Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1233 Even High-Horsepower Tractors Are in Demand
This matter concluded with the above statements: "We need unity that distinguishes right from wrong, not unity that is all smiles and harmony; we need unity that is based on mutual respect and love, not unity based on wishful thinking; we need unity among all ethnic groups, not unity among a few or even one particular ethnic group."

Li Long learned from Li Xiangqian that his and Ma Xiaoyan's article was later reprinted by the Autonomous Region Daily, which gave it a high evaluation, but this evaluation was only circulated in a small circle and was not made public.

In Li Xiangqian's words, leaders still need to be mindful of their influence.

Li Long didn't think much of it, as long as they stopped conducting those unnecessary inspections.

"Of course he can't come. The leader of the four people who came to inspect was the one who tried to hide your order, so he was immediately suspended. The other three also received criticism and education. Anyway, things won't be easy for them afterwards."

This is what Li Xiangqian said; Li Long thinks he must have gotten the information from someone else.

To Li Long's surprise, his purchasing station gradually became bustling during the dead of winter.

Many middlemen come here, they may not bring much, but they will chat for a few minutes, and some will give Li Long a thumbs up when they leave.

Li Long was somewhat surprised. In his view, normally, many ordinary people don't actually care about this; they are more concerned about how to improve their lives.

I didn't expect so many people to take the time to come and see me and show their support.

It's clear that Li Qingxia's father quite likes this atmosphere. After all, there are fewer people in winter, and it's not very interesting for him to stay here. Now, quite a few people chat here every day, talking about all sorts of things, which is better for Li Qingxia than staying at home.

If it weren't for the fact that it was the dead of winter and his mother, Du Chunfang, didn't want to move, Li Long would have considered bringing his mother over as well.

Li Juan also came over on Sunday. She said that now the police patrol the front and back gates of the school from time to time, making it much safer.

"I heard that it's not just our school, but several other middle schools have had similar incidents. Anyway, now basically no thugs dare to run around the school anymore."

Li Long could tell that Li Juan had become much more cheerful, and her expression showed more confidence.

"Many of my classmates say that these changes are due to you, and I really have to thank you."

Li Longxiao...

“There’s a boy in my class who came from Liuhudi who said you must be a martial arts master, otherwise you couldn’t have beaten those two thugs so badly with just one move. He even asked me to ask you about it, because he wants to learn martial arts from you.”

“Let him focus on his studies. There’s no future in martial arts these days,” Li Long replied directly. “Being able to get into high school shows he has a talent for learning. He should study hard and try to get into university.”

"I understand, I'll tell him later."

Li Long was both amused and exasperated; the rumors were getting increasingly outrageous.

But why do I feel a little secretly pleased?

Ma Xiaoyan also called Li Long and said that the leader had said that their article was very good, that it had a certain role in promoting the current situation, and that it played a positive role in clarifying some misunderstandings and ambiguities in the publicity of ethnic unity. Therefore, she might have new work arrangements after the meeting after the New Year.

Ma Xiaoyan is almost thirty years old. If there are new arrangements, where can she go?

Li Long wondered, "Could it be that I'm going to be the top leader or second-in-command in a township?"

Ma Xiaoyan is currently a deputy section chief. If she were to take on more responsibilities, it would most likely be like this, right?
Of course, Li Long was only guessing; he congratulated the other party over the phone.

It seems that news and publicity work will be more difficult in the future.

However, after thinking about it, Li Long realized that he might not need any more reports on this topic in the future.

However, Ma Xiaoyan meant that no matter where she was transferred to later, she would strengthen her connection with Li Long.

"Through this draft, I've found that your thinking is extremely clear. We can collaborate again in the future. If I have any similar material, I'll discuss it with you then."

Li Long naturally had no objections; he couldn't write it, but he could still express his views.

Knowing what the future holds is really satisfying.

On December 17th, Li Long arrived at the purchasing station as usual. Liang Shuangcheng had already lit the stove in the yard and was currently sweeping the thin layer of snow off the cars.

It's snowed twice in the last few days, neither of them very heavily. A light snowfall occurs every day around dawn, and the yard and cars need to be cleared.

