Chapter 411: Mediocrity is the mainstream

Early the next morning, while Old Uncle Luo was still making breakfast, Li Long, Tao Daqiang, and Yang Yongqiang were already on the road to the East Great Ditch.

It was still very cold, but everyone was in high spirits, mainly Yang Yongqiang and Tao Daqiang, who felt they had a backbone again.

At this time, the entire village, including the wilderness, was silent; there wasn't even the sound of birds. Li Long only heard the rustling sound of the three of them stepping in the snow.

When they reached the East Great Ditch, all three were panting, their hats were covered in white, and the air they exhaled turned into mist, like the breath of immortals.

Li Long followed the terrain and began to look for the snares he had set at the time.

He walked to one side, where the footprints were very faint. Although it hadn't snowed during this period, every day before the sun rose, the wind would blow up the snow powder nearby and then let it drift down, similar to snowing, which would cover the traces.

"Eh? Brother Long, did you set snares there too?" Yang Yongqiang was somewhat surprised, "I remember there weren't any over there."

"There are, I set seven or eight snares," Li Long vaguely remembered, "I think when I checked the snares the day after setting them, I even caught a rabbit."

There were actually no new rabbit tracks here anymore, and the old rabbit tracks had already been lightly covered by snow, making them unclear. Li Long relied on his memory to find a snare by a red willow tree.

There was nothing on it.

Actually, this was expected. Having checked so many times, if there were any, they had likely been taken away. If they hadn't been taken away, then perhaps it wasn't on the rabbit's necessary path, and the rabbit hadn't come here later, so it hadn't been snared.

Tao Daqiang and Yang Yongqiang didn't come over with Li Long. They had their own division of labor: to take down the rabbit snares, regardless of whether there were rabbits or not, and after taking them down, take them to other places to set them.

However, they looked at Li Long's side from time to time, wanting to see if Li Long had any harvest.

After all, they hadn't checked the rabbit snares here.

Sure enough, at the second rabbit snare, Li Long discovered a large rabbit had been snared. Unfortunately, he didn't know what had gnawed on it, leaving only half the body.

Because it was gnawed into a mess, Li Long didn't want it, just took off the thin iron wire.

"Brother Long, is there a rabbit there?" Yang Yongqiang had been watching. Seeing Li Long's movements, he shouted from thirty or forty meters away.

"There's half a rabbit, gnawed by a fox or a badger, can't use it." Li Long responded, then continued forward.

The third one was a bit far from the second, ten meters away. There was another rabbit here, a bit smaller, about three kilograms, frozen stiff. Li Long had to dig several times before he could dig it out of the ice and snow.

But having a harvest was always happy. Li Long held the rabbit in his right hand and the snare in his left, smiling as he continued forward.

After checking the rabbit snares here, Li Long already had two rabbits in his hands. He held the rabbits and walked toward that side. Seeing that Tao Daqiang and Yang Yongqiang only had snares in their hands, he shouted:

"It seems these snares really need to change locations. Look at mine here!"

The three of them took out all one hundred or so snares. Over there, Yang Yongqiang discovered a rabbit, not big, a little over two kilograms.

"When we go back later, the three of us will each take one rabbit back." Li Long said, "Go back and eat them, and come back tomorrow to sort out these snares. Maybe there will be more."

"No, no, no, keep them to sell for money, one is worth three or five yuan." Yang Yongqiang was the first to disagree, "We've eaten plenty of rabbits, we don't lack this one."

"Yeah, Brother Long, let's not eat it." Tao Daqiang also said, "Save it to sell."

"Alright." Li Long followed the advice, "Then save it to sell. Let's go, let's follow this big ditch and walk south, walk further away. If it's close, I reckon there won't be any rabbits, they've all been chased away by the team members."

The three of them walked along the East Great Ditch. When they walked more than a kilometer, Li Long saw that there were many red willows and white thorns here, and there were quite a few rabbit tracks, they had even stepped out paths, so he said:

"Alright, let's set them here."

The three of them acted separately, each finding a direction to start setting rabbit snares. Half an hour later, the three of them converged at the front, then carried the rabbits and walked back.

"Brother Long, did you get those melon seeds on this trip?" Yang Yongqiang asked.

"Got some, twenty kilograms or so." Li Long said, "Listened to an expert's words, enough to plant ten mu of land."

