Chapter 450: Still copying in an open-book test?

When Li Long arrived at the big courtyard, Gu Xiaoxia had already finished work. Hearing the tractor's sound, she was full of joy, walked quickly from the kitchen, and came to open the big gate.

The three little guys heard the movement and also ran over. Gu Xiaoxia opened the gate halfway and they wanted to run out, Gu Xiaoxia hurriedly went to chase, afraid they would run out and couldn't be chased back, for a time a bit flustered.

Fortunately, as soon as the gate opened, Li Long's tractor turned and entered. The momentum and movement of the tractor scared the little guys, Gu Xiaoxia took the opportunity to open the big gate completely, and closed it again after the tractor entered.

The little guys waited until Li Long turned off the tractor before daring to surround it. Li Long wasn't stingy either, got some grass down from the bucket to feed them.

"Don't sprinkle it here, it's troublesome to sweep." Gu Xiaoxia complained, "They eat wherever they poop, annoying!"

"Then next time I come back, I'll pull them back to the horse number." Li Long joked, "Are you willing or not?"

"That... better let them stay." Gu Xiaoxia was still quite lonely alone in the big courtyard, having these little guys around after work, although a bit annoying, at least there was a living thing, otherwise this big courtyard would be quiet and really a bit creepy.

"I'll sweep up after they finish eating," Li Long said with a smile. "I'll put the feed from the back of the truck in the backyard; you can feed them wherever you like. By the way, your dad brought you some alfalfa. Do you want to mix some in for them to eat tonight? It's all been picked clean."

"Ah, there is alfalfa, too good." Gu Xiaoxia excitedly went to the bucket to look, "Mix some, mix some. If time wasn't short, I would have steamed some."

"Then steam tomorrow morning, get up a bit earlier tomorrow morning, steaming this isn't very troublesome." Li Long said very easily, actually he also knew how to steam, this was similar to steaming other vegetables, wash clean, mix with flour, and then steam on the cage.

Simple.

Gu Xiaoxia excitedly went to blanch and mix the alfalfa, Li Long watched the deer and roe deer eat the grass he threw down, and when he saw the little guys start to cause trouble, he drove them away, and he himself cleared the courtyard clean with a big broom.

These little guys really do like to poop and pee everywhere. After Li Long finished sweeping, he chased them into the backyard. Seeing that the empty glass greenhouse was vacant, he simply drove them inside. Let's just use this as a pen for now.

Ignoring the anxious cries of the little ones, Li Long shut the door, went to the front yard, fetched a basin of water, carried it into the glass room, set it down for them, and left quickly after closing the door.

The little ones' cries wouldn't carry very far; they would slowly adapt. At most, just add a little feed from time to time. Otherwise, the whole yard would be covered in poop, and even if these droppings were round and easy to sweep, it still wouldn't do.

When Li Long returned to the front yard, Gu Xiaoxia had already prepared the meal. Li Long set the small dining table in the center of the yard, laid out the dishes, and then the two of them began to eat.

"I penned the little deer in the glass room," Li Long said while eating. "I think if you want to keep them, just keep them penned inside for now. Let them out for some air when you come back. That way, it's easier to manage and avoids having too many droppings in the yard. At most, just put more forage and water in the glass room."

"Mm, okay." Gu Xiaoxia also thought that sounded good. Actually, back when she was still in the team, with her mindset at that time, she certainly would have thought of such a method. But now that she was working in the county, her mindset was almost that of a city dweller; she couldn't think that far ahead. She just wanted the little deer to be freer and to have a living creature as a pet or companion.

In this day and age, they didn't have the concept of "pets" in their minds yet; they just felt that having the ability to raise a living creature was actually quite nice.

"How is my dad?" Gu Xiaoxia had last gone back ten days ago. She didn't go back every week; since they had a yard here, going back every two or three weeks was perfectly normal.

"He's doing quite well. When I went over this afternoon, he was picking alfalfa and even joking with me. There's no contracted land at home, just those ten mu of yours, which he can manage by himself. I saw the vegetable garden was all planted, and the grape trellis was set up too. He's in good spirits. Next time I get a wild boar or something in the mountains, I'll send a leg over. Eating more meat regularly, plus being in a good mood, means he's doing great."

"My dad's mood should be alright now." Gu Xiaoxia knew that since she was married, her father had one less worry, so his mood would definitely be good.

