Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1283 Mental Preparation: I was right, and killing wasn't wrong either!

Li Long was a well-known figure in the county, and the forest police knew him, so they didn't bother him much. When they parted, they told him to go back home and stay there, saying that they might need to ask him to give a statement after the matter in the mountains was settled. Then they quickly drove their sidecar motorcycle to fetch reinforcements.

Li Long drove his Land Cruiser to the county. Instead of going straight home, he went to the department store first, bought some things, and then drove to the recycling station.

When the Lu Xun drove to the backyard, Li Long's expression was very serious. Liang Shuangcheng felt that something might have happened, so he cautiously greeted him. When Li Long didn't respond much, he quietly went about his work, cleaning dried mushrooms.

Li Long took the gun and cleaning cloth from the car and spread them out in the shade in front of the warehouse. Liang Shuangcheng hurriedly brought over a small stool. Li Long took it and nodded, while Liang Shuangcheng went to work.

The gun cleaning kit was something Li Long got from the supply and marketing cooperative. It consisted of an 80x60 square canvas, inside which were strips of cloth soaked in gun oil, an oil can, and so on.

The cleaning rod, accessories, and other items on the Type 565 are all used for cleaning guns. Li Long used to clean his gun in his own yard, but he didn't go back today because he felt it was unlucky to go back now, so he'll do it here instead.

As Li Long pulled out the cleaning rod, removed the accessories, and disassembled the five- or six-piece gun, he recalled what had happened in the mountains.

Although one may not feel much psychological burden after shooting someone, it is impossible not to feel fear afterwards.

Thinking about it now, Li Long felt really regretful. Why did he have to be so curious?
With such a large family fortune, why do you still have to go to the mountains to look for some treasure? Don't you have enough treasures at home?

Of course, that's the idea, but in reality, such things are difficult to stop.

Who doesn't have a hobby? Even for the millionaires and billionaires of later generations, playing ball, fishing, climbing mountains, etc., are all just hobbies.

There are dangers involved, but we can't stop doing it just because it's dangerous.

Li Long was the same way. Although he had so many good things at home that he hadn't even bothered to count them properly.

But knowing there were many treasures in the mountains, he still wanted to go and see if he could bring them back.

So, despite his regret, he knew his own situation. He figured that in another year or two, once things had calmed down, he would probably have to go back into the mountains.

Then, reflecting on the situation at the time, during the debriefing, I realized that if I had stood back after pointing my gun at those people, things would have been better.

Two fists can't fight four hands. It's obvious that the other side has more people. If all else fails, just retreat and then report it to the forest police.

But thinking about it this way, even if he retreated, the other party might not let him go. That ruthless woman hiding in the tent, Boss Yang, would definitely not let him leave.

According to the man surnamed Hou, they hadn't been panning for gold here for long, but they had made a lot of money, so it was unlikely that they would be willing to give up this treasure trove for a stranger.

If I leave, the risk of this place being exposed will increase, so they are unlikely to let me leave.

This is yet another dead end.

Li Long is now wondering why he was so decisive back then, instinctively retaliating when the other party pointed a gun at him.

Those two shots were all it took to kill him.

The police don't know how to handle this situation—given the current circumstances, they probably won't arrest me, otherwise they wouldn't have released me so easily.

But there are still risks involved.

But thinking back to the situation, Li Long felt that even if it happened again, he would still have retaliated after the other party fired—letting someone shoot at him without fighting back was not his style.

So ultimately, even if we review the process and do it all over again, the result will be about the same as it is now.

While he was thinking, he had already removed the receiver cover of the 5.6-1.5 caliber, taken off the bolt, removed the recoil spring, and started wrapping a grease trap around the cleaning rod to unclog the barrel.

Knowing that this was an inevitable outcome, my initial anxiety subsided. Since it was going to be this way anyway, I decided to let it go.

Ten minutes later, after assembling the cleaned gun, Li Long patted it, feeling quite pleased.

