Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1204 A Little Child Matures Early
"Should we get a tandoor oven here?" Nathan asked Harim like a little adult. "Also, I see we don't have any grain or milk at home. What are we going to do for meals?"

"Don't worry about that for now. Just put your things away with your grandma. You and Sasken are in that room over there, your grandma is in this room, and this is my and your mom's room. Put your things away, and we'll prepare the things you mentioned later."

Harim was surprised that Nathan had thought about so much after not seeing him for several months, so he patted Nathan's head and said.

Things are a bit easier on the Yushan River side. Yerjiang and Ghana are both grown up and know what they should do; they've already started packing their things.

While the children were packing their things, Halim and Yushanjiang arrived at the purchasing station and found Li Long.

Li Long and Liang Shuangcheng were brushing sheep hides. Among the hides Liu Gaolou had brought over were those of gazelles, antelopes, and some red deer.

The items are a mixed bag and not very clean. To sell them for a good price, you have to smooth the brush, brush off the grease, and clean away the bloodstains and other dirt.

At least it looks better.

"Li Long, we want to discuss something with you," Yu Shanjiang said. "It's about the children going to school."

Li Long clapped his hands, put down his tools, and led Halimu and Yushanjiang into the reception room.

“My wife has taken care of all the school registration procedures for the four kids.” Li Long had told them this beforehand. “Nasen and Sasken are in the second primary school, in fourth grade, while Ghana and Yerjan are in the second middle school, in the first year of junior high. The teaching here is different from that at the pastoral team and Kazakhstan Middle School, so it might be a bit difficult at first.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Halim said with a smile.

Since you've already made up your mind, don't worry about any difficulties. If there are difficulties, just overcome them.

“Here’s what I’m thinking: since you’ll be back in the mountains after you finish cutting grass, it won’t be until mid-September anyway, and you’ll all be here during that time. If they fall behind, I’ll find someone to tutor them,” Li Long continued. “That way, you can make a decision while you’re down the mountain.”

"Okay, I'll do whatever you say." Yu Shanjiang trusted Li Long completely in this regard, and he continued:

“The two of us came here to give you the things we brought from the mountains, so that we can have the money to buy a house.”

The items were all on the tractor, so Li Long followed them to take a look.

“I shot a bear here. As for the gall bladder, I dipped it in boiling water as you said, take a look. The bear skin is here too, but there are a few bullet holes in it, I don’t know how much it’s worth,” Yu Shanjiang said. “I also have about ten wild goat skins.”

Oh, and I also got three pieces of jade. Two of them aren't very big, but they look quite pretty. One of them is alright, about ten kilograms..."

He was talking as he took things off the tractor.

In the past few months, both he and Harim have been putting in a lot of effort to hunt and find things that can be sold.

"Oh, right, I also hunted a red deer. Look, the antlers and deer penis are still here." Yu Shanjiang finally took out the deer antlers that had been dried in the shade. This pair of antlers was quite large, with three branches on each branch, weighing two or three kilograms.

All that aside, Li Long's eyes widened immediately when he saw the three pieces of jade that Yushanjiang had brought down.

Three pieces of jade, two of which are small with thick outer skin, revealing one-third to one-half of the jade flesh. The jade flesh looks very delicate and the quality of the jade is very good.

Even more eye-catching was the large piece, about the size of a soccer ball, irregularly round, with almost no outer skin, very translucent, smooth, and glossy, a vibrant green that rivaled the color of jade.

Li Long wasn't exactly an amateur, but it looked remarkably like jade—of course, he knew it definitely wasn't jade, there were no jade mines in the Tianshan Mountains, but it was undeniably beautiful.

The items brought out by Yushanjiang were eye-catching, and those brought by Halimu were not bad either.

A snow leopard pelt cleared all the debts, and there was also a palm-sized gold nugget and two pieces of good quality jade without any black spots.

There were also a dozen or so pieces of leather of various colors attached, which would be quite valuable if sold.

Li Long said with a smile:

"With all the things you brought, besides buying your yard, you can buy quite a lot of other things. Once you get into university, for example, if you get into Wucheng, you can buy a house there."

“We’ll leave that to you. We’ll bring the stuff over, and the rest is up to you,” Yu Shanjiang said with a smile. “We bring some things over every year, you just need to help us sell them and take care of the things that need to be done.”

