Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1249 Winter's harvest is truly plentiful!
On the threshing floor, there were some black things dotting the snow.

Li Long had good eyesight and immediately recognized what it was, so he was quite happy.

Tao Daqiang and Xie Yundong didn't realize that they were rushing along, already panting heavily, and just wanted to get to the car as soon as possible, put their things down, and rest.

"Xiao Long, why did you stop?" Xie Yundong asked when he saw Li Long stop. Li Long stopped as well and put the bag on the ground.

He guessed that Li Long probably needed to rest for a while.

"Brother Yundong, Daqiang, look over there." Li Long pointed to the black dots on the wheat field and said with a smile, "Good stuff!"

"What? Isn't it just a clod of dirt?" Tao Daqiang asked.

“Um… why does it look like… a quail?” Xie Yundong squinted for a moment, then suddenly said, “Right? These things have nowhere to find food, and there are some stray wheat grains left in this threshing ground, so…”

There were several undulating patches of snow covering the edge of the threshing floor, which Li Long guessed were leftover wheat scraps from someone's farm.

This wheat tail contains a small amount of wheat grains, which the quack chickens must have discovered in early winter and have been here ever since.

Now that it's snowing heavily, they, like the rabbits, can't find any food, so they can only come back to their old haunts to try their luck.

Seeing them burrow deep into the snow, with only half their bodies or even just their tails showing, Li Long knew they would be easy to catch!

The snow is still slush; this stuff doesn't really fly. If you encounter danger, you either play dead or run in the snow. If you can't run anymore, you'll get stuck. So Li Long put down the two bags and said:

"Go, seize him!"

Tao Daqiang followed closely behind. Xie Yundong hesitated for a moment, saying, "Without a net, it'll be hard to catch them," but in the end he still followed.

The three people walked toward the wheat field in a fan shape. Two quacks sensed something was wrong, but instead of trying to escape, they tried to burrow under the snow.

Hey, this time we really caught them!
Li Long walked up to a quack chicken. The chicken first tried to burrow deeper into the snow, then flapped its wings forward. Realizing it couldn't get through, it spread its wings, trying to jump out of the snow and escape. However, the snow hole it had made restricted its wings.

The jumping motion reminded Li Long of the scene in "Forbidden City Cop" where Ling Ling Fa performs the "Flying Immortal" move, leaping twenty centimeters off the ground in an instant.

Quite embarrassing.

Li Long reached out and pinned the guy down. Since there were no more bags, Li Long didn't hesitate. Amidst the croaking of the chicken, he snapped its neck and carried it to the next one.

Tao Daqiang chased after the quacking chickens that were flapping their wings in the snow. Xie Yundong was lucky; one of the quacking chickens pretended to be dead and didn't move, so he got a free one.

After Li Long and his group had caught five or six, the other quacks sensed the danger and scattered in all directions.

Li Long held three quack chickens in his hand and took long strides to chase after two of them that were running together.

He estimated that once he caught these two, the rest would be hard to find as they disappeared into the tamarisk bushes.

The two chickens got along quite well, following each other closely. Li Long ran for nearly a hundred meters before catching both of them. He kept the two alive, but when he turned around to look again, he couldn't find the other two chickens.

Well, that's not bad. Looking at the footprints, most of them have gone to the reed lake—there's a large reed lake to the east of Team Four, and most of the reeds there have been cut down, with only a few unusable ones remaining.

Once the quack chickens crawl inside, they're impossible to catch; it's a real hassle.

The cut reed stubble is as sharp as a knife; it pricks you.

The three people gathered together and looked at each other's harvest.

Li Long has five, Tao Daqiang has three, and Xie Yundong has three.

“Hey, Xiaolong always gets a little more… Xiaolong, you’re so fast.” Xie Yundong said with a smile. “Alright, let’s go back and rest for a bit. Come to my house for lunch.”

“Then it should be at my house, right?” Li Long said. “I’ve caught a lot of them.”

“You caught a lot, you should give some to the county, right? No one cooks in your yard, so it’s settled, come to my house.” Xie Yundong waved his hand, “When we get back, I’ll have my wife prepare these rabbits and fish, and oh right, this guagua chicken. Hey, it’s been two years since I’ve had guagua chicken, Xiaolong, you have a sharp eye.”

