Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

After Halim and his crew stopped their tractor, Li Long invited them to come and eat. It was already close to noon, and they must have been hungry after their long journey.

Halimu and Yushanjiang didn't stand on ceremony. They came over, sat down, and each tore off a piece of naan to eat. Although there was no milk tea, there was beef jerky and fruit, so it was quite comfortable to eat.

“It’s much faster this year,” Talihar said between bites. “I never imagined that it would only take half a day to get to the summer pasture. Although herding the cattle and sheep will be a bit slower tomorrow, it will still be much faster than before. It’s unbelievable.”

Halimu and Yushanjiang both looked at Li Long, smiled, and didn't say anything more.

The gratitude is too heavy, and I find it hard to express my thanks.

This may not be a particularly significant matter for the young people, but for the elderly who have always lived in the pastoral areas, this road means they don't have to go through so much trouble and can get from their winter pastures to their summer pastures in a very short time.

A stable life is much better for their health than the hardships of traveling.

Halim's mother no longer plans to live in the pastoral area; she has now gotten used to taking care of the children or doing odd jobs in the yard.

How comfortable it is to stay in the yard—although it might be a bit lonely, she prefers the spacious and bright yard now to the cold, damp, and cramped winter nest.

Occasionally, I want to go back to the pastoral area for a visit, take a tractor back and stay for a couple of days, but eventually I still have to return to the courtyard.

Gu Xiaoxia played with Mingming and Haohao, who had already finished eating, on the grass. Compared to the grass in front of Li Long's wooden house, this area was quite large, and the nearest pine forest was a kilometer or two away, so anything coming by could be seen at a glance.

So it's not dangerous, and Gu Xiaoxia and her two children are having a lot of fun here.

After Li Long and Yu Shanjiang finished eating, they helped unload the things from the tractor.

Three or four people stayed behind to watch over the supplies, and they started setting up simple yurts, while the others drove tractors down the mountain to continue hauling supplies.

They need to bring most of the supplies up the mountain in the next two days, and the cattle and sheep will start heading up the mountain tomorrow.

After the tractor came down the mountain, Li Long helped them set up a yurt for a while, learning some skills in the process. Then, after checking the time, he took Mingming, Haohao, and Gu Xiaoxia back.

Mingming and Haohao picked a lot of wildflowers, plus the mushrooms they gathered that morning, so they returned home with a full load. For these children, playing like this was a truly enjoyable experience.

So on the return trip, the two children fell asleep in the car, so Li Long slowed down. By the time they got back to the county town, the sun had already set.

Mingming and Haohao had already woken up when they left the mountain, and they became lively again when they got home. Back in the yard, they excitedly told Sister Yang and Han Fang about what had happened in the mountains.

For them, the beautiful scenery was far less appealing than the mushrooms growing everywhere. Through their descriptions and Gu Xiaoxia's additions, Sister Yang and Han Fang gained a general understanding of the scenery of Lishan.

Gu Xiaoxia meant that they could go again during the summer vacation.

Sister Yang was thinking that after Han Fang finished her high school entrance exam, she would take Han Fang and Gu Xiaoxia to the mountains for a trip to relax.

For the next two days, Li Long continued to travel between the county town and the mountains, bringing essential supplies such as medicine and batteries to the herders. Here, radios remain an important source of information and entertainment for the herders.

Compared to the original staples like rice, flour, oil, bricks, and tea, the herders who have gradually moved beyond the stage of basic subsistence now truly need spiritual fulfillment. Radios have filled this gap and have become one of the necessities of their lives.

Two days later, the cattle and sheep had been driven into the mountains, which was much faster than before. The old herders who were initially resistant to the road construction no longer had any objections.

It's so convenient.

And it's much easier now.

Li Long only stopped his journey to the summer pasture after the herders had set up their yurts; he was exhausted from the past few days. Fortunately, everything went smoothly, even better than he had imagined. Seeing the smiles on the herders' faces every day was enough for him.

