Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1280 This August is going to be tough.
Han Fang stayed in the fourth team for two days. After returning home, she helped her mother pack her luggage and then went out to hang out with her classmates for half a day. Sister Yang wasn't worried at all about Han Fang staying in the fourth team.

However, among the other students in the county, Sister Yang had very strict rules for Han Fang: she could only go out for half a day and had to be back before dark.

Han Fang was obedient. She had gone through hardships with her mother, so she knew that the outside world was not always safe.

In early August, Han Fang went to register—Li Long drove her there. The reason she went so early was that the school had announced military training. Li Long drove her, and Sister Yang was also in the car, partly to familiarize herself with the school, and partly because she had a lot of things to bring, which wouldn't be convenient to take a long bus ride.

It takes a little over an hour to drive from Ma County to Beiting. The address was on the admission notice, and Li Long was relatively familiar with Beiting, so he didn't need to ask around. Once he arrived in the city, he quickly found the location.

There were quite a few people lingering at the school gate; some were registering, while others were just watching the spectacle.

Most of these people were on foot, some were riding bicycles carrying luggage. When Li Long drove over, everyone made way for him, as he was the only one to arrive by car so far.

Everyone guessed that this was for sending off new students, so they were all quite curious.

Upon arriving at the school gate, Li Long got out of the car, took Han Fang's admission notice, and reported it to the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper wasn't unreasonable; knowing that he was dropping off a new student, he let him in.

Upon arriving at the registration area, Li Long parked the car, got out, and went to register with Sister Yang, Han Fang, and others, carrying their luggage. Li Long waited outside while Sister Yang helped Han Fang bring her things inside.

Those who came in at the entrance met Han Fang and the others, and knowing that she had been driven in, they became quite gossipy.

Han Fang arrived early and, based on the experience she had learned from Li Juan, chose an upper bunk at the back. She didn't let Sister Yang get on the bed; instead, she went up and made the bed herself, put her things away, and then persuaded Sister Yang to leave.

Seeing that there were already two people in the dormitory, Sister Yang asked Han Fang to take out the beef jerky she had brought and share it with everyone. Sister Yang's idea was to bring the dormitory students closer together.

Han Fang listened to her mother. She took out two bags of beef jerky, tore open the packaging, and shared them with her roommates. She also took out tissues to keep on hand.

The two roommates were a bit surprised. They were already a little reserved because of Sister Yang's presence, and now they felt even more embarrassed.

"You two chat, I'll be going now." Although Sister Yang was a little reluctant, she knew that her daughter would eventually have to live alone here, and she couldn't take care of her forever, so she said.

Han Fang then escorted her mother out.

When she came back in, her two roommates were talking quietly, but they stopped when she came in.

Han Fang introduced herself, and the other two classmates did the same.

They were both young at heart and quickly started chatting.

The two students were from Qitai and Miquan, respectively, both located in the east. One came from a rural area, while the other was from the county, similar to Han Fang.

The three of them had a lot to talk about, such as grades—Han Fang got the highest score, which surprised and impressed her two roommates.

After the conversation started, Mi Quan, who was more outgoing, said enviously that Han Fang's family was very well-off and that the beef jerky was delicious.

Han Fang didn't know how to respond. According to Li Juan, she shouldn't go into too much detail about her family situation at this time. She just said that her family owned a shop, so they were doing quite well.

Just before dinner was about to start, two more roommates arrived. The three of them, being newcomers, remained very calm.

Han Fang gradually adapted and even looked forward to the life ahead.

Li Long drove Sister Yang home, just in time to find that Gu Xiaoxia had almost finished cooking. Sister Yang went into the kitchen to help, and Gu Xiaoxia asked about the registration process.

Sister Yang explained the situation, feeling both relieved and a little sad—she knew that from now on, her daughter would have to live alone, and there wouldn't be many more days spent with her.

Gu Xiaoxia comforted her, saying that this was inevitable, and that they would try to be assigned to Ma County after graduation so they could still be together then.

This was just a minor incident in life, and Sister Yang's sadness was only temporary and quickly subsided.

