Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Zheng Jun and his group stayed at the county guesthouse, intending to stay for three to five days.

Li Long read their draft plan, which was quite detailed, and they even found out what he had been doing.

For example, when filming, the roads in the mountains need to be compared. Find an unmodified pastoral trail and compare it with the pastoral trail that has been modified. The roads in the villages also need to be compared. Find an unmodified rural dirt road and compare it with the current asphalt road. You also need to interview some herders and villagers to highlight the benefits of road construction.

Of course, we also need to compare the villagers who have become wealthy under Li Long's guidance with ordinary villagers. On the one hand, this will show the contributions of Li Long's actions, and on the other hand, we will also interview Li Long to find out his original intentions for doing these things.

It's a fairly traditional form of advertising.

There was a lot of content in it that Li Long could tell was intended to portray him as a perfect, exemplary figure. After reading it, he and Zheng Jun discussed it and managed to cut some parts out.

The reason is simple: a trip into the mountains for comparison and filming takes at least a full day. The same goes for filming in the village, and then there's other filming to do. Not only is there not enough time, but we also can't keep up.

Zheng Jun theoretically accepted it, mainly because he didn't expect Li Long to be able to understand what he was trying to say, and even make a certain degree of "correction" with reason and evidence. This made him think that he was dealing with a country bumpkin, but he didn't expect that he was actually a knowledgeable all-rounder. His original sense of superiority disappeared, and he began to discuss with Li Long on an equal footing.

After confirming with Li Long that they would go into the mountains today to take a look, at least to film that road, Zheng Jun's filming team was a bit more "luxurious" than Xu Yang's team. In addition to interviewers, cameramen, and drivers, there was also Zheng Jun, the person in charge, and a translator. This idea came to Zheng Jun after he found out that Li Long had helped the herders build a mountain road, and he wanted to interview the local herders who benefited from it.

Li Long then drove them into the mountains.

There was no one at the door of the wooden house in Yamaguchi Borati; I don't know if he went on patrol or slacked off and went home.

After entering the mountains, Li Long quickly led them to Halimu's winter camp.

Now that the work has been done, there's no need to fear what others will say. Li Long pointed to the winter shelter and the water pipe, explaining to them that the supply and marketing cooperative had funded the repair of the water pipe and the winter shelter, and that he had led a group of people to help fix them.

The route to Shangdongwozi was also introduced, and Zheng Jun hurriedly asked the cameraman to film all of this, including the scenes introduced by Li Long.

Since there was no one there, I stayed for a while and then continued walking into the mountains until I reached the repaired pasture trail.

Li Long stopped at the cement bridge and began to explain the history of the bridge to Zheng Jun and the others.

"I want to emphasize that I didn't pay for the road myself. The herders in the mountains contributed their stored furs, deer antlers, and other valuables to build this road. I used these items to make money and hired construction workers to build it."

The cameraman, a seasoned veteran, first filmed Li Long explaining the road construction process, then filmed the bridge, and raised the camera to film the road stretching deep into the clouds. The road, winding and undulating, resembled a major artery deep within the mountains, and was incredibly beautiful.

Li Long continued forward, increasing his speed, but Zheng Jun did not. He looked at the repaired mountain road and would stop at more dangerous places to let the cameraman take some pictures.

When the car arrived at the summer pasture, Li Long saw Halimu grazing his livestock halfway up the mountain.

The first to spot Li Long was Harim's dog, who ran over barking and then wagged its tail and circled around after seeing Li Long get out of the car.

In the minds of these two dogs, Li Long was already considered a good friend of their owner.

Zheng Jun and his men dared not get out of the car, because the two dogs were quite intimidating.

Halim rode over on horseback, dismounted, and greeted Li Long.

Li Long hugged him and began introducing the people who followed behind.

“An interview? Sure,” Halim said happily. “I’ll go get the people later, then we’ll slaughter a sheep, and you can talk while you eat.”

In fact, Zheng Jun and his men were already starving. Li Long told them to rest there first, and Halimu's wife brought them milk tea and naan bread to tide them over.

Soon, Halim rode up on horseback, followed by several people, including Talihar, Bek, and others.

