Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Just as Zhou Rui was about to comfort Gu Shaofeng, Wang Shouye spoke up.

"What are you still chatting about? Isn't there enough work for you? Are you planning to stay up all night?"

Wang Shouye understands his eldest apprentice best, yet he's still being so pretentious; he needs a good talking-to.

"Okay." Gu Shaofeng turned and ran away, leaving Zhou Rui completely bewildered.

"Ruiwa, are you alright?" Wang Shouye was most concerned about Zhou Rui. After all, Zhou Rui had been injured not long ago. The numerous shots fired today might have affected his wounds.

When Zhou Rui noticed that Wang Shouye was staring at his left shoulder while asking him a question, he quickly stretched it out.

"Uncle Wang, I've already told you, it's been better for a long time, but you wouldn't believe me."

Wang Shouye glanced at Zhou Rui's relaxed expression and nodded slightly.

"Alright, then you come with me to prepare the hides, and let them do the work of collecting the game."

Zhou Rui glanced at Lu Cheng in the distance, who was excitedly searching for the dead serows. This was related to his income; each one he killed meant an extra ten yuan.

"Are blue sheepskins valuable?"

"It's not worth much, but it's still about ten yuan. Now we have the payment for Lu Cheng. Hurry up and get it done, or it'll be hard to peel once it's frozen solid."

The ibex piled up larger and larger, interspersed with some wolves. Zhou Rui and his men lit a large fire in front of them, not for light, but simply to prevent the ibex, whose hides hadn't yet been skinned, from freezing solid.

They caught quite a lot of prey this time. Gu Shaofeng and his group, along with more than a dozen dogs, worked for over an hour to collect it all.

"Master, they've all been retrieved. Shall I help?" Zhang Shitou, his forehead still damp with sweat, was about to get to work.

"Stop what you're doing and take a break. Then take stock of all the prey and cook dinner with Zhenzi and the others; they're all starving."

The aroma of roasted meat and flatbread soon filled the mountains, greatly reducing the stench of blood in the valley.

Lu Cheng and his apprentice Wang Shouye sat around the fire, eating roasted meat with gusto. After the initial excitement wore off, they were truly exhausted, feeling completely drained.

At this moment, Zhou Rui took out several bottles of strong liquor from his bag; they were all frozen solid.

"Want some? To celebrate?"

Gu Shaofeng took a bottle, his eyes piercing through the transparent glass, staring intently at it.

"How do you drink it? Just eat the popsicle?"

Zhou Rui snatched the bottle and placed it thirty centimeters away from the fire.

"Just grill it."

"Master, we hunted a total of 217 blue sheep, 9 wolves, and 1 leopard this time," Wang Zhen reported to Wang Shouye while eating a pancake.

"Really that many? Didn't quite a few Qingyang run away?" Gu Shaofeng was a little puzzled; the number didn't match what Lu Cheng had initially said.

"There's nothing strange about it. Perhaps it's because the temperature on the mountain has been dropping these past few days since Brother Lu Cheng went back, and other flocks of sheep on the mountain have gradually gathered here."

"Let's include the number of wolves and leopards and give Brother Lu Cheng a total."

"Oh, how could I possibly accept this?" Lu Cheng exclaimed with delight.

It was initially agreed that only the number of blue sheep would be counted, but unexpectedly, Wang Shouye also added the other harvests in the valley, which added up to several tens of yuan.

There were 217 blue sheep, plus nine wolves and one leopard, that makes 227. Each blue sheep was worth six yuan, but how much was that again? Lu Cheng wasn't very educated and couldn't quite figure it out.

"The total is 1,362 yuan."

Wang Zhen had a record of all the prey and quickly gave a total number.

Wang Shouye put down the roasted meat, wiped the grease off his hands with the snow, and pulled out a wad of banknotes from the bottom of his military bag, all of them ten-yuan bills, the largest denomination.

Lu Cheng stared intently at Wang Shouye's fingers. The strong smell of ink could be smelled from a distance, even more fragrant than the roasted meat in his hand.

"Here you go. I don't have any change either. It's 1,370 in total. Count it."

"Well, I don't have any change on me. How about you give me 1,360 yuan?"

Lu Cheng accepted the banknotes with both hands, his body covered in rashes, his face flushed, looking like he was drunk.

"No need, you've worked hard coming up the mountain with us, and you even fired a few shots during the hunt. What the factory calls that, right, a bonus. Consider those eight dollars a bonus."

Wang Shouye was very magnanimous and didn't care at all about the few dollars that would be a lot of money in the eyes of ordinary people.

None of his apprentices had any objections; Wang Shouye was always like this, a man of his word.

Zhou Rui understood Wang Shouye's intentions even better. From the profit sharing from the wolf and leopard joining in, to the later eight-yuan bonus, it was all done to show Lu Cheng. The goal was to win Lu Cheng over.

Don't underestimate Lu Cheng just because he's not a great hunter. As a forest ranger in Red Star Town, he guards a vast area of ​​forest and has traversed many places, so he does have some information.

In this first collaboration, Wang Shouye and his team, as the stronger party, naturally needed to demonstrate their commitment to promises and their magnanimity.

So that if Lu Cheng has any good news in the future, he will think of their team first.

"Wang Pao, you're so generous. Since you put it that way, then I won't stand on ceremony." The wrinkles around Lu Cheng's eyes were already showing on his young face.

Wang Shouye is really good at talking; he not only gave Lu Cheng more benefits, but also attributed these benefits to Lu Cheng's efforts. He really gave Lu Cheng a lot of emotional value with this move.

Lu Cheng counted the banknotes one by one, and the sound of his calloused fingers rubbing against the banknotes was quite pleasant.

Zhou Rui wasn't idle either. By this time, the liquor in the bottles had thawed. Zhou Rui brought over all the lunchboxes and poured the liquor into each one. There were three bottles in total, exactly half a jin for each person.

Lu Cheng counted the money carefully and put it into his inner pocket, stroking it repeatedly to feel the thick wad of cash on his body.

No one laughed at him, especially Zhang Shitou. Two months ago, he had looked just like that.

"Come on, let's all have a drink together and wish our cooperation a success, and that we all make a lot of money."

"Come on, drink."

"Make money, make a lot of money."

"Ha...good wine." After taking a sip of strong liquor, Lu Cheng's face turned even redder.

"Wang Pao, Brother Gu, hunting with you guys is so much fun! Not only do we make money, but we also get plenty to eat and drink. Uh..."

A burp followed, making the alcohol even more potent.

"Don't worry, if I have good prey next time, I'll come back to you."

Wang Shouye and Zhou Rui exchanged a glance. It was settled. All that buildup had been for this one promise!

They will be wandering around these mountains for a long time, so naturally the more connections they have, the better.

"Brother Lu Cheng, you get along well with my temperament and even with my apprentice. Don't worry, if you have any news in the future, I, Wang Shouye, will definitely not treat you unfairly. Whether you want money or shares, it's up to you."

After a barbecue and a glass of baijiu, Lu Cheng and the Wang family master and apprentice were practically brothers, almost to the point of becoming sworn brothers.