Chapter 683: Good Harvest Upon Entering the Mountain (Happy New Year's Eve, Only One Chapter at Midnight)

When Li Long stepped over the scattered rocks to reach the other side of the mountain, those living ibexes were nowhere to be seen.

He found two shot ibexes in the grass halfway up the slope; the smaller one was already dead, having been blocked by a large bush as it tumbled down, and without Li Long's keen sense of smell, it would have been truly difficult to spot this mere ten-plus-kilogram young ibex amidst the tall grass.

The other adult ibex was easier to find; it was blocked by a rock and not yet completely dead, with Li Long's bullet having struck its belly so that it was still panting, though it clearly would not live much longer.

Li Long carried the young ibex in one hand and the adult's hooves in the other, beginning his descent down the mountain.

He would rather detour another half-circle than walk through those piles of loose stones, which were far too uncomfortable; after carrying the two goats down several dozen meters, Li Long stopped.

The large ibex struggled once more, but that struggling force was negligible to Li Long; the main issue was that the gravel in his shoes hadn't been fully emptied, causing a painful crunch with every step.

When sitting down, Li Long carefully inspected the area to find a spot free of stinging nettles, lest he get pricked and suffer discomfort for half a day.

This plant, also called scorpion grass, delivers a sting that is truly incurable, feeling even more unbearable than a bee sting.

In his previous life, while traveling to Ili, Li Long had seen people in the countryside of Zhaosu and Nileke using this very plant as a boundary fence for their vegetable gardens.

What a brilliant idea.

After pouring the sand out of his shoes and tapping them to ensure they were empty, Li Long took off his socks, turned them inside out, shook them thoroughly, and then put them back on.

Once he put his shoes back on and continued walking, he felt much more comfortable.

The adult goat's vitality was indeed strong, as it was still alive; Li Long carried the two goats down to the mountain base, walked around the valley to its eastern end, and then headed north.

Although this added over a kilometer to the journey, honestly, at least he didn't have to step into the loose gravel again, which felt quite nice.

Those weathered loose stones were truly detestable.

From afar, he could see the man he had spoken to earlier and saved standing on another mountain peak; upon spotting Li Long, the man waved desperately and shouted something.

Li Long paid no attention to this fellow, as he found the man somewhat annoying.

It was an hour later by the time Li Long returned to the jeep.

He did not drive off immediately but set the ibexes down and retrieved several bottles of liquor from the back seat of the jeep.

These bottles of liquor were Gucheng Daqu purchased from the Department Store, a fifty-degree spirit with a fine taste.

Li Long unscrewed four liquor bottles, poured out half the contents of each, and then carried the bottles over to the adult ibex.

Since it wasn't dead yet, it might as well make its final contribution.

It was said that this ibex was a hanging goat and that its blood was excellent; the small one was already dead and useless for this purpose, but this adult one would suffice.

Li Long drew a knife from his waist, used his left hand to part the fur on the ibex's neck, gauged the spot with the short blade, and then slashed downward in one stroke.

Once the blood vessel was cut, blood immediately gushed forth.

Although the ibex was already at its last gasp, it still struggled when cut by the knife.

Li Long set the knife aside, held the goat's head down with his left hand, and picked up a half-full bottle with his right hand to collect the goat's blood.

Three bottles were filled completely, and the fourth was less than half full; no matter how much he squeezed, no more blood could be extracted from the goat's neck.

This was enough.

Li Long screwed the caps back onto each bottle, gave them a shake, and then placed them inside the vehicle.

These four bottles could serve as an experiment; in a month or so, he would try drinking some to test the effects, and if they were good, he could pursue this again in the future, but if the results were mediocre, it would be better to just infuse deer antler velvet instead.

After draining the blood, Li Long placed the two ibexes in the front passenger seat, primarily because the back was already filled with bags of coal and bags of mushrooms.

Fortunately, the Black Tiger Palm mushrooms were relatively tough, unlike morel mushrooms which break easily; otherwise, more than half of today's harvest would have been lost.

After securing the ibexes, Li Long drove the jeep northward, turning west just before reaching the outer mountains, heading toward the location of the small wooden cabin.

When Li Long arrived at the small wooden cabin in his vehicle, he saw Sun Jia Qiang sitting on the threshold, holding an enamel basin and eating.

As Li Long stepped down from the jeep, Sun Jia Qiang stood up, swallowed the mouthful of rice in his mouth, and said with a smile:

"As soon as I saw food here, I knew you had arrived... alas, it is only because you came that I am able to eat a proper meal."