After they dismounted, Li Long greeted them one by one and then asked Buick how his father was doing.

"Alright, alright, it's fine now, still sitting there," Buick said with a smile. "It's perfectly fine."

"That's good, that's good." Li Long was relieved.

The others hadn't seen Li Long in a long time either, and they bombarded him with questions, which Zheng Jun found quite unusual. It was rare to see a Han Chinese man treated as a close friend by these Kazakhs.

The cameraman was very perceptive; he immediately put down the naan bread, picked up the camera, and started filming—this was rare footage.

Halim and Talihar went to slaughter sheep, while the others, mostly young men, sat together. Zheng Jun asked them questions, and they answered one by one, or even competed to answer.

To Zheng Jun's surprise, most of them could speak Mandarin, which saved him a lot of trouble.

Li Long didn't get involved in the matter. He went over to watch Harim slaughter the sheep and casually asked Nathan and the others why they hadn't come up the mountain.

“They came once, but the two kids didn’t want to stay on the mountain, so they went back.” Halim tied the sheep up, leaving one hoof struggling. Then he took out a knife and made a skillful but casual cut, causing the sheep to struggle violently.

With each kick of that leg, the blood came out quickly, in gushes.

“They’re used to living down in the mountains. I think once they finish school, they definitely won’t want this ranch anymore,” Harim said with a hint of melancholy. This was their ancestral ranch, and he certainly wouldn’t want to give it up.

But to be fair, his sons' choices weren't wrong. The plains offer such good living conditions in the city; he himself wanted to go there.

However, without that condition, he couldn't simply entrust the flock of sheep to someone else and go down the mountain like Yushanjiang did.

"You've seen the Yushan River, haven't you?"

"I saw it, I saw it," Halim said with a smile. "You drove up here, that's really impressive. When I have some free time to go down the mountain, I'll learn how to drive one too, and then I'll get one. This car is much faster than a tractor."

This is progress. Back when Halim and his friends got a tractor, their excitement was truly extraordinary.

Now that I'm getting a car again, I don't feel as excited as I did before.

Just think, it's only been a few years? I've changed the lives of so many people.

And it's changing for the better, which is something to be proud of. Halim spoke while peeling the sheepskin, his movements not faltering at all.

Talihar didn't say much, which surprised Li Long, so he asked:
"Talihar, how are you now?"

“Okay,” he said. “Nothing much.”

"Haha, he also wants to go down the mountain, like Yushanjiang. Hunting in the mountains is restricted now. He feels that hunting and herding sheep don't offer much of a future, but his family won't let him go," Halim said with a laugh.

“His grandmother bought a courtyard house down the mountain, and you renovated it for her. The old lady moved in, but his family wouldn’t let him go down there, saying that if he went down there, they wouldn’t be able to take care of the cattle and sheep in the mountains.”

Looking at Talihar's somewhat aggrieved face, Li Long thought that this was an inevitable conflict.

There's nothing that can be done about it. Now that the road is built, it's easier to go up and down the mountain. With Halim's mother setting an example, which of the more open-minded elderly people wouldn't want to live a peaceful life in the county?
As long as you have some savings, it's relatively easy to live in the county.

In the past, they were content with their pastoral lives and were unaware of the value of certain things.

But Li Long's arrival made them realize that some things found in summer pastures and deep mountain valleys could be exchanged for the value of several, or even a dozen or dozens of sheep. Some people then felt that herding was not so important after all.

Talihar's grandmother, for example, was a generous old lady with her own family fortune. After seeing the life that Harim's mother lived, she immediately decided that she wanted to live that way too.

Her family couldn't stop her, and now she's living a very comfortable life in the county town, which can be considered a change.

After thinking for a moment, Li Long tried to persuade Talihar:
“You need to gather more things from the summer ranch to build up some capital before you can proceed with your business. Take Yu Shanjiang, for example; he had to exchange the things he found on the summer ranch for money before he could buy that car and start his business.”

Whether you go down the mountain to do business or to enjoy life in the county town, you definitely can't survive without money. Now, here at the summer pasture, you're familiar with the terrain, so getting good stuff won't be difficult. Take advantage of the fact that not many people come here yet, gather as much as you can, and with some savings, you'll have a better chance of development later.”

