Chapter 1356
Beauty fades like flowers falling from a tree; even experts can't hold onto them.
On August 20th, the canal repair project supervised by Zhao Shijie was completed.
Li Long originally wanted to take him to celebrate again, to find a place to go for a drive and have some fun. After all, apart from a frightening trip to the mountains, Zhao Shijie had been working diligently and conscientiously on the construction site for the past two weeks.
People get a lot tanned.
Li Long wanted to buy him something as a souvenir, but he firmly refused.
After finishing his work, Zhao Shijie had only one thought: to leave this place and go home as soon as possible.
Although Team 4 is much safer than the mountains, they still have lingering fears and feel that home is still the best place to be.
Li Long thought that Zhao Shijie had worked on his project for so long, and since he had time now, he planned to drive him to Wucheng in his SUV, but Zhao Shijie refused again.
Having no other choice, Li Long went to the toll station, bought a bag of dried mushrooms and two antelope horns, packed them up, and gave them to Zhao Shijie.
Zhao Shijie didn't refuse the local specialties, but said he would come back to level the land before winter at the end of the year.
After seeing Zhao Shijie off at the bus station and watching the bus drive away, Li Long knew that this phase of his work was over.
On August 21, Liu Gaolou called from Khorgos, saying that the goods his second uncle had shipped from the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic had arrived at the border.
This shipment includes a relatively large oil refining unit; Li Long should prepare to receive it.
Li Long told Liu Gaolou that the trucks carrying the oil refining equipment and crude oil should stop in Kuitun, where someone would pick them up and take them to their destination.
The other supplies were transported to the purchasing station in Ma County as originally planned. Liu Gaolou naturally had no objections, for example, the accounts would be settled uniformly at the purchasing station.
Li Long quickly called his second brother. Li Anguo had already resigned from his job at Jian'an Company and was now focusing on undergoing Akinbek's refit at the oil refinery.
Although painful, the results were remarkable.
Thanks to Akinbek's standardization, all operations in the factory are now standardized, and the efficiency of oil refining has improved. Some of the waste materials from oil refining have been retained. According to Akinbek, these materials can be used to refine other industrial products, and it would be a waste to throw them away as garbage.
Li Anguo naturally had no objections. The factory workers, however, were used to being lazy and initially had some complaints.
However, after the standardization, wages remained the same, but bonuses increased according to regulations—after all, the efficiency of oil refining greatly improved after the standardization, and the factory's monthly net income increased by more than 30%. Li Anguo listened to Li Long's suggestion and took out 1/3 to give bonuses to the workers.
The vast majority of workers immediately stopped objecting.
If there are any further objections, then we'll handle it according to the rules. One person was fired, and the rest all went back to work honestly.
Li Anguo was overjoyed when he heard from Li Long that a new batch of oil refining equipment had arrived. He told Li Long, "You have no idea, this old man criticized our oil refining equipment as utterly useless."
He said it should have been replaced long ago; the old system can only perform basic oil refining, and many industrial products cannot be separated, resulting in serious waste.
Once the new equipment arrives and the workers are trained, our efficiency can be increased by another 20% to 30%.
"In that case, if we get about a hundred tons of crude oil per month, based on the amount you're providing now, we can easily make several hundred thousand a year."
Now Li Anguo's tone has become much more arrogant, casually mentioning hundreds of thousands.
His monthly salary used to be only two or three hundred yuan, and only two or three thousand yuan a year.
Now it's starting to shake up.
Li Long could hear the high spirits in his second brother's voice, so he told him to get ready to take over the oil refining equipment.
Li Anguo had a car. After finding out the pick-up time, he said he would wait at the crossroads early. After the convoy arrived, he would have a meal with the people and then take the oil refining equipment and crude oil away.
Hearing his second brother say that, Li Long felt relieved. His second brother had quit his job and put in so much effort to run this oil refinery; Li Long knew he could definitely succeed.
