He was truly afraid of the look in Zhao Jun's eyes.
When those eyes, which had hunted bears and wild boars, stared coldly at a person, they truly inspired fear.
"You don't know?" Zhao Jun's voice grew louder. Even Zhang Xuefeng, sitting beside him, found it a bit deafening.
Zhao Jun shouted, "You don't know? Then how did you get this logging contract? How did you become a Leader?"
Zhao Qingzhu was forty-seven this year, two years older than Zhao Youcai. His eldest son was already twenty-six, a full five years older than Zhao Jun.
But right now, the way Zhao Jun was dressing him down was like a father scolding his son. How could Zhao Qingzhu's old face take such a humiliation?
Zhao Qingzhu's face instantly turned red. He clenched his fists, his eyes glaring fiercely at Zhao Jun.
But the moment their eyes met, when he was faced with Zhao Jun's icy gaze, a chill went through Zhao Qingzhu's heart, and his clenched fists loosened.
At that moment, Zhao Qingzhu suddenly recalled something from several months ago, back when he was still In the Town. The neighbors had all been saying that the Yongxing Brigade had caught a tiger and was transporting it to the city. It would pass through town the next day, and everyone had to go watch the spectacle.
And when the transport vehicle passed by the end of their street, everyone on the block who could walk went to see it.
Zhao Qingzhu remembered that the Tiger was in a cage, with a layer of wire mesh welded over the iron bars.
But when the Tiger suddenly stood up, slammed against the iron bars, and let out a roar, Zhao Qingzhu, who was watching from two meters away, felt a cold chill shoot straight to the crown of his head. A tingling numbness, like an electric shock, spread across his face.
Standing there stunned, Zhao Qingzhu's gaze met the Tiger's. A violent shiver brought him back to his senses.
Now, Zhao Qingzhu felt that the ferocity in Zhao Jun's eyes was in no way less than that Tiger's.
Zhao Qingzhu gave a small shake of his head, trying to dispel the thought. He silently comforted himself. 'It's just an illusion. How capable can a young kid be?'
But now, all the fierceness in Zhao Qingzhu's heart was gone. He didn't dare look at Zhao Jun, just clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, his face flushed from holding it all in.
Although Zhao Qingzhu had already backed down, Zhao Jun had no intention of letting him off so easily.
Zhao Jun jutted his chin at Zhao Qingzhu and asked, "I'm asking you a question. You don't know anything, so how did you get this logging contract? Did you get in through the back door?"
At these words, even the tips of Zhao Qingzhu's ears turned red. He bit his teeth so hard his cheeks twitched and his lips trembled.
Beside them, Song Tiemin, Lin Musen, and Xu Shengli all lowered their heads, their shoulders shaking.
They weren't shaking from fear, but from struggling to hold back their laughter.
Under the Yong'an Forest Farm, there were over one hundred Logging Camps. Almost every single Leader was connected in some way to the Forest Farm's employees.
But to be questioned to your face about whether you got in through the back door... that was just mortifying.
The key thing was, Zhao Qingzhu and his crew were usually arrogant. Not only the Leader, but his loggers were arrogant too, telling everyone they met that their Leader was related to the Forest Farm's production manager and what not.
But now, Zhao Jun had singled him out for a merciless verbal assault!
Seeing that everyone had fallen silent, Zhao Jun coughed lightly to clear his throat before continuing, "According to the ten standards, starting tomorrow morning, when your loggers bring in timber, don't just unload it wherever you find a spot. You will bring all the logs right up to the head of the pile.
"You also have to sort them. Each type goes to its designated pile. Oak and Fraxinus mandschurica—those two go in one pile. Qiuzi, birch, and maple—those three go in one pile. Red pine and white pine—those two are another pile. Phellodendron..."
At this point, Zhao Jun stopped talking and looked coldly at Zhao Qingzhu.
Zhao Qingzhu started to panic. He recognized all the types of wood Zhao Jun had just mentioned. But as for which ones could be put in the same pile, Zhao Jun had spoken too quickly, and he couldn't remember.
So, Zhao Qingzhu looked left and right, trying to find a piece of paper to jot it all down so he could tell his loggers back at the camp.
But where was he going to find paper in this night-watchman's shack?
There was paper, but it was Zhao Jun and Zhang Xuefeng's ledger. Zhao Qingzhu didn't dare ask for it.
