Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1400: Dredging and Fishing Leads to an Encounter with an Old Acquaintance; the Cooperative B

After Liu Gaolou took the wine, Li Long distributed his own stock to the elderly. Winter was cold, and the elderly had difficulty walking, so it was the perfect time for them to drink tiger bone wine.

My parents have actually been drinking this all along. My father, Li Qingxia, isn't a heavy drinker; he drinks occasionally, and sometimes Li Long has to remind him. Anyway, he feels he's in pretty good shape, so it doesn't matter whether he drinks or not.

My mother, Du Chunfang, however, developed a drinking habit less than two years after arriving in northern Xinjiang. Fortunately, it wasn't a serious addiction; she would have a small glass every night. At first, she drank bulk liquor from the county food factory, but later, as the family's financial situation improved, she switched to bottled liquor, mainly local famous brands like Yili Special Zone, Kuitun Special Zone, or Xiaobaiyang from Gucheng.

Later, after Li Long obtained some wine made from tiger bones, he let his mother, Du Chunfang, drink a cup or two from time to time. After that, she drank this wine exclusively. Regardless of the taste, she knew very well that it was good for her health.

He always kept several jars of tiger bone wine at home. He had told his eldest brother about this, but his second brother and brother-in-law were unaware of it.

Anyway, there aren't many elderly people over there, so there's no need for that. Of course, he did give the deer antler-infused wine to his second brother and brother-in-law, who had sincerely helped him, but Li Long didn't know whether they drank it or not.

This new tiger bone wine hasn't even had its effects yet. He plans to distribute a batch of the old wine that has already been brewed to clear out the inventory. After all, although there are many houses in the courtyard, there is even more stuff stored away, so it's time to clear out what needs to be cleared out.

In terms of fame, the Siberian tiger is far superior to the Xinjiang tiger. This tiger's bones look large and heavy; Li Long thinks that wine made from these might be more potent. Perhaps the saying "outsider monks chant better sutras" applies here; maybe the tigers from other places are just more powerful.

The private room was used to store tiger bones and various kinds of wine. It was outside and looked no different from the others; in any case, all the other private rooms in the row smelled unpleasant.

Antelope horn naturally has a strong, gamey smell. Tiger bone does too. And some valuable hides that haven't been sold yet also have this same smell, which usually goes unnoticed.

After all, people usually don't associate this kind of smell with anything good. The police station is right across the street, and the family owns a dog, so their safety is generally guaranteed.

Because Li Long was busy processing, cleaning, and mixing medicinal herbs, buying bulk wine, and finally making the wine, he basically didn't pay attention to other things.

During this time, Meng Hai came over to ask if it was time to finish the final dredging of Xiaohaizi after the field work was completed. Li Long naturally agreed.

This wasn't Meng Hai's first time doing this; he had experience from the previous two times. So Li Long didn't go over to check on him, but told Meng Hai to go and build and fill the cofferdam himself, and to pump out the water before it froze.

He was waiting to send out the finished tiger bone wine, then prepare the new batch, and then drive his truck to the water conservancy bureau and supply and marketing cooperative to borrow water pumps and water pumps.

Li Shangquan and Yang Bo already knew about Li Long's plan. When they heard that he was going to pump water, they quickly asked when they could catch fish again.

Li Long told them that if they wanted to fish, they could come anytime, but he was busy right now and it was up to them to figure out how to do it themselves. Yang Bo and Li Xiangqian both agreed that they didn't need Li Long's guarantee; they could go on their own.

The county has many reservoirs, and there are quite a few activities like dredging and releasing water from the reservoirs at the end of the year. Every year, at least several reservoirs release most of their water before they freeze over in winter, flushing it into the downstream desert.

However, these county-level government agencies usually don't receive the information. By the time they find out, the fish have already been caught, since the nearby villagers are the first to know.

That's why the staff and workers from both the Water Resources Bureau and the Supply and Marketing Cooperative were so interested. It's another form of "fishing in the wild"—the fish are wild, and the dredging crew has connections, so they can just go and catch fish, enjoy the fun of fishing, and it doesn't cost any money. What a great activity!