In crucial moments, his old buddy was more reliable; at least he didn't let him down, taking down the other guy with just two shots. He was also satisfied with his physical reflexes. Although he was almost thirty, his reaction speed at that time was something that most twenty-something young men couldn't match.

After loading the gun back into the car and preparing to leave, his father, Li Qingxia, came out of the back door and asked him:
"You went into the mountains today, what's wrong? Shuangcheng said you didn't look well?"

"It's nothing. We ran into a group of gold panners in the mountains and had a little argument," Li Long said. "It's alright now, everything's fine."

"It's good that you're alright. You're a father of two now, unlike before when you were all alone. When something happens, think more about your family," Li Qingxia said. "Our family is doing so well now, we can't afford to cause any more trouble, or it will be too late to regret it."

Li Long nodded and said he understood.

My father's generation, including my eldest brother's generation, truly experienced all the years from war to peace. Now their lives are getting better and better, and they are the ones who know best how to cherish it.

I was in debt, and although I had memories of hunger when I was a child, I soon came to northern Xinjiang from the border region, and the rest of my life was very good.

Therefore, we were still somewhat slow to react in this regard.

After chatting with his father for a while, someone called from ahead, so his father, Li Qingxia, hurriedly went ahead, while Li Long drove his Land Cruiser out to the police station.

Li Long pulled his car over to the side of the road. As he entered the courtyard, the police officer on duty saw him and said with a smile:

"Mr. Li, are you looking for Deputy Chief Guo?"

"Yeah, I ran into a bit of trouble, so I asked him." Li Long offered the man a cigarette and asked, "Is Lao Guo here?"

"Yes, it's here." The man took the cigarette, looked at it, and said with a smile, "Mr. Li, this cigarette is good, Hongtashan, hey!"

Li Long smiled, put a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes on his table, pointed inside, and went in.

Guo Tiebing was looking at documents in his office; the door was open. Li Long knocked on the doorframe and then went inside.

"Hey, what a rare guest!" Guo Tiebing stood up with a smile, pouring him water as he asked, "What brings you here?"

"Something's gotten into trouble, so I'm asking you about the policies," Li Long said bluntly, sitting down to speak.

"What's up?" Guo Tiebing's smile faded slightly. "It's not a big deal, is it?"

"It's not a big deal, but it's not a small one either," Li Long said. "Listen to me first. I guarantee that everything I say is true. Just look at the situation based on what I say."

"Okay." Guo Tiebing placed the water in front of Li Long, sat down, and said, "Go ahead and tell me."

Li Long then recounted in detail what had happened that day.

Guo Tiebing knew that Li Long had a gun and a gun license, so he wasn't surprised when he heard it. He wasn't even too surprised when Li Long shot someone and went into the tent to check and found that the person was dead.

After Li Long finished speaking, Guo Tiebing didn't say anything. He first picked up his white enamel mug with the words "Serve the People" on it, took a couple of sips of water, and then said:
"If everything you said was true, then it counts as self-defense, and you'll definitely be fine."

"That's good." Although Li Long had anticipated this outcome during the review, he still felt much more relaxed after hearing the professional's analysis.

"There are two things to be careful about now. First, will that guy surnamed Hou and those others who ran away be caught? And if they are caught, will they turn around and accuse you of some crimes?"

Li Long thought to himself, "That's not impossible."

"Secondly, we need to see if the forest police missed anything when they searched the gold mining site."

"But you can rest assured about that. You've already taken them to the scene of the crime, explained everything, and you didn't touch anything in the tent. They should know what's going on."

After Guo Tiebing finished speaking, Li Long vaguely understood what he meant.

This is something that can only be understood intuitively, not explained in words.

"But you're really unlucky. You ran into those armed gold miners on just one trip into the mountains, and they were all desperate criminals." Guo Tiebing laughed at him. "It's only because you're good at fighting back and have quick reflexes that you'd end up like those two in the pit."

Li Long deeply agreed.

