Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1292 Yushanjiang expands its business, the impact of Asian Games fundraising, and instruction at the Agricultural Broadcasting School.

On the morning of November 8th, not long after Li Long arrived at the purchasing station, he heard the sound of a car outside. He heard the car drive directly to the backyard and knew that it must be someone he knew.

Sure enough, Yushanjiang pushed open the door and came in a short while later, bringing with him a chill.

"Did you slaughter all the sheep today?" Li Long greeted him with a smile. "Looking at you, is something the matter?"

"Something's up," Yushanjiang said. "I've been down the mountain the whole time, and these past two days some people from the township have come looking for me, talking about how our people have been divided into teams."

"They've already started dividing up the assets?" Li Long asked, somewhat surprised. "They're dividing up in winter?"

“Yes, we’ll distribute them after Halim and the others come back.” Yushanjiang sat in the reception room, poured himself a cup of hot tea, and said while drinking it, “If we distribute them this year, they will be under the team’s management next spring. We’ll have to report when we go into the mountains to move to other areas.”

"Are Halim and the others coming back soon?" Li Long asked.

“Yes.” Yushanjiang nodded. “Once they come back and the teams are divided, we’ll probably be able to manage our own teams.”

Li Long began to understand Yu Shanjiang's feelings. He didn't have to shoulder such a heavy responsibility; after all, as the clan leader, he was responsible for all sorts of things for the entire clan, so he might feel a bit more relaxed.

But there will definitely be disappointment. After all, although a tribe is small, it has traditionally been a whole. Now, based on the location of the pasture, it will be divided into different production teams, which is equivalent to breaking up this small tribe. This is certainly not pleasant.

This was the general policy, and Li Long couldn't easily persuade him otherwise, so he changed the subject: "Yushanjiang, I've always had a question, why didn't they come down the mountain sooner? They're still in the mountains, it's so cold..."

“I’m used to it,” Yu Shanjiang said with a smile. “There’s really no need for that now. It’s good to go down the mountain sooner. It’s mainly because of the habits I’ve developed over the years. Think about it, we used to cut grass by hand, and we didn’t get as much grass as we do now.”

After all, manpower is limited, and how much hay can be harvested in one hay-cutting season? Therefore, try to stay in the summer pasture for as long as possible before moving the livestock to the new pasture, and let the cattle and sheep graze on the pasture for a few more days, so that they will consume less hay when they return.

After all, no one knows if there will be a snow disaster in winter. If there is a snow disaster, there won't be enough grass, and the cattle and sheep will die—grass is a limited resource.

Li Long understood. Now that there are harvesters, there's more than enough grass to harvest, so there's really no need to worry about it too much. But the herders are used to it and hope to let their cattle and sheep graze on the summer pastures for a few more days.

As for the hardships brought by the cold weather, they were used to them.

"You know which teams you've been assigned to, right?" Li Long asked again. "Do you need us to send some fodder over?"

"No need. Actually, their yards and sheds have already been built, but it's definitely not easy to move them now, since the fodder is still stacked at the winter huts."

"So, you can go there in the spring, right? And next autumn when you're cutting grass, you have to haul the grass to your own yards." Li Long understood.

"Yes, that's right. After all, the courtyard is at the foot of the mountain, so it's convenient to live there and easy to get around." Yu Shanjiang thought it was pretty good, since the authorities had taken all of this into consideration, and the courtyard was already built; all that was needed was to move in.

As for winter pastures and summer pastures, each household needs to obtain a pasture certificate, just like obtaining a land certificate on plains.

There will basically be no major changes.

"By the way, Li Long, I have something to discuss with you," Yu Shanjiang said.

"You said."

“After they come down the mountain, I want to recruit a few more people to follow me. Because now many people want to come down from the mountain, some want to do business, and some don’t want to herd livestock.”