"Not much." Tao Daqiang said from the side, "Are melon seeds hard to get now?"

"It is hard to get. This thing itself is planted in small areas, even in the place of origin, it's not planted in large quantities."

"Then can you share some with us?" Yang Yongqiang asked.

"Yeah." Tao Daqiang also thought, "Seeds for one mu of land would be fine..."

Li Long looked at the two of them and smiled.

"You two had better go back and discuss it with your fathers first. Growing melon seeds isn't like following me to catch rabbits and sell fish; those are extras. If you can convince your fathers to let you try planting, then that's fine."

Yang Yongqiang stopped talking.

Tao Daqiang also lowered his head.

Following Li Long, their families certainly wouldn't object, after all, Li Long had led them to make money, and quite a bit at that.

But to say they would follow Li Long and change to planting melon seeds, something the team had never planted before, that was not certain.

Melon seeds, that wasn't watermelon. If it were watermelon, even if the team members hadn't planted it, they had at least eaten it. At the very least, this thing was quite popular in the summer, and the yield was high. Actually, it wasn't that the team members hadn't planted it. After the land was contracted to households last year, many families would plant a few various melons at the edge of the land or the edge of the field.

So they knew a little bit about planting watermelon.

But they were purely ignorant about melon seeds.

Farmers, especially the older generation of farmers, were still very cautious about accepting new things. There weren't many who were willing to try, willing to change, and willing to break through.

This was also why Li Jianguo was actually considered one of the more advanced thinkers in the village. At the beginning of land allocation and contracting, he already had the idea of planting economic crops—because just planting grain, unless it reached a certain scale, wouldn't make money.

And after Li Long analyzed the pros and cons of planting melon seeds for him, plus the guidance of an expert, he immediately decided to dare to take out ten mu of land to try.

Did other families dare?

If they didn't grow them well, what would they do about the public grain to be handed over next year? What would the whole family eat? If they couldn't sell them and they piled up at home, how would they explain it?

It was mainly because the bottom line for backing was too low. If the family foundation wasn't thick, they couldn't afford to toss. This was also the reason why ordinary people had better not open a shop directly—if a stall failed, it was no big deal, but if they opened a shop directly, the cost would be tossed in, and they might not be able to turn over for several years.

Of course, it also had to do with the general environment. When there was a wind, even a pig could fly. When it was calm, even a whale surfacing could only stir up small circles of ripples.

Li Long didn't mean to discourage them, saying:

"Actually, this is also good. After all, melon seeds can't be planted in just any land. This year, my family will plant some, setting an example for the team members. When the time comes, let everyone see what to pay attention to when planting this thing, how to handle it after it's planted, and where to sell it after the final harvest."

When he said this, Yang Yongqiang and Tao Daqiang were balanced. What Li Long said was the truth. Only when someone in the team planted it and made money would their families possibly try it.

Just like planting cotton, at first, not all cotton in Northern and Southern Xinjiang was planted. Only when planting it made money would people follow the trend—of course, some following the trend could make money, and some following the trend would only lose everything.

For example, red dates, for example, snow chrysanthemum, for example, black goji berries... and so on.

The three of them returned to the team. Li Long carried three rabbits back to the Old Horse Stables, and Tao Daqiang and Yang Yongqiang went home.

When Yang Yongqiang returned home, breakfast was already made, and his younger sister had served him a bowl of porridge.

When sitting down to eat, Yang Yongqiang was still a bit unwilling to give up, asking his father:

"Dad, Brother Long said their family wants to plant melon seeds, can our family plant some?"

"Melon seeds? Plant some? Plant how much?"

"I was thinking of planting one mu of land." Yang Yongqiang's family was allocated twenty mu of land. In his view, taking one mu of land out of twenty mu to plant melon seeds wasn't much.

"Planting a ditch is fine, one mu? No." Yang Hua immediately denied his son's idea, "That Li Long is good at making money, but when it comes to farming, he's far worse than his brother."

"But his brother Li Jianguo also agreed to plant melon seeds." Yang Yongqiang didn't understand why his father didn't want to plant melon seeds.

"Is that melon seed easy to grow? His family has a big business, they can afford to lose, but what about us? Planting to harvesting one mu of land will cost dozens of yuan. We have no seeds and no technology, and we don't know who to sell to after growing it. Why grow it?" Yang Hua had his own logic.