After hanging up the phone, Li Long went to find Liang Shuangcheng and Sun Jiaqiang and asked them to tidy up the backyard and warehouse, as more goods such as antelope horns and fur coats were about to be delivered in the next couple of days, and they needed to be prepared.
In the afternoon, Chief Liang from the Forestry Police Station came again. This time he was wearing a police uniform and driving a Jeep. The middlemen were very curious and wanted to know what was going on.
Some people secretly thought that if Li Long were arrested, things would get interesting.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as they hoped. Director Liang got out of the car with a smile on his face, clearly indicating that something good had happened.
Li Long welcomed Director Liang into the reception room and was about to pour tea when Director Liang stopped him.
"No need to bother, Comrade Li Long. I'll leave as soon as I finish speaking. The details of Wei Shuanghua's murder case have been investigated. He actually killed four people. The first one was killed by him in self-defense, and he was the original owner of the five- or six-wheeled semi-automatic rifle, from Tashihe Township in our county."
Because the gun belonged to the other party, Wei Shuanghua was afraid that the other party held a public office, so he kept his mouth shut and didn't say anything.
He didn't expect that we would eventually investigate the origin of the gun, and the serial number was easily found.
When Wei Shuanghua and his companions first came together, he went into the mountains with the intention of collecting some local products and making some money.
He met Wang Yougen, a hunter, in the mountains. Wang Yougen took pity on him and gave him a leg cut off from a wild goat he had hunted.
This guy was truly ungrateful. He took a liking to Wang Yougen's gun, and while the other man wasn't paying attention, he shot him dead, stole the gun, and buried the man in a ravine.
Wang Yougen had been missing for several months. His family thought he had been killed by wild animals in the mountains, but they never expected him to have been captured by bad people.
Li Long said angrily, "Then Wei Shuanghua must be executed!"
"Let's see how the court sentences us. I reckon the death penalty is inevitable," said Director Liang. "The remains and goods in the mountains have been retrieved. Your statement and Wei Shuanghua's confession are basically consistent with the situation in the mountains."
We have now transferred the case to the higher authorities and are just waiting for the public trial and verdict.
This is an extremely serious matter. We may eventually increase patrols and enforce the law more strictly in the mountains. I'm here to thank you, and also to remind you that there are still desperate criminals in these mountains; we must prioritize safety.
Li Long readily agreed, saying that he would call the police immediately if he encountered any danger in the future and would never take risks lightly.
Director Liang left quickly. Li Long saw him off at the gate and watched the car drive away, knowing that the matter was over.
Director Liang said he might be commended later, but Li Long didn't care. He just wanted Wei Shuanghua executed as soon as possible; he was a fucking inhuman bastard.
Li Anguo was waiting for him at the crossroads of the Kuitun military post.
He was a little nervous.
In the past, it was always his younger brother, Li Long, who would wait here, receive the goods and crude oil, and then transfer them to him.
This time, he had to deal with the delivery person alone, so he couldn't help but be nervous.
He paced back and forth in front of the car. Li Anguo, who didn't smoke, couldn't help but take out a cigarette from his pocket. He now understood why so many people in his workplace liked to smoke.
I thought about opening it for a smoke, but hesitated and decided against it. These cigarettes were specifically bought for Mr. Liu, who was waiting in line later; it would be impolite to open them myself.
As the sun approached its zenith, a long convoy of trucks drove by. They weren't going very fast because the trucks were carrying a lot of cargo; they were definitely oversized and overweight.
As soon as Li Anguo saw the license plate, he knew it was the car he was waiting for. He hurriedly walked to a spot near the middle of the road and waved vigorously.
The lead car slowly pulled over to the side of the road and came to a stop, with the cars following in a line.
After Liu Gaolou got out of the car, he shook hands with Li Anguo. Li Anguo took out a cigarette, handed it to him, and said, "Mr. Liu, you've worked hard."
