Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1231 The leader is a sensible person; there's progress on this matter!

After finishing his call with Secretary Zhang, Li Long knew that all he could do was wait.

Fortunately, Halim and Yushanjiang are supportive and understanding of him, and the local cultural environment is better, so he won't be labeled just because he analyzes the ethnic unity policy.

The remaining question is where this rumor originated and how it spread. Li Long wanted to investigate, but he wasn't a professional in this field and didn't know where to begin.

After thinking it over, Li Long decided that it would be better to start with the acquisition station.

There weren't many people outside the purchasing station at the moment. Since December began, ordinary people have been staying home quite a bit. It's freezing cold; unless absolutely necessary, isn't it more comfortable to stay indoors?

When I really have to go out, I usually just go straight to buy what I need or do what I need to do and then go home.

After all, the outdoor temperature is currently as low as minus thirty degrees Celsius, which can freeze a person to the bone in no time.

Therefore, only a few middlemen can still persist in going to various places to buy goods and resell them for money.

Li Qingxia found it quite comfortable here, warming herself by the fire with a few potatoes under the stove; soon the aroma of them charring filled the air. When no one was around, she would take one out, peel it, and eat it slowly—it was delicious!

The only people who can still come now are Fan Mingcheng and a few others. They have cars and can drive quite far to collect things.

When Li Long arrived at the purchasing station, Fan Mingcheng and a few others were chatting and warming themselves by the fire in the yard. Their expressions changed when they saw Li Long.

Li Long didn't waste any more words with them and asked:

"When you went out to collect things recently, did you hear any rumors about me?"

Middlemen have access to many people and can obtain a lot of information. These people are quick-witted and their ability to gather information is always better than Li Long's alone.

Fan Mingcheng hesitated for a moment, and then the person next to him said:
"I've heard that you're not united... This kind of thing is spreading quite widely."

Hearing the conversation outside, Li Qingxia, who was inside the counter, immediately asked:

"Xiao Long, what's up?"

"Dad, it's nothing. It's just that someone is spreading rumors about me. It'll all blow over in a few days."

Although Li Qingxia was very worried, she knew it wasn't appropriate to discuss it in detail with so many people around. In fact, Li Long hadn't told his father or his older brother about this, for fear of worrying his family.

"Do you know where this rumor came from?" Li Long asked.

This person was unfamiliar; he hadn't seen him many times.

“Liangzhou households,” the man said matter-of-factly. “There’s a village over there with people of all ethnicities. I heard about it from some of them when I went there to collect rapeseed.”

"What exactly did they say?" Li Long asked. "Could you tell me?"

"Why can't I talk about it?" the man said with a smile. "The family I went into who collects rapeseed had guests, probably neighbors, and they were talking about this."

They were talking about a person in our county who received national recognition for outstanding contributions to ethnic unity, but this person isn't as helpful as before; he doesn't assist his paired-up household as much as he used to.

“When I was weighing the rapeseed with the host, I asked them if they knew what those young men had done. They said they didn’t know, so I told them that those young men had taken knives and robbed the students. They then fell silent.”

"Thanks." Li Long didn't expect this person to explain and ask a question in his place, so he immediately thanked the other party.

"No need, no need. To be honest, after asking them, I could tell from their expressions that it wouldn't be very useful. These people, well, there are good ones and bad ones. Some are reasonable, some are not, and they easily follow the crowd." The person said, "So this matter... just like you said, let it fade away slowly, otherwise there's not much else we can do."

"May I ask your surname?" Li Long asked. "And how should I address you?"

“My name is Zhu Yuzhang, from Tougong Township,” the man, who was in his thirties, said with a smile. “I know your older brother.”

Li Long laughed; his older brother really had a wide circle of friends.

"Actually, you can let everyone know about this. Although some people might think that it's better to ignore something like this and avoid trouble. But we all know that you're honest in your business dealings, so most of the dealers who know about it, like myself, are willing to help explain things to you."

Zhu Yuzhang also gave Li Long some advice: "Most people in the village don't know the specifics. If you explain the reasons to them, most of them will listen."

"Thank you very much." Li Long was genuinely grateful to this person, who had given him a good idea. "I would also like to ask you to help me find out the source of this rumor. I don't think this matter is that simple."

After all, I only arrested two thugs who robbed students, and I didn't expect to be labeled like this. I feel there's something wrong with this.

"Yes, I understand. My daughter is in middle school," Zhu Yuzhang said with a smile. "When faced with something like this, I think I feel the same way you do."

"Xiao Long, what's wrong? Why did you run into thugs again?" Li Qingxia asked.

"Your grandfather doesn't know?" Zhu Yuzhang asked curiously.

"I don't know, I haven't told you yet. I originally thought it was nothing serious, but I didn't expect the whole county to know about it." Li Long smiled bitterly.

“What you did is a good thing, you shouldn’t be afraid of others finding out,” Fan Mingcheng said. “I agreed to this. I encountered it once before, but I didn’t pay attention at the time because the person didn’t name names, so I didn’t ask too many questions.”

I only found out it was about you after chatting with Lao Zhu for a bit... I'll definitely explain things to you if we run into each other again."