The leaders of these two organizations are also happy to see their staff participate in such activities. After all, it only happens once or twice a year, and each time it's held, the staff receive free benefits, which subtly boosts their work enthusiasm.

Of course, Li Xiangqian would never admit that he also really enjoys participating in such activities.

When Li Long arrived at the Fourth Team and went up to the Xiaohaizi Dam, he found all kinds of vehicles parked on the dam, including cars, minibuses, and some small four-wheeled tractors, and a row of bicycles parked next to them.

Near the sluice gate, many people were moving about on the dredged reservoir floor. He glanced around and saw villagers, some cadres and staff from the city's water conservancy bureau and supply and marketing cooperative, and some township staff.

Someone spotted Li Long and cheerfully approached him with a net. Li Long looked at the burly man and asked with a smile, "Daqiang, finished the work in the fields? How much did you catch?"

Tao Daqiang pointed at the net and said, "I just caught a bucket of crucian carp and had Pingping take it back. We were planning to stew it for lunch. Now I came to see if I could catch a couple of big ones. Look, I only caught one. I'm planning to learn from your family and make it into dried fish so we can eat it slowly in the winter, as a snack with drinks."

Tao Daqiang then boasted to Li Long, "Yesterday, people from other teams came to fish, but our team chased them away. We told them that this is our team's own reservoir and that we don't allow people from other teams to come here."

Li Long couldn't help but say, "Why don't you let them do it? It's just a little fish, and it's wild."

Tao Daqiang said very seriously, "That won't do. This place is different from Dahaizi. Dahaizi is a public reservoir, and the surrounding villages can all operate there."

You contracted this Xiaohaizi Reservoir. Now, only one-third of it has been dredged, and a lot of small fish have to be thrown in. When they come, they'll have all the fish gone in less than a day.

Look, people from the county's transportation bureau, water resources bureau, supply and marketing cooperative, and agriculture bureau—quite a few units—have come to fish. If people from the nearby villages were to come, there wouldn't be any room for these city folks at all.

I heard from Lao Xie that you promised the Water Resources Bureau and the Supply and Marketing Cooperative that you would come and catch fish. If everyone nearby catches all the fish, and city people come and can't catch any, won't they complain about you?

Li Long thought Tao Daqiang's words made a lot of sense, and he couldn't say anything more. Then he realized something and asked, "Why are there so many units in the city? I remember only the Water Resources Bureau and the Supply and Marketing Cooperative told me about it. Why are there also matters related to the Transportation Bureau and the Agriculture Bureau?"

Tao Daqiang shook his head and said, "I don't know either. Anyway, when I came to fish this morning, I saw a lot of people from various organizations come over. They all asked us if we were from Xiaohaizi, and then introduced themselves as being from different organizations. They said they were introduced by someone and then went down to fish."

We can't let them leave, right? I don't even know if you were the one who introduced them.

Li Long said, "Go ahead and fish, it's just some fish, they'll grow back in two or three years."

He then asked, "How big was the biggest fish you found during this dredging? Who caught it?"

Tao Daqiang laughed and said, "Who else could it be? Qiangqiang's dad, your older brother!"

Manager Meng, who works on the project, notified him well in advance that the water had been almost completely pumped out the day before yesterday, and he drove to your house specifically to tell your older brother.

Then your older brother brought all of you cousins ​​and nephews over. By the time we found out, your older brother had already pulled a big fish back with him.

It's said that the biggest one is even bigger than the 1.5-meter-long grass carp you caught at the end of last year. It seems to be a big carp. Anyway, I feel like they've caught all the big fish.

However, this area is close to the sluice gate, the water is deep and there are many fish. Just yesterday, Liang Dacheng and his brother brought back a big silver carp that was more than a meter long and weighed about 20 or 30 kilograms.

Old Xie also brought back a big carp, over 20 kilograms, and quite a few others weighing around 10 kilograms. It seems like almost every family in our village brought one back. I'm wondering if, at this rate, all the big fish in this little lake will eventually disappear?

Li Long waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Impossible. There are plenty of fish in this small lake, especially big ones. The water here is more than two meters deep, and some of the puddles are probably even deeper."

