Chapter 1334
Li Yuhe: Seemingly Carefree, But Actually a Man of Strong Principles
Seeing that Li Yuhe was having a great time fishing, Li Long thought that if this continued, he probably wouldn't be able to enjoy dinner. So he put away the net and said, "Boss, how about we come fishing tomorrow? That's enough for today. Let's go back and prepare dinner."
Li Yuhe looked up at the sky and said with lingering interest, "Let's fish a little longer. Didn't you say there were crabs in this reservoir? I did see some shrimp, but not a single crab."
Li Long said, "It's too bright outside, so the crabs don't dare to come out. You can come here to catch crabs around 11 or 12 at night with a flashlight."
Li Yuhe immediately became interested and said while looking at the float, "Really? Then let's do it tonight!"
It's no wonder he was so interested, mainly because at that time, there was no crab farming in either northern or southern Xinjiang. Locals had basically never seen live crabs; they might be seen in movies and TV shows, but that's not the same thing.
Anglers like Li Yuhe are naturally more interested in the live creatures in the water. Putting aside whether they eat them or not, just the experience of catching crabs is something he could talk about for months.
Li Long then seized the opportunity to say, "Let's go back first. We'll have to process these fish when we get back. There's no refrigerator at Old Ma's place, so the fish won't keep."
Let's go back and have dinner and rest a bit, then we can come back to catch crabs after dark.
This time, Li Yuhe didn't refuse. While reeling in the fishing line, he said, "Okay, okay, let's go back now. By the way, are the crabs in here big? Are they the big hairy crabs? I heard that hairy crabs are delicious when steamed, the roe and fat inside are especially fresh..."
As Li Long helped him put the fish basket in, he said, "The species are about the same, but it depends on whether the crabs you catch are one-year-old or two-year-old. One-year-old crabs are smaller and don't have much meat inside. At this age, they do have some roe, but not much."
If the crabs are two or three years old, they will be large, meaty, and have plenty of roe inside.
Actually, there isn't much crab roe in May, but there is still some.
As for the species, Li Long knew it was a Chinese chevron, the kind with hairy claws, but he wasn't sure if it was a Chinese mitten crab. Anyway, in 20 years, the crabs from this large lake will be airlifted to China to be sold as Chinese mitten crabs.
The two returned to the stove at Old Ma's place and started cooking. Li Long introduced Li Yuhe to Uncle Luo and the others. Uncle Luo and the others greeted Li Yuhe with smiles, and Li Yuhe responded warmly to each of them. He even personally cleaned the fish.
Seeing that he had nothing to do, Li Long went to find a headlamp and other tools. If Li Yuhe really intended to go crabbing that night, he certainly couldn't go back on his word.
There were many people having dinner that evening, including Uncle Luo and the workers who were building the factory. Li Long went to his older brother's place and called home to explain the situation so that everyone wouldn't have to wait for him for dinner.
With Li Yuhe there, dinner was quite lively. This leader from the Department of Agriculture travels frequently between northern and southern Xinjiang and knows a lot about the local customs and traditions. He chatted amiably during the meal and was very popular with everyone.
After the meal, Li Yuhe was about to help with the tidying up, but the construction team members stopped him. So he went with Li Long to see the red deer, roe deer, and wild boars in Old Ma's place.
Looking at the tall red deer, Li Yuhe exclaimed, "You've really done a great job here, it's like a zoo. Even the wildlife park in Wucheng doesn't have as many red deer as you do here. I don't remember there being any roe deer there, did you get all of these from the mountains?"
Li Long grabbed a handful of dried sugar residue from the side and scattered it into the enclosure. Watching the animals scramble to eat it, he laughed and said, "Yes, when I brought them over, they were all little ones. My friends in the mountains can catch some fawns in the spring. I bought them and tried to raise them. I didn't expect them to survive."
Li Yuhe followed Li Long's example, grabbing a handful of dried sugar residue and scattering it into the circle. He exclaimed, "Your life is truly colorful! Running a cooperative to farm, raising wild animals, building a purchasing station, and even raising crabs—hey, this is a really good life!"
Li Long said modestly, "It was just a bit of a scramble. In the countryside, we're lucky to have the Party's good policies, so we're all thinking about getting rich. Besides, we can't just be the only ones who get rich. Didn't the country say that those who get rich first should help those who are still poor?"
When I started the cooperative, I was thinking that our job was to help the villagers make money together.
Li Yuhe patted him on the shoulder and said, "Not bad, not bad, you really have a high level of awareness! This support project is perfect for you!"
