Chapter 815: Comrade Li Long, you

After eating boiled meat for two or three days, Li Long wanted to change things up today. He first soaked the untouched offal in a large basin to draw out the blood, planning to cut up the remaining meat after finishing his meal.

He took an enamel bowl from the trunk of the jeep, prepared a mixture of hot chili oil, vinegar, and chopped wild green onions, and set it aside.

Fishing out a piece of lamb neck meat into another enamel basin, Li Long used his washed knife to shave off a slice, dipped it in the sauce, and popped it into his mouth. The taste was exceptionally spot-on.

Argali meat is quite gamey; although ginger and wild green onions were added during boiling to remove the odor, the flavor was definitely still there.

But eating it this way now suppressed that hint of gaminess. Moreover, because the sheep had just been slaughtered, boiling it like this and then mixing it with the sauce made it taste particularly delicious.

In the later years, in many places in Northern Xinjiang, when eating hand-grabbed meat, restaurants would serve a plate of pepper-salt after bringing out the meat—which was stir-fried chili powder mixed with salt, and sometimes cumin. When eating, you would tear off a piece of meat and dip it in this pepper-salt; it tasted very good.

Right now, the only thing missing was an onion.

Fine, a small flaw is a small flaw. In this era, ninety-nine percent of people haven't even enjoyed eating it this way.

After finishing the lamb neck meat, he used a chopstick to poke out the spinal marrow inside to eat, then Li Long went to grab a piece of naan to cleanse his palate, and then fished out a piece of argali rib to continue eating in the same way.

The big pot attracted flies, so Li Long simply covered it with the lid, leaving the fire underneath to keep the soup at temperature. When Meng Hai and the others returned from work, they would definitely eat their afternoon meal here; this soup and the meat inside were the best rewards for them.

More than two hours later, Hou Zhengyi returned. By this time, Li Long had already finished eating, and he had evenly divided the remaining argali meat in the large basin into twelve portions—the deputy director hadn't come this time, so it was one portion for each of the twelve people. As for the offal, it was Li Long's own; there was no questioning this, as he was the one who had hunted the animal.

"Comrade Li Long, I've really been blessed by you these past two days." Hou Zhengyi said sincerely while washing the cooking utensils he had brought back from the Bieke winter camp, "Being able to eat such good meat, and still being able to take some back every day. My wife said that out of all the times I've been on official business, this one is the most worthwhile."

"Hehe, we each play to our strengths." Li Long smiled and said, "I see you picked some mushrooms today?"

"Yeah, I learned from Clerk Ma. There are so many things in these mountains; I really didn't know before. Look at these mushrooms, wild green onions, wild leeks, and such—they are all good things to take back, and they don't cost any money."

"Then pick more. Do you know the poisonous mushrooms?"

"I don't, but I only recognize straw mushrooms. I won't mistake those. I only pick this one kind of mushroom; it's safe."

"That's right." Li Long nodded and said, "There are more in that area. If you're free, pick some more. If you can't finish eating them when you get back, you can dry them into mushroom jerky, or give them away."

"Hmm, that's what I was thinking too." Hou Zhengyi finished washing the basins and bowls, then went off to pick mushrooms.

Li Long thought for a moment and also went to pick some mushrooms. He was fast, had a long stride, and was clear about the growth habits of wild mushrooms. In a short while, he had gathered five or six kilograms, more than what Hou Zhengyi had picked.

After Li Long brought the mushrooms back, he put a portion in the jeep, intending to take them back, and washed the other portion at the water pipe. Then he broke them open, planning to make a mushroom soup so that Li Xiangqian and the others could drink it directly when they returned later.

There weren't that many stoves here at Yushanjiang's place, so Li Long simply moved four stones, transferred some fire from the previous stove underneath, took a pot that Hou Zhengyi and the others had brought, washed it clean, poured in water, and just started boiling it.

The mushrooms were very fresh, and the wild green onions were also very fresh—the highest-grade ingredients cooked with the simplest method.

Just boiling them directly!

Not only were there straw mushrooms, but there were also a few morels—the early-season morels had already sprouted by now. Li Long hadn't picked many, about two or three hundred grams, and he planned to use a small portion here. This stuff was a good thing; it tasted very unique when boiled.

When the mushroom soup was ready, Li Long removed most of the fire, leaving some embers at the bottom to maintain the temperature. He ladled some into an enamel basin, blew on it until it cooled, and took a sip—it tasted good and was very fresh.

Although straw mushrooms aren't as famous as Chinese delicious mushrooms, nor as expensive as morels, they have the advantage of being abundant and easy to pick.

When the sun was about to set, Li Long returned from the grassy slope, and he heard the voices of Li Xiangqian and the others in the mountain gully.

Those who had been working had also returned.