"Yongqiang." Yang Hua put down his chopsticks and said earnestly, "I don't object to you following Li Long to catch fish and rabbits to make money, but that's not long-term. You are still young, it's fine to play around while you have energy, but you must be clear that for us farmers, farming is the foundation.

If your sister can pass the exam and become a national cadre in the future, then we won't talk about it. You didn't catch up with a good time for school, and your studies aren't good, so just be a farmer honestly. Now the country has allocated land to us, and there's quite a bit of land. The land here is much better than in our hometown. Farm well, eating your fill and eating well is no problem, don't think blindly, and don't toss blindly." Yang Yongqiang was left speechless by his father's words.

But he couldn't say his father was wrong. According to Brother Long, it could only be said that they were standing in different positions, so their thoughts were different.

Perhaps, only when he got married could he make his own decisions—it seems marriage wouldn't work either. According to the team's rules, like him, with only one male in the family, they wouldn't be allocated another homestead or separate the family.

Sigh, at this moment, Yang Yongqiang actually felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

Forget it, after eating, hurry up and smash the ice holes.

For a moment, Yang Yongqiang had the idea of wanting to escape from home.

I wonder if Tao Daqiang's father is willing to take out land to plant melon seeds?

"That melon seed is not easy to grow." Seeing his son stop talking, Yang Hua picked up his chopsticks and said again, "The requirements for land, fertilizer, and water are very high, not everyone can grow it..."

Yang Yongqiang didn't listen in for a moment. He didn't feel that his father knew quite a bit about melon seeds.

Seeing his son didn't ask again, Yang Hua didn't continue.

After eating, Yang Yongqiang told his family, took his tools and a bag, and walked toward the horse stables.

"Brother, dress warmly." Yang Yongqiang's younger sister shouted at the door, "Don't get frostbite."

!.

"Alright, I know, you hurry inside." Yang Yongqiang waved his hand wearing rabbit fur gloves and strode out of the courtyard gate.

At the gate of the horse stables, he ran into Tao Daqiang.

"Is your dad willing to plant melon seeds?" Seeing Tao Daqiang, Yang Yongqiang couldn't wait to ask this question.

"No. My dad said, what to plant, it's better to plant grain. We've only been eating our fill for a few days..." Tao Daqiang's tone was full of dissatisfaction.

Yang Yongqiang immediately felt the same:

"My dad said the same thing, saying we can't afford to lose."

The two of them actually felt a sense of sympathy for each other at this moment.

Li Long heard the movement and walked out. Looking at the two of them, he said with a smile:

"You came quite fast, wait for me a few minutes, I'll be out soon."

He entered the house, put on thick clothes, put on his hat and gloves, and after going out, locked the door, then went to the vacant room to get a landing net, iron shovel, and bag.

"Let's go." Li Long said, "Haven't been there for a few days, let's see how the Little Haizi is now."

"It's cold these past few days, the ice is frozen solid, there's less air underneath, but the fish aren't active either, not as many as last year." Tao Daqiang followed Li Long to smash ice holes and catch fish from beginning to end last year, knowing how the fish came up when catching fish last year.

Really nostalgic.

The three of them chatted all the way. When they were about to reach the Little Haizi, Yang Yongqiang finally couldn't help but ask:

"Brother Long, why don't you ask what my family said about planting melon seeds?"

He had been holding it in, thinking that if Li Long saw them, he would ask them, and then after asking, he might say something like he guessed it right.

He originally thought Li Long would joke about them, but Li Long didn't ask from beginning to end, which left him feeling stifled.

"Ask what?" Li Long went up to the Little Haizi's embankment and looked forward, finding that there were already three groups of people in the Little Haizi digging ice holes.

Even in such cold weather, there were people doing this, which showed that the enthusiasm of many people had really been mobilized.

This was a good thing, at least it added vitality to the team members and also increased their income.

"Just ask why my family won't let me plant melon seeds." Yang Yongqiang was a bit dejected. It was clearly a good thing, why didn't his family agree?

"There's nothing good to ask about that. If they let you plant, then plant. If they don't let you plant, then wait and see." Li Long said, "It's not a particularly big deal. You have to put yourself in your father's shoes, maybe you wouldn't let them plant either. One mu of land can produce more than a hundred kilograms of wheat, enough for your sister to eat fine grain for a year. If the melon seeds grown can't be sold, that thing doesn't satisfy hunger, you can't just eat melon seeds every day."

