For the past five or six years, ever since that whole movement blew over, you could say things had been the same at every work unit: all the employees treated their posts like their own homes.
And what did "treating their post like their own home" mean? It meant that whatever the work unit had, their homes had to have as well.
Never mind the logistics department, which was sitting on a mountain of supplies. Even everyday items from the various work teams—paper, pens, ledgers, tables, chairs, thermoses, and clothes hangers—were divvied up and taken home.
The only rule was not to get caught red-handed by the leadership.
As for reporting it? In all these years, no one ever had. Not for something like this. Even sworn enemies like Zhao Youcai and Zhang Zhanshan wouldn’t use it to attack each other.
But today, of all days, that was exactly what had happened!
Everyone at the meeting knew full well. The report might have been anonymous, but there was no need to investigate. It was, one hundred percent, from Dou.
By targeting Zhou Jianjun, Dou Baoguo was clearly going after Zhou Chunming.
Zhou Chunming, for his part, had been just as firm. Without even a second of hesitation, he had answered Dou Baoguo with just two words: "Utter nonsense."
When Dou Baoguo tried to say more, Zhou Chunming cut him off. "You’re the production manager. Just stick to managing your own department."
At the time, Dou Baoguo had merely smiled and said nothing more. He’d been knocking around the Forestry Bureau for more than a decade; of course he knew it was impossible to find any discrepancies in the logistics department’s books.
The Forest Farm was huge, and it was built deep in the mountains. Conditions were harsh and accidents were common. Any missing supplies could simply be written off as losses, and no one could argue.
Bringing up an unsubstantiated claim couldn’t even harm Zhou Jianjun, let alone be used to take down Zhou Chunming.
However, Dou Baoguo had achieved his goal.
He did it for two reasons. First, to make his presence felt. Second, it was like a filthy Jap building a toilet—not meant to injure you, just to sicken you.
Zhao Jun and Ma Liang went to Cafeteria No. 1 to get lunch. The moment they stepped into the main hall, they saw a crowd gathered in one corner. Sitting right in the middle was none other than Zhou Jianjun.
Zhao Jun watched from a distance for a moment. Seeing that his brother-in-law didn’t seem to be in any trouble, he relaxed. He and Ma Liang got their food and carried it back to the inspection team’s office to eat with their colleagues.
That afternoon, just before the end of the workday, Zhao Jun walked from the inspection team’s office to the main Forest Farm area. There, he joined Zhao Youcai, Li Dayong, Li Baoyu, and Lin Xiangshun to take the small commuter train home.
Because of that bastard Dou, Lin Xiangshun didn’t even dare drive the work vehicle home anymore.
After they got off the train, the five of them walked home, chatting along the way, with three in the front and two in the back.
Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu were walking in the back. Li Baoyu said, "Man, this is a pain. Now that we don’t have the car, if we bag a mountain beast, we’ll have to haul it all the way back ourselves."
"Yeah." Zhao Jun nodded with a wry smile. "Jie Chen has a car, and I was just telling him he should come forage for ginseng and hunt with us this fall. But now... he’s stuck in that dead-end job all day and can’t get away. How’s he supposed to go running around the mountains now?"
"That goddamn bastard!" Li Baoyu cursed under his breath. He glanced around before whispering to Zhao Jun, "Hey, man, what if we go corner that old prick and give him a few whacks with a pickaxe handle?"
Hearing this, Zhao Jun’s eyes lit up and the corners of his mouth twitched into a smile, but he said, "You and your useless ideas."
The five men entered the village and continued along the road. Suddenly, they heard a commotion up ahead.
They quickened their pace and saw that a crowd had gathered in and around the courtyard of a house.
Seeing this, a look of gleeful surprise spread across Zhao Youcai’s face. He turned to Li Dayong beside him and said, "You think maybe Zhang Wangba finally kicked the bucket?"
Li Dayong grabbed the excited Zhao Youcai’s arm and chuckled. "Brother Zhao, if he were dead, wouldn’t they have put up a mourning tent?"
The words had barely left Li Dayong’s mouth when the smile on his face froze. A figure darted out of Zhang Zhanshan’s house, weaving quickly through the crowd of gawkers. Hot on his heels were the angry shouts of Zhang Laifa.
The figure ran out of the courtyard and paused, glancing left and right. Spotting Zhao Jun and the others, he made a beeline for them.
When he reached them, he addressed Li Dayong and Zhao Youcai. "Dad! Uncle! Zhang Zhanshan is back."
Li Dayong’s cheek twitched. ’So that’s my son,’ he thought, ’brazen enough to run into our sworn enemy’s house just to gawk.’
"Ruhai! How is Zhang Wangba?" Zhao Youcai’s face was a mask of urgency. He hadn’t even looked this worried when Zhao Jun came home sick after his fright from killing the Black Bear before the New Year.
"He’s not dead!" Li Ruhai’s first words made Zhao Youcai’s face fall. He let out a long sigh of disappointment.
"Half of his body’s useless." Before Zhao Youcai could ask another question, Li Ruhai gestured with his right hand down his own left side. "His left arm and leg, they don’t work anymore."
"That makes sense," Lin Xiangshun chimed in. "Left side for men, right side for women, as they say."
As the group continued home, they passed the gate to Zhang Zhanshan’s courtyard. Zhao Youcai wished he could be like Li Ruhai and slip inside for a look.
But in that regard, Zhao Youcai just didn’t have Li Ruhai’s knack for it.
And so it went. All the way home, through dinner, and even up until bedtime, Zhao Youcai was still muttering about Zhang Zhanshan.
That night, Zhao Youcai even dreamed of Zhang Zhanshan’s funeral procession, with his son, Zhang Laibao, smashing the ceremonial basin for his father.
It had to be said, Zhao Youcai’s "affection" for Zhang Zhanshan was a truly rare thing.
Coincidentally, another man returned on the same day as Zhang Zhanshan: Ma Ling’s great-uncle, Zhu Dashan.
The old man had been swiped by a Black Bear, which had left three deep gashes down his back. His injuries were similar to what Zhang Yuanmin had suffered, but Zhu Dashan was much older. He’d been sent to the hospital In the Town and had only just returned after a half-month stay.
From that day on, a temporary peace returned to Yong’an Village.
But at the Yong’an Forest Farm, the turmoil was far from over.