Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

"Brother, are you really going to town tonight?" Zhou Ping poured a bowl of water for Zhou Rui, who was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Everyone was in high spirits at noon. The bulk liquor that Zhao Changhai brought was all gone, and Zhou Rui brought out two more bottles of Beidacang liquor. As a result, Liu Kangri, Zhao Changhai, Zhao Dazhu, and Zhou Rui all got quite drunk. By now, the sun was setting, and Zhou Rui had only just woken up.

"There's no other way. We still have so much wolf and wild boar meat left. The kitchen is too small to smoke that much meat, so we can only take it to town to sell," Zhou Rui explained to Zhou Ping after taking a sip of water.

Zhou Ping was somewhat worried: "But I heard that the town is cracking down hard on speculation and profiteering. What will you do if you get arrested? Besides, how are you going to carry all this meat?"

"You don't need to worry about that. You forgot I'm still the temporary purchasing agent for the forest farm." Zhou Rui put down his bowl and ruffled Zhou Ping's hair. "I actually just wanted to check the black market to see if they sell handguns. I only realized how dangerous it is to get close without a handgun after being surrounded by wolves this time. As for Rou Duo, I plan to borrow a bicycle from Aunt Changchun's house when it gets dark."

"Okay, sure. Be careful."

"Alright, your second brother understands everything. By the way, how are Uncle Kangri and Uncle Changhai doing?"

"Hehe, only you and Brother Dazhu got drunk. Uncle Kangri and Uncle Changhai are fine. Aunt Changchun had nothing to do this afternoon, so she rendered some wild boar oil and filled several earthenware jars."

"You dare laugh at me? Go play by yourself and see what An'an is doing!" Zhou Rui said as he shooed Zhou Ping out.

Around 8 p.m., Zhou Rui arrived in town by moonlight and made his way through a maze of turns to Tong Lei's house. He parked his bicycle at a dark corner before finally reaching Tong Lei's door.

"Knock knock knock".

"Who is it? Knocking on the door so late, don't you know it's time to sleep?" a woman's voice came.

The door creaked open, and a woman who looked to be around 18 years old appeared before them.

Seeing that she didn't recognize the person in front of her, the woman quickly asked, "Who are you? Why are you knocking on my door?"

"Hello comrade, my name is Zhou Rui, and I'm a friend of Tong Lei. I need to talk to him about something. Could you help me get him to come out?" Zhou Rui saw that the woman was not very old, but he didn't know what her relationship with Tong Lei was, so he could only address her as comrade.

"Wait here." The woman rolled her eyes at Zhou Rui, turned and walked into the room, muttering to herself as she went, "It's probably one of my brother's cronies again. Coming to see him so late, I wonder where they're going to steal some chickens and dogs this time."

Zhou Rui rubbed his nose. "Looks like Tong Lei doesn't have a good reputation at home. Even his sister looks down on him. But that makes sense; in the 1970s, people without a proper job were considered good-for-nothings."

A short while later, Tong Lei came out wearing an overcoat and carrying a flashlight.

"Who is it? So late?" A flashlight beam shone in Zhou Rui's direction. "Hey, it's you, brother. Come on in, let's talk." This was Tong Lei's cash cow. Not only was he generous with his purchases, but he had also introduced him to an exclusive business opportunity. He had made quite a bit of money these past few days thanks to Zhou Rui's idea; ticket scalping had become a side hustle.

"No, it's too late. Don't disturb your family's sleep. Let's talk here." Zhou Rui gestured to stop him. "Firstly, I brought some meat with me and wanted to ask if you know anyone on the black market who buys large quantities of meat. Secondly, I want to buy a handgun; do you know of any connections?"

"Meat? Brother, you went hunting in the mountains again? Can I see it?" Ever since Tong Lei started repairing and reselling old radios, this "brother" has become increasingly affectionate, almost like a brother to him.

"Come with me, take a look." Zhou Rui led him to the corner.

A large basket was tied to each side of the bicycle's back seat, covered with straw. The straw was lifted, and a flashlight shone through.

"This is?"

The wild boar meat had already been cut up, and Tong Lei didn't recognize it at first glance.

"Wild boar meat doesn't taste as good as domesticated meat," Zhou Rui explained.

