Large steamed dumplings with zucchini filling. Dipped only in vinegar, not soy sauce, and served with garlic, they were savory and delicious.
While the three of them ate, skidders would occasionally return. Following the instructions Zhao Jun had given them that day, they came to the shack one by one to report in.
Zhang Xuefeng jotted down their numbers and how many logs they had brought back. The skidders stopped returning after seven o’clock.
Elder Yang waited until after seven-thirty before leaving the shack to lock the main gate of the Logging Camp.
Once the old man returned, the three of them extinguished the lamp and went to sleep.
Zhao Jun slept until he heard a noise. He opened his eyes and saw Elder Yang getting dressed and climbing off the kang bed. Zhao Jun reached under his pillow, took out the watch he had borrowed from Zhao Youcai, and looked at it. It was already 3:08 in the morning.
Zhao Jun reached out and shook Zhang Xuefeng awake. The two of them got dressed, grabbed their ledgers and tools, and left the shack. They headed for the Log Pile Yard to finish scaling the logs from yesterday.
By this time, the three groups of skidders had already finished feeding their horses.
This was the hardest part of the job: having to get up at just after two in the morning to feed the animals.
Zhao Jun and Zhang Xuefeng arrived at the Log Pile Yard and scaled logs until almost seven, finally finishing all the timber.
By then, the Gui Ling workers were already at work. They were sorting the various types of timber into different piles, exactly as Zhao Jun had instructed them to do yesterday.
"Technician Zhao, Technician Zhang." Seeing that Zhao Jun had finished his work, Lin Musen and Xu Shengli walked over together. Xu Shengli smiled and said, "For lunch today, why don’t you come to my shack? Let Xiaolin and I show our appreciation. We both feel bad that we didn’t get to treat you to a meal yesterday."
Hearing this, Zhao Jun sneered inwardly. He just said, "A meal is a small matter. That thing I told you before the meeting yesterday—did you tell the skidders or not?"
"We told them, we told them," Lin Musen said quickly. "We’ve explained everything. Don’t worry, Technician Zhao. There absolutely won’t be any mistakes."
"Good enough," Zhao Jun said. He turned his head and looked about fifty or sixty meters away, where four men were standing under a large tree.
Zhao Jun didn’t recognize three of them, but he only needed to recognize one.
Zhao Qingzhu!
Seeing Zhao Qingzhu standing there with his men, Zhao Jun knew there was going to be a good show today.
"WHOA, WHOA!"
Just then, at the sound of a driver’s call to his horse, everyone—Zhao Jun, Zhang Xuefeng, Lin Musen, and Xu Shengli, along with Zhao Qingzhu and his three followers under the tree—turned to look at the approaching horse-drawn cart.
The skidder jumped down from his cart and pulled hard on the reins, bringing it to a stop in front of Zhao Jun and the others.
"What’d you haul?" Xu Shengli asked. This was one of his skidders.
The skidder replied, "Oak and Fraxinus mandschurica."
"Do you know which pile it goes to?" Xu Shengli said. "I just told you all this morning, didn’t I?"
"I know," the skidder answered again, then led the horse and cart further in. According to the old practice, he would have just unloaded the logs right here.
After the skidder led the horse and cart away, Xu Shengli smiled at Zhao Jun and said, "Technician Zhao, we’re following your instructions to the letter."
Zhao Jun smiled at his words and nodded at Xu Shengli.
But just then, another horse-drawn cart came rushing over. The skidder driving it was still a long way from Zhao Jun’s group when he started shouting, "Whoa!"
Once the cart stopped, the skidder glanced at Zhao Jun from a distance, then hopped onto the cart. Using a peavey propped against something, he pried the logs off. They tumbled to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Scaler, I’m Number 72!" the skidder shouted cockily in Zhao Jun’s direction. "Come scale my logs!"
Zhao Jun glanced at him and barked, "Either you get those logs onto the pile, or you haul them away."
As soon as Zhao Jun said this, the skidder turned to look toward the large tree. Under the tree, Zhao Qingzhu said something to the men beside him, and the four of them started walking over.
Seeing this, Zhao Jun turned and shouted to the men behind him, "Gui Ling crew! Gui Ling crew! All of you, get over here!"
The moment Zhao Jun’s voice faded, a CLATTERING sound arose. From atop the log piles, Gui Ling workers, armed with peaveys and grappling hooks, swarmed to gather behind Zhao Jun.
Zhao Qingzhu, who had just started rolling up his sleeves, saw this and quickly threw his arms out to stop the men beside him.
Meanwhile, his man, the skidder who had just unloaded the logs, saw what was happening and abandoned his horse and cart, scrambling to run to Zhao Qingzhu.
In front of the Log Pile Yard, two groups instantly formed a standoff. One side was led by Zhao Jun, with over eighty men, each holding a peavey or a grappling hook. The other side, led by Zhao Qingzhu, consisted of five men, all empty-handed.
"You..." Zhao Qingzhu was stunned. He suppressed the fear in his heart and called out to Zhao Jun, "What do you think you’re doing?"
Zhao Jun ignored him, shouting without turning his head, "A few of you Gui Ling men!"
The moment he spoke, four Gui Ling workers stepped out from the crowd behind him, all of them holding grappling hooks and peaveys.
Zhao Jun pointed forward and ordered, "Take those logs he unloaded and throw them onto the pile!"
The four workers obeyed and went forward. Zhao Qingzhu and his men could only watch as the workers carried the logs away, too intimidated by the force arrayed behind Zhao Jun to dare step forward.
"Brother Zhao!" the skidder cried out to Zhao Qingzhu. He was both scared and anxious—scared that Zhao Jun would have his men beat him up, but also pained that the logs he’d hauled were being confiscated just like that.
Zhao Qingzhu bit his lower lip, took a step forward, and said to Zhao Jun, "Zhao... Technician, aren’t you going too far?"
Even though he was furious, Zhao Qingzhu still didn’t dare use Zhao Jun’s name directly. Pointing at the logs being taken away by the Gui Ling workers, he asked, "My skidder may not have followed the rules, but you can’t just do this, can you?"
"Do what?" Zhao Jun smiled and asked Zhao Qingzhu, "I told you to go back and read the regulatory articles and the ten provisions yesterday. Did you?"