Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Li Long looked around, and together with Meng Hai, they packed some wild mushrooms and prepared to return.

"Ow—!"

A long, drawn-out sound suddenly came from the distant valley to the south, and Li Long stopped getting into the car.

That sound... it sounds so much like a tiger!
After the sound ended, he turned to look at Meng Hai.

“We’ve heard it several times already,” Meng Hai said. “We’ve all been guessing what it is. It doesn’t look like a bear, it doesn’t look like a wolf, and as for a tiger, there’s no way we have tigers around here…”

"It's not just once?" Li Long asked, somewhat surprised. "Do you hear it often?"

"It's not that I hear it often. Just a few days ago, I heard it a few times a day, and sometimes I didn't hear it at all for two or three days."

The image of the tiger king came to Li Long's mind.

Is it this one?

He suddenly felt a pang of regret, regretting building the road.

Could it be that the road construction workers disturbed the tiger king's "quiet retreat," causing it to roar uneasily?

Of course, this regret was only momentary. The Tianshan Mountains are so vast that this one road won't have much of an impact.

A tiger's territory is usually several hundred square kilometers or more, and it should have other places where it can roam freely, right?
Hearing the shouts stop, Li Long got into his car, waved to Meng Hai and the others, and drove away.

On the way back, Li Long walked slowly, listening carefully the whole time, but he never heard another roar.

As they were about to leave the mountain, Li Long turned towards the wooden house and saw Polati talking to someone there. There was a cloth bag next to them.

These days, most people use fertilizer bags when digging for fritillaria bulbs; it's rare to see people using cloth bags.

Seeing the GAZ truck approaching, the man who was talking to Polati panicked and turned to run away, but Polati stopped him.

The man remained hesitant, maintaining a wary demeanor, as if he would turn and run away at the slightest sign of trouble from Li Long, who had just gotten out of the car.

They clearly know that the forest police are now in charge of things in the mountains, and if they are caught by the forest police, they will be detained, which is different from before!
"How was your day?" Li Long asked Pollati after getting out of the car, then looked at the man—to Li Long's surprise, the man was a young man, no more than twenty-five years old, who had not yet grown a beard, and had only faint traces of dark downy hair on his upper and lower lips.

This is quite rare for people who frequently travel in the mountains.

The young man was unaware that Li Long was the owner of the cabin, and he was a little flustered.

"You don't come here to dig for medicinal herbs often, do you?" Li Long asked with a smile. "I don't recognize any of them."

The rebellious spirit of young people is rising; should I get to know you?
“He’s been collecting fritillaria here for years,” Polati said with a smile. “The older herbalists all know him. You just arrived this year, right? It’s normal that you don’t recognize him.”

So he's a medicinal herb collector. The young man immediately relaxed, curiously examining Li Long and the GAZ truck.

“These aren’t very clean. I just weighed them. They weigh seven kilograms in total. What are you planning to exchange them for?” Polati had become surprisingly experienced.

Li Long didn't bother him. He wandered around the area and waited until Polati finished changing the items for the young man and poured the fritillaria into a large basin to wash it. The young man then left in a hurry.

It's never as safe here as it is in the woods.

"How was your day?" Li Long asked.

"I changed about ten kilograms this morning, and just now I changed another seven kilograms, so it's about twenty kilograms in total." Polati was a little dissatisfied. "There are still too few people."

“That’s fine. You can earn forty yuan in one morning and half an afternoon. What do you want to do? People in the county’s casual labor market are already quite content if they can get one job a day and earn three or five yuan.” Li Long said to him while taking out the money.

Polati chuckled.

The dissatisfaction stems from earning more money; when money is less, one looks down on it.

Just like casting a net to catch fish, once you've caught more than ten kilograms of fish at once, catching three or five kilograms feels like a waste.

Actually, if we didn't sell them, a family couldn't possibly finish three to five kilograms of fish.