Li Long's words made Tao Daqiang and Yang Yongqiang laugh. Thinking about it, it was actually the same principle. They had "superstitiously" believed in Li Long's ability, but it didn't mean Li Long really knew everything and was always right. Their fathers, as bystanders, might see it more clearly, and waiting might also be right.

The three of them walked to the ice hole on the south side and found that a layer of ice had indeed frozen on top, looking quite thick. Li Long knew as soon as he saw this layer of ice that once the ice hole was broken, what could be caught in a short time would only be some small crucian carp. Truly catching fish would have to wait until the afternoon.

But the good thing was that there would be fresh fish soup to drink in the evening.

Without waiting for Li Long to act, Tao Daqiang and Yang Yongqiang each occupied an ice hole and started smashing.

Li Long had no choice but to take the iron shovel and take turns shoveling the smashed ice blocks on both sides. After shoveling, he used the landing net to scoop them up. After scooping the ice blocks clean, he had no work to do.

Because after he scooped the ice blocks on both sides clean, Tao Daqiang and Yang Yongqiang had already taken the landing net and started catching fish in the ice hole.

The first few nets really didn't have any fish, occasionally there were a few small crucian carp, which jumped a few times after being scooped out and then froze stiff directly.

Li Long picked up fish for a while, then stopped picking, went to the distance to find some hairy reeds and lit them. There was still ash left from lighting a fire here originally, so he lit a fire directly on the spot. When the fire burned, he ran quite far. The fire burned by the reeds was very strong, if he didn't run, he would burn his eyebrows.

Seeing that it felt meaningless, Li Long turned to the Liang family's three brothers.

Yesterday he learned from Li Jianguo that even if he wasn't there, the Liang family's three brothers would send the fish over after catching them every day.

"How is it today?" Li Long asked.

Actually, he could see that there was a shallow bit in the bag, and he also knew that those who came to smash ice holes first were all like this.

"Just one big one, still have to wait until the afternoon." Liang the second said while picking up fish, "The big one is a carp, over a kilogram, not big, but it looks quite beautiful."

Saying this, he opened the bag to let Li Long see.

Li Long saw a carp with red and yellow scales inside, its mouth opening and closing, and there were whiskers on both sides. This fish hadn't completely died yet, twisting its head there, but it wouldn't live much longer.

"Beautiful, really beautiful!" Li Long praised sincerely.

Regardless of whether the fish was delicious or not, this image was really not bad, and it was no wonder it became an auspicious sign in ancient Chinese civilization.

It just felt different when looking at it.

"How is it on your side?" Liang the eldest scooped up a net, turned out three or five dogfish, somewhat disappointed, and then asked Li Long.

"A few small crucian carp, our ice hole has been frozen for several days, at first there must be no fish, still have to wait until the afternoon. It's cold these past few days, the fish aren't active."

"That's it."

"Li Long, heard you want to plant melon seeds?" Liang the third was digging in the other hole, asking while digging, "What is that melon seed? Is it like watermelon or like winter melon?"

His voice was a bit loud, and the Zhao family father and son in the distance also heard it.

Li Long was a bit surprised. Had the news of him planting melon seeds spread throughout the village? Even the Liang family knew?

The Liang family was in the Old Village, not far from the Li family's New Village. He believed his older brother Li Jianguo wasn't a talkative person either. This meant that the entire village might know he wanted to plant melon seeds.

But this wasn't something that needed to be hidden, after all, when planting in the spring, it would still spread, so he said:

"Preparing to plant melon seeds. This melon seed is a bit like watermelon, the melon seed is also like it, just bigger than watermelon seeds."

"Then is the melon seed sold as a whole melon?" Liang the second asked from the side. He hadn't been embarrassed to ask before, but now that his younger brother asked, and Li Long was willing to answer, he continued to ask.

"No, melon seeds want the seeds inside. This seed is for roasted goods, some people like to crack this melon seed." Li Long explained, "And the pulp of the melon seed isn't as delicious as watermelon, not that sweet, and it's not red pulp, most of it is yellow pulp or white pulp."

"So that's it." Liang the second nodded, finally having a little understanding. (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 412 =====