Sister Yang and her friends simply prepared dinner, and Gu Boyuan did not come either.

Li Long asked Gu Xiaoxia to go into the house first, and he moved all the sheep offal onto the tractor.

Thirty mutton sheep cannot be loaded into the jeep, so we can only drive the tractor back tomorrow. Big brother is right, this thing is pretty good, let's leave it for the team to eat.

Even if half of them remember the Li family's kindness, it would still be good for the eldest brother, father and mother who stayed in the village.

After the sheep were moved into the water, Li Long drained the water from the jeep, then went to the glass room at the back, added charcoal to the stove that was about to go out, pressed down the foam, and then came out and went back into the house.

After a busy day, now is the most comfortable time.

After a simple wash and change of clothes, I sit and hug my wife while watching TV. Basically, there is nothing happier than this.

Isn't this the kind of life that we are so busy living for? (End of this chapter)