Chapter 1360
New Guests Arrive at the Hot Spring Resort
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Li Qiang and his classmates were organized by the school to pick cotton at the Production and Construction Corps. This was an emergency task, a temporary job, with only 15 days to complete.
Li Long also had his own things to do. He gathered all the trucks from the purchasing station and the cannery and went to Wang Mingjun's place to bring all the remaining large brooms.
When he went to Wang Mingjun's place, he told Li Long directly that he had to have lunch at his company no matter what.
Actually, Wang Mingjun is quite busy right now. The cotton-picking work in the company has already started. The students who were contacted have also moved into the company and are living in the old office building.
Although Wang Mingjun did not need to supervise the students picking cotton, as the company commander, he needed to coordinate the process.
Li Long also felt that Wang Mingjun should make that his main job, but Wang Mingjun said that it wouldn't matter if he spent a little more time.
Just because Li Long can get him these big broom jobs every year to earn money, he can easily treat him to a proper meal, or even a month's worth of treats.
Because Wang Mingjun had called ahead, he had asked Lao Chen to prepare everything in advance. When the dishes, including braised chicken, hand-pulled mutton, and spicy lamb trotters, were served, Li Long jokingly said, "Just for these hearty dishes, next year when there's a big broom-making task, I'll definitely have to leave it here again."
Wang Mingjun was very pleased with himself.
Wang Mingjun didn't drink alcohol at noon because he had to go to Zhao Zongming's company, which was a great regret for him.
They packed up the brooms from both companies and delivered them to the county supply and marketing cooperative. The sun was already setting, and there wasn't enough time to deliver them to the prefectural supply and marketing cooperative.
After inspecting the brooms, Li Xiangqian instructed the workers to load them onto the truck untouched. He then smiled at Li Long and said, "I won't go this time. Tomorrow, you take the convoy and deliver them directly to the state commune. I'll call Director Qian later, and this mission will be over."
Li Long naturally had no objections. Anyway, it wasn't the first time he had delivered it, so he figured he could just deliver it all at once and that would be the end of the matter.
With his current capital, it didn't matter whether he did the broom-making work or not. But the workers in Wang Mingjun and Zhao Zongming's two companies didn't think that way. They wouldn't get paid for planting cotton until the end of the year, but making brooms only took a little over a month, but they could get paid that month, and the amount was quite substantial.
It can be a great help.
The next day, Li Long delivered the large broom to the state supply and marketing cooperative. Director Qian ordered someone to conduct a random inspection and put it into storage, while he called Li Long to his office.
"Little Li, it's autumn now, are there any fun things to do in the mountains?"
Director Qian's question surprised Li Long. He thought for a moment and said, "The patrols in the mountains are tight right now, so hunting is probably out of the question."
"No hunting, no hunting. A friend in Wucheng wants to go for a trip in the mountains during this National Day holiday."
I also told him that the mountains aren't very fun this season, but this friend of mine was recently transferred from the south and said he'd never seen anything like the unique features of northern Xinjiang before, and he thought it was fun everywhere.
They said that even in autumn, the scenery in the mountains is unlike anything seen in the south, so they wanted to go and see it.
Li Long understood. He said to Director Qian, "There are hot springs in the mountains where we live. I built a courtyard next to the hot springs. If you want to play, you can go soak in the hot springs, pick mushrooms, and if you're lucky, you might even find jade by the water."
"That's good, that's good." Director Qian said with a smile, "Alright, I'll bring my friend over on National Day, and you can have Xiangqian come along."
I know you're busy right now. Just take us there, and you don't need to worry about the rest. I'll have Xiao Si and Xiang Qian take care of it.
"Will this work?" Li Long felt this wasn't quite right, so he asked, "I'm more familiar with the mountains. If it doesn't work, I'll stay here?"
