Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

As of the 18th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Li family stopped collecting fish. That afternoon, Li Long returned to the team and helped his father and elder brother pack the fish and put them in the car.

Li Jianguo had already notified each household the day before that they would not collect any fish from now on. Everyone could keep the fish for themselves or sell it in the market.

The next day, the Tao, Liang, and Jia families were still fishing.

They basically planned to fish for another two days. This time, they would keep the big fish for themselves and give the rest to relatives and friends.

Team Four has a small lake, which is a unique advantage. To be honest, even for Team Three, it is almost impossible to eat fish as comfortably as the people in Team Four.

Yang Pingping's younger brother Yang Yong followed Tao Daqiang to catch fish, and the family always had some small crucian carps. In the past, Tao Daqiang would bring some fish to the Yang family after catching them.

Team Three usually only goes there in early spring, when the ice has just melted and the reeds in the Reed Lake have just been cut but new ones have not yet grown. When a flood comes, the reeds rush out of the small lake and into the Reed Lake. At this time, they can catch some fish from the Reed Lake.

Normally, they would not go to Xiaohaizi.

At this time, people were generally quite well behaved. If they were not from their team, they would not go. No one cared, but if they really cared, they would be in the wrong.

Therefore, if the people from Team 4 send fish to other teams, the people from other teams are usually very welcoming.

Especially during the Chinese New Year, someone really brought two big carps with red heads and tails to your door. Who could refuse that?
While packing the fish, Li Jianguo also asked Li Long if he wanted to send two big fish to the leader of the State Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

These days, there are quite a few top-quality big red carps among the fish we caught ourselves or sent by others. There are seven or eight that weigh over three kilograms, and they look really beautiful.

Li Long planned to send some to the leaders of the supply and marketing cooperative. Last time, the supply and marketing cooperative ordered a ton of big fish. There were many good fish like this, so the leaders would definitely have enough.

"Then sell them all?" Li Jianguo said.

"That won't do." Li Qingxia said, "We have to keep a few fish anyway. Even if the fish doesn't taste good during the New Year, it should at least be a good omen. Leave four, no more. One for this family, one for your father-in-law, one for Xiaolong's father-in-law, and one for Xiaolong's family..."

"That won't work. We have to keep two more." Li Long said with a smile, "My second brother and sister will definitely come back for the New Year. We have to bring two for them, right?"

"Right, right, right." Li Qingxia was happy. "Don't wait for your sister to come back. Just send the fish to her when we sell it."

"Okay, I'll tell my sister when I get there and ask her to prepare the meal."

"Okay." Li Qingxia said with a smile, "Then let's pack up quickly and go to the market as soon as possible tomorrow."

There were many big fish, including big carp, big grass carp, silver carp and black carp. When cleaning up the fish, Li Jianguo asked Li Long to take some back.

Li Long was not polite and picked out a big carp weighing about three kilograms, two black carps weighing more than two kilograms, and two silver carps.

I brought enough crucian carp back home, so I won’t take any more.

In fact, when the locals eat fish, they eat the two ribs or the fish head if they eat big fish, and eat small crucian carp if they eat small fish. They stew them until they are soft and then chew them directly.

Of course, I still like to eat silver carp. The silver carp head is really delicious when it is cooked.

Li Long took the silver carp back with the intention of making a fish head hotpot soup, or a chopped pepper fish head. This kind of recipe is not available in Team 4 at the moment, so Li Long wanted to try it and let his family have a taste.

He also told his eldest brother about his idea and asked him to keep two more silver carp.

"Okay, I'll see how you make this fish head hotpot for everyone during the New Year." Li Jianguo also said with a smile.

Li Long looked at his elder brother's expression and tone of voice and suddenly felt a little unconvinced, but there was nothing he could do.

Big brother Li Jianguo's expression and tone were still like that of a child playing mischief. Just do whatever you want, I'll cover for you.

The feeling I had a few years ago suddenly came back to me. At that time, I was like a naughty child, willful, arrogant, and prone to getting into trouble.

But at that time, whenever something happened, my eldest brother would always cover for me.

When dad was not around, my eldest brother really acted like a father to me.

Li Long vaguely remembered the look in his elder brother's eyes after he got into trouble. Although he was angry at himself for not living up to his expectations, he also felt a little guilty.

I haven't had this feeling since my rebirth. After all, I have gained a few decades of experience and always thought that I would never have to make my elder brother worry again.

But just this small thing made me feel the atmosphere of that time again.

