Zhao Jun walked home cheerfully, his satchel slung over his shoulder.

Originally, Xu Baoshan hadn’t known about the grudge between Du Chunlin and Xu Changlin.

But once Zhao Jun brought it up at the dinner table, Du Chunjiang got scared and his mind started racing.

Before, when he didn’t know Zhao Jun’s identity, he’d thought Xu Baoshan had sent Zhao Jun here to mess with Zhao Jun himself.

But now, he could only assume that Xu Baoshan had sent Zhao Jun to mess with *him*.

At this thought, Du Chunjiang completely lost his appetite. He frantically ran to the Forest Farm’s inspection team office to find Xu Baoshan.

But when he got there, he heard that Xu Baoshan had gone down to one of the logging camps. So he rushed over to the No. 47 Logging Camp and finally managed to track him down.

The moment Xu Baoshan saw Du Chunjiang, his first thought was that Zhao Jun had gotten into a conflict with him at the No. 77 Logging Camp.

At that moment, Xu Baoshan was still intent on playing peacemaker.

He never expected Du Chunjiang’s first words to be, "Leader Xu, I’m here to apologize to you and to Elder Sir Xu on my brother’s behalf."

This completely baffled Xu Baoshan.

Seeing Xu Baoshan’s eyes widen, Du Chunjiang instantly realized his mistake.

But it was too late. Pressed by Xu Baoshan, Du Chunjiang had no choice but to brace himself and explain the whole grudge between Du Chunlin and Xu Changlin.

Xu Baoshan flew into a rage the moment he heard it.

In truth, it wasn’t that big of a deal. Besides, not only had Xu Changlin not been on the losing end, he had actually given Du Chunlin a sound beating.

However, the uncle of the inspection team’s leader had clashed with the brother of a Logging Camp Leader.

The key issue was that a subordinate of the inspection team’s leader now knew about it. If Xu Baoshan did nothing, what would become of his authority?

And so, Du Chunjiang received a merciless tongue-lashing from Leader Xu.

There was no reason for it.

That’s just how it was in those days. There was no place to reason with power.

At first, Du Chunjiang tried to say a few placating words, hoping to calm Leader Xu’s thunderous rage.

But Xu Baoshan said just one thing that made Du Chunjiang feel as if he’d been plunged into an ice cave.

Xu Baoshan said, "Du Chunjiang, if you can run this Logging Camp, then run it. If you can’t, then get the hell out."

With that one sentence, a chill shot through Du Chunjiang’s limbs and his body trembled. He couldn’t care less about his pride; even with Jiang Fu standing right there, he just kept begging and apologizing profusely to Xu Baoshan.

Only after Xu Baoshan’s ego had been thoroughly stroked did he let the matter drop.

It was only after leaving the No. 47 Logging Camp that it finally dawned on Du Chunjiang: he had been set up by Zhao Jun.

If it weren’t for Zhao Jun, Xu Changlin might have gone his whole life without knowing Du Chunlin was his brother, and Xu Baoshan would have never found out about the incident.

If it weren’t for Zhao Jun, even if the Xu uncle and nephew had discovered the relationship between Du Chunjiang and Du Chunlin, it would have at most ended with an apology at their door, nothing like this.

But today, after Zhao Jun brought it up, a panicked Du Chunjiang had lost his composure and rushed over to apologize to Xu Baoshan.

In doing so, he had dragged the entire affair out into the open, forcing Xu Baoshan’s hand to deal with him.

But what could he do about it?

He couldn’t afford to offend Xu Baoshan. And he definitely couldn’t afford to offend Zhao Jun. Not only that, but he had to continue providing him with good food and drink every day.

「And so, four days passed.」

Every day, Zhao Jun would get up early and head to the No. 77 Logging Camp to inspect the timber. He was so diligent that no one could find a single fault with his work.

Today was his seventh day at the No. 77 Logging Camp, marking one full week, and he had just finished inspecting all the previously stacked timber.

This morning, he made a round at the Logging Camp, settled the accounts with Du Chunjiang, and then declined Du Chunjiang’s invitation to stay for lunch before leaving the camp and heading straight for the Forest Farm.

A week had passed; it was time to submit the ledger.

The roads connecting each Logging Camp to the Forest Farm were maintained by road workers. They were smooth, wide, and suitable for vehicle traffic.

The sides of the road were clear of dense forest, so large wild animals rarely appeared. As a result, Zhao Jun walked with a sense of ease.

