Chapter 796: It is said that life in the countryside is very bitter

He Lijuan hummed "Young Friends Come to Meet," stepped with light steps to the dormitory, and began to pack her things.

After class, her roommate Xu Hongxia watched He Lijuan pack her things and asked in surprise:

"Lijuan, are you sure you're going?"

"Sure." He Lijuan said with a smile, "We are leaving tomorrow. Come, help me pack my things."

He Lijuan had a superior family background but didn't have any arrogant illness. She didn't feel superior when getting along with roommates. She was enthusiastic and generous and liked to help others. In contrast, Xu Hongxia was the one who received the most help from her.

Xu Hongxia's home was in a neighboring province, coming from the countryside. Being able to get into this university mainly relied on her uncle who worked in a government agency in a county in Northern Xinjiang. In the place where she was, valuing boys over girls was very serious. According to common sense, she couldn't go to university. Her parents planned to let her work at home after graduating from primary school and marry when she was older, which could also exchange for some bride price.

It was her uncle who persuaded her parents when he came back to visit relatives and paid for her tuition (there was no nine-year compulsory education at that time) to attend middle school. Later, he supported her in taking the university entrance exam and bore her university tuition.

Her uncle's family wasn't rich either. Xu Hongxia lived frugally at school. He Lijuan's family conditions were good, and she often helped He Hongxia. The two had a very good relationship.

So this time He Lijuan was going to a village in Maxian to engage in research with Professor Luo, and she didn't hide it from Xu Hongxia.

Xu Hongxia earnestly persuaded He Lijuan:

"Lijuan, I think you should still be cautious. Although you are from the county, you have never stayed in the countryside and don't know that kind of bitterness. Let me tell you, the countryside now can't eat white flour buns every day. It's not bad to be full with corn flour.

Northern Xinjiang is better than my home, can be full, but it's only just full. You will certainly be very bitter when you go there...

Take drinking water, for example. When you go there, the water for cooking, washing your face, and drinking all has to be carried from the well—if there is no well nearby, you have to carry water from the ditch. There might be insects in that water, but you still have to eat..."

"Really?" He Lijuan didn't quite believe it, "The professor said we don't need to cook. We pay for food, the school bears a part, we pay a part, and there are people cooking there."

"Then can you get used to eating? Although the food in our school cafeteria is average, at least there are rice, buns, and noodles. You can hit whichever you want to eat. When you get there, if you get food you don't like, you can't find a place to improve your food in the village..."

"So I thought about buying some sesame cakes and egg cakes to bring. If it really doesn't work, I'll find villagers to buy some eggs and boil them." He Lijuan was still quite optimistic. She tried her best to use her existing conditions and methods to solve the problems she might encounter.

"That's not impossible..." Xu Hongxia didn't expect He Lijuan to be so determined, so she stopped persuading her not to go, but tried her best to explain the living conditions in the countryside clearly, letting her have a mental preparation:

"You might have to live in a large dormitory there. Now it's spring, the place where you live... in the countryside, you still have to pay attention to some things. It's normal to have insects in the house. The most important thing might be mice. After all, it's hard to have idle houses in the countryside. When relatives come to our house, they don't stay overnight because there is no place to live..."

"Are there mice?" He Lijuan hesitated for a moment. She was still very afraid of mice, "Then... I'll ask Li Qingyuan and Zheng Zhiguo to help us check the house properly. If there are mice, drive them away... By the way, Zhu Yuechan is going with me, she isn't afraid of mice."

"That's fine, then prepare more towels and clothes. You certainly can't think about taking a bath there. If you have to live for a month, you can only wipe yourself in the room. Get along with Li Qingyuan and the others, let them help you carry water... By the way, firewood is also a big problem..."

Xu Hongxia was a bit worried.

She actually hadn't lived in the countryside of Northern Xinjiang, just comparing her hometown with He Lijuan's possible life:

"Now it's spring, there might not be much firewood where you live, so boiling water is also a big problem. The water there isn't as good as our school. It might be saline-alkali water. Bring more toothpaste, remember to brush your teeth properly, otherwise, if you often drink the water there, your teeth will be yellow..."