"They want to sell their cattle and sheep, so I'm thinking of keeping them in enclosures and allowing them to graze on a small scale, instead of sending them to summer pastures. Beef and mutton prices are definitely going to go up in the future, and I want to expand the operation, but I don't have enough money. I was thinking of partnering with you, what do you think?"

“Sure.” Li Long readily agreed. He had already noticed that Yu Shanjiang was quite diligent in his business dealings, and he believed Yu Shanjiang could succeed. So he asked, “How much money do you need?”

He felt at ease partnering with Yushan Jiang.

“Fifty thousand yuan,” Yushanjiang said. “It’s temporary. I plan to take in a thousand sheep and a hundred cattle first. For the sheds, I’ll use the yards that haven’t been brought down from the mountain yet and have been repaired. Next spring, I’ll build a large yard and a large shed near the county town.”

"Sure." Li Long hadn't expected Yu Shanjiang to have such grand ambitions, but that was good; having a goal gave him direction. "Right now?"

"Yes, now. I've written a simple contract, take a look." Yu Shanjiang took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Li Long.

Li Long glanced at it and thought it was really simple: it meant that the two parties would go into business together, with Li Long providing the capital and Yu Shanjiang providing the manpower, and the profits would be split 50/50.

Li Long smiled, copied the document, and then both of them signed it. He said to Yu Shanjiang, "Wait a moment, I'll go get the money."

“I’ll go with you. I’m going to buy sheep after I get the money,” Yushanjiang said. “The livestock market is about to be bustling with new flocks of sheep today. They’re very cheap, and I plan to buy them while I can.”

The two then drove their two cars to the bank to withdraw money. Li Long withdrew the money and handed it to Yu Shanjiang, telling him to get back to work.

Watching Yu Shanjiang drive away, Li Long smiled and shook his head. This should be considered the simplest cooperation agreement he had ever signed.

For trustworthy people, a contract is just a piece of paper.

After Yushanjiang left, Li Long bought some things and drove to visit Halim and Talihar's families. Actually, both sets of elderly women were quite used to living there and had even made neighbors and friends.

This winter, a stove was set up in the yard. Although there was still a bit of a muttony smell, it was much better than the winter hut.

Li Long didn't stay long; after a few words, he returned. He felt that staying at the purchasing station was more legitimate. People like Yu Shanjiang were already putting in the effort for their ideals; he couldn't just stay at home and wait to die.

When Gu Xiaoxia returned home at noon, Sister Yang had already prepared lunch. At the dinner table, Gu Xiaoxia brought up something.

"The Asian Games will be held next year, and our school is currently organizing a donation drive. Teachers have all donated, and students have also donated quite a bit."

"How much did you donate?" Li Long asked.

“Twenty. I wanted to donate more, but most of the teachers at the school donated five or ten yuan, and the most they donated was twenty, so I followed suit and donated twenty as well,” Gu Xiaoxia said. “I can’t stand out too much.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” said Old Man Li Qingxia, “that makes sense. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.”

Li Long's impression of this Asian Games is the mascot "Panpan" and the earliest donor, I think, was a student named Yan Haixia.

As for other aspects, I don't remember much, except that I heard that special stamps were issued and they were a great success.

“I have to donate some too,” Li Long said while eating. “Our country is holding such a big event, the first time it’s shown our domestic strength to foreigners. I have some money now, so I have to contribute some.”

"How much do you plan to donate?" Li Qingxia asked.

“I plan to go to the county to ask. If there is a department in the county that specifically handles this, I will see how much other people have donated. If there is no such department in the county, I will send it to the Asian Games Organizing Committee.”

"What's the Asian Games Organizing Committee?" Sister Yang asked. "I'll donate too, maybe... a hundred? Is that too little?"

“That’s not too much, not too little,” Li Long said. “It’s up to you. One hundred is definitely not too little.”

Is it equivalent to someone donating a month's salary for an event in later generations?

That’s a lot.

"The Asian Games Organizing Committee is the same as the Asian Games Organizing Committee, which is specifically responsible for all preparatory activities for the Asian Games," Li Long explained to his father. "I heard that from others."