Old Man Li Qingxia was sweeping the snow in the backyard. With a few swings of his large broom, a large area of ​​brick ground was cleared away.

Li Long grabbed a large broom from the corner and started sweeping, chatting with his father about the recent situation at the purchasing station as he swept.

The purchasing station is currently receiving dozens of hides and nearly 100 kilograms of medicinal herbs every day, which is considered a low point in the market.

Because winter is not the production season, the things received at this time are all kinds of things, a mix of everything.

Li Qingxia had been at the purchasing station for more than half a year and had a good understanding of the situation of various things. She knew that even if some things could not be sold temporarily, they should still be purchased.

"There are already more than a dozen bottles and jars in the corner of that warehouse, mostly from before the Republic of China era, and they weren't expensive to buy. Yesterday there was someone selling earthenware jars, but I didn't buy them. Looking at the dry clay on them, I don't know where they were dug up from."

This period was the most serious time of tomb raiding in the country, affecting not only the border regions but also the northern Xinjiang region.

Li Long learned about the hundreds of earthen mound tombs in the Ili region later in the news. They were all looted during this time. The tombs were so obvious, lined up neatly in the plains, and when people looked at them later, they all had a pit on them.

In other words, people were dug directly from top to bottom at that time, without any cover whatsoever.

I wonder if Old Gu will receive anything dug out of the earthen mound tomb.

Not only over there, but also here. However, the ancient tombs are not very obvious in Ma County.

But some of them were definitely stolen.

This trend was unstoppable, and it is said that this period was actually the most serious period of damage to ancient tombs in my country since the founding of the People's Republic.

Countless cultural relics and antiques were passed from tomb raiders to antique dealers, and then smuggled across borders to leave the country.

Not only are there tombs, but there are also many cultural relics on the ground, such as Buddha heads, murals, and sculptures.

The father and son chatted as they swept, and soon the backyard was clean. Liang Shuangcheng called out from the front that someone was coming, and Li Qingxia put down the broom and walked to the front yard.

After cleaning up some of the edges and corners, Li Long took a small broom and swept the thin layer of snow off the high-powered tractor.

The three high-horsepower tractors have been sitting here for quite some time. Although people occasionally come to ask about the price and look at the machines, none of them have actually been purchased.

The person in Jimusa last time was a minority; most people felt that spending two or three hundred thousand yuan to buy a high-horsepower tractor was not worthwhile.

After all, a brand new Dongfanghong 75 tractor with all its equipment wouldn't cost more than 60,000 yuan these days.

One machine does the work of four!

Even if they're incredibly fast, four of them combined would still be enough to outrun each other, right?

This is what the vast majority of people think.

Li Long knew these people weren't entirely wrong. After all, this wasn't the future; land resources weren't as plentiful, the population wasn't as large, the desire to make money wasn't as urgent, and the competition wasn't as fierce.

High-horsepower tractors may be a trend, but it's a trend that will happen in ten years or so, so it's normal that these people don't buy them.

After all, the full cost of mechanized farming and sowing per mu (unit of land area) is only about 20 yuan a year, which is far less than the 50, 60 or even 70 yuan in later years.

The three high-horsepower tractors were already sealed with oil, so Li Long didn't start them; he just wiped them clean.

After finishing these tasks, he went into the reception room. Liang Shuangcheng had already set out the teapot and teacups. Li Long didn't see Liang Shuangcheng; he had heard Sun Jiaqiang helping his father in the front and assumed Liang Shuangcheng was busy in the storeroom.

Li Long had just poured himself a cup of hot tea and rested for a while when he heard the sound of a car, followed by a familiar voice:

"Grandpa, you're here! This is Commander Qi. Where's Xiaolong? I need to talk to him!"

Wang Mingjun's voice.

Li Long put down his cup, strode forward, and saw Wang Mingjun and a burly middle-aged man talking to his father at the door.

"Company Commander Wang, Regimental Commander Qi, welcome, welcome! Come on in, let's talk inside." Li Long greeted the two men with a smile.

