Chapter 260

Although it was already afternoon, the sun shining on the body, especially on the exposed skin, was still very painful.

It wasn't until he walked near the small lake and the water vapor blew over with the wind that he felt a bit cool.

Going up to the embankment, Li Long saw a few people setting nets in the lake—mainly in the shallow places by the water. Two people reached the place where Li Long first set the net—there was a groove leading directly into the water, and the side of the groove was relatively shallow, suitable for walking.

"It seems selling fish is still profitable; there are quite a few people following to catch fish." Li Long said with a smile.

"There have been quite a few families selling fish these two days." Li Qing Xia said proudly, "But none of them sell as well as we do. I ride my bike, carrying fish to the market early, eight cents per kilogram, and it's sold out in less than an hour. When I turn back, they have just arrived at the market."

Only then did Li Long understand why Meng Zhiqiang had that expression when he saw him yesterday.

"Father, where are we setting the nets today?" Li Long followed, so he didn't treat himself as the main force; he asked Li Qing Xia.

"We're going south. The sides there are all reeds, they can't set nets, but there are waterways that can get inside. Since you're here today, the job of rowing the tire to set nets is yours."

Li Qing Xia had already gotten rid of the status of watching the excitement, and now he felt a bit like he was in control.

"Fine." Li Long naturally had no objection; where wasn't it setting?

The three walked to the south of the small lake. Li Long looked around and found that in the southwest, the wheat in the village where Liang Wenyu and the others were had also been harvested clean. Occasionally, people were picking wheat ears in the field, and there were also sheep grazing in the wheat field.

He put the tire down and sat on it, and Tao Daqiang hurriedly handed over the net bag.

"Fine, watch me." Li Long used a water-rowing board to row the water and went inside.

Not long after entering, he startled quite a few water birds.

Li Long was a bit worried. These water birds included wild ducks, water chickens, and some unknown ones, a large group. If they got tangled in the net, then don't think about catching fish with this net.

He rowed the tire into the waterway for thirty or forty meters, and the front opened up. It was a large area of water, not very deep; one could look down from the clear water, and it was only one or two meters.

There were quite a few water weeds growing in the middle of this open water area, and the water birds didn't go there, so Li Long circled around this area of water weeds and set the net between the water weeds and the wild reed bushes.

The skill of setting nets wasn't lost. When Li Long turned his head, he saw Li Qing Xia also entered the water; he should be setting that water basin.

He didn't know if there were many ditch fish in this area.

After setting the net, Li Long rowed the tire to the shore. Tao Daqiang pulled him up, and Li Long said:

"There are too many water birds in here; maybe one day there will be a few hanging on it, and then there might not be many fish caught."

"Hi, who says not?" Li Qing Xia heard Li Long say this and immediately said, "There were two days when there were two wild ducks hanging on the net. The fish caught in the net was half less—twenty or thirty kilograms, I almost didn't want to go sell it."

"That's not bad either." Li Long smiled, "Better than the nets those people set."

"That's for sure, there are still people who don't know how to set nets now." Li Qing Xia's voice became smaller, "They also tie the two ends of the net, just like a blocking net—I heard the most, four nets caught twenty kilograms of fish, and I've never heard of any big fish over three or four kilograms..."

Li Long didn't say anything, and the three walked back together.

"Brother Long," Tao Daqiang suddenly said, "Are you still going up the mountain during this time?"

"Going up in two days. Mushrooms can still be picked on the mountain for a few days." Li Long said, "After picking, when the mushroom season ends, I'll be back."

Tao Daqiang didn't speak after listening.

"Is there something you want to say?" Li Long said, "I'll handle it if I see I can."

"That..." Tao Daqiang suddenly felt a bit awkward, "That... someone introduced a partner to me, I want you to give me some advice..."

"I can't give advice on this." Li Long refused directly, "I'm not married either, about the same as you, how can I give you advice? You two are the ones living the life; it's fine if you think it's fine."

Having lived two lives, Li Long didn't consider himself someone who could see the quality of a person's character at a glance. Moreover, this human nature is complex. For example, when he first lived again, he felt Wu Shufen was quite annoying, but standing in her position, wasn't that also a yearning for a "better life"? Was it wrong?

He couldn't judge others, let alone tell Tao Daqiang whether two people were suitable or not.