Li Long smiled but didn't say anything.

The three walked around, stopping frequently. Tao Daqiang and Xie Yundong were still arguing about whose house to host the banquet. In the end, Xie Yundong won because of his age—mainly because Tao Daqiang had two children, the younger one still small, and Yang Pingping had to take care of them.

When they got to the car, they found that most of the people were still chasing rabbits in the red willow beach, and the dogs were still barking from time to time, but their barks sounded a bit hoarse.

To Li Long's surprise, shortly after they put their things in the car, Li Junfeng emerged from the red willow field carrying a bag.

Seeing Li Long and the others, Li Junfeng strode over and said with a smile:

"Uncle Xiaolong, I went to buy medicine this morning. When I came back, I heard you were here chasing rabbits, so I thought I'd come and see..."

"Why didn't you drive here?" Li Long asked with a smile. "Did you walk here?"

"Yeah, I walked here to stretch my legs," Li Junfeng said. "It's not far."

The car wasn't driven because no one had spoken up – Li Jianguo and Li Long had both come over, and although the car keys were at home and the car could be driven, Li Junfeng didn't want to break the rules.

"How was it? Did you find anything?"

"You two are quite amused." Li Junfeng was also quite pleased. "Uncle Xiaolong, I see you have a lot of stuff here."

"Yeah, I caught a few rabbits, got some fish from Dongda Ditch, and a few quack chickens." Li Long was quite proud; this trip was really worthwhile.

"Oh, there are fish and quail chickens too?" Li Junfeng was also a little surprised, but thinking about it, it made sense. Compared to his hometown village, the area around Team Four could be described as "vast and rich in resources," with so much wasteland that the chances of wild animals surviving were much higher.

After waiting a while, the others returned one after another, all quite happy, especially Liang Dacheng, who had caught six rabbits, the most they had caught in the Red Willow Beach.

But seeing that Li Long and the others had gotten fish and quail, they immediately felt disappointed:

"Hey, I should have followed you guys out of Hongliutan earlier. I saw Xiaolong go out and was thinking of following him, but a rabbit was right at my feet. By the time I caught up with you, you were nowhere to be found."

Li Jianguo also got five rabbits, while Xu Haijun got the fewest, four. They were all quite happy, though; the lightest of the rabbits weighed at least three kilograms, quite heavy, enough for several meals.

They brought more things back than they had brought, but thankfully they could squeeze in and sit down. Xie Yundong also said they would come to their house to eat rabbit later. Xu Haijun hesitated, as did Li Junfeng, while Li Jianguo made it clear that he wouldn't go.

We weren't in the same age group, so we didn't have much to talk about.

When they arrived at the Li family's house, Li Jianguo and Li Junfeng ultimately did not go, but Xu Haijun decided to go, which was essentially a get-together for the cooperative.

He also tried to integrate into this small group.

So when Xu Haijun left, he gave Xie Yundong a rabbit, saying that he couldn't finish it all, and that he would get some wine later.

It seems like they're putting in a lot of effort.

The others went home and agreed to meet at Xie Yundong's house in a little over an hour.

Li Long and the others were in Li Jianguo's house, cleaning up the rabbits, fish, and quack chickens.

Li Long specially left two live quack chickens for Mingming and Haohao to look after and play with, but the two children were only interested in the feathers on their necks. After plucking a few that they didn't like, they ignored them.

We just slaughtered them all and disposed of them.

The fish were already a bit frozen, so Li Long and the others quickly gutted them. The eldest brother kept some for himself, and the rest they would take back to the county.

The old lady, Du Chunfang, couldn't help, but she enjoyed the lively scene. She grinned and kept smiling.

At noon, the Li family also stewed fish and rabbit. They couldn't have the quail chicken, so they'll have to wait until evening.

After finishing his tidying up, Li Long told his older brother and mother, and then drove to Xie Yundong's house.

Mingming and Haohao wanted to go too, but Li Long was thinking about drinking and didn't care about them, so he didn't bring them. The two children were reluctant, but when Li Qiang took out his toy gun, the two children immediately forgot about their father.

