Chapter 432

At this time, except for a few buildings that were multi-story, most of the rest of Kuitun were bungalows.

The Agricultural Science Institute was no exception.

Compared with other buildings in the city, this place was more like a farm, because various plants were planted nearby, including vegetables, fruit trees, food crops, and so on.

Li Long parked the tractor on the side of the road, and after turning off the engine, he looked around in this area, and then saw a place where the word "nursery" was written on a large wooden sign.

Should be here, right?

He walked toward the nursery and saw someone working inside, digging out some seedlings, not knowing whether they were to be transplanted or sold.

"Comrade, hello. I want to ask, where do you sell fruit tree seedlings here?"

"Do you want to buy? How many?" The person working was a woman in her forties. She didn't look much different from rural women, but her eyes were clear. Li Long always felt that she should be working for some kind of cause, not just to make a living. That kind of expression and gaze were different.

"I'm planting in my courtyard. I'm not buying many, about ten or so," Li Long said.

"Then your courtyard is not small, to be able to plant so many. What kind of fruit trees do you want to buy? Seedlings here are not cheap."

"What fruit trees do you have? Can you introduce them, elder sister?"

"Is your home nearby?" The elder sister didn't answer Li Long's question but asked instead.

"My home is in Maxian, more than 100 kilometers away from here."

"Maxian, huh? Then how do you take them back? The bus can only reach Shicheng, and besides, it's not easy to carry them on that bus."

"I drove a tractor here," Li Long said.

"That's fine. The climate in Maxian and Kuitun is similar, so what you can plant are jujube trees, apple trees, plums, pears. We also have newly cultivated honey peaches that you can try. However, you should be clear that over there, except for apples, other fruit trees have to have their branches pressed down in winter."

"I know, I know." Lu Yingming's family had a peach tree planted. This tree wasn't very thick. Every year when winter was approaching, Lu Yingming would press the tree down and bury it with soil, otherwise, it would freeze in winter. It wouldn't freeze to death, but it wouldn't bear peaches.

"It's good that you know. We also have various grape seedlings here, seedless white, rose fragrance, horse milk grapes..."

"Then I know. I want red jujube, apple, plum, pear, honey peach, and seedless white grape seedlings. Give me... four of each."

"Since you can drive a tractor here, you shouldn't be short of money. Otherwise, I would have to remind you that these seedlings are quite expensive." The elder sister stood up, patted the dirt on her hands, and said:

"Let's go, I'll take you to dig the seedlings, and just happen to tell you about the planting matters."

Li Long followed the elder sister wearing sleeves to a sparse forest. After arriving at the place, Li Long discovered that this was a piece of fruit trees planted in patches. The plants were not big, basically thicker than a thumb, and one could clearly see traces of grafting.

"These fruit trees are three to five years old. They can bear fruit in the year they are transplanted back, of course, not many. If taken care of well, they can bear a lot of fruit in the second year. This depends on the care situation." The elder sister pointed one by one:

"Look, don't look at this jujube tree as not tall, but it hung more than one kilogram of jujubes last year, and there will be more this year. This is the Jun jujube transplanted from Southern Xinjiang, also called dog-head jujube. The size is large, and the largest can grow to the size of an egg. Next to it is the gray jujube. This jujube is small, about the same size as the large sand jujube, but sweet, sweeter than the Jun jujube. This jujube tree is not tall, and it is still relatively easy to press now. Press it more, and they will grow like shrubs."

"That is a pear tree, not the fragrant pear variety from our Southern Xinjiang, but the hemp-skin crisp pear from the interior. It has plenty of moisture, not as sweet as the fragrant pear, but the taste is also quite good."

"This side is apple, the Red Fuji kind. We tested and planted it successfully here, but the taste is not as good as the one in Aksu."

Li Long, having lived two lives, knew the high quality of Aksu Red Fuji apples, but at this time, many people in Northern Xinjiang recognized the apples from Yili more, because the apples from Yili were large, really large!

"This kind is crisp plum. The size is not big, about the same as an apricot, but it is the kind where the flesh separates from the pit, and even when the fruit is still relatively green, it is actually already very sweet. The variety is very good. It is suggested that you can plant a few more."

"This kind is early-maturing honey peach. If planted outside, it can mature in June. If planted in a greenhouse, it can mature in May. It is very early-maturing, and the taste is also very good."

