Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1216 Stillness breeds restlessness - Let's take a stroll around Wucheng - There are tiger skins in the Southern Frontier?

Liu Gaolou brought Li Long two Caterpillar excavators, which were tracked, unlike the wheeled ones Li Long had expected. There were also five used trucks of different models, but Li Long only recognized GAZ trucks. There were also a few cars, making it a long convoy.

Fortunately, it was already winter, and there weren't many people on the streets. Those who saw it just watched the spectacle, and a few followed, but not many.

Excavators looked quite high-end at this time, at least there weren't many in Ma County. Liu Shanmin chose one in relatively good condition; even in winter, the tracks creaked and groaned as they rolled over, giving it a different feel.

"I remember you told me it was wheeled, didn't you?" Li Long asked as he poured tea for Liu Gaolou in the reception room.

"I want one too. Wheeled ones are so fast, these tracked ones have driven me crazy!" Liu Gaolou also had a lot of grievances to share. "My second uncle asked me to explain to you that the wheeled ones were already going through the procedures, but someone else snatched them away."

He said there was no way around it. Although he had made a considerable amount of money over there by selling scarce commodities like sugar and cotton shoes, and had built a network of connections with various people, there were also trading companies from other countries, including Europe, America, and Japan, dealing in these same things.

He was just being careful, otherwise he almost fell into a trap of buying and selling the same vehicle twice. Luckily, the used machinery market there has plenty of stock. Actually, there are still wheeled vehicles available, but their condition isn't great. My second uncle's suggestion is that these two vehicles are in good condition, so you can take them to tide you over until we get better ones.

After Liu Gaolou explained it this way, Li Long understood.

During my last two "inspections," I felt that Liu Gaolou was doing very well there. But now it seems that there is actually competition.

It makes sense, really. Such a large country was already being eyed covetously by Europe and America. Now that it's weak and showing its weaknesses, those hyenas and flies will swarm around it.

Although it would take more than two years before it collapsed, the weakened Red Empire had already been targeted.

“Tell your second uncle that I’m not in a rush and won’t need that many right now. These two will do,” Li Long said. “But we can get some more high-horsepower wheeled tractors later.”

“That stuff isn’t cheap.” Liu Gaolou had recovered by now and said slowly while drinking water, “You have high standards. You don’t want the ordinary ones or the ones with defects. The good ones are all from the Americans; you can’t get them for a low price.”

"It's alright, a high price is fine." Li Long had previously thought about advertising and stocking up on more goods. Now that he had cars and trucks, and high-horsepower wheeled tractors, these things were going to be the mainstream products of the future. Although he had developed them more than ten years ahead of schedule, he was thinking that next year he could expand the tractor-plowing area of ​​his company, and the influence would naturally follow.

We can mention it briefly when advertising later; we'll see if it works out or not.

“Since you’ve said so, then I naturally have no problem with that. I’ll tell my second uncle when I get back,” Liu Gaolou said. “You should also hurry up and get the things I need here.”

I'm just baffled. Yili is such a big place, producing so much leather, yet we can't get these leather coats you've brought over. Wu Yongbo only provides me with high-end leather coats. My second uncle's business targets lower-middle-class people, and now those people are selling off their high-end leather coats at rock-bottom prices. Where would they get the money to buy good ones?

“You can have them produce these over there, just place an order,” Li Long said with a smile. Old Gu had already inquired beforehand and confirmed that they didn’t have these leather coats there, considering them outdated.

"I asked them, and they were so arrogant. They said that these leather coats are too low-end and they don't produce them." Liu Gaolou curled his lip and said, "If they don't care about money, they must be out of their minds."

Li Long didn't say much. In the next ten years, that area will also be a disaster zone, and some factories are even accepting foreign investment or subsidies.

Yeah, anyway, they're not honest.

"Doing business with you is so much more straightforward; I don't have to think about anything else. You accept everything I bring over, and if I need anything, I just make a phone call, and you've got it all ready." Liu Gaolou sighed, "Now I feel like my second uncle was right; doing business with you feels like a completely different kind of luck."

