"Yeah!" Li Baoyu nodded gravely, looking at Zhao Jun. "Brother, who knows when we'll see each other again after you leave!"
"Gimme that!" Zhao Jun snatched the bedroll and said irritably, "You should get going. And remember what I told you yesterday, alright?"
"Mhm!"
Zhao Jun walked into the courtyard with the luggage. Turning back, he saw Li Baoyu still standing at the gate and jerked his head at him. "Hurry back. Don't you have to go to work?"
"Yeah," Li Baoyu replied, then walked away, looking back every few steps.
When Zhao Jun arrived at Xu Baoshan's office, he saw Xu Baoshan and Zhang Xuefeng already there, smoking and waiting for him.
After Zhao Jun retrieved his tools, Xu Baoshan led him and Zhang Xuefeng straight to the New Logging Camp.
By the time the three of them reached the New Logging Camp, it was already after ten in the morning. Seeing the sleds coming and going, Xu Baoshan went to the shack at the entrance, peered inside, and asked in surprise, "Brother Yang, what are you doing here?"
Just as Xu Baoshan finished speaking, an old man with a goatee came out of the shack. He smiled at Xu Baoshan and said, "Baoshan, this is the new logging camp they built, isn't it? I'm here tending the fire for them, and another old fellow does the cooking."
It was colder this year. Even though it was only late August and early September, the morning and evening temperatures in the mountains had already dropped below ten degrees Celsius.
Besides, it was damp and cool inside the shack compared to outdoors. That's why a fire was needed in the shack this early in the season.
Elder Yang was originally a gatekeeper at the Forest Farm, a job that normally ran on a three-shift rotation. But ever since the New Logging Camp was built, he had been sent over to double as a night watchman and help tend the stove for the Gui Ling workers and sled teams.
Elder Yang didn't mind the new job, because the pay for working at the New Logging Camp was much higher than what he earned just as a gatekeeper.
Elder Yang was talking with Xu Baoshan when he suddenly noticed Zhao Jun standing to the side. The old man froze for a second, then pointed at Zhao Jun and said, "Hey, isn't that Zhao Jun?"
"Eldest Uncle Yang." Zhao Jun stepped forward and greeted the old man. The man was from Yongsheng Village and was distantly related to Zhou Jianjun. Since Zhou Jianjun called him Uncle, Zhao Jun addressed him the same way his brother-in-law did.
Upon seeing Zhao Jun, Elder Yang's expression darkened. He said to Xu Baoshan, "Baoshan, this New Logging Camp… The work here is so intense. How could you let a kid come here?"
Hearing this, Xu Baoshan knew the old man was being protective of Zhao Jun and didn't want him to get dragged into this mess. But there were things he couldn't say outright, so he could only reply to Elder Yang, "Brother, it was an order from the higher-ups. I have no choice."
"'The higher-ups'?" The old man's voice suddenly rose. "Who from 'the higher-ups'?"
Just then, Zhao Jun stepped forward and reached for Elder Yang's arm. But the old man quickly pulled his arm back and said to Zhao Jun, "Don't, kid. Your uncle cleans out ashes all day. My clothes are filthy; don't let them rub off on you."
"It's alright, Uncle." After speaking, Zhao Jun leaned close to the old man's ear and whispered a few words.
Elder Yang's hearing was sharp. After listening, he glanced at Xu Baoshan and said, "Baoshan, you all go rest in my shack for a bit. I'll go get those Leaders for you."
"Sounds good!" Xu Baoshan had originally planned to go to the Log Pile Yard, but after hearing Elder Yang's suggestion, he felt this was a better idea.
The three of them entered the shack and sat on the kang. Not long after, Elder Yang returned with a group of people.
"Well, if it isn't Leader Xu!" The man who entered first was taken aback when he saw Xu Baoshan and quickly greeted him.
Then, he noticed Zhao Jun. His brow furrowed for a moment before relaxing, and he asked with a smile, "Zhao Jun is here, too."
"Brother Song." Zhao Jun stood up and greeted the man.
The man's name was Song Tiemin. He was from Yong'an Village and was Li Dayong's apprentice. He was currently the leader of a Gui Ling team.
The eighty-some Gui Ling workers at this New Logging Camp were all under his supervision.
The three men who came in with him were the Leaders of the three sled teams at the New Logging Camp.
At this point, Xu Baoshan looked at the three Leaders without saying a word.
The three Leaders also looked at Xu Baoshan. They had only just heard Song Tiemin call him 'Leader', but they didn't know his exact position.
A corner of Xu Baoshan's mouth twitched as he looked at Song Tiemin. "Xiaosong, who are these fellows?"
At the Forest Farm, Accounting outranked Dispatch, Dispatch outranked Inspection, and Inspection outranked Gui Ling.
