As soon as the snow fell, the logging team was set to officially head into the mountains.
There was no need to wait for the mobilization meeting at the lumberyard—every household already knew the drill and began packing clothes, bedding, and daily necessities for the mountain trip.
True to her word, Yan Xue had asked the elderly Second Grandma to turn the bear hide from spring into a bearskin mattress. Along with pickled vegetables, dried meat, and other provisions, she packed everything for Qi Fang.
Even Yan Jigang secretly slipped in a few pieces of candy, resulting in such a large pile of supplies on the kang that it seemed impossible to carry.
After some thought, Yan Jigang took the candies back out.
But Qi Fang reached over and pocketed them directly. "It's fine, I can take them."
He found an army-green military belt and bundled some of the items together, planning to carry one load on his shoulder, another on his back, and a third in his hand.
On the day of departure, he didn’t wake Yan Xue. Instead, he kissed her lightly on the lips before quietly leaving with his belongings.
These past few days, knowing he’d be away in the mountains, he had been particularly relentless—especially last night, when Yan Xue had practically exhausted herself indulging him.
She had been too tired to move, but when he reminded her he’d be leaving today, she mustered the strength to let him have his way one last time.
Second Grandma had risen early to prepare breakfast. After eating, Qi Fang headed out and arrived at the assembly point just as Liu Weiguo showed up, similarly laden with bags.
Liu Weiguo laughed when he saw him. "I thought my wife and mom packed enough for me, but you’ve outdone me."
In the past, Qi Fang had always been the one with the lightest load. Now, he was the most heavily burdened.
When they reached the dormitory and Liu Weiguo spotted the bearskin mattress, he whistled. "Your wife really dotes on you, huh? Giving you something this nice to take up the mountain."
In these hard times, even dog hides were sold to procurement stations. A bearskin this size could fetch a hefty sum.
Others in the dormitory chimed in, "Liu’s one thing, but Qi, you’ve been married almost a year, and your wife’s still this devoted?"
Unlike their own wives, who, barely six months into marriage, had lost their initial enthusiasm and now snapped, "Eat it or leave it."
Qi Fang said nothing, first stashing the large bag of food in a safe spot.
Once settled, they entered the mountains that same day. The chainsaw operators and their assistants had to arrive three days early, maintaining a 70-meter safety distance from the rest of the crew.
Three days later, four specialized logging tractors rumbled up the mountain, transporting the felled timber downhill.
These tractors were equipped with steel cables. Once wrapped around the logs, the machine would start, dragging the wood onto the trailer behind.
The logs were unloaded at the base, where some were loaded onto small trains bound for town, while others were stacked into neat piles—a task handled by the stacking team.
Jin Baozhi and You Jinfeng were part of that team, working in pairs to lift the logs and arrange them on the stacks.
Since the stacking crew had always been male-dominated, the men were skeptical. "You two sure you can handle this? Don’t go getting hurt."
The work was dangerous—injuries were common if not done carefully.
Jin Baozhi didn’t respond, just double-checked the wooden poles they’d be using.
You Jinfeng, whose household had no men, was fiercer. "If you can do it, why can’t we?"
One man smirked, making a crude joke. "Not everything we men can do, you women can."
Unfazed, You Jinfeng shot back, "We women can bear children—can you? Who’s better than who?"
Without another word, she motioned to Jin Baozhi. "Come on, let’s get to work!"
Log-lifting was usually done in teams of four, six, or eight, depending on the log’s size. As newcomers, Jin Baozhi and You Jinfeng were placed in the middle of a six-person team, led by an experienced frontman.
The frontman, a brawny man in his late thirties with a sixth-grade wage rating, wasted no time stressing safety before work began.
Satisfied with their attentive nods, he led the team forward.
The poles used in the lumberyard were specially made—thin at the ends, thick in the middle, with a steel hook hanging from a nylon rope in the groove.
Each pair stood on opposite sides of the log, shoulders bearing the poles, one hand steadying it while the other gripped the hook. On the frontman’s command, they bent simultaneously, hooked the log, and straightened—the hooks biting deep into the wood.
At the shout of "Heave!" from the frontman, all six lifted in unison, raising the massive log steadily off the ground.
Under the crushing weight, neither Jin Baozhi nor You Jinfeng flinched. When the frontman called out a work chant, they echoed crisply, "Ho-ho!"
Their clear, strong voices stood out in the male-dominated yard, drawing glances.
At first, some mocked them with exaggerated imitations, sparking laughter. But as the day wore on, the jeers died down.
Despite the grueling labor, the women never complained—only grew more efficient.
