Time in 1984 seemed to pass a little faster than in previous years.
Li Long spent less time collecting big brooms than usual. Once Li Jianguo and the others brought back the poles they had cut, the Fourth Team picked up its pace of making brooms. Together with those from Qingshui River, Li Long had a batch to deliver to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative almost every two or three days.
They finished eight thousand big brooms in less than twenty days, a speed that astonished both Li Xiangqian and Director Wei.
At first, Li Xiangqian had worried that making the brooms so quickly would compromise their quality, but inspections by technicians at both levels confirmed that they met the standards.
In particular, the Prefectural Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives called to say that not one of the eight thousand and several dozen brooms was substandard. If they had to find fault, a few had broken stalks of Achnatherum splendens or had been squashed during transport.
Since they had supplied extras, the batch passed in full. The receiving procurement department at the Prefectural Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives gave the County Supply and Marketing Cooperative plenty of praise. They said the inspectors from the Autonomous Region had specifically examined the brooms and given their approval.
Whatever else, they had saved face. At least for the next few years, orders for big brooms would not shrink.
This broom job brought Li Long a net profit of twelve thousand yuan. Although everyone knew he must have made quite a lot as the middleman, the villagers, especially those from Qingshui River Village, were still exceptionally grateful to him.
Of the eight thousand big brooms, Qingshui River made over three thousand. At first, they produced more than three hundred qualified brooms a