As soon as Li Long left, Li Xiangqian called everyone together for a meeting.
Once everyone had arrived, he read them the notices from the county authorities and the Prefectural Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, then looked around and asked, "You all know the assignment from above now: fifty tonnes of mutton and fifty tonnes of beef. The deadline is tight-one week.
"I'll tell you plainly, this isn't just a test from the prefectural cooperative and the county authorities. It's also an urgent, major assignment issued by the Autonomous Region, a test they're setting us.
"All right, let's hear who has the ability to take this job on. I'll say this right now: whoever takes it on and does a splendid job will get this year's outstanding worker award."
Zhou Yuan was rather surprised to hear this. After all, he knew Li Long had already accepted the job. Besides, Li Long was the only person in the county who could complete the assignment. Since the director had just met with Li Long, Zhou Yuan believed the job must already have been handed to him. So what was the point of the director calling this meeting and saying all this?
But he soon understood. Director Li Xiangqian was preparing to give the others a warning.
In fact, only the few people at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative who were close to Li Long knew he had been buying beef and mutton in large quantities lately. And only Zhou Yuan and the director knew that the meat Li Long had bought was still in storage and had not been sold.
The truth was, someone was bound to complain about the assignments Li Long received from the cooperative every year, especially the big brooms made from Achnatherum splendens.
After all, a month