Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1252 People came to pay New Year's visits in an endless stream; Gu Xiaoxia was about to change shifts?
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, I was woken up by the sound of countless firecrackers, as usual.

Mingming and Haohao went to bed a little early last night, so at around 7 o'clock, when it was still dark outside, the two children got up, dressed, and ran out under Li Qiang's lead as soon as the firecrackers went off outside.

It was very cold outside, but the children weren't afraid at all. They first ran out to see if any of the neighbors were setting off firecrackers, and then quickly ran back in to help Liang Yuemei, who had already gotten up to boil water—to call it helping was really just doing odd jobs.

Soon, Chen Lirong and Li Xia also came to help. With the children having nowhere to start, Li Qiang went to the brick firewall in the inner room, took down the 1,000-shot electric firecracker, and together with Mingming and Haohao, tore off the cardboard and tied it to a long tree branch that had been prepared beforehand.

Li Qiang then wrapped the firecracker around the tree branch a few more times, worried that the fuse might not be strong enough and break halfway through, which would be unlucky—similar things had happened before.

When Li Long finished washing up and went to the backyard, Liang Yuemei had already prepared the dumplings and was about to cook them.

"Qiangqiang, get ready to fire!" Li Junfeng shouted from the doorway. Mingming and Haohao were at the gate, propping thick tree branches against the wall. The two brothers had to hold onto the branches together, otherwise they really couldn't hold them up.

Xueping, Xueqin, and Hongqin covered their ears and watched from the side, while Li Qiang stood outside the courtyard, holding firecrackers in one hand and lit incense sticks in the other, ready to go.

At this point, the girls' lack of participation seemed to be tacitly accepted. In fact, the Li family had never made such a rule. It was just that Li Xia and Chen Lirong might have mentioned it to the children in private. In addition, Li Juan was not interested in this, so the girls just watched.

"Fire!" Li Junfeng relayed the instruction from the center, and Li Qiang immediately lit the fuse. He then quickly ran back to the yard and took the stick from Mingming and Haohao. Actually, he originally wanted to hold the stick himself, but Mingming and Haohao were too afraid to light it, and he didn't dare let his two younger brothers light it either, as it would be troublesome if it exploded.

The crackling sounds heralded a prosperous new year. The children covered their ears as they watched the sparks fly from the firecrackers. Li Qiang tried his best to raise the pole high, knowing that the firecrackers would make a louder noise if they exploded in the air.

The thousand firecrackers quickly finished exploding. Mingming and Haohao turned and ran. After running into the house, Mingming said to Liang Yuemei:
"Auntie, give me a few dumpling wrappers!"

"I want five too!" Hao Hao continued.

"Why don't you like the filling?" Liang Yuemei asked, a little worried. "The filling is so delicious, it's all meat."

"I don't want to eat." Mingming shook her head.

"I don't want to eat either," Hao Hao nodded.

"Alright, alright, I know you want to run out and play as soon as possible." Liang Yuemei dotes on her two children like they're her grandchildren; there's no way around it, that's just how it is.

“Mom, then I also…” Li Qiang had already thrown away the pole and entered the house, intending to make the same request.

"No, you have to eat dumplings this morning, at least five." Liang Yuemei's tone was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.

Li Qiang wore a bitter expression.

Li Long entered the room with a smile, greeted his sister-in-law, ruffled Li Qiang's hair, and said:

"Eating more fillings is nutritious."

"But Hao Hao doesn't eat it..."

“If they keep eating like this, they’ll be overnourished. Look how much milk they drink every day, cow’s milk and goat’s milk…” Li Long explained, “If you could drink two basins of milk a day, your mother wouldn’t make you eat dumplings.”

"Then I'll get diarrhea if I drink it," Li Qiang said, still looking distressed.

"That's strange. I was fine drinking milk when I was little, but now that I'm in junior high, I get an upset stomach from drinking milk." Liang Yuemei was stirring the dumplings in the pot with an aluminum spoon, also pondering this question.

Li Long thought to himself that he used to think it was lactose intolerance, but why didn't he have lactose intolerance when he was a child?
I don't understand.

Breakfast began in this manner, and the sound of firecrackers outside became more frequent again. The east was just beginning to lighten, and the faint sounds of children's laughter could be heard on the main road outside.

