Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Li Long spent the next few days in this busy state. To his surprise, he was able to harvest more than 100 kilograms of Fritillaria every day.

The largest source of Fritillaria is still forest rangers like Bolati.

After exchanging money and meat, Bolati also complained to Li Long:
"There's really nothing we can do. There are too many people going into the mountains. The weather and rainfall this year are good, and the Fritillaria is growing well, so there are a lot of people coming to dig Fritillaria.

These people were more professional, they just dug a Fritillaria, and the hole left by digging one was not big, so we collected the Fritillaria and let them go.

But some second-rate guys, who don't know how to dig, run into the mountains anyway, desperate to get rich. They dig a hole as big as a basin for a Fritillaria tree. Won't the soil and water be washed away by the next rain?
If we encounter these people, we have to arrest them and send them to the forestry team for detention, and then repatriate them. Do you know that some of them are from the county, and now they have free time, so they come here to dig Fritillaria... Oh, it's very annoying!"

Only then did Li Long understand why he received so many Fritillarias every day.

It turns out that there are too many people coming in.

The Fritillaria that Bolati and his men obtained were mainly exchanged for wine, meat, and money.

After all, it is not easy to eat meat in the forestry team. According to their traditional customs, they can only eat beef and mutton that have been slaughtered and chanted with the consent of the imam.

The meat of livestock that died abnormally, that is, accidentally, cannot be eaten.

But a forestry team is not a pastoral team, and even a pastoral team cannot slaughter cattle and sheep for their own food every day.

What if you want to eat meat?
Li Long's place is equivalent to a loophole. After all, at this time, there are always some people who are not so firm in their thinking. Put the delicious meat in front of you. This meat is also hunted, not accidental death, and it is well-cooked. It is yellow sheep, roe deer, and red deer, not the kind of "big-eared sheep". Will you eat it?
Most young people just ate it.

Sometimes the rules in this regard on the border are not very strict. In Li Long's memory, in the next thirty or forty years, there were only a few years when it was a bit extreme, when smoking and drinking were not allowed in restaurants, and then they were suppressed.

Nowadays and in the future, it is normal for the uncle who is roasting lamb to smoke a cigarette or drink a cup of Da Wusu during his breaks.

It is also normal for a few elderly people to get together and show off their cigarette boxes to each other, then pour them out to look at the cigarettes, and then roll a big cigarette and take a smoke.

Li Long also saw or discovered on the Internet later that these behaviors are actually taboos in some places in our country.

I can only say that I pressed too lightly. The thinking is different.

It would be better if there were more people like Ali and Yili.

Unlike people like Bolati, those herb diggers who come here to exchange things are mainly for daily necessities. I don't know if Sun Jiaqiang met Li Long, but I didn't pay attention to him when Li Long was here, so he probably didn't meet any locals.

It was originally planned to take more than a month, or more than 40 days, to complete the task of organizing the bandits by the end of May. However, because more people joined in and Li Long underestimated the fighting power of the people in Qingshuihe Village, the task of organizing the bandits was completed in excess on the morning of May 20th.

Of course, this is also the result of the three-way competition in Xiaobaiyanggou.

Last year, there were only eleven or twelve people in total. Everyone knew each other, so there was no competition. Anyway, we knew that some people had good skills and some were average. It was good enough to earn the money that you deserved, without being greedy.

But this year was different. After being divided into three groups, Xu Haijun's group had the lowest pass rate at the beginning. However, the young guys were determined to fight and were unwilling to admit defeat, so they kept working hard afterwards.

As Liang Wenyu and the others were outsiders, their starting point was low, so the requirements were stricter and higher, and their pass rate was in the middle.

Li Jianguo and his people were all veterans, so their pass rate was naturally high. But they soon found that if they didn't work hard, they would be surpassed by the young people, so they had to roll up their sleeves.

Now both speed and efficiency have been improved.

As for the Qingshui River, it goes without saying. Li Long gave them this opportunity, which made He Yuqing and Meng Hai very excited. They believed in Li Long, and Li Long always gave the money after acceptance.

Now that's good, their enthusiasm is skyrocketing.

