Chapter 792: To Take First, One Must First Give

Here at the small wooden cabin, Li Long finally allowed himself to relax completely.

He simply swept the inside and outside of the cabin, then built a fire to boil water.

Li Long had no intention of stewing meat here; primarily, there wasn't enough time. He planned to roast some bear meat to fill his stomach first, then head back.

Although the weather in the mountains in April was still quite cool, the meat could not be kept for long, or it would spoil.

Once the fire was going, Li Long carried a large basin to the spring, scooped up water, and submerged the bear meat in it to chill—the spring water was very cold, perfect for extending the meat's preservation time.

This bear had a live weight of over two hundred kilograms; after removing the hide, head, four Xiong Zhang, and the pile of entrails from its belly, just over one hundred kilograms remained.

Li Long was now considered exceptionally gifted; his strength far exceeded that of an ordinary person, otherwise he could never have carried all that meat back.

In the storage room at home, there were over a hundred kilograms of air-dried meat and several large basins of rendered fat. Just for his own family to eat, it would take a year or two to finish.

Although this bear meat lacked the thick fat layer of winter bears, there was still considerable fat; the best preservation method at this time was to render it into fat, sealing the meat in oil for long-term storage.

Thinking this over, Li Long added fuel to the stove, then went to the storeroom to fetch an iron wire. Returning to the basin holding the bear meat, he washed the wire, drew his knife, and began cutting the meat.

He cut pieces the size of chunks for roasting, skewered them onto a long skewer, preparing to roast the bear meat once the water boiled.

While waiting, Li Long took the bear hide from the vehicle, spread it on the chopping block, rubbed salt onto it, and set it out to air-dry.

It certainly wouldn't dry completely in this short time, but the sunlight was still quite strong, so he would let it dry for now.

When the water boiled, Li Long took out the bear gallbladder, dipped it a few times, then hung it up inside the house. Coming back out, he held a small bowl containing a mixture of chili powder, cumin powder, and salt—a barbecue seasoning blend—ready for roasting the bear meat.

The bear meat he had cut was marbled with fat and lean; the flames beneath the stove were at their optimal temperature. Though this wasn't the ideal moment for roasting, Li Long didn't want to wait. He hadn't brought any dry rations in the vehicle, and boiling meat would take who knew how long; roasting was the fastest option.

He had cut the meat pieces small, hoping they would cook quickly so he could eat and replenish his energy.

Thrusting the wire skewer laden with meat beneath the stove, a "hiss" sounded as the flames licked over the chunks. A bit of fat rendered out, dripping into the fire, causing a burst of flame to surge up and envelop the skewer.

Li Long pulled the skewer back slightly, roasting it right at the stove opening—deeper inside, the fire was too fierce, and the meat would burn in no time.

He kept turning it continuously; fat kept dripping down, making the flames even more intense. Li Long occasionally sprinkled seasoning on top, gradually getting used to the process.

The aroma of roasting meat drifted away, filling the air above this area. In the distant mountain forest, two wolves darted out, trotting to a small mound of earth, where they stopped and gazed in this direction.

Li Long paid them no mind; what concerned him most right now was when this skewer of meat would be cooked and how many skewers he would need to eat to feel full.

The stove opening was too small, allowing only one skewer to be roasted at a time. After about five minutes, Li Long felt the meat was cooked; he took it out, blew on it, took a bite, and his mouth filled with a charred fragrance, followed by the rich fat inside.

Hmm, it was truly fragrant; though it couldn't compare to the taste of domesticated mutton, with the added prestige of it being bear, it offered a unique flavor all its own.

Li Long continued skewering more meat as he ate.

It was scalding hot, but immensely satisfying.

Before the second skewer was even finished roasting, he had already eaten the first. When Li Long looked up, he discovered the two wolves had vanished without a trace; he didn't know whether they had circled around behind to attempt an encirclement or had fled, daring not to attack in broad daylight.

But it didn't matter; he thought that after eating a few more skewers, he would hurry back, as there were still many things to do today.

After eating three skewers, amounting to roughly half a kilogram, Li Long stopped. Wiping his mouth, he found two old gloves to use as pads, lifted the pot to pour the water outside, then carried the pot into the house.

Taking the meat out of the basin again, he touched it; it was ice-cold, which was just perfect.

He packed it into bags and placed them in the vehicle, including the bear hide, which he rolled up and stuffed inside as well. Locking the wooden cabin door, he got into the vehicle and drove out of the mountains.

