Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1266 A New Direction for Cotton Planting in the Future: I Know

Professor Yang and his group arrived at the county bus station a little after noon. Communication between them wasn't smooth; Li Long assumed they had driven there and didn't ask further. Professor Yang didn't want to trouble Li Long, so he told him to wait at his purchasing station.

So when Li Long saw Professor Yang approaching with four students carrying suitcases, he hurriedly left the purchasing station to greet him, saying with some self-reproach:
"Professor Yang, it was my mistake. I thought your college would send a car over... I should have picked you up from the bus station."

"Haha, no need, no need." Professor Yang laughed heartily. "It's only a few steps. Your purchasing station is very famous. We found out about it as soon as we left the bus station. Anyway, it's not far."

Li Long hurriedly ushered these people into the reception room at the back, where Liang Shuangcheng had already come over to pour tea.

The people who came to the recycling station to sell their goods looked at Professor Yang and his group with great curiosity, which made the students who were with Professor Yang feel a little uncomfortable.

They relaxed after entering the backyard reception room and curiously looked around.

"Your purchasing station seems to be doing quite well," Professor Yang said with a smile.

"It's alright. It's peak season for fritillaria right now. I mainly buy fritillaria and dried wild mushrooms here in the summer, so there are quite a lot of people around at this time," Li Long explained, then asked, "Professor Yang, where are you staying? If you haven't found a place yet, I'll arrange it for you."

"No need, no need." Professor Yang waved his hand. "You know Yang Guoqiang, the principal of your township's agricultural extension school, right? We're quite familiar with each other. I've already contacted him. We'll stay at their agricultural extension school, and they'll even arrange a place for us to eat. Besides, it's not far from your village, so it'll be convenient for us to come and inspect your cotton cultivation."

Professor Yang's real name is Yang Wenbin. He's from the Central Plains region and got into the August 1st Agricultural College, where he stayed. Yang Guoqiang, on the other hand, is a youth who went to support the border regions. He also has a secondary school education, so he became the principal of the Agricultural Broadcasting School.

Both of them had the surname Yang, and at first Li Long thought they were relatives.

"Then you should rest for a bit. We'll have lunch in the county later, and then I'll take you to the Agricultural Extension School. Once you're settled, I'll take you to see the cotton fields tomorrow."

Li Long shared his thoughts, and Professor Yang had no objections, but said he still needed to call Yang Guoqiang's side to avoid them having to invite him to stay for dinner.

Li Long then took Professor Yang to the front counter to make a phone call.

Yang Guoqiang was indeed unwilling, but Li Long had dealt with him before and was quite familiar with him. He said very "firmly" that since they were on his turf, they should eat on his turf. He added that there was still plenty of time at the Agricultural Broadcasting School, and they could make arrangements there.

The situation was beyond their control. Professor Yang and his team were right there at the purchasing station, and Principal Yang had no choice but to "give in" to their demands, no matter how much he disagreed.

While Li Long and Professor Yang were on the phone, several students couldn't sit still in the meeting room and slipped out to look around in the backyard.

"So many fritillaria bulbs!" exclaimed a girl with shoulder-length hair and a baby face. "I used to only see fritillaria bulbs in pharmacies, I never expected to see so many here—how much do they cost?"

A boy with a 4/6 parted hairstyle, somewhat resembling Aaron Kwok, asked Liang Shuangcheng, who was washing fritillaria bulbs:
"Comrade, how much does one kilogram of fritillaria cost now?"

“When we buy, we set different purchase prices according to different grades. For example, the price for premium grade is 150, the price for first grade is 120, and the prices for grades 100 and 180 are all different.”

"What's the difference?" asked another boy with a short, round, buzz cut, who was slightly tall and thin.

“Look at the size of the fritillaria bulbs, whether they are clean or not, whether there are any impurities—it’s similar to grain grading.” Liang Shuangcheng had worked at the purchasing station for a long time, and his Mandarin and Lanzhou-Yinchuan dialect were seamlessly interchangeable. He didn’t feel embarrassed at all when speaking Mandarin with these college students.

"It's really cheap!" the girl exclaimed. "I never expected it."

"Is it cheap?" The last boy came out, still holding a water cup in his hand. He said while taking a sip, "It's over a hundred yuan per kilogram, which is equivalent to a mid-level worker's monthly salary. It's very expensive!"

