Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

"Where did you go to chop wood yesterday?"

Zhou Rui had a rifle slung across his shoulder, a gleaming axe in his hand, and a bundle of thick hemp rope around his waist.

The guns were for the educated youth from the city to bolster their courage; when it came to chopping wood, the axe was far more convenient than anything else.

"We went to the oak forest to the west because it's close, but who knew there would be so little firewood?" He Wei scratched her head a little embarrassedly.

"I was busy for most of yesterday, but I only managed to carry back a small bundle. At this rate, it won't even last for half a month."

Zhou Rui's gaze swept across her face, and he already knew what was going on. After all, she was a city girl, and her experience was still lacking.

They only thought about staying close to the village to save effort, but forgot a very practical principle.

Every year, people come to collect the dead branches in the woods around the village. The dead branches have long been picked up, so how many are left?

If either Yang Ping or Lin Qiuyue were present, this blunder wouldn't have happened.

Moreover, none of these educated youth, both men and women, knew how to climb trees or wield large axes.

They could only squat on the ground and pick up some small twigs and firewood that the wind had blown down. Even after a whole day's work, they couldn't gather much, so it was perfectly normal to have no harvest.

"Come with me to the north today." Zhou Rui raised his hand and pointed to the dark, dense forest in the distance.

"That forest is wide, with lots of miscellaneous trees and deadwood. If you manage to cut down just two dry trees, you guys will have a lot to carry."

The area to the north is a veritable mixed forest, with red pines, birches, and oaks growing together.

Over time, naturally dead old trees are everywhere, so there's no need to search for small branches like you would at the edge of a village.

"It's so far... your legs must be sore from walking that far, right?" A soft voice drifted over, even more delicate than Yu Sitian's.

Zhou Rui glanced at her and saw it was the little girl from Suzhou.

She was two years older than Lin Qiuyue, but small in stature, with a fair complexion, looking like a half-grown child who hadn't fully grown up.

"Stop whispering and listen to Comrade Zhou Rui." Chen Zhejiang made the final decision before Zhou Rui could even reply.

"He's a local and knows the area well. We'll go wherever he tells us to."

When I first arrived here last year, it was deep winter, and the previous team leader had prepared very little firewood.

The kang (heated brick bed) in the men's dormitory was ice cold all night long; the biting chill still makes him shiver when he thinks about it now.

This year it was his turn to be the leader of the educated youth team, and he said he couldn't let everyone suffer from the cold anymore.

Yesterday's meager harvest wouldn't last more than a few days, but now that Zhou Rui, a local who knows the area well, is leading the team, he feels much more at ease.

Zhou Rui nodded at him. This Chen Zhejiang was more reliable than the previous educated youth team leader; at least he understood the concept of specialization and didn't give orders blindly.

The group chatted and laughed as they walked across the meadow, stepping on the ankle-high grass.

They had only gone halfway when a fat rabbit suddenly darted out of the grass, disappearing in a flash and disappearing two or three zhang away.

No one even glanced at them.

They tried it yesterday; chasing rabbits in this open meadow is simply not something a human could do.

Even if you run with all your might and end up vomiting blood, you might not be able to catch even a single rabbit hair.

"Woof woof."

Big Yellow, who had been following at his feet, suddenly perked up its ears, let out a low growl, and then shot off like a bolt of yellow lightning.

This thing was so excited that its tail was practically wagging like a little fan.

Since following Zhou Rui, life has been comfortable, but lately its master has been too lazy to go out and go up the mountain. Despite its great skills as the king of hunting dogs, it has quietly gained a layer of soft fat.

Today I finally got the chance to run like the wind, so how could I not go all out?

The rabbit was clearly not expecting such a menacing figure to appear out of nowhere, and was so frightened that its soul almost left its body.

Its body, which had been heading straight ahead, suddenly veered, leaving a gray shadow as it skimmed along the grass and disappeared into the nearby ditch of weeds.

Big Yellow wasn't about to give it a chance to hide. It slapped the grass with its paws, its tongue lolling out, and closed the distance by more than half in just a few steps.

The morning dew on the grass blades was splashed everywhere by it, and even the educated youth who lagged behind could hear its panting.

"Wow, this dog is running really fast." Yu Sitian's eyes widened in amazement, and she almost dropped the sickle in her hand.

The little girl from Suzhou covered her mouth and laughed, adding softly, "It ran faster than a rabbit, as if a wolf was chasing it."

Zhou Rui didn't rush to move. He simply straightened the rifle on his shoulder and casually looked into the distance.

He knew Dahuang too well. This guy was lazy most of the time, but when he saw something alive, his wild hunting instincts would come out from his very bones.

Today's rabbit is both fat and stupid. Running into the meadow is like walking into a trap. It can't outrun the wild yellow rabbit that grows wildly in the mountains.

Before long, the distant grass suddenly rippled, and Big Yellow, carrying a dusty rabbit by the neck, trotted back home.

The rabbit's legs were still kicking weakly, clearly locked tightly, leaving it no room to struggle.

Big Yellow ran to Zhou Rui's feet, put the rabbit down on the ground, wagged its tail so hard it almost flew its rear end, and even tilted its head back and whimpered twice, as if waiting for a reward.

"Not bad, Big Yellow, you've already had your first meal right after leaving home."

Zhou Rui bent down and patted its head, then picked up the rabbit and weighed it in his hand. It weighed about two or three pounds, with glossy fur and was quite plump.

Several educated youths immediately surrounded her. Su Yuanyuan, who had just been saying she couldn't walk anymore, now had eyes that shone like stars.

Yu Sitian reached out and gently touched the rabbit's long ears, then quickly withdrew her hand: "It...it really caught it? I've never seen a dog catch a live rabbit before."

Huang Jianming grinned from ear to ear and reached out to take the rabbit from Zhou Rui's hand: "This trip was worthwhile. We've already picked up a meal of meat before we even reached the forest."

"We'll go back to the former educated youth compound tonight and stew it for everyone, so everyone can have a taste."

With a slight flick of his fingertips, Zhou Rui slid the fat rabbit's ears away from Huang Jianming's hand.

His tone was flat, but his eyes turned cold: "This was caught by my dog, Dahuang. If you're going to stew it, you'll have to give it half a hind leg first."

"I'll take half of the rest back with me, and you guys can share the other half and have a couple of bites."

Huang Jianming's smile froze instantly. His hand hovered in mid-air, and he awkwardly pulled it back, muttering something under his breath.

"We're all from the same production brigade, why make such a big deal out of it..."

"Make sure you can tell the difference." Zhou Rui tied the rabbit into the rope loop behind his waist with a swift and clean movement.

"Dahuang follows me around every day and hasn't eaten a single grain of food from your educated youth compound."

"Why should all the prey it risked its life to escape belong to your compound?"

"If you really want to eat meat, once we're in the woods, whatever you catch is yours to keep; I won't stop you."

Zhou Rui originally held onto the old custom of sharing among those who came to the mountain, thinking he would share half with the educated youth when they came down the mountain.

But that's because he was willing to give it, unlike Huang Jianming, who just snatched it without even blushing.

Chen Zhejiang quickly stepped in to smooth things over, patting Huang Jianming's arm and saying, "Alright, alright, Comrade Zhou Rui is right."

"Big Yellow did a lot of work, how can we not leave it any benefits?"

"We've already gotten a good deal by sharing the remaining half, so don't fuss over it."

Huang Jianming pursed his lips and didn't dare to say another word.

He secretly resolved that once they entered the woods, he would find a way to hunt some wild game, otherwise he would feel cheated eating rabbit meat today.