Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Zhou Rui's grilled meat skewers were so big that Lin Qiuyue, Yang Ping, and Zhou Ping each ate two skewers before they couldn't eat anymore. An An only ate one skewer, and Zhou Rui ate the rest.

Yang Ping watched as Zhou Rui, carrying a baby on his back, single-handedly dragged the remaining bear and wolf meat along on a sled. She couldn't help but marvel at his strength, saying that all that roasted meat was definitely worth it. Didn't you see how the three of them couldn't even keep up with a pile of firewood?

Fortunately, many hands make light work. Sometimes, little An'an would even help push, and before the sun had set, the group had already returned to the village.

Zhou Rui carried all the firewood into the educated youth compound, leaving none for his own family. Lin Qiuyue watched Zhou Rui neatly stack the firewood and couldn't help but think. It seems Zhou Rui had already prepared enough firewood for the winter at home, and today he specially gathered firewood for her and Yang Ping.

Zhou Rui had been staying in the educated youth compound for a while, and none of the male educated youth had come out of the dormitory; it seemed they had gone out to play and hadn't returned yet.

"Alright, it's all done. Let's go to my house for dinner. There's no time for bear paws, so let's stew bear meat and stir-fry some chicken."

"Isn't this inappropriate?" Yang Ping said politely, but she had already pulled Lin Qiuyue toward Zhou Rui's house. Her strength was so great that Lin Qiuyue could not resist even with all her might.

That evening, Yang Ping cursed Meng Huaiyuan and the other male educated youths while eating meat in large bites, as if she wanted to vent all her resentment on the food.

"What's wrong with her?" Zhou Rui asked, puzzled, nudging Lin Qiuyue with his elbow.

"It all started when you made me cook in separate pots. At first it was alright, because there was food to eat and we two nagging mothers didn't bother us. But then, in the latter half of the month, before the end of the month, they ran out of food."

"But when Yang Ping and I checked, we found that we still had more than half of our food left, enough to last until the end of the month."

"So they started arguing and blaming each other. After they finished arguing, Xu Jun, the educated youth, suggested that we borrow grain from them. Yang Ping said that we only had enough to eat until the end of the month, and if we borrowed grain, we would go hungry. She told them to borrow from the village committee. They got very angry and said that we were not united and were not loyal."

"Was that speaking? It was cursing, and it was really nasty," Yang Ping chimed in from the side.

"They also wanted me to lend them some money and food coupons, saying they needed to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some food. I told them that my family hadn't sent me anything recently, but they didn't believe me. They even said I'd become stingy and wouldn't share the hardships with my comrades."

"Now, when they go to other brigades to learn from and exchange ideas with others, they don't invite us anymore. When we ask them to go with us to gather wild vegetables or chop firewood, they refuse. They've isolated the two of us."

After hearing all this, Zhou Rui finally understood that the two of them were being targeted. Moreover, someone was deliberately stirring things up and taking advantage of the situation.

"Isolation? No way. Three people isolating two? That's ridiculous. I have a guess, but I don't know if I should say it?" Zhou Rui thought for a long time and decided to help them out. After all, they had been through life and death together, and their friendship was different now.

"Go ahead. I know you're very smart, and you understand some things better than the two of us." Lin Qiuyue now trusts Zhou Rui a lot because Zhou Rui has helped her a lot and never asks for anything in return.

"I've analyzed it, and there's enough food. Thirty-five catties of rations is enough for even the men in the village who earn twelve work points a day."

"Even though you don't eat from the same pot, you still live in the same yard. I haven't seen any leftover food being thrown away, have I?"

"No. Those guys are no good at work, but they're great at eating. Their bowls are so shiny, like they've been licked by a dog, they don't even need to be washed, so there's no leftover food to waste." Yang Ping must have been really annoyed by the male educated youth, because her words were full of sarcasm.

