Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Whoosh... Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling. Zhou Rui suddenly stood up, sensing a dark shadow flying through the air, but there was no danger.

It was just an owl, a false alarm. He checked his watch; it was still three o'clock. Zhou Rui got up from his makeshift shelter, added a few more thick pieces of firewood to the fire, then wrapped himself in his coat and went back to sleep.

"Wake up, senior brother, get up." Zhou Rui kicked Gu Shaofeng with his foot.

"What's wrong? Is it dawn?" Gu Shaofeng asked before even opening his eyes.

"It's almost dawn. We didn't find any trace yesterday, so we need to set off early today."

"Hmm..." Gu Shaofeng stretched vigorously. "Alright."

Having a junior brother is great; Zhou Rui gets up early to prepare many things, and even the hot meat porridge this morning is incredibly delicious.

While Zhou Rui and Gu Shaofeng were searching for sika deer in the mountains, Zhao Youzhi and Zhou Shumin brought Zhao Changhai to Zhou Rui's house to check on the health of the mule.

"How is it?"

"You're recovering very well, sir. You don't look as thin as you did a couple of days ago. You can gradually increase your food intake, and we can also mix some hay into your diet."

Zhao Youzhi glanced at the two female educated youths, Zhou Ping and Lin Qiuyue, and finally spoke to Zhou Ping.

"Pingwa, did you hear what Dao Changhai said? Give it more food, and some hay. If you don't have any at home, go to the brigade headquarters to get some."

Although Lin Qiuyue and Yang Ping were older than Zhou Ping and were high school graduates sent to the countryside, Zhao Youzhi still trusted Zhou Ping, who had grown up in a farming family, more when it came to feeding the mules.

"Okay, Grandpa Zhao, I will take good care of Big Mule."

"Let's go then, we still have things to do in the village."

Zhao Youzhi had only come to check on things, and since the mule was safe, he didn't linger. The main reason was that Zhou Rui had brought two female educated youths to the house to take care of him; he wondered if Zhou Rui had taken a liking to one of them. Should he ask his wife to inquire about it?

"Hey village chief, if this mule gets better, won't we be able to really get things done next year?"

When Zhou Shumin brought up this matter, it struck a chord with Zhao Youzhi.

"Yes! Our village used to have two big yellow oxen, and we bought another one this winter. With Zhou Rui's big mule, we will have four livestock to work in the fields next year."

"I think we can cultivate more wasteland and grow more grain next year, so that our lives will get better and better, and we can strive for advancement next year."

Zhao Youzhi had never been so wealthy before; his livestock had doubled from two, so it was understandable that he was ambitious.

"How many acres of land do we need to reclaim this year?"

"Let me do the math. I'm in my fifties this year, but next year...?"

The sound gradually faded into the distance as the group walked away.

After Lin Qiuyue and the village chief left, they started a fire to cook.

These past two days at Zhou Rui's house have been so comfortable. Their main task was to help take care of An'an and Xiao Niangao. Zhou Ping didn't need them to do anything.

He could listen to the radio when he had nothing to do, and when cooking, he could eat as much meat as he wanted from the kitchen and fish from the backyard. He only made rice or white flour buns as staple food, without mixing in any other grains. It was so comfortable; even a landlord wouldn't dare to live like this.

An'an is very happy. She has two beautiful young ladies who play with her and are also very good at cooking. Especially Lin Qiuyue, who is from the South and can cook some dishes that An'an has never eaten before, which are delicious.

Life was comfortable here, but the three male educated youth in the educated youth compound had a rather miserable life.

After spending a few days at other educated youth settlements, I returned to find myself facing a diet of porridge every day. Furthermore, since I didn't go up the mountain to pick wild vegetables and mushrooms during the off-season, there wasn't even a single vegetable in my porridge.

"What's going on with Lin Qiuyue and Yang Ping? Why are they always going to Zhou Rui's house? And staying there all day long? Could they have fallen for that country bumpkin?" Xu Jun muttered maliciously as he ate his tasteless porridge.