We've only caught about a third of them; these big fish must be scattered throughout the entire small lake. There should be quite a few big fish in the remaining two-thirds as well.

To be honest, there aren't as many as before. After all, we've caught a lot of them three times since the end of last year, but there are definitely still some left. Besides, these fish grow quickly; they only need two or three years to grow to their full size.

Tao Daqiang nodded and said, "That's true. We only dredge the silt once every few years. By the time we do it again, the big fish will have grown up. Besides, you don't often catch fish on a large scale since you've contracted the water area. Just let it grow like this, and the fish will naturally grow bigger."

While Li Long was talking to Tao Daqiang, someone else came up. Li Long quickly greeted them, "Director, when did you arrive? You didn't even tell me."

Li Xiangqian said irritably, "You're such a busy person, I couldn't find you at all. How could I greet you? The people at your purchasing station said you were busy, but they didn't know what you were busy with, so they simply didn't bother looking for you and came here by myself."

Li Long felt a little embarrassed and quickly changed the subject: "Director, I heard that there are quite a lot of people from various units here, such as the Transportation Bureau and the Agriculture Bureau."

This time it was Li Xiangqian's turn to be embarrassed. He said somewhat awkwardly, "Oh, it was just that I let it slip when I was drinking with my friends the other weekend."

Wasn't there a braised fish dish on the table? I didn't think it tasted very good; it was farmed, not as good as wild fish. So I boasted to them that I would catch some wild carp and stew them after they finished dredging my area in a couple of days.

Then those friends asked me what happened. Since I'd already told them, I told them about what was going on. Then these friends said it wouldn't be right not to tell them about such a good thing, and told me to call them when we finished dredging and started fishing.

So, I called them all over to experience the fun of catching fish. What? If you're not happy about that, I'll call them away later.

"How could we not welcome them?" Li Long hurriedly said, "Welcome, welcome, a warm welcome. We can't even invite these people normally. Let them have fun. Anyway, judging from their attitude, they won't catch many fish. They're mainly here to relax."

Li Xiangqian nudged him and said, "Hey, you've hit the nail on the head. I saw it just now too. Don't be fooled by how well these guys have prepared their tools; they have everything: nets, buckets, net bags, gloves, and rubber boots."

Actually, when it comes to catching fish underwater, they're not as good as the kids in your village. I've seen those seven or eight-year-olds with their landing nets, catching quite a few fish in one go. My friends, on the other hand, just watch the fish, yelling and screaming, but they can't even swing the net up properly.

Li Long laughed: "Which of these kids in our team who can come down here to fish hasn't been doing it for a few years? They've all been following the older kids around since they were little, and they've seen the world."

They're incredibly skilled at catching fish. These city folks, you could say they're experts in their respective fields, of course. But when it comes to this kind of work, it's hard to say. They might be more playful, but their actual skills are lacking.

But I guess they're mainly here to have fun. How many fish they catch is secondary; as long as they don't leave empty-handed, they'll be quite satisfied.

Li Xiangqian nodded and said, "That's exactly right. If you tell them they'll take home several buckets of fish, they'll naturally be happy. But even if there's only a small crucian carp weighing a kilogram or two in the bucket, they won't be disappointed. Just seeing this kind of scene is enough for them."

Li Long turned to look at the scene in the reservoir, which was indeed much more lively. In this reservoir area of ​​less than a third of a square kilometer, hundreds of people were bustling about, shouting and laughing. Fish were jumping and leaping in the various ponds; the scene was truly bustling.

Li Long was about to tell Li Xiangqian to go down and catch some fish, and he was also planning to take a net from the trunk of the car and go down to catch some himself, but Li Xiangqian asked him another question.

"Li Long, I heard your cooperative harvested over 800 tons of cotton this year?"

Li Long asked in confusion, "Director, how did you know?"

Li Xiangqian smiled smugly: "You forgot, the cotton and linen company is also part of our supply and marketing system. How could I not know? But to be honest, your output is a bit frightening. As far as I know, you only have three thousand mu of land, right? Of course, three thousand mu is not a small amount, but producing eight hundred tons of cotton from three thousand mu is a bit frightening."