This point made He Lijuan hesitate a bit. Girls loving beauty is a nature. How to deal with a mouthful of yellow teeth?

Actually, at this time, there were yellow teeth and black teeth from tetracycline, and there were quite a few girls like that, but He Lijuan herself had a mouthful of white teeth, and she didn't want to become like that...

But she had already guaranteed it to Professor Luo. If she backed out now, how embarrassing would it be?

"Then I'll brush my teeth more and drink less water!" He Lijuan thought for a while and said, "Anyway, it's just a month. At worst, I'll find a way to go to the county in the middle... even if I don't go to the county, going to the township is fine."

The two went to eat together. On the way, Xu Hongxia "popularized" some bad habits in the countryside to He Lijuan, telling them to pay attention to safety, not to go out when it's dark, and to follow Professor Luo closely.

This also startled He Lijuan. In the afternoon, she found Li Qingyuan and the others, discussing some countermeasures and things that needed to be brought more.

Li Long only stayed at the acquisition station for half the time in the afternoon when Li Xiangqian rode a bicycle to find him.

"Agricultural College phone, Professor Luo said he is looking for you, call again in half an hour..." Li Xiangqian looked at his watch and said, "There are still twenty minutes."

"Okay, I'll go over now." Li Long was counting skins for a customer. He stood up immediately and said to the people behind: "Everyone wait a moment, I have an urgent matter, close this door first..."

"Then what should we do?" The people behind were immediately dissatisfied, "We waited for several days for you to open the door, we can't wait in vain, right?"

"That's right, that's right, my family is also waiting for money for urgent use!"

"That is, you can't close the door, you have to collect our goods before leaving. Didn't you say there are still twenty minutes?"

Li Long smiled and said:

"I'm just locking this door first. I'll come back later. You still line up in your order. I'll be back in no more than half an hour. Come, come, come, I'll settle the account for this skin first. The people behind move back, wait in the courtyard first. I won't lock the courtyard door. Is this okay?"

"That's about it."

Li Xiangqian sighed:

"Your acquisition station is quite prosperous. You can collect quite a lot of things every day."

"It's okay." Li Long smiled and collected the skins on the counter, settled the account, then locked the room door, and drove the jeep toward the supply and marketing cooperative.

Li Xiangqian rode his bicycle behind, with a face of bad luck: "Hey, I'm not as good as an external purchaser, really..."

Li Long drove to the supply and marketing cooperative. When he planned to go to the purchasing section chief's office, he found another person sitting in the section chief's seat. He vaguely remembered that this person was originally an old employee of the purchasing section.

"Yo, Xiao Li is here? Did the director find you? The phone call was received in the director's office, you have to go there."

This new section chief named Zhou Yuan was very enthusiastic toward Li Long: "The phone hasn't come yet, you sit first, I'll pour you water..."

This enthusiasm, not at all like a section chief.

Zhou Yuan naturally knew that Li Long was Director Li's trusted aide. He shouldn't put on airs here, just treat him as an equal.

"Thank you, Section Chief Zhou." Li Long took the water and said with a smile, "Congratulations, congratulations! It's my dereliction of duty, I only knew you were promoted to section chief..."

"Hey, you and us are different. I am this section chief, isn't it still serving everyone... By the way, Xiao Li, I happen to have a matter to ask you. Look, do you have any wolf teeth or wolf astragalus bones? Can you get me one? My nephew is one year old, his courage is a bit small, I want to get one..."

"I have one now." Li Long took out a wolf astragalus bone from his upper pocket and handed it over, "Tie a red rope and wear it, it's said to ward off evil. We are just giving peace of mind."

"Good, good, good, thank you!" Zhou Yuan smiled and took it.

What is the fastest way to get closer to people? Either send things, send things people like, or owe favors, owe favors that are not too big or too small, so that it's easy to return later. Back and forth, the relationship is closer.

Drank water, chatted, and Li Xiangqian also entered the courtyard. Li Long stood up, greeted Zhou Yuan, then went out to the corridor, and entered the director's office with Li Xiangqian.