“But in pharmacies, this fritillaria costs at least two hundred yuan per kilogram,” the girl said knowledgeably. “So, it’s cheap.”

Liang Shuangcheng set the rinsed fritillaria bulbs aside, and while pouring water from the basin, he said with a smile:

"The purchase price and the selling price are definitely different. For those of you who study cotton, you should know that the purchase price of cotton is considered high at two yuan, but the price of lint cotton is seven or eight yuan per kilogram, and it is even more expensive to buy netting in the store. So, the price of seed cotton is three or four yuan per kilogram, which is more than double."

The students found it reasonable, but were also somewhat surprised, not expecting that the workers at this recycling station were so knowledgeable.

Several students found another car in the backyard and are now gathering around to examine it.

In this era, or even in a few decades, no young person will be uninterested in a car that they don't own and are unlikely to own in the near future.

Li Long and Professor Yang returned to the meeting room, and Li Long then asked a question directly:
"Professor Yang, we've only been growing cotton for two years. People in Liuhudi, Beiwucha, and even the Production and Construction Corps have been growing cotton for much longer and have much more experience. Why did you decide to come here to study?"

“I’ve been to all the places you mentioned in the past few years. I’ve also visited southern Xinjiang and cotton-growing areas in the border regions. The reason I came here is because you mentioned last year that you grow cotton on saline-alkali land, and that the harvest was quite good last year. That’s something worth studying.”

Professor Yang has spent his entire life studying cotton. He has traveled to both northern and southern Xinjiang, and has also studied traditional cotton-growing areas in the Central Plains. He is truly knowledgeable in this field, and when he talked to Li Long, he spoke eloquently and with great insight.

Although Li Long has been growing cotton for two generations, totaling twenty or thirty years, he found it very helpful to listen to Professor Yang talk about the ins and outs of cotton cultivation, such as upland cotton without mulch, dwarf and densely planted cotton with mulch, and the tall-stalked cotton he mentioned.

Of course, Li Long was no ordinary person either. He also brought out some of the concepts from later generations, especially the technology that could greatly increase cotton production after land improvement, which impressed Professor Yang.

"Drip irrigation, precision fertilization, mechanized harvesting... these are indeed excellent technologies." Professor Yang hadn't expected Li Long to be so forward-thinking. Considering how Li Long had previously been able to engage in lively discussions with Professors Wu and Luo, and how much they admired him, it seemed normal for Li Long to be researching these things. He sighed in admiration.

"Unfortunately, the technology doesn't quite support it right now. Currently, drip irrigation technology is better in Japan and other countries, but drip irrigation tape costs one yuan per meter in our country, which is too expensive. Large-scale planting simply can't afford it."

Of course, I agree with your point about salt and alkali resistance, and the use of flood irrigation and drip irrigation for fertilization. In fact, if conditions permit, small-scale experiments could be conducted.

"Can we conduct experiments at the Agricultural Extension School? I remember they have land, experimental fields, too." Li Long vaguely remembered that a unit in the township planted some crops every year for experiments. He wasn't sure if it was the Agricultural Extension School, but it should be.
Professor Yang thought it was a good idea, and then said:
"Okay, let's go take a look and see if the Agricultural Broadcasting School has any funding. If not, I'll see if we can apply for some from the school."

As he spoke, he patted Li Long on the shoulder:

"Xiao Li, now I understand why Professor Wu and Lao Luo both look at you differently. Your idea is really good."

Just then, the baby-faced girl poked her head in from outside and asked:
"Comrade Li Long, are all those cars outside yours? Or are you selling them on behalf of others?"

"For now, it's on my tab," Li Long said. "I'll buy it and then resell it."

Currently, there are three Volga trucks, two GAZ trucks, a high-horsepower tractor, and supporting farm implements in the backyard.

This high-horsepower truck was brought over later, and Li Long figured that it might not be sold anytime soon.

He stopped advertising because there weren't many cars left, and he was afraid that if he advertised, there would be too many people coming and he wouldn't be able to handle it.

Just then, they heard his father, Li Qingxia, calling from the front:

"Xiaolong, someone's buying a car!"

Li Long told Professor Yang and then went to the front, presumably to buy Volga cars. The luxury Volga has been very popular lately, and Li Long thought he should urge Liu Gaolou to bring more cars next time.