Tao Daqiang was a bit disappointed, and Li Long said with a smile:

"Let me put it this way: look, I think it's suitable, but you might not necessarily be suitable. After all, I'm not you, right? You don't have high requirements for living, but you can't separate from your father, right? Then marriage has to consider living with your father."

As he spoke, he turned his head and asked Li Qing Xia:

"Father, will you follow my eldest brother or me in the future? I definitely have to separate when I get married..."

"Then I definitely follow... what do I follow? I still have to go back to my hometown!" Li Qing Xia was almost led into the ditch by Li Long, and then he realized.

"Why go back, it's so good to stay here!" Li Long said with a cheeky grin, "Can you earn so much money a day when you go back? Can you eat so well? Can you live so comfortably?"

"It's because I live so comfortably that I have to go back! I live well, I have to let those old guys know... know that my eldest son came to Northern Xinjiang to enjoy happiness, not to suffer!" Li Qing Xia's tone carried confidence and some complex emotions.

The three returned to the courtyard, and Li Long had sharp eyes; he asked:

"Is the electricity connected?"

"Connected, connected!" Du Chunfang said with a smile, "It's very bright in the room... brighter than lighting five or six lamps!"

"Then it seems we have to prepare to buy a TV." Li Long said with a smile, "Anyway, there is electricity, it won't do to just listen to the radio at night."

"That won't do." Li Qing Xia said, "This TV, it must be bought, but not now. Wait until I catch fish for a few more days, then I'll have a share in the money..."

Li Long could understand Li Qing Xia's thoughts.

In his hometown, Li Qing Xia is in his sixties and is considered an old man. Besides being busy in those few fen of wheat fields, there was no other place to display his talents. Occasionally playing cards with juniors who are about the same age or older than him, there was nothing else to do.

There are many people and few resources in his hometown, so it is very difficult to earn money. How could it be like here, catching dozens of kilograms of fish every day and taking them to the market to sell for dozens of yuan?

This is something Li Qing Xia had never imagined in his life.

From childhood to adulthood, before this trip to Northern Xinjiang, the most money he had ever carried on him didn't exceed one hundred yuan!

But now, the money on him was almost five hundred!

What can five hundred yuan do? In his hometown, he could build a large blue-brick tile-roofed house, buy a horse and a horse cart, and buy two bicycles—there are not many families like this in the village in his hometown!

It is said that money is a man's confidence. With money on him, Li Qing Xia became more confident, and at the same time, he hoped to go home and take a look—of course, he also hoped that the money in his hands could contribute to his eldest son Li Jianguo's family.

He could still earn money, which is the best proof that he is not old yet.

"Why do you need to pay?" Li Long said with a smile, "Keep your money, spend it however you want..."

They were discussing this topic, and Tao Daqiang was a bit envious, but he didn't say anything, quietly left the courtyard, and went home.

Since Brother Long didn't give advice, he had to decide on the partner matter himself.

In the courtyard, things were boiling in the pot, and the air was filled with a little bit of porridge fragrance. Li Long guessed it should be cooking rice porridge. Li Juan was burning fire in front of the pot, and after seeing Li Long, she smiled and called her little uncle.

Li Long responded, and then asked:

In the mid-afternoon, Li Long got up, again carrying the sack and the gun, looking for them in the nearby gully.

Now it was considered the end of the season for black tiger palm mushrooms, and they could still grow for ten days or half a month; once the grass turned yellow and the ground dried up, there would basically be none left.

And Li Long clearly remembered that there was a period of time when the mountains were relatively humid, or rather, the overall climate was quite good, and these mushrooms could be picked until August.

And it seemed that in the two years after he left his previous life, black tiger palm mushrooms could only be picked until July, and then the season would end.

Was the weather getting hotter and hotter?

Li Long didn't know.

The harvest in the afternoon was more than in the morning, possibly because of the location, or possibly because this thing was still growing in the morning. Before the sun set, Li Long had picked another sack and returned to the wooden cabin.

It was cool in the mountains at night, which had the benefit of having no mosquitoes at this time, and the stars were very clear. The Milky Way stretched across the sky, and Li Long easily found Altair, Vega, the Big Dipper, and Polaris.

