Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

After leaving the forest farm, Zhou Rui wondered where to get some tickets. He needed a sharp knife for his mountain climb, a flashlight and some daily necessities at home, and his kerosene was almost gone. Director Zhang should have all these things, but he had already gotten a great deal today. After changing into cotton clothes and blankets, Director Zhang didn't ask about them again, so he should know better than to ask.

Zhou Rui glanced at the huge bag of stuff piled on the back seat. "Never mind," he thought, "I'll come back another time." Pushing so much stuff into crowded places wasn't a good idea; he'd be heartbroken if someone stole even a single item. Especially that Mauser 98K—it was Zhou Rui's lifeblood.

Zhou Rui hadn't ridden his bike far when he suddenly felt something was wrong. He got off and saw that his rear tire was flat. With no other option, Zhou Rui had to push his bicycle to find a repair shop.

"Hey young man, what's wrong?"

"Sir, could you take a look? The back tire is flat."

The mechanic inspected the tire and said, "The rear tire has a nail in it; it needs to be patched."

There was no other way but to fix it. So they removed everything from the back seat and put it aside to make it easier for the old man to operate, while Zhou Rui squatted down and watched.

As he was watching, a young man, thin and frail, who was only half a head taller than Zhou Rui, squatted down next to him.

"Hey buddy, your army coat and quilt are top-notch! Where did you get them? Want to sell them?"

Zhou Rui turned his head and glanced at the man, and immediately knew what he did: he was a street vendor who dealt in goods and tickets.

"My second uncle works at Xiangyang Forestry Farm. This is a benefit issued by the farm. He doesn't want to use it himself, so he asked me to take it back for the elderly in his family." Zhou Rui made it up as soon as he opened his mouth. He didn't even know where his cheap uncle was.

"No way, brother, you don't need such an expensive coat at home. And these quilts, we have three, can you spare two? I have some good stuff here, let's trade."

"No way, my second uncle already told my family that if I don't bring these things back, they'll kill me." Zhou Rui firmly refused, but then changed the subject and asked directly, "Dude, you said you have some good stuff, what kind of stuff?"

"Didn't you say you weren't going to exchange it? Why are you asking?" The young man prepared to leave when he realized he hadn't achieved his goal.

"If you don't want to exchange, you can buy it. I'll pay for it, will you sell it to me?"

"You want to buy? Sure." The young man stopped in his tracks. It was all business anyway, so it didn't matter who he sold to. "What do you want? Tell me, I'll sell you anything I have."

Do you have bicycle tickets?

"No, you can't find one of those things for a year or two; it's purely a matter of luck."

"Do you have any high-end cigarettes? A few packs, please. Also, malted milk powder, flashlights..."

"Okay, here we are. Cigarettes are 35 cents a pack, and malted milk powder is 3.2 yuan."

"We don't have milk powder; that's only available in the city, you can't find it in this town. Would White Rabbit milk candy work?"

"Okay, give me two jin, and also a cleaver, and some oil coupons, grain coupons, industrial coupons and stuff like that."

"Okay, then come with me, I'll take you to get your things."

"No, I'll wait for you here at the repair shop. I'll pay you once you bring the stuff." Zhou Rui refused to leave; what if the stuff got lost if he left? If he went with all these bags, it would be even more troublesome if someone cornered him.

The young man looked around, bit his lip, and made up his mind. "Fine, you wait here." Then he turned and left.

The mechanic didn't pay any attention to the two young men whispering to each other. The young man loitered around the neighborhood all day; the mechanic knew what he did for a living. He never meddled in other people's business, especially since they were all neighbors. If he reported them, his window might be smashed the moment he left.

About ten minutes later, when the young man arrived, the tire had already been patched. After paying five cents, Zhou Rui reattached the items to the car, ready to make his escape as soon as the transaction was complete.

The young man, carrying a bulging military-style canvas backpack, squatted down beside the repair shop. Zhou Rui pushed his bicycle over, using it as cover. Using the bicycle and the repair shop as cover, the two of them emptied the backpack one item at a time. Zhou Rui checked some items, like the flashlight, while others were only glanced at. After checking everything, everything was fine.

"Including these grain coupons and oil coupons, the total is seventy-four yuan and twenty cents."