When Li Long arrived at Xie Yundong's house, everyone else was already there, playing cards and drinking.

Xu Haijun offered Li Long his seat, but Li Long waved his hand and said, "You guys fight, I'll wait to eat the meat. We can drink the wine later."

Since he wasn't going to fight, the others could just watch and see. Xie Yundong was busy in the kitchen with his wife when Li Long came over, and he simply greeted him.

Today, the air above the three residential areas of the fourth team is filled with the aroma of meat.

The news had reached Team Three, and some members of Team Three were heading north, searching for traces of rabbits in the mudflats and reed beds south of Dahai Lake.

A few people did catch rabbits, but only a few.

After all, the area of ​​wasteland is so small, it's really not much.

Xu Haijun and his friends played four rounds of cards before the dishes were served. They quickly put away the cards and started setting out chairs and distributing chopsticks.

Seeing that there was nothing he could do, Li Long simply sat down on the side and waited for the food to be served.

A large pot of stewed rabbit, a large pot of stewed fish, a plate of braised chicken, plus a few side dishes, and the table was almost full.

Xu Haijun and the others had been drinking, their faces flushed, but they were still quite lucid. They said to Xie Yundong, who was about to sit down:

"Call your sister-in-law and the baby over to eat together."

"No need, no need, they're eating over there, there's still food left," Xie Yundong waved his hand. "We're drinking, their presence will affect our performance."

Li Long laughed.

Xie Yundong poured wine for everyone, gestured for them to take a few sips, and then raised his glass and said:

"This is the first time our cooperative has gathered like this since its establishment, and it's also the first time the Navy has eaten like this. Come on, let's have a drink and wish our cooperative great prosperity!"

The group clinked glasses and began to drink.

Li Long doesn't compete in drinking or play drinking games. He drinks whenever someone offers him a toast, and he's also good at playing drinking games, though he mostly watches others play.

After all, playing finger-guessing games is lively and can enhance the atmosphere of a drinking party.

Li Long isn't good at rock-paper-scissors because he doesn't practice often. People like Xie Yundong practice regularly, and their hand gestures and number calls are often subconscious.

So if it were a real game of rock-paper-scissors, he couldn't beat most people—excluding Tao Daqiang.

While they were eating, Li Long heard footsteps outside. He looked towards the door and saw Captain Xu Chengjun push the door open and come in.

"Hey, you're eating so well, why didn't you call me?" Xu Chengjun said with a smile. "That's not very nice of you."

Xie Yundong hurriedly went to find a stool to make room for him, and then found a cup to pour him some water. Xu Haijun then set out a pair of chopsticks for him.

"Try it first, then we'll have a couple of drinks, Captain," Xie Yundong said with a smile. "I knew you were busy."

"Hehe, I was just saying," Xu Chengjun said while eating. "Come on, you guys are having a great time drinking, let me have a toast with you!"

Xu Chengjun also had a high alcohol tolerance, and he clinked glasses with everyone. When it came to Xu Haijun, he patted Xu Haijun on the shoulder and said:

"That's right. Work hard with Xiaolong and Yundong. You've made the right choice."

Xu Haijun bumped into him and said with a smile:

"Yes, I used to be resentful, but now I realize that I really didn't have the foresight or the ability back then."

The words were all in the wine.

Xu Chengjun clinked glasses with Li Long twice at the end, and after finishing his drink, he said:
"The township called and asked you to go to the agricultural extension school next Monday to give a lecture to the key trainees."

"Me, teach them?" Li Long was taken aback. "How could I possibly be qualified to teach them?"

"Principal Yang from the Agricultural Extension School said that he would give a lecture on cotton planting. Last year, your cotton planting was good, and the harvest was excellent. This year, many people in the township are thinking of planting cotton. Each village has its key personnel, so the township is thinking of gathering them together and having you give a lecture to them, so that they won't be clueless when it comes to planting cotton."

“Then they should have consulted an expert, or come to me…” Li Long was still quite surprised.

