Rebirth in 80, starting with hunting in the Greater Khingan Mountains

After eating breakfast early in the morning, Jiang He tied up the leather tube, bear paws and other things together, loaded them onto the sled, and dragged the sled to the forest farm three kilometers away.

The rivers did not bring spring rain. Aunt Xiu ate too much oil and water yesterday, and she is weak. She has diarrhea and can't get up from the kang. She needs to take care of her.

The forest farm is bustling in winter. Strong men are shouting slogans, steam rising from their bodies, carrying large logs seven or eight meters long and stepping on springboards to return home.

Guileng means stacking scattered wood into a neat pile.

On the other side, logs so big that two people could hold them together and a winch built with steel ropes were dragging bundles of logs on the stack. Amid the roar of the winch, the wood was dragged onto the train along a slide made of logs.

On the narrow-gauge railway, there was a steam train pulling timber. Smoke was coming out of the chimney and white steam was billowing around the train body.

Jiang He was stunned by what he saw. The steam train seemed to have traveled through time and space and was about to crash into him.

Jiang He's body shook. Oh, it wasn't that he traveled through time, it was that he was reborn.

This small steam train not only carries timber, but also serves as a commuter train from the forest farm to the town.

There are dozens of miles of mountain roads. Although there are forestry roads, it would be very difficult to walk on them.

There was a commuter car at the very back. There were few people going to town in the morning, only a few forestry workers who were doing business and two villagers who were visiting relatives.

The carriage was made of wooden boards, and the gaps between the boards were blocked with hemp mixed with asphalt.

There is also an iron stove made from a large diesel barrel in the middle of the carriage. The chimney extends from the roof of the carriage. The furnace tube is already burning red, and the carriage is hot.

There were also several potatoes roasting on the stove lid.

People from Northeast China are very outgoing. As soon as Jiang He got on the car, they invited him to come over and have something hot to eat.

Jiang He was not polite either. He ate the roast potatoes with noodles and chatted.

"Woo!"

The steam train blew a long whistle, and the carriage shook with a bang, indicating that it was about to start.

"Ku, Ku, Ku!"

When the train just started, it made a slow and violent steam explosion.

As the train speeds up, the sound turns into a rapid "kukuku" sound.

If the speed is faster, it becomes a "crunch, crunch" sound.

On both sides of the railway are endless snow-capped mountains. The steam train is like a small black insect, humming and circling at the foot of the mountains.

If the mountains in the south are rugged, dangerous and beautiful, then the mountains in Greater Khingan Range have a vast, endless and broad atmosphere.

The timber in the mountains supplies half of the country, and the meadows in the mountains feed countless people who have lost their livelihoods.

In many places in Daxingling, there are meadows of more than ten miles between the mountains, and some are even swamp areas. They are all fertile black soil.

Take Lindianzi Village where Jianghe is located for example. The village has only a few hundred people, but it has nearly 100,000 acres of reclaimed fertile land.

Now the production team is planting wheat, and the yield is very low, only about 200 kilograms per mu. However, with extensive planting and low yields, it is enough to eat.

By the way, during the production team period, large-scale seed drills and harvesters were used for farming.

Later, the production team was disbanded and the land was distributed to each household. Everyone switched to growing potatoes, which had a higher yield. This large machine could no longer be used and was simply abandoned in the yard.

The villagers have switched to using oxen and horses to plow the land, but I don’t know if this is considered a step backward in time.

The machine, which had made great contributions, was taken away by a group of village scoundrels and naughty boys. They dismantled some today, stole some tomorrow, and sold the scrap metal for alcohol.

The train slowed down and drove onto a heavy wooden bridge. The wooden bridge swayed noticeably as the train passed by. After crossing the bridge, they entered Dahe Town.

These days, hundreds of thousands of forestry bureau employees in Daxinganling support prosperous towns.

It's not just the Greater Khingan Range. It can be said that in the entire Northeast, any well-known industrial city is extremely prosperous.

As for the three major cities in Northeast China, Shenyang, Chungchun and Binghamton, they can be ranked among the best in the world. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen have to lag behind.

Jiang He dragged the wolfskin tube and bear paw on a sled, and with the bear gall in his arms, he went directly to the supply and marketing cooperative. He showed the things and waited for the other party to offer a good price.

The old woman in charge of purchasing just glanced at it indifferently, clicked the beads on the abacus, and spit out the skin of her claws, "Three hundred and two!"

Three hundred and twenty yuan is not a small amount. The annual salary of a Forestry Bureau employee is not even that much. If it were an ordinary person, he would definitely be jumping for joy.

Jiang He was reborn after all, and had seen a lot of money. When he heard the price, his eyes almost popped out.

"Three hundred and two? How did you calculate that? Open your eyes and take a good look. This is a top-quality copper gall. This bear gall is worth at least three hundred yuan.

And there is this wolfskin tube, made of top-grade leather without any scratches.

Even if you can't see these, the four bear paws, the two front paws are worth at least fifty each, and the back paws are worth thirty. I'm not extorting you, am I?

As a result, the old woman raised her eyelids, rolled her eyes, and almost spit out the melon seed shells on him.

"What's the use of these ozone layers to me? This is the price. Sell it if you want. If you have a way, go ahead. If you don't, die!"

"Fuck me..."

The old woman slammed the table and jumped up, reaching out to grab Jiang He's face, hitting him and cursing, "Fuck you, who are you talking to?"

These days, state-owned stores and restaurants usually hang a banner stating that customers must not be insulted or beaten without reason.

That means, if there is a reason, then it is okay.

Jiang He was accidentally tickled, and with his hot temper, he couldn't stand it. He punched and kicked her. It was a relief that he didn't have a gun. If he had a gun, he would have killed the old woman directly.

Jiang He's fist was stopped just as he swung it up. A young man in his twenties grabbed Jiang He and dragged him out, shouting, "Brother, brother, please don't do anything! If you touch her, the police will arrest you!"

The old woman chased him to the door, jumping up and down and cursing in all kinds of ways.

When he got outside the supply and marketing cooperative, Jiang He calmed down when the cold wind blew. He was no longer Brother Dajiang. If he was caught and taken to the police station, he would be in big trouble.

Civilized law enforcement is not popular these days.

Even if it's civilized law enforcement...

I understand everything I understand.

"Brother, we have good stuff, why do we have to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to suffer that? Come on, let's go to my house and have a drink with our brothers!"

Jiang He was dragged by him for two steps before he came to his senses. He waved his hand and looked the other person up and down.

He is a very energetic young man, but he has a slick air. However, he does not have the aggressiveness of the forest farm thugs. At first glance, he is a second-rate guy who has no proper job and is a lazy guy.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Zhang Daling. I don't have a proper job. I just mess around all day!"

As soon as he mentioned his name, Jiang He cried out and remembered something.

This Zhang Daling is no ordinary person.

In the 1980s, he was the richest man in Dahe Town, and was even ranked among the richest men in the county.

Around 1992, I started making a lot of money by trading in timber.

Then in 1993, he was shot.