Chapter 289: Chapter 243: Provocation
"That’s amazing, Auntie! My mom’s at home making dumplings too." Hearing Wang Meilan, Li Baoyu answered from inside the house. "Same as you, wild boar and pickled cabbage."
There’s an old saying: "When He Shen falls, Jia Qing eats his fill."
And ever since Zhao Youcai and Li Dayong’s secret stashes were confiscated, both the Zhao and Li families had been eating their fill.
Li Dayong’s family, who had been struggling just last year, could now afford to eat dumplings whenever they pleased.
Just then, Zhao Jun got down to business with Li Baoyu. "The Yongxing Spring Hunt starts on the 30th. We’ll leave on the 29th. Bring all five dogs."
"Xiaohua too?" Li Baoyu asked.
"Her too." Zhao Jun nodded. "We’ll take her so she can get some experience. The Tao Family is getting me a semi-automatic. As long as we don’t run into a troublemaker boar, we’ll let her run with the big dogs."
"Deal!" Li Baoyu’s face lit up. He said to Zhao Jun, "Brother, when they give you the semi-automatic, can I use your shotgun?"
"No way." Zhao Jun quickly refused. "There will be one or two thousand people at the militia’s spring hunt. If your gun accidentally goes off and hits someone, we’ll never be able to come back."
Seeing his friend’s disappointment, Zhao Jun added, afraid of crushing his spirits, "After we get back, it’ll be spring and there won’t be much work at the camp. We can go up the mountain again, and I’ll let you take the gun. You can shoot whatever you see."
"That works too."
The night passed without incident. The next day, Zhao Jun went to No. 79 Logging Camp to scale timber.
The Leader of No. 79 Logging Camp was surnamed Yin, and his name was Yin Bing. He wasn’t tall and was dressed plainly.
Hearing that Zhao Jun had arrived, Yin Bing hurried out of his shack to greet him. The moment he saw Zhao Jun, he strode forward, grabbed his hand, and said with a face full of enthusiasm, "Technician Zhao! We at the logging camp have been waiting on pins and needles, and we’ve finally got you here."
’This Leader really has a way with words.’
"You’re too kind, Yin Leader."
When he saw Zhao Jun heading for the Log Pile Yard, Yin Bing flat-out refused to let him go, insisting on dragging him to his Leader’s shack. He brewed tea, brought out melon seeds, and chatted with Zhao Jun about everything under the sun. They talked all morning, right up until lunch was served.
Zhao Jun had known him in his past life and was aware that this Yin Bing was famously talkative.
But his brand of talkativeness was different from Li Ruhai’s.
Yin Bing was a smooth operator who told people whatever they wanted to hear.
But no matter who he was with, if he felt like talking, he could go on for an entire day without stopping.
What was even more impressive was that he never seemed to get thirsty. In just that one morning, Zhao Jun had drunk a whole mug of tea and made two trips to the latrine.
But as for Yin Bing, his own mug of tea had gone cold, and he hadn’t taken a single sip.
At noon, the cook, Elder Sun, brought in the food.
Whenever a scaler visited a logging camp for the first time after the New Year, they had to be treated to a good meal.
The meal No. 79 Logging Camp had arranged for Zhao Jun today was certainly not lacking.
Stewed Pork with Vermicelli, Braised Chicken with Mushrooms, Red-Braised Pork Ribs, Stewed Beef with Radish, Oil-Braised Wood Frogs, and Candied Sweet Potatoes.
Stewed Pork with Vermicelli and Braised Chicken with Mushrooms needed no introduction; they were two famous dishes of the Northeast.
Even though they were in the mountains, Yin Bing hadn’t tried to pass off wild boar or wild pheasant on Zhao Jun. The meat for these two dishes, as well as the red-braised ribs, came from domesticated pigs and chickens.
For the Stewed Beef with Radish, the beef had to be stewed with Da Hong radishes, which removed any hint of gaminess.
Last time at No. 78 Logging Camp, Yang Liang had prepared a plate of sauce-braised female leopard cat for Zhao Jun, but today Yin Bing had the cook make an oil-braised version.
