boyutpedia Chapter 1432 Tao Daqiang also went out, and Li Qiangzhang arrived.
Chapter 1432 Tao Daqiang also went out, and Li Qiangzhang arrived.
At the end of December, Li Long and his cooperative held a shareholders' meeting. One purpose was to explain the situation to the new shareholders, mainly by disclosing the cooperative's assets, the number of shares each person invested in the land, and the agricultural input fees to be paid before the spring.
The second thing was that Tao Daqiang had finalized the land reclamation arrangements with the third team. With his father-in-law, Lao Yang, helping out, the matter went very smoothly.
Of course, according to Tao Daqiang himself, another very important reason was that the village head of the third team knew that the cooperative would transform the newly reclaimed land into drip irrigation fields, and immediately agreed.
The land contract period is ten years. For the first five years, a symbolic fee of one yuan per mu per year is paid. From the sixth to the tenth year, the contract fee is one hundred yuan per mu per year.
After the ten-year contract expires, the land will be returned to the production team. By then, the drip irrigation equipment will be in place and the land will have been transformed.
Overall, both sides have their own plans, so it can be considered a win-win situation.
However, there wasn't a large area of wasteland on the third team's side. The area that Tao Daqiang found was the largest, but even after it was cleared, it was only 890 mu.
According to Xie Yundong, this nearly 900 mu of land is also acceptable, as its salinization level is not as high as that of the wasteland in Team Four, making it easier to improve.
In addition, these lands are located to the south, close to water sources, and actually right next to the main canal, making them relatively easy to convert into pumping stations. These lands are also relatively flat, so the conversion process is less complicated.
This was a major event for the cooperative. From then on, among the initial founders of the cooperative, Li Long didn't handle any affairs, Xie Yundong became the manager in charge of general affairs, Li Jianguo never showed his face, Jia Weidong was in charge of finance, and the rest each managed their own area. Tie Tou and the others were hired to do the work, and they didn't attend the shareholders' meeting.
The other shareholders listened with smiles as Xie Yundong talked about these things. In any case, once they joined the cooperative and handed over their land, they didn't have to worry about anything else.
If you want to work, you'll get paid on a daily basis. If you don't want to work, you can stay home or do whatever you want.
What a wonderful life!
After the meeting, the mutton in the big pot outside was almost cooked. Everyone took turns scooping out mutton and drinking mutton soup without any hesitation.
This is the first meeting after the cooperative expanded, so the food must be prepared well.
Drinking mutton soup and eating hand-pulled mutton in the dead of winter is absolutely delicious.
Li Long had been feeling hot and bothered these past two days, so he ate a piece of lamb neck meat and drank some soup.
Expanding the cooperative was something he had always wanted to do, but without a solid foundation, there was no point in trying to expand it further.
Now that all the land in the village has been developed on a large scale, expanding now means moving forward together.
It wasn't that I was unwilling to help others move forward, but rather that it wasn't necessary.
The nature of you recruiting people to join is different from others actively asking to join.
Only when those who want to join the cooperative see that the shareholders are actually receiving benefits will they be willing to join without any doubts.
Moreover, the cooperative has been operating for several years without major problems, indicating that the previously designed structure and established rules and regulations are sound.
This way, those who join later will at least not fall back into poverty due to changes.
After eating and drinking his fill, Li Long stood in the courtyard with his hands behind his back, watching the others chatting animatedly.
He hummed that desolate and ancient song: "...Sister-in-law, lend me your big hands, scoop up a handful of black soil, and bury the Japanese devils first..."
Tao Daqiang washed the enamel basin, shook the water droplets off his hands, and then came over. Li Long said with a smile, "Spring is going to be busy. Are you mentally prepared? Those 890 acres of land are not easy to manage."
"Hehe, I'm just a little nervous, so I came to ask you for advice." Tao Daqiang said with a simple smile, "I've already asked about the Navy's Dacheng branch, and I know exactly how they're doing it."