Sure enough, the person who came to buy the car was from Huxian County, a large-scale sheep farmer. Hearing that Li Long had cheap cars, he brought a professional mechanic to come and look at them.

Five vehicles were parked there. His original plan was to buy a GAZ truck, since it was practical. But after looking at the luxury Volga truck next to the GAZ, he hesitated for about ten minutes and changed his mind.

"These sedans are definitely more comfortable to look at," Bao Chaoyang, a large-scale cattle farmer, remarked to Li Long. "All your vehicles are quite nice—why doesn't this GAZ look good?"

To be honest, the GAZ trucks aren't very good-looking; their only advantage is their practicality. To be honest, the GAZ trucks modified for civilian and postal use in Kazakh republics are quite good, but the ones brought directly from the border are certainly durable, though they don't look very appealing.

Li Long smiled and said:
"It's a win-win situation. With such a large-scale business empire, Boss Bao deserves a nice car."

Upon hearing Li Long's words, Bao Chaoyang couldn't stop grinning. He watched as the mechanic he had brought inspected the car, drove it around the backyard, picked out a few minor flaws, and then turned to Li Long.

"You can rest assured about the condition of the cars. Every car was inspected and maintained when it was brought over from Kazakhstan. I wouldn't sell a car with problems, because I can't bear the consequences. As you can see, I'm not one of those itinerant dealers. I have my own businesses here, so you can rest assured about the cars."

Li Long dared to make this guarantee not only because Liu Shanmin had Liu Gaolou inspect the vehicles before they were brought over. After the vehicles arrived, Li Long also invited experienced drivers from the county transportation company to inspect each vehicle one by one.

It wasn't just a perfunctory glance; Li Long paid for the tea, and the person looked at it very carefully.

Li Long was always satisfied after each inspection—Liu Shanmin had indeed done a good job repairing and maintaining the cars, making them presentable.

That's why he has the confidence to speak.

As for the minor issues pointed out by the professional mechanic today, they're negligible. After all, they paid someone to come; if I insisted the car had no problems, wouldn't that make me look incompetent?

Li Long understood the ins and outs, but didn't reveal it, though he gave a guarantee.

Both parties were satisfied. Li Long offered a discount on the 110,000 yuan car, and the deal was made for 100,000 yuan. This made Bao Dahu even happier, as he wanted to treat Li Long to dinner. However, Li Long had other guests and declined.

Witnessing Li Long close a deal worth 100,000 yuan in less than an hour, the students sighed that they didn't understand the world of the rich.

The baby-faced girl was still calculating: 100,000 yuan! Even if she only earns 100 yuan a month after graduation and doesn't eat or drink, it would still take her 80 years to save up!
The world of the rich.

Originally carrying the arrogance and pride of college students, they seemed less impulsive at this moment.

At noon, Li Long treated Professor Yang and the others to lunch at Tuanfenglou Restaurant. There were several main dishes, and wild vegetables were not yet fashionable at that time. In short, there was chicken, fish, and mutton. The students had good appetites. Professor Yang said that Li Long was being a bit extravagant and wasteful. Li Long did not refute it, but just kept persuading them.

After lunch, Li Long drove Professor Yang and the others to the Agricultural Broadcasting School.

Originally, Li Long had suggested that Professor Yang and his group settle down first and then go to check on the cotton fields the next day. However, Professor Yang and Principal Yang only chatted for a few words before putting down their luggage and heading to the cotton fields.

Li Long admired their dedication, so he drove them to the fourth team.

"This road is nice." Several students sat in the car, feeling that it was different from the places they usually went with Professor Yang. The boy with the round buzz cut exclaimed.

"It was just repaired this year," Li Long replied, and continued driving.

"Xiao Li, I heard you paid for the repairs?" Professor Yang, who seemed quite familiar with the area, asked, "It must have cost a lot of money, right?"

"Comrade Li Long, are you paying?" The students behind him were somewhat surprised.

"Yeah, around 100,000, to make it easier for everyone to travel," Li Long replied.

The students behind fell silent.

If seeing Li Long easily sell a car worth 100,000 yuan in the yard before, then hearing Li Long say that he spent over 100,000 yuan to repair a road now feels different.

