Chapter 951

Yang Xiulan and Han Fang were in the room in the southern courtyard, one cleaning the room and the other tidying up the altar table.

"Mom, shouldn't Dad's portrait be enlarged a bit?" In Han Fang's memory, her father's image was already a bit blurry, and she wanted to see it more clearly.

"No need." Yang Xiulan's hand paused for a moment, then she said, "It's fine like this. This is our home; it's enough that we remember your dad. Let Xiao Fang, are you hungry?"

"Not hungry." Han Fang shook her head. "Mom, can we set off firecrackers at home this year?"

"We can." Yang Xiulan knew that Han Fang actually wanted to go to the Fourth Team to play with Li Juan, but she also knew that this didn't fit the rules, so she didn't say anything.

"Your Uncle Li said that Li Juan is studying hard during this period, striving to get into university. I see you don't go out to play with classmates much either; do you also want to get into university?"

"Yes, I saw the photos they took in Yanjing; they were so beautiful. I also want to go see it after I get into university. Mom, can we go together when the time comes?"

"No need to wait for university." Yang Xiulan looked at her well-behaved daughter and said impulsively, "In another year, Mingming and Haohao will be in daycare. When Mom is free and has nothing to do, I'll take you to Yanjing, and we'll have a good look around. We'll go see Tiananmen and see the universities then!"

"Great!" Han Fang was genuinely happy. "We'll have a good tour then."

"We'll be living here by then." Yang Xiulan said, "Are you willing?"

"... I am." Han Fang thought for a moment and finally said.

Yang Xiulan knew that Han Fang was actually unwilling. After all, after losing her father, Han Fang had long lacked a sense of security. It was only because Li Long helped them, arranged for her schooling, and finally moved them into the courtyard that Han Fang gained a sense of security.

Having to move again in less than a year, she was definitely unwilling.

But that wasn't their own home, after all.

Yang Xiulan knew that Han Fang understood the logic, and it was precisely because of this that she didn't know what to say.

"Alright, it's clean enough. Come, let's prepare for tonight's meal. We'll have a good New Year's Eve dinner. After we finish eating, we'll go out and set off firecrackers!"

"Great, great!" Hearing that they were going to set off firecrackers, Han Fang was very happy. Only with firecrackers could it be called the New Year.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, many people came to the Li family to pay New Year visits. Even though Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia lived in the front courtyard, they couldn't avoid being woken up early by Li Juan and Li Qiang to eat dumplings.

After giving out red envelopes, Li Long and his family prepared to eat dumplings, then watched Mingming and Haohao receive their red envelopes. They returned to the southern courtyard thinking they could rest for a while, but soon, wave after wave of people came to pay New Year visits.

There was simply no peace!

Theoretically, he should be the one running around to pay New Year visits to the elders in the village today. However, firstly, he was married and his children were young, and secondly, those coming to pay him visits were mostly young and strong men of similar age, so he couldn't get out either.

Fortunately, there were cold dishes prepared by Liang Yuemei yesterday, such as braised meat, mixed bean sprouts, and things like "skin-spicy-red" (a cold dish of peppers and onions), which were common in summer but impossible to see in winter, so those who came to pay visits, regardless of whether they could drink or not, had a glass first.

This saved him quite a bit of trouble.

While Li Long was dealing with the visitors, the scene in front of Yushanjiang's winter quarters in the mountains was also very lively.

At least twenty or thirty people had come; most of the elders in the tribe were there, both men and women, each wearing thick fur robes, with decent clothes on the outside.

Even though they still lived a nomadic life similar to seasonal migration, the elders still had decent clothes for visiting relatives.

The young and strong were all working. Some were slaughtering sheep, some were tending the stoves. It was too cold outside to dig a barbecue pit, but Yushanjiang had been prepared. In the autumn, Li Long had brought him a barbecue trough welded from angle iron and sheet metal, and this thing came in handy.