Han Fang's military training lasted for two consecutive weeks, and she rushed back after two weeks—she returned on Saturday afternoon and had to go back again on Sunday. Fortunately, there are many buses a day from Ma County to Beiting.

Even if you miss the bus, you can wait by the roadside with your luggage and catch a bus from west to east before dark – because there are many buses from the valley, oil city, and Jinshan to Wucheng, and you can just flag one down to get to Beiting.

Yushanjiang's business is getting better and better. Now he only comes to Li Long's place occasionally, and every time he comes, his business has improved. At first, he took on more beef and mutton supply to several stores, and then he did two more wholesale deals.

When he came to see Li Long again, he was planning to fence off the open space next to his yard and build a proper sheep pen. He said he couldn't do without stocking up on sheep, as he needed to slaughter too many cattle and sheep every day, and he even needed to hire someone to help.

When Li Long came back again, he was surprised to find that Yu Shanjiang was with a Buick.

“I asked him to help me, and I also told his family that I would give him cash,” Yu Shanjiang said. “His father is almost fully recovered and can take care of the cattle and sheep at home.”

Li Long was somewhat surprised, as he had originally thought that Yushanjiang would bring Talihar with him.

“I’d like to too. Talihar is currently running all over the mountains in the summer pasture. He said he won’t come down yet, he’ll come down after he finds something good that can be exchanged for a car. But I don’t think he’ll stay in the mountains for long. Once the road is open, I’ll come down. They’re all very ambitious and don’t want to stay in the mountains for too long.”

Li Long understood Talihar's thoughts. The last time he took Zheng Jun to the mountains, Talihar had taken his words to heart. He genuinely intended to get some supplies, change vehicles, and then come down the mountain.

Li Long was a little confused. He had built this road and changed the Yushanjiang tribe so much.

This change has allowed them to adapt to modernization and become increasingly synchronized with life outside, but it has also disrupted the traditions of their tribe.

Is this good or bad?
However, things have already changed, and it's impossible to destroy that road, so we can only continue to see what happens.

With Buick's help, Yushanjiang's business flourished. Buick's daily tasks included slaughtering sheep and delivering the meat to Yushanjiang. In the afternoons, when he had free time, Buick would manage the cattle and sheep that Yushanjiang brought back from the livestock market, and sometimes he would even accompany Yushanjiang to the livestock market to herd the cattle and sheep.

Yu Shanjiang once secretly told Li Long that he could now earn an average of fifty or sixty yuan a day, and sometimes he could earn more than one hundred yuan when someone wholesaled his cattle and sheep.

Buick was paid 100 yuan a month, which he considered very high—he calculated it based on cattle and sheep. 100 yuan a month was equivalent to four or five sheep, which was really good.

Yushanjiang also told Li Long that Buick would receive a bonus when business was good, and since Buick ate and lived at Yushanjiang's house, the treatment was really good.

With things settled on the Yushan River side, Li Long paid less attention to it. He would only chat with him when he came over, sometimes just listening and sometimes giving him some advice.

He felt that Yushanjiang was much more talented in business than him, and that Yushanjiang grasped things very quickly and had ideas that were more adaptable to the market than his own.

Therefore, Li Long increasingly felt that Yushanjiang's cattle and sheep business would grow bigger and bigger in the future, and might even surpass his own.

From this perspective, Li Long felt that it was the right thing to do to build that road and "liberate" the Yushan River.

Otherwise, perhaps in his previous life, ten or twenty years later, Yushanjiang would still be herding cattle and sheep, his talent wasted.

While keeping an eye on the Yushan River incident, Li Long also watched as Meng Hai and his team transformed a dirt road of over one kilometer in Beiyuanzi Village, Chengguan Town, into an asphalt road in less than half a month.

Li Long took on this road project so that Meng Hai and his team could practice on asphalt roads. Later, he planned to take on more technically demanding projects like reinforced concrete roads, which require more advanced technology.

Instead of the current method of simply flattening the foundation and then laying asphalt directly—which causes the asphalt to crack when heavy vehicles drive over it.

