Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

On the way down the mountain, there were two people carrying backpacks, each with four badgers in their hands and hanging from their waists. Gu Shaofeng carried a basket on his back, covered with a raincoat, making the basket bulge outwards.

Yes, Zhou Rui and his team ultimately caught twelve badgers. Adding to the one caught by the leopard last night, the litter had thirteen badgers—quite a large family. The seven dogs that followed also ate their fill. Since they were almost down the mountain and didn't need to hunt anymore, Wang Shouye simply fed them all the innards.

"Junior brother, where did you get those backpacks? Can you get me one too?" Gu Shaofeng walked behind, looking at the military backpacks the two of them were carrying. They looked so cool. He was the only one still carrying a basket, which he had gotten from Zhou Rui's house yesterday.

"I exchanged it at Xiangyang Forest Farm. If you want one, I'll get you one tomorrow. I'll also take the leopard whip to Director Zhang tomorrow." Zhou Rui didn't refuse and readily agreed.

"I knew you were a good friend, junior brother. You're much more generous than the second and third brothers." Gu Shaofeng had no morals; a backpack made him forget the years of brotherhood between them.

Zhou Rui had always been curious about his second and third senior brothers, wondering who Gu Shaofeng was always gossiping about behind their backs. Since he was bored on the way down the mountain, he asked them.

"Your second senior brother is from Wangjiazhuang, and he's Master's nephew. He's not particularly talented at shooting, but he's good at setting traps, so we didn't call him this time. But it would be best to take him along if we go hunting mink, since shooting can damage the fur."

"The third brother, Shitou, lived quite far away, in the neighboring town of Hongxing. When Shitou was a child, his family was poor and life was very hard, so he inquired everywhere about where there were famous gunners and wanted to become their apprentice. But his family was too poor to afford the gifts, and no one would accept him. Later, he went to his master. Because he was the only son in his family, his master was initially unwilling to accept him, fearing that he might encounter trouble on the mountain and cut off his family line. But after Shitou's repeated pleas, his master finally accepted him."

At this point, Wang Shouye continued, "Shitou doesn't have a high talent for hunting; his shooting, trapping, and dog-dragging skills are all average. But he's hardworking and capable. If you're able in the future, give him a hand."

Zhou Rui nodded in agreement. Earlier, when it was mentioned that the second senior brother was Uncle Wang's nephew, Uncle Wang didn't say he would help. It was only when the third senior brother was mentioned that Uncle Wang spoke up, which shows that this senior brother, whose talent was average, had the master's approval of his character and was willing to help him.

However, Zhou Rui didn't say what he wanted to do. After all, he hadn't met the other two senior brothers yet, and he didn't know if they would get along. There was no need to rush to help them.

By the time they returned to the village, it was completely dark. The three men carried their prey and hurried towards Zhou Rui's house. As they passed the educated youth compound, the door suddenly opened, and the person who came out made eye contact with Zhou Rui and his companions.

"Ah, it's Comrade Zhou Rui," Lin Qiuyue called softly, flashlight in hand. The beam of the flashlight shone on their hands. "Did you just come back from hunting in the mountains?"

"Yeah, I just got back. Lin Zhiqing, it's getting late, I'll head back now." Zhou Rui said goodbye and was about to leave.

"Wait a moment."

"Is there anything else?" Zhou Rui stopped and looked at Lin Qiuyue.

Seeing this, Wang Shouye and Gu Shaofeng also stopped. Since they were already at their doorstep, they weren't in a hurry and decided to just watch the show. Wang Shouye and Gu Shaofeng exchanged a glance and remained silent.

"Um... um... I don't know what kind of game you hunted. Can I buy one? We haven't eaten meat in a long time." Lin Qiuyue's voice trailed off as she spoke, and her head drooped down as well.

Zhou Rui was a little confused. It's just buying meat, why be so shy?

"Badgers have lots of fat and can produce a lot of oil. They're ten yuan apiece if you want. But they haven't been skinned yet; we need to process them when we get back."

"Okay, I'll take the ten yuan. I'll go back to get the money and come to your house to find you later." After saying that, he turned around and hurriedly walked into the yard. He didn't see the ground clearly and almost tripped.

Zhou Rui didn't say anything, turned around and walked home. Gu Shaofeng quickly took two steps forward and bumped into Zhou Rui.

"Junior brother, this educated youth is very pretty. Is she interested in you?"