Historically, building bridges and paving roads has always been considered a good deed, especially since Li Long didn't actively promote it; it was Professor Yang who brought it up.

That makes it even more precious.

Upon arriving at the fourth team, Li Long said:

"The road to the fields will be a bit more difficult from here on out."

Actually, it's only relative. When it's not raining, the farm roads are relatively flat. Although the GAZ truck's sealing isn't very good, it's still better than a tractor.

Professor Yang has taken his students all over the north and south of Xinjiang, and they've ridden in tractors and donkey carts. This jeep is considered a luxury.

"The seedlings are germinating very well!" Professor Yang exclaimed, standing by the cotton field. "It's hard to believe these seedlings are from saline-alkali soil."

“Actually, there weren’t this many originally, but we added some later.” Li Long pointed to some seedlings on the side and said, “If you look closely, you can see that the seedlings that were added are weaker and smaller.”

Professor Yang squatted down to take a closer look and indeed recognized the difference. He smiled and said, "Hey, my eyesight's failing me. But to be honest, at first glance, you really can't tell that these grew in saline-alkali soil. They're growing really well!"

Actually, there's not much difference between the newly planted seedlings and the ones that grew earlier. They all have seven or eight leaves, and although they won't cover the whole field with green like they will in two months, the neat rows show that the cotton seedlings are full of vitality.

The cotton field had just been watered for the second time, and the ground was still a little damp, but Professor Yang showed no disgust. He walked into the field and carefully observed the differences in the growth of the cotton seedlings, the progress of soil improvement, and the growth of weeds.

"The management is very good. Is this the role of the cooperative you mentioned? The weeds have been cleared very cleanly. It doesn't look like it was cultivated. It must have been weeded manually?"

"I'm not quite sure," Li Long said somewhat awkwardly. "I've been in the county recently, and the work on this cotton field has been handed over to the cooperative's manager."

"Hmm, this manager is doing a good job." Professor Yang didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Li Long was a businessman with his own things to do, and he couldn't possibly spend all his time in the fields.

"Then let me speak with this manager when I have some free time?" Professor Yang said. "He shouldn't be too busy these next few days, right?"

"It'll definitely be fine. We can go back in a bit." Li Long was confident about that.

However, he soon realized that he didn't need to stay up all night, because he saw a GAZ truck driving by.

The GAZ truck was parked next to Li Long's car. Inside were not only Xie Yundong, but also his elder brother Li Jianguo. To Li Long's surprise, the driver was Li Junfeng.

"I heard that a GAZ truck has driven to this side of the road. I guess it's you guys," Xie Yundong said to Li Long with a smile.

Li Long greeted his elder brother and then introduced Professor Yang and others to everyone.

However, he gets stuck when introducing students, and he still doesn't know the names of several students.

“My name is Dai Lili,” the baby-faced girl was the first to react and introduced herself, “a third-year student in the College of Agriculture.”

"My name is Xiao Shaohua," said the boy with the parted hair.

"I am Chen Xiaobing," said the one who looked most like the eldest of the four, looking at the honest and kind-hearted man.

"Wan Wusheng." The tall, thin man with the crew cut seemed to only just realize what was happening.

"Welcome, welcome!" Li Jianguo said with a smile. "They are all top students, Professor Yang, your students are excellent."

Everyone chatted and exchanged pleasantries, quickly becoming acquainted—mainly because Professor Yang was not at all reserved and started chatting directly with Li Jianguo and Xie Yundong.

Several students were nearby, and they were equally unfazed, listening most of the time and occasionally asking one or two questions.

Li Long then inquired about Li Junfeng's living conditions.

"Have you moved in yet?"

"We've moved in. We moved the furniture in as soon as it was finished. The vegetable garden is being renovated now. The alkaline soil is too thick, so we're removing the top layer and then laying new soil. Nanshan is too far away, otherwise I was planning to go there and bring back several truckloads of soil to lay on it."

"It's just too far. If it really doesn't work, we'll just bring more manure. There's plenty of manure at Old Ma's place, it's all composted, we can just haul it away."

Old Ma's place raised so many livestock that the amount of manure produced each year was considerable.

It's no problem for any family in the team to haul one or two cartloads of manure from their vegetable garden; hauling more than that would be unreasonable. So most of the manure just sits there piled up. Every year, the vegetable gardens in the two courtyards of the Li family are always overflowing with fermented manure. The same goes for the vegetable garden in the stable.