Li Qingxia nodded.

After having lunch and resting for a while, Li Long went to the Civil Affairs Bureau. In his memory, fundraising was usually the responsibility of the Civil Affairs Bureau.

When they got to the Civil Affairs Bureau, they said it wasn't under their jurisdiction and told Li Long to ask the Sports Commission.

Then Li Long went to the Sports Commission—the full name of which was the Sports and Physical Education Committee. There were quite a few committees at that time.

As it turned out, the matter really did fall under the jurisdiction of the Sports Commission. When they saw that Li Long had arrived in a car and was asking about donations, they were quite pleased.

"So far, apart from donations organized by various units, there have been virtually no private donations in our county. The main problem is the lack of publicity. Even if this were published in the Youth Daily, how many people would know? Besides, the TV station has said they can't report on it, so how can it be publicized?"

"How much has our county donated so far?" Li Long asked. "After the money is donated, is it sent directly to the Asian Games Organizing Committee through you?"

"No, that's not it." The other person was a round-faced girl wearing glasses. It was unclear whether she had been a physical education teacher before. She looked quite sturdy. She explained while pouring tea for Li Long:

“If the amount is small, we will register it here, and then transfer it to their account once it accumulates. If it is a large amount, we suggest that it be transferred directly to the Asian Games Organizing Committee's account through a bank, and we will report it here for our records.”

"So, what's the number of individuals who donated the most here?" Li Long asked.

"One thousand yuan. It belongs to the owner of a grain and oil store, whose name is... let me see, it's Huang Zhongping," the staff member said after flipping through the register.

"Then I'll donate 10,000 yuan first." Li Long thought to himself that this was such a big event, and he was considered a celebrity in the county. He was often commended by the tax authorities, and at least all self-employed people knew about it, so he might as well donate more.

"So many?" The staff member was a little surprised. "Then I'll give you a copy of the account number first. You can take it to the bank to transfer the money, and then you'll need to bring the transfer receipt back for us to register."

"Okay." Li Long nodded.

"On behalf of our sports committee, I thank you for your donation!" The girl stood up and said earnestly to Li Long, "This is the largest donation in our county. Should we ask the TV station to interview you?"

"No need, no need." Li Long thought to himself that he shouldn't make a name for himself anymore, there was no need for it. "By the way, someone asked me to donate 100 yuan. I won't transfer the money, I'll just give it to you directly."

As he spoke, Li Long took out a hundred yuan and handed it to the girl, and wrote down Sister Yang's name in the registration book.

"Is this your relative?" the girl asked curiously.

“My older sister,” Li Long explained.

Afterwards, he took the account number the girl gave him to the bank, made the payment, and returned to the Sports Commission with the receipt, only to find that there were several more people in the office.

"This is our director," the girl introduced to Li Long. "She was very touched when she learned that you donated 10,000 yuan and said she had to say a few words to you."

Li Long first handed the voucher to the girl so she could register, and then he started chatting with the director of the sports commission.

The director knew Li Long and that he was an advanced individual in promoting ethnic unity, but he had never met him in person. Now they could be considered to have met in person.

"I think our country has developed in recent years, and the sports industry has also developed, but this is the first time that such a large international event has been held. So I thought that as an ordinary citizen, as one of the people who have become rich thanks to the reform, I must make my contribution to this cause."

As Li Long spoke, he felt a little awkward. Wasn't this just like an interview?

The director, however, praised him highly: "Comrade Li Long is truly enlightened. If all those who have become rich first had your level of awareness, our sports industry would surely develop, and our country would definitely become a major sporting nation and a sporting power!"

In Li Long's memory, our country subsequently hosted many large-scale sporting events and international conferences and exhibitions, up to the Hangzhou Asian Games. After that, ordinary people became less obsessed with gold medals and the allure of large-scale sporting events was largely diminished.

Of course, the Olympic Games were truly spectacular, and I wonder if I'll be able to go and see them.