On May 3rd, he returned from the summer pasture ahead of schedule. When he arrived at the cabin, the first thing Pollati said to Li Long was a complaint:
"Why are you so late? There's so much stuff that needs to be replenished, everything's been replaced! If you hadn't come soon, I would have ridden down the mountain to find you!"

It's peak season for fritillaria now. Although most herb gatherers are hoping to bring as many fritillaria as possible down the mountain to sell for a good price, they can't go without food and water in the mountains. So even if they only bring one-tenth of the fritillaria to Bolati to exchange for supplies, the total amount is still a huge quantity.

These past few days, Li Long has been busy with the summer ranch, which is why he hasn't been here. That's why Polati is angry—but also happyly angry, because in just these few days, he has acquired more than 200 kilograms of fritillaria!
Of course, apart from the fritillaria we got today which is still here in the cabin, the rest are in the cabin at the mountain pass. It's safer there than here, at least it's officially sanctioned, and most people wouldn't dare to go there and cause trouble. But no one can guarantee that someone won't try to pick the lock there at night.

Faced with Bolati's anger, Li Long could only repeatedly explain, promising to deliver the supplies the next day.

"We have to get it done early, it has to be delivered first thing tomorrow morning. I've already promised several people that they'll be able to eat fresh naan and beef jerky the day after tomorrow!"

At this moment, Polati was more like a boss than Lee Yong.

Li Long didn't think much of it. Polati was so proactive, but the prices it created were mainly for its own supply, weren't they?
“This is the key to my cabin. There are 190 kilograms of fritillaria there, and more than 40 kilograms here.” Polati handed the key to his cabin to Li Long. “Go and take the fritillaria there too. Just put the key in the crack in the wall by the door.”

Li Long loaded the more than 40 kilograms of fritillaria bulbs onto his truck, gave Bolati 470 yuan, promised to come and deliver the goods first thing tomorrow morning, and then left in a hurry.

Once outside the mountain pass, Li Long loaded the fritillaria bulbs piled up in the wooden hut onto the truck—thankfully, no one tried to pry open the hut door. A government-run institution still carries some weight.

Back in the county, it was still early, so Li Long first unloaded the fritillaria bulbs and then bought some other things to load into the car, planning to deliver them to the mountain the next day.

Now the backyard of the purchasing station is full of cleaned fritillaria bulbs drying in the sun, and the station is buying more fritillaria bulbs.

"The road is almost finished." Li Qingxia said to Li Long as he came over. "Your older brother called this morning and said that the asphalt road has been paved past Weigou and reached the fourth team's territory. It will be finished in a few days—now it's time to start paving towards our settlement."

After the reed ditch was repaired, the road was already more than half completed. The fourth team had a large area, and the new residential area where the Li family lived was nearly a kilometer away from the reed ditch. According to the agreement, the roads in several alleys of the new residential area would be paved with asphalt, so it should take a few more days.

Li Long planned to deliver the supplies to Bolati tomorrow, and then go back to the Fourth Team to check on things. He had been busy with Halim and his group these past few days and hadn't been to the Fourth Team, so he didn't know the situation.

For him, this was all good—whichever road was completed would bring convenience to many people. The impact on Team Four was greater, but the road in the mountains held more significance for him.

The next day, when Li Long arrived in the mountains with supplies, he was somewhat surprised to find that Bolati was already at his wooden hut so early.

"You're quite dedicated," Li Long joked, then started unloading the items.

“What else can I do? These past few days, people have been coming over every day to urge me to come, saying I’m late.” Polati smiled. “It’s like my job is here… But it’s not so bad, I can earn more money.”

He and Li Long unloaded the supplies together, and then he let Li Long leave—according to Polati, if Li Long was there, those people wouldn't dare to come over.

However, to Polati's embarrassment, before Li Long even left, two other people came over carrying bags.

Seeing that the two men weren't afraid of him, Li Long waited in front of the wooden house to see if they were acquaintances.

Sure enough, when the two people were almost there, he realized they were indeed acquaintances—an uncle and nephew.

His surname seems to be Wu? He had previously come here to collect medicinal herbs in the mountains.

"Hey, Mr. Li!" Wu Bensheng was also happy to see Li Long. "It's been a long time."