"No need, no need." Director Qian waved his hand: "Let Xiao Si and Xiang Qian go ahead and do their work. We'll bring guns, just for self-defense, not for hunting. If you're familiar with the people in the forestry department, just let them know. We really won't be hunting; we just don't want to cause any misunderstandings."
Li Long understood and nodded, saying, "Okay, I got it."
Director Qian then said, "We'll go to your courtyard first when we arrive, and if it's convenient, we'll take a look at the calligraphy you brought back from Yanjing."
"Okay." Li Long had no objections.
The National Day holiday was fast approaching. Although Director Qian said that Li Long didn't need to help with the preparations, Li Long still slaughtered a sheep, butchered the meat, removed the bones, packed them away, and prepared the kitchen utensils, planning to have Li Xiangqian and the others take them with them.
After all, you can't go to the mountains to soak in hot springs without eating.
Since Director Qian wouldn't let him go with them, Li Long bought some more supplies and planned to go to the mountains to check on Halimu and the others.
On the afternoon of September 30th, after getting off work, Gu Xiaoxia drove her child to Team 4, while Sister Yang and Han Fang went to their front yard, which had been preserved and would be cleaned by Sister Yang every now and then.
Early the next morning, Li Long drove to the naan shop and bought all 13 naans that had just come out of the oven. After taking them home, he made himself milk tea and stir-fried some spicy eggs. Just as he was eating, he heard a car outside.
I put down my chopsticks and went to open the door. I saw a Santana and Li Xiangqian's Volga outside.
Li Xiangqian had already gotten out of the car and said to Li Long with a smile, "Didn't expect that, did you?"
The driver had already gotten out of the car, and Director Qian and another middle-aged man who looked somewhat like a scholar got out from the back seat on either side.
Li Long turned to look at the sun, which hadn't fully risen yet, and said with some surprise, "Yeah, why are you here so early?"
Director Qian complained, "I wanted to sleep a little longer, but Lao She wouldn't agree. He got up early and called me, saying that we were just going to play for one day, so we had to leave early. And here we are."
As he spoke, he introduced the middle-aged scholar-professor-like man surnamed She: "Old She, this is Li Long, whom I told you about. The character I mentioned is the one that was written for him."
Then he introduced Li Long, "Little Li, Director She has just been transferred here from the south. He is very interested in the local customs and culture of our northern border region. He knows that you have a wide range of interests, so he may talk to you more often later."
"Hello, Comrade Xiao Li!" Director She took the initiative to step forward and shake hands with Li Long, and introduced himself: "My name is She Shengjun. She is the character for warehouse without the top dot. My surname is quite rare. I heard from Lao Qian that you are very familiar with these mountains. I'll find time to chat with you more."
"Alright, alright." Li Long shook hands with the head of the yamen, then quickly invited everyone into the courtyard.
Seeing the milk tea, naan bread, and dishes on the table in the courtyard, Director Qian smiled and said, "Look how well Xiao Li enjoys life. By the way, where are your family?"
"They've gone to the team." Li Long said as he poured them tea. "The kids like to play at the team's place. My wife took them there yesterday. Would you like brick tea or milk tea?"
Xiao Si came over to help, but it turned out that Director Qian and Li Xiangqian were drinking brick tea, while the newly arrived Director She preferred milk tea, which surprised Li Long.
After all, people from the south may not be able to get used to the taste of milk tea at first.
Director She was very interested in Li Long's yard. He walked around with his hands behind his back, and when he saw the hedgehog in a hurry, he kicked it out of curiosity. The hedgehog was preparing to hibernate, so it went around him and quickly scurried into a crack in the wall.
He then saw the covered jade stone and asked Li Long what was underneath. Li Long told him the truth and went over to remove the canvas covering it.
Upon seeing such a large piece of jade with such a unique shape, Director She's eyes lit up. After carefully examining and touching it, he asked, "Such a large piece of jade must be worth a lot of money, right?"
Li Long shook his head and said, "I don't know, I haven't asked around. It was given to me by villagers, and I didn't plan to sell it, so I didn't think about asking anyone about the price."