As Uncle Luo would say, anyone who wants more fat should talk to Li Long. He's just keeping an eye on Old Ma's place for Li Long; he doesn't have the authority to make decisions.

Anyway, Li Long mainly lives in the county, so it won't be easy for others to find him in a short time.

Uncle Luo had told Li Long about this, and there was no other way. Anyone who wanted it would be unable to store the manure in the stable.

We can't open that door.

Li Long wasn't the only villain; Yang Laoliu was too. His eccentric personality was notorious; when he got serious, he wouldn't give anyone any face.

Besides, he was mainly responsible for grazing the cattle and sheep, so he could make some decisions. Those who wanted more but couldn't have any were easily dealt with by Yang Laoliu with a single word. Li Junfeng was immediately delighted upon hearing Li Long's words. "A good crop depends entirely on manure," and that saying wasn't just empty words. With enough well-done manure, his vegetable garden was guaranteed to grow just as well as his two uncles' gardens.

Xie Yundong introduced the overall operation of the cooperative to Professor Yang, mainly focusing on how to grow cotton.

From sowing to replanting and thinning seedlings, weeding, watering and fertilizing, the whole set of management methods was all learned piecemeal from Li Long, and then he summarized them.

Professor Yang had many questions. He was not only an expert on cotton cultivation, but also had a very good grasp of the basics. He was particularly interested in how the cooperative operated.

Li Long was fine, but several students started to target him, asking him a series of questions, from the initial cotton planting to the future development direction of cotton planting.

After learning that Li Long owned a high-horsepower tractor and had mentioned advanced technologies such as cotton harvesters and drip irrigation during his conversation with Professor Yang, the students became even more interested in Li Long, not only out of surprise but also because of his knowledge.

These are cutting-edge technologies in cotton cultivation, and it's truly remarkable that a farmer could talk about them.

Currently, access to information is very limited.

Professional journals, academic papers, news, newspapers, and so on, as well as lectures and word of mouth.

Without the internet, it is remarkable in itself that a farmer could know about advanced technologies in a foreign land and be certain that these technologies would play a significant role in future farming.

Li Long didn't hold back either. Nowadays, universities still guarantee job placement, and these students will basically go to agricultural departments in autonomous regions, prefectures, and counties after graduation.

Cotton will be planted in most parts of northern and southern Xinjiang in the future, including Yili. Although it will only be a short-lived phenomenon of two or three years, it shows that this stuff can grow in most places.

Therefore, talking more about future cotton technology to these students would be beneficial to the development of this industry.

The college students were all quite proud, but if Li Long had real knowledge, they would listen with respect, remember, and learn from him.

Practice makes perfect, and at this time, many college students still adhere to the principle of combining theory with practice, and maintain a sense of respect for the old farmers in the fields.

Besides, this farmer in front of me is so capable.

So two small circles formed at the edge of the cotton field. Li Long was telling the students, while Xie Yundong and Li Jianguo were answering Professor Yang's endless stream of questions.

Li Junfeng finds it quite interesting to be caught between two circles.

It was impossible to cover all the issues in a short time. After talking for a while, there wasn't much left to say, so Li Jianguo invited Professor Yang and the others to his home for dinner.

"No, no. Old Yang, it's already been arranged by Principal Yang of the township agricultural extension school. Actually, we had lunch there at noon. Comrade Li Long invited us in the county, which made Old Yang so angry that he can't break his promise tonight."

Having heard Professor Yang's explanation, Li Jianguo didn't insist. After all, they were going to stay for several more days; they had plenty of time.

Xie Yundong drove Professor Yang and his group to the Agricultural Broadcasting School, where Principal Yang had been waiting for a long time.

Upon seeing Professor Yang, Principal Yang launched into another tirade, complaining that they were late and had made them wait for quite some time.

Xie Yundong declined Principal Yang's invitation to stay for dinner and drove back to Team Four, then went to the Li family's house.

Li Long was talking to his mother about recent events. Du Chunfang hadn't seen Li Long for a few days, so she asked about everyone from Li Long himself to Gu Xiaoxia to Mingming and Haohao.

