Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Li Long's cooperative planted 2000 mu in the fourth team this time. Although the 500 mu that joined later were not as well improved as the previous 1500 mu, they had at least been planted, fertilized and watered by others for 3 years.

Although the yield is slightly lower, based on the cooperative members' estimation, the yield should not be less than 300 kg per mu (approximately 0.16 acres) under drip irrigation. The original 1500 mu (approximately 100 acres) would have yielded no less than 350 kg per mu.

Based on this calculation, the 2000 mu of land can yield at least 600 tons of cotton. The six senior high school classes alone cannot possibly harvest all of it.

The 1000 mu of land in Team Two is planted using the standard method, with a yield of about 100 kilograms per mu. Therefore, out of the six classes in Grade 4, four students stayed in Team Two, while two went to Team Four to pick cotton.

Even so, the four teams still didn't have enough manpower to pick cotton, so the cooperative had to send a vehicle to the casual labor market early every morning to bring people over to pick cotton together.

The temporary workers were brought in and ate the same lunch as the students in the cotton field, picking cotton alongside them. Originally, Xie Yundong intended to separate them from the students, but Li Long believed they should be kept together. With the students around to influence them, the adults picking cotton would likely be more restrained.

The cooperative brings in about 100 people from the temporary labor markets in Ma County and Shicheng every morning to pick cotton. This makes the task of moving the cotton before dark quite demanding each day.

Fortunately, when planting cotton, the team had already hired some young men, including Tie Tou and the others, to work with them, so the personnel allocation could still be adjusted.

The main advantage is that the teachers organize the students, and the students themselves are quite orderly, which saves a lot of trouble.

This makes the benefits of having students pick cotton and participate in work-study programs even more apparent. Xu Haijun's situation is relatively easier. He has hired quite a few people from the second team.

With Li Long and Xie Yundong's help in planning ahead, each person had their own responsibilities: ensuring logistical support, providing services, transporting goods, weighing the goods, and bringing the students back. This way, he only needed to supervise and inspect, which made things much easier for him.

On September 24th, Li Long took four trucks to Wang Mingjun's company to haul the second batch of large brooms. He was very familiar with the job; he checked the trucks, loaded them, and ate lunch at Wang Mingjun's company headquarters.

As usual, no alcohol was consumed. During the meal, Wang Mingjun complained to Li Long:

“Look at this, the work of sweeping big brooms is getting less and less every year. Xiaolong, we're on the same side, so I won't lie to you. The workers in our company only earn money twice a year.”

The first time is when I take on the job of making this big broom, and after I finish making it, I can get paid directly; the second time is when I work hard all year round, farming until the end of the year, and after the accounting is done, I can get some money.

Before, when you collected hides, we could sell some and get some extra benefits. Now the authorities don't allow hunting anymore, and when we see herds of gazelles passing by, there's nothing we can do.

I'm not talking about you, but without you, the workers in our company would be living a much worse life. Thanks to you, and with this job of making big brooms, every household can afford to buy some furniture and appliances before the end of the year. Everyone is grateful to you.

But looking at it this way, there will be less and less work doing broom sweeping in the future, right? Give me a definite answer, how many more years can I do this job?

Li Long also spoke frankly: "Company Commander, to be honest, I don't know how many more years we can keep making these big brooms. The current situation is this: Originally, the big brooms we made were of good quality. They were not only supplied to many government agencies in our district, but also exported to other countries. The market response was quite good."

However, this kind of grass isn't only found in northern Xinjiang; it's also found in Gansu. Making large brooms isn't a very technically demanding job, and people there also know how to do it.

Our large brooms are relatively expensive, while theirs sell for only three or four yuan. Even if the quality is slightly worse than ours, they have the advantage of being cheap. Because they're cheaper, they capture the market, don't you think?

After Li Long said that, Wang Mingjun understood. He smiled wryly and said, "Then let's wait and see. When they take over the market, we might not be able to get in either."