He said this mainly to dispel any possible thoughts that might arise.
As expected, everyone present was intelligent, and no one asked any further questions.
Director Qian had vaguely heard the legend of this jade stone, so he asked Li Long about it. Li Long told him the story, half true and half false, saying that we should still believe in science.
Because the jade dolls on the table looked quite different from the jade pieces below, Director She and the others didn't recognize them. The stones placed against the wall were also jade.
Another reason is that many of those rocks were covered in dust, making them look no different from ordinary mountain rocks.
Director Qian told Li Long to eat quickly while they looked around on their own. Li Long finished his meal in no time and then led them to see the calligraphy hanging in the living room.
Director She pulled out a camera from somewhere, took a photo with Li Long under the calligraphy, then took a photo with Director Qian, and also took a group photo.
After seeing that Li Long had finished eating, they told him to hurry up and go into the mountains.
Li Long loaded the prepared supplies onto the vehicle. Seeing how much Li Long had prepared, Director Qian exclaimed, "Hey, it's people like you who often go into the mountains who think things through. We were only thinking about going into the mountains to soak in the hot springs, so we only brought some water and food."
Li Long smiled, said nothing, put everything in the trunk, then opened the door and prepared to drive away.
Although Director Qian explained that Li Long was not allowed to participate, Director She was clearly more at ease with Li Long. He got into Li Long's SUV and asked him about picking up jade at the hot springs and about the tigers in the mountains along the way.
Li Long thought to himself, "It seems that the tiger was the one who lured them here."
After learning that the tiger was only glimpsed briefly, the director from the south mainly asked about the jade.
He said, "Xiao Li, I heard from Director Qian that we might find jade on this trip to the mountains? Are there many jade stones in these mountains?"
As Li Long drove, he said, "There are quite a lot, but the vast majority of the jade is of poor quality. They're all the kind of jasper with black spots, which doesn't look pretty."
"Then do you think we have a chance to find jade like the ones displayed in your yard?" Director She continued to ask.
Li Long turned to look at him and said, "It's possible, but unlikely. Think about it, that whole village lives on the edge of the mountain, and it took them so long to discover this piece of land in the river..."
Li Long didn't continue speaking, feeling that the other party should understand this principle.
Director She wasn't disappointed and continued asking about the local specialties. When they reached the mountain pass, seeing the layers of earthen and rocky mountains, he immediately rolled down the window, picked up his camera, and started taking pictures. As he took pictures, he exclaimed, "This is truly a masterpiece of nature! This is what the vast land feels like!"
Li Long never expected that this gray and reddish-brown earthen mountain would actually be quite magical in the eyes of this director.
“Look, look,” Director She said, pointing to the mountain with fault lines. “That is evidence of crustal impact and strata fracturing millions of years ago.”
Where I live, the mountains are covered in vegetation and soil; you can't see such direct geological changes at all.
Li Long thought about it and realized it made sense. The outer mountains were visible directly, but as you went inwards, the vegetation covered the mountain surfaces, so you couldn't see anything.
Sure enough, it's true that outsiders are better at chanting scriptures. Locals get used to it after a while and don't find it anything special.
They drove a few more layers into the mountains, and Li Long slowed down. Although the road had been repaired, it wasn't a paved highway, so the Santana and Volga behind them couldn't drive fast for fear of their undercarriages hitting rocks.
By the time we finally arrived at the hot spring resort, it was almost midnight.
Li Long parked his car by the gate, got out and looked around. He found that since the man surnamed Wei was arrested, no one had come here again.
He took out his key, opened the door, and gestured for the others to come in.
Director She got out of the car, looked at the courtyard, took two photos, and then said, "To have such a courtyard deep in the mountains and forests has a secluded and tranquil feel to it. If I were here alone at another time, I might have thought that a hermit or master lived here."
Director Qian and the others laughed.
Li Long opened the trunk and unloaded the items inside. Xiao Si quickly came over to help.