"I've already decided. Once the snow melts, I'll plow the fields. The first year, I'll combine planting with the drip irrigation system upgrades. The soil there isn't severely salinized, and since we can't get water from the small lake over there, I won't use flood irrigation for the first year. I'll start with conventional planting."
Li Long asked, "Where are the manpower?"
"Yang Yong introduced me to a few young men from his team. I've already negotiated terms with them. They'll receive a monthly salary, similar to what Tie Tou and the others do, but the salary will be slightly less, with occasional bonuses."
Having followed Li Long for so many years, Tao Daqiang has also made a lot of progress, and now knows how to motivate young people to work through bonuses.
"As long as the manpower is ready, we can get the agricultural supplies from Lao Xie later," Li Long said after thinking for a moment. "If you don't understand anything about the technology, just give me a call. This year, you'll have to spend a lot of time in the fields; the more diligent you are, the better you'll spot problems."
Tao Daqiang nodded vigorously and said, "I understand. When I made up my mind, I told Pingping that I definitely couldn't be home every day like before this year. But it's okay, the kids are all grown up, Pingping can take care of them on her own, my dad can also help out, and my older brother even said he wanted to come and work with me."
Li Long nodded approvingly. Tao Dayong has turned over a new leaf in the past few years; at least he looks like a responsible older brother now.
The cooperative has been doing cotton planting for several years, and Tao Daqiang is quite familiar with it, having run around doing all the work. The potential problem is that he will be responsible for all aspects of the work, which may lead to oversights.
At least for now, Tao Daqiang is full of confidence, and Li Long has given him enough encouragement, so he can go ahead and do it with peace of mind.
With many new members joining, their shareholding percentages will be diluted, but the total number of land shares will increase. Furthermore, Tao Daqiang is going to cultivate new land, creating new growth opportunities. Therefore, everyone remains confident about next year's income.
The conference ended, and New Year's Day was just two days away. After New Year's Day, schools gradually began their holidays, and Li Juan also returned home for the holiday. She works in the autonomous region's government offices, and her workplace provides her with dormitory accommodation.
After the work assignments were completed, Li Jianguo bought a courtyard house in Wucheng, not far from their workplace. Li Juan didn't live there often, spending most of her time in the dormitory.
She stayed for two days after returning, and also visited Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia, bringing some gifts she had bought in Wucheng.
It's clear that Li Juan has become more capable and has undergone significant changes in her interpersonal skills since starting work.
Of course, Li Juan is still the same as always with her own family.
However, after she returned to her job, one day Li Long overheard people in the cooperative chatting about Li Juan. They said that she had finally become a city dweller and could be felt as if she were an official, and that this air of authority was unconsciously revealed in her.
Li Long thought to himself, "I don't feel anything. Is this just a change that these people are imagining?"
Of course, these are all minor matters.
Li Qiang returned on January 20th.
Wearing his military uniform, Li Qiang appeared even more upright, carrying a yellow-green backpack, as if he had just returned from a mission. Upon seeing Li Jianguo and Li Long outside the bus station, Li Qiang's face showed joy, tinged with a touch of shyness.
It's been a year since I last saw him, and the young man has become much more mature and looks like a grown-up.
They returned to the team by car. Li Qiang began distributing gifts to everyone, and Li Long was quite surprised when he saw his nephew pull out bags of things from his pocket.
"This is a 505 Divine Skill Vitality Bag that I asked a classmate who studies in Chang'an to buy for me. It is said to be very good for the body. I bought one for each of you elders in the family. You must carry it with you at all times."
Li Long laughed.
Hehe, even a proper college student will pay a little "intelligence tax" in this era where qigong is everywhere.
However, he didn't expose it. After taking his share, he carefully examined it.
To put it bluntly, this thing is just an oval-shaped waist support belt. The middle part feels very rough to the touch, which reminded Li Long of a joke he heard last time. It is said that after this thing was advertised on CCTV, its sales increased dramatically.
Its advertisements are also displayed on the TV tower on the main street leading into Chang'an.
So at one point, the factory sold out of wheat straw, buying up all the straw from the area around Xianyang.
