Li Long came over and praised Dong Dahai, promising him an extra share of meat later. Then he gave Nie Chengwei a dressing-down, added more weight around his neck, and warned him not to try any more tricks, or he would have him carry something even heavier.
This time, Nie Chengwei truly dared not entertain any more schemes.
Ma Xiaoyan was quite struck by Li Long's swift, decisive actions. She even planned to write this incident into her article to make it fuller and richer in content.
After resting for ten minutes at Talihaal's winter camp, Li Long called for everyone to move on.
By the time they reached Jade Mountain River's winter camp, the driver, Hou Zhengyi, had almost finished cooking the meat. He was startled to see so many people coming over.
Li Xiangqian was tired too. He found somewhere to sit, wiped away his sweat, and asked Li Long:
"Are you taking them over right now?"
"Yes," Li Long said. "I'll come back after dropping them off. Meng Hai and the others should be back by then, and we can head home."
As he spoke, Li Long took the Type 56 Semi-Automatic Rifle from the Jeep and handed it to Li Xiangqian:
"Director, keep this rifle with you. It's still not very safe in these mountains," Li Long said. "We'll get back as quickly as we can."
Then he said to Hou Zhengyi, "Mr. Hou, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Hurry and have something. Once we've eaten, we'll take them over."
Seeing the meat still in the pot made Nie Chengwei's mouth water. They had been cooking at their winter camp too, but all they had to eat were ordinary unleavened flatbreads, pickles, and wild vegetables.
They wanted meat too, but without suitable equipment, they couldn't