Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1408 Drip Irrigation Tape Sells Well, Li Qiang Visits Home

Guo Tiebing told Li Long, "After the New Year, I might be transferred to a town police station as its director."

Li Long was very surprised and congratulated him repeatedly, saying, "Although we are both station chiefs, this is quite a promotion for you in a town police station. Congratulations!"

Guo Tiebing hurriedly and modestly said, "Oh, it's all about serving the people. But things are more complicated at the town police station. The leaders only sent me there because they saw that I had worked there before."

Li Long smiled and said, "Then we'll be neighbors again. Please take good care of my big yard."

Guo Tiebing nodded and said, "Of course. We're good neighbors."

The two chatted for a while longer. Li Long drove away, and Guo Tiebing immediately told the staff to put the guns into storage and seal them away.

The staff went to handle the firearms matter. Guo Tiebing picked up the phone and dialed the county bureau leader. After the call connected, the leader on the other end of the line inquired about the situation.

"On the very first day of this handover, we achieved great results. Comrade Li Long, you know him, right?"

The leader on the other end smiled and said, "Of course I know, he's one of our comrades."

"We've handed over semi-automatic rifles, shotguns, small-caliber weapons, including pistols. Shouldn't we publicize this internally? This is a model case."

The county bureau leader considered it for a moment and said, "Indeed, it should be publicized. The surrender of weapons is a nationwide initiative, and ours is only at the initial stage. Comrade Li Long's awareness is indeed a good thing and should be used as a model."

However, I think we should just keep this information internally. Otherwise, it might attract the attention of some people, who might think he's unarmed and take the opportunity to retaliate.

Guo Tiebing slapped his forehead and said, "Yes, yes, the leader is very thoughtful. I was the one who didn't think things through. This matter really shouldn't be escalated."

After hanging up the phone, Guo Tiebing was a little scared. If this thing were to be publicized through the news, someone might actually have some inappropriate thoughts about Li Long.

In that case, he would have made a huge mistake and let Li Long down.

After Li Long returned to the courtyard, to be honest, he felt a bit empty without a gun. He knew this was normal.

After all, that Type 56 semi-automatic rifle had been with him for many years, and he had gotten used to having a gun by his side. It would definitely be hard to get used to losing it all at once, but he also knew that his current identity was different from before.

As a representative, and a celebrity at that, one must be careful in all aspects. The illegal possession of firearms by an ordinary person and by a representative are not the same in nature.

Once exposed, the impact will be extremely negative.

So let's just hand it over. The security situation is much better than before. Plus, he always has a car, so the chances of him being shot are very slim.

Moreover, the gun was mainly used for hunting in the past. Now that there is an animal protection law, and my time is limited, I can only hunt once or twice a year. The gun is more of a deterrent and a psychological boost for myself. I suppose I will get used to it when it's gone.

However, after returning home, Li Long still checked the locks on the front door and the doors inside the house, placed a stick in front of the bed, and put the machete from the car in an easily accessible location.

Taking precautions is always a good idea.

In the following days, Li Long was quite vigilant at the slightest disturbance, but nothing happened for several days in a row, and the few things that did happen turned out to be false alarms. So he gradually relaxed and stopped thinking about it.

Monday, January 10th. The elementary school where Mingming and Haohao attend has a parent-teacher conference. Then it's a holiday.

Gu Xiaoxia had to manage class affairs, so only Li Long and Hao Hao's father, Li Qingxia, attended Mingming and Hao Hao's parent-teacher conference. Mingming got first place in the class, and Hao Hao got second place.

After the parent-teacher meeting, the two children compared their scores. Hao Hao found that he was second in the class, not as good as his older brother, and immediately burst into tears.

Li Long and his father, Li Qingxia, quickly comforted him. Mingming, the older brother, also said to Hao Hao, "Next time, you try your best to get first place in your class, and I'll get second place. That way, we'll be even."