"Be more careful in the future. Your family is large and you're not alone. You really need to think more carefully in the future. A wise person doesn't stand under a crumbling wall. If you encounter a problem again, don't rush forward. Taking a couple of steps back might be a better solution."

"Hey, Lao Guo, I never thought a rough guy like you would use such flowery language." Li Long said, half-jokingly and half-sighing. "Not bad, not bad, you're right, things aren't like they used to be, we really can't just act recklessly anymore."

"But aren't these gold prospectors in the mountains getting a bit too arrogant?" Guo Tiebing frowned and said, "It would be better if there were no other people in the mountains. There are still quite a few herders in the mountains, so..."

He tapped the table, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly said:
"The county might be about to take some big action!"

He smiled and looked at Li Long:

"Maybe instead of punishing you for this, you'll be commended. This year is special. As we all know, the county prioritizes safety and stability right now. Anyone who tries to disrupt this stability will definitely be dealt with!"

Li Long also realized what was going on and said with a smile, "That's right, now that you say so, I feel much more at ease."

After leaving the police station, Li Long returned to the compound, while Guo Tiebing immediately went to find the station chief and reported the incident.

The director was also somewhat surprised, but after listening to Guo Tiebing's analysis, he felt that it made sense and immediately convened a meeting with key personnel.

It's all about preparation; who wouldn't want to participate in something like this?
In peacetime, there really aren't many major cases in Ma County, so it's very difficult to make progress.

Such unexpected events are different from ordinary cases. If the county organizes or the prefecture makes arrangements, it is relatively easier to gain merit as long as there is a result.

Who wouldn't want to make a contribution?
Then the director asked Guo Tiebing to bring Li Long back, since he knew the situation in the mountains best. If they were to be deployed to search the mountains, the information Li Long could provide would definitely be crucial.

Li Long returned from the mountains, went to the purchasing station, then to the police station, and finally back to the courtyard. It was already late afternoon.

He ate breakfast that day and hasn't had a second meal yet.

I came back from the mountains mainly because I had something on my mind; I wasn't hungry. After reviewing the situation at the purchasing station, I felt somewhat relieved, but the problem wasn't completely solved.

After analyzing the situation, Guo Tiebing was finally relieved and realized he was hungry. So he drove his Land Cruiser home, got out of the car, and hurriedly went to the kitchen to find something to eat.

At noon, Sister Yang and the others didn't offer Li Long a meal, so Li Long lifted the lid of the steamer and looked inside. There were freshly steamed buns from lunch, which were a little cool now, but he didn't care to reheat them. He took out a bun, broke it in half, scooped a large spoonful of chili oil into it, and then ate it with gusto.

Eating this alone wasn't enough, so while I was eating, I found a bag of dried meat, tore open the packaging, put some dried meat into the steamed bun, and ate it. That made it a little better.

While they were eating, Guo Tiebing came over again. Li Long listened to his explanation of his purpose and didn't refuse. He finished a steamed bun in a few bites, wiped his hands, and went to the police station.

The director was very polite, and Li Long didn't stand on ceremony. He asked for paper and pen and started drawing simple diagrams for them.

Although the drawings were all lines, Li Long clearly marked the key points, such as the entrance to the mountain, the number of mountain layers, the distance, and the distance from the road, so the police officers at the station could understand them at a glance.

Li Long finally drew a circle at the spot where the gold prospectors had been found, confirming his destination, and then said:

"There's probably more than one gold panning spot around here; there could be several other places. But there are also herders and medicinal herb diggers nearby."

I suggest that if we're really going to take action, you could advise the command team to carefully distinguish between those who are desperate gold prospectors and those who are simply trying to make a living in the mountains.

He's currently at home waiting for the forest rangers to summon him, so he can't go into the mountains. He also can't notify Talihar—that guy's probably still wandering around in the mountains.

Of course, if he had been nearby when he fired the shot and could have heard the gunshot, he would have been alert, right?
The director and Guo Tiebing accepted Li Long's suggestion. After seeing Li Long off, they resumed their research.

