"They're either throwing around big pancakes or taking their pants off, delaying the project," said the foreman.

"Throwing pancakes" and "taking off pants" are common phrases used by tractor drivers.

When a tractor's track breaks off, it's called "taking off your pants." When a tractor's auxiliary wheel falls off, it's called "throwing a pancake."

This is jargon created by tractor drivers; outsiders don't really understand it.

Of course, the foreman's words were just to fool laymen.

After Feng Baosheng arrived at the forest farm, his series of measures were unpopular. Everyone was unwilling to work hard and deliberately slacked off.

Winter is the best season for timber production, not only because transportation is convenient, but also because the quality of timber is better in winter.

In previous years, the road construction team would go up the mountain in October, and the logging team would go up the mountain in November to work and log until they came down the mountain in April of the following year, which was exactly half a year of work.

Besides afforestation, fire prevention, forest management, and log dismantling, everyone can rest, run around in the mountains, and do side jobs to earn more money.

But ever since Feng Baosheng arrived, he made everyone go up the mountain to repair the road in July and wouldn't let them take leave.

This autumn, all sorts of mountain produce were ready to be harvested, but no one had the chance to bring them home, which made everyone feel uneasy.

So they all used the excuse of going up the mountain to work, and spent the morning there, then disappeared in the afternoon to collect pine cones, pick walnuts, and gather schisandra berries.

How can we work quickly if we do things like this? So, by this point, the road into the logging area is only half-finished.

Those who do the work know all about these things, and Zheng Xianyong, who often goes into the mountains with them, is also fully aware of the situation.

Only Feng Baosheng, who has been in the forest farm for so long, seems to have only gone up the mountain twice. If he doesn't keep an eye on things, how would he know anything? Wouldn't he just be waiting to be fooled?

“In previous years, we would start road construction in October, when the weather was cold and there wasn’t much water in the ditches and ponds, making construction easier.”

Moreover, the trees are brittle in autumn and winter, and the grass is withered and lacks resilience, so tractors and the like won't be disturbed.

The second work team leader continued, and the implication was clear: this is no one else's fault but someone who doesn't know anything and still insists on giving orders blindly.

Feng Baosheng was furious with these people, but there was nothing he could do.

He's all alone. Even if he goes up the mountain to work with a pickaxe and shovel, how much of a difference can he make? It's all for nothing.

"Now that the weather gets colder, the roads should be able to be repaired faster, right?" Feng Baosheng asked helplessly.

"Who would know about this? Everyone's been working in the mountains for almost three months straight, and they're all exhausted, like grandsons. They're too tired to do any more work."

Besides, those tractors and stuff haven't been inspected in ages; they break down all the time. How are we supposed to get anything done?

The team leader of the third work team curled his lip. "Ever since Feng Baosheng came to the forest farm, the work team has never had a day off. How can they work like this?"

Even machines need to be inspected and maintained. People aren't machines; who can stand working all day without rest?

Forced into a corner, Feng Baosheng had no choice but to agree to give the work team seven days off so they could get some rest.

All the machines were also inspected and maintained to prevent them from breaking down again when they were put to work.

Now everyone was finally happy. They happily ended the meeting, went to the public bathhouse for a soak, and then went home for a good night's sleep.

On the third day, I saw these people carrying baskets on their backs, all heading into the mountains.

Whether it's mushrooms, walnuts, pine nuts, or hazelnuts, they grab whatever they can get their hands on. Who would stay home idle when they finally have a spare moment?

Sheng Liancheng and his son Sheng Xiping also joined in, carrying baskets and sacks as they went into the mountains.

Their main goal is pine cones, not necessarily too many, just a few dozen kilograms, keeping some for themselves and giving the rest as gifts or favors.

With the second and third sons away at school, the family lost two good helpers. Sheng Xiping climbed trees and used a pole to poke down the tower.

Sheng Liancheng picked up the sack under the tree, and once he had filled it, he stood it upright next to the big tree.

After picking up another sack, Sheng Liancheng called Sheng Xiping down, and the two of them sewed the sack shut with wire. Then, each of them carried a sack home.

This year, they didn't plan to sell pine nuts, so the father and son didn't go too far; they just wandered around the forests surrounding the forest farm.

Some families have a lot of manpower and want to take the opportunity to earn some money, so they go to large red pine forests to collect pine cones.

Every year around this time, everyone in the forest farm, regardless of age or gender, rushes into the forest and tries to bring back as much as they can.

Women can't climb trees to pick or carry pine cones, but they can pick mushrooms, schisandra berries, wild grapes, jujubes, and the like.

In the past, the school would give students a break for the autumn harvest, and the children would go up the mountain to help.

But this year, Principal Wang announced that there will be no more farm holidays in spring and autumn, and afforestation will be limited to upper elementary grades and first and second junior high grades.

Junior high and high school students must stay at school for classes, and no one should try to interfere with their studies.

The work team was on holiday, but the workers didn't rest at home. Instead, they all carried baskets and sacks up the mountain to collect mountain goods.

Feng Baosheng isn't blind, so how could he not see?

By this time, he had come to realize that he was alone and had no reliable helpers, so he was no match for the people in the forest farm.

Therefore, Feng Baosheng immediately called the provincial government and requested that several more tractors, winches and other machinery be allocated to Qianchuan Forest Farm this winter.

At the same time, let the leaders allocate a few skilled workers as appropriate, and it would be best to also assign two production schedulers.

Before you knew it, the seven-day holiday was over, and the work team went back up the mountain to work.

This time, everyone was in much better shape and worked faster than before. They worked until around October 15th and finally finished repairing the road leading to the new logging area.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!