Chapter 1350
Not everyone who comes fishing deserves your kindness.
Li Qiang, along with Mingming, Haohao, and Hongqin, carrying a bag of laundry detergent, led the group of children excitedly toward Xiaohaizi.
When Li Juan returned, she brought back chocolates she had bought in Yanjing for her younger siblings.
Although this stuff softened in the packaging because of the hot weather, it hardened up a bit again by evening, and my younger siblings loved eating it.
Li Qiang wanted to make something delicious for his sister, like crab.
This stuff is a bit of a hassle to eat, so the Li family lost interest after a few tries. After all, the meat is inside the shell, and as for how fresh it is, for the Li family who eat fish regularly, it's just so-so.
It might be because I don't eat much, or because I don't have the patience, or because I find it troublesome or for other reasons, but in short, I don't particularly like it.
After Li Juan returned, she mentioned it twice, saying that when she was at school, she said there were crabs in northern Xinjiang, but her classmates didn't believe her. Her classmates from the south even talked about how to catch crabs, how to eat them, and so on.
What was said in jest was taken seriously by Li Qiang, who then decided to take some time to go fishing and bring some fish back for his sister to eat.
He was too scared to go alone at night, let alone take Mingming and Haohao with him. But since his sister had mentioned a method for catching crabs, it should work.
The Li family's refrigerator was full of beef, mutton, offal, and other things. Li Qiang took out a piece of what he didn't know—whether it was heart or liver—wrapped it in a clean laundry detergent bag, and then took his younger siblings there.
Of course, there was fishing line, just a spool of cotton line, but the hooks weren't like before. Li Qiang used to fish with hooks he'd bent himself by heating a sewing needle until it was red-hot; now he used proper barbed hooks.
Halfway there, the piece of offal thawed, and Li Qiang recognized it as sheep lung. It had been frozen together, and in his haste, he had broken it off; he was holding about a third of it.
enough.
"Brother, can we catch crabs?" Hao Hao was a little excited, but also a little unsure.
"It should work, right?" Li Qiang wasn't sure either. It was his first time trying, so he didn't know. He then said, "If we can't catch anything, you guys watch from the side. I'll go to the sluice gate to look for snails. We can't go back empty-handed."
"Okay, okay." Mingming was clearly very happy.
Children this young love playing in the water, and it would be even better if they could learn something from it.
Hongqin didn't say anything, but the excitement on her face was no less than that of Mingming and Haohao. Back in their rural hometown, although they could travel around, life was hard, and they would use all their energy to get a bite to eat.
Although life is better in Shicheng now, her social circle and activities are still quite limited, and she longs for this kind of rural life.
Although she speaks Mandarin very well and is not much different from a city girl, she has not lost any of the feelings of a rural girl in her heart, such as wanting to run in the fields and play by the river.
However, she already knew that she was different from before, so she hid many of her thoughts and didn't easily reveal them.
But now that he can play with his older and younger brothers, he is obviously in a very good mood.
When the four children were about a hundred or two meters away from the small lake, they saw Yang Laoliu herding sheep.
Li Qiang took the initiative to greet him: "Uncle Yang, herding sheep?"
Logically speaking, Yang Laoliu and Uncle Luo are of the same generation. If we were to choose from Li Long's generation, Yang Laoliu would have to be called Grandpa.
But if we consider it from Li Jianguo's perspective, then it's not wrong for Li Qiang to call him "Grandpa".
When Mingming, Haohao, and Hongqin saw Li Qiang greet them, they also called him "Uncle." "Uncle" actually means "elder brother," but according to the Li family's custom, family members are called "elder brother," while those outside the family who are of the same generation as their father and are older are called "Grandpa."
Old Yang Liu walked over, carrying his sheep-driving whip, and asked, "What are you all doing here?"
Li Qiang said a little embarrassedly, "I want to go crabbing. My sister is back, right? I was thinking of getting some crabs for her to eat."
Yang Laoliu laughed: "Of course, of course. Your whole family is good at studying. Aren't you taking the college entrance exam soon? If you get into a good university, you can get a government-subsidized job and won't have to farm anymore. Then your parents can enjoy a comfortable retirement."
Li Qiang didn't know what to say, so he just chuckled.
