The timber felled in the Forest Farm would be lashed into rafts and floated downstream when the spring water rose. Downstream of the river, there was a railway and a small locomotive specifically used for transporting the wood. The situation here strongly resembled the "Jia Pi Gou" described in the famous novel *Lin Hai Xue Yuan* 《》. "Jia Pi Gou" is a real place in the Northeast, and the Forest Farm at Tuan Shanzi had a similar place name called "Yellow Weasel Grave." This place name sounded quite mysterious, but even an old Hunter like Yanzi's father couldn't explain its origin, only saying that there were many Yellow Weasels nearby, and the Yellow Great Immortal caused a lot of trouble long ago, though no one mentioned it anymore. "Yellow Weasel" is a common local term for the Weasel.
Although the Tuan Shanzi Forest Farm was simple and remote, socialist construction depended on it, which is why we had to brave the wind and snow to be on duty here. However, to be honest, there wasn't much important work to do at the Forest Farm in winter; the only thing requiring attention was helping to send off the last timber transport train downstream after some time.
This Forest Farm had a row of log cabins built from birch wood. During the spring and summer seasons, lumberjacks worked and lived here. Due to limited transport capacity, they couldn't move all the trees they cut down. Therefore, once they completed their production quotas, usually around the Mid-Autumn Festival, they would leave the Forest Farm to go home for the New Year. At that time, the Forest Farm would be looked after by personnel dispatched from the nearest post, Ganggang Yingzi.
Before we arrived, the Forest Farm was managed by the Old Man Who Knocks on Mountains and his granddaughter, a girl named "Hui Mei." Originally, according to the plan from the Party Branch Secretary, we were supposed to replace them. But when we arrived, we found that things in the Forest Farm were very wrong. The watchman's small wooden cabin was empty, the ashes in the Furnace chamber were cold without a trace of heat, and we couldn't see the old man or his granddaughter.
I couldn't help but worry about them. I hurriedly split up with my two Companions to search the Forest Farm, but still found no trace. My anxiety grew, and I said to Fatty and Yanzi, "The weather turned cold too quickly this year, without any prior warning. I fear the wild beasts in the mountains are also driven by the Winter Famine. Could the old man Knocking on Mountains and his granddaughter have been snatched by fierce beasts like lynx?"
The hunting dogs in the Village had all been taken into the mountains by the Hunters for a hunt, so we didn't bring any. Now, with wind and snow raging, the ridges near Tuan Shanzi are high and the forests dense, and the Terrain is complex. The flying snow covered the tracks of both humans and beasts. Even if we had a hundred men searching, we might not find them, let alone the fact that there are only three of us right now. Fatty and I immediately thought of returning to the Village to call for reinforcements, but then suddenly realized there was no one left to ask in the Village. We were young then and were momentarily Helpless.
It was Yanzi who was more observant. She looked carefully inside the small wooden cabin again. There was still some grain and dried meat left inside the house, but the Old Man Who Knocks on Mountains' Hunting Rifle and the Ox Horn kettle containing gunpowder and shot were both gone. Hunters are best at observing minute details. There were no signs of beasts in the small cabin, and the items were arranged very neatly. They seemed to have made a large amount of sticky rice cake, so nothing untoward should have happened. Perhaps the old man Knocking on Mountains took his granddaughter out to hunt rabbits, or maybe he was worried about the heavy snow blocking the mountain pass and returned to the Village early before we could relieve them. Old Man Knocking on Mountains has been hunting for decades and has very rich Experience. Although his agility isn't what it used to be in his old age, as long as he carries his Hunting Rifle and doesn't run into a female Human Bear that just gave birth on the way, there shouldn't be any accident.
Seeing no unusual signs in the Forest Farm, the three of us finally felt a little relieved. We were exhausted and miserable from hunger and cold on the journey. At that moment, any urgent matter had to be set aside; the most pressing task was to get warm and fill our stomachs. So, we hurriedly fired up the heated brick bed, casually roasted the stiff, frozen flatbreads against the furnace wall to fill our bellies. After the three of us ate our fill, it was completely dark, and we started chatting idly to pass the time as usual, taking turns telling stories. Fatty started by recounting an anecdote about suppressing Bandits in the Northeast before Liberation. He had heard these stories from his father, and I had heard him tell them no less than ten times, but it was Yanzi's first time hearing this story, so she listened with great fascination.
