Free Web NovelChapter 237: Chapter 206: That Old Bastard’s Grandson Is Here
Xu Baoshan didn’t understand what Jiang Fu meant, so he asked, "Elder Jiang, what are you trying to say?"
Xu Baoshan knew there was plenty of friction between the various Leaders, but he didn’t believe Du Chunjiang, the Leader of No. 77 Logging Camp, would dare to cross him or Zhao Jun.
Hearing this, Jiang Fu knew Xu Baoshan had misunderstood him, but that was exactly what made a favor like this effective.
So, Jiang Fu said, "That Elder Du is a difficult character. Xiaozhao is new, and if he goes over by himself, I’m afraid..."
Jiang Fu trailed off, saying no more. He was confident Xu Baoshan could read between the lines.
And Xu Baoshan did understand. He frowned and retorted, "So what? No matter how difficult that Du Chunlin is, would he dare to bully us?"
What Xu Baoshan really wanted to say was, ’He just runs a logging contract. How dare he bully us inspectors?’
But considering that Jiang Fu, just like Du Chunjiang, was also a Leader with a logging contract, Xu Baoshan held his tongue.
Still, Xu Baoshan’s meaning was obvious. In all his years, he’d only ever heard of inspectors bullying the Logging Camp crews, never the other way around.
Jiang Fu understood Xu Baoshan’s point and gave a wry smile. "Leader Xu, you’re busy at the Forest Farm and don’t get down to the camps often, so you might not be aware. But you can ask the other inspectors in our group when you get back. They all know what kind of man Elder Du is."
"Heh, he’s that much of a big shot? I had no idea." Hearing this, Xu Baoshan believed him. But he just gave a cold laugh, uttered that single remark, and then got up, leading Zhao Jun out of the shack to get back to work.
Xu Baoshan and Zhao Jun didn’t finish up until after three in the afternoon.
After bidding farewell to Jiang Fu, the two returned to the Forest Farm. Xu Baoshan brought Zhao Jun to his office, unlocked a cabinet in his desk, and took out a black, hardcover ledger and two bottles of fountain pen ink.
Then, Xu Baoshan pulled open a drawer and took out a brand-new Hero fountain pen. He handed everything to Zhao Jun and said, "Tomorrow, you’ll go to No. 77 Logging Camp. Once you’re there, don’t be afraid of anyone. If you run into any trouble, just come back and tell me."
"Got it, Leader. I understand," Zhao Jun replied, getting ready to leave for the day. The last commuter train left at five, and if he didn’t hurry, he wouldn’t make it.
"Clock out and get going," Xu Baoshan said with a smile, knowing Zhao Jun had to catch his train. He gave a wave of his hand.
"I’m off then, Leader," Zhao Jun said, turning to go.
But Xu Baoshan called him back. "When you go to No. 77 Logging Camp tomorrow," he told Zhao Jun, "make sure you bring all that gear you picked up from supply."
"Got it, Leader. I understand."
Zhao Jun knew what Xu Baoshan meant. ’As long as I take the new tools from my brother-in-law down to the Logging Camp, that Du Chunjiang won’t dare to get cocky.’
’But since I have to go straight from home to No. 77 Logging Camp tomorrow morning, I’ll need to take all my tools home with me now.’
Yet when Zhao Jun left the inspection office, he was carrying his old set of tools, having ignored Xu Baoshan’s advice.
He took the shuttle train all the way to Yong’an Village. After getting home and eating dinner, Zhao Jun told Zhao Youcai and Wang Meilan about his day working and eating with Xu Baoshan.
When Zhao Youcai heard that Zhao Jun had already mastered log scaling and was going to No. 77 Logging Camp to work alone tomorrow, he was quite shocked.
But he didn’t believe Xu Baoshan would set his son up for failure, so he just gave Zhao Jun a few stern warnings about what to expect.
Unlike Zhao Youcai, Wang Meilan, who knew nothing about log scaling, felt nothing but pride. She simply watched Zhao Jun with a happy expression.
...
The next morning, Zhao Jun was up early. He had just finished breakfast and was about to head out when Li Baoyu burst in like a whirlwind.
As soon as he entered, he waved at Zhao Jun in the west room before heading to the east room to ask Zhao Youcai, "Uncle, when are we leaving?"
Zhao Youcai glanced up at the clock on the wall and said to Li Baoyu, "No rush. It’s not even seven yet. We can wait another ten minutes or so."
Hearing they weren’t leaving right away, Li Baoyu headed straight for Zhao Jun’s room. He was excited because he was going to the Forest Farm today to learn how to drive with Lin Xiangshun.
Li Baoyu shot the breeze with Zhao Jun for a while until he heard Zhao Youcai call for him.
