Zhao Qingzhu was a real man of his word. Although he hadn’t dared to touch a single hair on Zhao Jun’s head, he did what he said he would.
He said he was going to the farm headquarters to report Zhao Jun, and first thing the next morning, he had Niu Guoliang drive him over to the Yong’an Forest Farm in a horse-drawn cart.
By the time he arrived at the Forest Farm, the workday had already begun. Zhao Qingzhu asked for directions and made his way to the administrative building, where he found Dou Baoguo.
The moment Zhao Qingzhu saw Dou Baoguo, he announced that he had something on Zhao Jun. Specifically, that Zhao Jun had docked their measurements. A log that was originally 4.60 was forcibly recorded as 4.56.
"Really?" Hearing this, Dou Baoguo couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. He had wanted to send Zhao Jun to the New Logging Camp in the first place precisely because Zhao Jun was Zhou Jianjun’s brother-in-law. If Zhao Jun made a mistake, he could blow it out of proportion and exploit it to the fullest.
But what Dou Baoguo hadn’t expected was for Zhao Jun to make a mistake today, only his second day at the Lower Logging Camp.
But because it was so unexpected, Dou Baoguo was still a little suspicious. He repeatedly confirmed with Zhao Qingzhu, "Are you sure that log is 4.60?"
"I’m sure!" Zhao Qingzhu nodded without hesitation. "I was worried last night, so I went back to the Log Pile Yard. I took a tape and measured it several times myself. It’s 4.60."
"Good!" Dou Baoguo nodded upon hearing this. Then he asked Zhao Qingzhu, "So how did the young technician mark it?"
"I counted them one by one!" Zhao Qingzhu answered with conviction. "He used the marking hammer and stamped five 6s on that log."
The moment Zhao Qingzhu finished speaking, a look of delight spread across Dou Baoguo’s face. He had previously worked a desk job and had no real field experience. However, before taking up his new post, Dou Baoguo had made a point of consulting with experts. Moreover, he knew all the rules and regulations like the back of his hand.
Dou Baoguo knew that stamping five 6s represented 56. If it were 46, on the other hand, it should have been four 6s.
A 4.60 log, marked as 4.56, and done so deliberately... There was no denying he’d made a mistake.
Just as Dou Baoguo was gloating inwardly, Li Chaoyun brought over two cups of water. He placed one in front of Dou Baoguo and handed the other to Zhao Qingzhu.
"That whole trip made me thirsty." Zhao Qingzhu took the cup, found the water temperature acceptable, and GULP, GULP, downed it in one go.
After finishing, Zhao Qingzhu unceremoniously handed the cup back to Li Chaoyun and said, "Get me another."
Li Chaoyun took the cup but didn’t move. Instead, he asked Zhao Qingzhu, "Master Zhao, that log is still at the Log Pile Yard, right?"
"That’s right, Brother." At this point, Dou Baoguo also caught on and hurriedly asked Zhao Qingzhu, "We can’t let that kid realize his mistake and get rid of the log."
"Don’t you worry." Zhao Qingzhu slapped Dou Baoguo’s thigh with his palm. "I’ve got eight men on it, working in two shifts, just to watch that log."
"Hahaha..." Dou Baoguo reached out and clapped Zhao Qingzhu on the shoulder. "Attaboy, Brother! You’ve really got something. You’ve done me a huge favor this time."
Zhao Qingzhu chuckled as well. Then he turned his head and saw Li Chaoyun standing there with the cup, grinning foolishly. He snapped irritably, "What are you grinning like an idiot for? Hurry up and get me some water!"
"Yes, yes!" In front of the Farm Director, Li Chaoyun didn’t dare to be slow. But as he turned to leave, he mouthed a silent curse at Zhao Qingzhu.
Seeing Li Chaoyun leave, Zhao Qingzhu said to Dou Baoguo, "Brother, you have no idea. That kid is a real fucking piece of work. I swear, I wanted to beat the hell out of him yesterday!"
"Then why didn’t you?" Dou Baoguo said with a smile. "You could have beaten him up first, and then I would have dealt with him. Wouldn’t that have been perfect?"
"Well..." Zhao Qingzhu quickly changed the subject. "Let’s not talk about that. Brother, you need to deal with him, and fast. How can someone like that be allowed to work? He does no real work and just makes life miserable for us logging contractors."
Hearing Zhao Qingzhu’s words, Dou Baoguo just smiled.
"Brother, don’t just smile," Zhao Qingzhu said. "An inspector like that, aren’t you going to fire him?"
Dou Baoguo smiled at Zhao Qingzhu and said, "Brother, this matter... you shouldn’t be telling me."
"Huh?" Zhao Qingzhu froze, his eyes wide. "Brother, what are you saying? You’re my brother, and the Farm Director for production. If I don’t tell you, who else can I tell? Besides, weren’t you the one who..."
Dou Baoguo raised a hand, cutting Zhao Qingzhu off. He said, "Brother, the office at the very end of this hall belongs to our Forest Farm Secretary, Zhou Chunming. He’s in there right now."
Zhao Qingzhu frowned at Dou Baoguo, not even taking the cup of water Li Chaoyun handed him. He just asked, "You want me to go talk to him?"
Dou Baoguo smiled. "Brother, that young technician, Zhao Jun, is Secretary Zhou’s daughter-in-law’s younger brother."
"Ah!" Upon hearing this, a smile spread across Zhao Qingzhu’s face. "Brother, now that you put it that way, I understand completely."
With that, Zhao Qingzhu turned, glanced at Li Chaoyun, then picked up the cup from the desk and drained it.
After finishing the water, Zhao Qingzhu got up from the sofa and walked toward the door.
Zhao Qingzhu opened the door, stepped out into the hallway, and started yelling at the top of his lungs, "Help! A Forest Farm technician is bullying us! A Forest Farm technician is cheating the contractors on their measurements! Is anyone going to do anything about this!"
Zhou Chunming was in his office working when he heard the caterwauling outside. He told his secretary to go and see what was happening.
But as soon as the secretary opened the door and saw Dou Baoguo and Li Chaoyun were also there, his heart skipped a beat. He quickly closed the door, walked to Zhou Chunming’s desk, and said in a low voice, "Secretary Zhou, Farm Director Dou is out there too."
"Hm?" At these words, Zhou Chunming’s hand, which was holding a pen, paused. He removed the cap from the back of the fountain pen and placed it over the nib. Then, he set the pen down, rose from his chair, walked to the door, and opened it to step outside his office.