Apart from Li Long, no one else really knew anything about this thing.
Li Qiang learned about this amazing thing while corresponding with his classmates. It only cost a few dozen yuan and could do all sorts of things, which was really worth it.
Li Qiang's allowance wasn't high, so the fact that he could buy so many things meant his family had given him money. Of course, he probably also had some money he had saved from his part-time job. Li Long guessed that Li Juan might also send money to her younger brother after she started working.
When it comes to gifts, people value the sentiment behind them, even if it's just a small gift. It's not that they're particularly interested in the gift itself.
However, Li Qiang hadn't been back for a year. During that time, his family must have missed him terribly, so they bombarded him with questions about his life at the military academy.
He's definitely gained some weight, but he's also become much more composed in his interactions with others, which is great.
Li Long also observed that his eldest nephew was not as reserved or rigid as he had been when he returned for the Spring Festival last year; he was more casual.
How should I put it? It's like a martial artist who has started to shift from practicing routines to applying them practically.
Li Qiang also told his family that they would be home for the summer of 1995. This was the only summer he could go home during his four years at military academy, and his family was naturally happy to hear that.
Li Long took the two sets of the 505 Divine Skill Yuan Qi back home and gave one of them to Gu Xiaoxia.
Gu Xiaoxia was also seeing this thing for the first time, and was somewhat surprised.
The instruction manual was quite well written, and Gu Xiaoxia, like many others in this climate, thought it was a good thing. However, when Li Long said that it was filled with wheat straw, Gu Xiaoxia didn't believe him.
"Such a large company, and recommended by Li Qiang, it's unlikely they would do something like this, right?"
"If you don't believe me, take it apart and see," Li Long said. "Anyway, this thing is made of cloth, so you can just take it apart, check it, and then sew it back together."
Gu Xiaoxia hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn't open it. She felt that it was a gift Li Qiang had brought back, a token of his appreciation, and it wouldn't be right to open it.
Then she put it on and tried it out. Whether it was psychological or actually effective, Gu Xiaoxia told Li Long the next day that her stomach felt warm and she slept well that night. Li Long thought to himself, "Of course it's warming! This thing is basically a uterine warming patch or abdominal protectant. Of course it'll keep you warm after wearing it all night!"
Of course, whether it really has a miraculous effect, Li Long can't say for sure.
Because there was no oil to produce, the refinery shut down early. This winter, Li Anguo and his wife arrived at the Fourth Team relatively early. The Li family is now a fairly large family in the Fourth Team, with many members, and Li Anguo is quite comfortable here.
His two daughters are already working and can only have a holiday on New Year's Eve. When they do have a holiday, Li Anguo goes to pick them up and they spend the New Year in the fourth team.
Chen Xingbang's family arrived relatively late, on the second day of the Lunar New Year. They came in the morning and left in the afternoon.
Li Xia said that she also has a herd of cattle and sheep and a herd of pigs that need to be taken care of and cannot be left unattended.
Li Long simply told them that since the breeding business had already grown significantly, they should hire more people and stop turning it into a family workshop. They should set up a dedicated yard, similar to a breeding farm, to make it more organized and less strenuous for them.
Li Xia said they would get it done after spring, and that they would just make do with what they had for the New Year.
Judging from their situation this year, things are much better than in previous years. Chen Xingbang has become much more low-key, Li Xia has more say, while Hongqin has become much more shy.
While drinking, Chen Xingbang revealed that he was thinking about having another child. Back in his hometown, due to policy reasons, he could only have one child. Now that he's here, he's thinking about having another one, preferably a boy, so he can have a boy and a girl to make a perfect family.
Given Li Xia's age, having a child at this stage carries certain risks. Li Long and the others could tell that the final decision would likely rest with Li Xia, so they didn't try to persuade her and left it to the couple.
The New Year of 1995 passed by in a hurry, and Li Qiang's more than 20-day holiday felt like it had ended before it even began.