Liu Gaolou smiled and waved his hand, refusing the cigarette, saying, "It's no trouble at all. Li Long is really lazy, he didn't even come over himself."
Li Anguo could only say, "He's quite busy over there, with a lot to do and managing several things."
“That’s true.” Liu Gaolou nodded. “It’s thanks to him managing several stalls that I wouldn’t have been able to get so much stock.”
Li Anguo said, "It's lunchtime, Mr. Liu, let's go eat first."
Liu Gaolou originally planned to eat in Ma County, as he was used to eating there.
But now that it's mealtime, he can hold back, but it's hard to say about the drivers.
So he readily agreed, told the drivers to get out of the car, and followed Li Anguo into a restaurant by the roadside.
Li Anguo had inquired beforehand and found out that the food at this restaurant was delicious, reasonably priced, and spacious enough to accommodate everyone.
Liu Gaolou didn't really have a deep impression of Li Anguo. They had dinner together today and chatted casually, and Liu felt that Li Anguo wasn't as magnanimous as Li Long and seemed a bit reserved.
Thinking about it, it's normal. They all come from the countryside, and there aren't many oddballs like Li Long. So he felt relieved.
After all, seeing how much his second uncle admired Li Long, even to the point of trusting him more than he trusted himself, he sometimes had some reservations.
But looking at it now, Li Long is definitely not an ordinary person.
After the meal, Liu Gaolou assigned the itinerary to the drivers, telling them to follow Li Anguo in the trucks carrying crude oil and refining equipment, while he took the remaining trucks to find Li Long.
Li Anguo drove ahead, leading the way, constantly looking back to make sure no car fell behind.
After all, he brought far more vehicles this time than the previous times, and he was well aware that the oil refining equipment in these vehicles was much more expensive than the one he had last time.
We can't afford to pay it back.
Moreover, there are Akinbek vehicles at the refinery. If any parts were missing, they would be furious.
Fortunately, despite the trepidation along the way, we arrived at the refinery safely.
Next, we'll unload the equipment and unload the oil.
Ajinbek was already waiting at the factory; he could barely stand the equipment.
Once the equipment arrived, he took over command directly from Li Anguo and began directing people and arranging the equipment.
Even Li Anguo was completely under his control, yet he didn't show any temper.
Because the factory was short-handed and the equipment was large and heavy, Li Anguo thought it would take a week just to unpack and reassemble the equipment.
However, Akinbek somehow managed to get a group of workers, most of whom were experienced and skilled.
The workers quickly unloaded the equipment and, according to Akinbek's instructions, assembled it on the previously prepared platform.
Three days later, the new oil refining equipment was erected and ready for trial operation.
Li Anguo felt that he was no different from a worker these past two days.
The only difference was that Akinbek directed him around, not only familiarizing him with the function of each branch of the oil refining equipment, but also telling him which product should be produced from which part.
Akinbek also taught him how to handle some potential problems.
Li Anguo had a vague feeling that something was wrong. Was this person treating him like a disciple?
After all, I'm a factory manager! Of course, that's not the main point. The main point is that my educational level is limited. Although I've heard of some things, I don't really understand them.
He felt that he and Akinbek were still several levels below each other in terms of technical expertise.
Shouldn't we equip the factory with a technical department?
The idea was immediately nipped in the bud by Li Anguo. What was the point of setting up a technical department in such a tiny factory?
After Akinbek directed the setup of the oil refining equipment, they began trial refining with the newly delivered crude oil.
Li Anguo originally wanted to go home and rest for two days, but Ajinbek dragged him to the oil refining equipment and made him take a notebook and start taking notes from beginning to end.
From the moment the crude oil is poured in until the final product comes out.
Li Anguo followed him for a whole day, and felt like his face no longer belonged to him. It was as if he could reach out and pull off a layer of skin, and it would still be familiar.
"The equipment is fine, but there are some minor issues. I've told you about them. Starting tomorrow, you need to fix them one by one. I'll come over to check it the day after tomorrow." These were the words that Ajinbek left for Li Anguo.