Li Long told him what to do, and Li Xiangqian came over as well. While moving things, he whispered, "I don't know why Director Qian didn't let you help out. We're both exhausted now."
Li Long smiled and pointed to the hot spring pool in the courtyard, saying, "Now that the temperature is higher, you can soak in the hot springs both inside and outside the house. You don't usually have this opportunity."
I was just about to go to the summer ranch to check on my friends and bring them some supplies.
Director Qian and Director She have already entered the courtyard to go see the hot spring houses over there.
Director Qian reached out and touched the hot spring pool, feeling that the temperature was nice. He straightened up, shook his hands, and said with a smile, "I really didn't expect that Xiao Li would set up this in the mountains. It's like a paradise."
“Actually, if any guests come to our supply and marketing system in the future, we can bring them here,” Director She said with a smile. “We can give Xiao Li a portion of the hospitality expenses, and we’ll cover it ourselves. This kind of self-guided outdoor excursion is quite popular.”
Li Long thought that it shouldn't be popular now; it should be at least another 10 years or so, when the average person's life becomes more affluent, before it becomes popular.
Of course, people who are now wealthy may indeed prefer it.
Xiao Si unloaded their own things from the car, and Li Long noticed that he had two guns hanging on his shoulder: a hunting rifle and a semi-automatic rifle.
It seems the preparations were indeed quite thorough.
Li Long finished setting up the things, the stove, and the charcoal in the barbecue grill. Then he said to Director Qian, "We found some jade in the stream outside the yard before, but the quality was so-so. You can try to take a look."
If you walk another two or three hundred meters uphill, there are several naturally formed pools where wild animals used to swim, but I don't know if they still do.
There aren't any particularly ferocious animals around here, but it's still best not to stray too far.
Li Xiangqian then asked Li Long, "So you mean we're leaving now?"
“Yes, I’m going to the summer ranch now to see my friends,” Li Long said. “I’ll be back before sunset.”
Director Qian waved his hand and said, "This place is very nice. How long we stay depends on the situation. You don't need to worry about us. When we want to go back, we'll just lock the door and leave. We might not wait for you."
Li Long nodded and said, "Okay, I understand."
After Li Long drove away in his SUV, Li Xiangqian took advantage of Director She's visit to the courtyard and whispered to Director Qian, "Director, what is it that you don't want Li Long to get involved in?"
Director Qian said in a low voice, "I've heard of Director She, and I feel he's here because of Li Long. He's from the autonomous region, and since he's brought it up, I can't very well refuse."
However, Xiao Li is one of our people, so we can't betray him. This time, I'll use the excuse of needing to discuss some internal matters within the supply and marketing system to get him out of the way, so that Director She has less contact with Xiao Li. This will be beneficial for Xiao Li.”
Li Xiangqian nodded to indicate that he understood.
The bigger the tree, the more the wind will blow against it. Li Long's reputation has indeed spread far and wide, in all aspects. There are definitely many people watching him; some are after his people, some are after his money, and some are after his connections.
He also noticed today that this guest had an unusual interest in Li Long, but he didn't know if he had managed to get any information out of the guest about Li Long driving him up here.
The mutton soup was boiling, and its pungent aroma filled the courtyard. Director Qian was already getting ready to soak in the hot springs inside the house.
Director She didn't want to soak right away. He called Li Xiangqian to take a semi-automatic fishing rod and go out with him, planning to follow the hot spring stream upstream to see if they could find jade or something similar.
By this time, Li Long had turned onto the road they had built leading to the summer pasture and sped up. The vegetation on the mountains on both sides of the road had mostly turned yellow and withered, with occasional patches of lush green visible – the color of fir and pine trees.
After driving for more than 20 kilometers, Li Long saw a person carrying tools crossing the road ahead, intending to go to another ditch.
The tool was a modified pickaxe, and Li Long guessed that this person was probably digging for Codonopsis pilosula.