"Old Wu," Li Long said with a smile, having forgotten Wu Bensheng's name, "You're here again this year? How's it going? You've dug quite a few up, haven't you?"

"Not bad, not bad." Seeing that Li Long still recognized him, Wu Bensheng felt a surge of pride and said with a smile, "About the same as last year... Mr. Li, it's been a while since we've seen you. What's going on...?"

“He’s been busy with the company in the county, so I’ll leave this place to him.” Li Long pointed to Bolati. “Anyway, it’s all about collecting medicinal herbs, so that’s about it.”

"Oh, I see, I see. You're busy, aren't you?" Wu Bensheng nodded repeatedly, indicating his understanding. "This is my nephew, do you remember him?"

"I remember, I remember." Li Long vaguely remembered that this was called Donghai? He said, "It's called Donghai, right? It looks much more professional than before. You've done a good job."

It's always nice to run into familiar faces and exchange pleasantries with a touch of nostalgia.

After chatting for a while, Li Long said, "Alright, you guys go ahead and switch. I'll be going now. I have things to do in the county, so I have to go."

Wu Bensheng and Wu Donghai watched Li Long leave, remarking that Boss Li had changed cars again, implying he had made a lot of money.

When Pollati saw that the two knew Li Long, he became more generous when exchanging items, which made Wu Bensheng sigh that connections represent strength. He realized that even such a powerful forest ranger could work for Li Long and give him more things.

Wu Donghai remained silent, wondering when he would be able to drive a car.

Li Long drove back to the county, had lunch, told his father, and then went to the fourth team.

The asphalt road from the county to the township still has some potholes that haven't been repaired in time, but the asphalt road from the township to the fourth team is brand new. The further east you go, the more black the road becomes. Some children even deliberately step on the black edges, leaving white mud marks.

When they arrived at Weigou, they found that the asphalt had already been laid, but there was no sidewalk next to it. Li Long guessed that it was probably laid half vertically, or that the road was closed to traffic while the asphalt was being laid, and that it would be open to traffic once the road was finished.

If it's just this section that's banned, and it's only for half a day, the impact won't be significant.

When he drove over, he found some people from the western residential area east of Weigou standing on the asphalt road with curious expressions. Some of them even stepped on it to feel the difference of the asphalt road.

The shoes that had stepped on the dirt road then stepped onto the asphalt road, leaving a clear white shoe print.

"It's even a bit sticky on the feet," some elderly people remarked.

"It has a certain smell," someone else said.

It's very fresh overall.

At this point, the road construction branched out, one road leading west into the alleyways of the residential area, while the other continued eastward.

Li Long paused here, listening to these people talk, while also looking into the alleyways of the western residential area.

It's clear that every household cleaned up the alleyways early on. The clutter that used to be piled up in front of each house has been cleared away, making it easier for machinery to enter.

Upon seeing Li Long, most of the people at the village entrance smiled and struck up a conversation with him, telling him about the benefits of the road.

It's really good, after all, walking on this road doesn't get your shoes or feet dirty, it's so convenient.

Some people were dissatisfied and said it would be great if the road could be built all the way to their doorstep. Before Li Long could say anything, someone retorted, "If you want it built, you have to pay for it yourself. It's shameless of you to ask someone to pay for it to be built right to your doorstep."

The person being talked about just awkwardly said it was a joke.

Li Long smiled but didn't reply. This was one of the advantages of the Fourth Team: if the road was uneven, everyone would step on it, and there would never be the kind of trouble where someone tries to stop road repairs. If someone did try that, the team wouldn't even need to intervene; the shrewish aunties and grandmothers in the various residential areas would verbally abuse them to death.

Justice resides in the hearts of the people. Everyone has seen and remembered Li Long's many sacrifices.

Li Long greeted a few acquaintances and was about to drive to the Li family's place when an old lady came over with a basket filled with cleaned elm seeds. She put the basket in Li Long's car and told him to take it home and steam it.

Li Long couldn't refuse, so he could only say that he would go back and return the basket after he had finished working.

