Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1404 The Second Ambush Had an Unexpected Turn of Events; Li Long Plans a New Business

The older of the two men at the checkpoint went inside to make a phone call, while the younger one insisted on inspecting Li Long's car.

When he saw the three leather bags in the trunk, his expression changed. Upon seeing Li Long's Type 56 semi-automatic rifle in the car, he took a few steps back and said sternly, "You use this gun for hunting? You're breaking the law, you know that?"

As he turned to look at the checkpoint, the person who had been on the phone came out. Noticing his colleague's odd expression, the newcomer immediately asked, "Xiao Liu, what's wrong?"

The young man surnamed Liu immediately said, "They had guns in their car, and they also shot wolves and have wolf pelts. Sir, what should we do?"

The older man smiled and said, "Never mind that."

Then he said to Li Xiangqian, "Director Li, right? Our director wants you to answer the phone."

Li Xiangqian went inside to answer the phone. The older man went over and closed the trunk and doors of Li Long's car. He patted his apprentice on the shoulder and said:

"It's nothing, don't be nervous. The leaders said they're doing this to rid the herders of pests. Otherwise, if too many cattle and sheep are killed by these wolves, we'll be in trouble too."

Li Long nodded and said, "The old comrade is right. It is our duty to protect animals, but we can't put animals above people. If we don't hunt them, they will become a plague in the mountains. We only went into the mountains to hunt wolves after receiving a plea for help from the herders."

As he spoke, he opened the car door, took out a pack of cigarettes, and handed them to the two inspectors.

The older man, assuming Li Long was just an ordinary employee of the supply and marketing cooperative, smiled and said, "Our bureau chief and your director have a good relationship, so there's definitely nothing to worry about. When did you go into the mountains?"

Li Long said, "Last night."

The old man, puffing on his cigarette, remarked with emotion, "From now on, we'll probably use guns less and less. Have you heard? Now all standard-issue rifles have to be handed in."

Li Long nodded and said, "That's right. It will be difficult for the herders in the mountains to encounter such situations again in the future."

The old man nodded and said nothing more. He knew that for the people at the forestry police station, protecting forestry resources was their top priority, and while protecting animals was also within their duties, it wasn't their primary responsibility.

If herders' livestock were to suffer losses due to wolf attacks, they really didn't have any better options. At that time, there was no concept of government compensation.

The young man, Xiao Liu, hadn't quite grasped the situation yet, his gaze frequently drifting towards the trunk of the SUV. Li Long wondered if he was planning to confiscate the wolf pelt.

However, it was highly unlikely to succeed. He heard Li Xiangqian chatting and laughing with the director on the phone, and it was clear that the matter had been dropped.

The old man finished his cigarette, threw the butt into the snow, stomped on it, and then asked Li Long:

"Comrade, what's your name?"

Li Long offered him another cigarette and said, "My name is Li Long. I often go into the mountains. I had a pretty good relationship with the comrades at your checkpoint who were here before, but this is the first time I've met you two."

The older man took the cigarette and looked at him in surprise: "You're Li Long? Hey, I knew it! You're a celebrity in our unit. I was just transferred to our police station. Before that, I worked in a township over the Tashi River. I only changed shifts before winter."

"Hey, if we'd known it was you, we wouldn't have stopped the car. Both of our leaders have said you're one of our own, and you've helped us a lot. If you have any difficulties going in or out of the mountains in the future, just let us know. By the way, my name is Wang Hongqi, you can just call me Lao Wang."

"Hey, isn't this a case of 'the flood washed away the Dragon King's temple'?" Li Long chuckled and said, "You could say we became friends after a fight. By the way, after I drop the leader off in the county, I'll have to turn back. Several of my friends' winter camps are being harassed by wolf packs, so we might have to fight again tonight."

The old man smiled and said, "It's alright, it's alright. You've done a service to the people, it's nothing."

Li Xiangqian came out of the house smiling. He said to Old Wang:

"Your director asked you to answer the phone. Not bad, not bad, very disciplined. You investigated what needed to be investigated, and we explained what needed to be explained."