Before going home, Li Long had already passed through several places, including the police station. He believed that even if there was any resentment or evil spirit, it would have long since disappeared, so he wasn't afraid of anything.

Gu Xiaoxia had already gone to work, and the school needed to prepare in advance. He had nothing to do at home right now, so he went to find something to eat.

After eating three steamed buns, I felt almost full, and then I prepared to cook dinner.

It wasn't until evening, after picking up Mingming and Haohao, that Gu Xiaoxia, Sister Yang, and Li Qingxia, along with Li Long's father, came back for dinner. Still, no one from the forest police came over, so Li Long figured everything was probably alright.

That night, after Hao Hao had fallen asleep, Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia about the incident in the master bedroom. He explained it very simply, but Gu Xiaoxia was terrified.

“You can’t be so impulsive again! I don’t object to you going to the mountains to play and explore, but if something like this really happens, you have to back down. Think about it, we have me at home, and Mingming and Haohao. If something really happens to you, how will we live?”

Gu Xiaoxia rarely lost her temper with Li Long. Li Long knew that once this matter was brought up, it would inevitably cause a stir, but it was impossible to keep it a secret forever.

After all, the forest police might arrive at any time, and if they were to take action, the county would definitely have to issue a notice.

Gu Xiaoxia will definitely find out by then. Rather than letting her find out passively then, it's better to tell her directly now.

Fortunately, Gu Xiaoxia wasn't unreasonable. After Li Long coaxed her for a while, she stopped being angry—after all, no one wants this kind of thing to happen, and accidents can happen. She was just expressing her attitude.

Li Long knew he was in the wrong, so he worked very hard that night. In his previous life, he had seen some women leave comments under videos of muscular drummers, saying that such men could shut them up.

Although Li Long didn't verbally provoke Gu Xiaoxia tonight, he did leave her with absolutely no energy—and without energy, she naturally had no temper left.

The next day, after breakfast, Li Long took Mingming and Haohao to kindergarten. When he came back, he tidied up in the yard, mainly waiting for news from the Forestry Police.

Around 11 o'clock, Guo Tiebing came over and told Li Long that the county was indeed going to have a big operation, either this afternoon or early tomorrow morning.

Li Long didn't have any particular thoughts on it; after all, this operation definitely had nothing to do with him. However, Guo Tiebing was quite excited. He still had room for advancement and was also thinking about making a contribution in this operation, perhaps even earning some merit.

Guo Tiebing didn't stay long; he left after finishing his business to make preparations. Around 12:00, the knocking sounded again; this time it was the forest police.

To Li Long's surprise, the statement taking was genuine; the two people who came took the statement right there and didn't ask Li Long to go to their office, which was quite good.

Li Long recounted the events again. The police took notes, showed them to Li Long, and after confirming there were no problems, had Li sign the document before preparing to leave.

When Li Long got up, he asked himself what he should do about this.

"Eat and drink as you please," the older police officer in charge of taking the statement said with a smile. "You didn't do anything wrong, and the statement is done. Just go about your business. If anything comes up, we'll contact you to verify—to be honest, you've done a good job."

After they left, Li Long was completely relieved.

The next day, when he took Mingming and Haohao to kindergarten, he saw Guo Tiebing and his group, dressed neatly, coming out of the police station. They greeted Li Long's car and then hurriedly got into their car and left.

Li Long knew that this meant there was real action in progress.

Although he considered going into the mountains with her, he decided against it. If he really went into the mountains now, his wife would probably get angry again.

This operation in the county involved not only the Public Security Bureau and the Forestry Bureau, but also the mining department. The gold mines in Ma County are state property, and in our country, no one is allowed to mine privately. These are all targets of crackdown, not to mention the heinous murderers.

The operation mobilized a considerable number of police officers and militiamen, mainly from the Qingshuihe area. They were all armed and worked in squads, conducting a comprehensive search for a week. A week later, Guo Tiebing and his team returned. After resting for two days, they found Li Long and gave him a brief account of the situation.