“In their eyes, you’re an expert,” Xu Chengjun said with a smile. “Go ahead, it’s great to bring glory to our team! Go and teach two classes, and I’ll give you twenty work points!”

Although the household responsibility system was implemented, the team still required voluntary labor for tasks such as clearing ditches, planting trees, and repairing roads in the spring. This voluntary labor was converted into money at the end of the year; those who contributed more received more money, and those who contributed less had to make up the difference.

Li Long's household registration is still with the team, so the team's rules must be followed—of course, Xu Chengjun was just joking.

"Alright, if it's just about cotton, then I can talk about it." Li Long thought that since the team leader had spoken and the township had also given its approval, he might as well go.

Anyway, he has plenty of information, so he's not afraid to say it.

Cotton cultivation is a major trend, and even if I don't explain it, people will gradually gain experience. I'm just giving them a heads-up beforehand, and even if I do explain, they can't all follow my advice.

People like Tao Daqiang might just say what they want to say, but smarter people can easily add their own interpretations to the information they hear, and that changes the flavor of the story.

Xu Chengjun ate a few more bites of food, then got up and left.

Xie Yundong and his group wanted to keep their guests, but Xu Chengjun said he needed to go back and call the township to report the matter, so he wouldn't stay any longer.

"Hey, Captain, you can really hold your liquor!"

Xu Chengjun is known for his high alcohol tolerance in the team. Moreover, he drinks heartily and has a good drinking etiquette.

"Xiaolong's amazing! He's going to teach a class now," Xie Yundong exclaimed. "Hey, he can be a teacher now!"

"It's just about farming, growing cotton. Actually, you guys can go there too," Li Long said with a smile. "You guys have some experience with this kind of cotton."

"No, no, that doesn't count," Tao Daqiang waved his hand. "I'm far from it. I know the general procedures, but I'm completely out of the loop on the specifics. To be honest, I'll need your guidance to plant cotton this year."

Everyone else said the same thing.

It's not that I don't understand; I planted a batch of cotton with Li Long last year, and I remember most of it.

However, he lacked confidence, since he had only planted it for a year, so he still needed Li Long's guidance.

"Xiaolong, when you're going to tell them, should you hold back a little?" Xu Haijun asked. "These people farm... grow cotton, won't that create competition for us?"

"We'll see," Li Long said. "To be honest, I don't think they'll listen to me completely even if I go and explain it to them. Besides, how much can you really teach in one or two lessons? I can only give them a general overview of the cotton planting process; how they actually plant it will depend on them."

After Li Long said that, the others understood. The matter was considered closed, and they continued drinking.

Li Long still focuses on eating. The rabbit and fish stewed by the Xie family are quite delicious. Li Long usually stir-fries the rabbit with dried chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns.

The Xie family stews it, adding potatoes and pickled vegetables, which gives it a unique flavor.

By the time they finished their meal, it was almost dark. Li Long was still quite sober and offered to drive everyone else home before returning to his own home.

Mingming Haohao was playing with Li Qiang. When Li Long came back, he just came over to say hello and then went back to playing.

Li Long told his mother and elder brother, then went to the front yard to sleep.

For him, the best way to sober up after drinking is to sleep.

The next morning, Mingming and Haohao came to call Li Long for breakfast. The two children had shared a bed with Li Qiang the night before. Li Juan had moved over to sleep with her grandmother, Du Chunfang—there was just an extra bed in the other room.

According to Li Long, another side room should be built in the spring, otherwise there won't be enough room for his older brother.

Of course, this is just a suggestion; it's not actually necessary. After all, Li Juan spends most of her time at school and only comes back occasionally. A temporary wire bed will suffice.

That's how it's usually done. During breakfast, Li Long told his older brother about going to the agricultural extension school. Li Jianguo was a little surprised, and after thinking for a moment, said:

"I remember the principal of the agricultural extension school... was named Yang Guoqiang? I think he used to work at the Pingyuan Forestry Farm?"

Li Long didn't remember this person. He admired his elder brother's connections; it seemed that many people in the village knew him.

After breakfast, Li Long drove to the township. He wanted to find out the specifics of the situation and see the attitude of the agricultural extension school.

