Meng Hai walked up to Li Long and said with a smile:
"Comrade Li Long, I thought you'd be coming soon. We're making decent progress here. Things have gone smoothly these past few days, but we've got a bit of trouble coming up."
"What is it?" Li Long asked. "Everything looks pretty good to me."
"Just over three hundred meters ahead, around that ridge, there's a huge boulder blocking the edge of the river channel. To build the road, we'll have to blast it apart like last time. Otherwise, cutting a stretch through the mountainside would be far too much work."
"So you're out of explosives?" Li Long smiled. "All right, I'll apply for some tomorrow and bring them over. Come on, let's have a look."
The workers saw Li Long. Those who knew him greeted him, while those who didn't stopped to watch. Their wages all came from Li Long, and he was building this road for neither fame nor profit, just to help his friends. Honestly, they couldn't help admiring that kind of character.
Li Long greeted them, skirted the construction site, and walked ahead with Meng Hai.
Ma Xiaoyan took a few pictures, then caught sight of Li Long and Meng Hai heading off out of the corner of her eye. She immediately jogged after them. Along the way, she tripped over a branch, but a nearby villager caught her in time. She hurriedly thanked him, then continued after them.
The villager turned and stared blankly after Ma Xiaoyan. A married old hand beside him teased him:
"Well, Lan Baozi, thinking of marrying a woman cadre, are you? A woman touches you once and you forget how to walk?"
"Wh-what nonsense are you talking about?" Lan Baozi's face flushed bright red at the teasing. "She was about