Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

The place Li Long went to was Laomahao.

Ever since I had the idea of ​​large-scale breeding last time, although I knew it would not be possible in a short period of time, I would always think about whether the area around the Old Horse could be expanded when I returned to Team 4.

Lao Mahao is located at a relatively high altitude, in the middle of the three settlements of the fourth team, about four to five hundred meters away from each of the three settlements.

This place was originally close to the old team headquarters, but later the old team headquarters was demolished, leaving only a row of three houses that were used as a preschool. The team paid for people to be teachers to teach the students.

In fact, the materials used in the construction of the old building, such as the Lao Ma Hao, were really good, and the foundation was also deep. After all, the overall geology of the Fourth Team is saline-alkali beach, and the Lao Ma Hao is surrounded by alkaline beaches with short reeds.

However, the Lao Ma Hao has been built for so many years, and the houses for living and the sheds for livestock have basically not returned to alkaline. This shows that the foundation is deep, and the soil used under the foundation is non-saline-alkali soil.

I really put my heart into it at that time.

Li Long's jeep drove to the outside of the old stable and stopped. After getting off the car, he did not go into the stable, but walked around the stable to take a look.

Lao Ma Hao itself covers a very large area. In addition to several large greenhouses connected together, there is a large area in the middle, part of which was turned into a vegetable field by Uncle Luo, and the rest is left empty.

In the past, this place was used to take the animals out for a walk and also as a place to park the carriages. However, since the sheds were relatively spacious, the red deer and roe deer kept inside could move around freely, so Uncle Luo would not usually let these animals out.

There is a piece of not-so-flat land behind the Lao Ma Hao. There is a flat land of about 20 to 30 meters to the east, and further east is a gentle slope. About 70 to 80 meters away is the flat land that has been cultivated into farmland.

To the west of Lao Ma Hao is a large alkaline beach with relatively flat terrain. If we want to add a cover, we can only use this alkaline beach.

There are also the same alkaline beaches on the north side, but it is narrower - the cultivated land on the east side gradually expands westward as you go north, causing the north side of Lao Ma Hao to become narrower and narrower.

After the work of making the big broom is finished, let's ask the captain to contract the alkaline beach on the west side.

Anyway, the team can make the decision on land within 50 mu. With Li Long's influence in the team, I think the team will not be unwilling to set aside a 49 mu land from this alkaline beach...

Marking out the land, digging the foundation, and building the sheds were not small projects. Li Long vaguely remembered that his elder brother said that it took the whole team half a year to build the Lao Ma Hao, and the workload was huge.

Of course, there were not many tractors at that time, and there were not as many people in the team as there are now.

Now we have tractors, bulldozers and other things, and Li Long also plans to use bricks instead of earth blocks. Although rolling earth blocks can increase the income of some laborers in the team, to be honest, he thinks that with the current conditions of the team, some people may not look down on such labor work as rolling earth blocks.

If you pay too little, they won’t do it; if you pay too much, it will affect the market.

We'll talk about this later. If bricks are easy to buy, buy them. If they are hard to buy, find someone who is willing to do the job. If Team 4 doesn't like it, will Teams 3 and 2 also not like it?
In fact, expanding the shed mainly involves building a circle of walls. Open sheds are easier to build by separating them with a half-waist wall. If the project is large, it is necessary to build a warm pen for the livestock to use in winter.

It is better to enclose more land now, so that it can be used later. At this stage, no one wants such saline-alkali beaches even if they are given for free. The team is naturally very happy that Li Long is willing to contract them.

It was only after 20 or 30 years that the price of cotton suddenly started to rise. At that time, the technology for growing cotton was relatively mature. Although saline-alkali wasteland could not be used to grow grain, growing cotton could break even in the first year. Only then did saline-alkali wasteland become valuable.

Later, in just a few years, a large area of ​​saline-alkali beach was reclaimed by the fourth team, and the officially recorded and unrecorded land added up to more than 10,000 acres.

Unfortunately, later on, restrictions were imposed on cotton planting. First, half of the cotton fields were left empty, saying it was for crop rotation.

As a result, the soil was only left vacant for a year before the salt and alkali returned and the soil was directly damaged.

Later on, 60% of the land is planted with grain and 40% with cash crops. The land that turns alkaline is used to plant wheat, and even with drip irrigation, the harvest is not good.

