Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Many people saw that the Li family's courtyard was going to have its floor resurfaced, and some came to help, while others, seeing that there were too many people there, decided not to participate.

Actually, the workload isn't that big. You just need to lift up the foundation, pour concrete on it, smooth it out, and then wait for it to dry.

The snow in the mountains hasn't completely melted yet, so we'll hold off on building houses in the hot spring valley for now.

Because he had confirmed with Li Long that the town was going to build a road, after Lao Meng and his men finished preparing the ground for the Li family, he went back to visit Ma Xiaoyan.

Li Long didn't know what Ma Xiaoyan had told Meng Hai, but Meng Hai seemed quite happy when he arrived at the purchasing station, so he didn't ask any further questions.

According to Li Long's idea, the construction company's affairs should be handed over to Meng Hai. Right now, he can still use his connections to help Meng Hai and his team secure some projects.

Once Meng Hai and his team have established themselves with a good reputation, he will no longer interfere with their work and will let them take on the jobs themselves.

Li Long originally intended to be a behind-the-scenes boss, just sharing the profits; frankly, he was lazy and didn't want to put in the effort.

We've given them money and construction machinery. If they don't use their brains, what's the point of having them?

On March 20th, while I was watching my father chat with the middlemen at the purchasing station, the phone rang.

Li Long answered the phone, only to find it was his second brother, Li Anguo, on the other end.

"Xiaolong, perfect timing. Our company has already confirmed that we need five trucks. Do you have enough trucks?"

"That's enough," Li Long said. "Just come and drive away."

“You need to give me an accurate quote,” Li Anguo said. “Don’t worry about me, just go straight to business.”

“You need five at once. These are all GAZ trucks, basically brand new, and haven’t been driven for more than a few days. I’ll give them to you for 50,000 yuan each.”

"Okay, I'll talk to my boss," Li Anguo said, then hung up the phone.

He called again in the afternoon and confirmed his basic intention to buy, but they would have to see the car before making a decision.

This was natural, and Li Long understood. However, Li Anguo brought up one thing: he wanted Li Long to install the oil refining equipment for him.

“I found a buyer who lives near the oil city. He has the ability to get his hands on the oil.”

Li Anguo made the call from somewhere unknown, but his voice was quite low, leading Li Long to guess that it wasn't at work.
“Xiaolong, let me be frank with you. I plan to partner with this person. He will provide the money and oil, and I will provide the equipment. We will be partners. Consider this equipment of yours as a loan from your second brother, or if that doesn’t work, it can be considered as your investment.”

Li Long was somewhat surprised by his second brother's words, but he supported the idea.

We're all family, so I won't go into details. The eldest brother has already made it big. With three high-horsepower tractors, at the current rate of development, he can pay off all the debts within three years, and then it'll all be pure profit.

Li Long estimated that, based on the current development, his elder brother's family assets would easily reach millions by the end of this century.

With the eldest brother's family in such a state, the second brother can't just stay a stable worker, can he?
Now that his second brother said that, Li Long was quite happy.

After all, having ambition and ideas is what motivates you to make money.

As for the cost of trial and error, you can bear it yourself.

"Second brother, do you know how much this equipment costs?" Li Long asked.

“I’ve inquired about it. A complete set of equipment that can process several tons of crude oil a day costs three to four hundred thousand yuan.” Li Anguo had clearly done his research.

"Well, even with this equipment, you still need to hire people to refine the oil, consider the cost of the oil, and find a sales channel. Have you thought about all of these things?"

"I've thought about it. I've been thinking about it ever since I came back from the Spring Festival," Li Anguo said.

“I’ve also inquired, and there’s no problem with the oil supply channels. We can buy raw materials in the oil city as long as we have the channels. Sales are also not a problem. Right now, there’s construction going on here in northern Xinjiang, and people are coming to buy the gasoline, diesel, asphalt, paraffin, and other products we refine. We don’t have to worry about selling them.”

Now that his second brother had found out, Li Long said:

"Alright, come and take them away."

"So, is this considered your investment or a loan to me?" Li Anguo was a little unsure again at this point.