Ten minutes later, the two wolves trotted over to the wooden cabin. Sniffing here and there, they detected only the scent of meat but found not a trace of actual meat or blood. They jumped onto the chopping block; the scent was there too, but there was no blood, no meat.

The two wolves jumped down from the block in great disappointment, circled around the front of the house again, scratched at the door, failed to open it, and left.

When Li Long drove his vehicle to the county town, it was still early. He drove back to the large courtyard compound and unloaded the meat and Xiong Zhang.

Sister Yang was in the courtyard looking after the children. Seeing Li Long unload so many things, and then realizing exactly what they were, she was startled:

"Younger Uncle, did you kill a bear? Such a huge one... You weren't injured, were you?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing; I shot it with a gun." Li Long pointed to the rifle in the vehicle and said, "I'm fine."

Actually, although the wounds on his body had already scabbed over, they still hurt quite a bit.

However, Li Long had no intention of showing it; he didn't even plan to tell anyone else about the process of hunting this bear. After experiencing today's events, he realized his body's recovery ability was quite strong; the injured areas scabbed over exceptionally fast, resulting in less blood loss, less damage, which was greatly beneficial to him.

"Sister Yang, please take care of this bear meat for me; render most of it into fat," Li Long said. "Leave some aside; I'll take it to the team tomorrow. As for these Xiong Zhang..."

"I don't know how to cook Xiong Zhang," Sister Yang said somewhat embarrassedly.

"It's fine; I'll handle them when I return," Li Long said. "I'm going now to deliver some Xiong Zhang and meat to someone; they helped me a great deal, and we cannot fail to show our gratitude."

"Good, good, good; go attend to your business. Once Mingming and Haohao are asleep, I'll start rendering the meat," Sister Yang said, waving her hand at Li Long.

Li Long went to wash his face, tidied up the vehicle briefly, placed the bear gallbladder and bear hide in the side room, took one Xiong Zhang and two pieces of bear meat, packed them separately into two bags and put them in the vehicle, went back inside to change clothes, came out to bid farewell to Sister Yang, then drove eastward.

With the allocation of new tasks for the year about to begin, Li Long felt it necessary to deliver a Xiong Zhang to Director Qian as a gesture of his appreciation.

The journey passed without conversation. By the time the car reached Beiting City, it was nearly quitting time. Li Long rushed as fast as he could to the Prefecture Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Disregarding protocol, he showed his work permit to the gate guard, drove into the large courtyard, headed straight to the small vehicle squad, and seeing that Xiao Si had already started the engine and was ready, he approached, got out, and handed the two bags to Xiao Si.

"Inside here is one Xiong Zhang and a piece of bear meat; I hunted it today. Please give it to Director Qian. In this other bag is a piece of bear meat; this is for you. I'm sure you city folks can figure out how to prepare it. Alright, I'm leaving now."

"Li Long, Li Long, don't be in such a hurry to leave! Director Qian has already come downstairs; you really must meet him," Xiao Si said, grabbing hold of him. "Director Qian also said that when you arrived, he definitely wanted to treat you to a meal. If you leave now, I won't know how to explain myself."

Li Long was anxious to return, thinking he might be able to handle a few more matters once back, but since Xiao Si had grabbed him, he couldn't just force his way away.

Just as he was about to speak, Director Qian came down the stairs. Spotting Li Long as he looked over, his face immediately broke into a smile. Without waiting for Xiao Si to drive the car over, he walked over proactively.

"So Young Li has arrived? Were you handling business nearby? It's just about dinner time; come on, let's go to my home for a meal." Without further ado, Director Qian insisted on taking Li Long home to eat.

"Director, I hunted a bear today and came specifically to bring you a Xiong Zhang and a piece of bear meat," Li Long hurriedly explained his purpose. "I haven't had a chance to properly clean up since returning from the mountains; right now I just want to get home quickly..."

"You hunted a bear? Impressive!" Director Qian was extremely fond of hunting; he himself actually hoped to bag something big, whether a bear, leopard, wolf, or whatever.

But Director Qian also knew his own capabilities; hunting gazelles or red deer was fine, but for those fierce animals, his skills were somewhat lacking.

Nevertheless, he held a particular fondness for Li Long, who could hunt large animals; in a way, Li Long fulfilled part of his ideals or hobbies. Thus, there was a reason why Director Qian regarded Li Long with special favor.

