Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

The group of people didn't stop walking, and soon stepped into the mixed woods to the north.

The pine needles on the ground were soft and squishy; you couldn't even hear your footsteps when you stepped on them.

Zhou Rui didn't let them go deeper into the woods. Instead, he stopped at an area of ​​dead trees near the edge and pointed to a few old trees with brittle bark and bare branches.

"Choose trees like these to cut down. Don't go deep into the forest, where the grass is tall and you might accidentally step into a badger's den. If you're unlucky, you might even run into a wild animal."

He leaned his rifle against a nearby tree stump, picked up his axe, and walked to the thickest dead oak tree. Before the other educated youths could react, the axe blade had already fallen with a whoosh.

With a muffled crack, the half-inch-thick layer of dry bark snapped open, sending wood chips flying far away.

With three swings of the axe, a deep gash was cut into the tree trunk.

He kicked the tree trunk, and with a muffled thud, the half-person-thick dead tree crashed to the ground, sending pine needles flying half a foot high.

The educated youth stared wide-eyed.

Su Yuanyuan tried to reach out and steady the fallen tree trunk, but her face turned red and she couldn't budge it an inch. She exclaimed in a soft voice.

"This tree looks heavy, yet you chopped it down in just a few strokes. You're incredibly strong."

"You don't need to cut down trees," Zhou Rui said, looking at Chen Zhejiang.

"Your job is to split the tree trunks into half-foot-long pieces and bundle them up. I'll go down a few more trees and come back to work with you guys later."

He had barely finished speaking when Yu Sitian, who was about ten meters away, suddenly called out to him, "Zhou Rui, come quick and come take a look! Why has a piece of land been cleared here?"

Zhou Rui carried the axe and strode over, and the other educated youth quickly followed. Suddenly, a wide open space appeared before them.

The turned soil was about thirty or forty meters wide, stretching for more than a hundred meters along the edge of the forest. The ground was clean and tidy, without a single weed left.

Zhou Rui stared at the land, wondering who would go to the deep mountains to cultivate such a piece of land.

This doesn't look like it was dug up while digging for wild vegetables; it's clearly a properly cultivated wasteland.

The educated youth gathered together and whispered among themselves, all crowding around their team leader, Chen Zhejiang, to ask what it was for.

Just as things were getting chaotic, Big Yellow brought over a string of dried red schisandra berries.

Zhou Rui suddenly slapped his forehead. Wasn't this the ginseng planting site he had mentioned to the village committee before?

"Don't guess anymore, everyone. This is a ginseng cultivation base that the team left behind, specifically to generate income for the village."

"Ginseng grown in gardens? A cultivation base?" The educated youth exchanged bewildered glances. "We've heard of wild ginseng, but what is garden ginseng?"

Chen Zhejiang stepped forward and asked humbly, "Comrade Zhou Rui, are you saying the village plans to develop a sideline business, growing wild ginseng in the mountains?"

"It's not about growing wild ginseng, but about simulating the growing environment of wild ginseng so that it can be harvested after a few years."

Zhou Rui nodded, feeling quite pleased with Chen Zhejiang's attitude of asking questions when he didn't understand, unlike some educated youth who always looked at rural farmers with an unfounded sense of superiority.

"But ginseng isn't that easy to grow! Could it be that the brigade cadres are just messing around for political gain?"

As soon as that sarcastic tone came out, Zhou Rui turned his head and saw Meng Huaiyuan, the former leader of the educated youth team.

This person isn't exactly wicked; when he was the team leader, he was just good at smoothing things over.

Now that he's out of office, he's constantly criticizing the village's plans, showing no sign of being open or honest. It's clear he's holding a grudge about being removed from his position as team leader.

Zhou Rui didn't indulge him at all: "If you don't understand, go borrow a copy of the 'Compendium of Materia Medica' and take a look. We have records of artificial ginseng cultivation in the Song Dynasty."