Zhou Rui looked at the pile of things on the ground, feeling a bit of a headache. He glanced at the empty bag in the young man's hand and laughed. "I can't carry this either, so you can have your bag."

"Okay, eight yuan, you can take it." Judging from the man's conflicted look, he seemed to really like the bag.

"Forget about seven or eight yuan, I'll give you seventy yuan for all of these."

Seeing that such a large deal had been made, the young man didn't argue further. "Seventy it is, pay up."

Since everything was agreed upon, Zhou Rui readily took out his money, counted out seven large banknotes, and handed them to the young man.

After buying all these things, Zhou Rui only had 90 yuan left out of the 800 yuan he earned from selling job slots. However, Zhou Rui didn't feel bad at all. These days, having too much money is useless; it's better to exchange it for usable things for the household.

The young man took the money and, while counting it, whispered to Zhou Rui, who was packing things on the ground, "Now that the deal is done, brother, let me give you a heads-up. The stuff on your bicycle is too conspicuous; someone's eyeing you." He then gestured towards the other side of the street.

Zhou Rui looked out through the bicycle wheel hub and saw three or four men in their twenties pretending to chat and joke around, but their eyes were constantly fixed on this side.

Zhou Rui kept his head down, making it impossible to see his expression: "Got it. Thanks, buddy."

Seeing that Zhou Rui showed no sign of panic, the young man realized that Zhou Rui was no ordinary person and had something he didn't know about.

"Then good luck, buddy! If you manage to escape this ordeal, come find me again next time you need anything. My name is Tong Lei, I walk around this street. If you really can't find me, just ask the mechanic or the barber." After saying that, he turned and walked behind the repair shop.

He had no choice but to leave. He had seventy yuan in his pocket from the recent transaction, and Tong Lei was afraid that those unruly bastards would rob him as well.

Zhou Rui remained silent after hearing this, but he felt that Tong Lei, the ticket scalper, was quite ethical. People who dare to reveal their real names are generally respectable, and being a long-time resident of the town, it seemed he intended to do business for the long term.

Zhou Rui neatly stuffed the items into the bag, tightened the outer strap, shook it in his hand, and only after the items inside didn't move did he put it on his back.

Zhou Rui got on his bicycle, pretending not to have noticed the men, and slowly rode out of town. When he reached a secluded spot outside town, he saw the four men from the street earlier, leaning on their knees and panting on the road, their clothes open, apparently because they were hot.

As they drew closer, the four straightened up and surrounded Zhou Rui, but their steps were still unsteady. A cold smile appeared in Zhou Rui's eyes. It seemed their legs weren't very good; even taking a shortcut had left them this exhausted.

"Hey kid on the bike, get off. Are you up to some kind of profiteering scheme? Do you even know that...?"

While the four men were still bluffing Zhou Rui, Zhou Rui pulled out an identical iron pipe from under the crossbar of his bicycle and smashed it over his own head.

It turns out that Zhou Rui had previously bought a crossbar from an old bicycle from an old man at a repair shop for two yuan. He tied it to the bottom of the crossbar of a 28-inch bicycle with a thin rope, and no one would notice it unless they were paying attention.

With a loud bang, the leading man fell backward, seeing stars. The three men following behind, who were preparing to flank him, were stunned. Zhou Rui then slammed his bicycle on, accelerating towards the three men, sweeping the iron pipe in his hand forward with a whooshing sound. The three men were so frightened that they quickly dodged to the sides.

Seeing the three men clear the way, Zhou Rui tucked the iron pipe into his waistband, gripped the handlebars, and pedaled furiously forward, speeding away like the wind. The three men were left staring at each other, bewildered. What had just happened? How did things suddenly turn out like this? Their boss had been knocked down with a stick, that brat had run off with a whole bicycle full of stuff, and their knife hadn't even been drawn yet. "Right, boss... I wonder how he is?" The three men then walked towards the burly man lying on the ground.

Ignoring the group still scrambling in the wind, Zhou Rui rode his bicycle back. With that kind of skill, they dared to rob people? If he hadn't been carrying so much stuff, Zhou Rui could have beaten the four of them to a pulp with a single iron pipe.