"I see." Hao Hao sniffed, then said with a mix of resentment and determination, "I don't want you to let me have it. I'll get first place in the class too. You have to do your best and keep getting first place."

After saying that, Hao Hao stopped crying. The two children's playful antics were quite amusing to Li Long and Li Qingxia.

On the way back, Li Long asked his two sons if they wanted to go to their uncle's house.

Mingming asked, "Has my brother Qiangqiang come back yet?"

Li Long said, "He hasn't come back yet."

Mingming said, "Let's wait until he comes back before we go. There's no one to take us to play if we go now."

After saying that, Mingming asked Li Long when his brother Qiangqiang would be back. Li Long said before the 20th, because he didn't know either.

Making a phone call at this time wasn't very convenient. Li Qiang could only find out a few days in advance when the military academy would give out holidays, and it would take several days to get back on the road. So he estimated it would be around the 20th, which should be around that time.

On January 12th, Huang Xinping and Wang Caimi went to the purchasing station to find Li Long again. After seeing Li Long, they couldn't wait to ask about the cost of the drip irrigation tape.

To Li Long's surprise, Wang Caimi, who was usually quite stingy, actually brought two wild rabbits. Huang Xinping wasn't empty-handed either; he was carrying a bag of peeled crucian carp, all palm-sized and weighing two or three hundred grams.

It's clear that Huang Xinping must have inquired about his preferences and knew that he liked to eat crucian carp, so he specifically chose this kind of fish that was relatively uniform in size.

In the reception room, Li Long said with a smile, "You're here, why did you bring anything?"

Huang Xinping placed the items on the table, accepted the tea poured by the staff, and said, "I really feel bad for troubling you so many times without bringing something in return."

Li Long then said, "Well then, I'll be frank. I guess you've all heard in the village that the price of drip irrigation tape has dropped drastically."

The production cost is now around 200 yuan per mu (approximately 0.16 acres), which is much lower than before. So, if you want to plant it, as long as you do the preliminary preparations well, you can actually plant it next year.”

As far as Li Long knew, Huang Xinping and Wang Caimi's cooperative already had over 700 mu of land. Although it hadn't reached 1000 mu yet, it was considered quite large compared to other cooperatives established in the entire township.

After hearing Li Long's words, Huang Xinping and Wang Caimi exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.

They were envious of Li Long's cooperative, which had been growing cotton for over 300 kilograms per mu for two years. Struggling with cost and technical issues, they couldn't replicate the success. Now, hearing from Li Long himself that they could also grow it, their joy was palpable.

Immediately afterward, Huang Xinping asked Li Long, "Xiao Long, we're on the same side, so give me a straight answer. If I buy drip irrigation tape from your drip irrigation factory, how much per kilogram can you offer me?"

You don't need to mention 200 yuan per mu; I know that's the cost price. Your cooperative can use it, but we're embarrassed and can't possibly charge that price.

In my opinion, as long as it doesn't exceed 300, we can definitely plant it, considering the initial investment is quite substantial.

Li Long could tell that Huang Xinping was clever, setting the price at around 300 yuan per mu, which was essentially a maximum of 30 yuan per kilogram. He smiled and said, "We're all from the same village, I can't possibly make too much money off you."

If we're talking about by the acre, it's about 260 yuan per acre. When our cooperative plants it, we use 12 to 15 kilograms per acre, which works out to about 16 or 17 yuan per kilogram. What do you think?

Huang Xinping and Wang Caimi exchanged another glance and immediately nodded, saying, "Okay, okay, no problem. As long as the price is confirmed, we will definitely buy from you."

After receiving confirmation, the two didn't linger at the purchasing station and hurried back to their team. They needed to quickly gather the others in the cooperative to confirm the matter.

Because cotton preparations begin in early March and sowing takes place in mid-to-late April, it's not easy to complete the work on 700 mu (approximately 47 hectares) in just a month and a half. However, they have an advantage: they can carry out several tasks simultaneously.

