Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Knowing that Li Long needed this equipment, Liu Shanmin paid $150,000 to obtain it from Ha Fang. He then worked through the night to have the original technicians from the factory disassemble the equipment and load it into trucks in batches.

The skilled workers didn't even want money; all they needed was some bread, dried meat, and canned goods from Liu Shanmin, plus two kilograms of sugar for each person. For them, money, which was constantly inflating, was not as tangible as these supplies.

The main reason Liu Shanmin hired these people to disassemble it was because he was afraid that if ordinary people disassembled it, they would easily lose or mess up the parts. To be on the safe side, he also brought along the complete instruction manuals for these devices.

The equipment is very new and well-maintained. It has never been used, and the maintenance oils inside are still in good condition.

After loading the truck, Liu Shanmin drove it to the port with his bodyguards, intending to clear customs and smuggle it out.

When they were almost at Panfinov, another group of people arrived at the factory. Faced with the empty equipment room, these people were furious, but there was nothing they could do.

At this point, the management here was in a state of chaos. One incident could involve five or six departments. When the incident occurred, these departments all wanted to make a profit. Of course, some people in these departments could also be taken in for questioning because of this incident.

Liu Gaolou was somewhat surprised when he met his second uncle at the border, as the matter had been completed in just two days.

"Tell Li Long that I've brought all these things over for him. I paid for them myself. After deducting the cost of the sugar you brought back, have him give you the rest in US dollars, and you can wire it to me later."

Liu Shanmin's trip wasn't just to bring these equipment to Li Long; he also brought other things for a mission. So after explaining things to Liu Gaolou, he took his men and went about his own business.

Knowing that Liu Shanmin was busy, Liu Gaolou didn't catch up with his second uncle. He called Li Long, then called his driver, and the convoy loaded up the equipment and left.

One set of equipment required three trucks to tow, plus Liu Gaolou's own vehicle—he also got a Land Cruiser. This thing was more comfortable for long-distance driving than his old Volga, and of course, he didn't have to drive it himself; the driver would drive, and he could just sit and ride.

Li Long told Liu Gaolou that the car should go directly to the Kui military post, without having to go to Ma County, and that he would wait for him at the military post tomorrow.

Li Long himself hadn't expected Liu Shanmin to be so efficient. After hanging up the phone, he went back to prepare.

Although he's leaving tomorrow, he's coming to collect $100,000, of which $90,000 is for Liu Gaolou to take back, and the remaining $10,000 is for buying sugar.

After preparing the money, Li Long called Director Du again.

No one answered the phone at first when Director Du called. When Li Long called a second time, a staff member answered. After he realized it was Li Long, he quickly went to find Director Du to take the call.

"I'm checking on production in the workshop right now," said Factory Director Du. "Production of harvesters and sprayers has basically stopped; we're mainly producing snowplows."

The snowplows we're currently producing are already in their third generation. The manual diesel version is smaller and more convenient, suitable for company compounds. We're also producing snowplows for engineering vehicles, but those are more complex.

"Old Du, your research and development attitude is really commendable," Li Long said with a smile. "You mean to keep improving and staying ahead, right?"

"Of course, of course, I realized that when I was talking to you. By the way, what's up with your call?"

“I spent $150,000 from the Soviet republic of Kazakhstan to buy a drip irrigation tape production line,” Li Long said, getting down to business. “It will be delivered to you tomorrow. Do you think you should make room for it? Since you’ve encountered difficulties in your research, why don’t you compare it with their complete set of equipment?”

Li Long proposed advanced drip irrigation tape production equipment and concepts, both for future generations. What he brought from the Soviet republic of Kazakhstan was outdated equipment—though relatively advanced for the present day, it was still considered backward by Li Long's standards.

But there's nothing we can do. Finding one like this is already a stroke of good luck, since it's really hard to find one in China.

"Great, great, that's wonderful! Comrade Li Long, you're amazing! Engineer Deng and the others are pulling out countless hairs every day, just because they're stuck on those few problems."

"You've really solved a huge problem by getting your hands on this equipment—it'll be here tomorrow, right? I'll get someone to vacate the space right now! 150,000 US dollars… hey, that's not cheap!"