Today is the happiest time for the children. Compared to yesterday, today they compete to exchange New Year's greetings, receive lucky money, wear new clothes, and see who has more and better candy and snacks in their pockets.

There were only dumplings for breakfast, but no one said anything. Everyone ate quickly because they knew they had to finish as soon as possible. Then they cleared the table and put out snacks and melon seeds. The kitchen also had to prepare the braised dishes.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, some people come to pay their respects and visit each other, while others come specifically to have a drink.

The four teams came from all over the country, and their customs were mixed together, making it difficult to distinguish between them, so they simply mixed them up.

Chen Xingbang and Li Anguo were not familiar with the people in the village, so the two of them discussed it and decided to take their families to visit Uncle Luo and his family at Lao Ma's place after breakfast.

They stayed at Old Ma's when they first came here, and they were most familiar with Uncle Luo and his family. It wouldn't be right not to pay them a visit.

Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia also went along, planning to visit Uncle Luo. As for the other elderly people in the village, since Qiangqiang was taking the children to pay New Year's visits, he didn't need to go.

As for Li Jianguo, he usually waits until after the third year of junior high school to go to the homes of older people like Lao Wang, who were the ones who started the village together, for drinks.

Chinese New Year is all about being lively and festive.

When we went out, the sun had only just risen above the horizon, its color a yellowish-red. No wonder some people in later generations said it looked like a salted duck egg yolk; it really does resemble one.

Along the way, we encountered several groups of children, all playing and laughing, gesturing about the candy, peanuts, melon seeds, and other snacks in their pockets. Candy was naturally the highest grade, especially milk candy, followed by peanuts. Sunflower seeds were okay, while oil sunflower seeds were the lowest grade.

Some of the familiar ones even asked Li Long for candy. Li Long had some in his pocket, so he distributed it to them and also gave them a few small firecrackers.

He took out a lighter, lit a cigarette, and then occasionally lit a firecracker and threw it into the sky to listen to the sound and relieve his boredom.

Li Anguo thought Li Long's lit toys looked more fun, so he wanted to light two for himself. Neither family's children came along; they had run off to play with Li Qiang, so the women walked quickly ahead, afraid of getting blown up.

"You're such a grown-up, yet you act like a child." Li Xia complained from the front. She had been afraid of firecrackers since she was a child. When she was little, the older kids in the neighborhood set off firecrackers for her, and she was terrified. The firecrackers back home were much more powerful than these. They could be embedded in the branches of trees and split a tree as thick as an arm in half.

“Exactly, just like children,” Chen Lirong agreed, then turned to ask Gu Xiaoxia, “Xiaoxia, how many days off do you get? How much is the year-end bonus? Do you get any extra money?”

“There are bonuses, but not much. There aren’t many benefits either; we’re in the education system, we don’t have much money,” Gu Xiaoxia said honestly. “Xiaolong and his colleagues at the supply and marketing cooperative receive more.”

"The supply and marketing cooperative even gives Xiaolong things?" Chen Lirong said enviously. "The supply and marketing cooperative is so good... Xiaolong... well, he's doing pretty well now."

She originally wanted to suggest that Xiaolong should become a permanent employee at the supply and marketing cooperative, but then she realized that Li Long was now the boss, and he definitely wouldn't be interested in a permanent position.

So the men set off firecrackers behind them, and Chen Xingbang also set off a few. He was quite daring, and he only threw them when the fuse was almost burning his hand—one of them almost exploded in his hand.

Although my hands were a little sore from the shaking, I was very proud of myself.

The woman chatted with them up ahead, and soon they arrived at Old Ma's ship.

Today is Chinese New Year, so Yang Laoliu, unusually, did not go out to herd sheep. Instead, he got up early to clean up the hay stalks in the cattle and sheep pen, then sprinkled hay on top. He also put sugar residue in the cement troughs by the pen so that the cattle and sheep could eat well. Then he changed into new clothes and waited for people to come and wish him a Happy New Year.

Old Ma became a symbol and geographical landmark for the fourth team.

The people living here may not be the oldest in the four teams, but they are the most experienced, or even legendary. Each of them has a story to tell that fascinates the children.