"Yes, you can tell; he feels much younger," Li Long joked. "Don't say he's over forty; even if you said he was in his thirties, people would believe it."

"How could he be that young?" Gu Xiaoxia rolled her eyes at him, and while picking up some alfalfa to eat, she asked:

"How are Dad and Mom? Are they in good health?"

She followed Li Long in calling Li Qing Xia and Du Chunfang "Dad" and "Mom."

"They're doing well. Mom is working in our vegetable patch, and Dad is catching fish. Daqiang came by today and asked about the matter of weaving carrying poles. He said he'd start following Dad to catch fish the day after tomorrow. That's good, too; they can look out for each other."

"Mm-hmm, that's good." Gu Xiaoxia asked about Li Jianguo and Liang Yumei as well, and knowing they were all doing well, she felt relieved. Right now, she was slowly adapting to being a Li family daughter-in-law. At this time, after a woman married out, her mindset was indeed different from later generations; traditional concepts were still quite strong, and she truly considered herself a member of the Li family.

"I'm going to the Agricultural Machinery Bureau tomorrow to take the license exam," Li Long said, speaking of his own affairs. "After I get the license, I'll head into the mountains. I plan to do some hunting during this time and see if I can collect a batch of fritillaria to earn some money first. Of course, it would be best to get some game to improve our diet. We're low on meat at home, right?"

"There's still some left. Sister Yang doesn't put much meat in when she cooks every time, so we only eat more meat at noon. I see Han Fang looking at the meat very greedily, but she doesn't eat it. She's very sensible."

"Mm, encourage her more when you have time. I'll see how things go when I enter the mountains. Yesterday, I caught a doe with a fawn; the fawn was still small, so I just took it to the horse corral. This time, I'll see if I can bag another wild boar or something; when I bring it back, we'll eat more then."

The two chatted while eating, cleaned up together afterward, and as it grew dark, they both went into the bedroom.

They were still newlyweds, and some activities were still in the exploration and practice stage. Well, young people, they never tired of it; it was perfectly normal.

The next day, the sun was high.

Of course, it wasn't really that late. When Li Long got up, the sun had only just peeked out, and Gu Xiaoxia had already made breakfast. After they finished eating, Li Long cleaned up, and Gu Xiaoxia went to work.

After cleaning up here, Li Long went to the glass room to give the deer forage and water, swept up the grass stalks inside, closed the door securely, and rode his bicycle out, preparing for the exam.

This couldn't be delayed.

At this time, basically no one checked if you drove a tractor without a license, but to be honest, driving a tractor to the Agricultural Machinery Bureau for the exam was truly courting death.

Li Long saw someone actually drive a tractor, *clatter-clatter-clatter*, to the entrance of the Agricultural Machinery Bureau, then turn into the yard, only to be detained by the staff.

Once checked, no license—driving without one. Alright, education first, then a fine.

A good point at this time was that they really focused on "learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones" and "curing the sickness to save the patient." They educated this big brother for over ten minutes before finally fining him five yuan.

For someone driving a tractor, was five yuan a lot? A single trip hauling sand would earn it back!

It was just a gesture. The focus was still on warning and education.

Li Long watched the whole thing, mainly because the exam hadn't started yet and they were waiting for people.

That big brother was also willing to accept the punishment; after paying the fine, he obediently brought his receipt over to read with Li Long and the others.

Li Long saw him holding the book upside down and asked:

"Big brother, are you illiterate?"

"Actually, yes..." That big brother had a square face, thick eyebrows, and big eyes, with a tall, sturdy build and a slicked-back hairstyle. He looked quite upright; if his temperament weren't so peasant-like, he could easily play a leader in a serious drama. When he smiled like that, a sense of simple honesty came through.

"Brother, my name is Deng Chaoxian, from the Unity Commune. Where are you from?"

"Red Flag," Li Long said, raising the book in his hand. "The exam is about to start. What will you do if you can't read?"

"What else can I do? Copy, of course. It's not that I'm truly illiterate; the team held literacy classes, and I actually learned some characters, but I've returned most of them to the teacher. I don't know many now. Right now, I'm counting on copying. Brother, can you sit next to me later? How about I treat you to lunch?"

This guy was quite quick to get familiar.

Li Long thought about it and said:

"If the proctoring isn't strict, that's fine. If it's strict, then no. I don't want to be implicated."

