Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

The next day, Zhou Rui didn't go up the mountain. He planned to listen to the village chief and go to work, but he still got up at around four o'clock as usual. Zhou Rui planned to retrieve the fish traps, carry back some pebbles, and tidy up the pond. These things wouldn't take much time.

Zhou Rui heated up the leftover dumplings from last night in a pot and hurried towards the backwater a few miles away. Since it was still early, he figured he could finish his work and eat later. This time, Zhou Rui had brought buckets of water, intending to keep the fish he caught in his pond at home.

Zhou Rui carried the empty buckets for several miles and arrived in about ten minutes. Once there, he found the first rope, pulled on it, and found it had some weight. As the fish trap surfaced, a splashing sound came from inside. Whoosh… a large amount of water poured from the trap's opening into the river, causing the fish trap to vibrate even more violently.

Wow, not bad, five fish of various sizes. Zhou Rui happily emptied the fish, quickly filled the bucket with water, and put the fish in. He had to bring them home alive so he could catch a fish to eat whenever he didn't have time to hunt. After Zhou Rui had scooped up all the fish from the traps, he counted them—thirteen fish in total. Were the fish more active at night, or were the traps left out longer, resulting in a larger catch? Whatever, the more fish the better; this would be enough to eat for a while.

However, this bay isn't big enough, so we can't just take this one spot; we need to find several other places.

Zhou Rui didn't think too long before gathering all the fish traps together, picking up the bucket, and heading back. When he got home, Zhou Ping and An'an were still asleep. Zhou Rui poured the fish back into the original water tank to avoid any problems when he repaired the pond later.

So, Zhou Rui carried the load on a shoulder pole and made three trips back and forth to the spot where he used to fetch water before stopping. He used larger stones to build up the edges and smaller pebbles to line the bottom. After pressing the stones down firmly, Zhou Rui even took some out and stepped into the pool to test them. Finally, Zhou Rui found seven or eight sticks about the thickness of chopsticks and stuck them into the ditch at the pool's outlet, making a makeshift fence. He couldn't let the fish he had worked so hard to catch escape.

After finishing all this, Zhou Rui took the bucket and transferred the fish from the tank to the pond. Just then, Zhou Ping came out and stared in astonishment as the fish that had just entered the pond sprang to the surface.

"Second brother, you caught a live fish! Why didn't you call me to come with you?"

"Go where? What will happen if An'an and Xiao Niangao wake up if you go? Go wash your face and rinse your mouth. There are still a few fish in the tank that haven't been cleaned up yet." Zhou Rui waved his hand at Zhou Ping with disdain.

"Brother, let me do it, let me do it." Zhou Ping ignored Zhou Rui's disdain and was happy to see the live fish, so he quickly snatched the bucket from Zhou Rui.

"Wow, this fish is really strong. Wow, it's so slippery." With a splash, the fish fell back into the tank.

"Idiot, use a strainer to scoop it up." Zhou Rui thought Zhou Ping was so stupid it was unbearable to watch. Actually, Zhou Ping just wanted to play around; after all, even if he was sensible, he was only twelve years old.

Just then, An'an appeared at the door, hastily throwing on some clothes and slippers, her eyes still blurry with sleep: "Second Brother, Third Brother."

"Look at you yelling like that, you woke An'an up." Zhou Rui went over and picked up An'an, and couldn't help but glare at Zhou Ping.

Seeing this, Zhou Ping dared not cause any more trouble and quickly picked up a strainer to scoop the fish out and put them in a bucket. An'an, seeing the fish Zhou Ping had scooped out, immediately perked up, wriggling to get off Zhou Rui. Then, An'an followed Zhou Ping around, constantly asking, "Third Brother, let me see the fish! How big are they? Let me see!" She then followed Zhou Ping to the backyard and squatted by the pond, staring intently without blinking.

"Okay, stop looking and go wash your face, it's almost time to eat."

Just then, the work bell rang. Seeing that there was no time to spare, Zhou Rui quickly filled a kettle with water and stuffed a few dumplings into his pocket.

"Pingwa, I have to go to work now. I've heated up some dumplings in the pot; you and An'an can eat them later. Also, cook some rice porridge for Xiaoniangao; make sure it's well-cooked, otherwise Xiaoniangao won't be able to swallow it," Zhou Rui hurriedly instructed.

"I understand, Second Brother. You don't need to worry," Zhou Ping replied.

Upon hearing Zhou Ping's reply, Zhou Ping hurriedly left, eating dumplings as he went. When he was almost at the tree where the villagers were gathered, Zhou Rui stuffed the last dumpling into his mouth, then quickly gulped down two mouthfuls of water to wash away the taste.

In fact, Zhou Rui could earn work points by hunting prey; there were two families in the village who did this, professional hunters whose profession had been passed down through generations. But Zhou Rui didn't want to do it that way. It would be too conspicuous, and he had cut off ties with his grandparents and uncle. Their small family couldn't withstand the scrutiny of the villagers.

Jiaolong Gorge has no electricity, and people usually use a broken iron plate hanging from a big tree at the village entrance as a bell to notify each other when to and from work. At this moment, there are already more than a hundred people standing under the tree. There are more than 90 households and more than 400 people in the village. About two-thirds of them are able to go to work.

"Hey, you coward, finally here at work. What's wrong? Aren't you at home taking care of your baby?" The man who came out was as thin as a monkey, walking with a slouching gait, and his already large eyes were looking at people with a sideways gaze.