His nose felt a little sour.

Although my eldest brother has watched me grow up step by step, deep down he is still the big brother who always thinks I need his support.

My eldest brother passed away early in my previous life, and my only impression of him afterwards is in my memories.

The life in this life has already been rewritten, and the tragedy of the previous life will not be repeated. My elder brother is still here, and life is more beautiful. This feeling is really good.

Li Long came here in a jeep, loaded the fish bags onto the truck, and tied two plows to the tractor. Then he drove the tractor back.

I have to drive the tractor back to pick up Gu Xiaoxia.

Tomorrow he will ride his eldest brother's tractor to Shicheng to sell fish with them, and then this matter will be over before the New Year.

Have a good new year.

While driving the jeep to the county, Li Long recalled that this year was busy but also fruitful.

I’ve saved a lot of money and bought a jeep, and the plans for next year are almost finalized, I’m just waiting to implement them.

It's really nice to live an ordinary life like this.

After owning the jeep, Li Long felt that his life was really good. He also felt pretty good in the past few years without a mobile phone.

He drove the car directly to the roadside less than thirty meters away from the Education Bureau and parked it.

The road is not very wide at this time, but there are fewer cars, no traffic jams, and no traffic police or urban management will come to ask him why he parked here.

After the winter solstice, the days gradually become longer, and when the Education Bureau gets off work, the sky is no longer so dark.

When Gu Xiaoxia and her colleagues came out of the gate of the Education Bureau, Li Long pressed the horn. Gu Xiaoxia, who was talking to her colleagues, looked over, then smiled and waved to her colleagues and walked over.

After getting in the car, Gu Xiaoxia felt the warmth in the car and asked:

"You've been waiting for quite some time, haven't you?"

"I just came back from my eldest brother's place and got some fish. We'll go to Shicheng to sell fish tomorrow morning. When we get back, I'll make you some chopped pepper fish head."

"Okay." Gu Xiaoxia has no talent in cooking and is often conquered by the new dishes made by Li Long.

According to Sister Yang, if Li Long were to open a restaurant, it would definitely become popular.

Li Long knew his own business. Those dishes were invented by others or brought from other places. He should not show off his skills or disrupt the course of history.

It’s enough if I can cook it for my family.

When we drove the jeep back to the courtyard, Sister Yang had already prepared the meal. Li Long filled the jeep with water and unloaded the fish into the storage room. There was almost no room left.

During the meal, Li Long told Gu Boyuan that he had left a big carp for him, and Gu Boyuan nodded and agreed.

This is not the first or second time that my in-laws have given me these things. I was a little resistant at first, but later I got used to it.

How much is face worth? If someone has that intention, it means that you have made a good in-law, and it is right, so just accept it.

If you have any good things, just keep an eye out for your in-laws.

Li Long didn't bring the fish over. The fish was sent over there after Gu Boyuan returned to the team.

"I plan to go back the day before the New Year." Gu Boyuan also said, "I will clean up the house and put up some couplets. I will definitely spend the New Year in the team."

With this idea in mind, Li Long naturally wanted to help realize it, including firecrackers and the like.

Fortunately, the house over there is easy to clean.

"Then it will be you two, Sister Yang." Gu Xiaoxia asked while eating, "Do you want to go to the team with us?"

"I won't go." Sister Yang said with a smile, "It is a blessing for my mother and I to be able to celebrate the New Year in this big courtyard. It is something we have never thought of in our lives.

By then, we will tidy up the yard. His uncle will definitely post couplets, right? Put up more blessing characters and we will set off some fireworks!"

"Okay." Li Long was naturally happy to have someone to help guard the yard.

He could see that Sister Yang and Han Fang were really happy.

People who have suffered have a different standard of happiness than people like me.

The next day, while we were having breakfast, we heard the sound of a tractor outside.

"Brother and the others are here. You guys eat first. I'm leaving." Li Long had almost finished eating. He put down his bowl and chopsticks and went to get dressed. He also reminded Gu Xiaoxia, "You should go to work slowly."

"I understand. You guys should be careful too." Gu Xiaoxia hurriedly sent Li Long out the door.

Today, the three of them went to Shicheng. Li Long did not bring a gun, but only carried two shovel handles and pinned them on the side of the tractor bucket.

If there is any situation, I can respond urgently.

I think after having a great fight last year, there shouldn’t be any obstacles this year.

After all, being stubborn is already a problem.

