Chapter 689: Preparing for Harvest

Since Li Long promised to drive the tractor over, these herdsmen were no longer in a hurry to harvest grass, but started preparing the food they would eat during this period.

Hunting had to be done; in this day and age, who didn't like to eat meat? Li Long said that when he drove the tractor over tomorrow, he would bring them some grain, and then everyone would make naan, stew meat, and boil soup together.

Stir-frying vegetables wasn't impossible, and making Narin pilaf was also fine. In short, since they were out and carrying guns, they had to get some meat to eat no matter what.

Li Long habitually distributed some bullets to everyone—during this period, he had received some more bullets at the supply and marketing cooperative.

Li Long had two children, and when he went to the supply and marketing cooperative to distribute candy to leaders and colleagues to announce the good news, Li Xiangqian very roughly gave each child fifty yuan as a gift. Li Long firmly refused, Li Xiangqian firmly wanted to give, and in the end, Li Long accepted twenty—ten yuan for each child.

Fifty was a bit too much, exceeding the standard, and he couldn't take that much.

He took the opportunity to tell Wei Zhuren about the bullets. At present, the militia wasn't training, and the only place Li Long could get bullets was here.

Because of the matter of fixing water pipes for Halimu and the others in the spring, Wei Zhuren made it into the Northern Tianshan Daily, and now he was famous throughout the county.

Even county leaders mentioned it from time to time. During the National Unity Education Month in May, the supply and marketing cooperative was rated as an advanced unit for national unity at the county and state levels, and Wei Zhuren was also elected as an advanced individual for national unity.

This was something that had to be written into his resume.

So Wei Zhuren naturally favored Li Long. With Li Long holding the bullet approval slip, Wei Zhuren directly doubled it and approved four hundred rounds.

Li Long hadn't been at the supply and marketing cooperative for a short time, and Wei Zhuren could see that this person was sensible and knew the importance of things, and wouldn't do things that easily caused trouble.

So he was very relieved.

Bullets were also hard currency for the current herdsmen. With guns and bullets, hunting became justified, and some rules could also be in a blurred state.

The young men happily took the bullets, took them, and went out.

Not having seen each other for a few months, Talihaer actually became cheerful again. After taking bullets from Li Long, he carried a gun and rode a horse, shouting while walking into the mountains that he wanted to hit a few pieces of prey to see.

Obviously, they planned to eat meat at noon.

Those who didn't bring guns went to find firewood. They brought some naan when they came out. But since they had already arrived at the winter nest, they had to hit some fresh naan to eat.

Li Long brought flour; although not much, it was enough to make dozens of naan. Halimu had tools here, and some people started to fetch water, mix flour, and ferment dough.

Li Long chatted with Yushanjiang for a while, feeling that it wasn't good for him to just watch, so he went to get some wild vegetables, and took the net he brought from the jeep to go to the small stream, found a place with a bit of a drop, and stuck the net.

He had done this kind of guarding the net and waiting for fish quite a few times. There would be some small fish in these streams; although not many, after waiting for a long time, some would always appear.

Others went to the nearby grass field to clear away some shrubs that had grown this year.

Most of them came to harvest grass last year and had walked with Li Long's harvester, knowing the process. Before the harvester came to harvest grass, they had to clear the stones and shrubs in the grass field first; otherwise, it would break the harvester's blades.

The stones were all picked away, except for those that occasionally rolled down from higher mountains, basically there wouldn't be this, but shrubs grew fast, and some fast-growing trees could grow to the thickness of a thumb in half a year, which was not easy for the harvester to cut.

Li Long set the net well, and when he came back, he saw Halimu and Yushanjiang still looking at the sheep-washing pool, so he walked over and said:

"When you need to wash sheep next year, I'll come over and bring those medicines for you. By then, lead the water from over there, pour the medicine in, and you can wash them."

"Hey, if we can wash them here, then we don't have to spend a sum of money."

Washing a sheep cost money, and two or three hundred sheep in a family wasn't a small amount. Although the money could be paid at the end of the year, after all, it couldn't be exempted.

It wouldn't work if they didn't wash them. Once the sheep had infectious skin diseases, it was possible that in one summer in the summer pasture, the entire flock could be infected.