After paying, Li Long put the washed fritillaria bulbs into a bag, then took out the fritillaria bulbs that had been gathered up in the house and put them in the car. He waved goodbye and left.

Polati decided to wait a little longer; perhaps he could find someone else to exchange the fritillaria bulbs?

Li Long drove back to the purchasing station, unloaded the fritillaria bulbs, and left some mushrooms for Liang Shuangcheng and Sun Jiaqiang before returning to the courtyard.

He's been quite busy lately—of course, because both the purchasing station and the dried meat processing plant are managed by someone, so he doesn't need to worry about them much, which is why he seems busy, but it's all just busywork.

The mushrooms he brought back from the mountains were quite good. It wasn't time to pick up Mingming and Haohao yet, and Sister Yang hadn't come back to cook, so Li Long started washing the mushrooms, soaking the dried chili peppers, and preparing to cook.

Gu Xiaoxia came home a little late from get off work. While washing her hands and eating, she complained:

"Sigh, I really don't understand. Those parents are so irresponsible towards their children. The kids actually brought a snake to school, which terrified several girls..."

"A little snake? Mom, who brought a snake? Is it a student from your school?" Mingming's eyes lit up when he heard this.

For most children, snakes are relatively dangerous animals. But Mingming and Haohao are two exceptions—probably because they often heard their grandparents and uncles talk about how their father often caught snakes, the two children no longer had any fear of snakes.

Now that Li Long has made something of himself, the things he did when he was around ten years old are now considered anecdotes—if he hadn't made something of himself, those things would have become evidence of his mischief.

Whether it's due to the nature of propaganda or a desire for grandeur and completeness, whenever Chinese people admire someone, they always try to portray that person as incredibly perfect, as if they have no flaws.

This bad habit persisted into the 21st century.

“A child went with his family to the militia armory in Nanshan over the weekend. He said he caught a small snake there—about the length of a pencil, thin—and brought it back to play with. He then put it in his pencil case and took it to school, which almost scared the girl sitting next to him to faint.”

Gu Xiaoxia recounted the whole story, while warning Mingming and Haohao that they shouldn't follow her example and that they shouldn't catch snakes in the future.

Actually, students at this age are quite resilient. It's practically impossible for them to be afraid of insects or mice, since they see them all the time. Due to the lack of toys, some children even use these things as toys.

But snakes are different after all, and most children still have a fear of them.

Li Long just smiled. Children at this age are generally capable of doing what one can imagine. Unlike later generations who are more outrageous—after all, social customs are relatively traditional, so they can only develop in the direction of being mischievous.

At this time, there was a real dividing line between boys and girls. If a boy was close to a girl, he would be laughed at by the boys.

Of course, in elementary school, the most likely scenario for teachers is dealing with naughty children. At this time, it's common for teachers to hit students, and some parents even believe in the saying "spare the rod and spoil the child."

The children are also extremely resilient; they might get a beating, cry a few times, or even not cry at all, and the next day will be over.

Li Long hears Gu Xiaoxia talk about school every day. The time she spends at home for dinner is also a time for Gu Xiaoxia to bring some work-related emotions home and clear her mind.

As the branch secretary at school, she couldn't use foul language or complain about people; she needed to consider the overall situation and solve problems.

So home became the only place for her to calm down—fortunately, during meals, everyone listened to her complaints and joined in, while Li Long would often give her some constructive advice.

In Li Long's view, while there are indeed naughty children nowadays, most of them are not malicious, or rather, their malice is limited by the general environment, unlike some people in later generations who knowingly commit heinous acts because they are under the age of fourteen.

So, if you just randomly tell Gu Xiaoxia some educational methods that are now widely circulated on the internet, they might actually work.

Gu Xiaoxia had long been aware of her husband's omnipotence, so she never doubted him and decided to use him first.

Sister Yang and Li Qingxia would sometimes offer suggestions, but more often they would listen and discuss them before letting Li Long speak.