Li Long smiled and said, "Consider it a compliment."

It's not that we're rich and willful; it's mainly that China's machinery and vehicle manufacturing technologies haven't developed yet. Since foreigners have readily available technologies, we can just take them and use them.

He's no longer the young man who used to lead horse-drawn carriages and ride bicycles in the dead of winter. Why not use good things when they're available?

Money is just paper when it's just sitting there, or just numbers in a bank. It only shows its value when it's used.

Now that he had money, Li Long felt he could spout a few famous quotes.

After seeing Liu Gaolou off, he promised to see if he could buy a few more tons of white sugar when he went to the sugar factory the next day. Then Li Long came out to look at the trucks.

Needless to say, Li Long recognized two models of GAZ trucks: the 51 and the 66.

There were two other brands, which he didn't understand and didn't care much about.

The car was indeed in good condition, just as Liu Gaolou had said; it looked very new, and Li Long thought it had been recently repainted.

Does this mean Liu Shanmin has made a significant investment?
Anyway, the car will definitely fetch a good price.

As for excavators, he doesn't understand them; he can just look at them.

Anyway, now the front and back yards of the recycling station are full of cars, making it feel more crowded than before, but also much more impressive.

Two days later, Liu Gaolou left with a convoy carrying sugar. Before leaving, he told Li Long to hurry up and prepare the leather coats, and preferably some cotton shoes to match.

He said that his second uncle can still see people wearing single shoes walking on the streets of Almaty.

It's snowing in Almaty!
Li Long could only call Bai Xiuming and ask him to see if he could send a batch of cotton shoes over, while he himself had to make a trip to Beiting.

Of course, he couldn't just go directly. Li Long hadn't been to Wucheng for quite some time, so this time he planned to go to both Wucheng and Beiting together, visit the people he needed to see, and then stay home and not move around anymore.

Although he's not even thirty years old yet, Li Long has found himself becoming a bit lazy and has been going into the mountains less often.

As for hunting... he's a National People's Congress representative, and he's breaking the law for that... sigh.

There are fewer and fewer circles to connect with.

I talked to Gu Xiaoxia about it that evening, and she naturally had no objections. She knew that Li Long's past development was largely due to the help and guidance of these people.

Although Li Long has now established his own company and has less contact with these people, it's still appropriate to visit them every now and then.

We Han Chinese believe that we should not expect anything in return for doing good deeds, but we should repay the kindness we receive with great generosity.

"Isn't it a bit much to just bring goji berries? I remember we still have some horse meat and intestines at home, let's bring some of those too?" Gu Xiaoxia and Li Long discussed. "The things aren't expensive, but they're local specialties from Yili, so it's a token of our appreciation."

Li Long nodded. When visiting someone, it's the thought that counts, even if the gift is small. It's all about sincerity.

"By the way, I'm planning to send a piece of deer antler from our Old Ma's shop to each household, and also some codonopsis pilosula. That'll be enough to replenish qi," Li Long said after thinking for a moment.

There are now more than twenty red deer in the old horse stable. There used to be quite a few, and every spring Li Long could also get some baby red deer from Halimu and the forestry team, which he would send to the old horse stable to raise.

Every year when harvesting deer antlers, Lao Luo would give some of the antlers to Li Long to sell as wages, and keep the rest for himself.

This thing can be considered a local specialty, right?

All things considered, that's about enough. Anyway, winter is the perfect time for nourishing the body, and Li Long is going to visit mostly middle-aged and elderly people, so these things are just right.

The next day, after breakfast, Li Long drove off in his Volga.

Although he had a lot of things to pack, he was alone, so it wouldn't be a problem for him to just leave.

He first went to Wucheng and met with Professor Wu, Professor Luo, and Professor Yang at the College of Agriculture.

Fortunately, winter has arrived, and all three professors are now teaching students at the college.

As usual, Professor Wu complained about his students, while Professor Luo was alright and asked Li Long about the situation of growing cotton in saline-alkali land.