Li Long shook his head and said, "Don't be so pessimistic. At least the brooms that our supply and marketing system is pushing outwards will still be used by good units within our autonomous region. No matter how hard we try, we can still guarantee 10,000 brooms a year."

Unless the quality of the brooms you make is so poor that the officials in those departments don't want to use them anymore and switch to bamboo brooms, the task of making brooms should continue every year.

Wang Mingjun thought for a moment and said, "With your words, I can rest assured. Don't worry about the quality. We all know how we made this money. At the beginning, our company could only get a few thousand units a year, but now it's ten or twenty thousand. Isn't it because the quality of our mortars is better?"
Actually, it's because I used to get more injections and earn more money, so I have a higher expectation. Now that it's suddenly contracting, I can't handle it.

Actually, even if our two companies only earn about 10,000 yuan a year, the workers can still make some money, which is much better than in other companies.

Li Long had worked with Wang Mingjun and Zhao Zongming for a long time, and their partnership was relatively stable. These two company commanders had never let him down when organizing the staff to make brooms.

So Li Long wanted to help them again. While peeling garlic, he said, "Company Commander, we shouldn't just focus on making brooms. There are many other resources around us that can be exchanged for money."

For example, the Cynomorium songaricum under the white thorns in the alkaline mudflats, and the Cistanche deserticola under the Haloxylon ammodendron and Tamarix chinensis in the sandy areas to the north—these are all excellent medicinal herbs. During the summer and autumn, when the fields are less busy, have your workers dig some up, dry them, and I'll come and collect them then.

"It might not earn as much as making big brooms, but it's simple! You just dig things out of sandbags and exchange them for money. It doesn't require any skill, and adults and children can do it. What do you think?"

It turns out that many Cynomorium songaricum plants grew on the alkaline wasteland of Team Four. However, in recent years, land reclamation and farming have become popular, and those alkaline wastelands have been gradually reclaimed, so Cynomorium songaricum no longer has a growing environment and can only be found in some scattered plots.

But the company where Wang Mingjun and Zhao Zongming were located was different. The company was located on the southern edge of the Gurbantünggüt Desert, surrounded by large areas of Gobi Desert, alkali flats, and fixed sand dunes.

The Cynomorium and Cistanche that grow in these places are like the Codonopsis pilosula that Li Long saw growing for decades in the Tianshan Mountains. Usually, no one visits them, but as long as you are willing to put in the effort, you will definitely be able to find them.

Wang Mingjun and Lao Chen became interested as soon as they heard this. Before Wang Mingjun could speak, Lao Chen asked, "Xiao Long, what do you think we should do with these things that we dug up?"

We know this stuff is medicinal material. But shouldn't medicinal materials need to be processed? We're all just roughnecks; we really don't have any experience in processing medicinal materials.

It's not like licorice. With licorice, you just dig up the roots, dry them in the shade, and you can use it directly. This isn't that simple, is it?

Li Long laughed and said, "Brother Chen, this is also very simple. As long as what you dig out is intact, it's fine. Just don't break it. You're definitely using iron tools to dig this thing, and if it's broken, it will affect the medicinal properties."

So generally, we only collect whole roots. After digging them up, just let them air dry or sun dry, and I'll come over to collect the dried ones later.

Li Long wasn't just making things up, nor was he treating these two companies like a charity. The last time Jia Tianlong came, he complained to Li Long that he was spending less and less time visiting Li Long these days.

The main reason is that the only medicinal herbs that can be purchased here are fritillaria and codonopsis, and occasionally antelope horns are transported over.

He told Li Long that the medicinal resources in the northern border region were so abundant that Li Long could use his connections to acquire more other things, including Cistanche deserticola and Cynomorium songaricum.

There was also licorice available, because the bulk of licorice that Li Long sold to Jia Tianlong was imported from Kazakhstan. Locals also buy licorice, but in small quantities, only about one or two thousand kilograms a year.