Moreover, Li Long and his team had already done this work. Wang Caimi and Huang Xinping had witnessed it up close and knew the general outline of what was going on. Although they hadn't participated personally, they could still manage to pull it off by imitating what they saw.

To Li Long's surprise, Huang Xinping and Wang Caimi had just finished asking in the morning, and in the afternoon, team leader Xu Chengjun drove to the purchasing station to ask about the same thing.

Li Long smiled and said to the captain, "Captain, you could have just made a phone call. Why did you have to come all the way here in person?"

Xu Chengjun waved his hand and said, "It's better for me to ask you about this in person. Besides, it shows my sincerity by coming here. Don't treat me like the team leader; just think of us as fellow villagers and tell me the truth."

Is drip irrigation for cotton feasible now? This morning, Huang Xinping and Wang Caimi came to you to inquire, and then they held a meeting for their cooperative. They said the cost of drip irrigation tape per mu (a Chinese unit of area, approximately 0.165 acres) has dropped to less than 300 yuan. Is that true? If it is, then I'll definitely use this next spring when I plant cotton.”

Li Long knew that Xu Chengjun's family also cultivated two or three hundred mu of wasteland. In 1993, his family planted more than 200 mu of cotton. They made some money, but certainly not as much as cotton grown with drip irrigation.

As the team leader, he had many advantages, and his family's living conditions were better than others, but that was all. He certainly wanted to make money and improve his life.

Li Long thought for a moment and said, "Captain, to tell you the truth, I went to Dushanzi to inquire, and the price of raw materials for drip irrigation tape has indeed dropped, so I brought back a lot."

Actually, based on the price of the drip irrigation tape I sell, the cost per acre is around 250-260 yuan, definitely less than 300 yuan. But the problem is the high initial investment.”

"Captain, do you remember the project I told you about that 10,000-mu farmland transformation project? Our team should have more than 10,000 mu of arable land by next year at the latest, and then we can apply for this project."

"If you want to make renovations now, even if the project is approved later, the renovation costs won't be yours, right?"

"Moreover, a pumping station and filter tank can generally support drip irrigation on four or five hundred acres of land. Your family only has two or three hundred acres, so isn't it a bit of a loss for you to do this?"

Xu Chengjun could tell that Li Long was genuinely concerned for him. He thought for a moment and said:

"If I wait until the year after next to apply for this project, it may take another year or two for the project to be implemented and the land to be transformed. In other words, it will take at least three years before I can grow drip-irrigated cotton."

If I invest upfront, I might break even and make a profit within three years. So I think if it's possible to grow it, I should definitely do so.

"In addition, the 10,000-mu farmland renovation project we applied for is definitely a comprehensive project, and a large sum of money will be allocated at once. If all else fails, I will try to return the money to those who participated in the earlier renovations for the projects that have already been completed."

Even if it's just a partial refund, it would still make up for some of the cost losses. What do you think? This would be good for you cooperatives; your investment of two or three thousand acres is considerable.”

"By the way, I also want to ask, how much would it cost per acre for the initial renovations?"

Li Long said, "It depends on the total cost. For example, it would take about 400 to 500 mu of land to build a pumping station and a filter pond. If the main canals and branch canals are not modified, the main costs will be land leveling and laying of the main pipeline. All of these costs together would be about 100 to 200 yuan per mu."

Xu Chengjun nodded and said, "If it's done on a large scale, this kind of investment can recoup the cost in a year based on the yield of drip-irrigated cotton. It's not expensive, it's good. With you saying that, I know what to do."

Before leaving, Xu Chengjun asked Li Long another question. He mainly asked about the price of a complete set of drip irrigation equipment.

Li Long said, "I have shares in the machinery factory, so I bought it at a relatively lower price. This set is about 30 yuan. If you were to buy it, this set of equipment would cost around 50 yuan."