After chatting for a while, the mosquitoes outside started to multiply, so Li Long took Li Yuhe to the cooperative and showed him where he could stay.
In the cooperative's courtyard, besides the office space, the warehouse for storing tractors, farm machinery and agricultural supplies, there are also several rooms that can be used as dormitories.
Originally, it was planned that someone would be on duty here, but now those workers are living here. There are many rooms, and Li Yuhe lives in one by himself.
The bedding was all new, and Li Yuhe was quite satisfied.
The room had lights and a desk. Li Yuhe asked Li Long about the exact time they would be catching crabs, then planned to write part of the report first, and then wait for Li Long to call him.
Li Long didn't disturb him, went to Lao Ma, and told Lao Luo that they were chatting.
Yang Laoliu had already herded the cattle and sheep back and was eating. Seeing Li Long approach, he asked while eating, "Has someone from above come to investigate you?"
Li Long waved his hand and said, "They're not here to investigate me. I applied for a special fund from the autonomous region, and they want to see if what I said is true or false."
Yang Laoliu sounded a little disappointed: "Oh, I thought they were going to investigate you. I was even planning to teach you a couple of tricks to deal with the inspection from above."
Li Long knew that Yang Laoliu was capable, but he didn't want to learn his methods, so he smiled and said no need.
He remembered something and asked Yang Laoliu, "I heard from Uncle Luo that the township nursing home wants to take you there to live out your retirement years, but you're not going?"
Yang Laoliu looked disdainful: "What's the point of going there? Hanging out with a bunch of useless old men and women, isn't that just a waste of time and energy? I herd cattle and sheep every day now, it's so comfortable, and I even get a salary. Why would I want to be like them?"
The township built a nursing home on the south side of the road between the middle school and the primary school, intending to house the elderly people from the four production brigades who were on welfare and lacked the ability to take care of themselves.
People from this village, like Uncle Luo, don't plan to go. Yang Laoliu used to have a military rank. The autonomous region was peacefully liberated, so if we look at the big picture, he could be considered someone who could transfer to a position.
So after the township government investigated, they included him in a nursing home as a form of treatment. But Yang Laoliu refused to go, feeling that he would be humiliated there.
Uncle Luo mentioned it to Li Long when he had a spare moment, and Li Long thought it was fine if he didn't want to go. As people get older, they're most afraid of being called useless. Old Yang isn't actually that old; he's still quite agile and very diligent in herding cattle and sheep, so let him continue.
After dark, Li Long chatted there for a while longer before going to find Li Yuhe.
Although it was a little early by usual standards, Li Long didn't want to wait any longer. He went over to take a look, hoping to catch something if he could, but there was nothing he could do if he couldn't.
When Li Long arrived, Li Yuhe was pacing back and forth in the cooperative's courtyard, clearly a little anxious. His face immediately brightened when he saw Li Long.
Li Long didn't even turn off the car. After rolling down the window, he waved to Li Yuhe and said, "Boss, get in the car. Let's go catch some crabs now."
Li Yuhe hurriedly got into the car, closing the door as he asked, "Is this the area where we fish?"
Li Long started the car and turned out of the yard, saying, "No, it's another area. Crabs like to come to the shallow water at night to look for food. When the water is clear, you can see them by shining a headlamp on them."
Li Yuhe was a little nervous and asked, "Crabs have two claws, and I've heard that pinching them can hurt a lot. Are we just going to grab them with our hands?"
"I have gloves prepared, the thick kind that are puncture-proof. Once I put them on, I can quickly throw the crabs into the bucket after catching them, and the crabs won't be able to catch them."
Li Yuhe nodded. When the car reached Xiaohaizi Dam, Li Long pulled over, got out, took a headlamp and a bucket from the trunk, and gave Li Yuhe a pair of gloves.
As Li Yuhe fiddled with his gloves, he said, "I know how to wear this headlamp, but these gloves have been used before, right?"
"I've used them before, I used them last year when I was catching crabs," Li Long said while putting on his gear. "It's best to wear rubber boots, otherwise you'll get your shoes wet when you go into the water."
Li Yuhe was wearing leather shoes, but he couldn't bear to part with them, so he immediately changed into rubber boots as Li Long instructed, and then followed Li Long to the shallows along the Xiba Line.
When they reached the water's edge, Li Long lowered his head and shone his headlamp into the water. After searching around, he spotted a two-year-old crab lying in the water inside a cow hoof print.
The crabs' backs were covered in mud and water, making them almost invisible unless you looked closely. He said to Li Yuhe, "Look, there's a crab over there."
