Volume One, Chapter 13: Refusal

The late-night patrol began at midnight and lasted until six in the morning. It was still the same jeep, but this time Wang Feng was driving, while Hu Yong was slacking off, sitting in the back.

A waning moon gradually set in the west as Wang Feng drove from the tenth unit to the twentieth, making two rounds of patrol.

Wang Feng stopped the vehicle beside the rubber station, glanced back at Hu Yong, and said, “Team leader! Let’s take a break.”

Hu Yong checked his watch; it was already two in the morning. He nodded and got out to stretch his legs.

I had expected Wang Feng to make some arrangements at this hour but was surprised when he said nothing and also got out to move around.

Frowning slightly in suspicion, I thought perhaps it was simply not time yet, which explained why Wang Feng hadn’t planned anything.

Having resolved this, I didn’t dwell on it and followed suit, stepping out to stretch.

Hu Yong came over, tossing me a cigarette and lighting one for himself. After a few puffs, he smiled and asked, “How’s it going? Is this your first night shift? If you get sleepy, you can take a nap in the car.”

I took the cigarette, inhaled a few draws, and smiled back at Hu Yong. “I’m a little tired in the second half of the night, but I can still manage.”

“Ah! Youth is a blessing, full of energy, unlike us older folks who just don’t have the stamina anymore,” Hu Yong said with a chuckle. In truth, he wasn’t that old—just a little over thirty, in his prime. His comment was merely a joke.

Wang Feng came over, grinning as he added, “Team leader! If you pay less ‘tribute,’ you’ll have plenty of energy.”

“Get out of here! Kids don’t know anything. Once you get married, you’ll understand what it means to have no control over your own life,” Hu Yong retorted with a laugh, flicking his cigarette butt at Wang Feng and muttering a mild curse.

Wang Feng dodged the flying cigarette butt with a quick step, grinning as he approached, and then the two began chatting about women.

Hu Yong enjoyed discussing such topics, and soon they were laughing and comparing which unit had the prettiest girls and whose married women had the most appealing figures.

At first, I didn’t understand what Wang Feng meant by “paying tribute,” but after overhearing their conversation about women, I finally caught on.

Watching them talk so animatedly, I smiled wryly and kept silent. As I listened, images of Liu Ting and my cousin’s wife involuntarily surfaced in my mind.

I quietly compared them, wondering who had the better figure and who was more charming.

“It’s three o’clock! The rubber tappers have already started tapping. Let’s speed up our patrol,” Hu Yong said.

---

Hu Yong glanced at his watch, then stood and gave me and Wang Feng a reminder.

“Wang Feng! Let me drive.”

Seeing Wang Feng heading toward the driver's seat, Hu Yong spoke up.

Wang Feng nodded and took the back seat, while I remained in the front passenger seat.

Starting the jeep, Hu Yong first patrolled the tenth unit’s rubber forest. This time, the vehicle moved slowly, unlike Wang Feng’s earlier fast pace.

As the rubber tappers began their work, lights flickered through the rubber trees, enlivening the once quiet forest. Occasional voices echoed softly into the night sky.

Looking out the window at the shimmering lights, I wondered if my cousin’s wife was there too, perhaps chatting with others while tapping rubber.

After about twenty minutes, the jeep left the tenth unit and headed toward the next unit’s rubber forest.

“Units eleven and eighteen have a special location, close to the highway, so they’re also the places with the most rubber theft...”

Along the way, Hu Yong kept explaining the situation of the ten units we were responsible for patrolling.

I listened carefully, nodding as he spoke, and soon we had patrolled all ten units.

Hu Yong stopped the car at the rubber forest of the eleventh unit and said, “It’s half past four. Let’s rest here for half an hour. We’ll patrol one more time at five, then it’ll be time to clock out.”

As he spoke, he stepped out of the car. Just as I was about to follow, Wang Feng suddenly leaned forward from the back seat and said, “Yan Feng! When the time comes, I’ll distract Hu Yong. You find an excuse to enter the rubber forest, then head south. When you see several water buckets, move all of them to the side of the highway.”

“What’s in the buckets?” I asked quietly.

Wang Feng grew impatient. “Don’t ask so many questions. You just need to move the buckets to the roadside. Don’t worry about anything else.”

“Hmph! If you don’t tell me what’s in the buckets, I won’t do it.”

I turned to Wang Feng, my expression serious, my voice cold.

His face darkened, and he threatened in a low voice, “Yan Feng! You already promised me before. Even if you don’t want to go, you have to. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being harsh.”

“Wang Feng! Are you planning to lay a hand on me?” I looked at him meaningfully, my eyes full of disdain, my tone derisive.

---

Wang Feng’s expression grew increasingly grim as he fixed me with a cold glare and demanded angrily, “Yan Feng! I’ll ask you one last time—are you going or not?”

“If you don’t tell me what’s in the buckets, I absolutely won’t go.”

By now, I suspected the buckets contained rubber latex, so without a clear explanation, I was determined not to get involved in stealing it.

Seeing my firm stance, Wang Feng’s anger flared, but thinking of the promise he made to Li Da, he held back his fury.

Finally, after a moment’s thought, he glanced outside at Hu Yong and whispered, “The buckets contain rubber latex, but don’t worry—it’s not stolen. The rubber tappers themselves collected it, intending to transport it out to sell.”

Though he revealed the truth, he still withheld full details and offered a vague excuse.

I didn’t believe him and said, “I’m not doing this. You’ll have to find someone else.”

“Yan Feng! You already agreed before. Now you back out, who else can I find?” Wang Feng barked, eyes blazing with fury.

If he couldn’t get me to go tonight, he wouldn’t be able to report to Li Da properly—and might even get scolded.

“Wang Feng! What I agreed to before was that I wouldn’t do anything immoral or unjust. But now that rubber latex is involved, I can’t agree.”

“Yan Feng! You’re refusing after saying yes. You’re just asking for trouble.”

Wang Feng ground his teeth and stared coldly at me.

Hu Yong, standing outside, grew curious when he saw Wang Feng and me still in the car. He approached to see what was going on.

Just then, he overheard Wang Feng’s words and his face darkened. He asked coldly, “Wang Feng! What are you trying to do?”

“Team leader! I’m joking with Yan Feng,” Wang Feng said quickly.

His expression changed instantly—from icy and threatening to a smiling, ingratiating mask.

Hu Yong naturally didn’t believe him. Turning to me, he asked, “Yan Feng! Did Wang Feng say anything threatening to you?”

I shook my head, said nothing about Wang Feng’s plan, and got out of the car without another word to him.