Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

After leaving Old Xing's room, Gu Shaofeng was completely dazed, constantly calculating how much money he would get. Wang Shouye didn't waste any time and immediately found a sheltered, secluded spot to divide the money.

The 5,200 yuan was divided into ten shares. Wang Shouye received 2,080 yuan, while Gu Shaofeng and Zhou Rui each received 1,560 yuan.

Zhou Rui was alright; after all, he had seen too much money in his past life, so he quickly counted it and put it away. Gu Shaofeng was different; he had probably never received so much money at once before, and he nervously counted it over and over.

Seeing this, Wang Shouye kicked him: "You're useless. Hurry up and put the money away, do you want someone to see it?"

Gu Shaofeng didn't pay much attention to Wang Shouye kicking him. They say a beating is a sign of affection, and a kick is a sign of deep love; his master was showing him affection. He hurriedly stuffed the money into his pocket, his mouth wide open, unable to close it.

"I'm leaving first. You two should hurry home too. It's not safe to carry so much money around." Although Wang Shouye had seen money before, he was indeed a little worried about carrying such a huge sum of two thousand yuan. There were too many hooligans on the street who had never seen much money before.

"Uncle Wang, this leopard whip hasn't been sold yet. It'll fetch at least a few dozen yuan when we deliver it to Director Zhang," Zhou Rui said quickly upon seeing the situation.

"I'm not going. Use the money from selling them to buy Shaofeng a backpack and a water bottle. You two can split the rest; consider it pocket money from your master." Wang Shouye, carrying a huge sum of two thousand yuan, looked down on the measly few dozen. "You two should go back early after you're done, especially Shaofeng. Don't show off in town."

Before leaving, Wang Shouye didn't forget to give Gu Shaofeng some instructions, which clearly indicated that Gu Shaofeng had a prior criminal record.

Watching Wang Shouye ride away on his bicycle, Gu Shaofeng's expression immediately changed. He put his arm around Zhou Rui's shoulder and said with a grin, "Don't mind that old man, he's always lecturing me. Come on, let's go to the forest farm to change our backpacks first, then your senior brother will take you out for a good time."

"Come on, just finish your business and go home. Your master is only doing this for your own good, so stop gossiping about him."

"I didn't grumble, Master is just too long-winded. Let's go, hurry up, I really love this backpack."

Zhou Rui led him into Xiangyang Forest Farm. Director Zhang was overjoyed to see the leopard penis, bones, and meat. He didn't charge for the backpack or water bottle and even gave him a can of milk powder as a return gift from a leader he had met in the city. These were rare items, seldom seen even in the county department store. The leopard penis was also priced high at eighty yuan, which the two of them split forty yuan each.

"Where are you going? I'm going to find someone to buy some tickets and go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some things to take back," Zhou Rui asked Gu Shaofeng after coming out.

"I'm planning to go play around in the reed beds outside town for a while. A lot of young people have been dancing disco there lately. It's from Russia, with those tape recorders and loudspeakers, it's really cool. After that, I'll go to the state-run restaurant for dinner and then go back." Gu Shaofeng pushed his bicycle, talking about disco with great enthusiasm, his heart filled with envy.

"Are you crazy? Carrying so much money and heading straight for crowded places. Be careful you don't come out of the crowd with nothing left." Zhou Rui finally realized how troublesome this guy was, and Uncle Wang's worries were well-founded. So he simply grabbed him: "Come on, let's go ticket hunting. If we find tickets for a tape recorder, you can just buy one and take it back. You'll be the brightest star in your village."

Perhaps it was because Zhou Rui's grip was too strong, or perhaps the tape recorder played a bigger role, but Gu Shaofeng still rode away with Zhou Rui on his bike, with the four dogs following behind, jumping around very fast.

"Lei Zi." Tong Lei was squatting on the side of the street looking around when he saw Zhou Rui jump off the back of a bicycle and greet him.

"Brother Rui, you're here? Haven't been to town in days, have you?" Tong Lei quickly came forward to greet him. "Brother Gu, what are you two doing together?"

