Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Li Long and Meng Hai talked about the matter for a while, then took a jeep to He Yuqing's home and told Captain He about the matter.

He Yuqing was not at home, and his wife said he was working in the fields. Meng Hai knew where He Yuqing's land was, so he asked Li Long to take him to look for it.

When they arrived at the cornfield, Meng Hai got out of the car and shouted loudly. He Yuqing came out of the field. Li Long could see that he was not working either. There was not much work to do in the cornfield at this time, so he was cutting grass.

He Yuqing, who was holding an armful of grass, was somewhat surprised to see Li Long. He walked quickly to the edge of the field and asked:
"Comrade Li Long, you are here. What's the matter?"

"Comrade Li said that this year we have more broom-making jobs than last year and they are more expensive than last year. Isn't that why he is here to talk to you about this?"

"What? He's coming down? That's great! We were just talking about this a few days ago. It's already later than last year, so why hasn't he come yet?"

He Yuqing was a little excited. He didn't want the half bundle of grass he had brought with him anymore. He threw it directly to the edge of the field, picked up the sickle and pushed the bicycle, and followed Li Long and the others back to the team.

After returning to the yard, He Yuqing asked about the situation in detail. Li Long repeated the quality standards, time and price. He Yuqing smiled even more:

"Okay, okay, that's great. Right now is my free time, and I can make some money while I can, that's great! I'll go inform the team now, Comrade Li, don't rush to leave, come home and eat later."

"No need to stay at your house. When I came out, my family had already slaughtered a chicken. We can eat at my house later. Now you talk to Comrade Li again. I'm going to find Chen Laosi now. He should be fishing today. I'll ask him to buy some fish and bring them back to cook together."

Meng Hai left in a hurry after saying this.

"This old Meng!" He Yuqing shook his head, "He always grabs... Comrade Li Long, can you come to my house first next time? This is a dereliction of duty for me as the team leader."

Watching their conversation, Li Long wanted to laugh, but when he heard He Yuqing say this, Li Long hurriedly said, "Go and notify everyone first."

He Yuqing's wife brought a bowl of tea and a stool to Li Long. Li Long took a sip and realized that honey was added to the water.

He sat and drank honey water while He Yuqing went into the house to inform the whole team. As soon as the loud speaker sounded and the matter was announced, Li Long could see that the neighbors next door and all around came out of their houses at once.

Although they didn't come here, they knew it was real when they saw the jeep in front of the He family's house. Then some people went back to their houses, while some people directly rode bicycles or harnessed horse-drawn or donkey-drawn carts and set out.

Impatient people are everywhere.

It's normal to think about it. Last year, the state commune gave the task more than half a month earlier than this year. When Li Long went to the mountains to cut grass for Halimu and his family, the herders helped Li Long cut the poles back.

The notice was given late this year, so the pole can only be cut by big brother Li Jianguo and his team. Of course, it is also true that the team members can earn more money.

Making big brooms and reed handles is a universal benefit. It not only allows you to make some money, but also allows the whole village, including Qingshuihe Village, to make some money. This is very good.

After He Yuqing finished the notification, he came out of the house, picked up a stool, sat opposite Li Long and started chatting.

Not long after, Meng Hai hurried back, with a fishy smell on his body.

He Yuqing asked him:
"Is the fish ready?"

"It's done. Chen Laosi caught two or three kilograms. I asked him to send them to my home. I took a look and found that the fish are quite fat, just right." Meng Hai took a sip of the tea handed to him by He Yuqing's wife and continued:

"When I came back, I met several people who were out harvesting sedge. I told them that the quality had to be high this year, otherwise they wouldn't buy it."

"I also said it on the loudspeaker." He Yuqing said proudly, "Did you hear it?"

"I heard it, but I guess no one cares. They just want to get it fixed first."

"Quality is really critical." Li Long thought he should show off this time, but this time it was not like gossiping at home, but it served as a warning.

He solemnly repeated what he had heard from Li Xiangqian about the autonomous region leaders using a broom, and concluded by saying:
"Our quality is our reputation. If the broom is not tied well this time, we may not be able to do this job in the future. If not, the money will have to be earned by outsiders. Do you think it's a loss?"