Upon seeing the SUV, the man, like a startled rabbit, scrambled into the valley and hid behind the bushes.
After the car sped past, the man reappeared, but realizing that the car wasn't coming for him, he breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and went back into the ravine to search for his target.
The further into the mountains you go, the lower the temperature gets. Although the sun is shining brightly, there is a chill in the air when you are halfway there.
Looking at the mountains to the south now, the snow line at the highest snow-capped peaks has extended much further down, indicating that the temperature there has already dropped below zero, and it is very likely that there has been heavy snowfall recently.
By the time the car reached the hillside of the summer pasture, it was already past 2 p.m.
There was already snow on the edge of the woods south of the summer pasture, but the grass near the yurts was still green, creating a beautiful contrast of white on one side and green on the other. Because he was admiring the scenery, Li Long slowed down a bit. By the time the barking of the dogs called Halim and the others out of the yurt, Li Long was still more than 100 meters away from the yurt.
When the car pulled up in front of the yurt, Li Long got out, hugged Harim, greeted him, and started unloading the goods.
By this time, Halim and the others had almost finished their lunch. Gulimire habitually cut some dried mutton, washed two pieces of potatoes and an onion, and prepared to stir-fry another dish.
Li Long hurriedly said, "Don't bother, don't bother. I'll just have some milk tea and some naan."
Gulimire smiled and continued with her work, clearly not intending to listen to Li Long.
Halim pressed Li Long down to sit at the kang table and began to tell him about the summer pasture.
Halim said that because several people were sick and hospitalized in the county or Shicheng, there were fewer herders, and some people entrusted their cattle and sheep to others.
This means that people on the summer pastures basically have no free time to do anything else.
“Our family alone is responsible for the cattle and sheep of three families,” Halim said with a wry smile. “There’s no other way. We all came from the same tribe, and we all looked after each other. We can’t stop them from going.”
However, some people have objections, and it might not work next year. After all, they weren't from the same production team, and some people lost their original feelings for each other after being separated.
Li Long remained silent; such things were inevitable.
Although people used to gather in tribes, production teams are now the mainstream. Staying in a production team provides some conveniences and assistance, which, although mainly policy-based, gives herders a sense of belonging.
In addition, the Yushan River has taken away some of the young and middle-aged people, making it difficult for herders to continue their traditional herding lifestyle.
They will gradually transition to settled herding. Although the nomadic lifestyle of Kazakh herders will still exist for three or four decades, more herders will choose to raise cattle and sheep in enclosures, change their breeding methods, and adopt more labor-saving breeding techniques.
This is the progress of the times; it breaks down some old traditions, making it difficult for some people who adhere to tradition to adapt.
This was an inevitable trend, so Li Long couldn't easily dissuade him. But he felt that this was an opportunity for Halim to grow into a large rancher, so he jokingly said, "You can take this opportunity to buy more of their cattle and sheep."
They need money for medical treatment and daily life. The production team not only allocated pastures but also land. Their health is poor, so farming with agricultural machinery might be better for them than herding livestock in this environment.
At least in the village, it's easy to find a doctor if you have a headache or fever. Here, you can only rely on the medicine you brought, and it might not even work.
Halim knew this would be the case, but he felt uncomfortable if his development was based on others being forced into it, especially if these people were from the same tribe.
Li Long then advised him, "You're actually helping them. If you don't do this, they'll inevitably turn to other people because they're short of money. This is actually a win-win opportunity."
If you do it this way, your original ideals can be realized, and they can be relieved of some of the herding work that their bodies can no longer handle, or they can herd fewer cattle and sheep.
That's the way it is. Although it may seem cold at times, if you accept it, you'll find that it's not actually that heartless.
Gulimire placed the stir-fried dishes on a large plate, carried it to the kang table, then fetched some naan bread, and finally poured hot milk tea for Li Long.
Regardless of what others do, Li Long and the Halim family have always had a very good relationship.