"There was no other way. I only managed to buy it because the owner of a drip irrigation tape factory over there was investigated and the factory was shut down. The equipment is new, and there are more than one company eyeing this equipment, so I actually got a good deal."

"Okay, okay, I understand. I can't let you spend this money for nothing. This equipment... consider it your investment. As for the profit sharing we discussed earlier, we can talk about it again after you and the equipment arrive."

Li Long smiled, realizing that Du Fu was indeed shrewd.

Just understand the meaning.

After he hung up the phone, he went to tell Gu Xiaoxia about it.

Because of his business, Li Long often travels around, which Gu Xiaoxia is used to. When she heard that he was going to the agricultural machinery factory, she asked if he wanted to stay there.

"I might stay overnight. Liu Gaolou and the others probably won't unload their stuff until after noon tomorrow. I definitely need to talk to Director Du and the others about this equipment. It's late, so I'll head back the day after tomorrow morning."

"Then I'll prepare your things." Gu Xiaoxia went into the house to pack Li Long's toiletries and spare clothes. Although he was only going for one day, there was always a chance he might need to change clothes for some reason.

Anyway, the car can hold it all, so carrying some clothes with me isn't a big deal.

While tidying up, Gu Xiaoxia asked Li Long:

"How's it driving now that you've replaced your old GAZ truck with this new 'Taurus'?"

Gu Xiaoxia also thought that the bull-headed cart was better looking than the GAZ cart.

"That's great! That's a Jeep, basically for off-road use, not very comfortable. This vehicle, although it's an off-road vehicle, is much more comfortable than that one. Want me to take you for a spin?"

"No," Gu Xiaoxia refused directly. "There's no need. I was just asking. By the way, this car is more expensive than that one, right?"

"Much more expensive, enough for two or three cars," Li Long said. When selling cars, he was all about fate regarding pricing. He accepted Talihar's jade and gold and immediately traded them in for a new car.

The jade and gold were valued at a rough estimate, and since neither party planned to sell them at the moment, they didn't discuss the price difference and were both happy.

Gu Xiaoxia packed Li Long's things and put them into the large backpack he was used to carrying. Then she asked, "Do you want to bring some dried meat? Boss Liu eats it often, so it's fine. Shouldn't you bring some as a gift for Factory Director Du?"

“Okay,” Li Long said. “I’ll go to Sister Yang’s place later and get some back.”

Since Han Fang went to military training and school, Sister Yang has been much more relaxed. Although she still worries about Han Fang's situation at school from time to time, her mental state is much better.

Since he wasn't going into the mountains, Li Long didn't plan to bring a gun. He had fewer and fewer opportunities to carry it, and in a few years when guns were confiscated, he really intended to hand it over.

The next day, after breakfast, Li Long drove his Land Cruiser out, first to the purchasing station to tell his father, and then stepped on the gas and left the county town, heading west.

They drove all the way to Kuibing Station, where Li Long found a shady spot to park the car, adjusted his seat, and picked up a book from the passenger seat to start reading.

By this time, Lao Cha's book had already been published. Although it subtly portrayed the Han people and the legitimacy of Han dynasties poorly, it did a decent job of depicting Guo Jing.

He would only watch it reluctantly to kill time—actually, he preferred watching The Legend of Shushan Swordsmen, but he couldn't watch that stuff every day.

Another example is the Investiture of the Gods. I used to skip over the poems in it, as well as those in Journey to the West. But now, when I reread them, I find that they are better written than some of the modern poetry masters.

Around noon, Li Long saw Liu Gaolou's convoy—it wasn't lunchtime yet. He saw Lu Xun with three trucks, so he quickly got out of his car and drove past.

Liu Gaolou drove his car over, signaled the cars behind to pull over, then got out, shook hands with Li Long, and said:
"We put a lot of thought and effort into this equipment."

"Hehe, thank you for your hard work." Li Long stuffed the cloth bag he had prepared earlier into Liu Gaolou's hands. "Keep it safe."

Liu Gaolou smiled, put the cloth bag into the black bag he was carrying, and asked:
"Shall we go to the farm machinery factory now?"