"That would be a loss!" This time there were many brooms and the price was high, so the family could at least make a few hundred yuan. If this income was gone, many expenses at home would have to be tightened, and it would not be difficult to make ends meet, but at least it would not get better.

Therefore, both He Yuqing and Meng Hai are aware of the importance of this.

"Let's talk to each family this afternoon. This matter must be taken seriously. Although the needles can be returned if the quality is not good, it will not affect the progress." Meng Hai is a man of a slightly impatient and straightforward temperament. He said at the time that the matter should be resolved that same day.

He Yuqing naturally had no objection. It was said that every household could make a big broom, but the quality was really uneven. If I didn't remind them, maybe some people would really not take it seriously.

After chatting for a while, Meng Hai stood up and asked Li Long and He Yuqing to come to his house for dinner.

Li Long did not refuse, and they went to Meng Hai's house for dinner together.

The rice smelled delicious, which reminded Li Long that two families in the team seemed to have planted rice this year.

The 4th team has a long history of growing rice, but after the household contract responsibility system was implemented two years ago, many people stopped growing rice because it was difficult to grow. This year, only two families are still growing rice.

Li Long vaguely remembered that other brigades in his commune still planted it in his previous life, but around 2,000 years ago, they basically stopped planting it.

The main reason is that it is too troublesome, and the price is not high, so the economic benefits are not good.

Later on, occasionally someone would grow a few plots of rice under the small lake, which added up to less than five acres, and they were just for their own consumption.

Later on, no one planted it anymore - this thing is too dependent on water.

So he planned to buy some new rice to store when the team harvested the rice this year. There was no vacuum sealer at the moment, but the rice was really delicious at this time.

Rice, a pot of stewed chicken, and a pot of stewed fish - a mixture of mountain loaches and small whitebait, the taste is really delicious.

The three of them sat at one table, while Meng Hai's wife and children ate in the kitchen. Meng Hai offered the wine, but Li Long refused.

"I have to go to Shicheng to do some work in the afternoon, so I can't drink." Li Long was telling the truth.

"Okay, let's have a good drink when we have time to stay here." Meng Hai put away the wine. "I said this last time, but I still can't drink this time."

"Well, you know, my children are still young, so I must go home early after I finish my work." Li Long said while eating.

He Yuqing smiled and said:

"Then you can't take the wine away, Old Meng. I can drink it, too."

"What do you want to drink? We have something to do in the afternoon, so we have to go and inform everyone." Meng Hai said clearly.

He Yuqing smiled bitterly, picked up a piece of chicken and said, "Then I can eat it."

Everyone laughed.

After dinner, Li Long drove away in a hurry in his jeep. Waving goodbye to Li Long, He Yuqing said to Meng Hai:

"Lao Meng, do you think we should give Comrade Li Long something to express our gratitude? He has sent money to our team."

"I've thought about this, but I can't figure it out. You said he has a car, so he must be rich, and he doesn't mind receiving money. The only thing special about our team is the honey. We gave it to him last year, and we gave it to him again this year when he had a baby. What else is there?"

Meng Hai was actually thinking about this question.

"Let's think about it slowly. We have to finish this before the big broom is finished, otherwise we will all be in trouble."

Li Long drove to the Wuyi Highway, then turned west and drove to Shicheng.

On the way, Li Long encountered some trucks carrying wheat straw and some trucks carrying goods. When passing the Ma River Bridge, he was surprised to find that there were people walking back and forth on the stone beach by the river, most likely picking up jade.

It seems that people who have access to information resources always make more money. Although there is jade here, and good jade is also valuable, Li Long knows that 99% of the people in May County are not aware of the jade here, and the remaining few who know that there is jade here don't know how to distinguish it.

He drove to the old street first, intending to visit his sister Li Xia first, and then go to the sugar factory when he was about to get off work. If Song Ming was free, he could take a truckload of sugar residue to the fourth team today. If Song Ming was not free, then they would make a deal and deliver the residue about once a week in the future, so that Song Ming could earn money and have a relatively stable extra income, and the old horse shop would also have a stable source of feed, without having to worry about running out of feed when it was time to harvest the cattle and sheep.