He also hoped that Harim could grow and prosper as quickly as Yushanjiang, because Harim was not someone who could accept mediocrity.
Harry Mumu didn't want to help Yushanjiang either; he wanted to start his own business, which is why Li Long gave him this suggestion.
Li Long could tell that Halim was hesitant, so he didn't try to persuade him further. Besides, he was also hungry, so he started eating vegetables and munching on naan.
Seeing Li Long eating happily, Gulimire's face lit up with a smile.
After finishing their meal, Gulimire cleaned up the mess, and Li Long and Harim left the yurt, looking at the distant snow-capped mountains and the flocks of sheep on the grassland below.
Li Long estimated that there were at least five or six hundred sheep in Halim's large flock, with some hidden by the undulating hillsides.
There are fewer than 100 cows, and a herd of horses.
Li Long said half-jokingly, "Halim, even the richest landlords in the past weren't as wealthy as you."
Halim smiled sheepishly and said that not all of these were his cattle and sheep.
“By this time next year, you might have even more cattle and sheep than you have now, and you might even have to hire someone to herd them for you,” Li Long encouraged him. “Actually, such a large pasture can accommodate many more cattle and sheep, but you’ll need to manage it scientifically, and it would be best to find a veterinarian or something.”
When cattle and sheep gather in large groups, they are more susceptible to infectious diseases. Bruxelles is most common in penned cattle and sheep, while foot-and-mouth disease and swine fever are most common in grazing cattle and sheep, both of which are quite troublesome.
There were wolf howls in the distance. Alim told Li Long, grabbed his gun, mounted his horse, and charged over.
Li Long hurriedly drove his car over the turf, but after a while the car couldn't go any further because there were some stones and tree stumps on the turf, and the undulating hillside was quite steep.
He got out of the car, gun in hand, and watched as Alim rushed to the edge of a distant forest, fired a few shots, and the wolf howls faded into the distance.
After Halim returned, Li Long asked, "Have there been many wolf packs lately?"
After dismounting, Alim said, "Not many. There used to be ibex and wild goats nearby, and the wolves chased them. Recently, I don't know why, the wolves have started wandering around the area again, as if they've encountered something. Sometimes I hear wolves howling, and I guess they might have been bitten by bears."
Winter is coming soon, and bears will need to hibernate. They need to be well-fed; if they run into wolves, those wolves are just unlucky.
Li Long wondered if these wolves might have encountered a bear instead.
He told Harim to be careful and left him some bullets. Harim had gotten his gun from other herders; their guns had been confiscated before the new year.
Some herders hadn't turned in their guns, but Alim went and retrieved them. At least having these in the summer pastures ensured their safety.
After leaving the summer pasture, Li Long drove forty or fifty kilometers downhill before pulling over to the side of the road.
He took a shovel from the trunk and crawled into a nearby ditch.
This is a place I've had my eye on for a while now. It's all earthen hills, which used to be lush with vegetation, but now they've all turned withered and yellow.
After Li Long carried the shovel into the mountain, he looked around and quickly found some grass stalks.
Looking at the thickness of the grass stalks, Li Long smiled with satisfaction.
This is a Codonopsis pilosula that has been growing for decades, and now is the perfect time to dig it up.
The purchasing station has always been able to receive Codonopsis pilosula, but in the past two years, the Codonopsis pilosula received has been small. I don't know if all the large ones have been dug up or if the herb gatherers have kept the large ones for their own use.
Since he had already gone into the mountains, Li Long decided to dig some up himself.
Digging away the soil on both sides of the grass stalks, and seeing the slender, tender white reed stems, Li Long became even more confident.
Dig down another 20 centimeters and you'll see a root of Codonopsis pilosula as thick as a carrot.
The reason we chose this ditch is because there are few rocks here, making it easy to dig.