Li Anguo asked him what he was doing tomorrow, and Ajinbek glared at him and said, "I haven't attended any organizational study sessions for a week because of this set of equipment for you. I have to catch up quickly, and I also have to report my thoughts to the organization tomorrow."
I'm telling you, you'd better submit an application to join the Party to the community as soon as possible. People like you will be in great danger if they aren't included in the organization.
With this plant and these refining facilities, you can quickly obtain profits and returns that exceed the average level of this era.
But if your thinking doesn't keep up, you'll quickly become corrupt and degenerate. It's really dangerous!
Li Anguo was stunned by Ajinbek's words, but after Ajinbek left, he didn't take it seriously.
Later, he even told Li Long about it as a joke.
Li Long, however, didn't find it a joke. He asked Li Anguo, "Second Brother, what do you think of this Akinbek's technology?"
"Wow, truly amazing! This is extraordinary." Li Anguo admitted this, feeling that he had truly struck gold.
Or rather, it was his younger brother, Li Long, who truly sent him a precious talent.
Li Long then advised, "If you really want to keep him, you'd better submit a report and application to join the Party as soon as possible."
Haven't you noticed that this Akinbek always places great importance on the organization? He's less of a consultant for your factory and more of a technician sent to your factory by the community party organization.
Believe it or not, if the community gave him a more important task right now, he would definitely turn around and leave your factory.
His condition for coming here was to live a normal organizational life. He's a very pure person, unlike Daman, the guy I got into the machine factory. Daman had material pursuits, while Akinbek didn't. Akinbek had spiritual pursuits, his faith.
Think about it, if you join the Party, or even if you set up a Party branch or Party group in the factory, wouldn't Ajinbek be able to participate in Party activities in the factory instead of going to the community?
"If that's the case, wouldn't he be able to settle down and stay in the factory forever?"
Li Anguo suddenly realized what was going on and immediately said, "Okay, okay, I'll go write the report right away. But there's no time for that, is there? By the time I can join the Party, it'll be at least a year later, right? Who knows what the situation will be like a year from now?"
Li Long then gave him another suggestion: "Then see if you can recruit some Party members. Some rural veterans joined the Party in the army, but they haven't been assigned jobs since they came back. You can recruit these people."
Li Anguo thought this was indeed a good idea, and he said he would hurry up and see if he could recruit people.
Li Long's suggestion was just an emergency measure; whether they could stay or not depended on fate.
While he was talking to Li Anguo, they had already finished dealing with Liu Gaolou's matter.
The other items Liu Gaolou brought were relatively easy to calculate, but this set of oil refining equipment was more expensive and required settlement in US dollars. At $10 a set, it was quite a lot.
Of course, this equipment is also of high quality. It is much more efficient than the original oil refining equipment and can produce a variety of finished products. With this equipment, the benefits will be even better.
Li Long knew the profit window was about 10 years, so investing in this equipment wouldn't be a loss. In his calculations, he could recoup his costs in 2-3 years, and the rest would be pure profit.
Of course, with crude oil now being brought in from Kazakhstan, the time to recoup costs may be even shorter.
After all, crude oil will be cheaper over there. Once the oil fields controlled by Liu Shanming begin large-scale production, crude oil will become even cheaper.
Of course, Liu Shanmin also needed to improve his refining equipment. According to him, the reason he was able to easily acquire the oil field was that the oil field's supporting refining equipment was a bit old and couldn't process the crude oil produced by the oil field into finished products in a complete and efficient manner.
That means there's a huge waste. Several other large oil fields are being eyed by major European and American petrochemical companies; they have advanced technology and are also interested in these large oil fields. Once they acquire stakes, they'll definitely need to upgrade their refining equipment.
Liu Shanmin will definitely do the same thing here, since selling resources alone doesn't yield high profit margins.
