Chapter 889: Settling accounts with the Animal Husbandry Team: Don't let friends suffer losses

This model of the Animal Husbandry Team won't last long. In a few more years, the team will disband, and Yushanjiang and the others will pay to buy the cattle and sheep—of course, the money for the livestock will be symbolic, after all, they have been the ones herding them all along.

It's just like when the production teams divided up the team's assets during the household contract responsibility system.

Of course, later on, they will have to pay grassland management fees and contracting fees, just like farmers do for their land.

As for other expenses, Li Long isn't too clear on those.

At that time, the herdsmen will be more autonomous. It doesn't work that way now; the current model feels a bit like the military reclamation corps.

Therefore, Yushanjiang and the others cannot openly refuse the Animal Husbandry Team's demands.

Shaokelaiti still has some understanding of Li Long. Not to mention helping Yushanjiang's family build their house over the past two years, just this year's sheep-washing pool alone saved the Animal Husbandry Team a significant amount in sheep-washing fees.

But Li Long is an advanced individual in ethnic unity at the prefecture level, and he has genuinely done quite a lot of things.

Many herdsmen and several small tribes under the jurisdiction of the Animal Husbandry Team are quite envious that Yushanjiang and his people have a friend like Li Long.

He can provide supplies, help build winter shelters, install water pipes, and even help build houses.

How great!

It's normal to grumble in the Animal Husbandry Team if income decreases because of Li Long and his people, but if there were someone like Li Long in their own tribe, they would definitely be very happy.

Who wouldn't want such a friend?

Shaokelaiti looked at Li Long's business-like demeanor and said with a smile:

"These things are all negotiable. As for me, I am Ye Laya's uncle."

Ye Laya's uncle?

Ye Laya was the original broadcaster in the Animal Husbandry Team. Because Li Long helped Yushanjiang and Halimu's families build their houses, it attracted reporters from the Autonomous Region Daily. Ye Laya, as the broadcaster, provided the material and was then seconded to the county broadcasting station. Who knows how she is doing now.

"Ye Laya has now officially become an announcer at the county broadcasting station," Shaokelaiti said with a smile. "When she came back, she even said she wanted to thank you properly. Without you, she wouldn't have been able to become an official announcer."

There aren't many ethnic minority people in the county, but there are still a fair number, and the broadcasting station needs ethnic minority announcers.

"That was her seizing the opportunity herself." Since there was someone he knew, talking became much easier. "Shaokelaiti, go ahead, what is the Animal Husbandry Team thinking?"

"Originally, the team leaders were thinking of borrowing the tractor to go over to our side to harvest grass," Shaokelaiti said. "Now, I'm listening to you, after all, the tractor and harvester are yours."

"Whose grass are you mowing?" Li Long asked. Previously, meaning last year, when mowing grass for the livestock team, they had mowed grass belonging to other small tribes.

What about this year? Is it the same?

"Actually... it's the team leaders' grassland." Shaokelaiti has a good impression of Li Long, so he didn't hide it and said, "The team leaders all have their own cattle and sheep, but they don't herd them themselves; the grassland and the livestock are all handed over to others to herd..."

Shaokelaiti didn't finish, but Li Long understood very well what was going on.

Wherever there are people, there is society (not the martial arts world). Whether it's the Animal Husbandry Team or the Forestry Team, if there are conflicts of interest, don't expect it to be a clear pool of water.

When Xu Chengjun became the leader of the Fourth Team, he still considered his own family, let alone these herdsmen?

Of course, it's normal for Animal Husbandry Team leaders to have cattle, sheep, and grassland. Handing the livestock over to other herdsmen to herd isn't necessarily exploitation; for these herdsmen, it might even be a good thing—for example, the grassland allocated to the team leaders is more likely to be closer to the settlement, more fertile, and perhaps larger in area.

Herding for them means the wool handed over can be calculated at a lower rate, sheep-washing can be prioritized, and supplies issued by the team can be given out more generously.

There is nothing new under the sun. Li Long didn't even need to analyze it to reach such a conclusion.

Eight, nine, out of ten.

Why use a pause mark? Because the review won't allow them to be connected.

Since that's the case, Li Long has no qualms. It's not official business, so he doesn't need to act from the identity of a representative. Bargaining purely from a commercial perspective leaves him with no psychological burden.

If it were harvesting grass for the Animal Husbandry Team's public account, then as a representative, he would have to have some reservations.