"Okay, okay, thanks in advance." Li Long said, then went behind the counter to explain the matter to his father.

After hearing about this, Li Qingxia said bitterly:
"That little brat, what a bastard! I felt something was off that day... If I run into him again next time I pick him up, I'll give him a good beating!"

“We can’t find them, they’ve all been arrested.” Li Long said with a smile, “Don’t worry, Dad, the whole bunch have been arrested.”

"That's alright." Li Qingxia nodded. "This matter... might calm down for a while, but in two or three years Qiangqiang will be going to high school, so we still need to be careful."

Li Long nodded. This kind of thing is hard to eradicate, and it will likely lead to other forms of extortion and bullying in the future.

However, he couldn't think about too many things; he wanted to deal with the immediate problem first.

For the next few days, Li Long stayed at the purchasing station. Most of the middlemen knew him, and Li Long told them about the matter, asking them to help investigate the source of the rumor.

The source is hard to trace, so it's best to ask around and find out where you heard it from.

When Gu Xiaoxia returned home that evening, she told Li Long some good news.

"Your article has started playing on the radio. It's really well written! Our bureau chief said it's very righteous and powerful, and he really didn't expect it to be yours."

She also said, "Your article is very targeted. Some of the current ethnic issues arose from this. When we talk about ethnic unity, we also need to talk about the law; we can't just ignore the law!"

Li Long laughed when he heard his wife say that.

See? There are still many discerning people. Of course, another reason is that Ma County itself has a larger Han Chinese population, which gives it a natural advantage in this regard.

That's why Li Long was able to be so bold as to say those words.

If it were somewhere else, he might not dare to say these words openly.

Two days later, Ma Xiaoyan called to tell Li Long that the article they wrote had been published in the Beiting Daily, but not in the Autonomous Region Daily. The editor there said it was too sensitive to publish in the Autonomous Region Daily.

“What’s so sensitive about it? It’s just that I’m afraid of causing some people to misunderstand.” Ma Xiaoyan’s tone was full of resentment. “Some people are just afraid of everything. I wasn’t very interested in this before, after all, there’s the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission.”

But this incident served as a wake-up call for me. We've been a bit too lenient and biased in our reporting on some issues. So I thought this article should have been published in the regional daily newspaper to serve as a warning to some people, but unfortunately…”

“It’s alright, we can take things one step at a time,” Li Long said with a smile. “It can be published in the state newspaper, which at least shows that our viewpoint is recognized within our state.”

"Yes, the newspaper called specifically to say that our article is excellent. They originally intended to have a major discussion about it, but because they have a meeting coming up soon, they've temporarily put it on hold, though it's already been listed as a plan." "That's good, that's good. These kinds of things should be discussed in a big way," Li Long said with a smile. "I'm relieved to see it this way."

"As for the rumors targeting you, I have reported them to the leadership. The propaganda department will issue a special notice on this matter, requiring all townships to conduct a thorough investigation and curb this unhealthy trend."

Our leaders said, "You are a model of ethnic unity in our county, and we absolutely cannot allow anyone to smear you!"

Although Ma Xiaoyan didn't continue, Li Long understood that this was a struggle, and the higher-ups attached great importance to it. It was a matter of stance and position, and he had to make his position clear.

Li Long immediately felt motivated and confident.

Ma Xiaoyan said she would deliver the newspaper to Li Long in the afternoon, but Li Long said it wasn't necessary, he could get it from his side.

The main reason is that his wife, Gu Xiaoxia, has a subscription to the Beiting Daily at her workplace. After Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia about this, Gu Xiaoxia said she would keep an eye on the newspaper every day and bring it back when it came out.

Sure enough, Gu Xiaoxia brought the newspaper back with her when she came back for lunch at noon.

To Li Long's surprise, the article was placed on the front page, showing that the newspaper really paid attention to it.

“Our colleagues were all very surprised. They never expected you to be able to write, let alone write so skillfully! If you hadn’t put me as the first author, some people would have thought you were just benefiting from Director Ma’s position,” Gu Xiaoxia said.

"Hey, that's amazing! Xiaofang, did you see that? Your Uncle Li can not only make money, but he can also write articles!" Sister Yang looked at the newspaper again and again, and said to Han Fang, "You should learn from your uncle and your aunt."

Logically, if Li Long is called "uncle," then Gu Xiaoxia should be called "aunt." However, when Sister Yang and Han Fang met them, they weren't married yet, so they simply called them "uncle" and "aunt," which made it seem more intimate.

Han Fang looked at Li Long with admiration, then at the newspaper. She remembered that a Chinese teacher at school had written a short piece in the supplement of the Beiting Daily, several years ago. The teacher would occasionally take it out and read it to everyone, and he was so proud of himself.

Uncle Li wrote such a long piece!
The newspaper was finally delivered to Li Long; it had passed through his father, Li Qingxia, before reaching him.

Li Qingxia's biggest regret is that none of his children went to school or university.

Originally, the eldest son, Li Jianguo, was the most promising, but due to family difficulties, he ruined his own chances.

