When Zhao Zongming saw Li Long get out, his face was all smiles, but his voice held a hint of complaint:
"Comrade Li Long, this won't do! You came all this way without even stopping by our company. At least give us a chance to show you some hospitality."
Li Long smiled and said:
"Mainly, Company Commander Wang said they had several hundred hides over there, so I came to pick them up..."
"Our company has some too," Zhao Zongming said hastily. "Two or three hundred Mongolian gazelle hides. More gazelles came through this year, and we shot some too. Are you buying?"
"Yes, definitely," Li Long said. "Winter hides fetch a decent price. But I won't go over this time. I might not have enough money with me..."
"We can talk about the money later! Come on, let's go to the company first. Oh, and these are some things our company brought for you. It's almost New Year, after all. We don't have anything special here, just local specialties..."
Everything was frozen solid, and it was all meat. Mongolian gazelle, red deer, mutton, pork, rabbits, chickens... Well, the meats were holding a convention.
They loaded bags and bundles onto the truck. Zhao Zongming and the others climbed onto their tractor and led the way toward the Thirteenth Company.
The Thirteenth Company fell a little short in comparison. Inside the company grounds, things were better, with the snow cleared neatly from every lane. Outside, the clearing was more casual. As long as there were tire tracks, vehicles could get through, and the resistance wasn't too great, that was enough.
Once they reached the company office, Zhao Zongming brought up the snow-clearing machine again. His complaint was the same as Wang Mingjun's: a company far from regiment headquarters was treated like