Chapter 453: Not Forgetting One's Roots While Rich, That Is Fine

This time, the pit Li Long dug wasn't just to trap small wild boars; if possible, he also wanted to get some big ones together.

Having meat to eat was better than just eating grain, right?

Since the beginning of spring, hunting here, to be honest, Li Long's harvest had been much less than usual. He didn't know if it was because the wild beasts had run into the deep mountains due to more people in the forest, or if his luck had truly leaked.

So this time, he planned to make a big pit.

Relying on his strength being greater than others and having eaten meat at noon, Li Long arrived at the place and started digging where the wild boar hoof prints were most concentrated.

He initially planned to dig a two-meter square pit, but as he dug, he felt something was wrong, so he shrank it and dug a one-and-a-half-meter square pit.

Digging half a meter deep, this layer was all black soil. From top to bottom, it was humus soil, hard soil. Half a meter down, it turned into yellow soil, and grass roots and such were fewer. Occasionally, he could see holes dug by insects. This layer of yellow soil was also about half a meter thick. It took Li Long nearly an hour just to dig this soil out.

Even though his strength was greater than others, he was panting by this time.

Digging further down, sand and small stones began to appear. Li Long knew that if he dug further, there would definitely be Gobi stones. But this was also good; this place should have been an ancient riverbed or something similar, which was why there were such geological layers.

After resting for a while, he continued digging. He planned to dig it with a small mouth and a large bottom, which was more time-consuming. The sun was already slanting west, but Li Long didn't intend to change his plan. At most, he would make the mouth smaller so that the bottom would be large; once the wild boars fell in, it would be hard for them to climb out.

He didn't intend to put any sticks at the bottom; he mainly wanted to catch live wild boars.

The method of setting traps like last year wasn't suitable here. There were no shrubs nearby, and the grass didn't grow high, so setting traps was too obvious. Wild boars were actually quite smart, and they wouldn't approach if you drove in stakes.

So it was better to dig a pit, cover it with branches, spread leaves on top, and sprinkle corn kernels. It would definitely be able to attract these guys.

Thinking while digging the pit, he finally reached the Gobi stone layer. This was more difficult.

Li Long looked at the height; it was about one and a half meters. At this time, throwing Gobi stones out of the pit wasn't very convenient; after all, the pit was relatively small, and he couldn't quite stretch out.

But he could only dig slowly. After all, he had already started and couldn't give up halfway.

Li Long missed Tao Da following him at this time; at least there had been someone to work with then.

The Gobi stones below were of various sizes, with some as big as a soccer ball, so he had to hold the stones and throw them out.

Fortunately, Li Long himself was tall enough; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to get them out.

After digging for a while, he climbed up again, looked at the sun, and saw it might only be an hour or two before it set, so he thought about speeding up.

But there was so much soil near the pit, and he couldn't just leave it there, so he shoveled the soil one shovel at a time and threw it into the nearby stream.

After shoveling enough, he threw the stones. After finishing these, Li Long felt the sweat on his back wet and then dry.

Getting a wild boar isn't easy for me either. This is the incompetence of a second-rate hunter. If I were capable, I would find the traces of wild boars in the forest and chase after them. Unlike myself, who has to put in so much effort!

Well, stupid methods have their benefits. Li Long could only comfort himself this way. He couldn't be like this in the future; he had to learn from old hunters, wander in the mountains when free, find traces of animals, and make progress. He was currently regressing.

When he went down again to dig out those stones, the stones shoveled out by one shovel were just about to be thrown up, and then he stopped.

Isn't this a piece of jasper?

He picked up the dark green stone on the shovel and looked at it carefully.

The light in the pit was a bit dim, so Li Long simply climbed up, wiped the sand particles off the surface of the stone, and examined it carefully.

It really was!

And it was a piece of jasper without dark spots—the texture was very high!

It weighed four or five kilograms, so it wasn't light either.

It was no worse than the first piece of jasper he had gotten from Halimu!

Suddenly, Li Long perked up.

He remembered seeing those jade farmers in short videos in his previous life shoveling the Gobi one shovel at a time and digging out jade seeds.

He didn't know if those were true or false, but this one of his was definitely real.