In rocky areas, it's difficult to dig up Codonopsis pilosula, and it also grows rather unsightly, mostly growing along the cracks between rocks in various shapes. Li Long once even saw a Codonopsis pilosula that had grown into a square shape, squeezed between several rocks—truly, growing Codonopsis pilosula is no easy feat.
This Codonopsis pilosula looks just like a yam from beginning to end, with a straight stem that doesn't branch out, leaving a tail that's about 70 or 80 centimeters long.
After taking the Codonopsis pilosula out intact, Li Long buried it back in the soil, weighed it in his hand, and estimated it to be about half a kilogram.
Next item.
After digging up four Codonopsis pilosula roots, Li Long straightened up and looked around. There were still quite a few nearby, but he didn't plan to dig any more; enough was fine.
Carrying the Codonopsis pilosula, he returned home triumphantly, but tripped over a stone at the mouth of the gully and almost fell.
When I looked down at what was under my feet, I realized it was a rock.
To be precise, it is a piece of jade.
A typical example of Mahe jade, with some black spots in the stone's veins, but not many.
It's a true green, the kind of deep green like spinach leaves. Because the green is a bit dark, the black spots are somewhat blurry.
The color of the chubby jade doll at home isn't as deep as this, but you can see cracks on this stone.
Li Long put down the ginseng, grabbed the stone by its edges with both hands, and shook it; it could be moved.
There was a mix of surprise and disappointment. The surprise was that I could take the stone with me, but the disappointment was that the stone wasn't very big, and when I shook it, one of the cracks completely broke off, turning the stone into two pieces.
The broken edges were somewhat white, but not much. This indicates that the original connection point was not large to begin with, and the external force applied by Li Long was not the main cause.
After removing both stones, it was discovered that the complete stone was an irregular triangular pyramid shape, weighing about twenty or thirty kilograms. One of the cone-shaped corners was the culprit that almost tripped Li Long.
He first carried the jade to the car, and then turned back to get the codonopsis.
On the way back, Li Long thought that if Director Qian and the others hadn't left, he could go and see if they had found anything.
The piece of jade I found weighs more than three kilograms, and I can give it to them if they want it.
By the time Li Long drove to the hot spring resort, it was already past 6 p.m., and the sun was about to set.
The gate was locked, indicating that Director Qian and his group had already left.
It's better that he's not here; it saves us from having to deal with him again.
Li Long opened the door and looked inside. There was no trash on the ground, and although there was still a faint smell of mutton in the air, the mess had been cleaned up.
The houses where you can soak in hot springs are all quite clean, but there are many footprints around the houses, which must be traces left by visitors.
Li Long walked around and looked around the house again, observing that they didn't seem to stay inside much, but were mainly active outside.
After confirming that there was nothing unusual, Li Long locked the door and went home.
Because it was a holiday, there was no one at the supply and marketing cooperative. It wasn't until Li Long called Li Xiangqian when he was supposed to be at work that he learned that Li Xiangqian and the others had left half an hour before he arrived.
"Both directors said they had a great time and enjoyed the food. Director She specifically said that there might not be a chance this year, but they'll contact you next year if their department has any reception duties."
Of course, we won't let you work for free; we'll give you a hospitality allowance later. But I don't think you care about that little bit of money. Just a heads up, this Director She seemed a bit too enthusiastic towards you. After you left, as we walked upstream along the stream, he kept asking about you.”
Li Long understood a bit, and after indicating that he knew, he asked them if they had gained anything.
"I did pick up some stones, but in my opinion, there shouldn't be any jade," Li Xiangqian said. "That stuff isn't easy to find. But that's good, if it were too easy, there would be too many treasures in the mountains."
Li Long smiled, chatted about this and that for a while, and then hung up the phone.
However, not long after, Li Xiangqian called again and told him some news that surprised him: "That Director She asked, if I give you 20 yuan, will you sell that jade? It's that chubby baby, the jade baby."
Li Long refused outright: "I definitely won't sell it. No matter how high the price you offer, I won't sell it."
