The whole mountain is my hunting ground.

Chapter 1691 The Chamber of Commerce's Train Has Arrived

Chapter 1691 The Chamber of Commerce's Train Has Arrived

Wild boars reproduce seasonally, mating around the time of Minor Snow in the twenty-four solar terms each year.

Then the entire winter is its gestation period, and by the following spring, usually in mid-April or before May Day, the baby wild boars are born.

Every year around this time, Zhang Lifu goes up the mountain to patrol the old pigsties. Whenever he arrives at an old pigsty, if he finds a sow's nest, he notes the location. Then, around May Day, he returns to the area for another stroll.

By then, the small flowering sorghum was already scurrying all over the ground, and Zhang Lifu would seize every opportunity to catch and pick up the small flowering sorghum.

After catching the baby wild boar, Zhang Lifu put it in a basket on his back and took it home. Once home, he would first find a veterinarian to castrate the baby wild boar. After its wounds healed, he could raise it in his own pigsty.

Judging from Zhang Lifu's tone, he was eyeing the pigs on the mountain. But then, Zhao Jun said to him, "Uncle, don't even think about those pigs on the mountain."

"Ah." Hearing Zhao Jun say this, Zhang Lifu did not hesitate at all and said, "Alright, nephew, if you want to fight, then I won't come."

"No, Uncle." Zhao Jun told Zhang Lifu about the situation at the new breeding ground. The sow had just started laying eggs and hadn't given birth yet. It would take at least half a month before Zhang Lifu could come and catch the baby wild boars.

But the new farm will start construction tomorrow, with over a hundred people coming and going. What if one of them gets attacked by a wild boar protecting its young?

The Zhao family owns a share in this business, and neither Zhao Jun nor Wang Meilan could bear to watch if any worker got injured.

Therefore, Zhao Jun decided to bring dogs to drive away any livestock in the vicinity that posed a threat to people.

That's right, it was driving them away, not hunting them.

Although wild boars and other mountain animals damage crops and harm people, the Yong'an Forest Area specially held a spring hunt to eliminate pests.

But right now, the sow's piglets are fully formed. If you knock the sow down and open her belly, the piglets will fall out in a shower. How hard would your heart have to be to remain unmoved?

Once the hunting dogs chase them away, no pigs will stay in the vicinity for ten days or half a month.

The jeep reached the fork in the road and dropped Zhang Lifu off. Zhang Lifu was going down the mountain to go home, while Zhao Jun and the other two were going to the forest farm to pick up the train car and Zhao Jinhui.

They arrived at the forest farm just after eleven o'clock. As soon as they entered the gate, Li Ruhai called out to Li Baoyu, "Brother, pull over and stop for me."

"What's up?" Li Baoyu glanced at the mailroom outside the window, and asked as he parked the car, "Want to see the place where you once fought again?"

Li Ruhai laughed heartily, pushed open the door, and got out of the car.

Li Baoyu drove the car to the office building, and he and Zhao Jun got out and walked into the building. When they arrived at the security team's office, they saw that the room was open and filled with smoke.

As soon as Zhao Jun arrived, all the security guards greeted him.

Although Zhao Jun rarely interacted with these colleagues, he was quite capable. Two years ago, Zhao Jun distributed wild boar meat to these people, ten catties per family. Everyone had to feel indebted to Deputy Team Leader Zhao for this favor.

In addition, Zhao Jun's increasingly solid background made the entire security team trust him.

As for Zhao Jun not coming to the unit often, that's none of their business. From the day the forestry security team was established, his post has always been in the Third Work Section; what would he be doing at the unit?

Seeing Zhao Jun come in, Liu Jinyong called out to him, "Zhao Jun, Liu Hanshan asked me to take him to the local police station."

"Team leader, what time did you deliver it to him?" Zhao Jun asked. Liu Jinyong replied, "As soon as I got off the commuter bus on my way to work, Team Leader Li called me. After he told me what happened, I delivered it to him."