By the time Li Xiangqian and the others arrived at Yushanjiang's earth shelter, Li Long and Hou Zhengyi had already prepared dinner. The naan was torn into pieces, there was still enough meat in the pot for one piece per person, and the mushroom soup was at the perfect temperature.

This time, Li Long had prepared more dipping sauce so that everyone could dip their meat.

"Hey, this way of eating is great." Li Xiangqian looked at the dipping sauce Li Long had made and smiled, "Eating this boiled meat for the past few days—the meat is good, but eating it every day is a bit much. Your way of eating is not bad, not bad at all. I have to try this when I get back."

"Try it now," Li Long pointed to the sauce basin and said, "Try it first, then try it when you get back."

The others didn't have that thought; it was good enough to have meat to eat, so why be picky?

Meng Hai and the others washed their hands and ate. While eating, Li Long said:

"The argali we got today is quite big. Besides what we've eaten, everyone can get three or four kilograms of meat. By the way, I also picked some straw mushrooms earlier; everyone should take some too. Each person can get one or two kilograms. If you take them back and stir-fry them, it's another dish."

Everyone had a smile on their face, including Ma Xiao Yan. Actually, she had already picked some straw mushrooms on the grassland near the winter camp at Bieke, but who would complain about having too much of this stuff?

Meng Hai carried his basin over to report to Li Long:

"We've also finished the winter camp at Bieke. There are still quite a few materials left. We didn't know the location of the next winter camp, so we didn't continue working; we just hauled all the materials that were stored at the Talihar winter camp over there."

"I'll go over tomorrow to point out the location." Li Long said, and then he said to Li Xiangqian: "Director, from tomorrow on, can we bring more wooden beams and fewer bricks?"

"Sure, sure, no problem." Li Xiangqian turned his head and said to Hou Zhengyi, "Old Hou, you should haul more wooden beams when you go back."

"Alright, no problem."

"Director Li said he won't be going tomorrow, so we..."

"It's fine, the director is busy. It's already been very hard for him to follow us for these few days. We can handle the rest ourselves. Anyway, you've all gotten used to the work these past few days and know how to do it, so there's no need for special supervision."

"Little Li," Li Xiangqian said while dipping his meat in the sauce, "About hauling the carrying poles tomorrow..."

"My focus will still be here tomorrow. When the time comes, you send a vehicle, and I'll take the people to the White Poplar Gully. They can just inspect and receive the goods there. By the way, there's another batch in Meng Hai's village; we can haul them all away together then."

"Alright, I'll tell them then. You can rest assured, they definitely won't say what shouldn't be said." Li Xiangqian mentioned with a hint of meaning.

Li Long smiled; he naturally understood that what shouldn't be said was the real price of the carrying poles.

After eating, everyone cleaned up the place together, extinguished the open fire, and loaded the things onto the vehicles. Everyone came over to collect their own share of meat and mushrooms. Li Xiangqian didn't dawdle today; he was the first to come over to collect his, and Ma Xiao Yan was second. While distributing meat to Meng Hai and the others, he settled their wages.

Everyone was very happy.

Bolati waited in the small wooden house all afternoon, but didn't wait for Li Long to come over.

He knew that Li Long and the others were working at the herdsmen's winter camp, but when he came over to ask, Sun Jia Qiang said that Li Long still came over once or twice every day, so Bolati thought he would wait here.

While he was waiting here, he even scared away several people who wanted to come over to trade things, but in the end, he still didn't wait for Li Long.

When the sun was about to set, he returned helplessly. Before leaving, he told Sun Jia Qiang that he would come over tomorrow morning and afternoon, and if Li Long came over, he must wait for him.

After dropping off Meng Hai and the others, the vehicle returned to the county. After sending Li Xiangqian and Ma Xiao Yan back, the sun had completely set by the time Li Long returned to the compound.

Gu Bo Yuan was tidying up the things he had traded back from the purchasing station. Han Fang opened the compound gate to let Li Long drive the jeep in. After waiting for Li Long to get out of the car, he said directly:

"The money isn't enough. Too many people have come to sell things these past two days, and we've collected quite a lot; the money is being spent too fast. I understand now what it means to spend money like water... If we keep spending like this, can your money hold up?"

"It's alright." Li Long smiled, "I'll get you some money later."

This is also why ordinary people can't open a purchasing station; it ties up too much capital. Just now, Li Long had over ten thousand yuan worth of goods tied up here, and at the current rate, it might tie up two or three times that amount.

How could ordinary folks in this day and age come up with twenty or thirty thousand to tie up in goods without selling them? Let alone ordinary folks, even average small bosses couldn't do it.

Li Long, however, wasn't under much pressure. Although he had less than one hundred thousand in cash right now, there were quite a few things that could be liquidated at any time.

