Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

"Grandpa, do you remember me? I'm here again."

Zhou Rui had a small rice cake hanging on his chest and was holding An'an's hand with his left hand. Despite the cold winter weather, he managed to break out in a sweat.

The old man looked up at Zhou Rui and quickly recognized him. Here, it was rare to find a young and wealthy patron like Zhou Rui.

"Hey there, young man, you've finally arrived. So, what do you want this time? I've got some new stuff."

Looking at the smiling old man in front of him, Zhou Rui couldn't help but curse inwardly, "What a shrewd businessman." It seemed that if he wanted the old man to act as a go-between for buying some gold, he would have to patronize his business.

Zhou Rui glanced around: "Sir, there are so many people here, it's not really suitable for our transaction, is it? Could we find another place?"

"Don't worry, as long as your goods are good, you'll get your money back."

The old man nodded in agreement upon hearing Zhou Rui's earnest words. This was indeed not a place to trade antiques. There were too many people, and if a transaction were to go through, both he and Zhou Rui would risk being targeted.

The old man quickly packed up his stall; there weren't many items, and they were all inexpensive. With so many people at the market, he was afraid that his valuables would be trampled on if left there.

"Come with me, I'll take you to Old Man Lang. He's a descendant of the Manchus, and his family has what you need. But did you bring the meat and grain I told you about last time?"

"I brought it. It's at the mutton offal soup stall near the entrance. We'll go pick it up now." Zhou Rui didn't waste any words; if you're going to buy something, you have to show sincerity.

"Alright, let's go. Oh, is this the little master you were talking about who's about to turn one? Is that longevity lock for him?"

The old man looked at the small rice cake on Zhou Rui's chest, his rosy complexion, and his neat and clean new clothes, which clearly indicated that he came from a wealthy family. This made him even more convinced of Zhou Rui's abilities.

Zhou Rui saw that the old man mistook Xiao Nian Gao for a boy, but didn't explain. It's best to be wary when dealing with this kind of person; try to say as little as possible.

"Yes, it's her. Do you and that guy surnamed Lang have that much stock? It's always good to prepare more gifts for family members' birthdays and siblings' weddings."

Zhou Ping and An An were listening to Zhou Rui speak, but they couldn't understand a word he said.

Who's celebrating a birthday, and who's getting married? Is Second Brother getting married? Is it Sister Qiuyue?

However, An'an didn't say anything, only blinked her big eyes and looked up at her second brother from time to time. Should she secretly tell Sister Qiuyue that her second brother likes her?

"Don't worry, I can't guarantee anything else, but I have ways to find these items for you. Even though Old Man Lang's family is down on its luck, they are still from the Niohuru clan, so they still have some resources."

Before long, they arrived at the mutton offal soup stall. Zhou Rui handed the uncle a cigarette, then found a wooden stick, picked up the grain and meat, and followed behind the old man.

It became even harder for Zhou Rui to walk after he picked up the grain, but luckily an old man selling antiques cleared the way. Zhou Ping led An'an in the middle, while Zhou Rui brought up the rear to keep an eye on An'an and prevent her from getting lost.

Finally, they emerged from the crowd, but people continued to flock to the market. This was the first major market day after Hongxing Town had paid its grain tax, attracting everyone from the surrounding area.

At this moment, a commotion suddenly broke out in the market behind, and it spread outwards over time.

Zhou Rui and his group were naturally unaware of this, and continued to slowly follow the old man's steps. The old man was worried that Zhou Rui might not be able to keep up, and would look back from time to time.

They discovered that Zhou Rui was carrying a child on his back and a load of over 100 pounds of goods, yet he was following behind him at a leisurely pace. This young man was incredibly strong.

The commotion finally reached Zhou Rui and his group. People were shouting from time to time, but there were too many voices and it was too chaotic for Zhou Rui to hear clearly.

Just as Zhou Rui and his group slowed down and turned around to see what had happened, a group of four or five people hurriedly walked up behind them.

A middle-aged woman with an ordinary appearance walked at the front, holding a four- or five-year-old child in her arms, wrapped in a tattered blanket, with the child's head facing inwards, making it impossible to tell whether the child was male or female; the child appeared to be asleep.