"What's the big deal? It's fine if you don't pay it back." The old lady was very happy to see that Li Long had accepted it. "When you have time, have your mother come over here for a visit. The road is repaired now, and it's easier to travel. When you have time, I'll go over and chat with your mother about passing on the torch."

Simple people always find their own way to express their gratitude.

Some people regretted not thinking of it. Then they would think about whether they should bring something for Li Long to take with him when he stopped over next time.

When Li Long drove to his older brother's house, he found that it had been almost completely renovated. The small bridge leading to the yard (under which was a ditch for watering the vegetable garden) had also been reinforced with bricks and stones.

Not only here, but the front yard and their own yard were the same. Li Junfeng's yard gate was also cleaned up.

Their courtyard stands out from the rest of the alley. Originally, the area was alkaline land, and further ahead was the wheat field. Now that a courtyard has been built, their entrance has naturally become part of the alleyway.

The work of replanting and thinning cotton seedlings has been completed recently, and the other crops have started to be watered, so things are relatively quiet. Li Long saw that his older brother and sister-in-law were at home, so he parked his car on the side of the road and got out.

Seeing Li Long approach, Liang Yuemei smiled and said:

"Finished with work? I heard from Dad that you've been going to the mountains a lot lately. Is the road there finally fixed?"

"It's fixed," Li Long replied. "It went all the way to the foot of the snow-capped mountain. The scenery was beautiful, but it was too far, almost a hundred kilometers."

"Hey, it's really far." Li Jianguo sighed. "The asphalt road will be built to our doorstep soon. Once this road is completed, it will be much more convenient for Juan and Qiangqiang to go to school."

Li Jianguo values ​​his children's education the most. Now, both of his children are doing well and are among the top students in their respective classes, which makes Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei very proud every time they attend a parent-teacher meeting.

Many people in the team were discussing privately that Li Juan might be the first college student from the whole village to pass the exam.

Although Li Jianguo was somewhat modest at this time, he was still quite proud. He himself hadn't been able to go to university, but his children had a very high chance of doing so, and for that alone, he had reason to be proud.

When Li Long arrived, Li Jianguo told him about the situation in the cotton field.

"Overall, about 70% of the seedlings have emerged. Later, Yun Dong and his team replanted some seedlings, and after that, less than 90% emerged, which is acceptable. Overall, the situation is not as good as last year's land, but this is saline-alkali land that has been improved, so this result is already quite good."

Li Long nodded. Indeed, it was much better than he had imagined.

The next step is to observe the subsequent growth – germination accounts for half, while how to manage the seedlings, prevent pests, and fertilize them in the following period accounts for the other half.

Having previously grown cotton and personally overseen the entire 100-mu (approximately 6.7 hectares) of land last year, Li Jianguo is quite experienced in this field. However, the cooperative is currently managed by Xie Yundong, who mainly oversees the work and offers reminders when necessary.

Most of the time, he mainly discussed things with Li Long. The two brothers could say whatever they wanted without any problem. The people in the cooperative had a good relationship with Li Long, but when Li Jianguo talked to them about this, he always felt a distance between them.

The vegetables in the yard had already grown, tender and green, arranged in neat rows. Li Long was talking to his older brother about the upcoming heavy use of fertilizer while looking at the vegetable garden, thinking about what he needed to do in May.

May in northern Xinjiang should be uneventful. It's too far from the provinces beyond the borders, so some things don't affect it until they reach the edge of the pond, like ripples caused by a stone thrown in.

Therefore, the focus in May is Lao Gu's wedding, so Li Long asked:
"Big brother, Xiaoxia's dad is having his wedding in Yili on June 1st. Xiaoxia, Mingming, Haohao, and I are going there. Do you want to come and visit?"

“We won’t go,” Li Jianguo waved his hand. “Old Gu called and said he’d be holding another event here, so we’ll just attend from here. You can go and represent us.”

Li Jianguo was too lazy to bother with all that, after all, there was already a lot of work to do in the fields, as well as machinery and such, and some of his nephews and nieces were still living here back in his hometown.

He must be worried about leaving his people and his livelihood behind to go to Yili.

