The whole mountain is my hunting ground.

Chapter 1969 Invites Zhao Youcai to Participate in Militia Training

Chapter 1969 Invites Zhao Youcai to Participate in Militia Training

When Zhao Jun arrived at the logistics department, he went straight to the equipment department to find Zhou Chengguo.

Upon arriving at the location, Zhao Jun found the door open and went straight in, where he saw Zhou Chengguo cleaning his gun at the table.

"Oh!" Zhou Chengguo was quite surprised to see Zhao Jun and said, "Brother, what brings you to work?"

"Huh?" Upon hearing this, Zhao Jun was taken aback, then rushed to Zhou Chengguo and asked, "Brother, Liu Jinyong told you, right? What do we do now?"

"Haha..." Zhou Chengguo laughed, put down his gun, and stood up to invite Zhao Jun to sit down.

After the two sat down, Zhou Chengguo got straight to the point and said to Zhao Jun, "Brother, this matter is both easy and difficult to handle."

"Brother, why do you say that?" Zhao Jun asked. Zhou Chengguo laughed and said, "Right now, there's not much work in our village, but no one wants to do the training."

Hearing Zhou Chengguo's words, Zhao Jun nodded slightly in agreement.

There is still work to be done in the fields at this time, but not much, not as busy as during spring planting and autumn harvest.

Seeing Zhao Jun nod, Zhou Chengguo continued, "Brother, you live in this village, so you should know that before the nationwide military training, it was quite organized and everyone was very enthusiastic."

Now, there's no longer a requirement for nationwide military training, and whoever you put in charge isn't as enthusiastic as before.

Although people aren't too busy at this time, they'd rather stay home than go out and cause trouble.

Especially since the dog days of summer are just around the corner, the temperature in Zhao Jun's area only reaches 30 degrees Celsius for a few days each year, usually no more than a week, and these few days are mostly concentrated at the beginning of the dog days.

Zhao Jun didn't participate in last year's militia training, but he and Li Baoyu went to watch the excitement.

That was basically just a formality; a bunch of people marched in formation, fired a few shots, and then dispersed.

But it's not easy to hone your skills to the point where you can participate in major competitions.

Putting aside everything else, just practicing the formations of marching and queuing takes several days, and the amount of training during those days will definitely be substantial.

"Brother," Zhao Jun said to Zhou Chengguo, increasingly feeling that this was a difficult matter, "do we have any subsidies or anything for this training?"

"Brother, who are you asking about?" Zhou Chengguo laughed. "What did Director Yan and the others tell you?"

"They didn't say anything." Zhao Jun knew nothing about this matter and hadn't considered it when he was in Yan Shugang's office.

"Then I'll go ask them," Zhao Jun said, getting up, but Zhou Chengguo stopped him, saying, "Brother, don't go yet."

"What's going on?" Zhao Jun asked. Zhou Chengguo said, "Listen to me, go find Jianjun first, talk to him about this, let him know what's going on, and then you go find Director Yan."

When Zhao Jun heard Zhou Chengguo tell him to go find Zhou Jianjun, he immediately understood. Yan Shugang definitely couldn't decide on the subsidies. Even if it was discussed in a meeting, in the end, it would fall to his brother-in-law.

Now Zhao Jun should communicate with Zhou Jianjun so that Zhou Jianjun will at least have a general idea of ​​what's going on, which will be beneficial for the subsequent work.

“Okay, brother, then wait for me to come back.” Zhao Jun stood up as he spoke, while Zhou Chengguo laughed and said, “Go ahead, brother.”

After leaving the equipment department, Zhao Jun arrived at the logistics office area in just a few steps.

Along the way, the logistics staff greeted Zhao Jun whenever they saw him.

Everyone in the logistics department of Yong'an Forestry Area knows that Team Leader Zhou treats his brother-in-law like a younger brother. Whenever he mentions Zhao Jun to others, Zhou Jianjun's face is filled with pride and self-satisfaction.

When Zhao Jun entered the office, Zhou Jianjun had just hung up the phone.

"Oh my!" Zhou Jianjun looked surprised when he saw Zhao Jun. "Jun, what brings you here?"