Never mind that Song Tiemin was just a team leader; even if the head of the entire Gui Ling department came, he would still be a step below Xu Baoshan.
So, after hearing Xu Baoshan's words, Song Tiemin turned to the three Leaders and introduced him. "This is Leader Xu from the Inspection Team. Go on, introduce yourselves."
"Hello, Leader Xu!" As soon as Song Tiemin finished speaking, one man stepped forward, bowed slightly, and said, "My name is Lin Musen. I'm a sled team Leader here." After speaking, he pulled an unopened pack of Shilin Cigarettes from his pocket, tore it open, and offered one to Xu Baoshan.
Xu Baoshan took the cigarette, smiled at Lin Musen, and held it in his hand as he looked toward the other two men.
Another man stepped forward, also bowing slightly to Xu Baoshan. "Hello, Leader Xu. I'm also a sled team Leader here. My name is Xu Shengli."
At this, Xu Shengli smiled, trying to sound familiar. "We even share the same family name."
"That's right," Xu Baoshan said with a smile and a nod. He was giving these two Leaders plenty of face today, not for his own sake, but for Zhao Jun and Zhang Xuefeng's.
At that moment, the last man stepped forward, bowed with a smile, and said, "Leader Xu, my name is Zhao Qingzhu. I'm also a sled team Leader!"
"Mhm." Compared to the first two Leaders, Xu Baoshan's attitude toward Zhao Qingzhu was much colder. He only gave a faint acknowledgment, then pointed to Zhang Xuefeng and Zhao Jun beside him and said, "This is a technician from our Inspection Team, Zhang Xuefeng."
Then, Xu Baoshan paused for a moment before pointing to Zhao Jun and saying his name.
When he heard the name 'Zhao Jun,' Zhao Qingzhu looked up at him. At that exact moment, Zhao Jun was also looking at Zhao Qingzhu.
Their eyes met, and their gazes broke away in an instant.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Xu Baoshan got up and left.
The group saw him to the gate of the Logging Camp. Song Tiemin then turned to Zhao Jun and Zhang Xuefeng and said, "You two technicians, let me take you to see the log piles."
The previous morning, Chen Xingwang and Qiao Zhenghua had been beaten and both had fled back to the inspection team. But work at the Logging Camp hadn't stopped, so now there was a huge amount of timber piled up in the Log Pile Yard, waiting to be scaled.
As soon as Song Tiemin said this, the three Leaders' eyes scanned back and forth between Zhao Jun and Zhang Xuefeng.
"Brother Song!" Zhao Jun called out. He then turned to the three Leaders and said, "Why don't we go back to my Eldest Uncle Yang's shack and sit for a while longer?"
"Sit for what?" The one who spoke was none other than Zhao Qingzhu. He glared at Zhao Jun, his face full of displeasure. "There's a huge pile of timber over there. If you don't scale it, how are we sled teams supposed to get paid?"
When Zhao Qingzhu said this, Lin Musen and Xu Shengli remained silent, but they clearly agreed with him. They were Leaders, and they had brought men out here to haul timber; they had to look out for their crew.
"It won't delay the scaling!" Zhao Jun said, looking at Zhao Qingzhu. "Today, even if my partner and I have to go without sleep, we'll finish scaling all the timber from yesterday and today. We won't hold you up."
Hearing Zhao Jun say this, Zhao Qingzhu was left speechless.
Then Zhao Jun continued, "Now, all of you, come with me into the shack. I'm going to hold a meeting."
"Huh?"
At these words, everyone present, including Zhang Xuefeng, was stunned.
Zhao Qingzhu sneered, looking at Zhao Jun with disdain. "Who the hell do you think you are? You're going to hold a meeting for us?"
"I'm a technician from the Forest Farm," Zhao Jun said, staring back at Zhao Qingzhu without yielding an inch. "Last month, our production director held a meeting and said that all scaling at the logging camps must be done according to the standard."
At this, Zhao Jun jutted his chin at Zhao Qingzhu and asked, "How many years have you been hauling sleds? Do you even know what the 'standard' is?"
"I…" For a moment, Zhao Qingzhu was at a loss for words. He had never done this kind of work before. He had only gotten this job by pulling strings with Dou Baoguo, gathering a crew of sled teams to earn money at the Logging Camp. How would he know anything about standards?
"So you don't know? If you don't know, you should learn!" Zhao Jun glared at Zhao Qingzhu and chided, "Why do you talk so much? No one else is saying a word, so how come you're the one with so much to say?"
Zhao Qingzhu was so thoroughly shut down by Zhao Jun that he was left speechless, his face flushing red with indignation as he glared at him.
But he had nothing to say.
A faint smile touched the corners of Zhao Jun's lips. His gaze swept over Song Tiemin, Lin Musen, and Xu Shengli as he said coolly, "Inside. For the meeting."
With that, Zhao Jun turned and walked into the shack.