Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

At five o'clock the next day, Zhao Changshan and his two companions arrived at Zhou Rui's house on time. Although they might not be entirely convinced, as militiamen of this era, they were still very disciplined, and everything was part of formal military training.

Zhou Rui glanced at the group's equipment. There was an M1 Garand rifle with an 8-round magazine, American-made equipment, likely captured during the Korean War. There were also two Type 38 rifles, even older, but both were equipped with bayonets.

The clothes were of different colors, but everyone was equipped with a belt and a water bottle. The leg wraps were also tied, and each person carried a quilt and a bag of dry rations, which seemed to be the result of militia training.

Zhou Rui nodded and walked ahead: "Let's go."

The three men looked enviously at the military backpack Zhou Rui was carrying; his water bottle was also brand new, unlike the old stuff they were carrying. In fact, militia members in many places were issued military backpacks, and some even had domestically made Type 56 rifles. However, their area wasn't a key border defense zone, and the village was relatively remote, so they only received some weapons they had previously captured.

At first, everyone was rather silent. Zhou Rui didn't know what to say; he relied on intuition when hunting and couldn't teach others. The other three were a bit embarrassed; although Zhou Rui was personally appointed by the village chief as the leader of the mountain herding team, he was still much younger than them and they were hesitant to ask questions.

After climbing up the mountain from the canyon, they finally spotted their first prey. Before Zhao Changshan and the others could react, Zhou Rui had already killed a wild rabbit with his slingshot.

Liu Qingguo eagerly ran forward and brought the wild rabbit back.

"Pretty plump." Liu Qingguo grabbed the rabbit by the ears and held it up in front of the group. "Ruiwa, are we here specifically to hunt wild rabbits today?"

Zhao Changshan and Chen Xueqin were astonished as they stared at the wild rabbit before them. Although they knew Zhou Rui's slingshot was powerful, they hadn't witnessed it firsthand. But just now, right in front of them, Zhou Rui had caught something with a simple flick of his wrist, which still surprised them.

"How could that be? How many rabbits would we have to hunt to complete the village's quota? This is for our lunch." Zhou Rui shook his head: "Today our goal is to hunt big animals like wild boars. A few will be enough."

"Really? We're really going to hunt wild boars? Then our guns will finally come in handy." Liu Qingguo excitedly patted his Type 38 rifle. He usually trained by shooting at stationary targets and had never shot at animals before.

Zhao Changshan rubbed his nose with his index finger knuckle: "Wild boars are hard to hunt, otherwise it would have taken several days. Gu Pao and Chen Ye wouldn't have failed to catch any."

Gu Pao, also known as Gu Dayong, is a retired soldier nicknamed "Gu Pao" for his exceptional marksmanship. Although his surname is Gu, he's not from Gujiatun. His hometown is in southern China, and it's said he's lost all his relatives there. After retiring from the Volunteer Army, he settled in this remote corner of Northeast China, thinking that its proximity to the border would allow him to go directly to the battlefield if war broke out.

Chen Ye is the father of Chen Feiyue, the runner-up in the last slingshot competition. His family has been hunters for generations. However, they lack natural talent for shooting and have always relied on setting traps and snares. It wasn't until Chen Feiyue was born that their genes finally improved, and he became a decent shot, which is why he was so jealous of Zhou Rui last time.

"It's indeed difficult to hunt them; it depends on luck. Wild boars, roe deer, and sika deer don't have fixed burrows; they go wherever food is plentiful, so they can be hard to find. That's why Gu Pao and Chen Ye haven't caught any these past few days. But once they do encounter them, they're quite easy to hunt."

Zhou Rui didn't easily change his decision because of the doubts; otherwise, how many pheasants and rabbits would he need to hunt? Zhou Rui also didn't want to lead Zhao Changhai and the others to wipe out the pheasants and rabbits in this area, otherwise it would take several years to recover.