Li Long has gotten used to doing big business over the years and looks down on these common medicinal herbs with low profit margins. After all, he can make several hundred yuan by reselling a kilogram of antelope horn, while he might only make a few yuan by reselling a kilogram of Cynomorium songaricum or Cistanche deserticola. The difference is too big.

But after listening to Wang Mingjun's words today, Li Long realized that he couldn't just focus on making money and how much profit he could make.

Previously, it was a win-win situation for both myself and the company. With their help, I was able to successfully complete the task of making large brooms and earn more money from it.

The profit from making large brooms is no longer of interest to them, but for these two companies in the Production and Construction Corps, it is a rare source of extra income.

Li Long wasn't the type to betray someone after they've served their purpose, so he felt that some things couldn't be judged solely by money, which is why he said those things to Wang Mingjun. He also planned to tell Zhao Zongming the same thing when he went to his place to sweep the broom later.

Hearing Li Long say this, Wang Mingjun and Lao Chen were overjoyed. Lao Chen slapped his thigh and said, "Don't even mention summer and autumn, right now, all our employees can go dig."

On the alkaline flats, Cynomorium songaricum can be seen everywhere, and there are also many Cistanche deserticola plants under the sand dunes to the north, in the saxaul and tamarisk forests.

In the past, people had considered digging this up and selling it for money. However, most medicinal herb companies wouldn't buy it, and it wasn't worth much. A few cents? A few dimes per kilogram? Did people think it wasn't worth digging it up?

His words reminded Wang Mingjun. Wang Mingjun then asked, "Xiaolong, how much do you think these things can sell for? If the price is too low, a few cents or a dime, then forget it."

Li Long said with a smile, "Don't worry, as long as the dried goods aren't damaged, they'll cost at least one or two yuan per kilogram. The exact price depends on the quality."

For example, Cynomorium songaricum is relatively cheaper; I guarantee it to me now, at least 1.5 yuan per kilogram. Cistanche deserticola, on the other hand, is relatively more expensive, at least 5 yuan per kilogram. So, is it worth digging for?

Wang Mingjun immediately made the decision, saying, "Of course it's worth it, at this price. As soon as I announce it, our current employees will definitely use all their spare time to dig in the beach; they'll go crazy."

Jia Tianlong offered a purchase price of two to three yuan for Cynomorium songaricum, which might be slightly higher if the quality was very good. He offered a purchase price of six to eight yuan for Cistanche deserticola.

Li Long quoted a decent price to the company, just enough to cover transportation costs, which was quite reasonable compared to previous years when buying brooms. Of course, this year the supply and marketing cooperative was offering 10 yuan per broom, and the two companies were offering 8 yuan, so he figured he was just making enough to cover transportation costs.

After finishing his meal at Wang Mingjun's place, Li Long went to Zhao Zongming's place, packed up the large broom, and said the same thing to him.

Zhao Zongming was also very happy, saying that before winter came, he would organize people to dig up a batch of Cynomorium songaricum and Cistanche deserticola.

If Li Long has time to come and collect it, he'll keep it for Li Long; if he doesn't have time, he'll bring people and a tractor to deliver the goods to the county. Li Long said he'll see how things go, but there's a high probability he'll come down with people and a vehicle to collect it.

Li Xiangqian didn't even inspect the second batch of brooms; he directly sent Li Long to the state supply and marketing cooperative for a business trip. Li Long met Director Qian at the cooperative, who had someone conduct a random inspection of the goods. Director Qian then took Li Long to his office for a chat, mainly about import and export trade.

After consulting with the autonomous region, the state supply and marketing cooperative conducted a small-scale pilot program. As a large regional-level unit, they had far more resources than Li Long.

