Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Zhang Zhenbei's hand trembled, and he almost spilled the hot water in the enamel mug on the table.

A light sweat broke out on his back instantly. He quickly reviewed his words and actions in his mind, afraid that he might have slighted this member of the royal family.

He had recently used Zhou Rui's connections to align himself with Qin Zhan's faction, making him Qin's man both openly and secretly.

Who would have thought that his brother-in-law would come to report for duty without mentioning his identity at all? It almost gave him a cold sweat.

"By the way, what exactly is He Wu's job after being transferred here?"

Zhou Rui took the opportunity to ask why He Wu, who had a proper job in the city, didn't move up but instead went to the countryside.

"He was transferred to our forest farm's supply and marketing store as the person in charge, with the official rank of logistics officer."

Zhang Zhenbei frowned, still puzzled.

"Logically speaking, he was doing well in the city, with a bright future at such a young age, so why would he need to voluntarily transfer to our remote mountain forest farm?"

Zhou Rui shook his head: "I haven't quite figured this out either. I'll go downstairs and ask him directly later."

The two chatted for a while, then stopped speculating about He Wu's transfer. They couldn't figure out anything without a clue, so they decided to focus on the important matter at hand.

"By the way, did you come to see me today to ask for the money for the 'sticks'?" Zhang Zhenbei had sold a couple of plants recently and finally had some spare cash.

"No, I came today to ask you for a favor."

Zhou Rui sat up straight and said earnestly, "There's a young man in my village who's quite talented and wants to learn the craft from an old carpenter. I'd like to ask you to act as his guarantor."

"Alright, if you say this person is talented, then you can't be wrong. How could I not trust your judgment, Ruiwa?"

Zhang Zhenbei agreed readily without asking any further questions, which surprised Zhou Rui.

This went so smoothly, without the slightest hiccup.

What he didn't know was that Zhang Zhenbei's decision was closely related to He Wu's actions earlier.

Just now, he coldly observed that although he had climbed up to Director Qin, compared to Zhou Rui, his status was far inferior.

Judging from the way He Wu and Zhou Rui were all smiles and friendly, it was clear that this kid held a special place in the Qin family's heart.

He had to hold onto this potential stock tightly; he couldn't let someone else snatch it up.

"That's how it is. My little brother had a serious illness when he was a child, so his mind is a bit slow, but his memory is truly photographic, and his hands are even more skillful than an old craftsman's..."

Instead of pressing for details, Zhou Rui proactively revealed all of Zhao Gensheng's background to prevent Zhang Zhenbei from unwittingly becoming a guarantor and finding himself in a difficult position later.

Zhang Zhenbei nodded repeatedly, not believing Zhou Rui would lie about something like this. Zhou Rui had personally investigated; how could it be false?

As for Carpenter Sun from Wulipu, he had heard of him before.

Wulipu is only five miles away from Hongqi Town. In such a close area, a carpenter with superb skills came out. Whenever a family in the surrounding courtyard got married or needed new furniture, they would all think of asking him to come.

With the six thousand yuan he had just received in his pocket, Zhou Rui slowly strolled out the door.

He really didn't expect things to go so smoothly, and he even managed to settle a payment for the ginseng.

He was happy as he was, but as the cash payments came in one by one, he found it troublesome.

Hu Dongmu lived too far away, and he found it too much trouble to keep making him run back and forth to deliver money.

As soon as I got down to the bottom of the office building, I saw He Wu squatting on the ground with An An, counting ants. They were so engrossed in counting that they didn't even notice me walking up to them.

Zhou Rui nodded to himself; this kid was good at taking care of kids and had no airs at all.

"Second brother, look! There's an ant king here. It's huge and can carry a fly all by itself."

An'an was definitely closer to him, and she was the first to look up and see him.

Zhou Rui looked down in the direction she was pointing, and saw that it was not an ant king at all, but just an ordinary ant the size of a grain of rice. It was no wonder she made it sound so amazing.

"Is the matter settled?" He Wu patted the dust off his hands, showing no embarrassment whatsoever about being bumped into while squatting on the ground counting ants.

"Okay, all set. Tell me, wasn't it good enough to have a secure job in the city's security department? Why did you suddenly come to the town's forest farm? You haven't gotten into any trouble, have you?"

It's no wonder Zhou Rui guessed that way. These days, who isn't desperately trying to squeeze into the city?

The jobs in the city are incomparable to those in the townships, not to mention that He Wu's transfer was not an ordinary one, but a direct cross-system change, and he was not originally under the jurisdiction of the forestry department.

"How could that be? Do you think I'm the kind of person who lacks discretion?"

He Wu waved his hands anxiously, but when he met Zhou Rui's look that said he was not surprised at all that the kid had done this, he was instantly speechless.

"Come on, let's go to my dorm. I just arrived here and I don't even have anyone to talk to."

The two of them led An'an towards the dormitory, a row of old bungalows, each with a single room of about ten square meters. The bed, cabinet, and dining table were all crammed into one room, and to cook, they had to go to the communal kitchen at the very end.

The room was bright and clean, with not a single extra stool to be found except for a bed. The bed was covered with neatly folded bedding, and at the foot of the bed was an old leather suitcase that had been worn smooth and shiny.

He Wu put An'an on the bed, squatted down and rummaged through his suitcase, pulling out a bunch of snacks, including a few pieces of imported chocolate. He handed one to Zhou Rui and stuffed the rest into An'an's hand.

Zhou Rui glanced at the palm-sized chocolate; it was a foreign brand.

He wasn't very interested in the sweet treat and casually stuffed it into his pocket.

An'an stared blankly at the chocolate in her hand. She had never seen such a thing before, and showed no surprise whatsoever. Instead, she stared intently at the open suitcase.

Inside, there were packaging for White Rabbit milk candy and red shrimp pastries—those were the good things she had ever eaten.

Zhou Rui didn't say anything, but reached out and peeled off the foil from the chocolate, broke off a small piece and put it into An An's mouth.

An'an's eyes lit up instantly. The milky aroma and sweetness melted in her mouth, smooth and delicious—a taste she had never experienced before.

With snacks to appease them, Zhou Rui and He Wu were finally able to talk to each other in peace, sitting quietly by the bed eating chocolate.

"Stop interrupting, tell me honestly, why are you giving up your comfortable life in the city to come to this remote town? What are you after?"

He Wu took out a cigarette and handed one to Zhou Rui. The two lit them, and the smoke slowly drifted up.

"Nothing special. In the old place, you could just coast along until retirement and still not get promoted. It's better to come down here and try your luck."

"Besides, Zhang Zhenbei is here to protect me. I'll work my way up from staff member to deputy section chief and then section chief. Once I've made it, I can still be transferred back to the city."

"Besides, I mainly want to work for you. This place is close to your hometown, so I can come to you anytime I want."

Zhou Rui didn't take the second half of his sentence to heart, but the first half made him suddenly realize what was going on.

With Zhang Zhenbei paving the way here, does that mean the higher-ups won't be sending any more forest farm directors to the forest farm?

He rubbed his smooth chin with his fingertips, thinking to himself that this matter was almost certainly a done deal, and without a doubt, it was Qin Zhan who had arranged it behind the scenes.

However, there were things He Wu didn't say.

Qin Zhan's original words were that there are countless treasures in the mountains of Heilongjiang Province, and Zhou Rui is a capable person who can get his hands on these things.

Zhang Zhenbei will eventually have to move up the ranks, so someone has to stay here and take over what Zhou Rui is doing.