Zhou Rui immediately recognized the man; he was the one who usually played with his older cousin, Zhou Chen. His uncle wanted to take Zhou Rui's family's job so that Zhou Chen could have it. Zhou Chen was twenty-one years old. Spoiled by his grandparents and uncle and aunt, he had been lazy and good-for-nothing since childhood. Because he always got the best food at home, he was tall and strong. Zhou Chen was irresponsible, spending his days hanging out with a bunch of hooligans in the village, frequently getting into fights in town. As a result, he had a terrible reputation in the surrounding villages, and at twenty-one, no woman wanted to marry him. No parent wanted their daughter with an unreliable man. Zhou Rui's uncle wanted to take Zhou Rui's family's job so that Zhou Chen could have a good job and find a wife.

Last time, his uncle and his gang failed, so Zhou Chen has brought his underlings to cause trouble. Zhou Rui thought to himself, and couldn't help but say sarcastically, "Whether I'm at home taking care of the baby or not is none of your business. If you have this much free time, you should focus on living your own life well, find a woman and have a son, so your father doesn't die out."

"What the hell are you saying? Who are you saying will have no descendants?" Skinny Monkey was furious after hearing this.

The skinny boy's real name was Qian Fulai, and he was twenty-five years old. His family were refugees who had fled famine, arriving decades later than the Zhao, Zhou, Chen, and Liu families. The family was a single-lineage household, with only his parents and Qian Fulai remaining. Qian Fulai's father worked fairly hard, but his mother was sickly, and the little work points she earned throughout the year went entirely to her medicine. The family was so poor they couldn't even afford food, and Qian Fulai's aimless lifestyle made it even harder for women to come to them; he was even worse off than Zhou Chen. Zhou Chen's claim that his family line would die out was a nasty truth.

"What can I say to you? You're so foul-mouthed, always asking for trouble, and I can't even say anything?" Zhou Rui retorted without backing down. His father and older brother were gone, and if he didn't stand up for himself, he would be bullied even more in the village.

Qian Fulai was also surprised that Zhou Rui, who was usually so meek, would be so tough after falling out with his uncle. Feeling humiliated, Qian Fulai stepped forward to slap Zhou Rui. Zhou Rui, however, wouldn't let him get away with it. He preemptively grabbed Qian Fulai's hand and slapped him to the ground. Although Zhou Rui was only fifteen and a little over 1.6 meters tall, Qian Fulai had grown up poorly and was still under 1.7 meters tall even in his twenties. He was also quite thin, far less robust than Zhou Rui, who was used to hard labor.

"You dare to bully my brother? I'll beat you up!" The two people who were squatting next to Zhou Chen watching the commotion didn't expect Zhou Rui to fight back. When they saw Qian Fulai get slapped in the face, they immediately got angry and wanted to gang up on Zhou Rui. Only Zhou Chen stood still.

The men and women around, young and old, who were about to start work, remained silent, pointing and whispering as if it were just children playing around, and that everyone was just watching the spectacle out of boredom.

"What are you doing? What are you all doing? Get out of here!" Village Chief Zhao Youzhi shouted as he walked over with his hands behind his back.

"No way, village chief! It's not work time yet. We're just idling around anyway, let's watch a little longer," Chen Datou shouted from the side.

Chen Datou belonged to the older generation of lazybones. His old friends, who used to hang out with him, had all gotten married and settled down thanks to their families' help. While they occasionally slacked off, they still kept to themselves. Chen Datou, however, was over forty and still single. He was incredibly lazy; he wouldn't even bother to pick up a fallen soy sauce bottle. His clothes were worn and faded without ever being washed. He earned fewer work points than even a child. While others would sneak away from work, he wouldn't even bother pretending. If he didn't want to work anymore, he'd just throw down his hoe and lie down in the field. He only managed to earn two or three work points a day, not even enough to eat. He was truly the kind of guy even the dogs in the village would despise.

"What are you looking at? If you have time to watch the show, you might as well wash your clothes. They smell awful. Who would want to be near you? How come you didn't suffocate from the stench?" The village chief was furious and started yelling at Chen Datou.

The people around burst into laughter. This Chen Datou was nothing more than a clown, of little use except to provide some amusement for the village.

"Alright, stop laughing. Don't think that everything's over just because spring planting is finished. There's still a lot to do. Now listen to my assignments. Group 1, go to the north hillside to loosen the soil and weed. We need to start planting sweet potatoes and corn, otherwise, the little bit of rice on the flat land won't be enough to fill our stomachs. Group 2, go to the ditches along the paddy fields to clear the silt. The heavy rains a few days ago washed all the mud down from the mountains, clogging the ditches. If there's a drought, you'll all be starving. Group 3, go to the northeast to reclaim wasteland. Although there are more rocks there, there are still large tracts of land waiting for you to cultivate. Clear out more fertile land so that every household can store more grain next year. The children's group, as usual, go gather pig feed and chase away birds so that these pests don't peck at the rice before it's been saturated." Zhao Youzhi clearly divided the tasks in just a few words.

Upon hearing this, everyone obediently lined up in their assigned groups to receive the tools, and no one complained. This demonstrates Village Chief Zhao's authority. This is the result of Zhao Youzhi leading the villagers in begging for food in these impoverished mountains and harsh waters for so many years, and yet not a single person has starved to death.