The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground
Chapter 240 - 208: Zhao Jun Flexes His Muscles
Seeing it was Jiang Jinyou, Zhao Jun smiled. "I haven’t eaten yet. I was just thinking of boiling some water and having some dry rations."
As he spoke, Zhao Jun pulled a military-issue water bottle from his satchel and shook it at Jiang Jinyou.
"What?" Jiang Jinyou was taken aback. "What’s wrong? Didn’t Du Chunjiang prepare a meal for you?"
Zhao Jun just smiled. "I guess Du Leader doesn’t think I’m worth the trouble."
"Damn it." Jiang Jinyou cursed, then walked to the edge of the kang, took off his shoes, and climbed on.
The workers at the logging camp were housed by job. The Gui Ling crew lived together, and the haulers lived together.
In this shack, they slept on a large, communal bunk—a massive kang that could fit more than twenty people.
Jiang Jinyou got onto the kang, dragged a set of bedding and two pillows to the edge, then got down and went to the foot of the east wall. From under a wooden rack, he pulled out a woven plastic sack.
He opened the sack, returned to the kang, and started stuffing the bedding and pillows inside.
Seeing this, Zhao Jun asked curiously, "Brother Jiang, what are you doing?"
Zhao Jun was only asking casually, but hearing him say "Brother Jiang" warmed Jiang Jinyou’s heart.
Jiang Jinyou didn’t answer. Instead, he climbed off the kang and went outside the shack. A moment later, he returned carrying a burlap sack.
The burlap sack looked like it had been dug out of the snow. It was still covered in it, and though there was something inside, it was less than half full.
Jiang Jinyou placed the burlap sack by Zhao Jun’s feet. "Technician Zhao," he said, "these are sauerkraut dumplings my wife made. If you don’t mind, boil them and eat up. Don’t eat those dry rations."
At this point, Zhao Jun hadn’t taken out his hardtack biscuits yet, so Jiang Jinyou thought he was going to eat the leftover cornbread buns from the haulers’ lunch.
Just then, the water came to a boil.
Zhao Jun looked down at the burlap sack, then up at Jiang Jinyou, and nodded with a smile. "Then thank you, Brother Jiang. I’ll cook the dumplings." As he spoke, he grabbed the sack with one hand and reached for the stew pot with the other.
Zhao Jun opened the stew pot and saw that it was clean. He poured the boiling water into it, set the pot on the stove, and began dropping in the dumplings.
Meanwhile, Jiang Jinyou was still packing his things.
Zhao Jun looked back and asked, "Brother Jiang, where are you off to?"
"Home." Jiang Jinyou was stuffing a pillow into the woven plastic sack and answered without looking up.
Zhao Jun asked again, "But work just started. Why are you going home already?"
"Sigh! I can’t take it anymore." Jiang Jinyou sighed, sat on the edge of the kang, and couldn’t help but curse, "Goddamn it... those two brothers, Du Chunjiang and Du Chunlin, they’re not human."
"What happened? Brother Jiang, tell me about it." Zhao Jun was curious. He thought to himself, ’I don’t remember seeing Jiang Jinyou at No. 77 Logging Camp in my past life. He must have been forced out by those two before I got here.’
Jiang Jinyou said, "The three of us are from the same village. Du Chunjiang has been contracting the logging here for four years, and I’ve worked for him all four years. His younger brother, Elder San—Du Chunlin—only came last year. The moment he got here, he set his sights on my logging plot. He said the timber in my section was good quality and easy to haul down, so he insisted on swapping with me.
"I refused to switch, so what does he do? This afternoon, he went right to my plot and started hauling timber. He took all the logs we’d already stacked."
At this, Jiang Jinyou looked at Zhao Jun and asked, "Technician Zhao, you tell me. We’re from the same village and all. Who does something like that?"
"That’s just bullying," Zhao Jun said. "Did you talk to his brother, Du Chunjiang?"
"I did." The mention of Du Chunjiang only made Jiang Jinyou angrier.
He said, "I just went and told Du Chunjiang. Guess what he said?"
"What did he say?" Zhao Jun asked, playing along.
Jiang Jinyou sneered. "He told me straight up that he’s the Leader of this logging camp, and he’s the one contracting the entire No. 77 Forest Class.
"He also said Du Chunlin is his brother, and his brother can haul timber from whichever plot he wants in the No. 77 Forest Class.
"Then he told me if I wanted to work here, I could stay. If not, I could go home."
"Heh." Zhao Jun couldn’t help but laugh when he heard that. ’Du Chunjiang really is a piece of work. Just like Jiang Fu said yesterday, the man is not to be trifled with.’
’I mean, he even dares to offend the Inspector who controls his wallet. Is there anything he wouldn’t do?’
Just then, the water with the dumplings in it came to a boil again.
Zhao Jun lifted the lid of the stew pot, waiting for the dumplings to plump up before scooping them out to eat.
Jiang Jinyou had finished packing his bedding from the kang and was now at the wooden rack by the wall, taking his belongings down from the top.
After a moment’s thought, he grabbed two plates, a small bowl, and a pair of chopsticks. He went to the large water vat, ladled out some water, rinsed the dishes and chopsticks, and then handed them to Zhao Jun. "Technician Zhao, these were already washed, but I just gave them another rinse. Go ahead and use them."
Looking at the simple, honest face of Jiang Jinyou, Zhao Jun took the bowl, chopsticks, and plates, smiling. "Thanks, Brother Jiang."
"Hey, don’t mention it," Jiang Jinyou replied, turning back to his packing.
But this time, Zhao Jun spoke up and stopped him. "Brother Jiang. Are you really going to leave?"
"Huh?" Jiang Jinyou froze.
Zhao Jun continued, "Brother Jiang, why don’t you stay? You can earn some money here."
"Sigh!" Jiang Jinyou let out a heavy sigh. "I don’t want to leave either, but you don’t know what those two bastards are like. I can’t work in peace here. I’d rather just pack up and go home."