Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

"No master? You dare to go up the mountain alone? Don't your parents care about you?" Wang Shouye was shocked. This kid was only half a child and looked like he wasn't even an adult yet. What family would dare to let him go into the mountain alone?

"There are no adults in the family anymore, so I'm the eldest now..." Zhou Rui then began to talk about his family. He explained why his family was gone, how he hunted to buy milk for his little niece, how he sold his job to buy a gun, and so on.

"Sister-in-law Xinghua? Wang Xinghua? That's my niece, my third cousin's daughter. You're so close to her family, so we're not strangers either. Wait here, I'll go clean up the wild boar and roast some meat for you. Tell me more about Xinghua later, so I can tell my brother when I get back." Wang Shouye was very happy to hear that Zhou Rui often brought food to Wang Xinghua and that Wang Xinghua often breastfed Zhou Rui's little niece, and that the two families had a close relationship. He also wanted to hear more about his niece.

"Wang Pao, don't bother. I have some meat stewing in the pot. It's a badger I just killed, and it's almost cooked. We'll eat it together in a bit," Zhou Rui quickly stopped him.

"Don't call me Wang Pao, call me Uncle Wang. I'll just call you Ruiwazi. You're so close to my Xinghua, you can call her that too, you won't lose out." Wang Shouye was a generous man, and he could quickly become close to anyone he liked.

"Alright, Uncle Wang, please come inside and have a seat. The meat will be ready in a little while."

"No, I haven't dealt with the yellow-haired bastard I just killed. I need to go to the water's edge and gut the wild boar first, otherwise the meat won't be good. Wait for me a moment, I'll be right back." With that, he picked up the wild boar and left, with several dogs following behind Wang Shouye.

"Okay, then I'll wait for you."

Zhou Rui entered the dugout, opened the pot lid, and poked it with chopsticks; it was almost cooked through. The meat he had just cooked was a single serving, and fearing it wouldn't be enough, Zhou Rui took out some cornbread from his backpack and added it to the pot as well. He figured the cornbread would absorb the broth and smell absolutely divine.

Wang Shouye moved swiftly and returned in no time, carrying the gutted little yellow dog on his shoulder. Behind him, the three hunting dogs had bulging bellies, apparently having fed them the wild boar's entrails at the spring. Although Zhou Rui had never raised hunting dogs, he knew they were their master's most important partners, comparable to their guns. Every time there was a hunt, the dogs were always fed first; otherwise, they wouldn't be as eager to hunt in the future.

"Uncle Wang, you've come back just in time. The meat is all tender. Let me serve you a big bowl." Zhou Rui said, putting the meat into the bowl. As for the bowl and chopsticks, they were naturally left in the cellar, which Zhou Rui found.

"Wow, this smells delicious! You're a really good cook. Wait a minute, we're in a good mood today, we should have a drink." He turned and went out, returning a few minutes later with a bottle of wine, still covered in dirt.

Wang Shouye poured the contents into two bowls, and it almost overflowed.

"Uncle, Uncle, don't pour too much, we still have to go back this afternoon."

"It's okay, this liquor isn't very strong, and there's only one bottle, so we'll split it."

The two then started eating and chatting.

"Uncle Wang, did you build this dugout?" Zhou Rui took a sip and almost choked. He said it wasn't very strong, but it was actually strong liquor.

"Yes. To be precise, it was me, Wang Jianguo from our village, Gu Dayong from your village, and Chen Ye who built it together." Wang Shouye took a sip of wine, paused, and then picked up a piece of meat. "You see, this mountain is between our two villages, and they're not close to each other. I thought that since we hunt in this area, it would be convenient for us to build it here, so we discussed it and built this dugout together."

"But I secretly buried this wine. Hehe... The rest of them aren't big drinkers; they'll have a little if there's wine, but if not, they're fine. But I can't stand it; I feel restless without wine. Sometimes when I go up the mountain, I bring extra wine with me, and if there's any left, I bring it here and bury it."

"Uncle, if you enjoy drinking so much, next time I go up the mountain, I'll bring a few bottles up for you to bury."

"Alright, you're the one who's to my liking. I'll tell you where I buried the wine when I leave. Just bury it for me next time you come back." Wang Shouye's eyes narrowed with laughter.

"Come on, keep drinking. This stewed meat smells so good, it would be a shame not to drink it. And these cornbreads, soaked in the soup, one bite is absolutely amazing."

"It's nothing much, I just bought some star anise and cinnamon from the supply and marketing cooperative and mixed them up in the pot," Zhou Rui said modestly, clinking glasses with Wang Shouye and taking another sip of wine.

"By the way, Ruiwa, when did you go up the mountain? How come you only managed to kill a badger?"

"This morning in the mountains. We didn't plan on hunting much today; it was mainly to survey the terrain and prepare for the winter hunt, since pelts don't fetch much right now. What about you, Uncle Wang?"

"Okay, I know you need to observe the terrain before hunting. Next time you go up the mountain, just look for me, and I'll take you. I know the directions of the surrounding mountains. I also know a bit about the deeper mountains," Wang Shouye said, patting Zhou Rui on the shoulder.

"I went up the mountain yesterday, following a herd of sika deer. I've been chasing them all day but haven't caught up. Just now I ran into a herd of wild boars. I fired two shots, wounding one of the big ones and taking down this little yellow-haired one. That big one has thick skin; it just kicked off and disappeared into the bushes. Even my dog ​​couldn't chase it. Oh well, what a pity."

"But I feel like I'm getting close to the sika deer now that I've caught up to this point. Why don't you come with me this afternoon?" Wang Shouye asked Zhou Rui, holding a bowl in his hand.

Zhou Rui glanced at his watch; it was only 12:30. He nodded, wanting to see Wang Shouye's hunting skills and how he lived up to the nickname "Wang Pao" (Wang the Cannon). Perhaps Wang Shouye also wanted to know Zhou Rui's abilities.

"Okay, Uncle Wang, I'll go with you this afternoon. But let's make it clear first, I have to come back this afternoon no matter whether I succeeded or not. My three kids are too young, and I don't feel comfortable leaving them alone at home."

"No problem. Actually, I think we can definitely hit it. I saw fresh feces this morning, so it's definitely not far from us."

After making their decision, the two sped up their meal to avoid wasting time and letting the deer wander further away.

Once everything was ready, the two prepared to set off. Wang Shouye looked at the 98K slung over Zhou Rui's shoulder with a hint of envy. "Your gun is good, almost as good as Gu Dayong's Type 38 rifle."

"Since you like it, why don't you get a different gun? With your skills and connections, it shouldn't be difficult, right?" Zhou Rui asked, turning his head to the side.

Wang Shouye shook his head: "I've used Gu Dayong's gun before, but I'm not used to it. I still prefer a double-barreled gun, which can use single-shot rounds or split-shot rounds."

"Let's go, let's set off."

The two men placed all their prey in the dugout, lightly equipped, intending to catch up with the game as quickly as possible. The hunting dogs led the way, with Zhou Rui and his companion following behind. After walking for a while, Zhou Rui noticed that one of Wang Shouye's hunting dogs was a sniffer dog. This dog would frequently lower its head to sniff while running, then quickly determine its direction and continue the pursuit. It seemed that Wang Shouye was quite skilled at training dogs.

Zhou Rui stopped every now and then to sense the movement, but found nothing. It seemed the distance was too great to detect, so Zhou Rui had no choice but to continue walking. When they reached a certain spot, the dog suddenly turned right, but Zhou Rui also sensed it, and the sensation was stronger on the left.

"Wait a minute," Zhou Rui whispered to Wang Shouye, who was ahead of him.