In the afternoon, the sky became gloomy, and soon there were snowflakes in the air.
Friends who have never seen snow in the south may be very curious about heavy snow and also like it very much.
But most northerners are indifferent to snow. Sometimes they hate snow, especially heavy snow.
Although auspicious snow heralds a good year, snow clearing is a very troublesome task. Sometimes when it snows, it may take one or two days or even two or three days to clear it.
Now it is a mud roof, so the snow on the roof still needs to be cleared. Otherwise, if the snow melts a little, it may cause water leakage in the house, and those old houses may be covered by heavy snow.
In this big sea, Li Long may be the only one who is happy about the snow, and no one else likes it.
The snow is falling, making walking on the already slippery ground even more difficult. Moreover, the snow has covered the puddles that have not yet been searched, making it even more troublesome to find fish.
Complaints are complaints, but everyone will still continue to look for fish. It is already the off-season period for farming, and there is nothing else to do. Coming here to catch fish is both a harvest and a pastime.
Li Long was happy because it was snowing, so these fish could be hidden in the snow and well preserved.
Li Long’s reputation for collecting fish is spreading, and some people even came over and offered to sell fish to them.
These people found Li Long and sold not much fish, just a few kilograms or a dozen kilograms. Li Long basically accepts everyone who comes. As long as we can receive fish now, it is a harvest. Every kilogram of fish may generate a profit of 30 to 50 cents in the future. This is all money.
From time to time, I would meet people from the same village, and they would say hello to Li Long. Whether intentional or not, at least the news was revealed from the Li family, and everyone would miss this favor.
Almost everyone was covered in mud and ice, and their coats were wet, but no one cared. Occasionally, they would rub their hands, even if their hands and face were red from the cold. I don't care much, the only thing I care about at this time is the fish.
When I went back in the evening, the snow had already fallen heavily. I originally expected to collect four tons of fish today. Due to the snow in the afternoon, the fish harvest was less, but there were also many people who took the initiative to sell fish. , because Li Long started to collect them in piles, and the fish collectors in the county all picked big and well-proportioned fish, so many people liked to sell fish to Li Long and the others. They collected nearly five tons on this day.
Both houses in Ma Hao were piled with fish, and some were placed outside. Fortunately, the snow was relatively heavy, so after putting them directly in bags, they were packed with snow and they froze overnight.
Back at Ma Hao, Uncle Luo had already prepared rice, including corn noodle cakes, rice porridge, fried wild boar with pickles, and potato chips. The dishes were all served in pots, which made several people who had been tired for a day hurriedly wash their hands. They didn't even bother to change their clothes, and just ate there hungrily.
“I see that one family in the team has come out to catch fish.” Yang Yongqiang said while eating, “How are we going to eat when we go back?”
“Can’t we cook it fresh?” Tao Daqiang smiled. Said, "If it weren't for old Uncle Luo , don’t our two families have to go back and cook for themselves?”
“Hahahaha.” Yang Yongqiang waved, “Someone in my family is doing it.”
Tao Daqiang was a little unconvinced:
"In a few days, someone in my family will also do it."
At this time, everyone remembered that Tao Daqiang will get married in a while. The topic immediately shifted to Tao Daqiang. Li Junfeng and the others also became familiar with Tao Daqiang. They made fun of him and asked him if he had kissed or slept with his partner, which made Tao Daqiang blush all of a sudden.
"Stop being ridiculous, the adults are all still here." Li Long smiled and helped Tao Daqiang out, "Junfeng, do you want to tell me about what happened before you got married?"
"That's still the case. Forget it." Li Junfeng stopped immediately, "By the way, Uncle Xiao Long, are you going tomorrow?"
He changed the topic better, and everyone else looked at Li Long.
"Go ahead, there won't be as many fish tomorrow as today, but there won't be less. There's water flowing down the water channel all the time, and it hasn't drained away. There must be a lot of fish in the long canal under the gate. If someone catches it, we'll catch it. "Collect." Li Long said, "Try to collect a few more tons of fish, and we will almost have enough money for next year."
Li Long's last words made everyone excited.
After dinner, Li Long planned to distribute money to everyone.
Although the money distribution on the second day was not as shocking as the first day, it still made many people feel differently.