"Let's have lunch first. You've had a long journey. Let's have lunch here and then head to the farm machinery factory."

Unloading this equipment requires a certain level of skill. Li Long planned to head to the agricultural machinery factory after lunch, contact Director Du when he arrived, chat for a while, and then unload the machine when the workers came to work in the afternoon.

“Okay. There are a few restaurants in this area that serve pretty good food,” Liu Gaolou said. “By the way, we also brought a batch of drip irrigation tape with us, including capillary tubes and fine tubes, as well as connectors.”

These things were originally intended as samples for research, but that factory definitely can't operate anymore, so my second uncle simply packed them all up and brought them over. You can take a look when the time comes.”

"That's great!" Li Long laughed. "This thing is very useful for researchers!"

The two men, along with their driver, went into a restaurant and ordered a large plate of chicken and a large plate of pork belly. They chatted while waiting.

“My uncle said he plans to borrow one million rubles worth for the first time, but he’s still working on connections. There are other people who have thought of this, but the banks are very strict and you need connections,” Liu Gaolou said. “Once the loan is approved, things will be easier for him.”

"Take your time, no rush, don't get yourself into trouble," Li Long said.

“I bought this equipment for $150,000 and sold it to you at the original price. I didn’t make a profit on you at all,” Liu Gaolou said. “My second uncle said this is part of repaying a favor to you.”

"Also, you can let me know if you need any other equipment in the future. He said he's realized now that the research institutions and agricultural machinery research institutes over there are almost paralyzed; those machines are just sitting there being stolen or dismantled. It's better to use connections to buy them all at once."

Li Long only considered the imported equipment there to be somewhat superior. He also didn't need some heavy industrial equipment. As for the other light industrial equipment, he had no interest in even looking at it, because its technological level was inferior to what they had here.

The conversation stopped as soon as the food was served. We quickly finished eating, then drove out and headed into the city.

Liu Gaolou had never been to the city before, so he found it quite novel. At the dinner table, he and Li Long had already reached an agreement: after unloading the equipment today, he would stay in the city, while Li Long would have some things to discuss with the factory. After that, they would go to Ma County together tomorrow to bring back fifty tons of white sugar.

Liu Gaolou was thinking of wired the US dollars to his second uncle directly in the city that afternoon, but he wasn't sure if it was possible to wire them in the city.

The convoy arrived at the farm machinery factory, where preparations were already underway. The gates were opened to let the vehicles in, and two Land Cruisers were allowed to park in the yard's parking spaces. The trucks carrying the equipment were then guided directly to the workshop, where space had already been cleared to store the equipment.

Factory Director Du and Engineer Deng were in the courtyard when Li Long and Liu Gaolou got out of the car. They shook hands, and Li Long introduced Liu Gaolou to Factory Director Du and the others.

Factory Director Du and Engineer Deng were very enthusiastic towards Liu Gaolou, who was able to procure imported equipment. However, Liu Gaolou was lukewarm; after exchanging a few pleasantries, he went to find a place to rest.

Li Long and the other two went over to watch the workers unload the equipment from under the vehicle.

As Li Long watched the unloading process, he explained the situation to Engineer Deng:

"This equipment is considered quite advanced internationally, but it still lags behind our design. The main reason is that I incorporated some of my own ideas into the design, which you'll notice when you disassemble and study it."

In fact, Engineer Deng had already discovered this when he and the technical staff analyzed and studied the problems and concepts raised by Li Long during his design process. They were also able to find some theoretical articles to study, and they already knew that there were still some differences between mainstream international technologies and Li Long's ideas.

Now that Li Long has brought it up, Engineer Deng thinks that's the right thing to do—but which one is more advanced still depends on the specific circumstances.

More than two hours later, the equipment was unloaded and then installed in the spacious workshop.

The instruction manual was in both Russian and English. Deng and his colleagues were quite good at English, so they were able to understand the gist of it by referring to the manual.

The next step is comparative research. It's impossible to replicate it one-to-one. We need to try to suit the national conditions and create something with our own characteristics. This is a consensus among the three of them.