“Consider it an investment. You do the work, and we’ll split the profits 50/50,” Li Long said after thinking for a moment. “I’m counting on you to expand things in the future.”

Li Long knew that the only privately owned oil field in China in later generations was the CEO of Guangxin Group. It was said that he bought the oil field in Kazakhstan, brought it back to China, and processed it in the oil city.

Kazakhstan has abundant oil and gas resources, as well as land resources, all of which can be utilized in the future.

Of course, given the current situation, let's just consider this a temporary setup; whether it works or not, we'll see later.

Li Long didn't have such lofty ambitions. His second brother wanted to do it, and he had the means, so he supported him.

Hearing Li Long's words, Li Anguo felt relieved. Since Li Long had invested, he certainly wouldn't ignore anything that might happen later.

At least in the early stages of building the factory, all they had to rely on was this one set of equipment, leaving them with very little room to maneuver.

If Li Long joins in, then there will be more room for maneuver, and he will be less likely to be controlled.

On March 21st, Li Anguo, along with the deputy head of the company's transportation department and several drivers, arrived in Ma County.

Li Long and the others were waiting at the purchasing station.

After exchanging pleasantries, Li Long led them to see the GAZ trucks.

The GAZ truck was practically brand new, and the employees at the purchasing station had been working very hard lately, cleaning it until it looked spotless.

The transportation department staff were all experts, so Li Long didn't give them any introductions and just let them look around. After they finished, he even let them drive around.

As for that deputy section chief surnamed Liu, the main thing to check is the paperwork. State-owned companies value qualifications most for this type of purchase, so the condition of the vehicle is secondary; having complete paperwork is the most important thing.

Fortunately, there were no problems with Li Long's paperwork. Deputy Section Chief Liu was very satisfied after reviewing it, and even more so after hearing the drivers' descriptions of the vehicles.

Li Anguo pulled Deputy Section Chief Liu aside and whispered something to him for a while, then came over to Li Long and told him to load the equipment onto the truck.

Li Long didn't care about all that. Seeing that Deputy Section Chief Liu didn't object, he called someone over to load the truck.

"I told them the vehicle was cheap and in good condition. I don't want any middlemen fees; they just need to help me get the equipment to the location," Li Anguo later explained to Li Long.

"Then take it over there. Be careful when building the factory or anything, and find reliable people to help you."

"Don't worry, I contacted Junshan's family. It's fine, that young man is obedient," Li Anguo said with a smile. "Originally, I wanted Qianjin to come and help. I called him a couple of days ago, but he said he couldn't come, saying he was used to driving at high speed in the fourth team and didn't want to come."

Li Long thought to himself that of course he wouldn't want to come. Based on the current trend, Chen Qianjin would be able to earn ten thousand yuan by the end of 1991.

Now, his second brother's annual salary is probably less than three thousand. As for the future of this oil refinery, it's hard to say. Chen Qianjin isn't stupid; he knows that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, so naturally he's willing to earn the money he wants.

Of course, if the oil refinery does well, it will definitely be more profitable than driving a tractor in the future, but that's a matter for the future. Chen Qianjin has already positioned himself as a tractor driver and is unwilling to explore new fields.

Since his second brother had already thought it through and arranged the manpower, Li Long didn't ask any more questions about it, as he had other things to do.

Li Anguo and Deputy Section Chief Liu returned to Kui City together. After treating a few people to a meal in Kui City, they drove their convoy to the oil city. They unloaded the equipment in a rented yard in the oil city and then Deputy Section Chief Liu and his team rushed back to Kui City overnight.

Li Anguo stayed behind. He, along with Junshan's brother-in-law Huang Deyuan and several hired workers, worked through the night to install the equipment.

This thing isn't too complicated. Li Anguo has the blueprints, and with a few people working together, it's easy to figure it out.

They worked late, but still had to get up early the next day. Li Anguo's partner was named Qi Zhihui, a native of Youcheng. He used to work at the oil field, but it was unclear how he left. All that was known was that he had connections and could get his hands on oil.

When Li Anguo first approached Qi Zhihui about this, Qi Zhihui didn't believe him.