"Xu Jun, watch your mouth. Don't talk about women behind their backs. Zhou Rui hasn't been home at all these past two days. Lin Qiuyue and the others only went because Zhou Rui asked them to before he left."

Meng Huaiyuan had asked Yang Ping and knew the whole story. Not wanting any more major conflicts to arise at the educated youth settlement, he explained it to Xu Jun.

"How could I be talking nonsense? Look how good those two are. They eat and drink well at the Zhou family's house all day long, and they don't even bring back any leftovers for us. They don't show any camaraderie at all."

"That's right, I think Xu Jun is right. Look what we're eating!" Wei Dazhi threw his bowl on the table; the porridge in the bowl was so thick you could see your reflection in it.

"I think they're just upset that we went to other educated youth settlements to study without taking the two of them along, that's why they're being so petty. I was walking outside just now and I could smell the aroma coming from the Zhou family's kitchen, it must be the smell of meat, or maybe cured meat."

"Alright, that's enough. If you want meat, go hunt it yourself in the mountains. Stop coveting other people's food."

Meng Huaiyuan finished his porridge in one gulp. Damn it, all this talk, I can't eat anymore.

Deep in the mountains of the forest farm.

"Quick, quick, catch up! We've finally found them. These sika deer are really good at hiding; they must have been hiding in this valley last night. Shelter from the wind, and with a water source, it's a perfect place."

"Ruiwa, you have such good eyesight. You even noticed such a small mark." Gu Shaofeng truly admired Zhou Rui, not only for his excellent marksmanship but also for his sharp eyes.

"It's not that I have good eyesight, it's that you're careless. That half footprint was right in front of you, and you didn't even notice it, and you almost stepped on it."

"Stop talking, hurry up and catch up, the dog is already ahead." Gu Shaofeng interrupted Zhou Rui as he saw him bringing up his shortcomings again.

Zhou Rui waited until Gu Shaofeng walked ahead, then shook his head and followed.

"Look, these are the traces from this afternoon. Sika deer stopped here and ate all the lichen in this area." Gu Shaofeng pointed to the lichen scraps that hadn't been completely eaten.

Zhou Rui nodded, then silently began to sense the distance, trying to see how far away it was and whether he could sense it.

Hmm, it seems to be this way. There are so many of them; it must be a herd of deer. They're almost out of the perception range. Just as Zhou Rui was about to stop sensing and give chase, a strong fluctuation came from another direction, sixty degrees away from the direction of the deer herd.

What is this? Zhou Rui didn't know, because he had never had a similar feeling before. He looked in the direction of the deer herd, at the feeling that was gradually disappearing, and then looked at the place that remained still, but where the feeling was intense.

"Forget it, the deer will catch up sooner or later. I'd better go see what this thing is that's giving me such a strong feeling." Zhou Rui turned and headed in another direction.

"Hey, junior brother, you left without saying goodbye. Wait for me?" Gu Shaofeng was squatting on the ground looking at the lichen when he stood up and found that Zhou Rui was gone.

Gu Shaofeng quickly caught up: "Junior Brother, have you discovered something?"

"Okay, hurry up, keep up." Zhou Rui simply responded, not giving Gu Shaofeng a chance to ask another question. After all, if Gu Shaofeng asked, he wouldn't know how to answer.

Zhou Rui was so fast that Gu Shaofeng was out of breath from rushing around and had no time to ask any questions.

Because this time the speed was very fast, they arrived at the place guided by their sixth sense in about ten minutes. Zhou Rui looked ahead to see what was attracting him.

There was nothing on that open space except for a bright red spot on the stem of a plant.

What is that? Even if Zhou Rui didn't understand anything, he knew what it meant to see something red like a flower on Changbai Mountain. And there were three such things nearby.

"Junior brother, what are you looking at?" Gu Shaofeng asked after catching his breath when he saw Zhou Rui suddenly stop moving at high speed.

"It's all about the money."

"Money? Where's the money?" Gu Shaofeng looked in the direction Zhou Rui was staring at.

"A stick, a club?"