When Engineer Deng saw the unloaded items and samples of drip irrigation tape, he was overjoyed and took his technicians to study them.

Li Long and Factory Director Du discussed the specific terms in the office.

"Fifteen hundred thousand US dollars!" Factory Director Du exclaimed. "Old Li, you really know how to spend money..."

"So what can we do?" Li Long smiled. "I've become obsessed with this too. I'm always thinking about how to increase cotton production, so that the chances of our farmers getting rich through farming will greatly increase."

"So we can't let you waste your money. We don't have any US dollars to compensate you, and we assume you don't need the money. So let's renegotiate the agreement. As for the profit sharing... this $150,000, we'll increase your profit sharing by 10%, making it 35%. How about that?"

$150,000, which is roughly equivalent to 600,000 RMB at the current official exchange rate, is worth over a million RMB in the private market.

So Director Du directly increased Li Long's profit share by 10%. He admired Li Long's boldness in investing in this complete set of equipment, and realized that he himself had also shown extraordinary boldness.

Thirty-five percent, more than one-third of the profits, will be distributed to the factory for all future production tasks. Li Long will do nothing and just take the profits. Heaven knows how much pressure Director Du will face then.

But they gave it to them anyway.

Li Long took out the original agreement, both parties revised it, and then signed and stamped it.

There was enough trust in them before, so this time there were basically no major setbacks.

Moreover, this agreement was made in the name of the factory, so even if Director Du leaves office in the future, the agreement will continue to be implemented.

Of course, we'll talk about the future later.

"Once the research is complete and the first batch of equipment is successfully produced, I'll get one and take it back with me first," Li Long said with a smile. "I want to enjoy it as soon as possible."

"There's definitely no problem," Director Du said. "Developing this is your wish, and it's ours too. To be honest, whether our factory can leap from a second-rate factory in the autonomous region to a first-rate factory in the future depends on this."

“There will definitely be many challenges ahead,” Li Long said. “Keep up the good work.”

"Don't worry, with this ready-made equipment, if we still can't figure it out, then we're really just wasting our time."

Even if you can't come up with those new ideas, we can always take a step back. Technology is constantly evolving, each generation more advanced than the last. We're not aiming for instant success.” Director Du's thinking was very clear:
"Just like snow removal machines, the products we produced at the beginning were very rough, but now, our customers are very satisfied! It's the third generation! In the future, the drip irrigation equipment can also be advanced generation by generation."

Li Long was relieved that Lao Du had this idea.

They ate dinner at the agricultural machinery factory that night. There was also a guesthouse next to the factory, so Li Long and his group stayed there. Of course, they were basically drunk by the time they arrived.

When guests arrive, we offer them fine wine—a tradition at this time.

When Li Long and the others woke up the next day, the sun was already high in the sky.

However, this did not affect our breakfast. After saying goodbye, we continued eastward to Shicheng. Today we were only hauling goods. After loading the sugar, we went to Ma County to rest. Tomorrow, Liu Gaolou would return to the river valley port.

Liu Gaolou has already wired the money to Liu Shanmin from here. Kui City was once the power center of the northern Xinjiang river valley region, and some units here can still handle some foreign-related business.

Upon arriving in Shicheng and entering the sugar factory, Section Chief Hu naturally welcomed Li Long, the "money-bringing boy," and even invited him and his group to dinner, depending on the time.

Li Long thought to himself, "Could it be that the sugar factory is short of US dollars again?"

It was still early before lunchtime, so he decided to talk business first. He went to pay the bill, while the trucks were being loaded. Loading at the sugar factory was relatively quick; forklifts helped with loading at the shipping area, and fifty tons wouldn't take too long.

After Li Long paid the money, Section Chief Hu was all smiles when he learned that the finance department had received another $10,000.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Li Long came over and made a request to him:

“A friend of mine is currently raising sheep in Ma County. He is involved in cattle and sheep production. Could he bring a truckload of sugar residue over every other day?”

"Hey, isn't that easy? Just go and tell Song Ming," Section Chief Hu said with a smile.