The elder sister introduced the fruits here one by one. At this time, she was more like a horticultural expert. Listening to her, one could feel that her professional knowledge was very rich.

Li Long started digging—yes, he picked them himself and dug them himself. As for the elder sister, the researchers at the Agricultural Science Institute now all had their own work. If Li Long wanted to wait for them to come over to help dig, he estimated he would have to wait until the afternoon.

Li Long didn't want to wait until the afternoon. He also planned to rush back to Maxian today.

He dug nearly twenty fruit trees, and the rear compartment of the tractor was almost full. Li Long paid more than forty yuan. Calculating it this way, one seedling was more than two yuan, which wasn't expensive.

Of course, it was like this in his view. But in this era, it was already not cheap at all.

The time was already past one o'clock. Li Long didn't feel hungry yet, so he drove the tractor to the department store, bought a case of Kuitun Special Qu, and bought some snacks and sundries, put them in the tractor, started it, and headed east.

The small-caliber rifle was placed in the tractor bucket. During the days of working, the gun was deposited at the service desk. The elder sister at the service desk didn't feel surprised by this gun. It was very normal to have a gun in this era; after all, one could buy such a gun in the Zhang Xin Hua Bookstore. And it was also very normal for Li Long, who came from far away, to carry a gun. Safety first, right?

The tractor left Kuitun City and drove into the Wuyi Highway. The vehicles coming and going made Li Long feel that this trip was actually quite worth it.

He earned money, his second brother and the others were settled, the things that needed to be bought were bought, and the harvester had a clue. This trip could be considered relatively complete.

After driving for a period of time, when he reached Anjihai, Li Long stopped. There were restaurants on the side of the road, and he planned to solve the lunch problem here.

Anjihai was a town in SW County, which existed a long time ago, and its affiliation was also changing. During the Qing Dynasty, it belonged to Suilai—which was the predecessor of Maxian, and later it was divided into Shawan.

Thinking about it now, the original Maxian was very large—it was 12,000 square kilometers now. In the Qing Dynasty, it must have been several times larger!

Anjihai later had a very famous specialty, which was chili. In autumn, chili was being dried everywhere on the side of the road here, and some people hauled chili from here to Turpan to dry. After all, the land that hadn't been reclaimed and developed in the flat county here was getting less and less. Li Long even heard in his previous life that someone hauled 500 tons of chili to Turpan to dry, but as a result, there was a strong wind overnight, and all 500 tons of chili were blown away.

The loss was heavy.

Digressing. The restaurants here mainly served noodles. After Li Long ordered a bowl of mixed noodles and ate it, he added water to the tractor and continued to drive forward.

By the time he reached Shicheng, the sun was already slanting west, and Li Long also felt tired. He planned not to return to Maxian today, but to drive directly to the large courtyard, spend the night here, and then haul the tree seedlings back to plant tomorrow.

There was still time.

Along the way, Li Long was actually quite cautious, but it was different from what he imagined. There was no blocking the road to rob money or things. Was the order getting better, or were the bad guys caught?

By the time he reached Maxian, the sun was about to set. Li Long looked at the familiar scene and felt a bit emotional.

Before, when he was small, passing through one city to another, from a familiar scene to a strange scene, it felt quite magical.

And as technology became developed and transportation became convenient later, one could be in Northern Xinjiang in the morning and reach the seaside by plane in the afternoon. That magical feeling also slowly disappeared.

Now this feeling seemed to appear again. He was discussing the harvester with Factory Director Du at the Kuitun Agricultural Machinery Factory in the morning, and he had already arrived in Maxian in the afternoon.

Some old people in this era might spend their whole lives within the scope of one county or even one township, never having left the county, let alone reaching further places.

Li Long vaguely remembered that in his previous life, when he was over fifty, there were still people in the village who hadn't taken a train, and even more people who hadn't taken a plane.

And the village established a cooperative, liberating the farmers. After having some spare money in their hands, there were old people in their fifties or sixties who specifically ran to the Shicheng train station to take a train to Wucheng, and then took a bus back from Wucheng, just to experience the feeling of taking a train.

At that time, the Internet made people know the world, feeling that things happening simultaneously abroad appeared on mobile phones and computers. It seemed that the world was really a village, but how many people were really measuring this world on foot?