While small-scale oil refining equipment may not seem like much to oilfield workers, it could cost an ordinary person a lifetime's salary to buy such a system.

But Li Anguo spoke with great conviction, and since he could afford a car, Qi Zhihui reluctantly agreed to cooperate with him.

Qi Zhihui also made it clear that as long as Li Anguo got the equipment set up, he could get crude oil for him. He didn't need much, but several tons a day would be no problem.

When Li Anguo drove over to pick up Qi Zhihui, Qi Zhihui was quite surprised to see the equipment that had already been erected.

"Old Li, you're doing great! This equipment is impressive. I thought you'd just do something simple, but it's even better than I expected. Setting up this equipment would have cost at least 500,000! Not bad at all, I didn't expect you to be so capable!"

Qi Zhihui had only been vague about the matter, but now that Li Anguo had revealed his hand, he naturally wasn't intimidated and said:

“I can bring you five tons of crude oil this afternoon, and every day thereafter. But let’s be clear, this stuff is difficult to transport, I’ll have to find a truck. The transportation cost will be included in the overall cost.”

Li Anguo needed Li Long's help, so he naturally agreed. He planned to wait until the factory was up and running smoothly, and if it did, he would buy a truck from Li Long, modify it, and then haul crude oil himself.

If you really do the math, the profit you can make each day is at least several hundred yuan. It's a lucrative business!
Li Anguo had only taken one day off, but now he had to call the factory again to ask for an extra day. Fortunately, there wasn't much work at the company right now, and since he was the team leader, they were accommodating and told him he had to come back tomorrow.

Li Anguo wanted to wait until the crude oil arrived, observe the refining process, and then leave.

After all, the equipment was already installed, and Li Anguo wouldn't feel at ease until he saw the finished product.

Qi Zhihui kept his word, and a truckload of crude oil arrived that afternoon. Li Anguo and his team had been waiting for it, and as soon as the crude oil arrived, they began processing it immediately.

Li Anguo was finally relieved after seeing the diesel fuel extracted from the finished product.

Fearing a safety accident, he worked alongside Huang Deyuan from beginning to end, even discussing with him how to store the finished oil and other products.

Since Qi Zhihui said he would be responsible for collecting the finished products, Li Anguo didn't say much more. There are still several oil refineries in the oil city, so there's no worry about selling their products.

Li Anguo's idea was that if Qi Zhihui's people came to buy it and the price was fair, he would sell it to them; if the price was not good, he would find someone else.

One of the main reasons Li Long supported his second brother in doing this was that small-scale oil refining equipment from the Soviet Union had not yet been widely deployed, making it a blue ocean market for the time being.

In two years, a large number of second-hand oil refining equipment will be transported over from there, and the competition here will become fierce.

However, if my second brother can really succeed in this end, he won't be afraid of competition.

The golden period for small fuel plants is only about ten years, since they are engaged in crude processing and are considered polluting enterprises, and the government will eventually shut them down.

Li Long's idea was that if his second brother could continue in this line of work, at the very least, he could earn some extra money for the family; at worst, he could establish himself in the industry if he did well.

Given his relationship with Liu Shanmin, he might be able to develop an oil field in Kazakhstan in the future.

Of course, that's all for the future.

Of course, my second brother also has a job; it depends on how he manages to balance it.

The next day, Li Anguo returned to the company, immediately checked off his leave, and then started leading his team to work.

Fortunately, he was considered a model worker in the company and had always been diligent and conscientious. His supervisor didn't say anything about his leave, but simply told him to complete his current work.

Li Anguo, however, was preoccupied with two things. Every few days, he would lead his men to work as usual during the day, and after get off work in the afternoon, he would drive to the oil city to check on the oil refining situation there.

The next morning, I drove back to work very early.

It's incredibly tough.

The burden of family matters fell entirely on Chen Lirong's shoulders. Fortunately, Chen Lirong was understanding and fully supported her husband's work. She also instructed her two children not to discuss family matters with outsiders.

By the end of March, things at the refinery were on track, and Li Anguo was able to go there once a week.

Li Long received a call from his second brother on March 31st.

