Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

When Zhou Rui returned home, Lin Qiuyue was holding a small rice cake, eating pine nuts, and chatting with a former educated youth. These pine nuts were the ones Zhou Rui had gotten from raiding a squirrel's nest. Zhou Rui didn't recognize this female educated youth; he had only met her once before when he visited the educated youth settlement to ask Lin Qiuyue and Yang Ping for help.

Zhou Ping isn't home; he's probably out playing with Liu Ping'an and his brother again.

"Brother, you're back?" An'an, who was listening to Lin Qiuyue and Zhou Rui chatting in Shanghainese, immediately jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed) when she saw Zhou Rui return.

Zhou Rui quickly hugged him, saying, "Second brother is feeling quite cold, don't upset him, go back to the kang (heated brick bed)."

"No! Hug me." An'an whined, her warm breath wafting towards Zhou Rui.

When Lin Qiuyue and Yu Sitian saw Zhou Rui return, they quickly put down the pine nuts they were holding and got up.

"Zhou Rui, you're back. Did you catch anything? Let me introduce you. You were in such a rush last time that I forgot to tell you. This is my good friend, we've grown up together since we were little. Her name is Yu Sitian."

"Hello." Zhou Rui raised one hand in the air and waved.

"Hello." Yu Sitian looked at Zhou Rui curiously, especially seeing how clingy An An was to Zhou Rui, and thought to herself, he must be a good older brother.

Zhou Rui put An'an on the kang (a heated brick bed): "We hunted a lot of wild boars, and sent them all to the forest farm canteen, but I kept a piece of pork belly. I'll make braised pork for you guys tonight."

Zhou Rui took off his backpack and coat, and pulled out a thick slice of pork belly from his bag. The red and white pieces looked particularly appealing.

"Second Brother, what else did you buy?" An'an stuck her head into the bag. Zhou Rui always bought a lot of things when he came back, like a treasure chest. An'an would rummage through it to see what new things were inside, like opening a blind box.

"I'm sorry, An'an. Your second brother forgot to bring the tickets this time, so we didn't buy anything. But I bought you some face cream so your face won't get irritated by the wind."

As he spoke, Zhou Rui took out a small square box with a yellow background and white flowers, a feature characteristic of this era.

"Second brother, what is face cream?" An'an's little hands couldn't hold such a big box, so she had to hold it with both hands.

"Snow cream is for protecting your little face, and it smells nice when you apply it."

As Zhou Rui answered, he took out another box: "Lin Qiuyue, this is a gift for you to thank you for taking care of my family."

"Ah, we have it too?" Lin Qiuyue was delighted. It wasn't that the product was particularly expensive; after all, face cream was a staple in Lin Qiuyue's life before.

Lin Qiuyue found Zhou Rui's gesture very precious, especially after the family tragedy, which made her very sensitive.

"Of course. I feel bad for troubling you all so much every time, so I bought you some small gifts. I hope you like them."

Lin Qiuyue certainly liked it; she hadn't used face cream for months. It wasn't that she couldn't afford it, but her status as a capitalist's daughter prevented her from buying such overly luxurious items from the supply and marketing cooperative. If she were of ordinary status, she wouldn't have these concerns.

"Why can't I open it?" An'an had already opened the packaging box, revealing a porcelain bottle with a green lid and a white body.

"You can ask Sister Qiuyue to prepare it for you, I'll go cook for you." Zhou Rui carried the wild boar meat to the kitchen.

While he was cooking, An'an walked into the kitchen and came to Zhou Rui's side.

"Second brother, smell me, do I smell good?"

Zhou Rui looked down and saw that An An's face had a gentle and warm feel to it.

"Let me smell it." Zhou Rui bent down, his nose touching An An's cheek. "Mmm, it smells so good."

*Smack* Zhou Rui kissed An An.

"Hehe... Second Brother, you're so good." *Smack* An'an hugged Zhou Rui's head and kissed him back.

Early in the morning, before dawn, Zhou Rui opened his eyes. The fatigue of the past few days had not left any marks on Zhou Rui; he recovered after just one short night's sleep at home.

Zhou Rui got up and kissed Xiao Niangao and An'an on the forehead in turn.

We're going to Uncle Changhai's house for dinner today, so we need to prepare some gifts. Besides the wild boar meat we brought back yesterday, Zhou Rui is also planning to bring two fish.

Zhou Rui went to the backyard, where the small pond was already frozen. He didn't need to break the ice; he simply sensed it. There was no water beneath the ice; the pond was too shallow, and everything had melted into ice.

Huh, no fish left? Looks like they've all eaten. Zhou Rui tilted his head and thought for a moment, then decided to go ice fishing.

Zhou Rui went to a corner of the kitchen and rummaged through his tools, but unfortunately there was no ice chisel or iron pickaxe, only a hoe for working in the fields.

Zhou Rui shook his head. Forget it, brute force will always lead to miracles. He picked up his hoe and fishing rod and left.

Zhou Rui wasn't a fisherman and had no experience in finding fish on the ice. However, he had a special ability that allowed him to sense things even through thick ice.

This is it. The water is three meters deep, and there's a group of big fish gathered here. Zhou Rui put down his fishing rod and bucket, and even took off his military overcoat. The clothes were really hindering his movements.

The wind howled, but Zhou Rui didn't feel cold at all standing on the ice in the middle of the stream. His modified body and the physique he had developed from training on the mountain gradually made him different from ordinary people.

Bang... Bang... Bang...

The hoe was too flat, not as sharp as an ice chisel or a pickaxe, making it really difficult to use. Zhou Rui had no choice but to increase his strength and continue applying pressure.

He kept muttering "eighty, eighty..."

This is a magical spell. Legend has it that in a past life, this spell could fill countless people with power and prevent them from getting tired.

After working for about ten minutes, Zhou Rui finally broke through the ice with his last stroke of the hoe. Fortunately, the temperature wasn't too low yet, and the ice was only thirty centimeters thick. If the temperature dropped further, the ice would probably be thicker and harder to break through. Next time, he'd need a more specialized tool.

Zhou Rui carefully cleared away the broken ice around the opening, making sure he didn't slip and fall in.

Zhou Rui quickly put on his coat and then hooked some fried oil residue onto his fishing hook. He had to hurry back from fishing, otherwise An'an and the others would wake up soon.

After baiting the hook, Zhou Rui was about to throw the line into the hole when, unexpectedly, a large fish weighing three or four pounds leaped out of the hole.

Zhou Rui watched the large carp jumping and splashing on the ice, his mind racing. He couldn't understand it; the fish just came to him without him having to lift a finger.

The carp jumped a few times and then froze completely. Zhou Rui happily picked it up and threw it into the bucket. It was delivered right to his doorstep; why not take it?

Zhou Rui was about to continue casting his line when he was surprised to find the entrance of the hole teeming with fish. Their mouths were sticking out of the water and opening and closing constantly, making it impossible to lower the hook.

What's this? The fish is lacking oxygen? Zhou Rui has finally gotten his brain working.

Zhou Rui sighed deeply. It seems my fishing skills will never find a place to shine. Zhou Rui threw the fishing rod on the ground, knelt on the ice, grabbed the head of the largest fish on the surface, gripped its gills tightly with three fingers, and flung it behind him onto the ice.

A few minutes later, the ice surface was covered with more than twenty frozen fish. Zhou Rui glanced back; there were too many, the bucket couldn't hold them all. Oh well, time to go home.