"Xiao Long, this is our regimental commander... Come on, let's go inside and talk." Wang Mingjun was about to introduce him when he saw the commander shake his head, so he said. The three of them went into the reception room. Sun Jiaqiang came over and poured water for Wang Mingjun and Commander Qi, and then refilled Li Long's cup before leaving to go to the front.

"My name is Qi Wusheng. You must be Comrade Li Long. Hello, hello!" Commander Qi extended his hand, his accent revealing a hint of Shandong dialect.

"Hello, Regiment Commander." Li Long extended both hands and shook hands with Regiment Commander Qi, saying, "I heard Company Commander Wang mention you when I went to the company before."

"Haha, your older brother used to be in our regiment, right? We're practically family." Regiment Commander Qi looked to be around fifty years old, with a cheerful personality, a square face, and the typical image of a burly northern man.

“Yes, we’re all family.” Li Long smiled. “The military and the local people are inseparable.”

At this time, the land belonging to the northern corps was nominally still under the jurisdiction of Ma County, so the military and the land were not separated.

It wasn't until the agricultural divisions were established as cities that the ownership of the land was finally determined.

"I heard from the Ming army that you have high-horsepower tractors here, is that right?" Qi Wusheng asked, glancing outside. "Just those few?"

“Yes, there are three,” Li Long nodded and said. “They are all imported from Kazakhstan, second-hand tractors, but in good condition.”

"The car is in good condition? How many years has it been used?"

"The reason we say the vehicles are in good condition is because these tractors, including the two we use at home, are all manufactured by John Deere, American products. The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic bought these tractors for research purposes and placed them in the Mechanical Research Institute."

Li Long explained:

"Their research was mainly for improving the performance of the high-horsepower tractors they produced, so they didn't use them much."

"Oh, I see. It's similar to the tractor in our Shicheng." Qi Wusheng immediately understood. "Then it's practically a new machine. Not bad, not bad."

He asked again:

"Then...can it be started? To be honest, our regiment is thinking of buying one to take back and use."

"It can definitely be started. Although we sealed the tractors with oil before winter, we're all family here, starting one is no big deal," Li Long said. "Should we check the machines first and then decide which one to start?"

"Alright, alright." Qi Wusheng picked up his teacup, drank half of it, and said, "Let's go, let's get down to business. Let's take a look at the machine first."

These three high-horsepower tractors came with a full set of farm implements, so they took up quite a bit of space in the backyard.

Li Long brought the keys and went over to open the doors of the cabs of the three high-horsepower tractors, allowing Qi Wusheng to inspect them.

Qi Wusheng's eyes lit up when he saw those high-powered tractors. As he walked towards them, he said to Li Long:

"This is similar to the one we saw in Shicheng, it looks really good!"

After patting the blades and tires of the high-powered tractor, Commander Qi opened the cab door, climbed up the short ladder, and peered inside.

Wang Mingjun whispered to Li Long from below:

"There's been a lot of talk about you these past few days. I didn't expect you to actually dare to say that... It's nothing in our production and construction corps, but I know that in your local area, it's quite... well, you know."

Li Long could sense that Wang Mingjun's views on this matter differed from those of some locals. Or rather, some people in the Production and Construction Corps simply had a different attitude from those in the local area.

After all, when entering Xinjiang, solving problems doesn't just rely on preaching; the compassion of a bodhisattva and the wrath of a vajra come together.

Otherwise, how could they have been peacefully liberated so quickly and participated in the initial construction of socialism?

The veterans of the Production and Construction Corps are now in their prime.

Sure enough, Wang Mingjun leaned closer to Li Long and whispered:

“Some of the veterans in our company said that some policies are still too lenient. Some aspects of ethnic issues simply cannot be resolved in that way. Doing it this way can easily sow the seeds of future problems, and something big might happen later.”

Li Long deeply agreed.

After inspecting the driver's cab, Qi Wusheng came down, clapped his hands, and said to Li Long:

"Sure enough, this tractor has hardly been used. There are no signs in the cab, and even the seat is new and hasn't collapsed."

Li Long smiled; he wasn't bragging.

Actually, one of the three machines came from a farm. That machine had been driven, plowed, and sown, showing signs of use.