After chatting with the director of the sports commission for a while, Li Long left. The director, on the other hand, hurriedly returned to his office, combined Li Long's words with his own thoughts, formed a draft, sealed it in an envelope, affixed a stamp, and mailed it out.

The sports committee has finally done something remarkable, so it should be publicized.

Li Long had no idea that there would be a follow-up to this matter. After making the donation, he felt enlightened and realized that he had also made a significant contribution to the Asian Games, which gave him a sense of accomplishment.

That's the meaning of making a contribution.

Such things are reported very quickly. The director of the sports commission was not greedy and submitted the article to the Beiting Daily. Three days later, the article appeared in the newspaper, and some leaders and staff of party and government organs were the first to see it.

"Little Li did a good job." Director Qian saw Li Long, and after checking that the unit written on the form was the Sports Commission of Ma County, he confirmed that it was indeed Li Long. He praised him and then called Li Xiangqian to give Li Long a compliment.

Although he had Li Long's acquisition station's phone number, who knew if it was even there at that moment? Since Li Long was nominally under Li Xiangqian's control, calling Li Xiangqian was the right thing to do.

That's the art of leadership, something we don't understand.

Li Xiangqian felt honored, but then realized it was a bit of a loss of face, since someone outside the official staff had donated the money without him even knowing what had happened. So he decided to organize all the staff of the supply and marketing cooperative to donate.

After all, the country has such a big event. We are in a remote border region. Although we can't participate in person, we can still donate some money.

The matter didn't spread widely, but some people with ulterior motives still found out.

Like Chen Hongjun, who was reading the newspaper at the purchasing station in the winter when he saw it, then called Li Long and made a few jokes.

He said he didn't have as much money as Li Long, but he definitely wanted to participate in this matter, so he donated 1,000 yuan.

A thousand yuan is not a small amount. This shows that Chen Hongjun has indeed made some money in the past two years of running the purchasing station.

Li Long then asked him how business was going.

“Winter is the off-season, and I guess it’s the same where you are. Luckily, I listened to you and added agricultural supplies to the business. This year, agricultural supplies account for a quarter of the income, and I estimate it will increase next year.”

When talking about business, Chen Hongjun looked very fortunate, his tone full of sighs: "Who would have thought that after only a year of booming business, the leather would be in such a bad state. Fortunately, the fritillaria bulbs can still hold on for a while."

"Well, fritillaria bulbs can still be sold for a few more years. But the market will definitely tighten up later, and we'll gradually shift to agricultural supplies and other products," Li Long said. "After all, the forestry and forest police will be cracking down harder and harder on digging these things up in the mountains."

“Who says otherwise? This year, I harvested at least 500 kilograms less dried fritillaria than last year! How much did I harvest this year... sigh!” Chen Hongjun smiled bitterly, “If it weren’t for the fact that I could still make some money from agricultural supplies, it would be far worse than last year.”

"Did you receive almost no leather this year?" Li Long asked.

"Yes, we haven't even received 500 this whole year. Last year we received nearly 1,000."

Indeed, the difference is quite significant.

However, this is inevitable, as the government will increasingly tighten its control over wild resources, and fewer and fewer will be available for purchase in the future.

After chatting with Chen Hongjun for a few minutes, Li Long hung up the phone. He didn't expect the Sports Commission to write about his incident in the newspaper, but he didn't care.

After receiving a call from Chen Hongjun, he received another call from Li Xiangqian, who was also talking about the same thing.

“Li Long, although our supply and marketing cooperative is not as generous as you, we have still donated quite a bit. The whole cooperative donated a total of 1,800 yuan. We can’t compare to you, but we have still contributed to this Asian Games.”

"That's good," Li Long said with a smile. "Let's all contribute together." "But you were too presumptuous. Why didn't you tell the organization? You're a member of the organization, after all. We should all act together. Instead, you secretly went to donate by yourself."