Old Wang hurried inside to answer the phone. By then, Xiao Liu had probably realized what was happening and stood in the snow, looking a bit lost. Li Long smiled and asked him:

"You're new here, right? Which police station were you at before?"

"He used to do odd jobs in the bureau, and only got the job in the fall." Xiao Liu had obviously heard about Li Long's deeds, and had heard about this legendary figure more than once. He was genuinely surprised and a little uneasy to meet him like this for the first time.

Li Long smiled and said, "So you work in the bureau. You seem quite refined. Frontline work is tough, exposed to the wind and sun, and freezing cold, but the gains are definitely significant, as you're able to apply the laws and regulations you've learned to real-world situations."

People like us might be considered an exception, so let's handle this flexibly. After all, the law isn't without human consideration, and sometimes you really can't be so rigid.

Seeing Xiao Liu smoking, he stuffed the pack of cigarettes in his hand into his hand and asked, "How often do you change shifts? You can't go back to the county often, can you? Do you need anything? I'll go back to the county later and come back up this afternoon. If you need anything, I'll bring it up for you."

Wang Hongqi had just finished a phone call at the checkpoint when he heard Li Long's words. He smiled and said, "No problem, no problem. Director Li, Comrade Li Long, you go ahead with your work, we won't take up your time. We don't have much to offer you here. We'll remember this car, and you can just drive through normally next time you pass by."

Li Long took another pack of cigarettes from the car, stuffed it into Lao Wang's hand, and said, "Alright, then you've had your work done, we'll be going now."

Li Xiangqian smiled and waved to them before getting into the car. As he drove off, Li Long honked the horn as a signal, and the wheels rolled over the snow and ice, speeding northward.

Looking at the departing SUV, Xiao Liu said enviously, "When will we be able to have equipment like that?"

Wang Hongqi patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't think about it. There's only one person like him in the whole county. He's not on our level. Come inside, it's quite cold outside."

Once inside, Xiao Liu asked with some confusion, "Master, didn't you say yesterday that our checkpoint is short of vegetables? Why didn't you talk to Li Long and ask him to bring some over? We'll just pay him."

The master smiled and said, "Let's forget it. We're not that familiar with him, and besides, we stopped him. It's just that we don't have much on hand, otherwise I would have really wanted to give him something to apologize."

What Li Long said is not wrong. Animals should be protected, but since it bit the herder's livestock, it should be punished.

He did a good deed, but we ended up questioning him all over, which wasn't good. Once we get to know him better, it'll be easier to ask him to bring us things.

Xiao Liu suddenly realized. He used to do odd jobs at the bureau and hadn't had much experience in interpersonal relationships, but he had learned a little something today.

After Li Long drove Li Xiangqian back to the county, he put the three wolf pelts at the supply and marketing cooperative.

Li Xiangqian meant for Li Long to keep one, but Li Long said he had plenty of wolf pelts. Li Xiangqian happily took all the spoils, saying he planned to report it to Director Qian.

Li Long ate lunch at home. In the afternoon, he went to the purchasing station and bought some more canned goods, including fruit and meat. Then he went to the vegetable store and bought some potatoes and cabbage.

Although there were fresh vegetables available at this time, the quantity was relatively small. These things were mainly bought for the winter pastures. Li Long noticed that Halim was a bit careless in his work, and the herders he hired ate very simple meals in the eastern pastures, consisting mainly of naan, jam, milk tea, and milk curds.

Yesterday, he saw that the vegetables in the winter shelter were just a few onions, while the herders were overjoyed to see canned meat. Li Long thought that since he was going up the mountain, he might as well bring them some; after all, they were family, and besides, he had a car, so it would be convenient to carry it.

Driving further into the mountains, the tire tracks left by the excavated snow and ice were much deeper. Passing a checkpoint, Li Long stopped. Xiao Liu opened the door and, seeing it was Li Long, felt a little awkward, unsure how to greet him.

