Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

After leaving the forest farm, Wang Shouye was carrying a backpack. He had been eyeing Zhou Rui's backpack since the last time he saw it on the mountain, and this time, since Director Zhang had taken them to the warehouse to get military water bottles, Wang Shouye immediately took a liking to it and bought it.

Of course, that wasn't all; each person also received two sets of work clothes. Zhou Rui's clothes had been ripped to shreds by wolves last time, and he had no clothes left to change into at home. Besides, the work clothes at this forest farm were much sturdier than clothes made of ordinary fabric.

"Uncle, where can I buy this deerskin? At the supply and marketing cooperative?" Zhou Rui asked Wang Shouye, pulling his cart.

Inside the forest farm, Zhou Rui handled everything, but outside the forest farm, Wang Shouye's connections were far beyond Zhou Rui's.

"Don't go to the supply and marketing cooperative, the price is too low. I'll take you to meet someone who specializes in buying hides. His prices are at least 20% higher than at the supply and marketing cooperative."

So Zhou Rui pulled the cart and followed closely behind Wang Shouye.

"Wang Pao, it's been a while since you've patronized my business?" An old man had set up a tea stall outside a mud house on the edge of town, and his words carried the air of a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry).

"Old Xing," Wang Shouye said, clasping his hands in greeting, "Although I'm an old hand, I don't always get anything when I go up the mountain. That's why I came here right after I got some loot."

"What good stuff did you bring today?" Old Xing stood up.

Wang Shouye untied the rope from under the cart, pulled out a burlap sack, and went into the house first, clearly familiar with Old Man Xing. "Three deerskins, two large and one small."

Once inside, Wang Shouye pulled the deerskin out of the sack and spread it out on the table.

Old Xing followed the two men inside, then turned around, closed the door, and bolted it. He turned on the light and, undeterred by the strong smell of deerskin, began inspecting the hides. There were three hides: two large ones were intact, with only a hole in the head. The smaller one had been peeled off the neck; Wang Shouye's single bullet had nearly severed the neck. As for the last hide, Wang Shouye had left it in Jiaolongxia Village. Because the hide had been bitten in several places by hunting dogs, it wouldn't fetch a good price, so he kept it for Xiaoyan'er and Xiaoniangao to make clothes.

Old Xing peered through the gun barrel at Wang Shouye: "This isn't your gun, is it? That small one looks like your handiwork."

"Let me introduce you. This is my new apprentice. You can call him Ruiwazi. He's the one who made these two leather pieces." Wang Shouye gestured with his chin toward Zhou Rui, his eyes brimming with barely suppressed smugness.

"Old Xing." Zhou Rui bowed respectfully to Old Xing, his face expressionless. Different scenes, different manners; Zhou Rui didn't intend to behave the same way here as he did at the forest farm. There, it was the workplace; here, it was the martial world.

"Good. With your experience and Rui'er's marksmanship, you'll be number one in these mountains from now on." Old Xing placed the deerskin on the table and gently stroked it. "Just the hide, nothing else."

"What else do you want? You can't afford this price." Wang Shouye's words were utterly blunt. Although they were acquaintances, Wang Shouye's network of contacts didn't need another buyer. "Alright, let's settle the accounts."

"Two complete deer hides, 150 yuan each; the smaller one without a head, 60 yuan each."

"Okay. Pay up." Wang Shouye didn't haggle at all.

Having dealt with him for so many years, Wang Shouye wasn't afraid of the old man ripping him off. As a well-known artilleryman in Hongqi Town, if the old man cheated him even a little, he would lose a significant amount of his supply in the future.

"My apprentice isn't from my village. Sometimes he goes up the mountain to gather things on his own. If he comes to you on his own in the future, you can't cheat him. You have to give him a fair price," Wang Shouye said, counting the money Old Xing had given him.

"Don't worry. After all these years, you still know how I do business. I'm a model honest person, focused on long-term business. Besides, he's your apprentice, Wang Pao; I wouldn't cheat him, no matter who else I cheat."