Li Long had made several of these; he had one at home, and here, Yushanjiang and Halimu each had one. Yushanjiang had also brought Halimu's over, otherwise, there wouldn't be enough to roast, as there were too many people.

Halimu quietly asked Yushanjiang:

"Did you tell those people in advance?"

"I did. They are still a bit hesitant, worried they won't be able to convince the elders."

"Worrying is normal. As long as these people can stand on our side when we make the proposal and explain things clearly, it will be fine." Halimu was confident. "Only when the road is built can we have a good life; I don't believe they want to go back to the old days."

Yushanjiang smiled; that was indeed the case. Even the elders were now slowly changing their lives, accepting new things bit by bit. Although building the road was a big change, it wasn't impossible to persuade them.

In the distance, many children were running and playing in the snow, and laughter could be heard from time to time; clearly, they were all very happy.

Although the adults all had things on their minds, the children didn't consider so much at all. They had been bored to death in their respective winter quarters. Now that they were finally together, they were all as excited as monkeys, playing to their hearts' content.

Yushanjiang slaughtered two sheep, boiled the bones in two large pots, and skewered the meat he had trimmed off to roast.

Beside the naan pit over there, Yushanjiang's wife and Halimu's wife were making naan together. Several elders were cleaning the sheep offal by the water; there were their own ways of preparing these offals.

At noon, the sun rose high in the sky, and the people in front of the winter quarters already felt warm. The four bonfires turned from open flames to red charcoal, and various foods were already cooked. The women and young men placed plates of meat on several long, low tables. There weren't that many stools, so yesterday, Yushanjiang had led the young and strong to haul over many wind-fallen trees, which they sawed and smoothed to serve as long benches.

Yushanjiang invited everyone to sit down and start eating, and while eating, he said:

"When I notified everyone, I said that today we would discuss a major event, which is about building the road.

You all know Li Long, our "Dorsen" (friend/benefactor), who has been helping us all along. He came to see us a few days ago and said he wanted to build a road for us, to clear the path between the winter quarters and the foot of the mountain. This way, hauling hay, coal, and wool to the winter quarters will be convenient.

Also, he plans to build the road from the winter quarters to the summer pasture after clearing the road to the winter quarters. Because he sees that every year when we migrate, we have to use horses to haul a large amount of supplies up the mountain, which is very troublesome. He thinks that after the road is opened, tractors can go up the mountain, so our migration time can be greatly shortened, and the same goes for coming back."

Before Yushanjiang finished speaking, an old man spoke up:

"I disagree! We have continued our nomadic tradition for hundreds of years, and back then, we used horses to haul things for migration. We've lived well for these hundreds of years; why change it?

Once that road is built, will the pasture still be ours in the future? Those Han people from the outside already frequently appear on the mountains here at the winter quarters.

They dig things randomly in our pastures, and the pastures have been damaged by them a lot; the grass doesn't even grow well.

If the road to the summer pasture is also built, those Han people will definitely run into the inner mountains too. Who knows how our summer pasture will be damaged by them then?"

As soon as he said this, several elders immediately spoke up in agreement.

Some spoke from the perspective of tradition, saying that the young people nowadays only know about new things from the outside and don't learn the tribe's traditions; after a long time, will they still be people of the tribe?

Some spoke about the influence of outsiders on nomadic life, saying that in recent years, more and more people have run to their pastures to dig for fritillaria, codonopsis, and hunt, which has truly affected their normal lives.

Others said that the Kazakhs themselves are a people on horseback, and using horses to carry things is a tradition passed down by the older generation, used for hundreds of years; why must it be changed?

Although the elders were old, their authority from having been in charge for a long time still remained. Once they spoke, although others had ugly expressions, they didn't dare to refute for a while.

