Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

The bald, burly man glanced at the cigarette in his hand. Although he was somewhat disgusted, he still put it in his mouth and let Zhou Dashan light it for him.

He didn't want any fancy cigarettes; he wanted the other person's attitude. Once someone was manipulated by him, they basically couldn't escape his control.

The person in charge of this household was completely intimidated, so the others basically didn't need to lift a finger; they would naturally back down. With Zhou Dashan's knees buckling, getting this debt back would definitely be no problem; the only question was what they would receive in return.

"I, Big Bear, am not unreasonable." The bald, burly man touched his bald scalp with one hand.

"Zhou Chen was short of money, so he contacted me through our friends and has borrowed a lot of money over the past month or so."

I have the IOU with me. The total was 860 yuan, which, including interest, is 1014 yuan. The number 4 doesn't sound good, so I'll waive it for you. Just give me 1010 yuan.

Zhou Rui watched this man nicknamed Big Bear silently from outside, and felt that he was not simple at all; he had the body of a bear but the heart of a fox.

They used a whole set of tactics: intimidation, threats, and suppression. In the end, they even gave us a sweet treat, waiving four yuan of our debt.

"So many?" Zhao Dashan's legs went weak, and he broke out in a cold sweat in the sub-zero temperatures.

Tian Xiuying was even more incredulous, her face filled with disbelief: "How is this possible? My Chenbao is so well-behaved and obedient, how could he have secretly borrowed so much money?"

The villagers nearby were all speechless with bewilderment.

"What was she thinking? Zhou Chen, with his ridiculous appearance, is supposed to be a good boy? I'm dying of laughter."

"Exactly. Zhou Chen is useless at work, he's like a good-for-nothing all day, just hanging around everywhere, and she treats him like a treasure."

"That's right. Tian Xiuying gave birth to two sons, and neither of them is decent. She herself often throws tantrums and takes advantage of others. There isn't a single good person in Zhou Dashan's family."

"You think I'm lying to you?" Big Bear exhaled a puff of smoke, his expression somewhat disdainful. "We brought the IOU with us; it's written clearly in black and white."

"Then what does he need the money for?" Tian Xiuying still didn't believe it when she saw the IOU held up in front of Da Xiong's men.

"We have no idea what he's doing. We just lend him the money; we don't care how he uses it."

"Brother Xiong, we don't have that much money. Could you please lower the price a bit?" Zhou Dashan groveled before Xiong, who was more than ten years younger than him, like a little bastard.

"Well, the family managed to scrape together about three hundred yuan. Look, look..."

"Three hundred yuan? That's way too far off. I'm not in a position to give you that much less. Here's an idea for you." Big Bear had a smile on his face, but his face was so scary that his smile was anything but pleasant.

"W-what idea?" Zhou Dashan stammered, sensing that the big guy had no good intentions.

"I'll settle your debts for whatever amount you give us. As for the rest, I'll take your youngest son and wife with me to work for us to pay off the debt."

They didn't do anything else, just washing clothes, cooking, chopping wood, and so on. They earned five yuan a month, so the two of them earned one hundred and twenty yuan a year. They paid off the debt in seven or eight years.

"Besides, we're reasonable people, we don't just give up on people. We'll return you the person whenever you've gathered enough money at home and paid off the debt on the IOU."

Zhou Dashan felt increasingly disheartened as he listened. Although he didn't gamble, he knew what kind of people worked in casinos. If his second son went there, he'd probably be beaten every day. His eldest son, Zhou Chen, was already in jail; if Zhou Ji were to get in too… then it would be the end of them.

If my wife went to work there, she would be abused by those people. Would she still be the same person when she came back?

If Da Xiong knew what Zhou Dashan was thinking, he would probably spit in his face. His wife looks like she wants to sleep with him.

What I want is a beautiful, slender woman with a slender waist; I don't even want to look at this sallow-faced woman.

Only Tian Xiuying and Zhou Dashan shared the same thought: that Da Xiong kidnapped her because he wanted to do *that*.

"No, honey, don't make me go work for them, I don't want to go."

"Fellow villagers, help me find the village chief! These people are trying to kidnap me, this beautiful woman, and do *that* to me!" Tian Xiuying threw a tantrum on the ground, wailing incessantly.

Upon hearing this, Big Bear's face darkened. "You think you're such a beauty? Do you think I'm blind?"

One of Big Bear's men felt nauseous and wanted to vomit, while the other two also felt unwell.

The villagers nearby burst into laughter upon hearing this, and instead of calling the village chief, they pointed and whispered among themselves.

"Tian Xiuying, you call yourself a great beauty? Widow Zhao is the real beauty; you're just a woman at best."

"Tian Xiuying, the village chief said that your family and Chen Qiang's family have a debt dispute. As long as the other party doesn't do anything outrageous, the brigade headquarters won't get involved. The village chief and the others are busy and don't have time to deal with your little matter."

Those who had conflicts with Zhou Dashan's family shouted in the crowd, "Tian Xiuying, you shameless ugly hag, you even said someone wanted to do *that* to you. Do you think all women are dead?"

"With your looks, only your man would be scared enough to shut his mouth. If other men were in the same room with you at night with the lights off, they'd be terrified."

Big Bear silently gave a thumbs-up to that person in his heart, saying what he wanted to say.

"Tian Yue'e, you heartless bastard, you insulted me. You've disliked me since we were little and have always been against me."

"I've married into Jiaolong Gorge, and you still follow me here to continue insulting me. I... I'll fight you to the death!" Tian Xiuying blushed with embarrassment, got up from the ground, and wanted to fight Tian Yue'e.

Tian Yue'e wasn't intimidated. Standing in the crowd outside, she continued to provoke them: "Come on, come here. Do you think I'm afraid of you?"

"Enough!" Big Bear shouted, displaying a fierce demeanor reminiscent of Li Kui, which immediately silenced the two men.

"Stop talking nonsense. Zhou Dashan, I'm just asking you, is this okay?"

"Isn't this...isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Big Bear shouted just now, and he was standing the closest to the shout, so his ears are still ringing.

Big Bear had lost his patience. He frowned, his eyebrows shot up, and said, "This won't work, that won't work, what exactly do you want?"

"Okay, I'll pay back 310 yuan first. I'll do odd jobs to pay back the remaining 700 yuan slowly."

The forest farm is hiring temporary workers this year, right? I'll go beg the village chief to give me a spot. I'll pay back ten yuan, no, fifteen yuan a month, until it's all paid off.

Zhou Dashan was going all out. For his son and daughter-in-law, he even took on the most tiring job at the forest farm, carrying logs, which he usually disliked.

"Do you think I'm stupid? What if your whole family runs away? Your son and daughter-in-law work for me and I still have someone holding them hostage. If I don't have anyone with me, you can sell the house and I won't even be able to find them."

"Alright, either my son and daughter-in-law come work for me to pay off the debt, or I'll take the house. At most, I'll give you some money for the broken furniture inside."