Li Long said, "Director, we are growing drip-irrigated cotton. Drip-irrigated cotton has a higher yield, but of course, our costs are also higher. The cost per acre is much higher than that of cotton grown in ordinary ways."

Li Xiangqian asked him, "With such high costs, do you even make a profit?"

Li Long smiled and said, "We can still make some money. After all, the high costs are mainly in drip irrigation tape and agricultural machinery. I set up a factory for drip irrigation tape and sell it to our cooperative at cost price. Some of the agricultural machinery is brought by our cooperative members and is included in their shareholding, so they don't have to pay for it."

"That settles it, doesn't it? Since it's profitable and the output is so high, I'm telling you in advance, your cooperative might become famous this time."

The registered entity for your cotton sales is a cooperative. Such a high yield has alarmed the Autonomous Prefecture Cotton and Linen Company. We expect reporters to come for interviews in the next few days, so please prepare accordingly.

Li Long said without any hesitation, "It's nothing. Actually, when we were working on drip irrigation, the autonomous region and county levels had already held on-site meetings. We were prepared for this and had also been interviewed by reporters."

Li Xiangqian said meaningfully, "It's different now. Back then, we mainly looked at production, but now we're seeing real results."

Our autonomous prefecture's industrial development is relatively weak; it's still largely based on agriculture. You've achieved such a large output, it's like launching a giant satellite—do you think the leaders wouldn't pay attention?"

Li Long hadn't really thought about such a deep issue. He had actually discussed it with other people in the cooperative, and the cooperative was indeed a bit too dazzling.

However, the initial success was limited to the village or township. Although the county held a field meeting when drip irrigation was introduced, and all the townships knew about it, the yield of drip irrigation was not yet realized at that time.

Last year, the average yield didn't even reach 350 kilograms, which already surprised the villagers. This year, the land in Team Four has yielded over 350 kilograms, and when you add the 1,000 mu of land in Team Two, the total yield is quite astonishing.

But it doesn't matter. We'll deal with whatever comes our way. If reporters come to interview us, so be it. Actually, Li Long is eager to promote this cooperative model and this drip irrigation cotton planting method as quickly as possible.

In that case, they won't be the first to stick their necks out, and his drip irrigation plant can start production in full swing, and then he'll have customers.

Meanwhile, the machinery factory in Kui City can also sell its drip irrigation equipment with great enthusiasm. It's a win-win situation; everyone benefits.

So Li Long said to Li Xiangqian, "Director, it's okay. If it becomes popular, so be it. It means our model is correct. When everyone learns from our model, they can all make money."

Only when farmers make money from farming can our country's agricultural modernization be achieved. By the way, let me see what kind of fish you caught, Director.

When Li Long brought up the topic of catching fish, Li Xiangqian said with a touch of pride:

"I caught two big carp, each weighing five or six kilograms. I don't like grass carp or silver carp, but the carp were pretty good. That's enough of the big fish. I'd also like to catch some small crucian carp. What about you? What kind of fish are you planning to catch?"

As Li Long reached for the trunk of the car to get a net and a bucket, he said, "I won't bother with the big fish. I think they're just for looking good, but they might not taste as good as the small fish. Today I've used a finer net to catch some pike, make a soup, and have a taste."

"You've changed your ways?" Li Xiangqian said with a smile. "I don't believe you're really planning to get some pike? Those things are a real pain to deal with."

Li Long took the landing net, closed the trunk, and said as he walked out of the car:

"Director, we're on the same side, so I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. This pike is actually a type of loach. I don't need to tell you about the benefits of loach, right? Those things are full of vitality and are known as ginseng of the water. Eating too much of them is good for men."

Li Xiangqian naturally knew that the "little dog fish" Li Long was referring to was the plateau loach, but he usually ignored it. It was really troublesome to deal with.

Although not as slippery as the loaches usually sold in the market, they are still more difficult to handle than ordinary small fish. Moreover, these fish are not very big to begin with, and it might take a long time to prepare just enough for one plate. Therefore, everyone is mainly focusing on the larger fish now and no one is thinking about catching these small fish.