Li Long, however, beckoned to him as if speaking to an acquaintance, saying, "Come, come, Xiao Liu, come and help."

Then he opened the trunk, pointed to a box of canned goods, and said, "Come on, take this out. This is canned meat produced by our cannery. You can put it at the checkpoint to supplement your meals."

Then, he pointed to the cabbage and potatoes in the bag and said, "I'll leave some of these for you. There aren't many good vegetables around right now, and it's basically like this in winter anyway."

Xiao Liu was very happy to see this, but he couldn't make the decision. He turned around to go find his master, and then he saw Wang Hongqi standing at the entrance of the checkpoint.

Wang Hongqi didn't speak to Xiao Liu, but only said to Li Long, "I'm so sorry to have troubled you to spend money."

Li Long smiled and said, "It's nothing, it's produced in our own cannery. We're all on the same side. I used to wear a forestry bureau sign too."

"Hurry, hurry, it's cold outside. Once you move them inside, make sure they don't freeze. I still need to go into the mountains to bring them some things; it's all just a side trip."

Wang Hongqi didn't stand on ceremony and, together with Xiao Liu, carried the canned goods and vegetables into the checkpoint.

Wang Hongqi politely invited Li Long to come into the checkpoint to warm up, but Li Long declined, saying he needed to hurry and deliver the supplies to the herders in the mountains before preparing for his hunting trip that evening.

Wang Hongqi said that when they find something good, they will bring it to Li Long when he goes into the mountains.

Li Long thanked him in advance and then drove off.

After watching the SUV leave, the two went inside. Looking at the things in the corner, Xiao Liu said happily, "Now things will be much easier for us for the next two weeks."

Wang Hongqi kicked the box of canned meat and said, "Yeah. I'd only ever heard rumors that Li Long was a good guy, our lucky star, and that he'd led our people to achieve several victories. I didn't expect him to be so generous. This box of canned meat must be worth at least tens of yuan, right? He just gave it to me like that."

Xiao Liu also remarked with emotion, "Yes, he's really generous. I saw several boxes in his car; they're probably for the herders in the mountains. What's his relationship with those herders?"

Wang Hongqi thought for a moment and said, "I heard from my colleagues that when Li Long first made his fortune, he relied on the help of the herdsmen in the mountains to exchange for some things, probably those local specialties. I heard that he is still buying fritillaria bulbs at the purchasing station."

By the way, if we receive any good stuff these next few days, let's keep some. When we run into him again, we'll just give it to him. It doesn't feel right to take someone's things for free.”

Xiao Liu nodded hurriedly and said, "I feel the same way. I feel like I owe him a huge favor."

Li Long drove to Halim's winter camp. Xu Haijun and the others were playing in the snow. When Li Long got out of the car, he smiled as he looked at what they were playing with. Several people were kicking horse manure balls, like playing football, divided into two groups, one attacking and one defending.

However, this horse manure ball has no elasticity, and it rolls into the snow as you kick it. You have to find it out from the snow from time to time. It seems that some people kick the wrong one, so some people are shouting that they have found the wrong one.

Upon seeing Li Long, Xu Haijun exclaimed, "I should have told you to bring a soccer ball down! There's not much to do in these mountains, we just kick around in the dirt. If we had brought a soccer ball, we could have played some football and gotten some exercise."

Li Long responded, "Later, hurry up and come over to move your things. I brought some canned food and vegetables up; let's have a good meal tonight so we'll have the energy to continue hunting."

Several people then left the dung heaps behind and came over to move the things. Halim, seeing that Li Long had brought so much stuff, said somewhat embarrassedly, "Why did you bring so much? We can't possibly eat it all."

Li Long retorted with disdain:

“There’s no such thing as food that can’t be eaten. Look at all the young men you’ve hired; they have big appetites. You never even think to buy groceries for them. From now on, have your son Yang Gangzi take care of these things for you. Men are like that; they can’t think of many things.”

The two had a good relationship, and Halim didn't think there was anything wrong with what Li Long said. He scratched his head, smiled, and then joined in moving things.

