As Li Long was about to pay, he casually asked:
"Am I the first person to pay?"
"Yes, you are." The staff member smiled. "There really aren't many people as enthusiastic as you, comrade."
"Could you give me some sort of perk, then? Like letting me choose my number?" Li Long knew that when telephone lines were installed, the Post and Telecommunications Office-later the telecom company-assigned the numbers. You took whatever number they gave you; you had no say in it.
"There's nothing we can do about that." The staff member shook his head. "We don't have the authority to assign numbers. That's up to the leadership."
Li Long understood the situation.
He asked a few more questions about the service. Upon learning that he could activate long-distance calling here, he did so. After he paid and the staff member verified the address information, he was told to go home and wait.
Li Long didn't go home. He drove his Jeep to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
When he arrived, he went straight to Li Xiangqian's office.
"Xiao Long, have you come back from the mountains?" That was the first thing Li Xiangqian asked when he saw him. "I reported this matter when I went to the Prefecture for a meeting. I even made some big promises to the leaders. Have you sorted things out over there? Can the road be built? Don't leave me hanging."
"It can," Li Long said. "I went into the mountains, and the Tribe discussed it at a meeting. They agreed to build the road, and they collected quite a lot of supplies for me, worth twenty or thirty thousand yuan. I'm planning to add some money and buy a bulldozer specifically for the roadwork."
"Hey, you're planning something big!" Hearing that there was no