Chapter 688: Returning to the Winter Nest

Halimu and Yushanjiang and others discussed returning to the winter nest in mid-August to harvest grass. Every household in the tribe had to send one laborer, bring good tools, and set off together.

Of course, if they wanted to go by themselves, it was fine; Halimu and Yushanjiang didn't force it. However, everyone in this small tribe was quite united, and the laborers who came out all thought about going together and then going to the winter nest.

"This year, I don't know if Li Long will bring that tractor to help us harvest grass." A young man said.

In the past, harvesting grass was considered hard work, working from morning until night, continuously for more than half a month, to harvest enough grass, and then starting from the beginning to bundle it and transport it to the winter nest to prepare for winter; only then was it considered finished.

From beginning to end, it took a month.

However, last year, with Li Long's participation, the total time for harvesting grass didn't exceed ten days, and the laborers mainly did the work of bundling and transporting after the grass was dried.

It was too convenient.

After listening to the young man's words, Yushanjiang and Halimu looked at each other, and then Yushanjiang asked the people who gathered around:

"Have you prepared your things?"

"Prepared, prepared." The young men took out the bags they brought from their horses one after another.

Besides carrying tools, they also brought various bags.

"I hit a wolf a few days ago, this is the wolf skin, I picked the relatively complete one." A young man showed his harvest.

"I picked up four deer antlers, this is not bad, right?" Another also showed his things.

"Four deer antlers? I remember you seemed to have picked up deer antlers last year, and this year again? Does your summer grass field have a deer nest?" Someone asked suspiciously.

"Maybe, but when I went over, I didn't see any deer, just saw the deer antlers. If I discover deer, maybe I can even get deer velvet!"

"I have two branches of deer velvet here, not very long, the deer skin was rotten, I didn't bring it over." Another herdsman about the same age as Halimu took out two dried deer velvet and said triumphantly.

"I have two roe deer skins here, should be enough, right?" Someone else took out their things.

Everyone showed them one after another, Yushanjiang looked at them one by one and nodded continuously.

Li Long said that the cost of harvesting grass with a tractor in the mountains really wasn't high, so he didn't collect money from everyone beforehand. And everyone didn't let Li Long suffer a loss, bringing some local specialties from the mountains for him every time.

According to Li Long's calculation, it was expensive anyway, more than wages.

Halimu didn't take out the things he got; he mainly didn't want to be too flashy.

Yushanjiang was the same.

Others didn't ask. They knew Li Long had the best relationship with these two people, and Halimu and Yushanjiang would definitely bring better things.

After gathering, it was time to prepare to set off. Yushanjiang swept a glance and asked one of the young men:

"Why don't you even bring a scythe?"

"There's a tractor to harvest, why bring a scythe?" That young man said with a smile, "I think, bringing a small sickle to bundle grass is more practical."

"What if Li Long doesn't come?" Halimu added from behind.

"He won't not come, right? We believe in Li Long, Duosen hasn't let us down." That young man believed in Li Long coming more than Halimu.

Alright.

Yushanjiang and Halimu didn't say anything more, one at the head and one at the tail, and set off together.

Only Halimu's wife remained in the summer pasture, and Yushanjiang's cattle and sheep were simply entrusted to others.

Fortunately, in the mountains, it was just grazing, and no other things were needed. The summer pasture was very large, and every day they drove the cattle and sheep out to eat grass freely. The only two things that needed to be done were to prevent wolf attacks and to drive the cattle and sheep back at night.

The summer pasture was in the deeper mountains, where there were relatively flatter grass fields than the outer mountains, with high-quality pasture growing on them.

Of course, because few people came here, a large number of wild animals also lived here, which was why these people could pick up and hit more prey here.

These people gathered together, basically all carrying guns—with many people and guns, they weren't afraid of those small wolf packs. The summer pasture managed many cattle and sheep, also kept a few guns, and there were dogs; after all, wolf packs or even bears and snow leopards would come to attack from time to time. With dogs, they could remind the owners, and the distance between everyone wasn't very far, so it was easy to look after each other.