Hearing Liu Jinyong say this, Zhao Jun raised his wrist to look at his watch and said, "The North Third Class isn't far away, they should be back by exactly twelve o'clock, right?"

"Hey? Zhao Jun, what are they doing in Class 3 of the North Building?" Liu Jinyong asked, and Zhao Jun really didn't know how to answer.

The investigation into Hu the Cripple was initiated by Zhao Jun, but Zhao Jun has no evidence to suggest that Hu the Cripple is the murderer.

To put it nicely, Zhao Jun actively cooperated with the police investigation. But to put it bluntly, someone came to your house to sell leather, and you became suspicious of them?

If word gets out, even if business isn't affected, your reputation will be damaged.

When Liu Jinyong asked the question, more than a dozen security guards were watching nearby, so Zhao Jun couldn't pretend not to hear.

"Team leader." Zhao Jun mentally organized his thoughts and then said to Liu Jinyong, "They heard that there's a 'mountain dog' in the North Third Squad who runs a shack. His nickname is Hu the Cripple. He's a relative of Wang Jiusheng, so they went over to ask him something."

"Ah..." Hearing Zhao Jun say this, Liu Jinyong nodded, then picked up the cigarette pack, took out a cigarette, and offered it to Li Baoyu.

"Team leader, has Wang Jiusheng's second son returned yet?" Zhao Jun asked, thinking of Wang Haitao.

"No." Liu Jinyong shook his head and said, "They sent a message to Lingnan, but Wang Lao Er is no longer working in the same place. It seems he went to Jiaohe."

Zhao Jun wasn't sure if he was just prejudiced, but at that moment he began to suspect Hu the Cripple and Wang Haitao.

With some skepticism, Zhao Jun went to the cafeteria for lunch. It had been a long time since he had eaten there, so the unexpected meal felt quite novel.

He didn't have a lunchbox, so he borrowed one from the kitchen; he didn't bring meal tickets, so Liu Jinyong paid for them.

After finishing their meal, the two stayed in the cafeteria to chat with Han Dachun and the others. It wasn't until 2:10 p.m. that Li Ruhai suddenly burst into the cafeteria, went to Zhao Jun's side and said, "Brother, my dad said Brother Jin Hui will be here soon."

Li Dayong is the deputy head of the dispatching team, and one of the dispatching tasks is to schedule passing trains. This mainly involves staggering the passing trains at junctions and intersections on the railway line where tracks merge or diverge.

When Zhao Jinhui arrived, it meant the train car had arrived. Zhao Jun quickly got up, left the canteen, took a jeep, and went to the platform outside the forest farm to wait.

Thirteen or fourteen minutes later, Zhou Chunming, the secretary of the forest farm, along with his secretary Yu Quanjin, Liu Renshan, the production farm manager, Wu Feng, the dispatching team leader, and Li Dayong, the deputy dispatching team leader, arrived at the platform.

Just then, the sound of a train whistle came from not far away. Everyone looked along the railway track and saw the locomotive first.

Li Dayong, who had been carrying a small red flag under his arm, now held it in his hand.

Li Dayong stood at the edge of the platform and waved the small red flag twice to signal the train to slow down and pull into the station.

Trains hauling timber were not loaded with carriages, but rather with large planks, which was both convenient and space-saving.

The locomotive had passed by a little while when Zhao Jun and his group got off the train. Zhao Jinhui, along with two drivers and two stokers, got off the train.

"Brother Jun!" Upon seeing Zhao Jun, Zhao Jinhui was on the verge of tears.

The journey from Fengtian to Yong'an took a full three days. And those three days were incredibly exhausting for Zhao Jinhui.

This wasn't a bus, and there were no sleeper berths. Each person had their own small bed, and Zhao Jinhui's large frame couldn't fit in. If he wanted to lie down, he could only do so on his side, and even turning over in his sleep would cause him to fall to the floor.

In addition, with the train constantly moving, Zhao Jinhui couldn't get any rest.