The leopard cat was first pan-fried, then braised, making it crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
In truth, the first five dishes weren’t anything special. The real star was the last one: the candied sweet potatoes.
The sweet potatoes had to have been stored since autumn, and the sugar for the glaze was even harder to come by at this time of year. Preparing this dish showed just how much effort Yin Leader had put in.
Then, Yin Bing brought out a bottle of liquor. Even though Zhao Jun said he didn’t drink, Yin Bing placed it in front of him anyway.
Stuffed to the gills after the meal, Zhao Jun rested for a while in the Leader’s shack before heading to the Log Pile Yard with his tools, accompanied by Yin Bing.
Since it was his first day at No. 79 Logging Camp, Yin Leader personally escorted him to the Log Pile Yard to introduce him to the log-piling workers, lest some hothead start a fight with the scaler.
That afternoon, Zhao Jun managed to thoroughly surprise them. Even though he had come from the No. 77 and No. 78 Logging Camps and was no longer a rookie...
...it was still his first job after the New Year. Yin Bing hadn’t expected Zhao Jun to work so efficiently. He didn’t make a single mistake from start to finish, and his measurements were perfectly accurate. It was truly commendable.
And so, for the next few days, Zhao Jun worked at No. 79 Logging Camp, right up until March 28th.
After working all morning, Zhao Jun went to the Leader’s shack for lunch.
Normally, the meals weren’t as lavish as on the first day, but he was still given special treatment.
That afternoon, Zhao Jun and Yin Bing were eating red-braised roe deer ribs and stir-fried cabbage with wood ear mushrooms.
During the meal, Zhao Jun said to Yin Bing, "Yin Leader, after I finish scaling today, I won’t be coming in tomorrow. Something’s come up at home, so I’ll be taking a few days off. But don’t worry, it won’t delay the workers’ pay."
"No problem, no problem at all," Yin Bing said quickly upon hearing this. "Technician Zhao, if you need anything for this family matter, anything Elder Yin can help with, just say the word. Don’t treat me like a stranger."
"Okay, sounds good. If I need Yin Leader’s help, I won’t hesitate to ask."
After lunch, Zhao Jun rested for a moment in the shack, then grabbed his tools and worked at the Log Pile Yard for the rest of the afternoon before heading down the mountain to go home.
For some reason, Zhao Youcai was home unusually early today. He was currently sitting on the kang, settling accounts with Wang Meilan.
He wasn’t settling just any account. He was arguing that of the two yuan Wang Meilan gave him per month, he had spent seventy-five cents on household expenses, and she ought to reimburse him.
Wang Meilan was packing things for Zhao Jun and, growing annoyed by Zhao Youcai’s pestering, pulled fifty cents from her pocket and tossed it onto the kang.
Zhao Youcai immediately pounced on it. He clamped his hands over the money like a child trapping a grasshopper, then snatched it up and stuffed it into his pocket.
Once the money was safely tucked away, Zhao Youcai said to Wang Meilan, "Lan, you’re still short twenty-five cents."
The words had barely left his mouth when Wang Meilan shot him a sidelong glance. "It’s close enough. Give it a rest. Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on."
Zhao Youcai immediately fell silent, crossing his legs and sitting upright on the kang.
Just then, Zhao Jun pushed the door open and walked in. Wang Meilan said, "You’re back, Son."
"Yeah, Mom." Zhao Jun came over and glanced at the bag. "Mom, what are you packing for me?"
Wang Meilan pulled open the bag, revealing bandages, a tobacco pouch, and two clean undershirts.
In those days, people in the mountains didn’t have many clothes. They wore an undershirt beneath their padded jackets, but most went bare-legged under their padded trousers.
At that moment, Zhao Youcai glanced at Zhao Jun and said, "The Yongxing Brigade has some capable people. You’re going all that way, so don’t you dare bring shame to our Zhao family."
At this, Zhao Youcai stuck his neck out and added, "I just don’t have the time. Otherwise, I’d go myself."
’Oh? Is that a challenge?’
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