Li Long carried a net in one hand and a bucket in the other, going against the grain and focusing on the small puddles, catching half a bucket of pike every now and then.

These small fish, the largest are only about the length of a chopstick, the smallest are shorter than a finger. Li Long didn't bother with the smaller ones; he planned to let them float until the water was released later, allowing them to continue living. These small fish are incredibly resilient; he estimated that even after the dike was opened and the water reached this area in a couple of days, they would still be alive.

People he knew would greet Li Long from time to time, while others who knew Li Long but weren't familiar with him would come over to see what kind of fish he had caught.

They found that his bucket was half full of small fish. Some people laughed and walked away, while others asked him curiously why he was catching these small fish.

If the person asking is someone he doesn't know or isn't very familiar with, Li Long will casually reply, "I just like these little fish."

But when Yang Bo came over to ask, Li Long said, "We country folk have our own way of cooking fish. It's not like the braised or stewed fish you eat in the city. It's called stewing fish, but actually we put in ginger, scallions, Sichuan peppercorns, and dried chili peppers, and stew it for half an hour to an hour until the broth is almost gone, leaving not much. Then we scoop it out and sprinkle it with cilantro."

This way of cooking is unique to rural areas and doesn't have a formal name, but the fish tastes exceptionally good when stewed this way. This type of pike is particularly suitable for this stewing method. For those of us who grew up eating fish, we don't need to chew or pick out the bones when eating this pike.

Pick up a pike, put it in your mouth, and suck hard; all the flesh goes in, and then you spit out the bones. And this pike is different from other fish; it's especially fatty. This way of eating it makes it unmatched by any other fish; no other fish tastes as good.

Yang Bo asked curiously, "Is it really that delicious?"

Li Long smiled and said, "If you don't believe me, I'll catch the fish today, cook it when I get home, and wait for you to get off work tonight. Come to my house and I'll cook it for you to try."

Yang Bo immediately said, "Then it's a deal. I won't go to your house to try it. Just give me a plateful and I'll take it back. I'll get some wine tonight to enjoy it."

Li Long laughed and said, "Why bother with character? Come to my place, let's have a drink. I've called you senior brother for more than a year or two, but we haven't really had a drink together like this before, have we?"

Yang Bo thought for a moment and said, "Hey, that's true. We've been to formal occasions before, but that doesn't count. Okay, I'll come to your place tonight. I happen to have some good wine that someone gave me, I'll bring it over for you."

The two agreed on a date, arranging to drink that evening, and then went their separate ways to fish. Li Long saw many people searching for large fish. Most of these people were from the city or were village officials. Most of the villagers were fishing for crucian carp, large crucian carp, and fillets of local crucian carp. After filling a bucket with pike, he stopped fishing and carried it to the embankment. As he was about to return, someone called to him from afar. Li Long recognized the voice; it was a woman. He turned around and was somewhat surprised to see it was Jiang Zhiyu.

Jiang Zhiyu was wearing a suit, which was now covered in mud. She was also carrying a small net, which was currently empty. She was quickly walking from the bottom of the reservoir to the embankment and coming to Li Long.

Li Long smiled and said, "Hey, hello, hello, long time no see! Are you Mayor Jiang or Secretary Jiang now?"

Jiang Zhiyu smiled and said, "I'm at the Retired Cadres Bureau now. It's been a long time. This time, my wife told me that you were dredging here and catching fish, so I came along."

When I came over this morning, I walked around the reservoir and didn't see you. I was wondering why. I thought, "This is the area you contracted, and I haven't seen you anywhere." Turns out you're just late.

Li Long smiled and explained, "I've been quite busy lately. You know, I also run a purchasing station, you know? I recently received a batch of supplies, which need to be repaired before they can be sold."

They even set up a cooperative, you know about that, they grow cotton. By the way, when did you get married without telling me? What company does your spouse work for?

Jiang Zhiyu reached out and brushed a stray hair behind her ear, saying, "My husband works at the Transportation Bureau. We were introduced by someone and then got married. We agreed to keep everything simple, so we didn't invite you. Besides, you're a very busy person, would you be able to come?"