Needless to say, food was a problem for the past three days. We were just making do, and it was good enough if we could get something to eat to fill our stomachs.

Over three days, Zhao Jinhui lost ten pounds, and his chubby face became noticeably thinner.

"Jin Hui!" Seeing Zhao Jin Hui covered in soot, Zhao Jun forced himself not to laugh out loud, and then brought him to Zhou Chunming.

Zhao Jinhui hurriedly greeted Zhou Chunming and the others. This chubby boy knew the rules, but he was just too excited.

Seeing Zhao Jinhui's disheveled appearance, Zhou Chunming asked, "Kid, have you eaten yet? If not, we'll get you something to eat at the cafeteria."

Upon hearing Zhou Chunming's words, Zhao Jinhui's eyes lit up instantly, and he asked, "Secretary Zhou, what does our canteen have?"

His question startled Zhou Chunming, who replied, "Um... would it be alright if I cooked some noodles?"

At this time, there wasn't much in the canteen, and the noodles Zhou Chunming mentioned were boiled dried noodles.

These days, noodles are a good thing, but when Zhao Jinhui heard this, the light in his eyes instantly dimmed.

Seeing that something was wrong, Zhou Chunming quickly said, "Should we have them poach two more eggs for you?"

"I'm not eating anymore, Secretary Zhou," Zhao Jinhui said with a bitter face. "We've been eating nothing but noodles on the bus these past few days."

"What should we do then?" Zhou Chunming hadn't expected this chubby boy to be so difficult to please. Just then, Zhao Jun stepped forward and asked Zhao Jinhui, "Jinhui, how about... we go home to eat?"

“Brother Jun, I’ll go home with you.” As soon as Zhao Jun said this, Zhao Jinhui’s eyes lit up again. He had stayed at Zhao Jun’s house before and knew that the food at Zhao Jun’s house was better than at his own.

Zhou Chunming knew that his in-laws' family had good food, and when he saw that Zhao Jun had taken on the task of hosting Zhao Jinhui, Zhou Chunming immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

If this chubby boy wants to stay at the forest farm's guesthouse, he'll be hard to please.

"Okay, what do you want to eat?" Zhao Jun asked Zhao Jinhui with a smile. "Have Uncle Li call home and tell my mom. Then we can eat as soon as we get home."

Upon hearing Zhao Jun's words, Zhao Jinhui immediately said, "Brother Jun, I want to eat braised pork knuckle!"

"A large pork knuckle..." Zhao Jun hesitated upon hearing this, "We don't have a large pork knuckle, but... how about braised pork belly?"

"Okay, okay!" It was clear that Zhao Jinhui had been suffering these past few days. Upon hearing the words "braised pork," the chubby boy's eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly.

Zhao Jun looked at Li Dayong, who nodded to indicate that he understood.

"Secretary Zhou, Director Liu." At this moment, Zhao Jun said to the two leaders, Zhou Chunming and Liu Renshan, "Then I'll lead them to the new workshop?"

“Go ahead,” Zhou Chunming replied, then turned and called over his secretary, Yu Quanjin, and said to Zhao Jun, “Take this with your brother Yu as well.”

After saying that, Zhou Chunming added, "The forest farm has arranged for him to take charge of the Xinlengchang area."

The more than one hundred workers at the new workshop were all recruited by the Zhao family, and their food, drink, and wages were all provided by the Zhao Family Chamber of Commerce and the Zhao Group.

However, the site belongs to the forestry farm, and the timber that was taken away belongs to the state.

The forest farm needs to know exactly how much to haul and how to transport it.

Another issue is that once the timber from Xinlengchang is transported out, what will happen to the timber from the other hundred-plus forest sections? Will it be transported here, or will the workers be taken there by train? These are not things that the Zhao family can decide.

That's why the forestry station needs to send someone.

This person must be capable, and must understand production, timber, and management.

Besides ability, this person also needs a certain prestige, at least enough that people from all walks of life can recognize him.

Zhou Chunming thought and thought, but couldn't think of anyone else among the idle people who could do the job, so he sent his secretary over.