Li Xiangqian laughed and said, "I knew you'd say that. Be more low-key in the future. But with that calligraphy, no one will dare to mess with you easily. Just don't do anything wrong."
Li Long smiled and said, "I've always been law-abiding, how could I possibly commit a crime? Don't worry, Director."
After hanging up the phone, Li Long's smile vanished. He recalled some details of his meeting with that Director She, and now he realized that there must have been some ulterior motive behind that smiling face.
However, if one acts uprightly and walks the straight path, and with the support of other factors, there shouldn't be any problems.
After the National Day holiday, it was time for the cotton to be harvested a second time. Li Long would go to the cotton fields from time to time to check on them. Liu Gaolou would bring supplies over, and sometimes there were too many, so they needed to hire odd jobs.
At this point, Li Long noticed that there were hardly any people left in the odd jobs market. After asking around, he learned that most people had gone to pick cotton. By then, picking cotton twice was already 50 cents a kilogram, and even picking 20 or 30 kilograms a day could earn him about 10 yuan, which was quite lucrative.
On October 8th, Xie Yundong and his men sold a batch of cotton. They rested at the purchasing station and chatted with Li Long.
He told Li Long, "With the cotton price adjustment in the middle and later part of this year, a kilogram of good quality cotton can reach 2 or even 5 yuan! Our cotton yield this year is good, and we should have a good harvest."
Li Long smiled and said, "This is a good thing. But with this price adjustment, there will definitely be more people in our team planting cotton next year."
Xie Yundong nodded and said, "Yes. Now many people in the team are saying that they've secured the cotton planting rights this year. Many have said they'll plant cotton next year instead of corn, and others are asking about how our cooperative plans to manage cotton next year."
"Are you inquiring about using drip irrigation tape to grow cotton?" Li Long asked.
"Yes," Xie Yundong said. "The yield of cotton grown by drip irrigation in the experimental field in the township has already come out. The first crop and the second crop that was not completely irrigated together can yield more than 350 kilograms per mu."
If we try all of them, the yield can reach 370-380 kilograms. At 2.5 yuan per kilogram, the gross income per acre would be nearly 1000 yuan. With such a high income, who wouldn't want to plant it!
Li Long shook his head and said, "Don't they consider the costs?"
"Those who have never used drip irrigation tape before simply don't believe the cost is that high," Xie Yundong waved his hand. "We've explained it to them, but they still don't believe us. They think we're trying to make money off our exclusive business."
"Then let it go. Anyway, if they buy drip irrigation tape from my factory, I definitely can't give it to them at cost price. But I guess they can't do it. They haven't set up the pump house, filter, main pipeline, or anything like that. Just connecting the drip irrigation tape won't do them any good."
This kind of technical work is something that the team members can't do without someone guiding them.
Li Long had considered leading his team to use drip irrigation for farming, but the timing wasn't right. The main issue was the high cost of drip irrigation tape. If cotton prices could stabilize above three yuan, then it might be worth a try.
But in his memory, it would take at least two years for cotton prices to rise to more than three yuan, and then it would rise year by year until it reached six yuan in 1997 or 1998, and then it would fall back down.
Decades later, most of those who grow cotton usually break even, hoping that one year cotton prices will suddenly rise so they can make a fortune and then stop.
This involves a gamble.
Xie Yundong and his men hurriedly returned. The second crop of flowers had not yet been fully harvested, and there were still many other things to do. He was very busy.
Li Long was thinking that after the cotton harvest, he should quickly find someone to level the land. If the price could be maintained next year, then the days of making money from drip irrigation farming might really come sooner than expected.
In my previous life, the price of cotton this year didn't surge to over 2.5 yuan; it remained around 2 yuan.
Could it be that the butterfly's wings were flapped? That would be a good thing for me.
After all, the benefits of the times are arriving ahead of schedule, allowing me and the cooperative members to reap the rewards sooner.
Hmm, very good! (End of Chapter)