Gu Xiaoxia was just venting her frustrations. She hadn't seen so many "weird" students when she was at the Education Bureau, or rather, she hadn't had enough time teaching at the rural middle school to encounter so many.

Then Gu Xiaoxia started telling some funny stories about school. Students are still innocent, and they might do things that they think are right and firm at the time, but in the eyes of adults, these things are still somewhat childish and ridiculous.

This is one of the few condiments available during dinner.

Han Fang was the first to finish eating, and then she hurriedly went back to her room to study. Han Fang has been studying very hard lately, probably because it's her last semester and time is very tight.

Every morning, Li Long would see her reciting texts in the yard, including English, math, and physics formulas.

It felt like she was putting in a lot of effort—almost as much as Li Juan did when she was in junior high school.

Li Long thought she should be able to get a good score—the scores for vocational teacher training colleges are now higher than those for high school, and he didn't know which school she was aiming for.

Li Long doesn't ask about these things; usually, it's Sister Yang and Gu Xiaoxia who talk about it. They also don't ask Han Fang about her studies at the dinner table, afraid of putting too much pressure on her.

Mingming and Haohao quickly put down their chopsticks and said they were full, then slipped away to play.

With the recent rise in temperature, the hedgehog family, which was hibernating, has started to come out and move around in the yard. Mingming and Haohao have always been quite curious about these strange creatures covered in quills. So whenever they're home, they go to check on the hedgehogs from time to time.

The little hedgehogs have grown quite a bit, but they are still very timid. Even though they have lived here for several years, they still act furtively. When no one is around, they will sneak along the wall to find food, and then quickly take the food back to their burrow.

At the slightest disturbance, he would immediately roll himself into a spiky ball, or immediately crawl under the nearby debris to hide.

Very careful.

Minghao Hao was very patient. He carefully walked over and squatted down not far away, watching the hedgehog eat its food in small bites.

When Li Long and Sister Yang were feeding the dogs, deer, and lambs in the yard, they would also give the hedgehog some food.

Hedgehogs have a varied diet, eating things like corn, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and watermelon rinds, making them easy to feed.

Moreover, hedgehogs usually don't appear when people are feeding them; they only appear after people have left, quietly eating or carrying the food back to their nest.

After the meal, Li Qingxia walked back slowly with her hands behind her back, while Li Long went to feed the animals in the house and then did his routine check on the things in the side room.

The room currently mainly contains antelope horns. Because Li Long cleans and maintains it regularly, there isn't a strong odor emanating from it. However, that's about it; you can still smell the odor throughout the room.

A tiger skin, a pile of tiger bones, two snow leopard skins, and other miscellaneous items had all been placed into an exquisitely crafted brown wooden box, which looked completely ordinary from the outside.

Li Long opened the box to check its contents, found nothing wrong, and then locked it again.

Most of the items are in the cellar, where they are better preserved and don't need to be moved around frequently.

Previously, we had asked people in Wucheng to take the paintings to be framed in batches, and now they are all in another room. There are also some desiccants and other things in the room to prevent moisture.

Li Long is now fully appreciating the advantages of having a large yard and many rooms. There are also several tabby cats in the yard, which are semi-wild. The family feeds them and they catch mice, but they find their own places to live and don't get too close to people. They are more like guest servants in the yard.

In winter, they become relatively dependent on human feeding. Once the snow melts, they revert to their wild nature and occasionally play with hedgehogs, but most of the time they are the ones who get pricked and run away.

Therefore, there is no worry about rats in these houses. Of course, Li Long also puts the framed paintings in a row of large wooden boxes, with camphor balls inside to repel insects.

The box was made by a carpenter using wood brought back from the mountains in recent years. It wasn't required to be very beautiful, just sturdy and durable.

These items are not worth much for the time being, or rather, Li Long has no intention of selling them. In the end, they may be kept as collectibles, or they may be released at the appropriate time.

Although Li Long is quite wealthy now, his wealth is only confined to the area of ​​Ma County. If he were to expand beyond that region, let alone other provinces, he wouldn't be considered significant even within the northern Xinjiang area.