Before Gu Xiaoxia and the others even entered the door, Li Qiang rushed out with a group of children. Seeing Gu Xiaoxia and the others, Li Qiang greeted them with a smile: "Second Aunt, Aunt, Little Aunt, we just finished paying our New Year's respects. Uncle Luo gave us lucky money, we gave it all... Hey, we couldn't refuse... so we kowtowed to him."

"We gave it to them too!" Mingming and Haohao shouted from behind, their knees covered in dirt, clearly marks left from kowtowing.

Next up are Xueping, Xueqin, and Hongqin. Li Juan didn't come; she's grown up now and only plays with a few girls her own age.

Xueping, Xueqin, and Hongqin didn't say anything; they were also clutching their New Year's money, looking at their father who hadn't arrived yet with some worry.

"Alright, go have some fun." Xiaoxia waved her hand when she saw that her sister-in-law and aunt were silent. "Qiangqiang, where are you planning to go later?"

“Let’s go pay New Year’s visits again!” Li Qiang said with a smile. “We haven’t visited Uncle Gu yet.”

"Go ahead, go ahead. My dad must have prepared lucky money for me too. Tell him not to let me drink!"

"Okay, Auntie, we're leaving!"

After saying that, she led her younger siblings away, waving goodbye as she passed Li Long and his group.

Li Long noticed that their pockets were bulging, and he couldn't tell if they were filled with candy or firecrackers.

Hongqin was a little better off, but Xueping and Xueqin were required at home to be polite and courteous to everyone, to act like little girls, and not to be as naughty as boys.

So these past two days have been very novel for them, and with Li Qiang leading the way, they were welcomed at every house they visited. Of course, they could also tell that Mingming and Haohao were the most popular.

Seeing that their father didn't object to them running around with Brother Qiang, the two children were overjoyed. After greeting Li Anguo, they quickly ran off with Li Qiang.

Hongqin, however, exchanged a few words with Chen Xingbang, mentioning that she had received five yuan in New Year's money, and even proudly showed it off before running away.

Every child received the same amount of New Year's money. Actually, Li Qiang was just coming over to wish his family a Happy New Year out of habit. He knew that the old people at Lao Ma's place helped his uncle herd cattle, sheep, horses, deer, and donkeys, and he also knew that they had a good relationship with his family.

Of course, Li Qiang is already over ten years old and understands gains and losses as well as seniority. He stubbornly follows the titles and seniority that started from his father, only calling Uncle Luo "Grandpa Luo" and not calling him "Grandpa Luo" like Mingming and Haohao do.

Because when Li Jianguo sees Lao Luo, he will only call him Lao Luo or Brother Lao Luo.

Li Jianguo has the qualifications, and Li Qiang believes he will inherit them.

Many of the kids in the team who were about his age or a year or two younger than him were forced by their families to call Li Qiang "uncle." There was nothing they could do about it; Li Qiang was used to being younger but having a higher seniority—because his father was of a higher seniority.

Maybe in the future, when we're older, we'll all be addressed by our own names, but things are different now.

Li Jianguo asked Li Qiang to take the children to pay New Year's visits, but only within a general area; it didn't matter if they visited a few more or fewer families.

While Li Qiang and his group were running to pay their New Year's greetings, Li Long and his group also entered the old horse's house.

The old man was afraid of the cold, so the stove in the house was kept very hot, and various kinds of braised meat were laid out on the table.

Although they are old, Uncle Luo and the others work hard and have good appetites, especially Yang Laoliu, who eats meat and drinks alcohol without lacking anything, and he is also very capable of herding cattle and sheep all by himself.

It has to be said that the foundation he laid in his youth was really good—of course, not many people his age can enjoy good things when they are young, so there is a reason why he is in good health.

Li Anguo and Chen Xingbang used to live here. Some of the places where they live are still inhabited, while others have been converted into warehouses.

Because the number of cattle and sheep raised has increased, the two truckloads of sugar residue delivered by the sugar factory each week are now almost enough.

The sugar residue stored in the past was gradually consumed, and the newly delivered sugar was dried and stored. This rotation continued for a long time, and the horse stable stored the sugar residue from two warehouses.

Li Anguo, Chen Xingbang, and Chen Lirong looked at the house they used to live in, feeling nostalgic. Li Long, on the other hand, was pulled by Yang Laoliu to see the things they had saved up last year.

It contains deer placenta, deer tendons, deer heart, and deer penis.