Zhou Rui glanced sideways at the cunning-looking man, a hint of disbelief creeping into his eyes. The first statement was far-fetched; what merchant isn't cunning? The second was the truth: with Wang Shouye in charge, this old man wouldn't dare cheat him.

"Wang Pao, is it possible for me to do what I asked you to do?" After the business was done, Old Man Xing started asking about other things.

"Don't rush me. You know yourself, leopards and tigers are rare. Besides, this is really not a good time to hunt. Any animal can disappear into the forest in an instant, and even hunting dogs can't catch it. In addition, hunting is not only easier in winter, but more importantly, the pelts are better in winter, a whole grade lower. If it weren't for the fact that sika deer are producing antlers at this time of year, I wouldn't even bother to hunt them."

"I had no choice. Did I not know that the view is better in winter and animal pelts are better? It's just that the boss was in a hurry. I heard it was an order from a boss in the south, and it has to be shipped across the sea. That big boss is in the stock market and he wants these fierce animal pelts to ward off evil spirits," Old Xing explained helplessly.

"I don't know anything about stocks, I'm a hunter. I know I can't keep up with these things at this time. If they spot me first, will I be the one hunting them or will they be hunting me? Maybe I should just get a black bear skin, those things are fierce too." Wang Shouye remained unmoved; none of the things Old Xing wanted were easy to hunt. The leopard and tiger cubs darted about in the trees, hidden by the dense foliage, disappearing in a blink. Despite their imposing presence, the tiger hunts silently, lying prone in the grass, undetectable even from several meters away.

"It's no use telling me. The southern boss doesn't care for bear skin; he'll take tiger cubs at the very least." Old Xing's eyes darted around, gesturing with his hands. "Alright, I'll give you this price for tiger cubs."

"two thousand?"

Old Xing nodded and continued gesturing, "This is leopard skin, and this is tiger skin." Old Xing then gestured the number eight at the end.

"My price is more than double the supply and marketing cooperative's purchase price. If we catch a tiger, how many bear gallbladders will you sell?" Old Xing's words were full of enticement.

"Alright, I'll keep a close eye on things when I go up the mountain. You should also try to find out more information yourself, and send me a message as soon as you have any leads so I can gather the necessary manpower."

"Alright, then I'll have my men spread the word and see if anyone has seen these things. I'll pay for them." Old Xing breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Wang Shouye had finally agreed. The big boss above him had been putting too much pressure on him.

"Alright, that's enough about that. We have other things to do, so we'll be leaving now." Wang Shouye didn't waste any more words and told Zhou Rui to leave.

After Wang Shouye came out, he closed the door and led Zhou Rui a short distance to a relatively secluded place.

"This time the income is quite good, mainly because the venison sold for a high price. The two hides you cut were also good, they made several tens of yuan more than usual. Come on, let's see how much it is in total." After Wang Shouye left, he couldn't keep his composure, and the corners of his mouth kept turning up.

Zhou Rui also squatted down behind the cart and started counting.

The bill from the canteen, including the leather purchased privately by Zhang Zhenbei and the leather sold by Old Xing, totaled 2,155.2 yuan. Zhou Rui received 718.4 yuan, while Wang Shouye gave him 720 yuan directly.

Zhou Rui wasn't envious of the more than 1,000 yuan in Wang Shouye's hand; it was Wang Shouye who had taken him to play. If Wang Shouye hadn't tracked him down for so long and invited him along, he wouldn't have gotten a penny.

"Uncle, that's too much. Besides, I already bought two sets of clothes, didn't I?"

"Alright, take it if you want, consider it buying candy for your younger siblings. Besides, I'm not losing out, I got two military water bottles for free. And with this backpack, you can't buy it anywhere even if you have the money." Wang Shouye rolled his eyes at Zhou Rui.

"Hehe... Okay. Then I'll accept it." Zhou Rui didn't pretend to be polite and put it away directly.

"Uncle, what were you thinking about what happened just now? It would have been dangerous to fight those things at that time."