In the future, the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic will become independent as Kazakhstan. Both agriculture and light industry will require a large amount of petrochemical end products, so this industry is bound to be extremely profitable. Holding onto these products now will give you a significant advantage in the future.
Li Long offset part of the dollar cost with canned goods and sugar, but he still had to pay some to the sugar factory, so he had less dollars left.
However, the exchange for relatively advanced equipment makes it worthwhile.
It was too hot here, so after settling the bill, Liu Gaolou quickly grabbed the sugar and canned goods and left, saying that the weather in Khorgos was relatively better.
He also said that if the weather weren't so hot, he planned to stay here for a while, since transporting this set of oil refining equipment had been a slow and tiring journey.
On August 31, the day students were preparing for class, Li Juan had already returned to school ahead of time, Li Qiang had already moved into the dormitory, and even Mingming and Haohao had received their new textbooks at school and had Li Long help them wrap the books at home.
Han Fang went to school a week ago. Schools at the secondary vocational school level and above always start earlier than primary and junior high schools, and they are farther away, so preparations need to be made in advance.
Li Long covered Mingming and Haohao's books with kraft paper.
Meng Hai's construction and installation company used far too much cement this year.
All the cement bags were collected, and Li Long had asked for a few in advance.
Remove the outermost and innermost layers, leaving the middle layer clean and neat; it's perfect for wrapping books.
As Li Long wrapped the paper, he said to his sons, "Back in the day, if people found this kind of kraft paper, they wouldn't have been willing to throw away the outermost and innermost layers."
Mingming asked, somewhat puzzled, "The outermost layer is a bit dirty. If you sweep and wipe it, it'll be usable, albeit barely."
The innermost layer was covered in cement dust, and I couldn't bear to throw it away since I couldn't clean it properly.
"Because it was hard to find such kraft paper in the past, most students used newspaper to wrap their books, but newspaper is not very sturdy, and the book cover may have torn before the semester was over."
Although there might be cement dust inside the kraft paper, once it's cleaned, with the clean side facing out and the cement-dust side pressed firmly against the book, the cement dust won't seep out. This way, the book cover is sturdy and can last a whole semester without falling apart.
Mingming and Haohao nodded to show they understood, and then said not to throw away the two layers of kraft paper, because someone might use them.
Li Long chuckled as he packed the bags; the children's thoughts were so different from adults'. Adults often feel that giving away things they don't use can make others feel like they're being given charity or that it's unfair.
This is the principle of "Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you."
But some children don't think that way. They believe that even though the newspaper wrapping isn't very sturdy, the kraft paper, though a bit dirty, can still be cleaned, and at least one side is clean. With a little treatment, it can be used and lasts a long time.
Therefore, it's not about saving face; the key is whether it's practical or not.
Children who haven't entered society, or those who are just starting to socialize at school, don't think that much.
The father and his two sons were sitting at the table in the yard, covering books and discussing their work. Li Long was in charge of covering the books, while Mingming and Haohao were responsible for folding the remaining papers so they could take them to school the next day.
Mingming also told Li Long that last semester, a classmate in their class covered his books exceptionally well, and then the other students wanted this classmate to cover their books for them. As a result, they found that the book covers this classmate covered for his classmates were even better than the ones he covered himself.
"I'm sure many students will ask him to cover their books this semester. He's really amazing!"
Li Long also thought it was impressive that a child who was about to enter the second grade could cover his own books. Even in the 90s, that was considered very impressive.
The phone rang urgently inside the house.
Li Long put down his book and went inside to answer the phone.
It was my second brother, Li Anguo, who called.
Li Anguo's tone was full of frustration: "Xiaolong, we couldn't keep that Ajinbek in the end; he was asked to leave."
Although it was somewhat expected, Li Long was surprised that it happened so quickly and hurriedly asked, "Who invited them away? What did they go to do?"
“The Municipal Petroleum Administration Bureau,” Li Anguo said. “This morning when I went to work, I noticed something was off about him. He asked me to check all the equipment in the plant and explained some of the problems with the equipment to me.”