Of course, no one cared about this at the time. It was already good enough that the road could be paved, and that there would be no mud in the summer or mud in the rain.

A saying that's been circulating on the internet for generations is really useful here: first, ask if it exists, then talk about quality issues.

Li Long didn't try to make a big show of it; when the road was being built, he brought along Deputy Director Guan from the Transportation Bureau. This kind of thing definitely required prior consultation with the Transportation Bureau.

In the end, Deputy Director Guan was quite righteous. Since it was their responsibility, after consulting with the bureau leaders, the Transportation Bureau allocated 15,000 yuan, which was basically half of the road's budget. This made it easier for the Transportation Bureau to say in their year-end report that they were in charge of the road project.

The road was completed in early August. On behalf of Chengguan Town, Ma Xiaoyan treated Deputy Director Guan, Li Long, and Meng Hai to a meal to express her gratitude.

Meng Hai privately told Li Long that the village did indeed provide meals every day, but to be honest, it didn't feel very welcoming.

Li Long told him that as long as everything went smoothly, he could just accumulate experience. Sometimes it wasn't just about doing things voluntarily. Although he had spent some money, the skills he gained were invaluable.

After all, not everyone dares to let these newcomers practice on the road.

Li Long also told Meng Hai a joke:

"Think about it, you've only been around for a short time, and you're already able to build asphalt roads. If you keep going like this, even if you don't make any money this year, you'll hone your skills and be able to build highways and skyscrapers in the future. You could make hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in one go. Think about it, it's all thanks to the foundation you've built up little by little now."

Li Long truly understands how impressive the infrastructure development in Xinjiang will be in the future. By accumulating the necessary technology now, he can seize the opportunity when it arises.

Meng Hai seemed to understand, but he believed what Li Long said.

The workers didn't earn much during this period, but it was still better than farming, so they were quite happy. After the road was repaired, Meng Hai gave the workers a few days off, and then took on a canal repair project from Yang Bo at the Water Resources Bureau.

At the same time, Li Long also took on the job of building sheep pens in Yushanjiang for them. A tall building starts from the ground up; building a sheep pen is also a way to accumulate experience points, so it's worthwhile.

In mid-August, Halim and his men came down the mountain to cut grass.

The purchasing station has been buying black tiger paw mushrooms lately; there's a lot of them in the mountains. As long as mushroom pickers don't damage the spawn field, they'll grow in the same spot every year.

There was no need for those people to cause damage. This wasn't like digging for fritillaria bulbs, where you have to dig them out of the ground. If you see mushrooms, you can just pull them off and put them in a bag. The people digging didn't even stop.

When Halim and his group arrived at the purchasing station in their tractor, Li Long and Liang Shuangcheng were peeling black tiger paw mushrooms in the backyard.

When these things were delivered, some were fresh and some were dried. Li Long sorted the fresh ones, making sure to trim off the base of the umbrella handle, as it was covered in moss and dirt, which would affect the quality if left behind.

After peeling, wash them clean and then hang them to dry. The ones sold need to be dried whole, but Li Long picked out some good ones, cut them open, and hung them to dry. These were dried so he could take them home to eat.

When Li Long saw that Halim and his group had driven the tractor to the backyard, he smiled and got up to greet these Kazakh friends.

After shaking hands, Li Long led them into the reception room, where Liang Shuangcheng quickly brought out watermelons and then left.

“Everything’s fine up in the mountains. We just went to see my mother and then went to see the Yushan River area. Oh my, I really didn’t expect that sheepfolds have been built there, and Beke has gotten fatter.” Halim said with great emotion, “I really didn’t expect that we were all herders before, but now things are different.”

"Haha, now that the road is open, there are so many more things we can do. It's not good to just stay in the mountains herding sheep all the time. Go down the mountain and see for yourself; there are all sorts of paths to take." Li Long had already convinced himself that building the road was definitely the right thing to do, so he naturally spoke of the positive aspects.

“That’s right.” Harim nodded. “Some people want to be like them, but they haven’t figured out what to do yet.”

