Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

The truck that Hu Bin drove had a large cargo bed; even after loading the wild boars, there was still plenty of space left. Gu Shaofeng, Wang Zhen, and Zhang Shitou quickly carried all the dogs onto the truck. It was better to have a ride than to walk.

Wang Shouye and Zhou Rui squeezed into the passenger seat. As they left, Village Chief Yang greeted them warmly, saying that if a big beast came to their area again, he would definitely send someone to inform Wang Shouye as soon as possible.

Standing inside the truck, Wang Zhen watched this scene thoughtfully, as if he understood Wang Shouye's actions. Hearing others preach is never as memorable as seeing it for oneself.

Having a car is great. Although the roads were difficult to travel on after the snow, we still got back to Xiangyang Forest Farm quickly. Zhang Shitou was very excited. It was his first time riding in a large gasoline-powered truck. Although his face was numb from the cold, his heart was burning with excitement.

The people and dogs came down first, and the people in the canteen were hesitant to approach when they saw about a dozen hunting dogs.

Wang Shouye got out of the passenger seat and, seeing this, quickly went over: "Take the dogs away, don't let them run around and scare people."

Gu Shaofeng and the others quickly agreed and busied themselves pulling the dog away.

Deng Xiangrong greeted him warmly: "Brother Zhou, you're really something, getting so many wild boars at once. Now my canteen will have enough meat."

"You have no idea, lumberjacks have huge appetites. No amount of meat is ever enough. Temporary workers are alright, but the permanent employees are hard to please. They'll complain if they don't get meat."

Deng Xiangrong kept pouring out his grievances to Zhou Rui.

"Brother Deng, doesn't this further demonstrate your high level of competence? During the busiest time of the forestry operation, you did your best to ensure the workers had enough to eat and drink, enabling them to successfully complete the tasks assigned by the state. If there are any awards at the end of the year, I think you, as the canteen manager, deserve a lot of credit."

Zhou Rui was quick-witted and flattered Deng Xiangrong, feeling incredibly pleased with himself. But he still had to be modest: "No, no, it's not because of my superior skills, it's all thanks to Director Zhang's excellent leadership."

Zhou Rui put his hand on Deng Xiangrong's shoulder: "Brother Deng, I'm sorry about this. I was so busy hunting wild boars that I didn't catch anything good. I'll get you some good tea leaves from Uncle Zhang later."

"No, that's high-end tea for the leaders. Don't get too much, just a little to taste."

Deng Xiangrong was very happy, feeling that Zhou Rui and Zhang Zhenbei had a very special relationship, since Zhou Rui could take tea from the office at will, and he must get along well with him.

"Okay, then you wait here, I'll go check on Uncle Zhang right away."

"No, no, wait a minute. I'll tell them to weigh the wild boars quickly. You take the note with you later. This purchase is quite large, and we need Manager Zhang's signature, otherwise you'll have to make another trip later."

With Deng Xiangrong's instructions, things were done very quickly. From recording the weight to issuing the receipt, it was all done in just over ten minutes.

Zhou Rui took the slip from the cafeteria: "Brother Deng, I'll go to Uncle Zhang's place first. You must wait for me."

After saying goodbye to Deng Xiangrong, Zhou Rui and his group headed towards Zhang Zhenbei's office. Zhou Rui didn't make a point of greeting Hu Bin, but the large piece of fat and two packs of cigarettes left in the passenger seat were enough to show his sincerity.

On the way, Zhou Rui casually handed the note to Wang Shouye, and Wang Zhen and the others immediately surrounded him, as this concerned how much money they could get.

"Nine thousand three hundred catties of wild boar meat, priced at 87 cents per catty. That's so high?" Wang Zhen clicked his tongue in surprise.

"Yeah, this wild boar meat isn't very tasty. I used to sell fatty meat for only 1.3 yuan at the black market, which averaged out to only 70 or 80 cents." Zhang Shitou couldn't believe it either.