These people rode horses for three days and returned to the winter nest in the afternoon, so they simply returned to their own winter nests and agreed to go to Halimu's house early the next morning.

Halimu's winter nest was at the outermost position, and he returned the latest.

When returning to the winter nest, Halimu looked at that sheep-washing pool and was a bit dumbfounded.

What's the situation?

And his own winter nest, how did it become like this?

The first impression was, did he go to the wrong place?

After the winter nest was renovated, the weeds that had grown on the roof had been cleared clean, and the pits on the walls had all been filled. The walls were overall smeared with a layer of mud, looking as new as ever from the outside.

Halimu only swept two glances at the winter nest; what surprised him most was that sheep-washing pool.

The sheep-washing pool was dug very regularly, larger than the sheep-washing pool on the side of the pastoral team, although the sheep pens at both ends weren't completely closed, Halimu could imagine that here, after all, there was no need to gather the cattle and sheep completely, and they could be scattered nearby to eat grass after washing.

And the bottom of this sheep-washing pool was paved with flat stones and sand, much more exquisite than the one on the pastoral team side that had been in disrepair for a long time.

Halimu got off the horse, circled the sheep-washing pool, kicked the circle of earth walls piled up on the side of the sheep pool, and found that this earth wall was quite sturdy.

He remembered that he had mentioned the sheep-washing pool to Li Long, but he hadn't expected that only a few months had passed, and it had already been built!

Looking at the winter nest that had undergone great changes again, Halimu turned his head and glanced at the bag he had placed on the horse's back.

Fortunately, he had gotten good things in the summer pasture this time; otherwise, he would really be too embarrassed to see Li Long.

He didn't know if Yushanjiang and the others' winter nests had changed.

Leading the horse back to the winter nest, he found that someone had already entered.

This was very normal—after all, this area of the winter nest was in the outer mountain area, and people entering the mountains would definitely come over. Those with low moral standards, and those who couldn't find a place to sleep at night and were afraid of wolves, would likely break in.

Entering the room, Halimu found that it had been cleaned, and it was likely that someone had left trash, and then it had been swept, and it was currently relatively clean.

He took the bedding he carried and laid it out on the wooden kang, packed up the things on the horse's back, and then took out the sack of things he had prepared for Li Long.

Halimu grazed in the summer pasture, and every day, besides looking after the cattle and sheep, a main job was thinking about how to get more things in these mountains to hand over to Li Long.

Since knowing Li Long, Halimu felt that his life and the tribe's life had undergone huge changes.

The summer pasture where they were wasn't just this one small tribe. There weren't many grass fields in the outer mountain area of Nanshan in Ma County, which was just enough for Halimu and their small tribe to live.

But in the summer pasture, there were patches of grass fields between the mountains, which could raise a large number of livestock.

So here, not only Halimu and their small tribe, but also other herdsmen came over.

Everyone had their own marked grass fields, so there were no disputes, and on the contrary, there would be some exchanges.

This exchange was quite intense. In the tribe where Halimu and the others were, almost every household had a radio, sufficient bullets, and no shortage of grain, brick tea, etc. The children basically all went to school, and "equipment" like clothes and rubber shoes were also very good.

By contrast, the lives of other herdsmen would be one or two grades worse. Although it wasn't to the point of not having enough to eat, there were few white flour naan, and more mixed-shell naan (naan baked with a large amount of corn flour). Brick tea was also used sparingly, and there wasn't much rock sugar.

The strongest contrast, besides the radio, was medicine. In the tribe here, almost every household had common medicines, and when someone in the family was sick, had a headache, or a fever, they found medicine to eat and basically got better in two or three days.

In other herdsmen's places, there were very few who had medicine, and even if they had medicine, the types were very few.

As for the radio, none. Absolutely none.

Halimu had seen more than once the confidence on the faces of the herdsmen on his side, especially the young men, when they talked to the people on the other side.

This confidence allowed the young men on this side to talk about objects and make good friends.

People in the tribe, both men and women, didn't feel much when there was no comparison, just comparing with their previous lives, feeling much better.