The sugar factory is designed to produce 1,000 tons of white sugar per day and has a strong capacity for processing sugar beets, resulting in a large amount of sugar residue every day. Currently, it's still a long way from the factory processing and recovering the sugar residue; the residue produced each day is simply hauled to a large pit and unloaded, then left to be taken away by various people.

So whether you give Li Long one cartload or two, it's all the same, it's not a big deal. Besides, Li Long only needs one cartload a day right now, it's really nothing.

Li Long then went to find Song Ming, who readily agreed. After asking Li Long for directions to the sugar dregs, Li Long told him it was Yushan Jiang's courtyard. Song Ming knew about Ma County, and Yushan Jiang's courtyard was right next to the main road, so it was easy to find.

Li Long plans to talk to Yu Shanjiang when he gets back today. That way, it will be easier for him to raise sheep, as he won't have to go looking for grass every day. A while ago, he brought Buick down the mountain to help out and bought a lot of grass, which he piled up outside the yard.

If these cattle and sheep want to gain weight, grass alone is definitely not enough; this sugar residue can be used as concentrated feed.

After the sugar was packed, Li Long said goodbye to Section Chief Hu and the others. After leaving the sugar factory with Liu Gaolou and the others, Liu Gaolou suddenly changed his mind. He parked the Land Cruiser on the side of the road, and the three trucks behind him also stopped.

Li Long, seeing something odd while driving, stopped his car. He saw Liu Gaolou get out and went to ask him.

"I don't plan to stay in Ma County today. Anyway, I still have time. I plan to rest in Shicheng and go back to the port from here tomorrow," Liu Gaolou said. "I've been back and forth so many times, but I haven't even been to Shicheng yet. I'll rest here today and take a look around."

"Then I'll take you to a place," Li Long said. As the host, it was only right that he take the initiative to show you around.

"Go on with your work." Liu Gaolou waved his hand. "It's not that we can't find a place, we just want to wander around here. This Shicheng is obviously more prosperous than your Ma County, so I thought I'd see what the difference is in a more prosperous place."

Li Long didn't press the matter, said goodbye, and drove back.

Liu Gaolou happily led the convoy towards the city.

Li Long drove back to Ma County and headed straight for Yushanjiang. When he arrived at the yard, he saw Yushanjiang and Buick tending to the newly built sheepfold. He drove over, got out of the car, and told Yushanjiang about the sugar residue.

"Good, good, that's great." Yu Shanjiang naturally knew about sugar residue. Li Long had once brought them two truckloads of it. Cattle and sheep both loved to eat it, and it helped them gain weight.

“Then clear out a space so we can unload the sugar residue,” Li Long said. “We might be able to get a truckload over this afternoon, or at the latest tomorrow.” Li Long added, “Buy the driver a pack of cigarettes to thank him. If you have any sheep offal at home, a few kilograms would be fine too.”

"Okay, okay, no problem," Yu Shanjiang said with a smile. Some restaurants want lamb offal, some don't. So he still has some left, but it's all cooked; raw offal won't keep in this weather.

After settling things down, Li Long left. Yu Shanjiang and Buick were both busy, and the children were helping out in the yard, so there was nothing for him to do there, and he might as well go back.

The drip irrigation equipment has been brought back, so he doesn't need to worry about the rest. At most, Engineer Deng might ask a question occasionally, and Li Long won't be afraid to compare it.

Team Four: Li Jianguo drove his high-horsepower tractor to finish plowing the last row of wheat in the field. After reaching the end of the field, he turned the tractor around, lifted the reversible plow, drove out and parked it by the roadside, and got out of the tractor.

Although he had plowed dozens of acres of land and it looked dusty outside, Li Jianguo came down clean, and even in such hot weather, he didn't sweat much.

Old Man Yang, the landlord at the edge of the field, waited for Li Jianguo to come down. Then, with a swift motion, he cut the watermelon open on the board and beckoned him over.
"Old Li, you've finished plowing? Come over and have some melon. It's too hot, isn't it?"

“It’s hot outside, but not inside the car, because there’s air conditioning.” Li Jianguo looked at Old Yang, who was covered in sweat and had a dark reddish-brown tan, with a hint of pride. “Your dozens of acres of wheat fields are now plowed. Come on, sign here.”

