Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Jiaolongxia Village is small, consisting of only one production brigade. The brigade is divided into three production groups, and Zhou Rui is in the third group. The third group, about sixty people, carried sickles, hoes, and winnowing baskets, and walked for over half an hour to reach the fields. Jiaolongxia Village is located at the mouth of Jiaolongxia Gorge, which narrows towards the west and widens towards the east. Originally, the village had a small population, and the land at the gorge mouth was enough to feed itself. Now, with the increasing population, they have to continuously reclaim land towards the eastern end of the village. However, although the eastern end of the village is spacious, the terrain is low-lying, and rocks and timber from the mountains have accumulated on both sides of the Jiaolongxi River, making this land difficult to cultivate. Their main task as the third group was to clear away these stones, timber, and other debris and level the land.

"This area, about forty or fifty acres, needs to be cleared. Everyone, hurry up and try to finish it in ten days. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can plant the crops, the sooner we can harvest, the sooner we can contribute more to the country, and the sooner we can save more food for our families," said Liu Jianguo, the leader of the third group, pointing to the patch of land covered with reeds and thorns. Despite his honest appearance, Liu Jianguo's mobilization speech was full of passion and enthusiasm.

"In this way, we divide the work. The first team takes sickles to weed, the second team follows with hoes to dig out the stones and wood from the ground, and then the third team picks out the harvested weeds, stones, and wood and puts them in the designated place."

"How long will it take to finish working on such a large area?"

"Yes, they say it will take ten days, but I think it might take more than half a month to finish."

"If I had known, I would have preferred to go to Qinggou instead."

"Well, you'll have to go too, since you're not in the same group."

As soon as group leader Liu Jianguo finished speaking, a chorus of complaints erupted from below, a never-ending stream of chatter.

"Stop talking, stop shouting. If you don't stop, we'll deduct your work points."

But no one listened. Everyone was talking at once about the difficulties of clearing the land, while the work done by the first and second groups was easy.

"This Liu Jianguo is useless; all he knows is how to bully us."

"Yeah, if you're so capable, go talk to the village chief and ask him to give us a different job."

"Do you know how Liu Jianguo got ahead? It was all thanks to his wife. His wife was the women's director, and she flattered the village chief, which is how he became the group leader of this third group."

Not only were the villagers gossiping, but Zhou Chen and his gang of thugs were also chirping away down there.

Liu Jianguo was in his early thirties and had only been in office for a short time, so he didn't have much prestige. Seeing that he couldn't control the crowd, he was so angry that his face turned red. Moreover, those thugs dared to harass him in front of him. He picked up a stick and was about to make a move, trying to subdue the crowd by force.

Seeing that a conflict was about to erupt, Zhou Rui quickly stepped forward and hugged Liu Jianguo. If a conflict broke out, regardless of the reason, Liu Jianguo's position as group leader would likely be over. It wasn't that Zhou Rui had a good relationship with Liu Jianguo, but rather that he and Zhou Chen's group had a bad relationship with him. As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. If he could help Liu Jianguo keep his position as group leader, he could use Liu Jianguo to suppress Zhou Chen in the future.

"Don't make a move, or you'll fall into their trap. You don't have the same authority as Grandpa Village Chief. If you do, they'll definitely fight back, and it'll escalate into a brawl. Then you'll lose your position as group leader." Zhou Rui whispered to Liu Jianguo while holding him.

Liu Jianguo turned around and saw that it was Zhou Rui. He calmed down and said, "Rui, what should we do? They're not listening to me now. They're not working and they're even inciting the masses to resist going to work. They're disorganized, undisciplined, and they're parasites on socialism."

"The main problem is that your organization just now was unreasonable, and everyone had complaints. That's why Zhou Chen and the others were able to motivate everyone. If you change the way you work and make everyone feel that the work is not so difficult, then those troublemakers won't be able to motivate anyone."

"What's so difficult about it? It's always been like this when we were clearing land before. Ruiwa, do you have a better way?" Liu Jianguo asked.

"Come on, let me tell you how you can do it like this..." As he spoke, Zhou Rui pulled him aside, squatted down on the ground, and drew back and forth on the ground with a stick, explaining in detail.

Seeing this, the villagers nearby quieted down. Only a few people continued to talk, not daring to speak loudly, but just whispering among themselves.

Zhou Chen and the others also gathered together to discuss.

"Brother Chen, Liu Jianguo didn't get angry, but Zhou Rui was dragged over there."

"It's Zhou Rui again. If Liu Jianguo had gotten angry and started hitting people, we could have fought back. If that had been the case, everyone would have started a fight, and we wouldn't have had to work today."

"Brother Chen, do you think Zhou Rui is up to some bad idea to mess with us?"

"He wouldn't dare. If he comes up with any ideas to mess with us, we'll kill him."

At this moment, Zhou Rui and Liu Jianguo dusted themselves off and stood up.

"Zhou Rui, your idea is brilliant! Let's do it this way. But those hooligans are too hateful. I want to teach them a lesson right now." Liu Jianguo looks honest, but he has a really fiery temper.

"No, today isn't the right time to make a move. Otherwise, they might stir up trouble and cause conflict between you and the others. You should focus on getting this land clearing done well, establishing your authority, and securing your position. Once you've secured your position as group leader, you'll have plenty of opportunities to deal with them later," Zhou Rui advised in a low voice.

"Okay, I'll listen to you. You're good, kid." After saying that, he slapped Zhou Rui's shoulder hard. If Zhou Rui's body hadn't been modified, he would have been slapped down.

"Alright, everyone listen to me. Zhou Rui and I have reconsidered the task allocation." Liu Jianguo addressed Zhou Rui by his full name instead of calling him "Ruiwazi," indicating that Zhou Rui was now quick-witted, resourceful, and a grown-up. "If we use our new method, the task time might be cut in half, and it won't be too tiring."

"Really? Does Ruiwazi have any ideas?"

"Our ancestors have been clearing land like this for generations, what other options do they have? Don't think we've been fooled."

"Alright, that's settled. Today, we'll all be cutting grass together, just for one day, then we won't need to do anything else. But you have to follow my instructions about where you're cutting the grass. Today, I'm dividing everyone into ten groups, each group will cut one plot. No group can stop until they finish. I can guarantee that each group will finish their assigned plot." Liu Jianguo said, then gestured to a villager he was on good terms with: "Zhao Songcheng, you're fast. Go back to the village and get fifty sickles, one for each person."

Zhao Songcheng usually played with Liu Jianguo and was quite supportive of Liu Jianguo becoming the group leader. He immediately agreed and ran towards the village.

While Zhao Songcheng went back to get his sickle, Liu Jianguo began dividing the people into ten work groups, each group using hoes to mark out an area. From the sky, it was clear that a ring about ten meters wide had been drawn along the land to be cleared. Zhou Rui's idea was actually to burn the wasteland. After burning the wasteland, all that would be left for everyone was to dig up the rocks.

Liu Jianguo wasn't idle either. He grouped Zhou Chen and his three lazybones with two other troublemakers, determined to teach them a lesson. If everyone else completed the task while they failed, no matter the punishment, no one could complain. While others might take revenge after ten years, Liu Jianguo's revenge was immediate and decisive—that was just his nature.