"Haha, don't worry, it won't be long before Yushanjiang needs even more people." Li Long had more confidence in Yushanjiang than he did in himself. "His business will gradually grow bigger. When he can't keep up with supplying beef and mutton to those restaurants, he'll have to find you idle people."

"Sigh, I don't have time." Halim scratched his hair, looking a little worried. "Actually, I also want to go down the mountain. I'm getting anxious staying on the mountain. I think about so many things every day when I'm herding sheep."

Before, since we couldn't get down to the summer pastures, we could just graze the sheep whenever we wanted, and if necessary, we could just lie down on the grass and sleep. Now, the road is open, and I have a tractor, so I'm thinking, if all else fails, I could just make a trip down the mountain. Sigh, I'm really anxious."

Li Long smiled; he understood that feeling. Just like himself before, if he hadn't experienced his previous life, hadn't known about cell phones, computers, the internet, or so many other things, he might still be living a muddled and confused life.

But having witnessed it, knowing their mistakes, and understanding the direction of history, they will inevitably want to change it.

Halim's mindset is different from mine, but we both want to change because the conditions for change have been met.

If there is no way to break through a predicament, then it will remain a predicament. One may become complacent and content with the status quo. But when a gap suddenly appears that can break through one's current predicament, one will no longer want to stay in this situation.

Moreover, there was someone leading the way ahead.

Li Long guessed that Halim had another thought in mind—Yushanjiang was originally on the same level as Halim. Now that Yushanjiang had gone all out and was doing very well, Halim was bound to be anxious and didn't want to fall further behind Yushanjiang; he also wanted to do well.

Li Long didn't have a good solution to this either. After all, he could guide Yushanjiang to do something because Yushanjiang was willing to burn his bridges and abandon everything in the mountains, but could Halim abandon everything?
It all depends on his own determination.

And even if we disregard that, what will he do? Is he the same as Yushanjiang? He's already started late; can he catch up?
Li Long guessed Halimu's mindset, but couldn't help him for the time being.

Halim didn't speak again, but Talihar took two items from his yellow satchel and placed them on the table, saying to Li Long:
"Look, can we trade these two for a different car?"

Li Long looked at the two items and asked in surprise:
"Have you been looking for this all this time?"

"Ah."

Two items. One is a piece of jade, about the size of a goose egg. The texture is very good, with almost no black spots or cracks. It looks very beautiful, at least the exposed third of the jade material is like that.

The remaining stones had a stone skin, but the color of the stone skin was also very good—it was a bluish color, which Li Long rarely saw in jadeite.

The other piece was a flat gold nugget, about the size of a child's fist—God knows how many places Talihar searched before finding such a nugget.

The Tianshan Mountains are vast and located in an area of ​​geological tectonic activity. The Ma County area is also known for its gold deposits, and there are existing gold mines. Current records indicate that there were both government-run and private gold mining operations during the Qing Dynasty.

Li Long himself has found gold nuggets, and they're still kept in his cellar.

So I wasn't particularly surprised that Talihar found this thing, but I knew it wasn't easy.

Perhaps after I told him last time, Talihar has been searching for this in the mountains.

This gold nugget is somewhat flat, and there are several hollowed-out areas in the middle—natural hollowed-out areas, which must have been there when it was formed.

Weighing less than 500 grams, judging by its purity, it should be over 80%. Of course, the value of a gold nugget does not lie in its purity.

Therefore, this piece of gold is not valuable according to official prices. If it were refined, it would be worth around 10,000 to 20,000. However, if it were valued according to the price of gold nuggets in later generations, it would be worth twice as much.

In comparison, the jade weighing about one kilogram would be less valuable, less than a thousand yuan. After all, the price of jade didn't rise even in ten years—back then, a truckload of Qinghai jade could be bought for a few thousand yuan.

“I can get you a different car,” Li Long said. “Do you want it now? Can you drive it? You don’t have a driver’s license, so if you can drive it, you can only do so in the mountains.”

“It can be driven.” Talihar had been watching Li Long’s expression the whole time, afraid that Li Long would say it wasn’t enough. Actually, he had found some other jade stones, but none of them were as good as this one. Of course, he had already brought the jade stones over when he drove the tractor over. If it wasn’t enough, he would let Li Long take a look at those.