After all, going to Yili right now would take at least five or six days round trip, including business, which is simply too much to handle. If it were only a one-day trip, then it would be worth considering.

Li Long nodded to indicate that he understood, and then talked about the situation at Xiacaochang, saying that his elder brother and sister-in-law could take Li Juan and Li Qiang there during the summer vacation.

Li Jianguo said he would see how it goes and whether he could find some free time.

Li Long asked Li Junxian and the others again, and Li Jianguo said they had gone to work in the fields. Some fields needed weeding, and some needed watering. For now, with the large tractors resting, these young men were doing odd jobs in the fields.

With Li Junfeng leading the way, Li Jianguo felt at ease—at least in the short term.

Having learned the details, Li Long felt relieved. He stayed in the yard for over an hour, then went to the front yard to chat with his mother who was working in the vegetable garden, before driving back to the county.

When they arrived at the purchasing station, Li Qingxia, the old man, said that Director Li from the supply and marketing cooperative had called him to ask if he was there.

Li Long originally wanted to call Li Xiangqian to ask about the situation, but seeing that it wasn't time to get off work yet, he simply drove to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Li Xiangqian was in the courtyard of the supply and marketing cooperative, talking to Zhou Yuan. When he saw Li Long drive over, he smiled, but then his smile faded.

Before Li Long could even greet him after getting out of the car, Li Xiangqian complained:

"Li Long, have you forgotten about our supply and marketing cooperative lately? I heard the road in the mountains has been repaired?"

"Yes, it was repaired a few days ago." Li Long said apologetically. In previous years, when the road was being repaired, the supply and marketing cooperative had always provided materials and funds. This year, he was too busy to tell the cooperative about it.

Of course, there was another important reason: Ma Xiaoyan had been transferred to Chengguan Town as deputy secretary, and news reporting was no longer under her jurisdiction. Li Long was no longer familiar with the propaganda department, so she didn't think about contacting anyone else for this matter.

"Director, I'm sorry," Li Long apologized, "because the road connecting our township to the village was under construction at the time, and I was so busy that I forgot."

"Hehe, I knew you must have something on your mind." Li Xiangqian only told Li Long, "Actually, the commune has been busy lately. There are rumors that our commune is going to undergo reforms. There's no word from above yet, but everyone is a bit restless. I was thinking of asking you to come over and see if we can organize the commune members to go for a walk in the mountains."

How about taking a trip into the mountains?
“Well, it’s a road for which we contributed. Now that the road is open, we should walk on it and see what benefits it has brought to the herders,” Li Xiangqian said. “You were in charge of the entire road construction project, so naturally we need your assistance.”

"That's no problem. It's over 100 kilometers into the mountains, but if you go in, you can make a round trip in a day and have a few hours to play in the mountains. To be honest, the scenery at the summer pasture is really beautiful."

Li Long explained while pondering. Was the reform of the supply and marketing cooperatives coming so soon?
In his previous life, he wasn't familiar with the supply and marketing cooperative and didn't know the ins and outs of it, but it shouldn't be this fast, right?
Is it just a rumor?
"Alright, you and Lao Zhou can discuss it together, make a plan, and set a time. Let's take a day out this week to go and have a look around. By the way, Lao Zhou, buy some supplies. When we go to the summer pasture, we should bring some things up for the herders as a token of our appreciation."

Zhou Yuan was very adept at this; he and Li Long mainly discussed the timing, process, and support vehicles, among other things.

"Are we bringing reporters?" Li Long asked. "And the publicity staff? Is our county's TV station allowed to broadcast the news now?"

Li Long didn't have a deep impression of the county TV station, except that it was established quite early, but in the early days it only broadcast recorded videos, which was very attractive to young people.

The main problem is the lack of ability to produce programs independently – this is something I'm still learning.

“Yes, the director means to find a TV reporter to record some key content,” Zhou Yuan said. “The TV station is already testing the broadcast of news from the county, and including it will set the tone and theme for this operation.”

Li Long understood. Of course, he only understood; after Ma Xiaoyan was transferred, he wasn't familiar with publicity, so the task of contacting people was handed over to Zhou Yuan.