Of course, he doesn't have much ambition. He's actually quite satisfied with what he has now, and he'll just take it one step at a time.

From then on, he maintained a schedule of going to the fourth team one day and to the mountains the next. The asphalt road from the township to the fourth team was being built quickly, with changes every day. However, the asphalt paving process was slower compared to the road Meng Hai and his team had taken, especially when the road was flanked by farmland.

Because half the road needed to be cleared for pedestrians, the other half was laid vertically after one half was completed. By this time, the trees and fields on both sides were gone, and there were ditches along the roadside. It was fine for pedestrians, but it was more troublesome for tractors.

Moreover, this section is quite long, several hundred meters, and it's unrealistic to block tractors from traveling.

On the contrary, Meng Hai and his team in the mountains are building faster and faster. There are enough rocks and Gobi deserts on both sides of the original pastoral trail, and there is also sand and gravel in the riverbed as building materials.

There were no large trees or boulders to block the way, and the valley was relatively wide, making construction easier and allowing for very fast progress.

After each visit, Li Long would go to the wooden house to collect fritillaria bulbs from Bolati. Because of the day interval, he could usually collect 40 to 50 kilograms, and sometimes even more than 100 kilograms.

Polati was also very happy. The more fritillaria he harvested, the more income he earned. He was also very attentive to his work. Every time Li Long came over, he would take the initiative to tell him what was missing and what should not be replaced later.

Along with this, the number of fritillaria bulbs being collected by the purchasing stations also increased.

The price of fritillaria this year is the same as in previous years, so the purchasing stations have not raised prices. However, they are still maintaining the usual practice: as long as the fritillaria is particularly clean, the price can be increased.

Because of this, the fritillaria bulbs that Li Long saw at the purchasing station every day were always clean, and some had even been carefully selected.

Currently, more purchasing stations are opening in various counties and cities, and some other purchasing stations have also started to compete on price, with some raising their purchase prices to attract local dealers and herb farmers.

Therefore, fewer people are coming to Li Long to sell fritillaria bulbs than before, something that both Li Long and Li Qingxia were prepared for.

After all, not everyone is a fool. After observing for a few years, they all realized that if they wanted to make money, they had to improve their service and prices; otherwise, they would definitely have to close down if they continued with the old methods used by state-owned stores.

These are lessons learned from losses; nobody wants to turn down money.

So by the end of April, Li Long calculated that the amount of fritillaria he had collected was only two-thirds of that collected during the same period, and slightly less.

But that's about it.

On April 30, the road from the winter pasture to the summer pasture was officially opened to traffic.

That day, Li Long happened to be in the mountains and saw Meng Hai and the others build a road to the foot of the summer pasture before lunch.

Further up is a gentle slope, so there's no need to build a road; tractors can drive up there.

Li Long drove his GAZ truck all the way to the foot of the mountain. He felt that the altitude here should be around 2,400 to 2,500 meters. If he climbed up the mountain, there might be alpine meadows reaching 3,000 meters.

When the road was completed, the workers did not breathe a sigh of relief or cheer. When Meng Hai said "time's done," they put down their tools. Some went to wash their hands in the stream, while others carried their tools up the slope to go see the grassland on the mountain.

After all, it's a place we built ourselves, so we need to see where it leads.

At the end of April, the grass on the slopes here was only about a hand's breadth tall, with some unusual plants like rhubarb growing even taller.

Li Long drove the GAZ truck straight onto the grassland. He could vaguely see the path that cattle and sheep had once trodden up the slope, but it was now covered by grass.

The wild grass here is very vigorous, and the soil underneath is dark brown, which is very suitable for plant growth.