"Xiaolong, all the oil I refined in the last ten days or so has been sold." Li Anguo's voice sounded excited. "After deducting all costs, I made over five thousand in the last two weeks! Hey, with this equipment, I've never known how easy it is to make money!"

"It must be tiring enough," Li Long knew without a doubt that his second brother had been traveling between the two places recently. Unlike later years, there were no highways connecting the two places. The road conditions weren't very good now, and although the distance wasn't too far, it was still quite a hassle.

"Hey, if you can make money, what's a little hardship?" Li Anguo said with a smile. "I'll transfer the money to you tomorrow. It's not much, but we're still making money."

The first few days I wasn't very familiar with it, so I didn't do well. But once I get used to it, making ten or twenty thousand a month won't be a problem! I'll get my investment back in a year or two!

Li Long didn't refuse. His second brother was clearly in high spirits, so he didn't say much and just enjoyed the success.

"Second brother, this job might not last long, maybe ten years, before the government shuts it down. So if you want to make money, you have to expand in the next few years and see if I can get another set of equipment later."

"Alright, alright, I'll get to work here and make enough money over these ten years, then we'll retire!" Li Anguo said confidently. "Just you wait and see!"

After hanging up the phone, Li Long was quite happy. He could tell his second brother was currently in a period of high spirits; he hoped his brother could persevere.

If we can hold on for five years, let alone ten, then my second brother's family will have no worries about making a living.

Li Long stopped paying attention to his second brother's affairs because his own work was about to begin.

By the end of March, the plains of Ma County had completely dried up, and tractors began to work in the fields.

The snow near Nanshan Mountain had mostly melted, and two snowmelt floods occurred in mid-March and late March. Xiaohaizi withstood the floods, and Li Andong caught several carp and grass carp weighing two or three kilograms in the floodwaters, which made him extremely excited.

Li Long then drove Meng Hai and the others to Wenquangou, intending to open a courtyard there.

The original wooden house was left untouched; later, Bolati planned to use it to trade for fritillaria bulbs. (My brother told me that last year, people from Zhejiang Province were buying wild fritillaria bulbs from fritillaria diggers near the 124th Regiment in Usu. Fresh ones were selling for over 100 yuan per kilogram. I'm seeing if I can find some this year.)
Since this area is still part of the Yushan River, Li Long thought about building a courtyard here. Once the foundation is laid, he could come and stay here every year. He would also bring the hot spring water to the vicinity of the courtyard and build a safer pool for soaking. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Just like a resort.

Meng Hai followed Li Long to the hot spring valley. Sensing the atmosphere permeating the valley, he said to Li Long with some concern:

"Boss, there's so much moisture in this valley. Wouldn't it be easy to get rheumatism if we stayed here?"

“It’s alright, just follow me. Walk a few hundred meters ahead, and the trees will be fewer there, so the moisture will be blown away,” Li Long said. “If you have time, you not only need to help me build the yard, but also build the road from outside the valley to the yard.”

“If this road is built, a lot of trees will be cut down,” someone interjected.

“Then let’s cut them down,” Li Long said. “These miscellaneous trees and shrubs are just blocking the way and are of no use.”

Now that Li Long had spoken, Meng Hai and the others naturally had no more reservations.

After walking a few hundred meters forward, the view indeed opened up considerably.

The main feature is that the slopes on both sides of this area become gentler, the stream formed by the hot springs makes a bend, and a large area of ​​gentle slopes is formed nearby. Behind the gentle slopes is a raised area. Although the courtyard here is not completely facing south and backed by north, it is not oriented east-west either.

“Build a courtyard here, level that slope, clear a large open space, and then build a road from the valley entrance to this place,” Li Long pointed. “Then we can bring the hot spring water here and bathe in it.”

The hot spring pool where Li Long usually bathes is dozens of meters away from here. The water near this spot is already too warm to bathe in. But that doesn't stop Li Long. He can bury pipes over there to bring the water here. As long as it's not exposed to the elements, the water can be kept warm, and the temperature will be just right when placed in the pool here.

The natural pool is too narrow to build a yard. There is space further up, but the water is too hot and it's too far away.