Of course, the more confidential details couldn't be revealed. The reason Li Long could be told was twofold: firstly, he was a representative and had the right to know; secondly, he was also a party involved, and the forestry police had already made a statement, so he had made a contribution.

“On this trip, we found more than 100 people illegally digging for medicinal herbs in the mountains, and fewer, about 30, who were panning for gold. Among them, nine people were carrying guns—divided into seven groups.”

Guo Tiebing recounted the results of this trip:
"Of these people, 21 had criminal records, which were discovered in the first trial. Besides the group you pinned down, two of the other groups had murdered people. Some of them resisted with guns on the spot, and two of them were shot dead."

Li Long could imagine how intense this matter was.

"To be honest, I didn't expect there to be so much placer gold in the mountains. According to the mining department, this batch of placer gold seized weighed seven or eight kilograms! At the current gold price, that's worth tens of thousands of yuan!"

“Quite a lot.” Li Long nodded.

The last time the forest police came, they told him some things. Besides the one surnamed Hou, they also caught a man surnamed Ma on the spot. As for the one surnamed Xu who ran away, I don't know if they caught him this time.

"Thanks to the information you provided, our team caught a group of gold miners. There were five of them, two of whom were armed and tried to resist arrest with their guns. We shot and captured them."

During our interrogation, we found out that Boss Jin had murdered one of his men, a former gold miner who had been beaten to death and buried in the mountains due to a dispute over the distribution of gold.

Guo Tiebing was quite happy, as this meant he had a good chance of making a contribution, and he was also the one who shot the person, so he was very grateful to Li Long.

A few days later, the county held an internal commendation meeting, which Li Long was invited to attend.

The conference was held in the county auditorium. There were not many attendees, mainly police officers who participated in the operation, leaders from various units, and outstanding militia members from Qingshuihe Township.

The conference reported on the course and results of the operation, which was similar to what Guo Tiebing had said. In short, the operation was effective in eliminating illegal elements in the northern Tianshan Mountains, ensuring that state-owned assets and mineral resources would not be lost, and achieving the operation's objectives.

Guo Tiebing was among those commended and awarded a third-class merit. To Li Long's surprise, he himself was also commended; county leaders specifically mentioned him, saying he provided crucial intelligence support for the operation.

Okay, I didn't tell everyone the details, but that's enough to make up for his worries over this period of time.

After the commendation meeting, Li Long was summoned by the county leaders in charge of forestry and mining. They praised him and greatly appreciated his sensitivity.

That concludes the matter.

Two days after the commendation ceremony, Talihar drove Harim and the others to the purchasing station and found Li Long.

"When the gunshots rang out that day, I was to the east of the sound. At first, I didn't think anything of it, but then the gunshots kept coming, and I knew something was wrong, so I quickly ran to the winter camp."

Talihar recounted what happened that day: "After I got together with Harim and the others, I didn't know what happened, and I had no way of finding out. I just obediently cut grass for those two days."

"That's good. Did you find them during the search of the mountains?" Li Long asked.

"We found them. The police found us with a team of militiamen," Halim said. "But when they saw us cutting grass, they just asked us a few questions and told us that some people in the mountains are very bad, and warned us to be careful."

Talihar and the others came to say goodbye to Li Long. The hay cutting was finished, and they were all going back to the summer pasture.

Actually, Talihar has gone back twice during this period. With the GAZ truck, traveling back and forth has become much more convenient.

"Buy some medicine and daily necessities to take with you on your way back," Li Long reminded them. "During this search of the mountains, there will inevitably be some who slip through the net. These people are scared; some may leave the mountains, while others may run deeper into the mountains. You should also be careful in the summer pasture."

Halim and the others listened attentively and said they would pay attention.

Li Long then said to Talihar:
"There are indeed many treasures in the mountains, but to be honest, there are dangers when you're looking for them. Not only people, but also bears, wild boars, wolves and the like, so you should be careful."