As he went uphill, he could vaguely hear people washing their hands exclaiming that the water was too cold—which made sense, since it was only a few kilometers away from the glacier further ahead, and the water was pure melted glacial water. There was even snow in some places on the shady slope, so how could the water not be cold?
The GAZ truck didn't reach the end of the grassland; it stopped after driving uphill for about four or five hundred meters. There were traces of tents that had been pitched there, some household garbage that hadn't been covered by the grass, and some cow and sheep dung mixed in with the grass—that patch of grass was growing more lushly.

Halim and his group haven't come yet this year—mainly because Li Long said the road is almost finished. Yushanjiang suggested they stay in the winter shelter for a few more days until the road is completed, then use tractors to transport supplies up, and then drive the cattle and sheep up, which would be more convenient.

After the road is completed, the time required to move cattle and sheep to new pastures will be shortened—after all, the repaired "pastoral road" is much wider than before.

Many mushrooms have already grown on the grass, just like the ones Meng Hai and the others picked earlier. They grow in patches, not in the tall grass, but in the grass that is less than a hand's width high, like white pearls scattered among them.

Very beautiful.

Li Long couldn't resist picking up the small patch of mushrooms with his bag, and then he saw a "mushroom line" continuing forward, leading to a patch of low grass, where there would be another patch.

I spent half an hour picking mushrooms and collected several kilograms of them. Each mushroom was about the size of a quail egg and tasted delicious.

"The air here is so fresh," Meng Hai exclaimed from behind. "If it weren't so far, I would have brought my family here to see it. The scenery here is even better than when we came down the mountain. Over there, you can see snow-capped mountains not far away, but here it's all green grass, with forests on the right and high mountains and plains on the left... It's wonderful."

Then they saw a herd of wild goats galloping eastward about a hundred meters ahead, and quickly disappearing into the rolling hills.

"Hey, hey, hey..." Meng Hai watched the wild goat run away and disappear before shouting repeatedly, "Mistake, mistake, I should have brought the gun."

Li Long did have a semi-automatic rifle in his GAZ truck, but he didn't take it out; by then it was too late.

"Red deer!" someone suddenly exclaimed from the foot of the mountain. "A whole herd, and there are even young ones... Wow... They run so fast!"

Li Long and Meng Hai both looked over, but couldn't see anything; they must have run into the woods somewhere.

"So many?" Meng Hai asked, somewhat puzzled, then nodded. "That's to be expected. There aren't many people here. Even if we build the road, those herb gatherers can't travel this far—it's too far. If something happens to them, no one will even know if they die."

Li Long nodded, agreeing. Those herb gatherers weren't stupid either. There were so many medicinal herbs near the outer mountain valleys, enough for them to feast on. But further in, the more wild animals they encountered, the more dangerous the uninhabited areas became.

With fewer people, there are more wild animals. When there are no people, the ecosystem is balanced, forming a complete food chain.

Of course, when herders come, it disrupts one or more links in the food chain, but now that the road is open, unless someone like Talihar is particularly enthusiastic about hunting.

They tend to collect deer antlers, jade, or rough gemstones.

These things are a gift from nature to them. They have no guilt if they find them and exchange them for money or supplies.

Although he should be able to find the prey in the woods, Li Long had no intention of disturbing the peace at the moment; he was quite happy.

The sky was high and the clouds were light, and I could see the wild geese flying south—but now they were flying north. At midday, the ultraviolet rays were strong, but the scenery was truly beautiful. Yellow and red flowers dotted the green grass, creating a picturesque and undulating landscape that was very soothing.

If it weren't for someone shouting down the mountain that dinner was ready, Li Long wouldn't have wanted to go down.

This is a peaceful place—the herders have chosen a great pasture.

After driving the GAZ truck down the mountain, Li Long and Meng Hai went to eat together. During the meal, Meng Hai talked about his plans for the future.

"Now that the road is open, we'll head back to the village this afternoon. We'll rest for a few days first, and then see if we can get any work."

"When I get back, I'll check with the Transportation Bureau and the Water Resources Bureau to see if they have any jobs available. But everyone has worked so hard for so long, they need to get some rest." Li Long also said, "I'll ask if they have any jobs available.