Because this equipment was modified from original equipment purchased from Kazakhstan, its technology is very advanced and has reached an internationally leading level, hence the higher price.

Upon hearing the price of 50, Xu Chengjun shook his head, said nothing, and then left.

Li Long knew Xu Chengjun's plans. If the equipment wasn't too expensive, he might even take out a loan to buy a set and start a drip irrigation tape processing plant.

Because anyone can see that with the price of drip irrigation tape dropping, drip irrigation will become the dominant trend in farming. The market for drip irrigation tape is absolutely huge. Even capturing just one-tenth or one-fiftieth of the market would easily generate hundreds of thousands in profit annually.

In his previous life, Xu Chengjun's relative started this drip irrigation tape factory and made tens of millions of yuan in just a few years. Although it later failed, at least the process of making money was real.

Over the next two days, people from the team kept coming to Li Long to ask about the price reduction of drip irrigation tape. Although they had heard about it from others, they mainly wanted to hear confirmed information from Li Long himself, since if they wanted to buy drip irrigation tape, they should go to Li Long.

Li Long gave them a definite answer, but he was getting annoyed by the constant interruptions, so on the 15th he contacted a TV reporter. He had left the TV station's phone number when he held the county-level on-site meeting for the cooperative's drip irrigation farming, so this time he simply called the TV reporter over and told him about it.

The TV station also attaches great importance to news about technology-based farming, so they gave Li Long a 10-minute interview.

In the interview, Li Long introduced the entire process of drip irrigation farming, including pre-production preparation, mid-term management, and post-production recycling. He also took the opportunity to advertise his factory, saying that the cost of one kilogram of drip irrigation tape has decreased due to the commissioning of Dushanzi Petrochemical City. The price of drip irrigation tape that has reached the international advanced level is about 18 yuan per kilogram, which is far lower than the price of drip irrigation tape of the same quality internationally.

That translates to about 260 yuan per mu (approximately 0.16 acres). The advantages of drip irrigation are also obvious: it significantly increases yields, a fact well demonstrated in the autumn harvests of last year and the year before.

The interview Li Long did with the TV station was broadcast the next day, and the station's phone lines went off the hook. Following that, Li Long received a flood of orders, forcing him to return to Team Four and call Li Junfeng and others to start production in the dead of winter; otherwise, the drip irrigation belts wouldn't be in short supply by spring.

These past two evenings, Du Chunfang, unusually, didn't go to her eldest son's room, but instead stayed in her own house, watching news interview programs on the county TV station with her husband, Li Qingxia.

At that time, the TV station had limited program production capabilities. Unless new programs were added, the news was only done once a week and then broadcast every day until the following Sunday when new content was added. Talk shows were the new additions.

Li Qingxia was no longer at the purchasing station. In late December, business at the station slowed down, so he went back to his team to hibernate.

Li Qingxia was somewhat displeased with his wife's behavior. He muttered, "We've been looking at it for two days already, why are you still looking at it?"

Du Chunfang, Li Qingxia's wife, patted the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and said, "What? Didn't you like it? Our son Xiaolong looks so impressive on TV. He can answer any question the reporters ask, and he's not nervous at all. If it were you, could you do it?" Li Qingxia thought about it and realized he wasn't sure he could do it, but he wouldn't admit defeat. He said, "If they were interviewing me, I'd definitely do it. Didn't Xiaolong prepare in advance?"

Du Chunfang said, "Even if you prepare in advance, you still need to have some knowledge. Do you know anything about what he's talking about? You know nothing."

Li Qingxia wanted to argue a bit more, but the TV program had already started, so his wife, Du Chunfang, waved her hand, telling him to shut up and just watch TV.

On the large, color television set, the reporter first introduced Li Long's background, giving him a long list of titles such as outstanding young entrepreneur, county people's congress representative, national advanced individual in ethnic unity, and rural science and technology leader in getting rich, which sounded quite impressive.