"Take all of this when you leave later. If it's inconvenient, you can take it when you drive back to the county." Old Yang waved his hand. "It's all good stuff, it's just sitting there anyway."

“We’ve taken a batch,” Li Long said with a smile.

“They’re all yours. They’re freshly dried. People will covet them if you leave them out,” Yang Laoliu said. “You know, some people in the team are very greedy. They know there’s good stuff here and have been eyeing it for a while. Some of them have a good relationship with Lao Luo, so they can’t refuse and just pass them on to me.”

Yang Laoliu is a bit of a loner and not easy to talk to, so it's better to let him keep things safe.

“Okay, I’ll take it with me later,” Li Long said with a smile. “You guys need to keep some for soaking in alcohol? Never mind, I’ll bring you some pre-made medicinal wine later.”

The tiger bone wine had been brewed in the yard for a while. My parents, Lao Gu, and my older brother all drank it. I gave some to Uncle Luo, but I don't know if he finished it.

"Hey, I knew you had good stuff. Lao Luo didn't even want to drink it when he brought it over. We each had two cups yesterday, and we couldn't sleep all night because of the heat," Yang Laoliu said with a smile. "Just one bottle is enough!"

He was knowledgeable and could roughly guess what it was. Li Long wouldn't tell him, and he wouldn't reveal it either.

Li Long probably doesn't have much good stuff, and he doesn't ask for more; he'll just have a drink occasionally.

Gu Xiaoxia went to see the baby deer. The timing of deer births is unpredictable; two in the enclosure had just given birth recently, and the babies were barely standing, looking incredibly cute.

Li Xia went with her to see it, and both of them knew it was dangerous, so they didn't go into the circle.

Although they've been kept in captivity for a long time, and some deer have been kept in captivity since birth, the reality is that some deer are still quite aggressive and can be aggressive towards people.

Red deer, roe deer, wild boar, etc., look quite nice, this place is set up like a zoo.

It's only because Li Qiang and the others are used to it; otherwise, any other child would have stayed here for at least half a day.

After everyone had finished watching, Uncle Luo brought out the wine and said to Li Long:

"Your older brother isn't coming; he's too arrogant. Since you're here, have a couple of drinks before you leave. Women can have sweet wine; it's up to you. Men, you should at least have a little."

The Li family's children were the first to come and offer New Year's greetings, followed by the adults. Uncle Luo and the others were very happy. What does this mean? It means they haven't forgotten about these elderly people receiving government assistance—Xu Chengjun from the team had already brought some gifts yesterday, but those were from the team's public funds.

For these elderly people, they would prefer that their fellow team members come over, chat for a bit, have something to eat, and that the children come over to keep things lively. That would be just fine.

Since we're here, we're not afraid to drink. However, Li Long also made it clear that he would only have a few drinks because he was going to visit other people's homes.

Uncle Luo and the others naturally had no objections. This was just the beginning, and who knows who else would come later, so they would take it slow.

To Li Long's surprise, Xie Yundong and his group arrived after only two drinks, followed by Jia Weidong, then Liang Dacheng, and Tao Daqiang and Xu Haijun—they had gone to the Li family together and, knowing Li Long was coming, came over as well.

So what started as a few people drinking gradually turned into a room full of people.

Gu Xiaoxia and the other women went home early. They didn't drink, so they figured it was better to stay in the yard and help their sister-in-law when someone came over.

At first, Li Long was the main drinker, toasting each of the elderly people. But when Xie Yundong and the others came, the main drinkers became the elderly. By noon, apart from Yang Laoliu and Uncle Luo, the other elderly people had already fallen asleep.

But I'm genuinely happy; it's been a long time since I've felt this lively or this joyful.

The elderly people working here are not short of money, but with only a few of them, the Spring Festival naturally feels lonely. Without children and grandchildren around them, without a house full of descendants, if no one comes to visit during the Spring Festival, it really feels tasteless.

Now, with such a large group of people here, the house is almost overflowing with people. It's so lively! This is what Chinese New Year is all about!
"This doesn't feel like a New Year's greeting; it's more like our cooperative has gathered in a different place again," Xie Yundong and Li Long said with a smile as they came out for some fresh air. "We didn't expect to all of us to come here at the same time."

“They’re all the elderly people in the team who are on welfare, so they should come.” Li Long pointed outside and said with a smile, “Look, there are still quite a few people who remember the people here.”