Although it was a small-scale pilot program, the first batch of 10,000 work clothes were exported to Kazakhstan. These items had been sitting in the supply and marketing cooperative's warehouse for quite some time, originally intended as inventory, but some had become outdated with the times.

Director Qian simply asked his superiors to remove these items from the warehouse and sell them to Kazakhstan. Although these clothes are not suitable as formal wear, they are fine as work clothes, protective clothing, or winter clothing.

In particular, half of them were old-fashioned cotton overcoats, which were especially popular. Afterwards, the officials in charge of the transaction initially set a price that they considered relatively high.

He thought that if the other party bargained, he could take the opportunity to lower the price, but he didn't expect that the other party wouldn't bargain at all and bought all the goods in one go.

At this point, Director Qian shook his head with a wry smile and said, "We still lack experience here. Later, our people found out that we sell these cotton overcoats for at least three dollars less than the market price, more than 20 yuan."

No one expected that such an old coat would be worth so much money over there. Of course, we learned our lesson and became more careful when we traded there later, gathering information from multiple sources and comparing prices more comprehensively.

Although the total price of bulk transactions will definitely be slightly lower than the market price, it's still a huge profit for our supply and marketing cooperative. After all, some of the goods are unsold inventory that needs to be cleared out.

Most of the subsequent transactions involved reselling goods, and the profits from these resales alone exceeded nearly half a year's profit for our state supply and marketing cooperative. This cross-border trade is truly remarkable.

Li Long knew that Director Qian's感慨 (feelings of deep emotion) stemmed more from not realizing how valuable cross-border trade was, and even from regretting entering the market too late. However, Li Long felt that entering the market now was actually just right.

Because individual vendors had already paved the way for the market, and now that large players like the state supply and marketing cooperative have entered the market, there are already people there who can handle the demand.

If the state supply and marketing cooperative intervenes when both sides are in the initial exploratory phase, the goods transported may not be able to fetch such a price, and the other party may not be able to absorb such a large quantity of goods at once.

Li Long also thought that this unit's appearance was indeed extraordinary; compared to his own small-scale operations, the state-run cooperative was truly engaged in large-scale trade. He half-jokingly said:

“In fact, county-level supply and marketing cooperatives can also enter the market and sell their products there, focusing on their own unique characteristics.”

Director Qian pointed at him and said with a smile, "You're paving the way for Xiang Qian, aren't you? That's right, if the state-level supply and marketing cooperative can do it this way, the county-level supply and marketing cooperative certainly can too. After all, we're in the era of a commodity economy now. Although the supply and marketing cooperatives are state-owned, they can't follow the same path as before."

After some things are marketized, ordinary people may not necessarily choose to buy and sell through state-owned enterprises, so we need to take the initiative. Tell Xiang Qian not to rush; the state supply and marketing cooperative has already gained some experience and will issue relevant documents when it has time.

You're an expert in this area, so go back and talk to Xiangqian about what to prepare that's best suited to the market there.

Li Long thought for a moment and said, "It's just sugar, cement, and clothes. These are the kinds of things I'm making now, since they're always in need over there."

Director Qian asked with some doubt, "Since you're doing this, and you're introducing it to Xiang Qian and the others, wouldn't that create market competition?"

Li Long laughed and said, "It's alright. I deal directly in wholesale. My traders bring the goods directly to Almaty, without trading at the border, so there's no competition involved."

Director Qian nodded and said, "You're really something. You planned ahead and sold the goods directly to their capital. Not bad at all."

That evening, Li Long led the convoy back to the purchasing station, paid the drivers overtime wages, and then went back to the compound.

The next day he went to the supply and marketing cooperative and reported the matter to Li Xiangqian.

Li Xiangqian was delighted to hear this. He slapped the table and said, "I've been waiting for this day for a long time. Actually, I had already heard that Director Qian had taken action several times, and quite successfully."

It's said they've already found several relatively stable partners to sell goods there. They also plan to import a batch of clothing from the border region.