After the introduction, the host explained the main purpose of the interview program: to promote scientific farming. Then, the host posed the first question, asking Li Long to explain the benefits of drip irrigation and its development in northern Xinjiang.

All of this had naturally been discussed with Li Long, so Li Long didn't even need to refer to a script. He spoke fluently and confidently about the development of drip irrigation farming in northern Xinjiang. In particular, he highlighted the experimental field project that the autonomous region had initially implemented in the county, and the success of their cooperative's pilot planting.

Although the county had previously reported on the on-site meeting and carried out publicity in this regard, it was not as intuitive as this.

So when Li Long directly stated that drip irrigation could yield cotton per mu (a Chinese unit of area, approximately 0.165 acres) of 350-400 kg or more, it was quite shocking. After all, it's equivalent to doubling the cotton yield, and currently, many people who hope to get rich through farming would certainly be very envious after hearing this.

One question after another was posed, and Li Long answered them all without flinching, clearly and logically, not only answering questions but also expressing his own opinions, demonstrating good control of the situation.

After the ten-minute interview ended, Du Chunfang, the mother, smiled and said, "Look at him, look at him. Our Xiaolong doesn't look like a country person at all on TV. He looks more fashionable than city people. He would definitely do well in a TV show."

Although Li Qingxia also acknowledged that her son was very outstanding, she couldn't quite agree with her husband's praise for the child, so she said, "Fine, fine, your son is amazing, he can do anything, he can even become a movie star."

Du Chunfang laughed as he listened. He was well aware of his own preference for children, but since the child was his son and quite promising at that, he could be as fond of him as he pleased.

The machines at the drip irrigation tape factory roared to life. Even in the quiet winter, the sound could be heard hundreds of meters away. Rolls of drip irrigation tape were being produced and piled up in the warehouse.

The other two cooperatives in the production team are already planning to start transforming the land in the spring and switching to drip-irrigated cotton. Other individual farmers, like Xu Chengjun, also want to team up in groups of two or three to do it.

Xu Chengjun also advised some families: "If you don't have the resources, it's best not to invest so much in this stuff. It's not that I'm stopping you from getting rich, but I'm mainly concerned that blindly building too many pump houses is a waste of resources."

He convened a special meeting of village representatives, promising that once the team's cultivated land reached 10,000 mu, he would immediately apply to the autonomous region for a 10,000-mu fertile land renovation project. At that time, the other scattered land in the village would be renovated without his own investment.

This promise did persuade some people, since not everyone can afford the initial renovation costs. Moreover, some people are still hesitant.

However, the two cooperatives couldn't wait any longer. On the very first day that Li Long's drip irrigation tape factory started production, Huang Xinping had already arrived at the factory, intending to buy a batch of drip irrigation tape before returning home.

Therefore, although the drip irrigation tape factory was constantly producing, the inventory in the warehouse was not much. As soon as more than ten rolls were produced, someone would come to buy them.

Huang Xinping and his group made a large purchase of ten tons of goods at eighteen yuan per kilogram. However, they did not pay the full amount upfront. They paid Li Long 100,000 yuan and planned to pay the remaining amount after the cotton harvest in the fall.

Another cooperative bought seven tons of drip irrigation tape, paying half the price upfront and the remainder at the end of the year. Team leader Xu Chengjun bought five tons of drip irrigation tape, paying in full. His large purchase showed Li Long that the team leader, usually only seen shouting through the loudspeaker, was actually quite wealthy.

These are the main products our team buys. Every day, we also get a few other large-scale farmers from other places who come to buy drip irrigation tape. However, when they come, they usually want to talk to Li Long first, mainly to ask him about technical issues. Only after asking him about the issues do they buy the drip irrigation tape. It seems that buying the drip irrigation tape is just a side effect; the technical issues are the key.