So this is the most suitable place.

Meng Hai looked at the place Li Long had chosen, walked around it, and said:
"We need to bring the bulldozer over. This area needs to be expanded out a bit, and the high slope needs to be pushed back. Otherwise, the yard will be too small."

At that time, everyone liked to build large yards. The population was still small, so even in the village, the plots of land allocated for building houses were large. Therefore, Meng Hai thought that if he was going to build, he should build a large one.

“We also need to build a wall around the courtyard. There must be wild animals here, right?” Meng Hai said. “It should be a brick wall, and it would be best to have a large iron gate.”

“Yes.” Li Long nodded. “Wild goats and deer can jump into the yard, which is fine, but it would be troublesome if wolves and bears came in.”

"Alright, I've noted down the location. Let's take a look at this area and see how we can proceed. Building a yard shouldn't be too difficult for us."

Li Long had already stated his requirements: the courtyard needed to have more living rooms, several indoor hot spring pools, and two outdoor ones.

As for the work of laying water pipes, that's also included, but I won't go into details.

Li Long didn't have anything else to do, so while Meng Hai and the others went back to drive the bulldozer and haul materials, Li Long drove to the wooden house.

To Li Long's surprise, people were already living in the wooden house.

It's not Polati.

Upon hearing the car, the man didn't immediately flee after getting out. Instead, he waited until Li Long got out of the car and then asked:

"Is this cabin yours? I came into the mountains to dig for fritillaria bulbs. When I arrived, I found that the lock on the cabin door had been broken, so I stayed there for two days."

The man was in his thirties, not very tall, but looked quite capable. The area outside the wooden house was very clean, and some herbs were drying on the wooden table.

"The cabin is indeed mine. Someone will be staying here to collect fritillaria bulbs in a while." Li Long looked around and found that the person had kept the area around the cabin quite clean, and the two rooms were also well-maintained, so he said:
"You can stay here for now, but once that ranger named Polati comes, you won't be able to stay here anymore."

"Okay, okay, I'll definitely keep a close watch on this place."

Li Long wasn't heartless; he could tell that the person staying here was quite particular, and their tone was very polite, so he decided to let them stay.

Even a smiling face won't be slapped. Li Long chatted with him for a while, and the man took out some dried meat to offer to Li Long, saying that he had encountered a wild goat whose belly had been emptied by a wolf, but the meat was still intact.

He picked up the rest, cut off the unclean parts, and skinned and deboned the rest to make dried meat.

Li Long knew that it was just past winter, and the wild goats, ibex, and argali sheep, which had been hungry all winter, were starting to move into the mountains, and the wolves would follow.

Those who couldn't keep up with the group—the old, weak, sick, and disabled—became easy prey for the wolves.

At this time, prey is easier to find, so when wolves hunt, they often only eat the prey's internal organs—because the internal organs are full of fat and can provide a lot of energy.

As for meat, if it doesn't taste good or you're short on time, then skip it.

"You eat it," Li Long waved his hand. He could tell that the wild goat meat came from an old goat, and the bones were a bit large, so Li Long wasn't very interested.

The meat was too tough; it didn't suit his taste.

The other person didn't insist, smiled, and started eating.

During their conversation, Li Long learned that this person was from Henan Province, and had heard from fellow villagers that good things could be found in the mountains here.

His family has a slight knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, and he recognizes some herbs, which is why he went into the mountains so early.

When the conversation got interesting, he introduced Li Long to the medicinal herbs in the mountains, such as Bupleurum and Astragalus, and he really sounded like an expert.

He's stronger than Li Long.

Li Long mainly knew about fritillaria, licorice, and codonopsis; he knew relatively little about the others.

Of course, he didn't really admit it, mainly because those kinds of things weren't very valuable.

"What can we do? People say, 'People from Gansu province are shameless when it comes to eating, and people from Henan province are shameless when it comes to making money.' If life were good back home, who would want to leave their hometown to beg for food?"

That person's tone contained both self-deprecation and sighing:

“In my village, each person has three-tenths of an acre of land, barely enough to grow enough grain to feed ourselves. We also have to pay village-wide levies, where would we get the money to pay? If we don’t go out to work, we’ll just die at home.”

