Crossing the Western Tianshan Mountains

She said, "You guys think about it, I'll come back tomorrow."

The little girl knew when to stop and immediately turned around and left. However, when she saw someone she knew, she would still ask, "Where did your Ye Minglang go? Why can't I see him?"

"He went to the county." someone answered.

Gulinar was a little disappointed, but then she smiled and said, "When he comes back, tell him I'll come again tomorrow."

Ling Fengxi had not finished the milk tea in his hand. The warm and non-aggressive taste made his body feel very comfortable. Wu Yongjie was busy putting the machinery back in place. When he came back to eat, not only was the rice gone, but the milk tea was gone too. He angrily gnawed on the cold steamed buns.

It was Ling Fengxi who brought out a bowl of vegetables from the tent. Although it was still cabbage, it contained meat and a bottle of chili sauce. Only then did Wu Yongjie's depressed mood finally ease.

"I'm not saying these guys don't care about me as their leader at all. No one even thought of leaving a dish for me."

"Don't talk about it. The people here are all rough and do rough things. Careful people don't come here."

"Fortunately, I have you. You are a careful person."

These words gave Ling Fengxi a chill, "Come on, stop joking, and tell me what you mean."

"As for the milk issue, I've just heard about it. It's not that difficult. I have to agree. All the patients in the patient accounts from one to ten must agree to pay three dollars a day to buy milk. Anyone who doesn't want to drink it can just register and they'll pay for it themselves, including buying the electric stove."

Ling Fengxi was stunned for a moment, "Agree? So quickly?"

"What else? Think about it, at night when we have nothing to do, we boil a pot of milk tea, gather together to drink it and play cards. How wonderful is that? That's life. Do you think that because we workers are poor, we have to cling to these little melons and dates? That's what people like you who are obsessed with money do."

Ling Fengxi had indeed been working in a government agency for too long. Whenever he spent a penny, he had to research and report it, and for a while he really made things complicated.

It is indeed the best way and the easiest process for workers to buy milk tea and brew it themselves.

That evening, all the lists were submitted and money was collected from each tent one by one, including the purchase of stoves, which had to be purchased by each tent with its own consent.

The next day, Ye Minglang took the list and the members of the second medical team back to the county. Ye Minglang wanted to purchase electric stoves according to the list.

So when Gulinar came again, she still didn't see Ye Minglang, but she received a large sum of money, and she signed a milk supply agreement on behalf of several other herder neighbors.

Gulinar was so happy that tears were about to come out. "This money, after being distributed to each family, is already a lot. It will definitely be enough for Ye Erlan's living expenses this winter."

It turned out that Gulinar had a younger brother who was in junior high school. Because the school was centralized in the county, he had to live in the school dormitory if he wanted to go to school. Living in the school required living expenses. Although the herders had many cattle and sheep, it was still difficult to exchange them for money at any time. Yerlan's living expenses thus became a problem for Gulinar's family.

I didn't expect that this problem would be solved easily.

Because the area was remote, Gulinar received a not-too-small sum of money. When Ling Fengxi was going back, he decided to personally send Gulinar off. In order to avoid suspicion, he also called Wu Yongjie along.

Wu Yongjie was honored to accompany Gulinar all the way back. Because the mountain road was difficult to walk on, it took two or three hours to walk all the way. He finally sent her home when the sun was setting.

Ling Fengxi didn't expect that Gulinar would have to walk for such a long time to deliver milk. For a moment, he felt that it was really hard to earn this money.

A big animal came to the pasture, and everyone in the tent came out immediately, including Gulinar's parents, two herdsmen who looked honest and enthusiastic.

And Yerlan... and a few other neighbors were there. It turned out that they were also waiting for news from Gulinar, so they all gathered at her house early.

When they heard the deal was done, everyone was very happy. Ayiben, with a small mustache, said to Ling Fengxi, "Don't worry about yours. Ours, cow's milk and goat's milk, are all the best!"

He gave a thumbs-up, "Yikesi!"

Ling Fengxi said, "The distance is too far, and it's really hard to deliver milk on a unicycle. Even a girl can't handle it. Do you have anyone to help deliver the milk?"

"With so many people and so much milk, we can't rely on Gulinar alone." Ayiben, with a small mustache, patted his chest. "I have camels. Starting tomorrow, both of my camels will come to deliver milk."

Nurlan also said, "I have three horses, and I want to transfer them here too."

Jiayi Laobai also slowly arrived at this time. Ling Fengxi and Wu Yongjie hurried over to greet the old man and shake his hand. The old man was very gentlemanly and already knew what had happened. He said in a hoarse voice, "In the mountains, you should drink milk. If you don't, you'll be in bad health."

"The strength of mountain people comes from milk, which can cure all diseases."

Wu Yongjie looked at the old man and said, "You hang around our construction site every day when you have nothing to do. You must know a lot about what's going on there. I've heard that your sheep sometimes even come into the camp. Because the leaders have warned us not to lose any of your sheep, no one dares to touch them."

"So you're well-informed. You must have known there were a lot of patients in the camp, which is why you sent Gulinar over to discuss business."

Jiayi Laobai refused to admit it, "This is God's will, not my intention at all!"

Ayiben, with a small mustache, said, "But friendship should be pure and accounts should be clear. This is only one month's salary, right?"

Ling Fengxi said: "Yes, from now on, the renewal fee will be paid on this day every month until the project is completed."

Ayiben said, “Will it be completed in a few months?”

Ling Fengxi and Wu Yongjie had no idea how long the project would take to complete. They only had an approximate timeline. Wu Yongjie said, "It'll take at least two years..."

Ye Erlan was younger and immediately cheered, "Then haven't we been trying to make a fortune these past two years?"

"More than two years." Ling Fengxi suddenly said seriously.

At this time, Gulinar's mother had already prepared milk tea and meat and invited everyone to come in and eat.

Ling Fengxi and Wu Yongjie were treated as VIPs and seated at the very back, with a sheep's head placed in front of them. Unable to refuse the hospitality, they had no choice but to go in.

The herders don't need to add any other seasonings when cooking meat, only water and salt, but the cooked meat is particularly fragrant. Ling Fengxi was "presented" with the best meat from the sheep's head by Gulinar's father, who held it in his hand and fed it to his mouth. Ling Fengxi followed the local customs and sucked the meat into his mouth in one gulp.

He swallowed it and then continued with the previous topic, "Our engineering team is building a tunnel there. What is a tunnel? It will open up this mountain. Then, everything on both sides of the mountain, such as people and goods, will be strongly connected, allowing for unimpeded trade. Your cattle, sheep, and dairy products can then be sold to the other side of the mountain."