The phone call still had to come for a while. Li Long asked Li Xiangqian with a smile:

"Director comrade, changed offices, what are your thoughts?"

"Thoughts my ass. Only after becoming director did I know that there are too many relationships to handle. This position looks comfortable, and the level is high, but to be honest, it's really trembling."

"Not that exaggerated, right?" Li Long lifted the thermos, refilled Li Xiangqian's cup, and after pouring water for himself, sat on the wooden sofa with his cup, sighing:

"Hey, this director's office is bigger than the section chief's office, and comfortable—Section Chief, I see something wrong, why don't you change the things inside? It seems to be the layout when Wei Zhuren was here?"

"What's there to change?" Li Xiangqian waved his hand, "I think it's quite good here. When Wei Zhuren was here, most of these things were helped by me to set up. When he left, he basically didn't take anything, so these things are just placed here.

By the way, continue with your business. Why did you get the experts from the Agricultural College over? Any new ideas?"

"It's like this. You've been to our team," Li Long thought for a while and explained, "There is a lot of wasteland in the team, but most of it is saline-alkali land. I thought if it could be improved into good farmland, how much more grain could be produced, and how many more economic crops could be planted?"

"You let the experts from the Agricultural College help you improve saline-alkali land? Go away! If they could do this, then how much saline-alkali land is there in our Northern Xinjiang, wouldn't it have been reclaimed long ago? Still waiting for you to do it?" Li Xiangqian wasn't someone who didn't work. Following the grain acquisition team to various places to acquire grain, he was very clear about the land situation in Maxian.

"I didn't put forward a concept to them," Li Long didn't argue with Li Xiangqian, explaining slowly: "In the past, we had few chemical fertilizers, mainly using farm manure. If we wanted to improve saline-alkali land, we could only soak it with a lot of water to soak away the surface alkali. It could be planted that year, but the alkali in the soil would come up again the second year.

Now we have more and more types of chemical fertilizers. We can completely apply fertilizer in a targeted manner according to the soil situation. If there is too much alkali, use acidic chemical fertilizer, then the acid and alkali will be neutralized. This is taught in middle school chemistry..."

"You still remember middle school chemistry? I heard from your brother that you didn't study well when you were in school, and didn't even graduate from middle school properly. Now you are pulling this on me?" Li Xiangqian was a bit suspicious.

"That... I have a wife who studies well," Li Long said with a smile, "I don't study well, it's fine if she studies well."

"Hey, you really caught it..." Speaking of Li Long's wife, Li Xiangqian felt it was also quite good. If it weren't for Li Long's strong ability in other aspects, Li Xiangqian would probably feel that this was a flower inserted in cow dung.

Li Long just chuckled, laughing proudly.

The phone rang. Li Long stood up but didn't go to answer. Li Xiangqian smiled and answered the phone:

"Hello, hello, supply and marketing cooperative... Professor Luo? Good, good, good, Li Long is here, you wait a moment..."

Li Long went over and took the receiver. Li Xiangqian stood up and signaled him to sit in his position. He turned to the wooden sofa where Li Long sat earlier, drinking tea while listening to what Li Long said.

Professor Luo was also quite happy to find Li Long, saying with a smile:

"Comrade Li Long, we plan to go to your place tomorrow, taking the morning bus. Can you pick us up? Mainly there is luggage, and some instruments, experimental equipment, etc."

"No problem, I will wait for you at the Maxian bus station tomorrow morning." Li Long didn't expect Professor Luo to come so quickly. He asked: "Professor, how many people are coming this time?"

"I'm bringing five students. Can the place to stay be arranged? Don't worry, our requirements aren't high, just be able to spread bedding, and be able to separate men and women."

"Don't worry about this, it's already arranged. However, the conditions aren't very good, living in a large dormitory," Li Long said.

"That's good, we will pay for accommodation and food, but our students' self-care ability is average, this eating..."

"Don't worry about that, I've arranged it here too. I dare not say eat well, but being full is certainly no problem."

