Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

"Junior brother, you've made so much money already, why don't you get a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle? It has twice the bullets, and you don't have to pull the bolt after every shot. If you use a Type 56 semi-automatic, you might be able to keep a few more."

Gu Shaofeng said seriously, because he truly believed it.

"No need. Everyone has a different understanding of guns. I like the stability of this gun, and it's also more powerful," Zhou Rui refused.

"Alright then, let's hurry up and deal with the sika deer. We've killed so many deer, it's just a pity that they don't have antlers at this age."

"You're always thinking the best. You should be grateful that we managed to hunt so many deer at this time."

"That's true. But what are we going to do with so many deer? Your Uncle Kangri can't possibly have that many, can he?" Gu Shaofeng asked while taking blood from his heart.

"Keep the biggest one, it weighs over 200 pounds. Send the rest to the forest farm. They use trucks to transport people to and from work every day, right? We can haul them there and then transport them back by truck."

"Okay, let's hurry up, or we'll miss the bus after work."

Gu Shaofeng quickened his pace. He understood that if he worked a little harder now, he could slack off more later.

Two of the eight deerskins were destroyed by Gu Shaofeng, leaving several bullet holes in them. Gu Shaofeng failed to kill them with his first shot, so he had to fire several more.

"Take these two pieces of leather back with you. They can be used to make a few pairs of boots for your family." Zhou Rui was a little disgusted with the two pieces of leather. They wouldn't fetch a good price, so he might as well use them himself.

The eight adult deer, the smallest of which weighed over 100 pounds, still yielded over 1,200 pounds of meat even after their internal organs were removed. Fortunately, Zhou Rui's strength had increased; otherwise, he might not have been able to carry them down.

By the time the sled reached the truck's location, even the dogs were exhausted. Gu Shaofeng, however, still had the energy to speak: "I told you, my leg injury last time was ill-timed, otherwise I would have brought back that huge bear myself."

"Who's there?" a loud shout rang out, and the driver sat up from the driver's seat.

"Master, is this a vehicle from Xiangyang Forest Farm? I'm a purchasing agent from Xiangyang Forest Farm." Zhou Rui unfastened his rifle and slowly stepped forward.

The driver didn't open the door, watching Zhou Rui approach and Gu Shaofeng a few meters away warily. His messy hair was sticking up, so it seemed he had been sleeping in the car.

"You said you're from the forest farm, but I've never seen you before."

Zhou Rui walked to the car door, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small notebook.

"I'm a temporary purchasing agent who just joined the farm this year. I rarely go to the forest farm, so it's normal that you haven't seen me before. Please take a look, this is my work certificate."

The driver glanced through the car window and saw that Zhou Rui was not very old, and the work permit in his hand was similar in style to his own. He then rolled down the window and took it.

The driver was literate, and after glancing at it, he finally felt relieved. He handed Zhou Rui his documents back, opened the car door, and jumped out.

"You're from the logistics department, what are you doing here at this time?"

Zhou Rui quickly took out a cigarette and lit one for the driver: "Brother, the mission is getting tighter lately, Director Zhang told us to buy more meat."

"Look, that's the young artilleryman from Gujiatun. I'm ordering supplies from him. He shot quite a few deer today, and I was thinking of hitching a ride back with you."

"Gunner? Sika deer?" The driver took a puff of his cigarette and walked curiously toward the sled.

Gu Shaofeng restrained Da Mao and the others, then stepped aside, revealing the sled behind him.

"Wow, so much meat! One person can hunt so many sika deer, he certainly deserves the title of 'gunner'." The driver was very happy. With so much venison delivered to the canteen, he could take some back home for his wife to try.

Gu Shaofeng was taken aback when Zhou Rui absolved himself of all responsibility, taking all the credit and even introducing him as the gunner. His thick skin blushed slightly. He knew all too well the prestige of the title "gunner" among hunters.

Seeing the look Zhou Rui gave him, Gu Shaofeng had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.

"Oh, it's all just good luck."

"Okay, let's hurry up and load it onto the truck. The lumberjacks will be off work soon. The sooner we get back, the sooner we can have meat for dinner." The driver said, getting ready to start.

"How could we let you do it? We'll do it ourselves," Gu Shaofeng quickly stepped forward to stop him. In his eyes, the job of a driver was quite prestigious, better than that of a salesperson or projectionist, since there were very few people who could drive and repair cars.

"It's nothing, just lending a hand. I'm looking forward to eating the braised pork from the cafeteria soon." The driver wasn't shy at all and immediately offered to help.

While the group was unloading the goods, Zhou Rui and his companion learned that the driver's name was Wang Jianping, 31 years old, and a veteran driver at the forest farm. Not only was he a driver, but he was also the deputy captain of the transport team; the captain was his mentor.

After loading over a thousand pounds of meat onto the truck, all three of them were drenched in sweat. Zhou Rui took the liquor out of his backpack; there was still half a bottle left.

"Here, Brother Wang, have a drink, don't catch a cold."

Wang Jianping didn't stand on ceremony, took the bottle, and gulped it down. "Hiss... Ha. Old Baijiu? This will warm me up. With this snow, I was freezing in the car just now."

The group got quite lively, chatting away. After finishing half the bottle, the two men pushed their bicycles back, and the workers gradually returned.

"Brother Wang, who are these two people?" someone familiar with them asked directly.

"This is Zhou Rui, the temporary purchasing agent for the forest farm. This one is quite remarkable, Gu Shaofeng, also known as Gu Pao. He just hunted a sika deer and is going back to the forest farm canteen with my car."

"Sika deer, is there meat to eat?" This is a greedy question.

"The deer herd got shot? Old Nian was saying he'd find a different spot to set a trap, but it turns out the gunners shot them down instead. But at least they're in our canteen, so we can at least get some meat."

"Old Nian, you should take that trap back tomorrow. The deer herd is gone," a young man called out from behind.

On the way back, the car sped along, it seemed Wang Jianping was also eager to eat meat. Zhou Rui, the forest farm's purchasing agent, sat in the driver's seat, while Gu Shaofeng and the other workers sat in the back of the truck.

The workers looked at the meat in front of them with great excitement and chatter. Only one man, nearly forty years old, remained silent, staring at Gu Shaofeng with resentment.

So this must be the "old coward" they were talking about. He'd set a trap for days and gotten absolutely nothing, only to have Gu Shaofeng wipe it all out. No wonder he's in a bad mood.

Seeing the man staring at him with hostility, Gu Shaofeng didn't hold back. He gave him a wicked smile, stroked the big furry dog's head with one hand, and waved the gun in his hand with the other, startling the man so much that he immediately turned his head away.

The large truck pulled up right in front of the cafeteria. The cooks, who were washing vegetables outside, were quite puzzled. What was this truck doing stopping at the cafeteria after work?

It wasn't until everyone carried the venison down that the chefs got excited and rushed in to inform Supervisor Deng.