"I still think someone's up to no good." Zhou Rui tapped his fingers incessantly on the table, clearly still conflicted. Would speaking ill of someone behind their back without evidence make Lin Qiuyue think he was a petty person? After all, "up to no good" was a very serious term in this day and age, almost equivalent to directly calling someone a thief.

"Really?" Lin Qiuyue's eyes widened, and she looked incredulous.

Instead, Yang Ping's eyes darted around, and she suddenly slammed her hand on the table. "I think Zhou Rui is right, that's exactly it."

With a loud slap, even Little Rice Cake jumped in fright.

"Why are you so startled? You scared Xiaoniangao." Lin Qiuyue patted Yang Ping and complained.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I scared you, little baby." Yang Ping quickly took Xiao Niangao's hand with two fingers and kept apologizing.

"Alright, stop teasing her." Lin Qiuyue said, then turned to Zhou Rui and asked, "Can you guess who it is?"

"Based on what you've told me in the past, I think the most likely person is Xu Jun."

"Why? Shouldn't it be Wei Dazhi? Wei Dazhi has low moral character, often speaks without thinking, and has a bad temper, easily getting angry over trivial matters." Yang Ping was particularly surprised. In her eyes, Wei Dazhi was the most annoying person, a real scoundrel.

"It's precisely because Wei Dazhi is impatient and has a fiery temper that he's the least likely one. I knew it the first time I met him; he's arrogant, lacks cunning, and wouldn't do something like that."

"What about Meng Huaiyuan, the leader of the educated youth team? Why don't you suspect him?" Yang Ping continued to press.

"Meng Huaiyuan is concerned about his reputation. To maintain his position as team leader, he spends all his time trying to smooth things over with you all, flattering this person and protecting that person. He wouldn't do something like that and lose his position as the educated youth team leader."

"With so few educated youth, is the position of team leader really that important?" Yang Ping asked, puzzled.

"You're a high school graduate from the city, how can you be so clueless? Who do the teachers usually like the most? It's the class monitor, the academic representative, and the like. When the school gives awards and commendations, are these the ones who get them?" Zhou Rui looked at Yang Ping as if she were a fool.

"What does what happens at school have to do with the educated youth team leader?" Yang Ping's eyes remained as innocent as ever.

"Sigh...!" Zhou Rui felt very tired, but he had no choice but to explain, since he was the one who started this topic.

"Didn't either of you inquire about the rural assignment before you came?"

They both shook their heads at the same time.

"Many people went to the countryside for various reasons, whether they were unmarried, unemployed, or went voluntarily. But even if they went to the countryside, they still had the opportunity to return to the city. City factories were hiring, and the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University recommended educated youth to the commune every year."

"Do the commune leaders know you or recognize you? Ask the brigade cadres. Who are the brigade cadres most familiar with? Of course, it's the educated youth team leader with whom they have work contact. So, unless you are an educated youth who performs exceptionally well and frequently receives awards for excellence, these spots will basically go to the educated youth team leader."

"I see. So you're so sure Meng Huaiyuan wouldn't risk his promising future for such a small gain." Lin Qiuyue truly admired Zhou Rui; he was intelligent and spoke with clear logic.

"Then how can you be so sure it must be Xu Jun?" Yang Ping persisted.

"You're just being argumentative." Zhou Rui noticed that Yang Ping didn't want to know who had done the dirty work; she just wanted to argue with him to see who would win.

"Xu Jun is selfish and doesn't cherish things that aren't his. He's also very lazy when it comes to work. Because he does this so often, he's afraid others will notice, so he often sows discord over trivial matters to divert everyone's attention and prevents you from focusing on what was going to be exposed."

"That's right, exactly." Yang Ping wanted to slam the table again, but after glancing at Xiao Niangao, she held back.

Yang Ping came over, grabbed Zhou Rui's head, and shook it back and forth: "How did you grow such a smart head?"

"Alright, alright." Zhou Rui brushed Yang Ping's hand away. "You've finished eating, and I've explained everything to you. Go home and rest early. Just be careful in the future; there's no need to get angry over someone else."