“There are no more GAZ trucks left, they’re all sold out,” Li Long asked. “Then you’ll have to wait.”

“Don’t you have one?” Talihar didn’t want to wait any longer. “I’ll take that one. Anyway, if you can drive it, it means it’s a good car.”

Li Long said helplessly, "I've been driving that car for two years..."

“It’s alright, I don’t mind.” Talihar was very persistent about the GAZ truck.

However, he only had enough money for about one GAZ truck. Li Long had a luxury Volga, two Mercedes-Benzes, an Audi, and a Toyota SUV and pickup truck left.

None of these cars cost less than 100,000 yuan, and he doesn't have enough money for them.

Since he wanted it, Li Long agreed. He figured if he got the GAZ, he could drive the Toyota Land Cruiser himself. That vehicle was much better than the GAZ. Talihar was overjoyed that Li Long had agreed.

However, Li Long was still a little worried, so he asked him to come out with him and drive the GAZ truck around the backyard to test his driving skills.

Talihar wasn't intimidated at all; he took Li Long's keys and went to the car.

Li Long and Liang Shuangcheng tidied up the mushroom stall in the backyard to make room for it, mainly because they were worried that Talihar might run into problems.

“Yushanjiang went up the mountain twice, and Talihar followed along and drove the car both times. He practiced driving.” Halim said from the side, “Yushanjiang said that Talihar is very good at driving this car and learned it in no time.”

"Haven't you thought about getting one? Should I reserve one for you next time you come over?"

"No, thank you." Halim waved his hand. "I don't need it. Driving a tractor is fine now. The road is repaired, and the tractor can go up the mountain. It's very convenient."

Actually, tractors are not as convenient as cars, but since Halim didn't want one, Li Long didn't say anything more.

The era of exorbitant profits in the automotive industry is only lasting for a few years. In a few more years, when domestic cars like the Xiali come out, used cars won't be able to sell for such high prices anymore, and it will be impossible to make money like we do now.

Of course, if Liu Shanmin can maintain this relationship, he might be able to find other "specialties" and make money from the price difference.

However, it's uncertain what else might happen later. Li Long is certain that selling light industrial products like sugar from here to there can maintain an advantage for at least fifteen years, but whether he can maintain the high prices later is unknown.

After all, it's hard to say how long Liu Shanmin can maintain his tariff advantage.

Talihar got into the car, fumbled around inside for a while, started the engine, and slowly drove off.

It wasn't too aggressive, and the first feature satisfied Li Long. He'd met all sorts of people buying cars during this period. Some claimed to know how to drive, but when he was test-driving, one almost hit someone in the backyard.

Some say their driving skills are lacking, but they get into the car with incredible ease.

The main point is the contrast – fortunately, in the end, almost everyone can drive the car away, and those who can't drive will find a driver to come and help.

Talihar doesn't drive fast, maintaining a speed of about 15 to 20 km/h in the backyard, and even slower when turning.

Li Long was satisfied—with his speed and temperament, he was unlikely to encounter any danger while driving in the mountains.

After circling twice, Talihar got out of the car, handed the keys to Li Long, and waited with a smile for his evaluation.

Seeing the smug look on his face, Li Long, observing carefully, noticed that the guy's collar was wet, clearly indicating he was quite nervous while driving. He then smiled and said:

"Okay, I'll take the stuff. The vehicle is yours. You drove the tractor down today, right? Once you get your ID from the village, we'll come over and transfer the ownership. I'll also get you a driver's license when I have time."

Li Long got Yu Shanjiang's driver's license. Of course, the vehicle management office also had to check it, but if you have connections, the check isn't so strict. You don't need to get the car repaired; you just need to know how to drive.

During the reform phase, many policies were drafted or developed through trial and error, and were not rigorous enough. By the time they became more rigorous, connections were no longer useful.

Talihar was overjoyed. He smiled and took the keys from Li Long, saying, "Okay, okay, I'll get right on it."