He believed that Talihar's family would gradually understand. After all, the old lady lived in the county and would often go back to visit, which would subtly influence them.

After the sheepskin was peeled off, Talihar went to get a large basin, waiting for Harim to butcher the sheep. The people being interviewed ran over to help.

Zheng Jun and his team took advantage of this break to film some more, and even said they wanted to go to the herders' yurts to find a scene.

Li Long naturally had no objections and let Buick take them there. Buick took this very seriously; Li Long had helped his family so much, and he wanted to take good care of the guests Li Long brought.

To Zheng Jun and his group's surprise, almost every yurt had a radio. Some elderly people listened to it while basking in the sun outside, some families sat around listening outside the yurt, and others were herders on horseback listening to it.

Some people listened to the Kazakh radio station, some listened to the Chinese radio station, and some even sang along with the people on the radio.

They seemed somewhat "modern" than the herders they had imagined.

"This is the change brought about by road construction, isn't it?" even the translator remarked with emotion.

He had visited many herders' homes and knew what life was generally like for herders these days. Comparatively speaking, the herders here were indeed easier to communicate with than those in other places.

When the mutton was cooked, Zheng Jun and the others returned. They all looked quite happy, mainly because they had completed the interview and recording tasks well.

They ate lunch instead of lunch, but they weren't unhappy at all. They even chatted about the day's events while eating.

Halim and his group also participated, and talked a lot about the practical things that Li Long and the supply and marketing cooperative had done for the herders.

Li Long kept correcting them as they spoke, saying that the herders had also contributed money and effort, and it wasn't just him doing the work.

They talked a lot, and Zheng Jun and the others were very happy. Li Long ate quickly, then drank some mutton soup before being quietly called away by Talihar.

After walking a little further away, Talihar took out something and showed it to Li Long:
"Take a look and see if this is worth anything."

Li Long took it and saw that it was a fist-sized piece of agate with fine, delicate patterns. It looked quite beautiful, but there were two cracks.

He then said:

"This is agate. It's not very valuable right now. This piece is probably only worth about ten yuan."

Li Long spoke frankly. The main reason is that there are large areas of agate valleys and agate beaches in both northern and southern Xinjiang. There are so many of these things in existence that ordinary people can easily find them, so they are not very valuable.

Of course, larger pieces are a different story. Like this one, if it weren't cracked, it might be more valuable.

Talihar was somewhat disappointed.

“If there are many, and they're not cracked, and they're large, they're worth some money,” Li Long added. He felt that Talihar might have been influenced by his earlier words, so he said:
"If you're looking for something valuable, let me tell you. The most valuable thing is a whole block of gold, but that's too hard to find. Jade is also valuable, but the most valuable is the kind of pure jasper without any black spots. Large pieces with fewer black spots are also acceptable. There's also deer antler and raw gemstones; you've managed to get your hands on all of those."

Li Long told Talihar about the most valuable things in the mountains so that it would be easier for him to find them.

They actually knew a little before, since they would come to Li Long to exchange for supplies after finding the road to help pay for repairs. But they only had a general idea. Now Li Long has explained it to them systematically, so that they can search more purposefully in the future.

"How much would that be enough to buy a car?" Talihar asked, still longing for the car Yushanjiang drove.

“This size of gold is enough to buy a machine,” Li Long said, weighing the agate in his hand. “If it were jade, it would weigh several tens of kilograms, the pure kind.”

Currently, Hetian jade still holds the top position in the mainstream market, while the value of jasper is not considered high unless it is of very high quality.

It will take time to accumulate experience.

After Zheng Jun and his team finished their interview, they still felt a bit unsatisfied, but it was already quite late. Li Long urged them twice that if they didn't go back soon, the sun would set and it would be dark by the time they returned. Walking on mountain paths in the dark was too dangerous.

So the two cars finally went down the mountain.

Talihar clenched his fists as he watched the two cars descending the winding mountain road.

P.S.: This chapter is a bit short. I was in Manas today celebrating the old man's birthday, so there were a lot of things to do. (End of Chapter)