Mingming and Haohao didn't come with him; the two children wanted to play with Li Qiang. When Li Long came out, he saw Li Qiang assigning homework to the two children—Mingming and Haohao saw that Li Juan and Li Qiang both had homework, so they wanted to do it too.

Pretty good!
When Li Long arrived in the township, he found the Agricultural Broadcasting School—located on the east side of the highway, near the direction of the Fourth Team, in a large courtyard.

Principal Yang was clearing snow in the courtyard when Li Long parked his car by the roadside. He went in and ran into him, asking if he was looking for Principal Yang. The other man said that he was Principal Yang, which surprised Li Long.

"They're in class, I was just doing some cleaning," Principal Yang Guoqiang said with a smile. "Are you Li Long?"

"Yes, I'm Li Long," Li Long said. "Hello, Principal. I didn't expect to be asked to give a lecture..."

"Actually, I contacted Professor Yang from the August 1st Agricultural College, but he's not in northern Xinjiang right now. When he called me back, he said that you can solve most cotton planting problems and told me to contact you."

Yang Guoqiang looked to be around forty years old, not very tall, but quite sturdy.

"Principal Yang knows Professor Yang?" Li Long was somewhat surprised. "Is it Professor Yang from the College of Agriculture who specializes in cotton research?"

"Who else could it be but him? We saw him often back in the Pingyuan Forest Farm."

"In Pingyuan Forest Farm?" Li Long was even more surprised. Pingyuan Forest Farm was a unit located east of the county seat, seemingly directly under the autonomous region?

"You didn't know? The August 1st Agricultural College was located in the Pingyuan Forest Farm for a period of time," Yang Guoqiang said with a smile. "Their old campus is still there, with rows of bungalows."

"Oh, I see!" Li Long suddenly realized, not expecting there to be such a connection. He suddenly thought that Professor Wu, Professor Luo, and Professor Yang all treated him differently, perhaps there was some connection between them?

But that's a different story.

He grabbed a snowplow from the wall and started pushing snow while talking to Principal Yang about planting cotton. He quickly understood the whole story.

Actually, it was Li Long and his group who caused this, but of course, it wasn't just them.

There are two townships to the north that grow cotton. In my own township, the fourth team grows so much cotton that the township noticed it when they tallied it up at the end of the year.

Cotton is considered a cash crop, and its profits are higher than those of grain. In the eyes of the villagers, it's a good thing to cultivate multiple cash crops while ensuring grain production, thus helping people become wealthier.

However, this is the first time cotton has been grown in the village. The teachers from the agricultural extension school are teaching purely theoretical knowledge, learned from books. If it were to be put into practice, it might not work.

So I thought of Li Long and called the team.

"I made the suggestion to the township," Yang Guoqiang said with a smile. "I heard it from Professor Yang, so I came to you. Do you have time next Monday? If you do, please tell us about it."

"Yes, yes, Monday morning?"

"Yes, this morning. Most of the students here graduated from junior high school not long ago, some are key planting personnel in their respective villages, or village chiefs, or people who want to grow cotton."

Yang Guoqiang was quite talkative and enthusiastic. After Li Long helped him clear the snow, he invited Li Long to have dinner in the village.

By this time, the students had finished class, and Li Long could see that they were mostly sixteen or seventeen-year-old boys and girls, not many, maybe twenty or so.

The campus of the agricultural extension school is not very big, and there are not many classrooms. Their training for technical backbone personnel is usually three to six months.

To Li Long's surprise, he saw an acquaintance—or rather, a former acquaintance.

Wu Shufen – she was holding two books and looked like a teacher.

She's actually here?

Yang Guoqiang followed Li Long's gaze and then said with a smile:

"You know her? Yes, yes, I remember now, Xiao Wu is from your team. Her father-in-law used his connections to send her to the state's agricultural technology backbone training program. After the training, she came here to be a teacher."

Li Long nodded. Now, looking at Wu Shufen, he felt no emotion whatsoever.

This person has absolutely no connection to me anymore.

Wu Shufen didn't see Li Long. After class, she hurriedly went back to her office, put her things down, and then rushed to the restroom.