After Li Long ate a bowl of soup noodles at the pork canteen, he bought ten steamed buns and brought them back to the large courtyard. At this time, Gu Xiaoxia had just finished work. When she arrived at the entrance of the large courtyard, Li Long had just opened the door and was driving the tractor inside.

Gu Xiaoxia was startled when she saw the tractor was about to enter the courtyard, and then she saw that the figure driving the tractor was very familiar. She rode her bicycle to catch up to the courtyard and saw it was Li Long. She smiled.

"Where did you come from?" Gu Xiaoxia asked after propping up her bicycle.

"From Kuitun. These tree seedlings were hauled from Kuitun," Li Long said while taking the steamed buns from the cart, "Come, eat some steamed buns. Don't cook tonight."

"Okay."

When eating dinner, Li Long stated his next plan.

"Our house in the team has been built. Tomorrow I will go back and plant these tree seedlings. The furniture at the carpenter's room in the township should be almost ready too. Look, you go back this weekend, and we will decorate the house together. Later we will... get the certificate and handle the matter."

Gu Xiaoxia was eating the steamed buns at first, listening to Li Long speaking, and was quite attentive. Later, her face slowly turned red, and then her head was buried down.

She knew Li Long's idea very well. Although this large courtyard was a place where the two would live often in the future, to be considered a home in the true sense, it had to be the new courtyard in the team.

!.

Actually, she thought so too. This place was someone else's home before, so it didn't count. That large courtyard could be considered the home of the two. It was new, it was just built, and everything was just set up, completely meeting the concept of a new house.

Seeing Gu Xiaoxia not speaking, Li Long said with a smile:

"What does it mean that you don't speak? Is it disagreement, or tacit approval? The decoration inside still needs to be discussed and handled by us together. Now only the house is good and the furniture is there, and there are still many things to be added and decorated."

"Um." Gu Xiaoxia lowered her head and gave an "um" sound, "I will go back this week..."

She actually didn't tell Li Long that she had been using her spare time to make some home decoration items, including the "Xi" (happiness) characters to be pasted, seat cushions for stools, curtains—although people in the village didn't like to use curtains, after all, the glass of the windows at this time was patterned, but after living in the county for a period of time, Gu Xiaoxia felt it was still necessary to have some curtains.

Other small things, such as pillowcases, pillow towels, bright red quilt covers, etc., she was also buying with her own salary. She knew Li Long had been working hard for this new home, and as the future hostess, she never thought she could enjoy all this with peace of mind. This was their new home together, which needed them to build together.

Gu Xiaoxia decided to bring these things she prepared back this Saturday. In her plan, there were actually some other things to be prepared. Now it seemed it would be too late before handling the matter, but it didn't matter; she could continue to prepare slowly.

Getting up early the next day after breakfast, Li Long planted grapes, apples, and plums in the large courtyard, not many, just three or five trees. After all, the space here was limited.

When driving the tractor back to the Li family's large courtyard, Li Qing Xia and Du Chunfang, including Chen Xingbang, were all busy in the vegetable plot. It was mainly planting vegetables—now the farm work hadn't started yet, so they would tidy up the vegetable plot first when they had nothing to do.

"Little Long is back? This trip took a long time," Li Qing Xia asked with concern.

Li Long didn't call the team. It was mainly because he didn't want to publicize this matter. He believed that if he called the team leader, the news would spread throughout the team, and there would definitely be many people coming to find him, hoping he could help bring people to work in Kuitun.

The temptation of being a worker at this time was something people in later generations couldn't imagine.

"I helped the unit over there haul bricks for two days," Li Long explained while getting off the car, "Where are my eldest brother and the others?"

"Went to the field." Chen Xingbang was digging a ditch; this side was preparing to plant beans, "Eldest brother contracted a piece of land and went there with eldest sister-in-law by horse cart, saying he wanted to see the situation of the land. The wheat planted in that land, he said he still had to give the team more seed money."

Li Long nodded and said:

"I brought back quite a few fruit tree seedlings this time. Plant some here, and plant some in the courtyard in front of me. Jujubes, apples, peaches, everything."

"That's good. We can eat fruit in autumn," several people in the vegetable plot all said with a smile.

