Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Not cheap, but worth it.

Li Long was somewhat familiar with these herdsmen. They used their saddles for quite a long time, and it was normal for them to be used for decades.

The saddle is made of a wooden frame, supplemented by leather, copper, iron and wool fabrics. It is very sturdy and not easy to wear on the horse's back.

The herders would also repair some vulnerable parts themselves, so it was normal for a set of saddles to be used for decades in those days.

Some people's saddles are inherited from generation to generation.

So a complete set of horse harness may be more expensive, but if you consider it over the years, it is actually very cost-effective.

"I want all eight saddles, each with a whip, reins, bridle and pad." Li Long said, "Can you bargain?"

"No bargaining, no bargaining." The old man said with a smile, "It's always this price, the goods are genuine and the price is fair. You can see that they are all made of high-quality leather. Good stuff! Don't worry about it. If you are not satisfied, come and find me! I have been making this saddle for fifty or sixty years, don't worry!"

Then buy it. Eight sets cost nearly 600 yuan, filling Li Long's jeep to the brim.

The old man was very happy. Li Long cleared out all the inventory he had been working on for a long time, and the old man suddenly became motivated again.

Li Long drove away from the store in a jeep, but he noted the location.

When Li Long was looking at the saddles, he also compared them. He found that the saddles made by the old man were of better quality and more comfortable to look at than those in the county store. Both the feel and the materials were different.

He planned to go into the mountains in the afternoon, deliver the saddle set to Halimu, and talk to them at the same time.

If they are in a hurry to get a saddle, then buy both sides. If they are not in a hurry, then it is better to buy this side.

The old man is quite slow in making saddles, because the process is rather complicated, especially the carving of the wooden mould. Handmade work is very slow and one cannot be impatient.

Li Long drove off this road and went to the city center. He found a state-owned canteen and had some mixed noodles. Then he drove west.

When he arrived in Ma County, it was still a little after three or four in the afternoon. He didn't stop and drove straight into the mountains.

Heavy snow covered all the fields. When Li Long passed by Qingshuihe Village, he found that almost no one went out and everyone was staying at home to rest.

There was no one on the red willow beach, but occasionally one could see a gazelle or something flash by and disappear into the woods.

When Li Long drove the jeep to the mountain pass, he found horseshoe prints, but they were relatively few.

Li Long guessed that Bolati and his men probably didn't patrol very often at this time. In the winter, with such thick snow, patrols were prone to accidents.

Unless you live at the mountain pass, it is really dangerous to patrol the forest.

When the jeep arrived at Halimu's winter home, Halimu was feeding the sheep.

Seeing Li Long's jeep, the dogs of Halimu's family were already familiar with it. They ran over and jumped around the jeep, occasionally barking once or twice to express their welcome.

Halimu put down the wooden fork and walked to the jeep, shaking hands with Li Long who got off the jeep.

"I bought eight sets of saddles from Beiting today, as well as reins and whips. Take a look."

As Li Long spoke, he opened the back door of the jeep and took down the saddles one by one.

Halimu immediately walked to the other side and said as he followed the movement:
"So many!"

"Haha, your tribe has so many people, these are definitely not enough."

"Are you really going to give everyone one?" Halimu was also shocked. "It will cost a lot of money!"

"Don't worry, the money from the leather is enough." Li Long said with a smile, "Don't worry about the money. I won't do business at a loss."

"Hahaha." Halimu said with a smile, "We can't let you lose money."

"This saddle is very good!" Halim's wife came out of the house and saw the saddle and the blankets, praising them:

"I think it looks better than what I got yesterday!"

Halimu's wife also had her own horse. Although there was a saddle on the horse's back, the saddle was several decades old and was too worn out to be repaired.

Seeing so many beautiful saddles, she also wanted to have one.

All eight saddles were taken down and piled up at the door of the winter den.

Li Long clapped his hands and said:
"I'll leave it to you. If there are more later, I'll bring them over. I'll try to make sure everyone has a new saddle this winter, including before you move to the next spring."

Li Long felt that he had a new goal.

I only took things from the herdsmen and gave them ordinary food, medicinal herbs and the like. It felt like the value was very unequal.

This saddle is different. It is what Halimu and the others need, and it is also of relatively high value. At least for now, Li Long will feel more balanced.

"Have you eaten? Come on, go inside and have some milk tea first, then I'll cook for you." Halimu said.

"Let's move it into the house first. These saddles can't be left outside." Li Long gestured.

Halimu opened the door of the small room, sorted out the things inside, and then moved the saddles in with Li Long. Halimu's wife was worried that the saddles and the beautiful cushions would be dirty, so she sorted them out for a long time.

