Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

In the afternoon, Zhou Rui cleaned the roe deer and pheasant at home. Except for the ones he was going to give away that evening and the ones he needed to cook, he cleaned everything, salted them, and hung them in the kitchen. Then, Zhou Rui picked up a hoe and repaired the pond and the drainage ditch he had hastily dug the day before. Looking at the murky pond, Zhou Rui thought that he wouldn't go up the mountain tomorrow; after he retrieved the fish traps, he would go to the river to dig up some pebbles and fix the pond. Next, Zhou Rui made a cage out of brambles, clipped the pheasant's wings, and put it inside.

In the evening, after dinner, Zhou Rui carried Xiao Niangao on his back and took his younger siblings out. Zhou Rui carried a basket in his left hand and held An'an in his right arm, with Zhou Ping following behind carrying a basket on his back.

"Pingwa, can you carry it? How about we switch? You can carry the basket."

"No, Second Brother, I can carry it." Zhou Ping gritted his teeth; his twelve-year-old body was still somewhat frail.

"Second brother, why don't you put me down? I can walk by myself," An'an said to Zhou Rui.

"No, it's dark. An'an won't be able to see clearly and will fall. Next time, next time, wait until your second brother buys a flashlight before you walk by yourself, okay?" Zhou Rui's eyes were sharp. He could walk steadily on the country road by moonlight, but he was worried about An'an walking by herself.

Zhou Rui and his group first arrived at Zhou Wuye's house. Zhou Wuye had no family, only a dilapidated little house and a small courtyard enclosed by a fence without even a gate. Zhou Rui and his group went straight to the front door.

Doo doo doo, "Fifth Grandpa, open the door!"

"Here you are, here you are." Uncle Zhou has no family, so he is usually quite enthusiastic when someone comes to visit.

When Uncle Zhou opened the door on Friday, he exclaimed, "Oh, it's Ruiwa! Oh, and An'an and Heping too! What brings you all here? Come in, come in, have a couple of drinks with Uncle Zhou."

Zhou Rui looked through the door and saw a plate of meat, a plate of peanuts, and a cup on the table. It seemed that Master Zhou was drinking alone.

"No, we've already eaten. I caught a roe deer today, but we can't finish it all, so I'll bring you some." Zhou Rui said, telling Zhou Ping to take a piece of chopped meat out of the basket.

Zhou Wuye quickly declined, saying, "How can I always take your things? I live alone, and I only need enough to eat. You have a large family, so you should save more food for yourself."

"I kept it. I was just lucky to find it while gathering herbs today. Otherwise, I wouldn't normally give it to you even if you asked me. Please accept it, otherwise it will spoil in a few days in this weather."

After several attempts to refuse, Uncle Zhou finally accepted the gift, muttering, "How could it spoil? Just rub it with salt and let it air dry, won't that be fine?"

"Come in and have some more. Look, this is the rabbit you had Pingwa bring over yesterday; we haven't finished it yet."

"No, we have things to do. Besides, we really have already eaten. If you don't believe me, ask An'an." Zhou Rui said, shaking An'an in his arms.

Seeing this, An'an patted her belly and said, "Fifth Grandpa, we're really full. Look, An'an's belly is bulging."

Seeing An'an's innocent and adorable words, Zhou Wuye stopped trying to persuade her. "Good, good. Your second brother has finally stood up for himself, and your family will definitely have a better future. Pingwa, you're a man too, so you should help your brother out in the future."

After hearing this, Zhou Ping puffed out his chest and said, "Fifth Grandfather is right. I will definitely help my brother. There are no cowards in our family."

"Fifth Grandfather, please go in. We have other things to attend to, so we'll be leaving now."

"Alright, it's getting dark, take your time." Master Zhou waited until Zhou Rui and the others left the courtyard before closing the door.

"Aunt Changchun, are you home?" Zhou Rui called out from outside the yard.

"That's Ruiwa's voice. Coming over so late, could he be in some trouble?" Zhao Changchun said to his wife Liu Kangri, who was drinking tea, "I'll go open the door and call them in."

Liu Kangri's name means "Anti-Japanese," but he never actually served in the military. He was simply born during the Anti-Japanese War and his life was saved by the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, hence the name "Anti-Japanese." Liu Kangri was an excellent cook, the best chef in the surrounding villages. Everyone called him to prepare the banquets for weddings and funerals, so his family was relatively well-off. He would often share any good food he had with the Zhou family, which allowed him to lend Zhou Rui any surplus food.

"Ruiwa, what's wrong? If you're having trouble, just say so, and your auntie will help if she can." Zhao Changchun shouted in the yard before even opening the door.

"Aunt Changchun, let's go inside and talk," Zhou Rui said, walking inside.

To the left of Liu Kangri's house is Zhou Rui's original house, which he sold to Liu Dali's family in the village. I wonder what their temperament is like. But the woman in the house to the right is Zhou Rui's aunt from a distant relative, named Zhou Guifang, who loves to gossip behind people's backs. We can't let her know Zhou Rui came to deliver meat, or the whole village will know tomorrow.

After entering the house and closing the door, Zhou Rui said, "Uncle Kangri, Aunt Changchun, I just caught a roe deer today and was thinking of bringing some over to you."

"No, please. Your uncle often cooks for people, so I won't miss your piece of meat. You should take it back with you. Look how thin you all are, eat more meat to nourish yourselves." Liu Kangri's personality was similar to Aunt Changchun's; they were both kind people, and their family was the most harmonious in the village.

"There's still some at home, more than we can eat. You and Aunt Changchun are always so kind to us, so I had to offer you and Aunt Changchun some wild game I caught. You can have meat all the time, but I brought some roe deer meat over so you can have a taste. By the way, where are Brother Liu and Sister Liu?" Zhou Rui quickly changed the subject.

"You! Your brother Liu and sister Liu went out to visit neighbors after dinner, who knows where they went off to," Aunt Changchun said. "How did you end up hunting? Did you borrow a hunting rifle from someone?"

"No, who would lend me a gun? I was good at shooting with a slingshot when I was a kid, so I asked Fifth Uncle to make me a powerful one. I was planning to shoot sparrows and doves when I went to pick wild vegetables, but I was lucky enough to run into a silly roe deer, and I didn't expect to actually hit it."

"Come on, have some melon seeds, let's sit down and talk." Aunt Changchun took out a handful of melon seeds from the cabinet.

"No, Auntie, I have something to do. I need to deliver some meat to Brother Dazhu's house, and it'll be too late to leave," Zhou Rui quickly declined.

"What, you and Zhao Dazhu are friends? He's much older than you, and I've never seen you two hang out together before?" Liu Kangri asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Yes, we don't usually know each other. But Sister Xinghua just had a baby!" As she spoke, she swayed the little rice cake on her back forward.

After hearing this, Liu Kangri chuckled and said, "Good, you know how to handle things."

Seeing this, Aunt Changchun knew she couldn't keep Zhou Rui and his friends any longer, mainly because she was worried the baby would go hungry. She kept stuffing sunflower seeds into their pockets, saying they were snacks for An'an and Zhou Ping to eat when they had nothing to do.

"Thank you, Aunt Changchun."

"Thank you, Auntie."

Zhou Rui and the other two quickly expressed their gratitude.

Zhou Rui didn't stand on ceremony with Aunt Changchun's gifts. He had received enough kindness from Aunt Changchun's family in the past, so he didn't care about this one. Besides, Aunt Changchun's family were genuinely good to them, and they would treat them with the same respect they would show to their own elders in the future.