If the government did not subsidize cotton, growing cotton on one's own land could basically break even in normal years. I'm afraid everyone would want to quit - no matter what the original intention of the policy was, from the perspective of ordinary people, it is a restriction that prevents you from making money.

Li Long just had so many thoughts in a flash. He didn't think about contracting those saline-alkali beaches at the moment. At the very least, he had to wait until the second round of contracting in the 1990s.

At present, the farming technology is not well developed. It is time-consuming and laborious to transform the saline-alkali beaches, and there is no harvest yet. It is better to wait and see.

He was looking, thinking and planning when Uncle Luo from the Lao Ma hao came out.

Although Uncle Luo is over 50 years old, he has eaten well, slept well, and is in good spirits in the past two years. His hearing is much better than that of his old friends.

He was in the yard when Li Long drove over in a jeep. He heard the noise and thought Li Long was driving in, but after waiting for a while and not seeing him, he walked out.

Seeing Li Long staring at the saline-alkali beach in the west, Uncle Luo came over and asked:
"Xiaolong, what are you looking at? There's nothing growing here, unlike the alkali beach to the east, where some Cynomorium songaricum can grow."

"Uncle Luo, what do you think about me renting this piece of land, building a shed, connecting it to our old stable, and raising more cattle and sheep?"

"Sure!" Uncle Luo got excited when he heard this. "In fact, I've thought about this. You can bring a cart of sugar residue every day, and it doesn't cost much. Why not bring more? We can actually raise more than a hundred sheep in our stable, and there are still a few empty pens. As long as there is enough feed, it will be no problem to raise more cattle and sheep."

"Then Uncle Luo, can you take care of it?" Li Long thought that the problem of sugar residues was easy to solve. Firstly, the sugar factory had not thought about utilizing the sugar residues yet, and secondly, Song Ming must want to make some extra money.

"What's the big deal? It's just herding sheep! Let me tell you, there are quite a few five-guarantee households in the team who envy me. At worst, I can bring them over. It would be nice for us brothers to live here. We'll have company."

"They have nothing to do now, drinking and chatting, would they be willing to work?"

"Why wouldn't you be unwilling? Old Yang, do you remember? Last time you talked about that Zhou Bin, he ran away, and came back after a month - and came to ask about you. Later I found out that he was afraid that you would report him... this old guy!"

Li Long smiled.

"He wants to come too?"

"Yes, he wants to come. Our food is so good, he can eat meat every day, and he has money to spend. He wants to come, but I won't let him." Uncle Luo said, "If you want to, he will come as soon as I ask him. He even said he doesn't want money, he just wants to eat meat every day. He used to have a good life, but now he wants to come."

It seems that Uncle Luo is not content with just raising a few wild boars and deer, and is also thinking about expanding and developing.

It may also be that we are getting used to raising these pigs and deer, and it would be great if we could expand the group.

However, in the current market situation, although the demand for meat is high, the price is very low.

The price of mutton was always lower than that of pork at that time, until around 2000, when it suddenly rose, surpassing pork, and has never fallen since then.

On the contrary, the price of pork has been fluctuating over the years.

The price of beef remained high until a large amount of beef was imported, at which point the price dropped. However, cattle farmers in northern Xinjiang suffered heavy losses, and the state then urgently provided subsidies to recover some of the losses.

Far away.

Since Uncle Luo wanted to raise the dog and there were people to help, Li Long felt that this matter could be carried out.

After October, herders will start to move to other pastures, and a large number of grass-eating cattle and sheep will flow into the market. As long as Li Long stocks up more sugar residue feed and more forage, there will be no problem raising cattle and sheep in winter.

Cows can easily find food to eat, such as wheat straw. Sheep are more selective in what they eat, and prefer to eat forage grasses such as alfalfa.

Of course sugar residue is good for both.

"Then buy some wheat straw and store it during this time. When we get some cows to raise, the wheat straw will be enough to feed them." Li Long thought about it and took out two hundred yuan and gave it to Uncle Luo.

"No, no, how can we use so much? We can buy a stack for ten dollars. Even if we raise ten cows, we can't use five stacks of straw." Uncle Luo only took one hundred and told Li Long that he didn't need to worry about collecting wheat straw.