Actually, Dou Baoguo, who built the new log yard, was a pretty good guy. But when winter operations started last year, he was transferred back to the bureau and then disappeared from public view.

According to the conversation between the four members of the anti-corruption team and Zhao Youcai, Dou Baoguo originally came to Yong'an to gain experience, but ended up leaving covered in excrement. He felt so ashamed that he used his connections to get transferred to Lingdonggou.

Zhao Jun had long forgotten about this person, but upon hearing that Yu Quanjin had come to Xinlengchang to take charge of the overall situation, Zhao Jun was very satisfied with this choice.

As Zhou Chunming's secretary, Yu Quanjin was definitely one of his own. It's easier to get things done with someone you know, and everything is easier to discuss.

After bidding farewell to Zhou Chunming and the others, Zhao Jun, Li Ruhai, and Yu Quanjin boarded the train with Zhao Jinhui and the other three, leaving Li Baoyu to drive the jeep to Xinlengchang.

Next to the locomotive, there is a small carriage. Two-thirds of the space here is the fuel room and coal storage area, and the remaining third is where a few people rest.

Zhao Jun and Li Ruhai followed Zhao Jinhui to the locomotive. The feeling of traveling by train through the mountains was different from sitting in a car.

The train arrived at the back of Xinlengchang in just over ten minutes.

The moment the train came to a complete stop, everyone in the yard came out.

Compared to the morning, there were forty-six more people in Xinlengchang.

These forty-six people all came from Qiaotou Village, and the leaders were Huang Gui and Jiang Weifeng.

Seeing that everyone had gathered around, Zhao Jun publicly announced Yu Quanjin's identity, and then called together the leaders of Xishantun, Kaoshantun, and Qiaotoucun, introducing them to Yu Quanjin.

Then, Zhao Jun handed these people over to Yu Quanjin, who then explained the management regulations to them.

The two drivers and two furnace workers sent by Zhao Weipeng also stayed. They couldn't be idle; they started operating the frame-building machine at the new lumberyard. It's said that Zhao Weipeng paid them high salaries; otherwise, who would leave their family and home to come to this remote mountain village?

Zhao Jun led Zhao Jinhui and Li Ruhai on a stroll. Zhao Jinhui looked at the distant mountains and said to Zhao Jun, "Brother Jun, when shall we go hunting?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jun glanced at Zhao Jinhui in surprise. He knew better than anyone that hunting was addictive. But the problem was, Zhao Jinhui wasn't even as good as his father, Zhao Weipeng. Zhao Jinhui had gone up the mountain a few times, just to exercise and lose weight; Zhao Jun couldn't understand where his addiction came from.

But since Zhao Jinshan brought it up, Zhao Jun smiled and said, "Okay, Jinhui, if you're willing to come, we'll come over the day after tomorrow and take the dog for a walk up the mountain."

"What about tomorrow, Brother Jun?" Zhao Jinhui asked anxiously. Zhao Jun replied, "Tomorrow won't work. Your brother Chen has taken the Liberation Army truck away. He can only come back tomorrow morning. If he doesn't come back, our dog will have a hard time transporting it."

"Hey, Brother Jun." Hearing Zhao Jun's words, Zhao Jinhui seemed to have thought of something. He grinned and said to Zhao Jun, "Can't we go to the train station from our village too?"

"Ah." Zhao Jun nodded, and then Zhao Jinhui continued, "If we need to haul anything out of the mountains, we can use a train!"

Zhao Jun: "..."

What kind of stuff do you have at home? Do you really need to use a train to transport it?

“Yes, Brother Jinhui is right.” Li Ruhai suddenly interjected, “We don’t need that many sections to transport our own goods. We can unload the rest and one section will be enough.”

"Yes!" As soon as Li Ruhai finished speaking, Zhao Jun said, "It can haul ten tons. You could even haul away our house."

Li Ruhai was taken aback, while Zhao Jinhui next to him chuckled.

(End of this chapter)