Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1203 Nathan and Sasken liked the yard.
The four teams' fishing frenzy during the flood in Dongdagou lasted for almost a week before the water receded.

The floodwaters actually receded five days later, but after the flood receded, the villagers ran around picking up the fish that were still in the puddles where the water had settled.

At this point, one net would be enough, so Li Juan and Li Qiang continued to take Mingming and Haohao everywhere. There were many people in Dongdagou, so they would go there to fish in the irrigation ditch and catch quite a few fish every day.

Of course, most of the fish died and rotted in the ditch.

This flood affected a very large area. Although the three reservoirs upstream of the Dongdagou River (upper, middle, and lower reaches) are not currently used for fish farming, just imagine how many wild fish live in these reservoirs.

Even if only a quarter or even a fifth escaped with the flood, most of them went into the Dahai Lake, and only a tenth died, that's still an astronomical number when counted in individuals.

It must weigh at least several tons.

Anyway, whenever Li Long went to check on the cotton fields, he always felt that there was a fishy smell in the air.

The situation at Xiaohaizi was better; the flood only lasted for three days before the water level receded, and Li Long and the others lowered the sluice gate.

The water in the small lake must be kept at a certain level, otherwise, large fish cannot be raised. He didn't want to wait until thirty or forty years later, when only palm-sized crucian carp remained in the lake.

It tastes good, but it doesn't look good.

When looking at fish, you should look at the larger, wild carp; they're so beautiful.

Li Long only followed for two days before stopping, mainly because there were children everywhere along the water's edge and in the canal, both big and small. Mingming Haohao was also following Li Qiang around.

He, as an adult, felt embarrassed to go fishing with the children; it required a great deal of patience.

Anyway, the children always bring back a lot of fish every time they come back, enough to eat.

In the past, Li Long had always envied the villages north of Dahai Lake. Every few years when Dahai Lake was drained, it was a time of celebration for those villages, as fish were brought home by tractors.

Now that the water in Dongdagou is flowing, the main fish-catching team is Team Four.

He vaguely remembered that the three reservoirs behind it had also been breached by floods. At that time, the reservoirs had been contracted out for fish farming, resulting in huge losses.

Li Long didn't know why these people didn't learn from their mistakes and build two more sluice gates, or make the north dam line of the reservoir more robust.

He was just thinking about it.

Zhao Hui came over once recently, but this time he didn't bring any crab or shrimp larvae. It was mainly because the weather was too hot, and these things would easily die on the way. According to Zhao Hui, it would be best to bring them over in the spring.

He came to take away the hides that Liu Gaolou had brought over the first two times. Now, Li Long's place is considered his largest source of raw materials, so when he came, at Li Long's request, he brought him a large package containing three layers of netting.

In his previous life, Li Long only started using this around 2010-2011—meaning it was around the time online shopping began to flourish. Back then, you could only buy three-layer mesh netting in northern Xinjiang, and even that wasn't as good as what people were talking about.

Although Li Long doesn't have much time to fish anymore, he's a man, whether he does it or not is another matter, but he still wants to get the equipment he needs.

Be prepared.

This large package contains three or more layers of netting, each representing two, three, four, five, or six fingers, enough for Li Long to wreak havoc for a while.

Li Long used to think that this internet was something that wouldn't come out until the next century, but after asking Zhao Hui and Huang Lei, he found out that people were already using it.

Alas, northern Xinjiang is still lagging behind in this regard; without this industry, we can only wait.

This time, Zhao Hui took away a large number of hides and left Li Long a check for nearly a million.

Both sides were very happy.

Liu Gaolou arrived the day after Zhao Hui left. Li Long found it quite amusing; basically, Zhao Hui would take the leather away first, and then Liu Gaolou would come over.

Liu Gaolou brought about the same things as last time. It was too hot, and he felt that Ma County wasn't as comfortable as Yili, so he had his things unloaded, added some white sugar, and left in a hurry after settling accounts with Li Long.

The two sides cooperated very well. They didn't need much external assistance; they could just raise any needs directly, and each other would try their best to cooperate or meet them.

For example, Liu Gaolou told Li Long again that he hoped to take some cement back with him next time he came over, and Li Long immediately called Liu Jianhua to ask for cement.