"Then that's bargaining." Li Long smiled and said, "Shaokelaiti, tell your leaders that I am harvesting grass for Yushanjiang and the others because we are friends. And we will definitely finish harvesting the grass here before going over there to harvest more.

Additionally, the price for harvesting grass must be set. When we use the mower to cut wheat outside, it's two yuan per mu. Harvesting grass isn't much easier than cutting wheat, but the plots are larger, so it can be a bit cheaper, but it cannot be less than one point five yuan.

Actually, if your Animal Husbandry Team has money, you could totally buy another tractor and a harvester; that would be much more convenient for harvesting grass, much more convenient than people using scythes."

"We want to buy one too, but the harvesters in your purchasing station are gone, aren't they?" Shaokelaiti said with a smile.

Obviously, he isn't in a hurry at all.

It's the team leaders' business anyway; he just came over to run an errand and pass on a message.

"Is that so?" Li Long smiled a bit awkwardly; he had forgotten about that. "Then just tell your team leaders what I said. As for this matter, I will definitely prioritize my friends first. As for your side, if you want to harvest, then wait until the grass here is finished. Of course, you can also hire others from outside, after all, the wheat is almost finished being cut."

"Alright, alright, alright." Shaokelaiti said, "I know."

"Later, if I'm not in the mountains, once you've discussed it, just tell Yushanjiang directly; he can also make the decision," Li Long added, "I'm not necessarily in the mountains every day; I have things to do in the county too."

"I know, I know, you have a lot to do, you're busy."

Shaokelaiti and his group are guests from afar. Ye Erjiang and the others were already boiling meat, inviting Shaokelaiti to eat before leaving.

Shaokelaiti didn't refuse either. Life in the Animal Husbandry Team isn't very good; eating meat once every half month or a month is normal, so how could he refuse such a good opportunity to eat his fill of meat?

Li Long and Shaokelaiti went to the winter shelter. Li Long kept Yushanjiang behind, and after chatting for a few sentences, he found it was about the same as he had guessed.

Yushanjiang went to his own home, and after staying for less than half an hour, the Animal Husbandry Team leaders found him.

After all, the entire Animal Husbandry Team only had one small four-wheeled tractor, and now Yushanjiang had brought another one, so they were definitely going to ask about it.

Although Yushanjiang was doing quite well in the tribe, compared to these people from the Animal Husbandry Team, he was still lacking, and in a few sentences, he was tricked into revealing that the tractor was used for harvesting grass.

Fortunately, Yushanjiang himself was quite vigilant and said directly that both the tractor and the harvester belonged to Li Long, which is why the Animal Husbandry Team leaders sent Shaokelaiti over to discuss it with Li Long.

"It's fine, remind Talihar and the others later, just say both tractors are mine," Li Long didn't care, "However, in that case, once the grass is harvested, the tractors can't be left on your side; they have to be driven to the county, or left over at Qingshuihezi..."

"Then let's drive them to the county!" Yushanjiang felt that Qingshuihezi wasn't safe either. As long as this tractor had a crank handle, it could be started and driven away, so he was very worried.

"Wait a few more years," Li Long said, "Wait a few more years, by then the Animal Husbandry Team will disband, the cattle and sheep will be yours, and the grassland will be yours too. At that time, if you have tractors, no one will bother you."

"Really?" Yushanjiang used to feel that having the Animal Husbandry Team meant having a backer, but now that he had a tractor, he felt it was inconvenient again.

"Really, don't worry, it's absolutely true," Li Long smiled, "It's fine, the sun is out, we can harvest grass in a while. We will definitely harvest your grass first. If I'm not here these two days, if they come, just say that. When they really agree to one point five, even if it's one yuan, you can go harvest. Harvesting a hundred mu of grass a day, that's several sheep earned..."

Yushanjiang wasn't quite used to this yet, but thinking about earning several sheep a day, why not harvest?

Yushanjiang knew about this, and he also went to tell Talihar, after all, two tractors are faster than one. Yushanjiang also leaked the news, but knowing is knowing, it's nothing. Anyway, Li Long is considered one of the wealthier people now, so it's normal that he can afford to buy tractors.

While Shaokelaiti and Ye Erjiang were looking at the meat in the pot, Li Long came back carrying a sack.

Shaokelaiti asked Li Long what was in the sack.