He was surrounded by four strong and capable men, who seemed to be separate from each other, yet somehow connected.

The group barely spoke, but the four burly men seemed to be constantly shielding the woman from the crowd.

The woman brushed past Zhou Rui, and Zhou Rui seemed to faintly smell something.

A burly man walking next to the woman bumped into Zhou Rui because he couldn't avoid him.

"Damn it, are you blind? What are you doing standing in the middle of the road?" The big man not only didn't apologize, but also cursed at everyone.

Zhou Rui's eyes widened, and he was about to explode in anger.

A man nearby suddenly pulled the man aside: "Hurry up, we have important business to attend to, don't cause trouble."

An outsider? Zhou Rui wondered.

Suddenly, a clearer voice came from behind: "Someone's child is missing, please help look for him, he's a four-year-old... boy... wearing..."

The thought of his child being lost struck Zhou Rui like a bolt of lightning. The woman's scent was that of a sleeping drug. She was a child trafficker.

Zhou Rui felt a surge of anger rising from the bottom of his heart. In his past life, his uncle had sold his rice cakes, a memory that haunted him for the rest of his life. He hated human traffickers more than anything else in his life.

Zhou Rui threw the load on his shoulder to the ground, pointed at the woman seven or eight meters ahead, and shouted, "You slut carrying the child, stop right there!"

The old man and An'an were both startled by Zhou Rui, wondering why he suddenly became angry and threw things away.

The woman in front, along with several men around her, paused for a moment upon hearing this, then quickened their pace and continued walking forward.

Seeing their reactions, Zhou Rui immediately realized that these people were human traffickers, part of the same gang. If they were ordinary people, they would have turned around to look when they heard Zhou Rui shout, or argued with him, but they would definitely not act like they were trying to avoid something.

With veins bulging on his hands, Zhou Rui ripped off the cloth strap holding the little rice cake and shoved it into Zhou Ping's arms.

"Hold on tight, watch over An'an, wait for me here."

With a powerful kick, Zhou Rui's heel created a crater in the hard ground, and in the blink of an eye, he had covered seven or eight meters.

With so many people, those in front couldn't walk fast, nor dared to run, and hadn't gone very far. Zhou Rui caught up in about ten seconds.

The two people behind finally realized something was wrong. It felt like a gust of wind was blowing from behind. Just as they were about to turn around, the person who had just cursed Zhou Rui was sent flying as if he had been hit by a bull.

"Third Brother..." The other person exclaimed in disbelief as he watched his companion being knocked away.

Ignoring the two men, Zhou Rui reached out and grabbed the woman's shoulder. Before Zhou Rui could tighten his grip, the woman's shoulder slumped and slipped away from Zhou Rui's grasp like an eel.

However, Zhou Rui was not flustered. "I've caught up with you all, how can you get away?"

Zhou Rui continued his attack, but he didn't intend to grab anyone else. Instead, he rubbed his hands together like a knife and slashed at the woman's ear.

The woman was clearly very alert. She felt a gust of wind behind her head, took a step forward to dodge it, and turned around at the same time.

Knowing that things would only end badly if Zhou Rui wasn't dealt with properly, they directly ordered, "Second brother, fourth brother. This little bastard dared to ruin our plans, cripple him for me."

The woman's eyes widened, her eyebrows furrowed, and her ordinary face instantly changed, a fierce aura erupting from her eyes.

Seeing the two people turning and rushing towards him, Zhou Rui immediately smiled. Good that they're not running; I'm too lazy to chase them anyway.

Zhou Rui spotted someone and charged straight at him, faster and with greater momentum.

Seeing the big man kick towards him, Zhou Rui immediately raised his knee and stepped on the big man's leg. Then, he grabbed the man's neck with his left hand, used the momentum to climb up, and delivered a powerful elbow strike to the center of the big man's head with his right hand.

The 1.8-meter-tall man seemed to hear the sound of bones cracking in his brain, and instantly collapsed unconscious, not even waking up when Zhou Rui stepped on his left foot and broke it.