Li Juan's holiday was even shorter, only three days. She returned by car on New Year's Eve and left by car on the third day of the Lunar New Year, making this home a temporary residence.
After seeing Li Juan and Li Qiang off, Gu Xiaoxia looked at her two sons, feeling a little worried.
She said to Li Long, "What if our sons get into universities in other cities and end up working there too? Then it'll just be the two of us here. Should we go with our sons or stay here?"
"We'll see when the time comes," Li Long said half-jokingly. "I've heard from others that when it comes to raising children, if they're too outstanding, they're handed over to the state; if they're just average, they're handed over to their in-laws; and only the more ordinary ones can stay by their parents' side."
"Look at Juan and Qiangqiang, they're exceptionally outstanding. The others in our team who went to university are just average. Those who didn't get into university or vocational school/teacher training college are just average, all within the county."
Hearing Li Long's words, Gu Xiaoxia blinked and said, "I've noticed that what you're saying is becoming more and more reasonable. Who told you all this?"
“I forgot who told me this, but it seemed to make a lot of sense,” Li Long said. “Looking at our two sons, I guess we’ll have to hand them over to the state in the future.”
During this holiday, although Mingming and Haohao clung to Qiangqiang, Li Qiang often went out to meet with his classmates, so Mingming and Haohao played in the village by themselves.
In fact, the two of them gradually became the leaders of the children in the village. Whenever they came back, they would be surrounded by a group of children.
At that time, rural children still admired urban children quite a bit. They thought the children dressed better, spoke more sophisticatedly, had more knowledge, and had new toys, etc.
In addition, Mingming and Haohao often returned to the village. They were both good at studying and saw a lot of people, so they also gained a group of fans.
Looking at her son playing with the children in the snow, Gu Xiaoxia suddenly said to Li Long, "Let's have another child, boy or girl, preferably a girl. Mingming and Haohao are too naughty. Let's have a little sister for them, so they can also have the experience of being a big brother."
Li Long hesitated and said, "I'm fine with it, but if we really have a child, you probably won't be able to keep your job."
Gu Xiaoxia was deep in thought, weighing the pros and cons.
She had this idea because of what Li Long said: outstanding children should be handed over to the state.
Like my brother-in-law's family, both children are quite outstanding. Li Juan works in Wucheng, which is relatively close, only about 100 kilometers away.
Li Qiang didn't know where he would be assigned after graduation. Maybe not even in northern Xinjiang, outside the autonomous region. It was hard to say how often they would see each other again.
Thinking about her son, who will also work in the area in the future, and she might not see him for a year or two, Gu Xiaoxia was genuinely worried.
After the topic was brought up, she actually felt that it was somewhat feasible.
My current job is not even a bonus for my family. I definitely need to have work to do, but it doesn't necessarily have to be a government job.
Sometimes I envy my husband. Although Gu Xiaoxia is a leader at the school, she is still subject to many constraints within the system; she can't just do whatever she wants.
Moreover, at school, you will encounter all sorts of things and have to deal with all sorts of relationships.
So she was quite envious of her husband, who was his own boss, could do whatever he wanted, and was quite free most of the time.
Moreover, now that the cooperative has reached a certain scale, some tasks that require dealing with local people have been handed over to Sun Jiaqiang and Liang Shuangcheng. The cooperative is also managed by someone, so Li Long doesn't need to do anything.
Li Long's role is to handle emergencies and coordinate relationships.
Many of them seem to be in a retired state, very leisurely.
Therefore, Gu Xiaoxia was very envious. She also envied Sister Yang, who could manage a factory all by herself and make all the decisions.
Gu Xiaoxia understood that if she really wanted to have a girl, and then wanted to do whatever kind of work, her husband would definitely be able to arrange a place for her.
She's even starting to doubt whether she'll be able to handle the situation if Li Long arranges a place for her.
So I kept thinking about all sorts of things, and in the end I didn't make a decision.
Except for a ten-day break for the Chinese New Year, the drip irrigation tape factory was in full production throughout the winter.