Cement prices have gone up, but the 20 yuan increase per ton is nothing to Li Long.

In late July, when the wheat season was almost over, Li Jianguo and Li Junfeng drove the Kangmain back to Li Long's yard. Li Jianguo was planning to build a tall shed so that when winter came, they could put the Kangmain and the high-horsepower tractor inside.

Thinking back to when I first bought my small four-wheeled tractor, I even had a special canopy built for it. Now, this more expensive thing deserves the same treatment.

This matter was unanimously agreed upon by Li Junfeng, Li Junxian, and Chen Qianjin, and they planned to start construction around the fall of the year.

There's no need to ask anyone else. With the Li family members right now, as long as they have enough materials, they can build the carport in just a few days.

During dinner, Li Jianguo said to Li Long with emotion:
"Kamai is really convenient. As long as you are careful, the speed of harvesting wheat is unbeatable - people say that we harvest it cleanly and that no wheat is missed, and they say they will come to us again next year."

“That’s right. If you provide good service, people will naturally recognize you.” Li Long himself does this kind of work and knows that nowadays, as long as you put a little effort into service and quality, even if you’re not very polite, the people will still recognize you.

Many business owners fail to see this point at this stage; they make money, but they don't expand their market much.

"This wheat season, the two Kangmai harvested about 3,000 mu of wheat, which brought in more than 20,000 yuan. After deducting costs, they still had nearly 20,000 yuan left," Li Jianguo said.

"Not many people knew about this year. A lot of wheat had already been harvested, and after seeing the wheat we harvested, they said they regretted it and would come back to us next year."

Based on this calculation, at least 5,000 mu of land can be harvested next year.

Two Combiland vehicles cost $10,000. The official price is less than $40,000, while the black market price is around $60,000 to $70,000.

It takes about two years to recoup the cost, and the rest is pure profit.

"Sigh, some people are still asking if sunflowers can be harvested in Kangmaiyin. I said no, only wheat. Wouldn't it be great if we could harvest sunflowers, wheat, and corn all at once?"

Li Long said with a smile:

"It will happen, but it will take a few years."

Li Jianguo didn't say much. In any case, their current life was better than they could have imagined before; it was excellent.

Li Jianguo intended to give all 20,000 yuan to Li Long, but Li Long refused, taking only 10,000 yuan. After all, Li Junfeng still needed to share the money, plus there were expenses for gas and other things.

He and his older brother split the profits equally, whether it was from the high-horsepower tractor or the Commein engine. He didn't do any manual labor anyway; he just collected his share of the profits after recouping his costs.

These four machines should last for at least a decade or more, providing a long-term and stable source of income.

Although the Kangmaiyin tractor was shut down and put away after maintenance, the high-powered tractor continued to plow the fields. After the wheat harvest, the fields all needed to be plowed. Some people preferred Chen Qianjin to plow their fields, while others hoped Li Jianguo would do it, as they were worried that a novice like him wouldn't be able to plow properly.

Chen Qianjin wasn't picky; if the team couldn't plow it, he would go to the next team or even further away.

The reputation of the high-horsepower tractor has spread. There are only two in the whole township, and even in the whole county if you don't count the production and construction corps.

It's just that the Ma County TV station isn't broadcasting any news right now, otherwise it would definitely be on TV.

Although he didn't appear on television, he did appear in the state daily newspaper—Jiang Zhiyu frequently visited this area during the summer harvest, not only interviewing Li Jianguo and his colleagues but also taking several photos.

Li Long felt that she was planning to turn agricultural mechanization into an annual series, otherwise why would she be so fixated on his side?

Li Junxian's combine harvester harvested nearly 2,000 mu of wheat this year, and although he didn't earn a lot, he still made a considerable amount.

The main reason is that there are now more harvesters available, and many households have their own, so they don't need others'. He only got one after harvesting the wheat from the fourth team, the third team, and Liang Donglou's team.

Liang Wenyu didn't move his combine harvester; he focused his main attention on the Dongfanghong 75 tractor—after the wheat harvest, the fields needed to be plowed. The tractor that the Li family had brought to their team was considered a new machine, and many people were willing to use it.