Suddenly, there was a loud RUSTLE from his right. Down the slope, the branches of a crooked willow tree were shaking violently.

This gave Zhao Jun a fright. He quickly jumped to the side, a startled cry escaping him: "What the hell was that?"

"Hey, it’s just me, a person!" As soon as the words left Zhao Jun’s mouth, a voice called back from below.

Zhao Jun let out a sigh of relief. ’Someone must be cutting up from the lower ridge to get onto the main road,’ he thought.

That being the case, he paid it no mind and continued on his way.

But he had only taken two steps when the voice called up again. "Young man! Young man, give me a hand, would you?"

From the sound of the voice, the person had to be quite old. ’Whether it’s an Elder Mountain Dog or just an old man out hunting, life isn’t easy for them,’ Zhao Jun thought. ’It’s no trouble to give him a hand. I should help if I can.’

After all, this wasn’t an era where you’d get blamed for helping someone.

So, Zhao Jun walked to the edge of the road and peered down the slope. He saw an old man below, clinging to the crooked willow tree and trying to climb up.

The slope wasn’t high or steep, but the man was very old, with white hair and a face full of wrinkles. He looked much older than Xu Changlin.

However, he was definitely not a mountain-roaming Hunter, and certainly not a mountain dog.

Because this old man was wearing a marmot-fur hat and a long, dark-blue cotton-padded coat. The coat reached nearly to his knees, with tight stitching and perfectly straight buttons.

An outfit that slick was more lavish than what a Logging Camp Leader would wear. What kind of mountain dog or old Hunter could afford clothes like that?

Zhao Jun’s first instinct was to reach down and pull the old man up, but then he had a second thought. ’Old people have brittle bones. What if I accidentally dislocate his arm?’

With that in mind, Zhao Jun put down the things in his hands, climbed down the slope himself, and wrapped his arms around the old man’s legs to push him up.

But it was only when Zhao Jun got down the slope that he saw the old man was also carrying a rifle on his back.

Seeing his attire, Zhao Jun was truly speechless.

But what someone chose to wear while hunting was their own business. After helping him onto the path, Zhao Jun said to the old man, "Take it easy, sir. I’ll be on my way now."

"Don’t, don’t," the old man said quickly when he heard Zhao Jun was leaving, stopping him from going.

Zhao Jun turned back, glanced at the old man, and asked, "Is there something else, sir?"

The old man said, "Young man, do you know how to hunt?"

"Nope." Although he didn’t know why the old man was asking, Zhao Jun just smiled slightly and said, "Nope."

The old man smiled back, pointing a finger at Zhao Jun. "I didn’t think you looked the part. A young fella like you... you must be a timber inspector from the Forest Farm, right?"

’No kidding.’

Zhao Jun thought, ’I’m holding a measuring stick and a marking hammer, with a ledger tucked under my arm. Who wouldn’t be able to tell I’m an inspector from the Forest Farm?’

Seeing Zhao Jun’s silence, the old man laughed. "Hey, buddy, how about I take you hunting? For big wild boars! If we bag one, I’ll give you a leg."

"Not interested," Zhao Jun said flatly.

The old man was taken aback by his blunt refusal. He sounded a bit helpless as he said, "Alright, you don’t have to come with me, young man. But could you help me get up there? I’m old, my legs aren’t what they used to be. I can’t get up this slope."

This was a mountain path with slopes on both sides. To the left, it went downhill; to the right, it went uphill.

The old man had just tried to climb up from below and couldn’t make it. Now he needed to go further up from here, and he still couldn’t manage it.

"Alright, fine." If it had been anyone else, Zhao Jun really wouldn’t have bothered. But this old man looked to be in his seventies. Whether he knew him or not, encountering an elder of that age in the mountains who was asking for help... Zhao Jun just couldn’t refuse.

Besides, it was a simple favor.

So, Zhao Jun led the old man to the foot of the slope and, with great effort, managed to get him to the top.

But once they were up that slope, the old man said they had to go a bit further, and there was another slope that he’d need Zhao Jun’s help with.

’Fine.’

Might as well see it through and get the old man where he’s going.

Zhao Jun helped the old man up another, higher slope. After the old man caught his breath, he grinned at Zhao Jun. "Young man, let me tell you. Just a little ways ahead, maybe a third of a mile, the whole area is full of wild boar snares. Why don’t you come with me to check the traps? If we find something, you’ll be going home with pork for dinner."

Hearing this, Zhao Jun laughed. "Sir, so after all this, you’re not a Hunter, you’re planning to raid someone else’s traps!"