The lighter ones would be the sheep losing hair overall and not gaining weight, and the heavier ones could even make the sheep weak and die.

So even if washing sheep was a bit expensive, they still had to wash them.

Now Li Long dug a sheep-washing pool for them here, which was just too good.

Although it cleared a piece of Halimu's grass field, all the herdsmen in the entire tribe could come here to wash sheep, and what was saved was thousands of yuan.

And the distance was also close. The herdsmen of their own tribe could come over to wash sheep on the same day and go back on the same day. Unlike going to the pastoral team, it would take a day to drive far away, and when washing, they might have to queue, and they might not be able to return on the same day after washing.

Very troublesome!

Now more than ten herdsmen households shared this sheep-washing pool, and they only needed to discuss it. Several families could wash in one day, and the work that might have taken half a month originally might be completed in three or five days now.

How good!

They believed Li Long's words about providing medicine for washing sheep. They believed Li Long, who had fulfilled everything he said in the past few years.

In Li Long's eyes, it could be seen that because the herdsmen were in the same tribe, their cohesion was still very strong, stronger than the cohesion of the people in the Fourth Team.

They also had work in their eyes; those who could hunt went hunting, and those who could make naan were busy building naan pits and mixing flour.

Both of these things couldn't be done, so they went to the grass field to prepare for harvesting grass tomorrow.

No one was idle, everyone was laughing and talking, their hands weren't slow, and no one was lazy.

Maybe because there were few people, maybe because they were in the same tribe, there were ties of connection, and of course, there might be other reasons.

Overall, the people who came out of this tribe were very united.

Lunch was eaten relatively late, four or five people took guns and rode horses out, and only Talihaer returned with a roe deer on his horse's back.

Others returned empty-handed.

Li Long was a bit surprised; he didn't expect Talihaer, who had been scared out of psychological shadows by the large bear, to successfully walk out of the shadows and become relatively good at hunting.

Li Long didn't need to do it himself; Halimu and Yushanjiang and the others soon peeled and dissected this roe deer. There were quite a few supplies on Li Long's jeep, and salt was never lacking. They used salt to rub the skin, laid it out on the grass to dry, and the remaining meat pieces were broken down and boiled in a large pot.

Of course, it wasn't just boiling; roasting was also a cooking method that young people liked very much—the trough dug out originally was still there, and it only needed to be trimmed to be used.

While Yushanjiang and the others were peeling the sheep, Li Long went to check the place where the net was set. There were ten or so fish in the net, not many.

He didn't take the net, but turned back and greeted Halimu, and drove the jeep to the wooden cabin side.

There were some living supplies in the wooden cabin, and leaving them there was useless, so he simply moved them over.

Halimu only had one pot here, and Li Long planned to take a pot from over there and put it here to use for now.

By the time Li Long brought the pot and grain back and went to check that net again, there were a few more fish in the net, adding up to a bit less than a kilogram.

Li Long processed the fish by the stream, then carried them to the winter nest.

Large pieces of roe deer meat had been boiled, and fresh naan had been made one by one, and the fragrance of that roasted flour product suddenly came out, which was really tempting.

Those who couldn't help but be hungry had already started to take a piece of naan and eat it.

The charcoal fire had been placed at the roasting trough, and two young men were stringing meat there. Li Long moved a few stones to build a simple stove, put the pot on it, took a bucket to fetch a bucket of water and poured it into the pot, shoveled red charcoal fire from the other stove and placed it under the stove, added firewood on the red charcoal, and soon set up the fire.

The young man who folded branches as skewers by the red willow tree by the stream ran back, holding a large armful of red willow branches and putting them on the ground. Those who had no work to do all took out their knives and started whittling red willow skewers.

Li Long also joined in, whittling while asking others about the situation in the summer pasture.

"The grass in the summer pasture is very good this year! Inside there, mushrooms are also very many, it's just that we don't know how to eat them." Talihaer was relatively familiar with Li Long, whittling while saying, "There are also many wolves in the summer pasture this year, cunning, they run away as soon as we open fire, and if we don't open fire, they sneak attack the flock at night."

"And bears, I saw a large bear with two little bears, didn't bring a gun at the time, didn't dare to hit them." Another young man also said.