Plowing the land earns more money than harvesting wheat, so Chen Qianjin is very proactive in driving his high-horsepower tractor. To date, he has plowed nearly four thousand mu of land and is still continuing.

Li Jianguo estimates that his main task in August will also be plowing the fields.

Although high-horsepower tractors are expensive, and the plowing costs are far from covering the expenses, they are quite confident considering that even more land will be plowed in the fall and wheat will be sown.

Li Long didn't care about much else; he just paid attention to the car's condition, since ordinary people couldn't fix it.

Fortunately, he remembered that the Shicheng Tractor Factory had imported high-horsepower tractors before. If any problems arose, he could take them there for repairs or ask their technicians to come over.

They would probably be very willing to try out different models of high-horsepower tractors, after all, Shicheng Tractor Factory can't just be content with producing and selling only small-horsepower four-wheel tractors.

In the machinery factories of northern Xinjiang, who doesn't dream of owning a high-horsepower tractor?

Mingming and Haohao have been out fishing with Li Qiang these past few days, and they've gotten so tanned they look like charcoal. Like other cities on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains, Ma County has extremely strong ultraviolet radiation, making it very easy to get tanned, but difficult to regain one's fair complexion.

However, the two children are quite resilient. They run around in the hot sun every day and their skin doesn't peel. On the contrary, they seem to be in much better spirits.

Li Long didn't interfere much; with Li Juan and Li Qiang taking care of things, he really didn't need to worry too much.

There were no changes on the fourth team's side, so Li Long went to check on Xiaohaizi.

After the floodwaters receded, he didn't find any crabs yet, and he didn't know if they were scared away by the flood or washed away, so he planned to come back and check again after a while.

Li Long drove to Qingshuihe to check on the situation at Meng Hai's construction site.

Unlike the grasslands I had seen before, the current site of the livestock sheds has twenty or thirty sheds neatly arranged, along with simple rooms.

Meng Hai's loud voice was exceptionally clear amidst the roar of trucks and bulldozers. However, Li Long could tell that his voice had recovered somewhat after shouting "splits," and it had become hoarse. If this continued, Meng Hai's voice would probably be completely gone by the time the project was finished.

"Hey, Comrade Li Long, you're here?" Meng Hai quickly spotted Li Long's car and strode over to greet him. "My hands are dirty, so I won't shake your hand."

"How's the work going?" Li Long asked, pointing to the sheds. "Are they all up to standard?"

"It's all up to standard. As soon as one building is completed, the township and the animal husbandry bureau send people over to inspect it. There aren't many hassles, which is great."

Meng Hai was in high spirits and pointed to the construction still underway ahead, saying:

"We've already completed the project about ten days ahead of schedule. At this rate, it should be finished by mid-August. By the way, the Animal Husbandry Bureau has allocated half of the material costs to us, so at least we don't need to advance too much money. You know, to be honest, we don't have much money."

"Not bad, not bad." Li Long walked up to a pen and looked at its condition. The outer wall was one and a half bricks high, with the warm pen and the open pen separated by a brick wall. The roof was made of a wooden frame, covered with wooden planks, and then another layer of bricks.

The enclosure looked quite exquisite and was rather large. There were many people watching nearby, I don't know if they were curious about the enclosure or looking forward to moving in.

"By the way, what did you do with the construction team that was giving you trouble?" Li Long asked, remembering something.

"Hehe, I found some local herders and went over there to cause trouble using the methods they suggested. As a result, those ethnic minorities got drunk and went on a rampage, burning down the timber materials that the construction team had piled up."

"Huh?" Li Long was a little surprised. Had things gotten this big? "Was anyone hurt?"

"No, no, the ethnic minority people were so frightened when the fire started and rushed into the mountains overnight. They still haven't found anyone. The construction team can only accept their bad luck. That was several thousand yuan worth of timber. The loss was too great. The boss had to make up for it out of his own pocket. Although the project continued, it was financially devastated."

Meng Hai looked smug, but Li Long didn't think much of it.

If you can manage the first day of the month, you have to think about what will happen to the fifteenth day.

Li Long wasn't a saint and wouldn't judge the right or wrong of the matter. He could tell that Meng Hai was enjoying being a contractor, and considering that the current project would end in August, it seemed he'd have to look for other projects for him.