"Why does everyone say that to me?" Zhao Jun muttered, then quickly walked up to Zhou Jianjun after closing the door and complained, "Brother-in-law, didn't you tell me to come over for a bit? Now look what's happened, I'm in trouble now?"

"What's wrong?" Upon hearing Zhao Jun's words, Zhou Jianjun hurriedly asked, "What happened?"

"Isn't this going to be August 1st?" Zhao Jun stopped Zhou Jianjun, who was about to pour him water, and said, "Director Yan asked me to organize militia training and then participate in the grand competition."

"Oh my god!" Zhou Jianjun's expression changed upon hearing this. He seemed to want to complain, but fearing that others might overhear, he remained silent.

Then, Zhou Jianjun looked at Zhao Jun and said with a wry smile, "Jun, this is the task that Director Yan gave you?"

"Ah." Zhao Jun nodded, while Zhou Jianjun shook his head slightly, saying, "This mission won't be easy to complete."

“Right,” Zhao Jun said, “I also feel that this job is not easy.”

“It’s not a question of whether he’s easy or difficult to work for,” Zhou Jianjun said. “The problem is that before we can participate in the big competition, we have to compete in the bureau first.”

"What?" Zhao Jun was taken aback, and then Zhou Jianjun continued, "The grand competition will be held in the county, with the militia from various units competing together. Before that, the militia from the dozen or so forest farms under our Forestry Bureau will compete first, and one or two who are about the same will be selected before the competition goes to the county."

Zhao Jun found it troublesome, but remembering his purpose, he asked Zhou Jianjun, "Brother-in-law, do you provide subsidies for our training?"

"There's a subsidy!" Zhou Jianjun readily agreed, then counted on his fingers and said to Zhao Jun, "Soap, hand towel, and liberation shoes."

"That's all?" Zhao Jun asked. Zhou Jianjun countered, "Then what else do you want?"

"I..." Zhao Jun was about to speak when Zhou Jianjun said, "If you are selected for the grand competition, each of you will be given a set of clothes."

After saying this, Zhou Jianjun paused slightly and added, "Wouldn't it look bad if everyone wore the same clothes while marching in formation?"

"Brother-in-law, that's easy to say." Zhao Jun waved his hand and then asked Zhou Jianjun, "Tell me, when you train these people, you need to provide them with food, right?"

“We provide meals…” Zhou Jianjun hesitated, “We didn’t provide them before.”

Previously, supplies were not provided. Each village would train for a while, and then disperse before mealtime.

“That won’t work,” Zhao Jun said. “We need to train, and we train all day long. If we don’t provide lunch, how can we train effectively?”

Hearing Zhao Jun's words, Zhou Jianjun pursed his lips and asked, "How many people do you plan to send?"

"Let me see how many people are listed at the top." Zhao Jun took out the document Yan Shugang had given him and saw that it stated the number of participants was between fifty and sixty.

After reading it, Zhao Jun handed the paper to Zhou Jianjun and said, "Brother-in-law, what do you think?"

"Then fifty people it is," Zhou Jianjun said. "Seven times seven is forty-nine, doesn't that look good in a square formation? And then we'll have a leader, isn't that perfect?"

Seeing Zhao Jun nod, Zhou Jianjun did the math again, saying, "Fifty people will eat two bowls of steamed buns, and the vegetables... just green beans, eggplant, and potatoes. The prices have all been settled so far, so let's go with a standard of eight yuan per day."

"Brother-in-law, isn't one dish a bit too little?" Zhao Jun said, "Why don't you at least get some tofu and dried tofu too?"

"Still want to eat big tofu?" Zhou Jianjun frowned. Zhao Jun said, "Brother-in-law, you've worked so hard, you should at least make a couple of dishes. It's not good to eat two bowls of noodles every day. You should also cook a pot of rice for us when the time is right."

"Oh dear." Zhou Jianjun sighed upon hearing this, "Then I'll add two yuan to your wages each day, and we'll go with the standard ten yuan."

By this time, all the vegetables were in season: green beans, eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes. In the countryside, they only cost a few cents per pound. The main expensive items were rice, noodles, and tofu.