If he really ran out of money, he could haul a truckload of dried fritillaria to Shicheng or Beiting City and exchange it for cash directly.

The reason he hadn't done so now was mainly because he had already agreed with Jia Tianlong, so he was waiting for Jia Tianlong to come over. In Li Long's view, the price Jia Tianlong offered was a bit higher, and he would come to haul it away himself, so it was definitely more cost-effective this way.

People like Jia Tianlong and Zhao Hui had a lot of cash flow, and the businesses they did were also very large. They didn't look down on small markets like a city or a county; their sights were set on the entire Northern Xinjiang, or at least the scale of a region or an autonomous prefecture.

Li Long didn't have such great ambition; he felt that it was already quite good to be able to circle and do the market in Maxian for the time being.

This time, Li Long directly took ten thousand in cash for Gu Bo Yuan. And Gu Bo Yuan also wrote a receipt very formally. Since they had already agreed on a cooperative relationship, they should be more formal.

Li Long didn't have much cash on hand now, so he planned to go to the bank in the next day or two to withdraw some cash for backup.

What was still troublesome now was that there was no way to contact Jia Tianlong and Zhao Hui. The purchasing station he ran was private, and the current post and telecommunications bureau wouldn't give him a phone. Maxian would have to wait another two years until program-controlled switches were popularized before private telephone services could be opened.

Although the installation fees and phone bills for landlines were very expensive at that time, it would be much more convenient to contact them.

There was still argali meat, offal, stomachs, and intestines in the jeep. After Li Long carried them down and put them in the kitchen, Sister Yang, who was tidying up the kitchen, began to clean them. She liked to clean these things in the kitchen. Li Long took out the meat and said it was argali meat, and Sister Yang smiled and said she hadn't eaten it before, so she would stir-fry a plate tomorrow to taste.

She knew Li Long liked to eat stomachs and intestines, so she planned to braise them first and stir-fry a plate tomorrow morning, otherwise, it wouldn't be fresh by the evening.

When he went to work the next day, Li Xiangqian specifically called the driver and warehouse keeper who were preparing to go into the mountains to his office to give them instructions, telling them not to talk nonsense.

"I don't know how you view Li Long, but I tell you that half of the honors our supply and marketing cooperative has obtained from superiors in the past two years have been obtained through him. From now on, I still want to continue to get some honors from above for our supply and marketing cooperative through him, so I instruct you to pay attention to the things you handle with him.

This time when you go to inspect and receive the carrying poles, you only care about the quality. If it's qualified, it's qualified; if it's not qualified, don't accept it. You only count the total number of qualified ones on your side, and then write a slip for the people on that side. You don't need to worry about how they count on their side.

If anyone asks you anything inside, just say you don't know. I'm putting it out in the open now: if anyone says something that shouldn't be said and causes a bad influence, don't blame me for making things difficult for you when you get back."

Li Xiangqian had just become the director, and he knew that he didn't have the support of the masses yet, and he couldn't make everyone obey unconditionally with just one word.

So he simply put the threat out in the open now. He didn't want to cause any trouble for Li Long in the village because of this matter.

Li Long had completed the requirements he proposed to a high standard and very seriously.

This time when they went into the mountains to work, the county's propaganda clerk followed and accompanied them the whole time, and also took quite a few photos of him, Li Xiangqian, the deputy director, and the section chief.

Privately, Li Xiangqian and Ma Xiao Yan also chatted, knowing that this manuscript was to be published in the Autonomous Region Daily once it was written.

For a unit in the county to have its name appear on the pages of the Autonomous Region Daily once or twice a year is really like a commendation and reward.

After all, the leaders of the autonomous region, and the heads and deputy heads of various prefectures, counties, and cities, must have the Autonomous Region Daily on their desks every day.

This time, the supply and marketing cooperative could show its face, and a special report would definitely leave a deep impression on those leaders.

Li Long had achieved this step, so Li Xiangqian naturally couldn't bring any more trouble to Li Long because of his side.

Since he had said so, the warehouse keeper and the driver definitely agreed fully. A county official is not as good as a current manager. Since the leader had spoken and put the words out in the open, if they caused any situation because their mouths weren't tight, it would really be running into the muzzle of a gun.

Li Long drove to the supply and marketing cooperative, where three trucks were already prepared. Hou Zhengyi's truck still hauled quite a lot of supplies, the other two trucks were empty, and the people Li Xiangqian brought were waiting in the compound.

Now that Li Long had come over, Li Xiangqian said: "Little Long, you arrange it."

"Alright." Li Long didn't act humble either, stepped forward and said, "Master Hou, you drive directly to Qingshuihe Village, pick up Meng Hai and the others, and then go to Yushanjiang's winter camp to unload the materials and transport them up.