Finally, he even revised a notebook for me, saying it was to record some problems in our factory and directions for improvement in the future.
I thought to myself, "He's right here, why are you making it sound like he's entrusting his orphan to someone?" Unexpectedly, leaders from the Petroleum Administration came over that morning. They appointed Akinbek as a technical advisor to the Petroleum Administration, with a very high rank and salary.
I definitely couldn't stop him from doing this. I originally hoped that Akinbek would stay on his own initiative, but I didn't expect him to be so ungrateful. He probably still thinks we didn't offer him enough compensation.
Li Long shook his head and said, "That's impossible. It's not about the treatment. Think about it, if an expert from a neighboring country comes over, how could our country not react at all?"
The relevant domestic departments must have already learned about these matters, and there are probably people over there who have also found out about his situation and have been observing or investigating him for some time now.
Once no problems are found, the person will definitely be brought into the system. After all, with his skill level, in our factory, it wouldn't be using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, but a guillotine.
He would be better utilized if placed in an oil administration bureau or a large petrochemical plant.
Moreover, Akinbek had no other demands; he simply hoped to live a normal organizational life, or rather, he hoped to see the correct development of socialism and the healthy development of the Party.
This is a very high aspiration for a Communist Party member; putting it in our factory would be a real waste of talent.
Li Anguo actually understood everything, but suddenly losing the main technical support left him somewhat bewildered and unsure of what to do next.
Hearing this, Li Long laughed and said half-jokingly, "Second Brother, are you addicted to being criticized by him? You don't feel right if he doesn't scold you for a day, do you?"
Li Anguo said, somewhat embarrassed and angry, "What nonsense are you talking about? I just feel that when Ajinbek was around, he arranged the production tasks and technological transformations, so my job was relatively easy."
With him gone, I feel like I've lost this technological support, and I have no plan for the future. This Akinbek, you know he was going to leave, but he didn't even tell me beforehand so I could be prepared.
Li Long shook his head slightly and then said, "Second Brother, you are the factory manager. How the factory develops should be your decision."
When Akinbek was around, he was a top technical expert, and his word was law.
Now that he's gone, it's your turn to call the shots. What does our factory do? It refines oil. Just do things the way they were before, and keep doing them the way they were before.
Every month, hundreds of tons of crude oil are delivered to you. All you need to do is safely refine this oil into chemical products and then sell them through legitimate channels.
We don't aspire to become a big company; we're content to just make a little money peacefully.
Because Akinbek only went to the oil administration, not left the oil city. If you really have any technical problems, you can still ask him for help.
With that relationship in place, he definitely won't refuse you.
Li Anguo felt that his younger brother's words made sense, and after hearing them, his mood calmed down and he no longer felt empty.
When he first resigned, he was in charge of the factory. Now that they've added a larger oil refining unit, it just means he'll be a little busier.
I have my own car, so I can go home every three to five days. The factory hired new people, and after this period of training, they are all able to get the hang of it.
According to my younger brother, as long as we pay attention to safety, ensure safe production, open up sales channels, make money, and pay taxes reasonably, we can succeed.
Just fine.
After hanging up the phone, Li Long was a little worried, but he didn't plan to go there to check.
The factory was basically on track, and Li Long felt that was enough. He didn't even consider asking Liu Shanmin for another technician, as the procedures were rather complicated.
Although Liu Shanmin usually complied with his requests every time Li Long asked, he knew that the procedures were not so easy to complete.
Some things you have to do yourself; you can't grow by always relying on others.
In early September, Halim and his group finished cutting hay, hauled the dried hay back to their yards, and then hurriedly returned to their summer pastures.
Li Long was recruited by Li Xiangqian to the supply and marketing cooperative, and the job of making large brooms came up again.
In the past six months, Li Long had been going to the supply and marketing cooperative less often, so Li Xiangqian complained about him for a long time in the office.