They talked about seeing snow lotus, seeing snow leopards, and also talked about seeing groups of dozens of Northern Tianshan goats, and groups of wild goats, etc.

It could only be said that the things in the Tianshan Mountains were too rich, and some things that were rarely seen in the outer mountains were easily seen there.

While talking, some of them hoped that Li Long could bring some batteries back, and they planned to bring them to the summer pasture by then. Others talked about bringing other things. Things like brick tea, salt, rock sugar, and flour were basically not lacking, but the things that were missing were small things, but they were relatively lacking, such as needles and thread, batteries, etc., and one said medicine wasn't enough, mainly because people from another tribe exchanged things with them and exchanged some medicine away. The medicine they ate was enough, but there were still a few months left, and they were afraid of something happening.

Li Long noted them down one by one.

These people didn't mention money, and Li Long also felt it was a matter of course.

They regarded Li Long as one of their own. Those things brought over were given to Li Long by them, and they asked Li Long for these things that were easy to buy in the county, which also felt like a matter of course.

The whittled skewers were soon taken to string meat, and then placed on the trough on the ground in large handfuls.

The two people recognized as being relatively good at roasting meat were pushed out to roast meat, and the meat soup in the pot where the meat was boiled had already rolled and was rolling. Halimu took a spoon and skimmed the foam on top. They usually just sprinkled a handful of salt when boiling meat, without other seasonings.

The roasted meat was cooked first. Li Long took a piece of freshly roasted naan, tore off a piece, took the roasted meat handed over by the young men and placed it on the naan, and with his left hand, he clamped the naan and the roasted meat, pulled it from the inside out, and all the roasted meat was clamped by the naan.

This was simple naan-wrapped meat. He threw the skewer into the grass, held the naan with both hands, and started eating.

The fragrance of the naan and the taste of cumin and chili powder mixed with the taste of the meat flowed between his mouth and tongue; that feeling was really great.

The roasted meat was roasted in handfuls, and the people roasting the meat didn't fall behind either; the last few skewers of meat roasted were theirs, and they ate while roasting new ones.

Halimu also had roasted meat in his hand, eating while using a chopstick to poke the boiled meat in the pot to see if it was rotten.

No errors in the content, take a look!

Roe deer meat wasn't as good as domestic cattle and sheep meat, and it would have some mutton smell, but when roasted, the taste of cumin and chili powder suppressed the bad smell.

Although the meat pieces were large, the person roasting had good skills, roasted it very tenderly, and it was also cooked.

Li Long ate five skewers in a row, plus more than half a naan, and then didn't eat anymore; he planned to taste the boiled meat later.

As for the meat soup, he wouldn't drink it today; today he wanted to drink fish soup.

At this time, the water in the pot where the fish was stewed was also boiling, and the small dogfish were rolling in the pot. It didn't take long for the meat to rot, and because no oil was used in the pot, the soup wasn't white, but the taste was very good.

Li Long cut the wild onions he got earlier into small sections and threw them in, then withdrew some of the fire and slowly simmered it.

The longer this stewed, the better.

This meal lasted until after five or six o'clock in the afternoon before ending. A roe deer was actually eaten by everyone until there wasn't much meat left.

Everyone was very satisfied, and some people originally wanted to drink alcohol, but were stopped by Yushanjiang.

Li Long was full and satisfied, also rested for a while, then said goodbye to them, and drove the jeep away.

He still had to go back to the Fourth Team to pull someone over.

Entering the mountains tomorrow didn't need to be just himself; he planned to find someone to drive the tractor into the mountains, follow with the jeep himself, then put the tractor in the mountains, and drive the jeep to send the person back.

This way he didn't need to live in the mountains, and the tractor was put in the mountains for Halimu and the others to drive, which was also convenient.

Li Long now regretted selling the harvester in his courtyard at that time; now he had to go to the Fourth Team to pull his big brother's harvester.

But it didn't matter; anyway, after the grass harvesting season ended, he planned to go to the Kuitun agricultural machinery factory to pull another batch of harvesters over.

Recently, some people had come to ask about harvesters, but not many.

After all, to use a harvester to harvest grass, the premise was to have a tractor. At present, there weren't many families who could afford a tractor.

