A tribe of women in the forest and snowy plains. Photography by Cheng Yingtie
During the natural forest logging era of the 1980s and 1990s, female forestry workers in the Changbai Mountains were mostly inspectors at logging sites. Because they often lived together in shacks on the mountain sites, with about ten people living together, they were nicknamed by the male workers. It was called the "Women's Tribe", and then got the mysterious name in newspapers and magazines - "The Women's Tribe in the Forest and Snowfields".
Just after the Spring Festival in 1994, I was asked by a women's magazine to write about "women's style", so I took a material truck from the Longhe Forestry Bureau to the mountains to interview female forestry workers.
On the way, when talking about these "tribes of women" who work in the forest and snowy fields all year round, the driver said with admiration: It's not easy for these women, well done!
I asked: When you say they are good, do you mean they do a good job, or something else?
The driver said: They did a good job, which is unsaid, and even makes men feel distressed when they see it. Even in terms of being honest and honest, many men are not as good as them!
I said: Can you give some examples or stories?
A sledge for transporting materials in Changbai Mountain.
★ Even if you are too poor, you won’t steal the country’s wood and sell it
The driver was silent for a while, and then said: In recent years, there are some people in our driver team who want to make money, and they are jealous. So, he thought about teaming up with the female surveyors to steal national timber and sell it. You know, if the rulers at Dalengchang in the mountains do some tricks, they won't be able to tell. Because there are "falling feet" and "increasing feet" phenomena every year. A falling foot means that the quantity of wood shipped out of the warehouse is less than the quantity put into the warehouse; a rising foot means that the quantity shipped out of the warehouse is more than the quantity put into the warehouse.
I said, yes.
The driver went on to say: One or two extra good logs are carried in a car so that it does not stand out and does not leak. But I didn't expect to hit a snag with the female ruler.
I said: Give me an example.
The driver said: That day, a driver saw that the factory was clean and there was only one female ruler on duty, so he mysteriously pulled her into the cab and said: Your family is not well-off, and the old man is still sick. How about getting some wood and selling it privately?
Female forestry workers. Photography by Cheng Yingtie
Who would have thought that when the female ruler heard this, her eyebrows stood up and she said angrily: No matter how poor I am, I will never work with you to steal wood from the government and sell it. Tell you, accept this heart as soon as possible! If you don't listen, I will make it impossible for you to drive! After saying that, he jumped out of the car and slammed the door hard. That wasn't the end yet, she banged the driver's building a few more times, making people feel hairy all over.
I asked: Master, how do you know so clearly?
He was silent for a long time before he said shamefully: Hi! Shame on you. That driver is me.
ah! I was shocked and admired his bravery. Dare to expose yourself in front of me, a reporter.
He smiled bitterly and said: That female ruler is my cousin-in-law. I appreciate her. She has been keeping this embarrassing matter a secret for me. Although I didn’t accomplish this, I feel guilty!
Changbai Mountain Climbing Lengchang. Photography by Cheng Yingtie.
★The money-grubbing driver "trapped" in the hands of the female ruler
The road into the mountains is sixty or seventy kilometers long, so we can talk as much as we want.
The driver master said: In other logging areas, several drivers also fell into the hands of female rulers.
I asked curiously: Can you tell me how they were "planted"?
He said: This is okay. Because the Forest Service has dealt with the matter publicly. Those drivers were in several factories and wanted to join forces with the female inspectors to cheat and steal national timber. However, they were all rejected by the female inspectors, as if the "women's tribe" was connected to each other.
He sighed and said with emotion: There was a driver who was so obsessed that he scolded the female inspector who refused to cheat with him on the spot, saying, "You are so fucking prudish. If you don't do it, there are people who do it."
Changbai Mountain woman. Photography by Cheng Yingtie
As soon as the female ruler heard that the matter was serious, she immediately reported it to the work leader, and then reported it to the field director and director level by level. As a result, there was a big expose and a big accusation. All of a sudden, the overall situation was revealed by the female inspector, who revealed several drivers who were stealing and selling the country's timber. All these people were punished...
★There was no timber allocation order, and the director's letter was not easy to receive.
In the mountain shack in the Heixiazigou logging area, the work captain proudly told me about the "shack lady" who dared to break the "director's letter" "Face" story.
I asked suspiciously: Do you dare to lose the director’s face? Is she a female worker from your work team?
The team leader said proudly: Correct. It was the fifth day of the first lunar month last year. An individual timber merchant from this city came to our Leng factory with a porter to buy timber. Liu Xiang, who was on duty during the Spring Festival in Lengzhong, checked the wood they selected and asked the wood dealer for a wood moving order. What the lumber dealer took out from his pocket was a letter from a certain bureau leader. The letter said that the relevant departments of the Municipal Forestry Bureau are on holiday and the procedures will be completed later, so please release them first. Behind it is the signature of Director Long Feifengwu.