"Don't worry, don't worry, it definitely won't be strict. If they let us read books for the exam, how strict can it be? I've already asked around; this is mainly practical operation. I have no problem with the practical part; it's just this part I'm worried about. Actually, a friend of mine is in the County Youth League Committee, but I'm too embarrassed to ask him."

Alright, Li Long didn't say much more. He wasn't worried about the practical exam in the afternoon either.

Soon, everyone arrived. After waiting a while longer, it was time for the exam. They called out names, checked the headcount, and then led them into a conference room, where they sat down, received their papers, and began the exam.

Deng Chaoxian sat right next to Li Long. Upon receiving the paper, Li Long found it was actually quite simple; he had seen everything in the book and had an impression of it. After the proctor handed out the papers, he sat in the front and read a book, never even lifting his head.

There were quite a few people who couldn't flip through the book, and many who didn't know many characters. Soon, people started whispering to each other. "Keep it down!" the proctor said in a loud voice.

Many people were startled, but then they saw the proctor hadn't moved from his spot. Seeing that everyone had quieted down, he lowered his head and continued reading his book.

So that's how it is!

Then hurry up and copy!

Deng Chaoxian immediately leaned toward Li Long to see the content. Li Long didn't mind him and answered the questions on his own, looking at the next one after finishing the previous one. There really weren't many people like him who could answer the questions so easily, so those like them became popular, and quite a few people gathered around.

With the proctor's reminder, they didn't dare make loud noises, but they were very serious when copying. This could also be considered taking it seriously.

After Li Long finished the exam, he placed the paper on the table and let those people copy. It was no big deal to be accommodating at a time like this; since the teacher didn't care, he might as well be helpful.

When the people on both sides had copied enough, and even those further away had come over, Li Long checked his watch. An hour had passed, so he stood up, ready to hand in his paper.

The proctor heard the movement, looked up, and asked Li Long:

"You're finished?"

"Finished."

!.

"Alright, bring your paper over." The proctor actually knew that Li Long had been accommodating to quite a few people, and said, "You know the time for the practical exam in the afternoon, right?"

"I know."

"Then come over at that time; you'll be the first one up. You can go familiarize yourself with the tractor now. You know where the field is, right?"

For people with ability, even teachers were appreciative and would be accommodating.

"I know, thank you, teacher." Li Long took the paper over and handed it in. The teacher looked at it, saw it was about what he expected, smiled, and waved for Li Long to leave.

The practical exam field was in the backyard of the Agricultural Machinery Bureau. Li Long had previously seen the lines drawn there and the poles set up. This practical exam was commonly known as "drilling the poles." It was relatively difficult for beginners, but for Li Long, it was quite simple.

Someone was watching the field. Hearing Li Long's intention, he handed him the starting crank. Cranking a tractor was also an operation. Li Long wasn't afraid of this; he tapped the hand throttle, set it to one-third, pressed the decompression lever, and then used the crank. He tested the strength first and felt that although this tractor was semi-old, the diesel engine was very smooth; it must have been well-tuned.

Using sixty or seventy percent of his strength, he got the tractor started and then performed the operations one by one.

After going through everything and parking the tractor back in its original spot, the staff member watching gave a thumbs up:

"Impressive! To be able to reverse like that—among those who have come for the assessment, you're the first! You're guaranteed to pass!"

Li Long thanked him, put the crank back in its place, and left the Agricultural Machinery Bureau. He didn't wait for Deng Chaoxian to treat him; he hadn't taken the man's words seriously anyway. It was better to go to Sister Yang's place and eat with Gu Xiaoxia.

Gu Xiaoxia hadn't finished work yet. Li Long went around the market and didn't see Dad or Tao Daqiang, guessing they must have already sold the fish and gone back. The market was even more prosperous; there were even people selling alfalfa. Of course, whether buying or selling, they were basically all Han Chinese.

This reminded Li Long of some ethnic comrades in later generations saying, "You Han people eat grass," but slowly, they started eating it along with them.

The "eating grass" mentioned at that time included, but was not limited to, alfalfa, wild leeks, dandelions, and various other wild vegetables in the spring.

Some say "rely on the mountains to eat from the mountains," but in reality, apart from the occasional hunting, the herdsmen in the mountains basically wouldn't touch those things in the mountains. Whether it was Codonopsis, fritillaria, or mushrooms, to them, they were all just grass, only for the cattle and sheep to eat.