"No need, two or three days will do. They'll be more upset if they're idle. Compared to being tired, not making money is what they'll be upset about." Meng Hai knew his group's thoughts best.

They earn money as long as they work, and more than the other workers, so they are very content.

But without work, unlike those workers who have a fixed salary, they also feel a sense of urgency.

"Okay, I'll look into it when I get back." Li Long nodded.

After the meal, the group hurriedly packed their things. The tents were to be loaded onto a small four-wheeled tractor for transport, the bulldozer and excavator had already headed back, and Meng Hai and Li Long's GAZ truck was to take the people back. Li Long first dropped the people off at Qingshuihe Village, then returned to the mountains to find Halimu and the others.

The sun was still high in the sky, and Halim and his men were grazing their cattle and sheep on the pasture. The hay harvested last autumn hadn't been finished yet, but the cattle and sheep preferred fresh grass, so the hay was left there.

Seeing Li Long's GAZ truck approaching, Halim rode his horse to the truck, followed by several dogs.

Li Long got out of the car, greeted Harim, and told him about Lu Tong's situation.

"It's open? That's great!" Halim said with a smile. "We've been preparing to go into the mountains for a long time. Now that the road is open, I'll go find Yushanjiang right now and bring our stuff up tomorrow. We'll set up the tents first, and then drive the cattle and sheep up—some of the older folks here have said that if we don't go up soon, the grass on the winter pastures won't grow."

Herdsmen move their livestock to different pastures for two reasons: first, to allow their cattle and sheep to graze on the summer pastures where there is more abundant grass; and second, to ensure that the grass in the winter pastures grows quickly in preparation for the autumn harvest, after which it will grow again for the cattle and sheep to graze on in winter.

Therefore, it is very important for winter pastures to rest and recuperate.

"Looks like you guys are under a lot of pressure," Li Long said with a smile. "Fortunately, the road is fixed now, so at least it's easier to go up the mountain."

"Yes, yes, that's why Yushanjiang and we thought we'd wait a few days—it's okay, it'll be open by now. To be honest, there's another reason we thought the road would be open: then the tractors could go up and down whenever they wanted."

In fact, Li Long had privately told Halimu and Yushanjiang that he would "lend" each of them a car so they could drive it first, just like he had given his second brother and brother-in-law the cars, and he would symbolically charge them a small amount of money.

Given the nature of their relationship, it can no longer be judged solely by money.

But both Yushanjiang and Halim refused, saying they hadn't saved enough money to buy a car yet, and also that they thought driving a tractor was better. At least a tractor could carry enough cargo, while a car wasn't practical in the mountains.

Although Li Long found the reason somewhat far-fetched, he didn't insist since the other party didn't want it.

However, he also promised that if the two of them wanted a car, they could contact him anytime.

The friendship began in humble beginnings, and Li Long wanted to preserve it forever. He hoped that whenever he went to the winter camp (now also called the summer pasture), there would be a bowl of hot milk tea waiting for him in the yurt.

Halim kept his word and rode off on horseback to find Yushanjiang.

Li Long didn't linger; he simply told Halim's wife that he would come over tomorrow to help them transport their things to the summer pasture.

With the road now open, it would only take less than two hours to drive a GAZ truck to the summer pasture, so Li Long knew it would be quick. Building yurts required a lot of materials, and several tractors certainly couldn't transport them all at once; Li Long figured he could help in any way he could.

As usual, I went to the wooden house to ask Polati to collect the fritillaria. After returning home, I saw that Gu Xiaoxia had already come back.

"School got out early today," Li Long asked, somewhat surprised.

"Tomorrow is May Day, International Workers' Day, so we have a day off. School let out early today too," Gu Xiaoxia said. "I've been working so hard, I need to get some rest."

Li Long's heart skipped a beat, and he said:

"Want to go to the mountains? Old Meng and the others finished repairing the road to the summer pasture today. I went up and took a look, and the scenery there is so beautiful."