Chen Xingbang admired Li Long very much at this time. He sent out so much money at once without frowning at all. If it were me, I would feel bad for a while. And he could see that Li Long calculated his distribution, and basically everyone received one, two, three or five yuan more.
If this were me, how could it be possible? His money is not in vain. Isn't Xiaolong too generous?
Li Anguo also felt sorry for Li Long. His little brother made so much money today, can those fish be sold? All the money I earned from selling the reeds that I worked so hard for a few days ago was thrown away here.
Tao Daqiang and Yang Yongqiang did not feel deeply, because Li Long did this not once or twice. Every time Li Long spends money like this, it means that he can make more money in the future.
Why are the people in the team willing to follow him, even if the conditions he gives are so strict, which were much stricter than Hu Laoer's conditions before? It's not just because the price he offers is high, it's because he only wants If you agree, the money will be distributed immediately.
It is clear at a glance which one is more convincing, a promise or a wad of cash that can be cashed as soon as it is said.
Li Long's integrity and brand were erected through the process of paying directly again and again. It can be said that now Li Long shouts in the village, saying that he wants to collect everyone's fish and how much the price is. Even if they don't pay, everyone is willing to send the fish over because they believe that Li Long will pay and will not cheat them.
Li Jianguo, Tao Jianshe and Yang Hua didn’t speak, but they all understood and none of them understood. Young people these days are different from their time. Some people rely on their personal charm, while others rely on their ability to fulfill their promises time and time again.
Li Long himself did not think so much and sent the person away, and finally sent him to Li Jianguo. He originally had to pay for it, but Li Jianguo waved his hand hurriedly:
"Xiaolong, I know you can Make money, but that's not how money is spent. We brothers, please don't keep any more money. At key points. You should give money to Daqiang and Yongqiang. You should also give money to your second brother and brother-in-law. Let’s not talk about that. I’m going back, and these fish are going back. It still needs to be buried..."
There is still a bag of fish on the carriage, and Li Jianguo doesn't want any more. Although I haven’t eaten enough fish over the past year, it’s good to have a meal once in a while, but I can’t bear to eat it every day.
The Li family has no shortage of oil, water, and meat.
"Okay, okay, let's talk about the New Year then." Li Long smiled and waved to his elder brother, watching the carriage make two ruts in the snow. After the carriage went away, he checked the piles outside the yard. For those fish, the exposed corners of the bags were packed with snow, and the snow on the sides was firmly planted with feet before entering the house.
There are mice outside, but after the snow is firmly stepped on, mice generally won’t burrow in. They are looking for food, and usually go to the roe deer enclosure to find leftover feed. Because the economic situation here is relatively good, Li Long's food is relatively good, whether it is wild boar, roe deer, or the deer.
Li Long had heard many times before that deer were difficult to raise, so he had an experimental attitude towards raising deer. I just didn't expect that both the injured roe deer and the fawn we got later were alive and well. Although it is very cold, they are very cheerful. When I hear any noise at night, I don't go into the heating circle inside. Instead, I run to the open door and look outside curiously.
The hoops inside the horse barn are also connected one by one, one by one. The heating hoop inside is covered with thick wheat straw, and there is a cotton curtain at the door to block wind, snow and cold, so that the deer will not get cold.
Li Long went over and patted the deer, drove the deer in, and then returned to the house.
The four people next door haven't slept yet, and you can hear Li Junfeng still thinking about how he will spend money and what kind of things he will buy when he returns to his hometown.
Li Long laughed when he heard this. It was not time to go to sleep yet, so he took out the book "The Heroine of the Ancient City" and started reading it.
When Li Long got up and went out the next morning, he saw that the snow had stopped. The snow in the yard was thirty to forty centimeters thick, which was considered heavy snow.
He rubbed his hands, went back to the house to get a pair of gloves, put on his hat, and started shoveling the snow.
As soon as Li Long moved, the people in the room next to him also woke up, and soon they all came out, each holding tools to clear the snow together.
The yard of Lao Mahao is big enough, and snow removal early in the morning is not very standardized. Snow is shoveled in from the door of the house where the person lives, and it is shoveled into the vegetable garden. This thing will just moisten the ground when the snow melts in spring.
