Chapter 794: Ma Xiao Yan also had her own selfish motives

When Ma Xiao Yan got into the car, she was carrying a camera case and a cloth bag. It was clear that the bag had been made by hand, as the traces of manual stitching were quite prominent.

Li Long didn't ask what she was carrying; he drove the car west out of the county seat and headed toward the mountains.

In the farmland on both sides of the road, Dongfanghong-75 tractors were plowing the fields. The rumbling sounds, the black smoke belching from the tractors, and the patches of green along the edges of the fields gave one the feeling of a scene where all things were reviving and flourishing.

"It's so nice. Spring has arrived, and the temperature has risen. Listening to the sound of these tractors, it doesn't even feel noisy—this tractor operator is really putting in the effort!" Ma Xiao Yan exclaimed as she looked out the window.

Li Long chuckled inwardly but didn't say anything. He could clearly hear that the tractor had "stalled" and was belching black smoke because it couldn't plow the ground—the person sitting on the five-share plow behind was pressing the plowshare too deep, and the ground was too hard to plow, so the tractor was smoking and couldn't move forward.

Plowing fields nowadays isn't like in later generations, where a high-horsepower tractor can be operated by one person in the cab. At this time, whether plowing, sowing, or harrowing, it required two people to operate together: one in front driving the tractor, and one in the back assisting on the farm implement—such as a five-share plow or a seeder—to make adjustments, mainly adjusting the depth of the plowshare's soil turning, the density of sowing, and so on.

The one driving this tractor and the one adjusting the plowshare behind were, in all likelihood, amateurs.

Li Long drove the jeep to the intersection leading south on the Wuyi Highway. As he turned in, he reminded Ma Xiao Yan:

"Officer Ma, the road ahead is a bit bumpy. Sit tight."

"Okay." Ma Xiao Yan often went down to the countryside and was quite familiar with the road conditions in various parts of the county.

Li Long didn't slow down. He was thinking that Halimu and the others should have started washing the sheep in the morning, and he didn't know how many flocks they had washed by now; he needed to get over there as soon as possible to check the situation.

When the jeep passed through Qingshuihe Village, it was also busy here. People were working in the fields, and apart from a few dogs that chased the car, the village was very quiet.

As the car drove into the mountains, the temperature suddenly cooled down. When they arrived at the mountain gully where Halimu and the others were, a unique smell of Kelalin permeated the air. Li Long looked over at a glance; several flocks of sheep were on the grassy slopes, scattered here and there, clearly separated.

Some sheep had already been washed and were brown, basking in the sun, while others hadn't been washed yet and were grazing.

The jeep drove up to the winter camp, and two dogs ran over, barking around the car. When Li Long got out, the dogs jumped on him affectionately.

He patted the two dogs on the head and was just about to head toward the sheep-washing pool when he noticed Ma Xiao Yan looking at the two dogs in fear from inside the car, not daring to get out.

Li Long smiled and pointed toward the sheep flock; the two dogs wagged their tails and ran off. Only then did Ma Xiao Yan open the car door and get out, then quickly came to hide behind Li Long.

Li Long took her to the sheep-washing pool. Halimu, Yushanjiang, Talihar, and others were busy at different positions. A flock of sheep had just been driven halfway in, and they were too busy to come over and greet Li Long, only nodding and smiling.

Li Long went over to help drive the sheep, while Ma Xiao Yan stood in the distance, looking for different angles to start taking photos.

The sheep-washing pool had a funnel-shaped opening at the top to facilitate driving the sheep in. Water was led from the water pipe through a shallow ditch into the large pool in the middle of the sheep-washing pool. When the water level in the large pool was nearly a meter deep, Kelalin was poured in, the water flow was cut off, and after stirring the medicinal water evenly, they could start washing.

The wool of these sheep had already been sheared, leaving only a thin layer of wool clinging to the skin, making it easier for the medicinal water to come into direct contact with the skin.

Sheep are washed once a year. Often outdoors, they come into contact with different bacteria, microorganisms, and parasites, the most common being a type of mite that can cause large patches of wool to fall off. If this thing isn't killed, the sheep will have to be bare-skinned all winter and summer because this parasite grows in the hair follicles, and the wool simply won't grow out.