"Uncle Jianguo, I have a feeling that Professor Yang... seems to know less about farming than Xiaolong does." Xie Yundong came to the Li family to talk about this very thing.

This was a question he had.

According to Li Long, his cotton-growing techniques came from a professor at the August 1st Agricultural College, which should be Professor Yang, as well as from field investigations in Beiwucha, Liuhudi, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

So today, Li Jianguo and Xie Yundong came to meet Professor Yang with a sense of reverence, hoping to learn from him.

As a result, Professor Yang kept asking about cooperatives, and it was clear that he didn't know much about them.

As for cotton planting, Professor Yang didn't talk much, but it felt like he wasn't as detailed as Li Long had originally described.

Is it because they don't want to talk about it, or because they don't really understand it?
Xie Yundong couldn't help but think deeply about it.

Li Jianguo had also thought about this question, but his answer was rather simple: "It's probably something Professor Yang is researching. What he wants to know now is something he doesn't know, like our cooperative. As for cotton planting, that's all professional knowledge for him, so he won't go into too much detail."

This might be a more convincing explanation, but it seems a bit strange to Xie Yundong.

He always felt that there might be something they didn't know about.

However, they didn't delve into it too deeply. Even the content that Professor Yang talked about was simpler than what Li Long had originally said, enough for them to digest for a while.

At this point, a relatively large restaurant in the township—this is a bit of an awkward situation because the township is close to the county seat, which hinders its economic development. It's only five kilometers from the county seat; if you want something better to eat, you can just go to the county.

In addition, there are few civil servants in the township, and the township government, police station and other units have their own canteens, so the catering industry has not developed.

There are three or four in total.

When Principal Yang clinked glasses with Professor Yang, he reminisced about his days at the Pingyuan Forest Farm School in Pingfang, his face flushed with drink.

Professor Yang, however, did not want to talk much about that period of time and changed the subject, bringing up Li Long's suggestion at noon.

"You're suggesting drip irrigation for cotton cultivation? Isn't that a bit too advanced?"

Principal Yang has also studied agricultural technology, and his agricultural school subscribes to relevant magazines, so he is no stranger to drip irrigation technology.

He just hadn't thought of applying this to cotton cultivation.

After all, cotton is only a small part of agriculture in this area; the main crops are wheat, corn, sunflowers, and so on.

Although the Agricultural Broadcasting School invited Li Long to teach those people about cotton planting techniques and experience, it actually focused more on researching other crops.

So it was somewhat unexpected when Professor Yang suddenly asked Principal Yang to pay more attention to whether a plot of experimental land could be allocated for growing cotton, specifically drip-irrigated cotton.

Of course, there's no rush, because even if we were to plant them, it would have to be next year; we definitely can't plant them this year.

Li Long drank goat's milk at his older brother's house before returning home. When he arrived at the courtyard, his father, Li Qingxia, had already brought Mingming and Haohao back. Li Long told his father about the situation in the team and the general itinerary of Professor Yang and the others.

"Xiaoyu should arrive in a day or two. You should go pick her up then," Gu Xiaoxia said after hearing Li Long's words, having returned quite early today. "Won't that cause a conflict?"

"There's no conflict. Professor Yang and his group mainly understand cotton planting and the operation of the cooperative. It's better to have Brother Yun Dong and the others with them than for me to follow them. They're the ones who mainly handle cotton planting, so listening to them is more specific than listening to me."

The next day, Li Long went to the fourth team again, where Professor Yang and his team had already been picked up by Xie Yundong and were conducting sampling and surveys in the cotton field.

They came here not just to listen to Xie Yundong and his team explain the specific procedures. They needed to sample the cotton plants and gain a comprehensive understanding of the number of plants per acre, the cotton's growth, and the soil conditions.

When Li Long arrived at the field, Wan Wusheng, who was taking notes at the edge of the field, asked after seeing Li Long:
"Did you replant other crops in the cotton field? Did you plant similar crops last year? How are they growing?"

“They’re growing very well. There are peppers, pumpkins, watermelons, and mung beans too.” Li Long thought for a moment and said, “Actually, there are quite a few crops that could be planted in the cotton field, but we feel it’s a waste to waste them because of the lack of seedlings, so we might as well replant some.”

If you replant cotton and it doesn't grow well the first time, it's better to plant something else, something that will at least avoid growing alongside cotton.