Sun Jia Qiang now looked like a wild man.

His hair was a messy tangle, making his head look like a lion's mane; his beard was also long and untrimmed, giving him the appearance of a uniquely eccentric vagrant if he were placed in a later era.

Even Li Long noticed that his teeth were yellow, unsure of how long it had been since he last brushed them.

However, thinking about it, this was normal, as not many people persisted in brushing their teeth in this era, with many paying no attention to such matters.

"I figured your supplies here were nearly exhausted, so I brought some over," Li Long said as he began unloading the coal; "I saw the coal was running low and that you had resorted to burning firewood, so I fetched some coal for you."

"Hey, this is great!" Sun Jia Qiang did not help, but watched Li Long work while saying, "I didn't find many of those mushrooms you mentioned, but I did find quite a few straw mushrooms."

"I saw them, but your dried straw mushrooms really aren't worth much," Li Long replied, setting down the four bags of coal, then carrying the two ibexes over to the spring eye before turning back to fetch the basin.

"If they aren't worth much, then they aren't worth much; I'll just take them home for my family to eat later," Sun Jia Qiang said, his eyes shining as he looked at the ibexes; "Hey, you manage to hunt something every time you enter the mountain, you're truly amazing! Northern Tianshan treats you like its own son!"

"Get lost," Li Long retorted; "You can't say things like that lightly—I saw a big bear today, and wolves too; how have you been these past few days, did you encounter any?"

"Yes! There are wolf howls outside every night; at first, it was quite frightening, but later I got used to it; anyway, they can't get in as long as I latch the door properly," Sun Jia Qiang said, holding his bowl and watching Li Long skin the ibexes nearby.

He ate quickly and with great relish; indeed, as he had said, during these days here, he only cooked properly for the first few days, and afterward, he mostly just muddled through alone in a haphazard manner.

Sometimes he even ate only one meal a day, making do with dried meat at night.

Although he didn't eat much, he hadn't actually lost much weight; Li Long had left behind plenty of wind-dried meat and that rendered fat, and since the exchanges for fritillaria bulbs had become very rare, he had eaten almost everything that remained.

Even at home, one couldn't eat this well, so although he didn't eat much, his body hadn't become too thin.

But only after eating the meal Li Long cooked did he suddenly feel that it had been a long time since he had enjoyed a normal, proper meal.

However, Sun Jia Qiang only sighed with slight emotion for a moment; as soon as Li Long finished skinning the ibexes, he immediately set down his enamel basin and began helping Li Long eviscerate them, removing the internal organs, and then went to wash the goat stomach and intestines.

He performed these tasks with great skill; although he hadn't done them for over a month in between, he quickly regained his familiarity.

"I'll leave you a goat leg and some offal; in a while, you should set up the stove inside the house, as it's dangerous if wolves come at night, so you should cook the meat inside," Li Long said while cutting off pieces of meat.

Li Long spoke as he continued to butcher the meat.

"No need, no need; as long as two bonfires are lit outside, those wolves won't dare to approach," Sun Jia Qiang said, quite experienced; perhaps having gone many days without speaking properly, he was talking quite a lot today; "I'll light both stoves, cooking meat on one and offal on the other; tonight we shall have a proper feast!"

"Alright, just be careful then," Li Long replied; since Sun Jia Qiang seemed confident, he stopped offering reminders.

"Are you coming again tomorrow?" Sun Jia Qiang asked; "Today, you can take away those mushrooms of mine that are dry enough to be collected."

"Alright; you keep the straw mushrooms, and I'll take the morels and Black Tiger Palm mushrooms... do you want to keep some of these two types to take home and eat?"

"No need." Sun Jia Qiang immediately shook his head. "I don't feel it's anything special to eat. You'd better take it away; exchanging it for money is better."

"Alright." Seeing he had made up his mind, Li Long said no more.

After butchering the meat chunks, Li Long salted the portion he intended to take. For the part left for Sun Jia Qiang, with his consent, he cut it into smaller pieces without removing the fat—mainly because rendering lard wasn't necessary; Sun Jia Qiang just wanted to cook a hearty meal, then air-dry the rest to eat slowly.

While Sun Jia Qiang washed the stomach, Li Long packed the meat, heart, liver, lungs, and other organs he was taking into clean bags, then went to split firewood and light the outdoor stove.

Once the stove fire was lit, he placed two large woks on it. After adding water, he tossed the bones from the butchered hind leg of the Beishan goat into one side, and the heart, lungs, and liver into the other.

Li Long planned to take both the stomach and intestines back with him.