The agreement was signed, and payment was due at the end of the year. This was the common practice for the four farming teams, or rather, for farming throughout the rural areas of Ma County. After all, at this time, most of the wheat was used to pay the grain tax, and the remainder was for human consumption. It wouldn't fetch much money, and for ordinary people, this wasn't the time to tally the harvest.

"Okay, okay." Old Yang hurriedly wiped his hands on his clothes, took the notebook and pen from Li Jianguo, placed them on his knees, wrote his name crookedly, then capped the pen and handed it to Li Jianguo, urging him to eat watermelon.

Old Yang's surname is Yang, but he has no relation to Yang Laoliu, the five-guarantee household. His family came from Anhui Province, a few years later than Li Jianguo, and he brought his whole family with him. He is an honest and hardworking man who earns his living through manual labor.

The watermelon was good, it came from the fields. Actually, Li Jianguo brought mung bean soup in the cab of his high-powered tractor. He would stop and have a couple of sips when the tractor turned around at the edge of the field.

However, since they were so hospitable, he couldn't refuse and accepted the watermelon to eat.

"Old Yang, after you plow this land, are you going to plant anything else?"

"I was thinking of sowing some cabbage seeds." Old Yang was telling the truth. "If we plant the cabbages, we can sell some around October when they grow up."

"If we can provide enough water and fertilizer, they should grow to maturity without much problem." Li Jianguo nodded. "Then we'll haul a tractorload to the next dough factory to sell them."

"Why go to the production and construction corps?" Old Yang asked, somewhat puzzled. "Shouldn't we go to the county?"

“There are many people growing vegetables in the teams around the county town. They all want to sell them in the county and Shicheng. If there are too many, they won’t be worth much. If you go to the production and construction corps area, there are many farmers there, but fewer vegetable growers. Who doesn’t stock up on cabbages in winter? If you sell them there, you can get a lower price and they will sell faster.”

Li Jianguo was just saying it casually. He knew very well what the farm was like before, and Li Long had told them about the current situation. The farm had now started large-scale cotton planting. Once cotton was planted on a large scale, there would be basically no time to plant cabbage in the fall.

At that time, whether in local areas or the Production and Construction Corps, the winter vegetables were basically the same three things: cabbage, potatoes, and radishes, and none of them were lacking. So, the Production and Construction Corps was short of these.

Old Yang felt he had benefited greatly and immediately handed another slice of watermelon to Li Jianguo, urging him to eat it.

After eating two pieces of melon, Li Jianguo wiped his mouth, shook his head, and refused to eat anymore. This stuff should be eaten in moderation.

"Alright, hurry up and tidy up, pick up the reed roots and stuff in the field, I need to go plow the field at Old Wang's," Li Jianguo said.

"Hey, you've made a fortune in just this one wheat season, haven't you?" Old Yang said enviously.

“Even if you earn ten thousand yuan, that’s still a long way off. One high-powered machine, plus the equipment, costs over two hundred thousand yuan. How long will it take to break even?” Li Jianguo said.

Many people in the team only saw that high horsepower could make money, and intentionally or unintentionally ignored the price of high horsepower itself.

So every time they plowed the land, Li Jianguo would say this, and then everyone else would fall silent.

Even if you combine spring and autumn seasons and earn 20,000 to 30,000 yuan from a high-horsepower tractor, it would still take ten years to break even. Ten years is too long.

After hearing this, everyone felt more at ease.

In fact, Li Jian's two high-horsepower tractors have already taken on more than half of the farmland work for the entire brigade, covering tens of thousands of acres.

Over the course of a year, two sets of plowing, leveling, and harrowing equipment were used on 5,000 mu of land, which would amount to more than 200,000 yuan!
Of course, the costs are not small, but the cost can be recovered in no more than four years, and the rest is pure profit.

Outsiders certainly wouldn't know this, and Li Jianguo and his group wouldn't tell anyone.

They make a fortune quietly; that's the perfect description of them.

