Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

"But you don't have to do it during the Lunar New Year."

Lu Duanshan knew his father's stubborn temper all too well, so he didn't dare to persuade him any further. He just lowered his head, kicked the snow at his feet, and muttered something under his breath.

"You're a leader now, don't you understand this basic principle? National affairs, no matter how small, are still important, while family holidays, no matter how big, are still trivial." Lu Mingfeng glared and raised his voice slightly.

"This isn't about whether it's Chinese New Year or not. If the machine tools are down for even a day, the wages of hundreds of workers and the entire factory's spring production schedule will be delayed. Can you even calculate the losses?"

"Alright, alright, you two stubborn mules are always fighting when you get together." Jiang Chuntao quickly stepped between the two and pointed into the distance.

"Listen! The train is whistling! If you keep making noise, you'll miss your train!"

She knew their personalities all too well. When they were apart, they would each work silently, but when they got together, they could argue fiercely over the next few words, neither willing to give an inch.

The distant whistle of a green train drifted on the wind, making the icicles hanging by the platform tremble.

Lu Mingfeng slung the canvas bag over his shoulder. The corners of the bag were worn white. Inside were all the tools he had used for more than ten years, and he couldn't bear to throw away a single one of them.

"Alright, you two can go back now. Take good care of my grandson; you don't need to worry about anything else."

"Alright then, Dad, come back as soon as you finish your work, and remember to call when you get to the factory."

"Old man, don't skimp on hot meals on the way. If you have a bad stomach, don't keep eating cold steamed buns." The three people who were just bickering softened their voices now. They stood in the snow waving their hands until the train doors slammed shut, then slowly turned and walked out of the platform.

The snow on the main road had been cleared away, and Mao Dazhuang led Zhou Rui's family at a relatively slow pace.

He Wu, on the other hand, initially rode his motorcycle ahead with great fanfare, but after less than thirty miles, he couldn't stand the cold anymore.

In the end, he had no choice but to obediently tie the motorcycle to the back of the sled and drag it along, rolling around with Zhou Ping.

At noon, Zhou Rui found a sheltered slope to stop, started a fire, and put the four-happiness meatballs and sticky rice cakes that Da Ya had given him into an iron pot to heat them up.

An'an and Xiao Niangao didn't feel bored at all. They squatted by the fire, poking at the charred frozen potatoes with small twigs. Their mouths were covered with black ash, making them look like two little mice that had stolen some charcoal.

Lin Qiuyue smiled and took a handkerchief to wipe her face. Just as she removed the handkerchief from her face, she heard a sharp screech of brakes coming from the distant ski slope.

The sound pierced the empty snowfield, followed by the muffled thud of tires skidding on the ice.

A long-distance bus with peeling paint was lying crookedly in the middle of the road, half of its wheels stuck in the snow ditch by the roadside, and black smoke was billowing from its exhaust pipe. It took a long time to recover.

He Wu was the first to jump up from the snow, with half a sticky rice cake still stuck in his hand.

"This is a passenger bus from the county that runs to the city. Could it be broken?"

Zhou Rui stuck a red-hot stick of firewood into the snow: "Stop watching the commotion, let's go take a look."

"In this freezing weather, a car full of people trapped inside would freeze to the bone in less than half an hour."

Zhou Rui instructed Lin Qiuyue and Zhou Ping to keep an eye on the fire and the child, then turned and walked towards the bus.

Several passengers, bundled up tightly, were already crowded at the door. The driver gripped the steering wheel and kept pressing the accelerator, the tires spinning in the snow ditch, the splashing snow covering half the door, but the wheels didn't move an inch.

He Wu craned his neck and peered under the wheels, then immediately shouted through the car window, "Stop stepping on it, buddy! The snow chains are broken, even if you crush the accelerator, it won't help!"

"What?" The driver didn't hear him clearly and quickly rolled down the window. "Brother, what did you say?"

He Wu had no choice but to shout again at the top of his lungs: "I said... the snow chain broke."

The driver's face turned pale instantly, his hand slipped off the accelerator, and his knuckles gripping the steering wheel were so tight they turned white.

On this snow track, far from any village or shop, the snow chains broke.

Let alone driving the car out of the ditch, in a few hours when it gets dark, the cold wind of minus thirty degrees Celsius will blow in, and all twenty-odd people in the car will suffer from hypothermia.

The passengers in the carriage instantly erupted in chaos. Some peered out the windows, while others slapped their thighs in distress. Several women in the back holding children began wiping away tears.

Zhou Rui walked around to the rear wheel of the car and squatted down, rubbing his fingertips against the snow chain that had broken in two.

There were some burrs at the break, and a piece of steel bar was stuck there.

This doesn't seem like an accident; it looks like someone deliberately left it on the road.

His heart skipped a beat, and he abruptly looked up and scanned the woods beside the road.

There was no one behind the tree, but Zhou Rui was still uneasy. His sixth sense instantly spread out, covering the entire area within a kilometer radius like silk threads.

"Don't panic." Zhou Rui stood up, brushed the snow off his hands, and said in a calm voice.

"I had a thick hemp rope on my sled, along with a mule. Several young and strong men got off the sled to help push it forward while shouting slogans."

"If you put dry grass and crushed ice under the wheels, you can move the car out in just a few minutes."

Upon hearing the sound, He Wu immediately turned around and ran towards the sled, but before he had taken two steps, Zhou Rui grabbed his sleeve: "Don't rush, let's go together."

He Wu didn't understand. It was just driving a mule, why did they need two people to go back?

Just as he was thinking about it, Zhou Rui's lips moved slightly, and the sound that the two of them could hear reached his ears.

"Be careful, a broken snow chain is not an accident."

"I suspect someone is trying to do something bad."

"When you bring the mule and sled over later, keep an eye on them and bring a stick to help protect my family."

Zhou Rui spoke very quickly and softly, but He Wu still understood him perfectly.

He turned his head as if to ask something, but Zhou Rui put his arm around his shoulder and pushed him forward: "Don't turn around, just pretend you don't know anything."

"How many of them are there? But I didn't bring a gun," He Wu asked anxiously without turning around.

He, Zhou Rui, and Zhou Ping all had rifles, but none of them brought them with them when visiting relatives during the Spring Festival.

Otherwise, if we really gave each of the three of them a rifle, they wouldn't be afraid of any number of people coming.

"I didn't bring the Mauser, but I have a pistol tucked into my lower back." Zhou Rui grabbed He Wu's hand and gently pressed it against his lower back to reassure him.

In fact, once he spread his senses out, he had already counted how many people were hiding in the woods, but he couldn't tell He Wuming that.

I can't exactly tell him that my body has a built-in human radar, can I?

He Wu's neck hairs stood on end instantly, and he almost choked on the half-eaten sticky rice cake in his mouth.

He swallowed the exclamation that was about to come out, his steps didn't falter at all, and instead he shouted loudly and carelessly.

"Alright, Zhou Rui, I'll go get the rope and hay right away, and feed the mule a bit while I'm at it, so it can do some work later."

The shout was loud enough for half the passengers to hear. The two walked side by side slowly toward the fire, their backs showing no sign of anything amiss.