"That's fine, nothing else." Professor Luo wanted to dock with Li Long on these basic questions. Since Li Long had already arranged it, he had nothing to say.

Actually, he only met Li Long once, and the rest were all heard from Professor Wu. Professor Luo was still a bit uneasy before calling Li Long, but now he felt relieved.

Next, it depends on the actual situation. Professor Luo felt that such a sunny young man like Li Long shouldn't lie or brag, right?

After hanging up the phone, Li Long looked at Li Xiangqian.

"Coming tomorrow, you continue to go back to the team?"

"Yes, Director, I have to ask you for help this time."

"You say." Li Xiangqian saw that Li Long didn't sit in his position earlier, so he sat back with his jar, "Don't open your mouth like a lion. I just took office here, and many eyes are watching."

"Just want to ask the cooperative to coordinate a large truck. Professor Luo and the others are coming with six people. My jeep can't sit... and there is a lot of luggage and experimental equipment."

"That's no problem, tomorrow morning, right? Okay, I'll call the transport section chief later, you go find him tomorrow morning," Li Xiangqian smiled, small things.

"You went back to the team, how do you handle that acquisition station?" Li Xiangqian asked, "It's not a thing for you to run back and forth alone."

"That's temporarily no way, can't find a suitable person," Li Long smiled bitterly, "Just persist like this. It's just a day or two in the team. After arranging for them to stay and starting the experiment, I'll come back. At most, go over once every morning and evening, have a jeep, convenient."

Now Li Long has to be divided into three stalls, really tired.

"Then, since the 'lifting-pole' work is coming down this year, do you still want it?" Li Xiangqian asked. "Can you coordinate it?"

"That's certainly no problem." Li Long said with a smile, "I will organize people to enter the mountains, and just accept the inspection."

"Okay, I believe you." Li Xiangqian said with a smile, "The task will come down before the end of this month. It is said that the task this year will not be more than last year, but the price will be higher. Still that requirement, the quality must be qualified."

"Director, don't worry about this, I care most about quality," Li Long said seriously.

Leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, Li Long first went to the acquisition station to collect the goods of the remaining people. In this short while, there were more people in the courtyard.

Li Long collected until almost off work, only then finished collecting things. Seeing no one behind, he hurriedly locked the door. The things were simply left at the acquisition station and not moved to the jeep, then drove the jeep to the team.

On the way, he ran into students after school. Most of the middle and primary school students walked together, in twos and threes, laughing and making noise on the road. After hearing the sound of the jeep, they quickly hid on the side of the road and waited for the car to pass.

Li Long knew that Li Juan and Li Qiang both rode bicycles. At this time, they should have arrived home, so he drove directly to the old horse number.

Old Luo Shu and the others were drying sugar residue. The sheep pen door was open. Yang Laoliu shouldn't have come back from herding sheep yet.

Seeing the jeep drive in, Old Luo Shu smiled and said after Li Long got off:

"Is there an urgent matter? Is that professor coming over?"

"Hmm, coming tomorrow. Let's start slaughtering pigs tomorrow morning," Li Long said, "I'll go tell my eldest brother and Daqiang and the others later, come over to help. Tomorrow when they come, it will be morning, just in time to eat slaughtered pig dishes. This can be considered a welcome."

"Okay." Old Luo Shu had no opinion, "Call whoever you want, we are certainly no problem here. They are professors and college students, we certainly can't treat them poorly. They are all scholars, very precious."

The tradition of China since ancient times is that scholars have high status. The total number of college students produced by the Fourth Team until the end of the 1980s did not exceed two, and the gold content was very high.

Not to mention the descent of the Wenqu star, they are all powerful figures, and they cannot be treated poorly.

After Li Long gave the word, after a circle, everyone readily agreed to come. Even Wang Cai Mi said he would come to slaughter pigs tomorrow morning before going to plow land for others.

Such a big face! (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 797 =====

Hmm, let's settle it like that.

Li Long gave the word. After making a round, everyone readily agreed to come. Even Wang Cai Mi said he would come early tomorrow morning to slaughter the pig before going to plow the fields for others.

What a lot of face! (End of chapter)