When some men paused for a smoke break, seeing the women still at work shamed them into muttering, "Damn, these women can really work."
The frontman shot them a look. "If they can, why can’t you? Don’t let them show you up."
By day’s end, Jin Baozhi and You Jinfeng’s padded jackets were soaked with sweat. They dried them by the stove overnight, only to put them back on the next morning.
In contrast, veteran tractor operators like Liang Qimao had it easier.
After his shift, Liang leisurely drove his tractor back, pausing when he passed Qi Fang’s crew. "Those new sawyers are slow—two of them can’t match one seasoned hand."
Then, eyeing Qi Fang, he feigned pity. "Too bad the town rejected you. Old Hu said you were great with the bow saw."
It was a deliberate jab. Skill meant nothing if you were still just an assistant while lesser hands operated the chainsaws.
Since his affair with Cheng Yuzhen had been exposed, Liang Qimao had kept a low profile—no more harassing Yan Xue, barely daring to speak to any woman.
Now, with the logging team in the mountains and Yu Cuiyun out of sight, he felt freer. Seeing Qi Fang, the one who’d exposed him, he couldn’t resist needling him.
Liu Weiguo, walking beside Qi Fang, scowled. "Has Captain Lin’s wife come back?"
If Liang wanted to twist the knife, so could he.
Sure enough, Liang Qimao’s expression stiffened. "That was ages ago. Everyone makes mistakes."
He then gave the two of them a meaningful look. "You’ll understand when you reach my age."
"Who’s as shameless as you?" Liu Weiguo wasn’t having it and immediately turned to Qi Fang. "Does he have any other issues?"
He was practically using Qi Fang as a lie detector, and Qi Fang actually studied Liang Qimao thoughtfully.
That reaction made Liu Weiguo’s eyes light up. "There really is?" Liang Qimao, on the other hand, felt his heart sink.
Qi Fang was downright uncanny—to this day, Liang Qimao still didn’t know how he’d slipped up and been caught by him.
Before Qi Fang could say anything incriminating, Liang Qimao revved up the tractor. "Take your time walking back. I’ve got to head out now. The whole forestry center is relying on these tractors—logging quotas have increased, and even the chainsaw operators were hired for this. Gotta keep them in good shape."
No sooner had he spoken than the tractor, which had been moving slowly but steadily, suddenly stalled. The engine was still running, but it refused to budge.
Qi Fang hadn’t planned to engage with him, but now he turned his gaze over, his eyes darkening.
Liu Weiguo burst out laughing. "Serves him right for bragging about that tractor. Talk big, get struck by lightning."
Liang Qimao tinkered with it for a long time but couldn’t fix it. He had to shut off the engine, climb down to inspect everything, then climb back up to restart it.
This time, the tractor moved. He let out a long sigh of relief, thinking he’d narrowly avoided embarrassing himself in front of Qi Fang.
Liu Weiguo, however, looked disappointed. "How come it’s working again?"
"Don’t worry, it might stall again soon," Qi Fang said calmly.
When a tractor’s engine stalls, it’s usually due to fuel supply, ignition system issues, or mechanical failures—like a faulty fuel pump or damaged ignition coil.
But if the engine keeps running while losing power or responsiveness, it’s likely a problem with the hydraulic transmission system.
Sure enough, the next morning, Liang Qimao’s tractor broke down again.
And it wasn’t just his—the other three tractors started malfunctioning one after another, and the issues became more frequent.
The team had the small repair shop take a look. A component was replaced, and the tractors ran smoothly again—but before long, the same problem resurfaced, and this time, they stopped working entirely.
Upon inspection, it was the same component. Xu Wenli sensed something was off. "Why is it failing so quickly? That shouldn’t be happening."
Even with the limitations of domestic technology, where some parts couldn’t meet demand in terms of quality, they shouldn’t be failing within days.
He immediately reported it to the forestry center, asking them to contact the town’s repair shop to check if there were deeper issues.
But when Secretary Lang called, the town repair shop was already fully booked—other forestry centers had also sent in tractors with the same problem, arriving ahead of them.
This was the downside of relying on small repair shops. If they couldn’t fix something, it had to go to the town’s repair shop, which served multiple forestry centers. When machines broke down in waves, queues formed, and sometimes connections mattered more than order.
Secretary Lang asked how long the wait would be, but the answer wasn’t encouraging. He then reached out to an acquaintance at the town repair shop.
The acquaintance was blunt. "You’ll be waiting a while. No one knows what’s going on with this year’s new batch of tractors—they’re all failing. Forestry centers are pushing for repairs, and the shop’s been working overtime for two days straight. They’re swamped."