"Really?" Hearing him say that, Gu Xiaoxia was actually a little more at ease. "Is it convenient to come and go in one day?"

"It's convenient. It only takes two or three hours to get into the mountains from the county. Then, we can go to Halim's place, help them carry some things, and then go up the mountain for a picnic—we can bring Mingming and Haohao along too."

"Could we bring Sister Yang and Han Fang along too?" Gu Xiaoxia asked.

Han Fang hasn't finished school yet—middle school students usually finish school later.

"We'll have to see if they want to go." Li Long respected other people's opinions.

“That’s true.” Gu Xiaoxia nodded. “I’ll ask them when Sister Yang comes back.”

As for his father, Li Long thought he should have already driven back to the fourth team by now.
Li Qingxia was free to come and go as he pleased. Since his mother worked in the fourth team, he would drive back to the fourth team every weekend, as long as he had something to do.

Most people drive home after get off work in the evening and drive back the next morning before work. Anyway, the purchasing station is now running smoothly, and although Liang Shuangcheng bought a yard, he's not married yet—

The relationship ended, not because the other person didn't like him, but because he felt that she kept arguing with him about his rural household registration and the bride price. Eventually, she got fed up with the arguments and broke up with him.

Li Long later saw the other party come to see Liang Shuangcheng twice more, but whether it was to get back together or for other reasons, he didn't know.

With Liang Shuangcheng guarding the place, it's quite convenient for Li Qingxia to go home.

As expected, Dad didn't come to dinner. Gu Xiaoxia asked Sister Yang, but both Sister Yang and Han Fang shook their heads, saying they weren't going.

Mingming and Haohao, on the other hand, were very excited when they heard they were going to the grasslands and see the snow-capped mountains.

So I started preparing what to bring up the mountain tomorrow.

Since they planned to have a picnic in the mountains, Li Long intended to buy naan bread and fruit early the next morning, bring some beef jerky, and of course, bring a gun for safety.

He also planned to bring a net to see if he could catch a stonefish.

I also prepared some small bags for Mingming and Haohao to pick mushrooms.

Because they were going to the mountains, Mingming and Haohao were so excited that they didn't go to bed until very late. The next morning, Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia had already gotten up, washed up, and were preparing to eat before they woke the two children up.

Normally, the two children would get up early to call their parents.

Children are amazing creatures; they usually have trouble getting up in the morning for school and need their parents to call them multiple times.

But during holidays, they get up early without needing to be called, and they are very proactive.

After breakfast, Li Long drove around to buy what he needed. When he returned, Gu Xiaoxia had already prepared everything that needed to be taken from the house. They loaded the things into the car, got in, and drove off.

"Xiaofang, you could actually go and have some fun with them," said Sister Yang, knowing her daughter had been studying very hard lately. "It would be good for her to relax a bit."

"It's okay, Mom." Han Fang shook her head. "It's not that hard... I'm going to study now. There are still some words I haven't memorized."

Han Fang went to study. Seeing how sensible her daughter was, Sister Yang felt both gratified and heartbroken.

Now that I have enough money, my daughter is still the same as before. How can I change this?
Li Long drove the GAZ truck off the Urumqi-Yining Highway and onto the road leading to Nanshan. Once inside the mountains, Mingming and Haohao peered out the car window, occasionally asking what a certain tree or flower they passed was.

Li Long will give a clear answer to what he sees, and for some things he overlooks, he will just give a random answer and say he'll talk about them later.

He now wants to establish the image of his father as omniscient, so he is actually quite vain.

When the car arrived at Harim's place, Li Long found that Harim's tractor was already loaded with things and ready to leave.

Seeing that Mingming and Haohao had also arrived, Halimu smiled and told Li Long and the others to hurry up and go play on the mountain, saying there was nothing they needed to bring.