After moving everything to the eastern hut, Halim told the two herders about it. Then the two herders put some of the canned goods into bags, mounted their horses, and rode off.

Xu Haijun and the two workers were confused. Li Junfeng whispered to Li Long, "Where did they take those canned goods? What did Halim say?" Li Long smiled and said, "He said to have these two take these canned goods and distribute them to the people in the other winter shelters so that everyone can have a taste."

Xu Haijun smiled and said to Li Long, "Little Long, you're pretty good."

Li Long said proudly, "I often go into the mountains, so it's normal for me to speak Kazakh. I can also speak a little Uyghur. Would you like to hear me speak it?"

Upon seeing Li Long's expression, Xu Haijun immediately shook his head and said, "Who knows what you mean by that? I'm not going to be that fool. It's good that you brought the canned food; we didn't have enough for lunch."

Come on, let's pry open a couple of cans and cook them. I found their naan to be quite good; soaking it in the canned meat broth really tastes delicious.

Li Long shook his head with some regret. He really wanted to play a trick on Xu Haijun, but Xu Haijun didn't fall for it. This guy has become smarter.

In the evening, a few people would gather around the stove in the winter shelter, holding enamel basins, drinking meat soup and eating naan bread. It was warm and cozy, and quite nice.

After eating, Halim discussed the ambush location with Li Long. The two winter dens they stayed in last night were definitely not suitable; the wolves wouldn't come back, so they had to find a different place today.

Li Long didn't want to go too far, since there were fewer wolves further up the mountain. So he told Halimu, "I'll go to Talihar's den. You go further up and find a place where wolves usually roam more."

He first designated the target, and then asked about the situation. He asked Halim, "Are there wolves at Talihar's winter camp usually?"

Halim thought for a moment and said, "Yes, but not much. I don't know what will happen tonight."

Li Long said, "Then it'll be here."

Xu Haijun still insisted on splitting up with Li Long to set up the ambush, and he went with Halim and his group. This time, their side had an extra five or six half-shot, and they were full of confidence. As he left, he said to Li Long, "Let's have a competition tonight and see if you or I can take down more wolves."

Li Long pointed to the remaining wolf pelts and said, "Is there any need to compare? Didn't the results come out last night? I killed far more wolves than you did."

Xu Haijun retorted, "That's because you fired first. Your guns are better, and your wolves came over first. If my wolves had come over first and hadn't been alerted, we probably would have fired even more shots."

Li Long smiled and said, "Then let's have the competition. We'll see the results tomorrow morning. By the way, Junfeng, stay with us. We're short-handed, and you guys even took one of our guns."

Li Junfeng said it was no problem. Li Long noticed that his voice sounded a little muffled, so he asked him what was wrong.

Li Junfeng said, "I probably caught a chill while we were lying in ambush last night. I should feel better after sweating it out tonight."

Li Long told him, "If it really doesn't work out, we won't participate in the ambush tonight."

Li Junfeng waved his hand and said, "It's okay, I can manage for one more night."

Xu Haijun didn't notice that Li Junfeng had a bit of a cold. He said he should have brought some medicine. Li Long laughed at him for being wise after the event, then waved for them to leave.

After the employee on Xu Haijun's side got the 5.6mm and 6.5mm diameter ones, he left the smaller diameter ones to the herdsman in Talihar's winter village.

After Li Long arrived at Talihar's winter camp, he told the herdsman that he didn't need to come out and risk his life, and that he could just stay inside the house.

However, the herdsman was quite stubborn, insisting on coming out. Li Long then assigned him and Li Junfeng to guard the winter hut on either side, with their guns pointed towards the rear to prevent wolves from flanking them. Based on yesterday's experience, Li Long postponed the ambush time until almost 11 o'clock before they went out.

Previously, they mainly selected ambush locations, laid out dry grass in those locations, made windowsills out of snow, and then weighed down the area around the dry grass with snow.

What puzzled Li Long was that even though they had been lying in ambush until almost 11:30, there were still no wolf howls, and no wolves in sight. They had already hunted down all the wolves by this time yesterday. Fortunately, they had prepared for this, laying dry grass under themselves, so they weren't so cold.