Of course, Li Long also understood how to return kindness for kindness, and his method of reciprocation was exactly what Director Qian liked very much. To be honest, ordinary meats were not something Director Qian lacked in his position, but items like bear meat, even for someone in his station, were not easy to obtain.

It wasn't so much about how delicious it was, but rather the novelty, the rarity.

"Alright, it's thoughtful of you to think of me as soon as you bagged a bear," Director Qian said with a smile. "Are you really not coming home for a meal? Everything is already prepared."

"Better not," Li Long waved his hand. "If I went, the food in your home, Director, probably wouldn't be enough. I still need to go to the west side of the city to buy a few saddles for my friends in the mountains."

"Then go attend to your business. When you have free time, come over and tell me all about how you hunted the bear—it wasn't just a direct shot with a gun, was it?"

"No, this time was quite thrilling; I fought several rounds with it," Li Long said with a smile. "I'll give you the detailed story when I have time."

"Hey, you've piqued my interest. Alright, I won't delay you; be sure to come by when you have time." Director Qian waved at Li Long, then got into Xiao Si's car. Xiao Si also shook hands with Li Long, got in, and drove away.

Li Long also drove out west. He went to Ma'an Shop to buy two sets of ready-made horse tack, loaded them into his car, and drove back to the county seat.

The sky had already darkened.

He had originally planned to run a bit more, but seeing there was no time left.

Gu Gu Bo Yuan had already eaten and was pacing in the yard. Seeing Li Long return, he waited until Li Long got out of the car, then said with some reproach:

"Where have you been running off to, not home all day? Was hunting that bear dangerous? Did they catch you?"

"No problem, I shot it with a gun," Li Long said with a smile. "I cherish my life; when hunting, I always shoot from far away."

"Good to have that mindset," Gu Gu Bo Yuan nodded. "Alright, go eat quickly; I'm heading back."

He was just waiting here for Li Long to return to remind him not to keep running out, to remember someone at home was waiting for him.

Li Long didn't unload the things in the car. He went to the kitchen; Sister Yang had already brought the kept-warm meal to the dining table. Li Long washed his hands and ate in large mouthfuls.

Those few skewers of meat at noon looked filling, but actually, when Li Long arrived at Beiting, he already felt his stomach was a bit empty. However, he was in a rush to get home, so he didn't eat over there.

It's so good to eat at home.

After eating, Sister Yang wanted to come clean up, but Li Long wouldn't let her. He washed the bowls, cleaned the kitchen thoroughly, then went into the room.

From killing the bear until now, seven or eight hours had passed; Li Long reckoned the smell of blood on his body had already dissipated.

Gu Gu Xiaoxia greeted him when he returned, then went into the room to check on Mingming and Haohao. At that moment, Mingming and Haohao had just fallen asleep. When Li Long entered, Gu Gu Xiaoxia was still softly humming a song to coax the two children.

Li Long lowered his voice, slowly closed the door, changed his clothes, came to the bedside, and looked at the two children sleeping there, back-to-back, lying on their sides.

The light in the room was very soft. To protect the children's eyes, the light bulbs in the bedroom used a lower wattage; two adults didn't mind. Li Long and Gu Gu Xiaoxia's current standard of living was considered comfortable; they lacked no vitamins or trace elements, their eyesight was very good, and they didn't care about such things.

"You killed a bear today? Was it dangerous?" Gu Gu Xiaoxia asked in a low voice once the children were fast asleep. "Did you get hurt?"

"No, I shot it with a gun," Li Long said calmly. "You know, whenever I enter the mountains, the bullets in my gun are always fully loaded, and I carry the gun everywhere I go."

He did carry the gun; he just hadn't expected to encounter a bear while soaking in the hot spring. Li Long was already starting to think about whether to take his family to soak in the hot spring in June; it was quite a dangerous thing.

"That's good." Because the previous times Li Long hunted fierce beasts like bears and wolves, he was almost unscathed, and the only time he was injured was when he encountered a lynx, Gu Gu Xiaoxia believed his explanation. "Still, be careful; there are so many wild beasts in the mountains, you never know when an accident might happen."

Gu Gu Xiaoxia felt the family's current life was already very good, so good she never imagined it would be this good before, so she was very content and didn't hope for any more accidents or dangers.

"Alright, I know," Li Long nodded, went over, turned on the TV, turned down the volume, and started watching a TV drama.

The next day, after breakfast, seeing the weather was nice, Li Long moved Mingming and Haohao's bed-car into the yard and watched them play.

Sister Yang, after quickly cleaning the kitchen, started cutting the bear meat, rendering the meat and fat.

