The Forest Farm’s office building was only two stories high. The first floor housed the accounting and statistics departments, while the second floor was where the farm directors’ offices were located.
As Xu Baoshan led Zhao Jun and Zhang Xuefeng up to the second floor, they happened to run into Dou Baoguo’s secretary, Li Chaoyun.
"Leader Xu." Li Chaoyun spotted Xu Baoshan and stopped. "What brings you here?"
"Secretary Li," Xu Baoshan replied. "I need to discuss something with Farm Director Dou. Is he in his office?"
"He is." After replying, Li Chaoyun glanced at Zhao Jun and Zhang Xuefeng, who were standing behind Xu Baoshan. "And who are they?"
Hearing this, Xu Baoshan glanced back at the two men before turning back to Li Chaoyun. "These are two inspectors from our team."
Li Chaoyun’s brow furrowed slightly. "Does your business with Farm Director Dou involve them?"
Li Chaoyun’s attitude and tone irked Xu Baoshan, who simply gave a curt reply: "It does."
When Xu Baoshan confirmed, Li Chaoyun shot another glance at Zhao Jun. Without another word, he turned and headed down the east end of the hallway.
Xu Baoshan gestured for Zhao Jun and Zhang Xuefeng to follow, then hurried after Li Chaoyun.
When they reached an office door, Li Chaoyun turned to Xu Baoshan. "Leader Xu, you come in with me. Have them wait out here."
"Alright!" Xu Baoshan agreed, then shot Zhao Jun a meaningful look. Only after Zhao Jun nodded in understanding did Xu Baoshan turn his attention back to Li Chaoyun.
Seeing this, Li Chaoyun raised his hand and knocked softly on the door twice. "Director," he called out in a low voice.
"Come in."
Hearing the voice from inside, Li Chaoyun gently pushed the door open. Once it was ajar, he slipped inside sideways.
With Li Chaoyun entering like that, Xu Baoshan had no choice but to do the same. After Xu Baoshan was inside, the door was shut from within.
The moment the door closed, Zhang Xuefeng squinted, wrinkled his nose, and bared his teeth at the closed door, grinding them together twice. Then he turned around, pointing at the door, ready to vent to Zhao Jun.
Seeing this, Zhao Jun quickly pulled him aside.
"What the hell was that guy’s problem?" Zhang Xuefeng hissed, his face a mask of indignation. "Look at him, putting on airs! If I ran into him outside of work, I’d clock him one!"
"Alright, alright," Zhao Jun soothed. "When we go in later, you don’t say a thing. Not one word."
"You don’t have to tell me that." Zhang Xuefeng shot Zhao Jun a look, saying irritably, "I’ve got a short fuse, but I’m not an idiot."
"Heh!" That remark actually made Zhao Jun laugh.
Inside the office, Xu Baoshan was sitting across from Dou Baoguo, recounting what had happened to Chen Xingwang and Qiao Zhenghua at the New Logging Camp.
Dou Baoguo sat behind his desk, head down, listening distractedly. Beside him, Li Chaoyun was obsequiously clearing away a lunchbox and chopsticks from the desk.
Once Li Chaoyun was done, Dou Baoguo waved a hand, gesturing for him to set the items aside for now. Xu Baoshan was still in the middle of speaking, but Dou Baoguo clearly wasn’t paying him any mind.
Xu Baoshan paid it no mind, simply finishing what he had to say. Then, he fell silent and watched Dou Baoguo.
Dou Baoguo picked up an open pack of Red Plum cigarettes, stuck one in his mouth, and casually tossed the pack onto the desk in front of Xu Baoshan.
Just then, Li Chaoyun struck a match and lit Dou Baoguo’s cigarette for him.
Dou Baoguo took a deep drag, his brows furrowing. They only relaxed as he exhaled the smoke from his lungs.
Seeing that Xu Baoshan hadn’t taken one of his cigarettes, Dou Baoguo snorted inwardly. "You’ve said all this," he began, "but doesn’t it all just boil down to your inspectors being incompetent? If those log skidders didn’t actually haul the timber back, could they just insist that they did? If you ask me, the problem is the poor quality of your inspectors. If they can’t cut it, I’ll just transfer some people from the For..."
Xu Baoshan had been ready to drop the matter, but when he heard Dou Baoguo bring up transferring inspectors from outside again, he quickly cut in. "Farm Director Dou, the men I sent this time are all veteran technicians."
"That’s exactly the problem! The fact that they’re veterans!" Dou Baoguo raised his hand, pointing his cigarette at Xu Baoshan. "Veteran technicians get set in their ways. They do inspections based on their old experiences and ignore the new rules and regulations we’ve laid out. If you ask me, you’re better off sending a younger guy than one of those old-timers."
At this point, Dou Baoguo paused. Seeing that Xu Baoshan was about to argue, he quickly continued, "Oh, by the way, I heard your inspection team got a new young technician after the New Year. Not very old, but he’s quite capable, I hear."
"Huh?" Xu Baoshan was stunned. His inspection team had only taken on one new person after the New Year: Zhao Jun.
The look Xu Baoshan gave Dou Baoguo was complicated.
’He’d walked right into a trap!’
Seeing Xu Baoshan’s silence, Dou Baoguo smiled. "You have to give young people more responsibility. Since he’s so capable, send him to the New Logging Camp. Once he’s been tested and trained up, he’ll be able to shoulder great responsibilities in the future."
"Heh heh..."
Xu Baoshan couldn’t help but laugh. The laugh stunned Dou Baoguo, who was about to seize the opportunity to press his point, but then he heard Xu Baoshan say, "Farm Director Dou, it seems we’ve had the same idea!"
"Huh?" This time, it was Dou Baoguo’s turn to be stunned.
Then he heard Xu Baoshan continue, "I was just thinking of sending Zhao Jun to the New Logging Camp. See? I brought him here specifically. I was hoping you, the Director, could give the young man a little encouragement."
As he spoke, Xu Baoshan stood up, took two steps to the side, and rested a hand on the back of his chair. "He’s waiting outside right now," he said to Dou Baoguo. "I’ll call him in for you."
"Ah..." Dou Baoguo was completely baffled. He turned to look at Li Chaoyun, only to see that his secretary was equally bewildered.