The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

Chapter 233: Chapter 204: He’s My Dad (Part 2)

With that, Xu Baoshan clapped Ma Liang on the shoulder again and said, "He’s one of us. Teach him well."

Ma Liang nodded. "Don’t you worry, Master."

"Mhm." Xu Baoshan grunted, then turned and left.

After Xu Baoshan left, Ma Liang said to Zhao Jun, "Come with me. I’ll show you around."

"Thanks for the trouble, Brother Ma."

Ma Liang led the way with Zhao Jun following behind. The two of them walked through all the office areas of the Acceptance Team.

Finally, they went outside.

Behind the building was an open area where a few logs were stacked.

Ma Liang used these logs as teaching aids to explain how to measure timber.

"Measuring timber," to put it bluntly, was the process of inspecting the quality and volume of the wood during acceptance.

Ma Liang was a meticulous teacher. He taught Zhao Jun how to use various rulers to measure the diameter and length of the logs, and then how to use those measurements to look up the timber volume.

By the end of the morning, Ma Liang’s jaw had nearly hit the floor.

As the lunch break approached, Ma Liang stared at Zhao Jun in utter astonishment.

He couldn’t imagine someone so intelligent could exist in the world. Anything he taught Zhao Jun, Zhao Jun only had to hear it once to remember and master it.

This was hard for Ma Liang to believe, but the facts were right in front of him, leaving him no choice but to accept it.

"Brother Liang." Over the course of the morning, the two had gotten along very well. For Zhao Jun, "Brother Ma" had become "Brother Liang."

Zhao Jun said, "Seeing as it’s almost noon, shouldn’t we be heading to lunch?"

Hearing this, Ma Liang snapped back to reality and grabbed Zhao Jun, breaking into a run.

Lunch at the Forest Farm started at twelve o’clock sharp, but the Acceptance Team’s office was outside the main farm area, and it took over ten minutes to walk there.

If they started back at noon, the good dishes in the cafeteria would be long gone. So, Xu Baoshan had given his subordinates a perk: the Acceptance Team staff didn’t have to wait until noon for their break; they could head to the Forest Farm twenty minutes early.

Ma Liang ran back to the office, grabbed two aluminum lunch boxes, and headed out.

Zhao Jun’s lunch box, however, had been in his satchel all along, which he still had slung over his shoulder.

The two of them left the Acceptance Team office and walked toward the Forest Farm. They didn’t see any of their other colleagues on the way. This was because the inspectors had to go to the various Logging Camps to measure timber. When things got busy, they even had to eat and sleep at the Logging Camps, so they were rarely at the main office.

Once back at the Forest Farm, Zhao Jun and Ma Liang saw many hurried-looking employees on the road to Cafeteria Number One.

They vaguely overheard someone say that today was the first official day of work for the Forest Farm. The leadership had specially allocated funds to prepare a nice meal for the workers. If you were late, you’d miss out.

Hearing this, Ma Liang quickly said to Zhao Jun, "Brother, you just started working here at our Forest Farm, so you probably don’t know. Let me tell you, we have two cafeterias. The food at Cafeteria Number One is better than at Number Two, especially with their Master Chef, Zhao Youcai. Everything he makes is delicious."

"Mhm, mhm." Zhao Jun nodded repeatedly.

Ma Liang glanced left and right, then lowered his voice and said to Zhao Jun, "But remember, if you see Master Zhao serving the food, whatever you do, don’t get in his line."

"Huh? Why not?" Zhao Jun asked, confused.

Ma Liang said, "That Master Zhao... he’s got a weird temper. Whether he gives you a lot or a little is completely up to his mood. If he takes a disliking to you, he’ll scoop up a ladleful of food and give it a couple of shakes. By then, there won’t be much left in your ladle."

As they spoke, the two entered the cafeteria.

Inside Cafeteria Number One, three long lines had already formed.

There were four serving windows, but only three long lines, because at the first window, only seven people were queued up.

And behind that first window stood none other than Zhao Youcai.

"See? That’s Master Zhao. Don’t be fooled because his line is short; we can’t queue up there," Ma Liang said, scanning the area around them.

He glanced around but didn’t see anyone he knew, so there was no chance to cut in line. Ma Liang then said to Zhao Jun, "Brother, you get in line for window two, and I’ll get in line for window three. If your line moves faster, call me over so I can get in front of you. If mine does, I’ll call you."

But upon hearing this, Zhao Jun said to Ma Liang, "Brother Liang, I think I’ll go queue at window one."

Ma Liang frowned and squinted at Zhao Jun, wondering why the kid was so dense. He’d explained it all so clearly, yet he still didn’t seem to get it.

But since Xu Baoshan had said Zhao Jun was one of them, Ma Liang spoke earnestly to him. "Brother, don’t just look at how few people are in line at window one. That’s exactly what proves my point. Do you know what they’re serving today?"

As he spoke, Ma Liang pointed at the wall, where the first line on a small blackboard read: Chicken Stew with Potatoes.

"Chicken stew with potatoes," Ma Liang said. "If you get your food from Master Zhao, you might get a ladleful of nothing but potatoes, without even a single chicken tail."

The "chicken tail" was the chicken’s rump, so Ma Liang was exaggerating a little.

Zhao Jun smiled. "It can’t be that bad. Look, the other lines have dozens of people. How long would that take? Brother Liang, come with me. Let’s go to window one."

Hearing this, Ma Liang shook his head like a rattle drum and said to Zhao Jun, "You go ahead and line up at window one. I’ll come find you after I get my food."

With that, Ma Liang took his lunch box and ran toward window two.

Zhao Jun walked up to the line for window one. There were still five people ahead of him, making him the sixth.

At that moment, a few people in the line for window two saw this unfamiliar face queuing up at window one and thought the greenhorn didn’t know what he was getting into.

Zhao Jun vaguely heard someone mutter, "That kid’s obviously new here."

Zhao Jun sighed inwardly, feeling a bit helpless. ’My old man is really the tyrant of Cafeteria Number One.’