"Dorsen, in your Chinese, I'm asking you."

“Yes, yes, please.” Halim said with a smile, “Alright, you can put these things away now. We need to go back and help them set up the tandoor oven, and we also need to pack our luggage. To be honest, Nathan and Sasken really like this yard, and they’re very happy right now.”

“Me too,” Yushanjiang said. “We need to finish up in this yard today, then we’ll have to hurry up and go to the mountains to cut grass.”

“These things are worth about five thousand or more. After deducting the cost of buying the yard, I’ll give each of you four thousand more,” Li Long said.

The two refused, and after much back and forth, Li Long insisted on giving each of them two thousand yuan, determined to make them accept it no matter what.

After all, the forestry team has been disbanded, and the animal husbandry team is almost finished as well. Both teams will definitely need money for resettlement.

The important matter of cutting grass was paramount, so they didn't linger. Li Long didn't try to stop them either; they had plenty of time to get together.

The next day, Halimu and Yushanjiang went into the mountains, leaving their families behind.

After having breakfast, Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia and then drove his GAZ truck to Halim's house to pick up Nas, Sasken, and his grandmother. He then went to Yushanjiang's yard to pick up his wife, Ghana, and Yerjiang, and they drove around the county.

“Look, there’s naan for sale here. One naan costs three cents,” Li Long said. “You guys usually make your own naan, no problem. If you don’t have time to make your own, you can come here to buy naan.”

The children all wrote it down.

Li Long got off the bus and bought twenty naan breads, dividing them into two portions for the two families to take as their food for the next few days.

"This is where they sell milk. They sell milk in bulk. Look at those grapes, one grape is a kilogram, and a kilogram of milk is fifty cents."

"That's really expensive!" Ghana complained.

"There's nothing we can do about it. There are only a few places selling milk in the county, so it's more expensive," Li Long explained after hearing this.

Halim and Yushanjiang left some money for their families when they left, but not much, which is why Ghana said that.

They are not young anymore, and they already know that if things continue like this, they probably won't have much money left to spend.

Although my father will be back in winter, will the family's money last until then?

Somewhat worried.

Nathan and Sasken didn't think much of it; they had almost no money, so they didn't think about it that much.

Li Long then got off, took two plastic cages, filled each with three kilograms of milk, and put them in the car to hand over to Ghana and Nathan respectively.

The milk sellers were very happy because Li Long had almost sold out the rest of the milk.

"Get it heated up as soon as you get back, otherwise the milk will spoil easily in the heat," Li Long said. "From now on, you don't need to pump so much every day. One or two kilograms a day is enough for the day's consumption."

Then he drove to the market and bought meat for two families—not too much, just one leg of lamb for each family, enough for three meals over the next two days.

They brought some food with them when they moved here, including dried meat and onions, but there was no fresh meat.

Nathan and the others didn't understand. Ghana and Yerjan kept making excuses, so Li Long said:
“Your father gave me the things, I exchanged them for money, and then I bought things for you. It’s all with your own money, so you don’t need to worry.”

The children were skeptical, but they didn't say anything more.

Besides meat, Li Long also bought some vegetables, such as persimmons, chili peppers, and onions, filling most of a sack.

Then I drove them home.

After delivering Nathan and his team first, and unloading the goods at their destination, Li Long asked Nathan:
"Nathan, can you ride a bicycle?"

"Yes, some classmates from the pastoral team have them, and we take turns riding them."

“Me too! Me too!” Sasken raised his hand as well.

Li Long then looked at Ghana and Yerjan.

The two older children weren't so flamboyant; they just nodded.

"Alright. Let's go put our things down first."

Upon arriving at Yushanjiang's courtyard, Li Long put down his things and let Yushanjiang's wife cook first. Then, Li Long took the four children to the hardware and electrical appliance store. By this time, bicycles could be bought without ration coupons, so Li Long's family bought two bicycles. Halim's family had two 28-inch bicycles, while Yushanjiang's family had one 26-inch and one 28-inch bicycle—Ghana was a girl, so the 26-inch would be more convenient for her to ride.

Nathan and Sasken were overjoyed, while Ghana and Yerjan initially hesitated to accept.

“Take it. Don’t worry, even if you don’t take it now, your father will make you accept it when he comes back in a few days,” Li Long said with a smile. “It’s more convenient to ride a bicycle in the county. Otherwise, if you just walk, you’ll have to walk a lot every day.”