Washing sheep requires at least three people: one person at the funnel opening to drive the sheep into the sheep-washing pool, and two people at the sheep-washing pool holding Y-shaped wooden forks to press the sheep's heads into the medicinal water—

The sheep's body can be soaked in the medicinal water, but the sheep's head won't go in voluntarily. If the sheep's head isn't soaked in the medicinal water, then if there is an infectious disease, it will continue to spread to the whole body after coming out, and the effect of washing the sheep will be greatly reduced.

If there are many people, someone will wait at the end of the sheep-washing pool. After the sheep come out, they gather the sheep together. As long as the lead sheep is gathered and doesn't run around, the flock can usually stay in one place without moving much.

At this time, Halimu was driving the sheep in, Talihar and Biek were forking the sheep in the middle, and Yushanjiang was at the very back organizing the flock, checking for any omissions.

Halimu's wife and another person Li Long wasn't very familiar with, Yang Ganzi, were making naan. Li Long knew he would have a treat today.

Kazakh naan in this season is made with milk. The freshly baked naan tastes excellent. In the words of the locals, even if you don't eat it with anything and just gnaw on it dry, you could finish a whole naan—this naan isn't the thin kind; it's quite thick, not particularly large, but very substantial.

Li Long went over to help Halimu slowly drive those sheep into the sheep-washing pool. Halimu saw that most of the sheep were in, and only then did he come over to greet Li Long and incidentally talk about what happened yesterday.

"Yesterday, an elder in our tribe passed away, so things here stopped, and we went to help handle the matter first."

"Oh..." Li Long nodded. This was indeed an urgent and sudden major event, certainly more important than washing sheep.

"She was over ninety years old. Her family and she herself were clear about it, so everyone wasn't very sad," Halimu continued, "That person is..."

"The propaganda officer who came last year. Hearing that you were washing sheep, she came over specifically to take a look," Li Long explained vaguely, not mentioning that Ma Xiao Yan had come to interview him about helping them dig the sheep-washing pool and incidentally see the effect of the sheep washing.

"It's much more convenient," Halimu's face showed a smile, "Look, there's no need to drive the sheep to the animal husbandry team at all. Washing them here, once they are dried, just drive them into the pen. We've saved a lot of time!"

Li Long laughed. That was the original idea, and now that it was realized, he was naturally happy.

He looked around; indeed, they had come relatively late. Currently, this was the last flock of sheep to be washed. After washing, there would be no more today.

"Not washing anymore today?"

"Not washing anymore," Halimu nodded, "Today was just to try and see how much time it would take. In the afternoon, Talihar and the others will go back and notify the others. Tomorrow, all the remaining flocks will come over, and it can all be washed in one day. Having a sheep-washing pool here is really too convenient."

Li Long watched as Ma Xiao Yan took a few photos and then went over to interview Yushanjiang and Talihar and the others. He didn't go over to get involved but followed Halimu to the winter camp.

"Is there enough Kelalin?" Li Long asked.

"Enough, this medicinal water can be reused," Halimu said with some regret, "The flock of sheep driven here today was small. Actually, the medicinal water in here could wash two or three more flocks of sheep."

Li Long understood his thinking. Although the bottom of the sheep-washing pool was paved with stones, to be honest, if the water in here was left overnight, it would certainly seep away. Tomorrow, they would need to refill the water and pour in the medicine again.

But there was no way around this; it was an inevitable loss that couldn't be avoided.

"A bottle of medicine doesn't cost much. Washing one flock of sheep is enough to break even, so it's not a pity," Li Long comforted him with a smile, "Yesterday I killed a bear, right there in the hot spring gully. I didn't expect the bear to run all the way here—have you encountered any recently?"

"Encountered one!" Halimu said, "Encountered two, both in the gully, one big and one small. Both brown bears are very fierce—but our dogs aren't afraid of them; they dare to bite."

Kazakh sheepdogs are fierce. The Tianshan Mastiff name really isn't for nothing. There aren't many dogs that dare to fight bears and wolves.

Of course, to be called a mastiff, it must have some real skills.

When Li Long looked at those two black dogs again, there was a bit more appreciation in his eyes.

After Ma Xiao Yan finished taking photos and interviewing, Yushanjiang and the others also gathered the sheep into their respective flocks. These sheep were quite obedient, scattered on this stretch of mountain grassland, each grazing and resting, gathered around the lead sheep, and not running around.

At this time, Yushanjiang and Talihar and the others went to the water pipe to wash their hands before coming over to shake hands and greet Li Long.

It had been a while since they last met, and it felt very intimate.

"Talihar, didn't you kill two wolves? Yesterday Li Long killed a bear!" Halimu said loudly to Talihar, "A brown bear! Right there in the hot spring gully!"

