"Alright!"
After that, Zhou Chunming and the other farm directors kept Director Chu company, chatting over tea and taking the opportunity to report some work-related issues.
It was well past noon. The Forest Management Director and the others were desperately shooting glances at Zhou Chunming, signaling that it was time to take Director Chu to the cafeteria for lunch. But Zhou Chunming remained unfazed, continuing to chat with Director Chu about production and development.
But talk of production and development couldn’t substitute for a meal. Director Chu was getting hungry too, but as a guest, he was too polite to say anything.
Just then, someone knocked on the office door. Zhou Chunming called for them to enter, and Yu Quanjin pushed the door open gently. Standing at the threshold, he announced, "Secretary Zhou, everything at the cafeteria is ready!"
Yu Quanjin put special emphasis on the word "ready." Hearing this, Zhou Chunming nodded, then smiled at Director Chu. "Director Chu, you must be hungry. I’m sorry for the wait; I sent someone to procure some fish for you. I know you love fish, so I had the cafeteria pan-fry some lenok and braise a yellow catfish in soy sauce."
"Ah!" Director Chu’s face lit up. "Elder Zhou, you know me too well! That’s just what I like! By the way, was the yellow catfish made by Master Zhao?"
"It was, it was," Zhou Chunming said, getting up from the sofa. He gestured toward the door. "In that case, Director Chu, shall we head over now?"
"Excellent! Excellent!" His stomach rumbling, Director Chu rose and followed Zhou Chunming out, with the other farm directors close behind.
The office building wasn’t far from the cafeteria, so the group walked over together, chatting and laughing along the way.
As they neared the cafeteria entrance, Director Chu noticed a father and son squatting under a large tree to eat. His curiosity piqued, he turned to Zhou Chunming and asked, "Elder Zhou, why aren’t your workers eating inside?"
Zhou Chunming froze. He glanced toward the large tree and saw it was Li Dayong and his son, Baoyu. ’This pair really knows how to put me on the spot,’ he thought irritably. ’They have less sense than a child!’
Though that’s what he was thinking, Zhou Chunming had to spin a tale for Director Chu. "Director Chu, you see, that’s a father and son. As a family, they just prefer not to eat inside."
"Ah!" Director Chu nodded, as if everything suddenly made sense. He met Zhou Chunming’s eyes and said, "What a quirk!"
"Right, right."
Director Chu found this rather amusing. Before entering the cafeteria, he made a point to glance at Li Dayong and Li Baoyu one more time.
But upon entering the cafeteria, Director Chu was stunned!
There was no stage set up for storytelling today, but that was because far too many people had shown up. A massive crowd of four or five hundred people was packed into the cafeteria, making it feel like it would burst at the seams.
With a look of utter confusion, Director Chu asked, "What’s all this? Is the food here really that good?"
But when he finished asking, he saw that the farm directors beside him looked just as bewildered.
Zhou Chunming was no exception. He never expected Li Ruhai could create such a commotion. After all, there hadn’t been any publicity for this event.
Since none of the farm directors said a word, Director Chu had no choice but to ask, "What are all these workers doing?"
How could one not be astonished? Four or five hundred people were gathered together, yet the room was utterly silent.
No sooner had Director Chu spoken, and before any of the directors could answer, a young voice drifted out from the crowd: "To continue our story... Yesterday, we spoke of how Dou Baoguo’s cronyism and persecution of the loyal finally sparked the people’s outrage..."
"What in the...?" Director Chu looked at Zhou Chunming in astonishment. "How did Dou Baoguo get turned into a story? Did you guys arrange this?"
"No!" Zhou Chunming said hastily. "Our meeting yesterday ran quite late."
After Zhou Chunming finished speaking, the other farm directors also chimed in with agreement.
Director Chu glanced suspiciously into the crowd. Seeing a small head bobbing about, he asked Zhou Chunming, "That looks like a child, doesn’t it? Is he even sixteen? And he’s already working at the Forest Farm?"
"Director Chu, it’s like this." Zhou Chunming hesitated internally, but a flash of the father and son squatting under the tree hardened his resolve. He decided to use the story Li Ruhai had fed him that morning to placate Director Chu. "You see, that kid’s father had an accident before the New Year. His older brother... well, he’s a bit simple-minded. So it’s just his mother working the fields to support him, his brother, and a sister. It’s a hard life. On top of that, he’s a relative of Elder Yang, our gatekeeper. Elder Yang took pity on him and arranged for him to take over the post."
At this, Zhou Chunming saw that Director Chu’s expression had softened with sympathy, so he pressed on. "Besides, guarding the gate isn’t strenuous work. We figured it was a way to help the family out."
"Alright." Director Chu’s expression relaxed. He said to Zhou Chunming, "That was a good deed. Even though we’re a state-run unit, it’s still our undeniable duty to look after those in need."
"Right, right," Zhou Chunming nodded eagerly. "You’re absolutely right, Director Chu."
No sooner had Zhou Chunming finished speaking than Li Ruhai’s story reached the part where Zhao Jun struck Dou Baoguo.
Hearing that Zhao Jun had struck Dou Baoguo, the onlooking workers erupted in cheers.
Director Chu, however, looked displeased. But then he suddenly recalled something and asked Zhou Chunming, "Elder Zhou, this Zhao Jun the boy is talking about... is he the one who killed that giant wild boar?"
As a leader, Director Chu couldn’t bring himself to say the words "Pig God," so he substituted "giant wild boar" instead.
"That’s him," Zhou Chunming said with a smile. "He’s also the one who caught that Tiger from the Yongxing Brigade!"
At that moment, Zhou Chunming felt a pang of envy for his in-law, Zhao Youcai.
They both had only one son, but Zhou Chunming couldn’t help but feel that his own son, Zhou Jianjun, was completely useless compared to Zhao Jun.
In Zhou Chunming’s eyes, Zhao Jun was the complete package—a man of both brains and brawn. With his wits, he could bring down a man like Dou Baoguo. With his might, he could capture a fierce tiger and slay the Pig God. He’d even managed to hunt enough bears to sell a fortune’s worth of Bear Galls.