“You’re still an employee of our supply and marketing cooperative, even if it’s temporary. Both the state cooperative and I recognize you.” Li Xiangqian complained, “But you have time to help the forestry bureau catch a murderer in the mountains, but you don’t have time to come to the supply and marketing cooperative.”
Li Long himself felt a little embarrassed. He filled the thermos for Li Xiangqian and said with a smile, "Director, this year has been so busy. First, there was the on-site meeting for the drip irrigation experimental field, then we applied for a project for the autonomous region, and then the political situation in the Soviet Union became turbulent..."
Li Xiangqian hurriedly waved his hand: "The political situation over there is turbulent, what does it have to do with you? You're not going there as a representative. Oh, I forgot, you have business dealings with them. So, are you all better now?"
“Alright, alright, the Soviet Union is almost finished,” Li Long said. “The Kazakhstan Soviet Socialist Republic will probably secede soon. Once it secedes, the Soviet Union will probably be gone.”
Li Xiangqian listened with emotion and said, "What a huge country! How could our big brother just disappear like that? I really didn't expect it!"
When the topic shifted to the neighboring Soviet Union, Li Xiangqian's resentment towards Li Long lessened somewhat. Most Chinese men are quite interested in international affairs, and they can always chime in with their opinions on whatever the situation.
The two talked about the history of the Soviet Union and its subsequent development for about half an hour, and finally reached a consensus that the problem was with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The wrong leaders were chosen and the wrong path was taken, otherwise it would not have been dissolved.
Finally, Li Xiangqian told Li Long about the task of making the large brooms: "The market outside the province has been taken up by bamboo brooms. However, there are still a few places that prefer our large brooms."
Some units in the autonomous region also need them, mainly because our brooms are of good quality and comfortable to use.
This year, we received orders for 4 brooms for our county. Prices for all kinds of supplies have been rising this year, so the price of large brooms has increased to 10 yuan. I estimate that next year the price might not be this high, but as I said before, quality must be guaranteed.
Li Long patted his chest and said, "You can absolutely trust this director. I won't send anyone who doesn't pass the test."
Li Xiangqian smiled and said, "What else do I have to worry about? But this year is different from previous years. Our supply and marketing cooperative is also having some difficulties. So, of the 10 yuan in this big broom, the supply and marketing cooperative will take one yuan, and we can only collect 9 yuan from you."
Li Long naturally had no objections; nine yuan was quite a sum. He decided to raise the price he would pay Wang Mingjun and his group for collecting large brooms.
After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative and returning to the courtyard, Li Long called Wang Mingjun and Zhao Zongming respectively.
"Xiaolong, we've been waiting for your call. We've already started making brooms, but a lot of people are still worried that there won't be any work this year, and they won't be able to sell all the brooms they make. Now that you've called, we feel relieved."
Li Long told Wang Mingjun that this year's price is 6 yuan per bag, but the quality must be ensured and strictly controlled.
Just like Li Long made a promise to Li Xiangqian, Wang Mingjun patted his chest and assured Li Long that he would not allow a single substandard broom to be delivered to the supply and marketing cooperative.
Zhao Zongming said the same thing, adding that their company had already made more than 5000 large brooms. The company's employees had stockpiled a lot of reeds and prepared a lot of broom handles. They had been holding back before, but now that Li Long was there, they could make brooms without restraint.
After hanging up the phone, Li Long thought for a moment and then called He Yuqing again, mainly because of their old friendship, and he couldn't just leave her hanging.
But as he expected, all the able-bodied men in Qingshuihe Village had gone to work on the project with Meng Hai, and now the remaining people were busy with the autumn harvest and had no time to do this work.
Li Long naturally didn't force the issue. He had only wanted to help out, but if they couldn't handle it, then so be it.
On September 8th, Li Long, who was at the purchasing station, received a phone call that surprised him.
It was a call from Secretary Zhang in Yanjing.