After getting on the high-powered tractor, Li Jianguo drove it to Old Wang's house. As they passed a ditch, Chen Sihai from the team was there, cursing and swearing as he dug it—someone had driven a small four-wheeled tractor and crushed the ditch embankment.

They need to water their land in a few days, and if this ridge isn't trimmed, the water will leak out. He muttered curses as he dug.

Li Jianguo stopped the car and opened the door, shouting to him, "Don't move, I'll plow the ditch deeper for you!"

Chen Sihai stepped aside, and Li Jianguo drove the tractor down into the ditch—the ditch wasn't deep; it had originally been across the road, cleared out, and there was no bridge. Li Jianguo found a good spot, pressed down on the plow, and with one stroke, turned the ditch thirty or forty centimeters deeper, the turned-up soil landing perfectly on the ridge.

"Alright, you just need to dig a couple of shovelfuls for the rest." Li Jianguo said as he opened the car door, then closed it and drove off.

Chen Sihai watched the high-powered tractor drive away, and finally shook his head: "They deserve to make money."

The rest of the work is simple: clean up the soil that has been turned over, and the ditch will be sealed tightly.

A high-powered tractor drove up to Old Wang's house, where Old Wang and his wife were waiting, with tea, watermelon, and cantaloupe all prepared.

“This patch of land is enough for me to plow for two days,” Li Jianguo said with a smile after getting off the plow.

“Then you have to plow too. Wang the money-grubber came over on his bicycle to ask me, but I didn’t agree,” Old Wang said. “Only you can do this job.”

"Hey, you're really something." Li Jianguo didn't stand on ceremony, took a cucumber and ate it while saying, "I haven't had cucumbers for years. Get a ripe one, and I'll get some seeds to plant some next year."

"You say it every year, but I never see you plant it." Old Wang would bicker with him as usual.

"Well, I haven't seen your seeds yet," Li Jianguo retorted, "Are you going to clear any wasteland this year?"

“Why not? Once you finish plowing this land, you’ll clear that huge patch of saline-alkali land next to it,” Old Wang said. “I’ll clear it and then use it to thresh the wheat in the fall.”

“You can grow wheat on that land? You’ll lose everything next year.” Li Jianguo didn’t believe it.

"Why can't I plant it? You guys can grow cotton successfully, so why can't I grow wheat? I have an electric well with wires running through it, and I irrigate it every three days. I don't believe I can't wash away the saline-alkali soil!"

“Then you can see for yourself. The cost of that is not low.” Li Jianguo shook his head. “I can grow cotton on my saline-alkali land because a professor from the agricultural college developed a soil testing and desalination formula, plus we rinsed the soil with alkali before planting.”

You're planning to plant wheat on this land, which is much more difficult to cultivate than cotton; it might not even work. I think planting goji berries would be better than planting wheat.”

The goji berry fields that Li Long advocated planting are now ripe, and this year's harvest will be much greater than last year's. Recently, after finishing work in the cotton fields, Li Jianguo sent Li Junfeng and others to pick goji berries.

Some of the older members of the team would also pick some, but they were careful not to overdo it. They would pick some to take home and dry, but it would be less than a kilogram at most. They mainly used it to make tea in winter. Li Jianguo had told them not to worry about it.

"Sigh, you're getting stronger and stronger now," Old Wang exclaimed. "You've got a big horsepower tractor, you've got a car, and the cooperative is thriving. From now on, the team will be looking up to your family."

“It’s not just our family, it’s about the same for the other families in the cooperative.” Li Jianguo rarely showed humility in front of Lao Wang. “Speaking of which, these young people are really bold. They do what they say they will do. It was Xiaolong who got me involved in this.”

"You act like you're that old, you're only in your forties." Old Wang curled his lip. "Old Gu isn't that old either... but Old Gu, hey, he really can't be kept."

“Who says we can’t keep him? His household registration is still with the team,” Li Jianguo said. “We’ve already agreed that he’ll come back to the team after he retires. But he also called me to encourage us to go to the valley when we have time, saying that the climate there is particularly good for people. How about we take some time to go for a visit?”