A woman from Changbai Mountain in the ice and snow. Photography by Cheng Yingtie
After reading the letter from the leader over and over again, Liu Xiang said: This is not possible. Who knows whether this letter is true or false? Even if it's true, it doesn't comply with the procedures. I can't send this car.
So, the boss told Liu Xiang about the Forestry Bureau leader’s family, children, hobbies, and how they often played cards, drank, etc. together. It is basically consistent with the information about the director that the female ruler knew. It means he didn't lie.
More importantly, the individual timber merchant said that the director was his cousin, a close cousin. But Liu Xiang said: I'm sorry, even if this letter is really written by the director, it won't work. Because you don't have a wood order.
The timber merchant was furious and shouted loudly: Do you dare not even listen to the director?
Liu Xiang said: I listen to whatever the leader says is right. I can’t listen to what’s wrong. What's more, it was the director who personally gave our inspectors an order at the meeting: The inspectors at the mountain farm are guarding the first pass of the national timber, and no one is allowed to pass without a national timber transfer order. After that, he walked away.
Changbai Mountain girl. Photography by Cheng Yingtie
★The "Shan Shaoyao" who dared to take out the car keys of a relative of a county leader
There was a female ruler in the Erdaohezi logging area who was nicknamed "Shan Shaoyao" for her delicate appearance and gentle personality. But this gentle and lovely "Shan Shaoyao" dared to take out the car keys of a relative of the county leader.
It is said that in the first year of the new year, "Shan Shaoyao" took the initiative to check the rulers of the female rulers who had children at the mountain farm for an extra week. On the first day of New Year's Eve, people in the mountain farm will evacuate in the afternoon and prepare to go home for the New Year.
Suddenly, a material truck and porters drove into Lengchang. I knew the driver Shan Shaoyao, and he was the owner of a private wood processing factory. As soon as the boss got off the bus, he brought a lot of delicious food to the "Shan Shaoyao" on duty. Then it was said that eight cubic meters of first-class ash wood would be installed. Their procedures have always been complete and there have never been any mistakes. This time "Shan Shaoyao" also believed him.
When the car was loaded, the driver smiled and said that the Forestry Bureau was on holiday and the transfer order had not been issued, so it would be made up immediately after the New Year. He also said that the wood processing factory was actually owned by his sister, the wife of the current deputy secretary of the county party committee. He's just a top boss. It was also said that the deputy secretary of the county party committee had already greeted a certain forestry director and said that he could transport the materials first and then make up the transfer order.
A woman from Changbai Mountain. Photography by Cheng Yingtie
When "Shan Shaoyao" heard this, he said without hesitation: The farm director has ordered that not a single piece of wood can be transported out of Lengchang without a formal timber dispatch order.Please unload the car! With that said, while the boss wasn't paying attention, he pulled out the car key on the driver's side.
The individual boss immediately took out a large bundle of tickets and asked for the return of his car keys. "Shan Shaoyao" Liu Xiang pushed with her hand and said: Boss, please unload the truck! This wood will definitely not be distributed.
When the lumber merchant saw that there was only one woman on duty in the entire Leng factory, Shan Shaoyao, he wanted to steal the car keys. When he wasn't paying attention, "Shan Shaoyao" threw the car key into the woods with knee-deep snow with a "swish" sound. Taking advantage of the opportunity of the boss to find the key, he hurried back to the mountain shack and used the key left by the work captain. Walkie-talkie, reported the situation to the factory director.
Forest sea, snowy plains, Changbai Mountain. Cheng Yingtie Oil Painting
The group searched in the snow for a long time and only found a ballpoint pen. It turned out that "Shan Shaoyao" had faked the real thing. What he threw out was a ballpoint pen, but he stuffed the car key into the frayed cuff of his military coat. She thought, this boss just ran away with the car, and I have proof. As a result, the field director and the work captain arrived in time and blocked the lumber merchant in the leng yard.
This boss is indeed the brother-in-law of a leader of the county party committee.
A certain director indeed agreed to reissue the timber transfer order after the Spring Festival. But he also said that you should figure out your own way to pass the level of mountain range inspector.
At this year’s Women’s Day County Commendation Ceremony, 13 beauties from the “Women Tribe” of the Forestry Bureau were awarded the title of “Selfless Women.” There is Liu Xiang, the "Shack Empress", Zhao Chun, the "Black Peony", and Mountain Peony.