The old street is still bustling and orderly. The management staff patrols from time to time, scolds those who are not honest, and asks those who set up stalls without keeping to their proper places to move their stalls.

Li Long parked the jeep in the big yard and walked around the old street.

The variety of things for sale became more and more abundant. Li Long bought a basket of eggs and two chickens, and went to his sister Li Xia's house.

When he passed by the food factory's stall, there were a lot of people gathered there. Chen Xingbang was cutting meat for someone, so Li Long didn't go over to disturb him.

When they arrived at Li Xia's yard, Li Long saw that the door was half open. He went in and took a look, feeling a little surprised.

Some renovations have been made in the yard. A new earthen stove has been built in the middle of the flower wall, with a large pot on top, covered with a lid.

Vegetables have been planted in the garden. The east side of the garden is separated from the vegetable field and a pigpen is built. At this time, Li Long can hear the pigs grunting inside.

It turned out that her sister Li Xia was idle at home and Hong Qin had gone to school, so she started feeding the pigs.

Next to the north wall and flower wall of the southeast pigpen, there are two bags of bran and other feed. This is probably what they usually feed the pigs.

Li Xia heard the noise in the house, opened the door and came out. When she saw Li Long, she said with some surprise:

"Xiaolong, why are you here? Come in quickly, I'll cut some melon for you!"

Li Long carried the eggs and the tied chicken into the house. He put the two things in the kitchen and looked at the furnishings in the house.

There were some vegetables picked from the vegetable garden in the kitchen, such as peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, etc.; rice and flour were placed on the brick table in the kitchen, and a few watermelons were placed in the corner.

Li Xia put the watermelon on the small table, then went to get a kitchen knife, rinsed it with water, and came over to cut the watermelon. While cutting, she asked:

"Are you here to do some business this time? How are the two children? Is Xiaoxia at work? Are your parents at home okay?..."

A series of questions came to Li Long, and before he could answer, Li Xia had already cut the melon, picked out the largest piece and handed it to him.

"Everything is fine at home. Dad has returned to his hometown. He said he wants to rebuild the family tree. He has to go back and put our names, including the baby's name, on the list."

"How can that be on the list?" Li Xia shook her head and said, "Your names can be on the list, but how can our names as women be on the list?"

"Dad said to go find An Min, who is in charge of compiling the genealogy. Then we can write it down quietly so no one will know." Li Long told them what they had discussed at the time. "Of course it would be best if it could be written down, but there is nothing we can do if it cannot be written down."

"Yeah, that's right. What about your two children? How's your eldest brother doing?"

"My elder brother went to the mountains to cut poles today. I found another job and can earn some money. My two children are fine now. An elder sister is helping to take care of them. Xiaoxia has already gone to work." Li Long talked about the situation while eating watermelon, and then asked:
"Hongqin is also going to school?"

"Yes." Li Xia took a piece of melon and ate it while smiling, saying, "I got a connection with the food factory. I'm in the first grade and come back every day to tell you about new things. Also, my household registration has been registered, so I'll be a local from now on."

Although the northern Xinjiang is remote, at least life is much better for Li Xia's family now than before. In addition, their parents, brothers and sisters are all here, so they regard this place as their home.

"I'm glad you've settled down. I see you raised pigs?" Li Long finished eating a piece of melon, picked up another one and asked while eating.

At that time, there were no seedless watermelons, so he spat the seeds onto the table and gathered them into a small pile. This was a family habit, and we would save the seeds of everything so that we wouldn't have to worry about planting them later.

"Look how carefully you eat it, not much water is left, but Hongqin's face and clothes are all stained with watermelon." Li Xia said, comparing, "Oh, I just raised two piglets, so they might have eaten it."

"You're still comparing me to Hongqin. How old am I? How old is she?" Li Long smiled. "It's fine once she's older."

He knew that he was still a child in the eyes of his brothers and sisters.

After eating watermelon, the two men came to the yard, and Li Long went to see the two pigs.