Professor Yang was the most enthusiastic. After learning that Li Long had planted 100 mu of cotton and had basically achieved a bumper harvest, he asked many questions, which made Li Long feel a little flattered—this shouldn't be, he's a professor, yet his academic attitude is so serious and rigorous! He then explained the specific details of this year's cotton planting. Fortunately, because it was his first year planting, Li Long was genuinely worried about not doing a good job, so he was in the fields at every crucial stage, knowing exactly what to do even if he wasn't actually working.

Because there are other cotton plants for comparison, Li Long can also tell which problems are likely to occur at which stage, which is the first-hand data that Professor Yang most wants to obtain.

He is different from Professor Luo, who can stay in the fields for one or two months at a time to improve the soil.

He also has teaching duties, so even if he takes students to the fields, it will only be for a week or two at most. Staying for half a month is considered very generous.

So although he was a cotton planting expert, he was not as good as Li Long when it came to specific changes in circumstances—after all, the conditions in the fields are ever-changing, and he could not possibly predict and study every single one.

"Comrade Li Long, what you told me is truly important, far more valuable than the medicinal herbs you gave me," Professor Yang said sincerely at the end. "Come visit more often and exchange ideas with us; it will be of great help to the professors here."

The two talked until lunchtime. Professor Yang treated Li Long to a meal at the school cafeteria. Originally, Li Long wanted to treat the professors to a meal out, but they declined, saying that they had classes in the afternoon and needed to do some preparations at noon.

Anyway, the conversation went very well. Professor Wu, Professor Luo, and Professor Yang all expressed their hope that Li Long would come over more often, not to learn, but to exchange ideas.

Li Long went to the jade carving factory again, chatted with Engineer Liu for a while, put down a bag of medicinal herbs, and took away several pieces of raw jade and finished carved Hetian jade products.

The raw jade pieces are not large, but they are all cut materials. Some are used to make bracelets, and the lines are already drawn. Some can be carved into a Buddha or made into hand-held pieces.

Although it's not very big, it's lush and green, and has excellent quality, so even if it's a bit pricey, it's worth buying.

Li Long himself didn't plan to go to Yunnan to collect materials. He was content with buying a few pieces from Engineer Liu every now and then.

He then went to Yu Sufu's place and bought some high-quality jade pebbles from there. Now Li Long's standards have risen, and he no longer insists on top-grade white jade pebbles; ordinary jade pebbles are no longer enough to catch his eye.

Even Yu Sufu complained that Li Long's appetite had grown bigger and bigger; he was no longer the young man who used to come to him with sacks to buy materials.

Li Long also joked:
“Yu Sufu, to be honest, when I first bought your jade pebbles, although they were small, I could find about ten pieces of first-grade white and mutton fat jade in a pile. Now, in this pile of yours, there are only three pieces... You've been lazy.”

Yu Sufu chuckled and started chatting with Li Long about other things.

“In the poplar forests, saxaul and tamarisk forests deep in the desert over there, there are some locals who hunt. I heard they have tiger skins that they’ve kept for decades. Do you want them? If so, I can get them for you.”

"Yes, I'll definitely take it if you can get it!" Li Long hadn't expected Yu Sufu to have such a resource.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. When did the Lop Nur people become known to the public?
In the oases deep in the desert that were not completely buried, there are still people of various ethnic groups left over from the original thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions.

It's just that people outside didn't know about it before because of the inconvenient transportation.

Some ethnic minorities are directly classified as Uyghurs or other ethnic groups, but in fact, their ethnicity is different from that of the larger ethnic minorities.

Some of the thirty-six kingdoms in the Western Regions were destroyed due to the disappearance of oases or war. Kingdoms like Loulan were completely wiped out, but some small tribes survived.

In addition, the Caspian tiger, also known as the northern Xinjiang tiger, was killed by a significant number of old hunters from tribes in the desert poplar forests and saxaul forests.

The profession of hunter does not exist in most parts of northern Xinjiang, but it does exist in southern Xinjiang.

Therefore, it's not unreasonable for Yusufu to have been able to find this channel and resource.