He couldn't very well tell Talihar not to look for these things; after all, it would feel somewhat hypocritical. Talihar was looking for things to sell to him, which he was essentially buying. But if he didn't say anything, he was afraid Talihar might be careless and cause trouble.

Talihar nodded in agreement, but Li Long could tell he clearly didn't take it to heart.

Maybe they felt they had no fear because they had a gun in their hands?

Doesn't it remind you of yourself? Having a gun gives you a lot of confidence.

After the two left, Li Long continued working at the purchasing station.

He's been behaving very well lately, not running around in the mountains anymore; it's safer for him to stay in the county.

A day later, Yushanjiang came to see him again.

To Li Long's surprise, Yushanjiang was still talking to him about Talihar.

“I went into the mountains the day after the county started searching them. I was quite worried when I heard about this. I don’t care about others, they’re all on pastures, so they usually don’t have any problems. The people outside won’t cause us any trouble either, but Talihar is different.”

Ever since he got a new car from you, his heart isn't in herding anymore; he only wants to find good things in the mountains and can't stay still. I don't think he'll herd sheep anymore, not even in winter, which isn't a good thing.

Li Long felt a little guilty after hearing this, because he knew that Talihar's current state was largely due to him.

“I was thinking of bringing him here to work, just like I brought Buick over, but he wouldn’t do it. He said he spent two months searching for things in the mountains and bought a new car. Now he wants to work for me for 100 yuan a month. He might not be able to buy a car even after ten years. It’s not worth it.”

Yushanjiang sighed:
“If it’s just Talihar acting like this, then so be it. He has a gun, goes hunting often, and knows how to handle danger. I’m afraid that all the young people in the tribe will be like him—after all, that car is very attractive.”

Li Long then said to him:
"Don't worry, treasures in the mountains aren't easy to find. He was just lucky this year to find that gold nugget and the good jade."

Think about it, how long have you been in the mountains? How many things have you encountered over the years? Are those good things so easy to find? From now until winter, he won't find anything, so he won't have that much motivation.

Besides, Talihar is used to running around in the mountains, unlike the others. Sheep herders mostly stay on pastures; they don't often venture into the mountain gullies. Finding a deer antler might be possible, but finding gold or jade won't be so easy. If they search several times and don't find anything good, they'll probably give up.

Yushanjiang knew that this was the only thought he could have.

After all, Li Long can't be blamed for this. He was just collecting things, mainly because it was an easy way to make money and there was a possibility of turning his life around overnight, which is why he attracted Talihar and other young people.

"Besides, and I'll say something that might not be pleasant to hear," Li Long said to Yushanjiang, "your tribe has been incorporated into production teams this year. Do you think it's possible that these dozen or so herder households will be assigned to different production teams?"

If that's the case, they'll be under the production team's jurisdiction from now on, not yours as the clan chief. Although they might still listen to you, the production team has more authority, and you're going to do business, so it's hard to say whether they'll still listen to you in the future.

Yu Shanjiang had actually considered the reality that Li Long spoke of, but he was unwilling to think about it deeply.

He left the summer pasture because someone in the tribe had fallen ill, and he couldn't solve the problem.

He wanted to make money so he could help the tribe when they were in trouble. But before he could grow up, the tribe was about to be broken up and scattered among various production teams.

Even though he knows this is reality, can he accept it?
Previously, he was unwilling to think about it, but now that Li Long had torn away the veil, Yushanjiang stopped talking.

He was feeling quite unwell.

Li Long felt he was being a bit cruel, but this matter had to be addressed sooner or later. The state would definitely have to consider their status as tribal herders.

Previously, the herders were under the jurisdiction of the herding teams, but later the development of the herding teams could not keep up with the times. The county established a livestock bureau, but the livestock bureau mainly provided business guidance and could no longer manage the herders. As a result, the herders could only disperse to various production teams and villages.