On the road outside the gate, you can see people coming to offer New Year's greetings.

The elderly people on the Old Horse ship deserved their reward.

Actually, the reason why Uncle Luo and Yang Laoliu have persisted until now is so that more people can come to pay their respects for the New Year. Can they see this?

When someone came to offer New Year's greetings, Li Long greeted them and then told Li Anguo and Chen Xingbang to leave, otherwise there really wouldn't be enough room for them to squat down.

When Li Long left, he took a large bag with him, and Chen Xingbang asked curiously what it was.

“These are all good stuff. I’ll share them with you when we get back,” Li Long said with a smile. “They’re from the deer, and both men and women can use them.”

"Hey, that's really good stuff," Chen Xingbang said with a smile. "I'll have to take a good look at it when I get back."

Back home, Li Jianguo was drinking with Wang Caimi. Li Long didn't disturb them, and led Chen Xingbang and Li Anguo to his room, saying:

"Here, one deer fetus for each of you. This is for my sister and my second sister-in-law. You can keep the deer penis, and this deer heart... keep it for our parents."

Here's a handful of deer tendons for each of you. Take these back and find a good traditional Chinese medicine doctor to make a prescription for soaking them in alcohol; it's good for your tendons and bones. Even if you don't use them yourselves, they're still a good gift.

Before the New Year, Li Long slaughtered several red deer and roe deer. Some of the meat was braised, and some was frozen. Li Long planned to take some of it to his second brother and brother-in-law when they left.

The eldest brother, Li Jianguo, plans to pack them some more of this year's new rice and sunflower oil, and that should be enough.

Chen Xingbang and Li Anguo went back with their things, smiling.

They had all drunk quite a bit of alcohol, and since they didn't have anything else to do that day, they went back inside.

Mingming and Haohao didn't return with Gu Xiaoxia until very late, their pockets full. Once back in the house, they pulled out a handful of change from the bedside and started counting it.

The two children have been taught to save and spend money since they were young. Although they are still young, they have a concept of money.

"One yuan, two yuan, two yuan and fifty cents, two yuan and sixty cents..."

The two children were counting their own numbers, very seriously. Gu Xiaoxia glanced at them, then ignored them and went to check on Li Long's condition.

She knew Li Long's alcohol tolerance and knew he wouldn't get drunk, but she was worried about him catching a chill on the way back—he could have driven, but there would be too many people, so she thought she'd walk. Her original plan was to visit some relatives and friends for the New Year, and then go to other people's homes on the way back.

As a result, after drinking it, this is how it happened until now.

"I'm fine. After Lao Xie and the others went over, I stopped drinking. I stayed inside until my sweat dried before going out for a walk, and then I was fine." Knowing his wife was worried, Li Long explained, "It's the New Year, everyone's happy. Uncle Luo and the others were all very happy."

“It’s lively with lots of people, they just like it,” Gu Xiaoxia said as she made honey water for Li Long.

The Li family always keeps honey on hand. In addition to honey, after getting a refrigerator, they also store a lot of royal jelly, which is for their mother, Du Chunfang, to drink.

Although it didn't taste very good, after learning that it was a good thing, Du Chunfang followed Li Long's instructions and mixed it with honey to drink every few days.

Li Long meant that his father, Li Qingxia, also drank it, but his father didn't like the taste, saying it was too sour and astringent and didn't taste good, so he stopped drinking it.

There was also pollen, which Li Long had found for his wife and sister-in-law. It could be drunk or made into a paste to apply to the face—of course, neither Gu Xiaoxia nor Liang Yuemei had the habit of using it on their faces, feeling it was too wasteful.

It's just something you mix with water to drink, or sometimes when you're free you can just pour a handful into your hand and chew it dry.

Anyway, I'm not allergic to any of them.

At first, we got these things from Nanshan, and later Lao Gu brought them from Yili. In short, they came from good sources, so we made good use of them.

The two children quickly finished counting the money and then ran over to report to Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia:

"Dad, Mom, I got twenty-three yuan and twenty cents!"

"Me too!"

There are quite a lot!
Both Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia were quite surprised.

Gu Xiaoxia kept all the New Year's money the two children received at home; that didn't count. This twenty-three yuan was earned entirely outside.