With this roll, the speed and efficiency are improved.

It can be said that the task was completed in excess.

Li Long also did some calculations himself. On the Qingshui River side, there were eleven or twelve people, and each of them was responsible for about 140 bandits.

There are twenty-one or twenty-two people in Xiaobaiyanggou here, and each of them is making about one hundred and thirty pieces.

Apart from Li Jianguo, the one who earns the most money is Lao Huang. He can take 20 cents from each of the people who help him, and in the end he can get about 500 yuan.

So happy.

As for Sun Jiaqiang, he received more than 500 kilograms of Fritillaria these days, which amounted to more than 200 yuan.

It's not as good as the ones who braided the handles, but the work is easier, which is why he is most happy to stay here.

Moreover, although the weaving of the handles is completed, it will take some time for the Fritillaria to be harvested, so he still has to make money. Li Long settles accounts with him every day and takes the Fritillaria away every day. Sun Jiaqiang does not store Fritillaria, so he does not worry about safety issues.

On the morning of the 20th, Li Long collected the last batch of porters from Xiaobaiyanggou and had a truck take them directly to the supply and marketing cooperative. After unloading, he came back and asked the people who were preparing to pack up to stay for a while.

"Let me tell you all that there is a job tomorrow. It is my personal job. Of course, don't worry. It only takes one day and I will pay you." Li Long said as he gathered the twenty or so people.

"Tell me what kind of work you have." Li Jianguo was not in a position to speak, and Xie Yundong felt that it didn't matter if he stayed for another day, so he just responded directly.

"I have a friend in the mountains, Daqiang knows him. He is a herdsman, and his winter home is not far from here. Tomorrow I plan to ask everyone to help dig a sheep-washing pool in front of his house. I think we can finish it in half a day."

"Um... can we dig it?" Xu Haijun was a little surprised. He had never dug this thing before.

"Then what can't be dug?" Lu Yingming smiled.

"That's right." Old Huang was also happy. "We dug that thing before." He smiled at Li Jianguo, "Isn't it, Old Li?"

"If everyone stays and digs, we can definitely dig it." Li Jianguo finally said, "It will take half a day to finish digging."

"Everyone, if you want to stay, I won't pay you more. You guys dig tomorrow and I'll go hunting. There'll be plenty of meat for lunch. Ten dollars for wages, how about that?"

Ten yuan is quite a lot. Normally, three or five yuan for a day's work is a lot.

Li Long naturally thought about everyone's hard work in the mountains, so this was like providing welfare.

"What money do you want? I don't need money, just take care of the meat." Xie Yundong said with a smile, "After this compilation, everyone will get three or four hundred yuan, so it's not a big deal."

"Then let's ask everyone." Li Long waved his hand, "We can't work for nothing."

"No money," Xu Haijun thought about it and it made sense. He wanted to continue this job every year in the future and earn a year's salary of outside workers at a time. If Li Long didn't give him such a good job, where else could he find one?
Others also said they did not want any wages, which made it difficult for the few who wanted to be paid to speak up.

"Then let's do this." Seeing that everyone said they didn't want any wages, Li Long said:
"There are still many Fritillaria rubra that have not bloomed in the mountains. If you don't want to be paid, after digging the sheep pond, I will talk to the forestry team and find a few Fritillaria rubra ditches. If you want to stay, you can dig Fritillaria rubra for a day. How about that?"

The eyes of older people like Lu Yingming and Xie Yundong immediately lit up.

They are of course aware that the forestry team does not allow ordinary people to dig Fritillaria, and they are also aware that Fritillaria is expensive.

It would be fine if Li Long could let them dig Fritillaria for a day.

"Where can we sell the Fritillaria we dig up?" a young man from Liang Wenyu's side asked.

"You can take it back, dry it, and sell it to the purchasing station, or you can sell it to me. I'll take it for six dollars a kilogram. But this is our internal price. I don't charge this price for fresh Fritillaria outside."

"Sure." Old Huang was the first to respond, "We can at least dig up three or two kilograms that day..."

In fact, it is not just that. If they have professional tools, people like Li Jianguo and Lu Yingming, who used to work in sideline teams, can easily dig five or six kilograms a day.