Yang Laoliu then said, "Go on, go on. By the way, there are quite a few people fishing on the east bank of the dam, so stay away from them."
Li Qiang responded that he understood, and then led his younger siblings toward Xiaohaizi.
Tian Junjie felt a little flustered looking at the people on both sides who were anxiously catching crabs. He was the one who spread the news, hoping to give his fellow anglers a treat.
But it seems to be getting out of control now. Most of the people who usually come to fish have switched to crabbing, with only a small number still fishing.
However, a group of about 10 unfamiliar people occupied the best spot on the eastern half of the line. Each of them was carrying equipment, and it seemed that they were specifically there to fish for crabs.
Moreover, these people are very domineering, often in groups of three or four, and they will frequently take over other people's fishing spots.
Tian Junjie felt he might have gotten himself into trouble. This matter shouldn't have been spread in the first place; he had been careless.
He caught two crabs this morning, but he didn't know if it was because there were too many people and he didn't catch any, or if there were fewer crabs in the reservoir.
I had boasted that I would make a lot today so that my wife could make spicy crab when I got home at noon.
As things stand now, let alone spicy crab, it's difficult for a family of three to even have one steamed crab each.
Fortunately, he always chose places that were relatively far away from others, so although those people looked this way, they didn't seem to want to come over.
Tian Junjie was also a little worried. With so many people coming to the reservoir to do these things, would the reservoir's contractor come and stop them?
If only crab fishing is prohibited, that would be fine. But if fishing is also banned because of the large number of people, then there will be a big problem.
It's not easy to find such a good fishing spot nearby.
After Li Qiang brought his younger siblings to the dam line, he was somewhat surprised to see so many people fishing.
The suitable spots on the East Dam Line were basically all occupied by these people, so Li Qiang headed towards the vicinity of the North Dam Line gate.
In his experience, the water flow is stronger at the sluice gate, and most aquatic creatures like to stay there.
After all, the presence of water means that food can be replaced more quickly.
About 10 meters from the sluice gate, Li Qiang found a suitable spot as a fishing spot. He asked Mingming, Haohao, and Hongqin to flatten the nearby reeds, while he went to the side to find a reed clump, broke off a thick and long reed, and prepared to use it as a fishing rod.
Returning to the fishing spot, Li Qiang tied the rope, threaded a sheep lung onto the hook, and threw it into the water.
Minghao and Hongqin were watching from both sides, and they both looked a little nervous.
Crab fishing is different from regular fishing. When fishing, you can see the float moving up and down to know that a fish has taken the bait. But when crab fishing, you can only rely on your sense of touch. After five or six minutes, Li Qiang pulled up the rod and saw that there was indeed a crab stuck to the sheep lung. He was very happy, and Mingming, Haohao, and Hongqin also shouted excitedly.
Carefully removing the crab and stuffing it into the laundry detergent bag, Li Qiang threw the two hooks back into the water.
Their cheers attracted the attention of the professional crab fishermen over there, and two of them decided to come and take a look.
Li Qiang and the others didn't care much. In the eyes of the kids, Xiaohaizi was their own. They wouldn't let others fish, but they were free to fish and crab themselves.
A few minutes later, the two men had walked up behind Li Qiang and the others and were watching them.
Li Qiang thought these people wanted to see if he could catch anything, so he picked up his rod again two minutes later.
This time, there were two crabs stuck to the lamb lungs, one big and one small. The big one was as big as his palm, with its claws outstretched, looking quite fierce.
The children cheered again, and Li Qiang quickly retracted the rod, awkwardly pinched the crab's back shell, and stuffed them into the laundry detergent bag.
The two people behind them looked at each other and understood the meaning expressed in each other's eyes.
Li Qiang ignored the two men and threw the sheep lungs back into the water.
One of the two men stepped forward and nudged Li Qiang, saying, "Young man, let's go somewhere else. Let us try fishing here."
Caught off guard, Li Qiang was nearly pushed into the water. Somewhat angrily, he said, "Weren't you fishing over there? Why do you want us to change locations? We're not changing!"
Another person said with a forced smile, "Young people, don't be so arrogant. We're moving you to a different place for your own good."
These crabs are useless to you, but we have a very good use for them. Didn't your teachers teach you to be kind and do good deeds?
Before Li Qiang could speak, Mingming shouted from the side, "We're kind people! It's none of your business! This is where we were first, and we're not changing!"