"Mingming, Haohao, do you even know where this money came from?"

"I know, I know!"

"I know it too!"

The two children took turns speaking.

“At Old Ma’s place, several grandfathers each have a share,” Mingming interjected.

"Those uncles and elders who drive cars also live in groups of one."

"There were a few more places that Qiangqiang took us to; some had one or two cents, and some had five cents."

"Oh right, Grandpa gave me five yuan!"

Now that you put it that way, you'll understand pretty much.

Li Qiang led people to pay New Year's visits, all of whom were people with good family relationships. Generally, people with such relationships would give lucky money when they saw the children coming to pay New Year's visits.

No matter how much, it's the point.

As for Gu Boyuan giving five yuan, that was only fair. He probably wanted to give more, but Li Qiang was bringing a whole bunch of people with him, so he couldn't give more to everyone, and he also knew that it might cover up the Li family's New Year's money.

So giving five yuan as a token gesture will suffice.

"Alright, you can keep the money inside the house," Gu Xiaoxia said, worried they might lose it.

"But we still want to use the money to buy things tomorrow." Mingming was a little reluctant.

What do you want to buy?

"It's food," Hao Hao confessed.

"Then take one...two yuan, is that enough? I'm taking too much because I'm afraid you might lose something while you're taking it out, which would be troublesome."

"Okay." Both children were obedient and content.

Two yuan can buy quite a lot of things at the village store.

A string of 100 firecrackers costs only one yuan!
Gu Xiaoxia made a cup of honey water for each of the two children, telling them to drink it and cool off before going out to play. The two children hadn't had enough fun today and wanted to go see their older siblings in the back.

The same scene was playing out in several rooms.

Both Chen Lirong and Li Xia were surprised by how much New Year's money their children received today.

Aside from the people at Old Ma's shop, no one else knew about them. Oh, and they did know about the Old Gu family.

Li Xia then said to Chen Xingbang:

"This is all thanks to Big Brother and Little Dragon."

Chen Xingbang laughed, still thinking about what he was going to get from Li Long.

"Let them take it. When we find out, we'll give them some when their kids come over." He spoke loudly, but Li Xia knew that even if those kids did come, Chen Xingbang would most likely pretend not to know.

Besides, tomorrow is the second day of the Lunar New Year, and we're visiting relatives. My older brother and Xiaolong are going to my mother-in-law's house, and most other families will probably be too. How could anyone possibly come over?

They'll be going back the day after tomorrow, and this matter will most likely just fizzle out.

But she couldn't say anything, and now she has no way to repay the debt.

Just as I was starting to worry, I heard Chen Lirong calling from outside the courtyard.

After Li Xia went outside, she saw Chen Lirong and asked her a question:
"Second sister-in-law, is it about the New Year's money?"

“Yes,” Chen Lirong was even more at a loss than Li Xia. She had two children and together they had only forty-odd yuan, which was equivalent to almost half a month’s salary for Li Anguo.

I might not be able to earn this much money in half a month!

How could she not worry?

"I don't know what to do either..." Li Xia was at a loss.

"Then let's go find your sister-in-law?" That was actually what Chen Lirong meant, but she wanted to see if Li Xia had a plan. If not, it would be better for the two of them to go together.

"Okay." Li Xia nodded, and then they went together to find Liang Yuemei.

Wang Caimi has already gone home. Li Jianguo drank a bit too much and is resting in bed. Liang Yuemei is busy in the kitchen.

After listening to her sister-in-law and sister-in-law's words, Liang Yuemei smiled and said:

"It's for the child, so take it if you receive it."

“How can that be? That’s so much money…” Chen Lirong still felt it was inappropriate.

"It's alright. Those who give New Year's money are all people who are close to our family. This New Year's money is a token of their goodwill." In fact, Liang Yuemei already knew from Li Qiang which families the money went to, so she had a good idea of ​​what was going on.

To her surprise, team leader Xu Chengjun also gave the children lucky money, two yuan per child. Considering he was an outsider, the amount was not small.

"Are you really alright?" Chen Lirong was slightly relieved to see how certain Liang Yuemei was.

“It’s alright. These families all grew cotton with us last year. They made money growing cotton, so this is just a way of expressing their gratitude. We don’t need anything. The child came to wish us a Happy New Year, so we just gave the child some lucky money.” Liang Yuemei changed her approach to one that Li Xia and Chen Lirong could understand better.