This is a normal development process. We are a socialist country, and it is impossible for traditional settlements like tribes to exist anymore.

Yushanjiang has been doing business for a while now, and he understands more and more of the policies better.

It's just a little hard to accept.

“I think you should continue with your business. Although the people in the tribe will be dispersed to various production teams, they are still from the same tribe in terms of blood ties and origin. You acknowledge this, and they do too. Once your business is successful, you can help them out, or assist them when they are in trouble. That’s enough.”

Li Long offered sound advice, but Yu Shanjiang remained silent. In the end, he drank a lot of tea at Li Long's place and left.

Li Long knew he needed time to process this.

But this process won't take too long. It's estimated that the policy will be implemented by the time Halim and his group return from their migration in the mountains.

Over the next few days, Li Long would frequently visit the supply and marketing cooperative, mainly to inquire about the progress of the task of making large brooms.

Li Xiangqian was at the supply and marketing cooperative during this time. He saw Li Long's Land Cruiser and was quite envious. However, when he learned that the car could be sold for more than 100,000 yuan on the secondhand side, he gave up the idea.

After all, he thought driving that Volga was pretty good. There were still very few people in the county who could drive a car like that.

One day in early September, the purchasing station received a call. Li Long was not there, so Li Qingxia answered. When Li Long returned at lunchtime, Li Qingxia told him about the matter.

"Professor Luo is coming?" Li Long was somewhat surprised. "Did he say how many days he'd be staying?"

“They didn’t say anything, they’ll be coming by bus tomorrow. This time they’re bringing two students, saying they want to check on how your saline-alkali land is doing,” Li Qingxia said. “They also said you don’t need to pick them up, they’ll come to find you after they get to the county by bus tomorrow.”

They said they wouldn't pick him up, but how could they not? The next day, Li Long took Mingming and Haohao to kindergarten and then went to the county bus station to wait.

Before long, Professor Luo and two young men got out of a car that had come from Wucheng.

Looking at the time, it was only a little past eleven. Li Long didn't expect Professor Luo to arrive so early, and he was glad that he had come to pick him up early.

Professor Luo was also somewhat surprised to see Li Long. After shaking hands, he said:

"I told you I wouldn't answer. It's not far. We'll come straight to your place when we get there."

Then he pointed to Li Long's Land Cruiser and said with a smile:

"They've upgraded from slingshots to cannons."

"Hehe, not bad." Li Long chuckled and helped the three people into the car.

The two young men were unfamiliar faces. Li Long guessed that the students who came before must have already graduated and been assigned to various places, and these were the new students he was mentoring.

Sure enough, Professor Luo, who was sitting in the passenger seat, introduced the two students: one was surnamed Kong and named Kong Lingqi, and the other was surnamed Shi and named Shi Xinjun.

Li Long suggested arranging for them to stay at the guesthouse, but Professor Luo waved his hand and said:
"No rush, I want to go and see your cotton fields and see how the cotton grown in the saline-alkali land is doing."

Since Professor Luo was in such a hurry, Li Long didn't say anything more and drove them to the fourth team.

In recent years, Li Long has maintained contact with the College of Agriculture, so Professor Luo also knows that Li Long and his team have established a cooperative and started growing cotton on more than 1,000 mu of saline-alkali land through soil improvement.

Professor Luo has been researching soil improvement and is quite interested in this successful aspect.

On the way, Li Long also introduced how their cooperative improves saline-alkali land.

"A combination of tradition and modernity, large-scale water flushing of alkaline soil, digging drainage ditches, and targeted fertilization... Not bad, not bad." Professor Luo nodded.

"Actually, if we could use drip irrigation, the effect of removing salt and alkali would be even better, but drip irrigation tape is too expensive now," Li Long sighed. "One meter of drip irrigation tape costs more than one yuan, we can't afford it."