Li Xiang went to wipe his car, while Li Long followed Zhou Yuan to his office to discuss the plan.

"Let's check the time. Let's set it for the 8th, Monday. It's during working hours, and there's not much going on at the office, so we can all get together. Then, go and come back quickly. Can you check what I need to bring?"

Zhou Yuan was still very polite to Li Long. "I was thinking of not cooking there. Let's not trouble the herders over there—this is the director's idea. It's not easy for the herders on the mountain. We can go over, bring them some things, have a picnic, eat some convenience food, give the herders some supplies, walk around, and take some videos and photos."

"Sure," Li Long said with a smile. "Shouldn't we make a preliminary count of how many people can go, how many vehicles we need, and whether it's voluntary or mandatory? We need to discuss that, right?"

“Yes, of course. Everyone should go, as the director says,” Zhou Yuan said. “Now that the road is open, we’ve made a contribution, so everyone should go. It’s a memorable occasion.”

There are quite a few people, so cars and the like are definitely not enough; we'll have to use trucks.

The altitude there was at most 3,000 meters, so Li Long didn't remind them about altitude sickness. At that time, everyone thought that 3,000 meters was not considered high altitude, and that staying there for half a day wouldn't have any effect.

Zhou Yuan was quite meticulous, listing out each item of supplies and asking Li Long for his opinion, to which Li Long naturally had no objections.

The itinerary was quite simple; the two quickly made a list, and Zhou Yuan went to report to the director. Li Long felt there was nothing to worry about, so he went back.

The next day, when Li Long was about to go to the team, the township called to say that the road was almost open and that they planned to hold a completion ceremony on the 6th, asking if Li Long could attend.

The 6th is tomorrow, Saturday, which happens to be different from the supply and marketing cooperative's plan, so Li Long is naturally fine.

The specific time was mentioned here: the completion and opening ceremony will be held at noon on the 6th. A few cars will be sent over to go through the formalities.

Li Long inquired and learned that a deputy county head was attending, along with leaders from the transportation bureau and the township. As the investor of the road and an important representative, Li Long was to cut the ribbon.

Li Long thought to himself, "This will probably be on TV, right?"
Knowing that the road would be open soon, Li Long, who had originally planned to go to the team, decided not to go today. He cleaned his car thoroughly, thinking that he might need to use it for towing later.

He plans to drive his luxury Volga over tomorrow, just to show off. After all, he's a well-known figure in the county; it's not appropriate for him to always drive a Jeep.

The number of cars at the recycling station was decreasing one by one. Half of the cars that Liu Gaolou brought in last time had already been sold. Li Long sighed that there were more and more wealthy people now. The price he set for the luxury Volga was actually not low, but the people who came to buy it really liked it, paid, and drove away.

Perhaps compared to a Santana costing 180,000 or 200,000, this price is really not high.

We've harvested and dried over a ton of fritillaria bulbs recently, not as much as before, but still a good amount. The peak season is the next two weeks, while the fritillaria season lasts a whole month.

Last year, Li Long harvested ten tons of fritillaria bulbs, and he thought it would be good if he could harvest five tons this year.

I imagine I can get a few hundred kilograms to a ton from Polati, which is a steady stream of income.

The next day, after Li Long had breakfast, he dropped Mingming and Haohao off at kindergarten and then drove to the team headquarters. The completion ceremony was being held at the fourth team headquarters, so Li Long went to his older brother's place first, which was convenient for him.

In addition, he also wanted to go and see if the road had really been repaired and if the alleyways in the residential area had been properly repaired.

When Li Long drove to Li Jian's house, he found that the asphalt road really did extend into the alley, and it went a little further than Li Junfeng's house, ending at the wheat field.

The roadbed over there is no good. Li Long knows that even if it is paved, it will soon become disconnected from the roadbed below. But at least they have done their job to this extent, which is acceptable.

When he passed by, he noticed that the completed site was at the intersection leading to the new residential area and Dongzhuangzi. Tables had already been set up there, and staff were making preparations.