Li Long quickly reported on his recent activities, mainly the on-site meeting at the drip irrigation experimental field, the application for the drip irrigation farmland support project, the establishment of a drip irrigation tape factory (explaining that this was to save costs), the invitation of experts from there, the establishment of a small oil refinery, and so on.
There was nothing he concealed; he told everything.
Unbeknownst to Li Long, Secretary Zhang across from him held a piece of paper that briefly outlined what he had been doing recently.
As Li Long reported each item, Secretary Zhang crossed it out. As the number of crossed-out items increased, a slight smile appeared on Secretary Zhang's lips. Finally, after crossing out the item "Caught a murderer in the mountains," Secretary Zhang smiled and said:
"Your life has been quite colorful lately. The leader said you've done a good job, that you're intelligent and courageous, that you don't stick to old rules, and that you're even innovative in farming. The overall direction is fine."
In particular, drip irrigation farming is considered an advantageous project in the current direction of agricultural development. It is admirable that you were able to identify it, apply for support, and put in a lot of effort to improve it.
Young people should be bold and decisive. So far, you've set a good example for farmers.
For future agricultural development, mechanization and scientific methods are the major prerequisites and the main direction. You've already achieved this, and you've even brought the villagers along, which is excellent.
Our Party's economic development policy is that those who get rich first should help those who are still poor. This is reflected well in you. We also know from other sources that while you have made money through various means of development, you haven't forgotten to give back to your hometown.
They repaired roads and canals, donated supplies to schools, and even took villagers for health checkups. They did all these things very well, really very well.
If all the people in society who have become wealthy could be like you, our society would be a much better place.
Hearing these words, Li Long felt flattered and hurriedly said, "These are all things I should do."
"Without our country's favorable policies and the help of so many people, I wouldn't have been able to develop to where I am today. So, it's only right that I give back to my hometown now that I'm wealthy."
Although Li Long's words sounded like platitudes, they reflected his genuine feelings.
He seized opportunities that others missed by taking advantage of favorable national policies and his own foresight, and now he is rich and living a good life.
But he never drifted away.
His wealth is partly due to his own abilities, partly due to opportunities, and partly due to the help he received from others.
He also gained a sense of accomplishment by working hard with everyone, a feeling that money can't buy.
"Come to Yanjing before the end of the year. I have something to tell you," Secretary Zhang said. "No need to rush. Just come to me when you get here. It's better to talk about some things in person."
"Would it be alright if I flew there in the next couple of days?" Secretary Zhang had actually called him on her own initiative, so Li Long knew it must be something important and immediately replied.
"If you're free for a short time, then come over. You're getting ready to catch a flight, right?"
“Yes,” Li Long said. “I’m thinking of asking the Ethnic Affairs Commission to help me book the plane tickets so I can go and come back quickly. There are some things to do here, but nothing is urgent.”
"Okay, come over here. Call me after you've booked your flight, and I'll check the time."
After hanging up the phone, Li Long wondered what Secretary Zhang had mentioned.
That evening, he told Gu Xiaoxia about it, and Gu Xiaoxia also supported him in going there as soon as possible.
There's nothing major going on at the purchasing station right now. Someone's in charge of the big sweeping job at the supply and marketing cooperative, Sister Yang is managing the cannery, and my second brother has taken over the responsibility at the oil refinery.
As for the cooperative, the cotton is not yet ready for picking. Even when it is ready, Xie Yundong and his team will be in charge, so Li Long doesn't need to interfere.
So the next day, Li Long called the Ethnic Affairs Commission and asked them to help him book a plane ticket.
It seems the Ethnic Affairs Commission received a notification. Although Li Long hadn't contacted them for a long time, the ticket booking issue was resolved quickly.
Li Long told his father and sister Yang, and also called his older brother. Then he drove to Wucheng, aiming for a quick trip back.
The next day, Li Long arrived in Yanjing and checked into the guesthouse of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission's Beijing office.
He kept wondering what Secretary Zhang wanted to see him about. (End of Chapter)