Li Jianguo was driving the tractor, and Li Qingxia was sitting on the tractor in a coat and a cotton hat. "Xiaolong, you want to sit on the side?" Li Qingxia asked when she saw Li Long holding the shovel properly.

"No, I'll get on the sled." Li Long climbed onto the tractor neatly, and after sitting firmly on the sled, he said, "Brother, drive."

Li Jianguo and his friends said hello to Gu Xiaoxia at the door, then shifted the gear and drove the tractor westward.

When the sun rose, the tractor had reached the Ma River Bridge.

You can see horse-drawn carriages running towards Shicheng, and people pulling sleds - Li Long saw Zhang Qiang.

He was pulling a horse-drawn carriage, on which were piled a lot of large brooms.

Seeing Zhang Qiang sitting in the carriage and rushing forward, Li Long wanted to laugh.

This guy hasn't sold out all the brooms yet.

But I should have made some money, right? After all, there is a lot of traffic in Shicheng, and the big brooms should be easy to sell.

Now some units have begun to use bamboo brooms brought from the mainland, but ordinary people with yards still prefer to use large Sedge brooms.

Durable and easy to sweep.

Of course I'm used to it.

I don’t know whether the above tasks will be reduced next year.

While Li Long was thinking, the tractor had already passed Zhang Qiang and headed towards Shicheng.

Zhang Qiang looked up, but didn't recognize Li Long, so he lowered his head and continued on his way.

An old horse knows the way. There is only one road, so the horse just goes straight ahead and there is no need to drive it.

When the tractor arrived at Shicheng Old Street, the stalls were almost full.

The tractors had to be parked in the parking lot, where there were not only two tractors, but also horse-drawn carriages, donkey carts and bicycles.

"Dad, you stay here and watch over the tractor. My eldest brother and I will pull the sled and the fish to find a stall." Li Long said, "We can just set up a stall. There are a lot of fish, so the three of us can handle them together."

"Okay." Li Qingxia said readily.

Li Long unloaded the sled, and Li Jianguo came over and took the two bags of fish that Li Long had taken down and put them on the sled. Li Long got down and took down two more bags of fish, then put the scale and the fish on the sled and pulled it to the market.

The sellers in the market are now much louder, with everyone arguing and occasionally arguing over price and quantity.

Li Long had a good eye. After walking a few steps into the corner of the market, he saw a stall in front of him that had sold out its goods and was closing up. Li Long stuffed the sled rope into Li Jianguo's hand, then rushed over quickly. By the time the man selling cabbages closed up his stall, Li Long had already occupied the spot.

A frozen tofu seller carrying a basket also took a fancy to this position, but unfortunately he was a step too late. Seeing Li Long standing there, he asked with some hope:
"Hey, boy, are you helping me?"

"No, I sell fish. That's not it. I have fish here."

When Li Jianguo saw Li Long rushing out, he knew that he had found the right position. He took the sled rope and immediately put in some strength. By the time the tofu seller finished asking questions, his sled had also come over.

Seeing that the two Li Long brothers had already taken the seats, the tofu seller shook his head and walked away with his shoulder pole.

The cabbage stall was quite large, and people on both sides wanted to move in after seeing the empty stall. Li Long immediately said:
"You two, we have occupied this stall. The sled is a bit big, so please don't move."

He was tall and strong, and when he shouted, while both sides were stunned, Li Long had already taken the sled rope from Li Jianguo and pulled the sled into the stall.

It fits perfectly, leaving a gap of about ten centimeters on both sides. It can't be more accurate.

Seeing that they couldn't get a spot, both sides ignored him and continued to sell their own things.

The stall was set up. Li Long and Li Jianguo pulled the sled back to reveal the open space in front. They spread the plastic sheeting they brought and poured the two bags of fish on it. Li Long also arranged the fish one by one, mainly so that people could see them clearly.

As soon as this fish was displayed, it immediately attracted a lot of people's attention.

"Fresh fish, big fish from Ma County's small lake!" Li Long began to shout, "Just taken out of the ice hole, guaranteed to be fresh and clean, come and buy if you want!"

"Hey, young man, your fish looks beautiful!" Four or five people gathered around, and an old man in his sixties asked, "How much are you selling it for?"

"Big carp, grass carp, black carp and silver carp are 1.5 yuan, and bighead carp is 1.3 yuan." Li Long quoted the price familiarly.

Although the silver carp were bought in pieces, Li Long did not intend to sell them at such a high price.