Li Long looked at the students and asked:

"Is it just about giving them lessons?"

“Not entirely. They will participate, and each village will also send some people... We’ll see,” Yang Guoqiang said.

After clarifying the class time and the person in attendance, Li Long said goodbye to Yang Guoqiang and returned to the fourth team.

On his way back, he thought about it and decided to start by explaining cotton planting and continue until the harvest. He would just explain some of the important points, since growing cotton requires a lot of technical skills, and it wouldn't be possible to cover everything in just one or two lessons.

It's likely that the township government just wanted him to instill a certain idea in these people.

We had lunch at my older brother's place; they had stewed fish. The fish stewed by my older brother is different from the Xie family's. Li Long ate quite a bit—rice soaked in fish soup. He didn't let Mingming and Haohao soak their rice, saying it wasn't good for their stomachs, but he soaked quite a lot himself.

When Li Long got home that evening, he told Gu Xiaoxia about his trip to teach at the agricultural broadcasting school and about meeting Wu Shufen.

“I know about her time at the Agricultural Broadcasting School,” Gu Xiaoxia said casually. “It must have been last September, right? She was in the second batch of students disciplined at the Agricultural Broadcasting School that year.”

The couple had been married for many years and knew each other very well. Gu Xiaoxia knew that Li Long had no feelings for Wu Shufen at all, so she didn't say anything more.

Li Long brought back rabbits, fish, and quail, so he had fish soup the next morning. Sister Yang meant to cook a nice meal for lunch. Li Long didn't go to the fourth team today; instead, he found a notebook and wrote down the content of his lecture.

He plans to speak without a script, but he will still write down the key points, mainly because he is afraid that if he goes off on a tangent, he will not be able to bring it back on track.

Li Long only prepared for a morning, and then things took their natural course.

On Monday morning, after breakfast, he drove to the Agricultural Broadcasting School.

Principal Yang Guoqiang was already waiting for him, along with several teachers and staff.

Wu Shufen wasn't there. Li Long guessed that she must have known he was coming, so she took leave and hid.

"Comrade Li Long, this morning's class is in your hands. You're an expert in this field; even Professor Yang praises you. Teach well, and I'll be watching from the back of the classroom. Anyone who doesn't pay attention will be dealt with!"

It's clear that Yang Guoqiang takes this very seriously.

Li Long didn't waste any more words and followed Yang Guoqiang into the classroom.

The previously noisy classroom quieted down immediately; Li Long's size was quite imposing.

"Everyone quiet down. Next, let's welcome Comrade Li Long to give us a talk on cotton planting techniques." Principal Yang went up to the podium first and introduced him to everyone. "Comrade Li Long was among the first in our township to grow cotton. He is a young man that is highly regarded by experts and professors from the August 1st Agricultural College."

He has in-depth knowledge of agricultural planting and planted over a hundred acres of cotton last year, reaping a bumper harvest! If you want to learn real techniques, listen carefully to Comrade Li Long's lecture later... Okay, now welcome Comrade Li Long to give us a lesson!

Sparse applause rang out. Yang Guoqiang was a little embarrassed, but Li Long didn't seem to mind. He went up to the podium and glanced at the students below.

The students who were caught in Li Long's gaze instinctively lowered their heads—clearly, the pressure from that gaze was quite strong.

The key figures from the various villages behind them didn't share this feeling; they all looked at Li Long with curiosity.

Li Long is quite famous, especially in this brigade where many people know him. Seeing him in person, and especially since he's giving them a lesson, is quite amazing.

"Alright, Principal Yang just said he wanted me to talk to you about cotton planting techniques. Cotton is a relatively new cash crop in our township. As far as I know, the production and construction corps companies to the north, Beiwucha, and Liuhudi are all planting cotton on a large scale. We're already starting late..."

Li Long started the conversation, then moved on to the yield and profit per acre of cotton:
"...A single mu (unit of land area) of cotton can yield up to 200 kilograms, and at two yuan per kilogram, the gross income is 400 yuan. After deducting costs, a single mu can yield at least 200 yuan...So growing cotton is very promising!"

This one sentence alone immediately aroused the enthusiasm of these people.