"Wild mushrooms." Li Long took out a black tiger palm mushroom to show Shaokelaiti.

"Do you eat these? Are they good?"

"Delicious." Li Long smiled, "We don't just eat them, my purchasing station also buys them. One kilogram of these is two yuan." "Two yuan?" Shaokelaiti's eyes lit up immediately.

In the eyes of many people in Northern Xinjiang, the Uyghurs are better at doing business than the Kazakhs. Shaokelaiti is Uyghur, and he was interested when he heard this, "Do you really buy them?"

"I buy them, dried ones are ten yuan, fresh ones are two yuan, but they must be cleaned," Li Long said with a smile, "If they aren't clean, the price will be lowered. Look at these in my bag, they are all clean."

Shaokelaiti had seen these kinds of mushrooms. People in the Animal Husbandry Team all have their own grassland. Maxian doesn't have flat grasslands; what it has are alpine meadows. The environment in the mountains makes black tiger palm mushrooms quite common.

"If you really buy them, then I'll get some... but your purchasing station is quite far away."

"You can bring them here too." Li Long knew that the people on the Animal Husbandry Team side had no fewer resources than those in the Forestry Team. It's just that the lifestyles of the two sides are different; the Forestry Team mainly confiscates them from herb collectors in the mountains, while the people in the Animal Husbandry Team can pick them from their own grassland.

As long as money can be made, can't those traditions of not eating mushrooms be broken?

Of course they can.

Pigs can even be called big-eared sheep, so what else counts? In the neighboring country at this time, the whole population was still raising pigs. Even in the early 2000s, when Chinese people went to Kazakhstan for meetings, the people at the Kazakh border posts were still eating pickled pork and black bread.

What does that explain? Some so-called religious beliefs are truly shackles on human nature.

Getting off track.

Li Long saw Shaokelaiti was moved, so he immediately added:

"Actually, there are morels in May, those are even more expensive, fresh ones are three yuan per kilogram, dried ones are fifteen to twenty yuan. However, those are hard to pick. These are very easy to pick now. If you look carefully for a day, you can find a whole sack. Look at me, I got half a sack in just a little while—a sack is forty or fifty kilograms, picking the good ones is eighty or ninety yuan, how great!"

Black tiger palm mushrooms are heavy, and the sack Li Long took was also large, so this sack was really not light.

Shaokelaiti became even more enthusiastic when he heard this.

What he was thinking wasn't picking mushrooms himself, but mobilizing the families of herdsmen on the grassland to pick them. Li Long buys them for two yuan a kilogram, so he would buy them for one yuan a kilogram, and then resell them, making double the money!

Do you think those young herdsmen in the mountains would be willing or not?

They would definitely be willing! One kilogram of these mushrooms is only three or five pieces, and they can exchange them for three kilograms of flour or two kilograms of rice. Look at whether they would exchange them or not? If you want to exchange, they would run faster than horses!

Shaokelaiti made up his mind and immediately showed a smile to Li Long:

"Then it's settled, if I get mushrooms, and you don't buy them..."

"Don't worry, everyone is here, I'll buy as many as you have," Li Long patted his chest, "I still have some credibility."

"If you don't believe Li Long, then don't stay here," several herdsmen also said, "Don't worry, he keeps his word, he is very credible!"

Shaokelaiti's mind wasn't even on eating meat anymore; he just wanted to hurry back to the Animal Husbandry Team, ride a horse to several grasslands, and tell people about it. Thinking again, that wasn't right; he should go buy several sacks of rice and flour, load them onto a horse, and go into the mountains to leave a sack of rice and flour at each house. In that case, in two days, he could collect mushrooms.

As soon as the collected mushrooms are sold, he will know if this trade is viable.

No more than three days, at most paying out a sack of rice and a sack of flour, this little investment is still bearable.

Shaokelaiti also has his own grassland, but he entrusts it to others to herd. The reason he didn't want to go into the mountains was that he wanted to live in the plains and see if he could find a profitable trade.

Isn't it right in front of him now?

Li Long's occasional promotion of the purchasing station buying things is also a helpless move.

At this time, there is no TV station in the county, and the broadcasts on the broadcasting station aren't regular or frequent, and everyone basically listens to the Autonomous Region station and the Central People's Broadcasting Station. The reach of the local county broadcast is still small.