This pig was caught late and now weighs less than 40 kilograms. It looks very lively. When it hears the noise, it immediately comes to the door and hums to beg for food.

"I'm going to the sugar factory to discuss the sugar residue. I'll send you some when the time comes, so you can save feed for your pigs." Li Long thought for a moment and said, "I'll give you ten bags, that should be enough."

"Enough, enough!" Li Xia also knew about sugar residues. In fact, she wanted to go and collect sugar residues when she was free, but her family was short of a cart. She heard that others could collect hundreds of kilograms of sugar residues a day, which could feed pigs for many days and save a lot of money!

After the matter was settled, Li Long did not stay long. He said goodbye to Li Xia and went to the sugar factory.

At the sugar factory, Song Ming had just unloaded a truckload of sugar residue when he met Li Long.

Li Long got off the jeep and told Song Ming about the incident.

"You mean we have to send a truckload of sugar residue every week?" Song Ming was really happy to hear that. "That's no problem! I can send the sugar residue over when I get off work..."

"Five loads this month. Today is the first load," Li Long took out his wallet and counted out a hundred and handed it to Song Ming, "Can you put ten sacks today? My sister is also raising pigs in the old street. I'll send some over."

"Okay, no problem." Song Ming counted the money and waved it at Li Long, "It's a lot."

"It's okay, the extra is yours. I always need to add sacks, and I'm not here to deliver the sugar residue, so you have to take care of it. The extra is considered as the money."

Li Long was open-minded, so Song Ming was naturally happy as well, thinking that he had to do the next job well.

He asked Li Long to wait here while he drove into the factory, asked the warehouse manager for ten sacks, and started filling the sacks with sugar residue from where they were stored.

There is a special person to unload the sugar residue, so he doesn't need to do any work, he just watches and fills the tank.

Song Ming often asked the warehouse manager for sacks, who was reluctant at first, but then Chief Hu said hello and let him take them. Anyway, it was reported and there was a limit every month, so he didn't have to worry about it.

If this thing were really sold, it would be worth some money, but not that much.

When the last truck of sugar residue was full, the remaining sugar residue was not enough to fill a truck, and it was almost time to get off work. Song Ming asked them to put the sugar residue in the pool and wait for them to pick it up tomorrow. He drove the truck and pulled the sugar residue out from the back door. Seeing this, Li Long drove his car in front to lead the way. By the time they arrived at Li Xia's yard, the truck was basically dry.

Li Long parked the jeep outside the yard to make room for the truck, and he got out of the jeep and quickly opened the gate. Song Ming knew what to do as soon as he saw the situation, and he adjusted the truck to back into the yard.

Li Xia hurried out when she heard the noise, and when she saw Li Long and the truck, she knew what was going on.

After the truck stopped, Li Long went up and pulled the sacks down. These things couldn't be thrown away, so Song Ming helped to put them against the wall on the feed side. After all ten sacks were put away, Li Xia also cut some watermelon and took it out.

"Sister, you need to clear out an area for the sugar residue tomorrow morning and dry it in the sun. You can't put all of it in a sack, or it will get rotten."

"Okay, I understand." Li Xia nodded.

After eating the melon, Li Long and his friends left the yard and drove towards Ma County.

All the sugar residues were finally unloaded to Uncle Luo. After Li Long and his team arrived, they called a few strong laborers to help unload the truck. Uncle Luo specially cleared a place to unload the sugar residues and pile them up, preparing to turn them over and dry them in the next few days.

When Li Long returned to the city, he wanted to treat Song Ming to a meal, but Song Ming was anxious to go home and declined. He had made some money in advance today and wanted to share it with his family when he got home.

Thinking about how I suddenly had so much extra money this month, I was so excited that I no longer felt hungry.

After all, not everyone has the opportunity to suddenly earn an extra 100 yuan a month when their salary is around 50 yuan.

Li Long could understand Song Ming's feelings, so he didn't keep him any longer and drove his jeep back to the yard.

Sister Yang did leave some food for him, so Li Long simply washed himself and started eating.

I have done a lot of work today. I am tired and hungry. I will eat more. (End of this chapter)