Li Long listened intently, but there were no gunshots coming from Xu Haijun's direction to the southeast. The entire mountain area was eerily quiet tonight; it was as if the area had been muted, with not a sound.

It's possible that these wolves were frightened by yesterday's gunfire and have fled into the mountains, not to return anytime soon. Li Long glanced at his watch, then whispered to Zhang Shouyi and Li Junfeng, "Let's wait until midnight. If the wolves haven't come by then, we'll stop the ambush and go back to our winter den to sleep. If the wolves come in the middle of the night, they'll definitely howl, and we'll get up if we hear any noise."

Zhang Shouyi, Li Junfeng, and the herdsman all nodded.

Li Long kept his eyes fixed on the distant mountains and listened intently. Although he had made a bet with Xu Haijun, at this moment he actually hoped to hear gunfire from Xu Haijun's side.

However, even when he saw a slight movement in the woods around 11:50, there was still no sound from Xu Haijun and the others.

Li Long then focused his attention on the woods. He saw a dark figure emerge from the trees, walk about ten meters towards the winter hut, and then stop. Li Long observed it more closely and confirmed that there was only one figure.

Yes, a lone wolf emerged from the woods. The wolf moved hesitantly, stopping and starting, not walking in a straight line, but swaying from side to side. It took it a good ten minutes to reach a place about seventy or eighty meters from its winter den.

Upon reaching this point, the lone wolf stopped. It carefully observed the winter den, as if confirming something.

At this moment, Li Junfeng and the others also saw the dark figure, but it was quite far away. They didn't possess Li Long's monstrous strength, so they only sensed a blurry shadow. However, something was better than nothing; at least it meant the wolf was coming.

Li Long stared at the lone wolf, thinking that this should be their only prey for the day. He guessed that the pack led by the alpha wolf had been frightened by yesterday's gunfire and had all run away.

This lone wolf was probably driven out of its pack. It's difficult for a lone wolf to find food in the snowy weather, so it decided to take a risk tonight.

Of course, it only dared to come here because the wolf pack had left. Otherwise, this area is usually the wolf pack's hunting territory, and this lone wolf would never dare to come here. If it did, it would most likely be bitten to death.

The lone wolf seemed suspicious of the area, or perhaps it was waiting for the people in the winter den to fall asleep before attacking. It paced back and forth about seventy or eighty meters away from Li Long and his group, sometimes stopping to look around, but never moving forward.

For a moment, Li Long even suspected that the lone wolf was bait released by the wolf pack to see if anyone would attack.

After waiting for another ten minutes or so, the wolf, probably unable to resist the temptation of fresh beef and mutton, began to slowly walk towards the sheepfold.

He had only walked five or six meters when Li Long heard someone cough softly and suppressing their voice not far away. He recognized the voice as Li Junfeng's, and then he saw the wolf stop, glance in his direction, and then turn and run away.

How could Li Long let it escape? After a rough aim, he decisively pulled the trigger. With a bang, the wolf swayed and fell to the ground in the snow.

At this point, Li Long knew it was pointless to say anything, so he immediately stood up and called out, "Let's go take a look over there."

Li Junfeng picked up his gun, got up, and walked up to Li Long. He said apologetically, "Uncle Long, I really couldn't hold it in just now. I covered my mouth several times before when I wanted to sneeze, but I just couldn't this time."

Li Long smiled and said, "It's alright, we've still managed to get something out of this. This one must be a lone wolf, the kind that doesn't have a pack, or the kind that was driven out by a pack. I reckon that our shooting scare the wolves away yesterday."

"After we go inside, boil some water so you can soak your feet. Take your medicine when you get back tomorrow."

Li Junfeng responded. Then, the group, guns in hand, walked towards the spot where the lone wolf had fallen. They lined up in a row, five or six meters apart, mainly for safety. Li Long also reminded everyone to engage the safety mechanisms to prevent accidental discharge.