“I’m just afraid some people will call it moral blackmail. After all, not everyone has extra money. I’m doing well, so I can contribute, but some people are different,” Li Long explained. “So it’s better to donate yourself. These things really depend on your family’s specific circumstances.”

“Hey, that makes a lot of sense, and it's the same idea as mine. When I organized the donation in the community, I said that donating even a penny is not too little, donating a hundred is not too much, those with money can contribute money, and those without money can just show their support. Your word 'moral blackmail' is so apt.”

Li Xiangqian agreed with Li Long's idea, and he also felt strongly about this new term today: "Old Zhou said something similar to what you said. He said you might be afraid of making others feel embarrassed if you donate too much, so you donate yourself. Hey, not bad, not bad!"

When Li Xiangqian made the donation, he actually called over the county radio and television station. Although the report was not published in the Beiting Daily, it was broadcast on the county radio station and in the county news.

That's pretty good.

Li Xiangqian was quite enthusiastic about activities that could make the news. When he called Li Long, he just talked about it and exchanged ideas.

After hanging up the phone, Li Xiangqian sat at his desk and muttered to himself, "Moral blackmail? Hey, that's a good term!"

Because the Beiting Daily reported on it, the matter became known in several counties and cities, including Ma County and Beiting, and was no longer limited to schools. The amount of donations also increased, reaching over 200,000 yuan in just one month.

It turns out that nearly 100 million people across the country donated about 270 million yuan. This year, influenced by the butterfly effect of Li Long, the amount will be much higher.

Moreover, there is now more discussion about the Asian Games among various organizations. With the reform and opening up, the country's strength is gradually increasing, and people's living standards are also improving. The general public urgently needs to demonstrate the strength of a major power on the international stage (to a certain extent), or to gain international recognition to a certain degree.

Unfortunately, for a considerable period of time, we were the best, the most powerful, and the ones who were always looked up to. But in just over a hundred years, we suddenly became the most backward group.

The people are truly dissatisfied and really want to return to the top of the world.

This idea persisted for decades.

Because the donation was not something to be publicized, it was only reported in the Beiting Daily and mentioned on the county-level television station; it wasn't mentioned much at the autonomous region level. After all, it would be a bit embarrassing to talk about this kind of thing—the country was genuinely quite poor at that time.

In mid-November, Director Du called Li Long and said that the problem that occurred during the last test run of the equipment had been resolved. After restarting, it ran successfully for two hours without any crashes.

It can be considered a successful development. Of course, they still need to make some improvements to the production process. According to Factory Director Du, production can now be sustained, and the quality of the products produced is basically up to the standard that Li Long provided.

However, production efficiency is still insufficient, and the utilization rate of raw materials is also inadequate. Therefore, Engineer Deng and his team are continuing to improve the process.

Li Long told Factory Director Du that it was crucial to maintain strict secrecy at this point, and since production had been successful, it would be best to apply for patents as soon as possible. Not only domestic patents, but also some international patents would be beneficial.

Director Du was a bit troubled by this, as he had no experience with this before and suggested that they first apply for domestic patents.

Li Long didn't say much, since he didn't understand it either.

Regardless, this was good news. After hanging up the phone, Li Long was in a good mood and went to the agricultural extension school that afternoon.

Principal Yang at the rural agricultural extension school has been relatively free lately, and he was quite happy to see Li Long come over.

“The factory I contacted has completed the complete production line for drip irrigation tape. Next spring, I plan to set up a factory in our village, buy these things, install them, and start production to test them out,” Li Long said as he followed Lao Yang into the office and sat down.

"Professor Yang's application hasn't even been approved yet, and you've already started? That equipment isn't cheap, is it? If you really start building it and the application here isn't approved, won't all your investment be wasted?" Principal Yang didn't expect Li Long to be so determined.

“I think this is definitely the future trend, so regardless of whether the project comes through or not, I’m definitely going to build this factory. If it doesn’t, I’ll do an experimental project myself. I believe that drip irrigation is the future direction of farming.”