The man even yawned mid-sentence, making Secretary Lang’s expression turn grave as he turned to Xu Wenli. "The entire new batch of tractors this year has issues. No slots available."
"All of them?" Xu Wenli nearly cursed. "Ask him where the problem is—is there a specific component failing unusually fast?"
Secretary Lang relayed the question, and the answer was yes. The town repair shop still hadn’t pinpointed the cause.
This was a disaster. Without knowing the root cause, they couldn’t halt logging operations. The only option was to treat the component as a consumable and keep replacing it.
But even if they were willing to bear the cost, they didn’t have an endless supply. The small repair shop had already used up most of their stock—only enough for two tractors, and who knew how long those would last.
As for requesting more from the town repair shop—with so many forestry centers in Chengshui facing the same issue, there was no guarantee they’d get any.
"How about we bring out those two TY-12s as a stopgap? Better than just waiting around," Xu Wenli suggested, out of options.
"Those two TY-12s?" Secretary Lang was surprised. "They still work?"
Their forestry center had been hit by a major flood. The tractor garage had been submerged, and he distinctly remembered the two TY-12s hadn’t been moved out in time.
"They work," Xu Wenli confirmed. "After the flood, once we finished repairing the other machines, we fixed those two too."
This was an unexpected relief for Secretary Lang. "Then let’s get those two TY-12s out for now."
He couldn’t help but praise Xu Wenli. "You’ve always been thorough, Xiao Xu."
"Wasn’t my idea," Xu Wenli admitted. "Qi Fang said the new Jicai-50s had untested components and might be unreliable. He suggested we repair the two TY-12s as a backup, just in case."
"Qi Fang? You mean Qi Fang?" Secretary Lang was genuinely taken aback.
"Yeah, he was on loan to my department for a while," Xu Wenli said, a hint of admiration in his voice. "He’s meticulous—look how useful that turned out to be."
Honestly, if Qi Fang hadn’t brought it up—or if his two apprentices hadn’t clashed with Qi Fang over it—he might not have even considered repairing the TY-12s.
But thankfully, they’d done it. Even Secretary Lang had to admit, "Qi Fang really is dependable."
"I’ll have someone bring them out now. If I recall, after repairs, they weren’t returned to the garage—they’re still in the small repair shop."
Xu Wenli didn’t waste time and hurried back to the repair shop, at least finding some relief in this small stroke of luck.
His two apprentices were still gathered around a Jicai-50 awaiting repairs. Seeing his expression, they relaxed slightly. "Did the town repair shop make space?"
"No," he said, heading straight for the workshop where the TY-12s were stored. "They haven’t figured it out yet. Secretary Lang told me to use the two TY-12s for now."
A long silence followed. Neither of them moved to help retrieve the tractors.
Xu Wenli turned back. "What are you two standing around for?"
Finally, they stirred, but their expressions were uneasy—one hesitant, the other tight-lipped.
If Xu Wenli didn’t realize something was wrong now, he’d be a fool. "Don’t tell me you never actually repaired them?"
He distinctly remembered them working on it—he’d even helped with some critical parts himself.
Sure enough, both apprentices shook their heads. "No, we worked on them."
But then the hesitant one added, "Though only one got fixed."
Xu Wenli's temple vein bulged in frustration. "What do you mean only one? Didn’t I tell you to fix both?"
"We did work on both," the other apprentice chimed in. "But one was too badly damaged. Our small repair shop couldn’t handle it."
Xu Wenli was practically fuming. "If you couldn’t fix it, why not send it to the town’s machinery repair factory? Or at least tell me? It’s been months!"
But they thought it wasn’t necessary.
Who would go through the trouble of fixing something that wasn’t even needed? Their forestry station still had other tractors...
Neither apprentice spoke, but Xu Wenli knew exactly what they were thinking. "And you two still have the nerve to mock Qi Fang? Look at the mess you’ve made! I even told Secretary Lang both were fixed—how am I supposed to explain this now?"
"Who knew these Jicai-50s would break down all at once when they were working fine before?" one apprentice couldn’t help muttering.
Xu Wenli shot him a sharp glare. "You didn’t do your job properly, and now you’re making excuses?"
These Jicai-50s had been at the forestry station for nearly half a year without issues. Why they suddenly malfunctioned was a mystery to Xu Wenli too.
But Secretary Lang needed them urgently, and Xu Wenli had no choice but to take the blame. "This is on me. I didn’t follow up after assigning the task."