Ghana and Yerjan then pushed their bikes out and excitedly rode them home.

Li Long drove with Nathan and his family to their home first. In front of the children, he gave Nathan's grandmother a thousand yuan—the kind with ten-yuan notes.

He knew some Kazakh and told his grandmother that this was the money from selling the things Halim brought back from the mountains. At first, his grandmother refused to accept it, feeling that Li Long had already bought so many things and shouldn't take any more money.

Li Long insisted on giving it to her, so his grandmother accepted it.

The same thing happened when they went to Yushanjiang's house. They left a thousand yuan for Yushanjiang's wife, and the two children saw it. Although they were a little numb, they were relieved.

With this money, at least we won't have to worry about making a living from now on—at the prices at the time, this money will last us a long time.

After Gu Xiaoxia got off work that evening, Li Long told her about these things in the house.

Gu Xiaoxia arranged the child's schooling, and after thinking for a moment, she said:
"How about we buy two TVs for both families? Their children are in school now, leaving only one person at home – one is an elderly person, and the other is a woman. They don't know any of the neighbors, and they have nothing to do at home. Why not buy a radio and a TV? That way, they'll have something to do for entertainment."

Li Long thought this suggestion was good, and he said with a smile, "You've thought of everything."

"It's not that I'm being too thoughtful. You've done all the important stuff. I'm just checking for omissions and filling in the gaps," Gu Xiaoxia said with a smile. "After all, I've been a teacher before, so I still have some brains."

The two of them burst into laughter.

With Minghao still in the village, things are much easier for the two of them, and they've been quite relaxed lately. They've been married for several years and are quite compatible; they enjoy things together and have a mutual understanding.

The next day, Gu Xiaoxia complained to Li Long that he was comfortable because he didn't have to go to work and could just sleep when he was tired.

But I still have to go to work, and I feel resentful seeing Li Long idle all day.

Li Long gently coaxed and persuaded his wife until she finally calmed down.

Li Long went to buy two color TVs in the morning. He didn't need to buy a radio, as both stores had one. After bringing the TVs home, he didn't need to install an antenna; the 101 antenna he bought was enough to receive the TV, although for now it was just a large circular signal, and he could only watch it at night.

The two families were already a bit confused. They decided to go ahead and buy it, but they could only wait until Halim and Yushanjiang returned before discussing the matter further.

After getting this done, Li Long breathed a sigh of relief. Now, he'd have to see how the two children fared after starting school. If they really couldn't keep up, then they'd have to hire a tutor.

This is almost unimaginable in rural areas, but it's quite normal in county towns.

At this time, many teachers also tutored students, some for money and some for free.

In mid-August, Meng Hai and his team completed their task of building fifty livestock sheds. Since there were no new projects at the moment, they took their bulldozers and trucks and went directly into the mountains to repair the roads.

When Meng Hai came to see Li Long, he mentioned this matter and also said that after the Animal Husbandry Bureau completed the inspection, they settled the account very quickly.

“I’ve inquired, and usually the project payment is settled by the end of the year. We settle accounts relatively quickly, as soon as the work is finished. This is because the Livestock Bureau bought the vehicles from you at a very low price, so they settle accounts faster.”

Li Long will just listen to what Meng Hai has to say.

"The project cost is 50,000 yuan. After deducting costs and labor, there's a surplus of 21,000 yuan. You take 60%, which is 12,600 yuan. Here it is." Meng Hai took out the money. "Comrade Li Long, I really didn't expect that we'd already be a company..."

Li Long didn't refuse, put the money away, and said that he hadn't received any more projects yet.

“It’s alright, let’s fix the road first. Now that we’re a construction company, the work is a big deal. Anyway, there’s not much big work in the village for the time being, so my family can manage.” Meng Hai had already planned ahead. “If we fix the road as soon as possible, it’ll be easier for us to take on road repair jobs later.”

Li Long nodded, "That makes sense."

“Besides, with bulldozers and trucks, the 75 tractors won’t need to be driven into the mountains, which will speed up the road construction,” Meng Hai said. “I think the construction team is a bit restless; they need to be allowed to settle down in the mountains.”

"Hey, Lao Meng, you're really thinking ahead," Li Long chuckled. "You handle it. By the way, how long do you plan to repair it this time?"