Right now, because pests and diseases are not as severe as they will be in later years, it's okay to grow these crops in cotton fields. But when pests and diseases become severe, basically nothing can be grown.

But at that time, plants like the yellow nightshade and black nightshade, which had both fruit-producing and medicinal value, emerged one after another, becoming another major pest in cotton fields after reeds.

Reeds are currently the plant that the farmers in the fourth team hate the most.

Of course, this stuff is pretty good as fodder. It grows along ditches, in fields, and so on, so there's no problem cutting it up and feeding it to livestock.

But if it grows in the ground, it will compete with crops for fertilizer, and it is not easy to eradicate.

Even if the reeds are cut and left to dry in the sun for two days, if they are turned into the soil during tilling, they will sprout reed shoots in a few days and then quickly grow tall and large, forming a patch in one or two years.

Even if you dig up its roots, if you don't pick them up, those reed roots can be dried in the sun for a few days, turned into the soil when you turn the land over, and sprout new shoots after a while.

Just like how bamboo sometimes mysteriously grows in the yards of some people in later generations, it is very difficult to eradicate.

By the way, here's a bit of trivia: reeds and bamboo are the same type of plant; they're both grasses.

Twenty years from now, our country's biotechnology will be more advanced, and we will develop a special herbicide for reeds that kills them instantly by cutting off their roots. This will solve the problem of reeds.

It remains a problem because reeds thrive in saline-alkali soil, and mutton made from reeds grown in saline-alkali soil doesn't have a gamey smell.

Li Long casually pulled up a short reed at the edge of the field. He actually wanted to pull it up by the roots, but the reed was too brittle and required a bit of skill, so he only pulled off the part above ground and left the part underground.

There are still camel thorns at the edge of the field, but they are not within the cotton area, otherwise the weeders would have removed them.

Wan Wusheng then asked:

"Did you spray herbicide in the fields before planting cotton?"

“It’s not very useful to spray it,” Li Long said. “Look at reeds, they can’t be killed by the herbicides currently on the market. This is saline-alkali land, where grasses like goosegrass don’t grow normally, and they won’t grow even if you pull them. So we simply don’t use it.”

Li Long vaguely remembered that current herbicides are targeted at dicotyledonous or monocotyledonous grasses, making them less suitable for this saline-alkali land.

It's clear that Wan Wusheng is quite studious and treats this cotton field as an experimental plot.

However, it is practically impossible to get a clear picture of the overall situation of the cotton fields in just a few days.

And next to this land are uncultivated original saline-alkali lands. By comparison, you can clearly feel that the cotton field has changed a lot.

Or rather, without comparison, it would be hard to imagine that this vast cotton field was originally the same as the surrounding area, with white alkali growing inside the soil crust.

Professor Yang focused more on the growth of the cotton plants. He had his students select about ten cotton plants from different areas to collect samples for comparative research. Much of the comparison was conducted on-site.

Li Long followed them all morning, but didn't come back in the afternoon. Professor Yang originally planned to have lunch at the Agricultural Broadcasting School, but Li Jianguo and the others dragged him to their home.

Li Jianguo is hospitable and also cares about his reputation. These agricultural college professors and students have come over, but they are still looking at their own cotton fields. If he doesn't invite them to his home for a meal, wouldn't people laugh at the Fourth Team for being unhospitable?

How can that work?

Li Long was naturally included. The lunch consisted of stewed fish and a freshly killed chicken; although the dishes weren't numerous, the portions were ample.

The taste of farm-style dishes is naturally different from that of restaurant food. Professor Yang and his students, who had been busy in the fields all morning, enjoyed the meal very much, and Li Jianguo and his wife were also very happy.

After lunch, Professor Yang and his group rested in the courtyard for a while before heading to the cotton fields. Xie Yundong drove along with the rest of the cooperative. Each of them was responsible for a section, and this was the perfect opportunity to ask questions; they were eager to learn and certainly wouldn't miss it.

Li Long, on the other hand, had more free time and returned to the courtyard to prepare to pick up Gu Xiaoyu.

However, the afternoon wasn't entirely uneventful; Yushanjiang came over.

He drove over in a tractor, which was crammed with more than a dozen sheep.