Just this one piece of material, at the current price, even if it couldn't sell for a thousand yuan, selling it for seven or eight hundred shouldn't be a problem, right? Digging such a big pit here today was worth it!

Resources were truly abundant at this time.

Li Long wiped the jasper seed material clean, put it aside, and then jumped down to continue digging. Even if he couldn't get a wild boar tomorrow, it was worth it.

He also planned to see if there was any more jade. Although there was quite a bit at home, the more the better, right?

He looked at every shovel he dug, but found that there were still quite a few "monkey" stones (earth-gray stones with holes similar to Taihu stones, with a texture softer than ordinary Gobi stones but not soil; the local term is "monkey"), but he didn't find any more jasper.

Unknowingly, the hole was dug to a depth of 1.7 or 1.8 meters, and it was small on top and large on the bottom. To see if there was any jasper, the bottom was dug into a large belly by Li Long. If a wild boar really fell in, it definitely wouldn't be able to come up.

Li Long was exhausted and hadn't gained anything else, so he climbed up with some discouragement.

The sun was almost setting on the mountaintop. He sighed; he couldn't relax yet, he still had to finish the remaining work.

He ran to the nearby forest, broke off quite a few branches, carried a large armful over, and spread them over the pit. He spread them both horizontally and vertically. After spreading them, he stepped on them lightly with one foot; they could withstand a certain amount of weight, but not particularly heavy weight. A small wild boar shouldn't be able to step through, but two or three small wild boars would fall in.

Next was sprinkling corn kernels around. He sprinkled them sparsely around and more in the middle, which was convenient for letting the wild boars gather.

After sprinkling, seeing there were still some branches left, he simply inserted them vertically around the pit. This way, if someone came over, it could serve as a warning to prevent people from falling in and getting injured.

After finishing these things, Li Long didn't want to stay here anymore. He put the jade stone into the bag, carried his things well, and left. The sun had already set, and it was cold. He was still sweating, and with this little wind blowing, his body felt cold. If this continued, he might catch a cold.

He hurried back to the wooden house. There was no fire under the stove outside, so he went back into the house. The stove hadn't gone out yet, so he added coal and boiled a pot of water. After the water was hot, he closed the door, took off his clothes, and wiped his body to avoid catching a cold.

Tired for a day, he didn't want to cook, so he heated up the meat soup, cut some offal to eat, filled his stomach haphazardly, and went to sleep.

Anyway, he had set a trap, and he didn't plan to go over there to check too early the next day. If they could fall in, he believed the wild boars wouldn't be able to jump out.

Li Qing Xia and Tao Da arrived at Little Haizi half an hour earlier than usual to retrieve the nets.

At this time, no one else was there. Little Haizi was quite quiet, with occasional calls from early-rising water chickens and wild ducks.

They had set quite a few nets, so the old and young divided the work. Now Tao Da could sit on a tire to retrieve nets, but he still didn't know how to row the tire and set nets with his mouth. So he rowed the tire into the reeds to retrieve nets, while Li Qing Xia collected nets near the water trough on the shore. During this time, he had also figured out the water conditions here.

This time, besides setting nets, they also set two basins, wanting to get some small dogfish. He remembered very clearly that when he sold fish with Li Long last year, small dogfish were more popular than crucian carp. It was just that these guys weren't like loaches and died easily, so they had to be taken to the market to be sold as soon as they were caught.

Nearly an hour later, when there was a bit of red light in the east, they had already retrieved the nets. Tao Da dragged four urea bags, all half-full, and Li Qing Xia also dragged out two bags and two basins.

Both of them rode bicycles, tied the bags securely on the bicycles. Tao Da also had to buckle the tire on. It was barely enough to push back.

When they were walking back, Old Meng and others from the village just came to retrieve their nets.

Exchanging greetings, Li Qing Xia and Tao Da hurried back to the Li family, and then the whole family started sorting the fish together. Tao Da's wife, Yang Pingping, was also there. She was showing a bit, but in this day and age, there were many women who worked while pregnant, and regardless of gender, it didn't seem to be that emphasized, mainly due to the limitations of conditions.

Although there weren't as many fish on the nets as before, there were many nets, so the harvest was also large. This time, with over a dozen nets, they got seventy or eighty kilograms of fish, plus over ten kilograms of small dogfish.