I never expected my youngest son to be able to write articles that get published in the newspaper. Is he benefiting from the magic of the Wenquxing (a Chinese electronic dictionary)?

Li Long glanced at the manuscript. The main content was what he had said, but Ma Xiaoyan had straightened it out from beginning to end, making it easier to read and less colloquial.

Hmm, it seems I'm good at expressing my opinions, but not so good at actually writing articles.

He wasn't stupid; with his level of education, if he actually wrote an article, it would basically be like a stone sinking into the sea.

Li Long was unaware that once this article was published, it would not only be seen by people in Changji Prefecture, but also by some people outside the prefecture.

Especially since this is about ethnic unity, some unit leaders, after seeing it, directly asked the person in charge of ethnic unity affairs to come and see it.

This quickly sparked a small-scale discussion.

However, this was nothing to Li Long, who was determined to get to the root of the problem and change things as much as he could.

Therefore, the more discussion it sparks, the better.

The day after the article was published, I received a call from Beijing. It was Secretary Zhang Haiyang calling.

"The leader is very interested in your point of view and knows that it has already been published. Regarding the proposal you mentioned, the leader said to proceed as you wish."

As someone working at the grassroots level, you're familiar with the local situation, and your ability to offer such a perspective demonstrates a very accurate understanding of your responsibilities and role. Having a certain status and position doesn't mean you can only focus on making money and enjoying yourself; you must shoulder corresponding social responsibilities, and you've done this very well, unlike some others. The leadership said you've set a good example for them.

The leader also asked, "Besides these and your purchasing station, what else do you plan to do?"

Li Long was thrilled to receive such high praise from his superior!

"I...I'm still running the cooperative." Li Long then explained the details of the village's cooperative to Secretary Zhang.

"Start cooperatives? Haven't most cooperatives already been dissolved?"

"That's right, we're running a primary cooperative," Li Long explained earnestly. "In the past, cooperatives transitioned from primary to advanced levels, and then they became people's communes."

The people's communes were dissolved in 1982 and 1983 and replaced by townships. This cooperative was a mutual aid organization for villagers; they farmed together, agreed on shares, and distributed dividends at the end of the year. Because our village had a lot of land, we set up this to save manpower, avoid wasting agricultural machinery, and also increase enthusiasm.

The success of this cooperative is largely due to his personal charisma. It's unlikely that someone else could have achieved the same result.

However, he certainly couldn't say that.

Secretary Zhang asked about some details, and after learning from Li Long that the cooperative did not violate any laws or regulations, he said he would report to his superiors.

After hanging up the phone, Li Long finally felt completely relieved. The matter was essentially settled, and he no longer had to worry about official matters. Even if some people opposed it privately, it could be due to differences in stance, interests, or personal motives.

Anyway, he felt that he had no ulterior motives in this matter.

Since Secretary Zhang had said so, Li Long began to refine his proposal, compiling the data and writing it according to the requirements. All that was left was to wait for the meeting.

To Li Long's surprise, the seemingly insignificant move he made at the purchasing station actually worked.

Two days later, Zhu Yuzhang found Li Long and said that he had discovered what might be the root of the rumors.

“After listening to you last time, I went around Liangzhou Hu, collecting things and asking around. Finally, I found out from a family that a relative from southern Xinjiang said those things after hearing about what you did.”

However, that relative has already left our county and returned to southern Xinjiang. It's said that before he went back, he visited many families in his village, and that's when the rumor started spreading.

Li Long nodded; this basically matched his guess.

Did that family mention where in southern Xinjiang their relatives were from?

"No, he himself doesn't know. He said that he hasn't been in contact with that relative for a long time. It's a relative from the previous generation, like the cousins ​​we talk about here."

That person approached us first, and anyway, some of the things that person said weren't very pleasant. He said that in some parts of southern Xinjiang, the regulations are more relaxed, unlike in northern Xinjiang where they are very strict.

“This person is definitely suspicious!” Li Long blurted out. “Oh, it’s too late. Otherwise, if we had arrested him and interrogated him, we would have found out that he is definitely suspicious.”

"Then let's investigate in the southern border regions." Zhu Yuzhang also felt that this person's words were problematic and too arrogant.

“It’s hard to investigate. Maybe they’re not even related to this person, just using an imposter. Or maybe they never even went back to Southern Xinjiang and it’s just an excuse.” Li Long shook his head and said, “Alright, knowing the source makes things easier.”

In fact, once the daily newspaper was published and the radio broadcast it, those rumors were debunked on their own and spread much less.

It's just a pity that the culprit wasn't caught.

We'll just have to wait and see. But there are plenty of bad apples like this; we'll run into them eventually.

That was the end of that matter. After thanking Zhu Yuzhang, Li Long went back to continue working on his proposal.

Recently, Ma Xiaoyan has been calling Li Long from time to time, mainly because after the article was published in the newspaper, people have been calling frequently to discuss it with their publicity team.

People from the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission also came over, and even asked Li Long to give some lessons to some staff members and ethnic and religious personnel, but Li Long refused.

He was afraid that he would get too emotional during class and cause trouble.

He said his views were all in the draft, and the rest should be left to the professionals.

(End of this chapter)