Even without professional tools, digging three or four kilograms from the Fritillaria ditch is not a problem - that's only twenty or thirty yuan.

These people were immediately interested.

After settling this matter, Li Long felt relieved.

We have done things one by one. This year we have connected the water pipes. If we can also dig the sheep washing pool, it will be considered a major project completed.

It can be considered as accumulating virtue for the unborn child, and also as paying off the debt to Halimu and the others - mainly because these brothers gave too much in the past and they can't pay it back anymore.

Just do it little by little, and their lives will get better slowly. "Should I pay you now or when you get home?" Li Long asked the last question.

"Then it must be settled now." Old Huang couldn't wait to get his money.

Li Long had actually brought the money.

The money from Qingshui River has been settled. When the settlement was completed yesterday, He Yuqing and Meng Hai invited Li Long to dinner. If Li Long had not been driving and strongly refused to drink, he probably would not have left the table.

Even so, the two people still strongly expressed that they would come over again when Li Long is free and can stay here for a night, so they must have a good drink.

After all, at this time, including the next 20 to 30 years, drinking culture was still very popular.

It was forty years later that the drinking culture began to decline, and that was when people stopped drinking.

People in Qingshuihe know how to be grateful, or at this time, most people are very grateful. They can remember the kindness others have shown them.

Li Long believed that if anything happened to him in the mountains, He Yuqing and Meng Hai would definitely bring people to help.

But they are not needed for the time being. There are benefits, so Li Long still thinks about the people in the fourth team first.

After discussing this matter with his "own people" in Xiaobaigou, Li Long first took Li Jianguo, Xie Yundong and a few others to Halimu.

As for the others, they could move around freely nearby, but Li Long emphasized that they must travel in groups of three to five and carry their belongings.

"There are wolf bears in the mountains, the kind that are more than two meters tall. I encountered one when I was hunting two days ago. If I didn't have a gun, I would not have been able to escape." Li Long emphasized to the young people who were eager to try, "Don't take it lightly. There are people who are eaten by wolves and wolf bears in the mountains every year."

After he said that, the young talents calmed down a bit. They originally wanted to see if there were any Fritillaria in the nearby ditch.

Six yuan per kilogram. In their opinion, isn't digging this stuff more profitable than working as a gang leader?
Although I know the forestry team will watch and won't let me, but I have nothing to do in the afternoon, so it should be okay to secretly dig some, right?
In fact, these days when cutting strips in the nearby ditch, some people have already learned what Fritillaria is.

Of course, they also recognize some wild mushrooms. Some people now go to the ditch to pick some wild mushrooms and plan to take them back home the next day or the day after tomorrow.

There are also people who want to pick wild strawberries.

At this time of year, some Fritillaria have already started to bloom, but there are also many that have not bloomed. After all, the temperature in the mountains is cooler, and some Fritillaria bloom later.

"I plan to dig a sheep-washing pool here." Li Long pointed to the location in front of Halimu's winter nest. It was about forty to fifty meters away from the forest in front and fifty to sixty meters away from the winter nest.

This piece of land is relatively flat and is located just below the water source, so it does not affect Halimu's winter grazing or the grazing of cattle and sheep.

If you want to wash the sheep, dig a channel from the end of the water pipe, let the water in, and then pour in the insecticide. Drive the sheep in from one end, and have someone stand in the middle and use a "Y"-shaped piece of wood to press the sheep's head into the medicine. After the sheep's whole body is soaked in the medicine, drive the sheep to the other end.

"There is no problem digging here, but in this kind of terrain, if there is no Gobi Desert underneath and it's all soil, we have to pick up some stones from the riverside and lay them under the pool, otherwise the water will seep in quickly and we won't be able to wash," said Li Jianguo.

"Aren't there gaps when paving stones?" Li Long was a little confused.

"Pave stones and fill the gaps with sand, so that the seepage will be slower. If there is yellow clay underneath, it will be even better and there is no need to lay stones. But it is still best to lay it, even if it is not waterproof, to prevent the bottom from becoming muddy."

"Got it." Li Long turned his head and looked at the stream below.