Once the pot was ready and the oil was slowly rendering out, Sister Yang came out to take over the childcare.

Actually, the children were very well cared for now; a group of small animals surrounded them, and there were quite a few toys placed in the bed-car. Except for crying or calling out when they needed to poop or pee, the two children usually had too much playing to do.

Some of the toys were made by Du Chunfang, Liang Yuemei, or Sister Yang; some were bought by Li Long. They weren't as many as children in later generations had, but there were still quite a lot.

Li Long drove the jeep to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative first. To his surprise, Li Li Xiangqian was still in the Section Chief's office, not yet moved into the Director's office.

"Section Chief, this is bear paw from the bear I shot yesterday. I'm giving you one." Li Long placed the bag on the edge of Li Li Xiangqian's desk. "There's also a piece of bear meat inside. Bear meat in early spring isn't as fatty, but it should taste better than winter bear meat."

"Hey, you're quite something," Li Li Xiangqian said, opening the bag to look inside. A fishy smell hit his nose; it really didn't smell good.

But he knew this was a good thing.

Li Li Xiangqian rolled up and tied the bag opening, then sighed and said:

"I've worked at our Supply and Marketing Cooperative for so many years; I've eaten wolf meat, deer meat, and such, but I've never eaten bear meat before. Being able to eat bear meat is thanks to you; you are my lucky star."

"Don't flatter me," Li Long waved his hand and said. "Section Chief, I'm leaving first. I still need to send some meat to my brother, that is, over to the team side. This meat doesn't keep well; I must hurry."

"Alright, alright, go get busy," Li Li Xiangqian waved his hand, thinking about how to prepare this bear paw.

Li Long went to the County Party Committee compound again; he wanted to find Clerk Ma.

Ma Ma Xiao Yan was planning articles for the Ethnic Unity Education Month activities. This was the third year the event started, precisely when it was being emphasized; at this time, she also thought of Li Long.

After all, "farmers" like Li Long who actively cooperated and knew how to provide news tips were truly rare.

So when she received the guard's phone call saying someone named Li Long had come to find her, Ma Ma Xiao Yan also felt it was a coincidence, a somewhat magical feeling.

"Hello, Comrade Li Long," Ma Ma Xiao Yan went to the entrance to lead him in. Li Long didn't follow her inside; he handed the bag directly into Ma Ma Xiao Yan's hands. "This is bear meat shot from the mountains; take it back to eat. Although spring bear isn't as oily as winter bear, if you render it, there's still quite a bit of oil, and it can be kept to eat for quite some time."

"Look at you, still so polite..." Ma Ma Xiao Yan's smile on her face grew even brighter. Although she worked in the propaganda sector, which was clean and prestigious, and she could get good food when going down for inspections and interviews, her rank was fixed there, her salary was just that little bit; to live a bit better, she also had to be frugal and find more avenues.

At first, Ma Ma Xiao Yan was hesitant about Li Long giving meat, but he neither asked her to embezzle nor asked her to use connections to get things done; he just asked her to run more interviews. What was wrong with that?

Moreover, the tips Li Long provided were solid; for Ma Ma Xiao Yan, this was truly very applicable.

"Does your Supply and Marketing Cooperative have any activities this year? Or do you have any plans?"

"Last year, we installed water pipes for the herdsmen in the mountains; afterwards, we built a sheep-washing pool for them. Today, I'm going into the mountains to see their sheep-washing situation." Li Long now also knew the importance of his identity; with an identity, at least as long as he didn't break the law, others would have to think twice before messing with him.

So regarding the sheep-washing pool matter, he felt it was necessary to mention it; even if Ma Ma Xiao Yan just mentioned it in passing when writing her article, it would make some people deepen their impression of him.

"Can you take me with you when you go?" Ma Ma Xiao Yan felt this was good material, completely suitable for a serialized series.

"Clerk Ma, in a while we will also be helping the herdsmen renovate their houses. How about you go then? At that time, the leaders of our Supply and Marketing Cooperative will also be going," Li Long advised tactfully.

"It's fine; I'll go both times. You have a car, how convenient," Ma Ma Xiao Yan unconsciously even acted coquettishly. Having taken Li Long's meat, she felt it was necessary to do something; this person was far better than those begging her to write promotional pieces.

Li Long thought for a moment and said:

"Alright then. I'll set off after lunch; shall I come pick you up then?"

"Good."

The matter was settled like this. (End of this chapter)