Li Long's strong confidence infected Principal Yang, who thought for a moment and said, "Okay, if you really plan to do it yourself, I'll bring the students to help. My school doesn't have much money, but we do have some people."

“You’re not helping at all, you’re just using my experimental field for your students’ internships, aren’t you?” Li Long saw through Principal Yang’s thoughts immediately and exposed him. “But it’s fine, there’s free labor, I’ll definitely use it.”

"Don't put it so harshly," Principal Yang said with a smile. "My people will definitely help for free, and you'll only need to provide one meal at most. The students are obedient and will definitely be able to help. It's a win-win situation for us."

“But who knows? Maybe Professor Yang will call in a while and say the project has been approved,” Li Long said. “I think our report is quite detailed; there can’t be a better one, right?”

“I think so too.” Principal Yang said immediately when he thought of the report. “But Professor Yang didn’t call, so I didn’t want to call and ask, lest he think I was being too opportunistic.”

Li Long nodded, agreeing. If it passed, Professor Yang would naturally call; if it didn't, calling to inquire wouldn't be of much use.

"By the way, since you're here, why don't you give the students a lesson? We've been talking a lot about cotton cultivation this winter."

“I already covered that last time,” Li Long said. “I basically finished explaining everything then.”

“This is another batch of trainees. As you know, we bring in a new batch every three months,” Professor Yang said. “Also, you could talk about the prospects of the drip irrigation experimental field. Give these trainees who want to grow cotton some confidence.”

Li Long figured he was still receiving his salary and benefits here, so there was no harm in talking about it. Thus, Professor Yang temporarily conscripted him.

Professor Yang was quite happy, like a weasel that had stolen a chicken, and went out to make arrangements with a smile.

Li Long closed his eyes to rest, thinking about what to say later.

He is very familiar with drip irrigation planting, but he can't teach it all because the current students don't have the basics.

He thought that explaining the benefits, process, and basic conditions of drip irrigation farming would make it easier for everyone to understand.

A dozen minutes later, Principal Yang came over to invite Li Long, and Li Long went to the classroom with him.

Sure enough, they were all new faces. After Li Long came in, they all applauded. Li Long guessed that Principal Yang had already introduced him.

However, when Li Long stood still on the podium, Principal Yang introduced him again:
"This Comrade Li Long is the founder of the cooperative in Team Four that you've been discussing these past two days. He was one of the first people in our township to grow cotton, and his understanding of cotton cultivation surpasses that of many experts and professors today. Next, he will tell you about the prospects and future of cotton cultivation."

Upon hearing Principal Yang's words, the students burst into enthusiastic applause once again.

Li Long didn't stand on ceremony. After the applause subsided, he said:

"I won't talk about the current technical issues of cotton planting today. Firstly, I've talked about them here before, and secondly, these issues are quite complex and extensive. After I finish speaking, you can ask me any questions you have, and I will answer them if I know the answer."

After a pause, seeing that the trainees had no objections, he continued, "Today I will mainly talk about the prospects of cotton planting."

"Cotton will become the most important and widely cultivated cash crop in northern Xinjiang, bar none." Li Long's single sentence set the tone, startling Principal Yang. "Is it really that important?"
"Our country's main cotton-producing areas are currently in the Central Plains and North China Plain, and the cotton planting area in northern Xinjiang is expanding," Li Long continued. "Why is that?"

He looked at the students below, hoping someone could answer.

No one raised their hands.

Li Long could understand the trainees' thoughts. When I was in school, I didn't want to raise my hand to answer questions. If I had to raise my hand here for training, wouldn't I have come for nothing?

He paused only slightly before continuing:
"Because the sunshine in northern and southern Xinjiang is plentiful and hot enough. Cotton is a heat-loving crop, and the hotter it is during its growing season, the better it grows..." These words are of course extremely unprofessional, but he is speaking as a cotton farmer, not as an expert, so there is no problem with them.

