"Xiao Long, look how easy you have it. You don't do a thing, just sit around at the Stable, and people bring you the goods. This is all money," Xu Chengjun said sincerely.
"It's still pretty tough." Li Long stacked the reed bundles as he spoke. "My quota is ten thousand. These odds and ends won't come anywhere close. I still have to find people to do it properly, or I won't finish by the deadline."
"I reckon you'll definitely finish. At fifteen fen a reed bundle, most people in the team would want to work for you. But you just had to head into the mountains during those crucial few days..."
"I didn't want that either. In previous years, reed cutting started half a month later. Who knew they'd move it up this year?" Li Long smiled wryly. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have gone into the mountains. I could've taken all twenty thousand bundles."
He had already learned that Wang Tiancheng's cousin's husband was a deputy director at the County Supply and Marketing Cooperative. The job had originally been Li Long's, but with him absent and someone else guaranteeing they could complete it, they naturally had to give that person a share.
Li Long had secured the remaining work partly through Li Xiangqian's efforts and partly through the reputation he had earned completing earlier jobs. Another very important factor was the Commendation Notice the Special Investigation Team had sent the Supply and Marketing Cooperative over the recent major case in Stone City.
To protect Li Long's information, only a few people in charge were allowed to read the notice. It was quite an honor for the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Precisely because it made the leaders look good, they had agreed when Li Xiangqian suggested leaving some work