However, Commander Qi Wusheng didn't even glance at that machine and skipped over it.

"Commander Qi, would you like to open it?"

"Let's just start it up and get a feel for it," Qi Wusheng said. "I visited that high-horsepower tractor at the Shicheng Tractor Factory; you should be able to tell from the sound."

Li Long then went to fiddle with starting the engine. The oil seal was on, but there was no water; he needed to fix it.

Soon, the roar of a high-powered tractor engine filled the backyard, drawing chatter from the vendors in the front yard.

Clearly, they already knew that the person who came was a regimental commander from the Production and Construction Corps, and they also knew that Li Long had several high-powered tractors in his backyard.

Could it be that a high-horsepower tractor is going to be sold today?

A high-horsepower tractor costs two or three hundred thousand yuan, and dealers know this price very well—these people seize every opportunity to inquire about any information, and they know exactly what's in Li Long's yard, the prices of cars, jeeps, tractors, and so on.

We've seen plenty of people come to buy cars, but it's really rare to see someone buying a tractor!

Moreover, the fact that the tractor could be started in the dead of winter shows that the person had a strong desire to buy it.

Li Long watched as Qi Wusheng got into the driver's seat and kept adjusting the various control levers, then said:
"If Commander Qi wants to drive it, he can take it for a spin around the yard. It's quite simple to drive; the instruction manual has it all. It's not much different from driving our small four-wheeled vehicles."

"I know this, I've studied it. I'll take a look around." Qi Wusheng ultimately couldn't resist the temptation of driving a high-horsepower tractor—the cab has air conditioning!
I couldn't drive it when I visited Shicheng back then, but now I've finally made it!
Qi Wusheng wasn't reckless; he started the engine rather slowly. He had driven tractors before and was quite familiar with it. Although he hadn't driven a high-horsepower tractor last time, the principles were similar, so he only needed to observe it once from the cab before he was done.

The tractor started slowly. Li Long and Wang Mingjun stopped talking. They were still quite careful at this point, afraid that Commander Qi might cause a problem. To be honest, people were quite bold at this time. Driving a tractor didn't really require much driving skill. People generally felt that they could drive it after watching a few times.

Fortunately, Qi Wusheng was very calm and kept a slow pace, circling the backyard slowly. After circling twice, he drove the tractor back to its original position.

After turning off the engine and getting out of the car, Qi Wusheng said with a broad smile:
"Great, great. The engine sounds great, no problems at all. It's clear that this tractor hasn't been modified much since its break-in period, and it's been well maintained; all the parts are in good condition."

Li Long thought to himself that Commander Qi was quite an expert, knowing a lot and driving steadily.

No wonder he followed Wang Mingjun to see this high-powered tractor.

"These are the farm implements that come with this machine, such as reversible plows," Li Long said. "I won't go into too much detail, you should know, Commander, this can also carry ordinary farm implements."

"I know that, it's just pulled by the drive shaft." Commander Qi knew exactly what he was talking about. "The farm implements look pretty good too... Hmm, our technology is indeed not as good as theirs for now."

When Li Long heard Commander Qi say "for the time being," he thought to himself that this generation of soldiers in the Corps had a strong sense of self-confidence.

Of course, this is also true. Before being demobilized, these people traveled all over the country and fought in many places. Their confidence was truly gained from the battlefield.

They are truly the backbone of the Republic!
"How much does this machine cost?" Commander Qi asked. "It's not cheap, but we still want to know."

“I sold one a while ago for 260,000 yuan,” Li Long said.

Although Commander Qi was mentally prepared, he was still taken aback.

“It’s not cheap!”

“We’re family, so I’ll give you a discount of 10,000, how about 250,000?” Li Long felt it was only right to give them a discount.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand..." Commander Qi hesitated for a moment and said, "This matter is quite important. I need to go back and discuss it with the political commissar."

Although the regimental commander wields considerable power, spending over 200,000 yuan to buy a high-horsepower tractor is bound to be a matter that needs to be addressed by the Standing Committee.

However, it was clear that Commander Qi was tempted.

(End of this chapter)