Seeing a little child arguing with him, the person became enraged and shoved Mingming. Li Qiang, forgetting about crab fishing, stepped forward, pushed the person back, and stood in front of Mingming, shouting, "What do you want? Bullying a child? How can such a grown man be so unreasonable?"
When the two men realized they hadn't gotten what they wanted, they became enraged and decided to drop the pretense: "We're not going to waste any more words with you. Let's be frank, we've got our eye on this place. You'd better give it up now, or we'll have to resort to violence!"
One of them, with a greedy glint in his eyes, snatched the laundry detergent bag from Li Qiang and his friends as he looked at the crabs they had caught.
Hao Hao reached out to snatch it, shouting, "Those are the crabs we caught! Give them back to me!"
The two men thought dealing with the children was easy, and they were still joking and pushing Li Qiang, which scared Hongqin into backing away.
Someone shouted from afar, "You two, don't waste time, hurry up!"
The two men stopped joking around, and one of them shoved Li Qiang hard again: "Get lost! If you piss us off, we'll send you swimming in the water!"
If it were just Li Qiang, he might have fought with both of them, but with his younger siblings by his side, he didn't dare to do anything. The grievances in his heart were indeed very real.
Suddenly, a loud cracking sound was heard, and one of the two men cried out in pain, covered his ear, and squatted down.
Yang Laoliu suddenly appeared on the dam, lashing the two men with his whip while shouting, "Qiangqiang, quickly take your younger brother and sister and go to the team!"
Li Qiang immediately understood, and turned to Mingming, Haohao, and Hongqin, saying, "You two hurry over there, to the village to the west, and find any family..."
He wanted his younger siblings to go back, while he stayed behind to deal with these people with Yang Laoliu. But Yang Laoliu shouted, "Qiangqiang, you go too! They're unfamiliar with them and can't run fast. You have to protect them!"
He skillfully maneuvered between the two men without making any direct physical contact, using only a sheep-herding whip to keep them completely at bay.
Li Qiang had already seen several people rushing towards them in the distance. He knew this was not the time to be reckless, so he quickly protected his younger siblings and rushed down the slope towards the western settlement.
There was no time to rush home at this point. The western residential area was the closest to the children, about 500 or 600 meters away, while Li Qiang's home was about 1 kilometer away.
Although Yang Laoliu didn't say it explicitly, Li Qiang knew that he wanted him to call for reinforcements.
Minghao and Hongqin knew that this was a crucial moment, so they gritted their teeth and followed Li Qiang as they rushed into the village.
As Li Qiang ran, he kept turning his head to look around and found that Yang Laoliu on the dam had not been surrounded by those people. Instead, he was harassing them while retreating and had already crossed the dam line, which made Li Qiang feel slightly relieved.
Those people were kept occupied by Yang Laoliu and didn't chase after us, so Li Qiang quickly said to his younger brother and sister-in-law, "You guys stay behind and take your time. I'll go get help. If anyone comes after us, run into the fields!"
After saying that, he sped up and rushed towards the residential area. After all, Yang Laoliu was facing several people by himself, and he was worried that they would suffer.
At this point, the people on the dam line also regretted it. They just wanted to occupy a place where it was easier to catch crabs. Who would have thought they would cause this trouble?
The leader stopped the others from chasing Yang Laoliu, grumbling to the first two: "Look how stupid you are! You can't even handle a few kids. Now things have gotten really bad! If these kids get away, we probably won't be able to catch these crabs. Let's get going!"
One of them, reluctant to let them go, said, "It can't be that serious! It's just a few kids, what kind of trouble can they cause? Even if they call their families, how many kids can each family have? This is the northern frontier, not our hometown. People aren't that united here."
Even if we called five or six, they wouldn't be a match for us. If we take these crabs back to the market in the old street, we can sell them for three yuan each. If we leave now, aren't we just throwing money away?"
The leader was also a little hesitant. They had heard that there were crabs here, and for the first couple of days they were thinking of trying to see if they could get some.
Unexpectedly, I managed to get thirty or forty on the first day and sold them for over 100 yuan.
The group did the math and realized it was a good job. If they could make this much every day, a week's work would be equivalent to someone else's monthly salary! And there were practically no costs involved!