"Really?" Talihar was a bit shocked, "How big?"

"Over two hundred kilograms. The stomach, intestines, and such couldn't be brought back, so I didn't want them," Li Long said, "Spring has arrived, it's not very fat, about as tall as me..."

"That big! You killed it alone? Impossible, right?" Biek also couldn't believe it. Brown bears in this stretch of mountains are considered top predators. Killing a brown bear alone, in their view, is almost impossible—even with a gun.

After all, when Talihar had a gun, he was almost scared to death by a brown bear.

"Really, today I even got some bear meat!" Ma Xiao Yan appeared from somewhere nearby. Having listened for a while, she hurriedly testified for Li Long, "The bear meat is really fatty!"

"You're really amazing!" Talihar gave a thumbs up in admiration, "Amazing!"

Thinking about the scene when he once faced a brown bear and was scared, and then looking at Li Long, it was really different. He was also a bit curious and asked, "How did you kill it?"

"I was soaking in the hot spring, the hot spring there is very good. As a result, the brown bear pounced over. I used a knife first, and after wounding it, I used the gun to shoot it."

"You didn't use the gun at the beginning?" Talihar opened his mouth wide, "It didn't hurt you?"

"It did," Li Long pulled his collar down, revealing the scar that had already formed, and said, "One claw swiped across. I dodged most of it, otherwise, this would have ripped my chest open directly."

Ma Xiao Yan first shyly looked away, then curiously glanced at it. Only after Li Long put his clothes back did she ask worriedly:

"Such a big gash from the scratch, did you apply medicine? Don't let it get infected!"

"It's fine, my body is good, it has already formed a scar, no infection."

Li Long was also a bit surprised. His body's recovery ability was quite strong, and his anti-inflammatory ability was also strong. After being scratched by the bear claw, it didn't get inflamed or infected, just formed a scar like this.

This was also quite good. At least it was easy to fool the family, and they wouldn't worry.

"Really amazing!" Talihar was truly convinced this time. Don't look at it as easy to say; when truly facing a brown bear of that size pouncing over, not many people can truly dare to face it and fight back.

Let alone a bear, even if a real wolf, or even a half-grown dog pounced over, it's estimated that the first thing many people would think of is to run!

The women were not only making naan but also preparing jam and other food. After Li Long and the others washed their hands, they were outside. After the naan was baked, everyone was given a piece and gnawed on it right there.

At first, Ma Xiao Yan was a bit hesitant, but after tentatively eating two bites, she fell in love with it and ate it in big mouthfuls, occasionally exclaiming: "So fragrant!"

It was just that eating it fast made her a bit choked.

Fortunately, the women had already brought over milk tea, which arrived just in time.

These people didn't talk about the elder's passing; they were all chatting about the upcoming mountain entry.

"Before entering the mountains, can you find us some more bullets?" Talihar felt that it was better to hunt with a gun, so he made a request to Li Long.

"Okay, no problem. Before entering the mountains, think about what you want. I'll come over again in two days. At that time, take the list, and when I come over next time, I'll bring the things directly."

"Good, good, good."

"Do you want snow lotus?" Biek learned from Halimu that Li Long needed snow lotus.

"Yes, the more the better."

"There is a patch of mountain land in the summer pasture belonging to the family of Bek, and snow lotuses grow there every year," Halimu explained. "There are many; in that one patch, you can pick several hundred!"

"So many? I'll buy them, five yuan a flower."

"No need for so much money..." Biek was a bit embarrassed, "This grows every year, every year there is..."

"Hmm, as long as you don't dig up the roots, it grows every year." Li Long also knew this.

"Is snow lotus so expensive?" Ma Xiao Yan was like a curious baby, asking while tearing the naan into small pieces to eat.

"Hmm, there are people in the interior who buy it. This treats gynecological diseases, treats rheumatism, and also treats some male diseases," Li Long explained, "Some people in the interior take it to soak in wine."

"We also use this as medicine," Halimu also explained to Ma Xiao Yan.

"That's really good..."

Ma Xiao Yan didn't know what else she thought of, and she was dazed for a while.

At this time, Halimu and the others finished eating and started moving things to the car—yes, moving them to the car.

The wolf skins brought by Talihar, the two pieces of jade brought by Biek, a pair of deer antlers, a red deer skin brought by Yushanjiang, a red deer whip, a pair of deer antlers, and two roe deer skins.