Only after Li Long insisted did he move two boxes onto the GAZ truck, and then together with Yu Shanjiang, he helped Li Long up the mountain, with them following behind.

Talihar's tractor was also here, fully loaded with goods, and several herders were sitting on it, preparing to go up the mountain to help.

The GAZ truck drove relatively fast—mainly because before Meng Hai and his team went into Lishan to repair the road, they had repaired the road that had been damaged in the previous winter and then compacted it again with bulldozers and excavators, so it was relatively smooth.

As we climbed the mountain, it seemed ordinary at first, but then clouds and mist began to swirl around us, and Mingming and Haohao immediately became excited, shouting and yelling.

Gu Xiaoxia also felt it was quite magical, like being in a fairyland. She rolled down the car window and reached out to grab a handful of the mist outside. Of course, she couldn't grasp the clouds, but she could feel that they were slightly cool and damp, like water vapor.

When the car passes through the clouds and is illuminated by the sunlight, it feels completely different.

The scenery along the way was ever-changing, and Li Long would talk about it from time to time, such as where a large jade stone was dug up, where people were panning for gold, and where rocks that blocked the road were blasted open with explosives.

As we watched and listened to Li Long tell stories about road construction, the two-hour journey didn't seem so difficult.

By the time we arrived at the summer pasture, the sun was already high in the sky.

"Mushrooms, so many mushrooms!" As soon as they got out of the car, Mingming and Haohao shouted, "Mommy, we want to pick mushrooms!"

Li Long got out of the car, gave the two children bags, and told them to go pick mushrooms, while he followed along as a bodyguard.

Gu Xiaoxia brought her camera and took beautiful photos—not only of the children, but also of the snow-capped mountains and meadows to the south.

"The scenery is so beautiful!" she exclaimed.

I'm from Ma County, but I only got to see such beautiful scenery here now. It's a bit of a shame.

She knew, of course, that some people might never see such a view in their entire lives.

Already very lucky.

This time, Li Long wasn't primarily focused on picking mushrooms. The two boys didn't seem to have any problems at this height, indicating they were in good health. They were very focused on picking mushrooms, letting the small ones go and even whispering that they wanted them to grow up quickly. They didn't miss a single big mushroom; they were very serious.

The family lived like this, with the two children lying on the grass picking mushrooms, not minding the dirt on the ground at all.

Li Long followed behind, occasionally offering a few pointers or telling the two of them to avoid the insects on the ground.

Gu Xiaoxia, meanwhile, stood to the side, taking pictures of her family or the beautiful scenery.

After taking pictures for a while, seeing that the children were having a great time picking mushrooms and didn't seem to be stopping, Gu Xiaoxia put away her camera and went to the car to get something.

A large canvas serves as a placemat, followed by naan bread, fruit, beef jerky, a water bottle, and so on.

When Mingming and Haohao had picked up almost all the mushrooms in the nearby patch, Gu Xiaoxia called them over to wipe their hands and eat.

Only then did the two children realize they were a little hungry. They immediately ran to Gu Xiaoxia with the bags in their hands, showing her the contents of the bags as if they were treasures.

"That's a lot! You two are really amazing—so many mushrooms, enough for our family to eat for several days."

"Mom, can we take some mushrooms to Grandma and Uncle's house?" Hao Hao asked.

"Sure, of course!" Gu Xiaoxia smiled. "They'll be very happy."

“I’ll take some too,” Mingming immediately added. It’s inevitable for twins to compete and compare themselves, and both Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia have been trying to encourage them to compare themselves in a positive light, and it seems to be working well.

The GAZ truck was much faster than the tractor. Li Long and his family had finished their picnic and taken their families for a long walk around the grassland. They even found a deer antler when the three tractors finally came up.

Even so, Li Long could see the excited smiles on Halimu and the others' faces—the journey that used to take several days was now finally being able to be driven up, how could they not be happy?

This means that their way up the mountain will be much smoother in the future, and their lives will be much more convenient.

How wonderful! (End of Chapter)