Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

A small fire was lit outside the cave, but there wasn't much firewood, just enough to keep it burning for a short time.

Wang Shouye returned with Wang Zhen and Zhang Shitou, and another pile of black bear skins and meat appeared beside the snow sled. It seems we'll need to add another sled tomorrow.

Gu Shaofeng was diligently cutting the bear skin, while Wang Zhen and Zhang Shitou rested around the small fire without anyone coming forward to help.

Zhang Shitou had intended to help, but Wang Shouye stopped him. Just then, a swishing sound came from the dark snow, growing louder as it approached.

As everyone watched, illuminated by the dim firelight, Zhou Rui emerged from the darkness, carrying a large bundle of timber on his shoulder and dragging a large tree with one hand. The sound was the rustling of branches against the snow.

Wang Zhen and Zhang Shitou quickly stepped forward, one helping Zhou Rui take the firewood from his shoulder, and the other helping to pull the big tree.

Gu Shaofeng glanced at the brown bear beneath him, then at the two attentive figures beside Zhou Rui, and to be honest, he felt a pang of jealousy.

At eight o'clock in the evening, a bonfire was finally lit in the cave, and Gu Shaofeng, who was so busy that his back ached, was finally able to eat barbecue.

"Today's harvest was good. Including yesterday's work, we harvested a total of five bear gallbladders, four bear skins, and more than 2,000 catties of meat."

I estimate we'll have to go down the mountain in two days. It's far from the village, and the few of us, plus the dog and the mule, can't carry too much meat.

Wang Shouye was quite satisfied with his harvest. Although there wasn't much meat, he had collected five bear gallbladders, which, based on their quality and weight, could fetch around five thousand yuan. Adding the pelt and the bear's nose flap, the total was close to ten thousand yuan.

"It's just a pity about this black bear skin today. It's been riddled with bullet holes and is worthless now. We'll lose at least two hundred dollars."

Zhang Shitou held up the bear skin in his hand. Through the firelight, five or six light-transmitting holes and a tear could be seen in the skin.

"Alright, even if it hadn't been shot that many times, it wouldn't fetch a good price. It's already been clawed by bears several times, and its pelt is no longer intact."

Wang Zhen chimed in, "I was the one who skinned this animal, so I naturally know its condition."

"Why are those two so temperamental? They started fighting as soon as they were woken up by the firecrackers?"

"You know what morning grumpiness is? Aren't you angry when you're woken up? That bear is the tyrant of the mountains. When it was woken up, it thought it was a black bear that made the noise, so it slapped it a few times..."

Just as Zhou Rui and his companions were enjoying barbecue and chatting in the warm cave, three figures arrived at a place dozens of miles away in the mountains.

Huff, huff. The three of them were breathing heavily, clearly exhausted.

"Old Tong, let's find a place to rest. We've run so far in one go, they probably can't keep up for now."

An elderly man, around fifty years old and wearing a thick cotton-padded coat, spoke while panting. Through the dim moonlight, the person the old man was speaking to revealed his profile; it was none other than Tong Guwei, the mixed-race man Zhou Rui and his group had encountered, though it was uncertain whether that was his real name.

Tong Guwei glanced back at the old man and realized that he indeed lacked the strength to continue his journey.

"Alright, it's getting late, and it's dangerous to travel at night in these mountains. Let's find a place to camp."

"It's all Qin's fault. If he hadn't acted carelessly and his mistake hadn't been discovered, we would have been back in China long ago, comfortably lying in my house drinking vodka."

"It wouldn't be so bad that we'd be chased all over by the Chinese soldiers, still hiding in these damned mountains so late at night."

A strange Chinese voice rang out, its tone filled with deep resentment.

"Hey Park, is this my fault? If you hadn't been pushing me so hard, would I have rashly gone to contact that person?"

Old Qin seemed somewhat exasperated. He had been living a comfortable life, hiding well in the farm's canteen. He wasn't eating lavish meals every day, but at least he was full, and he could even have a drink occasionally.

It's all Park Bo-sang's fault and Tong Jin-jun's fault. They brought some secret orders, instructing him to help bring out a labor reformer from the farm, which exposed his identity. In the dead of winter, he was chased like a wild dog by the Chinese soldiers.

"What do you mean I'm rushing you? The higher-ups ordered us to bring the person back as soon as possible. You forgot everything you were trained on, which is why this mistake happened."

Now even Captain Tong and I have been implicated. We'll definitely be punished by our superiors when we get back.

Park Bo-sang raised his chin and kept spitting at Old Qin. In the dim light, he appeared to be an honest farmer, but his face was now somewhat ferocious due to his anger.

"Alright, Lieutenant Park. Old Qin is still your senior, no matter what, don't say that." The mixed-race man surnamed Tong sternly stopped Park Bu-shang from speaking.

"This mission failure is something no one wanted to see. As for any punishment from superiors, don't think about it now. Do you think Chinese soldiers are pushovers?"

Instead of pointlessly blaming each other here, you should unite and figure out how to escape alive from the Chinese border.

Old Qin and Park Bo-sang finally stopped arguing after being scolded by Tong Jinjun, mainly because they were too exhausted to argue anymore.

Actually, the two didn't have any major conflicts. It was just a way for them to vent their frustrations after being followed by someone for half a month, living in constant fear and tension.

A dozen miles behind, in a valley, ten figures were gathered around a fire, roasting dry, hard coarse grain cakes.

All ten men were dressed in military uniforms, with military overcoats over them, but the overcoats were covered in grime, and looked like they hadn't been washed in a while.

"Section Chief Lin, how far do you think we are from them?"

A young man with a resolute face was tearing at the flatbread in his hand. The flatbread was too hard and was a bit rough on his throat, so he grabbed a handful of snow from the ground before he could swallow it.

Section Chief Lin took a bite of the multigrain pancake and chewed it slowly. Although he was also dressed in military uniform and had a burly build, the way he ate made him look more like a scholar.

"It won't be too far, probably about ten miles. We've been following them closely the whole time, never letting our guard down. They can't escape."

"You've all worked so hard these past few days, enduring hardships and toil with us in the wilderness."

"It's nothing, just consider it wilderness survival training," the young man waved his hand and said casually.

"Besides, Old Qin, one of these people, is someone who ran away from our farm. We also have a responsibility to bring him back."

"Damn it, I served three years on a farm, how come I never realized this old Qin was a traitor? I even thought he was a good guy; sometimes when we came back late from training, he'd even cook us meat. Turns out he was just pretending all along."

"Yes, squad leader. Once when I caught a cold and fell ill, he even gave me steamed buns to eat. He really acted like a good person and fooled everyone on the farm."

If he hadn't revealed his true colors this time, wouldn't he have been able to remain hidden indefinitely?

A young man of seventeen or eighteen looked indignant, seemingly annoyed that he had been deceived by the enemy.