"I know you have important things to do. The matter of tying the big broom is urgent and cannot be delayed. Just go and do your own thing." Uncle Luo has a broad perspective. He can handle all the matters of the Lao Ma Hao by himself, except for the matters of sugar residue and the contracted land.

Uncle Luo also had his own plans. The money Li Long gave him was for wheat straw, which, after being cut into short pieces with a guillotine and mixed with sugar residue, was the best feed for cattle and sheep. He would go to the wasteland to cut grass when he had nothing to do - the grass in the alkaline beach was not good, but the reeds and thatch growing by the canals at the end of the fields were good fodder for cattle and sheep in winter. These days, Uncle Luo cut grass every day, and dried it on the spot after cutting it. Every two days, he would bring some reed kidneys to collect a bundle of dried grass, pull it back and pile it against the wall in the open space in the yard. At this time, there were already 70 or 80 bundles of grass piled up.

Although there are a lot of sugar residues, they are not only used to feed red deer and roe deer roe, but also wild boars. Therefore, Uncle Luo does not stay in the yard every day. He also arranges things for himself every day.

Uncle Luo has no family, so he arranges work for himself. He works more when he is relaxed and less when he is tired. He is happy and at ease.

Li Long is planning to expand the scale of breeding, which is exactly what Uncle Luo wants. He actually wants to raise more cattle and sheep. After all, one or two is no different, and a group or two is no different. Not only him, but also the five-guarantee households in the team have the same idea.

Who wouldn’t envy him and the life he leads?
After Li Long gave the money, Uncle Luo went to make the arrangements himself.

The team members sold some of their wheat straw, which they mostly took to sell to paper mills, but the purchase price was very cheap. At present, the paper mills have sufficient raw materials, and it is a buyer's market. You have to queue up to sell wheat straw, and the price is not high.

Therefore, some people who were not short of money simply did not sell the grass. They took some of it home to use as firewood, and left some of it on the threshing floor to be exposed to wind and rain. When the grass weathered and rotted the next year, it could be used to cover the threshing floor.

So if Uncle Luo goes to buy, everyone will definitely be willing to sell and will take the initiative to pull it over.

Of course, this deal has to wait until the big broom is finished, and there is no time now.

After Li Long left the old horse house, he returned to the big yard. There was no time today. Sister Yang was taking care of the child and preparing to cook, so she pulled the wooden bed where the child was placed to the kitchen door and cooked while watching.

After Li Long came back, he pulled the two children's wooden beds away from the kitchen door. Although the dinner was light, Li Long thought it would be better for the children to smell less cooking fumes.

When Gu Xiaoxia came back from get off work, Gu Boyuan also walked in.

After entering the door, both of them surrounded the child, and they couldn't get enough of the child.

While eating, Li Long told his family about the big broom.

"Hey, I didn't expect you to do something extraordinary." Gu Boyuan was a little surprised and said with some emotion after hearing what Li Long said:

"In that case, we can do the sweeping job every year."

"Well, the job of carrying handles may gradually disappear in a few years, but I guess this big broom will still be needed every year."

Li Long vaguely remembered that in later times, until a few years ago, some units still issued large bamboo brooms - they were essential for cleaning outdoor areas. Of course, in later times, the sanitation departments purchased the most large brooms.

If the Stipa splendens broom doesn't commit suicide, Li Long won't ask for a high price and will just keep doing this. Before the price of cotton starts to rise, it will at least be a stable way for everyone to make money.

It was icing on the cake for him, but for many people on the team, it was really a timely help.

Of course, it depends on how long the county supply and marketing cooperative can last. He wants to at least get the supply and demand relationship right before the county cooperative is withdrawn or reduced.

Just like the merchants who collect Fritillaria and other Chinese herbal medicines introduced by Chen Hongjun, even if the purchasing station is gone, Fritillaria still needs to be collected.

After dinner, Gu Boyuan went back home humming a song with his hands behind his back. Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia carried the child into the bedroom, one on each side checking to see if the child needed a diaper change.

"Tomorrow I will go to Qingshui River in the morning and Shicheng in the afternoon." Li Long said to Gu Xiaoxia while busying himself, "There is also Achnatherum splendens in Qingshui River. Our team does not have enough grass, so we need to ask them to make some big brooms for us."

"Then why are we going to Shicheng?" Gu Xiaoxia asked while patting the child gently after she tidied him up.