He asked Li Long, "Do you think we should contact the people inside the port?"

Li Long waved his hand and said, "Let's not do it yet. Let's get the sugar and cement over first, and pave the way first."

These two supplies are considered hard currency; they've always needed them there, and in large quantities. Although with tariffs, the profits might not be as high as I used to be, it should be enough for the development of our county's cooperative.

Li Xiangqian trusted Li Long quite a bit, so he decided to personally go to the sugar factory to purchase a batch of white sugar. Purchasing between units is usually quite convenient; the county supply and marketing cooperative already had such a quota, and the price would be cheaper than if Li Long bought it himself.

As for cement, Li Xiangqian has his own channels, so Li Long doesn't need to worry about that. The rest is just waiting for the state supply and marketing cooperative to issue the necessary documents.

On September 26th, Liu Gaolou brought over another batch of supplies. After the goods were unloaded, Li Long had the workers start cleaning the peels and antelope horns, and put the apples that had been transported into the warehouse for storage. He then took Liu Gaolou to pack canned goods and buy white sugar.

This trip required a large quantity of white sugar, so Li Long took Liu Gaolou to the sugar factory to find Section Chief Hu and hauled 100 tons of sugar. As usual, half was paid in US dollars. After Liu Gaorong and his convoy left with the goods, Li Long chatted with Section Chief Hu about equipment and industrial upgrading. They were already acquaintances, so Li Long spoke very frankly.

"Section Chief Hu, I remember our sugar factory was built in the 1950s or 60s, and the production line equipment was all purchased at that time. It was considered very advanced equipment back then, right?"

Section Chief Hu said with considerable pride, "Yes, at that time, these production lines and equipment were considered very advanced nationwide."

"Not to mention back then, even in the 80s, our factory's equipment and production technology were excellent; otherwise, we wouldn't have become one of the top six sugar-making enterprises in the country using sugar beets."

His tone was full of pride. Li Long, however, had to pour cold water on his enthusiasm, saying, "I know our sugar factory can process over a thousand tons of sugar beets a day, but these machines are twenty or thirty years old. After so many years of continuous operation, isn't it time for them to be upgraded?"

Section Chief Hu shook his head and said, "It's not that easy. These machines are well maintained by our workers in our factory, and they can continue to operate and play their role."

Regarding your point about upgrading and replacing equipment, our factory leadership is also considering this. However, purchasing advanced equipment requires a significant amount of money.

"We're a state-owned factory, and we have to apply to higher authorities for every large sum of money we need to make. Market competition is fierce now, and our factory's profits aren't as good as they used to be. Raising this kind of funding isn't easy."

The market competition was fierce, that's for sure. After the commodity economy began, sugar started to circulate, and private sugar mills appeared.

In the south, sugar production mainly relies on sugarcane, and the planting area for sugarcane is much larger than that for sugar beets. Furthermore, the white sugar market is also impacted by imported white sugar, such as from Cuba and Brazil, which enter the domestic market at extremely low prices. Therefore, what Section Chief Hu said wasn't just empty talk; the current market competition is indeed like this.

However, according to Li Dong's thinking, the more intense the market competition, the faster we need to eliminate outdated production capacity, update equipment, and introduce advanced management concepts; otherwise, we can only gradually weaken until we stop production and go bankrupt.

He had a deep connection with the August 1st Sugar Factory, from initially raising funds by selling sheep for the factory, to later making a fortune by reselling white sugar to Kazakhstan, and even using the factory's sugar residue to raise cattle and sheep. These experiences gave him a profound affection for the sugar factory.

He didn't want the renowned August 1st Sugar Factory to end up with a dismal demise, so he sincerely told Section Chief Hu:

"Section Chief, I know the competition is fierce right now, but it is precisely at this time that we need to catch up quickly. If we don't upgrade our equipment, outdated production capacity will only drag our company down."