"Tonight, scoop out the meat and offal; the wolves will surely come to steal the broth later, so be careful and return to your room early, bolting the door," Li Long said while packing, after he and Sun Jia Qiang finished washing the stomach and intestines. "Okay." Sun Jia Qiang washed his hands, then cleaned his enamel basin. After putting it away, he took out the dried morels and dried Black Tiger Palm mushrooms from the small wooden cabin, along with a small quantity of dried fritillaria bulbs.

Li Long estimated their value and finally gave Sun Jia Qiang one hundred and twenty yuan.

Holding the money, Sun Jia Qiang's face bloomed with joy—this past month and more had not been wasted effort!

After once again urging Sun Jia Qiang to stay safe, Li Long firmly declined Sun's hope that he would stay to eat some of the boiled Beishan goat meat, then drove off in his jeep, disappearing into the distance.

With a wife and two sons waiting at home, Li Long was now eager to return and share his harvest with them.

Only after the jeep had driven far away did Sun Jia Qiang remember to ask Li Long whether his wife had given birth yet, and what she had borne.

Never mind; he would ask tomorrow.

Casting another envious glance at the jeep, Sun Jia Qiang began to fetch seasonings from the small wooden cabin.

The Beishan goat is still a goat; but for any wild game, boiling the meat plainly in water could never make it taste as good as domesticated livestock, so he needed to add ingredients to suppress the gamey odor.

Ginger and the like were only available dried, but there was some white liquor left, which he would use as cooking wine.

In any case, Sun Jia Qiang didn't much care for drinking it; he didn't understand why people like Hearing Bolati enjoyed alcohol so much.

Not a single character, sentence, or piece of content is missing!

Li Long drove his jeep out of the mountains; when he reached Passing Qingshuihe, the sun had not yet set.

On the village road at Passing Qingshuihe, some people were returning after cutting wheat; Li Long vaguely felt their faces were somewhat familiar, but he did not stop to greet them, driving instead without pause toward the county town.

By the time he reached the large courtyard compound, the sun had completely set, though a streak of crimson clouds still lingered in the western sky.

Han Fang was already on holiday; she was in the courtyard playing with Little Black and the two young roe deer. Li Long had once suggested sending these two roe deer to the horse station of the Fourth Squad, but Gu Gu Xiaoxia, Elder Sister Yang, and Han Fang had all prevented him from doing so.

Therefore, Li Long had to consider making another trip soon to fetch sugar residue; otherwise, these two fast-growing wild animals would run out of food.

Driving the jeep into the courtyard, Li Long parked steadily and got out. He first stored the dried mushrooms in the room where the fritillaria bulbs were usually kept, then placed the Black Tiger Palm mushrooms he had gathered on shelves in another room to dry.

These mushrooms would not attract insects, making them very easy to air-dry.

Finally, there were the Beishan goat meat and offal.

Elder Sister Yang had originally intended to call Li Long to eat, but upon seeing the meat and offal, she immediately fetched a large basin, placed them inside, and covered them with water, planning to deal with them after the meal.

Gu Gu Xiaoxia had just stepped out of the room when a child's crying came from within; helplessly, she turned back inside.

Li Long, paying no heed to all that, went inside to change his clothes, intending to see the child; but Gu Gu Xiaoxia smelled blood on him and told him to wash his hands before holding the baby, otherwise the child would not tolerate it.

Li Long smiled sheepishly and went to wash his hands and face.

The child was actually quite well-behaved. During this period, Li Long had also crafted some toys from small pieces of wood; one tiny wooden pistol the child had simply turned into a teether—after all, whatever the baby grabbed, it stuffed into its mouth, regardless of whether it was edible.

Li Long played with the child for a while; only when Gu Gu Xiaoxia finished her meal and came to relieve him did he reluctantly go to eat.

While eating, he saw Han Fang cleaning the jeep.

Han Fang was a diligent little girl; though she spent most of her time attending school and doing homework, whenever she had spare moments, she would sweep the courtyard and tidy up the tractor and the jeep.

She also helped Gu Gu Xiaoxia change the diapers for the two children, Mingming and Haohao.

Changing these was not like changing disposable diapers in later generations; it required a certain skill.

Li Long did not stop her; he knew stopping would be useless. What he had in mind was to take out those four bottles of liquor shortly and store them properly, then observe the effects after some time.

Furthermore, since he had fired the gun, he needed to clean it.