Li Long went to Dushanzi Petrochemical twice to pick up materials. When he went there, the section chief asked Li Long if he could exchange oil for raw materials.
Li Long explained to him that the oil couldn't be transported this winter, and they would have to wait until spring.
He was constantly producing on his side, and people kept coming over to pull up drip irrigation tape.
During the Spring Festival, Li Long called Lao Du to wish him a Happy New Year. Director Du told Li Long that he had sold two more sets of drip irrigation production equipment to private individuals this winter, one in southern Xinjiang and the other in northern Xinjiang.
The buyer in Beijiang is from Beiting City, and Director Du guessed that he might be in competition with Li Long.
In addition, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps also purchased five sets. The Corps has taken much bigger steps in this regard. Drip irrigation farming has clearly become an important direction for future development, and high yield has always been the goal pursued by the Corps' agriculture.
Therefore, the leaders of the Corps have much greater courage in this regard.
This year, the large-scale transformation of 10,000 mu of farmland in Team 4 has been completed, and the village alone needs more than 100 tons of drip irrigation tape. Xu Haijun's 1,000 mu of land in Team 2 has also been transformed, and they need about 10 tons there as well.
These drip irrigation tapes are stored in the warehouse first, and the rest are produced and sold to customers in other places.
Overall, Li Long kept making money during the Chinese New Year.
Before the Lunar New Year, they went to Xiaohaizi and broke through an ice hole, catching quite a few fish.
Li Long also studied the terrain of Xiaohaizi and confirmed that the area that the boss surnamed Dong wanted to fence off was right near the dam gate at the bottom.
Li Long originally thought that the man surnamed Dong would not let the matter rest and would definitely try to mediate, but after a year, there was still no news.
However, he did remind Li Long that Li Long planned to contact Huang Lei and Zhao Hui in the spring and ask them to bring some crab seedlings with them when they came over.
After two dredging operations, a significant number of the crabs that had adapted to the small lake were dug out, so there are now far fewer crabs remaining in the lake.
Shrimp are fine; they reproduce and adapt quickly. But we do need to add more crabs.
Time flies, and it's almost the end of February or the beginning of March, when the ice and snow begin to melt.
The households in the fourth team are already eager to get started and have begun to make their moves.
This year marks the first year of planting under the large-scale transformation of 10,000 mu of farmland. Whether they have joined the cooperative or are farming on their own, everyone is hoping to take advantage of this opportunity to work hard for a year and earn more money.
Tao Daqiang also went to the third team early on, as he wanted to check the actual situation of the contracted wasteland after the snow melted.
Xie Yundong and Tao Daqiang have already signed a contract with the third team. For areas exceeding fifty mu, they need to report to the township. However, for more operations, they will inevitably need to go through the handover with the village.
This kind of thing can't be discussed without going through the village. Fortunately, Tao Daqiang, as the son-in-law of the third team, has considerable advantages. Yang Yong can also bring a group of young people to work with him. Xu Haijun had done this before, so there is a ready example that can be copied.
Only Li Long remained relatively free, occasionally driving to drip irrigation tape factories and purchasing stations to check on the situation.
However, he has new plans for this year. He wants to plant the twenty acres of land in the township with drip-irrigated cotton suitable for cotton harvesters, and then get a cotton harvester from Lao Du in the fall to test the harvest and see how it goes.
After all, this will be a major trend in the future.
It's a pilot program, after all. Although we currently hire students to pick cotton every year and supplement it with odd jobs, and the process isn't complicated, we're still always at the mercy of others.
For the long term, it is imperative to plant cotton that is compatible with cotton harvesters.
P.S.: To answer some questions, firstly, the child's eyes are fine, thank you for your concern; secondly, I did see the lamb on Liuxing Street the day before yesterday, but I'm not sure if it's authentic. I've seen many vendors selling it on Xiaohongshu at different prices, so you can try to find it.
Third, long-time readers will recognize that this book is nearing its end. The reason it's not finished yet is because the final wrap-up hasn't arrived. (End of Chapter)