"Hey, what's so great about it? These days, having meat is a blessing, and this doesn't even require ration coupons. This stuff is a rare commodity even on the black market, more precious than grain. Over here is..." Tong Lei said, opening another basket: "Is this a wolf?"

Lifting the straw, at the top were two complete pelts, and below were two strips of wolf meat, skinned and butted. Wolf pelts in summer are rather ordinary, so Zhou Rui didn't intend to keep them and brought them over before they were fully dried.

"Yeah, I got spotted by a pack of wolves on my way back late yesterday and got a bit injured. That's why I asked you to see where I could get a pistol, otherwise I'm afraid I'll lose my life on the mountain if this happens again."

"Just these two?" Tong Lei spread out a wolf pelt, which was larger than a typical large dog.

"Kill five wolves. The pelts of the other three were torn, so I gave them away. Only these two are still usable."

"Brother, you're my real brother. You're amazing. If you sell me one of these, I could make it into clothes and wear it out, it would be so impressive." Tong Lei hurriedly handed Zhou Rui a cigarette, then lit it with a match.

Zhou Rui took a deep breath, sizing up Tong Lei, whose eyes were shining, and thought, 'What's wrong with this guy? He gives me a cigarette whenever he gets excited, just like last time.'

"Let's forget about it this time. Wolf pelts aren't good in the summer. If you like them, I'll definitely get you one in the winter. You find me a buyer first, and then I'll sell the pelt. I don't want to sell them individually."

"Okay, I'll do as you say. Brother, come with me. Although I don't get involved in the black market, I know a few people there. I'll take care of things for you today." Tong Lei put on his coat and offered to push the bicycle Zhou Rui had ridden. Unfortunately, he wasn't strong enough and almost fell off the bike. Helpless, Zhou Rui had to take the bicycle from Tong Lei and have him lead the way while he pushed it behind.

The black market was located in the south of the city, in the opposite direction from the forest farm. Zhou Rui had never been there in either of his lives, and without Tong Lei leading the way, he would have spent a lot of time searching for it. Tong Lei didn't take Zhou Rui to the stalls, but instead led him directly to a small, dark courtyard.

Upon reaching the door, Tong Lei stopped, beckoned Zhou Rui closer, and whispered, "Brother, if you don't want to deal with these people often in the future, you'd better keep a low profile to avoid getting into trouble later."

Zhou Rui thought about it and agreed, but after searching around, he couldn't find anything to cover his face. Having no other option, he took off his outer garment, leaving him only in a vest, and used the clothes to cover his head and face.

Seeing that Zhou Rui was ready, Tong Lei stepped forward, pushed open the courtyard gate, and called out, "Scarface, it's me, Tong Lei. Business is here."

Just then, the lights inside came on, and three people with cigarettes in their mouths pushed the door open and came out, presumably the others had turned off the lights and were smoking inside.

"Tong Lei? What brings you here? You never come here unless you have something to do." The burly man in front was in his thirties, with a long scar on his face, which was probably where his nickname came from.

"Scarface, this is my brother, a mountain hunter. He caught some wild game in the mountains this time, so he came here to do business with you," Tong Lei said, gesturing to Zhou Rui behind him.

Scarface waved to the two men behind him, who quickly turned on their flashlights and walked towards Zhou Rui. Zhou Rui remained silent, lifting the straw from the two baskets and letting them examine them. Both men were experienced, and they quickly got the gist of it. Then they returned to Scarface's side and whispered a few words.

Scarface nodded, then turned to Zhou Rui and said, "Brother, since Tong Lei brought you here, I won't beat around the bush. Wild boar meat is 6 cents a pound, wolf meat isn't so easy to sell, 4 cents. I'll be distributing it through my brothers, so I'll make a little profit off you. The wolf pelts aren't clear here; we'll have to go inside to examine them closely. If you think it's okay, come inside and weigh it, how about it?"

After hearing this, Zhou Rui turned to look at Tong Lei.

"Brother, Scarface is the most discerning guy around here; he gives you the real price."

"Okay, I'll listen to Scarface." Zhou Rui's words were brief, but his voice was lower than usual.

"This guy is efficient. Da Mao and Er Mao, move the things inside and weigh them."