However, there was quite a lot of Beishan goat meat; after leaving a leg for Sun Jia Qiang, the remainder, bones and meat together, still weighed twenty to thirty kilograms. Since his own household could not consume so much, he planned to send a leg to his elder brother's family and two kilograms of meat to Old Uncle Luo.

After telling Gu Gu Xiaoxia, Li Long informed Han Fang that she need not continue cleaning the vehicle; then he loaded some meat onto the jeep and drove out.

"Having a car is so convenient," Elder Sister Yang said with a smile to Gu Gu Xiaoxia while processing the offal and meat. "Whenever you want to go somewhere, you just start the engine—put-put-put—and off you go."

"Unlike before, when walking from one town to another took most of the day, and a round trip to the county town took a whole day... now just over an hour suffices."

"Indeed," Gu Gu Xiaoxia sighed emotionally. "Mingming's father says that in the future, every family will be able to afford a car... then life will truly be convenient."

"How could that possibly be? Can cars be bought so casually?" Elder Sister Yang certainly did not believe it. As one of "their own people," she knew that although this jeep belonged to Li Long, officially it still belonged to the Prefectural Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Private car ownership had not yet been heard of around here. Even those large trucks all belonged to work units.

Although she knew Li Long could earn money—he had bought a tractor long ago and now earned quite a lot, perhaps even enough to afford a car—Li Long was capable, after all.

Elder Sister Yang did not believe that in the future every household would truly be able to afford a car; absolutely impossible.

For now, she could afford a bicycle, but she simply felt it unnecessary.

"I believe it will happen in the future," Gu Gu Xiaoxia said. Having lived with Li Long these past two years, she had truly witnessed miracles in life. Three years ago, she would never have believed she could be living the kind of life she led now.

Let alone living like this now; three years ago, if someone had told her she would eat state-supplied grain, she would have deemed it impossible.

When Li Long drove the jeep to the Fourth Squad, dusk was gradually falling. With the jeep's windows open, he could feel gusts of wind blowing past, some warm, some cool.

He somewhat regretted not having cut a watermelon to eat before setting out.

Upon arriving at Li Jianguo's courtyard, the family had just finished their evening meal—so-called, though it was merely something like dough-drop soup, meant as a light supplement.

Seeing Li Long arrive, the whole family was delighted.

Li Long took out the two legs of Beishan goat meat he had brought back and handed them to his elder sister-in-law:

"I went into the mountains today and hunted two Beishan goats; cook this meat for yourselves to eat. They say this is a fine delicacy; everyone should taste it."

Here, people did not regard the Beishan goat as particularly miraculous; after all, creatures that exist in herds could hardly be considered rare.

It was far less shocking than when Li Long had previously brought out those tiger bones.

"How is the baby?" Li Jianguo asked.

Both Li Li Qing Xia and Du Chunfang were very concerned.

"Doing very well," Li Long replied. "In a few days, I'll have Gu Xiaoxia bring the child over to stay here for a couple of days. Very well-behaved."

"Stop fussing," Li Jianguo waved his hand. "Wait until he's a bit bigger, until he can crawl, then we'll talk. He's so small right now; let him stay there for now. I heard from your eldest sister-in-law that Sister Yang takes good care of him, so there's no need to cause trouble."

Work in the team had picked up. Since Li Long was no longer operating the harvester, Li Jianguo contracted the wheat fields of the team and several nearby villages, earning quite a bit of money each day from the harvesting.

While he went out to harvest wheat, Liang Yuemei and Li Li Qing Xia worked at the threshing floor, and Du Chunfang was responsible for cooking.

With so many chores at home, it would be difficult to look after them if Gu Gu Xiaoxia and the others came back; it was better for them to stay in the county town.

Li Long had only mentioned it in passing; mainly, he thought his father and mother hadn't yet had a proper chance to see the child, and since things were busy here, they might as well not come over for now.

Anyway, it wasn't far, and there was plenty of time.

After chatting for a few moments, Li Long drove the jeep to Old Ma's compound.

Old Luo had already eaten and was cleaning the enclosures for the roe deer and red deer.

These creatures had grown familiar by now and were very mischievous; if Uncle Luo wasn't careful, he would get butted.

So Uncle Luo had to scold them from time to time; when Li Long arrived, he happened to hear him scolding the deer.

Li Long smiled and handed the Beishan mutton to Uncle Luo, who then promptly shooed him away.

On the surface, Uncle Luo was angry that Li Long hadn't brought him red-dyed eggs, but in reality, he was thinking that a man with a child should hurry home now that it was getting dark.

How could that big courtyard manage without a man?

(Only this one chapter for tonight) (End of chapter)