“Let’s work on it for a month first,” Meng Hai said. “We’ll see if there are any other jobs after that. If not, we’ll work on it for a month, take a few days off, and then continue. If there are other jobs, we’ll see how things go.”

Li Long nodded, counted out five thousand yuan from the ten thousand yuan and said:

"Here's your wages first. This is an internal project, so let's not talk about bonuses or anything like that. This is just for your food expenses."

“Alright, I won’t stand on ceremony.” Meng Hai nodded. “The guys on the construction team are really excited right now. Let them rest for a couple of days, and then we’ll head into the mountains.”

Li Long thought this was good and convenient.

When Meng Hai came, he still brought eggs and peeled small fish.

Although he was so tired of eating fish recently, Li Long didn't mind the small fish because it was a good thing.

Meng Hai took a lot. According to him, after the shed was built, the young and strong men of the construction team got a bit too free and somehow agreed to go fishing in the river by the village. They caught quite a lot and gave some to each household—Li Long naturally got the most.

The peeled ones weighed about ten kilograms! They were still alive this morning!
Li Long had no choice but to distribute them—there were so many, he couldn't even fry them all. He sent some to Halim and Yushanjiang, some to Li Xiangqian, some to Director Wang (Gu Xiaoxia's superior), and then some to the family members of Team Four and Old Ma's group.

Everyone should have something to eat—Sun Jiaqiang and Liang Shuangcheng have some too.

Next, Li Long called Wang Mingjun and Zhao Zongming, telling them to get ready, as they would definitely be making big brooms again this year.

Both sides readily agreed, saying they were already making preparations.

In preparation, naturally, one would cut down stalks and gather reeds.

Meng Hai didn't have time for this this year. He told Li Long when he came over, and Li Long told him to go back and tell He Yuqing that if the people in Qingshuihe still wanted to make big brooms, then He Yuqing should organize it.

Meng Hai said at the time that He Yuqing would definitely be happy to do this.

Li Long agreed. Like the Fourth Team, Qingshuihe Village had resources of reeds, and there were many places nearby where the stalks could be cut. With such good conditions, it was natural to do it—after all, it could earn a lot of money every year.

As for the fourth team, the eldest brother definitely wouldn't have time to deal with making big brooms anymore, since he had to plow the fields on one hand and manage the cotton on the other.

By August, the cotton bolls had grown quite large, and at that point, the yield could be roughly estimated.

Not only cotton, but also the goji berries planted on the dozens of acres of saline-alkali land that were originally reclaimed have a 60% survival rate, and most of them are now bearing fruit.

Some people in the team picked them and ate them, like snacks. But since they were grown by themselves and there wasn't much work to do at the moment, Li Jianguo asked Li Junhai to take some people to pick them.

Picking goji berries is delicate work, but it's not bad to eat them as you pick them. However, when the news reached Li Long's ears, it became a joke—because after only three days of picking, Li Junhai and the others all had nosebleeds.

Maybe I ate too much and couldn't take it anymore.

After that, they all obediently picked the fruit and ate it occasionally.

Although each goji berry plant doesn't have many berries, the plot is large, and in total, we've picked several dozen kilograms of fresh ones, and we haven't finished picking them yet.

In the Li family's courtyard, reed mats were laid out, and bright red goji berries were drying on them, looking quite beautiful.

Du Chunfang held a long reed in her hand, basking in the sun while chasing away the birds—don't think the birds don't eat this, they definitely will.

Of course, you also have to chase away the dogs and cats; they won't eat, though, because they're probably going to run off and cause trouble.

Another thing is to find something to do.

Li Long thought that once the goji berries were dried, he would send some to his friends. After all, they were his own produce, and they didn't need to be fumigated with sulfur; they were truly natural and of good quality.

He now goes to the cotton field almost every day to check on it. Although the cotton bolls have formed and grown quite large, to be honest, it's not time to let his guard down yet. Red spider mites and bollworms can still proliferate and reduce cotton yields.

The situation was better for the fourth team. In late August, Li Long received news from Wang Mingjun that the cotton plants of another company in the northern corps had been damaged by hail. The cotton plants, which were growing so well, were reduced to bare stalks by a hailstorm.

A total crop failure!
That's terrible!
(End of this chapter)