"Planting in the front courtyard, if you are often not there, will it be stolen?" Chen Xingbang asked with concern.

"Shouldn't be, right?" Li Long didn't dare to guarantee either. Adults shouldn't come to steal, but it was hard to guarantee children. After all, fruit trees were rare items at this time, and it was very normal for children to want to plant fruit trees in their own homes.

"It's okay, I will often go to watch," Du Chunfang said very actively, "Anyway, there is nothing to do. After you settle down over there, your old father and I will go over to take care of your vegetable plot."

This was a good way. Li Long and the others were often not in the courtyard. With the two elders looking after it, the vegetables and fruit trees in the courtyard could grow normally.

When Li Long designed the house, there was also a place for the two elders to live, but at present, Li Qing Xia and Du Chunfang didn't intend to live in the new courtyard in front.

Better to do it today than tomorrow. Li Long simply took the fruit trees down and divided them into three parts, two parts more and one part less. The more ones were planted in the two courtyards here, and the fewer ones were handed over to Gu Bo Yuan.

It was almost noon when the fruit trees were planted. Li Long went to the kitchen to cook, and Chen Xingbang followed.

"Little Long, are second brother and the others okay over there?"

"Um, now second brother and Junshan are both master masons. Although they are temporary workers, it's 1.3 yuan a day, not bad. It is said that there are quite a lot of people recruited this time, so they should be able to get on the payroll, right?" Li Long said while cutting vegetables, "Should know in a short while."

"I have also thought about it these two days. I plan to go to Shicheng to set up a stall," Chen Xingbang said, "Being a worker is stable, but earning too little money. I went to the county to take a look these two days, and went to Shicheng to take a look. The stall owners on the old street, if one person does well in a day, they can earn half a month to a month's wage of a worker!"

This was a fact. The first people to get rich were actually the peddlers who seized business opportunities at this time. They bought various materials at low prices from the countryside or other cities and set up stalls on the old street to sell them, which could earn a lot. After all, the old street, as a gathering and distribution center for people, was also becoming a gathering and distribution center for goods.

The place Chen Xingbang chose was correct.

"Okay. I will go over there to rent a courtyard in two days. It will be better for you to live there and set up a stall. Brother-in-law, what do you plan to sell?"

"Meat, sell meat," Chen Xingbang had already thought about it, "Get some beef and mutton to sell, preferably alive, slaughter and sell at the same time."

Li Long remembered that Chen Xingbang's method of slaughtering pigs before the New Year was very proficient. It seemed he should have practiced this aspect.

"People here live quite well, and quite a few people eat meat," Chen Xingbang continued, "I think selling meat shouldn't lose money. Just like selling fish before, there won't be few people buying. The meat supplied by the current food factory is all given to those public units. Ordinary people have to go to the market to buy meat. Receiving cheap beef and mutton from the countryside and mountains and slaughtering and selling them on the old street can earn a lot."

Li Long nodded. This was equivalent to a replica of his own concentrated hauling of sheep to the sugar factory to sell, but he was selling wholesale, and Chen Xingbang was selling retail. Relatively speaking, retail earned more, but the cycle was longer.

"Then I will go to the mountains in a few days. Brother-in-law, you follow me. Let's buy a few sheep back to try our hand first."

"Okay." Chen Xingbang was actually waiting for this sentence from Li Long. At this time of the season, the pigs in the countryside had just started to be fed, so it was certain that no good pigs could be received. Although there were sheep in the countryside, they were certainly not cheap. Chen Xingbang knew that Li Long had received sheep in the mountains before, and the acquisition was cheap, so this was his idea.

When Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei came back, the meal was almost ready. They knew Li Long was back when they saw the tractor. Li Jianguo asked Li Long about the situation of Li Anguo and the others over there as soon as he got off the car.

After listening to Li Long finish, Li Jianguo could be considered to have put his heart down. He said:

"After eating, you go to the horse yard. Your second sister-in-law and the others don't know the situation yet. You have to tell them. By the way, there is also Yongqiang's family. After eating, I will go and tell Yang Hua, so he won't worry either."

"I will go and tell them all," Li Long said, "It won't take much time, I can say it more clearly."

"Also okay." (End of chapter) **CHAPTER 433: Preparing for the Wedding with Whip and Spur**

"That works too." (End of chapter)