They came down the mountain to see their families and let Li Long know they were coming down. Li Long also told Halimu that he would go up the mountain in a couple of days.

“Yushanjiang also said that he will go up the mountain to take a look in the next few days. Although it is more convenient to use a harvester to cut grass, he will still do his part,” Halimu said. “Actually, it is not necessary. We came down early because we thought it would be more troublesome to cut grass for their family and Buick’s family.”

For now, the tribe is still operating in a centralized manner, but in another year or two, they will gradually start to act independently. After all, once they are incorporated into the production team, the pastures will belong to each family. In the future, when it comes to working or herding, apart from those who are very close, they will basically have to look after themselves.

The saying "In the 1980s, everyone looked out for themselves" wasn't just a joke; it reflected the reality.

Li Long didn't invite Halim and the others to lunch, mainly because Halim had to go to visit his mother and child, and Talihar had to go to visit his grandmother. They all had their own homes, so Li Long didn't say much.

The people at the recycling station were somewhat surprised to see Li Long's GAZ truck driven away—had the truck already been sold?
Then Li Long went to the front yard, started the Toyota Land Cruiser, and drove it out of the recycling station.

"Hey, this car is prettier than the GAZ."

"Of course, not only are they beautiful, but they're also comfortable in winter. There's one GAZ motorcycle that's alright, but there are a few that are just canvas, and those aren't comfortable in winter either."

"This car... well, it probably isn't as good as a GAZ truck for going up mountains or into the desert, right?"

"You don't understand, do you? This car is nicknamed the Land Cruiser. Think about it, if it has that kind of name, how bad can it be?"

The middlemen who frequented this place loved to gather and study the cars Li Long had. Thanks to Li Long, they had gained a lot more knowledge about cars. Most of the knowledge they had now came from what Li Long had told them, or what he had casually mentioned to Sun Jiaqiang and Liang Shuangcheng, and then they had passed it on to the middlemen.

Li Long drove his Land Cruiser out of the purchasing station, circled around the county, and then headed towards the township.

It was powerful and much more comfortable than a GAZ train, with a level of comfort comparable to later cars.

Finally, I can feel a little bit of connection with later generations.

Li Long was filled with emotion. It was only the last year of the 1980s, and there were still more than 30 years until he left in his previous life. He should take it slow.

In the end, I didn't go to Team 4. After driving around for a while, I was very satisfied and then planned to take the paperwork to register the car in the afternoon. From then on, the car would be mine to drive.

The procedures were still relatively simple. After Li Long finished his business, he returned to the purchasing station and his father said that Director Du from the agricultural machinery factory had called him.

Li Long went to the counter and called Director Du back.

There was no one on the other end. Five or six minutes later, Li Long called again, and Factory Director Du answered the phone.

"Comrade Li Long, I just had a meeting with the technical department. Engineer Deng and his team have organized a group to tackle the problem and have already produced most of the drip irrigation tape production equipment. However, there are still some technical difficulties, and we are still trying to find solutions."

Factory Director Du didn't mince words and directly explained the reason for the call. Then Engineer Deng took the phone and started chatting with Li Long.

Because some specific parts of the equipment have already been manufactured, the problems that arise during assembly are specific. When you ask Li Long again, he knows a little about some of them, but he is completely clueless about others.

In his previous life, he visited a drip irrigation tape factory to inspect the equipment and watch them produce the equipment. He saw the complete sets of equipment, but he had no experience with how to assemble or match them. He had never seen such things before, so he couldn't explain anything about them.

Engineer Deng was very frustrated.

Li Long then comforted him, saying:

"Engineer Deng, don't be discouraged. Let's solve the other problems we can solve first. I'm looking in Kazakhstan to see if I can get a ready-made set of equipment. If I can, I'll bring it directly to your factory. That way, you can disassemble the equipment and compare it with the others."

Engineer Deng said that was the only way.

After hanging up the phone, Li Long thought for a moment and then called Liu Gaolou again to ask about the situation there.

Liu Gaolou was there. When Li Long asked about it, he said he had already told his second uncle, but his second uncle hadn't called yet, so he didn't know if it would be possible to buy it.