Now with the comparison, they found that their lives were much better than other herdsmen, and everyone, besides being happy, was also quite grateful to Li Long.

That was why they brought so many things this time.

And Halimu could be considered the one with the deepest impression of this point among these people.

Therefore, the things he brought could be considered the most valuable. In order to get suitable gifts for Li Long, he spent nearly half a month letting his wife graze alone, while he carried a gun and walked into higher and deeper mountains, where he got some good things, believing Li Long would be very happy to see them.

The next day, when others rushed to Halimu's winter nest and saw that sheep-washing pool, they were also very surprised, and then someone exclaimed. Now, before going to the summer pasture next spring, there was no need to drive the sheep to the pastoral team to wash them.

"Great!"

"Is this a gift from Li Long to us?"

"Li Long is really too good!"

Halimu asked Yushanjiang about his winter nest.

"No change, but it has been cleaned inside." Yushanjiang looked at the changes in Halimu's winter nest; to be honest, he was a bit jealous, but seeing that sheep-washing pool, he became happy again.

He patted Halimu on the shoulder and said:

"Wait for Li Long to come, I must tell him, next year also help me fix my winter nest—let's go, let's see your winter nest, a new house, it must be very comfortable to live in, right?"

"Of course." Halimu said with a smile, and then lowered his voice, "The things I brought for him are also very good!"

"I'm the same, I was too embarrassed to show others. This time it will definitely make Li Long surprised—" Yushanjiang was also very proud.

The two laughed.

No errors in the content, take a look!

Actually, do you say they don't know that these things can be exchanged for a lot of money in the county?

Of course they know.

But they feel that giving these things to Li Long can exert greater value and play a greater role.

Just as the herdsmen tied their horses all around and went to see the sheep-washing pool, the sound of a car engine came from the road outside the mountains.

"It must be Li Long coming!" Someone guessed immediately.

Halimu and Yushanjiang were both looking over there.

These days, Li Long would come to the mountains for a turn every day, and after coming, he would go to see if Halimu and the others had returned.

After looking, he would go find a bit nearby to see if he could hit something.

In the middle, he met Hearing Bolati twice. Hearing Bolati gave him an irregular gold nugget. Li Long weighed it, and it looked like forty or fifty grams.

Li Long asked Hearing Bolati to keep an eye on it for him; if anyone else picked up this kind of thing later, he would still collect it.

Recently, there were no people digging Fritillaria, so the lives of forest rangers like Hearing Bolati weren't as comfortable as before. Every day was very boring, just running around on horses in the forest, and some people would be lazy. But the forestry team also had people supervising; if someone was found to be lazy, they would be fined or even fired.

Hearing Bolati could be considered relatively diligent, and he often met Li Long, and he had a sum of money deposited with Li Long, so his life was still not bad.

He naturally agreed to Li Long's request. To say what things were produced in these mountains, besides the herdsmen who had been here for generations, it was these forest rangers who were most familiar with them.

Hearing Bolati could bring Li Long some jade and such from time to time. Although it wasn't good jade, having it was better than not having it.

Today, Li Long also planned to come for a turn as usual. After coming, if no one had come yet, he planned to go to the salt mine cave to take a look; if there were things there, he would hit a bit.

He had been to the wild boar gathering place that Hearing Bolati mentioned twice. He didn't know if the timing was wrong or what, anyway, he hadn't seen wild boars yet, but there were indeed traces of them rooting up the turf.

It was quite fresh, indicating that wild boars did indeed come here, but most wild boars appeared near the outer mountains in the early morning. By the time Li Long came, it was already morning, so it was hard to see them.

Unless he stayed overnight in the wooden cabin and then waited until the early morning.

Li Long was still hesitating.

Just seeing Halimu's winter nest, Li Long discovered quite a few horses eating on the turf, and some people were looking at his masterpiece—the sheep-washing pool.

Li Long was stunned for a moment before he reacted; Halimu and the others were back!

He immediately stepped on the accelerator to the end, the engine made a roaring sound, and then rushed toward the direction of the winter nest.

By the time Li Long reached the winter nest, Halimu and the others had already surrounded it.

