On October 20, snow fell in the mountains, and Meng Hai stopped work on the road.
The bridge was already usable. He made a special trip down the mountain to tell Li Long that the road's total length had reached roughly forty-two or forty-three kilometers, which should put them about halfway there.
The Dongfanghong 75 Tractor had been driven back to the village, and he had already serviced it.
It had not snowed in the county yet, but each day was colder than the last. It was already time to wear fleece-lined clothes under a coat.
Liu Shanmin finally received the call he had been waiting for. His contact higher up told him to keep looking for that kind of part.
Of the parts and materials sent back last time, some had gone to research institutes for reverse engineering, while the rest had gone straight to factories and been put to use.
The more, the better!
The higher-ups probably knew about the situation over there too. Originally, they had simply cast a net to see whether they could catch anything. Since Liu Shanmin had actually managed to get hold of the goods, naturally they wanted more.
As for Liu Shanmin's wish to establish a trading company, the higher-ups were naturally very supportive.
They could not provide material support, but they could grant him some authority, and the paperwork could receive special handling.
Liu Shanmin felt reassured. The higher-ups had probably also noticed the developments across the border and felt this was a good opportunity to pick up bargains.
Liu Shanmin came to see Li Long again.
"The paperwork's ready. You can come over with us whenever you like," Liu Shanmin said. "You can go now, or wait until winter when you're less busy. If you go hunting now, it's still