Because he had been busy at the drip irrigation tape factory, Li Long was living and eating at the Fourth Team's facility. He would get up early, have breakfast at his older brother's house, and then rush to the drip irrigation tape factory to start organizing production. He would quickly grab a bite to eat at his older brother's house for lunch before heading back to the drip irrigation tape factory to continue production.

Dinner was the same; sometimes they wouldn't even make it to dinner time. After all, the guests had come from afar, so they tended to have a lot of questions. Some even brought notebooks, asking very detailed questions. To Li Long's surprise, one of them brought a small recorder and a notebook filled with pre-prepared questions, recording Li Long's answers one by one, intending to study them carefully later.

From the start of production at the drip irrigation tape factory until the end of January, except for one day when Liu Gaolou escorted the goods over and Li Long returned from the fourth team to the purchasing station to unload and hand over the goods, the rest of the time was spent producing at the drip irrigation tape factory.

In nearly twenty days, nearly one hundred tons of drip irrigation tape were produced, of which sixty tons have already been sold, with a net profit of around four hundred thousand yuan, which is quite high.

After unloading the goods, Liu Gaolou instructed his assistant to take the truckload of canned goods and sugar back to Khorgos, while he drove to Urumqi to go back to his hometown for the Chinese New Year.

Li Long mentioned to him that they should bring over more oil later. Liu Gaolou said that this was definitely not a problem, but the details could be discussed after the New Year. He didn't have time to study it now and was in a hurry to go back, so Li Long didn't try to persuade him to stay.

At the end of January, the drip irrigation tape factory suspended production for maintenance. During this period, production at the factory was mainly handled by Li Long, along with Li Junfeng and Chen Qianjin.

Chen Qianjin's household registration is in a village on the outskirts of the city, but he doesn't own any land. He bought a yard there, but he still lives in the fourth team.

The two of them worked alongside Li Long for over half a month, enduring immense hardship. They worked tirelessly from dawn till dusk, overseeing the production process, moving raw materials, tidying up finished products, and helping load trucks. After 20 days, they had both lost a significant amount of weight. However, neither of them complained, telling Li Long that they were simply learning the techniques.

Fortunately, the drip irrigation tape factory has a high level of automation in its production equipment. If we exclude the physical labor of feeding materials and transporting finished products, one person can actually keep an eye on it, so Li Long didn't hire more people.

He only hires a few people when there's a large volume of goods to be loaded, and he always pays them cash for handling. People like Tie Tou are happy to come and help. Even during the production phase, Tie Tou and a few other young men stay at the factory, saying they don't need any money.

Of course, Li Long couldn't refuse to pay. Moving goods once would cost about 10 yuan in handling fees, and it would take an hour or two, which wasn't a small amount.

When production stopped, Li Long gave Li Junfeng and Chen Tianjin 1000 yuan each. Both of them declined, but Li Long insisted, and in the end, the two of them put the money away.

Li Junfeng joked, "At this rate of making money, I wouldn't trade it for a township head position. A thousand yuan in half a month, which is equivalent to a monthly salary of 1500 yuan. In 1994, this level of salary would definitely be considered a high salary even in foreign countries."

Li Long said that production might continue for a while after the New Year. He told them to rest well these few days and have a good New Year.

He also planned to take a good rest. Since opening the purchasing station, he had rarely worked for such a long time, and he was feeling quite tired.

Li Juan returned on January 15th. Their summer break started early, and since they are seniors, their coursework is relatively relaxed. They are already thinking about what will happen after graduation.

However, when her family asked her, she always gave vague answers. Li Long didn't think too much about it, since his older brother and sister-in-law were in charge, and he couldn't interfere with these matters for the time being.

Li Qiang arrived in the county on the 27th. Along the way, he and his classmates bought hard-seat tickets, with students getting a half-price discount, and took the express train directly from Yanjing to Urumqi.

Given his circumstances, he could have easily upgraded to a sleeper berth after boarding the train, but since he was with his classmates, Li Qiang felt it would be nice to spend the journey with them like this, so he didn't upgrade.

