Zhao Jun chuckled and continued with his work.
After finishing his work in the afternoon, he returned to the shack to eat and sleep.
The next morning, Zhao Jun ate three bowls of coarse corn porridge and two steamed mixed-flour cakes, all with a side of pickled cucumbers.
After eating, Zhao Jun said to Elder Yang, "Eldest Uncle! How about pouring me a sip of your liquor?"
"Eldest Uncle, I want some too!" Zhang Xuefeng chimed in from the side, trying to get a free drink.
Elder Yang smiled at their words, opened his chest, took out a jug, untied the rope, and poured the liquor.
It was a small bowl, containing just a small measure of liquor.
Zhao Jun downed the liquor in one gulp. A warm, relaxing sensation spread through his entire body.
Just then, the shack door opened. Zhao Jun looked up and saw Li Ruhai standing in the doorway. The morning sun shone in from behind him, making Li Ruhai seem to glow.
"Big Brother!" Li Ruhai darted to Zhao Jun's side in two quick steps and said excitedly, "Big Brother, I'm here!"
"Hahaha…" With Li Ruhai's arrival, Zhao Jun felt even more confident. He pulled Li Ruhai over to introduce him to Elder Yang. "This is Eldest Uncle Yang. Call him Eldest Uncle!"
"Eldest Uncle!"
"Aye, good boy. Have you eaten yet?"
"I've eaten." Li Ruhai smiled at the old man, then said to Zhao Jun, "My brother has work today and was in a hurry to leave, so he didn't come in."
"Mm, let him go then." Zhao Jun smiled at Li Ruhai. "For now, you stay here in our Eldest Uncle's shack and keep an eye on things outside. If you see a Jeep coming in, follow it inside.
Then, wait until you see Uncle Zhou leave, and run out after his car. Get a ride with him, and once you get to the Forest Farm, play to your strengths and tell everyone what you saw here!"
Hearing Zhao Jun's plan, Li Ruhai's eyes lit up. His little face was full of excitement as he nodded emphatically. "Big Brother, I got it!"
A professional needs no assurances, for he himself is the guarantee.
Zhao Jun stood up and ruffled Li Ruhai's little head, muttering, "This kid has such a punchable face, but sometimes he's pretty useful."
Zhao Jun spoke quickly and quietly, so Li Ruhai didn't quite catch what he said. The boy looked up, his face a picture of innocence, and asked, "Big Brother, what did you say?"
"Heh heh." Zhao Jun chuckled. "I said, here I am, a grown man, and I still have to bother you with my problems."
"Big Brother, don't say that." Li Ruhai waved his hand like a little adult. "Aren't we all family?"
Hearing this, Zhao Jun suddenly felt a pang of guilt, but it vanished in an instant. He just said to Li Ruhai, "Alright then, you be good and stay here. Don't cause Eldest Uncle any trouble, you hear?"
After Li Ruhai agreed, Zhao Jun and Zhang Xuefeng grabbed their ledgers and tools and went to the Log Pile Yard together.
When they reached the Log Pile Yard, Zhao Jun smiled.
Under a large tree nearby, more than thirty men were sitting around.
And at their head was none other than Zhao Qingzhu.
"Well, well." Zhao Jun wasn't bothered in the least. Instead, he asked casually, "What's this? Nobody's working?"
"We're not!" Zhao Qingzhu declared with a grand wave of his hand. "The inspector is docking our measurements however he pleases! We loggers won't stand for it! We're stopping work! We're halting production!"
"Hahaha…" Instead of getting angry, Zhao Jun laughed. He shook his head and looked toward Lin Musen and Xu Shengli. "Leader Lin, Leader Xu, what about the teams under you?"
"We're working!" said Lin Musen. "I don't see any problem with what you're doing, Technician Zhao."
'Now that's a smart man!'
'The key is, he actually knows the business.'
Zhao Jun smiled at that, nodded, and said nothing more. He simply took his tools and went over to scale the logs.
And so it went, until a little after 10:40, when an old, boxy Jeep drove into the New Logging Camp.
There were four people in the vehicle. The driver was in the driver's seat, of course. In the passenger seat was Xu Baoshan, the head of the inspection team.
In the back seat, on the left, was Production Farm Director Dou Baoguo, and on the right was the head of the Forest Farm, Zhou Chunming.
The moment the Jeep drove through the Logging Camp gate, Li Ruhai, who had been peering out the window of the gatehouse shack, shot to his feet. He said to Elder Yang, "Eldest Uncle, I'm off! We'll have to chat again some other time."
"Hey! Leaving already?" It was unclear what Li Ruhai had been telling Elder Yang, but upon hearing the boy was leaving, the old man seemed quite reluctant to see him go, as if their conversation wasn't finished.
...
When the Jeep stopped in front of the Log Pile Yard, Zhao Qingzhu got up and walked toward it. Zhao Jun, Zhang Xuefeng, Song Tiemin, Lin Musen, and Xu Shengli did the same.
"What's all this?" The moment Dou Baoguo's feet hit the ground, he pointed at the loggers sitting idly by the side and demanded loudly, "Why isn't anyone working? Huh? If production is delayed, who's going to take responsibility?"
"Farm Director!" Zhao Qingzhu cried out, wailing tragically, "Your inspector is bullying us! He's not letting us loggers make a living!"
"Which inspector?" Dou Baoguo's gaze fell solely on Zhao Jun's face as he shouted, "Who is it? Step forward!"
"Me!" Zhao Jun looked right back at Dou Baoguo, replying loudly without a hint of weakness, "What about it?"
"Quite the attitude you've got!" Dou Baoguo glared at Xu Baoshan beside him and snapped, "What the hell is with this technician of yours?"
Xu Baoshan smiled faintly. Looking at Dou Baoguo, he retorted without backing down in the slightest, "What about our technician? Farm Director Dou, why don't you be clear!"
"What about him?" Dou Baoguo pointed a finger at Zhao Jun and said to Xu Baoshan, "The loggers hauled in logs yesterday that were 4.60, and he measured them and recorded them as 4.56."
Zhao Jun took two quick steps toward Dou Baoguo and shouted, "Who are you pointing at?"
"I'm pointing at you! What about it?" Dou Baoguo roared. "You made a mistake, and you're still this defiant? Let me tell you, if you can do the job, then do it. If you can't, then get the hell out!"
"CRACK!" Zhao Jun flung his measuring stick aside. It hit a nearby Log Pile and snapped in two. Seeing this, Xu Baoshan rushed forward to hold Zhao Jun back, only to hear him roar at Dou Baoguo, "Who the hell do you think you are? Whether I do this job or not is none of your business! I didn't make a mistake, and even if you are the Farm Director, you have no authority over me!"