The car door was pulled open by someone, and as soon as Li Long got off, he was surrounded.

"Li Long, you made this sheep-washing pool, right?"

"It must be! This sheep-washing pool is too good! In the future, we don't need to run so far to the pastoral team to wash sheep!"

"That's right! Hey, Li Long! I brought two wolf skins for you, you take..."

"I have two pairs of deer antlers here, I'll load them into your car..."

At first, they were excitedly expressing the benefits of this sheep-washing pool to Li Long, and next, they were showing their things. Bag after bag of things were unloaded from the horses' backs and started to be loaded into the car.

Everyone knew that Li Long was a good friend of the herdsmen in this tribe, and they also hoped that they could use their own efforts to help Li Long do something.

In a short while, the back of Li Long's jeep was full.

Too enthusiastic!

Li Long was also stunned for a while before he reacted. He smiled and greeted everyone one by one.

"Thank you." Halimu took his things out of the winter nest, placed them in Li Long's passenger seat, pointed to the winter nest and the sheep-washing pool, and said again: "Thank you!"

Yushanjiang also placed the things he brought in the passenger seat, squeezed them together with Halimu's, and said:

"Once you come, many people here are relieved. How about it, can you bring the tractor over to help us harvest pasture this year?"

"No problem, I'll drive it over tomorrow." Li Long said with a smile, "It's best if I drive the tractor over and put it here, and then you learn how to drive the tractor to harvest grass. In this way, it will be convenient to harvest grass later, and you don't need to wait for me."

"Really? Really?" Someone was pleasantly surprised, and someone still didn't believe it.

Last year, some of them actually wanted to drive the tractor, but they were too embarrassed to mention it. After all, Li Long had a good relationship with Halimu and Yushanjiang, and their relationship didn't feel like it had reached that point yet.

But now that Li Long took the initiative to bring this matter up, it was different.

"Alright, alright, let Li Long take a breather!" Yushanjiang said, "Disperse, disperse."

Yushanjiang still had authority. Once he said that, although everyone still wanted to ask about driving the tractor, they dispersed.

Once the people dispersed, Li Long said:

"Tomorrow I'll bring people to drive the tractor over, and then I'll teach you, and later you can drive the tractor to harvest grass yourselves. This is very simple, simpler than us learning to ride horses."

Since Li Long said it was simple, Halimu and Yushanjiang were relieved.

There were large patches of flat grass fields nearby, and learning to drive a tractor here was even more convenient than opening it in the Fourth Team's field.

So Li Long was very relieved.

The three sat in front of the winter nest, and Li Long said to Yushanjiang:

"The people who weave the handles this year are in a tight schedule and will return soon. Next year, fix your winter nest too. I see your winter nest has been there for a long time, and the grass on the top has grown so high."

"That's right. Just now I saw Halimu's house was fixed, and I was thinking, we have such a good relationship, why not fix mine? I'm jealous." Yushanjiang joked.

Li Long naturally had to explain. He took out a wallet from his pocket, then pulled out a photo from inside to show Yushanjiang:

"My wife gave birth, two boys. At that time, after weaving the handles, it was almost time to give birth, so I hurried back. Wait until next year..."

"Oh—!" Once Yushanjiang heard Li Long say his wife gave birth to twins, and then looked at the photo Li Long was holding, a smile appeared on his face:

"Li Long, you are really amazing! Giving birth to two at once, amazing, amazing!"

He took the photo and started looking at it.

This photo was taken when Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia took the children to the photo studio after the children were a month old. They took a group photo of the two children and a family portrait. At that time, Sister Yang and Han Fang also went, and the two of them also took a group photo.

Li Long had a few more copies washed, kept the family portrait and the group photo of the two children in his wallet, and took them out to look at from time to time.

After Yushanjiang finished looking, he showed it to Halimu. Both gave Li Long's children their best wishes.

"In the future, when these two boys grow up, they will definitely be as beautiful as the eagles in the Tianshan Mountains!"

"They will be as healthy as the mountains!"

Li Long smiled happily. (End of chapter)