"Where would I find the time to play?" Old Wang shook his head. "I'm busy all year round and only make a little money. Where would I find the time to play? When I get old, I'll hand over these lands to the kids."

“That’s true.” Li Jianguo nodded.

Old Wang suddenly pointed at Li Jianguo and laughed, saying, "I can still hand them over to my second and third kids, but you can't. Those two of yours, they're both college-ready, right? I heard they're really good at studying. You're going to go to the city to enjoy life in the future, this place..."

“As long as I can still plant, I’ll keep planting.” Li Jianguo thought for a moment and smiled. “I’ll talk about it again when I can’t plant anymore. Xiaolong said that farming will be mechanized in the future. Cotton has drip irrigation technology, so there will be less and less manual labor in the future.”

"Xiaolong really knows a lot," Old Wang sighed. "It feels like we won't be able to farm anymore... It seems like we won't make any money with our current farming methods. Everyone in the team is following you guys, and you're amazing too, you seem to know a little bit about everything..."

“Hey, we have to learn, we have to,” Li Jianguo said. “We’re farmers, we have to keep up with the times.”

After talking for a while, Li Jianguo got on the high-powered tractor and began plowing the field.

“Old Li is amazing,” Old Wang said to his wife. “He can do anything, and he can do everything well. With his personality, it’s a real shame he doesn’t go to the city to get a government-subsidized job.”

"That's hard to say. He's made quite a bit of money staying with the team. Just these few hundred acres of land alone cost several thousand yuan in machine farming fees. He plows twice a year. Do the math. If he wanted to live on government-subsidized grain in the city, how long would it take him to earn that much?"

Everyone has their own opinion, but they may have different perspectives.

Li Jianguo didn't finish plowing Lao Wang's land until the next day. Although the high-horsepower tractor's shock absorption and air conditioning made plowing much better than when he drove the Dongfanghong 75 tractor, it was still tiring to plow for so long.

So after he finished plowing, he didn't go to other people's fields immediately, but drove home to rest for half a day before continuing.

The wheat on the threshing floor has all been harvested, and now there are tall piles of straw along the edge of the threshing floor, with the center cleared out, just waiting for the next batch of corn and sunflowers.

Only the patch of straw next to the Li family's wheat straw was swept clean, and large plastic sheets were covered with bright red goji berries, which looked very pretty.

Li Juan was reading a book while keeping an eye on the goji berries, not to see if anyone was stealing them, but mainly to prevent birds from coming and eating them.

She wouldn't be able to stay home for long either, as the new school year would begin for seniors. They had already received notices that they would be picking cotton at the Production and Construction Corps for the first half of the semester. At that time, the senior year of high school wasn't as stressful as it would be in later years, so they were assigned work-study tasks.

Because of this task, they have to start school about ten days earlier.

Li Juan was quite looking forward to picking cotton. She could work with her classmates, without having to study, just working at the homes of workers on the edge of the desert – it would be a good experience.

When Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia came over a while ago, they told her to start thinking about which university to apply to for the college entrance examination.

Gu Xiaoyu has already sent over the list of universities and majors in Yanjing, along with their advantages and disadvantages. Now it's up to her to choose which schools she wants.

Because Li Jianguo and Li Long had already bought a courtyard house in Yanjing, and Gu Xiaoyu was also there. Although things weren't going well there this year, both her family and Li Juan were thinking of taking the college entrance exam there.

So at this point, her main goals were very clear, but her specific goals were still uncertain.

At a major turning point in her life, she, like almost all teenagers of her generation, felt somewhat lost.

In the courtyard, Han Fang finally returned after completing two weeks of military training.

Looking at her daughter's face, which was tanned but looked very energetic, Sister Yang was overwhelmed with emotion. She had so much to say, but couldn't express it.

Although Han Fang felt tired, she had a lot to say. When Sister Yang planned to cook her a delicious meal, she talked non-stop about her experiences at school, clearly having learned a lot.

Li Long could sense that boarding school life had helped Han Fang mature a lot. This precocious girl had become more cheerful, and although her views on some things were still quite naive, she had begun to learn to see things from an adult's perspective.

Hmm, it seems I made the right choice. (End of Chapter)