After two or three days, they were catching more and more crabs each day. They were cautious for the first two days, and nothing happened. They were making more and more money, which is why they were becoming arrogant—they were blinded by money. Tian Junjie and his friends also saw these people bullying the children, but none of the fishermen stepped forward to help, as if they were doing nothing.
At that moment, Tian Junjie thought that if these people were bullying Diaoyu, he might even step in to stand up for them. But those kids were unfamiliar to him, so he decided to let it go and avoid trouble.
When Li Qiang reached the asphalt road in front of the residential area, he was almost out of breath. He had never run that fast, not even during his school sports meet, and he felt like his throat was on fire.
Just as he was pondering whose house to rush to first, a car suddenly stopped not far from him, and Xu Haijun leaned out and asked:
"Qiangqiang, what's wrong? Why are you running so fast? What's the rush?"
Upon seeing Xu Haijun, Li Qiang instantly regained his strength. He quickly explained the situation and pointed at Xiao Haizi, saying, "Brother Haijun, Grandpa Yang is still fighting those people over there. We have to hurry and rescue him!"
Upon hearing that these people had stolen Li Qiang's crabs and even dared to assault him, Xu Haijun's face flushed with anger. He shouted, "Don't get involved in this! None of these scum will get away with this!"
He immediately started the car and turned into the residential area, calling out to people from house to house.
The third house that Captain Xu Chengjun had called was in his own vegetable garden. Xu Chengjun was about to pick a tender cucumber to taste and lightly lick his lips.
He listened intently to Xu Haijun's rapid-fire explanation, still holding a cucumber, and then, with extraordinary speed, darted out of the vegetable garden. When he emerged from the house after a quick look around, he was carrying a Type 56 pistol and said menacingly:
"go!"
Xu Haijun was startled. What was he going to do?
Seven or eight people had already gathered in front of the settlement, each holding a weapon, mostly sticks, but also some wooden guns used for militia training. When Xu Haijun and Xu Chengjun drove over, they immediately squeezed in and rushed towards Xiaohaizi.
Li Qiang, Mingming, Haohao, and Hongqin were standing by the roadside. As Xu Haijun passed them, he slowed down and said:
"You guys should go back first, don't let yourselves get hurt by those who escaped the net!"
"You think you can let one slip through the net?" Liang Zhongcheng shouted from the car. "If even one of them gets away, then our fourth team has no men left!"
When the two cars rushed onto the dam line, Yang Laoliu was confronting those people. He was about 20 or 30 meters away from the dam line. When they tried to retreat, he would rush over to harass them. When they tried to rush over, he would use the terrain to fly kites. In short, he would not let these people have an easy time.
Upon hearing the sound of a car, Yang Laoliu revealed a smug smile: "You little bastards, you'd better watch out!"
Especially when he saw Xu Chengjun's car, Yang Laoliu realized that these guys' "good days" had really come.
Xu Chengjun, who served in the army in the 1970s, usually looks serious, but when he gets going, he can make people kneel down and beg for mercy!
When the two cars rushed onto the dam line, the dozen or so people had already disagreed. Those with a strong sense of crisis wanted to go back, while those who wanted to make money wanted to stay and continue crabbing.
When the car came to a stop, the able-bodied men of the village jumped out. The villagers panicked. Some of them tried to run down the dam line to escape when Xu Chengjun fired a shot. Everyone froze like puppets.
Some of the more timid ones were almost crying. It was just a matter of catching a few crabs, did they really have to pull out a gun?
Yang Laoliu sprinted up the dam line at a speed beyond his years, helping the young men identify the group one by one.
After identifying about ten people, the young men roughly tied them up with ropes, shoved them together, and then Liang Zhongcheng, still somewhat unwilling, pointed at the fishermen and asked:
"Old Yang, where are those people?"
"Those were just regular fishermen, but they're all cowards. They let our team fish and crab at the reservoir for free, and when Qiangqiang and the others came up to get bullied, not one of these cowards came out to help, not even to say a word of justice!"
"Get them all out of here!" Xu Chengjun said in a deep voice, gun in hand.
"The reservoir in Team Four is privately contracted, and such people are not welcome! I've stood up for Xiaolong; all these people have to be driven out, and they're not allowed to fish there anymore!"