Li Long remained silent. Who could argue with that?

Leaving one's hometown—it may seem like just four words, but how many tears are shed when you talk about it?
Behind every rhyme at this time lies countless heartbreaking stories.

“In another half month, there will be fritillaria bulbs in that ditch over there,” Li Long said, pointing southeast. “At that time, we can use the fritillaria bulbs to exchange for living supplies in this wooden house.”

If you don't have many supplies, exchange some, but not too many. Keep the fritillaria you dug up safe so it doesn't spoil. Dry it and sell it at the purchasing station at the foot of the mountain.

"Fritillaria bulbs are currently selling for over 100 yuan per kilogram at the purchasing station. If you do a good job with fritillaria bulbs for a season, earning around 1,000 yuan is not a problem."

Li Long said to this person, "The biggest problem is that you don't have money. Once you have money, many problems will be solved."

Although that person wanted to refute it, upon closer reflection, wasn't it true?
Li Long left the wooden house and went to the hot spring valley. He planned to soak in the hot spring to relax and wait for Meng Hai and the others.

There was food in the car, so Li Long ate a little, drove to the entrance of Wenquangou, got out of the car with his gun, locked the door, and walked inside.

We cannot afford to be careless at this time.

Li Long was relieved when he walked all the way to the hot spring pool and didn't see any wild animals.

There was some damage around the pool, but there were no signs of animals; it looked like it had been washed away by a flood.

The water temperature in the pool was just right. Li Long looked around, then took off his clothes and soaked in.

After soaking for thirty or forty minutes, he heard noises downstream, which meant that Meng Hai and the others had arrived. Li Long then got out of the pool, quickly dried himself off, put on his clothes, and walked downstream.

The bulldozer followed the hot spring stream upstream. Not long after Li Long arrived at the location where the courtyard was to be built, he saw Meng Hai and the others.

There were not only bulldozers, but also trucks hauling bricks and cement.

With bulldozers leading the way and trucks following behind, occasionally even having to drive into the water, they managed to barely get the materials to the place where the yard was to be built.

“We’re building a yard here and repairing a road behind, so it won’t interfere with either side.” Meng Hai got out of the car and said to Li Long, “Our people don’t have much work to do right now, so let’s take care of this.”

Li Long glanced back and, sure enough, saw that someone had stayed behind at the mouth of the ditch and was cleaning something.

Li Long had already explained to Meng Hai and the others that this was for building a house and repairing roads for him, so he would pay for the work himself. Meng Hai declined twice, but finally accepted.

Li Long was to provide the materials, of course. According to Meng Hai, Li Long didn't need to pay him; the materials could be used up later when the work was done.

Li Long didn't want others to gossip, so he bought the materials himself.

Once the bulldozer was in place, Meng Hai's design was followed, and the slope behind the flat ground was pushed down. Only by pushing down the slope could a larger space be created, allowing more sunlight to reach this area.

The bulldozer first removes the soil at the top of the slope. It's not as effective as a bulldozer, but the tracked tractor is too slow. In the time it takes to drive over, this bulldozer can level the whole area.

Li Long kept observing the bulldozer's movements, worried that the slope was topped with soil and underneath with rocks.

Unexpectedly, the first shovel strike revealed a grayish-black substance beneath the soil, which Li Long thought looked like cloth.
He immediately went forward, but by the time he got there, the bulldozer had already retreated a few meters. He then scooped over again and dug out some more tree branches.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Li Long shouted hurriedly.

In fact, the bulldozer driver also noticed it.

Meng Hai, who was watching the unloading, rushed over when he heard Li Long's shout.

"What's wrong, boss?" Meng Hai asked.

"We think we've struck something," Li Long said, pointing to the front of the bulldozer. "It looks like it was man-made in there."

Meng Hai stepped forward with some surprise, bent down, grabbed a handful of the gray substance, squeezed it, and said with some astonishment:
"It should be. This area below is probably a shack built by people in the past."

Of course, it's also possible that we shouldn't move the warehouse forklift yet, let's dig a little deeper!