The lecture went much more smoothly after that, especially since the students were very impressed, seeing that Li Long was speaking almost entirely off-script.

"...There are two methods for sowing cotton: spot sowing and row sowing. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages..."

"Cotton is susceptible to many diseases and pests, the most common being spider mites, aphids, and bollworms... The methods for controlling these three pests are..."

Li Long spoke eloquently and with substance. At first, some people thought he was too young to say much, but they soon discovered that everything he said was practical and down-to-earth. The only superficial things he mentioned at the beginning were just a few sentences, so they quickly took notes.

When the bell rang, Li Long was still reluctant to leave, but he knew he needed to rest eventually.

He rarely lectures for such a long time and hasn't practiced it before, so he's feeling a bit thirsty now.

Principal Yang Guoqiang had already brought him a tea mug and poured him some tea.

"Comrade Li Long, would you like to take a break first, or continue later?" Yang Guoqiang was also very interested in what Li Long was going to say, but unfortunately Li Long did not bring his lesson plan. He had just looked at it, and Li Long had only written down a few notes in his notebook, so there was no point in borrowing it.

It would be great if we could record audio, but unfortunately the school doesn't have that kind of equipment.

"Let's take a few minutes' break, then we'll continue later. We'll finish when we're done," Li Long said while sipping his tea. "Let the students go to the restroom first."

Actually, even without him saying it, many students had already gone out. Although it was cold outside, there was nothing they could do if they needed to go to the toilet.

There was a stove in the classroom, in the corner to the right of the podium. Li Long didn't feel cold, but the classroom was quite large, and the stove couldn't add much heat.

After a while, the students rushed back. The way they looked at Li Long now was a little different.

Students at this age are most prone to pride, but they are also most likely to admire someone—when they believe that person has real talent.

In addition to cotton planting techniques, Li Long also talked about soil improvement, fertilization, and the timing of applying mepiquat chloride, among other things.

When the second class ended, the students were still reluctant to leave.

However, Li Long only prepared the content for two lessons, and he planned to leave after he finished teaching them.

But Yang Guoqiang kept them behind, meaning that since he had finished speaking, he would let the students ask some questions to see if there was anything they hadn't understood.

Immediately, some students reached out their hands, but it was the key personnel from various villages who opened their mouths.

These key members didn't even raise their hands; they just opened their mouths and asked:

"Comrade Li Long, how many seeds are needed per mu (unit of land area) for planting cotton?"

"Hey, Li Long, we went to school together. My name is Huang Wuyang, do you remember me? I want to ask, how many times do we need to water cotton this season? When is the watering stop?"

Li Long never expected to run into a junior high school classmate—but to be honest, he really didn't remember him.

He patiently explained each of these people's questions, including the one from the classmate.

These people listened attentively and took careful notes. By the time Li Long finished answering the questions, it was almost noon.

Li Long wanted to go home, but Yang Guoqiang wouldn't let him.

“After all, you’ve taught us two classes. Our agricultural extension school can afford to have a meal with you. Let’s go to the restaurant.” Yang Guoqiang led Li Long there.

Two teachers from the school accompanied me, but we didn't drink alcohol at noon because we had classes in the afternoon.

Of course, Li Long had nothing to do in the afternoon. According to Yang Guoqiang, he wanted to pay Li Long for teaching these two classes, but Li Long refused.

“I’m from this village too, so giving lectures is the least I can do. Let’s forget about the lecture fee; this meal is enough to show your appreciation,” Li Long said.
"However, I probably won't have much time later. We've set up a cotton planting cooperative, and I'll likely be focusing more of my time and energy on that..."

The news about setting up a cooperative will spread sooner or later, so it's better to tell others about it ourselves than to let them.

“It’s alright, you explained it very well today. Let them figure out the rest on their own. This kind of thing requires practice. You can’t just chew up the bread and feed it to them, can you?” Yang Guoqiang understood very well. “If some people are interested, they will come to you for advice.”

That's the end of it.

Although it was just payment for a meal, Li Long felt it was quite meaningful.

After this incident, Li Long got in touch with Yang Guoqiang, the principal of the agricultural extension school, and they would greet each other whenever they passed through the township.