The team has already notified everyone that each household needs to send someone to the ribbon-cutting ceremony upon completion. This isn't actually mandatory; the road has been built right to our doorsteps. Even though we know Li Long paid for it, the construction team also put in the work. So everyone will go and join in the fun.

"I'm not going," Du Chunfang hurriedly shook her head when Li Long asked her. "I'm not going to join the crowd. What if I get injured in that jostling?"

If you don’t want to go, don’t go.

The eldest brother and sister-in-law, including Li Junfeng, are all going, so these relatives from their hometown are not working in the fields. They have all changed into their street clothes and are waiting to go to the completion ceremony together later.

Upon seeing Li Long arrive, Li Junfeng and the others began to chatter about the advantages of this road, explaining that it would be much faster to get to town, even by bicycle.

Li Long laughed and said, "Then you guys work hard and make more money. I'll buy you a car cheaply and you can drive it back to your hometown."

It was originally a joke, but some people actually started to think about it.

They had inquired about the prices of cars in their hometown. There were cheaper ones, or even cheaper than what Li Long was selling now. But they knew the inside story: how much did Li Long initially sell the cars to Xie Yundong and the others for?

At that price, it's practically free.

So it's impossible to say that they have no dreams, but in the end someone said:

"Only Junfeng can afford it, right? Even if we bought it, we couldn't drive it back."

So they started laughing and joking.

My sister-in-law is cooking pig feed in a large pot—there are three pots in the house, an old one specifically for cooking pig and chicken feed, and two new ones for cooking rice.

At that time, ordinary people used cast iron pots with two handles. When the pot was hot, they needed to use a cloth or towel to support the handles before they could take it off the plate.

This kind of pot is very brittle and not sturdy; it can be broken by a single stone. That's why there are sayings like "I'll sell my pots and pans to support your schooling" and "I'll go and buy your pots and pans."

Unlike the wrought iron pots of later generations, it cannot be broken.

However, dishes cooked in this iron wok do have a unique flavor.

After cooking the pig feed, Liang Yuemei scraped it into an iron bucket to dry, then went to busy herself with kitchen matters. Li Long, meanwhile, asked Li Junfeng about the situation in his fields.

After Li Junfeng settled down, the team allocated land to his family based on population. Li Junfeng thought that he could bring his parents over after the house was built. However, when he called the brigade in his hometown to tell his family, his father called back and scolded him, saying that he was not coming over.

It is said that Li Junfeng was quite sad at the time, but he did not show it in front of others afterwards, and usually seemed quite optimistic.

Li Long guessed that he hadn't discussed his decision to stay in northern Xinjiang with his father, who wanted him to stay in their hometown and retire there. But Li Long himself didn't want to stay, feeling there was no future for him there.

Time flew by, and at 11:30, Li Long told his older brother he was heading to the ribbon-cutting ceremony. When he arrived, he found that all the township leaders were there, and some were even looking for him.

Upon seeing Li Long, the deputy township head hurriedly came over, pulled him aside, explained the ribbon-cutting agenda to him, and asked if he wanted to speak.

"I won't speak anymore, I'm not a leader." Li Long hurriedly waved his hand. He was actually indifferent to such ceremonies, but he had to participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony since he was the one who built the road. As for speaking, he didn't want to bother people.

Actually, the villagers are just here to watch the show. Everyone knows who built the road and who paid for it. They've already made a good impression, so they shouldn't try to steal the spotlight.

It was clear that the deputy township head was also relieved. Li Long guessed that there was probably no agenda item for him to speak, and he was just asking out of courtesy.

Before the county leaders arrived, Li Long familiarized himself with the agenda and his position to avoid embarrassing himself later.

After going through it twice, Li Long had a better idea of ​​what to do, so he went to the side and chatted with Xie Yundong and the others who had come over to watch the excitement, talking about the cotton.

"Most of the land has already been irrigated for the first time, and we should be able to finish irrigating the rest of the land today," Xie Yundong said. "When we were draining the soil in the spring, we could use water from the small lake, but now we have to go to each household individually to irrigate the land."