There were stones everywhere, enough for use.

Li Jianguo asked Li Long:

“How many sheep does this require to be washed?”

"At least one or two hundred, right?" Li Long said.

Li Jianguo found a stick and roughly drew the shape of the sheep washing pool in the area pointed out by Li Long.

The pond is not very big. From the entrance at the front to the sheep pen at the back, it is no more than thirty-five meters in total.

Li Long thought it was too small at first, but then he laughed. Why would it be so big? It's not like the other side of the village. Here there are pastures everywhere. After washing the sheep, there is no need to pen them up. Just let them go and graze.

After this was confirmed, Li Long drove a jeep to take Li Jianguo and Xie Yundong back to Xiaobaiyanggou. On the way, Li Jianguo said, "I'll go see if there's anything I can catch nearby. Let's try to catch something while we're still in the mountains. It would be best if we can catch something."

Li Long pointed out the location of the rock salt cave in the east to Li Jianguo and told him about the situation there.

"Then I have to go and see..."

"I'll go and take a look too." Xie Yundong was a little moved, "I've never seen a place like that before."

Rock salt and the like are not rare for people like them, but if they can guard the place and hunt, it would be a really good place.

Li Long sent his elder brother and the others to Xiaobaiyanggou and found that except for Lao Huang who was cooking and a few other people who were resting, everyone else was gone.

He guessed that it must have gone to a nearby ditch.

He planned to tell everyone during dinner later how to deal with the situation if they really encountered a forest ranger on patrol.

Of course, Li Long also believed that as long as the people here told him about their relationship with them, the forest rangers would give him some face regardless of whether they knew them or not.

In the afternoon, Li Long went to the wooden house to take a look. Sun Jiaqiang knew that the braids had been woven, but the Fritillaria season was not over yet, so he planned to stay here for a while.

Any money you can earn is good money. Besides, I eat well here, live well, earn money, and meet many people every day. What else can I ask for?

Seeing Li Long coming, Sun Jiaqiang, who was squatting by the spring washing Fritillaria, grabbed a handful of Fritillaria and waved them around with some pride. It seemed that he had a good harvest today.

Li Long came over to take a look. The Fritillaria in the basin and those drying outside weighed about five or six kilograms, which was not bad.

In the past few days, in addition to the usual items of exchange in the wooden house, Li Long has already taken the second batch of daggers, and some herbalists have even taken two. According to them, they will take them back as gifts for their families.

Li Long was happy because this thing could be bought in the market.

He guessed that these people might not have seen it in places they usually went to, or they would just buy tickets to go back after the herb-picking season was over, and they were using Fritillaria to exchange for things at this time because they were just too lazy to look for it.

After all, not everyone has the courage to take risks. Collecting herbs in the mountains itself is a way of escaping from the world. It is good that a person can earn money without relying on others and can support himself without dealing with other people.

Li Long felt as if someone was staring at him in the woods. As soon as he appeared, two groups of people came over to exchange things.

They specifically wanted to exchange with Li Long for meat, buns, knives, and money.

Li Long was naturally happy to do so, and after changing it, he did not forget to give people some things.

Although he only came here from time to time, he actually got more Fritillaria than Sun Jiaqiang. In this year's Fritillaria season, Li Long got a scary amount of Fritillaria.

Now he goes to the purchasing station to sell Fritillaria every two days, and the amount of money he earns is already astonishing.

However, his focus is still on weaving the carrying handles and digging the sheep pond.

Money has to be earned, and things have to be done step by step. After rebirth, Li Long received a lot of gifts and kindness, and he felt that he must do something to give back.

Just like digging a water pipe, digging a sheep pond, or slowly getting rich with people who believe in you.

Just think of it as accumulating blessings for your unborn child.

After those who were exchanging things left, Li Long said something to Sun Jiaqiang, and then drove the jeep towards the winter nest in Yushanjiang.

This time he was not heading towards Talihar's winter camp, he planned to change direction.

The inner mountains of the Tianshan Mountains are layered, and there are always wild animals living in some of the steeper areas.

He thought that if he met a bear this time, he would never let it go. (End of this chapter)