This time, Li Xia and Chen Lirong were relieved and understood.

It's not actually that realistic and straightforward; it's more about human relationships and how deep or shallow those relationships are.

In fact, Liang Yuemei gave out a lot of lucky money today, but some children didn't come over, and didn't go around the village like Li Qiang, so she didn't give them all.

But Li Qiang's approach is actually the one that everyone likes.

You adults don't need anything, but I'm making money with you, so I'll just show my appreciation through the kids. You can't refuse, can you? Besides, it's Chinese New Year, and the kids come to wish me a happy new year—what does that mean? It means we're close!

I couldn't be happier!

In the village, most families hope that as many people as possible come to pay their respects during the Lunar New Year, and that the celebration is as lively as possible!

This is how it went.

Inside the room, Li Qiang took out a five-yuan note and handed it to his sister, saying:

"Sister, this is the New Year's money Uncle Gu gave you."

"How old am I to still need New Year's money?" Li Juan frowned.

“Uncle Gu said that since you’re under eighteen, you should have it,” Li Qiang said with a smile.

"Then I'll take it." Li Juan didn't stand on ceremony. She was well aware of the relationship between the two families. As for how to repay it, that was her parents' business.

The next day, Li Long took Mingming and Haohao to Old Gu's house, while Li Jianguo took his wife and children to Liang Donglou's house. At home, there were only Li Qingxia and her husband, along with Li Anguo and Li Xia's families.

They were all family, so cooking was Li Xia and Chen Lirong's job. Without Li Juan and Li Qiang looking after them, the children had nowhere to go and could only stay at home, getting a little bored and increasingly thinking about playing around like they did yesterday.

Mingming Haohao went to the Gu family with Li Long and the others, but he was actually a little unwilling.

Although he hadn't seen his maternal grandfather for a long time, Lao Gu came back before the New Year, and Mingming Haohao was at the Li family's house, so they already met. They met again yesterday when they went to pay New Year's visits. For a child, the longing for adults was relieved in less than half an hour after meeting them, and he still wanted to play with Qiangqiang.

However, it's definitely not possible today. Gu Xiaoxia had already reminded them when she had them sitting in the back of the car that they had to go to their maternal grandfather's house today.

When Li Long and the others arrived, Old Gu had already cleaned the house. Yesterday, after Mingming and Haohao left, some villagers came over for drinks, and Old Gu entertained them, resulting in the house being quite messy.

I drank alcohol and didn't clean up last night, so I only cleaned this morning. It was a bit rushed.

After Li Long and the others arrived, Gu Xiaoxia began tidying up the house and preparing lunch.

Since we're all family, there's not much to prepare. The main things are snacks for Gu Boyuan and Li Long to go with their drinks, and some delicious meals for Mingming and Haohao.

Gu Boyuan had already told Li Long about the situation in Yili, so Li Long was doing most of the talking now.

Gu Boyuan already knew about the cooperative. He had gone to the Li family a couple of days ago and talked with Li Jianguo. He had also heard Li Long mention it before, so he wasn't paying much attention to it now. He was just discussing with Li Long how the purchasing station should develop after they stopped buying furs.

Aside from agricultural supplies, Li Long can't think of much else for the time being.

The specialties of northern Xinjiang are in high demand in the mainland, but logistics is a major problem. Many things that the mainland needs are too time-consuming and expensive to transport from here.

Moreover, sales channels are also a problem.

We can't rely on Jia Tianlong, Zhao Hui, Huang Lei, and others forever, since some of them aren't actually in this business; they're just "part-time."

Fortunately, there is still time. These things cannot be accomplished overnight; they require time to study and opportunities to be discovered in daily life.

Then we talked about Gu Xiaoyu's matter, which both sides had already discussed, so there was nothing more to say.

I didn't drink much at lunch. I had already drunk some yesterday, so I felt a bit averse to alcohol today. I only had two drinks as a token gesture.

Li Long and the others went back relatively early, mainly because Mingming Haohao didn't like staying here and always wanted to go out and play. Old Gu was also an easygoing person, so he simply let Li Long and the others eat and stay for a while before going back.