Before Li Long could explain, she continued, "I heard that your cooperative has become famous this time. It harvested nearly a thousand tons of cotton, making it the best in the entire autonomous prefecture, not just in the county."

Li Long joked, "You know about this at the Retired Cadres Bureau? There aren't that many tons, only about 800 tons, but the rumor spread to nearly 1,000 tons. You've really blown the horn!"

Jiang Zhiyu, unusually, did not retort, but instead explained: "You know I have also written some news reports, and I have many friends in this field. It was a friend who told me about it."

The two chatted for a few more minutes when someone called out to Jiang Zhiyu from the fishing area. He waved to Li Long and turned around to go.

For the first few years, the two had a good relationship. Later, Jiang Zhiyu was transferred to the county, and their relationship gradually faded.

It can only be said that some people are just passersby on the journey of life. After walking together for a while, we go our separate ways. Life is long, and there are many passersby. In the end, they will all become fragments of memories.

Li Long brought the bucket of pike to his elder brother's house. On the stove in the courtyard, Liang Yuemei was stewing a pot of crucian carp.

She saw Li Long come in carrying a bucket and said with a smile, "The fish is almost ready, and the rice is steamed too. We'll eat here later. What's in your bucket?"

Li Long placed the bucket next to his sister-in-law and said, "Look, I brought back some pike."

Liang Yuemei looked at it and said, "This stuff tastes good, but it's hard to clean."

Li Long laughed and said, "It's okay, I'll pack it up slowly. I'll leave half of it here, and you can put the other half back for me. We can have it as a snack with our friends tonight."

Hearing the commotion, Du Chunfang, Li Long's mother, came out of the house and asked with a smile, "What are you packing?"

Li Long took the pike to show his mother and said, "I'm planning to clean the pike."

Du Chunfang looked at the pike and said with disdain, "These things are so hard to clean. It'll take all afternoon to clean this bucket."

Liang Yuemei quickly said, "No need, no need. Xiaolong, don't pack it. I'll pack it up and you can take it back."

Li Long waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, I'm just killing time anyway."

He went to get a stool, a basin, and some scissors, and then sat down in the yard to start cleaning the pike.

Although the old woman said she disliked it, she actually favored her youngest son. She moved a small stool and sat opposite Li Long, taking scissors to help clean up the fish, saying with disdain as she cleaned, "This pike is too slippery, I can't even hold it."

Li Long said to her, "This is better than that. If it were a loach, it would be much harder to handle."

You don't need to remove the gills from pike, and they don't have scales. Just take scissors and cut from the mouth to the anus, then take out the contents of the belly, and you're done.

When Li Long was cleaning up, he discovered that the pike's stomach, like a human's, had a small curve, unlike other fish that only have a belly and whose intestines are straight.

Seeing that the two of them were talking and tidying up, Liang Yuemei didn't come over to disturb them. She had to keep an eye on the two stoves, one steaming rice and the other stewing fish.

The heat in the rice cooker shouldn't be too high, otherwise the bottom will burn. Nowadays, people prefer the crispy crust at the bottom of the rice when eating rice cooked in this type of pot.

A well-cooked rice crust is golden yellow. After the rice is cooked, the rice crust looks like the whole pot. It's a delicious snack after a meal.

After a while, the eldest brother, Li Jianguo, came over from the front yard. When he saw Li Long, he smiled and said, "I heard the car just now, and I thought it must be you coming back. I was talking to Junhai and the others in the front yard, arranging for them to plow the fields."

As Li Long tidied up, he asked, "Are you still plowing the fields? It's almost winter, what fields haven't been plowed yet?"

Li Jianguo also moved a stool and sat down to help clean the pike, saying as he did so:

"Reclaiming wasteland. You know, the wasteland on our land was developed by our cooperative before, and now everyone is focused on planting cotton. The last small plot of wasteland near the seed canal is more than 30 mu."

After Wang the money-grubber got approval from the team leader, he opened it. "By the way, yesterday your construction team's manager, Meng, called us over and said the water at the bottom of the reservoir is almost clear, so we can go catch fish. We brought back a big one; you can take a few home later."

