When Li Yuhe, who had been sent by the Agriculture Department to verify the report, arrived in the County Seat, Li Long was at the Drip Irrigation Tape Factory, watching the workers plaster the walls.
These workers were all quite familiar with Li Long by now. Holding a Bricklayer's Trowel and trimming a brick, He Junxian said with a smile, "Mr. Li, to tell you the truth, we're almost sorry to finish this job.
"The food here is so much better than what we get at the road construction site."
The other workers chimed in. "That's right. We get meat every day at the road construction site too, but after eating it long enough, it feels like our cook is making pig feed.
"It's different here. What these old gentlemen make is proper food."
Since these workers were building the factory and had a busy schedule to meet, Li Long had discussed it with Uncle Lao Luo and arranged for them to eat at Old Ma's Place.
Of course, the old men couldn't suddenly cook for so many people on their own, so one of the workers had to help with the cooking.
Uncle Lao Luo and the others ate very well. Not only did they have meat at every meal, but Old Ma's Place also had a vegetable plot, where the chives and celery were already ready to eat.
Yang Laoliu went out to graze the sheep every day, and when he returned, he could bring back elm seeds, alfalfa, thorn sprout blossoms, and other wild vegetables. The meals might not have been lavish, but at least they were different every time.
They might not have looked as rich as fatty pork slices stewed with glass noodles and Chinese cabbage, but home cooking was nourishing.
He Junxian joked that