Although the headlamp's spotlight enveloped the crab, it was completely visible to Li Long.
But Li Yuhe just couldn't see the crab, and kept asking, "Where? Where's the crab? I can't see it. Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
Li Long understood this feeling. It was like sometimes looking for something at home; the thing was right in front of you, but even after searching the whole area countless times, you just couldn't find it.
It's the same when you take something out of the refrigerator. The item is right within reach, but your eyes just can't focus on it. It's like some kind of program makes you deliberately ignore that memory.
So Li Long took two steps forward, bent down, reached in and pulled the big crab out of the cow hoof print, showed it to Li Yuhe, and then threw it into the bucket.
Seeing the crab in the bucket and hearing the rustling sound of it struggling, Li Yuhe finally realized, "Hey, there really is a crab!"
Next, Li Long had Li Yuhe walk alongside him, with himself on the inside and Li Yuhe on the outside. This was because there were more crabs in the shallow waters on the outside, while the water was slightly deeper on the inside, making it difficult for people with poor eyesight to see the crabs underwater.
As they started walking in, Li Long could catch a crab every now and then by bending down.
There were clearly several at Li Yuhe's feet, but he deliberately ignored them, his headlamp beam swaying left and right, unable to aim accurately, which made Li Long anxious.
"Look down and there's one right in front of your toes!"
There's one about 20 centimeters in front of your foot!
"Look at that small pit on the right, near the shore, there are two crabs!"
Li Long kept reminding him, but Li Yuhe still couldn't see it. Li Long had to break off a reed, dip it into the water, and point it above the crab before Li Yuhe could see it.
When Li Yuhe caught the first crab, his hands were trembling. Although he was wearing gloves, he was still afraid of being pinched by the crab. When he picked up the crab in mid-air and it struggled, he simply flung it away.
Then he realized what was happening and gave Li Long an awkward smile.
Li Long didn't laugh at him, but comforted him, saying that it was just one crab and there would be many more to come.
When Li Long's bucket was already less than half full, Li Yuhe finally spotted a crab with his own eyes and successfully caught it and put it in the bucket. From that moment on, it seemed as if he had suddenly become enlightened and could also see crabs in the shallows.
Li Long breathed a sigh of relief and began to focus on the water in front of him.
After catching all the crabs in this shallow area, Li Yuhe was still not satisfied. He had more than a dozen crabs in his bucket, a decent haul, but he wasn't content.
Li Long's bucket was more than half full. He said, "This water has been stirred up too much. It's unlikely we can catch anything now. We'll have to come back tomorrow."
Although Li Yuhe didn't want to give up, this area was Li Long's territory, so he couldn't say anything. He nodded and said, "Okay, I'll come again tomorrow."
Back in the car, hearing the rustling sound of crabs in the bucket, Li Yuhe asked, "How do you usually eat these crabs?"
As Li Long started the car, he said, "We usually steam it, but we also make spicy crab. Both are quite delicious."
Li Yuhe then said, "Then shall we try both tomorrow?"
"Okay."
After taking Li Yuhe back to the cooperative and putting the crabs away, Li Long drove home.
The next day, they arrived at Lao Ma's place early. Li Yuhe and the others had already finished breakfast and were talking about the crabs.
When Li Long came over, Li Yuhe asked him if he could catch crabs during the day. Li Long jokingly replied that if he prepared some fish or something, he might be able to catch some.
Li Yuhe did indeed have this plan, but he decided against it after thinking about it.
These days, even fish are considered meat. Using meat to catch crabs is something most people wouldn't do, and Li Yuhe couldn't do it either.
So Li Yuhe wanted to visit the drip irrigation tape factory, and Li Long took him there.
Seeing that the factory buildings were not yet fully completed, Li Yuhe's expression turned sour.
Li Long explained, "I thought this project would take at least until next year to get started. If we build the drip irrigation tape factory now, I can transport the equipment over within a month, and produce all the drip irrigation tape needed for next year before the summer vacation. I can guarantee that."
Li Yuhe shook his head and said, "Your guarantee can't be put on paper. How can I write it? Your application was approved largely because of this drip irrigation tape factory."
"Since we haven't developed this yet, to put it bluntly, your report is suspected of being fabricated."
Li Long thought for a moment and said, "Sir, how long can you stay here?"
"At most one week."
"Alright, if I get the machines running in the factory within a week, then it won't be considered cheating, right?"
"If you can actually make it, then of course it doesn't count. But can you joke about something like this?" Li Yuhe was skeptical.
Li Long smiled confidently and said, "Then let's wait and see!" (End of Chapter)