"Many state-owned farms and forest farms are now trying to plant it, but it hasn't been widely promoted due to a lack of technology and food."

"Since there's a food shortage, why not just clear the land and grow crops? Coming to the mountains to grow ginseng, isn't that putting the cart before the horse?"

Meng Huaiyuan stuck out his neck, as if winning this argument would make him seem superior.

"Didn't you see it when you came back to the village from town?" Zhou Rui raised his chin and glanced at him sideways.

"There's no more wasteland left in the village to cultivate; if we were to cultivate any more, we'd have to dig into the neighboring villages' land. The east side is all mountains; where would we find land to grow crops?"

"Then...then ginseng plantations have also been established in the mountains?" Meng Huaiyuan was still being stubborn.

"Alright, stop talking." Chen Zhejiang reached out and pulled him up.

"Why shouldn't you say?" Meng Huaiyuan shook off his hand and took half a step back.

This guy stole my captain's position, and now he has the nerve to pretend to be a good person.

Chen Zhejiang sighed: "You saw it during the autumn harvest; so much grain had to be carried by people on their shoulders and pulled by oxcarts."

"The roads in these mountains are so far, oxcarts can't get up here. How many people would it take to carry the grain down the mountain?"

"Who would be willing to go through all this trouble to run up the mountain for grain that costs only a few cents a pound? Only high-value things like ginseng are worth all this hard work."

Zhou Rui nodded to himself, this was the kind of insight a sent-down youth should have.

Someone like Meng Huaiyuan, who just spews nonsense with nothing but anger and resentment, is truly despicable.

"I...I..."

"Alright, alright, it's getting late, let's hurry up and chop some firewood." He Wei quickly stepped in to smooth things over when she saw the atmosphere become tense.

"We're here to gather firewood for the winter, not to argue. If we use this time to finish gathering the firewood, we can still make it down the mountain in time for stewing meat."

Fortunately, Meng Huaiyuan was sensible enough to accept the offer and immediately turned to walk away.

Huang Jianming and two other newly arrived educated youths followed him into the woods.

Zhou Rui wasn't the type to hold a grudge, so when he saw that Zhou Rui wasn't going to argue anymore, he picked up his axe and went to find the dead tree.

He came here specifically to help Yu Sitian and He Wei. If it weren't for them, he wouldn't have wanted to go up the mountain and suffer this hardship.

Zhou Rui moved with astonishing speed, finding and cutting down trees, and in less than an hour he had felled five or six dead oak trees.

With a rustling sound, he dragged a tree trunk seven or eight meters tall back with both hands. The thick branches swept across the fallen leaves on the ground, creating quite a commotion.

"Damn, Zhou Rui, you're so strong, this tree must weigh over a thousand pounds, right?" Lu Yan's eyes widened when he saw him return, his face full of exaggerated expression.

He has been in Jiaolongxia Village for almost a year, but he hasn't lost any weight. It seems that the hardships of rural life haven't left any mark on him.

Zhou Rui tossed the tree trunk to the ground and wiped the sweat from his brow: "It's not that exaggerated. This tree has been dead for almost two years. The core is completely dried out. It weighs at most five or six hundred pounds."

"That's impressive, I couldn't have moved it at all." Lu Yan always had a good attitude, and besides, Zhou Rui was there to help, so he naturally flattered him.

The others echoed his sentiments, with Yu Sitian and He Wei staring at him and praising him endlessly.

Zhou Rui scanned the area, then suddenly frowned: "Why are there only a few of you? Where are the others?"

He had counted them when he came; all twelve educated youths from his home had come, but now only eight remained.

"Hey, they were just here a moment ago, how did they disappear in the blink of an eye?"

"Huang Jianming said that it was a waste of time for so many people to chop down a tree, so he led his men to collect firewood deeper into the forest."

"But it's been so long, Zhou Rui has already cut down five or six trees and dragged them back, but they haven't seen a single person."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a heart-wrenching cry for help suddenly echoed from the woods:

"Ah... Help!"