Others can refine 300 kilograms of sugar from one ton of sugar beets, but if you can only refine 200 kilograms, then the cost alone will force us to raise the price of our sugar, otherwise our profits will become extremely low.

Section Chief Hu was well aware of what Li Long was saying. However, the operating rules of state-owned enterprises were different from what Li Long had imagined. Moreover, the state-owned enterprises of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps were even more unique.

Section Chief Hu has been in this position for so many years that he has become indifferent to many things. The idea of ​​seeking no merit but avoiding mistakes is somewhat deeply ingrained.

Today, seeing Li Long, an outsider, so sincerely and earnestly advising him and explaining the matter so clearly, he was somewhat moved and said:
"Comrade Li, to be honest, I didn't expect an outsider like you to care so much about the development of our sugar factory. Because of your attitude, I'll go see the factory director today and convey your message to him."

As a veteran of the sugar factory, I certainly want our factory to develop better. However, as a behemoth with thousands of employees, the departments, units, and people involved in every step of the sugar factory's development are completely different from those of small businesses.

The factory leaders have their own considerations; they need to look at the whole picture, and there are also higher-level departments providing guidance and supervision, so changing things won't be easy.

That's what they said, but Section Chief Hu actually went to the factory director and seriously brought up the matter. He told the factory director:

"Even an outsider like Li Long can see that our factory's equipment and production processes are outdated, resulting in a low yield rate. If this continues, it will definitely hinder the factory's development."

As everyone knows, after the 1980s, and into the 1990s, our sugar factory's development wasn't as good as before. If we want to continue our past glory, I think Comrade Li Long is right; we must make changes.

If we don't make this decision, we can only watch the factory decline step by step.

This was the first time Section Chief Hu had spoken so openly about this matter. The factory director also stated that he would seriously consider it and study the matter with other factory leaders.

For Section Chief Hu, that was the end of the matter. This shouldn't have been something a section chief like him would bring up, but as a member of the sugar factory, influenced by Li Long, he felt it necessary to formally address the issue.

After speaking, he was actually a little worried. Over the years, work and life had smoothed out his rough edges. How would his superiors perceive him for suddenly offering such a sharp opinion?

But since it's already been said, there's no going back. Just consider it a moment of impulsiveness, a surge of hot blood.

After more than 20 days of training and hard work, Li Qiang has adapted to his current military academy life. He calls home every week, and Li Juan comes to visit him every two weeks.

Li Qiang told his father on the phone, "As soon as I arrived at school, the school gave me a bunch of clothes. I don't have to pay for food or clothing, and I get a stipend of several tens of yuan every month."

The money I spent so far was just to buy a set of sportswear for military physical education class and some extra daily necessities. After all, toilet paper isn't provided.

The food is good, so my family doesn't need to worry. In the twenty-odd days I've been here, I've gained over two kilograms. Maybe when I go back home for the New Year, my family won't even recognize me.

When I call my family, I only report good news and never bad news, but when I contact my old classmate Du Wenlong and write letters, I can say anything and even show off the clothes he sent me.

He was issued many sets of uniforms, including the Type 87 summer uniform, beige shirts, and even the shorts jokingly called "August 1st Cross" and military green socks. One of those socks would be taken out, filled with sand, and used as a pad under the rifle during shooting practice.

Of course, he would also complain. The school food wasn't very good. Because of the heavy training load, he almost never felt full and got hungry very quickly.

The food quality wasn't great either; we often found bugs in the dishes—all sorts of bugs—but we got used to it.

Because he had left his home phone number with many classmates, Li Qiang obtained the contact information of quite a few classmates from his family.

When he had free time, he would write letters to his former classmates one by one, and he would write a whole stack of them. They also borrowed the triangular stamp that only conscripts at the school could use from the old students, bought a thick stack of blank envelopes, and stamped each one with the triangular stamp.

This way, we don't need to use stamps. It's not to save money, but firstly, it's to follow the trend, and secondly, it makes it seem related to the military, giving it a unique touch.

