So this was a challenge?
There’s an old saying: you go to war with your own brother.
Zhao Qingzhu and Dou Baoguo weren’t blood brothers, only cousins. But there was another saying for that: maternal cousins stay close for generations; even if a bone is broken, the sinews hold it together.
Zhao Qingzhu and Dou Baoguo had grown up together. Later, one became a leader while the other remained a farmer, but they had never grown apart.
Now, Dou Baoguo had arranged for Zhao Qingzhu to handle the log hauling. First, he wanted Zhao Qingzhu to earn some money. Second, he wanted Zhao Qingzhu to help him break through the fortress that was the inspection team so he could build his own crew.
The cousins supported each other. So even if it was just for Dou Baoguo’s sake, Zhao Qingzhu had to muster his courage and clash with Zhao Jun to the bitter end.
Hearing Zhao Qingzhu ask what would happen if he made a mistake, Zhao Jun smiled faintly. He looked at Zhao Qingzhu and said, "If I measure something wrong, you can just keep beating me!"
Zhao Qingzhu froze at Zhao Jun’s words. ’This kid’s so sarcastic,’ he thought, ’I don’t even know how to respond to that.’
Unable to respond, Zhao Qingzhu changed his approach. "When you’re measuring, you can’t have any short or inaccurate measurements."
"Heh." Zhao Jun let out a cold laugh. "If my measurements are short or inaccurate, you can beat me."
Zhao Qingzhu: "..."
Seeing Zhao Qingzhu’s cheek twitch, Zhao Jun chuckled and shouted toward the door, "Eldest Uncle Yang! Eldest Uncle Yang!"
"Hey! Zhao Jun!" Elder Yang, who had been listening to the commotion at the door, pulled it open and came in. He pushed Xu Shengli and Zhao Qingzhu apart and walked over to Zhao Jun’s side.
"Eldest Uncle, have a seat." Zhao Jun stood up and, ignoring the old man’s protests, helped him sit down between himself and Zhang Xuefeng. Then, gesturing to Zhang Xuefeng, he said pleasantly to Elder Yang, "Eldest Uncle, from now on, the two of us will be staying here in your shack. Is that alright?"
"Of course!" Elder Yang said without a second thought. "Go ahead and stay. My kang is all ready." He then turned to look at Zhang Xuefeng and added, "If you two are staying here, I’ll make sure the kang is nice and warm for you."
"Thank you, Eldest Uncle." Zhang Xuefeng thanked Elder Yang, following Zhao Jun’s lead in addressing him.
After Elder Yang agreed, Zhao Jun turned to the three Leaders. "The two of us get off work at five and will come back to this shack. Any of your haulers who come back after five should check in here.
Aren’t there eighty haulers in total? From number one to number eighty, when they get here, they report their number and tell us how many logs they’ve brought back. We’ll write it down. For example, if number thirty brings back two logs, we’ll write down 30, 2. The next morning, we’ll go to the Log Pile Yard and measure those logs first. I refuse to believe they can go missing then!"
As soon as Zhao Jun said this, the Leaders were completely won over. It was indeed a great idea.
If they brought logs back late at night, they couldn’t be measured right away. But by registering with Zhao Jun and marking the logs, they definitely wouldn’t get lost.
Then, Zhao Jun added, "Let’s be clear about this first. If any of your haulers don’t come here to register when they get back at night, and their logs go missing, it’s not my problem."
Lin Musen and Xu Shengli both nodded, but Zhao Qingzhu remained silent.
After speaking, Zhao Jun waved his hand dismissively. "Alright, if there’s nothing else, get back to work!"
Hearing this, all four men standing below the kang started to head for the door. But just then, Zhao Jun suddenly stopped Song Tiemin. "Leader Song, stay for a moment."
"Huh?" Song Tiemin started, turning to look at Zhao Jun. Seeing Zhao Jun’s steady gaze on him, his heart skipped a beat, but he still replied, "Alright."
After the three Leaders left, the last one out, Lin Musen, had the good sense to close the door behind him. Even so, Zhao Jun said to Elder Yang, "Eldest Uncle, could you go outside and keep an eye out? Don’t let them peek through the cracks in the door."
"You got it!" Elder Yang agreed cheerfully, hopping off the kang and heading out the door.
Once Elder Yang was outside, Zhao Jun gestured to Song Tiemin. "Brother Song, come, have a seat."
"Uh... heh heh." Song Tiemin gave a nervous chuckle. "I’ll stand. If you have something to say, let’s just say it so I can get back to work."
"Heh." Zhao Jun sneered. "It’s already noon. You’re still going to work?"
"Th-this..." Song Tiemin froze, his heart pounding.
Zhang Xuefeng watched the scene with curiosity. He didn’t know why Zhao Jun had asked Song Tiemin to stay behind, especially with such an accusatory air.
Zhao Jun looked at Song Tiemin and asked in a low voice, "Brother Song, tell me the truth. What’s the real story with the logs the haulers have been losing?"
"This... heh heh." Song Tiemin laughed nervously. "Zhao Jun, what kind of question is that? You’re asking me, but how would I know?"
"You don’t know?" Zhao Jun’s expression darkened. He said sternly, "Brother Song, right now, I’m the one asking you. If you still don’t talk, then tomorrow, it’ll be our Leader Xu asking."
"What?" Song Tiemin was terrified. He looked at Zhao Jun nervously and asked, "How did this get Leader Xu involved?"
"Of course it did!" Zhao Jun snapped. "Four inspectors from our inspection team were beaten. Knowing Leader Xu’s personality, do you really think he wouldn’t investigate?"
Hearing this, Song Tiemin bit his lip but said nothing.
Seeing him remain silent, Zhao Jun smiled. "Brother Song, you have eighty Gui Ling workers under you. If one of them rats you out, you should really think about the consequences."
At this point, Zhao Jun waved his hand dismissively again. "Alright, it’s almost noon. Go on, get to work."
"Well... it’s noon, so no more work." Song Tiemin gave a wry smile, then said to Zhao Jun and Zhang Xuefeng, "You two brothers, where are you having lunch? Why don’t you come to my shack and eat with us?"