As for things like deer antlers, many living on the edge of the mountains knew their value, but the herdsmen living deep in the mountains didn't know. They had been herding for generations; even by the end of the 20th century, they hadn't had much contact with the outside world, so they didn't really care about these things.

By the 2010s, when these herdsmen had more contact with the outside world, they started slowly using the resources around them to exchange for money. At the very beginning, a bag of over 50 kilograms of wild mushrooms would only exchange for 50 yuan. Can you believe it? This was around 2015.

But a year or two later, with more tourists, Kazakh children started leading their own horses to scenic spots to earn money. And later on, herdsmen near the mountains could carry bags of mushrooms during the rainy season and sell them to tourists at market prices. Fresh Bachu mushrooms were 100 yuan per kilogram, fresh morels were 180 to 200 yuan per kilogram, or even higher.

And in city streets, you could also see ethnic minorities pushing carts selling alfalfa, wild leeks, etc., and the prices weren't low either.

Digressing.

Li Long looked around and ran into the grain stall owner. That person still recognized Li Long and greeted him:

"Why didn't you drive the tractor today?"

"It shakes my butt sore," Li Long joked, "taking two days off."

The stall owner didn't take it seriously either. After chatting for a few sentences, Li Long left.

He rode his bike to the Cultural Palace, went around, and found the ticket scalper Cao Liu.

"Big brother, haven't seen you in a long time." Cao Liu still had a deep impression of Li Long, and what made him very grateful was that Li Long told him there was still a market for scalping tickets. At first, he didn't have much confidence, but Li Long was a big client, and since the man had said so, he believed him. He didn't expect that tickets would continue to be used, especially after household appliances like televisions came out, the demand for industrial tickets increased greatly, and he made a small fortune again.

However, in another year or two, as light industry in Northern Xinjiang developed, basically, tickets wouldn't be needed for daily necessities.

So when Li Long bought tickets from him, he also reminded him to change his line of work; these tickets would slowly become useless.

Cao Liu listened to Li Long's words and started thinking about other paths. He had saved some money over the past two years. In the current commodity economy period, all kinds of materials were in short supply. For people like them who were relatively well-informed, it wasn't difficult to find a way to get rich.

Li Long bought some tickets, intending to buy daily necessities from the department store tomorrow. He felt that people like Sun Jia Qiang definitely lacked daily necessities more than they lacked money. After all, going into the mountains wasn't easy, and if you asked them to carry daily supplies into the mountains, they couldn't carry much. Li Long wanted to be a middleman and earn the price difference.

He now felt that having a tractor to go back and forth was really convenient. It was fast, could haul a lot, had plenty of power, and fuel was cheap now.

If he had known, he should have bought it last year.

Still lacked experience.

After buying the tickets, Li Long saw the time was about right, got on his bicycle, and went to the Education Bureau.

After the time point arrived, Li Long saw Gu Xiaoxia pushing her bicycle out, so he waved at her and went up to meet her.

"Why did you come? Didn't drive the tractor today?"

"Taking the license exam, so I have to give them some face. Someone drove a tractor over and ended up being fined five yuan." Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia about Deng Chaoxian's affair as a joke, and the two rode their bicycles side by side toward the south.

Gu Xiaoxia's colleagues behind them saw it and started gossiping. Some were envious, some were jealous, and some praised them as a perfect match.

After lunch, the two rested for a while and then came out together. Li Long went to the Agricultural Machinery Bureau; he wanted to finish the exam early, buy things early, and then head straight into the mountains tomorrow morning.

He thought he had come early enough, but he didn't expect there were people who had come even earlier. Some people were waiting at the entrance of the Agricultural Machinery Bureau early on. It wasn't work time yet, and although the gate was open, the guard wouldn't let anyone in.

Then just wait.

Work time arrived. Li Long was the first to go to the backyard, preparing for the practical exam.

He had gone through it in the morning, so Li Long was very confident. After the staff were in place, he was the first to go up and operate, and then he passed very smoothly.

Next was waiting for the notification to get the certificate. This required a process, just like registering a tractor; it couldn't be real-time.

Li Long left on his bicycle, then went to the compound to drive the tractor, gave the deer water and forage along the way, and then went to purchase supplies.

Then he saw the perm-haired Little Liu again. (End of chapter)