But just then, Zhao Jun's voice suddenly stopped. Zhao Qingzhu looked up at the heated brick bed and met Zhao Jun's icy gaze. He quickly lowered his head again.
"What are you looking around for?" Zhao Jun gave him no face at all, snapping, "Everyone else gets it, but you know nothing. I'm explaining this for your benefit, and you're not even listening properly? Do you even know what I just said?"
Seeing Zhao Qingzhu lower his head in silence, Zhao Jun's expression turned stern. He roared, "Phellodendron is military-grade material! It has to be taken to the security depot to be made into gunstocks! It must be in a separate pile!"
As he spoke, Zhao Jun pointed at Zhao Qingzhu and said, "If you mix this stuff up, I'll fucking send you to jail!"
Zhao Jun's words scared Zhao Qingzhu so much he took half a step back. He had also lived through *that* decade, and his fear of certain things hadn't diminished one bit. Zhao Jun's threat terrified him, and he nodded repeatedly, saying he wouldn't.
Zhao Jun shot Zhao Qingzhu a look and said irritably, "You're a grown man, but you don't know a thing. I have no idea how you became a Leader. Let me tell you, starting tomorrow morning, if any of your loggers don't follow the ten regulations, I'll make sure all the timber they bring in is for nothing."
"You..." Zhao Qingzhu mustered up his courage and asked Zhao Jun, "On what grounds?"
"On what grounds?" Zhao Jun glared at Zhao Qingzhu and barked, "The acceptance inspection regulations, ever heard of them? The ten standards, you know what those are?"
Zhao Qingzhu froze. He wanted to say he didn't know, but he felt a pang of guilt.
Seeing Zhao Qingzhu quiet down again, Zhao Jun lowered his voice slightly and continued, "If you don't know anything, then go back to your shack and study. Whoever arranged this logging contract for you, didn't he tell you to study beforehand?"
At this, Zhao Qingzhu's head sank even lower. Dou Baoguo had told him what to do long ago, back when he first notified Zhao Qingzhu to recruit loggers.
Strictly speaking, these logging crews were under the jurisdiction of the inspection team. They were also required to learn the inspection team's regulations.
Then, Dou Baoguo had even given Zhao Qingzhu a small booklet, telling him to learn and master its contents, as it would be useful later.
But the very next day, Zhao Qingzhu recruited an old, experienced logger. He showed the booklet to the old logger, who said there was no need to learn that stuff—no one ever followed those rules for measuring and inspecting timber.
Even though the old logger said that, Zhao Qingzhu still flipped through the booklet. But he found that the first few pages were all about how inspectors should conduct on-site operations. 'I'm a Leader, not an inspector,' Zhao Qingzhu thought. So, he tossed the booklet aside.
Besides, Zhao Qingzhu also thought, 'My cousin got his post without any real training either; he probably only half-understands this stuff himself.'
But he never expected that while the first half of the booklet detailed the operational procedures for inspectors, the second half was all regulations for the logging crews like his.
Now, being questioned by Zhao Jun, Zhao Qingzhu couldn't gauge the situation and didn't dare to speak again.
Seeing him back down, Zhao Jun turned to Song Tiemin and called out, "Leader Song."
Song Tiemin was startled to be called, but he quickly realized Zhao Jun was talking to him and hurriedly replied, "Ah, Zhao Jun... Technician, go ahead."
Zhao Jun looked at Song Tiemin intently. Although his gaze lacked the ferocity and coldness it had when he looked at Zhao Qingzhu, it was still enough to make Song Tiemin lower his head.
Zhao Jun said, "Leader Song, go back and tell your men on the stacking crew that starting tomorrow, no matter who it is, if they don't follow the regulations, you are to throw their timber directly onto the Log Pile without measuring it! Let them work for nothing!"
"Yes, yes! I understand," Song Tiemin hurriedly agreed. "I'll go back and tell them to do as you say."
Hearing Song Tiemin say this, Zhao Jun finally withdrew his gaze from him. He then turned back to the three Leaders and asked, "Did you all understand?"
"Understood."
"Understood."
Lin Musen and Xu Shengli also responded in agreement. At this moment, both of them were filled with regret.
But Zhao Qingzhu remained silent. He tentatively raised his head, but kept his eyes fixed on the top of Zhao Jun's head, carefully avoiding eye contact. In a strained voice, he asked, "Technician Zhao, you've laid down so many rules for us, but what if you make a mistake?"