Li Long told Liu Gaolou that he should wait for his second uncle to call before calling the other party to finalize the matter, even if it meant paying a high price to buy it back.

Liu Shanmin is now like a rabbit with three burrows. If he doesn't call Liu Gaolou, Liu Gaolou won't know where he is either, so he can only passively wait for news.

After hanging up the phone, Li Qingxia knew what had happened and comforted him, saying:

"Growing cotton now is fine. It would be best if we could get more advanced technology, but if we can't, then we'll just grow it as it is now. We're not doing scientific research, so there's no need to be so persistent."

Li Long knew the logic was sound, but he was used to easy and high-yield cotton farming in his previous life, so he seemed to have an obsession with reaching the same level as in his previous life in this one.

So after his father finished speaking, Li Long simply nodded and went to the backyard to continue tending to the mushrooms.

The next morning, after breakfast, Li Long drove to Team Four. The drip irrigation equipment had malfunctioned, and Li Long knew his plans would be temporarily halted and possibly delayed, which put him in a bad mood.

He didn't go to his older brother's house, but went directly to the cotton field.

Xie Yundong and the others hadn't arrived yet, and there was no one in the cotton field at the moment. The sun was rising but not high, and the sunlight wasn't glaring; the cotton field looked quite beautiful at this time.

Because the cooperative manages the land, there are no ridges in the middle of the cotton fields. It's just one big, flat, and neat field from east to west and from south to north, with cotton plants almost all at the same height, which looks very pleasing.

For now, the cotton harvest is basically secure. Unless there's a sudden and severe spider mite infestation or hail, this year's yield should be around 90 kilograms or more—whether it reaches 100 kilograms depends on the subsequent weather.

Anyway, in the previous life, Li Long had lived for so many years and there hadn't been many hailstorms, so the possibility of reduced production was basically ruled out.

So now Li Long is basically certain that the cooperative's first move has been a success. His current plan is to tell Xie Yundong and the others when the cotton harvest begins, and then they can find workers at the temporary labor market, or even just go directly to Wucheng Railway Station and bring in workers.

The number of people coming here to pick cotton now is still sporadic, unlike in a few years when, in late August and early September, some trains will be filled with people picking cotton.

Looking at the cotton bolls, each the size of an apricot, Li Long's mood gradually improved.

He knew he was being a bit too hasty. This drip irrigation planting technology only began to become widespread twenty years later; if he wanted to develop it now, wouldn't that be like pulling up seedlings to help them grow?

Even if it's incredibly advanced, it will still take a few more years for the Dushanzi petrochemical plant to go into production, so that raw materials for drip irrigation tapes, such as plastic rice, can be bought in large quantities and at very low prices in northern Xinjiang.

Of course, there are still some technical challenges to overcome in drip irrigation equipment, which is also the reason.

His eyesight was excellent. He saw a ladybug, which the villagers often called the "flower lady," crawling on a cotton plant not far ahead, slowly and carefully eating aphids. He smiled.

That's right, you have to eat one bite at a time. Although there were more than a dozen aphids on the cotton stalk, the ladybug wasn't in a hurry at all. It just ate slowly and steadily, eating one every ten seconds or so. By the time it paused for a moment, all the aphids on the stalk had been eaten.

After the ladybug opened its shell, flapped its wings, and flew away, Li Long came to his senses. He stood up and began to inspect the field.

You have to eat one bite at a time, and you can't rush things. Of course, you can't ignore the path you have to take. The important thing is, there are honey bugs in the cotton field!
Fortunately, after looking around, I found that this was an isolated case and had not been widely adopted; it was basically not found in other places.

The plot of land was very long. Before Li Long could even walk around the edge of the plot, Xie Yundong and his men had already arrived, some driving cars and others driving tractors.

Seeing Li Long in the field, Xie Yundong parked his car and quickly walked over.

"I saw some honey bugs over there, so I took a look around," Li Long said.

"We also found some, but not many, so we didn't use the sprayer. We just sprayed the few areas with insects," Xie Yundong said, pointing to the person behind him with the sprayer. "It's nothing serious."