"I just came down from the mountain. These sheep will be the first batch, delivered to restaurants. Which families would you like to send them to?" Yu Shanjiang's intentions were clear; he was about to start building his business.

"They didn't kill anyone? That's good." Li Long hadn't expected Yu Shanjiang to be so efficient, so he said:

"Come on, let's put the sheep and the tractor in my yard first, and I'll take you there now."

It's hard to say about other things, but at least Li Long still has some influence with Zhong Guoqiang.

Sure enough, when Yushan Jiang arrived at Zhong Guoqiang's place, Zhong Guoqiang, upon hearing that he had sheep that had just been herded down from the mountain, immediately said:

"Okay, okay, send me one lamb every day. As for the price of the lamb, how about 2.8 yuan per kilogram, based on the current market price?"

“Okay,” Yushanjiang readily agreed.

The second place Li Long took Yu Shanjiang to was the county guesthouse. He had been there quite often and had become familiar with the manager, mainly because there were several large groups of guests every month, and the manager appreciated Li Long's kindness.

Knowing that Li Long had introduced someone to sell meat, the manager also wanted a sheep, every day. As for the price, the guesthouse was cheaper; they usually got meat for 2.6 yuan, and Yushanjiang had no objection.

When starting a business, he needs to establish sales channels first; as for the price, that can be discussed later.

Two sheep a day, just from these two company canteens, is enough for an average butcher to live a decent life.

Since Li Long was going to support Yushanjiang, he naturally couldn't just leave it at that. Through Gu Xiaoxia, he also contacted the cafeteria at No. 2 Primary School. The cafeteria at No. 2 Primary School was only for teachers. Some teachers lived far away and it was inconvenient for them to go home for lunch, so there was a cafeteria that provided meals on campus to support the faculty and staff, with a certain amount of subsidies.

They don't need that many here, just half a sheep a day.

Finally, there was the county committee canteen, which was arranged through someone from the Ethnic Affairs Commission. They originally had meat delivered by the food factory. Since Li Long, as their representative, had come to them, they naturally gave him face, saying it didn't matter who delivered it, so he also asked for a sheep.

Three and a half sheep a day, Yushanjiang needs to deliver them very early every morning, at eight o'clock, so it's quite hard work.

But Yushanjiang didn't think it was a big deal. Anyway, he could slaughter sheep by himself, so getting up a little earlier was normal.

Moreover, he now lives with his family and the conditions are quite good, which he finds satisfactory.

He delivers the meat every morning, and after processing the remaining offal, he still has plenty of time to research the market. Delivering meat is temporary; his ultimate goal is to conduct thorough market research and transition from retail to wholesale.

Li Long joked with him, wishing him to grow and become a man who could influence the price of mutton in both northern and southern Xinjiang in the coming years. Although Yushanjiang laughed and said it was unlikely, he secretly harbored such ambitions.

So every day thereafter he would practice driving the GAZ truck in the yard of the recycling station.

Fortunately, I had experience driving a tractor, so I wasn't too bad at driving a GAZ truck; at least I didn't crash into a wall.

Li Long introduced these places to Yu Shanjiang, establishing them as the foundation for his business, and then left them alone. Given the current situation, Yu Shanjiang didn't need to make many adjustments; as long as he supplied these companies well, the monthly earnings would be enough to support his family of four.

If he wants to continue to grow and expand, then it depends on him. Li Long can't be a nanny who watches over everything.

Of course, offering advice when necessary is definitely a good idea.

Then, the next morning, Li Long drove his GAZ truck to Wucheng to pick up Gu Xiaoyu.

ＰＳ：感谢春暖十一州书友的大额打赏，感谢实无此人、书友20250123104738106、草原北方道人、书友20220830155123647、蓉糖、沙漠中ふ州、海外书虫、我要做大亨、uiru、千里快哉如风、花销水逝、7051*.qdcn、刘三室、闷葫芦大哥、鳄鱼的眼泪L、谭家书魔2号、9缥缈宇宙、她说那是纯甄、谢蓝桉、rossby、usp45等的打赏，感谢大家的订阅，推荐票。

Thank you all for your concern. I am currently recovering and am taking medication and undergoing physical therapy. I am also doing some simple rehabilitation exercises on my own.

Learn from past mistakes, and I wish everyone good health and to take care of yourselves.

Health is the most important thing!
(End of this chapter)