Here at Halimu's, there were two small red deer—these things directly filled the trunk.

The small red deer only had their hooves tied and were crying with thin voices, which made Ma Xiao Yan feel very sorry for them.

Li Long wanted to take out money, but Halimu and the others persuaded him back, saying that this money should be used for supplies later.

Li Long didn't decline again. He planned to bring rice, flour, and other food supplies next time he came. These things were most needed after moving into the mountains.

Seeing the sun slanting west and the things loaded, Li Long bid farewell to Halimu and the others and left. Yushanjiang and the others shook hands with Li Long and said they were also leaving; they had to drive the sheep home quickly. Now that they were dried, the next step was to prepare for the transfer.

"After you transfer, I will bring people to properly renovate your winter camp," Li Long gave a solemn promise, "When you come back in the autumn to cut grass, what you will see will be a brand-new winter camp."

"That would be great," Yushanjiang said with a smile.

When the jeep drove out of this gully, Ma Xiao Yan suddenly said in the car:

"Comrade Li Long, there is still some time, I want to ask where nearby can I pick mushrooms?"

"Pick mushrooms?" Li Long was stunned for a moment. There were many places to pick mushrooms, why did Ma Xiao Yan think of this?

However, since she made the request and saw that there was indeed some time left, Li Long pointed to the front right and said: "Go forward into that gully, there are many mushrooms. Let's go, I'll take you to pick some."

Ma Xiao Yan smiled and agreed.

The jeep drove to the side of the road at the mouth of the gully and stopped. Li Long got out of the car and saw Ma Xiao Yan carrying that cloth bag. He realized that she had been prepared to do this all along.

Li Long himself also took his backpack and led the way into the gully. The shady slope on the south side of this gully was pine trees, and the sunny slope on the north side was turf. The slope was relatively gentle. At this time, the grass hadn't grown yet, and there was water in the gully, so the air was slightly damp.

Not long after they walked in, Li Long pointed to the north slope and said:

"Look, there are many grass mushrooms on the slope. You pick those that have just opened their umbrellas or haven't opened their umbrellas. It's best not to pick other mushrooms. By the way, you can also pick white brittle mushrooms—look at this, this is a white brittle mushroom, it's also delicious when stir-fried."

Ma Xiao Yan responded and hurriedly went to pick mushrooms.

Li Long finally understood. People like Ma Xiao Yan who work in county committee departments look noble, but in reality, life isn't as good as imagined.

Thinking that being able to pick a cloth bag of mushrooms today could save the family several days of vegetable money, right?

It hadn't rained for the past two days, so there weren't many mushrooms on the grassy slope, and they hadn't formed mushroom circles yet.

Li Long had seen times when there were many mushrooms. On a grassy slope, a grass mushroom grew almost every few steps. That was in July, and it would rain every few days, and the grass mushrooms grew very luxuriantly—of course, the fact that the grass on that stretch didn't grow tall was also an important reason.

In ordinary pastures, by July when the grass grows, there are no more mushrooms.

Ma Xiao Yan's family had many people, and a whole family lived in a large courtyard. She had to pay for her family's food expenses. There weren't many people with formal jobs in the family, so they saved where they could—coming here today was indeed for serious business, and picking mushrooms was also something she had planned, which could be considered a selfish motive along the way.

She carefully picked the grass mushrooms, unlike Li Long who directly snapped off the umbrella handle, so she didn't have to bring out the mud. When she picked them, she did it with the roots. When she went back, she would use a knife to scrape them. There was mushroom meat on the roots too. She felt Li Long was too wasteful.

In half an hour, Ma Xiao Yan's cloth bag was already full. She looked at the white dots on the slope in the distance and sighed. It was a pity she brought too few bags.

Li Long's movements were fast and skilled, and he had long since filled his backpack. Seeing that Ma Xiao Yan's cloth bag was also full, he said:

"Let's go, it's time to go back to the county."

Sitting in the car, one could feel that the mountain wind had already cooled. Ma Xiao Yan thought that Li Long still had to enter the mountains in the next two days. She had a mind to follow, but thinking about her work, she could only let it go.

Sigh, if only she could enter the mountains every day, how much vegetable money could she save!

Just now when picking mushrooms, she also saw wild onions and wild garlic that had just grown. These could also be dug. The resources in the mountains are really many!

Li Long, however, was driving while thinking about whether to come tomorrow or the day after—the acquisition station hadn't opened for two days, he had to go over and take a look. (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 795 =====