After reaching the lone wolf, Li Long had Zhang Shouyi and the herdsman drag the wolf back. He planned to go into the forest to take a look.

Li Junfeng advised him, "Don't take the risk. If there were really wolves, they would have run away long ago."

Li Long was still a little unwilling and said, "I'll just go and take a look; I won't go into the woods."

He walked quickly to the edge of the woods and, using the dim light of the day, looked around. There were many animal footprints, but at this point, it was impossible to tell if any were fresh.

In summer it's a bit better; in winter, the footprints in the snow aren't that different from yesterday's or today's, or from this morning's or last night's, when it hasn't snowed.

If you observe carefully during the day when visibility is clear and it's bright, you might be able to spot the difference, but it's much harder to notice at night.

Somewhat disappointed, Li Long picked up his gun and turned to walk towards Dongwozi with Li Junfeng. Even after entering Dongwozi, he didn't hear any gunfire from the southeast, so it seemed Xu Haijun's side hadn't gained anything today either.

The herders have already started skinning the wolf in its winter den.

Li Junfeng didn't wait for Li Long's instructions and started boiling water. After the water was hot, he put the pot on the stove, reheated the leftover meat broth from the evening, broke off a few pieces of naan bread and soaked them in it, as an extra meal for everyone.

After eating, everyone took turns soaking their feet and then went to sleep.

Li Long slept quite soundly that night, but he didn't hear the sounds of cattle or sheep.

After getting up early in the morning, I went to check the sheepfold and found no signs of damage, which meant that no wolves had come last night.

We had milk tea for breakfast, but after eating canned meat broth for two days in a row, we weren't planning on having it again this morning—we were getting a bit tired of it. Li Long chopped up a few onions, mixed them with vinegar, and that served as our breakfast vegetables.

Around 10 o'clock, Xu Haijun and his men arrived. Li Long, seeing they were only carrying guns, knew his guess from the previous night was correct; their ambush had failed.

After seeing Li Long, Xu Haijun asked, "How many did you shoot last night? I only heard one gunshot."

Li Long said, "Only one lone wolf came. The wolf pack must have been scared away by us the night before last, they won't be here anytime soon."

Xu Haijun nodded and said, "That should be the case. We lay in ambush until you fired your shots last night, and there was no movement at all during that time."

The moment the gun went off, I knew that even if they did come, they wouldn't. So we went back inside. This round, I admit defeat. By the way, are we still planning an ambush tonight?

Li Long waved his hand and said, "Leave the bullets for Harim, then we'll head back. After this battle, the remaining wolves should have learned their lesson and won't be as arrogant as before for a while."

Xu Haijun had the same idea, so he said goodbye to Harim and the others, left some bullets, and then took his gun and drove the Land Cruiser down the mountain.

When passing the checkpoint, Li Long rolled down the car window, waved to Wang Hongqi and Xiao Liu at the door, and drove away without getting out of the car.

Wang Hongqi and Xiao Liu didn't find them impolite at all; on the contrary, they thought it was quite nice. They had felt that Li Long was very enthusiastic when they gave him something earlier, and now waving goodbye would save them the embarrassment of not being able to reciprocate.

Wang Hongqi has made up his mind that before Li Long comes again, he must get some local specialties from the mountains and give them back to Li Long.

Xu Haijun drove Li Junhai back to the Fourth Team. Li Long dropped the two employees off at the purchasing station, then took the guns to the supply and marketing cooperative. He handed the two guns back to the security section, then went to report to Li Xiangqian.

After listening to Li Long recount the events of the previous night with a smile, Li Xiangqian said smugly, "See? I was right to know. I went straight back; I knew you wouldn't get much."

By the way, I reported this to Director Chen, and he said we did the right thing and even planned to praise us at the regular meeting—internal praise, of course, because we can't make a big fuss about it. The animal protection law has just been implemented, and many people are still paying close attention.

By the way, all the guns belonging to our security unit will be handed in before the end of the year, so we probably won't be able to do this anymore. All the privately owned guns in your production team, including hunting rifles, will probably have to be turned in as well, so be prepared.”