“In the past, there was little contact, and those people didn’t interact much with us outsiders, so they were very careful. Now, in order to make a better life, people from the township and county have come down to help them live a better life. They also want to bring out their things to exchange for some living necessities.”

Li Long understood immediately after Yu Sufu said that.

The saying goes, "To get rich, build roads first." By opening up transportation links between these places and the outside world, people naturally developed the idea of ​​living a better life as their daily interactions increased.

Although it's impossible to build paved roads now, as long as there are roads, people can come and go.

This is a good development strategy.

“Southern Xinjiang isn’t as cold as Northern Xinjiang at this time of year. I’ll go back and check next time. If I can get it, I’ll call you then.” Although Yu Sufu had been in business for a few years, tiger skins were valuable, and he was also quite sensitive about them, so he wouldn’t dare sell them to anyone else.

He still wants to keep his current little stall.

After speaking with Yu Sufu, Li Long went to Beiting City.

However, he didn't go to the TV station or the newspaper office today because he was short on time. He spent the whole afternoon at the supply and marketing cooperative looking for Director Qian, and then he went to see Chen Hongjun and Director Wei.

The main purpose was to catch up with old friends, and also to mention the Jeep incident to Director Qian.

"You can keep driving that car if you want, or do whatever you want with it if you don't. Actually, that car was scrapped more than a year ago when it was registered under the supply and marketing cooperative's name," Director Qian said with a smile. "Use it with confidence."

"The big clean-up you did these past few years has brought honor to our supply and marketing cooperative in the autonomous region. As the main implementer, you've certainly made a contribution."

Li Long understood.

He felt that part of the reason might be that Director Qian and Director Li had gone to Kazakhstan, and he could be considered to have contributed something.

It was possible to proceed so smoothly because it involved both public and private sectors.

He will still drive the jeep. To be frank, the main reason is that he has more cars, and it wouldn't be appropriate to keep the car that is nominally owned by the state supply and marketing cooperative.

But since Director Qian had spoken, he felt relieved.

Chen Hongjun and Li Long recalculated their profit sharing. Although they collected fewer hides this year, they had plenty of medicinal herbs, so Chen Hongjun's purchasing station made a profit of over 150,000 yuan in a year. As agreed, Li Long was to receive a profit of 50,000 yuan.

Compared to what Li Long earned this year, it's insignificant, but for an ordinary person, it's a huge sum of money.

In fact, Old Chen was very satisfied and content.

He and Li Long talked for a long time, and when he treated Li Long to dinner that evening, they were still talking about the purchasing station.

Beiting is, after all, the capital of a prefecture. Although Li Long's purchasing station had attracted many middlemen due to its reputation, Chen Hongjun's purchasing station is still operating on a small scale.

But the variety of goods that can be collected here is vast and diverse. With connections like Jia Tianlong and Zhao Hui, the goods can generally be sold at a higher price. Unlike Li Long, Chen Hongjun doesn't get involved in as much trouble; he simply focuses on managing the purchasing station, patiently and meticulously handling the diverse goods.

So far, the purchasing station has been operating ethically. According to rumors, the industry and commerce department will award Chen Hongjun an outstanding individual business owner plaque at the end of this year.

"It's a kind of honor, so it wasn't in vain that I resigned. You wouldn't believe it, since I resigned, my old colleagues have been looking at me differently, some even seeming condescending," Chen Hongjun said with emotion. "I have money, but I don't feel like I've really gained status. But with this award, I can finally hold my head high again."

"Try to become a member of the National People's Congress or the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference," Li Long said. "Given your current situation, it should be easy to do so. Once you get it, with that title, no one will look down on you."

Chen Hongjun hadn't really thought about it that way; he always felt that he might not be qualified.

But since Li Long brought it up, he felt he could give it a try.

Li Long stayed at a hotel that night. He didn't drink much, but there was no need to drive back, since he had to go to the TV station and the newspaper office the next day.

He prepared some photos and introductory materials, thinking they might come in handy later.

(End of this chapter)