Liang Zhongcheng was happy to do this, taking a wooden gun and chasing people away one by one, cursing as he did so. Some of the fishermen remained silent, while others argued back, but to no avail.
Tian Junjie was filled with regret at this moment. Why hadn't he stood up and said a few words in support of the young man? Now, this great fishing spot was gone forever.
The people in the group were fairly polite to the fishermen; they just chased them away and didn't do anything else.
Those crab fishermen were in trouble; their equipment was confiscated and all their tools were taken away.
The young men were rough and didn't hold back; several of them ended up with handprints on their faces.
But with guns in hand, even though they had a numerical advantage, none of them dared to make a move.
After all, selling crabs brings in money. If you run away now and get caught by bullets, you're dead!
Xu Chengjun watched as the young men gave these people a beating, but it seemed a bit lenient, and he said with dissatisfaction:
"Don't you guys train often enough? Are you out of energy? Why are you showing any mercy to these bastards? Are there any good people out there who would beat up a kid like that?"
His words made the young men feel slighted, and they immediately started fighting again. Yang Laoliu blinked, then turned and left.
Hey, Captain, that's really ruthless!
Although Li Qiang was curious and wanted to go check out the reservoir, he didn't move after hearing the gunshot.
He had to take care of his younger siblings' safety and dared not take any risks at this time.
Li Qiang led Mingming, Haohao, and Hongqin back empty-handed. The four of them were a little dejected. They hadn't gone more than a few hundred meters when Xu Haijun drove up and told them to get in the car.
“We beat those guys up twice, and we’ll take them to the police station later. They won’t dare come back again. You can take this bag of crabs home later as compensation.”
Li Qiang was a little embarrassed, but Xu Haijun said with a smile, "It's what we should take. If it weren't for you guys, we wouldn't have known that such a bunch of arrogant guys had come to our team."
That same day, Guo Tiebing received a call from about a dozen guys who had come to the village to cause trouble. When he learned that they had gone to the reservoir contracted by Li Long to catch crabs and had even beaten up Li Long's son and nephew, Guo Tiebing immediately became furious.
These guys were detained for at least five days, and they all suffered a lot when they got out.
Someone called Xu Chengjun to complain that he had hit him too hard, saying that a lesson would have been enough, and that it was unnecessary to take him to the police station.
Xu Chengjun said, "Do you know who he messed with? They've gone after the Li family."
Why is our team richer than yours? The Li family has made a huge contribution in this regard. As the team leader, I can't even protect a single child. I might as well go eat shit!
In this regard, not only me, but everyone on our team knows it!
After Tian Junjie returned home, he recounted what had happened, his face filled with regret.
"He deserves it." Miao Xiu'e also disagreed with her husband's actions. She also had children and knew that if her children were bullied by others, and there were many people around but no one intervened, it would feel suffocating.
"Why do you say that?" Tian Junjie was a little embarrassed.
"You went fishing on someone else's turf, and they didn't charge you. You said that reservoir was privately contracted. You owed them a favor, but then they got into trouble and you didn't help them. So it's only right that they don't let you fish there. People like you deserve to have no good places to fish."
Tian Junjie knew he was in the wrong, so he didn't try to explain.
Li Long learned about this in the evening.
After having lunch at the machinery factory, Li Long called Li Anguo over and asked him to take two oil trucks and drive the Ajinbek to the oil city.
Akinbek already knew he was going to an oil city, but he wasn't opposed to it. On the way, he kept asking Li Anguo about his joining the organization.
Li Anguo went to great lengths to get this done. The community there consulted with their superiors, and after confirming Ajinbek's identity, the oil city granted him permission to use his services.
Upon arriving in the oil city, Li Anguo first took the oil truck to the factory to unload the oil, leaving the person in charge at the factory to keep an eye on it. He then took Ajinbek to the community.
The community had very strict requirements. They checked Ajinbek's Party membership card and identity certificate, and asked him some questions before finally allowing him to attend the community Party branch's organizational activities as a special Party member in Ajinbek's presence.
Despite the strict requirements, Akinbek was quite satisfied and immediately expressed his willingness to study hard and integrate into the organization as quickly as possible, while also hoping to obtain some learning materials.
The community was generous in this regard, lending him some study materials for Party members and assigning a Party member to be responsible for Ajinbek's study report.