Drip irrigation tape used to cost 10 to 13 cents per meter, which wasn't considered expensive. But now, drip irrigation tape on the market costs more than a dollar per meter, making it too expensive and unaffordable. This is one of the reasons why Li Long wanted to develop drip irrigation tape production equipment.

"I heard about your suggestion from Lao Yang. The idea is quite good, but I don't know how to reduce the cost."

"There are two aspects. One is raw materials. If the price of polyethylene raw materials can come down, then the cost can be reduced. The other is the production process. If we can develop more convenient production equipment, then the cost can also be reduced significantly."

Li Long infers the cause from the effect, so it is easy for him to arrive at a clear answer.

But the way he said it with such certainty was still quite surprising.

Professor Luo mainly works on soil improvement. Although he doesn't have in-depth knowledge of drip irrigation equipment, he does know a little about it, so he chatted with Li Long about it.

When the car arrived at the cotton field, Professor Luo already knew that Li Long was collaborating with the agricultural machinery factory on the research and development of drip irrigation equipment, and couldn't help but admire his foresight.

This is definitely the direction for the future, but this "future" is measured in decades. He didn't expect Li Long to plan so far ahead.

After getting off the bus, Professor Luo was speechless when he saw the more than 1,000 acres of cotton. The two students were quite amazed. They were stunned for a while, if not dumbfounded.

"Comrade Li Long, is this all yours?" Shi Xinjun couldn't help but ask.

“It’s not mine, it belongs to our cooperative,” Li Long said, pointing to the people working in the field. “There are a few more people in there.”

There's not much work to be done in the fields right now, but it doesn't really matter. The cotton will start to bloom in another two weeks, so there's not much we can do right now.

But Xie Yundong still led people to clear weeds to make it easier to pick cotton.

In addition, some other crops planted when replanting cotton seedlings need to be harvested at this time, such as mung beans, soybeans, etc. Since they are idle anyway, we might as well harvest some crops first.

"The emergence rate is quite good." Professor Luo walked around the different cotton rows, occasionally squatting down to count the seedlings. After about ten minutes, he came over to Li Long and said, "According to my statistics in different places in northern and southern Xinjiang, a 50% emergence rate in the first year is considered very good for saline-alkali land. In your field, it looks like there are at least 80% seedlings."

“Not entirely. The yield per mu was probably around 70% at the time,” Li Long said. “We replanted seedlings later. We mainly watered them again in the spring to wash away the salt and alkali on top, which should have helped a bit.”

Professor Luo nodded; it was indeed effective. He then began discussing the method of removing alkali with Li Long.

Kong Lingqi and Shi Xinjun were also busy, counting cotton plants and bolls on the cotton plants in the field, and measuring the growth of plants per unit area, all of which required specific data.

When Xie Yundong and his men saw Li Long leading his men from afar, they stopped what they were doing and came over from the field.

Xie Yundong was a little surprised to see that it was Professor Luo. The team members had seen Professor Luo before when he led a group to conduct soil testing and fertilization research here. They were not very familiar with him, but at least they knew him, so they hurriedly came over to say hello.

Professor Luo responded with a smile to each of them. Several years had passed, and he couldn't possibly recognize everyone, but Xie Yundong still remembered him. When Xie Yundong learned that he was the one managing the cooperative's land, Professor Luo praised him highly, making Xie Yundong beam with pride.

Xie Yundong was in charge of managing this area of ​​land, so Professor Luo asked him many questions. He was quite surprised to see that Xie Yundong answered them all very well.

Some of the questions he asked touched on academic topics, and I didn't expect Xie Yundong to know so much about them.

“When Xiaolong comes over, he talks to us about these things and teaches us techniques. He’s the one who taught us most of these things.” Xie Yundong said with a smile, not taking any credit for himself. “Don’t let his age fool you; I’ve learned a lot from him.”

Professor Luo was truly gratified. When Professor Wu said that Li Long could definitely study at the College of Agriculture, he felt that it was the right thing to do.

This doesn't look like someone who didn't graduate from high school at all.

(End of this chapter)