"The two of us are leaving now. You guys can mend these nets when you have time." Li Qing Xia started assigning tasks. "If they sell well, we'll go again tomorrow. If not, we won't set so many nets then."

Two people, nearly one hundred kilograms of fish divided into four bags, two tied together and placed on the back racks of the bicycles. Li Qing Xia and Tao Da took the scales, basins, and other things, rode off, and left.

The remaining people ate first, and then talked about mending the nets. The two rode their bicycles all the way to the county first. As before, they bought a few steamed buns at the pork canteen, eating while riding toward Shicheng.

When they left Maxian, the sun had already risen a bit. It was later than usual, but the two didn't care too much. The Shicheng market was large, so it didn't matter if they were late; at worst, they would just stay a bit longer.

By the time they arrived at Shicheng, it was already working hours, but the old street was still lively, with people bustling about. Judging by the scale of the crowd, it was at least three or four times larger than the Maxian market.

Perfect.

Li Qing Xia saw this situation and knew that today was a sure thing!

"Quick, quick, Daqiang, let's find two spots and then set up the stall." Li Qing Xia got off, pushed his bicycle, and whispered to Tao Da. "If you see an empty stall spot, grab it first!"

"Alright." Tao Da's eyes were also looking left and right. It was Li Qing Xia who saw a stall spot first. The original stall owner was selling vegetables, and by this time, the vegetables in the basket had bottomed out, with only a small handful left. He didn't intend to sell anymore. Just as he lifted the basket, Li Qing Xia took a stride and occupied the spot. A middle-aged man was a step late and said with some regret and admiration:

"Old man, your movements are quite nimble!"

"That's right, I practiced martial arts for two days when I was young." Li Qing Xia said proudly while putting down his bicycle. "You keep looking; there are still good spots."

Tao Da actually saw this spot too, but he saw that more than one person was eyeing it, so he hesitated, and this hesitation caused him to lose the first opportunity.

Fortunately, Li Qing Xia grabbed it, which wasn't bad, so he continued to look ahead. After Li Qing Xia propped up his bicycle, he put down the basin and took off the fish bag, first pouring in the half bag of dogfish. Seeing there were still live fish, he felt relieved, and then poured out the other fish.

!.

No need to ask for the price. There were two fish sellers nearby, and Li Qing Xia had already heard their shouting: big fish were 1.1 yuan per kilogram, small crucian carp were 0.95 yuan per kilogram—none of them were cheap.

There were quite a few buyers. It looked like they had come to the right place today!

The old man hadn't even shouted yet, and someone had already come over.

"Old man, are these loaches?"

"Yes, plateau loaches, good stuff."

"How are they sold?"

"1.1 yuan."

"Come, weigh me two kilograms."

They had opened for business.

Tao Da continued to stroll around, and then he saw an acquaintance.

Chen Xingbang was weighing meat for someone. Early in the morning, half of a sheep had already been sold, and his stall could be considered famous. However, Chen Xingbang was both happy and worried; there were only seven or eight sheep left out of the fifteen in the courtyard, not enough to sell.

"Brother-in-law?" Tao Da called out, following Li Long. "Your business is quite good!"

When Chen Xingbang saw it was Tao Da, he was happy. "Yo, Daqiang is here. Are you selling fish?"

"Yes, I came with Grandpa Li. Grandpa has already set up his stall over there. Do you want me to go over and say something?"

"No, no, no." Chen Xingbang hurriedly waved his hand. "Once this stall is set up, how can I leave it? Besides, I should be the one to go over. You help me watch the stall, and I'll go over to take a look, greet them, and then come back. Haven't you found a stall yet? You help me look, and I'll find you a stall in a moment."

"Alright. How are you selling this meat?"

"Meat is 1.35 yuan per kilogram, ribs are 1.2 yuan... You don't need to sell; just say the stall owner is leaving for a moment and will be right back. You don't know how to cut meat either, just help me watch it."

Hearing Chen Xingbang say this, Tao Da felt relieved. He really didn't know how to cut meat for people and was afraid of messing things up.

Chen Xingbang put down his knife and hurried toward the direction Tao Da pointed. Li Qing Xia was weighing fish for someone and smiled when he saw Chen Xingbang. Chen Xingbang smiled and said:

"Old man, why did you run over here too? This ride isn't close!"