However, Hao Hao received another New Year's money today, which was an unexpected surprise. As Lao Gu said, yesterday's money was given to everyone, but today's money was given to his grandson separately, so it was different.

When they returned to the Li family home, Li Jianguo's family had not yet come back, but Mingming and Haohao were back. Xueping, Xueqin, and Hongqin were quite happy, and now it was their turn to take Mingming and Haohao out to play.

Li Long simply told them not to go too far before going inside. There weren't many things to do outside at this time; at most, they could go ice skating or build a snowman. The girls were timid, so they weren't worried.

It was getting dark when Li Jianguo and the others returned. Li Juan and Li Qiang were both quite happy, and there were other people playing with them as well.

Li Jianguo asked Li Qiang to call Li Long over and gave him 10,000 yuan.

“This was given to Juan by her uncle. He said it was the money earned from plowing the fields with a 75-ton tractor. He knows that tractor is worth more than that, so he's giving this much for now and will pay it back slowly.”

"Hey, no rush, no rush," Li Long said, but he still took the money. He laughed and said, "It's quite nice to receive money every now and then around the Lunar New Year."

“Yes, having money is always a good thing.” Li Jianguo nodded. “Wenyu said that there might be another batch of land to be contracted in their area in the spring, and he was thinking about whether to contract some of it to grow cotton.”

“Growing cotton requires manpower,” Li Long said after thinking for a moment. “He wants to drive a tractor, so we’ll see if he has time to plant it. If we can find long-term workers, then we can plant it. But they can grow scallions… this kind of cotton isn’t as tiring as growing scallions.”

Liang Donglou's family, or the whole village there, have many people growing scallions and vegetables, which is also very troublesome and labor-intensive.

There's no other way; in areas with limited land, this is the only option. More labor is needed to achieve higher yields per acre.

However, later on, most of the land in this village was also planted with cotton. There was no other way; relatively speaking, under mechanized conditions, growing cotton was not so tiring, and since it was their own land, there was no land rent, so the income was relatively good.

From 2010 onwards, except for a few years when cotton prices soared, every other year, the money earned by local farmers from growing cotton was equivalent to the land rent paid by outsiders—in other words, unless there was a bumper harvest, outsiders who contracted large amounts of land to grow cotton did not make much money.

Of course, many people are gambling, betting that cotton prices will rise. If prices rise for even one year, they might be able to recoup their investment of several years.

"That depends on him. Whether he continues to grow vegetables or cotton," Li Jianguo said without elaborating. Li Juan and Li Qiang's maternal grandparents are still in good health and can still farm, but for now, if they don't grow enough cotton, the profits won't be very good.

If you plant more, you will need to invest additional manpower.

There is no solution at the moment.

The children, free from these worries, happily played together again.

Especially after learning that Xueping, Xueqin, and Hongqin would be going home tomorrow, the children felt even more how precious their time together was.

So the children played until dark, even after the main lights in the front and back yards were on, they were still playing.

In the end, Liang Yuemei had to call the children back to drink milk, and it took several calls for them to return.

After entering the room, Gu Xiaoxia reached out and touched the inside of Mingming's collar; it was soaked with sweat.

"No more playing! Finish your milk and go home right away. Take off your clothes and dry yourself off!" Gu Xiaoxia said sternly to the children. "Don't run around outside anymore, or you'll catch a cold!"

Gu Xiaoxia is usually all smiles and very kind, but now she suddenly puts on a stern face. Minghao is alright, but Xueping, Xueqin, and Hongqin are a little scared, because they can sense that she has the aura of a teacher.

After washing up in the evening, Li Long joked with Gu Xiaoxia, saying that although she hadn't been a teacher for many years, she still had the air of a teacher.

"By the way, our Director Wang told me privately that she asked if I wanted to be the principal of No. 2 Primary School. I said I had no experience, and she said I could be the vice principal and the party branch secretary."

Gu Xiaoxia's sudden revelation surprised Li Long as well.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Gu Xiaoxia has been working at the Education Bureau for several years, and her colleagues have changed several times. Many of her colleagues have been rotated to various schools, so it's about time for her to take over.

To go or not to go?
P.S.: The supermarket owner said that if he sees young men and women buying green tea, ballpoint pens, and sausages, they're definitely addicted to drugs. These three things can be made into hookah for nicotine... I'm speechless...

(End of this chapter)