Since such traces of human activity could be found in the mountains, we naturally can't just do whatever we want with it.

The forklift was turned off, and Meng Hai called over the people unloading the truck, who then began clearing the area with shovels.

Soon, the debris shoveled out by the bulldozer was cleared away, revealing that there was indeed space below the slope, and even two rooms.

"There's something down there!" someone shouted as they pried open the top of the roof and looked down.

"What is it?" Meng Hai asked.

"They look like boxes." The man was already thinking of jumping down, but Meng Hai stopped him.
"Don't move yet, make the hole bigger!"

The group worked together to enlarge the opening in the roof. Li Long, who had better eyesight, had already realized that the gentle slope was originally where the house was built, but half of it had collapsed and the other half had been covered with soil.

Over time, grass grew on it, and some things weathered away and remained on it, covering up the original traces.

There were indeed long wooden boxes inside the cave, with no writing on them, but Li Long thought they looked like weapons.

Could it be that Sheng Shicai hid weapons here instead of gold?

Clearing a path from the bottom of the gentle slope to the cave entrance, just wide enough for one person to enter, Meng Hai looked at Li Long and then said:
"Boss, let's go inside and take a look."

Meng Hai went in first, Li Long followed behind, and the others went inside.

The space below is quite large; five or six people could easily go in, even though half of it has collapsed.

Unfortunately, there weren't many long wooden boxes inside; Li Long glanced at them and saw about ten.

Including those in the next room, there are fewer than thirty in total.

"Should we open one up and take a look?" Meng Hai asked, looking at the boxes.

“Take a look,” Li Long said. “Be careful, there might be weapons inside.”

Meng Hai then grabbed a shovel and, together with the others, began to violently dismantle the structure.

The wooden box wasn't nailed very tightly, but the wood used was quite sturdy. After prying it open for three to five minutes, Meng Hai saw the contents wrapped in oil paper and smiled:
"The boss guessed right, it really is a weapon."

He used a shovel to pry open an oil paper package, revealing its contents: a sheathed saber.

It looked like it had been used, but it was wiped quite clean, and there was oil on the outside, although the oil had long since dried by then.

Meng Hai picked up the saber, pulled it out to examine it, and saw that it had slight rust.

"Not bad, it must have been used to kill someone," Meng Hai said, looking at the marks on it. "It's sharpened, very fast!"

Some of the others put down their shovels and picked up the sabers inside, while others wanted to open the other boxes to take a look.

The sabers weren't of much value to them. It would be nice to find something of value among them.

"Sigh, another saber." A man sighed as he pried open a box.

"I also have a machete in this box." The other person had the same expression.

"Alright, these boxes are probably full of sabers, so don't bother prying them open." Meng Hai sheathed the saber and put it back in the box, saying, "Isn't there another room next door? There should be other things inside."

Upon hearing this, the group immediately withdrew and began digging a passage leading to the other room.

Meng Hai then looked at Li Long:
"Boss, what should we do with these things?"

"What else can we do? Hand it in." Li Long smiled. "Tell everyone, and if they like it, they can keep a handful. Of course, it has to be kept secret, otherwise it'll be hard to explain."

"Okay." Meng Hai casually picked up one and said, "I'll keep one."

Li Long planned to keep one box, which he could give away later.

"Let's go check next door. Maybe there's a gun in that box," Li Long said, half-jokingly and half-guessing.

When they went up, the tunnel had already been cleared, and once inside, someone started prying open the boxes.

Li Long noticed that the box looked similar to the box containing the sabers, and guessed it probably didn't contain anything of value.

"A gun!" The man shouted as soon as the box was pried open and the oil paper was pulled back.

Li Long went over to take a look and saw an old-fashioned bolt-action rifle.

really!

"Alright, take them all out and load them onto the truck," Li Long said. "We can't keep these things; we have to hand them over."

Those people knew this was inevitable. Although there's no official gun ban yet, gun control has become much stricter.

Xinhua Bookstore no longer sells hunting rifles. Although air rifles can still be found, the quantity is limited.

Moreover, it's no longer possible to obtain a gun license from the police station.