Before boarding the train, many members of their cadet team who were also taking the train that day had a meal together at a restaurant near the train station so they could all return together.

It was almost dark when they arrived in Wucheng. Li Qiang hadn't informed his family beforehand. Since he was going to military school and was already 19, he figured he could handle things himself.

Before even returning, Li Qiang had already made plans with his classmates, so after getting off the bus, he went to the Autonomous Region Medical College with two of his close high school friends: Du Wenlong, who was studying anesthesiology at the medical college, and a girl who was studying clinical medicine.

Li Qiang and his classmates found Du Wenlong and his friends, and they had dinner near the medical school. Du Wenlong offered to treat them, but Li Qiang laughed and said, "We're already paid, we get allowances, it's different from you students." Du Wenlong slapped him on the back. After all, Li Qiang's family background was much better.

During the meal, everyone chatted about interesting things that happened during their school days. You could feel that the relationship between them had not changed because they were separated for school.

His two military academy classmates also inquired about some things at the medical school. Then, they chatted and found out that they had classmates studying at the same university, which brought them closer.

At this point, I regretted not inviting more classmates to come along; it would have been more lively. Fortunately, we had a holiday during this period, so we had quite a few opportunities to meet.

Moreover, they were exhausted from traveling by train for several days, so after dinner, they checked into a room at the medical school's guesthouse. Li Qiang shared a room with two military academy classmates; it was a large six-person room, and each bed cost 10 yuan. After a quick wash, they went to sleep.

The next morning, Li Qiang had breakfast at the guesthouse. Since he had already told Du Wenlong and the others beforehand, he didn't need to say goodbye and went straight to the train station.

They bought return train tickets together and then went home separately.

After arriving in the county town, Li Qiang got off the bus at the bus station and dragged his large suitcase to the purchasing station. He hadn't been to the county town for five months, so he found it quite interesting. Looking at the buildings on both sides of the road and comparing them with his memories, he felt that there were many more shops here and that the old bungalows had been demolished and replaced with multi-story buildings.

When Li Qiang arrived at the purchasing station, he found the gate closed and no one inside. He then realized that it must be because it was close to the Chinese New Year and the station was closed. So he continued walking east along the road, intending to go to his uncle's house.

There are no direct buses from the county to the village. If you want to go home, you either have to take a taxi or ask your uncle for help.

Upon arriving at Li Long's house, Li Qiang knocked on the door, then pushed open the small door and went inside. The barking of the dog woke Gu Xiaoxia inside, but Mingming and Haohao, who were playing in the yard, were the first to notice Li Qiang.

Seeing Li Qiang in his military uniform, green overcoat, and carrying a suitcase, Mingming and Haohao were initially hesitant to recognize him. It wasn't until Li Qiang called out to them that the two children excitedly shouted "Brother Qiangqiang!" and rushed over, grabbing Li Qiang's arms tightly on either side.

Gu Xiaoxia came out of the house and was taken aback when she saw Li Qiang. Then she smiled and walked over, saying, "Hey, Qiangqiang, you've grown taller, darker, and stronger. Judging from this, you must have been working out a lot at school."

Li Qiang smiled shyly and said, "This semester, I gained 10 kg in weight and grew taller. Now I'm about 1.78 meters tall."

Gu Xiaoxia said with some surprise, "The price has gone up that much? The food must be pretty good then."

Li Qiang shook his head and said, "The food is terrible, definitely not as good as home. I've gained a lot of weight because I can eat a lot; our training volume is quite high. But I'm not the one who's gained the most; there are others in our training team who have gained 20kg."

Gu Xiaoxia exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, some are this big! Come on, let's go inside."

As Li Qiang carried the suitcase inside, he asked, "Where's my uncle? Oh, and where's Aunt Yang?"