Rice costs about five or six cents a pound, and wheat flour costs three or four cents, so Zhou Jianjun made them eat two portions of flour.

"Okay, okay," Zhao Jun replied twice, then asked Zhou Jianjun, "Brother-in-law, what about the subsidy in this regard?"

When Zhao Jun said "this aspect," he rubbed his thumb against the pads of his index and middle fingers repeatedly.

This was the action of checking money. Upon seeing this, Zhou Jianjun's lips twitched, and he said, "It's a normal unit, right? When the militia is training, they still get paid, so this is considered a subsidy."

“Brother-in-law, I can’t ask any of our employees for help,” Zhao Jun said. “In this sweltering heat, I’ll offend whoever I ask.”

At this time of year, the forest farm is quiet; the leaders are in meetings every day, and the workers are busy studying. Like just now, when Li Ruhai went to find Ma Dafu, Ma Dafu was chatting with someone.

They're still paying the same salary, even if you're training under the scorching sun. Who would want to train like that?

"Then why don't you look for the farm workers? Go find someone in the village instead?" Zhou Jianjun asked. Zhao Jun replied, "Isn't that how it is every year?"

"Every year?" Zhou Jianjun smiled and said, "I haven't participated in the grand competition every year."

"This..." Zhao Jun was speechless after Zhou Jianjun's words. Then Zhou Jianjun continued, "You can't expect those idle people in the village to do it. They won't help you, so what can you do?"

Upon hearing Zhou Jianjun's words, Zhao Jun opened his mouth but couldn't say anything.

Yan Shugang wanted to participate in the county's grand competition and win honors, so he assigned the task to Zhao Jun. As a subordinate, Zhao Jun had to be of one mind with his leader.

The militiamen gathered from the four villages had no intention of participating in the grand competition for honor. For them, coming here was just a formality, a free lunch, and taking some soap or something back with them.

If they don't contribute or run away halfway, Zhao Jun won't be able to do anything about it.

After all, they are fellow villagers from the same forest farm. If a conflict were to break out over this matter, Zhao Jun would be the one left holding the bag.

Seeing Zhao Jun remain silent, Zhou Jianjun said, "Jun, if you ask me, you should just tell Director Yan to send all the security guards."

“That won’t do, brother-in-law,” Zhao Jun said. “How many security guards do we have? If they’re all in training, what will we do with the field? It’s okay during the day, we can just train there. But what about at night? We can’t train during the day and patrol at night, can we?”

"Tsk." After hearing Zhao Jun's words, Zhou Jianjun clicked his tongue and said, "Then there's no other way. Offering extra subsidies is definitely not an option."

“Brother-in-law, you don’t need to charge too much,” Zhao Jun said. “One yuan per person per day is enough. It won’t cost much in fifteen days.”

"That won't do either." Zhou Jianjun refused decisively. Zhao Jun couldn't afford to pay for this himself. It wasn't about how much money he had; the key issue was that once this door was opened, there would be endless troubles.

"Brother-in-law, how about this arrangement?" Zhao Jun said, "I'll lead Baoyu, Xiaochen, and the others, and then we'll draw forty more people from the forest ranger team. We'll all still get paid. Is that alright?"

“No problem.” Zhou Jianjun nodded and said, “That’s fine!”

The work of the forest rangers is no less demanding than marching in formation. Moreover, since the forest rangers are all under Zhao Jun's command, no one dares to slack off during training.

“Okay, brother-in-law, I’ll go talk to Director Yan later.” Zhao Jun stood up as he spoke and said, “And you’ve already prepared the soap and stuff.”

After saying that, Zhao Jun left and went to the equipment department to discuss things with Zhou Chengguo.

Zhou Chengguo strongly supported Zhao Jun's decision to transfer forest rangers.

“Brother, our main problem is the formation and the grenade throwing.” Zhou Chengguo said to Zhao Jun, “As for shooting, with you and me, and then we’ll call on your uncle and your dad, with the four of us keeping an eye on things, as long as things aren’t too bad, we can at least get things sorted out.”

"Brother, then the drill and grenade throwing training will have to be done by you." Zhao Jun said with a wry smile, "I don't know anything about this."