Li Long shook his head and said, "I won't take it. It's such a big fish, and it's not easy for us to cook it at home. I'll take it when you've dried it."

The old woman nodded repeatedly, saying, "Yes, yes, yes, if we take that big fish back, the whole family won't be able to finish it. We can just marinate it and air-dry it in this spare room, and then take it back to Xiaolong later."

Li Jianguo then said, "Okay." Then he asked, "Why did you get so many pike?"

Li Long chuckled and said, "I just think this pike is delicious. Don't be fooled by the size of the big fish; the flavor doesn't penetrate the meat. Stew the pike for forty or fifty minutes, and the meat will be flavorful. You can just suck the meat into your mouth. Plus, the meat is fatty, so you don't have to worry about the bones."

Li Jianguo laughed and said, "You really know how to eat. If you're not afraid of trouble, then it's true."

There were three people. They'd only taken about a third of the fish from the bucket, while Liang Yuemei's stewed fish was already ready, filling the yard with its aroma. She said, "Let's eat first, then we'll take more."

Li Long and the others washed their hands and came over to eat first.

While eating, Du Chunfang looked at the fish on the large plate and said with emotion, "This stewed fish tastes so good. I wonder if Juan and Qiangqiang will be able to eat it."

Li Long, worried that his elder brother and sister-in-law would be sad, quickly said, "Mom, don't worry. Juan and Qiangqiang are in Yanjing. What can't they eat in that big city? They'll definitely be able to get something, maybe even better than what we're eating."

Liang Yuemei remained silent, but her movements slowed down.

Li Jianguo said, "That's the truth. Qiangqiang told me they get everything they need, the food is good, and they even get allowances. They also took money with them when they left, so they can buy whatever they want to eat."

"I'm not worried about Juan either, she's just in the city. She gets a high scholarship, and our family gives her a lot of money, so she can eat a variety of things. Mingming and Haohao's aunt also take care of her often, so don't worry."

Li Long was wrong. Li Qiang definitely wouldn't get to eat stewed fish like that. Not only would he not get to eat stewed fish, but with the current food, after lunch and then afternoon military training, he would feel hungry again after two classes.

At that time, there was no socialized food security system, and the idea of ​​depositing food money into a card to buy meals yourself was still a long way off. One class had one table, and there were three dishes per meal. Rice and steamed buns were plentiful, but the amount of vegetables was not much.

In addition, these young men have to use their brains and their bodies to study and train. The energy they replenish after a meal is used up before they can eat another meal.

Therefore, Li Qiang could only use the meager allowance he received to supplement his food expenses. For example, right now, he bought a donkey meat sandwich from an old lady on the road next to the canteen and quickly stuffed it into his stomach.

There's something magical about the military academy: villagers from nearby villages always manage to find their way to the canteen in the teaching area via routes that even the cadets don't quite know, and then they sell their local specialties there.

Of course, Li Qiang and his colleagues wholeheartedly agreed with this, after all, being hungry is really unpleasant.

At that moment, he truly envied his sister Li Juan's school, which was semi-open and offered more freedom in class. Moreover, Li Juan had already completed most of her required courses in her final year and was preparing for her graduation thesis, giving her a great deal of choice in things like meals. Unlike Li Qiang and his classmates, whose education was completely standardized and offered no choice.

If it weren't for the villagers who would drop in and sell snacks, or the occasional sneak into the living area to buy some nutritional supplements, we probably would have really gone hungry. It's not that we weren't getting enough to eat, but the energy expenditure was so high that we got hungry very quickly.

What he looked forward to most was the weekend when it was his turn to take time off, so he could go to Beijing and have a meal cooked by his sister in their own backyard. Whether it was hand-pulled noodles or pilaf, it was all very satisfying.

However, military academy students take turns going out on weekends, so he can't go out every week. Therefore, it would be good if he could go once a month.

Li Juan would also come over to bring some food when she had time, and these were usually the happiest days for their whole class.

Because everyone is used to sharing happiness and hardship, no matter who receives snacks from home or friends and relatives, the whole class will share them together.

Of course, Li Qiang wouldn't tell his family any of this. At most, he'd vent a little when writing letters to Du Wenlong and the others, but when he told his family, he only said he was safe and sound.