"How are we supposed to find it? By just going around in the mountains and fields hoping to catch a glimpse? You don't even have a hunting dog." Chen Xueqin was still unconvinced, believing that Zhou Rui didn't have much ability.

"Hunting isn't just about hunting dogs; you also need to know the habits of animals and how to identify their paths. Otherwise, why would some people not hunt without dogs?" Zhou Rui explained patiently, though he didn't want to talk to Chen Xueqin, to avoid him holding a grudge and refusing to follow orders.

"Although I don't keep hunting dogs, I know a few places that wild boars like to go, where the food is plentiful. Let's go check them out first. Even if we don't encounter any wild boars, as long as they leave tracks, we can follow them."

Zhao Changshan thought Zhou Rui's words made a lot of sense: "Let's listen to Rui and go hunt wild boars."

At noon, Zhou Rui found a place with a good view and told everyone to rest and have some dry food.

"Ruiwa, didn't we hunt two wild rabbits? Why don't we roast them and eat them?" Liu Qingguo took a bite of the cornbread; it was really hard to chew.

Zhou Rui, also eating cornbread and drinking cold water, said, "We're on the move right now. The days are short, so starting a fire and cooking would be too time-consuming. We'll eat rabbit tonight."

"How much longer? I've been traveling all morning, my legs are sore from running."

Zhou Rui glanced at Chen Xueqin, finding the man extremely annoying. He had been complaining incessantly the whole way, bringing no positive energy whatsoever.

"Your legs have gotten so thin from running? That means your militia training wasn't up to standard. Everyone else can walk, but you can't?"

"Who says I can't do it? I just have a problem with walking around aimlessly like this," Chen Xueqin retorted.

"How did you become aimless? Didn't I say so at the beginning? I know a forest that wild boars like to go to, and that's our destination. This is the shortest straight-line distance I found. If you can't walk, then go back and stop babbling on and on." Zhou Rui's face darkened, and his words became increasingly harsh.

Chen Xueqin was so angry that the veins on his neck bulged. He stood up and pointed at Zhou Rui: "You...!"

"Chen Xueqin, what are you doing? What did the village chief say yesterday? When you go up the mountain, you have to listen to the foreman. If you didn't want to come, you shouldn't have agreed to come yesterday." Zhao Changshan interrupted Chen Xueqin directly.

He knew Zhou Rui was ruthless and fearless in fights. The first time he fought the Zhang family, the cooks in town, he beat them to a pulp. The second time was even more ruthless; he took down Zhou Chen's four-man group. He was even willing to go down on his cousin without holding back.

A few days ago, he witnessed firsthand how Zhou Rui kicked his aunt away in front of the entire village. If Chen Xueqin angered Zhou Rui, he would probably get beaten up, and he wasn't even sure he could stop him.

"Captain, I just..."

"There are no team leaders in these mountains, only foremen. Everything is done according to the foremen's orders." Zhao Changshan glared at Chen Xueqin, cutting him off from what he was about to say.

Fortunately, Zhao Changshan still had some authority. After being suppressed by Zhao Changshan, Chen Xueqin took a big bite of the pancake and swallowed his anger.

After eating and drinking his fill, Zhou Rui stood up and said, "I'm rested enough, let's go."

Zhou Rui didn't ask for their opinions again and made his decision directly. Some people just can't be treated too well; they take advantage of you and become annoying. Moreover, Zhou Rui felt that Chen Xueqin naturally harbored hostility towards him and was deliberately testing his bottom line, so there must be something else going on.

Liu Qingguo was perceptive and immediately followed Zhou Rui's steps. The air pressure was so low just now that he hadn't dared to breathe loudly.

Zhao Changshan shook his head and sighed, then beckoned Chen Xueqin to follow. Only then did Zhao Changshan regret bringing Chen Xueqin along. This seemingly clever boy was actually quite troublesome; he only pretended to be well-behaved in front of Zhou Rui. This time, having angered Zhou Rui, he was likely in for a rough time.