When Liu Shanmin left, he did not drive away by himself. He rented five trucks from the County Transport Company and hauled away two truckloads of white sugar and three of canned food.
These quantities were smaller than what Liu Gaolou used to haul, but Liu Shanmin did not take more. As he put it, taking the goods over was a gesture, showing that he was willing to negotiate once he returned.
Before this, the technicians and workers who had gone over to install the cement equipment had already returned. They had been protected over there, their work had not been affected, and their safety had been assured.
After the work was finished, someone had escorted them back. Once they reached the border crossing, Liu Gaolou helped them buy tickets to Stone City, and they then came to see Li Long.
They had no choice. Although the people over there had kept them safe, they had not paid their wages.
When Li Long saw them, Liu Shanmin had gone out and had not yet returned, so he did not tell Liu Shanmin about it.
Whatever else could be said, the people over there really had not acted decently.
After Liu Shanmin left with the motorcade, cotton picking was already underway in the Fourth Team.
With large numbers of students, casual workers, and long-term hired workers arriving, the Fourth Team immediately became lively.
The Team's general store was especially lively in the evenings. The long-term farmhands and Team members returning after selling their cotton and collecting payment would often buy something to eat there, chat and swap stories, or gather in groups of three or five for a few drinks, washing away the day's fatigue with alcohol.
The settlement to the west had clearly grown. There had originally been one general