"Hey, Uncle, I’m coming!" Li Baoyu called back. Seeing Zhao Jun still leaning motionlessly against the kang-side cabinet, he asked, "Brother, you’re not coming with us?"
"I’m not in a hurry," said Zhao Jun. "I’m heading straight to the Logging Camp later. I don’t have to leave until twenty to eight."
"Alright, I’m heading out then," Li Baoyu said. Hearing Zhao Jun’s plan, he got up to go catch Zhao Youcai.
Zhao Jun rested at home until 7:40. Then, he swung his legs off the kang and slipped on his cotton-padded shoes. He stood up, took his satchel from the wall, clipped the ink-filled fountain pen to the ledger on the table, and placed them both, along with a measuring tape, into the bag.
Then, grasping his scaling stick and marking hammer in one hand, he left the room and said to Wang Meilan, "Ma, I’m heading off to work."
"Be careful, son."
"I will," Zhao Jun replied, pushing the door open and heading out.
After leaving his house, he first headed to the small general store and bought four large biscuits.
Worried that the oil from the food might seep through, Zhao Jun had the proprietress wrap it in three layers of Butter Paper before placing it in his satchel.
As he stepped out of the store, the morning sun fell on his face. Zhao Jun chuckled to himself and started walking toward the edge of the village.
Zhao Jun left the village and headed into the mountains, walking for over an hour before he arrived at No. 77 Logging Camp.
He was about to turn left toward the Logging Camp gate when he suddenly heard a truck horn honk behind him.
Zhao Jun jumped to the side of the road. When he looked back, he saw Lin Xiangshun behind the wheel, with none other than Li Baoyu in the passenger seat.
"Xiaojun!" Lin Xiangshun stopped the truck beside him, looking at him in surprise. He too couldn’t believe Zhao Jun was out here to scale logs on his own.
Lin Xiangshun was worried that Xu Baoshan was setting his little brother up. He wanted to get out and go into the Logging Camp with Zhao Jun to have a word with Du Chunjiang. Even though Du Chunjiang didn’t know how to scale logs himself, after so many years at the camp, he knew enough to tell if the job was done right.
But he had urgent business to attend to. He instructed Zhao Jun, "Xiaojun, when you go in, find their Leader and mention my name and Second Uncle’s. Tell Du Chunjiang to look out for you."
"Alright, Second Brother. Don’t worry," Zhao Jun said with a smile.
"How can I not be worried?" Lin Xiangshun said. "I have something to do today, so I can’t go in with you. We’ll pick you up here when we come back this afternoon."
"Okay." Zhao Jun smiled and waved, shouting after the departing truck, "Drive safe!"
The moment Zhao Jun stepped into No. 77 Logging Camp, the workers started to notice him.
More accurately, they noticed the long scaling stick in his hand.
Everyone at the Logging Camp knew that their old technician had retired. They’d heard a new one would be appointed after the New Year, but no one expected him to show up this soon.
"You must be the new technician," a middle-aged man in a patched cotton jacket said as he approached. From the man’s scent, Zhao Jun could tell he was a teamster who worked with the draft animals year-round.
"That’s right," Zhao Jun replied with a smile, though he was a bit puzzled. ’In my past life, I spent over four years at No. 77 Logging Camp, but I don’t remember this person at all.’
But then again, ’In those four years, at least two hundred teamsters must have come and gone through this camp. It’s normal to forget a few faces.’
The middle-aged man rubbed his hands together but didn’t dare offer one to Zhao Jun. He just said, "Technician, my name is Jiang Jinyou. I’m one of the teamsters at the camp."
"I’m Zhao Jun." Although the name didn’t ring a bell, Zhao Jun was still friendly and easygoing as he spoke with him.
While Jiang Jinyou was trying to get on his good side, someone had already run off to report to Du Chunjiang, the Leader of No. 77 Logging Camp.
Hearing that the new technician had arrived, Du Chunjiang’s first reaction wasn’t to rush out and greet him. Instead, he asked the person who brought the news, "How old is this technician? And did he come alone?"
When he heard that Zhao Jun was young and had come by himself, Du Chunjiang couldn’t help but feel a little contemptuous.
After also learning that Zhao Jun was dressed plainly, Du Chunjiang said to the man beside him, "Elder San, go out and check him out. Sound him out a bit. If he’s just some greenhorn, take him straight to the Log Pile."
"Got it." Elder San stood up and headed outside. Once he was out of the shack, he saw Zhao Jun walking side-by-side with Jiang Jinyou. The sight made Elder San freeze.
He squinted, took a closer look, then spun around and bolted back into the shack. He burst out to Leader Du Chunjiang, "Second Brother, is that old fucker’s grandson here?"
"Whose?" Du Chunjiang asked, momentarily confused.
Elder San said, "The old fucker who was about to shoot me with that gun!"