Watering in order is a conventional practice that cannot be changed.

Fortunately, the soil moisture was already good, so watering a little later wouldn't be a problem. Besides, there had been two intermittent rains during this period, which was enough.

Because the seedlings were growing well, Xie Yundong was quite proactive despite having many responsibilities and dealing with many trivial matters. It was the cooperative's first year of planting, and Xie Yundong saw great potential; even if each mu (unit of land area) only yielded 100 kilograms of cotton, it would still be a good result.

Since it's saline-alkali land, newly developed land doesn't require management fees; with real investment, all the profits are yours.

How good!

Many people in the team have noticed this and are now in frequent contact with Xie Yundong and his team to learn from their experience, thinking they will follow suit next year.

So now, many people are thinking that if the cooperative can earn even 100 yuan per mu in the autumn, they will immediately start clearing land and following suit.

When it comes to making money through farming, nobody's stupid.

Deputy Director Guan from the county transportation bureau arrived, riding in a Volga he had bought from Li Long. Li Long went over to greet him, and Deputy Director Guan explained to Li Long and the township officials that the director had been busy, so he had sent him instead.

Deputy Director Guan and Li Long had contacted each other twice and had a good relationship. Because of this connection, Li Long was able to get a discount on the car purchase, so Deputy Director Guan and Li Long took the initiative to chat. Li Long then took the opportunity to ask if they had any jobs that his company could handle.

“There is indeed work available,” Deputy Director Guan said. “There is an asphalt road near Letu Station that has been under construction for quite some time and has many potholes that need repair. The workload is not large, and the cost we have calculated is not high, but the construction period is also short, which is perfect for your company.”

Deputy Director Guan knew about Li Long's company's situation, so he offered a project that was practically tailor-made for them. Li Long was quite pleased and hurriedly asked:

"What do we need to do? Do we need to handle the bidding process?"

"What are you going to invest in? Tell your manager over there to take tomorrow... tomorrow is a day off, right? Come see me the day after tomorrow, I'll talk to him, and you can get to work. Just come see me when it's time to settle the bill."

Li Long was pleased to see Deputy Director Guan acting like one of his own and said with a smile, "Alright, then I'll treat you to dinner tomorrow. This is a big favor to me."

"No, I have to go to Shicheng with my family tomorrow. We already agreed... It's okay, this is just what Ga Ga meant. You gave me such a good price on the car, so it's only right that I reciprocate. With our friendship, what's this?"

Li Long then smiled and changed the subject to other topics.

He planned to go see Meng Hai in the afternoon to talk about this and tell him to be prepared.

This job may not be profitable, but it can train the team and allow the company to get involved in asphalt road repair, thus honing their skills in this area.

Soon, Deputy County Head Niu arrived, and the township leaders, Deputy Bureau Chief Guan, and Li Long went to greet him. Then the ribbon-cutting ceremony began.

The township leader spoke first, introducing the leaders and saying a few words, mainly about the importance of the road. Then the deputy county head spoke, the ribbon was cut, and the ceremony ended.

It was relatively simple; they just set off a string of firecrackers, which surprised Li Long.

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the township leaders said that lunch had been arranged. The deputy county head came over to talk to Li Long—Li Long was quite well-known in the county. The deputy county head asked about the road conditions in the mountains, and Deputy Director Guan also listened for a while.

This matter also had some connection to them; it could be considered that Li Long helped them solve a major problem.

Deputy Director Guan thought he would go back and report to the director that the county's transportation route map in the bureau could be updated.

P.S.: My family slaughtered a pig for the New Year yesterday, but because the road from Yili to the outside world was intermittently blocked by heavy fog, we couldn't go back. I could only watch it from the security camera.

It was very lively. Many people from the village came and set up four tables. There were two pigs, purebred, weighing 280 kilograms after removing the neck meat. One weighed 130 kilograms and the other 150 kilograms, about the same as last year.

It's a pity we didn't get to eat the pork stew – I'll go back and get the meat when I have time.

The roads are slippery with snow; winter has finally arrived in Yili. Time to switch to cold-weather gear! (End of Chapter)