I'll drive and take Master Zhang and Master Lv's trucks to collect the carrying poles. Master Zhang's truck goes to Qingshuihe Village, and Master Lv's truck goes to White Poplar Gully. Is that okay?"

"No problem."

Several drivers and warehouse keepers agreed one after another.

Both trucks collecting carrying poles were equipped with warehouse keepers. Li Long was only responsible for leading the way. After he led the people there, he would still have to go into the mountains to see Meng Hai and the others repairing the winter camp.

Although Li Xiangqian wasn't going, this task still had to be completed to the end.

After the arrangements were made, Li Long set off with the vehicles. When they arrived at Qingshuihe Village, Meng Hai and the others got into Hou Zhengyi's truck and went directly into the mountains. Master Lv and the others' trucks first drove to the mouth of Hongshanzui Gully to wait. Li Long took Master Zhang's truck to the threshing ground in Qingshuihe Village.

He Yuling was leading people there weaving carrying poles. Seeing Li Long driving a truck and bringing a truck, he hurriedly stood up, put down the burned strips, and came over to greet him.

"Captain He, I've brought people to inspect and receive the carrying poles. This is Manager Hu and Master Zhang from our supply and marketing cooperative. They are responsible for the inspection and acceptance work of the carrying poles in our Qingshuihe Village.

When you finish the inspection, sign a total number slip; you keep one copy, and the cooperative keeps one, both sides sign. Captain He, you keep track of everyone's number, and I'll settle the total account with you when the time comes. You distribute it downwards yourself, alright?"

"Sure, no problem." He Yuling agreed fully.

After the instructions were given, Li Long hurried to the mountain pass, and then took Master Lv and the others' trucks to White Poplar Gully.

After arriving here, the instructions Li Long gave to Xie Yun Dong and the others were the same. After the inspection and acceptance, they loaded the trucks. Xie Yun Dong, Xu Haijun, and Liang Wenyu signed the total slip with the supply and marketing cooperative side. As for how many each person had, the individual and the team leader kept track of it, which saved Li Long trouble on his side.

After the instructions were given, Li Long didn't stay here either. After saying a few words to his eldest brother, he drove to Yushanjiang's winter camp.

Master Hou was watching the trucks here, and Meng Hai and the others had already hauled the materials into the inner mountains.

Li Long carried his gun and walked into the mountains. When he arrived at Talihar's winter camp, Li Long took a look and found that the places where cement had been applied hadn't completely dried yet, so he stopped to splash some water to shade it, and then continued walking inside. When he walked to Bieke's winter camp, he saw Meng Hai and the others were all there, sprinkling water on the cement walls.

Meng Hai and the others had only just come up a while ago; after all, they were carrying supplies and couldn't walk fast.

They didn't know the location of the next winter camp and still needed Li Long to lead them. The nearest winter camp nearby was Ye Erjiang's. Ye Erjiang's father was called Revolutionary Bieke, which was a rather special name.

In that era, some people from ethnic minorities would choose names that conformed to the political form, just like this one. Li Long had heard more than once of people called "Revolutionary Bieke" or other revolutionary names.

Hearing it now might make one feel a bit funny, but it was a very serious and earnest matter at that time.

"Let's go, follow me." Li Long hoisted a bag of cement, carried his gun, and walked south along the grassy slope. Ye Erjiang's winter camp was already very far from the northern outer mountains. Li Long didn't come here often either.

Compared with the several mountains in the north, the terrain here was relatively much gentler, there were fewer trees, and there were stretches of mountain grassland. The grass in the pasture was growing quite well now, and one could see quite a few wild flowers in bloom.

The distance between Ye Erjiang's winter camp and Bieke's was less than five hundred meters. After arriving at the location, Meng Hai and the others started working.

Li Long also slung his gun on his back and followed them to dismantle the roof. As a result, Meng Hai said to Li Long:

"Comrade Li Long, you'd better go hunting. We can handle this work; you going hunting is more meaningful than doing this."

"That's right, that's right, Officer Li, you go hunting." Others also echoed one after another.

"There are enough of us working, what we lack now is meat." A young man said bluntly.

"But I might not be able to hunt anything." Li Long listened and also smiled: "I can't be sure where the prey in these mountains is. I was able to hunt something the past two days because I knew there were several places where wild animals often frequented.

I've been to those places these past two days, and those wild animals definitely couldn't come back. I'm not very familiar with this area now, so I really can't guarantee whether I can hunt anything."

"It's fine, it's fine. It's best if you can hunt something, but it doesn't matter if you can't." Everyone had a very good attitude, "We'll do this rough work, and there are enough of us. You really don't need to be here, so just go around. If you really can't hunt anything, picking some mushrooms is fine too."

Alright then, Li Long clapped his hands, went to wash up, and then walked toward the grassland. (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 816 =====