Li Xiangqian personally called Li Long with the news, telling him to drive to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative right away, pick him up, and take him to the County Party Committee Compound. The county's top two leaders wanted to see them.
Li Long was at home playing with Mingming and Haohao. The two children were almost two, walking fairly steadily now, though they still wobbled when they occasionally ran. They were at a delightful age.
After taking the call, Li Long dared not delay. He hurriedly left the children with Sister Yang and drove his Jeep to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
"Hey, I really owe you this time. The leaders gave me quite a bit of praise too." In the Jeep, Li Xiangqian said with a smile, "I should get another commendation this year. A county-level one is the bare minimum. If I can get one from the prefecture too, even better."
"Director, why haven't you thought about getting one from the Autonomous Region?" Li Long asked with a smile as he drove.
"Hey, you might dare to dream that big, but I don't. All the things we've done these past few years might make people think the Supply and Marketing Cooperative has done a lot when they read about them in the papers, but if anyone actually investigates, the leaders will certainly know I've just been riding your coattails." Li Xiangqian had a very clear head about it:
"What we do is window dressing. What you do has long-term value. So if I can manage a prefectural commendation, that's plenty good enough."
It was a short drive, and they reached the County Party Committee Compound after exchanging only a few words.
At the gate, the armed police checked their identities and registered them before letting them in.