When writing letters to his old classmates, Li Qiang would also include photos of himself in military uniform. There was a photo developing service at the school.

He brought his point-and-shoot camera with him, so on weekends he would take photos with his classmates in various non-secret areas of the school, develop them, and send them to his classmates as a way of showing off.

These young military academy cadets eagerly anticipate receiving letters from the outside world each day. The cadets who receive the most letters also attract envious glances.

After spending more than twenty days together, we got to know each other well, and sometimes we would scramble to look at the photos that fell in other people's letters.

It's only polite to reciprocate, so those classmates who got into university would give Li Qiang photos of themselves on campus. The boys' photos were fine, but the girls' photos would often circulate around the class before finally returning to Li Qiang.

Moreover, photos of pretty girls often lead to classmates making jokes about the girls in the photos, since such things can happen to any student.

This military academy has female students. The female cadets exude a unique charm in their uniforms, making them a beautiful sight on campus and often attracting the attention of many male cadets.

However, it's only the beginning, and everyone is still unfamiliar with each other, so these new young people are all being very cautious.

September 30th, Mid-Autumn Festival. Li Juan brought some things to see Li Qiang. Li Qiang met Li Juan at the main gate, put the things back in his dormitory, and then took her for a walk around the campus playground.

While admiring the scenery of the military academy, Li Juan asked him, "During the National Day holiday, can you take a trip to Yanjing? I plan to introduce you to some classmates, most of whom are from northern Xinjiang."

Li Juan joked with Li Qiang, "Some of my female classmates are quite pretty. They've heard you're in military school and are quite curious about you. I'll introduce you to them after the National Day holiday. You're 18 now, you can start dating."

Li Qiang said with a mix of longing and hesitation, "When I came to school, my parents specifically told me to focus on my studies and not to date."

Li Juan said nonchalantly, "Don't listen to your parents about this. They think you should focus on your studies in high school and not date; focus on your studies in college and not date, and then they'll start pressuring you to get married as soon as you graduate."

What's so special about that? Who gets married without dating first? You should listen to your uncle on this. My uncle and aunt told me back then that I should enjoy the process of dating during college. Now I think they were absolutely right; only by dating during college can love be truly pure.

Li Qiang felt a little embarrassed and awkward talking about this with his sister. But Li Juan didn't feel that way at all; she thought they were both adults and it was normal to talk about such things.

Moreover, as someone who has been through it all, she hopes that her younger brother, Li Qiang, will not have any regrets when he looks back on this period in the future.

Military academy has strict management, so Li Juan didn't stay there for long, but it wasn't too far away, so she could come over often. After seeing his sister off, Li Qiang thought about asking his squad leader for leave during the National Day holiday.

He's been here for almost a month and hasn't left the campus yet, except for business trips. So he plans to take a trip to Yanjing.

Each class has a fixed number of leave slots. Li Qiang hadn't asked for leave before, so this time his request went smoothly. Thus, Li Qiang looked forward to his trip to Yanjing.

It was also the Mid-Autumn Festival. At lunchtime at the cooperative, the older women served meals to the students, while Li Long and his team gave each student a mooncake and two apples. The temporary workers who had been brought in also received these festive treats.

Both the students and the day laborers expressed their gratitude to Li Long and his team. After all, they couldn't reunite with their families for the Mid-Autumn Festival, but at least the employers who worked for them remembered the day, and the food today was quite good.

The two dishes included mutton and stewed chicken in a large plate. The chicken, potato chunks, and chili peppers were mixed together in the large plate, looking very tempting and smelling delicious.

Besides mooncakes and apples, there were also some watermelons on the edge of the field. At this point, the watermelons were already a bit chilly, but the midday sun was still very hot, so it was nice to eat some to quench our thirst.