"By the way, since you're all here, what about the wheat at home?" Li Long asked.

“Hey, that little bit of wheat, we didn’t even have to lift a finger, the team finished it all,” Meng Hai said. “We have a combine harvester at home, and my wife can work too. We also have a tractor, so hauling wheat is very convenient.”

Not many families in the team own tractors. If they use our tractor, they'll help us with the work—and I don't want the tractor's money. Most other families are in a similar situation; they help each other out, at most contributing a little money.

Qingshuihe Village has a small land area, so the wheat yield is small, but they can still manage to keep up with the workload.

Li Long was relieved.

Meng Hai and the others were very busy, so Li Long watched for a while and then joined them for a meal at the construction site.

The meals on the construction site are very simple. Lunch is usually rice and vegetables. The main problem is that making noodles is too troublesome, so rice and vegetables or steamed buns and vegetables are simpler.

The two dishes, cabbage and shredded potatoes, were both stir-fried, just like the dishes that were commonly criticized by cotton pickers in later generations.

It's not exactly bland and watery, but it's definitely not very oily.

Li Long didn't complain. After eating, he privately told Meng Hai that the construction site meals should have some meat, even fatty slices, so that the workers would have some oil in their stomachs, otherwise they wouldn't have the energy to work.

Meng Hai agreed.

After returning home, Li Long went to the supply and marketing cooperative and chatted with Li Xiangqian for a while.

He gave Li Xiangqian two fish he caught during the flood a few days ago, one a carp and the other a grass carp. Li Xiangqian was quite happy—each one weighed five or six kilograms, quite large fish indeed.

So he came empty-handed, which was quite natural for him.

Li Xiangqian was originally wiping his Volga in the yard. His was a luxury model, which looked quite nice.

Seeing Li Long approaching, Li Xiangqian finished up, put the towel in the car, and went into the office to chat with Li Long.

"The broom-making work will definitely start in early September. I estimate that the workload will be even greater than last year, so you need to be prepared," Li Xiangqian said to Li Long after sitting down. "I believe in your abilities. I'll say it again: quality must be guaranteed. By the way, the price this year might be a little higher than last year. There's no way around it; prices are rising these days."

Yes, prices have already started to rise, and the emphasis on a soft landing for the economy in the coming years is precisely because prices have risen relatively quickly in recent years.

Inflation, I suppose.

Li Long agreed; this was a job he absolutely had to do. He even planned to start his own cooperative to take over the broom-making work should the supply and marketing cooperative ever cease operations.

After all, things are different now than in the last life. The brooms have already opened up sales channels in some provinces in the country, and the market has expanded. If the government stops doing this, it is normal for private companies to occupy the market gap.

Then he asked about the project.

“It’s almost autumn, what kind of projects could there be?” Li Xiangqian shook his head. “I’ll try to find out for you. Even if there are, they’ll only be small, temporary projects.”

"I'm not afraid of small projects, as long as they can train the team," Li Long said.

Meng Hai and his team have only just managed to escape their makeshift operation. As long as there are projects to work on, they're fine with it.

Li Longgang had only been settled for two days when Halimu and his men came down from the mountains.

They came down to cut grass earlier this year, and one important thing they did was to get Nathan, Sasken, Yerjiang, and Ghana in school.

Yushanjiang also came down, entrusting all his cattle and sheep to Talihar's family.

After Harim and his group took the small four-wheeled vehicle stored by Li Long, they went to the herding team's post to pick up the mother and child, and then went to the courtyard next to the No. 2 Primary School.

According to Harim, Nathan and Sasken were extremely satisfied with the yard—although it wasn't as big as the ranch's, it was fully equipped, had running water, and was clean and tidy.

The two children were naturally happy to attend school in the county!
By the way, Gu Xiaoxia has already taken care of the school enrollment procedures.

P.S.: If you won the monthly pass prize, hurry up and join the group and contact the operations team. Everyone should check their own monthly pass commemorative album, which has the monthly pass number. There is a separate section for the October winners list. Check it yourself, just in case you won!
Thank you to the generous donors like "Shiwuciren" and others, and thank you everyone for your subscriptions, monthly tickets, and recommendation votes.

I'm asking for your monthly votes again, you guys are awesome!
(End of this chapter)