Li Long drove the jeep back to the county, first went to the courtyard to unload the things those people sent, and piled them at the door of the east side room.

Xiao Hei came over smelling the scent, so Li Long had to open the side room to put the things in, planning to look at them after returning.

Gu Xiaoxia looked at so many things and asked:

"The people in the mountains came down?"

"Came down." Li Long put the things in, locked the door, and planned to play with the two children.

The children were crawling and playing in the courtyard. Gu Xiaoxia spread a reed-woven mat on the brick floor in the courtyard, then spread a bed sheet on it, and the children were lying on it.

At this time, the sunlight was blocked by the kitchen on the west side, so it didn't shine on the children, and the scattered sunlight could also supplement the children with calcium.

"You have a strong smell, wash up before touching the children." Gu Xiaoxia saw Li Long coming over, and the two children who were originally smiling had their expressions changed, so she said immediately.

"Then I'll go to the team to handle some things first." Li Long said, "I'll wash up after coming back before holding the children."

Gu Xiaoxia responded, and Li Long drove the tractor head out.

On the way back, Li Long thought about it and finally decided not to call a strong laborer; calling his father was best.

After all, those with tractors were using them. At present, it was a relatively important period for watermelon fruit setting. Whether it was big brother Li Jianguo, or Tao Daqiang, Xie Yun Dong, and others, they were all busy.

On the contrary, his father, he was likely still catching fish and setting nets, so he would take advantage of the time before he returned to his old home to help him handle this matter. After all, his father's tractor driving was also not bad—of course, actually Li Long felt that if his father could drive a jeep, then he would drive the tractor himself, it was just that Li Qing Xia hadn't driven a car, and Li Long didn't dare to let him drive.

Safety issues still needed to be taken seriously.

Li Qing Xia had just returned from setting nets. Li Long drove the tractor into the courtyard, and he thought it was Li Jianguo and the others who had returned.

Li Long entered the courtyard and just happened to see the harvester placed by the wall, covered with linoleum.

Li Long told Li Qing Xia, who was feeding the pigs, about this matter.

Before Li Qing Xia could open his mouth, Du Chunfang said directly:

"What's wrong with that? Let your father drive the tractor over directly tomorrow morning."

Li Qing Xia's right to speak was snatched away.

However, this was also a big deal, so he nodded and said:

"I'll go tell Daqiang's father later, I won't go sell fish tomorrow."

"Then I'll pull the harvester away first, and I'll drive over to pick you up tomorrow morning." Li Long said, "Otherwise, it won't be easy for you to go over tomorrow. My big brother and the others will definitely need to use the tractor in the fields, so I can't drive theirs."

Li Qing Xia helped Li Long load the harvester, and Li Long drove away.

Du Chunfang muttered about her son returning in a hurry and leaving in a hurry. Li Qing Xia smiled and said:

"Then you go over to his side and help him take care of the children?"

"That... forget it. I do want to watch my grandsons, I'm just afraid I won't take care of them well, there are two! So small..."

Li Qing Xia laughed, he didn't speak, just stayed there cleaning up the linoleum after the harvester was pulled away.

After Li Jianguo returned, Li Qing Xia told him about this matter. Li Jianguo's meaning was that he would go, but Li Qing Xia didn't let him go:

"What are you going for? Don't all the jobs in the fields need to be done by you? I don't know how to handle the medicine for the watermelon. You stay busy, it just so happens I haven't been to the mountains for a long time, I'll go over this time to take a look."

Li Qing Xia insisted, and plus there was quite a bit of work in the fields, so Li Jianguo let him be.

By the time Li Long drove the tractor back to the large courtyard, the sun had completely set, the temperature outside slowly dropped, and the two children had already been carried into the room by Gu Xiaoxia.

Sister Yang's dinner was ready. Li Long washed simply and planned to eat dinner before washing well.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be easy to get close to the children and play—after all, there were quite a few messy smells on him today.

Now ordinary families didn't pay attention to this and basically wouldn't manage that much. But the two children's sense of smell was relatively sensitive, so Li Long still had to pay attention.

He planned to buy the things those people needed tomorrow morning, and also wanted to see what Halimu and the others had brought him.

He had to take inventory, store them by category, and sell what should be sold.

For now, eat first. (End of chapter)