After all the students and part-time workers had received their food, there were still some apples and mooncakes left. Li Long asked the cafeteria ladies to distribute the leftovers.

Xie Yundong came over and looked at the remaining apples in the box, and said with emotion, "These apples smell really good. After you brought them over for me, I took two and put them on the dresser at home, and the whole house smelled of fresh apples."

In July and August, there were two yolk eggs on top of my dresser. They smelled really good. But eventually, the yolk eggs got soggy, so we had no choice but to eat them.

Now that the yellow egg has passed, it's perfect to store this apple. It should last for over a month.

Yellow egg melon is a type of cantaloupe that almost every household grows. It tastes delicious and smells wonderful; placing it indoors makes it a natural air freshener.

Li Long said with a smile, "We didn't think of it before, and the timing wasn't right either. Like last year, on the Mid-Autumn Festival, September 10th, we missed picking cotton. This year, we just happened to catch this opportunity, so from now on, we'll bring half a truck or a full truckload of apples from there every year."

Each family gets a share, and the rest can be distributed to the students as welfare. Now that we're living a better life, we can't just rely on this small plot of land. How many local specialties can we possibly have here?

We should bring back specialties from all over Xinjiang, and even more so, if we have the chance in the future, bring back specialties from all over the country to try. That would be wonderful!

Li Long's words spurred Xie Yundong's ambition. Now that the family has money, they can certainly enjoy themselves a bit; there's no need to live hand to mouth like before. Their savings are now staggering, so spending a little is perfectly normal.

Xie Yundong also secretly marveled that every decision Li Long made was spot on, exceeding their plans, and then proved remarkably accurate in hindsight.

Just like this year, when Xu Haijun was to be in charge of a separate plot of land, Li Long suggested that they hire young people. The cooperative members no longer needed to be responsible for their own tasks. They needed to learn to let go and enjoy life. Now it seems that this decision was very correct.

If things don't change, I'll still be in charge of the whole situation. It's two thousand acres of land, like picking cotton in autumn while also managing students and odd jobs. I feel like I'll be too busy to handle everything. But now, many young people are sharing these responsibilities, and I only need to give instructions and supervise them.

This is so much better; it's not as tiring as before, and things are done in a more organized way.

He watched Li Long carrying a plate to get food and felt very envious, wondering why he didn't have such good ideas. It felt like many of Li Long's ideas came out casually, not like they were carefully planned for a long time, but they always hit the key points and were just right.

In other words, Li Long didn't want to be the manager; otherwise, it might have been better if he had been in charge of the cooperative.

Li Long felt a chill on the back of his neck while getting his food, a bad feeling creeping over him. Was someone eyeing him?

He looked around but didn't find anything unusual. He figured he should just finish his meal quickly and head back to the county. There were people in charge of everything here; he didn't need to just stand around doing nothing.

He was even planning to take his wife and kids to the mountains for a hot spring trip tomorrow, since it was a holiday. Sister Yang and Han Fang also planned to go. After graduating, Han Fang was assigned to teach at a primary school in Beiting City and could come home every weekend.

Li Long suggested that Han Fang take some time to get a driver's license so that it would be more convenient for her to drive herself around. However, Sister Yang disagreed, saying that it would be too conspicuous for a young, newly graduated teacher like herself to drive, and that it would be better to take the bus.

Then they paid for Han Fang to buy a bicycle for her dormitory, so she could ride it around the city if needed. If she wanted to go back to the county, she could take a bus.

Sister Yang was quite cautious, so Li Long didn't interfere further.

Everyone should just live their own lives.

PS: Photos

This is a clearer view of the drip irrigation tape in the cotton field.

This is a snack we used to have when we were kids. We would pluck the purple flowers, put them in our mouths, and suck out the sweet juice, similar to Rehmannia glutinosa. I tried it again today, but it doesn't seem as sweet as it used to be.

The legendary camel thorn

(The above word count is not included in the payment.) (End of Chapter)