Until one elder got excited and started saying that Li Long might not have good intentions either, letting the young people in the tribe use new products from the outside, making the young men unable to settle down to herd—this was destroying the tribe's traditions, and it would be best not to deal with Li Long in the future... As soon as this was said, Halimu wouldn't have it. He immediately stood up and loudly refuted:

"If it weren't for Li Long, we wouldn't have enough brick tea or salt in the tribe. During the snow disaster a few years ago, we couldn't have survived at all; a large number of cattle and sheep would have died then!

If it weren't for Li Long, we would still have to use scythes to mow hay, and we might not even be able to mow ten bundles a day! If there wasn't enough hay in winter, the cattle and sheep would only lose weight, and who knows how many would die by spring!

If it weren't for Li Long, could we eat clean water now? The water pipe has reached the door of the winter quarters. Grandpa Bieke, aren't you ashamed to say such things?

If it weren't for Li Long, the guns in our hands would have become sticks. If wolves came, we could only take sticks to fight the wolves.

If it weren't for Li Long, could we live in the renovated winter quarters now? Without Li Long, would we know what a radio is for? Can you still remember those traditions? How much of the things you talk about did you hear from the radio?..."

Halimu was the first to get to know Li Long and benefit from him, so his relationship with Li Long was the best. Moreover, he was the one in charge at home now, and his mother listened to him.

It would be one thing if the elders said other things, but now that they were speaking ill of Li Long, he wouldn't stand for it!

With Halimu taking the lead, other young and strong men also spoke up one after another:

"Exactly! How tiring it was to mow hay before! Now with a harvester, we just need to wait for the grass to dry, bundle it, and throw it onto the car. It's much easier!"

"At home, we don't have to run far to wash clothes, water the sheep, or get water anymore."

"Look at Talihar's home; they don't have to use horses to haul coal one trip after another in winter anymore. With a tractor, one trip can haul so much; it's so good! If the road can be built to the door of the winter quarters, we also want to buy tractors; we also want to be more convenient!"

Although some of the young and strong men weren't the heads of their households, they were the main force doing the work at home, so when they started speaking up for Li Long or leaning towards building the road, the elders at home also began to argue.

The elders insisted on tradition, while the young people hoped for a more convenient life.

Eventually, Halimu asked a soul-searching question: would they be willing to stop using radios, stop using the bullets provided by Li Long, stop using the hides and things found in winter to trade for goods from Li Long, stop using the water pipes repaired by Li Long, let the repaired winter quarters get old, and stop using tractors and harvesters to mow hay?

Once this was said, not a single elder spoke up again.

Although they opposed building the road and opposed destroying tradition, would they really be willing to stop listening to the radio, stop using the water pipes at the door of the winter quarters, and stop using tractors to mow hay, instead using scythes?

They definitely wouldn't be willing.

Having already lived a convenient life, it was definitely impossible to let them retreat to the past.

It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury to frugality.

Halimu's words silenced these elders.

Yushanjiang timely explained the benefits of building the road. At the very least, for those furthest winter quarters, whether hauling hay or coal, Yushanjiang and the others' tractors could drive up there. If they harvested more hides or found good things in the summer pasture next year and traded them for money with Li Long, they could also buy tractors.

"Two snow leopard hides or three bear hides can trade for a tractor." Talihar rushed to say, "If you can find gold, that can also trade for quite a bit of money... Everyone knows that our cattle and sheep aren't actually worth much; a flock of sheep might not trade for a tractor, but other things can..."

"But if the road is built, those Han people will run into the mountains to hunt and find things, and won't our harvest be less?" Someone spoke up.

"These mountains don't just belong to us." Yushanjiang felt it was necessary to tell his tribesmen, and he said earnestly, "The mountains belong to the public. If you insist on saying who they belong to, the management belongs to the Forestry Team, our pastures belong to the Animal Husbandry Team, and the things in the mountains can be picked by everyone; they don't just belong to us. We can't say the mountains are ours just because we live here—"

Once Yushanjiang said this, the others didn't say anything more.