It's peach season now, so I come here every day. I'm counting on this one big sale this year anyway.

Li Long smiled. Xie Yundong had indeed worked hard these past few months; he looked thinner and had an unshaven beard. However, the results were obvious. He was thinking that once the cotton was picked and sold, if the results were satisfactory, he could suggest that in addition to the regular salaries of the managers, a bonus could be given.

Of course, we can't mention it right now, since the cotton hasn't even opened yet and it's still a long way from when we can sell it for money.

“Since you’ve seen it all, then I’m not worried anymore,” Li Long said with a smile. “It’ll be cotton picking in a little over a month. Have you thought about whether you’ll hire casual laborers or long-term workers?”

"How about we bring both day laborers and long-term workers together?" Xie Yundong said. "We have a lot of cotton fields, and I'm thinking of bringing a few truckloads of day laborers from the county over, and then a few of us can supervise them."

Then a few of us will contact our hometowns to ask if anyone wants to come and pick cotton to earn money. If so, they can come directly, and we'll reimburse their travel expenses—of course, they have to be able to endure hardship; whoever recommends them can act as their guarantor.”

Li Long thought this method was indeed good. The plot of land was too large; a small number of people simply wouldn't work. Because, if you calculated it, this thousand acres of land could yield over a hundred tons of cotton, which wasn't a small amount.

This is no longer the era of cotton harvesters picking cotton; picking cotton by hand is incredibly laborious.

"You changed your car again? Hey, this one looks much better than ours," Xie Yundong said, looking at Li Long's Land Cruiser.

“My car has been sold. GAZ cars are cheap, so many people can afford them. It’s not easy to sell the more expensive ones.”

"How much is this car?" Xie Yundong asked casually.

“New cars are expensive. This one would cost around 100,000 to 200,000 yuan,” Li Long said.

"I can't afford it, I'll just keep my car." Xie Yundong shook his head.

After chatting for a while, Xie Yundong went to instruct Li Long on how to spray pesticides. Li Long didn't stay there for long. He wandered around the cotton field for a while, went in and saw the replanted watermelons, cantaloupes and honeydew melons. He picked a few ripe ones and put them in his car to drive back.

Back at the purchasing station, he continued working in the backyard when Li Qingxia came to call him, saying that Liu Gaolou had called.

Li Long was delighted to hear this and immediately went to answer it.

“My second uncle called this morning and said he found a complete set of drip irrigation tape equipment, but it’s quite expensive.”

"How expensive?"

“150,000 US dollars, they only want US dollars,” Liu Gaolou said.

"I'll take it." Li Long gritted his teeth. He had US dollars now, but rationally he knew that it wasn't worth spending the money. He could wait a few more years until someone figured it out, and then he could use what he already had.

But that obsession made him determined to take down the equipment and have Director Du and his team disassemble it.

The right thing to do is to keep the technology in our own hands and build up our strength as soon as possible.

"That equipment was imported from Europe for someone who was planning to set up a factory. However, before the factory manager could even open, he was arrested for treason. The people who confiscated the equipment planned to exchange it for US dollars as soon as possible and then leave. Considering their purchase price, this was already considered cheap."

"I'll take it! I'll take it!" Li Long felt that the current situation was like those salespeople in later generations, where once the opportunity was gone, it would be gone forever.

Although he knew it was likely a trick by someone who owned the equipment, Li Long still had no choice but to fall for it.

"Call your second uncle right away. I want this equipment. Have him pay me in advance, and I'll bring it to him once the equipment arrives, or I can wire it to him."

"Hehe, I knew you wanted it, so I already told my second uncle," Liu Gaolou said with a smile. "My second uncle also said that he's holding the things for you and will bring them over next time. As for the money, we'll settle the difference when I get here."

After hanging up the phone, Li Long felt a mix of emotions.

$150,000, which is equivalent to the cost of more than 120 tons of sugar.

How many cars could you trade that for? Even a Mercedes-Benz W140 could get you more than seven!
Is this money worth it?

　Wishing everyone a smooth and successful new year!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)