It snowed a few more times after that, but not as heavily as before, so the fourth team didn't go rabbit hunting again. However, Xie Yundong and a few others persuaded Li Long to go to Dongdagou again, hoping to find a waterhole like the one where fish could be caught, just like last time.

Because of his previous experience fishing with nets, Li Long was fairly familiar with the conditions in Dongdagou, so he found several pits. However, the fish in two of them had all frozen into the ice.

There were two other pits. One pit was too big and too deep, and although there were quite a few fish, it was a bit troublesome to get them out. The other pit was similar to the place where Li Long and his friends had caught fish before. After lifting the ice cover, there were fish crammed together.

This area used to be a large expanse of water, but due to the lack of water replenishment over a long period and the freezing of the ice, it eventually shrank into a small group, and the fish ended up huddled together.

This benefited Li Long and his group.

After returning from this trip, Tao Daqiang took over the treat, which was really just an excuse. Last time, Xie Yundong had won the treat from Tao Daqiang. This time, having gotten fish, Tao Daqiang simply stewed a whole pot of it.

Although there was only one dish, the portion was generous, and the group enjoyed it very much.

As the weather grew colder, Li Long and his friends stopped organizing any activities. The children, unfazed by the cold, ran around the village, but the adults no longer ventured into the fields.

As the Lunar New Year approaches, firecrackers begin to sound in the village, and the air is filled with the aroma of fried dough sticks, fried meatballs, and braised meat.

In Li Long's courtyard, Sister Yang was preparing these things, so the couple didn't need to worry about it. Li Long had been focusing on his work lately, cleaning up the hides that Liu Gaolou had brought over on his last trip at the purchasing station.

Liu Gaolou won't be back until after the New Year, around the end of February. In these nearly two months, the purchasing station will basically have no significant income.

The leather was of good quality. Li Long, Liang Shuangcheng, and Sun Jiaqiang cleaned, separated, and bundled the leather before putting it in the warehouse. Then they waited for Zhao Hui to come and collect it.

Zhao Hui will also be coming after the New Year, but not as late as Liu Gaolou.

On the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, the purchasing station made another sale, selling a high-horsepower tractor and its accessories.

260,000.

The buyer was from a regiment of the Production and Construction Corps. When they came over, they told Li Longming that the regiment leader of Wang Mingjun's regiment had bought a high-horsepower tractor and shown it off to others, so the regiment came over and bought one too.

The person who came was a deputy regimental commander, accompanied by a key technical staff member. After inspecting the tractor and finding it to be in good condition, they readily paid the money and drove off (towed it away).

This was the biggest deal before the new year, which made Li Long feel that it was a good omen and that he could have a good new year.

Several cars in the yard were sold one after another. Li Long had originally planned to expand Chen Hongjun's purchasing station to sell cars as well. However, Chen Hongjun had applied for agricultural supplies permits, but the permits for selling cars hadn't been obtained, so he couldn't proceed.

Fortunately, more people came to buy cars before the Lunar New Year. Li Long guessed that these people might think that it would be more prestigious to drive a car to visit relatives during the Lunar New Year.

In short, a car could be sold in about two days. By the end of January, only three cars remained in the yard of the purchasing station.

Li Long was hoping to sell all the cars before the New Year. But things were fine as they were for now. With only ten days or so left, earning five or six hundred thousand yuan was already very good, enough for a prosperous New Year.

Before the Lunar New Year, Li Long sent some things to Secretary Zhang in Yanjing, the Beijing Liaison Office, and Gu Xiaoyu. Liang Shuangcheng and Meng Yuchao have been working together very well. According to him, Meng Yuchao is famous in Yanjing for selling raisins and is known as the "Raisin King."

Li Long didn't care; he wasn't interested in that small profit margin.

I've been wondering why Yusufu hasn't called yet, and whether he's managed to get the leather.

On January 31st, Gu Boyuan returned from Yili; the Lunar New Year had arrived.

P.S.: Thank you so much to reader Tianlang for the generous donation. I'm feeling a bit unwell, so I'm going to sleep now.
(End of this chapter)