"It's alright, it's alright," Zhou Chengguo said reassuringly. "I'm here with you, brother, so don't worry."

Zhou Chengguo is a reliable person, and Zhao Jun felt relieved after hearing his words.

After leaving the equipment department, Zhao Jun went to find Yan Shugang and told him about his plan to select forest rangers for training.

Yan Shugang did not object to this, only requesting that it not affect the work of forest patrol and fire prevention.

After leaving Yan Shugang's office, Zhao Jun went to talk to Liu Jinyong about equipment.

Training requires equipment, and Liu Jinyong promised Zhao Jun that he would temporarily take all the equipment from the security team to supply the training.

As for their side, they left eight guns to patrol, and whoever patrolled carried the gun.

After discussing this matter, it was already past four o'clock, and Zhao Jun could no longer find Li Ruhai when he went out.

He decided not to leave anytime soon. When the forest farm closed for the day, Zhao Jun pushed his motorcycle onto the commuter vehicle and went home with the other workers.

"Hey!" Ma Dafu looked a little unwell when he boarded the commuter bus, but when he saw his son-in-law, his face lit up with surprise: "Jun, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here for work, Dad." Zhao Jun quickly got up and waited for Ma Dafu to come over before sitting down with him.

"Oh, Jun?" Zhao Jun had just sat down when Han Dachun came up. Hearing his opening line, Zhao Jun quickly said, "Uncle Dachun, I'm here for work."

Immediately afterwards, Li Dayong, Li Dazhi, and Lin Xue got into the car. They were also surprised to see Zhao Jun there.

With nothing else to do, Zhao Jun chatted with a few people, telling them that he had been promoted to militia company commander and would be organizing militia company training.

Zhao Jun didn't say for sure that he could participate in the competition, but he talked about it with everyone.

Taking the commuter bus was much faster than riding his motorcycle. When they got off at the station, Zhao Jun got on his motorcycle and rode ahead with Li Ruhai on his back.

There's no way around it, this motorcycle is heavy. Although it can be pushed, it's really hard to push.

On the way home, Zhao Jun pushed the motorcycle into the warehouse and came out just in time to see Zhao Youcai coming out of the outhouse.

"Dad!" Zhao Jun jogged a few steps and caught up with Zhao Youcai, who had come out over the low fence.

"What are you doing?" Zhao Youcai glanced at Zhao Jun, his tone very stiff.

"Dad, Director Yan wants me to organize militia training. Once they're trained well, they can participate in the county's grand competition." Zhao Jun said to Zhao Youcai, "Dad, come with me then, you're a good shot..."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Zhao Youcai interrupted Zhao Jun rudely and ruthlessly, and glared at Zhao Jun hard, saying, "It's so hot, why don't you come to me when you have something good to say?"

Zhao Jun: "..."

After Zhao Youcai finished speaking, he walked towards the shade. Zhao Jun was furious but couldn't say anything.

After Zhao Jun entered the house, Li Dayong and the other two went into the courtyard. They walked to the front of the house, greeted Zhao Youcai, and then Li Dazhi and Lin Xue went inside. Li Dayong whispered to Zhao Youcai, "Brother, the field has asked our Jun to organize militia training. If he does well, he can participate in the county's grand competition."

"Ah," Zhao Youcai said, handing Li Dayong a cigarette, "What's wrong?"

“Brother, you have to go,” Li Dayong said. Zhao Youcai replied, “Why would I go?”

"Let's go to the martial arts competition!" Li Dayong said, "Brother, with your marksmanship, wouldn't you just be showing off?"

"Huh?" Zhao Youcai was taken aback when he heard Li Dayong continue, "Brother, I'm only telling you this. To this day, everyone in our village still thinks Zhou Chengguo is the leader when it comes to shooting. This time, he and our army are going to training together. I'm telling you, you should go too, and then you can shoot them both down."

At this point, Li Dayong reached out and patted Zhao Youcai on the shoulder, saying, "Isn't this brother awesome?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Youcai's small eyes lit up, and he quickly said to Li Dayong, "Dayong, go quickly!"

"Where are you going?" Li Dayong was taken aback. Zhao Youcai urged, "Go and call your nephew out!"