If it were a long time ago, the mountains would have belonged to the tribal noble, the old master Bai; later, after liberation, the mountains belonged to the public, managed by public units, so they couldn't be called their own.

Although some people still felt their pastures were their own, the pastures only occupied a small part of the mountains. Herdsmen could manage the pastures, but other places in the mountains were not under their jurisdiction.

Heavy work like mowing hay, herding cattle and sheep, and hauling coal was done by the young and strong. And the elders, after all, couldn't let go of the good life they had lived for a few years, so the road-building matter was finally passed.

Yushanjiang gathered everyone to agree to build the road, not just to get the elders to agree.

"So, since everyone agrees, let's talk about the road-building." Yushanjiang signaled for everyone to listen while eating. "The road-building was proposed by Li Long, but he did it for us.

We Kazakhs don't have a tradition of letting people serve us for nothing. So for building the road, we must also contribute people and labor.

Li Long said the road-building time is after the start of spring. At that time, we will first clear the road to each winter quarter. Each family must contribute people then; this section of the road is relatively shorter, which is just right for testing and accumulating some experience.

We can't let his bulldozer work for us for nothing, so those families with savings should take some out.

It just so happens that Li Long's procurement station collects basically everything. You know about deer antlers, various hides, fritillaria, mushrooms, gold nuggets and gems found in the mountains, ancient things from old houses and caves, and jade.

Each family should contribute some heart; we can't let others work hard for nothing. Of course, if you really don't have anything, slaughtering a sheep to express your heart is also fine. After all, once the road is built, hauling wool in the spring, mowing and hauling hay in the autumn will be more convenient, and hauling coal in winter will also be easier.

Someone also said earlier that when we go to the summer pasture later, everyone should look for other things while herding sheep. You have also seen that our three families with tractors have it much easier. So if you want to buy tractors, you have to find more valuable things.

Before, we didn't know where to trade these things or how much money they should be worth. Now that we have this Dorsen, Li Long, he won't cheat us, so I think other families will soon be able to drive tractors too, as long as you work hard."

Since they had already agreed to build the road, this point was definitely no problem. Some people had already started looking forward to driving tractors themselves and hauling things to the summer pasture.

Seeing that everyone had no objections, Yushanjiang considered the matter discussed and had his sheep-herder take out the wine to pour for everyone.

Some elders complained that Yushanjiang didn't take the wine out earlier, and Yushanjiang smiled and said: "If I had taken it out earlier, you would have drunk the wine, and then you wouldn't admit to what you said, and you would have been unreasonable."

"Hahahaha." The elders didn't take offense, smiling as they took the wine cup, drank it in one gulp, wiped their mouths, and returned the cup.

At this time, drinking still used one cup, passed down one by one. One cup per person, very fair.

Some young people also wanted to drink, so they joined in, while the children were all gnawing on bones; the clever ones specifically picked leg bones with kneecaps, gnawing the kneecaps out early to keep them.

After eating and drinking to a certain point, some people started singing and dancing. Someone took out a dombra and started playing—but in the middle of winter, even with four bonfires burning around, it was still very cold, and the meat oil on the plates cooled and congealed quickly, so it had to be put back into the pot to be reheated.

So although everyone was looking forward to and happy about this gathering, it ended early at around four in the afternoon.

Yushanjiang settled things one by one with the young and strong, telling them to take good care of the elders who had drunk wine on the way home so they wouldn't fall off their horses.

The young and strong, as well as the women, helped Yushanjiang and the others tidy up the mess, and then left.

The tables and the wood used as benches were still left outside, the bonfire was reduced to ashes, and the pots were moved into the house; Yushanjiang didn't want to move anymore.

Although he was quite tired, he had finally arranged things clearly. Next, he would wait for Li Long to come over after the start of spring to discuss starting construction.

Thinking that as the tribal leader, he could lead the tribe to live a better life step by step, Yushanjiang was also quite happy. (End of chapter)