Li Long went into the house, drank a bowl of milk tea, and prepared to leave again.

He has been busy with matters related to entering the mountains these past two days. Now that the saddle matters are progressing in an orderly manner and there is no shortage of other things in the mountains, he can go home and rest for a while.

Halimu did not try to keep Li Long. After watching him leave the ravine, Halimu led the horse out, put on the saddle, and took two pairs of saddles that Li Long brought, put them in a bag, tied them on both sides of the horse, and rode to Jiang's house in Yushan.

Yushanjiang was also feeding the cattle and sheep. When he saw Halimu riding over on horseback, he was a little confused.

Halim rode up to him, dismounted, took down the two bags, and said as he untied them:
"Yushanjiang, look, this is what Li Long brought here today."

"Saddle?" Yu Shanjiang guessed what was in the bag.

"Yes, take a look. The things in here are new and better than yesterday's. They are in sets, eight in total. Li Long said that he would try to ensure that everyone in our tribe has a new saddle before the migration."

"Not cheap, right?" Yushanjiang immediately thought of the key point. "There are dozens of people in our tribe, big and small. If everyone has one, how much would it cost? It can't even buy a flock of sheep, right?"

Halimu nodded solemnly, he meant the same thing.

"Li Long always sends us things, helps us fix our water pipes, and will repair our house next year. Now he is also equipping us with saddles. Although we also give him some things, he gives us more in comparison."

Yu Shanjiang was not ignorant of the market conditions outside, but he believed that if he sold these things to other people, the amount he would get in return would definitely not be as much as what Li Long gave him.

And the first thing most people think of when they get what they give them is to lower the price.

This is not the first or second time they have encountered similar things.

"I think we should also think more about how to help Li Long get what he wants." Halimu said.

"Well, we all need to think about it." Yu Shanjiang nodded.

Next, Halimu discussed with Yushanjiang the order of distribution of these saddles.

Li Long's jeep drove out of the ravine where Halimu's winter nest was located. When he was almost at the mountain pass, he was surprised to find that on the eastern hillside, there were people climbing down the snow slope.

What is this person doing in the mountains in the middle of winter?
Li Long looked at the man's attire and thought he didn't look like a woodcutter, nor could he be picking herbs in the middle of winter. He didn't carry a gun and didn't look like a hunter.

What is this man doing in the mountains? Isn't he worried about being eaten by wild animals?

Li Long slowed down the jeep. Although he was wary of strangers, he still had basic moral principles. If this person wanted to leave the mountain, he could give him a free ride.

Seeing that Li Long's car slowed down, the man also sped up, and simply sat on the car and slid down the hillside, then trotted across the frozen stream and came to the jeep.

Li Long got off the car and saw that the man was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties. He had a short beard, but his eyebrows were covered with white hair - frost.

"Hello, young man, do you come to the mountains often?" the man asked Li Long.

Li Long saw that he was carrying a large travel bag and did not look like a local farmer or herdsman. His Mandarin was also quite standard, so he nodded and said yes.

"Then do you know if there are any mountains nearby that look like steamed buns?" The man was very excited after hearing this and asked immediately.

Li Long immediately understood that this was another treasure hunter.

Don't these people know that they can come in summer? If you can't find a suitable shelter in the mountains in the winter, you will freeze to death!
Li Long shook his head and said:

"There are no round mountains in this area. There are only mountain ridges here. I have never seen a single mountain."

The man immediately showed a disappointed expression.

"Are you going to leave the mountain? If you do, I'll take you there."

"No, thank you. I need to look for more." The man said, and then asked, "Do you have any food in the car, or matches or something? I'm running low on supplies, and I want to replenish them - I'll buy them with money."

Li Long did have some food reserves in his car, mainly sesame cakes, egg cakes, etc. Li Long thought he could help as much as he could, so he took these things out.

The man was very happy. He took out his wallet, counted out twenty yuan and handed it to Li Long.

Li Long didn't hesitate and took out a few more packs of matches and gave them to the man.

The man took down his travel bag and put the supplies in it, leaving behind a bag of egg cake, which he tore open and began to eat.

He was obviously starving.

Li Long just discovered that there was a gun handle in this man’s travel bag - this man was carrying a gun.

A sawn-off shotgun—only I didn’t carry it with me; I put it in a big travel bag.

Li Long thought it would be better to stay away from these people, so he drove away in his jeep.

But the doubts in my heart still remain: Is there really a treasure in this mountain? (End of this chapter)