Therefore, it's impossible for an individual to own so many guns.

The saber is an exception, but it's useless to hold onto it.

Meng Hai had already told those people that each person should take a saber, and whether they wanted it or not, they all took one.

They knew very well that even if they didn't want it themselves, they could give it away.

They lifted all the boxes up, unloaded the contents of the truck, and then loaded the boxes back up.

Meng Hai led his men to work here, cleaning up those two places, while Li Long drove back to the county with the truck.

He took the truck to the purchasing station and told the workers to unload the dozens of boxes of goods into an empty warehouse.

After unloading all the boxes, Li Long sent the workers away and then carefully pried open each box one by one in the warehouse.

He wasn't entirely convinced it was full of sabers or guns. Anyway, he decided to take a look.

Among the more than twenty boxes, Li Long discovered something unusual: one box didn't contain spears, but rather miscellaneous items.

It's described as miscellaneous items, meaning there are several different things inside.

Four Mauser pistols and four revolvers, all loaded with bullets.

Two exquisite sheathed daggers with jeweled handles, and some silver coins, though not many.

To Li Long's surprise, there were some brown, lumpy objects wrapped in tin foil in the box. He just smelled them and knew what they were after a moment's thought.

Opium!

And quite a lot, about ten yuan, which filled the rest of the box completely.

It weighs at least twenty or thirty kilograms!

These things can't be exposed to the light of day, so Li Long plans to find a place to bury them.

The remaining boxes contained only guns and sabers.

Li Long took away a box of sabers and a box containing pistols, intending to hand over the rest.

It's quite hot to handle here.

As for who to entrust it to, Li Long already had an idea.

The county has a cultural relics management office, and the prefecture has a cultural relics bureau. Generally speaking, it is more appropriate to hand it over to the cultural relics management office.

However, since this batch of items is considered weapons, Li Long plans to hand it over to the Armed Forces Department.

After all, he remembered that there was a batch of old weapons in the militia warehouse, some of which were similar to the guns he had handed over.

However, the delivery was scheduled for the next day, and it was already getting dark. Li Long took advantage of the darkness to load the two boxes into the Land Cruiser and drove away.

Back in his own courtyard, Li Long took the two boxes down and dragged them into the side room.

"Do you need any help?" Gu Xiaoxia asked as she saw Li Long dragging things down.

"No, no, the things in here aren't very clean, don't come any closer," Li Long said hurriedly. "I'll wash them properly after I'm done."

"Okay then." Gu Xiaoxia didn't come over, and took the two children with her.

Although Mingming Haohao was a little curious, he was still obedient in the end.

By the time Li Long had finished setting up the two boxes and filled the bags with the opium, Li Qingxia had arrived.

"What kind of stuff did you bring back from the mountains?" Li Qingxia didn't ask at the purchasing station, afraid that Li Long wouldn't know how to answer, but she asked as soon as they got back.

“I’m planning to build a courtyard near the hot springs,” Li Jing said, carrying the bag of opium. “I didn’t expect to find that the area where people used to hide things when I pushed the soil aside.”

"Hey, what a coincidence that you just happened to run into me?" Li Qingxia was also puzzled.

“I was also puzzled at the time. Maybe it’s because Wenquan Valley is easy to find, and in that valley, there’s only one empty area, surrounded by forests above and below, but there’s nothing there.”

Li Long now guesses that the area without woods was probably cleared out by the people who used to hide things.

What he's interested in is a place that someone else has already renovated.

"That thing can't be kept at home." Li Qingxia waved his hand. "Hand it over right now."

“Tomorrow, I will hand it over to the Armed Forces Department,” Li Long said.

He carried the bag of opium around the yard twice, and finally decided to throw it into the toilet.

Soaking them in feces and urine should destroy them, right?

After Li Long threw the things under the toilet, came back, washed his hands, and was about to eat, his father, Li Qingxia, whispered:
"Keep one of those sabers for me. Oh, and ask your older brother if he wants one; if so, keep one for him too!"

Li Long chuckled and said repeatedly, "Alright, alright, I'll keep some for you all." (End of Chapter)