He knew Gu Shaofeng and had bought tickets from him before. Tong Lei had dealt with most of the wealthy people in town, since that was his business. Of course, he also knew many poor people, since they would sell their saved-up tickets to him because they were broke.

"My junior brother, my master's newly accepted disciple," Gu Shaofeng said, putting his arm around Zhou Rui's shoulder.

Zhou Rui shook off Gu Shaofeng's hand. What's wrong with him? Always putting his arm around him like that. Doesn't he know he's only 1.7 meters tall? Gu Shaofeng is over 1.8 meters tall. What kind of behavior is this?

"Lei Zi, have you received anything good lately?"

"There really are some." Tong Lei quickly led the two to a secluded spot. "I got a radio ticket, a watch ticket, and a sewing ticket."

It seems that watch tickets are easier to obtain than bicycle tickets. Most people consider watches to be luxury items, while bicycles are necessities for the household.

"Okay, I'll take the radio ticket and the watch ticket. I don't want the sewing ticket; there's not even a woman in my family who can sew, so it's useless to me." Zhou Rui turned to Gu Shaofeng and asked, "Senior brother, do you want it?"

"I don't want one either, I already have a sewing machine at home. By the way, Lei Zi, do you have any audio recording tickets?" Gu Shaofeng kept thinking about the tape recorder; the energetic music and dazzling breakdancing made him excited just thinking about it.

"What do you need that thing for? Isn't the radio enough for you?" Tong Lei asked, puzzled.

"He's taken a liking to disco dancing and wants to get himself some gear to be the coolest kid in Gujiatun." Zhou Rui actually understood Gu Shaofeng quite well. Just like young people in later generations, he liked trendy things. If something was popular and he happened to have the money, he would buy it no matter what.

"I don't have tickets, but I have a used tape recorder. Want it?"

Since I started the business of repairing and reselling radios, I've also received some tape recorders, although not as many as radios, but I still have some stock.

"Really?" Gu Shaofeng was truly shocked. He hadn't expected that coming with Zhou Rui would actually bring such a pleasant surprise.

"Yes, I have some, it's right here at home, do you want it?"

"I want to take a look first."

"Okay, let's go then."

The tape recorder was alright, a Hongdeng brand one. It looked like it had been carefully cleaned; it was spotless, without a speck of dust. I took out a cassette tape, a model opera. There was a bit of static, but it didn't affect the overall sound; the singing in the opera was clearly audible.

"Okay, I'll take it. How much?" Gu Shaofeng rubbed his hands together, looking impatient.

Zhou Rui watched from the side, shaking his head. This kind of clueless fool deserved to be ripped off when he went shopping. However, Zhou Rui remained silent, since they were both acquaintances. Besides, he knew Tong Lei; he was a man of principle in business, only earning what he was entitled to and wouldn't exploit people.

"Fixed price, one hundred and fifty yuan."

Tong Lei didn't ask for a high price. The Red Lantern brand tape recorder would sell for 180 yuan in the county department store, and you'd need a ration coupon. Although this tape recorder was secondhand, after being repaired by Tong Lei's friend, it was almost indistinguishable from new one; some of the internal parts had even been replaced with new ones.

"No problem, I'll take it. Do you have any disco tapes? Get me a few." Gu Shaofeng made the decision immediately, just like a modern-day internet addict seeing a newly released graphics card.

"No, I only have this cassette tape of the model opera here, I'll give it to you. If you want the disco tape, wait until next time, I'll go to the county and get it for you. Otherwise, you can figure out how to get it yourself, anyway, you have a lot of friends in town." Tong Lei clearly knew Gu Shaofeng better than Zhou Rui, knowing that this wealthy Gujiatun man often came to town to play.

"Alright then, I'll ask around with my friends. Find me a few more tapes when you get to the county too, maybe the tapes are different." Gu Shaofeng's mood instantly plummeted. Having a tape recorder but no tapes? It was like the Monkey King holding his golden cudgel and angrily asking the heavens, "What use is this cudgel to me?"