Li Jianguo also agreed with this. After all, few people eat silver carp, and the harvest is not much.

"This price is not cheap." The old man bargained skillfully, "Look, your fish is so big, a family may not be able to finish it..."

"Grandpa," Li Long said with a smile, "Look at this fish of mine. It was caught from the Xiaohaizi Reservoir. Look how beautiful it is! It's hard to see such a beautiful big carp in the market, right?

If it's expensive, I definitely wouldn't sell it this expensive in the summer, but it's winter now, and the New Year is coming soon. I won't hide it from you, I didn't catch all these fish myself, I also got some from fellow villagers.

I bought this fish for only 1.2 yuan, you can't let me sell it at the original price, right? I have to earn money for noodles, right? It's Chinese New Year, and the price of fish is this high, I can't do anything..."

It is impossible to lower the price. If Li Long didn't want to sell the fish quickly, he would even think about raising the price.

It’s the New Year and many things have gone up in price.

After much deliberation, the old man chose a carp that weighed more than two kilograms and looked very beautiful, and asked Li Long to weigh it.

"Old man, look at the scale. Two kilograms and six cents, one dollar and fifty cents a kilogram. These two kilograms and six cents is three dollars and nine cents. Here, take the fish..."

The old man paid the bill and left with the fish.

This fish is really beautiful. Although it is not particularly big, its head and tail are both red. It looks very festive and immediately attracted a lot of attention. When someone asked about it, the old man also pointed to the location of Li Long and the others, which was considered an advertisement.

Once the first buyer buys, the second will follow. Li Long saw that carp sells best, followed by black carp, and the hardest to sell is silver carp, which sells faster than silver carp.

Soon, only half of the bags of fish on the stall were left, and only two carps were left. Li Long said to Li Jianguo:
"Brother, you watch first, I'll go and drag a few more bags over."

The New Year is coming soon, and the old street is especially crowded. The fish are beautiful and are selling fast.

Li Jianguo responded, and Li Long lifted the sled, got out of the stall, and pulled it towards the parking lot.

"They're all sold out already?" Li Qingxia, who was chatting with the guy watching over the parking lot, was a little surprised when he saw Li Long coming over. "So fast?"

"No, the carp are almost gone. I'll pull some over." Li Long explained, pulled down the bag of fish and loaded it onto the sled.

Li Qingxia came over to help. Li Long saw that there were six bags on the sled, so he said that was enough, and then pulled the sled towards the stall.

Before I even got to the stall, I heard someone saying:

"Who knows if your fish is the sewage fish? There is no way to prove it. If you don't offer a low price, I won't buy it..."

The person who spoke was a female voice, and judging from the sound, she should be around fifty years old.

Li Jianguo's voice defended:

"How can the fish from my authentic Maxian Lake be sewage fish? Don't talk nonsense!"

There was suppressed anger in Li Jianguo's voice.

"Who knows? The sewage fish also comes from Ma County. How can you prove that your fish is not a sewage fish?" The woman said with some surprise.

People nearby were also talking about it.

Li Long heard something wrong, it seemed someone was looking for trouble.

He immediately shouted:

"Make way, I'm selling fish, let me in first!"

Someone immediately made way for Li Long to pull the sled over.

Li Long saw the woman who was looking for trouble. She was in her fifties and dressed quite fashionably - for that era.

But he has a sharp tongue and looks very mean.

She saw Li Long coming, glanced at him, and then looked at the stall.

"It was you who said I was a dirty fish? Bring me the evidence. Otherwise, I'll go to the police station and tell you that you are slandering me!" Li Long came up and started to scold the woman.

Having lived two lives, he already knew that when being slandered by others, he should not rush to prove himself but should refute it first, otherwise he would be put in a passive position.

He won't do anything that won't hurt others but will seriously damage himself.

The woman was stunned when she heard this. This was a bit unreasonable.

"Why should I prove it? You said you are not a sewage fish, so you have to prove it? How do you prove it?"

"Haha, why should I prove it? You first said that the fish in my house are sewage fish. Since you said that, then show me the evidence! If you don't have evidence, then you are just making a false accusation!
You have to catch him in the police station!" Li Long sneered, "Otherwise, you can just say that someone is a thief or a murderer, and you need them to prove it for you? Who do you think you are?"

Li Jianguo felt relieved after hearing this, and he also asked angrily:

"That's right, who do you think you are? Whatever you say is what it is?" (End of this chapter)