After confirming this, Li Anguo took Akinbek to his oil refinery and asked him to give instructions on the construction progress.
At this point, Akinbek lost his humble demeanor from the community and, with a fierce expression, criticized the oil refinery as utterly worthless.
He felt there was something wrong everywhere.
As Li Anguo listened, he felt that he had truly brought back a treasure this time. He quickly wrote down each point and planned to make corrections one by one.
Li Long, along with Liu Shanmin, left behind one cotton harvester and two cotton cleaning machines, taking the rest back to Ma County.
Upon arriving in Ma County, Li Long had the convoy unload the goods first, while he took Liu Shanmin to the county hotel and gave him all $550,000 in cash.
"This money all came from you, so it's back to its rightful owner now," Li Long said half-jokingly.
“Hey, you can’t say that,” Liu Shanmin said. “These are meant to be exchanged for more US dollars. Don’t worry, I’ve figured out the oil field thing too; it will only get more and more profitable in the future.”
Now I only regret that I was too timid and hesitant back then; otherwise, I might have been able to secure an even larger oil field by now.
"Alright, be content," Li Long said with a smile. "For us nobody, getting this far is already quite an achievement. Our ancestors' graves are about to be buried (this sounds a bit sad)!"
Liu Shanmin smiled, but the smile had a somewhat ambiguous meaning.
Li Long sensed that this might have touched on a painful memory, so he changed the subject: "I won't be going hunting over there for the time being. I just don't feel safe enough there."
"Almaty is indeed a bit chaotic, but to be honest, it's definitely safe where I am," Liu Shanmin said with a smile. "To prevent a repeat of what happened last time, I brought some people from the valley to act as bodyguards, and my men are all armed."
Moreover, I haven't been idle during this time. From where I live to Almaty and then to the border, I can ensure safety along this entire line.
As long as you and your people come in, I can guarantee your safety throughout the entire journey.
Of course, we can't afford to clash with the military and police; my safety depends in part on them. I give them a portion of my earnings, and they're content.
Li Long had always known that, to be honest, even in later years, Chinese people without connections would still be extorted by the military and police forces on the other side.
“If you want to go, I can arrange for female university students from Alam to accompany you,” Liu Shanmin said half-jokingly. “Of course, it depends on whether you’re into that kind of thing.”
"For the sake of family harmony, I'd better not go," Li Long joked. "I still want to live a peaceful life."
After leaving the hotel, Li Long returned to the purchasing station, watched the workers unload the goods and park the truck, and then asked Liang Shuangcheng to arrange for the driver to be taken to the hotel.
When he got home, Gu Xiaoxia couldn't wait to tell him about what Li Qiang and the others had done at Xiaohaizi.
It turned out that after Li Qiang returned, he told Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei about the matter. Liang Yuemei then called the compound to reassure Gu Xiaoxia.
"Qiangqiang is a really good older brother," Gu Xiaoxia said with emotion. "The captain also called and said that Yang Laoliu said that Qiangqiang protected Mingming, Haohao and Hongqin the whole time. He didn't fight back when he was hit, because he was afraid of hurting his younger siblings."
"Yes, very good." Li Long nodded as well, his nephew and niece were of impeccable character.
"Those guys went too far. Letting them fish and crab is one thing, but they also wanted to take over the place. They're so greedy!" Gu Xiaoxia was also very angry. She was furious because her two sons were almost beaten, especially since it happened at the small lake that her family had contracted.
“Then tell Yang Laoliu that fishing is no longer allowed at Xiaohaizi,” Li Long said. “Anyway, those fishermen don’t have much compassion. Letting them go fishing is just letting them take advantage.”
Yang Laoliu's main sheep-herding location was around Xiaohaizi, which was a good opportunity for him to keep an eye on the sheep.
"The captain also said that Yang Laoliu is really good at fighting. Those ten or so people didn't get the upper hand. They didn't surround him. Instead, he injured a few of them with his whip." Gu Xiaoxia found it quite amazing.
Li Long smiled but offered no explanation. How could Yang Laoliu be an ordinary person? He was incomparable to ordinary people.
Of course, we won't discuss these things at this time.
He plans to go to the fourth team tomorrow. The people there are fine, but outside, you really can't be too kind. (End of Chapter)