Chapter 16: Preparation is Necessary Even for Entering the Mountains

Li Long had no idea what the villagers currently thought of him, but he didn't care.

After sitting in the carriage and trying to drive it for about five hundred meters, he became proficient.

He had done similar work in his previous life. Although Li Jianguo was one of the first in the production team to afford a tractor, for the years before that, the family's primary means of transportation had been a donkey cart.

Li Long could not only drive a donkey cart but also ride a donkey. Before he passed away in his last life, he had even thought about raising donkeys; after all, they were hardy, easy to raise, and their market price was steadily rising.

"Brother Long, when did you learn how to drive a horse carriage?" Tao Daqiang asked admiringly, sitting on a bale of hay in the carriage.

"This is nothing," Li Long said, sitting on the carriage frame. "The road is so flat, and the horses in our team are naturally gentle. As long as you don't provoke them and keep an occasional eye on them to make sure they keep moving forward, it's fine."

Of course, it sounded simpler than it actually was. It was just that Li Long felt there was no need to explain it in such detail.

On the way to the township, there were few people on the road. A layer of white frost had already settled on the brims of their hats, their eyebrows, and even the fine fuzz growing above their lips.

The sun rose, and the temperature climbed slightly, but Li Long felt his feet were frozen numb. He stepped down from the carriage and drove it along the main road toward the county.

The road from the township to the county was much better. Trucks passed by, leaving the road surface wide and packed. Occasionally, one could see donkey or horse droppings. Li Long remembered that when he used to walk to the county in winter, he would kick these things out of boredom. The best ones were camel droppings—perfectly round, and if you kicked them, they would roll a long way. Donkey and horse droppings were oval and flat, rolling in irregular paths when kicked.

Then, he saw an elderly person carrying a dung basket, scavenging for manure.

This was somewhat rare. Because of the vast land area in Northern Xinjiang, large-scale use of chemical fertilizers had already begun. Li Long saw manure scavenging frequently in his hometown, but he hadn't seen much of it since coming here.

By the time the carriage reached the county, both the horse and the people were covered in white. Li Long found the procurement station, pulled the carriage to the roadside, and pulled out a few handfuls of grass for the horse to eat. He told Tao Daqiang

"Daqiang, watch the carriage here. I'm going in to see what the price is for this muskrat skin."

"Alright!" Tao Daqiang nodded vigorously. He felt like he was finally being useful.

Carrying a bundle wrapped in muskrat skin, Li Long pushed open the door to the procurement station. He saw a middle-aged man sitting behind the counter reading a newspaper.

The man wore a blue Zhongshan suit, his hair parted in a 4/6 style, looking quite spirited—the typical appearance of a cadre of that era.

A stove was lit inside the procurement station, the fire burning brightly and making a rumbling sound. Without even looking, Li Long knew the stove must be packed with coal—how luxurious!

"Comrade, I'd like to ask if you buy this," Li Long said as he placed the muskrat skin on the counter.

Chen Hongjun sized Li Long up and down, then stood up unhurriedly. He glanced at the skin and asked

"Do you know what kind of skin this is?"

The procurement station had almost no business in the winter, so the staff worked in shifts, one person per day, much like a duty officer.

Since someone had finally come to deliver goods, he didn't act overly cold.

"Muskrat skin. Right, this thing is also called a musk rat, isn't it?"

"Correct. You know quite a bit, young man." Chen Hongjun nodded, felt the skin, picked it up to inspect it, and asked, "Fresh skin?"

"Yes, I dug it out yesterday. It was a bit of an accident. They are easy to get in the spring, but right now, it's just good luck."

"The skin is good. I'll give you five yuan for this one." Chen Hongjun put the skin away. "If you have more later, I'll pay this price—you should know, this is considered a high price."

It was indeed a high price; it wouldn't rise to ten yuan per skin for another two years.

"Fine." Li Long was already quite satisfied.

Taking the five yuan, Li Long left the procurement station. He felt a bit of regret; he should have let Tao Daqiang come in to warm up.

However, there were things to do next, and there would be other opportunities.

"How much did you sell it for?" Tao Daqiang asked immediately, seeing that the bundle in Li Long's hand was much thinner.

"Five yuan," Li Long gestured and said with a smile

"Let's go to the department store. We'll buy something to eat before we head out."

"That expensive!" Tao Daqiang's eyes instantly lit up. "If we could really get a few more of those..."

"In the spring. The little ponds are frozen solid right now; getting even one is just good luck." Li Long gathered the leftover grass from the horse, put it back on the carriage, and drove toward the department store.

Upon arriving at the department store, Li Long took out the five-yuan steelworker banknote and said to Tao Daqiang

"Daqiang, you go in first. Buy one kilogram of sesame cakes and two bricks of tea. Warm up for a bit, then come out to swap with me."

"I... I don't dare go in," Tao Daqiang stammered as soon as he heard he had to buy things. "Brother Xiao Long, you should go instead."

"I'm telling you to go so you can warm up. The two of us can't go in at the same time. There's no need to haggle for these things; you just pay and take the goods."

After Li Long urged him twice, Tao Daqiang hesitantly took the money and went inside. In less than five minutes, he emerged, carrying a bag of goods for Li Long

"Brother Long, I bought it. The sesame cakes were one yuan and twenty-eight cents, the brick tea was ninety cents. Here is the change."

Li Long took the money, placed the goods on the carriage, and went inside himself.

The department store was much larger than the procurement station, with three floors. The first floor sold food, tobacco, alcohol, and household items like needles and thread.

Li Long used the money to buy another kilogram of sesame cakes, thought about it, and then bought a bag of salt. He walked around, warmed himself up, and stepped out.

Tao Daqiang was pacing by the carriage. Li Long untied the horse and said

"Let's go. Into the mountains now!"

"Alright!" Tao Daqiang climbed into the carriage. Li Long flicked the whip, and the carriage sped toward the mountains.

Over an hour later, they arrived at Qingshuihe Commune.

"Brother Long, is your coworker living here?"

"Yeah," Li Long replied vaguely. "But we won't go there yet. We're going straight into the mountains."

Regarding Li Long's decision to head straight into the mountains, Tao Daqiang didn't ask why; whatever Brother Long said went.

If an ordinary person came here wanting to enter the mountains, they would have to ask a local, otherwise, they might not find the path.

But Li Long had entered these mountains many times in his previous life and was very familiar with the routes. He drove the carriage past Qingshuihe Commune, turned onto a small path, wound through several turns, and entered the mountain pass.

Further ahead, although there were still wheel ruts, the snow was thicker, making it difficult for the horse to walk. Both Li Long and Tao Daqiang got off the carriage. When they encountered deep snow, Tao Daqiang even pushed the carriage from behind.

Nanshan had several layers. To an ordinary person, the outermost layer looked like earthen hills with almost no vegetation. One had to walk two layers deep before sparse shrubs appeared, and only by going further in did the mountain terrain become continuous, featuring grasslands, pine forests, and thickets.

By the time Li Long drove the carriage into the mountainous area with pine forests, another hour had passed.

He stopped, panting heavily, and began searching for his target.

Soon, behind the pine forest, he saw what he was looking for: the winter den.

(End of Chapter)