Thinking of that Qixi story, which was relatively reasonable at first but later changed into a mess and no longer conformed to modern values, Li Long shook his head; the children of today were still happy, what they learned was simple, what they memorized was simple, and they had jobs as soon as they graduated.

The next day, Li Long continued to pick mushrooms and dry mushrooms, and by the third day, he had to go down the mountain—the dried mushrooms could fill another sack.

He filled the sack with dried ones and brought some fresh ones as he rode down the mountain. There were still some drying on the wooden floor in front of the wooden cabin, but the quantity wasn't large, so Li Long didn't care much.

After selling the mushrooms at the purchasing station, Li Long divided a portion of the fresh mushrooms and put them in the large courtyard, and then carried a few kilograms to find Li Xiangqian.

"I was just looking for you. For the small tasks I mentioned last time, see if you can take them on." Li Xiangqian didn't even mention the mushrooms Li Long brought; collecting them was just collecting them, and it wasn't considered bribery.

"What good jobs are there?" Li Long didn't stand on ceremony and said with a smile, "If I can do it, I definitely will."

"Collect sheep wool. You have herdsmen friends, right? The sheep wool must have been sheared this year, right? Can you collect a few tons of sheep wool?"

"Can't collect it." Li Long thought for a while and said, "They have already gone to the summer pasture. That's deep in the mountains, and it's too inconvenient to transport the wool down. If you still collect it next year, they can shear the wool before moving the pasture. This year, it's definitely not possible..."

It was mainly because the mountains were deep and the roads were far, and Li Long didn't know the specific location, so he couldn't look for it blindly; if he got lost, that would be a dead end.

"Hmm, then we'll skip this. There's also collecting safflower. I remember you said you have safflower planted there, and now it should be the season for picking. I have a small order here, 300 kilograms, can you collect it?"

"Can't collect it, can't collect it." Li Long hurriedly waved his hand. "We have the villagers' group planting it directly on the wasteland; that piece of land can collect a few dozen kilograms at most... other nearby villages don't seem to have planted it either."

"Then forget it. There's nothing else you can do for now." Li Xiangqian waved his hand. "We'll talk about it later."

"Hmm, I'm not in a hurry. I've earned some money selling mushrooms these days," Li Long said, "enough to spend for a while."

"Then have you tidied up that courtyard?" Li Xiangqian asked casually, "How does it look?"

"It's very good. I haven't tidied it up yet, there isn't much to tidy up inside, just a simple cleaning will do." Li Long said, "My partner said she's still willing to live in the large courtyard, I'll see about tidying it up later; if someone lives there, they live there, if not, I'll rent it out."

"You... hey!" Li Xiangqian really didn't know what to say about Li Long. "Aren't you a spendthrift!"

"That's not it." Li Long said with a cheeky face, "An extra courtyard is an extra place to stay. Later, if I do any purchasing or whatever, I can put things inside, right?"

"You're using it as a warehouse? Isn't that a waste?"

The two chatted for a while, and Li Long got up to leave; he had been in the mountains for a few days, and he wanted to go back and wash up.

Walking to the bicycle shed in the courtyard, just as he unlocked the bike, he heard Li Xiangqian shouting from the office window:

"Little Long, Little Long! Come over and answer the phone, someone is looking for you!"

"Looking for me?" Li Long was a bit surprised. Where was the phone call from? From the team? Did something happen?

He hurriedly parked his bike, didn't even have time to lock it, and ran in to answer the phone.

"Hello, is this Li Long? This is Yusufu!"

Yusufu?

Li Long was stunned for a moment, and then he thought of that ethnic person who sold jade.

Him?

"Adashi, Yakximusaisi..." Li Long also said a sentence to him, "Where are you now?"

Him looking for himself, it wouldn't be to sell jade again, right? (End of chapter)

Being too casual made Jiang Zhiyu very unhappy. How can you not take this work seriously? This is a political task!

Of course, in her view, Li Long has an obligation to cooperate with her interview.

But she couldn't say Li Long didn't cooperate; after all, he answered whatever situation she asked about, but the answers were not what she imagined.

Jiang Zhiyu racked her brains and managed to complete an interview, but it was a bit difficult when she went back to polish it.

Fortunately, she still had the level in this regard. Processing all night, the manuscript was released, and then it was sent out.

Li Long didn't expect that the influence of this manuscript on him would be relatively large. (End of chapter)