"My health is very good! This bit of road is nothing!" Li Qing Xia was very proud and said, "How is your meat stall?"

"It's okay, selling one sheep a day, can earn a few yuan." There were too many people, so Chen Xingbang couldn't explain in detail.

"Then you go watch the stall, we'll talk after you're done." Li Qing Xia waved his hand. "The stall can't be left unattended."

"Alright." Chen Xingbang had only come over to greet them, and then hurried back. There were already people waiting at that stall.

After Chen Xingbang greeted this customer, he pointed to the side and said:

"Daqiang, you stay here, I'll move my cart back a bit," and then he said to another stall owner nearby:

"Old Wu, move your stall to the side a bit, make some room for my big brother here."

"Alright." The stall nearby sold willow baskets and was familiar with Chen Xingbang. Hearing this, he moved a bit, clearing a spot for Tao Da.

Tao Da was also quite happy, hurriedly set up his stall here, and started shouting to sell.

In less than two hours, the mutton was sold out, and the fish was also gone.

"Let's go, follow me to the courtyard, put the cart and things down first, and I'll take you to eat lunch." Although Chen Xingbang was also renting a courtyard, he could be considered to have a foothold here, so he led Li Qing Xia and Tao Da to his courtyard.

When they arrived at the courtyard, Li Qing Xia and Tao Da were both quite happy. Although this courtyard wasn't as big as the one in the team, at least it was in the city, and having such a large courtyard with sheep inside was already not bad.

"Seven sheep left." Chen Xingbang said. "Not enough to sell. I can sell another sheep this afternoon, and these sheep will only last for three more days. I used to earn a dozen or twenty yuan a day, now I can earn thirty or forty yuan," Chen Xingbang said with some worry. "What to do when there are no more sheep later?"

"Are you wanting Little Long to get you another batch of sheep?" Li Qing Xia understood his son-in-law's meaning.

"It would be best if I could get them. Now I don't have a horse cart, let alone a tractor, and only Little Long can solve this problem."

"Little Long has gone into the mountains. If he comes back in these two days, we can tell him; if he doesn't come back, then we can only wait."

"Waiting is fine too. If it really doesn't work, I'll push the flatbed cart to collect pigs nearby." Chen Xingbang didn't rely entirely on Li Long; he also had his own backup plan. "If I can't collect sheep, I'll sell pork; that can work too."

"That's right, you can't rely entirely on Little Long." Li Qing Xia was very satisfied with Chen Xingbang's plan. "Looking at it this way, you can still earn some money."

"If it continues like this, in less than three months, I'll be able to bring Hongqin's mother and daughter over."

"Alright, as long as you have a plan." Hearing his son-in-law's words, Li Qing Xia was even more satisfied. "They can live a good life when they come over."

Chen Xingbang took the two of them out, locked the door, and ate mixed noodles at a small restaurant nearby. After business on the old street got better, not only were there mobile food stalls, but some people also saw business opportunities, opened a door facing outward in their own courtyards, and opened restaurants. They were all home-cooked meals, and business was quite booming.

After the three of them finished eating, Li Qing Xia and Tao Da rode their bicycles back with their things. Chen Xingbang prepared to slaughter a sheep. Now his stall was quite famous, and he could sell another sheep in the afternoon, which could earn money, so he didn't intend to engage in any hunger marketing; earning the money was the real business.

Early in the morning, Li Long climbed up, and the fatigue from last night completely disappeared. He looked outside; the sun hadn't risen yet, so he set up a fire, boiled porridge, and made breakfast.

After breakfast, Li Long tidied up the room, prepared firewood under the stove outside, and only then shouldered his gun, took the bag, rope, and shovel, and headed southwest.

He planned that if the wild boars didn't come, he would continue to wait. If the wild boars came but didn't fall into the trap, he would track the wild boars' traces and wander into the mountains; anyway, there was nothing to do.

Just as Li Long was about to reach the place where he dug the trap, he heard someone shouting over there:

"Help, help! Is there anyone to save me?"

What's the situation? Did someone fall into the pit?

Li Long was startled, hurriedly ran over there, and then discovered that the sound seemed to be coming from the mountain? (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 454 =====