"Therefore, the cotton in our northern and southern Xinjiang is of very high quality and yield. So, driven by the market and under planned regulation, the cotton planting area in the Central Plains will be greatly reduced in the future, while the area here will become larger and larger."

Although the prospects of cotton cultivation were not discussed at the beginning, the general direction and tone were set, which made everyone feel that what was said was correct.

"Next, I'll talk about the future cotton planting model," Li Long said. "Does anyone know the current average yield per mu (unit of land area) and the highest yield per mu for cotton?"

This time, a girl of about seventeen or eighteen raised her hand. Li Long called on her, and the girl stood up and said, "The average yield per mu is about 180 kilograms. The highest yield of cotton planted in our team this year is 200 kilograms."

“That’s right, sit down.” Li Long waved his hand to indicate his agreement. “Yes, right now the yield of cotton per mu is basically around 200 kilograms, and the highest yield will not exceed 250 kilograms.”

This is limited by cotton planting management, seeds, and the use of pesticides and fertilizers, etc. What I'm going to talk about now is a new technology: drip irrigation water-saving fertilization technology. If this technology can be implemented on a large scale, cotton yield per acre can reach 400 to 500 kilograms, and even up to 600 kilograms!

How can it be?

A murmur rippled through the crowd, like the buzzing of bees. Some voices were loud, while others were calculating how much they could earn at current prices if an acre of land could produce this much. Over a thousand yuan!

This number exceeded everyone's expectations; almost no one believed it.

"Of course, as I said, this is for the future. It's actually achievable now, but the cost is too high." Li Long gestured for everyone to be quiet before continuing:
"Because if we plant like this, the initial investment will be very large. Even if we remove the initial investment, based on the current market price, the cost of drip irrigation tape per acre is more than 1,000 yuan, which is definitely not feasible."

No wonder.

Upon hearing that the cost was so high, everyone actually believed it – high cost meant it couldn't be achieved right now.

"But high costs now don't mean high costs in the future," Li Long said. "I believe that in five to ten years, the cost per acre for drip irrigation will drop to below 500 yuan, and then drip irrigation technology will be widely available. Next, I'll explain why drip irrigation technology yields such high output..."

Principal Yang had been listening in the background. He had just heard Li Long say something that seemed a bit far-fetched, and he himself didn't quite believe it. But he had just started walking when he heard Li Long say this and stopped.

You have to listen to that.

Li Long then explained how drip irrigation technology can precisely drip water and fertilizer onto the roots of seedlings while saving water and fertilizer, ensuring no waste. Compared with traditional fertilization methods, it is much more advanced.

Moreover, this method not only saves water and fertilizer, but also saves seeds, which alone saves a lot of money.

"...Another advantage of drip irrigation technology is that it reduces the frequency of human activity in the fields. Most people who have grown cotton know that some pests and diseases are actually spread through human movement in the fields. With less human activity in the fields, some of the transmission routes of pests and diseases are cut off, and the incidence rate is naturally lower."

That's correct. Apart from some pests like honeydew bugs (aphids) and cotton bollworms caused by flying insects, others, such as spider mites, spread more severely when people are in the fields.

Therefore, after Li Long's analysis, the trainees took the information to heart.

"Another major trend for the future is mechanized cotton harvesting. Currently, cotton picking is entirely done manually, and labor costs will become increasingly expensive as cotton prices rise, becoming a major part of planting costs."

Mechanized harvesting is much cheaper and more convenient than manual harvesting. This naturally became the major trend.

Of course, mechanized harvesting technology is not yet perfect. Firstly, it doesn't harvest completely, and secondly, domestically produced machinery hasn't been successfully developed yet. Harvesting costs are also very high, and it requires long-term technological accumulation to mature.

Mechanical harvesting.

This is something that everyone is familiar with, just like the difference between manual wheat harvesting and wheat harvesting with combine harvesters. A few years ago, when the household responsibility system was first implemented, everyone harvested wheat by hand. Now, most of it has been harvested by combine harvesters, and a small portion has been harvested directly with combine harvesters.

