When Li Long left the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, he carried not only the box of tea leaves Li Xiangqian had given him, but also a package of food from Zhou Yuan. It mainly contained fried snacks such as sanzi and mahua, along with braised meat and other foods.
"My wife made plenty. She said you hadn't had time to visit over the New Year, so she asked me to bring you some. They're not as fancy as those pastries you brought me, but they're homemade and taste pretty good. By the way, are you free either of these next two evenings? Come over for a drink if you are."
Li Long accepted Zhou Yuan's invitation, and after discussing it, they settled on tomorrow evening.
On February 17, the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, Ma County held its People's Congress meeting. Li Long attended as a representative.
Before the meeting began, he had already been assigned to a group and submitted his proposal. Whether it would do any good, he did not know.
Every representative attending received a bag, a notebook, and a pencil. The bag contained a stack of meeting materials. Printing technology was still fairly basic at the time, but these materials were no longer mimeographed, which surprised Li Long a little.
As he listened to the reports, Li Long also saw the county's work plan for the year. It included the program-controlled telephone service he had been eagerly anticipating.
Since this was a work report for the whole county, it received only a brief mention. During the meeting, Li Long asked around, found a representative from the communications sector, and went to inquire.
"The program-controlled equipment has already been purchased and delivered. We're replacing the equipment and lines now, and some county offices have