"This is nothing! Last time, Ruiwa and I went up the mountain and hunted sika deer. Do you know how much it cost per pound? Two yuan." Gu Shaofeng waved two fingers in front of Wang Zhen and Zhang Shitou, showing off incessantly.

"Wow, that tall?" Both of them were stunned.

"You don't understand. The forest farm has money, but it doesn't have a place to buy large quantities of meat. It can occasionally purchase small amounts from the black market, but it dares not do so in large quantities, as that would violate policy."

People in the black market don't have such connections. Even if they collect a lot of meat, they can only sell it slowly, because they can't afford to cause a big fuss.

Only someone like your junior brother, with a legitimate identity as a purchasing agent for the forestry farm, can do such large-scale business with them. Otherwise, how could such benefits fall into our hands?

Wang Shouye patiently explained to his apprentices. He taught them the principles of market business while also pointing out Zhou Rui's crucial role, so that they wouldn't think that Zhou Rui's shareholding was inexplicably higher than theirs and develop any resentment.

Fortunately, none of them were that kind of person.

Gu Shaofeng had long regarded Zhou Rui as his lucky charm and couldn't wait to cling to Zhou Rui's coattails. Zhang Shitou's family was relatively poor, and he was honest by nature. He was very grateful to his master and junior brother for helping him make money.

Although Wang Zhen was a bit short-sighted, he could still listen to what his uncle Wang Shouye said. After all, in his eyes, his sixth uncle was a rare talent in the Wang family.

"Good job, kid. You managed to kill so many wild boars at once. We made the right choice in assigning this task to you." Zhang Zhenbei was very satisfied with Zhou Rui, proving that he hadn't misjudged him.

Wang Shouye and his apprentice waited outside; too many people wouldn't be good. With fewer people, Zhou Rui wasn't as careful with his words in front of Zhang Zhenbei.

"That's right, look who's chosen me. From now on, I'm Little Zhou the Cannon of Hongqi Town." Zhou Rui's words both flattered Zhang Zhenbei and promoted himself.

"Haha... Alright, stop showing off. Don't be complacent. I've noticed these past few days that these workers are working at full capacity and have quite a large appetite. My original monthly quota might have been too low. I'll add two thousand catties each month. You still need to keep up the good work and help me complete the logistics of this forest farm properly."

While signing the papers, Wang Shouye kept giving Zhou Rui a warning, lest the kid get too cocky.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Rui ordered an even larger quantity. That's good; he can earn more money this winter. However, he still can't skimp on the benefits he's owed Zhang Zhenbei.

"Uncle Zhang, could you buy some bullets? You see, we hunt so many wild boars at once, we've fired quite a few bullets. Also, do you have any spare rifles in your warehouse?"

You wouldn't believe it, we surrounded a huge herd of boars this time, but unfortunately two of my senior brothers weren't very good with their guns; they ran out of bullets after firing about two thousand rounds and had to reload. If we had had a few more guns, we definitely could have caught ten more wild boars.

Zhang Zhenbei thought about it and agreed; fighting a siege would consume a lot of ammunition. As for guns, there were still some in the warehouse, and giving them away would still be useful; it wasn't like they were being given away for nothing.

"Sure, I'll give you a batch of bullets. We also have guns; what kind of guns do your senior brothers want?"

"Do you have the Type 56/5? That gun has a large magazine capacity, and you don't have to pull the bolt after each shot. It would be perfect for the two of them." Zhou Rui, being shameless, naturally flattered Zhang Zhenbei since he had agreed.

"You little rascal, all you ever do is want the good stuff."

When Zhou Rui saw that Zhang Zhenbei did not refuse, his eyes lit up and he immediately felt that there was a chance.

"Are there really five or six half?"

"Yes, the Armed Forces Department phased out a batch of them in the first half of the year, saying that the training was too intense and the wear and tear was quite severe. However, the barrels have been replaced, so they're about 70% new."

"Okay, 70% new is fine, I'll go with 50-60%." Zhou Rui made the decision immediately.

"What about you? Are you going to switch? I remember you're still using a Mauser rifle, right?"