Fatty spoke animatedly, gesturing wildly: Bandits who gathered to plunder civilian wealth were also called "Hu Fei" or "Hu Zi" in the Northeast region. It was said that these Bandits were different from the highwaymen and marauders in the interior; they had their own System and worshipped the Ancestor Master who was the Ming Dynasty's Pi Island Commander, Mao Wenlong, during the Late Ming Dynasty. After the Ming Right Vice Censor-in-Chief Yuan Chonghuan plotted to kill Mao Wenlong, a large number of Mao Wenlong's Government soldiers were scattered across the coastal islands or deep mountains of the Northeast. In the beginning, these people still considered themselves Ming Government soldiers and did not engage in robbery and looting. But after a century, as the personnel structure became increasingly complex, they gradually evolved into wicked Hu Fei who plagued the region. However, even up until before Liberation, the Hu Fei still revered Mao Wenlong as their Ancestor Master.
These groups of "Hu Fei" later came to be called "Lianzi." Depending on the different "Reputation" reported by each bandit leader, the name of each Lianzi was also different, such as "One Iron Whip," "Flying on Grass," "Big Saber Sang," "Phoenix Twin Hero," and so on and so forth.
The number one Hu Fei in the Northeast before Liberation was a bald man nicknamed "Zhe Le Tian." This man was a martial monk in a temple when he was young and learned the hard skill of Bronze Girdle and Iron Shirt. However, even after he "returned to secular life," he never grew any Hair. "Zhe Le Tian" was ruthless and cruel, his hands stained with the Blood of cadres and the masses.
After Japan surrendered, land reform was carried out in the Northeast. To protect the fruits of victory from being destroyed by bandits, the East Bureau established a special Bandit Suppression Detachment. After a series of arduous and brutal battles, they finally eradicated the "Four Beams and Eight Pillars" of "Zhe Le Tian's" Hu Fei group. "Four Beams and Eight Pillars" is an organizational term within the Hu Fei. Besides the main leader, called the "Da Gui," the remaining "Four Beams" were respectively the "Heaven-Touching Beam," "Corner-Turning Beam," "Gate-Facing Beam," and "Ruthless Beam." The "Eight Pillars" were the collective term for the "Odd-Checking," "Line-Tying," "Bureau-Understanding," "Signal-Relaying," "Chief-Urging," "Water-Aiding," "Horse-Numbering," and "Zhang Fang." Once these individuals were eliminated, the entire Lianzi was considered completely defeated.
The most crucial figure among these "Four Beams and Eight Pillars" was the "Corner-Turning Beam," locally known in the Northeast as the "Tong Suan Xian Sheng." He was the strategist for the entire Lianzi, specializing in using certain superstitious Esoteric Arts to "divine the Eight Gates" and decide the advance or retreat movements of the entire group of Bandits. Once the strategist was gone, "Zhe Le Tian" lost the mastermind who colluded with him and became a true figurehead Commander. But this man was truly extremely cunning; the small detachment could never catch him, and he slipped away from under their noses several times. Some superstitious local people spread rumors that this bandit leader had saved the life of a Yellow Great Immortal when he was young, and that the Yellow Great Immortal protected him throughout his life, allowing him to use earth escape techniques, making it impossible to capture him even if heavenly soldiers and generals were dispatched.
But fate has its ironies. The Hu Fei's greatest Taboo was mentioning the word "death," yet one cannot avoid it simply by not mentioning it. Most bandits meet a bad end; as the saying goes, "You reap what you sow." Perhaps "Zhe Le Tian" had committed too many evils and his time was up. That year, a rare Winter Famine also occurred in the deep mountains—a year the common people called a "dead year"—and the Yellow Great Immortal could no longer shield him.