If the purchasing station wants to expand its scale and attract more people to come and sell things, at the moment, it's just word of mouth, spreading through reputation.

But those middlemen who rely on collecting supplies from ordinary farmers and mountain people don't want the news of the purchasing station to reach the ears of these most grassroots people. If it reaches them, they will go and sell things themselves, so how can they make money?

So if Li Long runs into them, he will promote it to as many as he can.

In a few years, just two or three years, the county TV station will be established, and then he can run advertisements.

Li Long vaguely remembers that the county TV station was established in 1987 or 1988. When it was first established, it played Hong Kong and Taiwan martial arts films every day, and children loved watching them at that time.

Maybe at the beginning, the county didn't have any recorded programs to play other than news, so they used these to attract viewers.

After Shaokelaiti finished the lunch of hand-grabbed meat, he left in a hurry on horseback. By this time, the sun had already dried the rainwater on the grass. After resting for a while, Yushanjiang and the others also started harvesting grass. Before harvesting, Talihar and several others came over and brought Li Long several sacks of black tiger palm mushrooms.

"We had nothing to do in the morning, so we prepared to go hunting. As a result, we didn't see many animals, but there were many wild mushrooms in the mountains, so we picked some," Talihar said with a smile, "You take them away, we don't have a place to dry them."

Li Long smiled. These several sacks of black tiger palm mushrooms were at least over two hundred kilograms, not light at all!

The jeep was almost full.

Li Long himself had thought about continuing to pick some mushrooms in the afternoon, but it seems that's not needed now.

So while Yushanjiang and the others went to harvest grass, Li Long drove the jeep down the mountain.

In places where the sun was shining, the mud had almost dried, so when the jeep drove out of the mountains, it didn't carry much mud this time.

Driving all the way to the Wuyi Highway, Li Long didn't return to the county seat immediately, but turned off the highway and went all the way to the Mahe River.

After he turned off the engine and got out of the car, he took a basin and a towel from the jeep, and then fetched water to wash the car.

The mud on the surface of the car was easy to wash, but the mud stuffed inside the four wheels was quite a lot. Li Long used a stick to poke at it for a long time before cleaning it up.

Fortunately, there was plenty of water here, and he wasn't afraid of muddy water flowing down and dirtying the ground.

Ordinary car washing was done in the big courtyard, but that wouldn't work today.

After washing the car, Li Long also looked around nearby. The water volume was quite large now, and there were stones washed out by the river. Li Long had nothing to do, so he walked a hundred meters down along the riverbed.

Sure enough, there was gold sand in the sand by the river, but it was very little. He could see it, but panning for it wasn't easy, and it felt a bit like the gain wasn't worth the loss.

But occasionally he could see stones similar to jasper. Li Long saw two pieces, but the quality of the jade was very average.

At this time, resources were still abundant. In later years, when the river water was low, he could see people holding bottles searching in the riverbed every day. By then, even this kind of ordinary material jade would be picked away.

Li Long vaguely remembers reading a novel in his previous life. Tang Han in "Golden Eye" was gambling on stones, and those relatively dry iron dragon raw stones were all brick materials, but ten years later, looking at similar novels and reality, as long as they had a bit of green, they were all top-grade.

It's just like the ordinary jade material he looks down on now; ten or twenty years later, its value will have multiplied who knows how many times.

Such is the way of the world.

The car dried, and Li Long also returned from downstream, holding a piece of jade material the size of a fist in his hand. The texture of this jade material was okay, so he would take it back and keep it; maybe he could make something out of it later.

When Li Long returned to the county, it was still early. He drove the car to the purchasing station, preparing to dry those mushrooms in the yard behind the purchasing station.

There were many mushrooms, and taking them home to dry wouldn't provide enough space.

When the jeep drove into the courtyard of the purchasing station, the seven or eight people waiting in line gave way one after another. Sun Jia Qiang quickly came out from inside and followed the jeep to the backyard.

When Li Long turned off the engine and got out of the car, Sun Jia Qiang said to him:

"That Boss Zhao called and said he would come to collect the skins tomorrow, asking if you could be there. If you can, call him back."

Zhao Hui didn't go far?

Li Long was a bit surprised, but since Zhao Hui was there, he would let him come over first so he could sell the skins.

"Little Sun, you unload the mushrooms inside first, I'll go call him back," Li Long said, "I'll come over and we'll work together in a while."

"Alright!" (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 890 =====