This is the trend of development, and everyone in northern Xinjiang can understand it.

Northern Xinjiang has a small population and is a remote area. Although people from the populous provinces in the Central Plains come every year, it is unlikely that they will come on a large scale. Therefore, farming can only rely on mechanization.

This is also the ultimate farming model: cooperatives, mechanization, and drip irrigation for water and fertilizer conservation.

Li Long paused deliberately at this point, giving the trainees ample time to think.

These people will mostly farm in their hometowns in the future. This idea will take root in their minds and may still have a significant impact in the future.
After recounting the final farming model he had experienced, Li Long returned to the current cotton-growing model, pointing out some existing problems, and then left the time for a Q&A session.

Stunned by the scene described by Li Long, no one spoke for the first thirty seconds. Then, the female student who had just answered the question raised her hand high.

Li Long pointed at her and said, "You ask."

"The cotton mulch film on my cotton plants was blown away twice by the wind this year. I heard that the cotton grown in your cooperative was almost never blown away. Do you have any tips on this?"

As soon as the question was raised, many people immediately paid attention to it, and some even picked up their pens to take notes.

"There's no special technique, it's just about prevention," Li Long said. "There are only two situations where the wind can blow the membrane off: one is that the membrane wasn't pressed down properly and there are gaps where the wind can blow in and lift the membrane off."

The second problem is that there wasn't enough soil to cover the plastic film. When the strong wind blew the soil away, the film was exposed and then blown away.

In either of these two situations, the only way to prevent the film from being blown away by the wind is to apply a thick layer of soil, and to press the soil down in the middle of the film every two or three meters.

In early spring, the soil in cotton fields is quite loose and easily blown away by the wind. If possible, water the fields once after spring to prevent the soil from drying out and becoming too loose. This way, when the soil is compacted, it won't be so easily blown away.

Li Long's words were true, and everyone nodded in agreement.

Then, more people raised their hands, and the topics of their questions ranged from planting cotton and replanting seedlings to pest control and topping.

Li Long wasn't in a hurry and answered each question one by one, but in the end, he went over time. Helpless, Principal Yang said, "Alright, alright, that's enough about answering questions. There will be other opportunities in the future. It's not like Comrade Li Long won't come again. We'll talk about it later."

Only after he said that did those people lower their raised hands.

We're here to learn planting techniques. Although there are several teachers at the agricultural school, to be honest, who has as much practical experience in cotton cultivation as Li Long?

No.

So these students were genuinely seeking knowledge, and they also knew that what they learned from Li Long could be applied to their farming next year.

It felt like Li Long was a treasure trove; no matter what the problem was, he could easily find the root cause and solve it—and there was more than one way to solve it.

This is very unusual.

Some people are also wondering, how can Li Long, who has only been growing cotton for two years, know so much?
But when he answered questions, he was organized and well-founded, so it was definitely not false.

As they left the classroom, Professor Yang said to Li Long, "Look how enthusiastic the students are! How about coming over and giving a lecture sometime when you have some free time?"

"Forget it, I'm not a free man either." Li Long waved his hand. "The little bit of knowledge I have will be exhausted in no time. Besides, you guys are professionals when it comes to this. It's only because I'm new here that the students are interested and it's so lively."

Principal Yang naturally understood that Li Long was being modest, and also knew that the actual situation was not like that.

But Li Long has his own company and is a very busy man. Although I asked my superiors for a title for him, I couldn't possibly keep him tied down here.

So it's already pretty good that you can come to class occasionally.

P.S.: I had some gossip tonight. A certain unit assigned a person to a subordinate unit under a nepotism scheme. The person had been absent for a long time, so the subordinate unit pushed the person back and reported a qualified person who was currently working and eligible for promotion. However, the rules were changed and a new selection was made. The person recommended by the subordinate unit was deemed uncooperative, and then the unit assigned the person it had chosen.

They're openly changing the rules.

(End of this chapter)