This was the second time Zhou Rui had been bumped by Gu Shaofeng today. He wondered if this senior brother had something wrong with him, always bumping people with his shoulder. Luckily, he was strong and had a stable stance, otherwise he would have been knocked down.

"It's so dark, which eye of yours saw that she's pretty? And you're interested in me? You think you're interested just because you said a few words? She's an educated youth from the city, and we country bumpkins shouldn't even think about her." Zhou Rui was getting impatient with his senior brother; he was too gossipy.

"So what if you're an educated youth from the city? You're a genius hunter, too. And you're not bad looking either. Following you means I'll get to eat meat every day. I won't lose out."

"Your senior brother is right, my disciple is good enough for anyone. You could even date that educated youth, Lin."

As they talked, the three entered Zhou Rui's courtyard and put their belongings down on the ground. Although the amount of game assigned to each of them was not much, they were all quite tired after carrying it for so long. The seven hunting dogs immediately found a place to lie down; after all, it wasn't their first time there, and they were very familiar with the place.

"Uncle Wang, please don't make fun of me. I'm still young. I'll think about finding a partner in a couple of years."

"Pingwa, come out, your second brother is back." Zhou Rui shouted into the house, immediately interrupting the two's banter.

Zhou Ping happily pushed open the door and ran out: "Second Brother, you're back!"

Although Zhou Ping prided himself on being a man, he was still a little scared being home alone for the first time. However, Zhou Rui and the others only stayed in the mountains for one night before returning, which made him quite happy.

"Are there any leftovers at home?" Zhou Rui asked.

"No. I thought you wouldn't be back tonight, so I didn't cook much."

"Then boil some water and stew this badger. We'll add some noodles later." He said, handing over the badger that the hunting dogs had caught.

Since the leather is already rotten, Zhou Ping can do whatever he wants with it.

Zhou Rui took the gun inside and put it away, then took the thermos to the yard and poured a bowl of water for Wang Shouye and Gu Shaofeng.

Zhou Rui didn't stop there; he lit several torches in the yard and prepared to skin the badger. Wang Shouye and Gu Shaofeng were resting after drinking water when they saw Zhou Rui bustling about. They thought to themselves, "Aren't my little apprentice and junior brother tired? They've only just gotten back and they're already working non-stop."

Zhou Rui didn't waste any time. He hung a badger on a pillar, ran his knife back and forth, grabbed the skin, and gently pulled it off with a light, smooth motion.

After peeling two or three, Lin Qiuyue and Yang Ping walked in together through the open courtyard gate.

"Wow, so many? I heard from Qiuyue that you came back from hunting. I didn't expect you to be so good at it, able to kill so many badgers." Yang Ping was amazed when she saw the badgers all over the ground by the torch.

Of course, the leopard wasn't seen; it was covered with a raincoat in the basket.

"Comrade Yang Ping, you've arrived. I'm not that good; I fought them with my master and senior brothers." Zhou Rui didn't look smug; those few badgers weren't worth showing off.

"Lin, which one do you want?" Zhou Rui asked Lin Qiuyue, this was a big client. Among the new educated youth, Lin Qiuyue was the richest, you could tell just by looking at her clothes, and Zhou Rui planned to develop her into a long-term client.

Lin Qiuyue handed a ten-yuan note to Zhou Rui, blushing as she whispered, "Anything is fine, just pick one for us."

"Okay." Zhou Rui didn't waste any words. He picked out a fat one, hung it on the pillar, cleaned it quickly, and then handed it to Lin Qiuyue, meat and skin included. "Here you go."

"Isn't it just meat?" Lin Qiuyue asked shyly.

"I didn't say that. Didn't we agree on ten yuan each? That means it must include the meat and skin. The leather isn't the best quality, but it'll be warm in winter and cool in summer, and durable enough to be used as a seat cushion. Find someone who knows how to tan it; I don't."

Actually, badger pelts are severely undervalued right now. Just because they are warm and durable, they should be worth more than deer pelts.

"Okay, thank you."

"Thanks, Comrade Zhou, we're off then," Yang Ping said loudly.

After Lin Qiuyue and the others left, Gu Shaofeng teased, "You said you had no feelings for Lin, but her skin and flesh are worth tens of yuan, and you sold her for ten yuan."

"Get lost! This discount is to develop long-term customers. Besides, can you expect prices to be the same in this village as in town?"

Wang Shouye watched silently as his two apprentices playfully wrestled with each other.