"I want to expand the old horse enclosure and raise some cattle and sheep. Lao Shu Luo also has this idea. He wants to bring several five guards in our team over to work together.

I plan to go to the Shicheng Sugar Factory and talk to Song Ming, the driver, to see if we can bring a truckload of sugar residue to the team every week. That way, we can store more sugar residue, which will make it easier to raise anything later."

"That's great." Gu Xiaoxia said with a smile, "That's great. It seems that our team is just a group of sheep led by Ma Jinbao, right?"

"No, there are two more. Ma Jinbao is the one who grazes sheep and doesn't do farm work. There are a few families who don't raise many sheep, but they do have some." Li Long said, "We'll see later. There's grass and people can raise sheep there. Our team is so big that there will definitely be a lot of sheep."

At the peak of the flock, the fourth team had more than a dozen flocks of 2,000 to 3,000 sheep. At that time, there was a lot of wasteland, so it was easy to graze sheep. Later, the land reclamation led to fewer places for grazing sheep, and the flocks also decreased.

Later, the state provided subsidies for a breeding project, and some people in the team joined forces to build mobile cabins on the edge of the settlement to raise high-quality sheep.

It's just that some people have bad intentions and are trying to get government subsidies by using some shady means. Others are raising sheep legitimately, but they don't take proper protective measures and their sheep are infected with brucellosis.

It's quite troublesome.

The two chatted for a while, and Mingming and Haohao fell asleep quickly. The two watched TV for a while and then fell asleep.

After breakfast the next day, Gu Xiaoxia went to work, while Li Long drove the jeep to Qingshui River.

The wheat harvest time on the Qingshui River side is a little later than that on the plains. The corn cobs on the side of Team 4 are almost ripe, the stalks have begun to turn yellow, and the leaves have begun to dry up, but the corn fields here are still dark green, which is very pleasing to the eye.

When Li Long was driving almost to Qingshuihe Village, he saw some people cutting Stipa sphenanthera on the beaches on both sides of the road. Although there were not many people, they were divided into several groups.

There are many Sphagnum Reticulata grasslands here, covering a large area. Due to the uneven terrain and the presence of many Gobi rocks, the large tracts of wasteland here cannot be reclaimed into arable land. They can only be left to grow red willow, Sphagnum Reticulata or other crops.

Because of this, this place has maintained a semi-deserted landform until later generations and has become a part of the S101 highway tourist area.

Li Long arrived at Meng Hai's house first - mainly because Meng Hai's house was located in the north of the village, and their house was the first one Li Long arrived at when he drove there.

Meng Hai was cutting a pole in the yard. When he saw the jeep, he immediately sat up, dropped the axe and pole in his hands, and walked towards it.

"Hello, Comrade Li Long! I've been waiting for you for a long time. Come in and sit down. Come on, I'll kill you a melon!"

Meng Hai enthusiastically arranged Li Long to sit down in the yard, then brought over a watermelon and placed a small low table in front of Li Long. His wife had already handed him a knife that had been washed with water. Meng Hai "cut" the watermelon in half with one knife. The watermelon looked good, with a sandy flesh and a sweet smell spreading out.

"Eat, it's already getting hot at this time." Meng Hai cut the melon and gave Li Long the largest piece in the middle.

Li Long was so enthusiastic that he felt a little embarrassed.

"You guys are fine, we're in the lower section, it's much hotter there than here." Li Long said as he ate, "What have you been busy with lately?"

"What else can we be busy with? The wheat has been harvested, the corn has not started yet, and it's not time to harvest the sunflowers yet. Look, we have already started to harvest the Achnatherum splendens, and we are just waiting for you."

Meng Hai didn't hide anything at all and spoke directly from his heart:

"Comrade Li Long, I think the work in our team was pretty good last year. How about this year? Is there any work for making big brooms?"

"Hey, yes, yes." Li Long said while eating melons, "Not only that, there are more than last year, and the price has also increased."

"Really?" Meng Hai almost jumped up when he heard this.

Last year, the team made some money from making 1,500 brooms. Although it wasn’t much, to be honest, it was enough to help out in an emergency, and life in winter was obviously much better than in previous years.

Many people asked the question early this year, and Meng Hai was a little anxious.

Here it comes. (End of this chapter)