As Gu Xiaoxia entered the room, she poured water for Li Qiang and said, "Your uncle is in the team. This drip irrigation tape factory is in production, and now many people want to buy drip irrigation tape, so he's been staying in the team lately."

Sister Yang and Han Fang have moved to the front yard; it's almost Chinese New Year, and they need to tidy it up. I had originally planned to take Mingming and Haohao to the production team in the next few days.

After sitting down, Gu Xiaoxia and her family of three, Mingming and Haohao, asked Li Qiang about some things related to school. Li Qiang answered them one by one. Then he opened the box and took out gifts for the three of them.

Gu Xiaoxia received a bottle of perfume, which she said her sister had picked out for her when they arrived in Yanjing. Mingming and Haohao received tanks and airplanes made from bullet casings. The two children were overjoyed; one held the airplane, mimicking the whooshing sound of flight, while the other fiddled with the tank on the ground, completely captivated by it.

Holding the perfume, Gu Xiaoxia teased, "So you know how to buy things like this now, does that mean you have a girlfriend?"

Li Qiang quickly blushed and denied it, saying that he didn't actually know what to buy and that he had just listened to his sister's advice.

In addition, he took out a short knife with a sheath but no sharpening, saying that he found it at the craft market there and that it was a gift for his uncle.

Gu Xiaoxia said to him, "I'll drive you to the team later, but you should just give it to your uncle. He'll definitely like it."

A while ago, the village said we had to hand in our guns, so we turned them all in. Now he just likes tinkering with these old weapons. The knife your dad made for him, the one made from artillery shell steel, he still keeps it in his car.”

Li Qiang put the knife away. Gu Xiaoxia asked Li Qiang to play with Mingming and Haohao, as she needed to hurry up and make lunch. She planned to drive Li Qiang and his two sons to the team after lunch.

Mingming and Haohao are definitely sticking with their older brother Qiangqiang this time, planning to live with him in the fourth team. That means they'll have to pack their clothes and homework later. So Li Qiang simply helped Mingming and Haohao pack, even checking if they had brought enough homework.

In the afternoon, Gu Xiaoxia drove Li Qiang back to the fourth team.

Then Li Qiang was surrounded by his family. He was bombarded with questions one after another. His grandparents, parents, neighbors, relatives and friends who had come to hear the news filled the house, making it a lively and bustling place.

Li Qiang was almost overwhelmed. After finally managing to answer their barrage of questions, Li Qiang managed to escape, only to be met by his sister, Li Juan, who was looking at him with schadenfreude.

Li Juan said with a smile, "Now you understand what I went through when I came back from my first winter break in college, right? Back then, I was the one being surrounded."

It seems like everyone is particularly interested in university life; people ask about everything from eating and sleeping to studying, and even going to the bathroom.

Li Qiang said with a wry smile, "I feel that people didn't ask you as many questions back then as they do now."

Li Juan said matter-of-factly, "That's because when I came back after a semester, I hadn't changed as much as you do now. Look at you now."

I've grown taller, gained weight, and gotten darker; even my demeanor changes when I wear a military uniform. It feels like I was still a child when I was in middle school, but now I've suddenly become an adult.

Let me tell you, you should be able to feel it yourself. When you walk on the street, you definitely get a lot of attention. You're a beautiful sight to behold.

Standing beside you, I feel much safer. Back in Yanjing, I'd occasionally glance at you, but I didn't feel it as deeply. Now that I'm back, the feeling is much stronger.

Li Qiang waved his hand and said modestly, "It's not that exaggerated."

Li Juan smiled and said, "Don't you have class reunions and wish your teachers a Happy New Year during the Spring Festival? You'll experience that then."

Li Qiang couldn't quite imagine the scene, but he was still quite looking forward to it. He met Du Wenlong yesterday, and when he went to pay New Year's respects to his teacher, he would see even more classmates. Some classmates had sent him photos, but he was more looking forward to their reactions when he saw them in person.

The Spring Festival of 1994. (End of Chapter)