With only one tractor operational instead of two, Secretary Lang’s expression darkened. "Get the working one up there first."
Then he couldn’t resist asking, "Did you check the other one yourself? Are we really unable to fix it?"
"Really can’t," Xu Wenli admitted. "The damaged part is critical, and we don’t have the components here."
Their small repair shop was barely equipped for minor fixes, unlike the town’s machinery repair factory, which had specialized divisions.
For this level of damage, the town factory was the only option—but would they even have the time?
It was a dead end. Even Secretary Lang muttered, "What’s wrong with these Jicai-50s?"
Other forestry stations had used the same models without trouble. Why did theirs fail all at once?
Then Xu Wenli remembered something. "Wasn’t Qi Fang from the town’s repair factory? Maybe we should ask him."
Ask him? As if he could fix anything.
The two apprentices silently scoffed but kept quiet, still smarting from the earlier scolding.
Secretary Lang hesitated. "Is he really capable?"
It wasn’t that he doubted Qi Fang, but if even Xu Wenli said it couldn’t be fixed, how could someone so young manage?
"Worth a try," Xu Wenli said, though he wasn’t sure either. "Otherwise, it’ll just sit there gathering dust."
True enough. Letting Qi Fang take a shot at least offered a sliver of hope.
"Fine, let him try," Secretary Lang decided. "Once the tractor’s up, send someone to fetch him."
"I’ll go myself. Others might not explain it clearly."
Xu Wenli gathered his things and rode the transport vehicle up the mountain.
The forestry station’s two new tractor drivers had trained on Jicai-50s. Switching back to the TY-12 required veterans like Liang Qimao and Zhang Dawei.
This time, Zhang Dawei drove the tractor down, while Liang Qimao waited at the camp. Spotting only one machine, he frowned. "Why just one?"
"The other isn’t fixed yet." Zhang Dawei parked the tractor but didn’t get to elaborate before Xu Wenli cut in, "Where’s Liu Daniu’s team?"
"Over there." Liang Qimao pointed, itching to ask more, but Xu Wenli was already striding off.
Liu Daniu was surprised to see him. "What brings you up here?"
"Here to borrow someone." Xu Wenli got straight to the point. "Where’s Qi Fang? I need him."
"Up front, processing timber." Liu Daniu gestured ahead, curiosity piqued. "What for this time?"
Xu Wenli marched off without pause. "To fix something, obviously."
Soon, Qi Fang was extracted from the team—this time not discreetly but in full view of everyone.
On their way back to camp, they ran into Liang Qimao, who was still lingering.
Liang Qimao raised an eyebrow. "You came up just for him?"
Xu Wenli grunted in affirmation, then reconsidered. Since Liang Qimao was an experienced driver, he’d need to test the repair anyway. "You free? Come down with us and check if the other TY-12 can be fixed."
Liang Qimao wasn’t keen on returning—mainly to avoid Yu Cuiyun’s scrutiny—but Xu Wenli’s effort to fetch Qi Fang intrigued him.
At the repair shop, they watched Qi Fang dismantle the tractor, inspect it, and declare, "It’s fixable."
Seriously?
Liang Qimao wondered if he’d misheard, even reflexively cleaning his ears.
Xu Wenli’s apprentices looked equally skeptical.
Was he bluffing? Their shop didn’t even have the right parts.
Xu Wenli remembered the parts issue too. "Should I request one from the town factory?"
That could take ages, if they even had it. Qi Fang thought for a moment, then asked if they had a spare part from the Jicai-50.
Xu Wenli blinked before realizing. "You’ll modify it?"
"Yeah." Qi Fang, oblivious to the stunned reactions around him, added, "The specs are close. With adjustments, it should work."
Only Xu Wenli had seen him handcraft parts and assemble radios—he knew Qi Fang’s skills firsthand.
"Fine, I’ll get one." Xu Wenli headed to the parts storage. "One enough?"
"Let’s try." Qi Fang kept his expectations measured, carrying the part into the workshop.
Liang Qimao stayed outside while Xu Wenli and his apprentices followed. When they emerged, Xu Wenli seemed calm, but his apprentices looked shaken.
Had he succeeded or not?
Before Liang Qimao could ask, Qi Fang swiftly reassembled the tractor.
After wiping his hands clean of grease, he inserted the crank into the engine.
With a few turns, the dormant metal beast roared to life, vibrations giving way to a steady hum.
Qi Fang set the crank aside and glanced at Liang Qimao. "See if it drives properly."
Qi Fang: Thanks, senior brother, for giving me a chance to go home to my wife~