Li Long was mentally prepared for this. He nodded, then shook his head, saying with some regret, "It will be difficult to hunt in the future."

Li Xiangqian said with a sly tone, "We can postpone handing in the hunting rifles. Anyway, we all have gun licenses. We'll see what the specific notice says."

Li Long then indicated that he understood.

Having not rested well in the mountains for the past two days, Li Long slept soundly at home all night. The next day, after breakfast, he leisurely strolled to the purchasing station.

As soon as the purchasing station opened, a car drove in. Li Long saw that it was Wang Caimi and Huang Xinping who got out of the car, so he greeted them with a smile: "Hey, you two are rare guests. Come in and have some tea."

Liang Shuangcheng had just finished cleaning the reception room when he saw Wang Caimi and Huang Xinping coming over. He greeted them with a smile and poured them tea.

Given Liang Shuangcheng's current rank, this kind of thing shouldn't be his responsibility, since he's already considered a supervisor. However, he and Sun Jiaqiang had simply gotten used to cleaning.

The staff boiled the water and were responsible for maintaining the hygiene of the place. They could also help Li Long if he needed anything.

After the two sat down, Liang Shuangcheng looked out. Huang Xinping took the initiative to speak, "Xiaolong, I've come to ask you something."

Li Long said, "Just tell me what you need. I'll do my best to help if there's anything I can do."

Huang Xinping said, "I see that your cotton harvest using drip irrigation is quite good this year. Our cooperative is also developing quite well now, but it's far behind yours. So we're thinking of converting our several hundred acres of cotton into drip-irrigated fields. What do you think?"

Wang Caimi added, "Actually, you advised us last year that drip irrigation farming is too expensive and our cooperative can't afford it. Even if we plant it, we won't make money."

However, I heard this year that the petrochemical plant in Dushanzi is going into operation, which will lower the price of raw materials for drip irrigation tape. Didn't you say last year that the bulk of the cost of drip irrigation farming is the drip irrigation tape?

So we thought, since the price of raw materials for drip irrigation tape has dropped, could the price of drip irrigation tape itself also drop? If the price drops, would we be able to afford to grow it? The prospect of over 300 kilograms of cotton per acre is just too tempting.”

After he finished speaking, he and Huang Xinping looked at Li Long expectantly, waiting for Li Long's suggestion.

Li Long knew that since their cooperative was making so much money, people would inevitably ask about drip irrigation farming.

Although Li Long always explained things clearly whenever someone asked, to outsiders, it seemed like he was making money while they were doing it, and then telling us that this kind of thing wasn't profitable. Those who could understand it would understand, and those who couldn't would inevitably suspect that he didn't want them to make money.

Of course, Wang Caimi and Huang Xinping were different. At least they had inquired and learned that the price of raw materials for drip irrigation tape had dropped, which showed that they had been paying attention to this matter and were genuinely considering whether it was feasible, without being swayed by others.

Li Long appreciated this attitude, so he was willing to explain it to the other party seriously.

Li Long said, "I also plan to go to Dushanzi in the near future to see how much the price of raw materials has dropped. Drip irrigation will definitely become widespread in the future. With the price of drip irrigation tape dropping, theoretically speaking, the foundation for the widespread adoption of drip irrigation is already in place."

However, you also need to consider the initial investment, which includes the construction of the pump house and filter tank, the cost of buying water pumps, the laying of main and branch pipelines, and the leveling of the land. I have already told you about these things before.

Your cooperative has 500 mu of land, right? If you're going to do it this way, it'll be a considerable investment. As I mentioned before, we were able to do it because we secured a project from the autonomous region.

If you can secure the project, that would be best. If not, you'll have to pay for it yourself. For 500 mu of land, that's about 100,000 yuan, that's the standard cost in the autonomous region. Of course, if you're frugal, you should be able to get it done for 70,000 or 80,000 yuan. For example, Brother Wang, you have a tractor, you can do the land leveling yourself.