Uncle Luo came out and saw everyone clearing the snow, then went into the kitchen again.
"Junshan, go help old Uncle Luo cook." Li Long ordered. Li Junshan responded, put down the shovel and entered the kitchen.
In fact, there are already wooden snow-pushing boards at this time. Find a board yourself, flatten it, process it below, make a slope, then cut a groove on the north and back, nail the handle, and it is very suitable for pushing snow.
It's just that the ground now is uneven, mostly mud, and has never been leveled, so you have to be careful when pushing the snow. Don't push it too hard or be too "joyful". You have to save some energy, otherwise it will hit the ground. There is a protrusion, the snow board is stuck there, and the handle in the hand is going to hit the stomach or the vital part. The taste, the sourness...
Li Junfeng is feeling sour now. . He had never plowed the snow, so he got excited just by looking at it. He happily pushed the board down to the end. The first board and the second board were OK, but the third board got stuck in the middle.
Everyone who often pushes snow knows that although pushing like this looks great, the actual effect is not very good. After all, you push one board at a time, and finally push to the end. Although you create a path, most of the snow is missed, and in the end you only push one board full of snow.
So experienced snow clearers move forward evenly, pushing the large piece of snow in front of them forward together.
The snow in the yard was quickly cleared, and Li Long sighed:
"If I hadn't caught fish quickly, I would have been able to catch at least a dozen rabbits in the east today."
“Really? Li Junfeng suddenly became interested, "Uncle Xiaolong, are there so many rabbits in the east?" It's snowing heavily, Rabbit It's hard to find food, so they all run out. The snow is so thick that it can't run away, and that person can chase the rabbit..."
Li Long was not lying. A few years later, it snowed again. Several similar heavy snowfalls were almost complete at that time. The village went out to hunt down the family with the most rabbits, and got more than 40 rabbits. Many of them were frozen after being skinned. Some of the remaining ones were simply put into the pig pen to raise, but most of them were not raised. After all, hares are such things. The temper is quite strong.
"Then...well, let's do it later." Li Junfeng originally wanted to see if he was going to get some rabbits, but thinking that he would still be alive today, he didn't go any further.
After clearing the snow, washing up and having breakfast, Li Jianguo came.
Li Junfeng went to Li Jianguo for research.
"Uncle Jianguo, Uncle Xiaolong said that with this heavy snow, which beach to the east can catch rabbits, is that true?"
"Yes." Li Jianguo smiled. He said, "When I came over, some people in our team had already gone, and the rabbits had no thorns. After they chased them, they could keep them in this winter, and some of them could be eaten until the Chinese New Year."
Li Anguo and the others were envious when they heard this.
“There seem to be few people in northern Xinjiang, and the county is not very good. There are so many things in this wilderness!” Chen Xingbang sighed, “It seems that you can get enough to eat whatever you do.”
“That’s what it said ." Li Long nodded, "As long as you work hard and have enough food, you will have money to spend." It took thirty years to figure it out.
It’s really because thoughts are too easily imprisoned.
Follow the carriage and continue to Dahaizi. You can see footprints on the road ahead, but not many. It seems that not many people from this village went to Dahaizi today.
The carriage made two marks in the thick snow. When they reached the edge of Dahaizi, No. 76 was also sweating.
The entire ground is white, and Dahaizi is no exception. Except for a few water tanks that look black, the rest are all white.
"I guess there won't be many fish today. Let's take as much as we can catch." Li Long said, "I'll go to the gate to see if anyone catches fish in the canal. If so, go over there. It’s okay to accept it.”
See it from the beginning. The excitement of the fish all over the floor has now become a mechanical task. Now the small crucian carp in the water tank can no longer arouse the excitement and excitement of Chen Xingbang and the others. Some are just thinking about how many they can receive today. Fish, how much money can you get in the end.
Eventually, the work of collecting fish was stopped due to the water coming from the Mohe Canal upstream in the afternoon - and the gate was lowered.
Li Long knew that from now on, Dahaizi would have to store water again, and the biggest acquisition this year was over.
The next step is to rest and wait for the right time to sell the fish and exchange money to complete a closed loop.
And this process is destined to be very long. (End of this chapter)