Moreover, with such intense study and training, Li Qiang had already gained 5 kg by the end of October. He took a photo and sent it home, and his family naturally felt that the communal meals were a good way to nourish people.

After lunch, Li Long didn't stay at his elder brother's house any longer. He took the third of the bucket of pike that he had already processed and drove back to the county.

As for the rest, let my eldest brother's family handle them. My sister-in-law, Liang Yuemei, meant that after she finished making them, she would leave them for Li Long to take.

Li Long said he couldn't eat that much; the third of the bucket he'd already cleaned weighed two or three kilograms. Two or three kilograms of this gutted fish is quite a lot.

After bringing the fish home, Li Long began preparing to cook it. He planned to fry half and stew the other half.

When deep-frying pike, it needs to be coated in batter, otherwise it will easily break. Deep-fried pike is crispy and crunchy, which some people like, but Li Long isn't very interested.

However, we've already promised Yang Bo that we'd treat him, so we can't just stew a fish, can we? We fried half of it, and if we can't finish it, Yang Bo can take it back with him.

When Li Long finished frying the remaining parts and was about to stew them, he saw that it was almost time and started stewing them in the pot.

While the fish was stewing, he also prepared a cold dish. This fully utilizes the principles of operations management. I don't know if it was Hua Luogeng or someone else who said it, but it's the same method used when boiling water—it makes good use of time. The dish was a spicy and red tiger vegetable salad, which is also quite good with alcohol.

When Gu Xiaoxia, Sister Yang, Mingming, and Haohao returned, they ate stewed fish. Their staple food was steamed buns and rice porridge.

Around 8 p.m., Yang Bo arrived as promised. He brought a bottle of liquor, placed it on the table after entering. Li Long took one look and exclaimed, "Hey, Wuliangye, not bad!"

Although there were lights in the courtyard, it was quite chilly outside at that hour, so we decided to eat in the dining room. The dining room was right next to the kitchen.

Li Long turned on the light and brought out the prepared dishes one by one. Yang Bo took a look and thought they looked pretty good, then smelled them and found they smelled quite delicious.

However, looking at the small fish on the plate, he was skeptical: "Li Long, is it really as delicious as you say?"

Li Long handed him a pair of chopsticks and gestured for him to sit down. Then he took two pieces of paper and placed them beside them, saying, "Come on, watch me." He picked up a medium-sized pike with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, pulled on the head, and sucked all the fish meat into his mouth. Then he put the bones on the paper and said:

"I'm telling you how to eat it because I'm here to take care of you, a stranger from out of town. When we locals eat it, we chew even the fish bones up, of course, we don't swallow them. The flavor is best from inside the fish bones. Come on, give it a try."

Yang Bo tried to imitate Li Long's movements, albeit clumsily. He discovered that the fish tasted really good, it was very fragrant.

All fresh fish smell delicious when stewed, but each has its own unique aroma. This pike is fragrant because it has plenty of natural oils.

Li Long unscrewed the bottle again, poured wine for the two of them, and said, "Come on, senior, we've known each other for several years now. I'm grateful for your care over the years. I'd like to offer you a toast with this wine."

Yang Bo swirled his glass and said, "That's too polite of you. We're all family here, so we'll definitely take care of each other. Besides, you're so amazing, to be honest, I'm shamelessly being your senior brother, which is also thanks to you. Come on, have a drink."

The two started drinking and chatting about everything under the sun. Yang Bo told him a lot of interesting stories about school, saying he rarely went back after graduation. Li Long also talked to him about his connection with the College of Agriculture.

While drinking, Yang Bo revealed a crucial piece of information to Li Long: the autonomous region was about to launch a large-scale transformation of 10,000 mu of farmland, specifically a water-saving project, and advised Li Long to keep an eye out for it if he had the time. Li Long thought to himself, "Hey, a very important milestone is coming."

Last time, our village developed faster than other villages because of this. However, that was several years later; I didn't expect it to happen so soon. This project will last for many years, so it seems I need to talk to Team Leader Xu Chengjun early and prepare accordingly. (End of Chapter)