I can't really tell you the price of this drip irrigation tape. I give it to our cooperative at cost price, but I'm being clear, I can't give it to you at cost price. There will be a processing fee added, and how much depends on the price of the raw materials.”

His explanation was so clear that Huang Xinping and Wang Caimi understood, and then they inquired about some details of the preliminary preparations. Since Li Long and the others had already modified the branch canal, Huang Xinping and Wang Caimi wanted to ask if their cooperative would need to modify the canal as well.

Li Long's idea was that to save money, they could skip it. After all, there was a filter bed that could remove impurities from the water.

Finally, Huang Xinping asked Li Long, "Xiaolong, when are you going to Dushanzi? After you go, could you calculate the price of the drip irrigation tape you're willing to sell to us after the cost accounting and tell us?"

Or you could tell me a rough timeframe, and I'll come here and ask you then. We just want to know if our cooperative can plant it next year. If we can, we'll start preparing early in the spring; if not, we won't pursue this plan.

Li Long thought for a moment and said, "I'll be there in the next couple of days. I should have the results by the end of the month at the latest. Then I'll come to the team to find you guys."

Huang Xinping and Wang Caimi both agreed and then left.

Li Long was genuinely planning to make the trip and purchase a batch of drip irrigation tape raw materials. He knew that running a drip irrigation tape factory was very profitable. Considering that the government hadn't yet begun large-scale promotion, some people were already thinking about buying drip irrigation tape and getting involved in this type of planting because they saw their cooperatives making money growing drip-irrigated cotton.

If the government were to promote this technology, the sales volume of drip irrigation tape would be staggering. If we prepare now, we can definitely be among the first to reap the rewards.

To Li Long's surprise, more than a dozen groups of people came to inquire about drip irrigation farming. Li Long guessed that this was mainly due to the effect of interviews conducted at the autonomous prefecture and county levels.

Because the people who came to ask him weren't just from his own village, township, and county, but also from other places. Although he didn't know how they found out about Li Long's purchasing station, since they had come, Li Long would answer them sincerely. He gave them roughly the same answers as he had given Huang Xinping and Wang Caimi, mainly helping them calculate their costs.

The price of this drip irrigation tape can be found on the market. These people were clearly prepared, so after listening to Li Long's explanation, they all said they would first see if they could apply for the autonomous region's support project.

After all, once the application is approved, it can save a lot of money. And most people also agreed that if Li Long could bring down the price of drip irrigation tape, they would be willing to come here to buy drip irrigation tape from Li Long.

Li Long roughly calculated that, based on the land area they reported, he already had potential orders for drip irrigation tape covering nearly 20,000 mu (approximately 1,333 hectares).

What does this mean? Let's say one acre of drip irrigation tape costs 600 yuan. That's a 1200 million yuan order!

Even if we only calculate it as one-fifth, that's still over 2.4 million in orders. This isn't the eastern coastal region; in a remote area like northern Xinjiang, a privately owned enterprise in an agricultural county with an output value of over 2 million in 1993 was considered a large enterprise. After this rough calculation, Li Long was genuinely excited and felt he really had to do it.

He vaguely remembered that Director Du had said that not many sets of drip irrigation equipment had been sold in northern Xinjiang. He had one set, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps had ordered a few sets, and the rest were mainly bought by companies in other provinces in China.

Those companies mainly produce high-end products because, in terms of technology, their drip irrigation tape production equipment and technology are considered advanced internationally. Some even buy them for research purposes. Li Long, on the other hand, is genuinely engaged in production.

Therefore, mass production can begin.

P.S.: Regarding the events of the past two years, firstly, after two days of checkups, the overall situation is good. My parents, apart from some age-related ailments, have no major problems. I myself am also recovering well. Thank you all for your concern.

Secondly, after watching the video of the internet celebrity Adasi, I wanted to try throwing the net into the water today to see if I could catch any fish. But I miscalculated. Their nets are single-layered and short. My 100-meter-long net is too heavy to throw!

Let's see the results tomorrow. (End of Chapter)